Double date night

Dinner at Wasabi Bistro with Chris and Wenmei on Friday night.  Yummy sushi...

Just lunch

Here's the lunch Dave and I had on Sunday. One of us ate and drank wine.  One of us shucked two dozen oysters, ate and drank wine.  I'll let you guess who did what...

Mighty Moose

Trips to Anchorage: 2
Moose spotted: 6

Here's one of the moose we saw on my last trip to Anchorage in February.  Dave and I had just parked in downtown on our way to breakfast at Snow City Cafe and spotted this big gal happily munching away. 

Whistler Weekend

Heading up the magic carpet to the top of the tube run

A few weeks back I took my annual (well, almost annual.I missed 2011 and there was no trip in 2010 because of the Olympics) weekend trip to Whistler. This year's participants included regulars Karen, Jim and Cindy with the revolving slot filled by Steve O'Malley, a welcome and fun addition to the group. The weather was great, not perfect, but light snow every day. Since I'm a green run skier at best, I decided to save money on ski rental and lift tickets and go cross-country skiing one day and snow-shoeing the other. Jim and I even splurged one afternoon on a 1 hour pass to the inner-tube park.  

Cindy and Jim

Jim, Karen and Steve

Drinks at the Longhorn with Steve and Karen

Cross-country skiing with Jim

Got to bundle-up for the inner-tube run!

Walking in a winter wonderland

Last weekend I went to Anchorage to visit Dave. I had a great time and wish that I could have stayed longer. Had I known that the subsequent work week would only be 1 day due to snow and ice in Seattle, I'd have stayed all week! But, alas...here I am stuck in Seattle a city with terrible conditions for drivers when it snows. Here's the basic equation. Icy, slick roads + lack of readily available snow-plows and de-icer x one of the hilliest cities in America = 100% stir-crazy. Okay, I'm not at 100% stir crazy YET, but it's coming. Made worse because Dave's trip to Seattle for the weekend was cancelled (apparently planes don't like landing on icy runways with no de-icer, either. Go figure).  I digress. 
My trip to Anchorage was great, despite the -11 degree temperatures! I saw 3 moose, which was amazing. On Saturday we went snowshoeing at the Alyeska ski resort about 45 miles away from Anchorage.  We drove along the Turnagain Arm which provided spectacular views of the inlet and surrounding mountains on a beautiful sunny day. Easy to enjoy such scenery from the warmth of the truck. On Sunday we walked on the Coastal Trail, toured Dave's office and ate crab for dinner. It was great to spend time with Dave and I look forward to my next visit (wouldn't mind if it was a little bit warmer, though).

So glad I bought hand warmers at the lodge!

At the start of the trail.

Beautiful views, wickedly cold

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Here's a sample of the merriment I experienced this Christmas.What a wonderful holiday spent with family, friends and loved ones! 

Christmas breakfast in the Counseling Office just before break



At the top of Camelback Mountain

Gates Pass just outside of Tucson (after our visit to the Sonoran Dessert Museum)

 

Got the presents arranged under the tree just so.



Christmas Cookies!!!

Holiday Cheer

The hustle and bustle of the holidays has me rushing around lately (aren't we all?). That said, I'm a bit behind on my blogging, so this will be a short post.
Two weeks ago was the Kiewit Holiday party and I got to attend for the second year with Dave. Had a great time with my handsome date!

With Dave at the dinner

cooking de canard

Last weekend Dave and I decided to roast a duck for dinner.  We bought the little ducky while at a local butcher pre-ordering a farm fresh turkey for Thanksgiving. Since neither of of had ever cooked a duck before, we consulted several Internet sites to find the perfect duck roasting process. We used this recipe from the Hungry Mouse blog and followed along, step-by-step.
http://www.thehungrymouse.com/2009/02/11/the-best-way-to-roast-a-duck-hello-crispy-skin/
I guess that makes this a blog post about a blog post.  Huh...
Anyway, the duck turned out delicious! We topped off the meal with garlic mashed potatoes, root vegetables, and a delicious pinot noir! 

As instructed by the Hungry Mouse, I'm scoring the skin of the duck in a diamond pattern

Here's the duck after we finished scoring.

After roasting for 3 hours, Dave bastes the bird.

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The proud chefs

Dinner is served.