We stayed too long at the fair

 But first we had breakfast pizza and steak benedict for nourishment.

 And stopped at the former Royal Date Gardens in Indio, which is now gone, but a great Mexican restaurant has taken over and expanded the old gift shop. 

 You know, where Al used to pit dates when he was a little kid.

 Here was the motel . . . . .

 Three Amigos.

I found me a new guy.  Too bad he's chained to the hoosegow tree, probably for drunk and disorderly conduct.  I'm sure I could change his ways.

Now we're in Poway/San Diego and having a grand time with Jackie and Rob.  

Where is the fog?

Here we are in La Quinta/Indio, where everything new and luxurious, with green grass and palm trees/  But it's the dessert and it's already predicted to be 90 today.  Oh, yeah, it's a dry heat.  Hmm. But I looked at the weather almost everywhere else in America and decided not to whine about the heat. Well, right after this.

 Don't ever go through, or even near, Bakersfield without stopping at Dewar's.  They make multiple flavors of taffy, chocolates, and ice cream, maybe the best of all time.  At least in the top five.

  So I've been told.  

 It's really, really hard to see, but right above the sagebrush (or whatever those fluffy-looking plants are) is a little line of white dots.  That is one of the Mojave airplane graveyards.  Ordinary people aren't allowed to get close to it, so just use your imagination. Or look on google images for better shots. Think of all the adventures each of them have been on, all the places they have seen, 

all the people they have carried, the stories they can tell. 

 Listen carefully.  One of the stories might be yours.

Under the Sea

It's mesmerizing to watch this little school of fish  as they swim 'round and 'round, changing the shape of the group with each turn.  How do they know?  Who is the leader? 

 In case you were wondering where we were.

This is in Salinas, right outside the rodeo.  

I looked for the cowboy big enough to wear this hat, but no luck.

Now we're going to Palm Springs/Indio/La Quinta.  Before it gets too hot.

Did J'Eat Yet?

 The basket of popovers arrived full, but I immediately needed enough sustenance to snap the picture.

 How many shots of fish 'n' chips have we shared?

 And french dip?

 Look, just look, how clever my hubby is.  This is the new wine list,

 featuring the amazing domestic wines that only the West Coast can produce.  

  

 OMG!  Should I go back for these beaded numbers?  They would be perfect in the laundry room at the RV Park and are just my size.  If only they didn't have the huge platform, the medallion, and the $200 price tag.  Sorry.  I couldn't help sharing.

Just like Mom used to make.

See the windmill?  We got married at the base of it, among the mums. 

That was fun. Let's say it again.  Among the mums. 

I'm off to lunch now.

It's all about the food

It's been so much fun to see so many friends, which always involves eating.  And eating.  And eating.  In 14 days I've been to lunch or dinner 20 times.  Al is close but hasn't been to lunch with the girls as often.  Here are a few tempting samples, even though the photography isn't perfect.

 Mrs. Hart's gorgeous beet salad.

 Mrs. Hart's steaming port stew.

 Red and pink beet salad with grilled chicken.

 A really yummy burger - after I took the slice of grilled tongue which was intended 

to replace crispy bacon.  Freaky.

 Mussels.

Salmon tartare on smoked salmon.

 Lemon bar.

 More salmon. 

Corned beef hash made by Al with leftovers from the night before.

Now I have to put elastic in all my waistbands.  See you next time.

Open your Golden Gate

 Look where we are!  We arrived last Saturday, which was another Spare the Air Day, and you can see why.  The Golden Gate Bridge was closed while they built a barrier between lanes, but the new Bay Bridge was eager to lead us across the Bay, in spite of all the smog or whatever is hanging around.  There needs to be a good wind or rain to clean this stuff away. 

 But it's not going to stop us from having fun.

.

 The old bridge is coming down, one section at a time.

On a clear day (you can see forever) this would have been a perfect picture of Telegraph Hill. 

 There is our old condo, way at the very far bottom right. 

 We've been on the exciting whirlwind of seeing friends and family, with lots more to come.  Of course, it always involves lunch or dinner, so we've eaten out eight times in six days.  By the time we leave here we'll need to get stronger shocks on the truck to bear my weight.

Go Packers!

Happy New Year!

 It is a deep freeze in other parts of the country, but look what's happening in Sequim.

 Buds!

 Al may have been a bit aggressive with the fig tree pruning.

 I'll let you know if this apple tree survives the mad man with the pruning saw.

  Kind of like it's always 5:00 somewhere, there is always a party somewhere. 

 May all your resolutions be easy to keep.  

I've been scolded

Apparently there really are people who read this blog.
At least a few who wonder why I haven't posted for a month.  No excuse.

 We've been to at least nine concerts or performances by the local talent and countless dinners with friends.  Well, I could count, but who really cares?  It was a delightful Christmas in Sequim and now time to get ready for yet another celebration of the old year leaving and the new one popping in.  This will be only the second time in 41 years (for Al, only 28 for me) that we aren't involved in New Year's Eve at the restaurant.  

That seems to call for extra champagne, no doubt about it. Is today too early to get started? 

Okay, to make up for my absence (for those who noticed - the rest of you can stop reading now) here is my own personal method for making peppermint bark.  

Go buy the candy canes now when they are really cheap and you can make it all year 'round.  You can also use those round peppermint candies if you get a hankering long about July. 

 They are even louder in the food processor.

 Damn!  I can't get this picture moved to the bottom so here is the finished product.  So my New Year's resolution is to learn how to properly post photos on this frustrating machine.  Other people seem to do it easily.  How stupid am I?  Don't answer that.

 Before we get started, here is my new (to me) little Carmine.  I can park it anywhere, unlike driving that big honkin' truck which I can only park waaaay at the edge of the lot where I don't have to try to maneuver into a space. We had  fun bringing the Christmas tree home.  

Apparently some people didn't have mothers who told them it's not nice to point and laugh.

Some even took pictures.

 Okay, here we go.  Unwrap the candy canes, which is the most difficult part of the whole process.  Pulse in the food processor until the pieces are small.  Notice that I'm using the old dull blade because why would I want to use the brand new sharp blade for this?  Well, why?

Sift it through a colander to get rid of the bitsy pieces and the dust.  It will just turn everything pink.  But don't pitch it -  I've been told that it's really good on ice cream or stirred into hot chocolate.
 I've been told.

Semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips - milk chocolate isn't worth the effort in my world, but you might think differently about that.  Good.  Then we won't have to fight over it.

 Melt it in the microwave, one minute at a time, stirring between zaps until all the chunks are gone.

 Spread it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. 

 The offset spatula makes it easier to get it to the corners and edges.

 Equal amount of white chips.  Same thing, melt in the microwave, but watch carefully because the white melts faster than the dark.  It if goes over the edge, you'll just have a big ugly lump of cooked white chocolate.  Another trip to the store.  Don't ask how I know this.

 Spread the white stuff over the dark stuff.

 Swirl it around a bit, which will make it all stick nicely together.  Then sprinkle the peppermint pieces on and pat it in a little bit or it will just fall off when you cut it. (Now look at that stubborn picture at the top).  Slap it in the fridge to set for a little bit, then take it out and let it warm for about five minutes so it's easier to cut or break in pieces and get busy cleaning up all the sticky little bits of candy cane that have found their way into the strangest places.   

Happy New Year!