Beef Stew and Hiking

Last week felt like it went on forever.  Probably due to the traffic and craziness that abounds this time of year, and we were just wishing for it to be over.  Yes, I know those are the words of a total grinch.  However, the commercialization that has taken over Christmas annoys me some.  Anyway, last Thursday, Jim broke a tooth.  It's not a tiny little chip, it's 25% of his back lower molar.  Happy Holidays to you!  He sees the dentist bright and early Monday morning.  They don't have the 3D milling machines that make the crown while you wait, so it will be a two visit process.

It was cold, we decided to make beef stew (which messes up just about everything in the kitchen).  We bought the pre-cut stew meat, and we are done with that.  The many small pieces provide too much surface area for flour, and require too many browning steps.  Next time we're buying the meat whole and cubing it ourselves.  We did learn something new; how to peel pearl onions.  Cut the root tip off, boil the onions for two minutes, submerse in an ice bath and then squeeze them.  The interior of the onion will come shooting out.  It's actually fun.

Did you know red wine comes in a can now?  We bought this Pinot Noir for the deglazing of the pan.  Drinking red wine from a can strikes me as somewhat weird. On the right we have my 8.25 ounce chicken stock with no salt added.  I have to get them from Amazon, since they only sell the big boxes locally, but they're good.  Since discovering Kitchen Basics I have not made stock since.  Wait, two times for stuffing, I made it then.  But anyway, for those who don't like to boil bones and stuff, this is a good alternative.

Yesterday was really windy and cold, highs in the upper 40s.  We bundled up and went for a restorative walk in the desert.

It was nice for awhile, then it hailed on us, and we went home.

Today there was zero air movement, sunny with highs in the upper 40s.  It's difficult to dress for.  The jackets came off.  We were slightly chilly without them.  We're going to have to think about our clothing choices, it all depends on wind speed and how much cloud cover there is. Tomorrow will be in the low 60s as will the rest of the week.  It could even be shorts weather.

Here is Jim on a new to us trail.  It plunges from the Krein trail down to the rocky segment of Sarasota.  I'm not sure I would call it enjoyable given the steepness and the loose rocks.

Looking back up the hill at the trail.

Other than this paltry offering of food and hikes, I have nothing much to offer!

Post Christmas Round-Up

Christmas Eve day was grey and cold.  We decided we'd take a restorative walk in the desert anyway.  We took off, and five minutes later went back to the house for jackets, gloves and ear bras.  For all that it was a southern wind, it was a very cold wind.  Here is a picture of Jim hiking in a jacket and gloves.  That very rarely happens.  Note the absence of color in the sky.

Christmas day was like being on a different planet.  It rained in the morning, and then cleared up to be a cool windy day.  We took the 7 Rocks trail out towards the big rocks.  They're visible on the left.  We did this hike in March and just hated it.   Yesterday we decided that we needed a goal so we did it again.  We missed the mark on clothing choices.  We took jackets in case it rained on us, and shirts in case the jackets were too hot.  We ended up wearing neither.  All of it ended up in the backpack.

There's a lot up up/down.  What makes it painful is the trail is covered in loose round rocks which are a pain in the butt going downhill.  Poles are a necessity for staying upright.  However it was a glorious hike.  The sun was out and the wind was howling along the upper parts of the trail.

Interestingly enough, the ocotillos on the upper hills were leafed out and looking good.  All of the plants at our elevation are still leafless and looking slightly dead.

The number of saguaros is always amazing.

Late afternoon sun on the yard.  That pile of rocks is Jim's delivery of 1,000 pounds to be distributed on the thin sections in the yard.

The Christmas cactus from Trader Joe's bloomed.

Then there was a sunset.

It was a good Christmas.  Jim and I both received hats we bought at the 4th Avenue street fair.  It's probably time to get them out of their gift bags and put them away.

Christmas Day

Have a wonderful Christmas.  Here’s wishing all of you everything merry and bright.

