Wordless Wednesday

"Autumn Leaves"

John Everett Millais

After apple-picking

 

I felt guilty not doing something with these Sparta apples from our tree. Mom and both my grandmas would have been shocked to the core :-) if I threw them in the compost bin.  Slightly wormy? No excuse for wasting fruit. 

And in the old days, even the bruised windfalls were carefully pared down for pie or went to the "cider apple heap." Remember the poem "After Apple-Picking" by Robert Frost?

"For I have had too much of apple-picking..."

I cooked up a pot of simple applesauce for the freezer. It's really good, compared to canned applesauce, which I almost never buy. We're more into chutney with meat. But when the weather cools down, maybe an old-fashioned pork roast with onion gravy and mashed potatoes?

 

Speaking of weather whiplash, we've gone from record rain to record heat this week. Almost 80 today in Seattle, almost unheard of for late September. 

We've been following the dire fire situation in California wine country. The entire lovely town of Calistoga, where we've had so many enjoyable vacations, has been evacuated. It could go up in flames and be gone forever, just like that. 

It feels like the world we once knew and loved is shifting away, right under our feet. Between the climate, pandemic and politics, a slow-moving earthquake and a feeling that things will never be the same again. Thank goodness for applesauce and pork roast. 

Monday, Monday

 

That's Maya showing off the daddy of all beets!  It's incredible how vegetables grew in their new garden on the hill. All it took was a little water. (OK, lots of water.) 

No wonder the Northwest seemed like the Promised Land to the first settlers. Drop a handful of apple seeds in the ground and in five years you have an orchard.

Another ho-hum weekend. The Seahawks played a good home game-- a nice, normal Sunday afternoon diversion with popcorn in front of the TV. 

After a while, you hardly notice the empty stadium. That droning, canned NFL background cheering helps fool the mind.  As for the masks, everyone wears masks around here, so it's the ones who don't have them on who stick out on the sidelines. And get the big fines.

Speaking of which, aren't these made-in-China William Morris masks pretty?  What a world. Almost too nice to wear, but what on earth would I save them for? I could "dress up" for the grocery store, but it's hard to care much about appearances these days.  Still, whatever cheers us up is good.

Here's the other big highlight of the weekend. My new subscription to the Sunday Times arrived with a mighty thunk on the porch at 6 am. What a treat. So packed with in-depth stories, thoughtful editorials and interesting articles, it would take me all week to read every word.  

But a real paper in the house is more civilized than picking through one online for free. Not to mention, I think it's important to support honest journalism. The truth is hard work, both on the gathering and receiving end.

Homeschooling

 

Hat's off to the parents of young children, especially those with full-time jobs. Nova and Maya can go to school on Monday and Tuesday, which is great, but that still leaves three days trying to find child care and squeeze in lessons. The girls are good students, but like all kids, would much rather be playing at home.  As you can see from the faces.

Yesterday Amanda was trying to supervise their lessons (above) while studying statistics for her graduate program and writing a PowerPoint presentation she has to give on Covid next week to the teachers and staff at Pateros School District. Wow.

Well, John has a new job! He's a Facetime statistics and math tutor.  I think he's OK with 2nd and 6th grade arithmetic, but the statistics sessions with Amanda require quite a bit of advance study and preparation. Being John, of course he has the book and materials and set himself up with a little tutoring station in the downstairs bedroom.  I can hear him right now, patiently explaining something mathematical to someone.  

Enough, already

It rained so hard yesterday the pooled water started to run into the basement stairwell.  Another inch or so, and it would have been under the door. That would have been a real mess.  It happens occasionally when the gutters are clogged, but in this case, it was just too much rain, too fast.  

I did some fast bailing with the dust pan. Five buckets later, fortunately it started to let up. There's an old hole in the concrete down there that looks like a drain but isn't functional.  It's been clogged with dirt for decades. A rich project for a plumber someday.

