Saturday, December 31 (Chartwell Castle Maze and Raspberry Cheesecake Ice Cream)

     As a Christmas present, Nathan and Adrianne created a puzzle for us, drawing out a rebus (where pictures represent words or part of words) for us to solve.  It read: one trip to Chartwell Castle Maze on us.  Yesterday, we went to Chartwell Castle.  They had managed to get us in on a day when it would normally have been closed, so we had the maze to ourselves.
     Realizing that we love puzzles, and realizing that the maze would be easy because of this, they created another puzzle for us.  The goal: find all five bags of candy, take one piece, find Nathan and show them to him, solve his riddle, and run back and tell Adrianne the answer - whoever does this the fasted wins.
     Mom and Dad actually found them all first, and finished first, but the rest of us kids were running, so Teresa and Ivan finished fastest, Esther and I finished second fastest, and Jonathon and Becca finished third fastest.  It took about two hours, and it was a really fun Christmas present - Christmas presents that you have to work for always are, plus we got candy.
     Yesterday afternoon I made another batch of ice cream.  This time, per Dad's request, I made raspberry cheesecake ice cream, and it turned out really well.  Recipe:

For cheesecake ice cream:

8 oz. cream cheese

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

2 cups half and half

juice of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

For raspberry swirl:

12 oz. fresh or frozen raspberries

1/4 cup sugar

Let cream cheese soften slightly and beat with an electric mixer. Slowly add the sweetened condensed milk, while beating on low speed. Add the half and half, beating on lowest speed. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract. Cover the bowl and chill for about an hour, or until very cold.

In the meantime, place the raspberries in a bowl and sprinkle with sugar. Let sit until the raspberries release some of their juices. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Freeze the ice cream mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer directions. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-proof container. Remove the raspberries from the fridge. Pour the raspberries and any juice over the ice cream. Use the back of a wooden spoon or a blunt knife to swirl the raspberries throughout the ice cream. Cover tightly and freeze for several hours to harden.

Keeps well for about 2 weeks. Yield: 1 1/2 quarts. 
http://www.cafejohnsonia.com/2008/06/raspberry-cheesecake-ice-cream.html
We saw these chicks inside the Chartwell Castle Maze - there were two other broods as well.

This is a sparrow nest (one of the many) that we have hanging in the eaves.  The two chicks are fast asleep, heads propped up on the side of the nest.