Inside My Mid-life Crisis

Amazing! We actually hit a nice weather weekend up at the property. A few strategically removed alder trees from our island in the driveway...and a couple more across the street on our friends lot...opened up our mountain view of the Olympics a little more.
Thank you friends; Craig & Jodi! (By the way, we cleaned up the mess in the morning and put the firewood in your pile)  :)

This time of year, when the water is still really cold Hood Canal oysters are the best. We took advantage of a .8 low tide on Saturday and picked oysters on our community beach. Many were enjoyed raw as sliders (not by me however-those reverse course when I try them that way).

My favorite way is on the grill casino style!



1 T Lemon Juice (even better juice of one fresh lemon)
2 T Parmesan cheese (grated/shredded)
1 Garlic Clove minced
2 T Bell Pepper finely chopped (I prefer red & yellow)
2 T Bacon bits (2 strips cooked crisp in micro wave)
2 T Red Onion minced
Dash Old Bay Seasoning
Dash Parisian seasoning (blend of dill/chives/chervil)
Pinch of kosher salt & course ground black pepper


These are even good for the "oyster challenged" and if you like a bit of heat go ahead and hit with a dash of Tabasco before you eat or add a dash of red pepper flake to your casino mix.

This is perhaps the simplest soup recipe I have ever made. The recipe comes from iconic Chef Jacques Pepin. For those of you counting, it’s only 3 WW Points Plus per 1 ½ C serving.

1 leek cleaned and sliced into half moons
2 C sliced button mushrooms
1 C Potato flakes (yes, dried potato flakes from a box!)
2 T Olive Oil
4 C Fat Free low sodium chicken stock (1qt carton)
1 C Fat Free Half & Half
Salt & Pepper to taste

One of my to-do list items while not working was to paint the hallway. We completed this task over the weekend and in the process wound up replacing the moulding and found our light fixtures to be icky and rusty. As I was unable to find replacements that I loved enough to fork over $40+ dollars each for, I had the brilliant thought to just paint the ones I had. I wish I would have thought to snap a pic of the shiny yellow "brass" finish with rust spots for a  "Before".

 You will have to settle for a "During" and an "After".
The paint is a Rust-oleum product that is a textured, multicolor called "Aged Iron". It matches my dining room fixture almost exactly!
If you were looking to do some budget redecorating, the paint came in several colors and finishes and would be much cheaper then buying the fancy finish fixtures; buy the less expensive fixture or pull down your old ones and paint!

Home-Made Birdseed Suet (or How To Make Your Bushtits Swoon)

1 C lard (at the groc store near the shortening-but not shortening)
1 C peanut butter (get the all natural-no salt kind)
1 C Oats
1 C high quality birdseed (I splurge on the extra good stuff for the suet )
1 C cornmeal

(Lard comes in a 2 c size package if you want to double the recipe and make it all at one time)


Lard is soft at room temp, I mix it all up in the big mixer.
Line a 13x9 pan with plastic wrap

Spread mixture in the pan
Put in the freezer for a couple hours to harden

Cut into cakes to either put in a suet basket or on the base of a "house" feeder (I do both) You can store the cakes in a zip bag in the freezer. I also let a cake soften and smear onto a pinecone I have on a piece of twine.

The bushtits and chickadees can hang upside down and it’s fun to watch them on the pinecone.