Cedric's Voyage---and an April 2012 Desktop Calendar

Before we left for Portland, Cedric decided it was warm enough for a row.

He spent days crafting this one-of-a-kind row boat. He knows it's not beautiful, but it served its purpose. 

 And here's a calendar for April! Just click the links to downloadable sizes below.

For a 1280 x 800 version click here.

For 1680 x 1050 version click here. 


Part two of our trip to Portland is coming soon! (Once I go through the ridiculous amount of pictures I took.)

The Columbia River and My Heart

What do the two have in common?  Today, one greatly impacted the other.

When we left Spokane on our way to Portland, we were greeted with drizzle and gray and colorless hills.

Spring Break!

I've painted my nails accordingly:

 

Carrot Soup!

Q. How many times had I eaten carrot soup before this?

A.   None!



But we had a fridge full of carrots left over from St. Patrick's Day.

I searched my cookbooks and crawled the web for about an hour (one of my favorite parts of cooking), trying to find the most appealing recipe. I wanted something that was mostly carrot but that didn't end up tasting like carrot juice.

I found Carrot Soup with Labeneh at Taste of Beirut.

It's really easy to make, and it has a nice bright flavor from the cilantro pesto. 

I used Greek yogurt because our store did not have labneh.  I also skipped the bullion cube because we are trying to avoid too much sodium (one cube had 1100 milligrams!).

This is one of those soups you feel good eating. And look at that color!

Find the recipe here.

Putting off the Dishes

The party was a good time, and with the exception of setting our oven on fire, everything turned out.


 The orange herbed soda bread was tasty and not too dry.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's 10 a.m. and I'm about to throw my briskets into a line of crock pots. I was afraid there wouldn't be enough, so I'm making mini shepherds pies too!

Have a good day!

The 17th is Close!

And I know because I've got the mail to prove it!

Looking over my guest list for Saturday, I think I might need to buy more brisket!

Yesterday I made cookies for all three of my classes! And since this is my third time trying to make enough for everyone, I kept it simple and made chocolate chunk.

Look into the coookieeeee.

Brisket!

A full moon was out recently, hovering over Browne's Addition...

...giving us weird dreams, and making us think crazy thoughts.

Bird Party

The beach on campus is a bird club, filled with the chaotic blending of several different chirps and honks and quacks and screeches.

Last night after class I took pictures of the culprits. And this morning, I think I've figured out what all of them are.

This one's obvious:

Franks has limited seating!

Things have been pretty boring around here. Joe's been toiling away at his end-of-the-quarter work, and I've been trying to finish the grading I put off during my week of doctor's visits.

Last weekend we ate at Frank's Diner, which is in an old train car.

 
They have good shakes! And hash browns! And--get ready--blueberry muffin french toast!