What's Cooking?

Four dozen scrambled eggs, three pounds of bacon, two batches of pancake mix, one seedless watermelon: Tuesday breakfast

Five loaves of garlic bread, four large lasagnas (plus one small vegan), three boxes of brownie mix, two big salads, one blackberry crisp: Tuesday dinner

Fifty-one breakfast burritos and leftover lasagna (by request): Wednesday breakfast

The happy faces of the kayak campers: priceless

When we heard about the need for volunteers from the folks at Wet Planet Whitewater, we recruited a few friends to make meals for First Descents, which was hosting a weeklong whitewater kayaking camp on the Klickitat and White Salmon Rivers. First Descents, a non profit based in Vail, Colorado has been using kayaking and other outdoor adventure sports to promote emotional, psychological, and physical healing for young adults with cancer. This year they had nine programs in six states!

We've lived here two years now, and had no idea that the Columbia River Gorge Hostel in Bingen even existed. The historic Bingen School was built by the Civilian Construction Corps, and has been a hostel since 1988 with both private rooms and hostel beds. You can shoot hoops in the old gym, store your stuff in the hall lockers, write notes to self on the blackboards in the rooms, and make food in the self serve kitchen (in which we were delighted to find a commercial stove with a griddle top for our pancake feast). It's also just a few blocks' walk from the Amtrak station, as any good hostel should be!

The first breakfast went very well and we'd gauged our food pretty much on target. We did have some leftover scrambled eggs. Rather than send my cholesterol levels soaring, I thought we could turn them into breakfast burritos for the next morning, as that meal was still in need of a volunteer. It also solved the problem of what to do with a big bag of potatoes I'd gotten on sale. So in between meals I made up the burritos, wrapped them in foil and stuck them in the fridge for rewarming in the morning. Then it was time to bake the lasagnas for dinner. Lloyd went down early with the the garlic bread, salad fixings and the brownies I'd made for dessert while I waited for the lasagnas (one veggie, one small vegan). Jan and Fred brought a turkey lasagna and blackberry crisp, Janet and Skip brought a veggie lasagna, Lisa and Randy brought a veggie lasagna with white sauce and a salad, and voila, dinner for 30 plus us.

After dinner, we headed back to our house. The sun was down enough to enjoy our deck and some fabulous white sangria that Janet wanted to try from this week's Oregonian. It was a smash hit. I highly recommend it for summer sipping. Here's how to make enough for 8:

In a large bowl or pitcher, combine 1/4 cup brandy and 1/4 cup granulated sugar. Let stand 5 minutes then stir to dissolve sugar. Add fruit- 2 firm ripe peaches (halved, pitted, then thinly sliced), 1/2 honeydew melon (seeded, peeled, cut lengthwise into thrids and sliced thinly crosswise-abt 4 cups). Add one bottle of white wine (sauv blanc or pino gris, well chilled). Stir to combine. Just before serving, add 12 oz can seltzer or club soda and stir again. Serve over ice. You can keep it refrigerated up to 1 day.

It's been a busy start to our week, after surviving Nights in White Salmon (more on that when I track down some photos). I think we'll take a short hiatus from our good deeds and go fishing....we need to recharge our batteries!

TGIF and Kayak Painting

Update: we did win Best Costume! The rest of the 'team' can see me at the next HYC gathering to get your official Kayaks on Wheels coffee mugs made by Klickitat Pottery! They are quite fine. We've tested them out.

For the second time this month, the Husum Yacht Club met at our house for TGIF and to paint the kayak for an event. To get our creative juices flowing, we TGIF'd first, painted later. The results were stunning.

We left the red and white strips from the 4th of July decorations, but painted the hull like a big salmon. The kayak will be perched on this wooden cradle with wheels that Lloyd designed, and pulled by four people up the main street of town on a blue chalk 'river' prior to the start of the Art and Wine Fusion I wrote about the other day.

No one wanted to ride in the kayak, even after TGIF. Probably a wise decision. So we had to recruit a friend of Alina's who wouldn't mind falling off if the 'river' got rough. We even found a life jacket to fit him. Safety first!

Our team of salmon will be costumed in hand painted White Salmon Tshirts by Mikki, with silvery capes attached. On their heads will be these fine fish hats by yours truly. I only hope that it isn't 100 degrees at 4:30 like it has been the last couple of days. Good thing it's a short run. And no, I'm not running. I pulled the thing in the 4th of July Husum Pride Parade and in the .1k run. It's someone else's turn for the glory. Also, the Marimba Band starts playing at 4:50. My talents are needed there.

