We have been home a week. Still not organized. Weather still not cooperating for outdoor projects. Our dishwasher is still not repaired (tomorrow!), but luckily our friends missed us took pity on us and invited us over for dinner a few nights.
DT took advantage of 90 minutes without rain on Monday and hosed-off the deck and the patio furniture. He brought the grill out from the garage. All we need are a few flowering pots, my herb pots, a little sunshine and we maybe can actually enjoy our deck!Other projects are still delayed:
This tree - directly in front of our house - must go. The two Douglas Fir were planted side-by-side the same day (circa 1994). For some reason, the one on the right died. Sayonara. Auf Wiedersehen. Adios.
Don't even ask about field mowing. The grass is nearly five feet tall. It pours rain daily. If this weather keeps up, the grass will be about six feet tall and a machete will be required to clear a path for the tractor.
New bark dust required.
Gutters cleaned.
Artificial owl.
Yep. I ordered an artificial owl. Seems a certain song bird loves looking at his reflection in our dining room window. While admiring hisownself, he leaves droppings the size of Duluth on the (white!) benches on our covered front porch. I think Mr. Owl will take care of this little problem. Either way, I will be reporting on my little $12 experiment.
We never had this bird poop problem when we had cats.
Maybe I should have ordered a plastic cat?
My Beloved spent the day in Eugene helping the University of Oregon prepare for the Olympic Track & Field Trails in 2012. Isn't he kind?
I made pizza.
Seems "the thing" with all the foodies this spring is shaved asparagus. Yep, you just take your handy-dandy vegetable peeler and shave asparagus stalks into fine slices like you were peeling a carrot. Dress it with a little olive oil, salt and pepper as a salad - or do what Deb, over at Smitten Kitchen, did - bake it over a lovely pizza crust with cheese!Did someone say asparagus and cheese?
Deb's recipe calls for a pizza crust, a little parmesan, a little mozzarella and the shaved asparagus tossed with a little olive oil, salt & pepper. After the pizza is baked, one sliced green onion is tossed over all before serving. Sounds delicious - and it was!
I followed the directions exactly, but think the pizza would have been better with a little olive oil brushed over the crust before the cheese was added. Deb didn't say exactly which type of mozzarella to use, and I would suggest you use the dry-kind and not the fresh-kind or your pie could be a bit soggy. (I also suggest you shred - not cube - the cheese and maybe 8 oz is too much.)Just sayin'.
I baked the pizza for 14 minutes on a hot pizza stone in a 500-degree oven.
And though one lousy green onion doesn't sound like much - it really made the pizza - do not omit! I will be baking this pizza several times over the spring/summer... or which ever season it chooses to be in Oregon right now.Until my next update, I remain, your umbrella-toting correspondent.