Ice and Sky Book Review

 

This is the 2nd book that I've read/listened to this year. (I listened to the audio version of this book.)

Realm of Ice and Sky by Buddy Levy is all about attempts to reach the North Pole by air, both with dirigibles and airplanes. This book covers 4 major air expeditions. Starting with newspaper man, Wellman, in 1907. Wellman had no experience but confidently believed that the most feasible method to reach the North Pole would be by air ship, and he wanted to be on the cutting edge of exploration. Many people at the time (and even today) didn't take him seriously. The "real" explorers saw his efforts as a publicity stunt. Levy on the other hand insists that Wellman's efforts advanced air ship technology and opened the minds of those "real" explorers to the possibilities of the dirigible. Wellman was serious and his name should be remembered among the "real" explorers according to Levy.

  The book starts to get really interesting for me when Roald Amundsen enters the scene. I found Roald Amundsen fascinating! Thankfully, I had had no prior exposure to Amundsen so everything about him read like a fictional tale. It helped that he lived an unbelievably adventurous life with a generous amount of stoicism. He seemed a little extra-human, if you know what I mean. Roald Amundsen made many trips into arctic and antarctic regions. He dreamed of going to the polar regions as a young person after reading grueling accounts from ground breaking explorers that turned out to be his forbearers. Somehow the suffering appealed to him. 

Realm of Ice and Sky covers Roald Amundsen's attempt on the North Pole by plane (1925) and then by a Zeppelin air ship (1926.)

 The last expedition in the book is Umberto Nobile's flight to the pole in a Zeppelin (1928) and (spoiler alert) crash and subsequent rescue. Nobile had been part of Roald Amundsen's expedition when he reached the North Pole by Zeppelin. The two had had a bitter falling out after that trip. Even after all those hard feelings Amundsen set out to rescue Nobile after hearing of the disaster. I was so happy to hear this. But, as the story kept playing and more and more details where related about how things were going for the stranded Nobile and party, and the different rescue envoys, and radio messages between everyone, it became very obvious that updates from Amundsen were not mentioned. I couldn't wait. I opened my Google browser and typed in, "Roald Amundsen."...... (BIG SPOILER) His date of death is listed as June 1928 Bering Sea. No! Right then I wished that Realm of Ice and Sky had been a work of fiction and Roald Amundsen could have stayed alive. But real life doesn't work that way and Levy had to write the facts.

 The conclusion of the book goes over the reemerging use of lighter-than-air crafts. We may see more travel and research done by dirigible in the future.

 Overall, I enjoyed this book even though I am generally not a fan of ice and cold. The story is crafted in a very compelling fashion and kept me interested the whole way through.

Five (Not) In Love Haikus

Number 1.

Floats, folds, tangles up

Clings to itself not to my plate

Convenient? No.

Number 2.

Glad wrap. Saran wrap.

More like sad wrap. Pathetic 

Excuse to ease life.

Number 3.

At my fingertips 

Weather, family, and news

Scrolling, scrolling on

Number 4.

Connected to all

Necessity or demise 

Notifications

Number 5.

Jesus said love them

But she has a wrong yard sign

He mows on my side

Commentary 

Frontier Poetry is hosting a themed Haiku contest. The haiku are supposed to be about something with which you have a love/hate relationship. 

Yesterday I sat down and wrote these haiku,.. haikus,... (I don't know the correct plural form) to go along with Frontier's contest. (Because the contest has a $10 entry fee I am just doing these for fun not for a real entry.)

The first thing that I could think of that I love/hate is cling wrap. That stuff is so annoying! But it can serve a very useful purpose. I wrote two haiku about cling wrap.

The second thing that I could think of that I love/hate is my phone. It's a really useful tool but can also be a huge time suck and productivity drag. Haiku 3+4 are about the smart phone.

