Saturday, September 29, 2012

THE LAST OF THE TOMATOES


Posted by PicasaI picked the last of the tomatoes this morning. Sad but true. We had many more tomatoes in previous seasons. We had a good yield but it started late(as we planted late) and ended early. No bags of green tomatoes this year to slowly ripen. We will miss that. As it would take a month or so for all to ripen in the bag one or two at a time.  It was such a treat to go to the pantry open the bag and take out a red tomato or two.
Next year we are totally reworking our garden soil and adding one bed so the garden will be bigger and more fruitful. 

We spent yesterday again working in the yard before going to lunch. We decided against King Estate and went instead to one of fave places for lunches. Sat in the sidewalk eating area and people watched. What a grand afternoon it was. A perfect fall day. We were very comfortable just in short sleeve shirts. We totally enjoyed lingering we were there almost an hour and a half.

Today is college football day. Every Saturday that hubby does not work he is in front of the telle watching everything to do with football! 
Another late OREGON game ........boo. Makes for a late evening. We are having a light dinner of Caesar salads with a topping of our own smoked salmon. 
I will also make what we call Lisa's bread. We love it. Years ago hubby and I spent a weekend with Lisa and her husband Dave at their family cabin on the Metolious River. While there Lisa made this simple little spread for toasted bread that has become our family favorite. 
So we will have that spread on  crispy chabata bread this evening to go with the salad.
I know I have posted the spread recipe before, but when? So I will post it again now. It is to tasty for you not to try.

Parmesan spread by Lisa.
In a med size bowl mix together.
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 mayo
1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese(no canned stuff please)
1 bunch of scallions thinly sliced. Use the white part with just a little green stem for color.
1/8 teas Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic minced or mashed
salt and pepper
paprika for sprinkling

Spread on just baked artisan loaf slices sprinkle with paprika and place under the broiler on high till bubbly and starting to brown.
Or toast your favorite sourdough bread and then add the spread and put under the broiler. 

I have all of my house chores completed for the day. Also I have taken my walk, cleaned the back yard side walk and wiped down the patio furniture. So the rest of the day is mine to read, or watch a little football with hubby or whatever I may desire to do.
I will not start dinner prep till later. There will not be much to do, the bread spread and the Caesar salad and dressing and that is it.
We are going to have snacks later this afternoon of that wonderful leftover pizza from yesterday. Ambrosia restaurant makes a great authentic pizza in a wood burning oven. So a yummy slice of pizza will hit the spot this afternoon.

I hope you are enjoying this wonderful fall weekend doing whatever it is that makes your heart sing!







Thursday, September 27, 2012

TREE GOING DOWN, DOWN DOWN


Posted by PicasaWhat a mess our back area is. Hubby had to  take our corkscrew willow down. The wind last winter played havoc with it and part of it broke off. So we topped it in the spring but then realized it had grown so tall this year and was spindly at the top. So he took it down yesterday and will leave the stumps. There are two that will not die but produce new leaves and growth that we will keep trimmed down into a round shape. There will be a perfect crevice for a bird or squirrel feeder. So all will be much better.
That hedge that you see in the photo will be trimmed down a couple of feet tomorrow also. It grows so fast that it just overwhelms us. As I have mentioned before this area is a non-stop growing zone!

We are going out to our wine country Friday and will have lunch at King Estate Winery. That will be a treat as the day is to be low seventies and sun. So it will be warm with deep blue skies. I am looking forward to the lunch I checked their lunch menu out and I already know what I am having. However I may change my mind! The food there is incredible. Not to be missed if you are in the area.

I thought I may be headed to WA to see my dear brother for a few days. However he is having a bout of gout at this time(no pun intended). So not good timing. Maybe he will be better in a few days.

This weather is absolutely gorgeous. I cannot say it enough,  it is my favorite time of year. Have I mentioned it is my favorite time of year?
What is not to like. The leaves on the trees at this moment are slowly subtly changing, a few are starting to drop, most are still green. The skies are that deep blue of the Mediterranean and there are no clouds. No breeze, just pure clean air and so fresh with the taste of fall. Lovely!

