The utility company came by and pruned some of our trees alongside the road the other day. They left neat piles of cedar, alder and doug fir. So we drove the pickup down, loaded up the wood and hauled it over to our firewood staging area. This is a wide, graveled work area where we split, stack and store wood for seasons to come. For now this new batch has been covered with a tarp to keep the rain off.
Woke up to a dusting of snow this morning. There is just enough to cover the ground, but not enough to require snow shoveling.
Stellar jays and varied thrushes are hitting the feeders hard. The dogs have been doing snow angels in the meadow and we have a toasty fire going in the great room. It is a perfect Sunday morning.
Happy snow day!
Dry and blustery…a perfect day to shoot video. 
It is week two of the new year and we are actually following through on a number of our resolutions. In this case, to start shooting a project Jack had scripted a few months ago.
Here he is checking my shot before we start recording. Location is the Sandy River at Dodge Park…what’s not to like about this composition? Jack directs, I shoot…we are a good team.
Gold stars for us this month of January 2012.
Gibassiers…we first tasted one at the Pearl Bakery in Portland. They were so delicious we decided to bake our own. We mix up a biga (small batch of yeasted dough) which rises for 16 hours. We then mix in the rest of the ingredients, including anise, candied orange peel, and orange flower water. The dough rises another 3 hours before it is put in the oven. Ten minutes later they are cooling on racks ready for a dusting of sugar.
I double the recipe…then there is plenty for eating and for freezing and reheating later.
We celebrated the New Year by visiting the 
Lan Su Chinese Garden. The garden is the size of one city block and is located in the middle of downtown Portland.
It was a great morning and well worth visiting, even in the middle of winter.
We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas. The kitchen was bustling with everyone cooking something for the big dinner. Glazed ducks were crisping in one oven, while root vegetables roasted in the other. The stove top was occupied with delicious brussel sprouts and freshly toasted chestnuts.
A cranberry-orange sorbet was the starter and dessert was spiced carrot cake with creamy ginger ice cream. The crispy duck was the center piece of dinner. It took 4 hours, requiring regular turns while poking tiny holes in the skin. We hope your Christmas was also filled with good friends and good food.
Since our tree is outside this year, we decorated it with edible ornaments. First we strung popcorn and cranberries. The varied thrushes thought this was a terrific idea. More ornaments to come: orange cups with oiled sunflower seed, peanut butter pinecones and seed cakes…all handmade and delicious.
Recently my mother organized refreshments to be served after the Children’s Pageant at her church. She put together some beautiful tables featuring cakes, cookies and snacks to be served after the program.
To help the cause, we made mini vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting sprinkled with miniature gingerbreadmen.
After tasting a few samples, we agreed, the cupcakes were the perfect ratio of cake and luscious topping. This recipe is a keeper.
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