Portland, Oregon: I get so frustrated when bloggers I follow do not update, and recently, I have become that blogger. We have been so busy with houseguests - one night, every bed was filled - there has been no opportunity for blogging. But, I love cooking for people I love, and it is one of our greatest joys to sit down to a table ringed with family and friends... assuming the neighbors don't judge when they see the copious amount of empty wine bottles in our street-side recycling bin.
Brother Steve and Kris are now back to their home in Colorado. Since we have given Brother Steve and Kris the pillow I made for them this winter, I can now share it on this blog:
It's a bit of a joke. They keep chickens, so I thought they needed a rooster? This canvas is about ten inches square and was stitched in silk.We have had a few guests drop-in for a few minutes in the evenings, hang-out on the property, and then leave. Two (siblings?) young Great Horned Owls. We have not seen the mom since returning from Palm Springs.
I suppose we are the actual guests in their forest though?Do you remember this cute couple?
Lisa, Lenny, Leo and Lucy have been jet-setting for weeks - visiting my Brother Steve and Kris in Colorado, attending a wedding, a vacation week with Lenny's family, then another wedding. They finally arrived back to Los Angeles this week and I sent Lucy the kitty "pee-yoh" she chose for me to stitch.
Since my grandchildren weren't around for me to spoil, I decided to spoil Shirley & Martin's. I baked Snickerdoodles and went to see their daughter, Emma. Emma's children, Thomas and Lucy, are especially fond of Snickerdoodles... and I am especially fond of Thomas and Lucy.
And... so Emma and her husband, Matthew, are not too homesick of their hometown while living now in Portland, I stitched a London pillow for them this winter.Last evening we had a very special guest - 3-week-old Elizabeth. She brought her parents, Brittany and Brandon (our long-time house sitter, who rudely moved-out several years ago to get married and buy a house).
Elizabeth is very tiny (like my grandchildren were at one point in time that I can barely remember). So lovely and sweet and pretty. (She slept most of the evening - in my arms - and didn't even try my beef enchiladas.)
The dish was super-easy to prepare. I made my Beef Barbacoa recipe (with a brisket) in the crockpot the day before, rolled the shredded beef into corn tortillas, poured a can of enchilada sauce over the top, sprinkled cheddar, and baked the dish while we admired Elizabeth. We also served a platter of sliced heirloom tomatoes with a little corn salsa, and Lemon Blueberry Tart.
Best thing (besides getting my baby fix)? No left-overs. The kids took home anything we did not finish for their dinner tomorrow. New mothers should not have to cook.And now for the knee update. DT has been x-rayed, MRI'd, prodded and poked. He has a tear in right meniscus! His "good" knee is now also his "bad" knee. He will require surgery and rehab. Deja vu all over again. For the time-being, the knee has been drained (yuck) and was given a shot of cortisone yesterday to ease the pain and swelling. The steroids take several days to "kick in", so we wait. In the midst of all the doctor appointments, therapy, pain, icing, etc., there is something very good to report - the doctor (a very famous, highly-respected, sports medicine orthopedist, who deals with professional athletes and runners daily) told My Driver he will probably never need knee replacement surgery. A little sunshine.
Until my next update, I remain, your busy correspondent.