Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Travel Journaling and a Wednesday Medley



What I see, early morning, when I look from the porch

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Tomorrow is National Croissant Day!!

NATIONAL CROISSANT DAY – January 30

NATIONAL CROISSANT DAY - January 30

NATIONAL CROISSANT DAY

In the United States, National Croissant Day is observed each year on January 30th. Croissants are a buttery, crescent-shaped rolls that are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  
The key to a perfect croissant is laminating the dough. Laminating the dough is a process by which butter is folded into the mixture creating multiple thin layers of butter and dough. The result is a mouth-watering flaky crust and airy body.
Legend surrounds this pastry, as is often the case with a popular, worldly treat. What is known, is that crescent-shaped breads have been found around the world for ages. One of these was the Kipferl which originated in Austria as far back as the 13th century. This nonlaminated bread is more like a roll.
Credit for the croissant we know today is given to an Austrian military officer, August Zang. In 1939 he opened a Viennese bakery in Paris introducing France to Viennese baking techniques.
HOW TO OBSERVE
Stop by the bakery for a fresh, warm croissant or try making your own using this recipe: Croissants recipe.

1.  Well, I do love croissants when they are fresh, but day-old croissants need to be turned into a donut.  I happen to really like the croissants that have a donut-like glaze on them!  Sugar overload but so good.  So... do you like croissants?  What is your favorite way to eat them?
 I do love croissants, but rarely eat them. My favorite are either when they are filled with my curry chicken salad (YUM) or filled with cream cheese and raspberry jam (Good grief, WAY too good! I've not eaten one for years.) 

 What I see when I look across the road
2.  Speaking of food... How do you handle stress?
LOLOLOLOLOLOL. Very funny, Terri!  Actually, there is nothing like stress to drive me to the bag of chocolate chips or dark chocolate bars, OR cookies, if I have them in the house. Fortunately, I don't have a lot of stress in my life, and I've tried to get over that reaction to it, but it persists. Sigh.
3.  Out of the negative emotions of greed, anger, jealousy, and hate, which one would you say affects you the most?
I try to duck other people's anger, jealousy, and hate. I don't think I personally have an issue with those, but maybe greed if you're counting the number of books and other things that 'spark joy' for me. :-)  I can't help it that so many things SPARK JOY!!!
4.  Out of the positive emotions of compassion, positivity, enthusiasm, and initiative, which one is your biggest strength?
I'd say that positivity is my biggest strength - and I've taken the initiative to pray enthusiastically for more compassion. Please, Lord. (So I got done writing this, read it to Mr. C., and he said, in all sarcasm, 'and your greatest strength is humility.' OKAY, FINE!!! Who asked him anyway??)
5.  What do you get every time you go grocery shopping, other than the staples such as bread, milk, butter, flour, sugar...
 I guess I simply get another staple item: Dark Chili Chocolate bar from Aldi. We keep a stash - for emergencies - which, oddly enough, tend to occur almost every single day. This would not be a stress emergency, but one of those times when you think: What can I eat that will be delicious and satisfying and NOT set up cravings? Ah yes, very dark chocolate.
You thought I was kidding. We don't go through them very fast, for at most we each have about a 1.5 x 3" section. Any more than that wouldn't even taste good. At least that's what I keep telling myself.
6.  Please tell us something random about your week so far.
Oh boy. The biggest thing is the deep freeze we're heading into, -30 degrees F. air temp for a low. BUT, the next biggest thing is that I finally finished my travel journal for our trip to the UK in November/December of last year. It's about 140 pages long (which means two sides of each of the 70 sheets). I had to order two large plastic coils and divide the whole thing into two fat books, but I'm pleased with how they turned out. Mr. C. asks, 'who's ever going to see it?' Well, what a stupid question is that! I mean, it's not like ANYone has to see it (and if you don't want to see the following pages, you can close your eyes while you scroll to the end) but I need to make it and enjoy it. And I do. So here are just a few pages, trying to avoid pages that have too much of my personal text, recounting huge fights between Mr. C. and me (just kidding), and showing you what it is I do to occupy a few long, cold weeks here in NW Wisconsin! So I started after the first of the year, working on this project occasionally (and then obsessively!) and am SO glad to have it done.
 Visiting Durham Cathedral, where we met friends for lunch at the Undercroft Cafe
 Visiting Fairford

 And London, of course
St. Paul's for First Sunday of Advent

 Gloucester Cathedral, where we met  friends
for lunch in the Monk's Kitchen 
(different friends, different cathedral)

Canterbury Cathedral, most beautiful job site in the world. I've always avoided the scaffolding when taking pictures in the past, but thought this time I'd show the reality of the upkeep of these beautiful cathedrals that are in constant need of repair, restoration.
I'm hoping to get around to posting more photos of this wonderful adventure for Anglophile Friday, but it's a very busy week, so we'll see what happens. 
Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone, thanks for stopping in, - and thank you again to Terri for the Wednesday Medley!

