Taco- New Year's Eve

We had a Mexican pork taco dinner on this New Year's Eve. To make the leftover meal a little more special Joe made a batch of margarita to go with. We also made homemade tortillas (mainly because we forgot to buy some). Not much of celebration, but it was perfect after a normal work day for both of us.
I just got the cutest Totoro socks from Sister Anne. They even have little ears! I'm putting on my PJ's and the Totoro socks to relax... not sure if we can make it to the midnight.Happy New Year to all!

Merry Christmas

We managed to decorate our cookies just in time for Christmas Eve. Joe's usual leg lamp cookies along with snowflakes. This year's new addition was the melting snowman cookie cutter that I couldn't resist. Unfortunately it's rather fitting with our current weather outside. But they are so darn cute, aren't they? 

Joe had to work till 5 today, so I got everything ready except for him to grill spicy shrimp and steak and to open the bottle of wine for our Christmas Eve dinner at home.

Everything was excellent. And now finally ready for Christmas. We both have worked pretty hard the last couple of months. We plan to enjoy and relax the next three days. Have a very merry Christmas, everyone!

Hawaii on a Plate

This weekend Joe was the cook in our house. From his famous breakfast to leg lamp cookies. Saturday night he cooked Loco Moco (Hawaiian plate lunch menu) with a side of macaroni salad. His best version so far! We had to finish our Hawaiian inspired dinner with something little Hawaiian and sweet. So we got into our Christmas present from our friends in Hawaii. Perfect, and thank  you!

P.S. The leg lamp cookies need to be frosted yet before picture taking.

Almost Christmas

Somebody fixed our blog site for uploading pictures! No more cut 'n paste, tiny pictures. Anyway, we just wanted to catch up some since Thanksgiving. Joe deer hunted only weekend days, due to his new job, and Kayo once joined him on the last Sunday of the season (29th). The pretty snow covered photo was taken from his deer blind. Around 4:30pm the two does (regular appearances on camera) walked in briefly, then took off abruptly because rain drops would hit on the deer blind top and make unfamiliar noises.

It's still hard to believe Christmas is only next week. We managed to get most of the gifts wrapped, cards made and addressed, and our potted pine tree lit and decorated. In case you're wondering, Joe's leg lamp is up all year around. The only thing left on our Christmas to-do list is to make cookies, including leg lamp cookies, of course.

Happy Thanksgiving

November is flying by for sure. Not in a bad way. Joe's new job is going well. Of course, my work keeps me busy enough-- at least, time is not dragging. A good thing for this time of a year. Tonight, the night before Thanksgiving Day, we had pot stickers and a spicy tofu dish for dinner, as far from a turkey dinner as you can get!
On another note, my new obsession is yarn. I resisted all these years working at a craft store, surrounded by yarn people. I guess it was a matter of time. It is cool to be able to make something you can wear, or use... well, if this thing that I'm working on currently fits Joe's head.
We just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.

Halloween

Yesterday was Joe's last day at his old job of 18 years before starting a new job on Monday. We celebrated with spicy tuna rolls and coconut shrimp, also as part of our Halloween feast.
After dinner we carved our pumpkins. It might be a moist Halloween, not white though. Happy Halloween!

Surprise Bird Hunting

Yesterday we took a walk in the woods where Joe deer hunts. It was very pretty with red and orange leaves on the white snow.
On our drive out Joe almost ran over a ruffed grouse. Since it's bird season, Joe had his shotgun in the truck just in case. The bird cooperated and stayed around. It seems that Nature offers its offerings when least expected. It was very exciting.

P.S.

Saturday morning we had a thin layer of snow on cars, roofs, and grass. Just enough to turn everything white, but all melted the same day.

This Week

The temperatures went from 80 degrees on Sunday to the 30s and the first snow flurries today. A crazy weather week, including water spouts (basically tornados) over Lake Superior on Thursday. And this week we said good-bye to Joe's Subaru with almost 200K miles on it. Joe spent many hours fixing and caring for her all the years we owned, but she was a very good car.
Today was my birthday, and I got to celebrate it my way, low-key, enjoying little things I love around town with Joe. A brunch and dessert at our favorite Cajun restaurant, a stop at our favorite book store, and a stroll through downtown. For dinner Joe grilled some steak, served with a simple salad and a bottle of red wine. A perfect birthday (including all the well wishes from near and afar plus the first snow). My heart giggles still when I get to see a tiny bit of snow on my birthday like today!

