Family Photo

Here we are, all gathered around our table.  I even had time to sneak in a piano lesson for Kaila!

A Slow Life Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day dawned cool and wet, with lots of rain.  We are always grateful to not have snow or power outages on this day!

We had the whole family together, and we had lots of time to talk, eat, talk some more, and then eat some more.  Our turkey dinner was made with all of our favorite "Slow Life" foods--turkey, organic potatoes (mashed and sweet potatoes), beans, Waldorf Salad, lefse, bread, organic whole cranberries, and home-made stuffing. We served some nice wines and sparkling cider, and held off the big meal with a few appetizers and a tour of our new Scamp trailer.

It was a good day with good food and family.  We are thankful for it all.

 

Waiting for the mashed potatoes to finish!

 

Mom making her Waldorf Salad

 

 

 

Mascot for The Maltby Pie Company

Here's the official mascot of the Maltby Pie Company.  She wears her custom hat proudly!

 

 

Maltby Pie Company

It's been busy around here for the last week!  Maltby Pie Company had 10 pie orders to fill before Thanksgiving Day!  We peeled apples, froze pie fillings, and rolled out dough for our very first large holiday order.  We had so much fun!

We baked three apple pies, two sweet potato pies, two pecan pies, two pumpkin pies, and one strawberry-rhubarb pie.  Whew!!  That's a lot of pies...

Wednesday afternoon, I packed up the Volvo, put on my apron, and set out to take the pies to their new homes.  I feel a part of this holiday this year, now that I'm retired and can do something this fun for my family, friends and neighbors.

 

 

 

My Son's Birthday

My son Dave turned 40 years old last Sunday!  That's truly a milestone--he's no longer young, but not yet middle-aged.  It's a good time in life to assess where you are, to be thankful for what you have, and to make plans for the future.

I am so proud of the person he is now, and always has been.

 

 

Molbak's Decorated Trees

Here are some examples of decorated trees for the holiday.  The last picture was a lovely purple door, decorated with greens and ornaments.  Which ideas should I use?

 

 

Peppermint Mochas and a Trip to Molbak's

My friend Janet met me at the Woodinville Starbucks (across the street from Molbak's) on Saturday, and we had a chance to get caught up on the past couple of months. It was a cold and sunny day, and the warmth of the fireplace at Starbucks was cheery and cozy.

After our lovely holiday drinks were gone, we walked across the street and spent a couple of hours looking at everything that Molbak's had to offer.  It's helpful to see all of the beautiful things that they have in this store, and it's easy to find the perfect gift for just about everyone on your list.

The many decorated trees were an inspiration to both of us, and we snapped many pictures of our favorite ones, hoping to replicate parts of the decorating scheme into our own homes. 

Janet, my friend of 30 years!

Pecan Pie!

I made my first pecan pie of the season this evening, experimenting with various types of pecans, and deliberating between two family recipes.  I finally decided to make the second recipe tomorrow, compare the two pies, and make my decision as to the pie that will make it to our 'holiday finals' this year!

Pie orders are coming in every day now, and we will  be very busy the two days before Thanksgiving! 

Here's Pecan Pie #1.  More later on  #2, and which one we will use.

The Apple Man

The Maltby Pie Company has been in full production lately, taking advantage of the late autumn harvest, and perfecting our pies for the holiday season.  We have four pies this year for the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons.

1)  Country Apple Pie  2)  Caramel Apple Pie  3)  Apple-Cranberry Pie  4)  Sweet Potato Pie

We already have several orders, and are assembling all of the needed ingredients.  We'll be busy delivering pies the day before Thanksgiving!

Here's the Apple Man with his handy peeler preparing the fillings for two Caramel Apple Pies we delivered last week.

 

 

Revisiting a Favorite Restaurant in Kirkland

When Don and I started dating, he introduced me to Thai food at Tommy Thai's restaurant in Kirkland.  It's a tiny place, tucked into a strip mall in Rose Hill.  Twenty years ago, it had the most wonderful food.

We decided to try it again after all these years. Were we ever in for a surprise!

Once we got into the restaurant, we didn't recognize the place--they had totally remodeled it from top to bottom.  It was so beautiful and elegant, and the food was superb.  We are planning to add this back into our regular round of favorite places!

A Trip to the Maltby Market for Apples

Maltby Market is now open all year long--from this point onward, they advise us to dress 'warmly' before we go shopping there!  Talk about a real country market!

The produce was beautiful and colorful today.  I took these pictures while Don was picking out 35 pounds of apples to make our holiday apple pies.  We got four different types for our upcoming baking!

 

 

A Chilly Day in the Park

The weather has been all over the place in the last few weeks--warm and sunny, warm and rainy, rainy and cold, and now, very cold!  I hadn't taken the dog to Maltby Park for weeks, so we took a quick break between chores today and had a long one-mile walk around the park.  Polly was SO happy!

Here we are, bundled in our parkas and Polly's Seabrook sweater that we got at the Salty Dog last February on her first trip there.