Christmas Tree

Happy dance, Happy dance, Happy dance. Our Three days without power are over.The power came on again about a half hour ago and to celebrate I have a video of our Christmas tree. I will have photos of some of my favorite decorations in the next few days.
Turn your speakers on, there is a little background music by Louis Armstrong.

Storm Report

No power since Thursday evening.
Semi-regular updates are over at Mr. C's blog HERE.

Senior Striders, Stride Ebey's Landing

Our outing this morning was to Ebey's landing. We managed to get our hike in, and head back home before the rain came down, and come down it did. There is another storm predicted for this evening with MORE gale force winds. We are prepared in this household with everything needed if the power goes off.

As usual, click on the pictures for a larger view.

From the parking lot, looking up towards the bluff where we will be hiking in a short time.

Liz, Ray, Carmi, Gillian and Helen, pose before we set out.

Here we are about half way to the bluff. The climb was quite gentle and if you took is easy, it was a very pleasant walk.

Looking back towards the carpark we had left a short time before.

Even further up the trail.

Ray and Gillian up ahead almost to the place where we turn and head inland.

Looking back out over the waters of Puget Sound. You can just see a freighter steaming past in the distance.

We are now hiking the prairie. The colors of ploughed field and grassland is so lovely.

Walking the old fenceline.

Looking back across the prairie towards the coast.

A farmhouse and out buildings in the distance, surrounded by lovely green pasture and the rich earth of the ploughed fields. We will be walking on a paved road in front of this home on our way back to our vehicles.

Now we are about three quarters around the loop we are walking, back on a paved road.
Sorry this picture is a little fuzzy, I was still moving when I took it.

In the far distance you can almost make out the fenceline we walked along before descending back onto the paved road.

The farmhouse from the front.

On the other side of the road from the farmhouse, is this old homestead. Those are cabbages growing in front.

Down the road we stroll back to the parking lot and the end of our hike.

A quick couple of pictures of the beach before driving home.

I would love to come back to this beach soon and do some exploring.

Thursday chuckle

Why I fired my Secretary.

Last week was my birthday and I didn't feel very well waking up on that morning.

I went downstairs for breakfast hoping my wife would be pleasant
and say, "Happy Birthday!", and possibly have a small present for me.

As it turned out, she barely said good morning, let alone " Happy Birthday." I thought...
Well, that's marriage for you, but the kids.... They will remember. My kids came bounding down stairs to breakfast and didn't say a word. So when I left for the office, I felt pretty low and somewhat despondent.


As I walked into my office, my secretary Jane said, "Good Morning Boss, and by the way
Happy Birthday !" It felt a little better that at least someone had remembered.


I worked until one o'clock ,when Jane knocked on my door and said, "You know, It's such a beautiful day outside, and it is your Birthday, what do you say we go out to lunch, just you and me."
I said, "Thanks, Jane, that's the greatest thing I've heard all day. Let's go !"

We went to lunch. But we didn't go where we normally would go. She chose instead a quite bistro with a private table. We had two martinis each and I enjoyed the meal tremendously.

On the way back to the office, Jane said, "You know, It's such a beautiful day...We don't need to go straight back to the office, Do We ?"

I responded, "I guess not. What do you have in mind ?"
She said, "Let's drop by my apartment, it's just around the corner."

After arriving at her apartment, Jane turned to me and said, " Boss, if you don't mind,
I'm going to step into the bedroom for just a moment. I'll be right back."


"Ok." I nervously replied.

She went into the bedroom and, after a couple of minutes, she came out carrying a huge birthday cake ... Followed by my wife, my kids, and dozens of my friends and co-workers, all singing "Happy Birthday".


And I just sat there...

On the couch...

Naked.

This is getting to be a Long winter

If this was a movie clip you would see the trees bending under the wind gusts. I park my car on the other side of the driveway so as to avoid damage from any branches which may fall off the trees on the left side of the driveway. I would be really upset, to say the least, to go out in the morning and find a large limb had fallen and damaged my car.

