With the help of two friends, Jen Borg and Cathy Dykes, I hosted a holiday party for 32 friends who live in the neighborhood. When I was in Denver visiting Greta she helped me design an evite invitation that I sent out on December 1 with an RSVP date of December 15. Date: Thursday December 21 Time: 6PM to 9PM Guests: Lee and Jane, Rick and Alice, Mary, Judy, Gene and Sherrie, Steve and Debbie, Jen and Andy, Pierre and Patty. Kathy and Brown, Derek, Clare, Ed and Mary, Cris, Cathy, Charles, Rae and Sammy, Lauren and Brian, Chuck and Janet, Liz, Bruce and Rae. Food: Honey Baked Ham, Hawaiian rolls, Cheese platter, Mini quiches, Christmas Tree Spinach Dip breadsticks, Smoked Salmon Bruschetta, Mushroom Bourguignon, Baked Brie with fig jam center, Carrot, celery and broccoli platter with humus. Cheese, crackers and grapes, Boursin cheese as well as bowls of nuts and bolts and cashews. Drink: Beer, Wine and warm spiced apple cider.
Greenery by Cathyone of many pieces by CathyChristmas Tree Spinach Dip Breadsticks – CLICK IMAGE FOR RECIPECo-hosts: Jen, Bruce, Rae and CathyJen, Chuck, Cris, Debbie, Sherry, Mary, Liz and CathyMary, Patty & MarySammy, Rae, Jane & JenAndy and CathyMary and JenSteve and RickCharlesEd, Chuck, Debbie & CathyDerek, Janet & EdKathy & CathyJane, Debbie, Jen, Judy and Patty
Desserts: Christmas Cookies – Rum balls, Chocolate Crinkles, Santa’s Whiskers, Peanut Butter Blossoms and Ginger Cookies. The cookies were set up on the table out on the screened in porch. One tray of cookies was set too close to edge of the table so Cleo decided to help herself to a few of the chocolate crinkles. I was worried about the chocolate but she seemed okay,
I thought the party was a big success and everyone seemed to have a good time. The food items mentioned most by the guests where the mushrooms and spinach dip bread sticks.
September 5 – 10, 2023 The last time I saw my cousin Sela was in 2003, she and her daughters, Ellen and Lauren, came to Athens for for my parents 50th wedding anniversary. For 21 years, Pam and I were promising to return the favor and visit Sela at her home in Portland Oregon. But, life happens and we never made it to Portland.
Arrival Tuesday, September 4th I arrived in Portland around 4:30 PM – Sela picked me up and drove us, in her all electric, Volks Wagon ID4, the short, 20 minute, drive to her house. After getting a tour of the house, Sela fixed pasta with freshly made pesto and a beet salad with goat cheese for dinner. I hung out in the kitchen talking and catching up while Sela prepared dinner. We ended our evening with a mile or so walk to the Salt and Straw ice cream parlor for some incredible ice cream – the evening temperature was perfect.
Day 1 – Wednesday, September 5th My brain did not get the memo that we were on west coast time so at precisely 6 AM east coast or 3 AM west coast time I woke up. I tried for a little to go back to sleep but finally gave up and decided to go downstairs and read for a while. All was good until 6AM when my phone buzzed telling me it was time to check-in for my flight to Atlanta. I had a moment of panic – I apparently entered the wrong return date when I got my tickets. A quick look on my Delta showed there weren’t any seats left on the fight I wanted back to Atlanta. I decided to call Delta to see what was possible. I got a nice representative who got me a seat in first class on the flight, I wanted, back to Atlanta – crisis averted.
Pips Donuts
Sela usually gets up around 8AM but on Wednesday she had some workers coming at 7AM to remove an old water heater so she set her alarm for just before 7AM. We had a steel cut oats and blueberry bake that Sela made and coffee for breakfast. The workers were on time and had the water removed very quickly so we were able start our adventurous day around 9AM. We decided to drive the short distance to the Columbia Gorge for some hiking. I quickly found out however, no hiking trip was complete unless you stopped at Pips for some tiny donuts before you start out. Pips, is a cute donut shop that makes, small tiny donuts to order. They also have many different types of home-made Chai. It was interesting to see the being made and coming off the conveyor belt. We ordered our chai and half a dozen donuts and where on our way to the Gorge.
