Coast to Coast--Piracy is Still Thriving

Ms. Proctor here is from the Florida Keys. In a past career, she dove for treasures hidden in the famous Atocha with Mel Fisher. You can take the girl from the island, but you can't take the island from the girl--that instinct is still thriving and look what we got here! (Thanks to ye, Mom!)

Captain and First Mate comandeered the ship from Leavenworth, WA. What? No body of water nearby? Doesn't matter, it rains enough up here--we just floated down the street like we did in the Miami flood 2 years ago.

Royal Christmas Atmosphere in Leavenworth, WA

 

Leavenworth was voted as one of the best places for a Christmas celebration. We definitely felt festive here and loved it!

This was in the lobby of our hotel. Later we went to the Gingerbread factory (more like a bakery). 

Thanksgiving with Leon and Connie and Mom

Last year I was sick, so Jaime ate Thanksgiving with the Roldans. This year I had to work a 12 hour shift; that meant Jaime and Mom went over to the Curtis home to eat the traditional dinner there. It seems I am fated to never cook my own meal on Thanksgiving day. Let's see what 2009 offers. :)

Puppy in Peeps

Happy Easter!

Gold Dust Leaves a Clue

Being a Great Dane with his nose in overdrive has given Huckleberry the significant advantage in our search for leprechauns. Huck discovered a new hobby of lying in front of the sliding glass doors and peering into the trees all day long. He spies, on average, about 4 leprechauns a day during this busy season with St. Patrick's Day coming near. We live along a major travelling route for them as they shuttle gold from Alaska to the rest of the U.S. in time for the Irish celebrations. A few of them knocked on our door asking if they could ride Huck part way to save their short little legs. Unfortunately, they were too shrewd to exchange a ride for even a sigle brass farthing, let alone a gold coin. It was too big of a risk wrangling with these guys, so we had to just give them a chocolate milk shake for a snack instead and see them on their way.

Giant Love

Huckleberry wants a chance to say "Happy Valentine's Day!" too. He tells us a picture of a grapefruit for the Feb. 14th entry was unsuitable. So here it is--our attempt to remedy that.

Sparkly V-Day Breakfast!

"Stunningly simple and amazingly delicious: hot grapefruit with brown sugar and lemon cream with coriander."

I made this for Jaime for part of breakfast and we both reveled in its flavor! (Of course, it depends if you already love grapefruit or not.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Serves 2:

1) Cut 1 pink grapefruit in half and cut all round so that the flesh is detached from the zest and is only attached in the middle. Dab the cut surface dry and place in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

2) Stir together 2 tbsp cream with 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest (untreated). 1 tsp lemon juice, 2 pinches ground coriander, and 2 tsp sugar until smooth. Cover and put in cool place.

3) Take the grapefruit halves out of the refrigerator and sprinkle 2 tbsp brown sugar on top. Place on a cookie sheet and allow to caramelize on the top shelf under the preheated oven broiler. Keep a close eye on the broiler to make sure that the sugar doesn't burn! Serve with the lemon-flavored cream.

Verlagsgesellschaft, Naumann & Gobel (NGV). Gratineed Grapefruit, A recipe a day:365 recipes (p.31). Cologne, Germany:VEMAG.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Punxsutawney Phil, the groundhog says, "I see a shadow! Six more weeks of winter!"

(Oh, come on, little fella, that's not your shadow! It's the camera flash, don't you see?)

Mom made this bundt cake with a little Phil made of cookies, or hollowed out cake, etc. and sent us this picture. When I was a teenager, we went so far as to rent the movie, "Groundhog Day," with Bill Murray while we ate the cake she made that year. (By the way, this one looks delicious, too, Mom!)

Happy New Year!

Happy 2008!

I love you both, Jaime and Huckleberry! I'm ecstatic about making 2008 memorable and, hopefully, not as chaotic for us as 2007 was.

New Year's Resolutions:

• More fresh air!
• Learn to take naps.
• Eat well.
• Enjoy being with and visiting loved ones.

You know what? This list is sounding considerably like what Huck does already. Dogs really do have life all figured out, don't they? :)

Merry Christmas Eve!

Channel 7 News explained how Mars could be seen tonight. Jaime and I peered outside and was met with a blast of clear, icy air that made us cough when we inhaled too fast. The pine trees made a black silhouette against the sky. In between some trees we could see the North star. A little ways off there was a new glowing item--sure enough, there was Mars! So bright and visible as to make us stare in awe for a few minutes. This not-so-everyday planetary arrangement added to the magic! Pretty!