This is what I made last night with the rest of the prunes. What a lovely desert. A plum or in this case a Italian prune galette. So simple to make and so tasty. We did not even add ice cream or whip cream. I just cut wedges and we ate it by hand.

Recipe. 
Plum or Italian prune galette.
seven italian prunes, pitted and sliced
3 tbsp sugar
1 egg
cinnamon sugar to sprinkle
1 homemade pie crust or 1 Pillsbury pie crust.

If using a ready made crust, roll out just a little more after you unfold it.
Set it on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.
Starting about five inches in lay the sliced prunes in a semi circle slightly overlapping them skin side up. In the center fill in the rest of the prunes.
Now bring the crust up in portions do so all around until it looks like the above photo.
Mix the egg well and using a pasty brush gently spread on lightly the beaten egg. Then lightly sprinkle the entire top with sugar cinnamon.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes until nicely browned and bubbling.
Tasty, fast and easy.


Hubby is still busy doing yard work. Today he is loping off trees and cutting shrubs. Then we will clean all up and we are done! This has went on for days. We have purchased in the past few days a chain saw, hedger and a power drill. Enough already!  Of course the drill was to hang the new wood blinds in the living room and dining room. We are so enchanted with them we have now ordered them for the office as well. So we certainly have been doing some projects. Next week I am painting our master bath. It needs it so I am going to use a color called canyon walls. It should look smashing with our caramel colored tiled counter and floors. 

Well I must get to my walk it is late in the day for me to walk but I was grocery shopping this morning. 
Have a lovely autumn day, have I told you how much I love fall? 




Sunday, September 23, 2012

PLUM CAKE DESERT


Posted by PicasaThis is a very tasty desert. This time of year here in the valley many yards are full of plums or italian prunes. You can use either in this recipe. I used the prunes. 
Where I grew up we had many of these prune trees. Mom could barely keep up with making jam and canning them and whatever else she did with them. We also ate reams of them fresh off the tree or after they fell to the ground. I love them!

Here is the recipe if you care to try it. It looks like it has a lot of cake in comparison to the plums but it is a good ratio. The cake is not sweet and the tart prunes or plums makes for the perfect bite with a dab of sweet whipped cream.

2 cups fresh tart plums or prunes
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 cube of butter softened)
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp sugar mixed with cinnamon

Arrange the halved and pitted fresh plums in the bottom of a greased baking pan (7x11 inches or a 9 inch square) Sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar.
In a bowl, cream together thoroughly the butter, lemon juice and 1 cup sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each is added. Sift flour, measure and sift into bowl with baking powder, salt and a 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Stir until well blended. Spoon batter over plums. Sprinkle the top with sugar and cinnamon mixture.

Bake in a moderately hot 375 degree oven about 45 minutes or until the cake pulls away from sides of pan. Serve warm or cool with sour cream or whipped cream.  All I can say is enjoy this is a good tasty tart/ sweet treat!
A note here, my fave whipped cream to make is heavy whipping cream with a little powered sugar and a teaspoon of pure vanilla added. The powered sugar gives the whipping cream a heartier depth. It looks like piled up snow!

It is a lovely autumn day here today perfect. We have the have the doors open the air is fall fresh but has warmth the sky is a combination of clouds and sun. We had a little rain last night as the streets were wet this morning when when crawled out of our nest.

As we live here in Oregon and the U of O played Arizona last night here in Eugene in pac 12 football, it was a fun filled evening. We spanked Arizona as they say. They had zip at the end of the game and the Ducks had a whopping 49!
I will say the first half of the game we were wondering if our Ducks were waddling in a muddle of muck. But after the first half they gained momentum and their feathers were flying and the game was on!
We really do dislike late evening games however. The game did not start until 7:30. So we had already had our dinner by then and were feeling full and tired and the game had yet to start. So for the rest of the evening for myself and hubby's sis Liz who was watching with us it was an effort to be exuberant fans as we sprawled on the sofas lost in food bliss. But all is good that ends well!

