Seattle Trip

Just recently I was fortunate to be able to accompany Dennis on a business trip to Seattle. It is hard to know exactly what to say except that it was a fabulous trip! We were there for 7 days, and it rained only on the day we were leaving. The sun shone and the air was most certainly spring-like for the entire trip. While Dennis was at work, I did quite a bit of exploring, and saw many parts of the city and outside the city too.

A familiar landmark, all it got from us was a drive-by...

Down by the Puget Sound on the SW side of Seattle in Lincoln Park My favorite part of this trip was how different the forests are to what we have back East. I was enthralled by the giant trees, root systems and moss and other green stuff growing EVERYWHERE. The forests seem to be so magical...I kept expecting to see fairies flitting around between the ferns or peeking out from behind a clump of moss.

We drove and walked over Deception Pass. The history behind this place was neat...explorer George Vancouver discovered the area and sent his mate, Whidbey, to find out if there was a peninsula or what the water was like. He returned to say that there was a small island and a narrow pass through the mountains. George Vancouver felt decieved by how the land appeared, so he aptly named it Deception Pass. The large island was named after his mate, Whidbey Island (which happens to be the 2nd longest island in the U.S.).

Of course I visited Pikes Market. The rows and rows of flowers, vegetables and seafood were just beautiful. And there was much throwing of fish!

We spent an afternoon playing frisbee golf across the Puget Sound in Bremerton, then drove to Bainbridge Island and had dinner at a waterfront place. Good food, good views.

Mostly though, I was so often struck by the natural beauty of the area. I know it was a rare treat to have so much sunshine, but am so thankful that there was. I visited the Washington Arboretum near Bellevue. Also, everyday, we woke up to a gorgeous view of Mt. Ranier from where we were staying.

My most ambitious day I spent hiking in Discovery Park. It was an arduous climb down to, around, and then back up to see a lighthouse and panoramic view of the Sound. But so worth it, and I was pretty much the only person on most of the hike, the solitude added to the beauty.

The only disappointment was that we didn't see any gray whales...this was the time of year that they migrate north and are often seen in the Puget Sound. I did see a seal, though, at Deception Pass, and we saw plenty of bald eagles, a coyote and lots of beautiful sea ducks.

I am so thankful for a wonderful Mom who was willing and able to keep the kids while Dennis & I were gone! Good memories!

Best Use of Shot Glasses Ever!

My brother just celebrated his birthday and requested a different type of dessert. Instead of the typical cake, he wanted some of those mini-desserts that are being served now at restaurants. Conveniently, he has quite a collection of shot glasses from Hard Rock Cafes from all over the country!
I found after searching that there are not really special recipes for this, you just take your favorite trifle or layer type recipe and make everything smaller. I made tiramisu: ladyfingers chopped into tiny bits, layered with espresso, the mascarpone cheese mixture and topped with shaved bittersweet chocolate. YUM!

Andy's favorite dessert is cheesecake, so these little desserts packed all of the flavor and a fraction of the calories! For the cheesecake shots I layered graham cracker crumbs, a white chocolate cheesecake filling (no-bake), homemade raspberry sauce and topped it with a fresh raspberry. Yum for him (I'm not so big on cheesecake, so I didn't even taste this one!)

The pumpkin gingerbread shots were adapted from a Paula Deen recipe for Pumpkin Gingerbread trifle. This was layered gingersnap cookie crumbs, a pumpkin mousse, and gingerbread cut into tiny cubes. It was topped off with chocolate shavings also.

The last one was very interesting. The basic recipe came from Big Red Kitchen for apple salad. Essentially this is vanilla pudding, cool whip and granny smith apples. I cut up the apples teeny tiny for the shot glasses. This was layered with graham cracker crumbs, caramel sauce and snickers candy bars cut into tiny pieces. This one was second to the tiramisu in my book!

This ended up being a REALLY fun dessert to make and create. Everyone loved it and we all got to have a couple and not feel horrible about a horrible amount of calories.

Bay's Shadow Box

It has been difficult for me to find Bay's niche in expressing himself artistically. Painting, drawing, writing...not so much his corner. I have known it is in there somewhere, but finding it and giving him an avenue to bring it out have been the challenge. I should have known sooner that it would be something that uses his spatial skills. He chose to make a shadow box to summarize a book he read for school. He didn't really even know what a shadow box was (so we had to look up a couple of samples on Google). Once he saw what it meant, he was ready to go. His reading curriculum provided the pictures of the animals to color and cut out. Besides a little help from mom in getting the tree to stand up, he designed and did it all himself.

Maybe sculpture is in his future?

******disclaimer: if the sight of dead rodents makes you squirmy, just don't read this post*****

Normally the sight of this trail of holes dug in the yard by Elsa would make me very upset. In fact, Dennis would probably be tempted to get rid of her when he got home, if she had not succeeded in catching.....

THIS!!! these guys sure do tear up our yard beyond belief. Even the cats have never caught a mole that we are aware of. Eric had to finish the job for Elsa ( I really didn't want her eating it) though I'm sure she was capable of finishing him off.

This puppy has earned her keep around here for a little longer!