Our first stop was at Latourell Falls where we found a picnic table and ate our donuts before embarking on a 3 mile hike around the falls. We then proceeded further into the gorge to breath taking Multnomah Falls. It was getting pretty late after getting to the Multnomah Falls and we had to get back to shop for dinner, with Karen and Barry, so we didn’t stay long. We had decided to cook fish skewers on the grill so we went to Sela’s favorite fish market the Flying Fish and got some fresh tuna. Hanging around the kitchen talking and cooking with Karen, Barry, Sela and Ellen was a lot of fun that night – much more so than going to a restaurant. Pear tart was prepared for dessert and that’s another story.
Falling rocks
Day 2 – Thursday, September 6th We had decided to pack a picnic lunch and meet Karen and Barry up at Timberline Lodge on Thursday morning. Our timing with Karen and Barry was perfect because we both got up there at the same time, just before 11AM. A guided tour of the lodge started a 11AM so we all decided to take it. After the very informative tour we decided to have a coffee and snack in the lodge café. Just as we were finishing at the café Bruno the iconic St Bernard lodge mascot was seen outside so, we all rushed out for a photo. After Bruno, Sela and I embarked on a, close to 4 mile hike up around Silcox Hut. Karen and Barry had to get there rental car back so they only went a short way with us. Sela and I had part of our lunch on a picnic outside on the lodge around 5PM.
Ellen UnderwoodSela and EllenBruce, Ellen, Sela, Karen and Barry taking the picture.
After leaving the around 6PM we drove, about an hour, to the Ferment Brewing Company for a beer and something small to eat that we could share – we got smoked salmon dip and spinach beet salad. We got home around 9PM and we were both pretty exhausted.
Day 3 – Friday, September 7th Lets head to the coast! Friday morning we were having our coffee and trying to decide where we wanted to go and hike today – Mount St Helens or go to the coast both were about a 90 minute drive. We decided to go the coast and hike in the Cascade Head Preserve and then go to the Sitka Sedge State Natural Area. But, before we could start our trip we stopped at Sela’s favorite coffee shop. Extracto where I met the owner and got a tour of his roasting room and saw his 1953 roasting machine. The drive down to the coast was beautiful – lots of farms and vineyards. In between the two hikes we spent abut 25 minutes charging the car. We finished hiking in the incredibly beautifully Sitka Sedge around 7PM and then drove the short distance to The Pelican Pub and Brewery where each had a cup of of clam chowder and salad and we split a tuna poke appetizer. Then, we drove the 2 hours home and with traffic arrived around 10PM.
Day 4 – Saturday, September 8th Easy, not much driving, rest day! We started a day with a visit to the Tabor bakery for a morning indulgent. Then we proceeded to main Portland Farmers Market downtown and OMG there were so many vendors with so many different products; breads, cheeses, fish, veggies, fruit, jams, grains etc….. After the farmer’s market we went down to the river where there were food trucks and a smaller market. We had lunch and beer here then walked down to see part of the dragoon boat races. After lunch
When I was out in Denver in May, for Greta’s birthday, we went to the Cherry Creek State park to see about the camping spots. After seeing how beautiful this park is I decided to book a 2 week stay over Thanksgiving. I know the weather in Denver can be unpredictable especially in late fall and winter but, I decided to give it a try. I gathered some information on the park and the guy behind the counter assured me I wouldn’t have any trouble getting a reservation. A few days after I got home I logged onto their website to book my reservation and to my surprise, there was only 2 spots left. While the park is open all year round for camping they only have one small area that has freeze proof water spigots and that is the only area open.
Getting There! I planned my trip to Denver so I wouldn’t be traveling over 260 miles per day. I wanted to be able to get and early start everyday and pull in to a campground around 1PM so the girls and I could walk, stretch our legs and relax a little before dark. We left Sunday morning November 5 at 9AM, the time had just changed that night back to standard time, so it was actually 10AM.
Raccoon Mountain Caverns and Campgrounds Chattanooga, TN Mileage: 190.2 Arrived: 2:15 PM Weather: Sunny – High: 70 Low: 45 Food; Chicken, mushroom rice and zucchini – all that was prepared at home beforehand. I decided that with the trauma of packing, and dealing with the traffic around Atlanta our first day shouldn’t fairly short. The Raccoon Mtn campgrounds were only 190 miles from our house but with the intense traffic and road construction around Atlanta and Chattanooga it took 5 hours to get there. The weather was nice – 70 degrees in the afternoon and dropping to 45 degrees at night. I had to get up in the middle of the night to turn the heat on.
