Sunday, December 27, 2009

Tucson Holiday

Happy Holidays everyone! Chris and I are enjoying our Christmas trip to Tucson, AZ to visit my Mom and her hubby Bob this Christmas. We are here for a week and thus far have been really enjoying hanging out, hiking, and being in completely different surroundings.

Moon rise over saguaro cactus at Kings Canyon, Saguaro National Park

Christmas morning found us drinking coffee and opening stockings near the fire. Stockings are a tradition with my family and even though we promised no presents this year, due to pricey airline tickets, Mom surprised us with stockings anyway. My stocking contained a nice mix of old and new, some ornaments from my childhood, a locket belonging to our family being passed on, and some new decorations for our tree. A very thoughtful and reminiscent way to celebrate the holiday. Then we moved on to a yummy breakfast, then a long hike at Kings Canyon at Saguaro National Park.

Petroglyphs at Kings Canyon, Saguaro National Park

We walked up the wash, looking at cactus, ferns from the recent rain that had greened up, rocks, and even Petroglyphs. It was such a neat way to spend time with one another, pointing things out, talking, joking, and marveling at our surroundings.

Mom and I hiking the wash at Kings Canyon, Saguaro National Park

We Scrambled up rocks, took in the sweeping views, spotted birds, and checked out the old mine along the trail. Then we headed home and, orchestrated by mom, cooked up a wonderful evening meal (it was mostly mom though).

Yummy Christmas Dinner, Tucson, AZ

Grilled pork tenderloin, roasted butternut squash, acorn squash, and sweet potato, stuffing, grilled green beans, and yummy sauteed red cabbage. The table setting included, Christmas Crackers, a throwback to when I was growing up in the British Virgin Islands. Chris had never seen these before, so it was really neat to cross hands and 'pop' the Christmas Crackers open with him, discovering paper crowns, jokes, and prizes. We had a wonderful Christmas day, and are looking forward to more visiting, talking, and laughing in the days to come. Merry Christmas everyone!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Solstice

Happy Solstice everyone! On Sunday our friends L&M invited us over to their house for a Solstice party. We had a lovely dinner, wine, and lots of good music, talk, and laughter. L and her family have a tradition of writing wishes and goals for the coming year, or notes of thanks on pieces of paper and tucking them into the Yule Log, then burning the Log in the fire.


Then your thanks, goals, and wishes are heard, and will come to fruition. We had a warning to be sure about what we were wishing for, and all of us filled out a few pieces of origami paper and tucked them into the Log.

Then L&M placed the Log on the fire and we all sat and watched it burn. Presents and more wine followed. Stories were told. Games were played. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the arrival of lengthening daylight; the promise of sun, spring, and hopefully, a few of those wishes.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Trickery

