csa day: box the fifth

 Got some high value stuff in this box (although I was sure we were supposed to get a melon too ...): green beans, sugar snap peas, a couple heads of broccoli, two cartons of blueberries, one carton of blackberries, a red onion, one each of zucchini and summer squash (sigh), big fat peaches, some donut peaches and a couple of ears of corn.

Request to double the berries and

halve the squash (wishful thinking)

As per usual, the corn and green beans got eaten post-haste.  The blackberries too - we snarfed those down quick (they're H's favorite).  The pea pods went to that tofu, rice and ginger sauce recipe; and half the broccoli went to a red pepper, tofu and rice noodle dish with a hoisin-peanut butter sauce.  Some of the blueberries went into morning oatmeal and the rest were snacked on - they were only okay but it's obvious that Maine blueberries are the best blueberries.  And the peaches were delicious just eaten on their own - no need to cook them down into pie filling this time.

csa day: box the second

 The CSA folks have said that produce is coming in fast and furious, ahead of schedule because of the intense heat.  The lettuce is pretty much done, bolting in the heat, and the corn is a couple of weeks early.  On the plus side, we did get some of that local lettuce, which is nice what with the current diarrhea parasite infesting bagged lettuce throughout the U.S. right now.  (This is the dumbest timeline.)

We got: a huge head of romaine lettuce, cherries, sugar snap peas, apricots, two bunches of green onions, four zucchinis (sigh), three summer squashes (double sigh), rainbow carrots and two corns.  I gave away a couple of zucchinis and squashes (seeing how we still had some from last week) and then shredded and froze 3.5 cups of additional zucchini.  I shelled and froze the peas (I know you can eat the pods but I prefer shelled peas) and the carrots.  And then we ate everything else fresh - it's too hot to cook.

Those are some funky carrots

pump up the jam

Sunday was perhaps even more soporific than Saturday (are you noting the ironic post titles?).  I really did intend to go up to Alta, to see if any flowers had started and at least get some non-walking-around-the-neighborhood content, but I really, really didn't want to drive.  Gas is so expensive, y'all.  And I drive 30 miles a day during the week for my commute - it's not the longest commute but it's long enough.

Tall grasses

It was less busy on our Dimple Dell walk (church people gotta go to church) but we did meet a couple of nice dogs.  And the bird-watching was good: a couple of western bluebirds, some hummingbirds and that black and white fellow from my last post that I couldn't identify, along with all the usual suspects (jays, doves, California quails, finches, chickadees, etc.).  Milton had an exciting encounter with a dog-savvy cat on the other side of a chainlink fence, plus four squirrels, so I think you can say it was a successful walk all around.

While we were doing that, H was sweeping out the garage (not that it needed it oh my heck), mowing the lawn and doing laundry.  I did some food prep (overnight oats and green smoothies for the next two days; a batch of arugula pesto, because I bought an enormous bag of arugula from Trader Joe's; and tahini sauce to go with falafel (more Trader Joe's ) for dinner.

The sunflowers are coming!

It was beautiful all weekend, a little windy maybe, but sunny and bright and not too hot, not yet.  Sunday evening saw us doing a little more tailgating, just to bug the neighbors.  Gotta keep the standards low around here, don't you know.

rager

 I had big plans going into this latest weekend.  We were staying put in SLC once again, but I was fixing to hit the Capital City Antique Mall on my way home from work on Friday, then swing by the neighborhood* Catholic church's annual indoor garage sale Saturday morning, and even drive up to Alta for a non-Dimple Dell walk, since there's not really any snow lingering up there.  But when I cut out of work a little early Friday, I didn't feel like shopping - so there went the antiques place.  And on Saturday, after Milton's and my walk, I just couldn't face being with people - so there went the church garage sale.  I've got some travel coming up and so I just want to be home now.  

So M and I did our Dimple Dell walk, getting out on Saturday around 6:30 a.m., to take advantage of the cool morning; there were lots of other dog walkers and runners out there too.  Back at home, I washed windows, weeded a little, swept the patio and put out the patio furniture while (a) Milton basked in the sun on the driveway and (b) H worked on some bike repair, after his commuter RadPower bike blew an innertube on his way home Friday.

Bigger than a chickadee, slightly smaller

than a robin, loud three-note (short/short/long)

song.  Name that bird (because I can't)?

