Salsa, Rubber Boots, Thick Crust and Dog Tongues

Happy Spring everyone! I say that in a sarcastic tone because I know that much of the country's weather is currently sucking eggs. But really.... April is only a few days away so it has to end soon right? Get out your rain boots and get ready for a soggy (but warmer) month and look for flowers!

I have been sporting my almost twenty year old Christopher Robin style yellow boots around here. This place may end up being the one that finally wears them out. You can barely see me in this pic at Big River... but both me and the boots are there. So is Rudy in the foreground.






We have been pretty boring over the past few days. We are still cleaning and settling in here. Billy is trying to get caught up on his painting. Here is a recent finished piece...




We have been cooking like fiends. Lately it has been fresh salsa that we can't seem to get enough of. Sorry I don't have any pics, the evidence has all been devoured. We usually just chop up a bunch of cherry tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, raw garlic, a ton of fresh lime juice, sea salt and add a dash of sugar in case the tomatoes are not super sweet (which the usually aren't.) Sometimes we will throw in fresh mango and a jalapeno or roasted poblano. It is addictive. And it requires a cold beer to wash it all down. We have been drinking Red Tail Ale which is a local brew. We actually met one of the owners (Michael Laybourn) of the brewery at a recent plein air exhibit in the village and he was a really cool guy. Billy had a good time talking paint with him as he is an artist as well. Good brew dude!

I spent most of the day Sunday making a lemon tart to bring to a dinner party last night. While the tart looked stellar it fell short (in my opinion) in the taste department. I screwed up the crust. It is Deb's Unshrinkable Tart Crust recipe which usually comes out great for me but I did something screwy this time and it not only SHRUNK but it was weirdly undercooked and overcooked all at once, and it was thick as hell. The filling was a lemon sabayon from the Bouchon cookbook and it was really nice. So it was just the thick, blah crust that was to blame. People ate it... but I was not proud of the thing. Let's look at it. Here....




Don't you wish it has been better? Yeah, me too. Ahh, well. Next time!

The dinner party last night was at a new friend's house in Mendocino. We just had pizza and drank a bunch of wine and talked. It was nice. All the other camp hosts were there and man let me tell you the camp hosts are drinkin' some vino! We could not keep up! I am going to have to get serious about the corkage while we are here so near to wine country. I was slurring after two glasses. I am such a cheesy light weight. I am sorry that Jim and Penny and Joan and John are leaving within the next month. They are great neighbors and have been so cool to us since our arrival.

Right next door to us in a 1974 Airstream lives Denise and her dog Ranger. Thank GAWD for little dog neighbors and owners who are cool dog people. Ranger and Rudy have made quick friends and even though Ranger is quite a lot older than Rudy he holds his own in the smack downs that occur daily out in the yard.






I have said it before and I will say it again... Dogs. Are. Funny.

I am really hoping that we can get our kayak out on Big River in the next few days. We have to work mid week so maybe on Friday? I can't wait...

Sluggish

Hey YO people! Wassup? How is everyone out in their little corner of the world? I am starting to feel pretty tucked away from reality here in Mendocino. Or at least my reality is not relative to most other realities for the time being. Reality here is comprised of banana slugs, wildflowers, giant crashing waves and really expensive groceries and gas.

I think my head may implode with the sheer weight of images I have swirling around in it from photos I have taken in the past week. I can't stop. I guess I shouldn't stop either. Why should I? If you can think of a good reason lay it on me. Anyway... here are a few of my favorites from the past few days....

Off the Headlands at Russian Gulch State Park on St. Patty's Day late afternoon....



Thirsty tree roots reaching down to the tidal river for a drink...



Gorgeous flowers along the pathway to the beach at Russian Gulch....



Since I have so many images I guess I will go ahead and make this a pictures post. Also... it is about all my mashy brains are capable of right at the moment. I am having a really low key day for mental activity. I am officially under the radar. Anyway... We have been wandering around exploring the beaches and trails within a few miles of our camp and the results have been more than we could have hoped for so close by.

Here's Billy and Rudy looking very much the part of explorers on the rocks at the beach near camp...



A cool abstract shot of waves crashing on the headlands...



These are called Common Horsetail, they are growing everywhere in the woods here...



Jenny who is our manager of sorts at The Ford House Museum has said that she would like to teach me what she knows about the local flora. I hope she can find time to do it because I would love to know what all this cool stuff is that we keep coming across on our walks!