Mid week last week my husband requested a spelunking day in San Francisco for this Saturday. Spelunking is our term for an un-formulated day of adventure, in which you spend the day using public transportation, hopping off at spots that look good to you, which you proceed to explore. We had not done this for a while so I jumped at the chance, and we set the day aside for exploring. On Saturday we slept as late as we wanted (oooohhh 7:45 so very late), sat about drinking coffee, then agreed to walk the one mile up to the train station picking up breakfast along the way.
We stopped in at a greek dinner and had omelets, then boarded the train to the city. We switched to the BART line, and decided to ride to the Embarcadero station and visit the Ferry Building. Climbing up the stairs to street level we remembered that it was farmer's market day at the Ferry Building. Though things were wrapping up at the market, we spent a little time winding around the stalls in the rain, eyeing cheeses, bread, fruit, and meats. We went and stood looking at the Bay for a while then meandered into the Ferry Building to look at the vendors and scout out a light lunch. We ended up with two superb Acme bread company Salami, butter, and cornichon pickle sandwiches on lovely still-warm french bread and found a table overlooking the ferries to eat.
Chris then proclaimed that he knew what he wanted to do next and we walked over to the Cable Car stop and rode up to Grace Cathedral. Chris had sung there in High School for choir and said he wanted to go see it again. When we arrived there were some signs about a concert happening that afternoon, but we figured we had about 30 min to go inside and check out the cathedral. When we stepped inside Chris headed over to the will call table, and I thought he was going to inquire about possibly buying tickets. But instead he asked for the tickets under our name, that stinker! He totally pulled one over on me! I had no idea that he had pre-planned the whole thing. He didn't let on at all! He even tricked me into eating lunch so I wouldn't be hungry for the concert. It was very tricky, and a lovely surprise. The Men and Boy's choir put on a concert, which was amazing. The space was filled with their incredible voices singing a mix of old and new christmas hymns. I actually had to breath in hard a few times to keep myself from crying, it was so beautiful. Though I am not particularly religious, I came away completely understanding how people could be inspired to fully believe. I was filled with awe from the whole event, and have probably said thank-you to Chris about 30 times in the past 24 hours.
After the concert we walked the Labyrinth outside the Cathedral, then made our way over to North Beach for a visit to the City Lights Bookstore. We browsed for a while and came away with couple of books, then went to a nearby cafe for a beer. We then went to the Stinking Rose for dinner, somewhere I have always wanted to go. This place is a serious garlic lover's dream. they claim to serve over 30,000 pounds of garlic per month. We sat at the window there, people watched, and ate probably about a pound of garlic between the two of us. Then it was off to watch A Christmas Carol in I-Max 3-D at the Metreon Theater. We arrived early got our 3-D glasses and were the first in the Theater. The movie was very, very good and was very true to the book. The 3-D was great, and I can see how 3-D might save the modern movie theater. Then it was off to the last train out of San Francisco of the night, a rainy walk home, and bed. All in all one of the best days ever.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

cold snap

The Bay Area has been visited by cold snap, just in time to get us all in the mood for the impending holidays. Monday morning I stepped out the door and was greeted by a definite chill in the air. I hopped onto the highway and looked up to the surrounding hills and was greeted by heavy layer of SNOW(!) glowing white from the tops halfway down the slopes. Amazing and rare. Tuesday morning I spent 5 minutes scraping ice of the car windshield. I stole Chris's covered parking spot last night and avoided ice again today. Working outdoors for 3-5 hours a day in the chilly air (33 degrees this morning) has been a fun difference, though my nose may beg to differ. My goal is to stay warm for the next few days and then zoom off to the desert with Chris on the 19th to visit my Mom and her husband Bob for Christmas. It still gets cold in Tucson, but hopefully we will be able to eat lunch on the porch and hike in the afternoon without bundling up.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Happy Halloween


Happy Halloween. A fun filled day at work. Pedro the Guide Dog puppy came to work as a criminal (somewhat fitting, somehow); and L was a Police officer. As we work in a blind center, she was actually a officer of the White Cane Police. We have a policy at the center that all students that are legally blind are to carry a long white cane with them at all times when out of their room. This policy is not always 'honored'. Let's just say many people were 'busted', some several times. Everyone had fun with it, candy was handed out to those with their canes, or to those who had 'reformed'. Many of the staff dressed up, I was a detective with a trench coat, hat, and spy glass, there were cowboys, disco queens, and many others.

After debating for the whole week, Chris and I headed down to SLO for Halloween weekend. Chris's parents had out of town visitors and had arranged a trip to Hearst Castle for one of the evening tours on Halloween night. They had an extra ticket, so I got to go along while Chris stayed home to study and hand out candy to the multitude of trick-or-treaters.

It could not have been a better night for a tour of the grounds and house. The 'Castle' was a Labor of love for mister W.R. Hearst and was invite only destination for the likes of Amelia Earhart and Cary Grant in the 30's and 40's. It is a huge house with 3 guest 'cottages' set amongst extensive gardens on a hill-top on the central coast overlooking the ocean. We arrived on the hilltop at sunset and walked through the grounds, through one of the cottages, and the main house. There were many people that were dressed in period costume, lounging in the salons at cocktail hour, strolling the grounds, and even fixing their make-up in the ladies powder room. The weather was divine, warm breeze up on the hill top, clear skies for sunset and for star gazing, moonlight for the gardens and pathways. It felt like you were almost really back there, during that time, expecting Mr. Hearst to round the corner and challenge you to a game of pool at any moment. I highly recommend the evening tour here if you are ever in the area, it is unbelievable.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

