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03/18/10 - Lingering Winter

There was a touch of snow on the Lake Angeles Trail the other day. Apparently winter is not quite over, at least not until the 20th, the first day of spring. On the positive side, someone has removed the Christmas ornaments from the tree not far from the bridge. That's a definite sign that winter is passing.

Lingering winter

Keywords: christmas, lake angeles, spring, winter

03/02/10 - Return to the Lake Angeles Trail

We always like the Lake Angeles Trail. It is only ten minutes from town. It offers a good hard climb. You can keep going all the way up to the lake, or you can turn around at a lower elevation. The lower reaches tend to be clear most of the winter, and when they are not, they make for good snowshoeing.

This January, the road collapsed just before the park entrance, so not only was Hurricane Ridge out of reach, but the Lake Angeles Trail was cut off as well. When it reopened, we made our way up a thousand feet or so.

We found the trail is in great shape. There were a few more logs down, but nothing hard to get over or around. In fact, little had changed. Even the Christmas ornaments that someone had put up were still there. It was like coming home.

The creek

Freshly fallen

At least we took down our tree.

Keywords: christmas, lake angeles, winter

01/07/10 - Christmas on the Lake Angeles Trail

It looks like the park elves were busy this Christmas on the Lake Angeles Trail. They decorated one of the trees - and there are lots of trees on the Lake Angeles Trail - just a bit before the little bridge. We often climb the Lake Angeles Trail this time of year, though not all the way to the lake, so it's nice to have a bit of Christmas spirit to break up the hard climb.
P.S. Some day we have to blog about our book of Christmas illuminations, A High Country Christmas.



Keywords: christmas, lake angeles

01/05/10 - The Empire State Building

The Empire State Building was the last of the great skyscrapers of the Roaring 20s, even though it wasn't finished until 1931. As the tallest building in New York City and having opened at the start of Great Depression, it was often known as the Empty State Building. Now, it is still a building of note, though it has long been in need of a new look.

Recently, Kaleberg Construction was offered the opportunity to rebuild this landmark using more modern materials and advanced construction techniques. In fact, we were presented with a solution to the ailing building's troubles in a simple kit form. Here follow the adventures and triumphs of Kaleberg Construction from unboxing to installation, and marvel in the rebirth of a classic, just in time for our great recession.

If you aren't sure of what a prolegomenon is, see a recent posting on the classic form.

The Erector Set Empire State Building as installed on site

The classic unboxing shot - the prolegomenon.

Top down construction technology is surprisingly effective.

Work in progress

Ready for installation

Keywords: new york city, christmas, art

12/30/09 - Illumination

Just for the record, here are our two trees illuminated. We had to wheel out the better camera, the one with shutter and aperture control, to capture the tree light. There's probably a special mode for this on our little camera, but we can never figure out what all those modes are good for.

The cookie tree.

The big tree.

It's another world.

Keywords: christmas

12/23/09 - Cassoulet for Christmas

This year was a cassoulet year at Casa Kaleberg. (We alternate cassolet and choucroute garnie every other Christmas.) That's a photo of our Christmas cassoulet on the right. Cassoulet, if you've never had it, contains white beans, duck confit, pork loin, ham hocks, pig skin, garlic sausages, andouille and a host of other pork products. It's an amazing dish. Just making the duck confit, that is, duck preserved in its own fat with spices, is a fair production, and it takes several days just to cook and assemble a cassoulet.

We tried to get a shot of the whole cassoulet, but our guests moved in too quickly, so enjoy this action shot.

This year we got our pork from the folks at The Swinery, a butcher shop based in West Seattle. They get their pork from a number of local farmers, and we have to say that the meat is first rate. They didn't blink when we asked for pig's knuckles, and they came through with a first rate piece of pig skin. We tried their Toulouse sausages and were quite impressed. You can see some of them in the photo above. The Swinery is based out in West Seattle, so now we have to explore more of West Seattle, and we have to try out The Swinery's new sandwich shop near Pioneer Square. If you live in Seattle and hear oinking in 2010, that might just be a couple of Kalebergs on the march.

Keywords: christmas, seattle

12/21/09 - Christmas 2009

December has been a busy month with parties, travel to Seattle and lots of excitement. We've also been decorating Chez Kaleberg and our Christmas trees. Here are a few pictures of our two trees. The big tree is a nine-footer and neatly fills a corner in our living room. The little tree is decorated with cookies, our friends' creations, and is lighted with candles. That's our Christmas party spread to the right. We'll post more pictures when things calm down a bit, most likely around Christmas later this week.

