Countdown to a new year

As this year winds down, we are taking inventory of the good, the bad and the unmentionable.

My Top Ten for 2007 Countdown

10. The distance between Northeast Ohio and Colorado shrinks with the flurry of emails, telephone calls, letters, and the publication of our online diary to keep friends and family up-to-date (out-of-sight will NOT mean out-of-mind!)

9. Carol hires her management team and staff allowing us to launch in September.

8. Kate and Carol survive their first cross-country trek in record cold temperatures and snow storms in February.

7. Debbie (in May) and Ebie (in September) get married (not to each other -- but to wonderful men who love and appreciate how unique and amazing they are!)

6. Jane decides to accelerate her swimming abilities during Spring Break '07. She completes the entire Red Cross swim class series in four and a half months. And, decides it's high time she joins a swim team since she's probably too young to become a lifeguard in fourth grade.

5. David graduates from Lakewood High School in June.

4. Kate and David start college in August.

3. Carol starts her new career in Fort Collins, Colorado in February. Still can't believe she gets to implement this amazing body of work!

2. Fort Collins becomes our family's new frontier.

1. Joe and Carol celebrate 26 years of marriage in September (and, live to tell about it!)

We hope that 2008 brings much love, good health and happiness to you and those you love. We count your friendship, love, and support among our many blessings each year.

Happy new year!

c

Hot off the presses!

You know you're living in a small town when your cold weather shopping excursion makes the news.....

As seen in today's newspaper:

Michael G. Seamans/The Coloradoan

Mary Bennis, left, of Cleveland, Ohio and Rita Stigalt, right of Parma, Ohio bundle up and brave the elements as the walk down N. College Avenue in Fort Collins on Dec. 27, 2007

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I love this article

Link through to read The 10 Step Cure for the Post-Christmas Letdown from Dumb Little Man. It's quite insightful.

Jane and I are going to go ice skating this afternoon (photos may/may not follow based on how successful our trip is!) Joe and I have a date to stroll/window shop Old Town. We'll probably drink too much coffee at BeanCycle or Starry Night and spend a huge part of the afternoon at Al's Newstand.

Hope you are kicking off your post-holiday celebration, too!

Slainte!

c

Merry Christmas!

We hope that you had a wonderful Christmas holiday spent with those you love filled with many laughs, surprises and delights. Our day was lovely. Hope yours was, too.

Peace,

c

xxx

When you visit, we can go on MORE brewery tours!

Just in case you might think that Fort Collins is a one-trick pony -- here's evidence that Northern Coloradans are serious about their beer...

Anheuser-Busch Brewery in Fort Collins


[we'll visit A-B to see the local Clydesdale Hamlet - not to actually drink the beer - because, well, we've become bonified beer snobs...although we prefer "connoisseurs." :o) ]

Odell Brewing Company
[The Odell family hails from Shaker Heights, Ohio! Wonderful people making some really great beer.]

Fort Collins Brewery

Big Horn Brewing at CB Potts

Coopersmith's
[We'll go "poolside" to sample their amazing root beer, ginger ale and cream soda while we shoot a few pathetic games of pool!]

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One of these things is not like the others...

Dropped Kate off at the dorm last Sunday morning - she spent the day in our quiet house studying for final exams and decided to stay overnight. I was struck by how pastoral and serene her residence hall looked against the bright blue sky and fresh snow. And then, her room caught my eye...

If you double-click on the photo you can find Anna and Kate's room, too.

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When you visit, we'll go to breakfast...

This morning, Kate, Jessica (one of Kate's dorm-mates) and I had breakfast at Vern's. An institution in LaPorte, Colorado - about 15 minutes north of Fort Collins. [And, again - yes, the sky is really this blue in Colorado! Almost every day.]



Vern's is this amazing little diner with timber walls, booths, etc. and the taxidermied head of just about every animal and bird found in Northern Colorado. It's always full of farming families, cowboys (real ones), and not many fussy people. It's just really comfortable. They serve cinnamon rolls the size of dinner plates ("one roll and three forks, please."), sausage gravy and biscuits, every kind of omelet known to man and some pretty incredible green chile pork sauce. Today, all of the animal heads were sporting Santa hats. The black bear was wearing a Santa hat and a white cotton beard. Vern's is always worth the trip.



