People aren’t kidding when they tell you West Texas is vast, wild and untamed. In fact, West Texas is the very definition of vast, wild and untamed. Look it up in a dictionary. I’m pretty sure it’s there.
When we got here, it looked like this: brrrrrr and wet.But the next morning? There was a herd of javelinas (see the baby?) next to our campsite!I thought this one was a rock. Then it moved.Sunday morning: a trip into town to get connectedNothing like a good old fashioned diner breakfast, seated right next to an old-fashioned soda fountain!Yyyyep. That about sums it up, in the best possible sarcastic way.Views from our hike on Sunday afternoon. We could see the McDonald Observatory from the trail. It’s about 15 miles away, and we’re going there on Tuesday.
Mule deer in the park. There’s always that one deer…
Before today, I’d have said “You’re full of shit” to any one of these predictions
You will swim in a spring-fed pool that’s so deep, people go scuba diving in it.
And there will be fish and ducks swimming it it with you.
And it’ll be 57 degrees outside, because it’s the last day of November.
From the park web site, “More than 15 million gallons of water flow through the pool each day, gushing from the San Solomon Springs. The pool is up to 25 feet deep, covers 1.75 acres, and holds 3.5 million gallons of water. The water temperature stays at 72 to 76 degrees year-round.” Well hello there, bucket list item we didn’t even know we had!
Tim contemplated it in his sweater for a few minutes…But despite the cold, the fish, the ducks (see them behind us?), and the depth, we took the plunge! Hey. I had cancer and teenagers at the same time. Not so much scares me anymore. Plus, I was wearing my magic shoes (see video below).That’s me! In the deepest part of the deep! With the ducks!For those who are interested in the sciency part
Look. Some people need goggles, or nose clips, or a t-shirt for swimming. I happen to need shoes. I call them my magic shoes, I don’t care what you think, and I’m not giving them up anytime soon.
There be culinary challenges here, especially for holiday meals. A cooking girl’s gotta think outside the box that is her living quarters — and the even smaller box within that contains her kitchen — to make it all go down.
This year, my folks are cooking the bird and a few side dishes at their house, which is where we’ll gather this afternoon with our younger son, my brother, his wife and my niece and nephew. More cooking, serving and seating space for the win!
My assignments: two vegetables, rolls, and a pie.
To appreciate how small my refrigerator is, go stand in front of yours. I’ll wait. You there? Good. Now open the door. Note shelves that appear between your knees and your chin. That’s all the vertical space I’ve got.
Glorified dorm fridge We’re talking 8 cubic feet. By comparison, a typical household refrigerator provides 18-26 cubic feet of storage space.
But wait. It gets better. Now reach your arm in there and touch the back wall. Gotta lean in a little to make your fingers touch, yes? When I do that? My elbow rests just outside the front edge. That’s all the depth I’ve got.
But here’s how I made this half-meal happen, using only a 3-burner cooktop, a microwave/convection oven, and a fridge that isn’t even deep enough to hold a serving bowl.
Pecan Pie It’s what you bake when you can’t make a dessert that requires fridge spaceIn a traditional oven, this pie takes almost an hour to bake. Here in my handy dandy half-time convection oven: 25 minutes. And the crust didn’t burn!Perfection. And no Karo syrup! I used this recipe, with a few tweaks: omit white sugar; increase flour to 2 TBSP; increase pecans to 1.5 cups and lightly toast them first; flour both sides of crust to prevent sogginess.Brussels sprouts, all rinsed and ready to go Moroccan.Yes, the recipe is for Moroccan Carrot Salad. But Mom decided to make Copper Penny Carrots, so I just did a little produce switcheroo. The cooked sprouts went into a storage bag and got a nice little shake-up with the marinade. And there they will stay, comfortably nestled in their teensy little space on the fridge shelf, until I get to Mom’s house and pour them into a nice serving dish.Next up: Texas Slaw I managed to toss all the veggie shreds — cabbage, carrots, cilantro, green onions, and radishes — in the largest mixing bowl I’ve got in here. But there is not enough room to stir in the dressing without making a huge mess, so…Plastic storage bag to the rescue! Again. I poured in half the veggies, followed by half the dressing…repeated with the other half of each…… and then zipped up the bag, did a little shaky-smooshy thing, and stored it right there in that narrow space between the Moroccan Brussels Sprouts and the Greek yogurt. That’s cooperation on an international level right there. Two empty serving bowls — one for slaw, one for sprouts — are packed and ready to take to Mom’s house!Homemade Yeast Rolls This is my challah dough recipe, and I used to make the traditional long braided loaf for our holiday gatherings, but neither my gas oven nor my convection oven are big enough to hold a standard cookie sheet, so now we get rolls. And yes, these too will go in a zippit bag for transport. Bonus: perfect size and heft for throwing across the table at cousins.My favorite RV kitchen storage solution: keeping spices in a drawer. They slide around and topple over in a cabinet. And we need that space for cereal boxes and canned goods anyway.
Just… don’t ask me how I’m gonna store our leftovers. That’s tomorrow’s challenge.
Happy Thanksgiving to all, whether your space is large or small!
