Comfort

 

 

What is more comforting in the winter than Navy bean soup made with leftover Christmas ham?

Like homemade chili, bean soup is much better heated up the next day after the flavors combine and mature. In fact, this is true of most soups, and sometimes referred to as "curing," although that is not a real culinary term.

I had a dentist appointment and was in need of comfort yesterday. Right before Christmas, I noticed a small chip on a front tooth. The culprit? Probably chocolate chip cookies straight out of the freezer. A bad idea for old teeth! 

Well, my mind had fun all week imagining expensive dental horrors like crowns, implants and veneers. Our young dentist is kind and skillful, and she repaired it with a bit of bonding, good as new in about 10 minutes. I didn't even need the unpleasant numbing shot. 

So this brings us to New Years Eve and resolutions, for those of us who still make and break them. I could start with something like "imagine the best scenario instead of the worst, because both are equally likely." 

Keep it simple. 

And from Brad Paisley: 

"Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one."  

Warm

 

An interesting book I got for Christmas, along with pretty bookmark. Phenology is "the study of the timing of recurring natural events, like plants flowering, birds migrating, or insects emerging, and how these cycles relate to seasonal changes and climatic shifts." 

Gardeners are always tuned in to this, but I wasn't familiar with the scientific term phenology. 

 

 

Seattle has been unseasonably warm this December and the camellia is already blooming. That doesn't mean much year to year, but over the decades, spring in the northern hemisphere (defined by leaf budding) is occurring several weeks earlier. I have lived long enough to attest to this. 

According to the book, this especially impacts insects and migrating birds, and there are depressing statistics, such as over 22% of butterflies have disappeared in the last 20 years. 

Well, a frost is probably still on the way for January or February, and it's an unusual winter when we don't get a little snow in the lowlands. These geraniums will be toast. 

But in the meantime, I can't recall seeing so many insects and birds and other critters in the yard, enjoying the messy bounty. 

The squirrels have trained me to throw peanuts on the deck, when they show up at the back door. It wasn't hard.  

Pretty one

 

John gave me a Wentworth wooden puzzle for Christmas. We've collected several over the years and they are the type of puzzles you can do over and over.  

Made in England with little whimsy pieces that match the themes. I'm slow at puzzles (compared to him) so he likes to look over my shoulder sniggering because I can't see the pieces right in front of me. 

I told him go away. It's not nice to make fun of people not as smart as you! So I finally finished it in peace yesterday afternoon. Thank goodness for puzzles, embroidery and reading. And naps. 

This week always feels like some sort of time vortex. Christmas is over but nothing feels back to normal yet. The decorations are still up and the chore of getting everything packed away looms. As does the new year, with all the uncertainly that comes with the unknown. 

"Surrender to what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be.” — Sonia Ricotti 

 Simple advice, but easier said than done for many of us. 

Boxing Day

 

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope you did also. I didn't have time to take many photos, which is how it should be, but here's our precious girls, Amanda, Nova and Maya at dinner: Ham with peach glaze, baked yams with pecan crumbles, cauliflower with cheese sauce and a giant bowl of greens for these big salad eaters. Whew. 

 

And yes, we always get carried away here with gift giving (especially Father Christmas John!) but what generous and thoughtful presents all around. 

Boxing Day is the perfect time to reflect and enjoy these gifts of family and love. The kids have plans, but we will be home recuperating. 

The only thing to unwrap today is the leftover ham. I see bean soup on the horizon. 

Christmas Eve, ready or not

 

I made a rum cake this morning; John picked up some beautiful flowers for the table. All stocked up with food for tomorrow and beyond, we're as ready as we can be.

To our family traveling today on snowy roads, Vaya con Dios! And thoughts of peace and love to all our friends and family, especially those who have suffered recent losses.  

“Christmas Eve is my favorite. I think the anticipation is more fun than anything else. I kind of lost that. The idea that something - food, traditions, an arbitrary date on the calendar - can be special because we decide it should be. We make it special. Not just for ourselves, but for others.” 

― Kiersten White, from "My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories."     

Let your heart be light

 

That's a new one. "Christmas Adam" is apparently an unofficial holiday on December 23, the day before Christmas Eve. The name Christmas Adam is reference to Adam coming before Eve in creation in the Bible. Whatever! 