I'll let you know if we get the award for Best Costume...after all that knitting and painting, Mikki and I think we deserve it!

Nights In White Salmon

...never reaching the end...

Apologies to the Moody Blues (not really). Actually we ARE reaching the end. Only two more days to wrap up this year's event. Lloyd has been so busy organizing this year's Art and Wine Fusion, he'll be ready for some down time, preferably in a quiet fishing spot out of cell phone range. This week was full of Murphy's Law moments, and he's learned more than he wanted about the WA Liquor Control Board and some seemingly inane rules and regulations. By Sunday it will be in the books, with many lessons learned for the next person to chair this event. I don't think it will be anyone in this house!

That said, it will be a great family evening here in White Salmon, with artists, music (including my debut with Jamba Marimba), food and wine tasting in our downtown shops. For the cost of a souvenir glass and five tasting tickets, you can enjoy some great local wines. Take your passport into the shops, get it stamped, then drop it in the raffle box at the end of the evening to win some fine prizes. The more stamps, the more chances you have to win.

And don't miss the first ever White Salmon Slalom, a kayak street competition. You'll have to see it to believe it. I have been working on the Husum Yacht Club's costumes for weeks. Photos next week...

SO if anyone reading is in spitting distance of White Salmon, come on out and have some fun with the locals.

By the way, the very beautiful poster, by the very talented Joanna Kaufman, will be available for purchase at the event. I know I want one...

Cool Free Stuff

I love FREE STUFF.

Show your support for CLEAN ENERGY with this very cool sticker! MoveOn's partnering with acclaimed artist Shepard Fairey — who designed the iconic Obama "Hope" poster — to offer a FREE "Clean Energy for America" sticker.

Just CLICK HERE, the first one is free, including postage. Such a deal!

On Africa Time

I've been obsessed with learning to play marimba the last few weeks, after finding my way to a fun group called Jamba Marimba. As I try to make my hands do what my brain and ear tell them to do, while trying to match the songs with names like Chemwanyera, Nyungwe, and Siyakudumisa, I'm giving my head a real workout. So, dear readers, I've not spent as much time as usual writing. My debut with the band will be at the Nights in White Salmon Art and Wine Fusion. And I'm getting nervous, so I will be practicing a LOT in the next week or so.

One of my marimba friends sent this amazing video performance by an a Slovenian capella jazz choir called Perpetuum Jazzile. The first few minutes are astounding.

Wine Bag Failure Alert

I've been trying to do my part to reduce the number of those plastic bags from the grocery store that go to recycle, and have a fine collection of reusable grocery bags. Some were free, some I bought for 99 cents. They hail from Whole Foods, Safeway, Thriftway, Petco, and Trader Joe's. I've actually trained myself to remember them, and try to keep a few in my car.

When Trader Joe's was out of wine boxes one time, I bought two handy wine bags that hold six bottles each. I use them now for TJ's, Safeway (rather than those cardboard caddies that end up in the recycle), and when I go to my local vintner. They haven't gotten too much use, which is why I was SHOCKED, I tell you, SHOCKED that my handy wine bag failed the other day.

I'd been up at Wind River Cellars, and picked up a couple of bottles of the 'official wine of my 2009 birthday' to replace some of the bottles I drank (with help) during birthday week. It wasn't even a full caddy. Just a couple of bottles that I balanced in the bag so as to distribute the weight properly. They made it safely from the tasting room to the car. From the car to the house. That's when I ran into trouble. I took the caddy downstairs to put the wine in the garage fridge. I opened the door, and suddenly, CRASH, SMASH. And the sweet smell of pinot gris. The bottom of the bag gave way for no apparent reason. I was very sad.

Had I gone straight to the garage perhaps it wouldn't have happened. But then, next time I used it, I could have had a FULL caddy, and that would not have been good (though it would have been full of $4 a bottle wine, not two $20 bottles).

Was it a fabric flaw? Did the bag break down in the hot car? If so, that really stinks because I'll NEVER remember to take them with me on a specific wine run. I don't know when I'll get to TJ's again, so I will send them a letter asking if this has happened to anyone else. I certainly don't want to lose any more wine this way. I'll let you know what they say. Meanwhile, be sure to keep your reusable bags in the shade, just in case....