 So after scraping the ice from the windshield and shoveling the walk and hauling in a couple loads of firewood, these two decided that a snuggle break in the livingroom, near the fire, was in order.
#tommyandsmokey
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Judy

34 comments:

  1. Hello, I love your travel journal. Great answers, being positive and sparkling joy. Dark chili chocolate, wow not sure about hot peppers and chocolate. Wishing you a happy Wednesday!

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  2. Hi Judy... My friend sent me a box of Chili Dark Chocolate bars from Sante Fe a couple of months ago. I hid it away and the Mister never knew about it. Stay warm dear friend.

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  3. I am always so happy to see your snuggling kitties at the end of your post. I never tire of seeing them. my greatest strength is initiative. ha ha on your humility.... leave it to the hubby's. the answer to whose going to see your travel book is YOU. years from now you will pull it out and it will bring back memories of what you saw...

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  4. I guess I need to try to find some of that chili dark chocolate...you have convinced me that I need some of that in my life. :) You did a fabulous job on your travel journal! Whether anyone else ever sees it or not, you will surely cherish it and the memories of your trip! And what can I say about Tommy & Smokey?

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  5. Oh my! Your travel journal is fantastic! Oh how I wish I could sit down and look at it page by page! What a fun project! I bought some colored pencils last week and thought of you! heehee! Hugs!

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  6. That travel journal! Wow! Your hubby is a hoot! I see the kitties have moved to one chair. I hope you've taken up residence in the other one. :) Stay warm!

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  7. The views you have should be a cure for stress … in addition to the dark chocolate, which is also my way of dealing with stress. And, like you, it needs to be dealt with every day! I will have to try the Aldi's chocolate. Right now I have been hooked on Costco's cocoa dusted almonds. It seems to be a healthy treat! What a fabulous job you have done with that journal. I regret that all our travels are either in plain photo albums, with my little printed notes beside each photo and also more recently on the computer. Very nice idea.

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  8. It amazes me that there is something that I really don’t care for in the bread or pastry department. Thank you, Lord, for not allowing me to like croissants. Now for the Ritter Sports! We had a German exchnage student visit us a decade ago and she brought us Ritter Sports...oh boy howdy.

    Humility is a good characteristic to have. Characteristics that I know of are also your humor and generosity.

    Stay cozy, keep looking up, spring is coming right on time...what time is that?

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  9. Your travel journal looks amazing! Nothing wrong with a bit of humility. Oh brr just reading about your weather makes me feel cold. Your kitties definitely have the right idea.

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  10. Oh! Your travel journal images almost fuel my greed. LOL! Actually, I'm so drawn to the winter wonderland you get to see across your road. Because I grew up in the Rockies, Winter has traditionally been my favorite season. Were they filled with chicken curry salad, I'd sure rethink my indifference to croissants!

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  11. Oh my goodness! Your chocolate bars are making me hungry! Yummy!
    Yes, humility is such a great characteristic to have. Loved your answers! Have a great day!

    https://lorisbusylife.blogspot.com/

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  12. It's really cold here too, but nothing compared to yours, although our chill factor is supposed to be pretty low tonight! Stay warm and enjoy all those books. I just totally love your bookshelf. I saw it on Instagram.

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  13. Your travel journal is simply beautiful. Wouldn't some of the older grandchildren or your kids enjoy paging through it? I know I would!

    I'm with you ... way too many things "spark joy". If I kept only those I would still have clutter.

    And Tommy & Smokey ... I am not a cat person in the least, but I very much enjoy seeing what those two are up to!

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  14. I agree with he chocolate solution to stress. However just give me a plain old Hershey kiss!! I love to let them melt in my mouth. Of course one is never enough which is the problem.

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  15. Yikes those arctic temps are scary! Love your travel journal. What a great project!

