We're all stumbling towards the light with varying degrees of grace at any given moment.

This week Debra and I went and did Tashlich (תשליך)  a ritual that many Jews observe during Rosh HaShanah. "Tashlich" means "casting off" in Hebrew and involves symbolically casting off the sins of the previous year by tossing pieces of bread or another food into a body of flowing water. Just as the water carries away the bits of bread, so too are sins symbolically carried away. In this way the participant hopes to start the New Year with a clean slate.

We went to Ohiopyle, a beautiful place to do this.

 

I think Debra looks like a movie star!

 

 

We tossed our bread in and recited this verse from Micah:

God will take us back in love;
God will cover up our iniquites,
You [God] will hurl all our sins
Into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:19)

There were a lot of people there enjoying the beautiful scenery and weather.

This couple found a neat place on this rock to hang out.

 

Kayakers

This guy looks so happy.

Another happy kayaker

Another couple took a picture of Debra and me.

Friday night, Phil and I went to a Laurel Highlands High School football game.  That is where Phil attended high school.

We were treated to a beautiful sunset of golds and yellows and purple.

 

Saturday, Debra and I went to the The 103rd Annual Stahlstown Flax Scutching Festival.

We were treated to a demonstration of how flax is turned into cloth.  The Boy Scouts were making wooden hammers and running an apple press to make and sell apple cider.  A young man churning ice cream, an older man making pottery.  A beekeeper showing off his bees and bee products.

 

Flax

Spinning

Finished product.

Ferret Rescue!!!

I really dislike some people in this world.  A couple staying here in the mobile home park got transferred to Florida and decided that instead of taking their two ferrets with them, they would just turned them loose in the park!

Thankfully, our neighbor rescued them and I knew that Phil’s daughter had a ferret, so I called her.  She is going to be a foster mommy to the little ferret girls until Ferret Rescue can find someone to adopt them.

Aren’t they adorable?

I tried a new recipe this week, Southern Black Bottom Pie.

Black Bottom Pie

3 eggs, separated

Unflavored gelatin

1 cup milk

½ cup sugar

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp vanilla

1 ½  squares of bakers unsweetened chocolate melted

3 tbsp rum

2 tsp gelatin mixed with ¼ cup cold water let stand

Add to egg yolks one cup milk, ½ cup sugar, ¼ tsp salt

Place in saucepan and cook until it sticks to the spoon

Add gelatin and let sit.

Divide Custard into two bowls

Beat eggs white until stiff

Divide egg whites in half

Mix together half custard and melted chocolate

Add half the eggs white to the melted chocolate add 1 tsp vanilla 

To the other half of the custard add 3 tbsps Rum and the rest of the egg whites

Put both bowls into refrigerator

Put black custard layer into the pie crust

Top with rum custard layer

Refrigerate for two hours

Top with cool whip and chocolate curls

I liked it except I think I’ll change up the custard next time.  The chocolate part would have been better using semi-sweet chocolate, I think, and I may try using our cornstarch vanilla pudding recipe, but with the rum, for the rum custard part.