A boy and his dog

Living in the Bay Area, finding a place to live that allows a dog over 25 Lbs that is in our price range is nearly impossible. Therefore when we needed to make a speedy move up here last fall we needed to leave our dog with Chris's parents, down in SLO. Now don't feel bad for us, or the dog, as he is living in English Cocker heaven with Chris's Mom who breeds and trains them as a love and hobby. She has taken Dusty on as an obedience dog and has been cleaning up at dog shows with him all over CA. So when we heard that he would be nearby (Pleasanton) for a show we scooted on over for a visit. As you can see, both Dusty and Chris were thrilled to see one another. Many scratches and cuddles were shared, walks were had, and Dusty marked us both with several slobber 'trails' on shirt sleeves and pants legs. Hopefully in the spring or summer next year we will find a reasonable place in the area to live that will allow us to have Dusty permanently living with us. Until then we will happily share 'custody' and visit him in SLO.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Catch-up

Hmmm........ appear, disappear, appear, disappear. Sorry! Here is a list of a few things I have done in the past month:

- Cabining with friends. Spent loads of time on the dock, in the lake, and hanging out with my husband and close friends on the last weekend of the summer. Loved it so much that it may need to become an annual tradition.

- Wading up the 'falls' at bass lake, water as cold as just melted ice, cool rocks, pebbles underfoot.

- Birthday tea party at a friend's loft. Tea sandwiches, scones, and real tea-cups. Twin three year olds thrilled with a real tea party to watch at our table.

- Another attempt at Bikram Yoga up in the City. HOT, Sweaty, and not really prepared. At least I had friends to make eye contact with and grimace!

- A visit down to SLO to enjoy the vineyard view, chickens, and dogs. Also a beer at Spike's.

- Getting real about a budget and organizing our finances, painful now, but it will get better.

- Making pizza at home with Trader Joe's pizza dough, less expensive and more fun. No rolling pin? Ok let's use a wine bottle instead, and drink the wine too.

- Sitting down to watch Benjamin Button at home (best movie I have seen all year). If you haven't seen it, please do, it is amazing.

- Losing hours of time window shopping on-line now that I know I don't have the money to spare. Self-punishment, or guilty pleasure.... not sure which yet.

- The arrival of fall. Pumpkins, coats, and scarves. A chill in the morning air.

- Early rain this year, overnight, and hard all day. Walking into the apartment to find water all over the kitchen floor from flooding (fixed hopefully now). A quick trip to Mac's BBQ for comfort food (due to an irrational fear of electrocuting myself with the electric stove should I try to cook dinner).

- Re-learning to ride a bike. Facing my fear of riding with traffic and making my way safely to the library and back.

- Attempting to read Jane Austin's 'Emma'. I like the movies better!

- Seeing my husband walking in the door after class.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Simple Pleasures

Watching Pedro grow. He goes home for the weekend and comes back bigger every darn time!

A surprise of 2 dozen home grown eggs delivered by Chris's mom.

A bag packed for a weekend away with friends at the Cabin at Bass Lake.
A wish list of swimming, floating, hiking, reading, grilling, sleeping, and S'mores soon to be fulfilled.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Sick Fix

My husband came home yesterday miserably ill with a sinus infection, per the Doc, and 24 hours later is still ickily sick. He somehow thought this morning that he would go to work..... right. 1 1/2 hours of sleep, hacking, coughing, and blowing your nose all night, and looking like you have been hit with a mack truck, and you're going to go to work? And your customers will be seeing you this way???

We live 1 block from Walgreen's so I finally told him that, no I would not be going to get him daytime cold remedies (with all those stimulants) and if he wanted to go to work so bad he would need to walk there himself to get them (tough love). He looked at me and blinked a couple of times then decided he would be taking the day off. I suppose he reasoned that if he couldn't manage to drag himself across the street and up one very, very short block, he couldn't really go to work after all.

