Betwixt and Between,,,

I just ordered 1/8 of a bison and 1/2 of a pig to put in the freezer. I feel like a homesteader or some such type. Between canning and freezing and the mountain of horse manure that is sitting on the front lawn, I do feel like we live in the country now. Spring is peeking out to see if it's time to burst yet. The daffs are up but not in bloom, and there are buds on the trees and rhodies as well. But we still have winter to go. Next week hints at snow and the temperatures are still in the 40s.

It has been and continues to be a busy month. Today, we will go wine tasting on the Olympic Peninsula - an altogether pleasant way to spend an afternoon. There will be chocolate to accompany that wine as well. Next weekend we will attend an annual fundraiser to benefit a local school. It's what I would call a charter school. The fundraiser is always a good time. It's mystery dinner theater put on by the parents. There will also be silent and live auctions; usually handmade items created by the children or local goodies. It's a favorite evening out for us.The last weekend of the month we will go to Los Angeles to visit daughter Karen. We are looking forward to the sunshine that promises.

John has been battling the respiratory virus that is going around. Fortunately he was able to stay put, rest, and recover this week. I have kept a close eye on him as the flu is also around and is a nasty variety this year.

Come March, we eagerly anticipate a visit the latter half of the month with our friends, M&C. They'll arrive form England, get their bearings over a few days, and then together we are off to spend a week in Maui. Hopefully, we will not arrive too late to see a whale or three. Even so, we enjoy the island effect and the relaxation that infuses one's soul there. In April, I will host a wedding shower for a friend. By that time, Spring will truly be bursting. It's all good...

Living Life and a Few Other Items...

NY Eve Dinner Prep

Well, I have been very lax about writing anything in this blog lately, but the resident photojournalist keeps on taking pictures, so here is an update. As the photos show, we hosted a New Years Eve dinner for friends and had the best time! We created a menu complete with wine pairings and everyone had a fun evening. Loads of good conversation and laughter to bring in the new year. We served antipasto as the appetizer, salad greens with pear, walnuts, and feta cheese in a raspberry vinaigrette, pear and gorgonzola ravioli as the primo piatti, prime rib with baked potatoes, green beans and carrots for the secondi piatti, and an apple cake prepared with Grand Marnier for dessert. And each was paired with a lovely wine course. A tradition? Maybe.

NY Eve Dinner Wine

January has found us busy with work, but we have made time to have some fun as well. Of course, our local football team, the Seattle Seahawks, have provided us with much to enjoy! They will play in the Super Bowl tomorrow! Go Hawks!
 Last weekend, we reconnected with some friends that we haven't seen in over a year. We went to see a local production of a play called Clever Dick at the community theater in Poulsbo. The play was billed as a British farce and they gave it their all. But with England's harshest critic and resident authority on-things-British sitting in the audience, it was a set-up from the start. It's hard to get that British humor right when the actors are American and trying, with varying degrees of success, to imitate a British accent (or one of them at least). Forget the innuendo and inside jokes. The saving grace was the main character played by a true Brit (as far as we could tell). But the theater itself was a delight; seating only 100 people and right up close to the actors. Good fun.


Pileated Woodpecker

So, despite a quiet winter season, there are signs of things to come. The pileated woodpeckers returned as a sure sign of spring. These lovelies are about 12-15 inches in length and the rat-a-tat-tat of their beaks at work can be heard clearly as they search for food in the tree trunks. Other types of woodpeckers have frequented the suet blocks that the resident game warden hung several weeks ago. We opted to restrict the bird food this year to suet blocks and hope they won't be as attractive to the bear population as the seeds they like. Since the friendly bruin who visited our porch earlier, we haven't seen/heard any others. The coyotes are still about as they always are, yipping during the night. Sabrina remains our coyote alert system as she growls when they come around. She and Roosevelt have become fast friends as they romp and play together. They will even sit and groom each other. It's nice for each of them to have a buddy. The light is slowly returning with sunset now clearly past 5pm! And the annual pile of horse manure has arrived right in the front yard! Right in front of the planting box where the tulips will come up. The Head Gardener will be busy. Full stop.

I am trying to incorporate yoga into my daily routine now. Improving my fitness is my resolution for 2014. I have lost 55 pounds this past year (5 more to go), so now my aim is to maintain that and get fit. Yoga is kicking what is left of my butt! Good to have a baseline, right? No where to go but up.

Cat Naps

 

 

 

My other resolution is to create more space for creativity. Whether that is quilting or watercolor or who-knows-what, I intend to allow myself the time needed to engage that side of me. Someone pointed out recently that when she passes on, no one will remember her for all the emails she read/wrote or all the Facebook postings she made. Time to stop wasting time. Life is to be engaged, experienced, and enjoyed. I'm in!