Bah Humbug!

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Xmas is here!

Happy Xmas everyone!

Daniel brought home an excellent tree this year. We alternate each year between a live tree and our vintage 60's silver aluminum tree (and yes, we have the revolving color wheel too). This year as we are Poor (yes, poor dahlinks!) so we went the free route and took advantage of the natural bounty of the PNW. I don't know enough about camera settings to know how to time the photo for best results so here's shots with the flash and without.




Isn't is fabulous? It looks so much better in real life. More xmas pics to come...

(Hi Joey and Wes!)

Rainy November

We've nothing but rain for two weeks. It's getting old, but that's the PNW for ya. Beats snow. Here's a shot of that bed I've been working on in the back yard. Both side beds are now complete and planted (mostly). Still need to dig the center circle bed and get it ready to plant. We'll get an apple tree in spring to be the centerpiece. I wanted something we could prune to fill the space we wanted and that gives us the bonus of fruit and multi-season interest.


Speaking of apples, here's a crisp I made last weekend. Granny smiths and no sweetening but the topping. Delish!

Happy Halloween!

Huzzah! Another Halloween has come and gone without a spook to be seen. We had a great night of food, friends and fire. Spent the afternoon gathering wood for a bonfire and Joey & Wes, Terry, Julie and Jonathan joined us just around dark and we got it blazing away. A delicious feast of roasted sausages, baked beans, and various snackages followed, all washed down with wine or whiskey. Merriment ensued. And I made pie!




Had not done small hand pies before and learned a few things (like don't forget the steam vents). But they were delicious!

I caught Peter creeping along the tightrope that is the window edge of the car.


Chewie, of course, is her same silly self.


Hope your All Hallow's Eve was just as fun as ours.

Trip to Ill.

Daniel and I went to Illinois for a long weekend to attend my grandmother's 90th birthday celebration. We had a good time, but are so glad to be back. Here's the view across the fields at my sister's house. This is what I think of when I picture Illinois.


Speaking of Beth and Rae's place, here's a shot of it. It was built in 1905 and has all the original woodwork intact, 12 foot ceilings, and is just a fantastic place. I always enjoy being there.


Here's two of their four pets, Hank (a giant schnauzer) and Chloe, who was very sweet.




The house used to have several beautiful old barns, built int he early part of the century and painted that classic red, but they were all in bad repair and the main barn had been damaged in a tornado so was removed. A shame, as they had so much character. The foundation stones from the main barn remain and would be an excellent backbone for a flower garden if arranged properly. Wish I had them here!


A rose and iris garden behind the sumemr kittchen perhaps? Yes, there really is an old summer kitchen! I think it would make a great winery for the grapes that should be arbored along the south side of the property. (Isn't imagineering fun?)


While there we visited a winery in Grafton along the Mississippi river. Got to spend the day with so many family and friends that I rarely see. It was one of the highlights of the trip. here's the sun going down over the mighty river.


The fall foliage was just spectacular everywhere we went. An exceptional show this year. Unfortunately I did not get an pics when we visited Washington Park in Spfringfield. Check Daniel's blog for more of all these places.
http://skookum-ouzel.blogspot.com/




It was really great to see the extended family. I don't get back often and when I do it is rarely with so many others there. We're a pretty widespread group. Especially good to see Grandma and my niece and nephew (Hi Emily! Be sure and write me!). A fun trip al around, but so glad to be home.

Autumnal rainbow

Color in the garden today...

On the edge of autumn

I love autumn in the northwest. It wasn't a particularly welcome season in other parts of the US I have lived in, but here it is. The long , dry summer is ending and the rains come back. Everything is so fresh and green again for a burst before winter's dark chill sets in. Fall is the season for planting irises and refreshing flowerbeds. And cooking. Fall is for cooking.

Here's a pizza I started making after reading a recipe
Cuisine at Home had in a recent issue. Store bought pizza dough (so much easier and more reliable than home made, tho you know I love scratch), topped with leftover roasted chicken chunks, sauteed mushrooms, onions, and garlic, artichoke hearts, a sprinkle of pine nuts, with grated mozzarella, a light sprinkle of feta and some fresh grated parm to finish it off. Perfection.


With my neck healed up I am finally able to get some projects seen to. First on the list was one I showed a few posts ago - the flowerbeds to the right of the front entrance. This area has been waiting for a long time, and for good reason. It is so difficult to dig in! The construction compaction still makes it a miserable, slow, back-breaking job. But at last - it's done. In a few years the lilacs and hibiscus will fill in and break up that long blank wall. Irises at the edge of the long bed will highlight my collection of Gibson plicatas, while the triangle has a color coordinated set of historics in browns, golds, reds and dark purples. You saw before, here's during and after.




