THANKSGIVING 2018 ~~ A WALK AROUND THE COLLEGE ~~ A TOUR OF STARBUCKS CENTER ~~ PARTING SHOT (a personal note)

THANKSGIVING 2018

One of our most favorite things to do is go visit our relatives in the Seattle/Tacoma area. If the pass is open and there isn't too much snow, we make the trip over there on Thanksgiving. This year we lucked out and didn't have any snow to contend with, although it was definitely a possibility. We drove over on Thanksgiving morning and arrived at Emily and John's around noon. Not long after we got there I discovered that Emily has hummingbirds come to her house year-round! This was exciting as we definitely don't have hummers in Yakima during the winter. As a matter of fact, we hardly have any in the summer. They don't nest in our area, so we only get them as they pass through in early summer heading up to breeding grounds in Canada & Alaska, or in early fall when they head back down to warmer climates in Southwestern U.S. & Mexico.

You lookin' at me?

An added treat was the fact that this is a different hummingbird than the one we get in Yakima. This one is the Anna's Hummingbird (click here for an article), and the one that flies through Yakima is the Rufous Hummingbird (click here for an article). The picture above shows a juvenile male Anna's. You can tell this one is a male hummer because he has a very colorful gorget, or throat feathers (click here to learn more about this feature). Since the gorget is not completely covered in colorful feathers, this indicates that the hummer is a juvenile. The video below shows off this hummer's gorget. He is momentarily startled by another hummer, but is able to continue on with his breakfast despite the interruption. (Note: Turn your sound up on the videos if you want to hear the music)

The female of the hummingbird species is almost always a dull brown or green color. Still, they are very pretty in their own right. This article (click here) explains how to tell a male hummer from a female.

Female Anna's Hummer

I was in hog heaven with these hummers flying around. The reason Emily is able have hummers year-round is because she has a heated feeder, which keeps the hummer food from freezing. Otherwise the hummers would not come to her yard if there is no food available. Here's a nice video of a hummer visiting her feeder. You can see the light in the bottom that keeps the nectar warm.

Hummingbirds are not the only birds that Emily has coming to her yard. She also gets a lot of Northern Flickers, the Western version (link here). These birds are very large compared to the hummingbirds. The picture below shows a male Flicker, and the video below that shows a female Flicker. Notice that the male had a red mustache, sometimes referred to as a mylar.

Male Northern Flicker (red-shafted)

After much bird watching, we finally settled in to the business of the day...Thanksgiving dinner! I think everyone outdid themselves this year as the feast was absolutely delicious. Prior to eating, we all raised our glasses in a toast to Linda's Mom & Dad, as well as to my parents.

To absent family members

A family tradition that is carried out every year the day after Thanksgiving is decorating the Christmas tree. Linda and Emily usually take care of this, and are assisted by John most of the time; however, he was out of town on Friday this year. I took on the job of recording the event for posterity. Emily has some absolutely beautiful ornaments, which were all spread out on the dining room table. I think everyone probably has "special" ornaments that evoke a sweet memory whenever they are put on the tree. To me, that is the best part of putting up the Christmas tree.

Special ornaments

The decorating staff

The finished tree

All this activity was being supervised by Tabitha, also known as "Tabby," who had the best seat in the house. The best place for a kitty on a cold, rainy day in Seattle.

Tabby relaxing

A WALK AROUND THE COLLEGE

The next day, Emily took Linda and me on a walk to North Seattle Community College, which is near to where she lives. On the way over there we stopped at Licton Springs P-Patch, a community garden that still has some vegetable and flowering plants growing, as they had not had a hard freeze in this area yet. In the video below you can see some nice, big Kale plants that have quite a few leaves on them. And the red-stemmed Swiss Chard plants are just gorgeous! There is also a huge cabbage growing right in the middle of the garden. I felt a bit sad because my veggie garden has been gone for about a month and a half.

Flowering plants in the community garden

The college campus was just a couple of blocks from this garden. It was so nice to walk around and see the beautiful and creative art that was interspersed all around the campus. A lot of the art offerings were very whimsical, almost comical. Some were just a offbeat representation of something you would recognize. Some were hard to figure out. All were enjoyable!

