Devil's Marble Yard

Clay and I took a Black Friday hike to the Devil's Marble Yard to work off a few Thanksgiving calories. You can see how the destination got it's name! We didn't spend too much time at the marble yard at first because we were concerned about not having time to complete the rest of the 11 mile hike before dark.


I really liked how something as simple as tree bark could make such a cool picture. Great texture and colors.

Late fall colors.

The two pictures above were taken after we left the Gunter Ridge Trail and met up with the Appalachian Trail. We then left the AT to an un-maintained Sulphur Spring Trail with an opening called the "Helicopter Pad." The deep blues and purples of the Blue Ridge Mountains were spectacular.


After the 3 mile detour on the AT we were suppose to do a loop back to the parking lot, but didn't want to get caught in the dark. So we headed back to the Marble Yard, cutting the hike short by about 2 miles, and spent some time exploring the boulders. This picture does a decent job of showing the magnitude of how big the boulders were. One of the dark patches on the right is me (click on the picture for a clearer view). I didn't realize how much my legs would hurt after hopping from rock to rock. My legs felt like jello and didn't want to function at all after we got back on the main trail.

Here are a few more pictures of the Devil's Marbles.

Flurries and Brussel Sprouts

We had a dusting of snow on the ground today. All the surrounding counties were either delayed or closed, but Montgomery County schools were on time. All the teachers were a little pouty for the first couple of hours to say the least. I was just happy to be able to stand up straight after spending two days in bed, feeling very SICK.

We fixed a yummy pizza for dinner, and my appetite is almost back to normal. We actually have leftovers, which doesn't always happen. Clay also had his first taste of Brussel Sprouts, and said he would try them again, just not in large amounts! I use to turn up my nose to these little mini cabbages when my mom fixed them, but have grown to like them. Plus I'm willing to eat almost anything that I take time to plant in the garden. They were attacked by pests pretty bad when still young. I did end up spraying them with an insecticidal soap, but tried my best just to hand pick any little green worms off. Clay kept teasing me about the plants because the edible parts were no bigger than peas for the longest time. Then after it stayed consistently cooler they really took off. So they ended up being a fun plant that I will try again next year I hope.

These pictures are not the prettiest, but it is rare to have anything green left in the garden at this point!

Chocolate Eclair Cake

I can remember my mom asking me what type of Birthday cake I would like and my answer being chocolate eclair. It has now become my staple go to recipe for special events. The fifth grade teachers are hosting a Goody Day for the staff at CES tomorrow, so I prepared old faithful. As I stood stirring the homemade icing I thought about how many times my mom has stood over the stove waiting for the chocolate mix to boil. I also wondered how many people besides my mom and I actually cut the graham crackers to make them fit just right in the casserole dish. Then after all is done and the cake is chilling in the fridge using the broken pieces of graham crackers to clean the pudding, cool whip, and icing bowls, yum, yum! I can remember my first attempts at the dessert didn't go so well. I tried putting the icing on too soon and didn't have the cake layered evenly so it all just rolled off to the side, looking like a soupy mess. So I hope my attempt tonight still looks pretty by the time I get to work tomorrow.

Besides chocolate eclair I have also made mom's stuffed peppers a staple recipe at home, as well as her spaghetti sauce. Nothing beats the taste of home sweet home. Although I know Clay is waiting for me to master a few recipes that remind him of home, potato soup keeps coming up as a suggestion!

For any of those that read, what are your favorite recipes that remind you of your childhood home?

I'm off to hope the Hokies pull off a win!