Any where you drive around Whidbey Island through the wooded areas, is a mess. There are branches, large and small, and trees which have been toppled during the storms we have experienced the last few weeks. According to the weather forecast this morning, we are in for MORE high winds the next couple of days. I have to be especially vigilent driving to work as any route I choose to take is on tree lined roads, and some of the trees are leaning over the roads, sure makes me nervous to think at any time a tree could topple onto the road in front of me. It is a good thing to say a prayer before setting out in the morning.

Forecast , wet and windy

It certainly was wet and very windy today.

Looking out of the front doors at the spa where I work. You can just see Camano Island, in the far distance across Saratoga Passage.

The tide was very high and the wind whipped water was crashing up againt the bulkhead and racing up the steps.

Every so often one of the wind driven waves would break over the top of the bulkhead.

Looking in the opposite direction from the steps, I could see the waves coming towards where I was standing, and I estimate the troughs in between the waves to be amost three feet deep at times. Not a good day for boating.
I always love to watch the waters of Saratoga Passage during a storm as mother nature sure can be awesome.

I'm not touching anything, really I'm not.

"I'm just checking out if there will be enough room under the tree for all my gifts from Santa."

Fishin' Club End Of Year Party

Last night the Fishin' Club held its Christmas potluck party.

Club members and family are starting to arrive to enjoy a social get together before we attack the potluck food. David, walking towards me, has a plate of dip and chips. I had to chuckle when Mike went for the dip as I knew one of the ingredients was spinach, he does not care for spinach, so when I asked him if he liked it, he replied "it was Ok" I told him that there was spinach in the dip, and he told me "there was enough other flavors going on that he could not taste the greens, and he did not go back for seconds" *chuckle*

Is that Santa? nope, that is Don in disguise, wearing his Christmas hat.

The tables are being loaded down with, Salads, turkey, mashed potatoes smothered in butter, ham.

Crab, shrimp, more salads, quiche, homemade mac'n'cheese, carrots in a cheese sauce,
jello salad, and other yummy dishes.

Oh! yeah, desserts are arriving, the tables are groaning under the weight of the scrumptious food. You better believe it, the Fishin' Club has the best cooks ever, and we don't waste a morsel, or perhaps that is, the morsels go to our waist. *smile*

After filling our tummies, we got down to the fun business of an auction. Gil donated a fly plate, (beautifully tied fishing flys, mounted and framed) for the auction. Dennis was our auctioneer and a fine job he did indeed.
The bidding started out at $50 and hands went up all over the room. The bidding went up and up, not so many hands being raised now. The excitement grew, until there were just two people trying to outbid each other . Jack and kevin were the two in hot pursuit of the prize.

Kevin, (front) Jack, (rear) were certainly have a great time bidding on the fly plate.
The club members clap, cheer, laugh and encourage the bidders.

From autioneer, Dennis, "do I hear $200" Kevin's hand shoots up, the crowd cheers and claps.

And the winner is----- Jack. Well, actually Jack was bidding for Gary, a club member who was unable to attend the party. Gary had set a limit to the bidding so I can only imagine the fun Jack had bidding for the prize.

Jack holding Gary's prize. Well done Jack, we know Gary is going to be delighted to receive his trophy when he gets back home. And thank you to Gary, as the money for the bid will go towards our scholarship fund.

And the fun is not over yet. Every club meeting, we have a raffle, and all the losing tickes are held over for an end of year drawing for some pretty nice prizes. Richard has his hand inside the bag, The first ticket drawn, has no name, discard that one. Draw another ticket, I don't remember the order in which the tickets were drawn, but there were a couple drawn and the holders were not there at the party so we put the tickets aside so we can call these folks and tell them of their good fortune.

Mac, and fishin' Club prez Mike

Mac, chose as his prize this very nice fishing rod, he also had a choice of a large or small electric smokehouse.

Another fantastic party enjoyed by all, see you all next year.

Honey Mustard Chicken

6 med. Sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 small onion, cut into thin wedges
2-2 1/2 lbs. skinless chicken thighs/and or drumsticks
¾ cup bottled honey mustard dressing
½ tsp. Dried rosemary, crushed.
1/4 tsp. salt, few shakes pepper

Place sweet potatoes and onion in slow cooker. Place chicken on the vegetables
You could also cook this in oven. I happen to like the, put in pot, and come back when it is done approach.

