Raincharm’s Weblog

We had a group over for Chinese on Christmas Adam. It was a good time, with talk and good food. And there are enough leftovers to last us to the new year I think.

We had prepared a few appetizers and a dessert. The appetizer was based on a suggestion of an acquaintance. A wreath made of hummus, decorated with parsley, cherry tomatoes, red and green peppers, and some crackers.

Dessert was another thing altogether. I had a recipe and all of the ingredients. However, there were issues in the building.  First of all, I was picturing puff pastry, but what I had was phyllo dough. I had not worked with these separating sheets. The recipe called for two sheets, to be cut and placed atop one another. The sheets were so thin, especially compared to the puff pastry in my head, I decided to use more than two sheets. I proceeded down this path, although they did not seem to fully cook through with the 8 or so layers that I had settled on. So I was splitting the piles and continuing to cook some. In the meantime, I was attempting the custard. Parts were coming along fine, but I think the recipe called for  too much cornstarch. I ended up with a lumpy, sort of concrete like mixture. I tried to rescue it by hand mixing, using an electric beater, but finally decided it was a lost cause. I used the interwebs to find a different recipe for custard.  Same ingredients, but different proportions.

So unsure on the phyllo dough, two tries to get custard. The raspberries were from our summer garden, so I was a bit reticent to use them with the failings.

In the end, the “Napoleons” of a sort were well received. Topping them with chocolate covered a lot of faulty construction.

The dinner and dessert used most of our silverware, dinner and dessert plate settings, soup bowls, serving pieces, etc. So we used the dishwasher! This was the 20th use since the 2016 remodel. I know that because we used the last of 20 pacs in the bag. Unfortunately, for the first time, some water leaked out onto the kitchen floor. No damage, but an area of the floor that is much cleaner than the surrounding area. We will have to run it again to try to deduce the problem.

Christmas Eve included  a walk to and through Candy Cane Lane. Today, it didn’t rain! (It is supposed to be a gully washer tomorrow) So off we went. It was lovely and fun.

Now to spend a quiet evening at home.

There have been many family traditions over the years. With just two of us at home most years now, we tend to repeat things some years, but also allow in new ideas.

The Winter Solstice is not really our tradition, but we do observe the darkness. Today’s sunrise was at 7:55, and sunset will be at 4:20. And given the rain, it has been a fairly dark day. Except for the moment when the sun was shining, while it was raining. There was a rainbow somewhere.

One of my traditions is to eat a grapefruit. There is a consultant at work who has been sending a box of grapefruit to our office for years. And I always make sure to get one. Carl can’t eat them due to drug interactions, so it’s never on our grocery list. Yes, we could buy one every now and then, but we don’t. And it’s fun to have something to look forward to. Today was the grapefruit morning.

Another tradition stems from Carl’s crusade to clean the streets of lost money. Throughout the year, pennies, dimes, nickles, guarters, and the occasional bill are found. And stored with their brethren. At the end of the year, a picture of the jar with all of the foundlings is circulated around our block. Everyone can guess the total. The guess that is closest to the actual amount wins the cash.

There are a few more traditions on the horizon. Chinese dinner for friends. This year on the 23rd. One of our friends was booked on the 24th, and the restaurant we order from is normally closed on Tuesdays, so unless they make an exception, Monday is a better choice. They usually sell out on Christmas Eve, so perhaps they will make an exception this year.

Walking through Candy Cane Lane on Christmas Eve is a frequent event for us. We will have to see if this holds true for this year or if we turn into weather wimps. There is a chance of rain, of course.

I worked from home today. That is my normal schedule on Wednesdays, but this is not a normal Wednesday. The day before a holiday means there are fewer people working than normal.  One of our goals at work is to always have at least one manager there in person, in case. I was checking with other managers to be sure someone was planning to be on site. One asked whether I should go in, just to experience my last Thanksgiving Eve at work.

One of the increasing “lasts” that keep popping up.

I have my last annual review on the horizon. I am not concerned about this review. What are they going to do? Fire me?!

I was also pursuing our bienial budget document, set to be adopted on Monday. I was almost taken aback when I looked at the organization chart.

I guess it’s just starting to feel more real. But that means I need to get my work done!😵‍💫

We headed south, leaving mid-morning under a cool sun. Our goal today was the International District.

Downhill for a mile to the University Bridge to cross the ship canal. Then up to the top of Capitol Hill. We could have continued another mile on foot but chose to duck into the light rail station instead.

Emerging from the depths 4 stations south we were at our general goal.

Heading several blocks east, we got to our primary destination, the Wing Luke Museum. We had not been here before and took in the majority of the exhibits. We did pay particular attention to an exhibit done by the parent of the last two kids under Carl’s care (ending with Covid). The kids were primary in the film, following the narrated story of a refugee from Korea.

We were a bit peckish after the museum, so we crossed the street to the Jade Garden for lunch. I know we were hungry because we ordered more food than we could reasonably eat. At one sitting, that is. We will have at least one more meal from the leftovers.

Back to light rail for the trip to our neighborhood, followed by a quick bus ride to avoid most of the last 1/4 mile walk.

13,000 steps later, we are happy to be home.

How much of a bomb this wind event seemed to individuals varied significantly on your location. At our house, it was insignificant. The lights flickered, but we never lost power.

At work, an entirely different universe.

Just figuring out which roads were passable was work. I looked at Google maps before I left the house and chose a different route than I would normally take. My normal route had a red line where there were no intersections. Turns out that road was completely blocked all day. I am not even sure if it’s open today. The roads show blue if there is no traffic, which can be confusing.

Our office has a skookum generator, so we have power and heat. More than one employee has used our showers today (day 2), and a few have family members joining us for warmth and internet.