Across the street you have a wide open view of the northern foothills right before Rist Canyon.



After breakfast, we drove Jessica to Denver to catch a plane to Texas to join her family before they head out to Buffalo for Christmas. Kate and I enjoyed the trip back north singing, talking and taking in the gorgeous Rocky Mountains against that amazing blue sky!

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When you visit, we'll take the tour...

We had our holiday party in one of the brewhouses at New Belgium Brewery tonight. It was a great event. We enjoyed some great beer, food and conversation. I can't wait to take the tour - what an amazing facility! Check out New Belgium Brewery

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Okay, my beloved progeny, the race is on...

As you may recall, we accidently discovered that we are descendants of Daniel Boone = you know, the "rippin'est, roarin'est, fightin'est man the frontier ever knew!" See the July entry titled: You Can't Pick Your Family...

Anyway, I wonder if all of the Bennis, Binder, McIntire kids will take this news report as a personal challenge?

Relative of Davy Crockett, 5, kills bear

Legend has it Davy Crockett killed a bear when he was three. A distant relative of the 19th-century frontiersman has done the ame thing at five.

Tre Merritt, a 5-year-old boy from Arkansas, killed a black bear Sunday, according to his grandfather.

"(The bear) came in about 40 to 50 yards," Mike Merritt, Tre's grandfather, told KATV of Little Rock, Ark, "and when he got in the open, I whistled at him and he stopped and I said, 'Shoot Tre.' "

And that's what his grandson did, killing the 400-pound animal.

"I was up in the stand and I seen the bear," Tre Merritt told KATV. "It came from the thicket and it was beside the road and I shot it."

According to the report, Tre's father said his son began shooting when he was 2 1/2 and killed three deer last year. What else would you expect from a decendant of the "King of the Wild Frontier?"

"His 10th great-grandfather was Davy Crockett," Mike Merritt said. "And Davy supposedly killed him a bear when he was three. And Tre is five and really killed a bear. I really doubt if Davy killed one when he was three."

Source: Fox News 12/11/2008

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My jingle elves!

Merry Christmas from the Bennii!

hahahahahahahaha! Kate created this.

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It's cold and flu season...

I know I shouldn't laugh at this but - well, you know...



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Who would have predicted?

So, we've officially become granola-heads. We love it. We eat it often. Now - we make our own. Scary but true. And, while we haven't become the next generation Euell Gibbons - [a reference which will date most of us..."It's naturally sweet taste reminds me of wild hickory nuts. I call Grape Nuts my back-to-nature cereal."]

it's not bad if I say so myself. This recipe was adapted from a local bed and breakfast recipe. It's fast and easy and better than anything you'll find in a store! [Chivanne this is for you...]

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats


• 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut


• 2 cups sliced almonds


• 1/4 cup canola oil


• 1/2 cup honey


• 1 1/2 cups dried apricots, small diced (I'm not a fan so I usually skip these and add more dried cranberries, dried cherries, dried blueberries or raisins)


• 1 cup dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (325 degrees for a convection oven)

Combine and toss oats, coconut and almonds together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil and honey until smooth. Pour the honey mixture over the oat mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon until evenly coated. Spread evenly onto a greased sheet pan. (I use Pam spray.) (You will still have dry oats at the bottom of the bowl. Don't worry - when you pour the entire contents of the mixture onto your pan, the oats will become thoroughly coated as you stir the mixture during the cooking process.) Bake in oven until golden brown. Make sure to stir the granola every 5 to 7 minutes to avoid burning.

When you take the granola out of the oven, pour the dried fruit on top of the hot mixture. Cool the granola on the sheet pan on top of the stove stirring occasionally. The granola will get crunchy as it cools. Once granola has cooled, store in an airtight container or large Ziploc bag.

SERVE:
This recipe makes 12 cups of granola. Our favorite way to eat it is in a yogurt parfait for breakfast. 1 cup of vanilla yogurt in a bowl, topped with your favorite fruit (sliced strawberries, blueberries, diced green apple, diced kiwi, etc.) and then top with a 1/2 cup of granola. (Also really good with frozen vanilla yogurt or ice cream.)

