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November 26, 2023November 25, 2023

Thanks Given

Those mild fall days have been overtaken by a more winter-like chill. We are still enjoying mostly cloudless skies, but afternoons rarely warm above the low forties. Snow is inevitable.

“Just get your picture and open the door already … “

This week we wandered back down to the Lower Deschutes. Thinking that Thursday would be a good day to avoid crowds.

That turned out to be wrong. But we did have a great picnic lunch along the river and an excellent turkey day outing.

Cooking a whole turkey makes no sense for the two of us, so Friday we put a pork roast in the oven. This paired nicely with a smattering of sides.

After all, it’s really the side dishes we look forward to anyway.

Hope you all enjoyed the holiday , , , Now get ready for the blur of time that precedes Christmas. We anticipate more cold weather jaunts and eventually breaking out the snow shovels.

April 23, 2023April 23, 2023

Still Waiting on Spring

Every morning this week we woke up to snow on the ground.

Yeah, it didn’t stay around but it took the joy out of any adventure we might have planned. So, we stayed home and caught up on stuff.

We’ll be back next week with some pix and info on an Earth Day jaunt . . .

until then, here’s hoping this is the last snowfall we see until next winter.

March 20, 2022March 24, 2022

Art of the Nap

Boo, one of four cats who run our household

As the pandemic ebbs, mandates ease, and business attempts to crank back up to normal, we look back on some of the lessons learned . . . hopefully to be taken forward.

It was discovered that napping is an excellent means of self-care. The best practitioners would be our cats. Besides the efficient distribution of hair to all corners of a house, cats are innately adapted to finding and filling small, quiet spaces. All around us are examples of the cat nap.

“think I’ll rest up a bit before lunch … “

Social distancing measures certainly aided in slowing the daily pace. Retirement also removed a lot of daily pressures associated with work. We completely understand how getting pulled out of the daily grind has given people a new prospective. There isn’t so much an unwillingness to work as the realization life has many more important aspects.

Nearly 16 years ago we took in a tiny black stray. Long story short, she was pregnant and we kept the entire litter. Over the years we have fostered, adopted and rescued 19 dogs and cats, most of whom have lived out their lives with us.

The nap is a natural component to quieting your life. Wading into a moving stream, watching the flight of a raptor, or picking up a good book are points of meditation. Napping may be less an indicator of old age and more the culmination of life lessons teaching us to take a moment.

February 27, 2022February 27, 2022

Soup Saturday

Regardless of world events, this has been a very weird week. As I’m writing this Sunday morning, it’s 40 degrees and raining. However, just four days prior, it was minus 3 degrees with three inches of snow on the ground and the wind was howling.

We’d just posted about the unusual spring-like weather, when an arctic cold front dropped onto Central Oregon. With it came freezing temps and snow. Mostly we just stayed home, sat by the fire, and caught up on our reading. So there’s nothing to post about, sorry.

We do want to share this image of chili getting canned as part of an ongoing winter canning project. We started making soups for Saturday dinner and that evolved into a canning project. Mostly . . . we wanted to get away from commercially canned soups that have shot up in price, have way too much salt, and are actually getting harder to find. Once you have the soup cooked it’s not that hard to load a few pints into the canner.

Over a steamy hot bowl of “Wendy’s Copycat Chili” we are planning next week’s adventures. There is rain forecast, but we’ve got some road trips mapped out. Enjoy your week!

Print Recipe

Wendy's Copycat Chili

Super easy chili recipe that is very tasty ...

Equipment

2 lbs ground beef
29 oz tomato sauce one large can
29 oz kidney beans 2 cans (15 oz)
29 oz black beans 2 cans (15 oz)
1 cup onions, diced 1 medium
½ cup diced green chili 1 small can
¼ cup celery, diced 1 stalk
3 med fresh tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp cumin
3 Tbsp chili powder Gephardts is our fave
1 ½ tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
2 cups water

Instructions

Brown the ground beef over medium heat, drain off the fat.
Using a fork, crumble the cooked beef into pea size pieces (a potato masher works too)
In large pot, combine beef, plus all remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer over low heat.
Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2-3 hours.

Canning

As the chili simmers, prep your pressure canner and warm 6* pint jars and lids
After cooking for 2 hours, ladle chili into jars, clean rims with vinegar, set lids and screw on canning rings finger tight. Place canner lid and vent steam for 10 minutes. Bring pressure to 10 psi and hold for 75 minutes. Allow to cool naturally, remove jars, and let sit for 12 to 24 hours.
* If you don't plan to have a meal from this recipe, you can get 7 pints from a batch.

December 12, 2021December 11, 2021

Holiday Prep

This week we finally embraced the Christmas season. A couple of things keep full holiday regalia at bay in our house , . . the first is cats, the second is a lack of Santa believers. Yup, I finally gave up on the jolly old elf.

Seriously though, we did manage to find cedar garland, a wreath and a small tree that weren’t moments away from shedding their needles. Got the exterior decorated just before the snowfall started. And strung some tiny lights on the tree. Fire up the holiday play list, cue the snow, and let the season begin.

Jack and Tip exploring Big Bend on the Crooked River

The first part of the week was a trip to the Crooked River. Seemed like we were the only ones there. Perfect time to wet a line at an area that is usually filled with RV’s, trucks and fishermen. The river levels remain low, even for winter flows, but the fishing was good. There is a reason this spot draws a crowd.

Didn’t see any raptors, but spotted loads of magpies and robins.

Winter migration is in full swing and flocks of birds filled the trees. Tip had a great time roaming the bank and keeping us company. The sun even poked out a couple of times to take the chill off. However, it is definitely winter fishing season.

We don’t go full on holiday decoration anymore. A fullsized Christmas tree is out of the question as our cats do enough damage around here already. Not really the best idea to set up a climbing post covered in shiny, breakable orbs.

We settled for a live pine tree, potted and perfect for the counter. Outside we strung some garland over the front window, hung a wreath and trimmed them with a string of lights. It may not measure up to some lightshows in the neighborhood . . . but it is festive enough for us.