A LONG HARD CLIMB

This worn out woman is me. This photo was taken by my husband when I reached the summit of the South Sister mountain in the Cascade range. This peak is just under 11,000 ft. When we got to the top we got cheated. What a bummer, as it was bluebird sky all the way up the mountain throughout the very long day but then as we scrambled up the last twenty minutes to the summit the fog rolled in and all below us was obscured. How disappointing. I think that is what you see on my face in the photo. We stayed on the summit for about an hour and had snacks from our day packs and re-hydrated. Then down we went skating on the scree at the top. I was more than happy to be back at our base camp at Moraine Lake.

We are so much cooler today and it is nice though I do wish the sun was out. It is a gray day. The doors are open to the screen doors as well as our bedroom and bathroom windows are open to the screens. The house is a perfect temperature. 

My husband fertilized the back yard and watered it, worked in the garden to stabilize the tomatoes once again. He spotted our first ripe tomato which we will pick in a couple days when it gives itself up to your hand. Did you know when a tomato is ready to be picked if you put your hand under it and gently move your hand upward if the tomato is perfectly ripe it will drop into your hand? The same with peppers. Once we get a red one the others follow suit quite quickly. Oh, we are excited. Also hubby picked our first nice cucumber this morning. We just planted three bush cucumber plants this year but they all have quite a number of cukes and blossoms. We will have enough for eating fresh.

Our grilled chicken last night did not fare well. I precooked the bone in chicken thighs in the microwave ahead of time for about ten minutes to get them part way cooked. Hubby used the charcoal grill and put them on when the coals were still to hot, then as I looked out the window they were flaring up and he was adding the bbq sauce, what was he thinking? I ran out the back door but they were crisping up too fast and he was scooting them to the edge of the grill they were well on their way to black. We did manage to salvage them by keeping them moving but I will grill the chicken from now on. I told him med heat and turn, turn turn and have patience as it takes a while when they are bone in. He hurried the whole process so thus we paid the price. 
My new style potato salad was good but I decided rather than the herbal olive oil dressing that accompanied it I would prefer my honey mustard salad dressing thinned down a little. The combination of vegetables was good, but I also think that small red potatoes cut in half would be just as tasty as the fingerling potatoes. So on a scale of one to ten our dinner was about a six I suppose......not our best effort.

Tonight I am fixing smoked rope sausage sliced and fried with chopped nappa cabbage and red onion with a side of sour cream mashed potatoes. I like this combination as I will add butter to the cabbage and sausage and I like to mix that in with my mashed potatoes. A lot of freshly ground black pepper tops it all off deliciously. 

My husband went to his sisters yesterday to pick plums. Oh they are so sweet and juicy. So when I finish this post I am going to make a plum galette. I do this every year either with plums or Italian prunes. I really prefer the prunes as they are not as juicy as the plums which can run out of the pie crust if one is not careful. I have photo of this galette on my 9/27/12 post.
I did not realize it almost three pm so I must make that dessert now.
So I will see you all tomorrow.