Well I need to accomplish a few things today even though it is Sunday. So far after getting up this morning all I have done is read the paper, drink my coffee and clean up the kitchen after hubby made his own breakfast. I was going to make us a delightful breakfast late morning but my husband could not wait. So the plan was changed. I cannot eat when I first get up. My plan was for buttermilk scratch pancakes with pure maple syrup, thick sliced bacon and a side of my chunky homemade applesauce. But alas not today. My husband made himself a bacon, egg and tomato sandwich on sourdough with jack cheese.
I just had a small piece of the plum cake with a tad of whipping cream. It filled my tummy and was yummy.

So I am out of here now to enjoy my day. I have much planned and I so love Sunday's I do not want to miss more minutes of the day.
Enjoy yours.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

TOSTADAS WITH FRESH TOMATOES

to
Posted by PicasaI made a easy quick dinner last night. I was not in the mood to make a big meal so I just rustled up tostada's.
We loaded crispy corn shells with the refried beans I had made a few days ago, next came mexican blend cheese, ground chuck browned with taco sauce, cumin and peppers. Chopped sweet onions and iceberg lettuce and finally a huge amount of chopped tomatoes right from the garden.
Condiments consisted of sour cream and salsa bravo.
They were fun to eat and tasty. Perfect for a night when we just wanted something easy yet filling. Hubby is always a happy man when I set mexican food in front of him.
As much as I love being in my kitchen and creating a fine meal there are times when I just want to toss something together quickly. You know what I mean? 

Hubby is cooking Saturday as he will be home. The OREGON game is at seven-thirty so we will have dinner before the game. He is making a Hungarian dish we like. He will use fresh tomatoes in it instead of canned this time as they are taking over our counter space at this point.

He are hoping for a amazing game Saturday. We are finally after three games playing a competitive team. We have won the last three games but we were expected to do so. This Saturday we play Arizona. So we will see how our Ducks handle themselves. They have been making some simple mistakes. They had better be on guard.

It is a gray dismal day here in Eugene. I certainly desire more sun at this point. We normally have a nice summer stretching beyond the 21st the first day of autumn. We have a laundry list of things to do outdoors before the rain is upon us. The nice weather had better do us a favor and hang on for a bit.
This weekend hubby will be trimming and thinning trees and hedges. Cleaning the hot tub getting it ready to fill and taking care of the lawns. 
I need to get the outside windows washed and the sidewalks and driveway cleaned. So both of us will be busy little beavers or should I say ducks?

I was out and about early this morning. Thursday is usually my grocery shopping day. I went to two places and then ran a couple of other errands.
Every time I go grocery shopping lately I am aware of the rising prices. I am the type of shopper that is well aware of prices, sizes, comparisons etc. I shop with my eyes wide open! No matter how I try to hold the cost of our groceries down they seem to go up.
My routine is this. I make a weekly menu up usually comprised of certain things that are in the sale ads. Then I make my list accordingly. I rarely stray from my list unless I see something that I need and had forgotten to put on the list.
I keep a magnetic pad on the fridge and note items when they are running low or I run out the them completely. If I waited until I made out my weekly list I would probably forget some of those items if I had not jotted them down. I so dislike returning to the store for something I forgot.
There are certain things I always keep in the pantry and fridge so I can make a variety of things if need be.
I shop at the farms the seven months a year they are open and get all of our fresh produce there that we do not grow ourselves. The farm prices are a little less than the stores but the quality is amazingly better.


I am excited as our new wood blinds for the living room and dining room are being delivered today. Hubby will install them this weekend. It will make the rooms look more modern and allow us a little more versatility than we have now.
Now we have pleated shades. So they are either up or down. With the wood blinds we can have them down and open or entirely up or closed. 
They will look rich and warm with our wood floors of the same color.
I am sure this will propel me onward to make more updates. That is how it goes. After being in the design field for all those years I know once you get started one thing leads to another.

I think perhaps this is to long today....sorry.  I will leave you now and go to my chair and read the morning paper as I did not have the time earlier.



