As usual, fall has absolutely flown by, and somehow Thanksgiving completely snuck up on me! Happily I at least found the time to make my chipotle cranberry sauce and brussels sprouts in time for the family dinner. I’ve only been making them for a few years, but it already feels like it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without them! After stuffing ourselves on the holiday itself, Andy had to work Friday, while I’d had plans to get an early start for a short hike in the morning. After a terrible night’s sleep (probably due to the huge amount of food my body was struggling to digest!) I decided to take it easy for the morning, burrowed into a nest of blankets, knitting, and books the couch. Saturday, Andy and I packed up and headed east, through the recently snow-dusted mountains. The frosted hills and marshmallowy trees made me itch to run home and dig out my snowshoes. With a second Thanksgiving to celebrate in Wenatchee, there wasn’t time on this trip, but fingers crossed for a good snowy adventure soon!
Read moreLife: Week 47
After an exhausting and hectic fall season at work, having four days off work for the holiday was absolutely blissful! There was plenty of time for catching up with family and friends, and enough leftover over for some much needed relaxation! For the first time, I also had the opportunity to get out for a hike on Black Friday. Since Andy was working, and there's already plenty of snow in the mountains, a short hike up Gold Creek Basin near my parents cabin seemed like the perfect option for a short outing.
Read moreLife: Week 47
So much eating! Andy and I had not one but two Thanksgivings this year, and both times, I ate so much that I wasn't really hungry until late afternoon the next day. It's been along time since I've eaten that much rich food. At this point I feel like I need to eat nothing but salads for a month to feel like myself again. Since I've got nothing but holiday parties, travel, and visits with family on all my weekends until the new year, I don't think I'll get much of a reprieve until then. I guess in the meantime I'll just have to enjoy the cakes, pies, cookies, roasts, and gravy while I can. Maybe by Christmas, I can get the hang of taking smaller portions of everything so I don't end up with such a heaping plateful of food at every meal. Still, there are much worse problems to have than too much good food!
Read moreLife: Week 47
Stocking up on candies for the Norwegian mitten advent calendar I finished just in time!
This week was packed with delicious meals, sunshine, and family. After work Wednesday, Andy and I hopped on a plane to spend a long weekend with his sister in the Bay Area for Thanksgiving. While there, I did a lot of reading and catching up with family, but most of my time was spent reading to and playing with my two year old niece. We had so many adventures!
And the food! Before Thanksgiving, by brother-in-law cooked some of his wonderful Texas-style chili, then there was Thanksgiving dinner itself, with two turkeys, four pies, and all my favorite sides. The night after our Thanksgiving dinner, we mixed the leftover chili with leftover turkey and sides, something I would highly recommend. Overall, it was an absolutely wonderful way to spend the holiday.