How 'Bout Them 'Hawks?

By now just about everyone knows that the Seattle Seahawks are going to the Superbowl again this year, even uninterested un-sports folk like me. Personally, I think it’s fantastic, and I am VERY happy for Pete Carroll, whom it appears has successfully made the transition from college to professional football.

Those of you who have read my blog for a while, know that my first two posts in 2008 were about pro sports in Seattle (“First Thoughts,” and “What Makes a Team?”). No, I’m not any more “into them” now than I was back then, though I must admit that I too have favorite players. Imagine that? I enjoy seeing the highlights on the evening news when the lads and lassies are doing well, and who can ever forget watching Richard Sherman* the first time he went into “beast mode?” It was a heck of a run!

With that said, I wish the Seahawks the very best at the Superbowl this year. Hopefully they won’t get robbed by a bad call like the last time; and I certainly hope they have good weather, since they’re slated to play outdoors in New Jersey! I don’t expect to host a group of fans that day, nor do I expect to park myself in front of the TV to watch, but I can make my own contribution to your Superbowl snack fare. Here’s my own recipe for homemade guacamole (believe me, homemade ALWAYS beats store-bought or stuff made from a mix). Give it a try—it’s super easy to make, and I hope you enjoy it! 

Aunt Di’s Homemade Guacamole

3 medium or 2 large ripe avocadoes

¼ cup onion, finely chopped

¼ cup cilantro, finely minced

1 medium jalapeno, minced (remove the stems and seeds if you want mild guacamole)

½ medium tomato, chopped

1 tsp. lime juice (NOT the sweetened kind)

Salt to taste

1 tsp. Fruit Fresh (optional) 

Cut each of the avocadoes in half, remove the seeds, and scoop the flesh out with a spoon. Mash the resulting flesh into a paste with a fork and place in a medium-sized bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients, combine well, and cover, refrigerating until ready to serve. Try to make it at least one hour before you plan to serve it to allow the flavors to mature. Using Fruit Fresh is a trick I learned from canning. It will help keep the guacamole from turning brown.

*An "Oops!" Footnote: Well folks, now you really know I'm not a sports fan! It was Seahawks player Marshawn Lynch--NOT Richard Sherman-- who made the phrase "beast mode" popular. Oh well, I can still be a 12th man supporter, even if I get my facts cock-eyed.

 

 

Retirement Report from the HInterlands

Hello to all my friends from Retirementville, USA!

 

After nearly a month now, I’m settling into a routine, but for a former night shifter, being normal seems really weird! I apologize for taking some time to write a post, but we’ve been busy with the move and getting settled in, plus our Internet went out unexpectedly for a week. It probably had something to do with Sam hooking up the new computer on my desk, since we got the Internet back when Sam hooked up the TV in preparation for DirecTV installing our satellite dish (that’s supposed to happen today). Wow, almost a month with no TV.
 

We finally got all our stuff and the horses moved, but what a job! You never know how much junk you’ve accumulated in your life until you have to sort through it all and move it somewhere. Actually Sam spent most of the past six months moving most of it, but even with just a little bit left it was still overwhelming.

My biggest concern was moving my old mare Hadarah, but she was in pretty good shape for an old lady and made the trip (which involved spending one night on the road in the trailer) with flying colors. You’d think she did that sort of thing every week, bless her heart—and, she LOVES her new home, which makes it even better. Our vet (Dr. Helvey with Northwest Equine) was thrilled with her condition when doing the mandatory vet exam. Hadarah is now getting along fine with her previous arch enemy Schelline, plus she thinks Laddie (i.e. the new boy on the block) is the best thing since sliced bread. The first thing she did when we let them out on the pasture was gallop all the way to the top fence corner for a look around, and when confronted by the ditch along the way, she just jumped it. She’s having more fun than she’s had in years, by the way she acts—and she’s the one who leads the way when going off to check out anything new. Laddie takes care of her too and doesn't let Schelline pick on her anymore.

One concern of mine is that she and Laddie NOT just jump the fences! Neither of them seem to hesitate if they want to go 

 

somewhere. Schelline, on the other hand, is NOT a jumper. She goes the long way around.

As you would expect, I’m still spending part of every day unpacking, though by now I’ve gotten to the most important things. Some of it will have to wait until I decide where it needs to go—or Sam makes a place to put it. For instance, I have about a dozen boxes labeled “Yarn” or “Projects” that are sitting in the middle of what used to be the living room floor. Sam decided to make the former living room into our studio, since it was pretty obvious that our extra bedroom was far too small—and besides, that’s supposed to be a guest room. Nothing like having to shove your projects aside so guests can find the bed!

This week we’ve been working on getting our little two-stall horse stable set up and working.

 

 

 

I get a pretty good work-out every day just walking back and forth from there, since the builder decided to put it clear at the far end of the property. The building itself is hell for stout, being constructed of rough-hewn lumber and a new metal roof, but aside from having sliding doors and the roof, it’s woefully inadequate. Sam is putting down gravel to level the floors, and we have stall mats ready to go in. He will be adding two more stalls by the time he’s finished to accommodate all three horses, plus one for miscellaneous (Hay? Grooming?). The old tack room is already ripped out, since it was mostly inhabited by mice and ancient moldering tack hanging on the walls. Fortunately I already have most of the stall furnishings, but we need to extend electricity and plumbing out there, and I need to think about what to do about water buckets during the winter. So far we’ve only had a little ice to contend with, but it does get cold here. Most of the time it’s been clear and sunny during the day, ranging from 30-50 degrees, but it gets down to 20 degrees at night.
 

Soon it will be time to turn my attention to the garden, so I need to decide what and how much of everything I intend to plant. So far I’ve had plenty of free time, but that will come to an end once the weather warms up. I’ll need to get up and going early in the morning before it gets too hot (it hit 100 degrees on our back porch several times when we were here last summer). I will need to do my horseback riding early, do my garden chores, and retire to the house when it gets beastly outside.

The rest of the parts I needed for my Ashford table loom will arrive tomorrow and the day following (which I bought with the generous contributions my co-workers made for my retirement). I want you all to know how much I appreciate your gifts, and I look forward to enjoying my loom now for many years. Hopefully I will be able to complete a few projects before long. I will post photographs when I do!

I miss all of you very much and think of you often. God bless you! Don't forget to write!