On our way back to the house we walked along a nature trail that runs beside the college campus. This is always a good opportunity for some shots of pretty plants and trees, and the occasional out-of-the-ordinary item.

A TOUR OF STARBUCKS CENTER

After lunch we took a trip downtown to visit Starbucks Center, the world headquarters for Starbucks Coffee Company and the place where Emily works. The building was constructed in 1912 for Sears, Roebuck & Co. and was occupied by both Sears and Starbucks until recently. Sears has now moved out and Starbucks rents the entire building, except for a small section rented by  AmazonFresh Pickup. You can see the head of the Starbucks Siren at the top (click here to learn more about the Siren).

Starbucks Center

Siren Logo (top) and Mission Statement (bottom)

After our tour of the building (well, the part of it that Emily works in), we went back out through the front doors and walked right next door to the Starbucks Reserve SODO Store (click here for info) Oh my, it is coffee heaven! Wonderful, small-lot Starbucks Reserve coffee drinks, Princi bakery food (sandwiches, pastries, cakes, bread, etc), bags of coffee, coffee cups, mugs and other coffee paraphernalia was found throughout this beautiful store. It is a darn good thing we had already eaten lunch or I would have just HAD to get one of those sandwiches!

Starbucks Reserve SODO Store

Sunday we had to head back home, so after stopping off at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, we made our way back over the pass to Yakima. We had an uneventful trip, but were glad we once again had the opportunity to spend Thanksgiving with family. After all, that is what Thanksgiving is all about.

PARTING SHOT  (a personal note)

Summer Girl has relinquished her Parting Shot spot this week so that I may pay tribute to my cousin, Robert Harris, who passed away on Wednesday after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. During our childhood he was the brother that my sister and I never had. Although I didn't have much contact with him in later years, my sister and he lived close to each other and were good buddies their entire lives. I credit him with getting me interested in photography when I was fresh out of college. He was a great guy who had a wonderful sense of humor. Rest in peace, dear cousin. You will be greatly missed.

This week's post will be delayed because I am experiencing technical difficulties. Hopefully I will be able to get it up by tomorrow or Friday. Thanks for your patience!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

There will be no blog this week due to preparations for Turkey Day! 

Linda and I both want to wish you all a very pleasant, happy, and delicious Thanksgiving Day!!

TWENTIETH ANNIVERSARY

Last week I mentioned that Linda and I would celebrate 20 years of being together on November 9th. We decided to celebrate by going out to lunch at our current favorite restaurant, Provisions Restaurant & Market. We had been there once before and really liked it, so we decided to go again.

Provisions Restaurant & Market

We went inside and were promptly seated at a nice table near the bar. The restaurant is decorated in the style that is common to most restaurants these days, with an open ceiling and slate-type floor. This makes for a noisy atmosphere, which is what most people enjoy. I would have preferred it to be a bit quieter, but that's just me. Right behind where we were sitting was the display of bottles and glasses above the bar, which was quite lovely.

Wine, anyone?

Since it was lunchtime, we did not partake in any adult beverages, but decided to save that celebration for "drinkiepoo" time since it was Friday. We checked out the menu and both of us decided to order something different from what we had last time. Linda went with the Greek Lamb Burger and I chose the Provisions Burger. Both of our sandwiches came with the most interesting take on French Fries that I have seen in a while. They were like curly ribbons. Of course, I had to get Fry Sauce with mine. It was absolutely delicious. I told Linda that it was the best hamburger I have had in a long time.

A huge, yummy burger

After a nice lunch (which we only ate half of because the sandwiches were so big), we went into the Market section to check out what they had to offer. We had briefly been in there the last time, but we wanted to look at it more closely.

A few of the local wines available

The shelves in the market are packed with specialty items having to do with cooking. They have a lot of gluten-free items to offer, plus plenty of salts, oils, spices, rubs, baking mixes, etc. We had a good time perusing the shelves.

Lots of items related to cooking!!

The Market also offers sandwiches made to order, so we decided that this would be a good place to get some for a picnic next spring. Since it is close to the Yakima Greenway and Arboretum, it will be very convenient.


