All Hallows' Eve

It's going to be a nice night for trick-or-treating. I have 4 bags of candy, hopefully that's plenty.  Of course I buy our favorites: Hershey milk chocolate, Reese's peanut butter cups and Mounds bars "just in case" there's any leftovers.

Halloween, the most pagan of holidays, comes from a Celtic festival called Samhain, marking the start of winter and the final harvest. Animals were slaughtered and people started to hunker down in the dark. Eventually, November 1 became known as All Saints' Day or All Hallows' Day, honoring all the Christian saints and martyrs. All Soul's Day (The Day of the Dead) is on November 2.

John Fogerty wrote "Bad Moon Rising," a big hit single for Credence Clearwater Revival. It's classic rockabilly with a inkling of doom. The lyrics were inspired by old black-and-white 1941 film called The Devil And Daniel Webster, shot in that spooky film noir way. We watched it a while back-- a good devil story, if there ever was one. 

Happy Halloween!

Just another diamond day

The weather has been crystal clear and sunny for days now, but down to freezing at night with only16% humidity. We're not used to that, and I woke up with bright red cheeks like Mrs. Santa Claus. Or somebody who drinks too much wine :-) Hopefully, just the dryness. 

Weird, because some areas have facial moisturizing morning fog. The Puget Sound terrain creates dramatically different micro-climates within just a few miles. When arctic air like this pushes into eastern Washington, it creates a dome of high pressure, and that difference between the two sides of the state creates strong winds through the gaps in the Cascade Mountains.

The cities of North Bend and Enumclaw near the foothills had damaging winds over 50 mph yesterday. A few miles away here in Seattle, not so much as a breeze as the leaves flutter gently down.

I work at the Stop n' Shop Wednesday afternoon, so I usually stay home in the morning and do chores. I have Halloween cookies to decorate, and I'm on the fence about cleaning the outside windows one more time this year.  These beautiful, golden sunsets sure light up the grime.  Of course by this time next week it won't matter.  We'll be off daylight savings time and it will be dark by late afternoon.

From this window in a corner of the living room, we once had a sweet view of the Olympic Mountains. It's been 10 years since they torn down an old rambler and built this enormous grey house in its place, but I still feel a pang when I sit in my favorite spot on the sofa.

How true the fundamental Buddhist teaching, that attachment to things that change is the cause of suffering in life. I guess that's the lesson here. As for losing a cherished little view to ugly new construction, we're not alone in West Seattle.

Orange Glazed Chicken

I found this recipe in the "Real Simple" magazine and adapted it slightly, to make it even simpler. It has a nice, spicy, Asian flavor, if you're looking for something interesting to do with chicken. 

1/3 c. orange marmalade
1 tbs. soy sauce
1 tbs. hot chili garlic sauce
1 tbs. rice vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
4 heads baby bok choy, sliced lengthwise
2 tbs. olive oil
6 bone in, skin on chicken pieces (wings, thighs, breasts)
1 orange, washed and thinly sliced

Whisk together all the liquid ingredients.  Salt the chicken pieces. Heat oil in a oven-proof skillet, and brown the chicken skin side down until dark golden, about 10 minutes.

Turn the chicken skin side up. Arrange the bok choy around the chicken and slide the orange slices underneath.  Drizzle the marmalade sauce over everything, then bake at 400 degrees until the chicken is cooked through and the bok choy is tender crisp.

Drizzle the pan sauce over the chicken and serve with plain rice, or better yet, this decadent coconut rice:

1 1/2 cups basmati rice
1 can coconut milk
1 1/4 cup water
pinch salt
1 tsp. sugar

Heat the water and coconut milk with sugar and salt, when just simmering add the rice and cook covered for approximately 20 minutes. 

A milestone

Notice anything new about this beautiful young dreamer? Nova, along with her friend Adelina, had her ears pierced this weekend. She was still glowing with excitement when we face-timed on the phone yesterday.  Maya looked a bit jealous and in awe of her brave big sister.

The moms and daughters, all four best friends, went to a piercing salon (eek, I'm squeamish) in Wenachee for the long anticipated, 10-year-old milestone.  But Amanda said it was a great experience, quick and almost painless, and the staff was great with the kids.

Time just keeps speeding up and these girls are growing up right before our eyes. 

Good fences make good neighbors?

So says Robert Frost. But what's our neighbor doing on "his" side of the laurel hedge? He cut it back a couple of years ago and it finally recovered, but now he's digging out a 3-foot deep trench right along the property line. I assume, to pour a concrete footing for the beautiful Great Wall of Washington.

Laurels can take considerable abuse, but this time he sawed off all the roots near the trunks.  Time will tell. John says if it dies, we can always plant revenge bamboo.  Ha!

As you probably guessed, we're not exactly chatty best friends with these folks next door. But still, a head's up would have been nice.  Anyway, that's life in the Urban Village, where you better stake out every single inch of your property, or someone might build a condo on it.