Despite our reputation that it "always rains" In Seattle, the annual total is not that impressive. NYC, for example, averages 47 inches to our 37. More than an inch in 24 hours is pretty unusual here. It's coming down hard again this morning. These are some real potent atmospheric rivers.

Patina

I've had these pots for almost 30 years, so the patina is real. It's a miracle they survived many winters without cracking. They are a perfect example of Japanese wabi sabi:

Imperfection is the basic principle of Wabi-Sabi, the Japanese philosophy of accepting your imperfections and making the most of life.“Wabi” is said to be defined as “rustic simplicity” or “understated elegance” with a focus on a less-is-more mentality.

I went to the West Seattle Nursery, planning to splurge on a couple of new pots, but why pay over $100 for fake patina? The old look is in. Maybe in the spring I'll be in the mood to buy something new and shiny. 

We hauled them over to the place of honor in front of the house. I dug out the old roots and dirt, then started over with fresh potting soil. A big dirty job.  I also filled the bottoms with bricks, so they would be less likely to tip over and (heaven forbid) and dent the new railings. 

Record rainfall yesterday with much more still coming. One atmospheric river after another, lucky us. It was nice in a way though, because there was nothing to do except make the most of a day spent mostly inside.  I walked around the bock a few times yesterday before it really started. This morning it's pouring rain and windy, with thunderstorms later.

Wingdings and tofu

America's love of chicken wings has grown during the pandemic. At the chain Wingstop, sales went up 60% this year.  No wonder. Wings are great for home delivery, not to mention feeding families sitting around watching television.

I made the classic Frank's Hot Sauce wing recipe last week.  No marinating, no basting, so simple. Just roast the wings naked until crispy and tender, then dip them piping hot into a mixture of Frank's Hot Sauce and melted butter. Serve up the delicious mess.  I think the ratio was one part butter and three parts sauce. The recipe is all over the Internet. 

Honestly, I've tried complicated wing recipes and this one beats all if you're in the mood for some comfort food.  Just don't substitute another hot sauce (like Tabasco) for the distinctive, vinegary, just-spicy-enough Franks.

Upping my game a bit, I found a recipe for "Crispy Tofu with Cashews and Blistered Vegetables" in the New York Times section "What to Cook this Week." Hint: the NYT food editors have a different notion of simple, one pan, weeknight meals.

 

 

The first step involves frying tofu slabs to a nice golden brown. This takes patience and much longer than the 4 minutes stated in the recipe.

Then, sear the fresh vegetables in the same super hot pan, salt and drizzle with rice vinegar, chopped scallions and fresh mint. Set that aside and tackle the reduction sauce. 

Reduction sauce, on a weeknight?

Anyway. Saute finely minced garlic, ginger (thanks, John) then add soy sauce, a touch of molasses (!) and can of coconut milk. You can imagine the richness of a coconut milk reduction. All this extravagance for a slab of humble, healthy tofu!

Finally, when the sauce turns thick and creamy, stir in the tofu and cashews. Serve with the vegetables and some sort of grain, like rice. Oops, that's a second pot to wash.

I had the leftovers for lunch. It was good, although maybe not worth all the trouble.

Oh, I had a nice day yesterday, so busy and enjoyable, just like an ordinary day in the Before Time. A haircut to last another couple months, a walk along the beach with a friend in the waning sunshine, then a new battery installed in my car at Les Schwab in 30 minutes flat. All good.

Today it is raining and I mean raining.  Seattle should get an inch or so from this Pineapple Express.  The first full day of fall, and it sure feels it.  
  

Autumnal Equinox

There are roughly 12 hours of light and 12 hours of darkness everywhere on Earth today, give or take a few minutes. The South Pole, Australia, Equator, Europe, Siberia, China, everywhere.  A cool thought and it only happens twice a year at the Spring and Autumn Equinox. 

Now the North Pole begins to slowly tip away from the sun. Day by day, light dwindles in the Northern hemisphere until we reach the Winter Solstice in December, the shortest, darkest day of the year.

