Keep playing

 

That's a screenshot from a Seattle Times article featuring our West Seattle Ukulele group. Unfortunately I haven't gone much this summer, between travel and health issues, so it was nice being there yesterday, although chilly sitting outside on the patio at C&P Coffeehouse. A hardy group-- coffee and beer helps. 

This group started four years ago with a handful of people just looking for a safe outdoor place to play during the pandemic. 

It was informal and we airdropped the music to each other, calling out song requests. Now the group uses a slick app called "SongPro" with playlists put together in advance by our leader. He's partial to 80's pop songs, some of which sound better than others "transcribed" for the uke. But all in good fun. My playing ability has neither improved nor declined-- these days, I'm happy with "stable" anything. 

Over 50 players often show up for the Thursday jam, and the group performs several times a month at different venues and events. There is no lack of opportunity to hear (or play) ukulele music in West Seattle. 

 

It is apple pie season for sure, and I made one yesterday with a recipe from the NYT that called for cooking the filling first, instead of piling crunchy raw apples into the crust. It was good, although like many recipes from the NYT, involves some extra fuss and bother. 

Have a good weekend. 

The owl and the pussycat

 

 

Amanda says this Great Horned Owl has been visiting the farm each day at dusk. They are year-round residents in the Methow Valley, and use a "sit-and-wait" perch strategy to hunt small mammals, rodents, and birds. 

Yes, that includes Chihuahuas, chickens and cats, although Georgia is a rather hefty mammal for a three pound owl to haul off. Cats also fight back, so they're not the first menu choice for owls. Still, life on the farm has its risks for the plump and complacent residents. 

We had an easy drive yesterday and the fall colors were beautiful on the mountain passes.

Fleeting moments

 

My last peaceful river sit until next year? 

The Methow Valley is true perfection on a warm sunny day in October and we're enjoying the wildlife parade outside the front window. Who needs TV?

Tomorrow we say goodbye to our "wild" friends and head back to big city life.

"How blessed is he, who leads a country life, unvex'd with anxious cares, and void of strife!" 

John Dryden, 1631-1700 

A nip in the air

 

A moody and chilly sunrise this morning-- down to 28 degrees tonight.

 

And muted colors on the farm as winter closes in fast.

The pear harvest (that no one seems sad about ha ha.)

And Yoko, ready for Halloween in her new costume. 

And speaking of cute, Maya and her delightful friends at a cake decorating birthday party this afternoon.

 

 Crazy girls on the loose in the orchard! Fun times on the farm.

 

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. Wintry mix on Snoqualmie Pass tomorrow morning here we go. 

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. 

Nostalgia

 

“Cast my memory back there a lot, sometimes overcome thinking about…” 

Van Morrison, Brown Eyed Girl

It is hard not waxing nostalgic when you’ve been coming to Calistoga for 50 years.

Golden Haven Spa, where we are staying now, is one of the old motel resorts left in Calistoga, a legacy property really, along with the Roman Spa and a few others scattered here and there. 

Other spa motels in town had multi-million dollar renovations over the years, and Indian Springs is in the middle of yet another, adding more pools and expanding the resort facilities. It will pretty much dominate the town. With the Napa Valley’s proximity to the Bay Area, guess there’s no problem selling out $600 a night rooms. Until the next tech recession, that is.

It will be a giant Spanish style complex on the site of an old glider port that we still remember from the 1990’s. It was a wonderful open space with a few hangers, just a big field really, with soaring hawks and cool sailplanes when they were still flying here. 

The old Indian Springs was the place of my very first mud bath in the 1970’s, a no frills, almost hospital like experience way before the Napa Valley was commercialized. This was before the word “spa” was invented. 

I’m glad we’re staying at one of the retro resorts. The property has nice amenities and we have a spacious, quiet room, once we turn off the old fashioned air conditioner for the night. The bathroom showers run mineral water straight from the aquifer, which makes your skin feel wonderful and adds to the therapeutic experience. 

Complete relaxation takes over in about 24 hours. When I was working at Microsoft and John at Boeing, Calistoga is where we came to de-stress.

I’m skipping the mud bath because I need to be mindful these days of staying too long in really hot water. But I’m enjoying floating around in the silky mineral water swimming pool. We are early risers, and have it almost to ourselves when it opens at 8 am.