Quick Trip to California, Part I

I recently drove down to California to kidnap my Dad and his dog, Angel, and bring them back up to Idaho for a long visit.

I started out driving through Washington down to the Columbia River. It was a gorgeous day, the traffic was light, and I was looking forward to seeing Dad and Angel.

Looking west along the Columbia

I made my way down to Salem, Oregon to spend the night. I found an excellent sushi restaurant for supper. I miss sushi. Haven't found a decent sushi place yet around where I live now.

No, this sushi wasn't pink. It was called a Mango Tango roll. The light at the sushi bar was an electric blue.
Believe me, the sushi was delicious!

The next day I continued south on I-5 until I got to a rest area north of Mount Shasta. It was a very pleasant spot for lunch. The scenery on this trip was spectacular.

A peaceful place to rest and have a bite to eat.

I love that first view of Mount Shasta. It almost takes your breath away. What an awesome sight.

I can't imagine climbing to the top.
I don't even like climbing to the top of a ladder.

After a long day of driving down the central California valley, I finally arrived at Dad's house. He was happy to see me. And, boy, was I happy to see him! And get out of that truck.

After a delicious supper at Applebee's with family friends (Lucy, Gail, Mary, Terry and Arlene), I settled in for a much-needed night of slumber.

The next day, I drove to El Dorado Hills to visit with my dear friend, Cheryl. Cheryl and I worked together at the Dept. of Developmental Services. We had, hands down, the most fun I've ever had at work. I mean, we had fun WORKING. Doesn't get much better than that.

Cheryl with Rosie and Dixie

Cheryl lives on Folsom Lake at the top of a hill. She has a pretty awesome view from her front yard pastures.

Rosie and Dixie seem to like their digs, too.

Cheryl's backyard view is not bad, either. Folsom Lake is full again and everything is green.

Sunny D, Cheryl's Min Pin, likes to hang out with the grownups.

After chatting for a bit, we decided to take a hike down to a picnic table that Cheryl and her husband, Kevin, have by the edge of the lake.

It provides a peaceful view for a picnic or quiet conversation.

Then Cheryl asked "Are you up for a little hike? There's a nice trail right over here that loops back up to the house." "Sure!" I was going to ask if it was OK that I just had my sandals on, but then I noticed Cheryl was wearing flip-flops. So, off we went.

The trail started off fairly wide and open, but then got overgrown and barely visible. It had only been a week or so since Cheryl had hiked it, but it had rained and the grass and brush had become prolific. Soon, however, the jungle receded and we found the trail again.

Then I heard Cheryl say "Uh oh!"

The trail was underwater! It's supposed to go right over there where the trees are standing. I guess Folsom Lake really is back.

So Cheryl cut her own trail through the grass, over to where she knew the trail wound around. I followed carefully, keeping a sharp eye out for snakes.

The Goose Family cheered us on

We met up with the trail shortly thereafter and made our way back to her house, where we enjoyed a nice glass of wine with lunch.

Love the look on Cheryl's face. She didn't have another clean
wine glass so she used a short plastic glass. "Whatever!"

After lunch, we took a fun drive in their golf cart. We drove up through the wealthiest part of the neighborhood to the tippy top of the hills, overlooking the lake.

I see Cheryl's house! And one of her horsies!

A good time was had by all. Especially Sunny D.

"If only they would let me drive this thing." 

Stay tuned for Part II, wherein I visit Debra and Gay, and haul Dad and Angel back with me to the Inland Northwest.

Sewing with Peggy

I have at least a couple of calendar entries every month titled "Sewing with Peggy". Peggy is my friend and sewing mentor. She and her husband, Dave, own the local hardware store (the coolest hardware store in the INW). She is an amazing seamstress and sells some of her wares in the store. I love her aprons!

We became friends after I took in my tattered Halloween witch to ask for her advice on repairing it. She offered to take the witch home and repair it herself. She named her "Wanda" and she came back looking better than ever!

I began going over to Peggy's to sew about a year ago. I am learning not only how to sew, but to embroider, make appliqués, and quilt. So much fun!

Peggy and Dave have a charming house right on the lake.

This is where the magic happens! The measuring, cutting, ironing, pinning, embroidering, and sewing. That's Stanley on the left and Bentley on the right. They supervise.