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  16. Well you know I would love to come over and look at the completed journal and yes, have a chocolate too.
    xx oo
    Carla

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  17. Judy, your travel journal looks great. Mine is a bullet journal with a basket full of brochures from every place we visit. I know, who's going to look at it but us, but I love it. Stay warm by the wood stove! ♥

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  18. Your travel journal looks amazing, something to peruse on those very cold evenings you are having. We are looking at -4 Celsius (24 F ) this evening haha. It was good to meet you for lunch in Durham Cathedral.

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  19. I love your travel journal. Stay warm!!

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  20. That is a lovely view to see everyday, as are so many other views of your farm. I always enjoy your photos and writings, especially from England! Stay warm, we're living in a frozen tundra until this weekend! We shall survive!

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  21. Pffffffffftttttttttttttttt to your hubby. I have always found you to be a humble person. I love your journal(s). What fun to go through the pages and relive the experiences! That morning view is fantastic, Judy! We are cold here-MINUS 50 with wind chill. Schools closed today and also tomorrow. Saturday is a heat wave- up above ZERO.
    Have a great COLD night- xo Diana

    ps.You can have ALL of my dark chocolate. LOL I don't like it---even Seroogy's can't tempt me. lol

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  22. What a great idea to put all your treasures and momentos into a book like that! I still print photos and put them in a slide-in photo album (as opposed to the pull-back sticky kind.) My daughter (and granddaughter) went to Paris and London last year and spent time before they went buying small prints, paintings and artwork of London sights. Then she went to all of them and took photos exactly like the paintings. They turned out beautiful! (Her blog is wildisles.blogspot.com if you want to see them)

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  23. What a treasure this book will be in the years to come. Represents a whole lot of work. And, Smoky and Tommy are so cute! Enjoyed your answers!

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  24. First of all, thanks for joining the Medley today!! I love the scrapbook/journals of your trips and I WOULD look at them given the chance! When we were in Italy, I got upset several times because of the scaffolding around the beautiful cathedrals. There was no way to photograph them without getting the scaffold in the picture. I guess if I was good a photo-shopping, I could take it out. Perhaps I should have just photographed them as they were while we were there. At least they are being cared for and preserved! I sure do love those cuddling kitties! Stay warm up there!

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  25. Perhaps Mr. C is a tad grumpy in all this cold? He has to realize that these travel notebooks are treasures! So lovely to have these memories recorded!

    I can't even fathom -30 degrees. Stay near the wood stove!! (If Tommy and Smokey will share, that is.)

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  26. Your travel journal does show your love for England - so beautiful there. I would love to go sometime - I went years ago and it is hard to remember. I like chocolate croissants - wonder if you could make them with that dark chocolate - I am going to see if I can find them at Aldi's. Of course I love Tommy and smokey. And you don't have much stress in your life - can I come live at your house. Love, sandie

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  27. I think your travel journal is a good idea. Love the answers to the questions. I had to laugh at what Mr C said.

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  28. Love the travel journal! The kitties look so sweet!! Have a great day!

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  29. Yes I love that travel journal. -30???? Lord help me Jesus! I would not walk out of the house unless it was an emergency. LOL! Stay warm pretty lady. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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  30. Judy, what's your secret to getting all that work out of Tommy and Smokey? My cat just skips right to the break! :D Love your travel journals. They are the best. Wish I had the talent and follow-through to do something like that. (PS How I wish you'd change your captcha thing, it's like an eye test that never ends!)

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  31. Way to go at getting your travel journal done. It looks great. We went to Hawaii in 2010, and I have this giant envelope of things that I mean to put together in a scrapbook/journal but have never gotten around to it.
    We're getting those wicked cold temperatures, too. It's Thursday now and the world has gone sorta back to normal, so much that it's back to not so warm in my apartment, even though the high today is 1. I've got a little cabin fever, but I'm not sure I want to go out in the weather, there's nothing that won't wait until tomorrow when the high is 20.

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  32. Judy, I see the "I'm not a robot" captcha box is still in place after whatever you did, but this time it simply accepted my check mark without going to the "check all the squares that have fire hydrants" nonsense.

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  33. If I don't eat, I start cleaning when stress hits. I suppose that's healthier and gets me moving. Your travel book looks amazing. Back when altered books were popular I made one on a trip to England. Fun to look at. Maybe the grands will look at it once when they are older. Is your book 5 x 7 or 8 x 11?

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  34. Beautiful view..I love croissants..Don't know that I will see any tomorrow ;) Hope you are staying warm..

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