Well, final preparations are in full swing today: extra leaf brought up for the table, beds made, bathrooms cleaned, endless stuff moved from here to there to make room for this and that. We will be a full house. One last trip to the grocery store this morning for the salad eaters. Tomorrow I'll try a new gluten free rum cake recipe-- hey, enough rum and anything tastes good. Breakfast buffet and ham dinner planned for Christmas day.

Wherever you are and whatever your traditions, large or small, wishing you a wonderful holiday.

Let your heart be light.   

 

Wonderful

 

The French Impressionist exhibit "Farm to Table" at SAM was just wonderful. Seattle is the last city on the tour and it closes in January, so if you live around here, try not to miss it. We got there when the museum opened at 10 and had the exhibit to ourselves before the Sunday crowds showed up.  

Renoir, Matisse, Pissaro, Degas, Gauguin-- all the famous artists were represented with works centering around the themes of growing, harvesting, marketing and cooking food-- subjects near and dear to French hearts. And mine.

 

John made a new friend at SAM. We didn't invite her along to lunch at Von's 1000 Spirits, a boozy place across the street. I thought of her though, watching someone at the next table attacking a massive and messy hamburger. 

I had my go-to fish tacos (good) and John had salad (along with a fancy fig old fashioned.) But the fun part about Von's was watching those complicated cocktails coming out of the bar and tossed back at 11 am. 

 

Well, it is the holiday season. I felt virtuous ordering cranberry juice.

 

After that culinary adventure, a walk through the Pike Place Market. I wanted a little piece of smoked salmon, but the $60 a pound gave Mrs. Scrooge pause. Last but not least, apple strudel from Three Girls Bakery and a stop Fran's Chocolates. We were home by early afternoon with lighter wallets, but enjoyed our annual holiday downtown treat. 

John, unaccustomed to stiff drinks in the middle of the day, retired for a nap! 

 

Countdown to Christmas

 

 

 

Simpler times, and by gosh, I'm old enough to remember gifts like that.  There was always a can of pipe tobacco under the tree for Dad. 

On this day in 1843 Charles Dickens published "A Christmas Carol."

The celebration of Christmas in Victorian times was still somewhat controversial. Puritans in England and America argued that Christmas was a holiday left over from the days when pagans celebrated the winter solstice (it was.) Many Christians felt that the extravagance of Christmas was an insult to Christ. 

But "A Christmas Carol" turned out to be a huge best-seller in both England and the United States and set the tone for Christmas as we know it today: a season of generosity, feasting, and merriment. 

There are dozens of "Christmas Carol" movies, but our family favorite is the 1970 "Scrooge" musical starring 34-year old dreamboat Albert Finney. Maybe tonight. 

This weekend is the final countdown before Christmas. On Sunday, the Winter Solstice, we're going downtown and see an exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum, called "Farm to Table: Art, Food and Identity in the Age of Impressionism." It's supposed to be excellent, then out to lunch somewhere and probably a walk through the crowded market. Our annual tradition...

Have a wonderful weekend. 

 

 

 

It worked

 

 

If you complain enough about the weather, it finally takes notice and improves (if only!) 

But whatever, yesterday the sun suddenly appeared and shined down on the soggy world. It has been a long haul of bad weather up here. Seattle largely escaped, but the floods caused a heartbreaking mess for many people. 

Without the Pineapple Express drenching us, it's suddenly much colder and finally snowing up in the mountains. Snow in the Methow Valley, too, so Tom can try out his new snow blower.

 

I put the amaryllis pot on my desk, the brightest window in the house (which isn't saying much) but enough light to pop open. 

Other than that, not much news. Been catching up with old friends this week and just tying to keep myself occupied on long, dreary afternoons without gaining 10 pounds. 

The Winter Solstice is fast approaching. Although it won't be noticeable for weeks, soon we turn the corner. 

"No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn."
- Hal Borland 

 

Under seige

 

Enough already with the weather. More rain we don't need, and a windstorm last night with gusts nearly 100 mph in places. Blizzard warnings are up in the mountain passes (the few that are still open) the silver lining being the moisture won't run right off into the rivers. A memorable "start" to winter in the Pacific Northwest. 

