Happy Holidays

The night before Thanksgiving, Stef and I partook in our, thus far, 3 year tradition of Chinese Food dinner before Turkey day.  We have no particular reason for doing Chinese food the night before Thanksgiving, other than the fact that it's just what we've done before.  Tradition for the sake of tradition.

On Thanksgiving we had Rosemary/Sage butter encrusted turkey, mashed potatoes, jalepeno cranberry sauce, sourdough stuffing with celery, onion and sage, and rolls.  We used the melted butter from the Rosemary/Sage drippings combined with flour to make the roux and combined it with the turkey drippings to make the gravy.  Oh so good.

 Today we went to Whitehouse Christmas Tree Farm and chopped down our christmas tree.  It's not snowing in the picture, but it's cold enough to be.  Thanks to Sophia for the wonderful Doppler beanie hat; very toasty.

Tala and Rusty (with Antlers)

Summer Days and Bountiful Harvests

Rusty keeping cool in the shade.

Tala just got back from a walk and is playing in the yard.

Our budding Giant Pumpkin.  It's "only" 16" in diameter, but still has 2 and a half months to go to Halloween.

One of several weekly green bean harvests from the yard.

Fresh vine-ripened Romas and Cherry tomatoes from the raised garden.  Stef made the most amazing tomato sauce with these.

Fresh raspberry harvest from our friends Jeff and Julie.  We gave them ~ 2 gallons of fresh sour cherries from our tree.  I think we may have a summer food co-op going.

Making some Home-made Raspberry sorbet.  The best...

Small batch of peaches from our tree.  We would have had a bumper crop if it weren't for torrential down pour of rain for a week, which made the remaining peaches mushy and non-useable.  I guess next year will be the year.

Making some peach sorbet.

Stef is allergic to peaches.  But if we cook the puree, it inactivates the allergens.

Cherry Harvest...

When we bought our home, one the features we liked the most was the two mature cherry trees in the backyard. So, after all of our projects over the past two years, we now have the time to harvest the fruit of our labor.  Literally.  So far we have 4 and a half gallons of fresh Sour Cherries, pitted and frozen down.  Later this summer will be the Peach harvest.

For now, it will be the "Best Ever Cherry Pie:"

1 1/3 cups sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups pitted fresh or fresh-frozen (not canned) sour cherries, juice drained
4 drops almond extract
Cornstarch to thicken (about 2 tablespoons)
Pastry for Two 9-inch pie shells
Butter, cut in small pieces

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Lightly mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, cherries, extract and cornstarch.  Mix lightly but thorougly (allow fresh-frozen cherries to thaw slightly).  Pour cherry mixture into pastry-lined pan and dot with butter pieces.  Top with pastry, either in a lattice pattern or one piece.  Crimp sides to seal.

Bake 35 to 45 minutes.  If necessary, use foil to protect pastry edges from over-browning.

Source:  Toledo Blade.  JoAnn Glick receieved this recipe from Pat Buehrer of Sylvania, OH.  They both say not to use canned cherries, and that the almond extract is the secret.

Tala and Rusty like to take care of the cherries that miss the bucket and fall to the ground.

Our hands were so sticky with cherry juice.  And the juice was so sour/sweet and good. 

Concert Crazies

Yesterday evening, Tom and I had the opportunity to see Bryan Adams in concert, acoustic, with his band (consisting of one pianist).  I have to admit, I was very excited to see him; he did, after all, provide the song for our first dance at our wedding.  Even though I have loosely followed his career, and enjoy many of his songs, it became very clear to me yesterday evening in the ladies' restroom of the Ritz Theatre in Tiffin, OH that I am not an "ultra-fan" of any singer or band.  I had the unfortunate luck of overhearing a conversation between two 30-somethings regarding their fear of spontaneous combustion of tears and fainting spells when Bryan Adams would come on stage.  Apparently, upon their exit of the restroom (according to Tom), they were also inquiring about whether or not he would see them from the stage. 

The Ritz Theatre in Tiffin is a very nice, intimate venue.  Once we were ushered to our seats, it became apparent the women in the restroom were not the only concert crazies we would encounter.  A woman three rows ahead of us, who appeared to be over served before she arrived at the theatre was wearing a concert t-shirt from 2005 and continued to put down 4-5 beers in the 30 minutes before the concert began, then spent most of the concert asking the people in her row to let her out or back in as the proceeded to purchase more alcohol. 