I know this first yellow plant is called "Footsteps of Spring" and it supposedly really sucks if you step on one barefoot...


I have yet to find out what this showstopper is called...



We busted out our grill yesterday for the first time in months and had quite a feast. I made fresh salsa and Billy cooked up everything from smashed new potatoes to plantains on the grill. We had left over grilled veggies so I am going to improvise a pasta dish with them tonight. Billy has been flashing around with big talk of making mint crepes with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. To that I say... Dear Universe.... Thank you for providing me with access to Billy McLane. Love, Bethany

For anyone needing a Rudy fix I will not disappoint you. He has really been making an effort this past week to outdo himself in the photo department. He is getting good... good at featuring the bottom canine, good at his Dirty Harry mean face, good at getting as filthy dirty as possible every single day.

Settling In

We have been here for a few days now and are starting to get settled in and familiar with what town has to offer. The top thing on the list for me that town offers is endless walks looking out at the ocean from the headland cliffs and then all you have to do is turn your head back the other way to gaze at the quaintness of the village itself. The wildflowers are starting to show up here and there. The other day we walked the headlands early in the day and there were none to speak of and by late that afternoon I shot this photo...



I have no idea how many varieties will appear out there as the weeks progress but they really do spruce up an already beautiful scene.

Since we have no cell signal at our camp I have been hunting around for places I can drive to when I need to make a call. On Saturday I discovered that just south of town out on this point I can pull off the road and park and get signal strong enough to make calls. I called my Gram who has not been feeling too well for about a week and talked to her while I watched the waves roll in over the rocks below. I wished so badly that she could see the same view I was seeing instead of being holed up in Illinois with the flu. That is the thing about places like this. You wish you could share them with everyone you care about.... that you could instantly whoosh them away from wherever they are and set them down beside you if even for a few minutes to share the overwhelming feeling the natural world brings you.



While you are standing out there with the wind rushing past you in huge gusts you see and hear the birds crying, you may hear a sea lion who is lounging on the beach below barking, there is the sound of the waves exploding through the sea caves in the rocks, looking out to see you may spy a whale spout and of course right under your feet there are a multitude of treasures for your eyes.


It is just amazing. This place has such an intensity. It is all at once peaceful and fierce... depending on the weather and on the direction you are casting your gaze.

Heading in to town...




Another important factor wherever we live is the local coffee house. In this case Moody's is the first place we have discovered and have been getting our brew from while strolling downtown. It's a small joint but they do have an area out front where people hang out. They also have a room inside for getting on the net. You can bring your laptop or they have a few PC's set up for use as well. The coffee is pretty good although I think their medium roast is a bit on the strong side.



The bookstore on Main Street is going to be a problem for me. They have all the elements I love in a good book seller. The cookbook section is amazing and they have all the extra goodies I can never seem to avoid wanted to splurge on like funky cards, cool notebooks, lots of tables where books are set out by specific interest and whatnot. This past Saturday they had live music set up...



One of the things that is so striking here is that in town you really cannot escape an ocean view. Even in the shot above you see it straight out the window.

We stopped in to most of the art galleries on Saturday (a few of them had openings) and met some locals. There seems to be quite a large and cohesive community of artists here and they really have a passion for Mendocino. There is a plein air group that meets once a week to go out painting together. Billy may join up and give it a try if it looks like he will have the right days free to get out there with them.

Speaking of Billy, he has still been kicking ass in the kitchen. He comes up with stuff to make for dinner that is seriously fancy restaurant quality food. He is killin' me. The other night he made mushroom and asparagus crepes for crying out loud. The crepes were laden with fresh chopped herbs and the mushrooms and asparagus were cooked to perfection...



How 'bout that? Faaaannncy! It was so freakin' good too! Bring it on Billy! Too bad the groceries here cost an arm and a leg. We may end up on the Ramen diet before too long.


It has been raining for a few days now so we have been hanging out at home. Rudy continues to hate on the rain. You have to forcibly drag him out even to take a quick pee. I am hoping it clears up soon so we can get out and start exploring some of the hiking trail options and different beaches that are nearby. We start work at the Ford House tomorrow. We work two days in training along side a few of the people who have been working as docents here for years and then we have six days off before we have to work again! So we should be able to really get out and see some cool sites over the next week or so.

Today I am off to the stinking laundry mat. Ugh. It has to happen. We have reached the point of no return. Thanks to Rudy when you take your socks off at night and crawl into bed you can shuffle your feet around in something that really feels very much like an animals nest at the bottom of the bed. There are rocks, twigs, pine needles and I am sure many things we would rather not know are down there. Sound nice? I guess it is better to tackle it on a rainy day when there is not much else going on.

