Our Weekend

The last two weeks Hubby and I have been busy at our jobs.  He was working swing shift and I work days.  We were ships in the night until Friday evening.  We toasted ourselves with a drink in the sitting room and then planned our weekend.  For us, having the same weekend is reason enough to celebrate, as it only happens once every six weeks.

 On Saturday evening our friends, Brian and Holly were coming for dinner.  We planned our menu, and how we would spend our days.

 When we entertain I like to have something new along with some tried and true recipes and a cheater.  It works for me.  The new was a recipe I'd cut out of my Health magazine for a carrot salad.  Everyone liked it so I'll share the recipe.

 Carrot Salad with Nut Butter Ginger Dressing

1/4 cup nut butter *I used peanut butter

2 T. fresh lime juice

1 T. soy sauce

1 T. honey

1 T. rough chopped ginger * I used 1 tsp. dry

2 T. water

2 green onion whites coarsely chopped

1 small clove garlic *I minced it.

1 lb. carrots peeled into long thin strips using a vegetable peeler *This does take some time.

1 cup packed cilantro leaves

In a blender or *I used my Magic Bullet combine the nut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, honey, ginger, onion, garlic and water.

Toss the carrots with the cilantro leaves, and some of the green bottoms of the green onions with a bit of the dressing.  Then drizzle a bit more of the dressing on top of the salad and garnish with cilantro leaves.

We had a great visit with Brian and Holly.  We served teriyaki sesame ginger pork loin, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus and baby 'bella mushrooms, carrot salad, rolls and coconut cream pie for dessert.

My cheater was the pork loin, Remove the label, and it cooks in the bag for 30 minutes.  Every menu needs something easy peasy and this couldn't be easier.  I made the potatoes earlier and kept them warm in my crock pot.

While I was catching up on some housework and cooking, Hubby was working on the '57 Aloha.  I get called out once in a while to lean on or hold things while he nails it down.  He put the tin on to measure twice and confirm window locations and measurements.  He plans to frame those in this morning.

 Hubby does beautiful work.  His plan is to finish the interior and then move to the exterior while I finish the interior.  I'll be sewing curtains and adding my touch soon.

 On Sunday we went to my parent's house for dinner at one.  Everyone enjoyed the sunshine after dinner.  The whiffle ball came out just like summer time.

 After dinner we took a drive out to Gooseberry Point to check out Jeff and Kathi's next project.  They plan to build in a few years on this lovely spot.

Hubby and I drove to Bellingham from Gooseberry Point.  We browsed through Penny Lane, other vintage shops and Village Books.  Our last stop was Kulshan Brewery to hear one of our favorite local bands, One Lane Bridge.  We met up with two couples that work with Hubby.  One couple has a very sweet baby girl, Emerald, who was willing to let me hold her for a long time. 

 It was baby heaven!

We enjoyed a wonderful, sunny weekend.  It felt like a staycation. 

 Enjoy your week.  The forecast is calling for two more days of sunshine!