National Corn Chip Day

 

And a fine junk food it is. These are very good from Trader Joe's. When I have everything on hand, we make a fresh salsa with finely chopped cabbage, jalapenos, tomatoes, onion and cilantro. Squeeze of lime juice, salt and pepper. Technically, I guess that's a pico de gallo.

It's really good on tacos and of course, chips. Hard to imagine a world without them, but Frito Corn Chips were first marketed in 1960. 

 Now packaged tortilla chips are ubiquitous, in all sorts of gross flavors, but they were invented in Los Angeles in the 1950's at a tortilla factory, as a way to use up the misshapen tortillas. 

I never ate a tortilla until one of the first Taco Bells opened on Hermosa Beach in the late 1960's. The six items on the menu each cost a quarter. To hungry and poor teenagers, everything tasted delicious, including the now infamous Bell Burger.  Once again I date myself.

So here it is Friday.  The winter days drag but the weeks pass by like flip-books. We're stuck in a grey and wet weather pattern, and it's getting pretty monotonous. Never mind, next week is February.  The month we turn our faces toward spring here in the banana belt.

To put that in perspective, this is the view from Amanda's back deck in Twisp.  Where the snow keeps coming. And coming. 

Carry on, nurse

 

 

A Methow Valley winter scene

Do you remember those awful but wildly popular "Carry On" movies from the 60's and 70's? British humor at its best and worst.

Amanda is giving the vaccine shots it at their family clinic now. She says it makes for some real satisfying nursing.  Normal life, or what will be the new normal, is still far down the road, but with each passing day there's more hope. Not to mention, something to plan and look forward to, no matter how distant. Humans need this. We have friends who just booked a 1-month cruise in early 2022. Why not?

I'd be happy just to take one of those California trips that got cancelled. We still have a Palm Springs reservation for mid-March at our favorite place. I made it 9 months ago, after the first one was cancelled. It didn't seem possible back then the pandemic would still be an issue that far in the future. 

There's still a bunch of big ifs, but I'm cautiously optimistic we'll get to go. And even if it is cancelled, there will be something else not long after once we're all fully vaccinated. See my sister and dad again this spring. And the kids can visit. Now that's something to look forward to.

Speaking of spring. The first of February marks the return of noticeably more daylight. The sun (when it comes out) is at blinding eye level on my walks. Some people were hoping for lowland snow this week to break up the monotony, but the typical Seattle pattern goes on-- temperatures in the 40's with on and off rain.

Wednesday snapshots

A happy day. My sister Marji and Dad had their first Covid shots at a Las Vegas high school.

Hooray!  Way to go Dad.

 And later that evening, a big smile and small celebratory Scotch.

Here at home, I grilled eggplant on a frigid January afternoon. Why not?

 With Mr. and Mrs. Cornish Hen for dinner.

In other news, Amanda shows off a beautiful first egg laid by "Hey Hey." 

 

 

 

And our pretty grown-up Nova with a new haircut.

 Last but not least, Maya and Nica listening to Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon." We've got this.

Quiet

 

The house is so quiet with just the two of us. Also orderly, clean and all that pleasant stuff. But after months of home routine I'm afraid we're becoming set in our ways, just a couple of fussy old people. 

Hard to believe, but it's been over a year since we've had a single visitor inside. Sometimes when I sit in the living room with my wine before dinner, I think back on all the raucous, laughing fun. If these walls could talk. Kid parties, costume parties, holiday celebrations, countless dinners, barbecues, garden parties. Friends! Family! Dogs! The work! The mess! I was only 30 when we moved here, which seems incredible. How fast the times goes.

Well, thank goodness for thousands of photos on my laptop, all obsessively organized librarian-style. How fun and poignant it is, scrolling through the years and watching the girls grow up right before my eyes. 

Dr Fauci says two masks are better than one and that's good enough for me. Our infection numbers in Washington state are still too high, but have stayed relatively low compared to other parts of the country. This is not an accident.  Restaurants are closed for indoor dining, everyone wears masks everywhere and so on. All the things people are sick to death of doing. 

Still, life goes on, even here. I'm longing for a rare haircut and this morning think I'll double-mask up for a quick one. My stylist only has one chair, and I'm always his first customer of the day. Maybe I'm fooling myself, but that doesn't seem too outrageous on the risk meter.

