Sky

A beautiful sky on a beautiful night. There's even a little rainbow if you look hard enough. This is from the top of our street.

Best seat in the house

This photo contains two great things from earlier in the week: my new couch and a Mariners' ballgame. So this is the view from my new couch. Nice, relaxing day.

Ballgame

Today I went to see the Seattle Mariners (who I am starting to like) play my dearly beloved Red Sox (who I have loved for about 23 years). It was an afternoon game on a weekday (such a luxury!) and I went by myself. I had never been to a game by myself so I was a little worried about it but it turned out great! I sat next to a woman and in front of two men that I talked to and cheered with and joked around with. I ate nearly a whole bag of peanuts and drank a beer that cost $6.75. I got to take some pictures of my favorite baseball player (not for his baseball skills, mind you), Jason Varitek, who is the batter in this photo of Safeco field. I will totally indulge in this kind of luxury more often - it was a great day!

p.s. The Red Sox lost 2-1 in the 11th inning, but it was ok!

The Couch!

The couch arrived today. It's wonderful! The tags are still on it and it smells like new couch. No one is allowed to sit on it. :P Just kidding. Well, maybe not.

Carkeek Park 3

I rarely take landscapes but I liked the feeling of this one.

Carkeek Park 2

A picture from the beach.

Stones

Went to the beach today. I like to walk with my feet in the water and look for stones but J likes to pick up rocks and throw them. I suppose this is one of those gender gap things?

Self-portrait

Today I was feeling sick and this is all I had the energy for today. I didn't even bother to comb my hair!

Bike

Tonight we went on a walk at sunset through the closest harbor. I forgot to check my batteries before we went so I didn't get to shoot alot. I liked this one though.

Grillin'

Today is the first day we have grilled out since moving to Seattle, well, really in a very long time. During summers in New York, we would grill most nights of the week and have friends over for a lot of them. We had a beautiful backyard (a rare gift in NY!) and it was a big part of our summer social life. Since moving, we haven't really been able to recreate much of that atmosphere yet but it was still great to just eat delicious food and be outdoors a little bit. We made a very good marinade for the meat and the corn was so sweet.. It was delicious!

p.s. No making fun of my sandals and socks! I had just got back from a run around the lake and well, I didn't know anyone would be looking. :)

Make your own cottage cheese

J loves cottage cheese, and he loves Alton Brown...and well - there you have it!

Continuing with the cooking experiments and the healthy diet attempts, we decided to make our own cottage cheese today. This may seem like a simple thing to those of you who regularly make things from scratch but for me it was a revelation! You mean you can actually make something that comes in a processed-packaged-carton-from-the-store? Wow! It went quite well too - I don't really like cottage cheese but this is the best cottage cheese I have ever tasted. It tastes fresh, healthy, and un-processed.


Here are the instructions (apologies to those who need to translate):
Yield = 2 cups
1 gallon pasteurized skim milk
3/4 cup white vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup half-and half-or heavy cream

1. Pour a gallon of skim milk into a large pot on the stove and heat over medium heat until the milk reaches a temperature of 120 degrees F. You will need a thermometer!
2. When it hits 120 degrees, remove the pot from heat and gently pour in the vinegar, stirring slowly for 2 minutes. The curd will separate from the whey. (This is the yucky looking stage in photo 2)
3. Cover and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
4. Pour the mixture into a colander lined with a tea towel and allow to sit and drain for 5 minutes.
5. Gather up the edges of the towel and run the cheese under cold water for 3-5 minutes until it is completely cooled. Squeeze and move the mixture in your hands that entire time.
6. Once cooled, squeeze as dry as possible and transfer to a mixing bowl.
7. Add the salt and stir to combine (I used a fork) and break up the curd into bite-sized pieces.
8. If ready to serve immediately, stir in the half-and-half or heavy cream. If not, transfer to a sealable container and place in the refrigerator. Add the half and half or heavy cream just prior to serving.