Several people reported they had no cell phone service at their house, and I have partial service at work. I can usually text, but not make outgoing calls, even on wi-fi. Although I can receive calls.

I haven’t heard an estimate yet of when we will start to get power back at our many work sites. At least one co-worker has a Saturday noon estimate at their house.

I am lucky to be able to be warm at work and home!

Our work Thanksgiving lunch was to be yesterday, but we were in full response trying to get a handle on the situation. So today is the day. There are turkeys cooking outside my office door.  Mmmmm.

A walk this morning, before the harder rain came, and went, and will come again. Just looking for exercise, but found color. All around us, even after the wind and rain have been making fall fall.

Salmon, that is. A really good run going on right now in Carkeek Park.

We drove to the park relatively early, around 9 am. The first part of Pipers Creek that we encountered had a few fish visible, and it was exciting. As we proceeded upstream, the number of fish just kept growing.  Both dead and alive and spawning. There were so many fish. It is a good high year. The 2-3 year cycle means the returns can really vary. One article said they counted 1500 fish in one day.

And since there was an article, many people became aware of this in-city opportunity to see the salmon’s return. We parked, walked, and viewed with no problems, although we certainly weren’t alone. By the time we left cars were circling the parking areas hoping for a spot.

Plus, we only got dripped on by the rain.

As a reward for getting out early, we can now fit in a walk to lunch with friends. I am hoping for the same drippy rain but prepared for a larger deluge.

The weather was very cooperative this morning, 50’s and not raining. I had read about an art installation that sounded interesting and within our walking range.

The name of the exhibit is Charms, the same as Carl’s frequent moniker and part of this blog’s name.

Th location of this exhibit is in the I-5 Collonade. Under the freeway. This is the area between downtown and the Ship Canal, for those familiar with Seattle.

The Colonade is also home to an off-road bike park, an off-leash dog park, the Howe  steps, and the Blaine Steps.

As you can see, the art is multimedia layers, with each piece attached to a column. They are exposed to the weather and physical interactions. The most interesting aspect is how the light interplays with the piece as you moved around.

We had arrived at the Colonade from Eastlake, on the low side. We exited on the high, Capitol Hill side. The Howe Steps was our route, reported at 388 steps up. We did miss one flight by following a bike trail instead. I was about done in after reaching the top.

We trudged southward on essentially flat ground to reach the Capitol Hill Light Rail station. A shorter walk home from the Roosevelt Station to a few chores and lunch.

All in all, a good day out.

Yesterday was disappointing and disturbing in many ways. And weirdly, I am calmer than I was 8 years ago.

Our neighborhood, especially our block, gets along very well. Early afternoon, our neighbor called and suggested a gathering to commiserate. An email ensued and about 5 PM a group coalesced.

There was hot cocoa and other bottles to supplement the cocoa. And a few snacks.

It was good to just chat, wonder, and speculate. One of the more interesting conversations was with a neighbor from India. They are in the process of becoming naturalized citizens and had a talk between themselves on whether to continue the USA course, return to India, or move elsewhere. I believe the current decision is to continue here.

But the point is, we live in a supported, safe place.

And then we all retired to our respective houses for dinner.

We had chicken soup from Dingfelders Deli. With matzo balls. It’s almost a tradition after getting a Covid shot, which I had done earlier in the day. And flu.

I did fall asleep, initially, around 8:30. I will attribute that to the shots, although I didn’t feel bad, just tired.

Onward, because there is really no other choice.

We’ve been back for almost exactly a week as I write this. We arrived home last Sunday at about 8:30 PM. This was 14 hours and 1 minute after we left Mendocino.

Mendocino was great. Just a few days, but we really enjoyed the area.

We walked, mostly along the coastline, watching waves.

The last vacation day we spent walking, see prior pictures, and attending the memorial gathering for Kirk and Pat. It was lovely learning more about these two special people. One description I particularly liked was, “They were the most married unmarried couple I knew.”

Following the service, we retired to Mendocino and Pattersons Pub once again. Game 2 was on, and we were with our baseball buddies. We appreciated the situation.

Sunday, we bolted by 6:30, in the rain to head home. The first part of the drive included windy roads in the dark and rain. But they were not as intimidating as the road we drove on our way to Mendocino. We finally intercepted I-5 at Grant’s Pass, Oregon. The speeds were faster, but there was also more traffic. The biggest slowdown we hit was due to an accident somewhere along the road, I don’t remember the milepost. We were really happy passing known places; Eugene- only 5 hours to go, Portland- 3 hours (side note – it takes forever to get through Portland itself), Olympia – yeah, Tacoma- so close you can feel it. Finally, Seattle and home.

We got the car unloaded, and some unpacking ensued. I knew I had to get to bed but was still vibrating a bit when I climbed into bed. These work alarm beckoned in the morning for me.

It was not just me needing to get to work, Carl had to recover the Prius from its vacation at the Toyota dealership. And get some groceries.

Game 3 happened Monday night, but we were all in travel recovery mode and watched separately.

Game 4 and 5 were watched with our baseball buddies.  Indian food and Gorditos burritos, respectively, for food.

For those that don’t follow baseball, the Dodgers won the World Series, besting the New York Yankees 4 games to 1. And the Yankees had an inning from hell in the middle of the last game.

With baseball and travel in our rear-view mirror, we were able to tackle more mundane tasks. Like voting.

Next up is figuring out even more about Medicare. We met with a SHIBA volunteer on Friday, and he answered many questions and pointed us in directions for more study.

It is very likely that many of these orange leaves are now on the ground. It was really windy  overnight and today.

Onward.