July or is this REALLY summer?

I have been putting off this writing for reasons I can't really define other than a sense of inertia and depression. The result of my laziness is that now I have far more to say than I have time to say it. So goes the story of procrastination-listen all or you to out there who might be doing the same!

As you ALL know, summer has passed by Kingston. We had one day of summer last weekend and it was glorious but was followed directly by 24+ hours of solid rain and thunder. My raspberries are finally ripening but they are 50% mold. Still I should not complain because I did have enough for 3 batches of jam and a cobbler as well as some breakfast enjoyment. There is true luxury! The strawberries looked and tasted great but the harvest was affected by grazing deer coming in after the first picking to eat their fill. Huge RATS I call them.

David hauling the wheel barrow of wood

Since we have enjoyed winter for 9 months, the wood is totally depleted  this year. We were starting fires well into May to dispel the wet  air so David had a big task on his shoulders. I had 2 trees cut down- a Eucalyptus and a Willow- because they suffered great winter damage. That started the ax chopping. Then a neighbor down the road offered the use of several downed trees and after a long 8 weeks of hard work, our wood pile is again fat. I sure hope we don't use it ALL this year!

Our new Wood Pile

Tomorrow we are heading off to the lake for our second summer visit. The 4th of July was amazing weather so I hope we get lucky again and Kyrsa can feel the summer sun and water relaxation.

Despite the  lack of warm air,  I have been busy in the garden and with summer projects. I created a new screen door for the front door based on the Nick Cave exhibit at SAM. It is up but still has some additions to be made. It definitely makes a statement as it is- I like to call it the "Witchy Woman " door.

Witchy Woman lives here

Since I need to run to bed so that I can make the last raspberry harvest before we leave in the morning, I will stop talking and send along some garden pictures. You can not even imagine the destruction the deer have done this year. Because it continues to rain incessantly, even the spray does not dissuade them so gardening is dispiriting at best.

Peas and Greens- all

Still, life in Kingston does not include tragedies of catastrophic proportion or even weather events so we are  lucky people .

New York Hot

Love you all and I hope and pray every day that you are smiling.

Mama Llama

A new favorite for the lake porch

Linda and Lynne blessed me with the photocopy, so I thiought I pass on the favor and share out the secret ribs recipe. the Fourth at the Lake was The Best - just what I always wanted, and that's the truth. Will put some photos up later, but thank you everyone for a relaxing, perfect fourth - we even scored a hit with the water balloons. A miracle. Next time, we're planting a mole in the parade so we don't fall for the decoys. I nominate anita - she has the best chance of both convincing people to cruise over to the dock and scoring drinks from other boats at the same time.

From “Celebrating with Julienne” by Susan Campoy
By way of Lynne & Linda

Baby Back Pork Ribs

Ribs:
3 racks baby back ribs (about 6 pounds total)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Barbecue glaze:
1 cup freshly brewed espresso
1 cup ketchup
½ cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup clover honey
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

To prepare the ribs: Preheat the over to 350. Brush the ribs with the olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the ribs on a heavy large rimmed baking sheet and cover tightly with foil. Bake until the meat between the ribs is tender, about 2 hours.

Meanwhile, to prepare the barbecue glaze: Combine all the ingredients in a heavy large saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the mixture thickens slightly, about 15 minutes.

Do ahead: The baked ribs and barbecue glaze can be made 1 day ahead. Cool completely, then pour off any excess liquid from the ribs and cove the ribs on the baking sheet. Store the glaze in a container. Keep the ribs and glaze refrigerated.

Increase the oven temperature to 450. Brush some of the glaze over the ribs. Bake uncovered, one side up, for 10 minutes. Turn the ribs over and baste the meaty side again with more glaze. Continue baking for 10 minutes. Cut the racks between the bones into individual ribs. Alternatively, these ribs can be grilled. To do so, preheat a barbecue for medium heat. Brush the ribs with the glaze and grill them for 10 minutes. Turn them over and brush the ribs with more glaze. Continue grilling until the ribs are heated through, about 10 minutes longer, brushing the ribs with additional glaze as they cook.
Rewarm the remaining glaze in a small saucepan over medium-low hear and serve it in a bowl alongside the ribs, if desired.

