Needlepoint Ornaments

One of my hobbies is stitching needlepoint Christmas ornaments.  Over this last year I finished several ornaments that have been "years" in the making.  Actually Alan gave me a needlepoint light + magnifier last Christmas and I've been stitching ever since.  There is some discussion that I now have enough needlepoint ornaments but I say NO WAY!

Any way, here are a few of my favorites from this year:

This was a gift to David and Monica to celebrate their residency in Washington state--the state tree, bird, flower, and namesake.

And here are 3 other 2010 favorites:  the cow, the serendipity snow man, and the salty sea captain.

The cow was stitched  for Bryan to honor his affiliation at UC Davis and living across the street from the cow barns.  The salty sea captain is for dear Captain Woolly -- finally at the helm of a real sail boat.  The flags say HO HO.  And for me -- the 2010 serendipity bear.  There were so many milestones and blessings throughout 2010, that I wanted to remember this time as the years fly by.  Thanks to all who have shared this year with us...it wouldn't be the same with out you.  Thanks.

Year End 2010

There are fond memories of the year end activities of 2010.  Let's see -- there was rain and a bit more rain.   Lots of cookies!  There were many friends to share a meal with, especially Barbara and John for Christmas Eve lunch and Judy and Bob for Christmas Eve dinner.

 This is picture of Barbara and John but alas I misplaced my camera so no matching shot for Judy and Bob.  But we had a great December 24th and enjoy sharing good cheer and companionship of our friends.

Christmas morning Alan and I got up early and did a quick walk -- still got caught in the first drizzle of the next storm system -- but were home in time to enjoy the tree and gift giving.  We surprised Bryan with a bit of local "Giants World Series Sway" -- a T shirt with a Day of the Dead motif to honor that Alan and I were in Mexico for the World Series.  It is a great shirt and Bryan actually wears it!!  (He has made it clear that we need no longer buy him clothes....so there was some trepidation that this would merely be a closet stuffer....)

We also had a family day at the Oakland Museum's showing of a PIXAR exhibit.  The exhibit has been a traveling show for 5 years but is closing in January 2011.   It was recently updated to include 25 years of animation so it included films through Toy Story 3.  The exhibit featured the sketches, drawings, models, color paintings, and color schematic work for all the PIXAR movies.  The emphasis was on showing the work of the artists behind the animation behind the computers.  Walking through the exhibit was like revisiting so many wonderful PIXAR movies -- what was your favorite PIXAR movie?   From the museum we went out for Ethiopian food; this is one of those east bay treats for the Wulzen family.

David arrives on January 2 -- just in time to spend a day with Bryan before he returns to UC Davis for winter quarter.  David is on a business trip so the timing really worked out great for any overlap at all.

We plan to leave for Mexico on January 4...but that sounds like a post for the New Year!

Shhhh! The Salmon are Spawning

With the upcoming forecast for 10 days of rain (with 10 inches accumulation....) we opted to go for a walk yesterday along Lagunitas Creek in Samual P Taylor park and hunt for the spawning coho salmon and steelhead trout.  These fish are threatened species and Lagunitas Creek is one of their last spawning habitats on the central California coast.

The first official survey of the creek this year identified 50 some fish -- that is about what was seen all of last year -- but way down from the 15 year average of 500+!  Last year we walked the creek and saw no fish; 2 years ago we spotted a few.

We set off with high hopes.  It was a cold morning (almost freezing which wimps us out in NO TIME) and we had the creek to ourselves.  Actually it probably would have helped to have more eyes on the creek to spot those salmon.

We laughed at the signs posted along the creek.

I never knew that fish could hear me laughing from the trail or my red fleece hat would be such a frightening site!   But Alan and Bryan kept peering at the creek.

And then FISH!   Both managed to spot those illusive salmon in a pool along the creek.  Here is a picture to give you an idea of what the experience is....there is a fish in there somewhere.  

We "fished" at several other spots along the creek but no luck anywhere else.  It was cold, fun, and a moment to reconnect with the natural order of the world.

Home for the Holidays

Bryan finished his fall quarter finals this afternoon.  Alan and I made an adventure out of the trip to Davis by birding the Yolo Basin Wildlife Area.

The Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area is south of Interstate 80 at the Yolo Causeway between Davis and Sacramento.  Covering 25 square miles and home to nearly 200 species of birds, the Wildlife Area is located in the heart of one of the country's richest agricultural areas, alongside one of America's busiest people throughways I-80, and next to a bustling metropolitan area, Sacramento.

The 16,000-acre Yolo Wildlife Area is one of the largest public/private restoration projects with 3,700-acres of land in the Yolo Bypass floodway restored to wetlands and other associated habitats, with more restoration in the works. The California Department of Fish and Game manages the Yolo Wildlife Area to promote an increase in waterfowl and other bird populations.

We birded the auto tour loop and saw many birds, the most notable being a sora, a burrowing owl, and a great egret that had caught a mouse and was trying to subdue it.  I was hoping for a few cranes, swans, and geese but not today.  

We were just leaving the wildlife area when Bryan called to say he had finished his final...and it was time for the holiday season to begin!!  We picked him up and headed home!

An Evening with Kathleen and Tom

We spent an absolutely delightful evening with Kathleen and Tom.  Kathleen and I worked together at Health Net; in fact she recruited me back in 2003 for my analyst position there.  So I consider her a very special person indeed.

We walked over and immediately heard the great news:  Tom had landed a new position with Discovery Credit Card Company!  Tom is one of the few experts in this country on the use of chips on credit cards.  He acquired this skill working in Belgium for many years.  While it is great to have a job that will make maximum use of his expertise, the job alas is in Chicago.  So it will be back to split living for awhile for them but they will make full use of vacations to explore Chicago and the midwest.

They are fabulous hosts and we feasted on Kathleen's Zucchini Pancakes, quinoa and vegetables, bread with soft cheese, green salad, and chocolate pots-de-creme.   They are all decorated for Christmas so indeed it was a magical evening.

Here is the recipe for Kathleen's Zucchini Pancakes:

1 pound zucchini, trimmed, coarsely grated
2 cups chopped green onions
4 eggs, beaten to blend
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup chopped fresh dill or 1 1/2 tablespoons dried dillweed
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon or 2 teaspoons dried
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 3 ounces)
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (about 3 ounces)

olive oil

Place zucchini in colander.  Sprinkle zucchini with salt and let stand 30 minutes to drain.   Squeeze zucchini between hands to remove liquid, then squeeze dry in several layers of paper towels.

Combine zucchini, chopped green onions, 4 eggs, flour, chopped dill, parsley, tarragon, salt and pepper in medium bowl.  Mix well.  Fold in crumbled feta cheese.  (Zucchini mixture can be prepared 3 hours ahead.  Cover tightly and refrigerate.  Stir to blend before continuing.)  Fold chopped walnuts into zucchini mixture.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Place baking sheet in oven.  Cover bottom of non stick skillet with olive oil.  Heat skillet over medium-high heat.  Working in batches, drop zucchini mixture into skillet by heaping tablespoons.  Fry until the pancakes are golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.  Transfer each batch of pancakes to baking sheet in oven to keep warm.  Serve pancakes hot.

Makes about 20 pancakes.  

Pounds of Peanut Brittle

The holidays usher in the season of peanut brittle.   Pounds of peanut brittle cooked up, broken up, and finally bagged up for family and friends.  This has been the Wulzen holiday gift for many years.  And paired with a new CD of Christmas music -- what better way to encourage a moment of resting in the pleasures of the season!

I found this peanut brittle recipe in a cookbook from the library.   It is quite simple and requires only a few ingredients

and a couple of essential aids.

Yup, don't make this recipe without a candy thermometer (unless you can figure out if a pot of boiling sugar and butter and peanuts is 280 degrees or 305 degrees).  The first year (well, really, the first batch) I did not have a thermometer and the completed peanut brittle lost the brittle and became a soft, sticky mess about an hour after I was done.  You've been warned!

And the diet coke -- what's with that?  Read carefully to discover that you will be stirring this boiling hot pot of ingredients for awhile and around about 250 degrees you will NEED a cold drink.  For you -- not the pot.

So on to the recipe.  

Old Fashioned Peanut Brittle

makes about 2 1/2 pounds

2 cups sugar

1 cup light syrup

1/2 cup water

1 cup butter

2 1/2 cups peanuts (I used lightly salted.)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1.  Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in a heavy 3 quart saucepan.  (It should be heavy pot!)