The Stone Cottage

Our charming, eclectic Seattle is disappearing. This is happening citywide, but more quickly in areas like West Seattle and Ballard. Zoned for high-density construction, the development continues at a relentless pace even during the pandemic.

In the last 10 years, Alki Beach has changed drastically. If you haven't been to visit us for a while, you wouldn't know it. Once a jumble of little vacation houses and bungalows, Harbor Avenue is lined with multi-story, luxury condominiums with units selling for over a million dollars. It looks like a (cold) mini Miami.

On the narrow side streets, modest family homes are demolished to build tall houses covering the entire lot. Most look the same--like big boxes.

The Stone Cottage on Harbor Avenue, known as "Eva's Stone Cottage," has been a landmark since the 1930's. It was built by Eva Falk and her family during the Great Depression. 

Eva and her kids came up with the idea of decorating the facade with beach stones. They collected stones near the Alki Lighthouse, over a mile away, and hauled them back to the house in wagons. Each one was thoughtfully placed by hand on the exterior.

 

Now the Stone Cottage is crammed between condos and townhouses. It's been unoccupied for years and really didn't stand a chance, considering the value of the land. 

A few years ago, a developer bought the property to build this15-unit condo on the cottage lot. Perhaps 50 people living in the old footprint of the cottage? Like it or not, that's what passes for progress in Seattle.

 

 

Everyone thought that was pretty much it, until neighborhood volunteers started a movement to save the cottage.

I didn't hear anything for quite a while, and seemed like another lost cause. However, just recently, the campaign was revitalized and the community finally raised $110,000 through GoFundMe. Enough money move the cottage and restore it. 

I drove by a few days ago, and this was in progress.  Quite a project.

And here's an artist rendering of the cottage in its new location, still in the heart of Alki near Statue of Liberty Plaza. A story with a happy ending!

Too many lilies?

No such thing, that is, unless you can't find a place to plant them. That's the problem with getting these catalogs in the mail on a grey, dull January day. It leads to some serious impulse shopping. 

These lily bulbs are for spring planting, although I prefer getting them in the ground in the fall. The roots get a head start during our mild winter. And before I cut back the garden, it's a easier to shoe-horn them in without slicing through the current lily inhabitants. 

Well, of course that didn't deter me. I ordered nine new lily bulbs, plus a bag of Dutch iris. John had his heart set on "Miss Peculiar" a lily tree that grows to 8 feet, or some ridiculous height. He likes tall girls. The lily breeders went nuts in the past 20 years.  What a catalog. Not long ago, it was just a few varieties of Orientals, Trumpets and Tigers to choose from. 

We keep waiting for a true cold spell and hard freeze, but it just doesn't materialize. There was some talk of slushy snow in the lowlands next week, but with daytime temperatures in the 40's it won't amount to much.  Tonight will be the coldest in quite in a while though, down to about 30 in Seattle.

Up in the mountains and on the other side of the state, they've had a bonanza of snow.  That's a good thing, because mountain snow provides our summer city water supply.

 

This looks like the Arctic Circle, but it's an igloo built by friends of Amanda and Tom in their Methow Valley yard. The families gathered this week for a birthday party outdoors. A frozen world away from our emerald city, where everything is already starting to bud and grow. 

Another weekend without any plans, but that's just fine. The whole country feels exhausted.

Did that really just happen?

 

What a beautiful day. A fresh start for America. 

And yesterday I got the first dose of the Pfizer Corona vaccine at Chi Franciscan, the hospital in Burien where I'm training as a hospice volunteer. Truly, a hopeful time.

Peace and quiet

 

 

A beautiful view of Deep Lake at Nolte State Park near Enumclaw, Washington. My brother Dave took this photo yesterday on one of his regular constitutionals around the lake.  

It's been dry this week, a nice change, although foggy in the morning. It usually burns off by noon, and we suddenly notice the sun getting stronger and higher in the sky. Rounding the seasonal corner, daylight is increasing by more than 2 minutes with each passing day, and our first 5:00 PM sunset of the year comes next Monday. 

We sit in the living room now enjoying our wine before dinner with real light streaming through the (dirty) windows. A milestone time of year for folks living in dark northern climates.

