Weekend at the Beach

Well, these pictures are long overdue. This is the trip Bill and I took to the Oregon Coast on the long President's Day weekend. It was gorgeous, warm, and sunny- the perfect antidote to the freezing temperatures we'd been having at home.

Here is Bill enjoying the surf...


Some of the local fauna..

My New Chickens!

After moving into my new place, I was really excited to have such a nice yard to work with. The very first idea I had after seeing the yard was that I could have chickens! So, after talking to my two "enablers" (Adrienne and Jan), I had a source for chickens and a coop to house them in, both for bargain prices. I picked up the chickens after their feed trial at OSU was over and dropped them off at Jan's house until I was ready. Last week, Adrienne and Paul brought the coop over and one afternoon after work, I put the fence up and finished the surround all by myself! It's not the fanciest coop I've ever seen, but it's sturdy and I was very proud of my efforts. This morning, Jan and Neil came over with three chickens chosen out of the bunch I picked up and we turned them loose in their new home.

Here is a photo of the whole shebang, what do you think?

Within minutes, the hens were digging in the soil, eating pillbugs, fresh grass, and weeds...

access to the nest boxes, full of fresh straw...

and by one in the afternoon, I had my very first egg!!!

Mommom

A letter she wrote to me a long time ago:

November 17, 1982

Dear Rebecca Rose,
Happy Birthday Darling. One year old today. One year since Grandad called the San Pedro Hospital and we learned we had a granddaughter. Grandad had said that we were going to have a girl baby and I dreamed about you long before you arrived.
How happy we were that day. I was so excited I could hardly get dressed. I worked at the Hospital so some of my friends had already seen you in the Nursery. I rushed up to the 5th floor and went straight to the Nursery window and there you were- a tiny little baby with a perfectly shaped head. I went to see your Mommy who was sitting up having breakfast and I took some gifts to her and your Rebecca doll for you. I had to leave to get back to work and there in the corridor was your Daddy with a big bunch of red roses and a big grin on his face. He knew you were going to be a little daughter, what he didn't know was how beautiful you were going to be.
What a lot of joy there was. Mommy and Daddy took you home. They were building extra rooms on the house so that you could have a room of your own when you got bigger. All your Grandmas and Great Grandma and Uncles and Aunts came to see you, they all brought gifts and were so happy that you were born.
During this year you have grown six teeth, you love the kittens Daddy brought home, they live outside and when you are in your play pen they join you there and you are very gentle with them. "Kitty" soon became your word and you would squeal with joy when a cat appeared.
You love rough games with Daddy and you and he play your own games when he takes care of you when Mommy goes to school.
You crawl very fast and when you are in your walker in the yard you go so fast Grandad calls it your "scurrier".
You like Amy and Anne Medina. They and their mom Anita have helped you grow, they play with you and cherish you.
Your favorite thing is a Snoopy dog that has a music box inside and he is your baby. He has grown very grubby this past year but he is your precious Baby and you won't go to sleep without him.
You are Grandad's and my favourite thing, so Happy Birthday again treasure.
Love,
Grandma and Grandad.

Ok, ok, I know...

I had no idea that so many people checked into my blog. I always thought of my site as a kind of optional addition to Mom's. However, this weekend, I was informed that some individuals are affronted at my lack of posting lately. This is due to several (really good) reasons on my end.

1. Packing, moving, then unpacking.
2. Loss of a loved one.
3. No internet at the new house until yesterday.
4. Home improvement and state-wide collection of new furniture.
5. Total disinterest in doing anything computer-related.

However, now that my life has started to slow down to normal and now that my new house has the internet, of course I have lots to share. A break in the actual reporting does usually coincide with too many activities taking place to type them all out, so take heart, there is lots to come. I have pictures of my new digs and furniture to share, so stay tuned!

This is Pure Poetry...

Another classic installment of the Fatted Calf Newsletter:

In From The Cold

It's cold in my house. Even with wool socks and fleece-lined slippers, a hooded sweatshirt and a thermal, flannel pajamas and a skullcap, it's still cold. Go to work at the Fatted Calf kitchen and the powerful exhaust system exhales great gulps of frigid air down the back of your neck.Venture out and no sooner does the weak January sun begin to thaw your cheekbones than the damp and chilly storm wind runs up your spine. At movie theatres it seems they perpetually run the air conditioning and at restaurants I have the poor luck of being seated at the draftiest table in the house.

At home there is a twelve square foot area between the woodstove and the kitchen and it is here where I spend the bulk of my wakeful winter hours. I can find a myriad of excuses for turning on my oven. I might not really need a big earthenware pot of simmered ham hocks and butter beans but I'm sure I will put them to use. Bacon baked on a rack always seems to achieve the perfect state between chewy and crispy. Bollito misto with cotechino steams up the windows while a pork country rib roast makes the room cozy. Cassoulet loaded with confit and sausage is an all day affair that prompts you to open the oven from time to time and inhale its rich warm scent. I cannot resist a long slow braise like a Brasato al Midolo that needs at least a half day in a wine rich bath before turning tender and yielding, a sticky pot roast that warms the belly, the spirit and the whole house.

See you at the market!


Sigh...I'm sorry I'm not in Berkley, CA often enough....

The Siege Continues...

Ugh...I'm starting to go a little stir crazy. It's snowed even more today. There's no end to this .... I'm never getting out of this apartment. Ok, actually, it's a like a mini-vacation watching favorite moves, lazing in my pj's and making great late breakfasts. But, this place is only so big and I am getting a little restless. God, I hope this breaks soon...

Cabin Fever

Ok, I have the most advanced case of Cabin Fever ever! Because of the weather, I've been stuck in my apartment for a week and a half; I only made it into work three days last week. I decided to make the best of it and tackle something I've put off for a long while: a multi-layered cake. They look so easy to make on the TV, but when I actually try to rally and make one, I get intimidated and decided to make something else. Well, I had nothing but time and decided to challenge myself to make one. Here are some pictures of my first attempt:

The cakes cooling...

Making the chocolate icing...

Ta da!!! It was delicious >:-)

Anyway, fast forward to this morning, this is what I woke up to. My car is frozen to the street...


It snowed seven inches yesterday, then we had freezing rain all last night. So Portland is like whole city-sized creme brulee, seven inches of fluff covered with an inch of crunchy crust. All the plants and trees are covered with an even layer of ice...





My front porch. Crunch, sink, crunch, sink is what my footsteps sounded like as I walked around taking pictures.