So the weekend is here, and looks like a nice one. Once we get through a little rain today, nice sunny skies clear through next week, including a rare dry Halloween. Love it or hate it, we get into these persistent weather patterns that stick around for days. 

No concerts, but two football games to watch. I may need to get out of the house during the Buckeyes, as things get a bit intense around here when they play a real team for a change. On Seahawks Sunday, we're having a roast turkey breast dinner for a little holiday warm-up.

See you Monday. 

National Bologna Day

The classic lunch box sandwich: bologna on white bread. Now we eat much more processed "lunch meat" than old-fashioned bologna, and I wonder if it's any healthier. 

Ever had a fried bologna sandwich?

Or fried bologna cups with scrambled eggs? You have, if you're from Pennsylvania.

Speaking of Baloney Day, I just turned off the morning news.

The rain has finally departed, and it's going to be a beautiful fall day up here in the left corner of the country.

The birds are back

After such a quiet birdie summer, it's good to see some avian activity in the yard, other than endless crows. The winter free buffet is open for business.  Suddenly there's finches, sparrows, juncos and chickadees all competing for sunflower seed. I also saw a pretty Varied Thrush yesterday, and Bewick's Wren, right on the deck railing. Wrens are usually secretive birds, so you feel privileged when one looks you right in the eye. 

We're finally drying out after days of rain. I'm going to rake leaves this morning, then walk to the store for my afternoon shift. I'm starting to enjoy this funny little job, so different from anything I've ever done. I especially like chatting with all the "interesting" people who poke around junk stores. Who knew? Guess I've lived a sheltered life. In the mistake department, I haven't made a major cash register goof in a couple weeks. (Oops,  hope I didn't just jinx myself today.)

I do have some serious news this morning. Please hold our sister-in-law Rebecca in your thoughts and prayers. We just saw her and Dan (John's brother) a few weeks ago on a quick trip through Seattle.  Unfortunately, Rebecca suffered a stroke this week. We wish her a speedy recovery.  Hopefully she and Dan will soon get back to their active lifestyle in Mexico for the winter.

The Royal Crown of Fruit

The pomegranate, or "seeded apple," has been a symbol of fruitfulness, abundance, fertility, ambition, prosperity and good luck since ancient times. It's a many-seeded fruit with an upright calyx, or "crown," frequently mentioned in the Bible, the Talmud, and the Koran, as well as in early Hindu and Greek writings.

Some Jewish biblical scholars believe this was the real apple of Adam and Eve lore.  Makes sense, because way back then, apples were still inedible.

My sister sent us a box of pomegranates yesterday from this tree in her Las Vegas yard.  Thanks, Marji! They are delicious and juicy picked fresh, and keep well in the refrigerator. I'll tuck some away for the Christmas fruit salad.

As we know, pomegranates are one of the super-foods, with powerful antioxidants, heart health and anti-cancer benefits. The only thing not to like is the messy process of getting the seeds out. I think the bowl of water method works best.

Speaking of Biblical, the animals are lining up, two by two. A parade of storms brought rain every day for the past week. Enough already. Today it finally dries up, and we're headed into a long spell of sunny weather to lift our soggy spirits.

A new week

Here's a sight to lift your heart on a dark Monday morning.  Our granddaughter Maya, taking her first riding lessons. 

Lights in the dark

We're entering The Big Dark in the Pacific Northwest, that long gloomy period between October and March when it feels like grey clouds are always overhead. In a less dramatic word, Winter.

At our latitude, Seattle has one of darkest winter seasons in the continental U.S. with less than 8 hours of daylight on the shortest days in December. And most of that is cloud covered. December is still over two months away, but the nights are "drawing in," as old folks say in England.  And with the dark and cold, our attention also draws inward to the simple comforts of home.

For most people food shopping is just a chore, but going to the grocery store is one of my sad little hobbies.  I just love looking at food and planning meals in my head.  Now I have even more choices for recreational grocery shopping. This month, two new stores opened in West Seattle, including the splendid but wildly expensive PCC (above) just a few blocks from home.

And finally, after many years of delays, Whole Foods opened near The Junction, across from their original building site, nicknamed "Hole Foods" during the great recession. I first wrote a blog about it 10 years ago! We didn't even have a Trader Joe's back then. My how things have changed.

Anyway, here it is, in all its Whole Foods glory, or I should say Amazon glory. They don't have a free "club card" like Safeway or QFC.  If you don't want to get ripped off, you need to purchase an annual Amazon Prime membership.

Welcome aboard. I get other benefits with my Prime, like video and music streaming and free 2-day shipping. So I guess it's a pretty good deal, if you use it.  I was justifying all this to John, and he said there's a reason why Jeff Bezos is worth 138 billion dollars.

Have a nice weekend, wherever you are.  We have a symphony on Sunday, Mozart's heavy duty Requiem, to set a perfect mood for the season. 

National Pasta Day

No pasta tonight, because we had chicken parmesan with penne two dinners in a row. On Tuesday I made extra so we could have the leftovers when I got off work at the store yesterday. This made John happy, because he could eat pasta with red sauce every day of the week.   I'm trying to watch the white carbs, and I've cooked thousands of gallons of red sauce in my life, ho-hum.

