Adrift in the Blooms

Want to come stand under a canopy of cherry blossoms? Well come on over and do just that. I wait all year for my tree do bust out with all her glory and without fail she gives us a show every year.

The new/old window

Somewhere along the line a gained a cool old window that someone had discarded. It had a wood frame and the glass sort of looked like "bubbles" I have held on to it for years thinking that someday I would make something cool and functional out of it so I did just that. Even though its not quite finished here I wanted to post it. My husband is going to hang two chains from it and I am going to hang it from my front porch. I think it will make a lovely addition.......

Shrimping Adventure

Well we made it out shrimping again this year. Seeing as though there are only four days a year to do it we have managed to make it three out of the four. It was a lovely day this past Saturday, the winds and water were calm and the sun actually made a showing too. It doesn't get better than that! Had a really fun day with friends and scored some nice Hood Canal Shrimp to boot. I made shrimp cocktails later that evening. My husband said they were good and I have to take his word for it since I am allergic to shrimp!

Shrimp Cocktail

7-10 Fresh Shrimp
3 ribs of celery
3/4 cups ketchup
1/2 tbsp horseradish
dash of worseshire sauce
fresh squeezed lemon

Boil shrimp with enough water to cover 3-4 minutes. Meanwhile chop celery finely, add to cocktail glass. Mix up the ketchup, horseradish, worsheshire sauce, squeeze of lemon, mix throughly and top the celery with sauce. Rinse, peel shrimp add it to cocktail glass, squeeze small amount of lemon on top, garnish with celery top and wedge of lemon.

More Yard Photos

The Delights of Gardening

I am stoked about working in my yard and making everything beautiful! There are lots of projects to do and I have more ideas in my head for loads more projects. I have always wanted to have a Red scarlet bean teepee and I am determined to fulfill that dream this year. Hopefully I will post pictures of that later on in the year. For now I am posting pictures of my yard.

A beautiful day at the canal

Had a wonderful day at the canal two weekends ago. We gathered oysters and sat and shucked some of them on the beach. Thinking about making fried oysters for that evenings dinner. We also shucked some for the bait boxes for shrimping that we are planning to do tomorrow. Greg has everything you could think of for bait. Hopefully I will be posting pictures of shrimp in the next few days! Anyway the oysters were fantastic! I also made some tarter sauce to go with it.............so good

Fried Oysters

2 dozen fresh oysters, shucked
3/4 cup corn starch
2 eggs beaten
1 cup panko

Wash Oysters set aside. Get three bowls and add corn starch to one, the beaten eggs to the second and panko to the third. Heat oil to 350 approx and roll an oyster in corn starch, then the eggs, then panko, fry for two minutes. Drain on paper towels.


Tarter Sauce

1 cup best foods mayo
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1/4 sweet pickle relish
1/2 tspn dried dill weed
fresh squeezed lemon

Combine all ingredients, cover and refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour

A perfect day in Seattle!

It actually didn't rain today and we hopped the ferry and headed out to Seattle. Our son Nick and his girl friend Tisha went with us. We had a cold beer on the ferry and then we walked along the waterfront, shopped a little and then headed to the Seattle aquarium. I really enjoyed checking out the sea creatures. There were a ton of people out today, no rain on a 'Sunday spring day in Seattle brings all of the natives out. We caught a cab and headed to Ruths Chris steak house. Had my absolutely most favorite seared tuna appetizers and cocktails. Then he walked to Blue C sushi. All the dishes come by your table via a conveyor belt, pretty cool, you pick your dish and dig in. It was great. All in all had a fabulous day!

Weekly Cooking

Well today is the day that I cook for the week for my mother in law. First I have to decide what I'm cooking, then shop, then spend the day cooking it. Today, among other things, I am making navy beans and ham. My mother used to make this quite frequently when we were growing up and I always loved it. My husband's not a big soup eater, let alone beans, so when I make this I end up eating most of it myself and throwing the rest away. One of the good things about making my MIL food is that I can make things that I like and my husband doesn't. My MIL is not picky (at least she doesn't complain) Today I decided to add "another layer of flavor" I used chicken stock in lieu of most of the water. Still simmering after going on three hours, the beans are still a little hard for my liking........hmmmmm? I googled it, seems like maybe the salt is the culprit. It's not too bad at this point but I will continue to cook it and hope for a miracle!
We are planning on taking the ferry and going to the aquarium this afternoon. I bought the tickets on the GROUPON site, love them! Half price tickets basically and hopefully a fun afternoon!
Better get after the food now, still have to make deviled eggs.....:))

I love Clara

I watched several of Clara's videos today. This lady is such a doll and watching her videos reminded me so much of my own Grandmother that I lost a few years ago. Grannies beans are something that I still make to this day. Simple yet wholesome and very satisfying meal on the cheap. It stirs up all those fond memories. If you get a chance, head on over and watch some more of these great videos!

Bring on Spring!

Just a little rise in the temperature and the longer daylight hours makes me happy. Seeing the new life spring from the ground, the birds returning back to our yard, the frogs croaking at night, all lift my spirits. I love spring, even more than I do summer. I love the renewal of life once again. It gives me hope.