Wednesday, September 19, 2012

SARAH'S ADVENTURE CONTINUES


Posted by PicasaI have not posted any news about Sarah our niece for a while. So here is a collage of recent photo's taken in Colmar, Alsace.
Sarah is happily installed now as an au pair in Switzerland. She has three children in her care and lives in a very nice home and her room has a smashing view! She also has her own patio! She is taking German language classes a couple evenings a week and doing a lot of traveling on her weekends off. She will applying soon for a teaching position abroad.
Yes it is quite a life this young woman is living. Of course we all miss her but know she is traveling her own path and loving every minute of it.

I had promised to share the schnitzel recipe and take a photo of last night's meal. Well I never even thought of taking a photo last night. We were so hungry we dished up asap and then the humming started. It was a very good meal. The pork was tender on the inside with a crunchy crust. The sauce was good. So here is that recipe. I highly recommend it.

Pork schnitzel with dill sauce.
4 boneless loin chops 1/2 thick
(I took two chops and sliced them through the middle to make four cutlets)
1 teaspoon of Ms. Dash, season salt, or kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 egg beaten
2 tbsp. milk
3/4 cup panko crumbs
1 teas paprika
3 tbsp canola or grape oil for frying
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon dried dill or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill.(I used fresh)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sour cream(full fat)

Set out three shallow bowls. Flour and seasoning salt and pepper into one, the beaten egg with the milk in one, and the panko crumbs with paprika into one.
Dredge the cutlets into the flour mixture then dip into the egg mixture and then coat well in the panko.
Heat oil to med high heat. Saute cutlets 3-4 minutes each side. When they are golden brown remove from pan and cover with foil.
Add the chicken broth into the pan to deglaze the pan scrapping the goodies up from the bottom. In a small bowl mix the dill the 1/4 teas salt and sour cream. Stir the sour cream into the chicken broth. Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Do not let it boil or the sauce may break.
Serve the cutlets with the sauce and lemon slices if you like.

I made rough smashed yukon gold potatoes with a little butter. We also drizzled some of the dill sauce over the potatoes.
I had sides of homemade gravenstein applesauce and  corn on the cob.
It was a very enjoyable meal. We had meat left over so hubby took a 1/2 pork sandwich with him today to the job site.

Yesterday my kitchen was busy besides dinner I prepared a quart of the applesauce and roasted a pan of tomatoes and garlic to make another quart of pasta sauce for the freezer.

Today is a day of house chores. I have been neglectful of the house do to my foot with the wasp sting. I did not feel like being on my foot. Today all is much better so on with house cleaning...oh yeah. Well someone has to do it and I would much rather be in my own home than traipsing out to a job each day. I did that for enough years, no more.

I will leave you with a thought today.

It is nice to remember yesterday and plan for tomorrow but be in the moment mentally and physically.Your day will mean so much more to you when you are totally engaged in the now.

Later.





Tuesday, September 18, 2012

WILDFIRE IN THE CASCADES


Posted by PicasaThis is the scene of a bad wildfire in the Sisters wilderness area of Oregon. This fire is five miles from the little tourist town of Sisters. Several area's are on evacuation alert.
This photo was posted by one of my FB friends. It is quite dramatic I feel.
We are experiencing a little smoke here in the valley from this fire. You can see the haze in the distance looking east. But the sky here today is blue and it is a perfect late summer day.
Every year there are fires on the east side of the Cascade mountain rage. There is a lot of trees that are dead or in the process of dying because of beetles. It is natures way to rid the forest of dead and dying trees. But unfortunately there are communities that live near the wilderness area's. So that poses a lot of problems. There are many firefighters fighting this fire.

The yellow jacket stings on my foot are improved today and I am so thankful. It has been five days now. The swelling is down considerably but my toes are still somewhat numb. I am going to be very wary of bee's and wasps in the future. I do not want to go through this again.

Today it will be another day of roasting tomatoes for sauce. I picked another large bowl this morning. It is an easy process so I do not mind in the least. Especially knowing that my freezer holds that yummy sauce to enjoyed later into the winter.

Tonight in our kitchen I am making pork schnitzel. I will serve it with yukon gold potatoes smashed with the peeling on and corn on cob.
The sauce for the schnitzel is tasty and perfect drizzled over the potatoes.
I will take a photo of the dish this evening and share the recipe on the next post.