But, I feel like the luckiest person in the world cooking this pasta meal: seared sea scallops with fresh tomatoes and whole wheat spaghetti. 

These giant sea scallops are a treat I buy at Costco occasionally.  They come in a big frozen bag that gets doled out over several meals.  The recipe (or I should say technique, because I just wing it) is easy and fun.  Start with a very hot skillet and brown the scallops quickly in olive oil.

Add a pat of butter and a couple cloves of minced garlic.

Then de-glaze the pan with about a cup of white wine or broth.

After it reduces somewhat, add the fresh chopped tomatoes.

Toss in the scallops and pasta. Season with salt, pepper and dried herbs like oregano.
Yes, another knob of butter to finish the sauce.

God Bless the Child.

Leaf work

I decided to mulch the flower bed again with leaves from the old Silver Maple across the street. The school has a new landscaping service, so I have to get my cart over there before they blow the leaves hither and thither, mostly into the street. What's the point of those obnoxious things?

But yesterday I lucked out, and scored of 3 cartloads of fluffy leaves in quick order.  And good thing, because now it's going to rain for the next 7 days. I've got the bed about 2/3 mulched. Yea.

Last October, I cut everything right to the ground and brought in all that compost. But the Autumn Sedums are still so pretty, and the birds like a bit of mess left in the winter garden. I'm just going to let things be. Maybe compost again next year.

There's always the fall dilemma of what to do with a tropical masterpiece like this.  It takes all summer for a canna to reach this state of magnificence, then our zone 7 becomes death sentence. Well, I know where to buy more next year.  Good old Costco.

I'm listening now to the rain pouring down on my fresh leaf mulch-- worm heaven out there.

Hello, goodbye?

I finally got over Vashon Island yesterday to see Moe. Unfortunately, his owner had the farrier pull his shoes off for the winter. I won't ride him barefoot, both for his well-being and my safety.  She's also considering moving him to another barn. This is bad news for us. 

It was the last beautiful fall day of the year, and Marianne and I felt as depressed as Moe looks, not being able to ride. Who knows what horses really "think" but I know they enjoy getting out on the trail. And they love attention. Moe isn't abused, but he deserves more love than he gets.

I gave him a brushing and an apple then said bye. Hopefully things can still work out. It's almost impossible finding a reliable, gentle horse to ride on just an occasional basis.  I can't get over to Vashon enough to justify a full horse lease, especially in the winter.

Our rainy season is starting with a bang.  The deluge starts tonight and heavy rain continues on and off for the next week. Etc. etc. etc.


Clouds gather, treetops toss and sway;
But pour us wine, an old one!
That we may turn this dreary day
To golden, yes to golden.
Autumn has come, but never fear
Wait but a little while yet,
Spring will be here, the skies will clear,
And fields stand deep in violets...

Theodor Storm
from, "A Song in October"

The Mt. Rainier of Pie

Now that's a first-prize-at-the-county-fair apple pie.  John bought it still warm yesterday at the Lone Pine Store in Orondo, the heart of Washington orchard country.  The Auvil Fruit Company is located there, founded by Grady Auvil, famous for developing quality Fuji apples.

The store is about 70 miles from Twisp, so we usually make a pit stop going and coming. They have a cafe, local produce, and new crop apples for $1 a pound. I was planning to bake a pie this week, but now I'm off the hook. Yea.

This one is a good value, packed with apples, not too sweet, not too sour.  And how do they make that giant, flaky, domed crust?

I'm not into baking, but a bit of leftover pot roast and gravy in the freezer made a pretty good soup base with a can of beef broth, stewed tomatoes and handful of pasta.  So, a nice comforting supper after a long drive. An episode of "Poldark" and we were ready for bed.

The weekend was a lot of fun and we lucked out on the weather.  Saturday turned cloudy and cool, but at least it didn't rain or snow. Today is the last dry day in Seattle for the foreseeable future. 

A few weekend snaps

Fall foliage, morning light, downtown Twisp.

Yup.

But pretty.

Like our girls, at the chilly Saturday market.

The Halloween Sale at the Senior Center Thrift Store scored black fairy costumes.

Yes, a bizarre scene. That's Amanda and John back there, checking out at Hank's Harvest Grocery. I'm lurking behind the stuffed African lion.

Not your ordinary supermarket, but still one of our favorites.  Suffice to say, Hank is an avid hunter, with dozens of exotic trophy heads and horns peering down above the frozen food aisles.  Honestly, been there so often, we hardly even notice those watching eyes anymore.

Later in the day, mountain girls scrambling up the rocks like goats. We took a long afternoon walkabout on their new property outside of town.

The present humble mountaintop accommodations. 

And, possibly, future home-site overlooking the Methow Valley? 

Birthday bash

Fun times last night...out for more family adventure today.  Cold and crisp over here!  No mistake, winter on the way.