May Updates

A lot of these updates were shared on Facebook but for those that are not on Facebook, I'll do some quick updates here...

- I felt my first earthquake - measured 4.7 on the Richter scale - there was a loud rumbling sound and then the house shook back and forth a few times - I had just woken up and felt the bed shake back and forth a little - at first I thought it was the wind, but then realized it was an earthquake...no damage was done - kind of a cool experience!

- The contractor working on the house called me a few weekends ago to report a mama bear (black bear) and 3 cubs were on the back deck...and one of the cubs was attempting to climb a tree that grows up out of the deck...I thought they'd be long gone by the time I returned home later that day, but I did catch a glimpse of the mama and one of the cubs from a distance off one of the neighboring roads...the cubs were TINY.

- Then just last week, the contractor called for me to come downstairs and 'see the bear'...we saw this little guy running through the trees/shrubs...but no sign of his mama or any siblings.  I also read an article last night about a neighboring community that has been advised to be on the look out for up to 4 brown bears (grizzlies) that have been reported in the neighborhood.  They killed a homeowner's llama and have been attracted by trash left out...it's a good reminder to be mindful when out and about for sure!

- We'll be at our peak soon for # of daylight hours...we're at approximately 19 hours right now...the sunset is supposed to be 11:30pm tonight.  I'm sitting out on the deck right now, approximately 8:30pm with the sun still shining high in the sky...a beautiful night!

- Am seeing more and more small planes flying every day - Dave appears to think they are some kind of bird and barks at them.

- I also saw my first porcupine driving home one evening - it was attempting to cross a busy street but stopped, raised the quills on his back and turned around when he found  himself in the path of a cars headlights.

- And finally, saw my first owl as well - it perched up in the tree one night a few weeks ago, I think it was trying to decide if the dogs were worth pursuing for dinner...but considering their recent vet visit, I think it would have been a challenge for the owl to haul either one of them away as Duncan is 30 lbs and Dave is 34 lbs...guess I wasn't the only one that filled out over the winter! :)

Siri...ously?

When I was in Denver in December, I upgraded my cell phone and finally joined the land of iphone owners...one of the features of the newest model is "Siri", the virtual assistant that allows you to dictate texts, emails, reminders or ask for directions or restaurant locations or pretty much anything you want.  I've only just begun exploring what it has to offer, but I'm convinced the name "Siri" is short for 'Seriously'....as in did you SERIOUSLY just ask me to look that up?  I'm sure at some point there will be a site or blog dedicated to strange questions and requests asked of Siri...

My most recent request?  "What does moose poop look like?"  It's been awhile since I've seen any moose...as I'd mentioned before, with all of the snow we've received this season, the moose have been forced to search for food further down into the city....on my way home from work one morning last week, I finally saw one walking along the road...only the second one I've seen since December....but then, a couple of nights later, as I left the house and made my way down the hill, I saw what looked like large piles of rabbit (BIG rabbit) pellets in three separate places...which led to my inquiry...

and here's an interesting (admittedly that may be debatable to some people) fact...moose poop looks different in the spring/summer than it does in the fall/winter because their diet changes...more grass in the spring/summer, and more bark/leaves/fiber in the fall/winter...so you get 'cow patty' piles in the summer and 'rabbit pellet' poops in the winter.  :)

My point of all this?  It's a sign to me that spring is S-L-O-W-L-Y coming...the moose say so...

and yes, I just blogged about moose poop...another first for me! :)

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We had some visitors on Friday...Duncan has not forgotten how to alert me...

Welcome back! :)

A New Visitor

Duncan and Dave have had a new visitor this weekend, and I'm not talking about the 2 girls that are taking care of them while I'm gone...

Thanks to Alanna and Christy for the cool lynx pictures...AND for making sure the boys stayed inside while this new visitor hung out on the deck...to them, it looks like any other cat and those foolish dogs were just barking their heads off at it while it was eyeing them for lunch!