No one is complaining after our smoke nightmare, but the transition to fall seemed more abrupt this year.  The awful week of air pollution ruined the last chance for warm Indian summer weather.  We were all stuck inside.

The rain and wind eventually blew away the smoke, but left behind a chill in the air. A curtain came down. The neighborhood suddenly feels quiet and sad. But I'm just speaking for myself.  For most people, fall is their favorite season. I'm a spring-summer person.

Still, autumn should feel like a fresh start. Vacations (what's that?) are over, school begins (not really) and we start to look forward to the holiday gatherings (probably not.)

Instead this autumn is fraught with uncertainty and worry. Even the most Zen among us must be feeling pandemic weary.  No one old enough to remember it will ever forget 2020.  We can hope and pray to get back to something resembling ordinary life in 2021. 

 

 

 

On to brighter subjects. The crops are in. The cherry tomato was freakishly prolific and we ate as many as humanly possible. And quite a few peppers here from one small potted plant. I picked them all yesterday. Hot pickled sliced jalapenos sound good, if I feel like dragging out the canning paraphernalia again.  

 

Speaking of spicy food, we've been streaming the "Taco Chronicles" on Netflix, a documentary about the complex culture and history of simple tacos in Mexico. Actually, not so simple.  The documentary has subtitles and fast Spanish dialog, so you have to pay attention. The first episodes were filmed in Mexico City.  How rich and exciting street food culture is in other places, compared to the boring sameness of our endless American fast food chains.

Well, I'm doing more today than I typically do in a week!  Pretty exciting.  A rare haircut, then meeting a friend for a little walk on Alki.  This afternoon, we're taking my car in for a new battery before winter knocks at the door.

Sweetest picture in the world

Long ago, simple and sweeter times. That's Mom and Dad on their wedding day. 

Quakertown, Pennsylvania, August 1947. 

Delicious multigrain bread

You can find yeast again at the grocery store, so maybe people are over that home-baking craze.  

(And hopefully, we never see another round of toilet paper hoarding.)

I clipped a bread recipe from a Gold Medal flour bag last spring, and finally got around to trying it.

I've never had luck baking bread with whole wheat flour. The dough is so stiff, it feels like kneading a bowling ball. And I almost destroyed my Kitchen Aid stand mixer with a recipe from Cooks Country magazine, slapping around that brown lump with the dough hook.  

After all that work, the heavy bread reminds me of a medieval trencher.  (Definition: a flat round of usually stale bread used as a plate, upon which the food could be placed to eat.)  In other words, just a vehicle for soaking up soup and juices.

However, this is the best "healthy" bread I've ever tried.  Light and really delicious toasted.

The ingredient list: 

2-1/2 cups water, 1 cup multigrain cereal (I used quick cooking steel cut oats), 1/4 cup honey, 1 package yeast, 3-4 cups all purpose flour, 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 1 tablespoon salt,  4 tablespoons melted butter, 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats.

Boil the water and add the cereal. Take it off the heat then let stand until just warm, stirring occasionally.  In a large bowl, combine the yeast, warm cereal mixture and honey.  (I know, weird!)  Stir in 3 cups of flour, the whole wheat flour, salt and melted butter.  Transfer to lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes, adding just enough remaining flour until the dough is smooth and elastic.  

Let the dough rise in a large bowl until double, about an hour.  Divide and form into two loaves, spray lightly with cooking spray and roll in the old-fashioned oats.  Place in greased loaf pans and let rise another hour or so until almost double.  Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.  (Mine could have used an extra 10 minutes, it depends on your oven.)

Friday

 

Our power went out at 3:30 am when a large tree fell on the lines nearby. About 7,000 households in the area were affected. We might have slept peacefully through the whole thing, but the alarm panel in the hall immediately starts beeping (then moves on to shrieking stage) when the house system switches over to "emergency" battery mode.  

At that hour, brains don't function well, especially without caffeine, but John managed to disable the dang thing, then rounded up our collection of battery lamps. 

