Like a small miracle

 

Sorry to be so boring. Food remains the main topic of daily interest. On Sunday we made this chicken soup (stew, really) with Costco rotisserie chicken. The homey biscuits are right out of the box of classic Bisquick.  If you want to make a man happy, bake him a biscuit or cook him a meatball. 

Seems like thousands of home cooked meals over the last year. It gets old, even for people who love cooking.  We actually went out to a local restaurant last weekend, our first time inside any eatery. I have to admit it was a bit of a letdown-- just a pho joint, the inside cold and almost deserted, as you would expect at 25% maximum capacity.  The restrictions are still very strict in our county.

No condiments, menus, napkin holders on the table. Order from memory, take your mask off just long enough to eat and leave. They don't serve the complimentary French mini cream puffs anymore, which is the main reason we go to the mediocre Than Brothers Pho. It's going to be a while before restaurants feel somewhat normal again, and perhaps won't ever be the same. For now, home is here the food heart must reside.

In other news. Like a small miracle, the fridge calendar, for months completely blank except for things like nasty dentist appointments and shots, is suddenly dotted with enjoyable events. 

Like a four-night trip to Palm Springs this month to stay in the condo I booked almost a year ago.  In April, 5 nights at my sister's home in Las Vegas. A trip to the Methow Valley this spring. And some new challenges. The Hospice training program restarted at CHI Franciscan, and I have several classes coming up. Then there's a lunch invitations with (fully vaccinated) friends. And so on. It's a bit unnerving but exciting to stick our heads up out of the hole like a couple of gophers. 

Cosmic flop?

 

Do you remember all the hype about the introduction of the new Cosmic Crisp apple?  I wrote a blog post back in November 2019, about how thousands of acres of old orchards had been torn out to replant with this super star apple. 

Cosmic Crisps were $4 a pound when they first came out, but now they’re on special for $1.50. A glut of unsold apples in the spring doesn't bode well for the success story.

The big selling point is they supposedly keep "forever" in the fridge drawer without getting mushy, but the trade off is a rather tough skin.

They seem to be a dandy baking apple, though. These are filled with chopped dates, pecans and a touch of brown sugar and cinnamon. A pat of butter on top, and then baked covered under loose foil for an hour or two until fork tender.  An easy and tasty no-guilt dessert, at least until you smother it in vanilla ice cream.

Today is March, coming in like an old boring lion.  More showers, although we finally have a gradual warm up this week, getting close to 60 which will sure feel nice.  It is a magical time of year in the garden as everything springs back to life, including the weeds. 

Birthdays and Snow Moon

 

Looking at some old family photos yesterday, I was stuck by the fact that our dad's mother was born in the late 1800's. It's amazing I can remember a grandma so well, who lived two centuries ago. How many people can say that? Pretty neat. She passed away in the 1970's. My goodness, lucky me, I've lived a long time. (And if I can stay marbled, hope to keep going for a while longer.)

About the time Grammy was born, the first phonograph was invented and Edison formed the first electric company in Manhattan. The lights came on for a handful of rich people, but it would be another 50 years before even half of American homes had electricity. She was born in a world so different from ours, it might have been the Stone Age. But definitely a slower and sweeter age in many ways.

Well, there's a helluva big moon setting right now behind the Olympic Mountains. It's shining through a little slot in the clouds like a giant lamp. This is the February Snow Moon. Another cold morning in Seattle and the snow in the mountains still piling up by the foot. Spring is late this year.

Have a good weekend.

Venturing out

When the world comes back, will I be able to keep up? What a quiet and secluded life we live. 

I went to the Macy's store yesterday with a return, rather than sending it back in the mail. I haven't been to the mall in over a year, and was curious how things have changed at my old stomping ground.

It was early and the parking lot was almost empty. The few people shopping inside were all wearing masks, including the little kids.  I honestly expected to see more closed stores, but many have managed to somehow hang on.

However, a noticeable lack of merchandise in larger stores like Penny's and Macy's: sparse racks and tables, empty floor spaces. Once you went to the flagship store for the best selection, now it's online. 

I walked my usual store circuit and got quite tired. Maybe it was the mask, or just the weariness of this new shopping world, but I've lost my old mall stamina! Still, it was nice doing something familiar. I found a few Easter things for the girls, etc. and had a good time.

And here's someone else venturing out again.  That's Dad at the grocery store "Sprouts," shopping with my sister Marji for the first time in a year. She put him right back to work at his old job pushing the cart. 

They also managed a trip this week to Floyd Lamb Park to check in with their bird friends. Bit by bit, a slow return to normal.

Can't decide?

 

The weather just can't decide if it wants to be winter or spring. We had a hailstorm yesterday, and it even snowed again in parts of the Puget Sound lowlands.  It won't stick around, but enough already. We just can't get out of the chilly 40's.

Nothing new to report today, just another uneventful Wednesday in a long string of them. It's exactly a year now since the first case of Covid was announced in King County. At the time, no one could have imagined what the next year would bring, which is probably a good thing.  

Our family feels very lucky getting in on that first wave of vaccinations. I read on the NYT that about 6% of Americans are fully vaccinated now. Still an exclusive club, but won't stay that way long as the pace of vaccination is really picking up.

It takes a while to sink in, but suddenly the anxiety of going out and doing ordinary things is gone. I might catch something else at the dentist or grocery store, but the chance I'll get seriously sick from Covid is now about nil. Speaking of that, on Friday John gets his first haircut in a YEAR. Now that's news.

The first

I don't buy strawberries in the winter, and it always seems like the first ones from California taste better than any that come after. I have a dentist appointment this morning and that's my excitement for the day, other than some sliced strawberries on my cottage cheese.