Cathy Rigby and Peter Pan

This afternoon my husband and I travelled to Hartford, CT (just a one hour drive) to see Cathy Rigby perform in 'Peter Pan' at The Bushnell Theater.  It was a perfect day for a drive.  The temperatures in Connecticut again hovered above 60 with bright sunshine that appeared around noon.  As we exited the highway and prepared to park across the theater one thing became apparent very quickly.  There would be children at this show - lots and lots of children.  We have season tickets and are used to seeing a variety of shows and approach each one with a sense of adventure.  We have seen shows that we've never heard of before and others that we probably wouldn't see if the tickets weren't part of a package.  Somehow we 'forgot' that this show would come with kids.  We don't mind, it's just that our boys are grown and we're not in that space anymore!  It was unexpectedly fun to be in a fancy theater with so many little ones.  They were dressed up, sitting in booster seats and truly entranced by the live show!

Cathy Rigby received thunderous applause when she first appeared (flying of course) above the stage with handfuls of pixie dust.  She's as youthful as ever!  You will believe that age is just a state of mind after watching her performance.  If you don't...go ahead and check yourself into the nearest rest home!  The cast was magnificent and the orchestra performed flawlessly.  I'll never understand why some people insist on only seeing shows on Broadway and don't take advantage of the travelling productions that visit local venues.  It's an incredible bargain and the quality of the production is equal to that of any show with the fancy address! 

Here's a brief clip from You Tube advertising the performance at The Bushnell that ends with tonight's performance.  You can still catch this show at Madison Square Garden during the last half of December!

Our Tree Pilgrimage to Jones Family Farms!

Today we made our annual pilgrimage to Jones Family Farms in Shelton, CT to cut a fresh Christmas tree for our home.  We have done this for over 15 years with family friends and at this point we can't imagine not venturing into the woods to find the perfect tree.  Our trip today was unusual.  November is usually cold here.  At the very least it's weather that dictates a jacket and scarf.  Today the temps were in the upper 60's!  We were walking up 'Candy Cane Hill' with no outerwear!  It was actually...hot.  

We knew where to find our favorite type of tree (Douglas Fir) and had a general idea about size and shape.  It amazes me that when that we can scan the trees surrounding us and decree one as too skinny, too tall or containing too many gaps.  Within twenty minutes we had found our Douglas Fir.  My 18 year old son had no trouble cutting it down and he and my husband had a fairly short walk to the baler where there was quite a line.  Standing in line was not a problem today because the weather was so nice!  We have always made this trip on the Saturday following Thanksgiving and have been treated to every type of weather you can imagine.  I can honestly say that today was the most pleasant.  The worst weather to cut a tree down in is a foggy, rainy or misty day when the ground is saturated, muddy and difficult to walk in.

After the tree is neatly baled and our initials written on the trunk it is loaded onto a truck and carted to a pick up zone.  There's a leisurely walk down the hill and we enjoy the company of other families either returning to the lot to retrieve their tree or pass those making the slower climb up the hill to find the special live tree that has been patiently waiting many years for their arrival.  Many families bring their dogs while others are decked out in festive santa attire. Every family has cameras.  It is an event worth documenting.  The parking lot is always full and families frequently gather to share hot cocoa, snacks and other treats after tying their tree to the car for the trip home.   

Todays excursion did not include passing by the barrels of burning wood along the trail to offer a respite from the cold.  The smell of wood burning, the added bulk of winter clothing, the fumbling with gloves and mittens and the unforgiving bite of the wind as we hiked up the hill will have to wait for another year.  This will not be repeated anytime soon and I fear it portends of a season to remember! 

Our tree is not going up today.  It will sit safely in a bucket of water on our deck until next weekend when Thanksgiving is safely behind us.  The festivities continue...  

Here's a clip I found on You Tube of one of our favorite movies, 'Christmas Vacation'! This is the scene where they find the 'perfect tree'!

Flaming Roast Turkey - 1950's Of Course!

I couldn't let Thanksgiving pass without giving you the opportunity to try a recipe for roast turkey that I have never seen before!  Kudos to you if you attempt it - I certainly won't.  It's not the actual recipe for the turkey that is lingering in the 'danger zone' but the recommendation for the fruit garnish.  Just keep a fire extinguisher handy...maybe.