After plenty of fluids and some sleep today he is looking a little tiny bit better. I decided that I would make him a chicken stock soup of some kind and started scheming. I was inspired by a wonderful soup that I have had at El Cid in Oakhurst, CA. It's very much a gringofied 'Mexican' restaurant, but has an amazing vegetable and meatball soup (Albondigas) on it's menu which I thought would fit the bill. I made a few adaptions from what I think the recipe at the restaurant is and came up with my own recipe:

Sick-Fix Sausage Albondigas Soup:

6 cups regular chicken stock, warmed
1 good drizzle olive oil
1 Lb uncooked sausage of choice (I used Trader Joe's Chicken Asiago Cheese Sausage.. Heaven)
2 large yellow onions, rough chop
5 medium carrots, peeled and chunked
3 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and chunked
1 Lb small baby potatoes, halved (or just pierced with a knife if small)
1/2 large head of green cabbage, rough chop
1 large pinch red pepper flakes
1 large pinch dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Start with a large stock pot on medium heat. Warm up the pot and add a generous drizzle of olive oil inside. Pinch sausage out of the casings (like in this recipe) into small meatballs and directly into the pot. Brown the 'meatballs' on all sides in the pot while warming the stock in another pot or microwave and chopping up all the vegetables. Once meatballs are nicely browned add in the chunked onion, add some salt, and cook until the onions are slightly translucent. Add the potatoes, carrots, zucchini, and cabbage, stir. Pour the warmed chicken stock into the pot until the veggies and meatballs are mostly covered. Add the red pepper flakes (to taste), the oregano, and salt and pepper to taste, and stir again. Let simmer, covered until the onions are transparent and the carrots and potatoes are easily pierced by a spoon (~ 1 hour). Spoon into a big bowl, add some cheese on top if you like (we used Parmesan, yum), a hunk of toasted bread with butter on the side, and enjoy.

We settled down quite happily to bowls of this soup in front of the TV this evening and it sent Chris off to bed at 8:30 quite drowsy, full, and hopefully on-the-mend. The Albondigas adaptation was so good (high praise coming from me as I usually am not so impressed by my own cooking) and I know it will be a frequent repeat in my kitchen in the coming fall and winter months.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Crazy Busy


Acckkkk!! What a busy few weeks here. Time just seems to go zipping by when you are running from one thing to the next in work, play, and everyday life. To quickly catch up, here are a few of the Play items I / We have been doing lately:

- Playing tour guide to Chris's family + two 16 year old foreign exchange students over the long weekend. In less than 24 hours we.... stood in line for an hour at the Powell street trolley turn around, rode said trolley to the Wharf, walked to Pier 39, stared at 100s of sea lions, went to Coit Tower where we took in murals and an incredible 360 degree view, walked Little Italy and China Town, shopped 'till we dropped at Union Square, and drove over the Golden Gate Bridge (2x).

-Discovering 'Movies on the Square' in Redwood city and enjoying both Casablanca and The Sound of Music with my Husband and friends in the beautiful CA evening weather.

- Going to about a half dozen Picnics and BBQ's for birthdays, holidays, reunions, and just becauses in wonderful parks and backyards, with tons of old and new friends.

- Taking in Hitchcock movies at the historic and fully restored Stanford Movie Theater, which has someone actually play the organ in between shows.

- Heading out to Half Moon Bay with friends to hang out on the beach, watch the waves come in, the sun set, and to enjoy a good bottle of wine.

- Heading out for simple dates with my husband like Pizza by the Slice and strolls.

- Hiking at Rancho San Antonio Park after work with friends (and lots of bugs, ick).

- After one year of moving, pinching myself and realizing that yes, this really is my life.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Field Trip

Chris and I had a wonderful visit to San Francisco's California Academy of Sciences yesterday. Here we are cleaning the pacific reef exhibit:
Ha!! Just kidding. I wish it were true, I have always fascinated about diving at an aquarium as a volunteer to do maintenance and help teach. I think you probably have to be a SERIOUS volunteer to get to do that! But, we did have a great time at the Academy.