I was out and about this morning doing a couple of errands. It was good to get out the house. I was so happy my foot fit (though snugly) into my sandal!
I will leave you now and go into my kitchen and start making sauce.
Ciao

Monday, September 17, 2012

FARM STAND CORN......AMAZING


Posted by PicasaLook at the size of this corn! So plump sweet and juicy. It is wonderful to go the farm and see the corn truck coming in from the field and knowing that you are buying the freshest corn available. 

I am still dealing with a puffed up foot from the wasp sting. I got stung on Friday so this is getting tiresome already!
Today though it is not quite as puffed and the itching has subsided somewhat. So that is the good news. The bad news is I still cannot fit into shoes. So no taking my walk for a while yet.
I have been taking benedryl and that makes me so tired. I walk around like a zombie. I took a hour nap yesterday and sleep a lot of hours last night as well. Those pills just zonk me out.

I was going to make more roasted tomato sauce today but I need a few more overly ripe tomatoes. So I will wait a day.  I have a huge bowl for eating sitting on the counter. Hubby takes about three small ones in his lunch each day and we are eating on them constantly.
I have four quarts of sauce now in the freezer. I feel this is the best way for this household to use extra tomatoes. We eat a lot of pasta with tomato based sauces, we also eat a lot of pizza, and I like to use the red sauce with my polenta dishes as well. So the roasted tomato sauce always gets used up.
Today instead of tomato sauce I am making chunky applesauce. I will just make a couple of quarts. I bought some beautiful pork loin chops the other day at the butcher block. So the homemade applesauce will be a nice compliment. I also like it for breakfast/lunch with a piece of cinnamon toast. That is a treat from childhood. Mother would fix that for my brother and I.

Well I am working in the office today a good thing to do when I want to be off my feet or foot I should say. So I best not linger on the computer and get to my secretarial duties.

Oh once again so lovely in the valley today. Warm, warm with a gentle breeze. It is a little hazy but I do not smell smoke that is not the case on the east side of the mountains. The wildfires have been plentiful this summer.

Enjoy this summer day.


Sunday, September 16, 2012

WASP STING LINGERS

The wasp sting effects are still lingering.
My foot is miserable. Totally swollen, red and so itchy I was ready to scream last night. I could not sleep but a few hours. I would go to the kitchen and swab on apple cider vinegar. Seems to work better than the itch creams I have in the medicine cabinet.
I just now took a hardy dose of benedryl once more. I hate to as it makes me so tired. But better tired than the other effects. I cannot do much anyhow limping around on this club foot.

Our dinner last night was amazing. I love a meal with all fresh ingredients from the farms and our own garden. We did have steak too but somehow most of it was left so obviously we both gorged on the veggies. So tonight I am going make a huge salad with more fresh vegetables and our garden tomatoes. I am thinking of making either honey Dijon or Russian dressing. I will slice the leftover steak thin and we can add it to the tops of our salads. So either dressing would be a nice accompaniment to the steak salad. I also have a half loaf of the wheat crusty bread from the other evening which I will toss in the oven to crisp and heat. So I will make some garlic/Parmesan spread for that. So a night of wonderful leftovers. What could be easier than that. Which of course will work out well considering the fat foot.

I heard from my youngest granddaughter Kali and she is wanting to come visit her Grams. Makes so happy she desires to hang out with me. So we will make something work out between her schedule at the hospital and our always changing schedule.

Well OREGON blistered Tennessee Tech but that was to be expected. Now the harder games begin. We are playing Arizona here next Saturday. Hubby is so anxious for that game. We had better handle those turnovers and silly mistakes before the next game. We have a young team so some of that I suppose should be expected.
Who would have thought I could be interested in college football? Well it comes from my husbands enthusiasm for the game and living in this city. When you live here in Eugene you really cannot help become a fan. Our city is crazy for our Ducks.

Well I am feeling tired now so I will go finish the Sunday paper and sit in my chair with an ice bag on my foot. Hopefully that swelling will start to dissipate. I just hate wasting another day but what to do? I am missing my walks.