Today, Peggy is helping me plan to make some pillow shams for our guest room.




This is the sham I'm using for a pattern.

















And this is the fabric I'm using. Isn't it perfect for a cozy cabin? I got it at Peggy's Fantastic Fabric Store.

Here's Peggy looking through her pattern drawer. That's the lake in the background. What a gorgeous view! Peggy is working on some overalls for her grandson. Adorable!

Turns out we can't get very far today on the shams because I need to wash and dry the fabric before we start cutting.

What to do? What to do? Oh, let's eat lunch!

It's a beautiful spring day, so we're eating out on the deck.

The birds are joining us for lunch at their own dining area.

Woodpeckers, blue jays and hawks are regulars here.

Mt. Spokane is looking quite majestic today.



Peggy made a delicious vegetarian chili with all the fixins. Delicious!
















Celecia, Peggy's friend and housekeeper/dogsitter, is from New Zealand. She made some tasty peanut biscuits (cookies) last time I went to Peggy's. Wait a minute, do I go over there to sew or eat?

Stanley has prostate cancer and isn't feeling very good. He was enjoying the sunshine and the breeze through his fur.

Every year, this goose and her mate use this flower pot on Peggy's and Dave's dock to start a new family. This year, she has seven eggs in the nest.



Time for a stretch break.













Here comes Papa Goose.

Back to work. Mom is nesting and Papa is patrolling.


So I'm well-fed and have the leftover chili to enjoy later this week. I also have my homework assignment to wash, dry and iron the sham fabric.

Another fun day at Peggy's house. Until next time!

Long Distance Baking - Session One

My sweet yoga sister, Gay, and I have been friends since we took Yoga Teacher Training together in 2010. She came up to visit me the first summer I lived here in Northern Idaho. We often text each other for hours on end as we watch Star Trek: The Next Generation together on Saturday night. We talk about what's happening on the episode we're watching, or discuss theology, relationships, cooking, whatever. I know, we lead exciting lives, don't we?

Recently, we decided to bake the same brownie recipe on the same day at the same time, texting as we went. We chose Valerie Bertinelli's "Classic Gooey Brownies".

First step was melting the chocolate and butter together.
I chose the double boiler method. Gay chose to use the microwave.

Next, we had to whisk the wet ingredients together until they were "fluffy".
















Hmmm, Gay's looks "fluffier" than mine.

Gay used dark chocolate chips, per the recipe, but I decided to chop up some dark chocolate blocks that I already had in the pantry. Messy job, but then I get to eat as I clean up :-)

Mine was ready to go into the oven. I noticed my batter was much wetter than Valerie's was on her show. Perhaps it was the homemade butter? It seemed to have a higher water content than the store-bought kind. But boy, is it yummy and fun to make.

Gay was still working on hers, so after I put my brownies in the oven, I cleaned up my huge mess (leaving only the ingredients for the frosting out).

"Hi, Gay! What's taking you so long?"


Finally, I got a photo of Gay with her brownies in the oven.

"Hello, my beautiful friend!" Her brownies were about 15 minutes behind mine. They were supposed to bake for 30 minutes. They were supposed to "crack" and set in the middle.

Boy, did mine crack! It's an earthquake! They were still raw in the middle after 30 minutes, so I put them back in. Tick tock, tick tock.




Meanwhile, Gay was waiting for hers to crack...














Finally, after another 15 minutes, mine were done in the middle and I could take them out.

And Gay's were done at the same time, in the allotted 30 minutes.




She took hers out of the pan to cool. She decided not to frost hers. Oooh, I'm going to tell Valerie!!!!

I frosted mine (hiding that wild crack).

Hello, sweet yoga sister!





And now, for the taste test (my favorite part).

First, Bruce...

Umm, I think he liked them.

My turn!



Hmmm, they were good, but they didn't knock my socks off.

Gay? What do you think?

She agreed with Bruce. They are Good!!!

I decided to give them another try later while I watched TV. I liked them better than before. Yeah, OK, I'll eat the rest :-)

Stay tuned for the next Long Distance Baking Session. We have three Brownie recipes lined up!

For those of you wanting to try this recipe, you can find it here:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/valerie-bertinelli/classic-gooey-brownies.html