Playing with Food

For the past few months I've  been enjoying cooking  - I've always enjoyed it but due to my long work hours in the past  was not able get too creative. I tried a little here and there but you know if you're short on time you almost always screw it up. There's nothing worse than trying to short cut your way through a complicated recipe only to end up dumping the whole sorry -and often expensive - mess in the trash. To add to it you have to either find something to replace it or just order a pizza, I had just found it too anxiety producing in the past. As we get together every week  with our friends it's a fun excuse to find something new to serve. Kim is working to control her blood sugar and we are both trying to lose weight -  that makes it challenging. It could be annoying but it's not - I've been having a ball low carb, low calorie no sugar wending my way through all sorts of different foods. And yes, I've had a few bungles - but that's to be expected. We've discovered that low carb/low calorie does not always translate into low blood sugars - we quickly discovered a lot of the rice based foods - rice crackers for instance sent the glucose readings through the roof. UGH. We both have been tweaking different foods  and researching - it's interesting to see what works and tastes good at the same time.

Recently I've been experimenting with different types of cuts of beef - since I can't eat it I have to cook blind, I use David as my tester if he's around. He's a good sport though occasionally flinches, like when I handed him a spoonful of pesto - that's one of those foods that looks horrifying but tastes great. He's gotten more adventurous and found he liked it, then went on to try the peppers. This weekend for our weekly dinner with Kim and Steve I made a Beef Roulade, Tofu Roulade, rolled stuffed roasted peppers. You might say.......

I was on a roll.😅😆😛

I had bought a flank steak that cost $23 - ON SALE so you know I was being careful. To start with you have to butterfly the meat and it is recommended this be performed by a butcher as opposed to a vegetarian  that has never seen a flank steak- despite all the cautionary articles I read  at the end it was not that difficult. I had frozen it so when it was partially defrosted I started cutting it - it was easy.  I beat it with a rolling pin to make it thin, then marinated it for 24 hours. I stuffed it with fresh mozzerella, pesto and spicy peppers - rolling it up was a whole other ball game trying to do it evenly without pressing it too hard while keeping the whole thing from sliding around as it was covered in marinade. I had boiled whole sweet peppers and peeled them, I used riced cauliflower, sauted onions and low cal whipped cream cheese and rolled that up. It was supposed to be an appetizer but they were freaking huge so they became a side dish. The tofu roulade came out way better than I thought it would, I used flax meal to stiffen it up and then used the same ingredients to fill it. 

I roasted butternut squash and teeny potatoes, we use Whisp Parmesean crackers for the cheese and crackers - not only are they low calorie/low carb but they don't wreak havoc with Kim's diabetes. Kim made sugar free brownies for dessert and we've found a lot of no sugar creamers that taste pretty decent. In the end the menu was 

Wine and Beer 

Parmesean Crackers and Brie

Caesar Salad

Roasted seasoned small potatoes

roasted and seasoned butternut squash

Stuffed peppers

Beef Roulade

Tofu Roulade

Sugar Free Brownies and coffee

And it was as much fun to make it as it was to eat it.

Bon Appetit!!

 

Vacation Days

We've been here for about a year and a half now, we've done a little exploring but nothing too major. Kim and I had discussed doing a weekend somewhere and a couple of weeks ago I had mentioned I would like to see Long Beach. We've done a few events there but it was more driving to and then home.  Kim and Steve thought this was a great idea and offered to start looking for a place to stay. They're frequent users of air bnbs and just love them - I've never done that but it sounded interesting. Kim found a lovely place within walking distance of the beach. It was a townhouse - 2 beds, 2 baths, full kitchen, living room, fenced patio, dining area. So if you've never done an air BNB it's a bit different than renting a hotel room -  the initial cost is $177.50 for two nights which is 355. But then you need to add in cleaning fees ($100), service fee ($64) and then occupancy taxes and fees - 58.67 which raises it to $577. BUT then you have to half it - $288 which comes to $144 a night which is reasonable. Plus you're only eating out if you want to so overall it ends up being cheaper - but the best part is you don't end up feeling like you've spent the weekend sitting in your bedroom. It was really a lot of fun. Kim brought thier little dog Piggles since dogs are allowed. 

