Blustery Day and a Smell Adventure

This morning I remembered an episode of Winnie the Pooh.  "Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day"
I was standing at my kitchen sink and looking at the window as I washed dishes.  The wind was blowing, leaves were falling and it looked like rain.  Immediately I remembered an episode of Winnie the Pooh.  Here is a little clip that describes this day.

Today is a day off from work.  I can't explain how needed this day is - for two reasons.  First - the rule in this blog is to talk about things "I like Best" and the description of how needed this day is, would only get me worked up and mad and would go on and on.  Second, because I literally I can't, (the word literal just struck me funny.)  If I were to break the rule of the blog there aren't words to make sense of the matters.
SO ANYWAYS...... Back to my wonderful day off.
I recently unpacked my bread machine.  It has been packed up for at least 4 years.  The new house has a place to keep it in the kitchen so I have pulled it out and used it 3 times in the last week.  This morning I made coffee cake.  Turns out I think it is easier to just make coffee cake in the oven than the bread maker.  It was delicious though. 

Kyle came home on a break from work to have coffee cake with me.  That was so fun.  Not knowing he was coming I had my piece(s) and surprise he showed up.  I made him a cup of coffee and dished myself up a sliver to eat with him.
I decided to to take a walk.  After all, this is my favorite weather and I had a few errands to run in walking distance.  Walking out the door put an instant smile on my face as I saw the dark clouds and smelled the smell of freshness and cold.  I passed a locally owned coffee shop and the smell of coffee surrounded me.  It was thick and warm and bitter.  I eyed the people enjoying their hot treats but kept walking. 
A few minutes later and I was in front of the courthouse where tiny petals covered the sidewalk.  The sweet fragrance brought me back to my first job for some reason.  I couldn't identify why.  My first job was in a small gourmet market and it had wonderful smells.  From the old wood stove they still used, fresh coffee and cinnamon rolls, produce and cardboard packaging.  Today if I walk into a Trader Joe's I smell some of those smells and it brings back good memories. 
I passed the courthouse and found myself close to some local eateries.  A few chain restaurants are found in the same proximity but the flavors coming from the brewery and bakery/cafe were dominant.  Even though I lived here, I felt for a brief moment I was in a different city. 
The clouds were getting darker by the minute.  I thought for sure before I got to my first destination the clouds would break open and drench me. (Not that I would mind. I could always go home and get dry and warm.)
I finished my errands and headed back home the same way I came.  I lingered by the petals on the ground by the courthouse trying to identify just why they reminded me of my first job.  I was not successful in finding out.  So far I had felt a few drops hit my face.  The wind was blowing my hair in all directions, but I was warm enough in my sweatshirt.  I rounded the corner to my house - it was in sight.  Two big raindrops hit me in the face.  Within minutes of getting safely inside, the drops turned into constant rain fall. I opened my door and took a big whiff.  The wet earth so fragrant.  I can't wipe the smile off my face. 
I have now had lunch and will put on a rain coat and head out for the errands I couldn't walk to. I think I will pick going to a winery to buy a bottle of my favorite wine for our anniversary this weekend and choose not to go get an oil change.  I want to get home and be comfee.  I will make a hot chai, sit by the fire and watch the rain fall while I start a new book and a new project (which I will probably blog about later.)  Then I will start dinner.  One of my day off favorites.  Butternut squash enchiladas. (I will probably post a pic or two). 
I hope you enjoy a day off soon, just as I have done today. 

Apples to Apples

To me, this is a special piece of artwork.  It is called The Promised Pie.  It is done with colored pencil on black art paper.  Why is it special?  Because there is a story to how I acquired it. (Not to mention my love of apple pie.)

1.  How I acquired it?
For a college class, I had to go to a local art gallery and critique a show.  This piece was hanging and I just fell in love with it - at first sight.  Later that evening, I realized that I knew the artist. 
A few weeks ago, the night of my graduation, my friends came over to celebrate.  And this piece came with them.  They remembered that I loved it and chipped in to buy it. They distracted me while they brought it in.  I didn't see it right away (which made for a funny story anyway.)  When I saw it, I couldn't believe it was for me.  Of course, it made sense that if they brought it to my house, it must be, but that just seemed to good to be true.  I immediately hung it up in my kitchen, as this piece really belongs in the kitchen.  Wouldn't you agree?
Unfortunately, I was moving in a few days.  This beautiful piece of art was packaged up and stored for over a year.  It just killed me that I didn't have a place to hang it. 
Finally, I moved to a place where it could hang in my dining room, but it really belonged in the kitchen.  Another move - same problem. 

In finding our new house, one of the first things I thought was that now maybe I would finally have the perfect spot that this piece deserved. 
Although it was nicely matted and framed, I decided in order to suit the new place it needed new matting and a new frame.  So I splurged and did that at work. 



2.  My love for apple pie:  There are a few things that I love because of my childhood.  Of course, it is easy to just love apple pie because it is delicious.  But I remember my mom making apple pie when I was young.  I was amazed that she could peel an entire apple, and keep the peel in one long strip.  I have tried a million times to do that.  I have gotten close, but I don't think I ever got the whole thing in one strip.  My mom could also make the edge of the crust just look perfect.  The perfect wavy pattern.  She would let me cut the little steam vents in the center, (which I thought were just for decoration.) And I always got to sprinkle the cinnamon on top.  When I saw this piece for the first time - I was filled with wonderful memories like this. 






I had a week day off a couple of days ago and I had gotten a free bag of apples and I thought that obviously meant I needed to make apple crisp.  I was in the process of making the apple crisp when I noticed something.  Something was looking familiar.  Not an exact match, but similar.  I just had to take a picture.  It put a smile on my face.