I stumbled upon these recipes in my new favorite 'retro' cook book, 'Thoughts for Buffets' published by Houghton Mifflin in 1958.  Life was different in the fifties and you'll see that from reading these recipes.  There's still time to impress your family with a 'flaming' turkey if you're brave...

Roast Turkey A La Bristol

1 12 pound turkey, cleaned
Salt, pepper, paprika
3/4 cup softened butter
1 - 8 oz. can frozen orange juice concentrate

Allow approximately one pound of turkey per person.  Clean and dry turkey.  Season with salt, pepper, and paprika inside and out.  Stuff with dressing and truss.  Rub entire turkey with 1/4 cup butter and sprinkle lightly with flour.  Place in a 325 degree preheated oven.  Bake for 30 minutes, and pour orange juice over all.  Baste turkey every 20 minutes.  For first basting, use remaining half-cup butter, combined with one-half cup boiling water.  Continue to baste every 20 minutes with pan drippings.  Turkey should roast approximately 5 hours.  So that turkey may be evenly browned, place it first on one side and, when brown, turn to the other side.  Finally, place it on its back for remainder of roasting period.  Serves 8, generously.

*There are some things that 'stick out' about this recipe right away!  Using paprika as a seasoning doesn't appear to be in vogue currently and stuffing the bird with dressing certainly isn't!  I don't know anyone that sprinkles the turkey with flour and browns the fowl in the pan!  Orange juice is an interesting thought and makes me wonder about acidity.  And now...the gravy.

Giblet Gravy

4 Tbsps. fat

2 Tbsps. flour

2 cups stock in which giblets have been cooked

Remove turkey from roaster and pour off liquid.  Reserve.  Melt 4 Tbsps. fat over slow heat in roaster.  Add flour; stir until brown and return liquid to flour mixture.  Cook until smooth, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Add chopped giblets.

*Believe it or not - I have no problems with this recipe! But wait...here's the recipe for stuffing made with cornflakes.  That's right.

Holiday Dressing

4 Tbsps. butter or chicken fat
2 good sized onions, chopped
1 small stalk celery, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 cup matzo meal or cracker meal
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup almonds, slivered
4 cups cornflakes

Melt butter or chicken fat.  Add onion, celery, and green pepper; saute in butter or fat to a golden brown.  Add all ingredients, except cornflakes, and mix well.  Add cornflakes and mix lightly.  Pack very loosely as dressing swells a great deal.  This amount will stuff a 16-pound bird.  The additional dressing may be baked in a separate greased baking dish.

*A word of warning...do not stuff the bird - it's just not safe (protecting myself here.  I have certainly eaten stuffing that has been baked inside a turkey and I'm still alive).  Also, this whole cornflake thing is just - flaky.  Don't do it.  Consider this recipe pure entertainment or substitute bread crumbs! That's a good idea!!  Now - the recipe that will set you apart - or set you on fire...

Fruit Aflame
(Garnish for turkey)

1 large bunch parsley
8 pineapple slices (1 No. 2 1/2 can, optional)
8 peach halves (1 No. 2 1/2 can)
8 sugar cubes
Lemon extract

Place turkey on a bed of crisp parsley.  Drain fruit thoroughly.  Place pineapple slices around the turkey, and on each slice place a half peach, hollow side up.  Just before serving, dip sugar cubes in lemon extract and place in hollow of each peach.  Ignite and bring the turkey to the table in flaming splendor.

This is just crazy.  Please don't do this. At least have a fire extinguisher handy! I do believe it was done - frequently.  They didn't have cable.

Tomorrow look for my accompanying post about 1950's Thanksgiving side dishes.  They fall in the 'handsome' category!  To read more about Americans and Thanksgiving click on the link!

For those of you that remember 'The Beverly Hillbillies', I found their Thanksgiving episode from 1963 on You Tube! It's about 25 minutes long but it's fun to watch just a bit of this...

Parfait - The 'Perfect' Dessert!

My last post included a recipe from the Eisenhower administration that reminded me of the popularity of 'parfait' desserts during the heyday of our hospitality years.  Iced desserts in the early part of the 20th century were a delicacy and to be served one was very special indeed!  A parfait is basically a layered dessert made with ice cream, custard, yogurt, fruits, nuts or just about any ingredient.  To see what http://www.foodtimeline.org/ has to say about parfait history click on the link!



