LoVe Week 2011

Happy Valentines Day friends!

I love ya!

Busy day for me. I have my table planned, guests invited and last night I stayed up until the wee hours making dessert. Well, after ten p.m. on a boot camp eve is really late for moi! I am unlocking the secret to J's cheesecake, even if it kills me. The only problem with today is that I don't have enough time for all the love I want to share. So many ideas, so little time.

Saturday evening Hubby and I celebrated our 23rd anniversary. Love that guy!

Yesterday we had Sunday dinner at the folks, my Mom had Valentine treats and dessert.

Max and I did some Valentine prep.

Today, I have some deliveries to make, a meatloaf to whip up, a table to set and more.

It's LoVe WeeK BaBy! And we are having fun!

Spills, Tumbles and Trips

I returned to boot camp this morning. Since my knee sprain/bruised bone incident I had not been to boot camp. It was so good to go back. I had been using my free weights and eventually walking and running on my own. Today I feel good. Even after running hills ;)

While the injury did happen at boot camp, I still love my boot camp. I'll let you in on a little secret... I'm pretty clumsy. I fall off curbs, down stairs and over myself frequently. My Dad called me "Grace" when I was growing up. True story. So, boot camp and an injury weren't really related for me.

I got asked if I'd return, if boot camp was dangerous, while I was hobbling around on crutches. N0. The reality is I can fall anywhere, anytime. Having gone to boot camp for years made my recovery easier. I can stand up out of a chair on one foot. Try it. Don't use your arms. Not so easy, is it?

My upper body strength enabled me to use crutches. How many elderly people do you see using crutches? Not many. It takes muscles. Free weights! Start with threes... and pretty soon you'll be using tens. Really.

If you're thinking about getting started, now is the time. You may get hurt and need those muscles. It's not a boring boot camp because we do different things every day. One fearless leader and some amazing women on M, W, F at 6:15 a.m. I love my boot camp peeps.

The injury hurt a lot. But there was good too, my doctor told me, "your leg muscles are incredible." And that's the nicest compliment I've gotten in a very long time.

Love Week Begins

This morning I whipped up a batch of scones to bring to the museum. Docents and volunteers need Love Week treats too. I use Fisher scone mix because Fisher does scones best.

I used two sizes of heart cookie cutters. I bake them on my stone.

I found the raspberry curd and raspberry sugar at the Seattle Gift Show. While I've always been a fan of lemon curd I hadn't had raspberry curd until now.

The curd was buttery, yummy, smooth and full of flavor. It's definitely not a local product, coming from England and all...

The sugar is local and full of flavor.

I brushed them with butter and and then

I sprinkled the raspberry sugar on the scones before baking.

Ready to share for morning coffee time. Max had a sneaky taste test and the scones reminded him of pop tarts. He loves pop tarts, so that was a positive review.

Fairmont Olympic Hotel is a Gem

Hubby and I went to the city for the Seattle Gift Show. I found many treasures to buy for the Lynden Pioneer Museum gift shop.

Every year Hubby goes with me and carries the catalogs that I pick up from vendors. Our first stop was the 6100 building where I picked up 20 pounds of paper. He only asks that he be rewarded with happy hour at our favorite Seattle happy hour, Dragonfish, in downtown Seattle.

Each year I shop for the best hotel deal closest to the convention center. This year it was the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. We loved it. Since it was built about the same time (1924) as our house(1927) we felt right at home. The beds are new and nice! There is something about robin egg blue in the halls and chintz drapes on the windows that make a hotel a home. I didn't get photos but the flowers were everywhere and changed during our overnight visit.

We felt right at home except we don't have a ballroom in our house. Their Spanish Ballroom was gorgeous, the windows, the drapes, the lighting and all of the wood trim were over the top. I could totally imagine the parties and gowns from long ago when we went for a tour.

We loved the hotel, I found tons of ideas for the shop and we had a good time together.

A Greyhound + Scrabble= True Luv

It's grapefruit season. I'm not sure what part of the world they are coming from, but at my house they arrived from Costco. The grapefruit are delicious right now and we are taking advantage of the goodness.

How about a greyhound? Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and vodka anyone? This drink takes me back to Florida spring breaks. My sis Kathi, two friends and myself stayed in a house with a grapefruit tree one spring break. We squeezed grapefruit juice in the morning, added vodka and put it in the freezer for sipping by the pool in the afternoon. Bliss.

Now Hubby makes the greyhound for me.

While Hubby was making me a drink I prepped the salads. I peeled, removed all pith from the grapefruit. Layered fresh mixed greens on the plates, added the grapefruit and sliced avocado.

For the dressing I mixed olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh ground black pepper, a shake of tarragon and honey. Drizzle over the salad and enjoy!

While I was making salads Hubby was grilling steaks.

Saturday night was date night for Hubby and I. When our guys were little we started having date nights at home. We put the guys to bed early, told them they could read or play quietly in their rooms and while Hubby was tucking them in I made us a dinner for two. Looking back I think our boys really respected these evenings and it was nice for Hubby and I. Much easier than getting a sitter.

Sometimes we watch a movie after dinner or play games. This time Hubby agreed to Scrabble! I love Scrabble, he hates Scrabble. Scrabble= True Love.

We both picked the music.

Rossington Collins Band, Don't Misunderstand Me always gets played.

It's a fun duet...

Pre-Spring Cleaning

Last week we had to replace our microwave. This weekend we had to dispose of the old microwave. So, while we were at it we recycled the microwave, three old televisions, a van load of cardboard, and a van load of household items.

I call it pre-Spring cleaning, or clearing the forest for the trees, or better known as clearing a path so the garage can be cleaned.

The remodel last Fall resulted in a new master suite AND a very messy garage and a trashed yard. When we were frantically building we ignored our gardening and if we didn't know what to do with something we threw it in the garage. Now we are paying dearly for the mess.

I am hoping for a nice February so we can get outside and get everything ship shape. February is one of my favorite months. The weather is quite often nice and it's Love Week. And now that it's February I can say I'm going somewhere tropical next month. Happy February!