Mix dressing with rosemary salt & pepper and pour over top of chicken.

Cover and cook on low 7-9 hours

Using a slotted spoon, remove chicken and vegetables onto a serving dish.

Whisk cooking liquid until it is smooth, and pour over chicken.

Senior Striders Outing

The weather for the Senior Striders weekly outing was cool, no rain and a little blue sky to be seen. A perfect day for a hike through the woods.

Deciding which of the many trails to take.

George, Delia, Helen, Suzie, Gillian, Liz

Upon entering the trail we were awed by the destruction mother nature wrought upon the trees during the heavy snow of a couple of weeks ago.
Look at the two trees which have been bowed by the force of nature.

The trails were littered with downed trees, broken branches and small limbs. We climbed over, and skirted around the debris covering the trail. There was one tree across the trail that the others climbed over, being shorter it was easier for me to bend over and go under. I always manage to find the easiest way to do things. *grin*

Liz navigating her way over a fallen tree.

Some one had taken the time to stop and build a small cairn, and placed a lucky penny on top. I love to find these little surprizes as I explore.

As we hiked up over some of the higher terain we came across snow which has not melted away yet. Suzie, who was bringing up the rear, could not resist making a couple of snowballs and lobbing them at Gillian who was leading the way. Helen did a little payback with a well placed snowball to Susie's neck.

We had a wonderful hike through Saratoga Preserve, all the exercise, climbing over fallen logs and up and down the trails, and being out in the fresh air made us all feel so good by the time we returned to the parking lot beside this old building.
We all eagerly look forward to Thursday mornings and our outings.

Trail walk today

The weather today looks as though it is going to cooperate for the Senior Strider's walk this morning. We will be leaving around 9am and should be back around 11am so with any luck I should have a report for you this afternoon, that is if I get all my other chores done.

Pavement Art

Julian Beever has made pavement drawings for over ten years. He has worked in the U.K., Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Germany, the USA and Australia.

Merry Christmas to me

I had been searching for a casual dinner set for quite some time, when this one from Pfaltzgraff caught my eye. Right away I was delighted by the color and design of the dinnerware which Pfaltzgraff has created based on the book, The Secrets of Pistoulet by Jana Kolpen.

The dinnerware is brightly decorated with freely rendered flowers, vines and vegetables drawn from or influenced by the book's illustrations, also by Ms. Kolpen. Bright, colorful drawings are set against wide watercolor washes that evoke the light and colors of Southern France.

I am aware that we eat with our eyes and senses as well as our mouths, and have found, since serving our meals on the new dinnerware, I am enjoying my food more than previously. It is especially true of salads which I eat a lot of as I am watching my weight. When serving a salad in the largest of the bowls, the color of the food against the beautiful colors of the dinnerware is most appealing.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved color, whether is be in the artroom at school, in nature, fashion, or in my home. So I am sure my love of color, has everything to do with my new found delight with the Christmas gift to myself.

Sunset over Useless Bay

Orange Pecan Breakfast Cake

1 pkg. Moist Deluxe Butter Recipe cake mix
2/3 cup water
3 large eggs
½ cup butter or margarine, softened
2 tbsp. grated orange peel
2 tbsp. Orange juice
½ cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup fine graham cracker crumbs
2 tbs. butter or margarine, melted
1½ tsps Cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375F

Grease and flour two 9 x1½ inch round layer pans

Combine cake mix, water, eggs, and ½ cup butter in large mixing bowl.
If you would like the cake to have more of an orange flavor, then juice the whole orange after you have removed the peel, save the 2tbs juice for the frosting, and pour the rest into your 2/3 cup measure and top it off with water.

Mix cake as directed on pkg. Fold in 1 tbsp. Of the orange peel

Divide batter evenly in pans.

For the topping, combine the chopped pecans, brown sugar, graham cracker crumbs, 1tbsp orange peel, butter and cinnamon. And sprinkle evenly over batter in pans.

Bake for 25 minute, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Heat the orange juice in the microwave ( takes just a few seconds) and stir in the powdered sugar, then drizzle over the warm cakes.

Now make a pot of coffee to go with a large slice of the breakfast Cake.