Ready for Christmas

Our tree

The cookie tree

Keywords: christmas

12/04/09 - Christmas Trees

We started checking for Christmas trees before Thanksgiving. We have a nine and a half foot high ceiling in our living room, so we need to get a tall one. The local Christmas tree places don't order very many trees that tall, so we have to start early and move quickly. Our big competitor seems to be Wilder Honda, but we are hot on their heels. (That's what we get for living in a converted auto showroom.)

Behold, this year's monster. It has an industrial grade stand, forged in Mordor as part of the post-ring orc industry for peace program. We've decked it out with lights. That took a two stage power distribution system with a sub-terminal located about 2/3 of the way up the tree to power the upper strands of LEDs and conventional lights. We needed that ladder to get the spire and upper ornaments in place.

As noted, our tree is a work in progress. We'll keep you posted on our website.

Work in progress

Keywords: christmas

01/06/09 - Christmas in a Jar

This little lamp doesn't look like much. It fits inside a little jam jar which happens to have two flat faces. The works include a battery, six LEDs and two mercury switches. Upright the lights are off, but as you rotate the jar the red and green LEDs go on and off. Rest it on one face to see red. Rest it on the other to see green. If you turn it just right all of the LEDs glow red and green. What could be more Christmas-y than that?

It doesn't look like much in broad daylight.

One angle turns on the green LEDs.

Another angle turns on the red LEDs.

Keywords: lamps, science, christmas

12/28/08 - Turkey With Three Sauces

Like Ebenezer Scrooge, we had roast turkey for Christmas. Mind you, we've had a bit of a head start on celebrating the holiday, so we know that turkey is a traditional Christmas favorite. This year we made three different Mexican sauces, a red sauce, a green sauce and a brown sauce. That last one was a chocolate sauce. The red sauce was an old favorite, but the green sauce was a Kaleberg Labs project, and the clear winner in an excellent field. For recipes and more, check out Turkey With Three Sauces.

Keywords: food, recipes, christmas

12/26/08 - Our Cookie Tree

Every year we have two Christmas trees. One is a conventional tree, albeit nine feet tall. The other is the cookie tree which is much smaller and decorated mainly with cookies and illuminated with candles. There is nothing quite like a candle lit tree with its soft flickering light and, unfortunately, sense of danger. Unlike Christmas trees with conventional lighting, a candle lit tree requires attention, but that attention is well rewarded.

Move your mouse over our cookie tree to light the candles.

Keywords: christmas


There it is in all its glory.

12/24/08 - Christmas Tree Chez Kaleberg

It's high time we posted a picture of our big Christmas tree. It's a nine foot monster. We had to vultch the local nursery where all the car dealers, real estate agents and other commercial sorts with high ceilings get their trees, and we got a doozy. The stand is actually a slightly reduced version of the stand used by NASA for launching the Space Shuttle. Well, maybe it's not that big, but if everyone had a stand like ours the steel industry would be in better shape.

So, click on the small picture here and get a closer look. Oh yes, and Merry Christmas!

Keywords: christmas

12/10/08 - Christmas Firetruck

Every Christmas in Port Angeles the Christmas firetruck comes around collecting money for charity. It's quite a sight, what with Santa riding on top of the truck and the truck all decorated with lights. The sirens blare while Santa and our intrepid firemen make their way up and down every street in town.

Well, the truck just went by. We made our contribution and got our candy canes. The Christmas season is here.

Keywords: christmas, port angeles

12/26/07 - This Year's Candle Tree

It seems that every year the Christmas trees get bigger. Here is our 2007 candle tree, and this year it is too big to rest on our old television table, and, since it is a bigger tree, it needs more candles. We are now up to 18.

There is nothing like candle light to set off the glory of a Christmas tree. This one is decorated with cookies and Hannukah gelt, but it is the soft glow of firelight that makes it beautiful. Move your mouse over the picture to light the candles and see.

Roll your mouse over the picture to light the tree

Keywords: christmas

12/26/07 - Our Big Tree

This is our main Christmas tree. There isn't much to say. It's nine feet tall and chock full of ornaments. The neatest ones, the sea horse and the Pierrot, are up near the top, but no Christmas tree stands or falls by a single ornament. Only the sheer mass of glitter counts.

Keywords: christmas

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