corduroyville

It's cooler up here in the valley (at last) and time to haul out the long pants and turtlenecks.  Not much color change yet; the Chinese pistache trees are dropping leaves but not because of any cold snap.  They're just tired of hanging on.  Some gardens have shows of chrysanthemums and asters, but most gardens have all been replanted to have mostly drought-tolerant grasses and succulents.  Remember the drought?

So now that I've managed to make small talk that completely ignores the fact that this blog has been silent for too long, let's move on.

Earlier in the month I went up to visit daughter Alex in Walla Walla.  The main reason for going was a big quilt show put on ever year.  It was gorgeous.  The talent and skill on display was amazing.  This was my favorite of the show.

My next favorite was a smaller piece, really for display not for use, except perhaps for an infant.  It was in a silent auction and, on the first day we went, I eyeballed it and decided to think about bidding.  On Sunday, the final day, I put in a bid and thought no more about it.  The staff said that winning bidders would be notified later in the day.  No call.  OK, well, I hoped (grudgingly) that the winning bidder would take good care of it.

I left on Monday and on Tuesday, Alex called me to say I had indeed won the quilt!  Now I have to figure out what to do with it except to gaze at it in wonder!

The theme of this year's show was "Paint the Town Red".  This was the winning piece.

On Saturday we joined a group for a train ride up the Walawa River.  Beautiful scenery, benefit for the Blue Mountain Land Trust.

The little engine that pulled us up the mountain.

The confluence of the two rivers, the Wallowa and Grande Rondein Oregon

The length of the train; we were near the end car on the way home.

After a lovely but all-too-short visit, it was back home, out of Seattle, where it's all about water, boats, trees, and coffee.

Next trip:  NEW YORK CITY in late October with daughter Cait.  We'll be seeing g'daughter Emily, niece Kaley (she'll train from New Haven for the day), two plays, a whole lotta other stuff including the 9/11 Memorial, the Statue of Liberty (must go wipe her tears), and Bloomingdale's basement.

Then it's off to the beach.  Gotta fix that ceiling!

what's for dinner?

I have long been curious about the sous vide method of cooking.  How in the world could boiling food in a plastic bag for hours on end enhance the flavor of anything?  And is cooking something in plastic a good idea, health-wise?  (Actually, this really never occurred to me until my very health-conscious masseuse brought it up!)  But I wanted to try it anyway.  Gourmet Grandson had an "extra"(imagine!!) sous vide cooker gizmo which he gave me, so last night I tried it out.  First experiment a total success!

The dish was pot roast with vegetables (potatoes and carrots).  Instructions were to set the water temperature to 170º and let it simmer for 24 hours!  TWENTY-FOUR HOURS??  But I thought, "OK, that's what the instructions say so let's see what happens."  I put all the ingredients in a zip lock bag, did the immersion seal, clipped the bag to the edge of the pot and settled in for the wait.  (Just before it started I had to put in an emergency call to Andrew for help in setting the timer, an embarrassing question but he told me and I set the clock and it all worked just fine!)

Late yesterday afternoon the timer stopped and the bag came out.  What was so surprising was how strong the color of the carrots still was; I thought it would all turn to grey mush, but it all looked beautiful.  Then with a few finishing flourishes, it was ready.

Everything was so delicious!  The meat, not the most expensive cut in the butcher's shop, was just as tender, juicy, moist as if it was filet mignon.  Carrots perfectly done, a bit al dente just as I like them, the potatoes still firm and sweet.  It was worth the wait.

This sous vide thing is alright!  Next treat; chicken breasts.  AZ insists it's the only way to cook them if you want tender, juicy chicken.  I'll let you know.

the next chapter

Last Thursday evening we went to a retirement party for our friend, Judy.  She has been working at the Big U for many, many years and finally decided it was time to begin another phase of her life.

The dinner was catered by a local Mexican restaurant, Dos Coyotes, and included all of her favorites (ours, too):  enchiladas, flats, beans, chips, salsa, guacamole, and this wonderful salad.

This was followed up with two spectacular desserts; a chocolate-kailua cake and a very delicious lemon cake.  Everything was so delicious.

Judy is a woman of many interests and her new found freedom will give her plenty of opportunity too pursue them.  Welcome to retirement, Judy!

an anniversary of sorts

Vicky in 1951
02/03/1947 ~ 08/31/2009

back on the grid

A very nice young man (he looked about 15!) was at our front door to fix the pesky air conditioner.  It took him about 15 minutes to figure out what was wrong, fix it, replace the filter and be on his way.  So we now have nice, cool air.  And just in time.  It's going to be 109º here in the lovely Central Valley this weekend.

New reading recommendation:  A Summons to Memphis by Peter Taylor.  Short, elegantly written, family saga.

a cool Tuesday

To keep cool during this incredible heat wave we are having here in the valley, we went to see this film today in an air-conditioned theatre.  It's well worth the outrageous cost of two senior tickets.  The scenery is magnificent, the acting superb (Jeremy Renner is a pleasure to watch; his slightest eyelid flutter tells volumes), the rest of the cast is excellent.  There's a lot of mayhem involved; if a REAL FBI agent and a BLM agent engaged in anything close to the shootout we see, they'd be tied up in court for the rest of their lives.  But hey, it's the movies.  We both liked it; we both recommend it.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention that the reason we needed a cool spot is our air conditioner went out on Monday.  We did suffer a bit yesterday when it was 108º.  We are now in a cooling trend; it's only going to get up to 98º tomorrow, but up into the triple digits again on Thursday and over the weekend and into next week.  Perfect for a nightly swim, though.  Fortunately the repair guys are coming tomorrow morning so we may get back on the cool side, at least indoors, by tomorrow afternoon.

the fevered travel agent

I spent almost the entire day yesterday making arrangements for an October trip to New York City with daughter Caitlin.  The last time I was there was with my sister, probably 20+ years ago.  The precipitating reason is to visit g'daughter Emily, now living at a chic address in Harlem, working and going to school.  I have found us a veery interesting looking hotel on Central Park West, gotten us tickets to two musicals ~ Come From Away and Beautiful (Dear Evan Hunter is sold out until sometime in late December, unfortunately) ~ and the rest will be walking, eating, museum-going, a ride on the Staten Island Ferry, a visit to the 9/11 monument and museum.  That will probably take care of the 3+ days, don't you think?