We got up early and managed to get there right as it opened for early entry for members (I signed up for membership when I visited with my Mom and her husband Bob in January). Chris had never been before, so it was exciting for me to waltz right in with him (and over 100 other members, popular place) and get right in line for planetarium passes. We got passes easily and went right over to the first show of the day which was un-real. It is an I-Max dome theater and at the beginning of the show it feels like you literally fly out of your seat, go through the roof, and are floating and looking down at the living roof of the academy. Then you feel like you float higher and higher seeing all of the neighborhood, then the city, then the bay, then California. You fly around the globe to destinations like the Galapagos Islands, the Philippines, and Madagascar, then zoom out to space to look down on earth as 'an island in space'. Then fly around the solar system, to other star systems, out of the galaxy, and back again. It was a completely addictive experience and that I am sure I will be going back again many more times.

Afterwards, we walked through the four story rain forest exhibit with all the plants, birds, frogs, fish, and butterflies. A quick 'butterfly check' and we were allowed to get onto the elevator to take us down to the aquarium where we wandered around in awe looking at the jelly fish, sea-horses, fish, and reef exhibits (divers and all). Then we made our way up to the 2nd floor for the 3-D 'Bugs' movie with MUCH larger than life 3-D bugs such as centipedes, praying mantis, and butterflies crawled and flitted before our eyes. Then up to the roof to gaze across the living roof landscaped with self-sufficient native plants like poppies, yarrow, and strawberry bushes.

Chris and I decided to call it quits before we got completely overwhelmed, so we left prior to becoming burnt out by the crowds and found a shady patch in the grass of Golden Gate Park to lay down and relax/people watch. Then it was off to Park Chow, a fantastic restaurant within easy walking distance to the Academy for a late lunch. I was completely wowed by their special which was a fried whole soft shell crab sandwich (yum) and though I was tempted, resisted ordering another one because yes, it really was that good.
We did not however resist pie, and shared half slices of pecan and chocolate cream pie for dessert. Then it was back home to crash. We were completely tuckered. Chris was so whipped that he actually napped for 3 hours. It was an incredible day, one of the best I can remember in San Francisco, and I would highly recommend it to anyone that gets the chance.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

5th Anniversary

August 14th was our fifth wedding anniversary. We headed up to Chris's grandparent's wonderful 1940's log cabin in Bass Lake, CA where we honeymooned to celebrate for a long weekend. It was absolutely ideal. The weather was perfect, we were in the midst of the Perseids star shower, and the cabin awaited us in all of it's homey glory.
We had a wonderful time. We stayed up late and slept late every day. Chris always managed to sneak out while I was asleep to fetch a newspaper from the nearby village. We had quiet mornings reading the paper, making breakfast, and sipping hot coffee on the deck.
The afternoons were devoted to the lake, either lounging under the umbrella and reading on the dock, or in the water bobbing with our floaty 'noodles' until we were too chilly to stay in any longer.
Chris was a grill 'Maestro' and whipped up a supreme Tri-tip with grilled veggies and corn for our anniversary dinner. I set up a table with candles on the deck and we opened a bottle of wine from our wedding for dinner.
After dinner we went down to the lake and motored the boat to middle of the lake to watch for shooting stars. We were pleasantly surprised by a fireworks show from the shore at the 'Pines Lodge' that went on for quite sometime, reflecting off the waters of the lake, and were rewarded for our patience later with several brilliant shooting stars.
Before leaving on Sunday, Chris looked up our entry in the guest book from 5 years ago, read it aloud - bringing tears to my eyes, then added another entry for us to look up in the future. We are so very lucky, the two of us, to love each other more deeply and understand each other more fully as time goes on, to have shared such a wonderful past, enjoy the present, and look forward with such excitement to our future together. I love you Chris, you are a incredible and amazing person, and I am filled with joy everyday to share my life with you.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Singing Chicken

Mom, have I thanked you enough for my singing chicken?!? Not only does this cheerful fellow keep me company while I'm cooking, but he is also gentlemanly enough to hold my wedding ring for me when I am mixing up messy things with my hands (like tonight's turkey meatloaf, a favorite around here). Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Wedding Bliss


My good friends S&J got married yesterday. It was a lovely ceremony in a very rustic catholic church. I got there early and though not really religious, went and lit a candle for my friends and concentrated on all of my well wishes for the couple. I hoped that the happiness and love they felt on their wedding day would grow even deeper as time went on. That they would succeed in supporting each other in jobs, kids, and times of stress, and that there would be laughter and smiles through even the tough times.


