Thanksgiving Dinner

With all of the snow and cold weather this year, we had a very small and relaxing Thanksgiving dinner. Our children could not get to our house due to the road conditions, so we had a very beautiful dinner at Preservation Kitchen, our current favorite dining establishment. Since we both had to work the next day, this choice to not cook a large dinner at home was a wonderful solution.

Preservation Kitchen is situated in a beautiful old Craftsman Bungalow dating from the early 20th century. It is furnished in lovely, dark wood, and the place surprises you with its vibrant and earthy artwork on the walls, depicting modern-day meal preparations in a restaurant and market scenes filled with colorful fruits, vegetables and wine.

The traditional Thanksgiving dinner was the best one I'd ever had (even better than my own cooking!), and we enjoyed our meal. We had pumpkin hummus and pita bread for an appetizer, and spinach salads and pumpkin squash soup, both decorated with toasted pumpkin seeds. We shared a pumpkin bread pudding with vanilla bean ice cream for a dessert before we went home and sampled a freshly-baked apple pie, featuring the last of our autumn crop of semi-dwarf

Liberty apples.

It was a good day to recount our blessings, and to share with those around us what we were most thankful for this year.

Snow Angel

In the corner of my front yard, there is a lovely concrete bench that my mother bought me as a gift when I graduated from college with my bachelor's degree in 2004. It is nestled under an Asian Pear tree, and in the summer, the tree is happy to share a flower bed with my many hostas.

At a swap meet in Monroe a couple of years ago, I found this plaster angel and knew that it was the perfect finish to my garden bench. Also, as a graduate of Seattle Pacific University, we participate in a custom of "Ivy Cutting", where each of us receives a cutting from the ivy adorning many of the college buildings. We see the symbolism of being cut from the main vine that has nurtured us for many years in our intellectual and spiritual pursuits, and we are instructed to go forth and plant our own 'vine' in the world. It's a lovely moment as we receive the small, green sprig, and I went home and planted it in my front yard the day I received it at my Baccalaureate.

Today, my angel still life looked lovely brushed with snow. It reminded me to persevere in all seasons of life, knowing that there is a congregation of friends and family that make up the main vine, and that I am inextricably tied to something greater than myself.

First Snowfall--November 22

Today, the weatherman delivered on his promise of snow--and it turned out to be much more than expected. I love it when the most sophisticated computers and meterologists cannot tell what Mother Nature has in store for us.

I didn't make it to work today (but not for lack of trying!), so I settled back, worked from home, and took long walks with my Black Lab/Great Pyrenees dog Juno. She loves the cold weather--she licks the snow, runs around crazily, and throws herself into the white powder. Once inside the house again, she stands by the door, begging to go out one more time. The mountain snow is in her doggie genes.

I saw a perfect snowflake caught in a spider web this afternoon, and as I walked down the country road, I took in all the white beauty and the stark, sparkling bare trees, unadored for weeks until the were wrapped in layers of white today. Only three days until Thanksgiving!

The Great Pumpkin Comes to Maltby

My neighbor Kelly has a friend who grows gigantic pumpkins, and this year, she gave Kelly and her family two very large pumpkins. Kelly said she was reluctant to actually give up the pumpkins (they were her 'babies'), but Kelly assured her that she would take good care of them.

The largest pumpkin resides out near Paradise Lake Road in a lovely flower bed that greets us each time we enter our neighborhood. The other pumpkin is in front of Kelly's house. Our neighborhood has looked very festive this year from late September, and the pumpkins will live on until we start decorating for Christmas.

Looking for Fluffy

Last weekend, Alex and I headed to Country Village in Bothell to check on our favorite chicken, Fluffy. Last year around this time, we ran into Fluffy as he was patrolling the grounds of the shopping center. As we came around the corner, we startled him to such an extent that he flew up into the air and landed in a large old Douglas Fir tree! (neither Alex nor I even knew that chickens could fly that far and high!). Anyway, we hung around the area for about an hour, trying to coax him down from the top of the tree, to no avail.

On a regular basis, we stop by on Sunday afternoons to check in on Fluffy. He looks as good as ever, none the worse for wear after his Big Adventure of 2009. Last Sunday, however, we scoured the grounds trying to find him. We checked all of his usual haunts, such as under the shrubs next to the Country Kitchen, and under the boardwalk in the middle of the square. NO Fluffy. However, we did run into two new characters (picture attached), and we were fascinated with the larger of these two friends.

He is a beautiful black-feathered fowl with large, white plumage on his head. In fact, the feathers are so wild that it gives this otherwise dignified-looking chicken a clownish appearance! He looked so funny that we just laughed at him. He seemed to like the attention, and we were able to get close enough to take this picture. His other little chicken friend stayed close by him, and they made a cute pair.

Alas, we had to leave Country Village that day without a glimpse of Fluffy, but we'll be back, and I know he'll be there waiting for us.

A Saturday Walkabout

Often, after a busy week, I like to sleep late on a Saturday morning (8 a.m.), have a leisurely breakfast and savor a cup of Starbucks Pike Place Blend, and then head on out for an adventure. After the regimented pace of a work week, it's nice to get in my car and not know exactly where I am going or what I am going to do.

I headed up through Maltby into downtown historic Snohomish. It was fun to walk the length of the town several times today, stopping in at all of my favorite stores (Joyworks, The Cinnamon Stick, and The Speckled Hen). Even though the day was overcast, the leaves on the trees were beautiful, and I always love the view of the Snohomish River from town.

There were so many vintage Christmas items in the antique stores, and I'm old enough now to see almost everything we had in our house when I was growing up now residing in the antique malls! I have been collecting Shiny Brite Christmas decorations for several years now, and I found two boxes of ornaments in pristine condition today. They will look beautiful with the 200+ ornaments I already have.

I had lunch in town, stopped by the jewelry store to have my ring cleaned, and then headed home. It was a perfect day, and I feel rested and relaxed, and grateful that I live in a country town that so suits my tastes. I do love the Slow Life!

Halloween Night

We had the most perfect weather for Halloween night last Sunday--I can't remember a time in recent years where the day was warm and sunny and dry, and the kids could wear their costumes without covering them up with warm winter coats.

This year, Kaila left the Princesses behind and ventured into old, familiar territory--classic Disney characters! I was rather surprised at this turn of events, but when she showed up Sunday evening as Minnie Mouse, I was captivated. She was so excited about her upcoming evening.

We met at Mill Creek Centre, a new mini-mall in Mill Creek. From 5-7 p.m. every Halloween, the merchants close for retail business and then open up again for the trick or treaters. The candy and treats are first-class, and the turnout from the community is amazing.

After the candy-gathering, we met at La Palmera for dinner and got caught up on each other's lives. It was a great evening!