From my Rumford Complete Cook Book published in 1908, parfait is defined as a cream mixture frozen without stirring.  The extensive 'Food Lover's Companion' further expands on the definition by separating an American parfait from a French parfait.  Their definition follows:

1. In the United States, this dessert consists of ice cream layered with flavored syrup or fruit and whipped cream.  It's often topped with whipped cream, nuts and sometimes a maraschino cherry.
2. A French parfait is a frozen custard dessert made with egg yolks, sugar, whipped cream and a flavoring such a fruit puree.   In French, parfait means 'perfect', which is how many view this dessert.  Both American and French parfaits are served in tall, narrow, footed 'parfait glasses'.

Here is a recipe from the Rumford Complete Cook Book from the early 1900's.
Read the directions very carefully and then go open your freezer door and just stand in front of it and be thankful...very thankful!

Coffee Parfait

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 egg whites
1 cup strong coffee
2 cups whipped cream

Cook the sugar and water till they form a thick syrup; beat the whites of the eggs and pour the boiling syrup over them.  Cool, add the coffee and, when quite cold, the whipped cream.  Mix all well and put the mixture into a mould, cover very closely, and bury in ice and salt for several hours.

Did you pay attention to that last sentence?  I mean it - go stand in front of your refrigerator and appreciate that 100 years have passed.  Life was work and that dessert was a reward!

The following recipe is from a 1975 Betty Crocker cook book I have and is a general recipe for a simple fruit parfait.  They can be made with combinations of just about anything.  I've included some great photos from www.pinterest.com to inspire you!

Fruit Parfaits

For each parfait, layer 1/3 cup sliced strawberries, 1/2 teaspoon orange-flavored liqueur, 1 spoonful frozen whipped topping, thawed, a few mandarin orange segments, 1/2 teaspoon orange-flavored liqueur and additional whipped topping in each parfait glass.  Repeat if desired.  Top with a strawberry.

I did write about 'parfait' once before.  If you would like to see a recipe from the 1930's and a little history about an old hotel in Boston, click here!  I hope you feel inspired to attempt this somewhat forgotten dessert.  It can even been served as a breakfast item with yogurt, granola and fruit!  Here's a funny clip with Shrek and Donkey discussing...parfait!   

Veterans Day Remembrance and Presidential Recipes!

Today is Veterans Day 2011 and I thought it would be challenging to write a post about this day of remembrance and somehow write about historical recipes.  Veterans Day began as Armistice Day in 1919 when Woodrow Wilson was President.  It did not become Veterans Day (there is no apostrophe - I checked) until Dwight D. Eisenhower was President in 1954.  In the United States it is a federal holiday and many people have the day off from work and school.  I watched many of the observances today on the news and was moved to
see that it is still observed with solemnity and pride. 

When Armistice Day was signed into law in 1919 by Woodrow Wilson he was actually married to his second wife.  His first wife, Ellen Louise Axson Wilson, died in the White House in August of 1914.  President Wilson remarried on December 10, 1915 to Edith Bolling Galt who quickly became a First Lady with a mission.  She would spend hours at her sewing machine making pajamas for our soldiers and rolled bandages for the Red Cross and worked at their canteen at Union Station.  In addition, she had sheep grazing on the White House lawn to keep it cropped and had their wool sold to benefit the Red Cross.  Industrious. Below is a recipe prepared during Edith Wilson's time as First Lady.  With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it might be something easy to add to your dinner table!



Wilson China

Virginia Skillet Cornbread

1 cup white cornmeal
2 cups boiling water
1 cup milk
1 tsp. salt
3 tsps. baking powder
2 Tbsps. butter
4 eggs, well beaten

Pour boiling water over 1 cup white corn meal.  Cool.  Beat in the milk, salt, baking powder, butter, and eggs.  Pour into 2 quart skillet.  Bake in 400 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes.



Eisenhower China

 Many years later Mamie Eisenhower was our First Lady and is distinguished with being the driving force behind identifying and cataloguing the White House china collection.  The President and Mrs. Eisenhower were busy with social and state events at the White House and only when the President suffered a heart attack and had a major operation in the summer of 1956 did most evening events become luncheons and large receptions eliminated. 