Mailbox

On another lovely evening walk around the neighborhood with J.

Canoes

I saw these canoes weeks ago when I began running around this lake. Had a great run around the lake tonight - perfect weather, beautiful sunset, and I was feeling really fast for the first time in a long time. Set a new record for the loop and that included a few seconds here and there to take snapshots!

This week I have finally started to feel like I actually live in Seattle - after nearly two months!

Pullups

Here's J doing his pullups in a tree infested with rabid raccoons.

Yes, he does this in public and no, he doesn't seem to care.

View

This was the view from the dock where I was stretching after my run.

Wilting

Our neighborhood is beautiful and we have been taking lots of nice long walks in the evening. I usually bring my camera along and tonight I really just loved the look of these fading and dying petals.

The Northwestern

The hightlight of my day today was seeing this fishing vessel, The Northwestern, my favorite ship from the Discovery Channel show Deadliest Catch. I was so excited to see the boat up close in real life, it was like seeing a celebrity! These men have the most dangerous job in the world, fishing for crab in the Berring Sea. I have been completely captivated by the show and especially by these three Norwegian Hansen brothers who run The Northwestern.

J at Ken's

This is J perusing the beer selection at our closest little local market, Ken's. When we first got here, I didn't like this market because it was "too New York". It's small, it's pricey, it has items stacked to the ceiling and crammed to the gills. But now that I have acclimated a bit more, Ken's is growing on me. Mostly because it's a really lovely walk from our house so there's always a good excuse to go pick up a little something.

Seattle Cloud Cover

Teresita Fernández's Seattle Cloud Cover (2004-06), is a laminated glass canopy composed of vividly hued images of changing skies and cloud formations, from which visitors can glimpse the Seattle skyline through porthole-like windows.

Puzzles

My dad taught me how to do these puzzles a few years ago. They are called quote acrostics and they can be quite difficult. Sometimes it takes 4 or 5 people weighing in to get one solved! When he first taught me, I was reluctant and I said I couldn't do it and that they "made my brain hurt". Now, he saves them up when he knows we are going to visit each other, so we can work on them together.

There is a quote that you are trying to guess (in the puzzle grid) by filling in clues to words given on the left. Then you use a code of letters and numbers to work back and forth between the left and the right until you can solve the quote. Once solved, the first letters of the clues give the name of the speaker and the topic of the quote.

The Fridge

I'm not a kid anymore, but when my mom comes to visit she still fills up my fridge for me. I guess that's always a mother's instinct??! My fridge has never been this full, ever, and it's kind of hard to believe that we are going to eat that much!

Required Macro

The "macro of raindrops" shot - I believe it is now required by photographic law - isn't it? :)

We are having a beautifully grey and rainy "Seattle Day" today.

My parents are arriving for a week-long visit today.

My boys

J and Mush

Mad J

He looks really mad doesn't he??! I can assure you, he never looks this mad at me, ever! :)

Office Supplies

Some of the office supplies we moved with from NY can be QUITE grumpy! Seriously, this is an office!





(look closely at the drawers)

Jockey

I went to a Harry Connick Jr. concert tonight with D/J and D. It took place at Chateau Ste. Michelle. We sat out on the lawn on blankets, had a lovely picnic dinner, drank delicious wine, enjoyed the perfect weather, talked about many things, and listened to great music. Unfortunately, no cameras were allowed in at all so all those great picnic photos will just be in my head. Instead, you get what I shot out of the moving car window on the way home while pretty tipsy!

p.s. Some people have said it looks like a horse and jockey...

A New Path

Today we discovered a new and (super, awesome, wonderful, unbelievable, fantastic, etc. etc.) running trail route. This beautiful trail winds through meadows and forests that look like Amazon jungles, with ferns and moss, and logs and rocks. It goes up hills and down hills and around bends and I enjoyed every second of it - even when it was difficult.

I have been trying to start running again (part of the new healthy lifestyle thing).