Unfamiliar sight

 

Hello to our old friend rain...and the official end of a dry summer.  

We're headed over to Twisp tomorrow for a short visit. And there's some celebrating to do-- Maya turned 14 this week!

 

 

Sticker shock

 

 

Our cherry tomato plant is still producing and I'm picking every one. We once joked about the cost of home-grown tomatoes (the plant starts, potting soil, fertilizer, tons of water) because it was cheaper back then to just buy them. 

Now a tiny plastic container of cherry tomatoes is about $6 in the grocery store. Our one plant could have filled 50 of those this summer. 

Fuel and grocery prices are shocking, aren't they? Maybe even more so to the older generation. I won't bore you with stories of 25 cent gallons of gas and loaves of bread. 

A modest package of sirloin steaks was over $70 at Costco yesterday. I couldn't bring myself to spend that so I bought Aidell's chicken sausage, pork tenderloins and a bag of frozen shrimp for less. I'm our mother's daughter, for sure.  

 

My sou chef sliced some pork for stir fry and it was better than a hunk of charred beef. (Or so we told ourselves.)

 

That's about it in the complaint department. I was walking around the neighborhood thinking there is something magical about fall in Seattle. The days are crisp but can still be beautifully sunny in the afternoon. That's about to change with a wet weather system headed our way tomorrow. Goodbye cherry tomatoes. 

   

Muted colors

 

These last little flowers are the sweetest.  

So far our October weather has been perfect- foggy mornings with the sun breaking out by afternoon. The garden is still dry and that dark rain curtain yet to descend on Seattle. It's coming...

 

The hydranges were the stars of the show this summer and fading now to these beautiful muted colors. I have quite a dead-heading project ahead, but they're still too pretty to cut back. 

We are settled into a fall routine, making soup, watching football, cozy covers back on the bed. Give me the simple life. 

Speaking of simple. This is called an "apple buckle," the recipe from the New York Times. An easy and indulgent little treat, it contains an entire stick of butter and a cup of sugar. Oh yes, and then ice cream.

If that doesn’t say fall?

 

Our fine young horsewoman

 

 Nova and "Izzy"

Nova is doing a special high school project on horse rehabilitation. How cool is that? 

Izzy, an 18-year old Thoroughbred jumper, arrived last week on loan. I don't know her injury, but nice that Nova can gently ride her. 

After years of work with Annie B (the toughest instructor in the Valley) Nova is a confident horsewoman and excellent rider. She's even starting to give lessons to the younger kids. We are proud. 

Looking down the years, maybe this was meant to be? 

 

 

About 18 years ago, my wise horse Sizzle and pregnant Amanda. 

And then a few months later, Baby Nova when she sees a real horse for the first time. Precious memories these. 

Well, it was an uneventful trip home Saturday. Santa Rosa is a laid back and hassle free little airport.

Our flight wasn't until 5, so we stopped in Sonoma on the way to the airport to have lunch on the plaza and visit the old mission. We were able to get a table at The Girl and the Fig, and I had this delicious, souffle like quiche Lorraine. 

It was a nice morning and the Sonoma Mission on the Plaza is always peaceful...

We have multiple pictures of John sitting on this very bench in the courtyard,  going back to the film camera days. It was a nostalgic trip for us, remembering all the good times. 

Now that we found a new place to stay, we'll go back again to "take the waters" in Calistoga. I'm not sure why we stayed away for so long?

 

“The most beautiful things are not associated with money; they are memories and moments.” 

(But money helps in the Napa Valley ha ha.)

 

Full of beans

John, perusing the selection at the Rancho Gordo retail store in downtown Napa yesterday. We’re big fans of these specialty beans and often order online, so this was a pilgrimage right to the source.  

If you spend $50 (not a problem) they ship for free so we piled up a selection to send home. Which beats dragging 20 pounds of beans through the airport.

It’s hard to find alternatives to the Best Western experience for one night stays, but we lucked out. The RiverPointe Napa Valley Resort is truly unique, with rows of tiny houses furnished with complete kitchens and other nice amenities.

This is birding paradise. I counted 11 varieties on Merlin in 5 minutes.

View of the quiet Napa River from our resort. They are in the process of building a flood wall with a walking path that will eventually give easier access to downtown from here. 

The city of Napa, once pretty boring, is quite nice. In the old days, people just blasted through here on their way up to the Valley. There wasn’t much reason to stop. Now there is a river walk and a restored downtown area with good restaurants and shopping. If so inclined, you can even take a gondola ride on the peaceful river. 

Sadly, vacation wraps up today. We plan to stop in Sonoma and visit the mission plaza on our way to the Santa Rosa airport. 

Ciao.

The CIA

 

No, not that CIA. 

This is the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, about 7 miles from Calistoga. The volcanic stone building was constructed in the late 19th century, and was the home of Christian Brothers for many years, famous for sparkling wine and brandy. Brother Timothy’s huge collection of corkscrews is still on display in the lobby.

From a window in the gift shop, you can spy on a group of serious students hard at work. 

Baking something? Unfortunately the cafe was closed so we didn’t get to sample the wares. I thought of Maya here, because she told me her dream life would be “baking all day.” Who knows?

We found an excellent taco truck in Calistoga, then headed to the Old Faithful Geyser tourist attraction on the outskirts of town. 

It is really hard to get bad Mexican food in California.

After a wait of about 30 minutes, the geyser did not disappoint. The weather as you can see is beautiful, although very hot by mid afternoon, in the high 90’s.  

We spent the afternoon lounging in the mineral water at the motel and resting in the air conditioned room, then went out for dinner at the Calistoga Inn. I ordered my first ever smashburger (yes really.) Not the smartest choice for a hot evening, but hey, it’s vacation.

Today we are driving to Napa with some sightseeing along the way. We spend one night there before flying home tomorrow. Short but sweet.