We left a little early - check in was 3 but I wanted to look around and there was a yarn shop I've been dying to  visit. We arrived in around an hour and a half (not far at all!), the yarn shop was lovely and there was a great pyrenees to pet. Kim called to let us know we could check in early so off we went. The town house was beachy themed, we brought out own coffee, beer, wine, snacks and breakfast food - this I really liked because I do like to eat out, I do not like to eat out all day. We went off to explore the town as the place we were staying was right in town AND 5 minutes from the boardwalk. The stores were very touristy, fun to look in and nothing I wanted to buy. Moving around a lot you tend to lose

your taste for buying random knickknacks. Dinner was at the Lost Roo, food was great. We spent the evening playing a card game and then off to bed. David and Steve cooked breakfast, we lounged around playing with the dog and chatting, then off to the boardwalk. Everyone is distancing and a few people were wearinng masks but it wasn't really necessary, was it? The surf was full of green algae, that apparently is normal for this time of year but oh my, how yucky.  There are whale bones but they did not live up to thier hype. I had visions of Pirates of the Carribean sized bones, rising from the surf  with a house sized rib cage. Sigh. They were poking out of the grass and knee high. They were a bit sad. After that we drove to Cape Disappointment to see the light house ,  then to Oysterville. We went to Long Island, then back home to eat out again. We had a great time and it ended much too soon. David had to meet the heating guy out at the flip but not a big. We had to be out by 11am, so we started the towels and stripped the bed, took out the trash, wiped down the counters - that's the other difference. Did you know the airBNBs rate the guests? If you leave the place a shambles you get a bad rating and then good luck renting again! Since  a lot of them are privately owned it makes sense. So we said goodbye and drove home to unpack, then David left to meet the heat guy. It was fun arriving home in a little over an hour was great. Wash is started and everything is put away, it was a short vacation but it was a lot of fun. 

 

Water, Water.

A couple of weeks ago I heard David go outside at some point during the night- I briefly wondered why but then fell back asleep. FYI - I am not your Go To person for emergencies, I tend to sleep right through them. Years ago our yard was on fire during the night - the whole nine yards including firetrucks, neighbors, etc... yep. Slept right through it. But I digress. I got up a little later to get a drink of water......nothing.  

No water.

 

Here in Oregon you can have a well, city water or....a neighborhood community water system which we have never had. Water can  be quite expensive here, especially when you get inland. We had never heard of community water before. Here is how it works:

Where we live they can't build anymore houses, there are a total of 16 which are supported by one big pump house. The big benefit is the cost - $15 dollars a month for unlimited spring water - no chlorine, no chemicals - it's a clear as a bell. It's actually weirdly clear but we love it. Then there is the downside - you cannot leave your hose running as it will reduce the water pressure to the other houses, not  a big as I wouldn't do that if I had city water either. But the big drawback is if it breaks - you get a leak, the neighborhood is responsible. And did I mention it's an honor system? And not too many are honorable? From what I understand from the neighbors years ago most of the people living here were farmers so everyone was essentially home. If it broke you had a lot of hands. Later, there was a group of retired guys who considered the water system sort of a hobby. And now, now you have a small group that goes out. Unfortunately we have a much larger group of people that hide in thier houses waiting for someone else to fix it. 

David waited til the sun came up, took his shovel and headed to the neighbor's, he and two others worked for about 10 hours - then had to stop. The next day another showed up but David said two of the neighbors on thier daily walk stopped to thank them for their help(??) - I wonder if not everyone knows they are supposed to be helping too. The leak was underground so one of the neighbors called his friend who is a witcher and he came with his dousing rods. David said that was pretty neat and he found the leak pretty fast. This is only the second time it's happened (once before a cow stepped on the line) and thankfully it never goes on for a long time. And it's not all bad, David does enjoy spending time with the neighbors, everyone standing around after telling stories and laughing. I suggested to David maybe they need  a rotating roster but he said maybe when they have the yearly meeting - he said he was pretty sure the lazy neighbors would be raising the roof over that! It's not a huge deal - more of an annoyance - while it's being fixed if it goes on for longer than a few hours they turn it on for an extended period of time so you can shower, wash dishes,etc....   and we do store water just in case - glad it was over fast. 

