little vacation, GIANT CITY

Illinois may be notorious for having limited offerings in the area of outdoor recreation. Skiers and surfers will find no outlet for their hobbies here, and rock climbers are generally confined to grain silos with manmade climbing walls. If you enjoy hiking, like we do, you may be disappointed by the lack of switchback trails and lofty mountain views. Southern Illinois does, however, boast a few interesting rock formations and rolling hills that are significantly different from the flat farmland characterizing the rest of the state's landscape.

Forest and I took a miniature vacation to Giant City State Park on the 28th and 29th. A similar vacation may be appropriate for others if:

A. They've spent much of their lives in central Illinois and feel they need a change of scenery
B. They are poor college students and can't afford a more glamorous vacation spot
C. They have a 5-month old baby they can't bear to leave more than 36 hours

Obviously, we fit all of these criteria.

So, on Monday morning we left little Ramona with Parry and Teresa and began driving south on Route 51.

Once we reached Giant City, here are some of the rocks we found:
The rock formation on the left is supposedly called "Devil's Standtable," but before I knew the official title I kept calling the whole thing "the kissing rocks."




It was a squeeze to get between some of the rocks.



We got a taste of rustic architecture from the depression era at the Giant City Lodge

It was here we also got a taste of Southern Illinois food for dinner on Monday night. We were the only people in the entire dining room, which seats 200. Apparently you don't need a reservation on a weeknight.If you're looking for a nice bed and breakfast in this area, I would recommend the Makanda Inn. It is just down the road from Giant City State Park, and has a lot of unique features.The building is brand-new--just built this yearThe walls are insulated with strawAnd they've incorporated some antique pieces into the decor, like this wood-burning oven . . .. . . and this door from a bank vault in Chicago.The rooms open up to the outdoor deck . . .. . . and feature several pieces of local artisan woodBeautiful bedBeautiful breakfastThe drive to get to all of these places--not necessarily beautiful. But I guess passing through multiple small towns along the highway has its charm.

Ramonamontage #2

What Ramona has been up to

1. Faithfully attending church each week and wearing her Sunday best:

2. Sleeping in various positions and places:

3. Playing in cardboard boxes:

4. Playing with dolls:

5. Playing Daddy's guitar:

6. Playing with her feet and sucking on her toes:

(I checked out some yoga DVD's from the library and have been trying to practice a few positions, but I've got nothing on her. She is the yoga queen.)

7. Playing with bowls:

8. Drinking lots of milk:

(I don't give her bottles that often, but the last time I did, she showed me she could feed it to herself.)

9. Looking at "the other Ramona" in the mirror:

(Hopefully this doesn't mean she is going to be vain.)

10. Being a snuggly, happy baby
(Thank you, Ramona)

Further Extended

For quite some time now, Aunt Maria has been eager to meet Ramona in person and shower her with love and attention just like Aunt Crissy and Cousin Aubrey did in July. She and Josh arranged to fly back to Illinois this past weekend, and we met up with them at Parry's house on Saturday afternoon. After pulling into the driveway, Forest gathered Ramona from the car while I went ahead into the house. One of the first words out of Maria's mouth were: "Where is she?"--meaning, of course, "Where is my little niece Ramona?"

Forest brought her in just a moment later, and before long she was in her Aunt's outstretched arms.

Thank you to all of the people who have taken the time to come and meet baby Ramona. She is blessed to have you.

Dear Ramona,
May you always remember that you are loved . . . not only by the people immediately surrounding you, but by people living far away, too. Family ties can be incredibly strong and can extend far beyond the Illinois cornfields that make up your world right now. Although when you're older you may not remember these first visits from Utah relatives, someday I hope these pictures and others can help you see the place you've had in the family since you were small.

Love
Your Mommy

Lime Cheesecake Gelato

Although summer seems to be drawing to a close, our ice cream making has not shown any signs of slowing down. In fact, the frequency of our churning is evidenced by the wear on our machine--we've broken the handle of the ice cream bucket so we've been holding it in place with paperclips, and the timer knob has gone a bit wacky so sometimes I have to unplug the entire machine to get it to stop. Perhaps it's time to order some new parts.

At any rate, one of my favorite creations in the freezer right now is lime cheesecake--a flavor requested by Forest early on in the summer. A couple of months passed before we got around to trying this one, but our first attempt didn't turn out half bad.


Lime Cheesecake Gelato

For the cheesecake cubes:
-8 oz. cream cheese, softened
-1/3 cup sugar
-1 egg, room temperature
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-graham cracker crumb crust (your favorite recipe, or I used about 1 1/2 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons sugar, and a pinch of salt)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Press graham cracker crust mixture into the bottom of an 8x8 square pan, setting aside any leftover crumbs.
3. Beat together cream cheese and sugar, then add the egg and vanilla, continually beating until smooth.
4. Pour cream cheese mixture into pan and smooth evenly over crust.
5. Bake 25 minutes, or until the cream cheese layer appears to puff up all around the top.
6. Remove from oven and chill at least 4 hours in fridge.
7. Once chilled, cut into 1 cm cubes. Return to fridge until use.

For the lime custard:
-3 cups whole milk
-1 cup heavy cream
-8 egg yolks
-1 1/2 cups sugar
-1/8 teaspoon guar gum
-zest of 6 limes
-4-6 tablespoons fresh lime juice, depending on the tartness you prefer.

1. Combine egg yolks, sugar, guar gum, and zest in a medium bowl and beat together until creamy.
2. Heat the milk and cream in a saucepan at about medium-high heat, preferably by placing in a larger pot filled with water, as this prevents the milk mixture from boiling.
3. Once the milk mixture is warm, temper the egg mixture by scooping small amounts of the milk and gradually adding to the eggs, stirring with each addition.
4. After adding about 3 cups of the milk to the eggs, pour the tempered egg mixture into the saucepan with the remaining milk.
5. Stir for about 5 minutes until thickened. The custard will visibly stick to the back of a wooden spoon.
6. Cover and chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
7. Strain custard with a fine mesh strainer.
8. Right before churning, add lime juice and stir.
9. Freeze according to individual ice cream maker instructions. It may be necessary to split the batch into 2-3 parts.
10. Add desired amount of cheesecake cubes by layering about a handful into each completed batch.