May is Awesome and Not Just Because It Is My Birth Month

May is pretty awesome. The farmers markets in Seattle have exploded in the last few weeks and it rules. There is an organic version of everything. So Casey and I bought a few pounds of asparagus and I made some pickles.

It's a little hard to believe that all this asparagus turned into just three jars of pickles. Now, I have never had pickled asparagus, but I am sure it is just wonderful.

There is my new pot. I got it Fred Meyer. Why did I leave my pot behind? It was not a good decision.

And the pickles. I didn't follow a recipe so these could turn out to be gross. But I used chili flakes and garlic. Can't really go wrong there.

Casey bought me these flowers at the U-district farmers market. He is good.

And of course, here is my Seattle garden. It isn't as great as the Philosopher's Terrace garden but it has potential. Maybe once we find a more permanent place to live these plants will go into the ground. I have thyme, lavender, three types of basil, oregano and a hot pepper plant. The pepper plant is Casey's and it doesn't seem to be doing well.

See those marigolds? They are my pest deterrent system. Although I am afraid they might not ward off the possums and rats as I would like them to.

Oh! I bought a little grill. Maybe one day I will buy adult sized things but for now, mini and apartment sized items are ok. We had some friends over (that's right, friends) and grilled some brats and veggies. It's pretty awesome to have a grill. Though I am afraid that the rats might try to nest inside and then bite me when I try to use it. Jerks. We will just have to grill them too.

Well, I had the TV on and I saw this commercial for bird seed. The birds were really cool and the bird feeders were even cooler. I thought to myself, I would really like another bird feeder, maybe birds would actually visit this one. My current bird feeder is for small birds and so far, it has had two visits. One from a little bird that did not stick around and one from a cardinal (not sure, it didn't stick around either because it was too big). So I looked around on the internet and discovered that bird feeders are expensive. And then I saw the OJ jug.

This one is for Dusty. Casey is propagating some kombucha in my kitchen. Dusty calls it skin tea. We call it delicious.

And sleeping Dookles.

And closer.

And closer. I discovered fleas on these cats yesterday. So I put some poison on them and haven't touched them since. Poor little kitties.

April Showers Bring May Showers... And Other Things!!

It is hard to believe but Mikey and I have been here for 6 months. We are looking for a new apartment, one in a neighborhood of people in their 20's. Living with those in their teens has become exhausting. And I have just discovered that this apartment has an abundance of wolf spiders. Luckily, Mikey's cat seems to enjoy eating them. Or at least mangling them so they can't run at me. So here are some pictures of our latest shenanigans.

Wicket waits on the cabinet for Mikey to get out of the shower.

Dookies is sick of all my traveling. I am too, kinda.

Wicket sleeps (dies) on the cable box. I guess it is warm. Dookies has started doing it too and we are a little concerned.

Here is a map of the area that I frequent in British Columbia. I started in Richmond and Vancouver and took a ferry over to Victoria (south island). From there I took a few days and traveled up the island to lovely places such as Nanaimo, Port Alberni, Duncan, Ladysmith and Courtenay. From there I took another ferry over to Powell River and then went south down the Sunshine Coast. Two more ferries and I was back in the Couv. It was pretty cool

I bought a circular pass to get around the island.

This is the view from one of the overlooks on Highway 1.

And here is my truck. Somehow it has survived all this mountain travels.

And there I am.

I couldn't help myself. When I return to this lovely town, I will take more of these photos and make a t-shirt.

And here I am on Cameron Lake on the Pacific Rim Highway on my way to the mountain town of Port Alberni. Yup. That's me.

The road into and out of Port Alberni is lined with huge mountains. And large trucks.

On my way back through I stopped in the Cathedral Grove, a stand of old growth trees. It was really cool but I was too afraid of bears and marauders to walk the trail alone.

This is one of the ferries I took.

I was really lucky to have good weather the whole time. It was absolutely pleasant to sit on the deck and look around.

This is a huge truck that was also getting a ride across the water.

This is a fine parting shot. While waiting in line at the Peace Park USA/Canada border crossing I saw this little dog. I couldn't get the camera out of landscape mode so this picture kinda sucks. Any way, it was miserable. I downloaded an episode of SNL (the one with Betty White, hilarious) and watched it while sitting with my car off. Now I am back. I have a tiny little herb garden here and actually didn't die in my absence (Mikey watered it). I will put some pictures up soon.

Forgotten Post... Oops

I just found this post. It was forgotten. Oops. Here are some nice pictures!

One of the many scenic roads that I drive in central WA.

The ingredients for chai tea. Pepper, fennel, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and black tea. I also added some whole milk and a little sugar. It was seriously good.

And here is some kimchi and pickled ginger I made. The kimchi is no sweat but the ginger was a little annoying. I bought the most expensive rice wine vinegar at the natural market per the recipe. I followed all the steps. The liquid and the ginger are supposed to turn pinkish. Did NOT happen. Tastes good though.

See how yellow that pickled ginger is? It doesn't even resemble pink dammit.

And there is Dookies looking longingly at the outside world. She wants so badly to be free. Never going to happen.

April Fools!

April in Seattle is a potpourri of rain, sun, cold, warm and mountains. Every few days the could clear out completely and there is Rainier. It is easy to forget that there is a giant volcano less than 100 miles away until you see it in your face. Casey said that every time he wakes up to fog he thinks that Rainier has blown. April is National Disaster Preparedness Month so I am taking this opportunity to put together an emergency box. Scotch, cat food for Dookles and Wickett, peanut butter and a book of crossword puzzles. I don't think I really need a box.


Any way, here are some pictures. I think Parent-Visiting season is coming up so get your tickets to Seattle soon before they sell out.

We made deviled eggs for Easter. I was a little worried that maybe not everybody likes these delectables and that maybe I would not be good at making them but my worries proved to be needless.

We were not sure how to get the goop into the eggs without making them looking terrible. So we put the mashed up eggs yolks into a plastic bag, cut a hole in the corner and squeezed it in. Reminded me of a cake I made once.

Oh look, here I am, fastidiously squirting egg goop into egg bowls.

And here is Casey, sprinkling the tops with paprika that Ellen and Gibby brought us from their travels.

And another one of the very same thing.

All done.

Last week, Casey and I went on a walk in the Lake Washington Arboretum. There is a trail that wanders through the woods then out onto a floating dock trail in the wetlands along the 520 floating bridge. It was pretty.

This duck let us get very close. Then he jumped away.

This is his wife.

Lovely juxtaposition of the serene trail and the noisy highway interchange above.

Casey thought he was very good at balancing on these giant logs until he saw that they are chained into place.

This is Mikey's new vest. He is on a kickball team called Denim Venom and he asked me to embroider the name onto his uniform. He is a lucky brother to have such a sister.

A close up.

I am very humble.

This is the walk way outside of our apartment. There a million tulips. Some of them have multi laired petals. I had never seen those before.

See? What the heck is that?

Here is another wacky one. It came up with the tulips and its leaves and stem look identical to the other tulips. Weird Pacific Northwest flora.

This is our front door. That's my bike up there.

This is a closer view of my bike. As I have said before, Mikey obtained the bike, Casey took it apart, cleaned it, painted it and repaired it. It is sooooo awesome. There is a bell, a light, a basket, a chain.

On our Olympic Peninsula adventure, I bought this bird feeder. Sadly, we have not had a visitor yet. I might know why. I would appreciate suggestions. I have moved it higher up and the curtains are usually closed. Wickett isn't helping me here.

Parting shot. This is the look that Dookles gives Wickett. It's hilarious.