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The Drunkest Cities...excuse me??

New Year's Day 1916 was rough for Colorado residents looking for a little hair of the dog. On that Saturday, the state stopped all liquor sales, predating Prohibition by 4 years. Today, Colorado once again leads the nation in its attitude toward alcohol — but now the mandate seems to be "drink till you drop."

In our second ranking of urban inebriation, Aurora comes in 82nd, Colorado Springs finishes 98th, and, once again, Denver is Most Dangerously Drunk. We looked at annual death rates due to alcoholic liver disease, as well as who's headed there by regularly downing five or more drinks in a sitting (CDC). Next, we factored in drunk-driving arrests (FBI) and the percentage of fatal accidents involving intoxicated motorists (U.S. Department of Transportation). Then, after tallying the MADD report card of state efforts to cut down on excessive drinking, we had our ranking and, for the state of Colorado, an invitation to AA.

The Men's Health article ranks the cities from most dangerously drunk to least dangerously drunk.

While Fort Collins isn't specifically mentioned - the implications (between Cheyenne + Denver) are there. Or, maybe we really did skirt the dubious honor. After all, the Allstate America's Best Driver's Report ranks Fort Collins #2 in the nation for safest drivers and 24.0% less likely to have a collision compared to the national average (13.2 avg. years between collisions) for 2005, 2006 and 2007.

So, maybe we just drink more micro-brew than anyone else on the planet but going to bed at 10pm is paying off!

c

Almost like my Great-Aunt Giovanna's...

Chi mangia bene, vive bene!

[Who eats well, lives well!]

I've spent the better part of my adult cooking life trying to replicate favorite foods I ate as a child because many of those recipes were never passed along to the next generation. Many of my food memories center around my Great-Aunt Giovanna's Sunday family dinners. She made a Sunday Gravy that everyone loved (and the other Italian matriarchs envied). And, by gravy I mean tomato sauce. I never understood why Italian families called it gravy other than the fact it simmered for hours the day before the family gathered for a HUGE dinner almost every Sunday of our lives. It was a very special tomato sauce. A sauce eaten every Sunday - even in during the sweltering dog days of summer. But those dinners are among some of my favorite memories because of the conversation, Italian opera playing on the hi-fi stereo in the background, stupid arguments, eating, broken Italian/English expressions, and love. We marinated in love at that table.

So when the weather gets colder I take out the big pots and get back to work on perfecting the sauce that eludes me. The house becomes toasty warm with the stove going all day and the smell is intoxicating. This is the closest I've come to recreating that sauce.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 (14.5 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 4 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 3 cups water
• 4 cups fresh sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced (I usually add quite a bit more)
• (4 teaspoons white sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (optional)
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 pinches baking soda
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  

DIRECTIONS:

Saute garlic and onions in olive oil in a medium-sized stock pot or Dutch oven until transparent. [Note: if you don't have to accommodate vegetarians at your dining table, this would be the point you could brown 3-4 beef short ribs and remove to add to the sauce later.] Add tomato paste to mixture and combine until well mixed. Cook this mixture over a medium heat until the paste begins to slightly brown in color (not burn!). Stir frequently to be sure the mixture does not stick to bottom of the pan and burn.

Mix together whole tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, mushrooms, sugar, salt and pepper, basil, and 1 pinch of baking soda in a large saucepan. [Non-veg addition: replace one cup of water for one can of beef broth.] Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 4 hours minimum. [Return browned short ribs to simmer in the sauce.] Stir frequently. Sauce should not be thin/runny. It should be closer to the consistency of applesauce. (Trust me.)

Stir in another pinch of baking soda; the sauce will foam. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and almost brown. Make sure to scrape the sides of the pan in to the sauce.
After the sauce is fork consistency (applesauce-like), stir in Parmesan cheese. Watch that the cheese does not burn. Taste sauce. If it is too tangy or acidic, add another pinch of baking soda and simmer another 1/2 hour.

Cool, cover, and refrigerate overnight. The next day, reheat and serve. (This step is crucial - you can eat it the same day but it will be a completely different sauce if you wait!)