If your weather is anything like ours get out there and enjoy! It is magnificent. 
Ciao



Saturday, September 15, 2012

WASP STING

What can I say but ouch!
I was picking tomatoes yesterday afternoon and a wasp crawled into the front of my flip flop of course I was unaware of this event. I went to take a step and it felt like I stepped on a sharp needle. I then saw it fly from out from my sandal. It got me twice, double the pleasure I suppose........not!
So yesterday was dealing with the pain and swelling. Last night the itching started. This morning the swelling is horrendous. The skin on my foot is so tight it feels as if it will split if I put weight on it.   The first half of my foot starting at my toes is numb. But not numb enough to not feel the itchiness.
I looked online and it recommend using cider vinegar for the pain and itch. So once again apple cider vinegar has come to my reduce. Seems to be my to go to remedy for many things. Amazing stuff though it is important to buy the kind with what that call the "Mother" in it. That is the sediment at the bottom.
So my day begins slowly. I had much planned I wanted to accomplish today especially since I did not do a thing other than make dinner and an apple pie after my stinging event yesterday. I still need to thoroughly clean the deck and tend to my flowers. Am I afraid of bee's now? Seems maybe I am as I really do not want to go out there today.
I need to try to get a flip flop on that big foot. I must go for propane so we can grill this evening.

Dinner at Zo's tonight is: A grilling steak to share, a foil packet of veggies drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with fresh herbs, grilled corn from the farm with lime honey butter, and thick sliced tomatoes from our garden. 
For desert tonight we will have the gravenstein apple pie I made yesterday afternoon while standing on a ice pack. That was a first.

Have a great Saturday. It is a perfect September day here. Warm, sunny, lovely.
So I will leave you now and drag my large foot along while doing my chores.

Friday, September 14, 2012

TOMATOES READY FOR ROASTING


Posted by PicasaThis is a scant roaster full of heirloom tomatoes. Usually when I make a batch the tomatoes are tightly packed in.  This amount will make one quart.
The tomatoes were over ripe so I had to do something with them quickly. Hubby said, what about pasta sauce.......hello! So tonight we will dine on spaghetti and roasted tomato sauce with garlic and peppers. It will make for a tasty meal.
I have a crusty artisan bread that will be divine for dipping into that rich red sauce. Hubby stated this morning he also wants a mixed green salad with Parmesan and garlic Italian dressing. So tonight it is Italiano night. Perhaps I will pull out the red and white check table cloth and open a nice bottle of wine.

It is a stellar day here in the Willamette Valley. No smokey skies today that makes me happy. Yesterday the skies were a bit hazy and you could smell the smoke even indoors. The fire is burning in the Three Sisters Wilderness area and smoke was drifting west across the mountains yesterday. 
So today I will do what I was intending to do yesterday, work outdoors. The deck is a mess. Time to scrub everything out there. Table, chairs, spa, umbrella and the rusty red decking itself.
All of the flowers and herbs are now acquiring that leggy and faded look they get at summers end. So they also need my attention. 
Today also will bring a hot apple pie out of the oven. The apples are in abundance now at the farms. I picked up some gravenstein apples. Enough for a generous deep dish pie and also a couple quarts of applesauce. These apples make the best pies and sauce.
We had one of these apple trees where I grew up. My Mother made quarts upon quarts of applesauce from those apples. At the end of season when the very highest apples in the tree dropped to the ground it made the cows very happy indeed.
They would cluster around the tree, chomping away as apple juice poured from their mouths.

Well seems the morning is slipping away as it sometimes does when I am on the computer.
I had better get on with my daily to-do's and then onto the extra things I have planned for the day.
My husband was laughing at me this morning. I read him my list of things to accomplish today. Yes I do a make a list each day. Not because I will not remember that is not the point. The point is I like to cross off each chore that I have accomplished. I am very happy with myself when all is checked off. Then it has been a productive day!

Later.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

CRESCENT LAKE OREGON


Posted by PicasaHere we were on a little getaway for a few days to our old time fave lake. This time we were joined by my daughter Gina and her fiancee Douglas.
We rented a wonderful cabin there was more than enough room for the four of us.
Some of the food we served up was grilled chicken with potato salad and grilling beans. We also enjoyed huge lobsters with lemon garlic butter compliments of Doug. Melt in your mouth grilled rib steaks provided by us and mixed green salad with the La Pine Inn (my Mom's) blue cheese dressing. For an appetizer Douglas brought lobster claws. Hubby made salsa fresca with chips.  What a feast!
Days spent at the beach and evenings in the cabin provided a very fun trip indeed.