Funny thing?  I took a picture of the crisps before they went in the oven but didn't get one after they came out and before they were eaten.  But let me assure you - they were delicious.

 

Inspired

I feel inspired.  And I think I know why.  New beginnings. 
I recently moved.  I didn't relocate to a new town.  Just a new home. 
We left the apartment building that has been my home for 8 1/2 years.  The longest I have been anywhere since my childhood home.  I loved certain things about my old apartment.  For example, it was an old building restored into apartments and it had glass door knobs, french doors and archways.  And the other tenants were my friends. 
But it had its drawbacks too. 
And so when the opportunity came up to move into a house, we hit the ground running.
An old house - built in 1935 with as much character as it is old. 
And so the work began.  Going through all our belongings - deciding what to keep, what to toss, what to sell.  And sell we did.  We had a great yard sale that was very successful.  We were left with one box of unwanted stuff and a pocketful of money to spend.  And spend we did. Brand new stuff for our brand new house. 
Next step was packing.  Which I was determined to do in an orderly fashion.  Boxes labeled - like with like.  I had friends volunteering to help me move and I wanted to make sure that moving day went smoothly.  And I believe it did.
Now I am in my new place and there are so many details I want to share.  Therefore, I will - one at a time. I guess the hard part will be deciding what to start with.  Stay tuned.....

No excuses! Just write.

No post in a very long time.  Sure, I could come up with a thousand LAME excuses as to why.  But I won't.  Instead, I feel inspired to start writing again.  So I am going to pretend it never happened and just get back to it.  Here it goes........

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A couple of days ago, an eight year old asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I couldn't help but laugh out loud.  She giggled too and said, I mean, "What would you want to do if you decided you didn't want to keep doing what you were doing now?" And she really wanted an answer.
Slight panic set in.  How should I answer?  This isn't really something I think about a lot.  My work history goes back many years but is actually very short.  Meaning, that even though I have worked 15 years, (over half my laugh at this point) I have only had 3 jobs, including my first job and a short job I had in college.  I just stay put in one place for a long time.  For example, I have been at my current job for almost 9 years.  Talk about a comfort zone.  I actually fear having to look for another job at some point in my life.  Just the thought scares me. 
So when this 8 year old, asked such a simple question, I didn't have a simple answer. 
But like I said, she wanted an answer. . .
So here's what I said.  "I guess I would like to do what I do now with less stress."
What did that mean.  I explained.  I really love to take pictures but taking pictures for people and of people can be stressful.  Many people don't like what they look like and so when they see pictures of themselves they aren't always happy.  What I meant is that I want to take pictures of beautiful things I see and then sell them to people who see them and also think they are beautiful.
Ironically, that happened a couple of days later. 
At work, I have some of my photos hanging up on the wall.  They really are just there for decoration, not for sale.  But a customer expressed interest in one of the photographs, so we told her we would be happy to print her a copy for her.  And so she bought one. 
I have had people want my images before, friends I mean.  People I just give my pictures to.  So I guess this is the first one I sold and it was fun.
Want to see what she bought?

Glass Beach

I certainly do like this best...

After all, I do like writing about what I like best and I can't wait to write about this...
What???  Woman's best friend... Chocolate!
A few months ago I tried to make truffles.  I looked up one recipe online and off I went. 
Well, they were delicious but they looked ridiculous.  A thought occurred to me -
What if there was a class I could take to learn how to really do this. 
And then the thought passed. 
A few weeks later I saw a deal on a truffle making classing. 
Half off the regular price.  What a deal!
I booked it. I just had to.  And I am so glad I did.

At first I wanted to ask a friend to join me.  But it was still kind of expensive to ask a friend to buy a ticket.  And then I thought about it and decided I wanted this to be something just for me. 

I had a 2 hour drive to get to the cute little town of Sausalito to arrive at the commercial kitchen of Coco Luxe.  I didn't want to be late.  It felt like the first day of elementary school.

What was so awesome about this 3 hour class is how fun it was.  There wasn't a lot I had to learn; just a few tricks of the trade and voila..... deliciousness!

I was so pleased with my results and I just can't wait to make them at home.  I just need to get the awesome spatula/thermometer they had for us to use to temper chocolate.

Want to see the results?  It might make you want to lick your screen...(I wouldn't recommend that though.)

And to top it all off - A picture of myself that I actually like. And that never happens.

It's the final countdown

A month in the making.... Research has been done, reservations have been made, plane tickets have been purchased, time off from work has been granted, and we can barely contain our excitement.  The countdown calendar proves it...

 

As soon as I post this, we will run to the fridge and make an X through 6 and only 5 days stand in our way. 
What are we counting down to? you might be asking.

Our 5th wedding anniversary trip to ......... SEATTLE!

We have adventured and explored Seattle in two quick day trips, but this time we get two full days and 2 half days.  We aren't strictly planning the trip to know what we are doing all day each day but some of the things we can't wait to do are: A tour of the Theo Chocolate Factory, dinner atop the Space Needle at Sky City, a visit to the Seattle Aquarium and the Experience Music Project, exploring many Seattle neighborhoods, a stay in a downtown suite (with a negotiated price matching that of a regular room), and exciting trips through two major airports. 
Only two "real" work days stand in my way, (let's just face it, next Monday I am going to be practically useless walking in circles even though I have a list a foot long of things to accomplish that day.)
The countdown is on and I am ready. 
Pictures detailing our adventures to follow.
See ya.