Adirondack Family Time™

My children are beyond the age of having to be entertained. As a matter of fact, they should be entertaining me. So my family will be flatting the curve by making dinner, cleaning up, and even painting the kitchen. Don't worry. I'm sure they will love it after finishing their online classwork. With all the information being touted far and wide, I wanted to put together a list of online resources to be used while you and your family members are at home practicing social distancing. I will add to the list as things come in. Adirondack Resources:  The Wild Center   - Check out behind the scene footage with animal experts Eagle Island :  Home activities New York State Park Virtual Tours Art Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems Virtual Museum Tours : Check out these 12 tours Smithsonian  Louve : Virtual Tour The MET 360 Project   Virtual Tour Educational Resources Champlain Valley Educational Resources Outschool : $100/family Scholastic Learn at Home : Free online c

REPOST FROM JANUARY 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Living in a climate where it snows around 6 months out of the year, we either need to eat it or shovel it. Eating snow is always the preferred way of using snow. This recipe for homemade soft-serve ice cream is easy and fun. It doesn't store well so plan on making enough to eat immediately. My family doesn't seem to mind that they have to eat any leftovers. Enjoy! One quick and easy dessert that is a fan favorite is making a  soft-serve ice cream  out of snow and simple ingredients found in the fridge and pantry. Recipe:  (These measurements aren't exact because it really depends on the consistency of the snow.) 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup confectionary sugar 1 tsp vanilla 4 cups of fresh clean snow • Gather the fresh snow and store it in a mixing bowl. • In a separate cup mix together the cream sugar and vanilla until smooth. • Pour the cream mixture over the fresh snow and stir together until smooth.

For those of you wondering why Veterans Day is always celebrated on November 11... Oh wait. It wasn't always celebrated on the 11th. Here is why! 1 918: November 11, 11:00 a.m. the armistice ending World War I (truce) goes into effect 1919: President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with these words  "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…" Fact: The original idea for Veterans’ Day was a day observed with parades with a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m. 1938: November 11 is made a legal holiday is signed into Act on May 13 – as a day dedicated to the cause of world peace known a

I’ve always found Mother’s Day to be a wonderful tradition. It doesn’t have to be about celebrating a woman.  The origin of Mother's Day was not intended to be about self, but about service.   We can celebrate Mother Nature or admire a person who has provided support. We can take a moment of silence and honor those no longer here. It is a momentary break from our busy schedules to remember a mentor or a mother figure, whether by birth or by choice. This Mother's Day perhaps we look beyond us, beyond our losses and our gains. Perhaps we look beyond those days turned into commercial holidays and celebrate nature and peace.  Days dedicated to mothers have been traced back to a variety of sources. The ancient Greeks honored Rhea, the mother of the gods. Christians honor Mary, the mother of Christ. Mothering Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent, apparently evolved to be a time when people working away from their homes were expected to return to their “mother” church. Th

My daughter and I read Kevin Kwan's Crazy Rich Asian trilogy, which is essentially a love affair with Singaporean food. Throughout the book, Kwan writes about the pineapple tarts eaten during the Lunar New Year. Three books later, I knew that this year was my year to make pineapple tarts. There are a few complicated recipes out there and I'm all about simplicity. Though fresh pineapple is recommended for the jam filling, I found reducing a can of pineapple tasted the same and was readily available. Yield: 18 small tarts Pineapple filling 1 can of unsweetened pineapple (crushed or rings)  Cinnamon or clove to taste ( I do not add any spices, but my family likes cinnamon.) Tart  ½ cup (1 stick) of butter softened (113 grams) 2 tb (1 oz) of sweetened condensed milk (28 grams)  (substitute: 2 tb milk and 2.5 oz of powdered sugar- add liquid sparingly) 1 egg yolk  ¾ cup (6 oz) all-purpose flour Egg Wash  (using a whole egg for th

Goodnow Mountain Fire Tower (c) AdirondackFamilyTime.com Goodnow Mountain Fire tower Elevation:  2,690 ft Ascent:  1,040 ft Distance:  1.9 miles Fun Facts:  1) Goodnow fire tower is 60' tall and first built in 1922 2) Is part of the 15,000 acre Huntington Wildlife Forest owned by ESF (College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse University)  3) The fire tower was manned until 1970, restored in 1995, and now part of the Adirondack Fire Tower Challenge. What's in a name?   1) Goodnow Mountain and nearby Goodnow River were named after a settler named Sylvester Goodnow. Here is a bit of history about the family's roots.  2) Later the surrounding acreage and mountain were purchased by the Huntington family,  In 1932 Annie and Archer Huntington donated their 15,000 acre property to the State University of New York. In 1972, the  Adirondack Ecological Center has continued to provide valuable scientific research . Here is a view of Goodnow Mou

(Updated) This is a tricky time of year when outdoor ice skating rinks are just starting to form the outside ice rinks. Here are a few inside ice rink alternatives so you can enjoy this amazing winter sport or just root for your favorite team. Albany Academy Field House 135 Academy Rd. Albany, NY 12208-3196 518-465-1461 Capital Arena 16 Clifton Commons Blvd. Clifton Park, NY 12065 518-383-5440 Tim es Union Arena (formerly Pepsi Arena) (Home of the Albany River Rats) 51 S. Pearl St. Albany, NY 12207 518-487-2000 Scott's Memorial Rink (pavilion rink) 52 MacAdam Rd. Chazy, NY 12921 518-846-7825