Another week of burning eyes, a scratchy throat, and constant worry that these could be symptoms of COVID-19 I'm feeling and not just the effects of the toxic air. By midweek, being trapped in our sealed up house had me feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted. Obviously that meant it was a great relief when a fall storm blew through late Friday evening and finally wiped out the lingering smoke. Over the two weeks we spent shrouded in smoke, summer gradually shifted towards fall, and Sunday afternoon, under blindingly blue skies we pulled pound after pound of perfectly ripened apples off the larger of the two trees in our backyard. Now that I don’t have to worry about the possibility of further contaminating the already stagnant air inside our house by baking, I’m now very much looking forward to experimenting with all things apple - pie, sauce, tart, muffin. If you have a favorite apple recipe you'd like to share, I'm open to suggestions for using up our bounty!
Read moreLife: Week 36
The clear skies of Monday feel oh-so-far-away at this point. After another lovely backyard tea (so lovely I forgot to take any photos!) celebrating my neighbors baby due this fall and an afternoon of pizza & beer with Andy's sister and mom, we were caught completely by surprise at the wildfire smoke that quickly rolled in as we were enjoying a dessert of plum cake. By Friday the air quality had rocketed up to Unhealthy, so we had the house entirely closed up, and were only stepping outside as absolutely necessary. By Saturday, conditions were wavering between Very Unhealthy and Hazardous, so we spent the entire weekend revisiting an old favorite video game - Fallout 4. It felt especially bizarre to find clearer skies in a post-apocalyptic video game than we had outside, but 2020 just seems to be one strange and uncomfortable experience after another. One hilight in a gloomy week - after hoarding my slicing tomatoes for about weeks (stupice, if your curious), along with my first harvest of jalapeños and a precious onion (of which I planted far too few) I made my first batch of homemade salsa. Charring veggies under the broiler with such poor air quality probably wasn't the best idea, but it was well worth it. Thankfully Andy managed to fabricate an air purifier for us using an old fan from our woodstove and a couple of HEPA filters, so we were able to keep out indoor air safely breathable after my broiler adventures!
Read moreLife: Week 35
While this week wasn't quite as action-packed as the last, it was equally lovely. With Andy's sister visiting for the long weekend, we took the ferry to spend the day with both his sister and mom on Whidbey Island. Standing on the deck, watching the sun set, Andy and I realized that it was a view we hadn't enjoyed since February - one we'd greatly missed. We spent our Saturday mostly sitting on the deck, drinking wine, and relaxing together. It was a peaceful, low key way to spend the day, something we all needed. This year has just slipped by. I’ve barely enjoyed summer, and already Labor Day is here and soon it will be fall. Hopefully I manage to savor fall a bit more that I have summer!
Read moreLife: The Past Year
Hello again! It's been far too long, and much has happened since my last post. Andy and I went on many hikes (which I hope to share here soon) spent at least one weekend at each of our family cabins, and most excitingly bought a house! Needless to say, the process of hunting for, buying, and moving into our first home became a rather all consuming process, so hopefully you'll forgive my disappearing act. Now, in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic I finally find myself with the time to come back to this space. After my long absence, I’m not sure there's anyone still out there reading this, but I hope that some of you will come back in time. I've missed you all.
Read moreLife: Week 25-26
After weeks of non-stop busyness, Andy and I spent two laid back weeks in a row doing not much other than relaxing at home. Not to say that all the various plans we've had over the last month or so haven't been fun, but after so much running around, we both needed some time to recover! Another positive shift recently - after weeks of what felt like a perpetual premature summer, just in time for the official start of the season we've finally had a handful of overcast, rainy days. It’s given me hope for a milder summer to come!
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