I'm looking forward to a winter walk today at Kubota Garden with one of my old friends. Tomorrow is a big day, in more ways than one. More on that later.

 

January marches on

 

The first ornamental cherry trees are starting to bloom in the neighborhood, making a cheerful sight on a grey morning walk.  Gardeners sometimes refer to West Seattle as the "banana belt." It's true, we are slightly warmer than outlying areas close to the foothills. Puget Sound is a big patchwork of micro-climates. 

We got some very exciting news this weekend. My dad and sister in Las Vegas both have appointments in 2 weeks to receive the Covid vaccine! That's how it should work, with the high risk groups going first. Good for Nevada. I am so happy and relieved for them.

I don't have much confidence at this point that distribution will go smoothly in our state. They said on the news there wasn't even enough vaccine in King County right now for the first priority group of medical workers and nursing home residents. Even so, I'm hearing of friends and acquaintances (some younger than us) who have managed to get appointments this week. No surprise there. I'm sure it will come around to us soon.

Other parts of the world won't be as lucky. The WHO said this morning that the world is on the brink of a "catastrophic moral failure" if rich nations dominate the vaccine supplies. Something to think about as we elbow to the front of the line.

Indoor bloomers

I bought this white amaryllis bulb right after Christmas. It was a leftover on the sale rack at Safeway, with the top leaves just starting to poke up. The best thing about amaryllis is watching them grow right before your eyes. They are embarrassingly easy for such a magnificent flower. 

The first hybrid appeared in England in 1799 as a bedding plant. In the 1950s someone saw the potential for Amaryllises as indoor plants and hybridizing suddenly became frenzied.  So many different colors now, similar to the story of the poinsettia.
 

 This is an tropical Anthurium flower that came in a big mixed floral basket my brother-in-law sent last March for my birthday.  Very nice it decided to bloom again in the middle of winter.

Look at this messy jungle, huddled up to the light on the floor of the office room. In a couple of months, I can kick them outside. Next year that Stag Horn Fern will be too big to winter over in the house.  I'll worry about that when the time comes.

Here it is Friday, another week gone and already halfway through January. Have a good weekend, whatever you have planned. None here.
 

A cozy scene

 

Sort of. If you wondered why there wasn't a blog yesterday, it's because we had 14-hour "unprecedented" power outage. (After 4 years, I'm sure tired of hearing that word.) 

On Tuesday night a powerful windstorm whipped though the Puget Sound region with gusts 50-70 mph, knocking down trees and poles in the saturated ground. 

The power went off about midnight, and didn't come back until 2 pm Wednesday. A record for us. Fortunately, it wasn't too cold and Duraflame logs kept the chill off the living room. 

 

And an indoor hat, sweatpants and robe also helped. I woke up in the dark at 5 am wanting coffee in the worst way, and searched high and low with a flashlight for the little plastic coffee filter. Luckily we have a gas range, and can easily heat water. I finally gave up, made some tea and John eventually went to McDonalds for the superior brown liquid and Egg McMuffins. 

Once my brain was caffeinated, I realized I completely forgot about the packets of Via (Starbucks instant coffee) always on the kitchen shelf. Duh. Don't count on my quick thinking in an emergency, folks.

We were luckier than many people in the area, but the morning light revealed a sad mess in the yard.

The big clematis vine against the shed blew over...

And was such a tangled and heavy mess I had to cut it completely back. It didn't break off at the base, and should eventually grow back. I'll miss it in the meantime because the flowers were beautiful and the birds were always chattering in there. 

As the hours dragged on I found new things to worry about, like the contents of the refrigerator and packed freezer.  We were disciplined and didn't open the door even for a quick peek. When the power finally hummed back to life (the happiest sound in the world) everything was still frozen solid and cold. So we had blue plate special leftovers from the night before and life returned to normal.

Rain, rain, rain

 

January is always a wet month, but enough already. The Northwest has been hammered by one "atmospheric river" after the next since the start of the month, over 5 inches of rain so far.  Urban and river flooding in the lowlands, and massive amounts of snow over on the cold side of the state.  

Amanda said in person school was cancelled for the girls, which rarely happens as they are accustomed to snowy winter roads over there. Fortunately, she can work from home today while the girls quietly "study." Ha!

