Floyd's Valentine

Miss T was awfully happy to see this card in our mailbox!!

Thank you, you adorable and FAST little greyhound!  We miss u.

xoxx!

SOooo.... SPROUTING!

Paul and I strolled through the local food co-op this weekend to stock up on condiments/oils/nuts/veggies that *qualify* as raw.

We stumbled upon this lovely find:

Apparently in the raw world, there is a lot of "sprouting" talk...

This involves using dark containers:

Then, soaking beans, seeds, etc...

And putting them in said containers, until they SPROUT!!

This is day one, and here are the tiny tails that have come out so far:

Hard to believe there will be something edible by day 3, but the word is these will be tall buggers by then!

We shall see....

xox

How is it ALREADY February?

Let's just start by saying that the missing of y'all, doesn't go away -- it just gets deeper. We are already getting excited for our trip out to Philly at the end of March. (Arriving 3/26 and staying for ~ 4 days!) And rumor has it, that there may be an 80s party in the works......? Love it.

But, first a little trip back in time....

This January of the year of our Lord 2011 started off with a bang with a lovely visit from the Schmenner-Bays, including a newly ambulatory and spectacularly cute -- Josephine.

We had great times in Seattle, which bookended the visit.... with a big Bellingham/Mt. Baker sandwich in between!

We celebrated NYE with new and old friends at Chez Dunn ala Seattle... followed by 3 days at Mt. Baker in a sweet cabin in the woods, which let us hit the slopes easily for a few days.

Before the S/Bs had to return east... we were able to catch the Picasso exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum, which was amazing! Paul was struck by how exuberantly and abundantly creative Picasso was. The sheer volume of works that he created in his lifetime -- was flabbergasting. And also the sense of his complete disinhibition was refreshing. Any single period of his career would have been a defining set of works for any other artist... but he had several "artist defining" periods............ amazing.... Anyhoo...

The morning Will and Lucia flew back to Philly... Michal flew to Portland for a painting workshop with one of her favorite artists - Flora Bowley. This was, unquestionably, a full immersion experience. Including exposure to 'food cart culture' and also being fed only "raw" food during the workshop. (No more need for the colon blow smoothie, sistas!)

Let's make THIS:
This workshop prompted her to buy 2 new "raw" food cookbooks and consider putting a dehydrator in the basement?! I think we have our new version of the elimination diet folks.

Who's with us?!?!?

Here is one of her paintings from the weekend:

A wee week later, we blasted down to California to meet BJ & Laura and Richard & Karen (the newlyweds!) for a week of skiing down in Mammoth Lakes in the gorgeous Sierra Nevadas. The flight in was spectacular:

It was just like spring skiing, but in January.



So much sun and blue sky........ not a whole lot of fresh snow, but it got nice and slushy when the sun hit it everyday.








Mid week, a smaller group decided to take it into the backcountry for some hardcore overnight SNOW camping..... And by smaller group, I mean, only those with large, manly cojones. All the gals, gently declined the offer to join in for the overnight stay. (A night of hot tea, Avatar and girl talk just sounded more our speed.)

This snow adventure involved a guide and 2 days of 'skinning' up snowy hills and then deskinning, and skiing down. Here are pictures of the camp! (Brrrrr)

The guys all seemed to **love** the experience and there has been more talk of other adventures in the future. And one that we ALL should consider..... maybe in a few years..... is the one where we all go to Switzerland and "skin" across the alps, stopping every evening to stay in huts or yurts, where they serve cocktails and hot fondue! (Note: no tents involved.)

Unfortunately, while the guys were out camping, Michal got some form of the ebola herpes and suddenly became a non-skiing condo bandit. She actually went home a day early, so as not to infect the little one (BJ & Lauras adorable daughter Ezzie):

The rest of us, continued to ski our nostrils off and enjoyed it tremendously.

It was a painful return to work that Monday.

However, somehow, in the middle of that week -- we decided that 2011 will be the year to bring back --- the movie night.

We attacked our netflix list with vigor, adding all of the previous Academy Award winners for the "best movie" category since the early 1920s!

I vowed to bring Michal back up to speed with general popular culture. We started last week with A Room With a View (Paul's favorite James Bond movie).

Next week -- Lawrence of Arabia.

Who wants to come over?? We will serve hummus and dress in burkas. We figure the only thing that could add to movie night, is a little role playing now and then. And maybe the occasional stoning. BTW - what's going on over there!?

So, now here we are in February.... just made it through Groundhog Day. We hear - you all might be able to come out of your igloos a week early?? :)

Ooof... what a winter so far out there! Hope you are all staying warm.

Any plans for the Oscars?? Lots of love to yous!! xox, m&p

p.s. Please forgive the 3rd person writing... this was a joint venture.

Red Carpet, anyone?

It's the SAG awards and as y'all know, I love nothing more than lying on the sofa and watching awful interviews, pretty dresses, and attractive people. I haven't seen half of the movies or tv series, but I'm hoping to at least watch half of the nominated films by the Oscars. We've seen The Town, and Inception and I thought they were both good. I don't think I'll see Black Swan, and I'm already tired of hearing Miss Short Arms talk about her future child. If we ever get a babysitter, perhaps I'll see The King's Speech. What movies have y'all seen?

Any recommendations?

It's only 9:23am and I've almost roasted a turkey

How 'bout that for some productivity? I seriously think the Whole Foods app has changed my life. And Scott's for that matter. Tonight we're having Thai-Style Red Curry with Turkey and Green Beans.

Those of you with iphones...you must download this free app. You can search recipes, get ideas for ingredients you have on-hand, and take your handy portable list to the store. Since we are on a budget, I frequently use my WF list in SuperFresh! Take that!!

Here's the recipe: (also available here: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2769)

Serves 6
Use leftover turkey (and perhaps green beans) from Thanksgiving to make this bright, spicy curry. Or substitute cubed, cooked chicken, tempeh or tofu. Ladle it over cooked brown rice or spaghetti squash and top with chopped cilantro if you wish. Ingredients with an asterisk (*) are available as Whole Foods Market Brands.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil 1 red onion, cut into 11/2-inch chunks 2 to 3 tablespoons red curry paste 1 (13.5-ounce) can light coconut milk* 11/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 3 cups (about 1 1/4 pounds) shredded roasted turkey breast 6 carrots, chopped 1 (16-ounce) package frozen haricots verts* 1 to 2 tablespoons lime juice
Method
Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in curry paste and cook for 1 minute more. Whisk in coconut milk and broth, add turkey and carrots and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until carrots are almost tender, 7 to 8 minutes. Uncover, stir in green beans and lime juice and cook until carrots are tender and curry is thickened and hot throughout, 6 to 8 minutes more.

Presenting... Alexander Thumbs!

Who's the cutest little stray kitty in the world? *kiss nuzzle kiss kiss kiss nuzzle* With the bestest paws ever? *kisskiss* Is it you, Alexander Thumbs? *nuzzle kiss kiss* Is it you, hmm? *kisskisskisskisskiss* Yes, yes it is!

2011!!!

The first post of 2011? The pressure is high, so I'll keep it simple:

Happy New Year, everyone! Much love and best wishes, and let's all make a resolution to bringing the Bell and the adelphia together again in 2011.

xoxoxoxo