I thought it was interesting to learn that President Eisenhower was an avid golfer and had a putting green on the White House lawn.  The Eisenhowers spent so many vacations at the golf course in Augusta, Georgia that one of their cottages was permanently reserved for them.  Mamie, on the other hand, was a lover of canasta and played every free afternoon with a group of friends from her 'Army Wife' days.

Here is a dessert recipe served during the Eisenhower administration that is typical of 1950's type desserts.  It involves gelatin and pineapple!  Just when I thought I was done with pineapple recipes...

Frosted Mint Delight

2 1-pound cans crushed pineapple, reserve 1 cup juice
3/4 cup pure mint flavored apple jelly
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 pint of whipping cream, reserve some for garnish
2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar

Have crushed pineapple and whipped cream chilled.  Melt the mint-flavored jelly and mix the crushed pineapple into it.  Dissolve the gelatin in 1 cup of the juice from the pineapple.  Mix the gelatin mixture and fold it into the pineapple mixture.  Now whip the cream, sweeten it with the sugar, and fold it into the combined mixture.  Put into the freezer until firm, but do not freeze solid.

This recipe serves 10 or 12.  Serve in parfait glasses, topped with whipped cream.  Accompany each plate with a few cookies.

These two recipes and the facts about our First Ladies and Presidents were gleaned from the book, 'The First Ladies Cookbook', that I purchased at a recent library book sale.  This was from the 1982 edition published by Parents Magazine Enterprises.

Wherever you are I hope you were able to observe or remember our Veterans.  We have our flag blowing in the wind outside our home today but sometimes a simple 'Thank You' is always best!

A Social Media Suggestion for the Newly Elected in Danbury

Yesterday was election day and like so many in our city I went to the polls to elect candidates for local office.  In Danbury the mayor was up for re election and the school board had many candidates running along with various other municipal offices including City Council.  This was an extra special election day for us because our youngest son just recently turned 18 and was voting for the first time.  We've raised our children to believe that voting is a special right and privilege afforded all Americans and they should exercise their right to vote whenever called upon. 

This is a different time in America.  Technology is changing at a faster pace than most of us can keep up with.  Voting booths are long gone and are now replaced with ballots that you bubble in with a black sharpie before being fed into some sort of automated box as it is read by computer.  I miss the voting booths.  There was just something about stepping into the booth and pulling the curtain closed and pressing the levers.  There was a satisfying finality to your vote as you pulled the curtain open and you knew your vote was recorded.  I can remember bringing my boys (when they were little) inside the booth with me and letting them 'help' me vote! Check out this Wikipedia link to learn more about voting machines. 

Social Media has changed how young people view their world.  In many ways their world is much larger than ours was.  The boundaries that we had have become blurred.  I applaud Danbury's mayor, Mark Boughton, for recognizing the power that social media has to engage our young adults.  Mayor Boughton has used social media (specifically twitter) to reach out to young people like never before.  He has involved this group of future voters in politics by empowering them to care about their government by using a tool that they feel comfortable with!  He has responded to their queries and challenges them when they step outside the lines by asking them to 'watch their language' on twitter.  This gentle correction is what our kids respond to.  They are learning about politics and government while being gently prodded to be responsible for their words. 

Our newly elected Danbury Board of Education members (and we had quite a turnover here) should follow Mayor Mark's example and be bold by stepping into this new frontier.  This is where our young adults dwell.  You can reach many more young voters and future voters by engaging them through twitter than you ever could by knocking on doors or trying to get them to shake your hand at a supermarket!  I have two voting young adults and I can tell you this...they want to talk about education, politics and the world around them.  If you don't believe me just ask any student you know what's 'trending' on twitter - better yet - ask them if they follow Mayor Mark Boughton on twitter! You'll be surprised to know that many Danbury students follow him and he follows them back and guess what?!  They communicate!  The Danbury elected officials need to reach out to their young constituents in new and exciting ways.  These young adults are going to be the backbone of this city before we can blink an eye!  Think what we could learn from them.  As a matter of fact, I was at a public meeting recently where I heard the 'powers that be' say they wanted to become more transparent to the people of Danbury.  Just do it.  Wait until you see how powerful a 'retweet' can be!  Here's a fun video about twitter.  Learn to use it.  It's powerful.  By the way you can follow me @Roberta87!