He headed back to bed in the dark, but I made a cup of instant coffee and went in the living room to marvel at the utter silence. (You don't realize how noisy it is until everything stops.) Thank goodness for gas stoves and matches. Seattle City Light website gave an estimate of 10 am for restoration, but fortunately we were back in business by 5:30.   

I'm making a hearty egg and potato breakfast. It feels like we've been awake forever.  That should fortify us for an trip to the grocery store this morning.  Nap time later.

Our air quality got slightly better yesterday afternoon-- then turned worse again.  The unhealthy air alert extended now until Saturday morning. The long promised and anticipated rain should finally arrive this afternoon.  We need a good drenching.

Have a nice weekend.

Indoor pollution

 

 

The Methow Valley indoor life looks good, especially for "Millie the Cat." The girls have her bedded down like a queen.

Over here in Seattle, the dogs and owners are all itching for an outside walk. I've never seem our neighborhood so deserted, and people aren't even letting their pets out. This is dangerous for all mammals, not just the humans responsible for the climate calamity. 

We've been cooped up inside for almost a week, a record setting stretch of unhealthy air. Seattle and Portland are cities that love their outdoor exercise, so people are going stir crazy. I know I am. YouTube yoga is a sorry substitute for a walk in the fresh air.

I'm concerned that the indoor air we're breathing is becoming almost as unhealthy, being cooped up so long with the windows and doors closed.  All that cooking, etc. etc. 

It's too warm to run the furnace, which would help circulate and filter the air.  We have a ceiling fan in the bathroom and kitchen, but both are old and noisy. 

Note to self: buy a portable air purifier when this is over. You can't get one for love nor money now.

But the end is finally in sight, with a cleansing weather system coming in tomorrow and over the weekend.  Sweet rain. Another day or so, and we can safely air out the house.

This is beautiful in a rather awful way, captured by photographer Sigma Sreedharan.  It's called "15 Shades of Seattle Smoke."

New railing

The new front step railings were finally installed yesterday. We ordered them in June, but the home contractors are so busy in Seattle this summer. I think they look clean and sleek, and best of all, they won't rot away, like these old wood decorative posts.

I'm going to splurge on two tall ceramic planters for seasonal plants and flowers and put one on each side.  After I touch up the paint, our outdoor home projects pretty much wrap up for the year. Of course the garden clean up phase is just beginning.  

But for now, another day at least stuck inside. The smoke hasn't cleared out as fast as hoped or expected, and may even get worse today. The wind which was westerly is now coming from the south, blowing more smoke up from Oregon and California. 

The pollution layer over our poor heads is thousands of feet thick. The Northwest needs a soaking "atmospheric river" rain event to truly clear it out. Nothing like that is on the horizon, although a weak rain front should arrive by the weekend.  We'll take it.

First day of school

Are those smiles under those masks?

Amanda said that dropping them off yesterday felt more like the first day of kindergarten. They've been home so long, it really was unsettling letting them go again. 

They came home tired but the day went pretty well. Unfortunately, they had to stay inside the building because of the smoke. The teachers hope to spend as much time as possible outside while the weather is still good.

That old song keeps running through my head this morning:

 "Oh, what a --- morning, Oh what a ---day!" Fill in the blanks, and the word is not "beautiful."

I'm looking out the window at a grey, dirty, socked in sky. If you can even call it sky.  It rained a bit in the night, but not enough to even put a dent in the air pollution. In fact, the situation is supposed to get even worse tomorrow before things finally start to clear out this weekend.  All we can do is sit tight and stay inside.

The sun didn't come up

                                            

The weekend felt eerie and unnerving. On Saturday, the sickly yellow light didn't change from morning to night. A dark, thick murk blotted out the sun and kept temperatures cold. My friend Nancy said it looked like nuclear winter.

