Pizza and pie

October 5th is "Do Something Nice Day."
So do something nice for yourself, or for a lucky person.

I guess a homemade apple pie and pizza qualifies as nice.  But honestly, I should think about something other than food.  On the other hand, a comforting distraction from current state of politics. 

"Moe"

What a sweet face! And he always seems happy to see me. Or could it be the bag of apple slices?  We had another nice ride yesterday through the fall woods, perhaps the last before the weather turns soggy and chilly. 

Other than a couple of football games, no particular plans this weekend, which is kind of nice.

See you Monday...

Fall food

This is a "Delicata" squash from Trader Joe's, also known as "Peanut Squash" or "Sweet Potato Squash." It's an old variety, first introduced by American seedsmen in 1894. "Delicata" is harvested mature as a winter squash, but is actually a species of summer squash, like zucchini and patty pan.

"Delicata" is a nice sized squash for two, only 99 cents at T.J.  And cooking it is a snap, compared to wresting down a big butternut or spaghetti squash. I just drizzled the slices with melted butter, maple syrup and cinnamon and baked it. As the name implies, you can eat the tender cooked skin.  Well, at least I did. The fussier person at the table picked it off.  Perfect with a couple of thin pork chops and pan fried onions.

The weather suddenly turned chilly, with overnight lows in the 40's. It snowed this week at the higher elevation passes.  But the weather experts still predict a weak El Nino this year, which usually means a warmer winter with less snow.  I'm off to ride this morning. A big rain storm comes in tomorrow.

Wordless Wednesday

Looking forward

This May through September was Seattle's driest stretch of weather on record. We had only about 2 inches of rain all summer. Goodness, that much falls in a single storm in other parts of the country.  But the long dry stretch is coming to an end.  October is starting out rainy and our wettest month of the year is November.

The starlings are starting to flock and the yard squirrels are doing strange, busy things all day. Like squirrels, I think most people find autumn energizing. I don't care for our Northwest winter weather, but there are indoor distractions, like planning trips. I know! We just came back from the trip of a lifetime and I'm already into the next. Poor John. But planning is half the fun.

We're not going so far afield in 2019.  Why not tick off a few things closer to home and use up the Alaska miles. There's a non-stop flight to Albuquerque, and I've always dreamed of seeing a performance at the spectacular outdoor Santa Fe Opera House.

You must plan ahead, because the season is only 4 weeks long and sells out far in advance.  So I just scored tickets for Las Boheme in late July, and after 3 nights in tony Santa Fe we're driving up to more down-to-earth Taos, a beautiful area of New Mexico we really enjoyed in the past. Then there's our annual spring trip to Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs.

The holidays are just around the corner, and we already have some exciting things to look forward to during the dreary months ahead.

October

Tilling the field, in the background,
The Louvre circa 1485. 

Book of Hours calendar, October

We didn't tackle The Louvre on our trip, but we cruised by it a couple of times on the hop-on-hop-off Seine River boat. The gigantic modern museum was originally built by Philip II as the Louvre Castle in the late 12th century. It's been extended many times, but remnants of the fortress are apparently still visible in the basement. 

I loved seeing the ancient architectural monuments in Paris and London, but it was difficult getting a real sense of history when everything is experienced through the crowds and hassles of global tourism.  Still, a memorable trip.

October is here and it suddenly feels like fall. The dahlias were mildewed and sagging over, so I cut off the last flowers and stuffed the stalks in the compost bin.  I could have waited a little longer and squeezed out a few more flowers, but hacking down dahlias is miserable job in the rain.  We haven't had a fall storm or a real drenching yet.  It's coming.

I think we're finally catching up on lost sleep. At least, I'm back to my regular weird waking pattern instead of the weird jet lag induced one.  We're also eating quite a bit, blame it on the fall weather and the pleasure of plain home cooked meals. I made a delicious spicy pork stew by throwing a bunch of fresh ingredients in the braiser and cooking it all afternoon. A one time masterpiece I could never exactly replicate.  Oh well.  Also the last hurrah for the grill with steak and this picture perfect shrimp skewer meal.

We're sticking to the meatless Monday resolution, so tonight cheese raviloi with tomato sauce. Or if I'm feeling ambitious after The Ukes, eggplant Parmesan.  Enough boring domestic news!

Speaking of The Ukes, I went again last Monday after three weeks without practice and found I was playing no better and no worse than before.  A good sign that my brain is finally and permanently imprinted with a handful of simple chords. It only took about 5 years...

A peaceful ride

Vashon Island Trails

I'm an experienced rider, but always slightly apprehensive getting back in the saddle after a long break.  All horses are potentially dangerous and can buck, rear, bolt, or just plain trip and fall down. Riding takes mental discipline more than anything else. You don't even have to be particularly fit, but horses can sense if you are indecisive or fearful.  

“Some people have hypothesised that the element of danger in human-horse interactions provides particular therapeutic benefits, through self-mastery, emotional regulation, learning how to take calculated risk or overcoming fear.” 
Kirrilly Thompson

That's true, I suppose, but I'm long past the stage of life where I relish "the element of danger." For me, the mental benefit comes from the pleasure of connecting with nature from the back of a nice horse. What a privilege. I'm as good a rider as I'm ever going to be, so why take unnecessary risks?

Speaking of good, Moe was a perfect horse.  I always lead on our trail rides, which means paying more attention.  Guess it did Moe good packing kids around at summer camp.  He's in excellent shape and walked quietly down the trail. Marianne's horse, despite his advanced age and various aliments, did fine too.  He would follow Moe through the gates of hell. So the ride did us all good.

The weekend rolls around again.  John says he has some "serious football" to watch tomorrow night and there "might be swearing."  That must mean the Buckeyes have a big game.

We have another day of dry warm weather before things change on Sunday. I'm working on getting the beds ready for compost in October.  Actually, I'm trying a composted waste/sawdust product called "Growco," which supposedly has more nutrients and is cleaner than municipal compost, which can contain bits of trash. The nice guy who brought the bark for me last spring said he would come and spread it.

See you Monday!