The reception was a blast. Chris saw many, many friends from High School (both the bride and the groom went to high school with him) and reconnected over stories of the past and of the present. We danced for hours (even the funky chicken) both together as a couple and in a circle of friends until the DJ called it quits. We hugged our friends goodbye and packed our car full of gifts and cases of leftover wine to drop-off at the bride and groom's house on the way home. Once home, shoes were kicked off and we crawled into bed.

We slept in this morning, until a late for us 9:30. I persuaded Chris that really, nothing would do for breakfast except a fresh donut, and set him packing for a 'Happy Donut' run (not that I had to twist his arm or anything). We then watched an hour or so of Looney Tunes with our donuts, coffee, and fruit salad while in our PJ's before starting the menial tasks of the day (homework, grocery shopping, etc). Chris laughed when I took the picture below, but really I think it captures the heavenly, lazy feeling of the morning perfectly!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Missing in Action

Hmmm... for someone with 14 posts for the Month of June, it is really sad that it is July 13th and this is my first post of the month.  I have been busy.  Very, very busy.  So here are some highlights from the past couple of weeks.
- A leisurely drive down to San Luis Obispo, in the daylight, for a visit with Chris's family over the long weekend.
- Sitting on the back deck looking out to the vineyards and chickens all afternoon on July 4th, hanging out with family, and smelling ribs smoking on the BBQ.
- Playing fetch with the Dog.
- Farmer's Marketing and loading up with fresh fruits and veggies, then going and pigging out on great pizza by the slice at Speederia Pizzeria with friends.
- Happy hour sitting in down-town Mountain View slowly drinking a Blue Moon beer and people watching.
- My first Bikram Yoga experience with friends D&R at the Funky Door in San Francisco.

- A free set of season tickets for the Giants vs. Padres game on Saturday night, witnessing a home run and a double play in person, smoked braut dog in hand. 

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Beach Day

Yesterday after work I drove out to Half Moon Bay to meet a group of friends from work and head to the beach.  It was a gorgeous drive, on my own, with the sunroof and the back windows of the car open, winding my way over via the 92 through the hills and eucalyptus groves.  It was sunny right up to the point that I pulled into the beach parking lot, which was under a cloud of fog.  I met one of my friends there and we ambled along the gravel trail down to the beach.  
We set up camp near the back of the beach as the tide was coming in and the waves were crashing in.  Some friends were recovering from a rough day, so it fit the mood.  It was actually comforting, enveloping with the fog and the sound of the crashing waves.  Wine, blankets, sandwiches, and kites were produced.  I discovered the sand was riddled with little bits of sea glass and spent about an hour collecting a pocket full varying shades of brown, green, blue, clear, and aqua.  We stayed on the beach for hours watching the ocean calm and the fog get thicker and thicker, talking about the day and future plans, teasing each other and giggling before getting chilled and making the trek back to our cars.  
 

Monday, June 22, 2009

Obsessed



I have been totally obsessed this week with reading the Twighlight Saga by Stephenie Meyer.  All 4 books.  All 2,444 pages.  I was way late to jump on this bandwagon, thinking, teenage vampire books?  Really?  What could all the fuss be about?  But really, these are wonderful reads.  Different material but same sort of obsession as the Harry Potter series.  Anything that can make you read 2,444 pages in 7 days is worth it.  Other highlights of the week?
- Tuesday night hiking with co-workers at Rancho San Antonio Park for 2 1/2 hours
- Attempting to do an hour long yoga class on a newly washed and not nearly dry enough yoga mat (slippery and wet)
- A successful asparagus, potato, tomato, goat cheese quiche in a home-made savory cheddar cheese and cracked pepper pastry shell, yum!
- Farmer's marketing 2x in one week
- Arranging a houseful of flowers for a friend suprising his girlfriend returning home from a week long trip
-Friday night in with Chris, movies, and take out pizza