I have been home two days and am still catching up to my home life. The washing machine is whirling as I type I still have a load or two to go.
I cleaned the car yesterday and packed all the beach gear away.
Tomorrow will be my weekly grocery shopping and errand day.

It is windy here today but tomorrow we are back in summer mode it is to be into the nineties on Thursday. That is great as the heat will ripen the not yet red tomatoes.  
We came home to lots of juicy red tomatoes. This afternoon I will pick many. The tomatoes this year have great flavor and they are abundant but they are much smaller than most years. The slowest to ripen are the Heirloom variety.  I bought purple heirlooms this year. They are looking good but not ready yet.

I am pressed for time today so I will leave you now. Enjoy your day whatever your pleasure.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

AMBROSIA RESTAURANT REVIEW EUGENE OR.

I have been meaning to write this review for sometime now.
Ambrosia is one of our favorites places in the city of Eugene.
We so enjoy sitting at the little metal tables and watching the sidewalk scene in summer. Though we are looking forward to the cozy intimate indoor dining this fall and winter.

Our mouth waters just thinking of the pizza and calzone.  The pizza is my choice, calzone is hubby's. 
I like a simple pizza so I always order the Margherita.  Crispy crust but yet tender in your mouth, gooey tasty cheese, roasted garlic, tomatoes bursting with flavor and a scattering of basil to brighten those taste buds.  Who would ever want for more?

If you go at happy hour you get a great deal on your food items.
The wine and beer selections are numerous which pleases both my husband and I. He is a beer man and  I am a wine gal.
There again a really good deal at 4.00 pm when happy hour begins.

So give your taste buds a treat and head for the Ambrosia restaurant. Indoors or out it is bound to make your heart sing!


Tuesday, September 4, 2012

HOLLAND'S WEDDING


Posted by PicasaThese photo's are of our niece Holland's wedding in Bend this past Saturday. Holland and her fiancee Kesaria(his name is of Russian decent) were married at Holland's parents ranch in Bend. Kesaria actually is from La Pine where my children lived their young lives.

The day was beautifully clear with that deep central Oregon sky, mountain vistas and bright sun.
The grounds were exquisite. I never spied a weed in all those flower beds or the yards for that fact. You talk about manicured! 
Everything was perfect. The colors for the wedding were black and white. That was perfect with the bright colored flowers that edges all the yards and walkways. When evening came on the long dining tent glowed with hundreds of tiny twinkling lights as did the solar lights in tree's and the patio area. 
We so enjoyed ourselves. It was extra nice for hubby as his entire family was there.
There was a abundance of good food and the cake was the best wedding cake this gal ever took a bite of. Well bite of is misleading as I had a very large slice of cake. Yellow cake with lemon curd and a layer of strawberries embedded in the bottom layer which was lemon....heaven.

Now to get ready for our trip to the cabin with my daughter and her fiancee. The weather will be beautiful and warm. Such a pleasure this time of year. I for one cannot wait to tip my toes in the cold water of Crescent Lake and sit on that white beach gazing about at that pristine area.

I am rather annoyed today.  I was ready to go grocery shopping and banking etc today. I loaded my reusable grocery bags in the car and turned over the ignition and nothing..........deader than a door nail as they say. What???? We have not drove it since returning home on Sunday. There was no radio left on, our GPS was not on. I called hubby at the job site to complain so when he gets home this evening we will have to push the car out of the garage and jump it with the work van. Let us hope it will start. If not then what? Seems it is always something doesn't it?

So now I have a day I did not plan but I am sure it will be filled there is much to do as always.
I will leave you now and configure another day for myself.

Enjoy these last few days of summer. I always so miss it when it is gone for another year. I plan on taking a long walk I was going to skip that this morning as I was anxious to get my running done. So see something positive happened regardless.
Ciao.