Mangia!

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Kate's coiffure for a cause...

The day before fall break was to begin, Kate donated her hair to Locks of Love. Pretty much all of it. Who knew she would look so cute with short hair (and bangs!!!)? I spent most of her life convincing her that her unfortunate widow's peak (from my side of the family - sorry girls...) and round/heart-shaped face (again, it's the genetics...) were contra-indications for successful pixie cuts with bangs.

She follows in her little sister's footsteps - who donated her hair two years ago in second grade. Jane was so proud and excited to learn that a little girl might get a wig made of her hair because "we would be hair twins!!" And, as a bonus, she was clearly delighted with her new chin length bob (no bangs, please!). When she returned to school following Christmas break, the school librarian was sporting a new pageboy-style wig due to hair loss following chemotherapy for breast cancer. Needless to say, Jane was thrilled to find her "hair twin" on her first day back to school!

Janey has been growing her hair out for the last two years to donate again. Maybe this Christmas...

http://locksoflove.org/

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First snow!

We had our first snow yesterday (Wednesday, 11/21) - a very light, powdery four inches. While it was surprising - we expected the blast of cold air from the mountains. It's just a strange cold. Without humidity, it's not intense or bitter cold. I've started wearing my winter coat because I get strange looks in town when I'm wearing only a suit coat or sweater. That's right, I'm wearing my winter coat because of peer pressure!

[And, lets not forget it was a balmy 72 degrees on Monday!]

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It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - all around the town!

Contrary to what you may have heard about Fort Collins:

we decorate for the holidays in a HUGE way!

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Denver Art Museum - Part 1

Kate and I spent some time at the Denver Art Museum yesterday http://www.denversartmuseum.org/) specifically to see the exhibits in the Frederic C. Hamilton Building which is a 146,000 square foot expansion designed by architect Daniel Libeskind that only opened a year ago.

I thought the official description of the expansion was amusing: "The Hamilton Building's design recalls the peaks of the Rocky Mountains and geometric rock crystals found in the foothills near Denver. "I was inspired by the light and the geology of the Rockies, but most of all by the wide-open faces of the people of Denver," says Libeskind. The building is covered in 9,000 titanium panels that reflect the Colorado sunshine." Okay, so if I were native, I think I'd take offense at the "wide-open faces" reference. (You mean my face is FAT!?!?! You said wide....)

The interior of the building was very clean. White. Stark. And, sadly, vertigo-inducing. I was worried that I might have to crawl down the stairs to the lower levels .... it was like being trapped an MC Escher drawing.





The exhibits were fun. Kate and I were mesmerized by this work of art created by American born artist Sean Landers. It's titled Pater Noster - produced with oil paint on linen. If you enlarge the photos you can read some of the composition - a stream of consciousness chronical of the artists' thoughts about his father's death. It was very compelling - we found it difficult to stop reading.



And, then of course, there's this piece of ... art. It is a cast bronze sculpture - contiguous and skillfully rendered/painted to look like little bits and piece of yard junk. Double-click on this photo to see the detail - and remember nothing has been "attached" to it - it's a single piece of casting. Clearly an "eye of the beholder" work. Need I say more? (Hey Marty + Kathy, make some space on the mantel - Christmas is coming!)



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Denver Art Museum - Part 2

The most exciting aspect of our visit to the museum was the exterior view. The building is really remarkable. A work of art unto itself. Those blue Colorado skies weren't too shabby either. And, yes, the sky looks like that almost every day. Will we EVER get used to it???




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At least someone from Cleveland won today...

David and I just finished watching Michael Symon (of Lola/Lolita) win the title of Iron Chef this evening. It was an amazing competition with swordfish as the main ingredient.

Sorry to hear about the Browns loss to Pittsburgh for the umpteenth time. Joe kept us up-to-date on the score via text-messaging. For most of the day it looked as if they might actually going to pull off a win. So tonight we bask in Michael's big win instead!

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Halloween - Colorado-style!