The last haiku is the most thoughtful. It is about neighbors. Jesus said to love our neighbors but I don't always want to. I am pointing out a hypocrisy of Christians that we let little things bother us and keep us from treating our neighbors with love.

I wrote 5 haiku(s) because that is how many you can enter in the contest under one entry.

The contest is open through Feb. 15, 2026. You still have time to enter. The cash prizes are pretty good!

Do you love cling wrap or hate it? 

What is the first thing that comes to mind as something you both love and hate?

"Chicken Broth, Stat!"

Here is a quick idea that someone of my readership may also find handy.

I was out of chicken broth and needed some to make tomato soup the other day. I had this idea to use some partially thawed chicken leg quarters to make chicken broth in the soup while I cooked the soup.

I took the skin off a chicken leg quarter and cut it into a few pieces.

After I sweat the onions I added some celery seed to stand in for celery flavor that would have been in chicken broth and a little poultry herb blend.

Then the chicken pieces went in and simmered a couple hours with the soup.

Where the soup called for chicken broth I just added water and it turned into chicken broth while the soup cooked.

The gelatin that comes from the chicken adds a very comforting viscosity and mouth feel that makes for an exceptionally delicious tomato soup.

This turned out to be a great hack and the chicken we removed to eat later had a very good flavor.

The Best Pancakes: My Mom's Recipe!

Forgive me for dismissing all other pancake recipes in favor of my mom's pancake recipe. Trust me, after tasting this recipe you will need no other pancake recipes.

The stacks of pancakes are so tall and fluffy!

One technique that my mom always emphasizes is to hand mix the batter gently. No, beating or whipping. And it's okay if there are flour lumps left. It's better to have mixed the batter too little than too much.

The Best Pancakes 

3 cups Flour

2 TBS. + 1 tsp. Baking Powder 

2 tsp. Salt

2 TBS. Sugar

2 1/2 cups Milk

2 Eggs 

6 TBS. Butter, Melted 

In a large bowl mix together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.

In a large measuring cup mix milk, eggs, and butter together.

Combine the two mix. Stir until just starts to become cohesive. The batter will be thick.

Use a 1/4 cup scoop or ladle to pour onto hot griddle or skillet. 

Turn pancakes once you see a few bubbles have popped. Cook on the second side about a minute.

Makes 10-12 Servings.

Enjoy!

The Song That Has Left Me Obsessed

I discovered the song Northwest Passage by Stan Rogers back in August of 2025. I became totally mesmerized. According to my YouTube end of year statistics I watched 95 minutes of Northwest Passage (as I recall) and it was my most listened to track for the year. 

Since discovering this song and learning the lyrics I have become obsessed with all that I can learn about the explorers and territory of the formidable North. I had to familiarize myself with the landmarks Davis Straight and Beaufort Sea.

 I had to learn about explorers David Thompson, Alexander McKinzie, Henry Kelsey, and Sir John Franklin. The more I dug into this subject the more fascinating history and people came into my realm of knowledge. I still have so much more to delve into and study. 

So far I have learned very much from the podcast The Other States Of America. The Other States of America goes into a lot of detail about how the Native Peoples' ran their societies, as well as the various European enterprises in the New World. The segments about Champlain are a good place to start.

My children and I enjoyed this old educational video made for TV about the French Voyageurs. The singing highlighted in this video is very jolly and the original account that is narrated makes the experience immersive.

I found this documentary style YouTube video made by Geodiode has some really helpful maps.

I have read this small book about Sir Franklin's expedition. (First book that I read in 2026!)

Last week I found this 123 year old book about American explorers at our local thrift store.

You can imagine my excitement when I saw Franklin's name in one of the chapter titles.

I am hoping to read a book about The Hudson Bay Company this year that my librarian said she can get for me through an interlibrary loan. 

And I started this audiobook called Realm of Ice and Sky not because it sounded interesting to me but it kept coming across my screen and I was desperate to find a book to listen to and I wasn't coming up with anything better. To my surprise one of  the first topics this book covered had to do with Roald Amundsen and his successful journey through the Northwest Passage!