Summertime and Easy living?

Happy beginning of a new week to you all and a reminder that this is the LAST week of school. Some of you still get a reminder that life is seasonal and summer is a special time set aside for play. For those of you who have busy lives that do not change seasonally, remember back to that amazing feeling of hope the overtook the first days of summer vacation, when no school days interrupted your choices. Make time for play and for just relaxing with a Popsicle and a good book.

Anita relaxing on Memorial day with a good fire

For me, that seems like it could be everyday but somehow isn't. This week we did have some pleasant weather so David and I  had a quick excursion to Quilcene for harvesting clams and oysters- it WAS feel fishing day across the state don't you know. After that it was a day for garden projects that now seem to never end and are never complete. I discovered last week that my list of projects never includes that ones I actually complete. How can that be? That is just the way of a home and garden slave.

Not Siberian but still beautiful

Saturday I stopped by the Peony Farm at the top of Tulin Rd. The peonies are late this year so there were only a few in bloom, along with the Siberian iris. The sad news is that the Peony Farm is closing. After 10 years, the owners have decided to retire from their 3rd retirement activity. They are selling all their plants and I was lucky to stop by because the plants are being dug in the fall but being reserved and paid for now. Of course I had to chose 6 beauties, as well as some Siberian iris. Both are not appealing to deer so are planned for the A-frame garden. I planted the iris this weekend and prepared the space for the peonies. It will self-decompose during the summer making easy work for planting in the fall. That was exciting and made me feel more enthused to get back to the flowers and sprinklers in the big gardens. I think I need an unpaid intern to keep this place in check!

This week is full of project hopefuls- a new silk blouse for summer, a decorative screen for the front door, repaired rabbit cages and recharged sprinkler systems. All this are in accompaniment with the garden weeding, harvesting and eating. Oh the woes of summer with long days and creative urges to fill. Not a bad life and there is no reason that I deserve its bounty but I am thankful to have the fun of it.

Memorial Day at the lake-not tree!

I hope you are all having some fun as well as you create moments and days with some laughter and smiles. You deserve every happy moment.

Love you all,
Mama Llama

NYC Celebrates US

Northeast Spring

It is the beginning of a new week and I find myself back in Kingston, listening to the frogs and the chickens rather than the human and mechanical voices of  the CITY: all great sounds- so I am very lucky to have time for both. The internet weather reports tell me that we are all having the same day- cool temperatures and rainfall everywhere! I suspect that is the way of our world this year so if you have a chance to escape ANYWHERE, do so for your own sake!

 My escape to the East  Coast was great on all levels. I escaped the rain in Seattle, escaped daily life patterns for awhile and returned with new inspiration in all areas. With enough coffee I will be able to carry through with at least some of the new ideas and creations.

Jim and Carol retired!

Just a little review of the the journey so I can relive it myself for a moment and share it with you as well! I rented a car for most of the week, which was an entirely new way to see the Northeast. Driving into Manhattan during rush hour was my initiation and I must brag about how successful I was. It really is not all that difficult to read the road signs when you are traveling at 10 miles an hour! Driving through Connecticut to see Jim and Carol was a real treat. I saw a new perspective on the space I have visited often. The Spring colors were amazing. Everyone praises Fall colors in the Northeast but the Spring, with its' new greens and pastels is every bit as spectacular. Carol and I shared ideas and experiences in our respective lives and walked through the reservoir park, recalling the high school years when we did much the same thing.

CIA

Vanderbilt Mansion

I returned to New York in time for the weekend and a great excursion to the Hudson Valley to celebrate Mother's Day and Erin's birthday. Again, the landscape was gorgeous and relaxing. We stayed in a great little Bed and Breakfast in Hyde Park (for you foodies, across the road from the CIA). We visited mansions from the Golden Age of American industry - the Vanderbilts, Roosevelts, etc- and small,old, factory towns now struggling to become scenic tourist centers until something better comes along to aid the economy.