Great Timing

We've had several snowfalls since my last post - enough to say 'winter is here, and it's here to stay'.  This morning it was snowing quite a bit and was really pretty, so I went downstairs to take some photos.  Duncan followed me and went running out the open door while I stood snapping pictures from the doorway.  He loves to play in the snow so I watched him for a couple of minutes (Dave was in his usual spot upstairs, curled up in a ball on my bed).

 

Duncan spent time barking at some branches - I think he saw a bird or something...and then he ran around to the side of the house and continued barking - I called for him to come inside, and a few seconds later, he came running...and she was right behind him...

and she wasn't alone...

 

I was pretty excited...and then I heard another noise...not just 2 moose visitors today...there were 3!

The mama eyed me for a minute as I stood in the open doorway with my camera...and I guess she decided I wasn't a threat because she continued to move a little closer...there was a porch railing between us and that was about it...

She came up to the porch railing and STRETCHED up her neck to nibble off some tree branches...

of course, her children came over and decided they needed some too...

 the 'twins'

I think maybe she was waiting for me to invite them inside...sorry moose...maybe next time...

Look at those lashes...

Is it too soon to start wishing people a "Merry Christmoose"?? :)

Until next time...

I Baked Something...

I thought when I moved up here and had access to a beautiful, spacious kitchen, I would be baking and cooking all the time...however, the fact that it is still just me makes it easy for me to lack the motivation to put any effort into meals and just stick to easy things like soups and rice bowls etc...

I have been 'pinning' things on Pinterest for quite awhile...it's a really cool website (aka time waster) that is basically a virtual pin board where you can organize any picture, tutorial, recipe, party idea, photo idea etc...that you find on the web.  You can create as many 'boards' as you want and pin as much as you want...the trouble is, you find one thing, and then you see things other people have 'pinned' and in browsing through everything others have pinned, you find you've just spent hours on the site.  It's a great place for inspiration though ~ my original reason for joining was because I wanted a place to keep recipe ideas I would find on different sites all in one place, rather than having to try to remember which blog or what website I'd seen it.  I have recipe boards divided into "Recipes to try - sweets" and "Recipes to try - savory", and it's no surprise that I have about twice as many 'sweets' recipes to try as savory.

I finally got my act together this weekend and bought ingredients to make one of my 'pinned' sweets recipes...it's actually similar, if not identical, to one a friend of mine made several years ago when I was visiting her in San Diego (hi Leanne).  I don't remember her name for the recipe, but the one on Pinterest is called "Magic Eight Bars", so that's what I'll call them.

I even remembered to wear an apron this time :)  I don't usually think to put one on, but I got this one when I was at Sur La Table in Seattle earlier this summer...

I love the rick rack, ribbons and the teacups and teapot on it, and I have to admit, it did make me feel very 'Suzy Homemaker' ish wearing it :)

Magic Eight Bars

1/2 c butter, melted
1.5 c graham cracker crumbs
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk
1 c chocolate chips
1 c butterscotch chips
1 c white chocolate chips
1 1/3 c coconut flakes (either sweetened or unsweetened - I used sweetened)
1/2 c Heath Bar toffee bits

Directions:
Melt butter in microwave-safe bowl and add the graham cracker crumbs to it.  Stir to combine and press crumb mixture into a buttered or cooking sprayed 9 x 13 pan.

(1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs is just about one sleeve of graham crackers - I put them in a large ziplock bag and then rolled over them with a rolling pin)

Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with half the chips, i.e. 1/2 c of each kind of chip, then top with half the amount of coconut, i.e. about 3/4 c.  Then add the rest of the chips and rest of the coconut.  After the chips and coconut are layered, add the the toffee bits to the top.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes, or until top is barely browning.  Start checking on it after 25 minutes.  Allow to cool and slice.  You can store extras in the freezer (ha, ha...extras, yeah right) :)  if you want to make ahead.

It's a great way to use up left over bags of flavored chips that are in the pantry - you could easily do variations with whatever you have, and add nuts as well if you'd like.

My 'plating' skills can definitely use some work...the bars are super sweet, so you don't need a huge serving...make sure you have milk to go with them!

And just because...here are pix of the most recent 'visitor' to pass through - he took a shortcut through the yard...