Christmas Cheer... & Beer

The holidays are very well upon us

meaning there is a whole lot of yummy

Christmas beer to consume.

 

Anchor Brewery (from San Francisco) makes my

very favorite Christmas ale

Anchor Christmas

& every year it tastes different.

2004 was the first time I had this beer & it

tasted like gingerbread cookies.

This year it tasted a lot like nutmeg- still yummy!

 

Merry Christmas Y'all!

 



Pack Your Bags...But Don't Check Them

I love hopping on planes.

I love airports.

I don't even mind delayed flights much.

 

All of these things mean I get to

travel & I love traveling.

 

There is a little game I like

to play called Not Checking Bags.

Personally, lugging a suitcase

around a city...

on a subway...

up stairs...

= no fun.

 

This week I'm going to Boston.

Here is some insight into how to

not check a bag for this trip

(when the weather has cooled of just

enough to need sweaters).

 

Here's what I'm taking...

 

 

Not pictured is a pair of dark grey

jeans (that go with everything)

& a couple of tees for layers.

All of the items can be mixed & matched.

 

I'll wear a sweater, boots & jeans

on the plane. That takes away

from some of the packing.

 

The rest will fit into my carry-on

& I'm ready to go!

 

 

 

 

Catalina 2.0

These are some of the views from Catalina Island.

Catalina lies 22 miles west of San Pedro, California.

Sadly, some of the photos I shot were lost into

an email reformatting abyss that I

have not enough knowledge of to recover,

but have learned a great lesson about

emailing forty photos en masse from an iPhone.

(Do not delete photos from your phone until

they have been safley recieved to an email account)

 

Let's go....

Check out the parasailer behind our boat (behind another boat)

 

 

 

 



Captivating Catalina

I couldn't pass up a quick post as I "staycation"

for the week in San Diego with one

of my best friends.

 

We just took a trip out to Catalina Island

to watch an old friend from Texas run a half

marathon on the island.

 

The views were stunning. I don't think

I've been anywhere that beautiful since

visiting Maui & Kauai. The island

also has a very European feel.

But, luckily, it's only a short 2 hour drive

& 1 hour boat ride from San Diego!

 

Here is a taste as I edit the rest of the photos...

 

View of Avalon from our boat...

 

 

Street view from the balcony of our hotel room...

 



Just For (New) Kicks

Let's talk about some shoe love today.

 For the past 14-ish years of my life at least

one pair of Converse has occupied

my closet or covered my feet. I'll be eighty & still

own a pair.

 

Miss Pink High Top has been my favorite

for about a year & a half, but she needed

a friend. So I got navy ones....

and just by chance my navy pedicure matches them.

 

p.s.- Go Cowboys!

(The navy & the star compelled me!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awesome Almond Nectarine Spinach Salad (Sometimes with Salmon)

 

I've been thinking about making this salad

for a while now. Maybe the in-season nectarines

inspired me, but this salad has been my lunch or dinner

for the past few days because I've loved it so much.

 

2 cups fresh spinach

1 chopped nectarine (or peach)

3 Tbsp roasted almonds

1 slice of lemon

2 tsp basalmic vinegar

2 tsp olive oil

sea salt to taste

fresh cracked pepper to taste

1/2 lb salmon, grilled (optional)

 

Combine all ingredients (squeeze the juice from the lemon slice)

and there's your salad! SOOOO EASY!

 

Using olive oil & basalmic vinegar instead of dressing

allows the other flavors of the salad to stand out.

 

Grilled salmon is a great topper for this salad.

 I added a bit of sea salt,

olive oil, basalmic vinegar & a pinch of brown sugar

to the salmon as I grilled it in the skillet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Simple Sunset

A beautiful sunset never gets old.

Recently I've been working more early mornings,

which allows me to catch more evening sunsets.

 

This is a spot in Ocean Beach called Sunset Cliffs.

I can't imagine how it got that name....

 



Bella

This is my neighbor's puppy, Bella.

She was a rescue puppy.

She has a perfect calm & quiet demeanor & I adore her.

We visit at our fence every day.

I want a dog just like her.

Look at that face - so sweet.

 

Beautiful Boston (& Cambridge)

One of my best friends & I share the same birthday,

so naturally we enjoy celebrating it together.

This year we are going to Boston, one of my favorite

cities in the United States.

I normally stay in Cambridge. Cambridge is full of charm

& is best enjoyed in the Fall

when all of the leaves are changing & this is exactly when we

are visiting.

These are some old photos I've found

of my past trips to Cambridge & Boston.

I can't wait for October!

A very old building on the campus

of Harvard.

A walkway by our hotel, the Charles Hotel

 in Cambridge.

Church window at Harvard in the evening.

This is one of my favorite photos. We were

walking down Brattle Street in

Harvard Square one evening & there were no sounds

except a Red Sox game, which was broadcast

from a small television in the window of a tiny

gourmet shop called Cardullo's.

Residents had assembled

their chairs outside the shop to watch the game.

I won't ever tire of the charming homes in Cambridge.

Apples in the window of the coffee shop/ grocer

where I would spend every morning knitting in Cambridge.

True...and great.

The same shot of the walkway by the Charles Hotel.

This time sans leaves on trees. This was taken in

April, when I was visiting & fortunate enough

to run the 111th Boston Marathon.

A nice tea shop in Harvard Square.

I took this photo for my mother.

Her favorite color is purple.

The Green Dragon is pictured above & below.

It's one of my favorite pubs

to visit in Boston. Originally, the

recommendation to visit was made

by a bartender friend of mine who moved from Ireland

to Boston.

 It's one of the oldest

pubs in Boston & was where Paul Revere &

John Hancock used to chill. It's tiny & unassuming &

I LOVE the history involved. Plans for the invasion of Lexington & Concorde were dicussed here, beginning the

ride of Paul Revere.

The two above photos are on the beautiful

quiet camus of MIT.