Happy Halloween!

So, we knew it was going to be  short visit and planned accordingly. With Covid people have been trying to figure out how to the kids can celebrate carefully and still have a good time - I think we did it. Brandi and the girls arrived Saturday morning, they arrived like barnstormers - petting the cat, hugging poppop, up the stairs, down the stairs, tallying what toys they had here, bouncing on the beds, in the potty, outside, on the balcony, finally sitting down to pancakes and sausage, we love every minute. I bought pumpkins to carve which  was done with great enthusiasm, which is pretty much the way they approach everything. The trick or treat was, well, it was a bit trickier this year. People were handing out candy here and there - but they are still pretty little and the houses were too far apart. Thankfully, the town was great - all the local businesses handed out candy so we went uptown and they got to trick or treat for an hour or so. Everyone admired thier costumes, they got enough candy to make them happy but not too much. By the time we hit the last store they were ready to go home - it was perfect. 

Kim, Steve and thier chihuahua Piggles came to dinner - the girls asked about Rueben and we just told them that he was in heaven with Molly, I think they get it to a point, but they did understand he was gone. Piggles is very good with them, enduring endless pets, hugs, little kisses - Kim gently removed him when he was in danger in being over-loved but overall both the girls are very good with animals. We had appetizers and they discovered they do not like Brie - one of them stuffed a chunk in and then loudly announced they had to go brush thier teeth NOW - yuck! We ordered out, since it was a short visit plus Halloween it was easier. Kim and Steve dressed for the girls and the Piggles wore his little costume - it was just fun. We lit the pumpkins with real candles (Nana's old fashioned  - she admits it) and put them on the railing facing in so the girls could admire them. We have no neighbors except for the cows so it worked. 

This morning was just playing in the yard, collecting walnuts and leaves. The winter coats I bought are a tiny bit big which is perfect, I'm amazed at how quickly they are growing. I've been buying clothes for the past couple of months - no longer in the T's, they wear a girls small - they're real kids now. I had washed and detagged everything - ugh, that takes forever. They just need to put a sticker on it and leave it at that - before I can wash them it's a drawn out process of untangling hangers, plastic security things, tags, stickers, tape, bags, etc.... I usually end up with a pile of trash by the time I'm done and  even after all of that one of them was running around still with a tag dangling under the arm of her new coat. 

They left around 1, the beds have been stripped and the washer is running, the house is already too quiet. As much as I miss them it is such a joy to live close enough for a quick visit here and there, I love it - it's such a comfort to know it will NOT be a year before we see them again. We are getting busy, I have not said anything but we are supposed to be getting a puppy in the beginning of December - it was an unexpected and such a happy turn of events! The house is Astoria is on the market, we are making plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas and even a short vacation!!  I'm sure there will be some bumps in the road, aren't there always? But it's so wonderful that even when things go south my best friends and family are just a short car ride away. 

 

Rain.

I continue to heal well, my right leg is pretty much healed but there will be some scars, my left leg is doing better, there will be some scars there to which is good because I hate to be uneven. But the infectioned bites look better, just taking awhile. I'm done with all the injections and now moving on. Here in the fall is the rainy season, ugh. It just rains and rains, fog hangs over everything and it's chilly and grey. We did have a couple of days of quasi sunshine and I got 2/3rds of the lawn done but then.... rain... rain..... ugh. Our yard has been infested with crows and all sorts of birds, the walnuts are ripe and fall constantly, reading outside is just asking to get bonked in the head. And I swear the stupid crows bounce them off and aim for me. Jerks. Walnuts are odd because they have a thick, green covering and don't look anything like nuts, but once they fall the covering rots off quickly and they look just like the supermarket. The birds know this too. There were about a hundred stupid crows the other day, squawking and trying to hit me with walnuts, I chased them off but they just sneak back  - I gave it up. 