The Story of Salad!

I went to lunch with my sons today at a restaurant near Hartford, CT.  My kids wanted to try Red Robin and I was more than willing to comply! We were there for lunch so I ordered a salad (did you see that coming?) made with grilled chicken, apples, walnuts and blue cheese.  This type of salad is 'trendy' today because it offers a healthy option for so many of us that are concerned about what we consume.  I started thinking about recipes that I might have at home for salad and couldn't wait to dig into my collection when I got home. 


It was interesting to learn that in the late 1800's and through the middle of the 20th century, salads were considered 'messy' if the greens and ingredients were just tossed on a plate so it was considered appropriate to find a way to 'contain' and 'present' the salad ingredients.  That is how we ended up with a large proliferation of 'jellied salads'.  All salad dressings had to be handmade as well which made the jellied salad that much more appealing to the hostess.  'Lettuce' leaves were used to present the salad and contain the ingredients instead of being a main ingredient in the salad!  Of course, if you really want to explore the evolution of the salad visit foodtimeline.org - you won't believe what there is to learn. 

The following recipes offer a glimpse into a time when a serving of salad with lettuce leaves was thought to be 'messy'.  From my 1908 Rumford Complete Cook Book here are the suggestions for serving salad:

1. All salads likely to be dry, as well as those having no dominating flavor, are better if they are marinated with a French dressing some time before serving, addition to the dressing added at table.
2. It is not enough to wash the salad plants; they must be dried also, for the water dripping from the leaves in the serving dish would thin the dressing and make it insipid.
3.  A good portion of the dressing must be mixed with the salad, not all poured over the top.

Harlequin Salad

1 cup each red and white cabbage (shaved)
1 cup French peas
1/2 cup beet
1 diced onion
1/2 cup diced carrot
Salt and pepper to season highly

Have the peas, beet and carrot cooked till tender.  Shave the cabbage and cut the onion into very small dice; mix all the vegetables, or, if preferred, arrange them in layers or heaps separately.  The effect is better if they are mixed and they are also easier to season and to arrange.  Pour a French dressing over the salad an hour before serving, and pass either a mayonnaise or boiled dressing, or a further supply of French dressing, with it at table.

Fruit and Nut Salad

1 large pineapple
1/4 pound shelled almonds
1/4 pound shelled filberts
1 dozen maraschino cherries
Lettuce
Cream or mayonnaise dressing

Remove the rind and the eyes from the pineapple and cut the flesh into small pieces, rejecting the hard core.  Blanch the nuts by pouring boiling water over them and allowing them to stand a few minutes, when the skins can be easily removed.  Chop finely and add to the pineapple.  Pile in little heaps on lettuce leaves, cover with the dressing and decorate with cherries.

Potato and Egg Salad

3 eggs
3 medium sized potatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
French dressing

Hard cook the eggs, remove shells, and chop finely, using a silver knife to prevent the eggs being discolored.  Cook the potatoes, cut into dice while hot and mix with the eggs.  Then add the dressing and season with salt and pepper.  Serve very cold on a bed of water cress.


The above are just a sampling of how 'different' salads were just 100 years ago.  I would be out of luck with the last recipe that called for using a 'silver knife' to prevent discoloring! This last recipe is handwritten on a small index card that is rapidly disintegrating and the ink is fading.  It is at least 100 years old and interests me mainly because it calls for dates.  Many of the heirloom recipes in my collection call for dates, figs or prunes.  They must have been plentiful or had a long shelf life!

Cheese and Fruit Salad

1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup crushed pineapple
3 ounces cream cheese
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup whipping cream

Mash cheese, add mayonnaise, blend until smooth and soft.  Fold into whipped cream.  Add fruit and mix lightly but thoroughly.  Freeze in ice box tray.  Serve on crisp lettuce.  Serves six.

I have the recipes for mayonnaise, French and Cream Dressing and another called Boiled Salad Dressing (all circa 1908) which I will share some other time - they're complicated.

I found this very modern presentation of fruit salad on http://www.pinterest.com/ and thought you would like to see how 'easy' it can be to serve a fun (and contained) fruit salad without much fuss!