The Retail Apocalypse

Yesterday was our last retail foray.  One of the issues of living where we do is that we're in a food desert.  There are stores within 10 miles, but they're not great.  Grocery stores tend to reflect their local demographic in the quality of the items they carry.  Which is not to say the local people are of low quality, it's just that they're not offered higher quality more expensive items.  We've noticed that in the bakery department, everything in there seems to consist of palm oil and sugar and looks like industrial food.  Since we were asked to bring dessert to our friends' house for dinner a trip north was required.

La Encantada is an outside mall smack dab in the middle of a wealthy part of town.  They have a Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, Johnny Was, and a West Elm will be opening in the spring.  It's going to be a huge West Elm.  The grocery store prices are just ridiculous, avocados are $3 each, vs. four for $5 in the south end.  They're all from Mexico.  Anyway, it was pleasant to see the Christmas decorations.  They also have some lovely cactus there.

I love how this guy is pupping.

This is similar to my Opuntia Gumby.  They could be cousins.

An Agave Parryi, also known as an Artichoke Agave.  We have a prickly pear cactus in the front yard that's not looking so good, so we've been eyeing these as a replacement if he expires from natural causes.

However, look at this bad boy!  There is a lot going on here.  This might be a more interesting specimen to have.  We have yet to find a nursery that carries cool looking plants instead of the cactus you see everywhere.

Dessert was obtained and we fled the area.  There will be no entering of stores until Friday or so.  Hopefully we bought enough food so we can hunker down and wait for the retail nonsense to die down.  Unfortunately it's pouring rain most of this week.  There will be no restorative walks in the desert, which is kind of a bummer.

It's dark here!  The driveway lights are controlled by a light sensor and they were on until 10:00.  None of the solar lights worked well yesterday, and I doubt if they'll come on at all today.

The Winter Solstice

Happy longest night of the year!  It's our anniversary, as well.  Today marks 34 years of wedded bliss.  The weather in Tucson warmed up enough for us to get out for a hike.  It was a good hike. 

Today's journey started with the Seven Rocks trail, to the drainage ditch trail, right on Yetman, then left on the trail that goes by Preacher Hill.  There's a way back that we were looking for so that we don't have to come down a really steep section.  Here is the drainage ditch trail.

After the right turn and the left that goes by Preacher Hill, one walks up the very steep bit until this cairn.  It's in the middle of the center.  One goes left here.

See the diagonal trail going from the right to the left, gaining elevation?  That's what we don't like going down.  Too steep and to many loose rocks.

This is a cool shot of the saguaro.  The cloud behind him looks like a halo.

Golden Gate and Bren Peak.

So, we did find the alternative route back to the house, I took zero photos of it.  We both know where it starts, so we can do it again.  Quite often on has to walk a trail in reverse to find the start.

It was a good day.  My feet hurt.  However, my hip did not hurt.  I'm hoping the PT I'm doing every night without fail will put an end to the hip suffering.

The Weather in Seattle

Being the petty person that I am, I enjoy looking at the weather in Seattle in the winter.  This time, I'm extending them some sympathy for how terrible it is.  This article is from KOMO.  The atmospheric river of water referred to is what we used to call a Pineapple Express.  It's like being drenched with a fire hose originating in Hawaii.

SEATTLE -- December 20 is already among the longest nights of the year but did it feel like the sun forgot to get up today? Amid a torrential, record-breaking, hours-long rainfall that saw Seattle get over 3 inches of rain in 18 hours, now word comes it was among the darkest days on record as well.

Sunlight measuring equipment at the University of Washington's Atmospheric Sciences Building only registered 0.37 million Joules of sun energy Friday -- the lowest amount recorded since those measurements have been kept at UW over the past 20 years, according to professor Cliff Mass.

The previous record was 0.39 mJ measured on Dec. 14, 2006, says UW research meteorologist Mark Albright. If that day sounds familiar, it was the day of the infamous Hanukkah Eve wind storm.

But today you had the perfect ingredients for a record breaker: A date on the calendar just about on the Winter Solstice when the sun is at its lowest point in the sky and shortest duration above the horizon, combined with a nearly historic atmospheric river event keeping thick cloud cover over the region all day long.