Valkil

Valkil, Eleanor Roosevelt's retreat, was especially inspirational since we had our own personal tour given by an woman who had known Eleanor and had been Eleanor's guest at Valkil. The DIA Beacon is perhaps the most unique Modern art museum I have visited, largely because of it LARGE size and the thematic curating of its shows. Marvelous-really! And of course, with any successful adventure there was great food that we were able to discover on our very own- ignoring the poor advice locals tried to offer. We returned down the west side of the Hudson River which is more agricultural and rural and therefore more beautiful to my viewpoint.

Beacon, NY

Since we returned on Erin's birthday we made an entire day of relaxing with mani-pedis at the local Williamsburg shop, under the subway. It always offers a great look into the local community and certainly did not disappoint,  with a group of Latina ladies and children getting ready for a celebration and a second group of young Hasidic Jewish school girls getting the "beauty treatment". Really much better than the theater or cinema. Dinner at Bianca's was great, as it always is, both food and experience. I think Erin's birthday was a success.

Jenny and Erin

With all that traveling,  my time in Manhattan seemed very short indeed. I took some time to shop for a shoot with Erin which was great fun. We had eyebrow threading in Nolita, saw great shows at the Design Museum, world renown tapestries at the Cloisters and great art at the Met- more that I can review but less that I wanted to see. Of course there was lots of good food and wine and coffee and treats to keep the energy level up! The wonderful thing about New York is that is it always there for a return visit and there is always something you didn't get to see to draw you back.

Spring HOPE

As a mother, I am thankful daily for my three wonderful children who all live in wonderful locations and let me come to visit!

Rain, rain go away...come again some other day?

Just a little shout out to you all before I travel across the country and DRIVE into the Big Apple! Yes, you heard right- I will be driving into Brooklyn on Wednesday afternoon. It turns out that it is much cheaper to rent a car for a week than for 3 days and since I am also traveling up to Connecticut, it make financial sense to rent the car to do both the trip to Avon and the adventure with Erin to the Hudson Valley. "Now don't be scared!"

Aside from planning for the next big adventure, there has been lots of garden work in the rain here in Kingston. I have planted everything- including tomatoes and squash on the theory that I will need the absolute longest growing season possible with the weather averages around 50 degrees. All of you in California and even in New York, remember the realities of the Northwest. We are in the rain-side of the 10 year weather cycle. I know the scientific community doesn't recognize my 10-year weather cycle but back in 1970 the medical community did not recognize stress and large amounts of sugar as problematic for womens health issues. I am always ahead of the curve on these scientific findings but no one remembers my first impressions-remember this!

I know you have mostly all heard about the amazing Easter meal shared on Tulin Rd. Radishes and nettles were two of the amazing hits. I will pass on the nettles recipe later, but I suspect no one has the available source that we do here in Kingston, so for now I will share the roast radish recipe which is outrageous and comes to us by way of Kyrsa.

It was also a bit of a birthday celebration for David so I made the celebrated Italian Cream Cake- one of MY favorites. Rather than the traditional cream cheese frosting,  I made the 7-minute icing with coconut topping as a lighter options- we all know that sugar is so much healthier because there is no fat!

Kyrsa will be visiting the Pacific Northwest this weekend and I will be sad to miss her but know she will have fun seeing other family and good friends. There will be lots of  laughter going out into the universe so be sure to add to it where ever you are. It is the needed relief from all the rain we in Seattle have been enduring and all the fear mongering the media seems to be pursuing. I think the wet weather has made me realize the paralyzing affect that constantly negative message has on people. I am REALLY walking away from the media news and deciding to live in a small cocoon of my own making. What is wrong with wrapping yourself in silk (unless you hatch into a tent caterpillar!-ugh)?

So that is the word from the home front. I will report on the garden progress when I return in a week. I hope the mildew has not taken over the roses by then ! Have a great week and weekend. I am sending you tons of love and reminding you that you make my life more hopeful every day by your creative living and your positive energy into the universe. You are the examples of  hope and change that I give everyday, to counter the negative message people absorb so easily. Go-Seek-Laugh!