Tree Farm Outing

We've been married seven years and this is the first year we picked out our own live tree! (All these pine trees around us made us do it!) Jaime and I made a date out of it one Saturday and just went, regardless of the weather or the crowds. To think last year our "Christmas tree" was drawn on a white erase board with a purple marker--I didn't have green. What a vast difference in the resulting holiday spirit that emitted from it! Huckleberry loved it so much he rubbed his face in the pine needles, rearranging my strings of lights. We had a pretty tree with this strange circle of undecorated branches smack dab in the middle. (For those of you who are wondering--no--Huck continued to do his "markings" outside, thankfully!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Jaime has to work the day before and the day after, so we don't have time to take off anywhere far. Our friends, Joan and Steve Roldan, invited us to their house for a big Thanksgiving dinner. We figured it was more economically efficient to join a potluck as opposed to each family making an entire dinner to eat alone. We are grateful to them for offering to share their table with us--that meant they had to do the dishes and handle the big mess. :)

Unfortunately Thanksgiving came when I had a bout of an illness that lasted an agonizing three weeks, during which time I was pretty much useless. I was hoping to recover enough to go to the dinner, but no such luck. Jaime was sweet enough to try to cancel it for both of us. I told him, "Honey, you've been cooped up in the house with me all day. What are you going to miss out on by enjoying some food and good company for a couple of hours?" He protested that he loved me and didn't want to leave me alone. (sniffle) I convinced him I would just sleep and he'll be back before I know it. That finally got him out the door to follow up with our friends. I'm glad he went because he brought me back two plates loaded with food! I was famished by that time and ate it ALL!

Jaime and I took some time out to express our appreciation for a home in light of the storms that have been happening left and right of us. We were very fortunate that not even our power went off. We could have went along, oblivious to the rage outside, if it wasn't for the news on TV. Lots of rain coming down at this time!

Halloween Sweepstakes Today Only!

Jaime, Huckleberry, and I decided to go explore our new neighborhood. It was a cloudy night, with darkness slowly enveloping us. We passed this old cemetery and you'll never guess what we saw! (A ghost!) Yes, a real, live ghost! See? We even attached a picture to prove it. Fortunately, he was friendly. A caramel Washington apple for whoever can guess who it is? ;) Enjoy your holiday and be safe tonight!

Apparently, in the days of Queen Elizabeth, Great Danes were thought to be gifted ghostbusters. She'd walk down the corridors with several of her Great Danes spanning in front of her to warn her of ghosts lurking there. Danes would spontaneously burst into clownish behaviors, which did nothing but reinforce the ghostbuster role; it looked like they were interacting with something during these playful moods.

Our little ghost was a bit reluctant to play the part after a while...

New Year's Day 2007

For New Year's Day in Miami, we went to the beach and visited the lighthouse.

Girls, he's already taken!

Lazaro and Indira Arason met us at Chili's Restaurant for dinner.

Dolphins

On Christmas day, Jaime and I went to the Dolphins game. We thought this guy was dressed appropriately for the occasion! Any other day we would have asked if he needed help. :) True to Miami weather, the sky started pouring rain after we got there. All umbrellas were confiscated for security and etiquette reasons, so now we're exposed to the rain. Nonetheless, we toughed it out, sopping wet within a few minutes and nothing we could do about it. When we got home, we had some hot chocolate and cozied up. That was my favorite part and now I don't even remember who won!

Decadent Fondu

Aunt Rachelle and Uncle Norm came to Utah to do a little business and to visit. They invited us to join them and their friends at Grand America Hotel for dinner and dessert. This photo is the fantastic dessert fondu portion of the evening. I was full, but I could NOT stop tasting everything! Jaime and I went to bed SO happy that night with our stomachs perfectly satisfied.

Peppermint Pig

Smash a Peppermint Pig in the Victorian Holiday Tradition

It started in Saratoga Springs, New York, back in the early 1880s. A pig, revered as a symbol of good health, happiness, and prosperity, was made from hard peppermint candy. After a holiday supper, it was broken in a cloth bag and the pieces were shared by all in the hopes of good fortune for the coming year.



Grandmother Tina sent us this peppermint pig. Jaime, Brittany, and I decided to make a big ceremony out of it and welcome 2006 into our homes. We sprinkled some of the crumbs of candy over our bowls of ice cream. Yum!

Link Click here to start your own famous Peppermint Pig tradition.

Purple Teeth Christmas

Christmas in St. George with Mom. Huck loved going there and getting a gift from "Grandma." He also played with Annabelle and Snickers, Jake and Mom's dogs. Seemed we talked most of the time and still didn't have enough time to say everything. This year, Mom was a little camera shy because her teeth were dark purple from eating this delicious beet salad she made! Jake couldn't stop laughing every time she smiled! But boy! That food was good and by the time we drove home, our teeth were almost as purple as hers. Totally worth it! (By the way, we still love you, Mom!)

You can see Huck trying to help Mom in the kitchen. Now you know what we're talking about when you read the section in "Biscuit Tidbits" at the bottom of the blog page that says, "You know you have a Great Dane when..." :)

Farm Christmas

Before we drove down to St. George, we stopped in Birdseye, Utah and stayed the night at Ann's parents' house. Grandmother Betty joined us the morning we opened gifts. It was such a pleasure to play around a bit. Last night we all sat in the hot tub and looked up at the stars. Being the only house around for a couple of miles gave us the pitch black we needed to see all the glittering. Huck's nose and ears were frosty cold by the time we were done. He'd stick his face in the steam of the hot tub because it was warmer in this area and then go play, getting the damp fur icy cold. He'd then come back to thaw out his face in the steam before taking off to play again.