All this learning is a testament to the powerful influence of music and poetry and I guess ultimately of beauty. In my wildest dreams I would never have been interested in learning about cold places yet I find the lyrics of the Northwest Passage inspiring and so poignant. The way Rogers conveys the excitement of discovery, the awesomeness of nature, and the spirit of those brave men who went into the unknown and untamed is beautiful to me. He was a real poet. He had a gift for putting emotion into words. Not to mention the tune, which I just love! And should I fawn about the fact that it is sung acapella? Acapella music is my favorite type of music!

Are you the kind of person that once your interest is piqued you just go all out after a subject? About what was the last thing you were really excited to learn?

Onion Galette Recipe!

Here I am again reveling in the qualities of caramelized onions!

Several years ago I was talking to my mom on the phone and she told me about this dish that my sister had made called an Onion Galette. She said it was delicious. Ever since then I have wanted to try making one.

My time has come to try Onion Galette. I followed THIS RECIPE FROM Justine Doiron blog. It was very good. I would definitely like to make this again.

I made some minor changes to the recipe to customize it for myself. Like using a larger portion of pie pastry and using dried herbs.

The pie crust I used was one with less fat than my normal pie crust.

Pie Crust for Galette:

4 cups flour

1 cup butter

1 tsp. salt

2 TBS. vinegar

1 egg 

1 cup water 

In a large bowl mix the flour and salt.

Cut in the butter with a pastry blender.

In a liquid measuring cup blend the vinegar, egg and water.

Quickly stir the liquids into the flour mixture. 

Form 3 discs. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

Onion Galette 

3 large onions thinly sliced (1 1/2 pounds)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 TBS. butter

1 tsp. salt

3 cloves garlic

1 tsp. Dried Thyme or 1 TBS. Fresh Thyme

1 tsp. Dried Rosemary or 1 TBS. Fresh Rosemary 

2/3 cup sour cream

1 egg for egg wash

In a large sauté pan heat oil and butter. 

Once butter has melted add the onions and salt to the pan and toss to coat the onions in oil. 

Cook on low for 45- 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Roll out the pie crust to about 14 inches round. Place the crust on a sheet pan and refrigerate until the onions are ready.

When the onions are almost done cooking add the garlic and herbs and cook a few more minutes just until the garlic is no longer raw.

Start preheating the oven to 375° F.

Remove the onions from heat and stir in the sour cream.

Scrape the onions onto the center of the pastry crust and spread out into a 10-11 inch area.

Fold the edges of the pastry over the border of the onions.

Place back in the refrigerator until the oven is preheated.

Beat the egg and use a basting brush to apply the egg wash to the crust.

Bake 45-50 minutes until the crust is golden.

Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Caramelized Onions

 I learned that caramelized onions are a delicious addition to grilled cheese sandwiches from an Ethan Chlebowski cooking deep dive video on YouTube. I learned a lot of onion information from that video. I will embed it for you here:

Caramelizing onions takes a while. It has to be done low and slow, meaning low heat and slow cooking. I am talking 40 minutes.

They don't look pretty, but Oh! They are so good! Sweet and savory. Warm and nutty.

 If you have never had caramelized onions on your grilled cheese sandwiches, I highly recommend you give it a try. Or, maybe you already have tried this. Did you like it? 

Gingerbread Houses 2026

We held a gingerbread house decorating party on New Year's Eve this year. This is the second year we made gingerbread houses on New Year's Eve.

 This year it was a big party with many cousins. I baked enough gingerbread house pieces for every child and adult to have their own house.

We had so much fun!

I made a short video to show all the houses and creativity displayed this year.

Happy New Year everyone! The grace of God be with you, in you, and around you in 2026!

Link: Blog post with 2024 gingerbread houses.

Link: Blog post with 2025 gingerbread houses and recipe.