Summer Solstice

You'd never know it's the first day of summer as I sit here in jeans, long sleeved shirt and fleece vest. I think the Big Chill my body is suffering began last night, at Stonehenge. Not THE Stonehenge (though I did see it once), but the Stonehenge Memorial built as the country's first WWI memorial on the site of the original town of Maryhill.

The planets were in alignment, so to speak, for the summer solstice presentation of King Lear by the Portland Actors Ensemble who brought their traveling Shakespeare Show from the Big City to Klickitat County. It's a bit of a drive from our little burg (almost 50 miles and still in the same county), so we left about 5:15 for the 7:30 show. We picked up Randy and Lisa on the way, and met up with Skip and Jan for our picnic on the grounds before the show. Good thing we got there early, and spread blankets and sleeping bags on some chairs near the front. It wasn't even 6:30 and we were about 5 rows back. Good sign for the actors, looked like it would be a full house.

We enjoyed fine dining and wining overlooking the Columbia River from our perch high on the bluff. We found a spot with a wind break, which was helpful. I'd roasted Peruvian Chicken on our BBQ rotisserie, and whipped up a quinoa salad with mango, black beans, peppers, green onions and a lime cilantro dressing. Jan had deviled eggs, baked beans and coleslaw, and Lisa made a fantastic bean dip (lots of avocado) with chips. Everyone brought wine. We were stoked and ready by 'curtain time'.

The place was packed. At intermission we found out that attendance was 380 people! I don't think they expected that. The acting was superb, as was the setting of course. The sun was down by intermission, so we returned for Act 2 to find coleman lanterns glowing atop three or four of the stone pillars. We'd refueled during the break with Lisa's fabulous chocolate pudding dessert (I was tempted to start doing Bill Cosby impersonations). We needed the extra calories, because it was COLD and WINDY. We also grabbed an extra blanket from the car to put over the fleece one I already had. I was concerned for the young woman who played Regan...she had on a beautiful green gown with lots of back and shoulder exposed. Thank goodness she had a few scenes where she wore a cloak.

It was a happy carfull that joined the parade west on winding HWY 14 after the show. For my Portland area readers, try to catch the show under the St. John's Bridge (Willamette Valley's only suspension bridge, a little bit of trivia) at Cathedral Park June 25-26, July 2, 3, and 9-11. Or in Beaverton at Autumn Ridge Park on June 27th. It's a real treat. And it's FREE. But I guarantee you'll want to drop a little something in the donation box by the end of the show.

Happy Father's Day

It's all my fault. I was the reason for your first Father's Day (of 57 so far). It must have been good, because I have six fantastic siblings. This was obviously taken well after Father's Day, because I was only a week or so old on Father's Day in 1952. We made a fine couple, if I must say so myself. Photo credit goes to my mom.

Have a great day, Dad, and enjoy having my girls there in my stead. How great is that!

Of Tall Ships, Sushi, Cake and Yankee Slayers

It's been a dandy birthday week. We kicked it off on Sunday. After a lovely drive into Portland, we strolled around the Saturday Market and their new digs under the covered pavilion, then moseyed over to Chinatown, where we caught a dragon dance for the moon festival.



The smells of the food vendors at the Market and in Chinatown drove us to Stumptown Coffee so we could distract ourselves from the growling in our stomachs. We were saving ourselves for dinner at Red Hills Provincial Dining in Dundee. We drove out to Mac and saw Mary and Matt's remodel project, then we all headed to Red Hills for a feast.

Nancy and Richard outdid themselves, and started us off with a bottle of Argyle Brut and crabcakes. Mom had called in an order for a bottle of Richard's Pinot Noir as a surprise. We drank lots of coffee with our homemade ice cream dessert so we could make it back to the Gorge in one piece.

Tuesday, Alina and I got our hair done, and had a lovely dinner of swordfish and salad (with some Wind River Cellars Pinot Gris, the official wine of my birthday 2009) out on the deck. Keara sent a big bunch of sunflowers, AND a packet of seeds so I could grow my own.


Wednesday we returned to Today's Chalet for pedicures. Such a guilty pleasure. Lloyd joined us in an expedition across the bridge to tour the Hawaiian Chieftain and The Lady Washington, two tall ships docked in Hood River for the night.