A free website called Purple Air gives real time data on particulate matter in the air. You can zoom in on locations all over the world. The air pollution scale ranges from 1-500, going from healthy green dots to extremely hazardous purple dots.  In Seattle, we've been stuck with red dots since Friday, but in Oregon and California, many readings are over 500, off the scale. Truly scary levels of pollution. 

It was discombobulating in Seattle because the "fresh" ocean air felt cold AND smoky at the same time.  Is hell hot or cold?  Depends, I guess.  You didn't need a pollution gauge to know it was dangerous outside. The neighborhood was deserted.

Our yard is usually bustling with nature, but the insects, bunnies and birds disappeared. Birds are sensitive to air pollution, and I was afraid they died like canaries in a mine. But on Sunday morning, the birds suddenly appeared again for an hour.  The incoming tide of pollution must have subtly shifted, and the little critters felt it. Then they were gone again.

Everything feels dirty. It is dirty! Stuck and bored inside, I vacuumed up black dust, used wads of Swiffers on the blinds and cleaned the windows.  The sills were covered with a fine layer of grit. 

Air quality will improve first on the coast, with wet weather systems moving in through the week. Unfortunately, as the smoke blows east, that only makes it worse for the other side of the state.  

Amanda was worried the girl's school would be cancelled for a second week in a row.  Since they only go on Monday and Tuesday, that's another long wait for the first day of school. These are such hard times for young families. As retirees, we're bored, but at least we don't have to go anywhere.

Hang in there April, down in Medford, Oregon! We're all thinking of you and the family.

The dawn...

 

Of another horribly polluted day. The Northwest has the rather terrifying distinction of having the worst air quality on the planet right now.  Everyone advised to stay inside this weekend with the windows closed. Fortunately it isn't hot. But our usual friend, the marine breeze, is bringing in tons of pollution along with the cool air.

Thanks, Dave for the cartoon!  This pretty sums it up, as we sat eating our oatmeal looking out at the yellow murk.

The news

A shift in the winds is starting to blow this "super massive" cloud of smoke back inland over the Northwest interior.  The onshore wind is usually our friend, bringing in fresh air and cool temperatures from the Pacific Ocean. But not this time.  Maybe I can still get a walk in this morning, because we'll probably be trapped inside for the rest of the weekend.

It's hard to wrap your mind around the sheer quantity of bad news.  So many people in the West are displaced, or have lost homes and businesses. Our niece and her family live on the outskirts of Medford, Oregon. Because of the wind direction, their immediate neighborhood was spared, but they have friends and coworkers who were not so lucky.

As for indoor weekend activities, we have everything on hand to make some labor-intensive apple walnut chutney with the home grown Spartas.  Each one hosts a private little worm, so the resident knife wizard gets the task of whittling them down into clean, white chunks.

Stay safe and be well, wherever you are.

Try to remember

I walk by this gorgeous sunflower every morning and always wonder why the squirrels haven't ripped it to shreds, like they would in our yard. Are the critters better behaved on the fancy side of the hill?  I still make the same 2-mile loop headed east, although sometimes I vary the blocks a bit.
It's just easier these days, not having to think much. There's nowhere to go anyway, so might as well be a hamster on a wheel. And I actually enjoy observing the same yards, as the seasons have changed from cherry blossom and tulips, through the long progression of pretty summer flowers and now into fall.

Over six months of this same pandemic lifestyle. How is that possible?

A grim sight

It looks like a movie set, but this is a 100-year old railroad trestle going up in flames near Yakima, Washington.  The wildfire situation across the entire Northwest is grim this morning, and we keep hearing that overused and unwelcome word "unprecedented."

The climate in Washington state is dramatically different on the eastern side of the Cascade mountains, and wildfires are typically more of a problem over there.  But this fire event quickly became a statewide crisis, and people have lost their homes in cities and towns all around western Washington, including the suburbs of Seattle. This unprecedented (sigh) drought and unprecedented (sigh) windstorm led to this unprecedented (sigh) fire situation.  