The rain was pounding down so hard in the middle of the night I got up to see if the basement stairwell flooded. So far, so good.  The only bight side to these drenching wet winters is a glorious early spring. The plant roots are hydrated and rarin' to go when the light returns next month. But for now, another long day inside. I think that calls for meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

We all have our gifts

 

And mine is definitely not jigsaw puzzles. These might look hard, but they're 300 large piece puzzles from the Bits and Pieces catalog. 

I'd rather be doing things outdoors, but puzzles kill some January time and it's a pleasant challenge. I had no interest in puzzles before the pandemic-- I can't remember ever doing one. That's my excuse for not being good at it.

Well, now my humiliation is complete. I sent one over to the girls, thinking it might be too hard, but 8-year old Maya knocked it out in a couple of hours then started right in on a bigger one.

They went skiing yesterday at the Loup Loup Pass and had a good time. Pictures below. Now that's my idea of fun.

Amanda said the girls wore her out on the slopes, but she felt much better after her Friday shot. The day after was achy and draggy, but nothing worse in the way of side effects. She works on-site again at clinic this week, so it's a tremendous relief knowing she already has some immunity.

Into white

After the Christmas decorations are down I always buy a few fresh flowers, usually white, to brighten up the house in grey January. These oriental lilies came from Trader Joe's and a nice big bunch for only $6. 

In the old days I'd stop there a couple times a week on my way home from the gym. I rarely go now. Even though they do a pretty good job controlling the number of people in the store, it still feels crowded. That's the recreational nature of TJ shopping, with people blocking the aisles browsing and reading labels. I do it myself. Not and in-and-out sort of place.

Speaking of white, Amanda sent this photo of their backyard hen house.  The "Bockers" are taking it in stride and even still laying inside their snug home. 

Our weather down in the lowlands is monotonous, staying within the 40's temperature range and raining almost constantly. That's the perfect Northwest recipe for heavy snow at higher elevations.  

It can still happen, but as we get into February we're less likely to have a major snow event in Seattle. I was out in the yard yesterday and the first tulips are poking up.  We haven't had a single hard freeze. (Now that I've said that, it will probably go down to zero next week.)

Today Amanda and her friend from work travel to the hospital in Omak for their second Covid immunizations.  It's still about a 75 mile snow covered round trip, but closer than Tonasket, where they went for the first shot. The reality hasn't really sunk in yet, but what a relief she will soon be protected. 

A dark day

I'm at a loss for words after watching the horrifying events unfold yesterday at our beautiful Capitol. It was like that 9/11 feeling, that things will never be quite the same again.  

Hunker down Wednesday

 

Winter is the Best Time

Winter is the best time
To find out who you are.

Quiet, contemplation time
Away from the rushing world.

cold time, dark time, holed-up
pulled-in time and space

to see that inner landscape
that place hidden and within.

David Budbill

National Bird Day

 

John gave me this beautiful book for Christmas, written and illustrated by David Sibley, a star of the bird world. It answers frequently asked questions about the birds we see most often. Very entertaining and a nice distraction from the current reality.

It's a large format book and for most species the big, full color illustrations are reproduced life size. Makes for soothing bedtime reading. I'd love to share it with Nova and Maya, although they are growing up so fast, will they still want to snuggle with a book?

Backyard birds have brought much pleasure during this year of isolation, creating new interest in bird watching.

It seems there are more birds than ever in our yard, but maybe we're just home to notice. In November, we bought an enormous box of mixed bird seed at Costco, a real bargain, and I fill the feeder almost daily. 

Past winters, I fed sunflower seed to the chickadees and finches, but this mix seems to attract more varieties.  Of course they make a big mess with the millet shells, but who cares? And the ground feeders like it. I don't worry as much about them, because people keep their cats inside these days, such a good thing. 

I occasionally see one skulking through the yard and give him the evil eye, but nothing like the old days when cats were everywhere, including ours. Cats are the number one killer of birds by a long shot, many millions a year. 

Cat lovers argue that it's just natural behavior, which is true, but large numbers of domestic cats are not part of the natural ecosystem. I'd guess there are 10 or 20 cats living on every block in Seattle. I'd like to have a sweet, spoiled cat, but in the summer we have the doors and windows open. 

It has rained every day of the new year so far, and today is no exception. Snow piling up by the feet in the mountains, but in the lowlands, just wet.