You might recognize The Lady Washington as the HMS Interceptor from Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, or as the brig Enterprise in Star Trek Generations.

The two ships have been on a tour of the Columbia River for the last month, doing dockside tours, evening sails and battle cruises to raise funds and awareness for the foundation.


Lloyd had to get back to White Salmon for an arts council meeting, so we skipped the battle sail. Alina and I got sushi to go from Sushi Okalani instead. Lloyd's not a big sushi fan, so he bolted for the taco stand and got a big carne asada burrito, which he devoured while we waited for our sushi to be constructed. It was beautiful. And delicious. And it went great with the official wine of my birthday 2009.


After his meeting, we all had dessert, courtesy of chef Alina. She's been a cooking junkie since she got here. Here she is with her Chocolate Genoise Cake with Raspberry Filling and Chocolate Ganache, from Emeril and the Food Network website. It tasted as good as it looks, especially with a scoop of Tillamook Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.


Then it was early to bed, because we had to get Alina to PDX by 6 am for her 7:20 flight back to Boston. She texted that she'd boarded when we got to Hood River, and we were home by the time the flight took off. We were moving rather slowly yesterday, and it took me three tries to get the Sudoku puzzle, my brain was so fuzzy. Another helping of that cake did the trick and we're back to normal today. As normal as we can be, that is.

Now, I'm not one to gloat, but I just can't help myself...the Sox swept the Yankees (again) just for me. I was hoping for a win for my birthday, and I knew Tim Wakefield would be up to the task, but to have all three games this week was almost too much. Almost.

A New Extreme

I like the fringes. I've been to the far northeast (W. Quoddy Pt. Maine). I've been to the far south points of the US (Key West FL, and Ka Lae HI. I've been to the Cape of Good Hope (Africa). Now I can add the most northwestern point of the contiguous US, Point Flattery, WA.


Last week we took a couple days off of chores around the homestead. With a clear forecast for the WA coast, we headed to the Olympic Peninsula, and stopped for the night at South Beach, an Olympic National Park campground about 35 miles south of Forks. Flush toilets but no potable water. Hand sanitizer dispenser conveniently mounted on the bathroom door. No showers. Alina was NOT happy about that. By the second night, neither was I. Note to self, no more than two nights at campgrounds with no showers. We ladies like showers. And even more importantly, we like our menfolk to have them. And I won't mention salty dogs.

But, it was a peaceful, beautiful, clear day at the coast. No wind. This was the view from our site.


We had a big picnic table, and a fire ring.


Cooked us up some New Braunfels smoked sausages for dinner, with a big salad and a bottle of wine. And contemplated the meaning of life.


The short trail to the water was right next to our site. You had to climb over some big wood to get to the beach. That is not a rock to the left, it's a LOG!

Remember, Beach Logs Kill.

As the sun went down, the moon came up.

The sunset was spectacular.

Pictures don't come close to how beautiful it was.


Thursday morning, after the sun opened all the buttercups in front of the tent, we set out for Forks, where we picked up info on how to get to our desination. The Chamber of Commerce info place was full of tween Twilight fans and their parents, looking for maps to sites described in the books. I've never read them. No one was going where we were going. Whew.


We passed through Neah Bay and picked up our pass to use the Makah tribe roads and land. The parking lot at the trailhead was pretty empty. We headed out through the thick woods, and the path turned to boardwalk.


At the end of the trail there were several observation decks to fully appreciate the view.

As we stood on the point, a bald eagle flew by us. That's Victoria Island, Canada in the background. You can't see Russia from here.


As we turned to head back, a mob of 200 eighth graders and their teachers on an end of year field trip from Port Angeles descended on the decks. Five busloads. We high tailed it back up to the car to get out ahead of the bus parade. I made Lloyd stop in Sekiu so I could get a picture of Rosie. I had to. She reminded me of the giant shrimp just across the Brazos River in Richmond. I thought Susan would get a kick out of Rosie.

Rosie's got a great view.

So then it was back to the campground for dinner (chicken with Trader Joe's Green Thai Chili sauce, jasmine rice, and salad, oh, and another bottle of wine). A mighty wind came up and I thought we were in for a rough night, but it stopped after an hour or so. We were on the edge of a front that blasted through Portland and the Gorge all night. I'm not sure the camper would have held up, so it was good that we were spared.

Four hours home on Friday to the shower. Alina beat everyone to it. And loved every second.