Love you always but especially this Mother's Day.
Mama Llama

Easter Eggs

Just a moment of Spring sharing but you will have to imagine the view. I  spent the best part of the afternoon in the vegetable garden planting and tilling- tilling and planting, then covering the tilled areas with black ground cover so they would warm the soil for later tomatoes and squash. That was all an unexpected treat because the rain held off until evening.

The other unexpected surprise was the second egg laid by Ping. Ping, you will remember, was attacked by an eagle. Though she was rescued, she was seriously torn up so has been in rehab for the past 6 weeks. It has been almost 6 weeks since she laid an egg so I was becoming worried about her recovery but yesterday she gave us a lovely buff colored egg and today another. Hurray for Ping. She received lots of weed-treats today and will be able to join her friends again in a couple of day.

That is the news from Kingston. I hope you are all happy and well.

Love,
Mama Llama

Anita on the move!

Click on the photo above to go to the video of the bikers' homecoming.
Despite grandma's unceasing fear and continual warnings - do NOT crash - a beautiful day for a ride around Davis. Here's prep time:
Cheers!

April Showers bring ?

I am back home in Kingston with California stories to tell and pictures to share.

Since enjoying sunshine for 10 days in California, I should be better prepared for the rain and cold weather that greeted me in Kingston but that just isn't how it works. I did get 2 great afternoons this week to catch up with the weeds a little bit and hope for more time soon. The spring is moving slowly so at least I did not miss many blooms. Spring is always so hopeful, with the season ahead to watch plants struggle, get eaten by deer and slugs and languor from the lack of sunshine-but for now we hold high hopes.

Where's Anita?

The real news is the fun Anita and I had in California. We stayed in some great places and ate great food everywhere. We visited art museums, listened to symphony orchestras and walked all over San Fransisco. We road the buses, as well! Anita became a professional public transportation passenger, chatting with fellow riders where ever we rode and learning lots of new information about San Fransisco as a result. We even took the bus in the evenings, to dinner and to the symphony. Real city people!

Mary Ann, John and Anita

But as much as we enjoyed visiting the Bay area again, our highlights we clearly the smaller spaces. Anita is ready to move to wine country as soon as she wins the lottery. It didn't hurt that we had cocktails every night, wine tastings and beer tastings and then wine with dinner!

Along with the great meals and fine wines, we had excursions all over northern California. After visiting Jack London's Ranch (now a state park) I was greatly inspired to write at least 500 words each morning. Jack London wrote 1000! You can see by the lateness of this posting how long that inspiration lasted. The walk through his 140 acre ranch-park was spectacular and a real look at what California has been and is today. We also visited Old Sacramento and the State Capitol building and drove the gold rush trail. It is astounding the breadth and scope of California's natural and historic treasures .

Probably the most adventurous activity as far as Anita was concerned would be her ride around Davis with Colin on the tandem bike. We took a LONG ride but she was rewarded for her courage and balance with a beer tasting at the new beer stube in town.

 There were so many high spots I can not keep you attention and mention them all. Seeing Kyrsa and Dave and Colin and Susan  made everything fun. It was also nice to visit Mary Ann (Anita's sister) and John. It had been several years since I had seen them. There home is in a beautiful area just blocks from Folsom State Park. It is hard to believe the trip is over and California is so many miles away. But such a fun visit just reminds us all that visits do happen continually. There is always one to look forward to in the future. Thank you everyone for great times, great food, great laughter and always lots of love,

Mama Llama

In like a lion, out like a lamb?

Well let's hope so! March weather on the west coast has been wet wet wet but we are hoping that April will hold lots of changes for the better. Keeping that dream close to my heart, I ventured out into the garden this week to clean out the winter dead and make room for the little spots of bloom and blossom. The primroses are yellow and purple, daffodils bright lemon, the flowering plum bring in some shades of pink and the apricot is filled with white popcorn. All wonderful signs of Spring. This is the best season in my garden because it holds all the hope for summer while denying all possibility of failure.