Saturday, June 13, 2009

SLO

We arrived in San Luis Obispo at about 11 pm last night and collapsed at Chris's parents house. Our dog Dusty greeted us at the door and came and cuddled with us in bed all night.  We slept in today until.... 8:30!!!  I remember when 8:30 was early and I slept in until 11:30 or 12 on the weekends, seems like a long time ago.  So far today we have lounged around in bed, done a load of laundry (no quarters needed here), stared out at the vineyards and chickens in the backyard, meet our friends JE&L for bagels, done some light shopping for clothes and books, and have returned to Chris's parents house to lounge around some more in their courtyard.  Plans for the rest of today include more lounging under the red umbrella in the courtyard, drinking another rum and coke, scratching the dog behind the ears, napping, then meeting friends for dinner.
 It's a tough life, but someone has to do it. 

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Refuge

Another fantastic farmer's market in San Carlos.  This time I walked up from home to the Market and met a few friends to shop.  We all wandered the market, stopping here and there, never quite at the same place at the same time.  We connected at the end with exclamations of 'potatoes!' and 'strawberries!' with nods of agreement and peeks in bags all around.  As Chris and I are headed out of town for the weekend I gathered mostly longer lasting goods like carrots, cabbage, cauliflower, and corn that I am hoping to get through when we return next week.  I could not resist a three pack of huge red strawberries that I am planning to munch on all day tomorrow, breakfast, snack, and on the road to SLO.  After the market we walked and met Chris at Refuge, a great restaurant a couple of blocks down from the farmer's market that specializes in belgian beer and pastrami.  We stood on the street for a while as the place was packed and enjoyed the cool weather and people watching before getting seated at a huge library style table made of dark and highly polished wood.  I of course was forced to indulge in a Chimay and a reuben (go on, twist my arm) which was pure heaven.  If you get a chance to eat here, please do, at least once.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

School


It is Chris's first night back in class today and I am partly enjoying having a quite house and relaxing, and partly missing having him around.  I ended up working late today and Chris was long gone when I got home.  I heated up some of Sunday nights leftovers, the Jamie Oliver chicken, potatoes, and tomatoes, poured a glass of wine, and settled in to watch total chick drivel (The Bachelorette, how could I watch that silliness?!).  I also had a piece of olive bread left from my Farmer's market outing with my Mom, and it was still sooooo gooooood.  I can't wait to get back to the market on Thursday as I am totally out of fresh veggies, fruit, and nearly out of bread, and am excited to see what is in the stalls this week.  Now what other drivel silly show can I watch before Chris gets home, hmmmm.....

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Mummy Weekend

Yesterday we all loaded on to the train and headed up to SF.  After a lovely lunch at Lulu, we went up to the SF MOMA and saw the Ansel Adams and Georia O'Keeffe show which was extraordinary but very crowded.  We all met up at the rooftop garden at the top of the MOMA which is filled with interesting sculpture, plants, amazing sky and building views, and lots of good people watching.  It was a lovely surprise as I had forgotten completely that they would be opening that this year and it was a good place to process everything from the exhibit.
This morning we lounged about for a while nibbling on farmer's market strawberries, peaches, and cherries before heading to breakfast at the Ingelside Cafe in San Carlos.  We each had an egg dish in some form or another and then split a stack of sinfully good chocolate chip pancakes.  
Then mom and I packed up and went for a lovely long walk on the beach out at Half Moon Bay, which was absolutely perfect.  The water was cool, sand clean and firm, a slight breeze was blowing.  There were interesting sights like this purple kite tied to a log flying on it's own with no owner around, children running and playing near the water's edge, jellyfish, and a few lonely surfers.
We walked about half-way down the beach, sat and enjoyed the sights for a long while, then walked back to the car.  We are mid-way through fixing dinner now.  Another Jamie Oliver recipe, this time for chicken, potatoes, and tomatoes, and Mom is creating a squash and garlic sauté that smells heavenly.  One last night sitting around the dinner table, chatting away, then Mom is headed home tomorrow.  What a good visit.  