There's a massive fire burning in Okanagan County, but so far at least, not in the Methow Valley.  However, they've been plagued with power and cell phone outages. Amanda said this morning they can make calls and text, but still can't get on the Internet.  Which leaves you somewhat adrift of information these days.

Nova was up at 6 am yesterday morning, so excited about the first day of school.  Cancelled. The girls only go on Monday and Tuesday, and now have to wait another week at least. 

Here in Seattle, our only problem is the smokey, polluted air.  It gets pretty warm by afternoon, but the days are already shorter and the mornings cool and dark. By the weekend, the weather shifts to a more typical pattern, with marine air coming off the Pacific. Still no rain in the forecast, but it will be much cooler with higher humidity.

Wicked east wind

I am but mad north-north-west. 

When the wind is southerly, 

I know a hawk from a handsaw.

Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2

If you've experienced the Santa Ana winds in southern California, it's unforgettable. The mellow coastal humidity suddenly drops, and a hot desert wind whips down through the tinder dry mountain canyons making your nerves jump. People start to go a little crazy. The polluted LA atmosphere becomes strangely pure and clear and everything stands out in sharp relief-- until wildfires fill the air with smoke. 

We just had a rare-for-September "east wind event," more like a winter storm.  Our garage weather vane started pointing in an odd direction yesterday afternoon. Near Puget Sound, the gentle breezes usually come up from the south. And when the vent over our kitchen stove starts banging, we know some big wind is brewing.

Several major highways closed in eastern Washington because of low visibility from blowing dust and smoke. A nightmare for people trying to get home after the holiday weekend.  

There's a strong smell of smoke in the air this morning from wildfires burning all over the state.

The winds have dropped down, but the air quality is so poor they're advising us to stay inside with the windows closed. More record heat ahead, until we finally get back to the pleasant 70's on Friday.  Strange times in the West.

The heat is on

The "Corn Moon" was a sight this week, huge and bright pink from the California wildfire smoke drifting north. Beautiful but eerie.

We've had less than a half inch of rain in Seattle since late June. Our summers here are usually dry, but now the atmosphere is getting into a strange pattern for September, with strong easterly winds and hot temperatures. It's the type of windstorm we typically get during the wet winter months, so fire danger throughout the Northwest is extremely high this week.

We spent the Labor Day weekend at home, of course, as this strange summer quietly draws to a close. There's none of that feeling of fall anticipation-- crisp weather, school starting, new projects, travel, family visits, concerts.

And now we're rounding the corner to the holidays again. How can that be?  No one will be sorry when awful 2020 is finally in the rear-view mirror.

Happy Birthday, dear John

From Maya and Nova

And from me!

Gnocchi (of course) for dinner, and Bourbon Honey Cake.  

You are officially a senior citizen, bring on the discounts.

Fudge!

All the way from Mackinac Island, famous for fudge and smoked whitefish, among other things. Thanks for thinking of us, Dan and Rebecca. Seattle isn't a fudge kind of town, and I forgot about the super highly concentrated taste of quality fudge. We'll put it in the freezer and dole it out.

Mackinac Island on Lake Huron is one of those truly unforgettable places. I was just a small kid when our family took a trip to upper Michigan from Pennsylvania. I think we were visiting friends, but I can't remember any details except for the ferry ride and smoked fish.

Dad bought some whitefish from a vendor in the ferry line and we ate it in the car. It was wrapped in brown paper, and I remember looking over the back seat of the Suburban watching mom dole it out to three drooling kids. It was delicious. Back in the 1950's, a taste of smoked fish seemed incredibly exotic.  Those good (and bad) food memories can be so intense. 

Birthday bash highlights

The pepperoni pizza arrives...

The cream puff and guard...

Surprise balloon delivery from a neighbor... 

A new toy and PJ's.
Thanks, Marji for the great pictures. 

 And last but not least, our long-distance, bad-singing but loving birthday greeting!  That's me and my brother Dave at Flaming Geyser State Park. Filmed yesterday by John.

   John and Dave along the beautiful White River.