Holding on to that hope, I planted peas, arugula,spinach and some lettuce this weekend. This way they will have 2 weeks to show themselves and I wont even be staring at them. I also set my artichoke starts into the front garden, surrounded by little green plastic tents to keep them warm. They look good so far and maybe the tents will let them grow before the deer spot them.

I cleaned and clipped roses but did not have time to spray before I leave, so I hope they are not pruned further by my 4-legged friends. I really need to build a fence to keep Duffy in the yard all day and all night. Maybe that would help! The neighbors might not enjoy the noise but there is always some price to pay.

For now, all it good and I am full of dreams of warm summer days. I am also thinking about life philosophies, solving world problems and generally meditating on life while I pull weeds and dig dirt. Do you realize that every person learns a language- some even learn Russian- when they are only 1 year old but at 20 we can hardly manage a second language. I think a big part of the problem is that after the age of 5 we stop playing with learning. The first language we learn by practicing sounds and saying senseless prattle just to see how it works. We love to show off our sound boxes all day long. As we get older, we want short cuts. We expect to learn what we want in the time-spans we choose. No wonder we become frustrated. Just like those little toddlers, we are still too impatient. And what about eunuchs? What was that about in the Byzantine culture? So many things for the mind to explore while the hands are tending to weeds.

As you can see, there will be epistles to come as the Spring proceeds. Tonight I am looking forward to 10 days in California. Anita and I will visit the Bay area, Healdsburg and the Sacramento Valley. We are throughing caution to the wind and packing swimming suits in case there is a pool somewhere, but more realistically we will probably enjoy a hot tub! I know there will be stories to tell when I return. Until then, love to you all and celebrate the beginning signs of Spring.

Love,
Mama Llama

Happy Birthday Barbara

I know you are all wishing you could have enjoyed celebrating Aunt Barb's 50th birthday so I am sending you come photos from the adventure. Lacey was a great driver and it was especially nice to have she and Corey drive David and I from doorstep to doorstep throughout the evening.

After working our way through heavy rains and Friday evening traffic, we arrived at the Herb Farm in Woodenville just in time for the pre-dinner introduction to all things Herb Farm. They served an interesting and tart herb tea for the introduction, as well as wine. Interestingly, we all chose the tea, being particularly ready for a warm relaxing beverage after the drive.

The dinner menu was set, with the Northwest trees as the theme for the evening. We were all surprised at the selections that we favored.
 The Egg appetizer was really subtle and paired with a wonderful Riesling-like white wine. A beautiful pickled breakfast radish adorned it. Really amazing! I also liked the Sturgeon stuffed with nettles - a fish I don't remember tasting in the past. It was full of interesting and delicate flavors. The cheese was served with tangy fresh greens and an aged local balsamic-wonderful. The syrah gelee with pepper meringue was unusual and very interesting as was the birch sap ice cream ( a little maple-like but more subtle).

Since the theme was trees, Colin would not have enjoyed the meal as much as I did because of the vast number of nut components. They change their menus every 3 weeks so. If he decides to go, he will have to choose a no-nut menu.When we made the reservations, they asked about menu restrictions and we did notice a vegetarian selection going out during the "Pork" dish that included a turnip instead of the pork!

Pigs are a big part of the Herb Farm and between courses patrons can ask for a slop bucket to feed the 2 Vietnamese Potbellied Pigs. Barb's friend Jill thought that would be fun so we walked out with her between the Meat Course and the cheese. They were pretty funny! In all, it was a culinary experience of excellence and art and a good birthday celebration. I hope Barb enjoyed it as much as Lynne and I did.

I hope you are all enjoying the month of March. It is a blustery month in Kingston but in spite of the weather, the goats have been shoren and the chickens have a new spring yard to explore, with a cover to protect them from the eagles. The injured chicken is in the hospital-cage in the chicken yard so she does not feel lonely. I hope she will improve and gain back her weight (she got a like thinner after the trauma of the attack). I, on the other hand hope to get thinning over the month! In all cases, may March be good to us all.

Much Love,
Mama Llama