Not only did we go out to lunch on Friday, but a couple of days before that we had our traditional coffee date at our favorite Starbucks.

Love the new Christmas cups!

We also received a few cards congratulating us on our 20-Year Anniversary. Of course we had to display them on our mantel.

It doesn't seem like it has been 20 years

After all the celebrating on Friday, we got up on Saturday morning to this. I know my friends back East are cringing.

"RealFeel 26"??  I don't think so

At least this gave me a good excuse to turn on the fireplace while we were having our morning coffee.

Warm & Toasty

FREEZING FOG

With the colder temperatures we have been increasingly having, the prospect for any moisture to turn into something other than water exists. On Monday when we got up we were treated to a most beautiful phenomenon that usually occurs around this time of year. Click on this link here to read an interesting article about how Freezing Fog occurs. The result of this phenomenon makes for some stunning pictures, as you can see below. I do not ever remember seeing this in North Carolina, so I guess it is because we are close to the mountains here, plus Yakima is at a much higher elevation than Lumberton.

Rosebud on the Dad rose (photo credit to Linda)

BirdsNest Spruce branches

Rose leaves

Another rosebud on the Dad rose

One thing I love about the Freezing Fog is that you can see all these little tiny strands of spider web that would otherwise be invisible. If you look closely, you can see a few in the pictures above.

ANOTHER PUZZLE BITES THE DUST

Last week on the blog we had just finished putting together one of the puzzles that Linda's sister brought us when she came to visit a few weeks ago. This past week we put together the other puzzle she brought. I don't think this one was as hard as the one of the deer, but it was still a lot of fun to do. This one was named "Frederick the Literate" from the Cats of Charles Wysocki collection of puzzles. Click on the link here to read an article about Charles Wysocki, written by his son, Matt.

Frederick the Literate

PARTING SHOT

Summer Girl is a little sweetie for the most part, although sometimes she can get on your nerves. Here she is doing just that because I have no idea what she wants!

That's all for this week, friends.  Join me again next week for another edition of Southerner in the Northwest!

LAST ROSE ~~ A FORGOTTEN VIDEO ~~ A NEW ENDEAVOR ~~ A NEW PUZZLE ~~ ANOTHER MILESTONE ~~ PARTING SHOT

LAST ROSE

A few week's ago I posted a picture of a rose Linda had cut off of the "Dad Rose" bush. This plant has just surprised us this fall with all the beautiful, big flowers it has produced. This past week she cut off another one, and this one will likely be the last bloom we get this season. It is absolutely HUGE, and besides that, it gives off the most lovely scent. Just sitting in the living room you can occasionally get a whiff of rose-scent. It always reminds me of Dad. It's starting to look a little ragged around the edges, but we are going to keep it there until it starts shedding petals.

A Huge "Dad Rose"

A FORGOTTEN VIDEO

When we took our walk at Tahoma Cemetery a few weeks ago, I had taken quite a lot of pictures and video. I posted the pictures but totally forgot about the video. I just realized that I haven't taken any video since then! I intend to rectify that in the near future, but to tide you over, I give you my video of the Black-Billed Magpie.

A NEW ENDEAVOR

One of the main things that I like about being retired (believe me, the list is long), is that I can now try out new things. I have always loved learning something new, especially when it involves cooking techniques. That's one reason why I like cooking with my Instant Pot so much. I know Linda probably gets tired of it sometimes, but I am sure my use of it will slow down when the "new" wears off. However, this past week I tried out something totally different. First off, to do this thing I needed some additional equipment (isn't that always the case). So I had to wait for my order to arrive from Amazon. Below is a picture of what I had ordered.