First, Halloween Jane-style - as a really frightening princess of the night...vampire girl with some really well-done horror makeup courtesy of Dad. This is Jane minutes before the candy-gathering sprint through the neighborhood was to commence:



scary - but soooo cute!! Please note the running shoes to optimize the frenzied pace with good friend Alex (who I believe was a zombie cheerleader).

Not much to say about Halloween except people REALLY enjoy celebrating it here in a big way.

In Fort Collins, we celebrate with the annual Tiny Tots Halloween Parade on Old Town Square. Legions of really little kids (6 yrs and younger) invade Old Town for some seriously cute trick-or-treating during the day.

In Boulder, the annual Naked Pumpkin Head Run is a pretty big deal. (http://nakedpumpkinrun.com/) Fort Collins is a little more conservative but still has its weird moments.



And, in our beloved Parma, Ohio - ghosts were apparently out in full force for the celebration:

You know in your heart it was really:

your favorite blueberry marshmallow-laced cereal icon!!!

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The dream Series not meant to be

Clearly Cleveland and Colorado were not meant to face-off in the World Series this year. That makes it so much easier for me! It's a shame though - if only the Indians had remembered how to play baseball during the last three games of their season...

Sadly, we won't have an opportunity to break out the dreaded midge masks again!


Go Rockies!

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What if....?

So, what IF the Indians and the Rockies get to face off in the World Series? I can't think of a more exciting match-up. And, I get to cheer for both teams!

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Municipal railway

Two blocks south of our house you can ride Fort Collins Birney Safety Car 21 - one of four cars purchased by the City in 1919 that provided daily service until 1951. Car 21 was restored and rebuilt after it spent almost three decades in a park . You can now ride the trolley on West Mountain Avenue on weekend afternoons from May through September.

One last look before the snow flies

Less than a mile from our house you can visit the Annual Flower Trial Gardens on the campus of CSU. This 2.9 acre park provides education, research and outreach for the annual flower trials to students, home gardeners, Master Gardeners, community members and green industry personnel. The All-American test gardens evaluate the performance of over one thousand different annual flower cultivars for plant vigor, uniformity, floriferousness and tolerance to environmental and biotic stresses unique to the Rocky Mountain/High Plains region.

It is one of the most beautiful displays I've ever seen.

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Let's not forget Homecoming 2007

Last weekend was Homecoming and Parents Weekend at CSU. Lots of tradition, celebration and running around. But it was a lot of fun.

This is Kate and Sam (one of her dorm-mates in the sunglasses) with Cam the Ram - the official mascot of Colorado State University. His name bears CSU history in that he is named for Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College (the university's former name). Today, CAM is a Rambouillet Ram and is the 21st CAM to represent CSU. CAM lives at ARDEC, the Colorado State University College farm, and has his own troop of Ram Handlers to help him out. CAM makes regular visits to University events and local schools.



Sadly, the Rams are having a really bad football season.



A giant letter "A" adorns the western hillside of Fort Collins because Colorado State University was formally called Colorado A & M, and students were referred to as "Aggies." The "A" was first white-washed in 1924. It became a tradition for freshmen to paint the letter every year. The Tradition continues today as freshmen football players and members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity hike up each fall to spray the timeless letter.



Following a homecoming carnival, mammoth bonfire and fireworks display on Friday night, the A was set aflame the night before the big, unfortunate game. Hopefully their luck will turn around soon - go Rams!

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Much cooler than playing cornhole!

Back in Ohio, September and October is the time we take our kids apple and pumpkin picking, for rides in hay wagons or running through hay bale mazes. Here in Colorado the corn maze is this craze. (sorry...) They have these really elaborate mazes that go on forever. These are aerial photos of the Fritzler MAiZE. Six miles of trails in an elaborate design that's usually designed to be a tribute.

The 2005 maze design is a tribute to the "Kings of Soul and Rock-n-Roll" - Ray Charles and Elvis Presley. [Joe - this is for you! xxx]



The 2006 design is the Colorado quarter, released June 14th, 2006.



The 2007 maze design is the Fritzler MAiZE tribute to legendary Country-Western singer and bareback rodeo cowboy Chris Ledoux who died of a rare cancer in 2005.



Remember that these are made from the remaining corn stalks after the corn has been harvested. I've never seen anything like this in my life!

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