I have not been to many concerts, but I am starting to notice patterns in the culture of the concert crazies.  Going back to when we went to Kamp KOME in high school, the concert crazy is characterized by inappropriate standing at random times and exhibits extreme hostility towards those who inform them that they are inhibiting the view of all the rows behind them.  There is also the characteristic dance of the concert crazies--often involving head nodding, swaying, and random finger pointing.  Inappropriate random "woo-ing" as soon as the artist begins to speak between songs is also a symptom.  I am starting to believe concert crazies also have a form of Tourette's Syndrome--causing them to yell out their favorite song titles, verbal expression of affection (I LOVE YOU!), or even inappropriate thoughts (TAKE OFF YOUR PANTS!). 

As much as I love music, and as many times as I have "loved" bands or individual artists, I can honestly say that I have never done any of the above.  Even though the concert crazies were annoying, yesterday's show was great.  It was wonderful to see someone who is honestly talented, unplugged, without sideshows.  I was, however, slightly disappointed that he did not sing our song, but I was still impressed by the fact he played for two hours without intermission.

Kitchen makeover complete...

It's nice to have our kitchen back in working order.  At one point we had the fridge, kitchen table and hutch piled into the center of the room.  What's left are just a few electrical outlets to swap out in the kitchen.  So, believe it or not, that's about it for the Blomquist Fujii home... just a few details left here and there, and Stef and I are finished making over our first house together.  This has been a very special project for both of us.  Though, we will not be doing this again for a long time...  I hope...  Time to enjoy our endevours.

One of my favorite memories from college was coming back to Stefanie's grandparents home every evening after class, sitting around their kitchen table and having a warm cup of green tea over a meandering conversation.  I'm looking forward to having that with Stef more often now that our kitchen is done.

See panaromic stitch of kitchen photos below. 

Farewell Hot Pink, Salmon Kitchen, Farewell

Dear Hot Pink, Salmon Kitchen,

When we originally encountered you, we pittied you...but compared to the rest of the house, you were, oddly enough, the most functional.  Partially because we need you so much, and partially because the rest of the house was so ugly you were last on the rehab list.  Although you have served us well over the past year and a half, assisting us with countless meals, thousands of cookies, and two gingerbread structures, I am excited to say...you have to go.  I realize your previous owners probably thought you were a dramatic, maybe even fashionable statement.  I am sure they were even convinced that you would accent the small pink flecks in the laminate countertops they installed, but you now clash with the rest of the house.  I apologize (not really), Hot Pink, Salmon Kitchen, but you have been pink slipped. 

Under construction:

Snow

I didn't think this post needed much more explanation in the title. Although we have not had as much snow as Washington DC with the most recent storms, we have had our fair share in the past week.

(Where's the pond/waterfall?)

(Firepit on the patio)

Some of this is residual from the storm over the weekend, but a good portion of it fell today.  Storm totals between today and tomorrow are expected to be anywhere from 7-10 inches.  It seemed like we already had 2-3 by 9:00 this morning. 

Birthday Celebration #3

For the past several years, Tom and I haven't really made a big deal about birthdays and holidays, partially because money was tight, and partially because we figured that we will just get things as we need them and just enjoy the time together.  This year, however, has been a little bit different.  Thus far, I have had three "birthday dinners" and enjoyed a concert tonight as my birthday present. 

Around New Year's, Tom purchased tickets for us to see Richard Marx, and this evening we were able to enjoy my birthday present!  Really, I had forgotten just how many of my favorite 80's songs were sung by Richard Marx.  Angelina, Endless Summer Nights, Don't Mean Nothin', Right Here Waiting, Hazard (which I never liked), Children of the Night, Now and Forever...etc...etc.  I found myself singing along to most of the songs once he reached the chorus, but that was the extent of my participation at the concert.  He sang with the Toledo Orchestra, which offerd a very nice accompaniment to most of the songs.  The crowd was an intersting mix between people there to just see the Orchestra, and those just there to see Richard Marx.  There was the elderly crowd that has season tickets to the Orchestra who I overheard in the restroom saying to one another,"Do you know who the young man singing is?" to which none of them had an answer to, and then there were the women who were his original groupies.  And of course, there is always the one crazy stalker fan, who yells out "I love you!" repeatedly, tries to make her own requests by shouting them out between songs, and is the only one standing in the seated theatre, dancing and swaying to every song regardless of the rhythm. 

Overall, I had a wonderful time, and now regret that we didn't bite the bullet and buy tickets when Peter Cetera was in town with the Orchestra.  We hope to be able to attend more concerts in the future, and possible some plays as well.  Wicked is coming to town in a couple of months!

Ohio Winter "Wonderland" Pictures...

Backyard blanketed in snow.

Cardinals and Blue jays make a winter home in the cherry trees.

Tala and Rusty like to eat the snow.

Nighttime christmas lights picture of the front of the house.  Three trees with lights.

Yes, I Am a Child of the 80's

You know you're a child of the 80's when....you geek out over Richard Marx....and really geek out when your husband buys you tickets to see him in concert!