Libations: February 2021

Saturday, February 27, 2021

No Faux Snow, Deck Rebuild, and New Parks

While the majority of the US experienced unusually cold and snowy conditions, we were returning to normal from unusually cold and snowy conditions. The storms hit here first, at a time when we also had atypical cold air in our region from Canada. In our city of Tacoma, we ended up with about 14 inches of lovely, fluffy white stuff. We never lost power, and the bulk of the storm lasted from Friday through Sunday, so no one cared if roads were messed up. Russ and I took a neighborhood loop walk using Delong Park; I loved seeing so many of our neighbors out playing in the snow! Every unblocked hill was pressed into use for sleds and snowboards. Just a few days after our joy, I felt so terrible considering the conditions in the rest of the country. Our fun novelty was no comparison to the life and death trouble so many others suffered.

Sledding hill in the neighborhood.

Art project at the local elementary school.

Faux snow? Graffiti that seemed appropriate.

Delong Park Trail winter wonderland.

R-Pod without working solar panels.

Our backyard stairs were a good way to gauge the depth.

Our side yard deck if finally rebuilt after the dig out for the side sewer connection to the new sewer main. Our contractor started before the big snow, then had to wait until after the snow melted, which turned into a lovely clear day to work outside. It is so nice to be able to use our side door again and have quick access to the backyard. We really missed being able to use the deck this summer (we often eat there at our outdoor table). It was difficult to fill the hummingbird feeder, too. I'm sure the birds will be glad to have a more consistent supply! We still need to put the side fence back up, but that should get done in the next week or so, weather depending.

Getting started.

Our next door neighbor surveys the driveway.

Snow falls on the unfinished work.

All done with grill and table back in place.

We explored some new to us parks in Tacoma. Wapato Hills Park and Jefferson Park. Wapato Hills gave us some nice hiking trails as we waited to get some work done on our truck. I've driven by this park for decades and have never stopped to see it. We will definitely come back again. We also took advantage of a lovely morning to do the main loop at Chambers Bay, including the Central Meadow loop and bridge. Lots of folks were out enjoying the sunny day; it almost felt like COVID-19 was over and we were back to normal, except for the masks.

A small, traditional square park surrounded by homes.

One of the biggest cedars in the city.

A wonderful surprise.

Russ on the trail at Wapato Hills.

I'm sure this is colorful in the fall.

Reflections.

Overlooking Chambers Bay and Fox Island.

BN on the tracks.

Fly away as soon as I frame the picture.

These locks destroy the bridge, but they make a good photo.

Lines. Horizontal and Vertical.

I wouldn't be me without posting pictures of food.

Green chile tofu enchiladas with a good beer.

Mushroom and swiss black bean burger.

Tofu fried rice.

Grilled tuna on rye with tomato soup.

Broccoli and onion quiche.

Chai spice monkey bread for Valentines Day.

Red beans and rice, corn muffin and a hurricane for Mardi Gras.

Manhattan cocktail after dinner.

Cajun shrimp and grits with kale.

Baked potato under all that broccoli with stuffed mushrooms.

The Red Hot takeout.

Monday, February 8, 2021

Handrail and holding on in the New Year

New Year's is my favorite holiday. I like the idea of starting with a blank page, and I like the optimism of new beginnings. My tradition is to eat black-eyed peas for luck and prosperity, and to choose a theme for the coming year, as well as review the previous year's activity and theme. I use a Hobonichi Techo, and can spend hours setting up and writing lists and updating calendars. I use the Techo as a daily planner, but it also holds my habit tracker and long term planner. Last year my theme was Travel, but with the coronavirus pandemic, that really didn't work out well. We did travel for three months from March through May, but nothing after we returned home. This year I chose Creativity for my theme. I want to draw something every day (I'm terrible, but I enjoy it), and finally buckle down and learn to play my hammered dulcimer. I expect to write more, too, both in my Journal and on the blog. I'm not off to a great start with the blog, unfortunately. Every year, I try a bunch of things, and some of them stick and become routine in my life. One of those items was to learn to make yogurt at home to reduce plastic waste. You can see the glass milk bottles behind me as I heat the milk. We found that the homemade version is better than what we can buy. I make one gallon at a time; it usually lasts for three weeks before I need to make more.

Black-eyed peas with rice and fake chicken nuggets.

Making yogurt with cosmopolitan as helper.

Our retaining wall now has the required handrail to prevent falls. It's nice to have this project all the way finished.

Iron detail. It matches other railings on our property.

Russ shows the scale of the wall and rail.

We continue to get out for walks. My favorite in January was our outing to Chinese Reconciliation Park in Tacoma. The pagoda was painted in the traditional way, with red lacquer. Several artisans visited from China to help our local tradespeople apply it properly. The day we went was very windy and the tide was high, blowing water and foam up onto the path. It felt wild and beautiful. We also drove to Enumclaw and tried out the Foothills Trail. There are so many great hikes and trails around here, I'm sure we will never manage to try them all! Closest to home was the East Slope Trail at Chambers Bay. We walk here often, but have never done this trail. I also walked the labyrinth in the main park before we started. It was a frosty day and the trail was slippery when it was in the shade, but I managed to stay on my feet.