Fall, Food, and Footpaths

We have been enjoying the fall weather (rain), fall color, and fall foods in our house.  The main entertainment in our house has been walking when it is not raining and reading when it is. I've been trying to stay positive and optimistic, but I know we need to recommit to isolation and carry on until this virus is controlled. I really miss my usual routine of Pilates, craft time with a friend, book club meetings, Symphony Tacoma concerts, and family visits.

Minimalist Halloween Decor (an old sheet)

Fall color at Wright Park

Russ took a time lapse video of the leaves falling.

Duck friendly ecosystem.

Coffee is so good when the weather turns.

The small pumpkin on the right was grown by my Aunt.

It's finished at last. R-Pod Parking!

The food this month has been so good. I love the change of the season and the chance to cook with foods I haven't seen in a year. We are done with tomatoes now, and I did manage to get sick of them by the end of the season, so I'm good until they come back around next year. A note about the donuts. It's a weird consequence of retirement from work that we never eat donuts now. When I (and Russ too) was working, someone usually brought donuts to the office regularly. We found out that we just aren't drawn to them when they aren't available at the office.

The last berries made a good breakfast.

Hominy and green chile casserole

Cabbage patch soup with corn muffins.

Breakfast Before Casserole for dinner

Wild rice with squash, corn and leeks, plus gin and tonic.

Soba, edamame, and carrot salad with grilled salmon.

Potato and fennel gratin.

Shashuka.

Penne with vodka sauce and the last caprese salad, plus a cosmopolitan.

Russ likes a Joy Seeker.

These mixed wild mushrooms made a lovely pasta with pesto dinner.

Happy hour in our friends new RV.

The friend made this dinner. Scallops with herb dressing.

Veggie tortilla stacks casserole.

Potato leek soup with Waldorf salad.

Our first (only) donuts this year from the Original House of Donuts.

Panko crusted salmon with roasted potatoes and brussels sprouts.

Breakfast burrito.

Charcuterie board with old fashioned cocktails.

Red beans and rice with corn muffin.

 

We took a last weekend getaway with the R-Pod to Port Townsend before the winter. We got to experience a good storm with lots of wind out on the exposed Point Hudson. Our friends just purchased a new trailer, so we met them at the RV park and had a dinner in their new rig. So nice! We have all been isolating at home, but I still have mixed feelings about spending time indoors with anyone right now. They had just tested negative, but we have not been tested at all. In the end, our risk worked out, it has been two weeks since the trip with no illness. We spent most of our time reading in our R-Pod or braving the wind to walk around town and along the shore.

Painted rock garden.

Truth.

Always a good idea.

Sunrise and the lighthouse after the storm.

Mt. Rainier alpenglow behind all those masts.

Russ watches the sunset.

Bird and Mt. Baker at sunset.

Port Townsend from above at the bell tower.

Random love note.

My favorite bakery in Port Townsend.

Whitecaps tell the story. North Cascades on the horizon.

 

Our latest adventures are closer to home. We walked at the Chambers Bay Golf Course trail and got takeout from a local joint, The Red Hot. We are trying to get a to-go meal about once per week from one of our favorite local restaurants to support them. I don't want to lose our typical haunts to the coronavirus!

Sweeping views over the course and the south sound.

The Nature Boy vegan hotdog with mac and cheese.