Autumn Explosion

This past weekend we had a beautiful warm summer-like weather. We took a hike in the colorful woods and climbed up Sugarloaf Mt. to enjoy fall colors from many different perspectives. All the while we wished we had put on our shorts! Still, you could smell the autumn in the woods.
We also enjoyed Joe's salmon, turned into sushi rolls.
This has been a good year for both apples and pumpkins around here. Joe's uncle picked loads of wild apples and harvested lots of pumpkins. I made an apple pie and homemade vanilla ice cream, which we've been enjoying for dessert and breakfast!
We've already had frost on and off. Now they are predicting some snow for the weekend. The seasonal changes are just about right on track.

Salmon At Last!

Today was the last day of trout season. Joe took a day off from work and spent a whole day at Apple Creek. Since fall salmon have just started running this past weekend, so it seemed, I had to tag along for a quick trip before I had to get to work at 11. It was a cold crisp morning with the first real heavy frost. The water looked lovely as always. And very still and quiet.
After quite a few unsuccessful casts with some changes of lures, I first snagged a salmon. Except, the fish wrapped itself with my fishing line, and as I pulled it closer to the shore, the line broke. The fish AND my lure both, gone. It was a bit of excitement in the cold still morning, but I was more disappointed about losing my lure.
Then Joe started to see the moving salmon underwater, and soon managed to catch a very nice salmon.
The better part of my fishing story was after Joe caught his fish in the shallower part of the stream. He found this tiny white spot on the bottom that he thought might be my lost lure from earlier. Sure enough, I was able to reel it in. Much easier than catching a salmon! So, all in all, I did not actually lose a lure. Joe caught another salmon in the afternoon. A very good day fishing for us.

Whose Fish Is Bigger?

We certainly had a pleasant fishing trip to Apple Creek this Sunday. Sunny and beautiful with dry feet (I put a pair of garbage bags inside my leaky waders). Only, only if fish were cooperating. Not a sign of salmon, either. I managed to catch an 8" trout, too skinny to keep for my breakfast though.
In the afternoon Joe took stems off the grapes he had picked the day before. This time it was warm enough for him to sit outside to do the tedious job. Our grape jelly making has begun!

Almost...

It's been a week and a half since the Labor Day weekend, and we've been patiently waiting for the fall salmon run. Really hoping for the first catch of salmon this weekend.
Meanwhile, Joe's plumeria (souvenir from Hawaii) miraculously bloomed! And it still continues to bloom and leaf out. Our grapes are also starting to turn.

Much Needed Paint Job

It was a beautiful weekend. Usually we just ignore chores around the house, like needing to paint the exterior of the house ever since we bought it (as anybody who's been to our house knows). In the past years, anytime we wanted to paint the house, the weather was too wet and cold. We still went fishing first thing in the morning (priority), but we also knew all these nice summer-like days won't last long. So we picked up paint brushes and went to work in the afternoon. Joe up high on the ladder with a bucket of white paint; and I close to the ground to give our red shed a face lift.   

After working through the entire afternoon, our white house and red shed showed remarkable improvements. Especially from a distance!
For dinner we tried something new: Asian BBQ beef tacos. It was unexpectedly tasty (partly because we both were hungry from all the painting, too). We would definitely serve this to our guests. So it was a very productive Sunday.

P.S. Kayo caught a nice 11" brown that she kept, cooked and ate for breakfast!

Reunion with the Koto

On this trip my brother did all the leg work to bring my Japanese musical instrument, koto, that my parents bought me when I was about five. I had played and practiced on this very instrument all the way till my departure for the U.S. at age 18. Quite a longtime relationship, especially for a young person. But then, it had been many, many years since I left it behind. It was definitely a wonderful reunion with my own koto.
Last Sunday I attempted to tune the koto and tried my uncertain hand at it. The musical scores that I first practiced at an early age even looked somewhat foreign. I definitely need a lot more practice! The good thing about the koto is that its strings produce wonderful sound even if I'm not playing any particular notes.

Brother Yoshi's Visit

Summer is passing by... but we've been blessed with a series of beautiful summer days. Last week we had Yoshi visiting from Japan and got to enjoy many fun activities around our home, majorly involving food and drinks. The whole week was fairly relaxing. A couple of nights Joe made us a fire, and we watched some meteor showers in the sky. We also went to a sandy beach in our swimsuits (thinking it was almost like being in Hawaii). We covered all our local favorite eateries and breweries, including the blue taco truck.
We did some hike and sightseeing, of course.


Took a cruise along the Pictured Rocks National Park Lakeshore.
And we enjoyed some fine dining at home, including waffle for breakfast and grilled chicken fajita.


The last night Yoshi was here, he and Joe had a pool match. Clearly Joe needs to practice more before Yoshi's next visit.