Skating Party

I love winter. Although we’ve had just a tiny amount of snow on North of North Eff, it’s been super-very cold in the past month. Icy Pond (whose name fits well right now!) is solid, maybe even two feet thick. Which is good news…Since there’s not enough snow for sledding, we were able to have a skating party!

Most of the Fofer’s came. Verness was the most graceful, pirouetting and jumping as she turned and turned and turned! I was very proud of my figure eights that stretched across the pond. Seada spent most of the time skating backwards around the edge. And Aki – wow – she’s super-fast! She’s like lightening and looks like a streak of bright yellow on skates!

When our toes grew numb from the cold, we took off our skates and walked to Ibo’s cottage. She doesn’t like to skate. She’s more of a bookworm during the winter. But she had made us some delicious hot cocoa and hand whipped some creamy whipped cream.

We sat by Ibo’s woodstove and sipped our warm, sweet drinks. Keema showed up with her flute and played a wonderful new song. It was dreamy and hypnotic. I think she nearly put us in a trance with her melodies. I felt so relaxed I maybe even dozed off. She just keep going and going. I have no idea how long I sat there listening, mesmerized, but when she ended her song, I realized my hot cocoa had turned cold. The sun was going down and it started to snow-soft fluffy snow. The type that sticks to the trees. And if it snows all night, tomorrow we can go sledding. Did I mention I love winter?

Here’s Ibo’s recipe for hot cocoa and creamy whipped cream.

Serves 4

Pour a half pint of fresh cream into a medium-sized bowl. Whip until soft peaks form. Add sugar and a little vanilla until it is as sweet as you like it. Set aside.

Melt 6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate in a medium-sized sauce pan over very low heat. Stir constantly until it is smooth. Pour three cups of milk over the chocolate and continue stirring until the mixture is nicely blended. Heat until it is steaming hot, but not boiling. Pour into mugs and top with the freshly whipped cream. For an extra treat sprinkle with cinnamon!