We went OUT to Rogues this weekend - and sat inside and stuff with Kim and Steve. David forgot he asked them to help paint so we were doodling around the house when Kim called to see where we were. Then David was all "I thought Julia told you the RE moved the photographer to next week so it doesn't have to be done today" then I was squawking because that was a Total Throw You Under The Bus Fabrication since I didn't even know about the painting. Yeah, you can walk that back David. They were fine with it and we got there an hour later and yes, David paid for lunch the scallywag. Going out to eat these days is a bit complicated, the restaurants are trying so hard to follow the weird guidelines to stay open. you wear your mask in, they have a menu propped up for No Touching, then you order through a plexi-glass screen, take whaever you ordered to drink, get a table number.....and then someone brings you your food? Hum. David had no idea what to do about the tip, I mean we were sort of, maybe served?? Maybe not? They had a big tip jar on the counter so he just stuffed 15% in there and let them figure it out. 

We are slowly working on the puppy thing, it will take awhile but it will happen. Brandi and the girls are coming down for Halloween which should be fun, Kim and Steve will come by to visit. Other than that things have settled down a bit, we are still yardsaling a bit when we find one. We went to one the other day - wow! The road was a winding gravel road so high up my ears popped - but it was fun. I got a few things and so did David, a fun way to spend the afternoon. The house did not get listed this week due to the rain which worked out for David - he wanted to get a few more things finished and then we just sit and wait. Hopefully for not too long. 

 

Changes

There is a buddhist saying that life is static, ever changing. The past four months have been a weird rollercoaster of events from super fun highs to devestating lows. I had my last rabies vaccine injection this past Tuesday, it went surpisingly smoothly and quick, not much fanfare . I have been injected over the past two weeks about 17 times - she asked me if I'd like a flu shot and I very quickly said NO - we both cracked up laughing, out the door I went, done. The bites on my lower right leg are healing up well  - the one on my thigh which was the worst is taking it's time - it's very annoying. I had contacted and sent pictures to the Oregon Wildlife and Fishing to see what they thought - the concensus was a raccoon, a coyote or another dog, but leaning towards the raccoon. The dog one was interesting but whatever it was it didn't make any noise at all and I don't think Rueben would have gone after another dog that aggressively. Not to mention we've never seen one loose dog in the year and a half we've lived here, so one hanging out under the tree next to the house  at 4:30am would be super odd.  I guess I'll never know for sure. 

I picked up Rueben's ashes today - cried of course. I cannot wrap my head around the fact that four months ago I had two silly,lively dogs - eating cheese, playing with each other and hogging the bed - to nothing. The silence here is deafening some days - the hardest part is coming home to just opening the door - no joyful dancing, no rush to go out, nothing. We are starting to look for breeders and I've sent a few emails inquiring but we're going slow. Grief can cloud judgement and I don't want to accidently end up with two irish wolfhounds because that was what was available now and regret it later.

 I miss them both so much. 

We got the bill from the ER - wow. Super glad I have good insurance now! My co-pay was $200 and I have to pay a part of my deductible so the whole thing was $450 which sounds like a lot until you see the bill was over $10,000 - Jeezy pete!! My insurance back in PA would have probably covered the 8 dollars and  65 cents so I'm very grateful.  Ten grand - and  that doesn't even include the 3 following  injections. The The dogs get a booster every year and I think it's 30 bucks, it's crazy how much everything costs. But I'm done and that's the important thing. 