2.  Place over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves.

3.  When syrup comes to a boil, blend in the butter and continue to stir frequently.  

4.  Continue cooking and stirring until the candy thermometer registers 280 degrees (soft crack).

5.  Immediately add the peanuts.

6.  Stir constantly until thermometer reaches 305 degrees (hard crack).

7.  Remove from the heat and quickly add the baking soda and vanilla.  Mix well.

8.  Immediately pour into 2 jelly roll pans and spread as close to the edges as possible.  The peanut brittle will begin to set up so try to get the spreading done quickly. 

9.  When cool, lift the brittle from the pan and break into pieces.  

10.  Store in a sealed container.

Clean up is easy.  Let everything cool down (the pot will stay warm for awhile) and then soak it in water.  Everything dissolves and you need only need to wash and dry the pot.  NO scrubbing!!

Happy Holidays!

Double Dose of Dacron

One of the major items on our list for Magic was a new headsail.  There was no headsail onboard when we bought her, so, until we got any headsail -- we would be going nowhere.

But the challenge of course was getting the correct measurements and working with a sailmaker who would not be able to see/measure the boat in person.  We wandered around at the spring boat show -- WOW -- those yards of fabric with designer names were pricey!  Granted the headsail is key to the wind "engine", but we wanted to find a reasonable price option as well.

We had decided to be able to set the boat up to handle double headsails -- one headsail to port and one headsail to starboard -- so we could tuck the main away and ride downwind like on rails with acres of dacron out front.  So we really were in the market for 2 nearly matching sails.  We emailed with another Privilege 39 owner--Captain Dave on Maxing Out--and with his guidance found Rolly Tasker Sail Maker in Thailand.  Rolly Tasker caters to cruising sailors world wide and we found working them to be professional, reasonable and prompt.  

We measured and measured the boat to fill out their form.  We had a local rigger measure the boat.  And then we measured again.  Golly, I hope these sails fit!

We have been tracking the package since Rolly Tasker handed them over to UPS.  Today they arrived:

We have high dreams that this double dose of dacron for our double headsails will safely take us a long long way!

Celebration of the Holiday Season Begins

Our Holiday season began on Saturday with the annual Lessons and Carols service hosted by the San Francisco Theological Seminary.  Despite the name the Seminary is located here in San Anselmo!    The service has become one of our holiday tradition -- hearing the fabulous Seminary Singers, listening to the lessons, singing the traditional carols with full organ accompaniment and enjoying the home baked Christmas cookies at the reception.  The service starts at 7pm and we have finally figured out that one must arrive by 6:15 to be able to sit in the pews of the chapel and not in the back by the door!  It is a very popular community event.

This year Arlene, Les, Barb, and John joined us.  After we indulged at the cookie reception, everyone headed to our house for soup and salad dinner.  I made Cream of Barley Soup with whole barley, mushrooms, and leek.  This was a recipe from Deborah Madison's Vegetable Soups.  Very easy and certainly hit the spot.  Arlene & Les brought a salad.

Part of the evening however was surprising Arlene and Les with an early combo birthday cake--actually a Yule Log (chocolate roll) that Barb made and masterfully decorated.   Here is the birthday couple -- I can't believe they just completed walking first 1/2 marathon in November!!  You GO!!

Here is a close up of the Yule Log -- love those pictures Barb found!

We all had a great evening and are making plans for 2011 already!

Out from Under the List

Our days since our return are driven by THE LIST.  THE LIST contains those 200+ items that we want to fix, or track down, or finish while we are here.  Some are as easy as "disposable brushes (buy 10)" and others are much more involved:  "figure out refrigeration (like how do we get it reinstalled)."  The last month has been a good reminder that B.O.A.T. really means "bring out another thousand."  But the end is literally in sight as open items on THE LIST fit on 1 printed page!

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving Day with Bryan and visited friends for leftovers & game night that weekend.   We continue to be thankful for the good health, fine family, and blessed friends we enjoy.

The rat is really gone but the roof leak is going to require a professional repair by the landlord.

We've been catching up on our movie viewing, trips to the local library, hiking or riding as weather permits, and enjoying the hot tub at night.

It's a good life.  No, It's a great life that indeed has been a bit of magic every day.

My MacBook has returned to life, so I'm hoping to catch up on pictures and almost daily postings.