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Kofta

Kofta was a success last night.  We used a recipe of Jamie Oliver's but did make some changes. We used pre-ground lamb, and way, way less seasoning.  He calls for a lot of spices (like a tablespoon of chili powder for a Lb of meat?!) so we reduced to a teaspoon of chili powder, a teaspoon of cumin, and 2 teaspoons of sumac.  As we cannot grill at our apartment, I made the Kofta into little meatballs, a heaping teaspoon each, and cooked them in a large pan.  We also used Tzatziki from TJ's instead of plain yogurt.  Paired with a good bottle of wine from Castoro Cellars it was a delicious and still spicy dinner.  We then also opened a bottle from Novella, and drank it all and stayed up past our bedtimes and talked about Tortola and NC memories and ate ice cream straight from the cartons.  In other words the night spiraled slightly out of control.  Poor Chris retreated to bed and watched a Muppet's movie off Netflix.  Well, it couldn't have been that bad as we are both doing just fine today!  This morning we have been relaxing and drinking coffee and munching on pumpkin muffins from Ellie Krieger's recipe, yum.  

Friday, June 5, 2009

Cupcakes

Mom and I took a nice long walk up through San Carlos's residential area to the Public Library ooohing and aaahing over peoples garden's.  I have always gone to the Library at night and always thought the entry ceiling was kind of neat, but had no idea that it was really one big skylight filter.  It was astounding, like thousands of bright stars.
We then walked down Laurel Street to Vanilla Moon Bakery, which I have been eying ever since we moved here because of their cupcake pictures.  Chris and I have been trying to go for a while but every time we have headed up there it has been closed as they are often sold out.  We got a quatro leches and a peanut butter chocolate and split the two, both were good, but the peanut butter icing was incredible.  It was busy the whole time with people coming in and out, often leaving with whole boxes filled with cupcakes!  We then walked to the local grocery and bought some needed items for dinner.  Plans tonight?  We are making Jamie Oliver's Kofta recipe, drinking wine, and staying in.

Mom's Here!

Mom's finally here!  Seems a bit odd to have her in AZ in the morning and have her arrive here at the train station by lunchtime.  Marvels of the modern world.  Well of course I had to whisk her off to eat at Mack's right away where we split ribs and a pulled pork sandwich with all the fixin's.  I know, I am a little bit obsessed with that place....  It was glorious to chat on the back patio with her for so long that I think we surprised Vicki, one of the owners, when we emerged from the back (I suspect she thought there were no more customers there).  Then we went home and chatted some more then walked up to the farmer's market to collect dinner.  San Carlos is a bit idillic on Thursday farmer's market night with everyone out with their dogs and kids and strollers toting there bags of fresh produce around, but hey, how can I really complain?  We picked up a wonderful selection of lettuce, berries, peaches, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, and also bought a rotisserie chicken and potatoes from a stand in the market and bread and pastry from a bakery stand (names I will get and post later on as I forgot to even look) and had a wonderful relaxed dinner at home.  Below is the farmer's market chicken which was amazingly good, especially with the provided limes to squeeze over top, potatoes which were also really good with little caramelized bits, and fresh farmer's market salad with the first real tomatoes of the season.  Too bad the Iphone picture doesn't quite do this justice. 
This morning we had farmer's market strawberries and peaches with yogurt and that yummy farmer's market pastry that was almost like a rich flat croissant with sugar on the outside.  Something Chris snuck behind us and got when we weren't looking, thanks Chris!  

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Visit

My mom is coming to visit from AZ and is arriving tomorrow!!! There are towels stacked up for her, sheets ready for her bed, and one very excited daughter waiting.  We are mostly unscheduled, but are definitely walking up to the farmer's market tomorrow evening and are going to the Ansel Adams and Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit at the SF MOMA over the weekend.  The rest of the time we will be exploring the city and hopefully doing lots of cooking, walking, and catching up. Can't wait to see you Mom!