The campground was very nice all of the spots were level and contained a picnic table and fire pit. I spent 10 dollars on 2 small loads of wood and had a nice fire that lasted several hours. The girls and I found and unmaintained trail to walk on for a few miles.
Fern Lake Paducah, KY Mileage: 268.8 Arrived: 1:15 PM Weather: Sunny – High: 78 Low: 65 Food: Frozen pasta with marinara sauce and beef, salad and bread
KOA Springfield / Route 66 Springfield, MO Mileage: 304.2 Arrived: 1:45 PM Weather: Sunny, Breezy High: 78 Low: 62 Food: Leftover chicken, rice and mushrooms. This was a very nice and clean campground
Camp the Range Wichita, KS Mileage: 246.4 Arrived 1:15PM Weather: Sunny, windy High:70 Low: 47 Food: Frozen beef patty, onions, rice and zucchini. Very windy drive today – wind gusts were blowing RV around and it was difficult staying in lane. The road was a, heavily traffic, 2 lane with very a little shoulder.
Diane and Greg’s House. Hays, KS Mileage: 1xx Arrived 12:30 PM Weather: Sunny High: 60 Low: 30 Food: Steak, Baked Potato and a salad. Friday Night Mexican Cancun rest
Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Fort Hays State University – Hays Kansas
I really like this recipe for banana bread that I found and tweaked slightly. I’ve made it twice already and want to get the recipe down before I forget.
1/2 cup (8 Tablespoons) of soften unsalted butter.
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 overly ripe bananas (1 to 1-1/2 cups) mashed
1/4 cup of buttermilk
1 cup of all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of spelt flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup of finely chop toasted walnuts
1/2 cup organic raisins
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease and 4-1/2×9 loaf pan – I use a cast iron loaf pan and love the way the edges come out crispy
Cream the butter and sugar together in a large bowl – add the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and the mashed bananas – beat until just combined.
In a separated smaller bowl whisk together the dry ingredients – flours, salt and baking soda.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet and fold until fully mixed.
Add the optional raisins and toasted walnuts.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes – when a tooth pick comes out clean.
Chicago was the first leg of our California Zephyr trip. Robin and I met at the Atlanta airport on Friday July 7th for a 2:30 flight to Chicago. It was a fairly short flight and we flew first class so we could have a little more leg room.
All I could think about after getting to the Chicago airport was where the nearest bathroom was, but it took Robin about 20 seconds to see the Lego vending machine. It was hard, but I did convince to use the restroom first.
After checking into our room at the Hampton Inn in downtown Chicago we took Uber to Gino’s Italian restaurant for their, must have, deep dish pizza. It was a beautiful evening, low 70’s, and we got a table outside along the sidewalk. It was fun talking and just watching all the different people walking by. Our server recommended an appetizer since the deep dish takes 40 minutes – so we did. Thirty minutes later our server comes up and says the kitchen lost our appetizer order and that she was rushing it through. Ten minutes later when she brings our appetizer she informs us, that she forgot to enter our pizza order and she was rushing it. Our server was upset with herself she comped our entire meal, which was nice but Robin and I didn’t care because we sipping a beer enjoying ourselves.
Saturday morning in Chicago was cool and overcast – with rain predicted. We decided to go to the Field Museum of Natural History and what a treat. We spent a little over 6 hours at the museum and saw these exhibits – Evolving Planet, Dinosaurs, Sue the T. Rex, Fossil Prep Lab, Meteorites, Gems, and Geology.
We also saw a special exhibit on life’s greatest mystery: Death. The ways that we experience death, celebrate life, and wonder about what’s next are part of what makes us human— yet it’s also a subject we often push aside. At the Field Museum’s newest exhibition, you can explore perspectives on death and life through culture, science, and art.
When a whale dies, it eventually sinks to the bottom of the ocean, where it become the foundation of a new ecosystem, like shown here. A whale’s body can provide nutrient for hundreds of species for decades.
Before heading over to the Union Station on Sunday we made a short visit to Millennium Park. Millennium Park is a 24.5 acre public park located in the Loop community area of Chicago near the Lake Michigan shoreline. The park opened in 2004 intended to celebrate the third millennium and features a variety of public art.