I've been knitting a lot lately, I bought myself a Namaste Train Case in red from Jimmy Bean Wool - they're on clearance for the weirdest of reasons and I really want to write to them to ask but not sure if it would be PC. They are discontinuing the Namaste knitting bag line because - and forgive me if I'm being racially insensitive - the word "namaste" is offensive to some people???? The product line has been around for over 30 years and I cannot figure out how the word is offending people, as far as I know it's hindi for "peace" - I don't know either. Anyone figures it out PM me - but I'm keeping an eye on the website and might order one or two more bags before they are all off the market. I've been knitting up socks and trying out different needles which is fun. A friend of mine gifted me with a set of Neko needles which are like double points but bent in the middle - they worked great. Now I'm trying out Addi Flips which have a short flexible cable in the middle, they are interesting - the size is smaller than I'm used to so hopefully the socks will come out. 

Friday we went to Canon beach with Kim and Steve, we'd never been before. We went to Ecola park first to see the cliffs and the lighthouse. The light house is called Terrible Tilly, no one can get to it! It was shut down like ten years after it was built because it's too dangerous to man, a private concern bought it and now it's full of creamation ashes. Weird! After we went to Canon beach, then out to lunch, then walked around. For east coasters it reminded me very much of East Hampton - shopwise and pricewise!! I did find a yarn shop, Kim was teasing that I can smell yarn and I didn't buy anything. Since I'm trying to knit up the sock yarn I have I cannot even make myself add to the pile, but it's always fun to look. It was such a lovely day and we had a great time. David continues to work on the house, it has been shown twice and it's not on the market yet so keep your fingers crossed! I so want to be done with that too.

 

It Never Gets Easier.

We have owned.....hmm.....8 dogs together through almost 40 years - 8. We've had them pass in their sleep, from very old age, the last 3 all died from aggressive cancers which floors me. We have never had one escape and get run over thank goodness. I'm usually not great about it, who is? but realistic. Your dog will not live as long as you do, we all know that - but this. Since I was fourteen I have never not had a dog. That's almost 45 years of ongoing walks and pets, lapsitting and waking up to being stared at by a party who would like to go out. Now. 45 years of mixing dog food, occasional waving of a well chewed shoe in front of the (fake) sorry dog, cleaning up after a not yet trained puppy, endless strolls around parks, yards and forests. Car rides with the windows rolled down, scrubbing the delighted poo-encrusted roller, shelling out a bazillion dollars for the best kennels when we vacation to exuberant reunions when we return.  

Losing one dog was devestating of course, but we were starting to feel better, had just started asking around about breeders....then Rueben and I got attacked, then we had to put him to sleep - I think my theme song is now Wake Me When September Ends -  and no,the raccoon bites didn't kill him but I do think it accelerated his decline. No difference though, he is gone regardless of the whos and whys. And now, now....

we have no dogs. 

I cannot get over how quiet the house is, when I come home there is no joyous leaping, no barking for me to hurry, no greeting. I have a constant feeling of - it feels like I've forgotten to do something, you know it was something but you just can't put your finger on it.... I am not used to having no reason to go outside many times throughout the day. Over the years I've gotten good walking and reading - I love to read and would take my book out when the dog went out, trailing behind or sitting on a bench under the trees while Molly and Reuben took note of who had been in the yard, marching around Completely Offended when they caught the scent of some local tresspasser. So I take myself out to go sit reading under the trees, it's very much not the same but I do it. The other night I got up around 2:30am and found myself in the living room - it took me a minute to realize I was about to let a non-existent dog out to pee, I guess this will take a while. 

I'm healing well, I did one day at work last week and will be returning tomorrow. I take my last antibiotic pill tonight and although it's still pretty sore all the wounds are healing and are no longer red, angry looking things. I wore pants for the first time in almost two weeks yesterday. My last rabies vaccine is Tuesday - I'll be VERY glad to be done with that! I still have bouts of crying but that is getting less too, the house is just so quiet. Yesterday Kim and Steve met us over at the flip house, they had volunteered to paint - David has lost a lot of time between me and Rueben so he welcomed the help. With the four of us we got all the walls, ceilings and trim done, then we went out to a late lunch at a sit down restaurant - it was nice to have some normalcy in my day back. The flip house should be on the market pretty soon and in the meantime I've started looking a little for when we can a puppy. This has been the longest 3 months ever.