Latest Amazon order

In case you are wondering just what the heck these things are, the article on the left is an A-MAZE-N Smoker Tube, and the item on the right is a Kitchen Sophisticate Professional Culinary Torch. The smoker tube is filled with wood pellets and the torch is used to light these pellets. I purchased the smoker tube to be able to use my Masterbuilt Portable Electric Smoker to smoke cheese! I don't know about you, but I love smoked cheese. You can find it in the gourmet cheese section of the grocery store. It is usually very expensive and most of the time you can only find one or two kinds of smoked cheese. I decided to try my hand at smoking my own cheese to lower the cost and also give me more flavor options. To give you some background on how this process works, let me explain about the two types of smoking. One is called "hot smoking" and it is the usual way to use a smoker. In this method, the smoker is set to a temperature usually between 225 - 250 degrees with wood chips in the smoker box. At this temperature, raw food (usually meat) will cook as well as take on a smoky flavor. The other type of smoking is called "cold smoking," a method in which the food is subjected to a temperature not to exceed 90 degrees. This isn't used to cook food because the temperature is not high enough, but it will impart the smoky flavor. So when you have something that doesn't need to cook or that you don't want to melt (such as cheese) you use the "cold smoke" method. This way you infuse the smoke flavor at a low temperature.

I set my smoker up with the A-MAZE-N smoker tube on the bottom rack and lit the pellets. I couldn't use the regular method of smoking because turning on the electric burner would take the temperature too high, and the cheese would melt. With this method, the smoker tube provides the only heat and it isn't that much. Below is a picture of the cheeses I chose to smoke for my first try at this.

Jalapeno Pepper Jack on top corners with Sharp White Cheddar in the middle,
and two slices of Colby Jack on the bottom

It wasn't long before the smoke was rolling, so I placed my rack with the cheese on it inside the smoker. It was a pretty warm day, so I had to leave the door to the smoker cracked so the temperature inside would not go above 90 degrees.

It's getting smoky up in here!

Temperature is right on the money

The cheese is supposed to smoke for a minimum of two hours. I let things go for an hour, and then as a test I ate one of the pieces of sliced cheese. It was quite good and had a nice smoky flavor to it, although it did have a bit of a "bite". This is the reason why you have to leave your smoked cheese in the refrigerator, wrapped in plastic, for two weeks before you eat it. This is so the smoke flavor will mellow and not be too harsh-tasting. After I ate that one slice, I replaced it with another slice so I will have one slice of cheese smoked for the entire time of two hours and one slice smoked for just the last hour. After the two hours was up, I removed the cheese and here is what it looked like.

Ummmm, smoked cheese!

You can tell that one of the slices was smoked longer than the other because it has a darker color. The hardest part of this entire process is having to wait two weeks (and some people wait MONTHS) until you eat the smoked cheese. The longer you wait, the more the smoke flavor will mellow and infuse into the cheese. I think if I make it the entire two weeks, I will be doing good!

Cheese is all wrapped up for two weeks in the fridge

A NEW PUZZLE

When Linda's sister came over to visit a couple of weeks ago, she brought us two new jigsaw puzzles. We are always excited to get new puzzles because we enjoy it so much. This is such a fun activity that we can either do together or by ourselves. It is so nice to have a puzzle set up on the card table in our "office" so that we can walk in and work on it whenever we want to. It really does make the time go by, though, and I have been late getting supper started quite a few times because I was looking for "just one more piece" before I stopped. The picture below is one of the puzzles Linda's sister brought, which we just finished putting together. It proved to be rather hard, but we really enjoyed it. And the fall colors were most appropriate for this time of year.

"Harvest Time"

ANOTHER MILESTONE

This coming Friday Linda and I will celebrate another milestone in our lives. Twenty years ago today, on November 7, 1998, Linda left California in her little Toyota to drive across country to be with me. On Friday, November 9, 2018, it will be twenty years since she arrived in North Carolina and we began our life together. A lot has happened in the ensuring years, but I can honestly say that it has been the happiest twenty years of my life. Not everyone gets to meet their soulmate and live out the rest of their lives together. On Friday, my sister and her partner are treating us to lunch at our new favorite restaurant, Provisions, in Terrace Heights. More on this next week.

Living the Dream

PARTING SHOT

Twenty years ago we had no idea that our little family would consist of the two of us plus a sweet little calico kitty. And we certainly didn't anticipate it including a Black Cat Ninja. But we are thankful that we were blessed with both our Precious Baby and our Summer Girl. This week's "Parting Shot" must include them both.

Precious

Summer

That's all for this week, my friends. See you back here next week!