And finally, last night's sunset. Embiggen it - its worth it.

*~sunflowers~*

Surprise!

I am so happy to see the surprise lilies blooming. They always remind me of my grandma. I had thought the two survivors of the move were wasting away but they put up good strong stems this fall.


Th deer have left gaura alone... it's looking fantastic!

Here's something you won't see often - an unattractive picture of the place. But it shows what changes I am working on to fill in, break up and cover unsightly necessities across the front of the house. Consider this a before picture.

Of course Chewie is rolling in the dirt.

Some of the semps are really looking good right now. (enlarge this one - the details are great)

Summer's back

After a really nice break for some rain and temps in the 60's for a week we are back to sunny days and temps in the 70's. very pleasant, and good timing too as I am finally able to get back to digging new flowerbeds! Huzzah! This weekend I'm working on this triangle shaped bed below. Have been trying to get to it since spring, but only now am able. Next I'll expand the bed behind it (to the left in the pic) to put some shrubs up against the house and break up the expanse.


I've really been enjoying this lovely Gaura 'Whirling Butterflies'. It is just a mass of little white flowers touched pale pink. Lives up to its name very well. It seems to like the poor soil and dry conditions so I plan to get plenty more of it. The deer love it, but if there's enough around they can't get it all.


I got some fresh peaches from the Fruit Truck and made a couple of pies for a potluck at work tomorrow. We already ate the peach crisp I made for Daniel and I last night. Dee-lish!


And last is a sunset from the other night. We've had some good ones lately.

Brunch is served

Liz and Ethan joined us for brunch yesterday. On the menu: Golden onion and prosciutto strata, caramelized green beans and mimosas.

Tuck: 2001-2009

In spring of 2001 we were living in the Garrison St. house but looking for a place to buy. I was also looking for a tuxedo kitten, as it had been years since I'd had a cat and I am fond of that color pattern. We had Chewie but wanted another. Around then our friend Wes met a neighbor who was taking a momma cat and her three kittens to the pound - he intercepted. One of those kitten eventually came to us and was named Tuck.

He was barely 7 weeks old when he came to live with us. Such a tiny little ball of fluff. he immediately fixated on Chewie and followed her everywhere - much to her annoyance. Over the years she got over it and they could often be found curling up together napping. Tuck loved to be in the garden following me around, and he loved to find a box to stuff himself into. He eventually grew into a very large tomcat, topping out at 17 pounds, with the most beautiful long coat, golden eyes and he had amazing whiskers. Everyone commented on them.








On Tuesday July 28th we had a major heatwave moving thru and the temps hit 102 degrees that day, and 90 inside the house. The cats were just melted puddles of fur splashed about the floor. Finally the sun started to set and the temp started to drop. We let the cats out to cool off and get some relief. I tried calling them back in before bedtime but only Chewie answered. Not unusual considering how late they had gotten out. One or another had spent the night out before so I didn't think anything of it.

The next morning only Peter was waiting at the door to get on. I called and called for Tuck and Gracie but they did not answer. I was a bit worried as Booboo (Tuck's main nickname) was always ready for his food bowl after a night out. I had to get to work so I couldn't spend much time looking. Gracie showed up around noon that day but still no Boo. The heat was stifling again and it wasn't until late that evening that I could make the rounds to see if he was stuck in a tree somewhere - it had happened before, but no luck.

We did all the usual things in putting up fliers, letting the neighbors know to keep an eye out and checking with all the local rescue societies and vet offices. Thru this we learned several local pets had gone missing, the deer herds were thinned out, and the coyotes had not been seen in the area so we suspect a cougar is around. There's been no sign of Tuck since.

I'm just heartbroken over the loss of my baby. He usually curled up next to me at night and always woke me up in the morning.


Tuck, you were the best kitty I ever had. I'll always miss you.

Barooooo!

My Booboo is missing. :cry:

Last night's sunset...

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And today's peach pie.


So I got some gorgeous peaches from the Fruit Truck that sells at Steamboat Island road, across from the school. They go to the east side of the mountains, load up and come back and sell the produce. Great stuff. Tried the trick of dropping the peaches into boiling water for one minute and then wiping off the peels. A bit messy but very effective. Not sure if it is an improvement on peeling by hand or not. Also used Martha's suggestion of freezing your lattice work crust before setting it in place. Makes it much easier to handle and it thaws quickly for sealing into the edge. I put it together on a piece of waxed paper then slide it onto a cookie sheet to go in the freezer. 20 minutes and it's ready to go on the pie. So much easier than trying to pick it up loose.