Time is a Funny Thing

*NOTE: This blog post was started about two weeks ago or so. Below will document my last few weeks in Maine and expect a Squishables blog post next time!

Time. One of the few abstract yet fixed concepts in the world. One day you will be thinking: "I can't wait until [insert event here]." The next day you will say to yourself: "I can't believe it's over already." Time can only go one way (time travel, not yet invented) and the past cannot be altered or changed. People live in fear of the future, people live in regret of the past, but very few people consider the present. Our actions today are a result of yesterday and will influence tomorrow. While I wouldn't go as far as the comic below, I do suggest that people do something spontaneous and exciting today. Do something harmless yet uplifting. Take a minute to think about your options.

So there is yet another new addition to the Squishable collection! She is a red panda and her name is Lily. She is a gift from my friend Justin and it sadly took me a very long time to think of a suitable name for her. She is rather excitable and is very much looking forward to speaking with you all. As of right now, the Squishable group's name is the Squishable Quintet because there are five members. If I get more the group title will be the Squishable Bunch. But check out the new group picture!

There has been quite a lot of activity lately! I made it to rock climbing with my fiance and two of our friends. The BIG Adventure Center in Bethel, ME is a whole lot of fun! We spent a while rock climbing, then we did the first half of the mini golf course, then we did two rounds of laser tag, then we finished the golf course... and we ended the evening with a Thai dinner! So much fun! It was my fiance's very first experience rock climbing and he had a wonderful time.

Me at the top!

Mini golf!

We also made it to the Fryeburg Fair which was very interesting. My fiance and I went the day it opened and it was raining a bit. We walked around for a while, enjoying the fair atmosphere. We were able to go through the animal stalls and see all the different animals, ranging from horses to sheep, plus we got to watch cows getting milked and learn the process behind that. Of course, there was a gourmet food house, plus a craft house. There were people's artworks and foods getting judged plus we were able to buy, if we had wanted to, locally made products ranging from honey and beeswax to handmade wooded clipboards. But by far my favorite area was the Sugarhouse. Full of maple goodies (organic!), I walked away with some maple sugar candies, a one pound tub of maple cream, and a whole bag of maple sugar cotton candy... which was gone in about 10 minutes between me and my fiance. Definitely a fun day.

Piggies!

Aside from me making homemade pierogis, which I followed Allrecipe's version of (expect I only made the sauerkraut ones), I decided to go back to my childhood for a few minutes and make homemade stove-top hot chocolate from scratch. For those of you who have never done it, shame on you! It takes almost no time at all and it tastes way better than store bought and microwaved. I based my recipe below on About.com's recipe.

Pierogis! This ended up being a mess. I should never have laid them on top of each other... they ended up getting stuck together!

Holly's Homemade Hot Chocolate!

(serves 2)

My pot of hot chocolate!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of cocoa powder (or a serviceable equivalent of unsweetened chocolate)

2 tablespoons of sugar (honey, agave, or maple cream would work well)

pinch of salt

1/2 of a vanilla bean (1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract would work too)

2 1/2 cups of milk

1 cinnamon stick (or 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon)

Directions:

1) Split the vanilla bean in half, scrape the insides and place all, including the insides in a medium pot. Add all of the other ingredients to the pot. Wisk well together and keep wisking over medium-high heat. Heat until hot chocolate darkens and it is brought almost to a simmer.

2) Take off of heat, pluck out cinnamon stick and vanilla bean, pour in two mugs and enjoy! (Topping with homemade whipped cream is optional, but recommended.)

My fiance and I also went on a hike up a nearby hill/small mountain/butte named Sabbatus to get a great view and look at the beautiful autumn colors. We saw a falcon and I climbed a beautiful tree. The view was amazing.

The view from the top of Sabbatus.

The autumn colors there are amazing.

Last but not least I brought some people to a local private-style airport and got to see little planes! I took two pictures while I was there and have shown one below.

Tiny airplane! I want to learn how to fly or at least ride in one and jump out with a parachute! (Or I guess just riding in one would be fun...)

That's it for now! Expect an interesting Squishables post next time!