Mendocino!

We MADE IT! We arrived in Mendocino yesterday and it is so much more fantastic than we even hoped for. The landscape is truly breathtaking. We drove in on Hwy 128 which is a two lane winding road through wine country. It was a gorgeous drive except for the fact that I had to let Rudy stand on my lap with his head out the window the entire way so he would not get car sick. The pic above is of the Ford House Museum where we will be working while we are here.

We got here late afternoon and started setting up camp. Our site is very cool.... secluded in the woods and we have great neighbors (the people we will be working with.) Everyone we have met so far has been extraordinarily kind. With a little TLC this campsite will be very homey.



We even have another Airstreamer next door to us. I love that we have the wooden platform out front so that when it rains we are not dragging so much mud in.

Yesterday we walked around the headlands park which surrounds the village of Mendocino. You can get down to the beach in a few spots. There is so much cool driftwood on the beach here... it comes down out of the mouth of The Big River with big storms. I snapped this shot of a piece of wood I thought looked like a seal...



The view of town from out on the headlands is really about as quaint as it could be.



Today we settled in a bit more and got set up with a P.O. Box in town and stuff. We drove up to Fort Bragg and took a peek at that town. It is decent sized and will take a full day or two to explore. One the way home we stopped off at The Point Cabrillo Lighthouse which is my new favorite place to take a walk. It is just incredible out there. You can spot gray whales out off shore, deer are roaming the grasslands, the trees are windswept and the lighthouse is the coolest one I have seen yet in my life.





I nearly peed my pants when I grabbed that shot above... only camera dorks will truly understand.

Since I am on a really iffy internet connection right now I am going to keep this post short. I will add more details and pics tomorrow when I get on a more secure connection. I just wanted to get this up for anyone following the blog who wanted an update! All is well and we are having a great time here so far. I think this is going to be an amazing place to live.

Soupy

We are on our last few days of our stay in Illinois with my family. I have not been posting much this past week or so mostly because I purchased a new laptop and I don't have any of my software installed on it for the Nikon. Right now I have to load any new photos on the old Toshiba and then transport them to the new HP and it is just a little more than I usually feel like dealing with. Beside all that the fact is I really have nothing to show you but pictures of soup. Behold....






We have been eating some seriously fancy soup up in here. Number one up top is a carrot soup Billy made a few nights ago. My Mom announced that it was the best soup of her life. It really was insanely good. Billy is feelin' it in the kitchen and it shows. It took him like three hours to make it. There are only 4 ingredients... carrots (and carrot juice), cream, honey and a pinch of curry. You blend it and then strain it to achieve the end result which was a soup so fragile it felt like you had to be really careful eating it. The second one is a red cabbage soup my Dad made. It was really good too... but you have to love cabbage as it was mighty cabbagey, very intense flavor. The last one was a Thai coconut mushroom and tofu soup also made by my Dad. Good stuff people.

While on the subject of food I may as well mention the BEST SALAD..... we had it the other night with the carrot soup.



I made this salad with super fresh roughly chopped romaine. In the mix there are pistachio nuts, roasted red peppers, California navel orange segments and then fennel bulb and asparagus cooked in orange juice and a teaspoon of honey and a pinch of sea salt. We dressed it with Bragg cider vinegar dressing which is a favorite of mine because it allows the true flavors of the salad ingredients to shine through. All of the produce came from The 320 store downtown in Rockford. I love the 320.... and HEY! A shout out to all you Rockfordians... don't forget it is down there. It is well worth the drive downtown to shop for produce there. They have a better selection and better prices than most all of the big stores.

In other food related news, I have officially hit my Rockford 5 pound mark. This means it is time to go before 5 pounds turns into ten. When we get back to California I have to get my ass movin' and stick to foods that do not involve butter, flour, sugar and cheese as their main selling points. I really feel it for people who live in this climate. It is so hard to stay motivated and eat right when it is 12 degrees outside with the wind blowing at 30 miles per hour. You know the weather sucks when your dog does not even want to go outside.

So we will hit the road on Monday and we are taking the southern route through Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona to get back to California. We will have to drive up 5 to get back to Fairfield where the AS awaits our return. It feels like we have been away much longer than we actually have been. We start our gig in Mendocino on March 12th. We are really excited to get rolling with it! I can't wait for Mendocino!