Ushering (Maybe Pushing) in Spring

Here we are in Spring Break.  It feels a little early this year, although I really think it happens the same time every year.  We are staying home.  Today I cleaned the cupboard doors, did laundry, my homework for a class that I took, and watched Disney Channel with Katie.  We also took a trip to Home Depot. While Arnie and Robby looked for casters for Arnie's tool box project, Katie and I checked out the garden shop.

We saw lots of flowers and a few vegetables.  I felt a surge of energy and excitement.  Lettuce!  Salad bowl time.  We picked out three kinds of lettuce:  red leaf, butter crunch, and romaine. As we were heading to the register, I spied some herbs to add to our salad bowls. A couple types of parsley and rosemary.  Mmmmm.  Katie spied purple flowers.  She loves purple.  The first purple flower she spotted was a primrose, but I suggested the viola pansies since we don't have any of those.  We have a lot of primroses.

The weather is rainy, but our new additions to our deck make us think spring is coming.  Goodbye winter, hello spring!

Arnie Smokes Meat

The kids and I surprised Arnie with a smoker this Christmas.  Okay.  Surprise is a strong word.  It is really hard to surprise Arnie.  I think the only time I surprised him was the Christmas I bought him a leather coat.  I hung it in my closet at school and waited until Christmas Eve to go get it.  Then, I left it in the car until we opened presents on Christmas morning!  That year he was genuinely surprised.  But that was pre-kids and a long time ago.  Now, I usually go get what he asks me to get for him!

He's been wanting a smoker.  In fact, the more time he spends fishing, the more he wants a smoker.  I decided we should start with a gas Brinkman - apparently a pretty standard outdoor cookery brand.

The smoker has been very fun and delicious.  So far he has smoked chicken parts of all kinds, pork chops, and salmon.  All very yummy.  He is quite talented.  These are photos of a dinner we made with chicken which Arnie smoked.  Succulent is an effective descriptor.

I love my part in this dinner - sides!

Amazing Athletes in the Lewis Household

It's time for YMCA Swim Team Regionals!  This year we are in Federal Way, Washington at the King County Aquatics Center, a huge Olympic size pool built in the 90s when Seattle hosted the Goodwill Games.  It is a tremendous pool and facility.  The kids are fascinated by the length of the pool and the use of the bulkheads that split the pool in half two create two 25 yard pools for the races.

I truly am a gushing mom this year.  I sincerely did not think either kid would make regional times this year.  Both of them are at the bottom of their age group, which means they have to work very hard to get regional times.  They both did, though!  Robby made regional times in 50 freestyle and 50 butterfly.  Katie made regional time in 50 backstroke.  So exciting.  They each get to  swim one more event and relays which adds to the experience.

Four states take part in the regional competition.  Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington.  In total, there are probably 400 swimmers that make regional times.  Robby swam in two events today and has 3 tomorrow.  Katie swims in two events tomorrow. They are really tired tonight since we had to get up early to get a move on. 

This year Arnie decided to come with us.  For Arnie this is a big deal.  He really hates swim meets so the kids don't get to have him there very often.  He mustered a lot of courage or will power to get himself to this one. He worries about the crowd and having to talk to people.  It seems to him that people always want to talk to him about work.  I hope it wasn't too bad at a the swim meet since there weren't any of his students there.

Anyway, we are staying at a Marriott in Federal Way.  It's a typical Marriott.  Clean, organized, friendly, comfortable.  Federal Way has lots of restaurants and shopping which has kept us happy.  One of my students gave me a Sees Candy certificate for Christmas.  I haven't used it until now.  I'm never in a place that has a Sees Candy store, until now!  There is an enormous one right across the street from our hotel.  Robby and I walked over and bought a pound of chocolate creams today.  Yum.  We walked to an Outback steakhouse and had a nice dinner. 

We are ready for bed so that we can get another early start tomorrow.  Our goal is a better parking spot and a quieter place for Arnie to sit.  We are so proud of our swimmers. 



Here is our Grays Harbor Swim Team (GH2O) preparing for the national anthem.

The teams line up all around the pool.  We sing the anthem and then, of course, the YMCA theme song by the Village People.

An enormous place.



An Extravagant and Fun Gadget

For Christmas Dorrie gave me this very chic and snazzy battery operated Oster bottle opener.  Such a great gift because it is not something I would by myself but is such a fun gadget to own.  We charged it in December and have used it maybe 4 times since.  It still has life - no need to charge yet.  The directions said you could open 32 bottles on one battery charge!  That is a lot of wine.  Woo-hoo!

Love it.  Thanks, Dorrie.

February Snow

I took a little hiatus from writing.  Last night I was trying to figure out why.  We've been busy, but not more than normal.  I've kept taking pictures for the blog and have been forming ideas, but didn't sit down to write either on the computer or in my spiral.  We have all been fighting the flu and cold season.  Tired by 9 pm most nights, I hit the sack early to try to stay healthy.  Today, though, we get an unexpected break from our daily schedule due to snow!  So, here I sit to try to catch up.

This morning we went out into our neighborhood to find a great sledding hill and found several.  We started out in the woods where the slushy puddles kept the kids from long sledding runs.  Then we ventured to the end of the street and a couple of friendly drive ways.  Even I got on the sled a couple of times.  Very speedy in today's snow.

 For lunch we are going to trek into town and eat at the Bee Hive Restaurant.  Such a relaxing break!  Thank you, snow!

My favorite Salmon Recipe

I can't remember if I've written this recipe in this blog before.  We found this recipe many years ago.  It is a mainstay in our cooking repetoire.  As a grateful inhabitant of the northwest, we eat as much salmon as possible - especially when friends gift us with big, beautiful, meaty lengths of salmon. Our children even appreciate seafood.  They especially appreciate salmon, although this is one of the foods that they still put ketchup on.  Funny.  Tonight I baked salmon topped with green onions and tomato.  Healthy and delectable and filling.





This is a rather elegant and simple dish.  It is easy to prepare, cooks within a half hour, and looks beautiful going to the table.  I wish I had taken a picture of it, but oh well, I think the recipe creates a picture in your head just because it is so simple!

Salmon Fresca

Salmon fillet, 1 pound
juice from 1/2 a lemon
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place salmon on parchment paper on a shallow baking pan or spray or oil the pan.  Fold under the thinner edges of the salmon for even cooking.  Season with salt and pepper.  In a bowl, stir together tomatoes, onions, lemon juice.  Evenly top the salmon with the tomato mixture.  Bake salmon for 20 - 30 minutes, until salmon is flaky.

A New Year and A New Decade

 Wow.  I love New Year's Eve.  We are, however, not so adventurous on New Year's Eve.  We watch the fun on the TV!  Maybe when the kids are older we will travel to a big city celebration somewhere, but for now, staying in is what it's all about.  This year we added some excitement to our night by staying overnight at Auntie Rochelle's house in Port Townsend.

The one really big New Year's tradition we have is that everyone picks an "appetizer".  We make each one and eat all night long.  Every year someone picks pigs in a blanket!  This year was no exception.  Of course we serve them with ketchup! Auntie Rochelle liked them with ketchup, too!  We also had summer sausage, pepperoni, cheese, and crackers.  Katie picked out a smoked mozzarella and I picked out a Havarti.  Robby picked a sharp cheddar.  Let's see.  Auntie Rochelle served Chex mix and we drank 2 bottles of sparkling cider.

We had pretty plastic champagne glasses and fun hats and glasses.  The Lewises rang in the New Year in style, I tell you.  Ketchup and all.