Patience

 

 

 

This amaryllis bulb I planted over a month ago is ready to pop open, just in time for Christmas. Stay tuned.

 

We're on final countdown and I've been baking cookies this week, also sampling too many along the way (tis the season.) 

 

Since John retired, I've scaled back somewhat on cookies. He always took them to their shop holiday pot luck. I feel like I've made a cookie for every employee at Boeing Field!

 

Those were the days...

 

 

Speaking of cookies, today is Pizzelle Day, a beloved Italian American wafer, flavored with anise (sometimes vanilla or lemon) and made using a special iron. Thin, crisp and good, especially when they're fresh. 

 

 

Each year, John's mother mailed us a big box of goodies (she loved baking) and it would always include a large oatmeal container filled with pizzelles. Oh, the things we once took for granted. 

 

 

John’s parents made them on a modern electric pizzelle iron, which still takes patience. But somewhere in the basement, we have their heavy old hand-held stove top iron. 

 

That's about all the news, other than:

 

 

Rain returns

 

 

Now that's the sort of thing you can't pass up at Costco. Anyway, like a jar of Spanish sunshine on the counter. I don't have words for this awful weekend of news. 

The rain is back with a vengeance this morning. This latest atmospheric river is the last of the year (or so they promise) because by mid-week the temperature drops and it starts snowing in the mountains-- by the foot. 

That finally turns off the fire hose gushing down into the western rivers. We are lucky in Seattle, but many have lost their homes, even people in communities not especially close to rivers. 

 

My friend Karen sent that picture of Methow River in Twisp near our house, looking like a typical spring flood. It will certainly rise up again today and tomorrow. How strange no snow on the ground in mid-December. But fortunately, that's about to change. 

 

The Methow River at Twisp

 

A dramatic bump in the USGS water flow graph yesterday!

 

 

To put it in perspective, yearly graph shows the flow was even higher than last spring's runoff. Not flood stage, but just remarkable in that it reached that level in a matter of hours instead of over several weeks. Never underestimate the power of a river.

 

And today, receding back almost as fast as it went up.

 

Unlike the Columbia River, which has numerous dams for flood control and hydropower, the Methow River does not have major flood control dams. Historically, levees were constructed to protect farmland and towns, but these confine the river to a channel and block fish. 

 

 

 

Methow Salmon Recovery is working with landowners (which can be a tough sell) to remove or modify these old levees. This allows the river to access its natural floodplain during high flows, which slows the water and reduces flood damage downstream, while benefiting salmon habitat. Makes sense, but only time will tell. 

 

Anyway, long story short we dodged a bullet. If the warm atmospheric river came in the spring on heavy mountain snow pack, it would be a different situation along the Methow and other eastern Washington rivers.

 

The weekend is here after a week of unrelenting rain and bad news. The Northwest is drying out for a few days and people can start to assess the damage. 

 

Have a good one-- Christmas is closing in fast.  

 

 

 

Thank you, Indonesia

 

The Snoqualmie River

They estimate nearly 5 trillion gallons of water have fallen in the Northwest this week, leading to historic river flooding, especially along the Snoqualmie and Skagit. 

That long fire hose of water traces to other side of the world, where a tropical cyclone in Indonesia supercharged these stubborn atmospheric rivers that have drenched us for days. Small world, indeed.

I went to the gym early yesterday morning and spent the rest of the day at home-- both of us happy we didn't have to go anywhere. 

That said, a long dark rainy day inside can put you in a pretty dreary mood:

"I sat there with Sally. We sat there, we two. And I said, 'How I wish we had something to do!' Too wet to go out and too cold to play ball. So we sat in the house. We did nothing at all."

The Cat and the Hat, Dr. Seuss 

 

And as that saying goes, and Cat in the Hat shows, "idle hands are the devil's playthings." 

With a little help from YouTube videos, I got busy and framed my embroideries that were just stored in a shoe box. 

 

Turned out pretty! Now I need to find a bit of empty wall to hang them. Somewhere. 

 

In food news, pizza night, and this vegetarian beauty made with balls of fresh mozzarella instead of cheese out of the plastic package. With enough wine, that brightened up the evening. 

It's still raining this morning, but supposed to finally taper off by the end of the day. 

 

That is not a water fountain-- it is rain blowing sideways through the athletic track field lights.