If you're interested here's the Red Robin menu page where my 'uncontained' salad was found!  I thought they all looked pretty good but I settled for the 'Apple Harvest Salad'...yummm.

Feeding Our Fine Feathered Friends in Foul Weather

With all of the misery going on in New England this past week with the massive snow storm and power outage, I thought it would be good to offer a recipe I found from the 1950's that is truly 'for the birds'!  While there has always been some debate about whether or not you should feed birds in winter or not...let's make no mistake, I'm putting out birdseed.  I've grown used to the sounds the birds make in our 3 pine trees - oh - wait a minute, we just lost one this week, there's only 2 now.  When our trees and bushes fill up with all sorts of winter birds it seems like mother nature is providing us with her own special assortment of ornaments.  Of course our cat likes to knock those ornaments off the trees all the time but...well, nature. 

I found this recipe in my collection of vintage recipes from the 1940's through the 60's.  If you have small children it might be a fun activity to try with them.  I found a neat website geared towards young children about winter bird feeding in case you want to dig a little further!

Winter Pudding for the Birds

1 1/2 cups melted fat
2 Tbsps. peanut butter
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
1 cup raw oatmeal
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup corn meal
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup bird seed

Blend all ingredients thoroughly.  Mixture will form a cake and can be cut in pieces.

When my kids were little we used to find large pine cones and coat them with peanut butter before rolling them in bird seed that I had spread in a bar cookie pan.  We always did this in November while we were thinking about Thanksgiving.  It was a good tradition!! 

And just an aside about cat behavior - some bird enthusiasts will argue that cats have caused certain bird populations to dwindle.  Well of course.  And then when a crazy vet tells me to put my cat on a diet because she's fat...she's a CAT and if I don't feed her she's going to hunt.  Really.  But not to worry, she doesn't have many teeth left so the bird population isn't in that much danger around here!

I write about old jello mold recipes frequently.  Here's a picture of a ring mold used for bird food.  And then there's always stringing popcorn and cranberries...if you really have time on your hands!

Here's a funny You Tube video of a bird trying to wake up a sleeping cat!

A New Appreciation for 'The Grid' in Danbury!

Unless you live in the North East you probably haven't heard much about what life has been like for residents of New England.  Since that freak Autumn storm snuck up on us five days ago we've had our lives turned upside down.  Connecticut has declared a state of emergency and over 500,000 of our residents have no power.  To learn more about electricity and power lines visit the wikipedia link!  Danbury was extremely hard hit and most of our homes are dark tonight.  My family is lucky.  We've had power and only briefly lost cable, Internet and phone service.  People are beyond frustrated.  Living without power can cause stress that demoralizes a city's population. 

We hear an awful lot today about families that want to 'go off the grid' and live a life of shear simplicity.  They want to reconnect with a 'simpler' time.  Residents of New England will scoff at you.  Life without power was (and is) terribly hard.  It injects a palpable tension into simple tasks as normal everyday habits become chores.  Getting ready to sleep or even attempting sleep is hard work.  Shelters are open all across the state and they're being used. There's the added strain of caring for household pets and keeping them warm during the nights.  Feeding your family becomes an all day event much as it was over 100 years ago.  Browse through my favorite food history site to discover more about the evolution of food preparation!

Just to make things more fun here in Connecticut - our children are not attending school!  Without power, the schools are not safe to open.  In addition, it's not safe for children or staff to travel to school.  Trees, limbs and power lines are down everywhere.  There is only one way to describe our roads - it looks like a war zone.  I went to the store today and only had to re navigate my normal route two times.  That was better than yesterday.  Intersection lights are out but even that is improving day by day.  I guess that's the only piece of optimism I have to offer right now - day by day things will improve.  The kids will go back to school (the target date is currently Nov. 7th), power will be restored and the roads will get cleaned up.  The residents of Connecticut will not forget the power that mother nature is capable of dishing out. Not one of us will wistfully wish for days before power.  We love 'The Grid' - just not so much CL&P.  The picture below is not from Danbury but does illustrate what the weight of snow and ice did to our trees and power lines. 

As an afterthought...election day is still going to be November 8th.  Vote.  I took my 18 year old son to register to vote yesterday and he's actually looking forward to his first opportunity to cast his ballot!  At least I hope it will still be Nov. 8th - most schools are used as polling places and if they can't open...