After doing all the prep work for dinner (Mediterranean lentil salad, sub sunflower seeds for pistachios), we turned the lawn sprinklers on finally (it's very, very dry, but we are determined to water only enough to keep our one shade tree alive) and tailgated for a little bit, keeping an eye on World Cup scores via the BBC.

* So many churches within walking distance in our neighborhood: three Mormon churches, a Lutheran church and the Catholic church.

more city livin'

 Another SLC weekend that was busy enough that it flew by, but nothing much to share.  It got hot-hot-hot for the end of the week into the weekend, too hot for M to accompany me on any after-work walks  Saturday was rather unpleasant, actually, getting up above 90F by midafternoon, with lots of wind.  Not a fan of hot, gusty wind.  But we all got up early and did our walks/road rides before the heat settled in.  

Smells so good

After that, it was chores, including stripping the leaves from a whole lot of oregano I'd cut from our disaster of a backyard.  Along with the weeds, there are a number of oregano plants that self-seed and spread (and I would be happy if it completely took over), despite the utter neglect we show it.  It's best to harvest oregano before it flowers - otherwise it can be bitter - so I'd done that the weekend before and spread it out to dry for a week.  I had enough to last us the year, plus give away four bottles of it so I felt very homestead-y by the time it was done.  Plus the kitchen smelled great.

At 4 p.m., we gussied ourselves up (Hawaiian shirt for H, Pride penguin shirt for A, and both of us with our FDT bracelets) and went to our friends' 2026 backyard Pride Party.  As always, it is super-fun: E and K run a good party and they have very nice friends.  We stayed for three hours, got to reconnect with some folks we know and talk with some strangers, patted a bunch of dogs, and were home before 8.   Happy Pride, everyone!

city livin'

 I'm afraid that outdoors activity content is a little thin on the ground around here these days.  We've been up in SLC for the last few weeks and while we're making sure to get active outside, it has taken the form of 3-5 mile Dimple Dell walks with Milton for me and trail runs/road rides for H.  Plus lots of weeding, which is technically an outdoor activity and one that leaves my back absolutely wrecked.  With the super-mild winter we had, it never got cold enough to shut the weeds down for the season and they are absolutely rampant; I have managed to get the north side of the house somewhat under control but the backyard?  Yikes.

No truer words

Anyway.  A couple of weekends ago, R, H's friend from high school, and his youngest son, M, were back in Utah for a soccer tournament.  They were playing teams from all over the country at the Regional Athletic Complex near Rose Park, in SLC.  H and I drove up there and watched M's last game of the tournament with R.  They were catching a redeye flight back to North Carolina and had several hours before they had to go back to their rental to pack up, so R suggested we go somewhere M could get some food and we adult types could get a beer.  To be honest, H and I were stymied as to where to suggest - we always go to bars, and M, being fourteen, can't do that - but R said they'd been to a place in SLC called the Woodbine Food Hall and that there was something for everybody.  The two of them didn't mind going back so off we went.

Not the Woodbine Food Hall

The Woodbine Food Hall, located in the Granary district, is in a wonderful, old, restored warehouse and is awesome.  It's got all kinds of vendors (pizza, sandwiches, BBQ, burgers, ramen, sushi/Burmese, Venezuelan street food and more), plus a separate bar (not yet open at the time we were there).  A number of the vendors also sell beer/wine but as they are "restaurants," you have to buy food to get booze.  That was easy: M got a fantastic margherita pizza and the others of us got beers.  It was really fun to sit with them and catch up, plus be surrrounded by a diverse group of people - something we don't really get day-to-day living in the suburbs.  When we left, all sorts of folks dressed in bowties and sequins began arriving at Woodbine on their bicycles: the Bike Prom was just getting underway.

A better look at that bike rack

After seeing R and M off with hugs, H and I thought, well, we've come all the way in town, we might as well try to find the reputed best dive bar in SLC.  We were looking for Willie's Lounge (1716 S.  Main Street) and we found it, and it was a great dive bar with friendly bartenders and a custom bike rack out front.  We also found Manny's (1704 S. Main Street), which is also a great dive bar with friendly bartenders - and it actually felt dive-ier than Willie's, due to the old school decor.   We love us a dive bar and now we know two new (to us) ones, should we ever want to make the trip downtown.

Does that not look like a dive bar?

spring break (back half)

 Wednesday:  Some weather actually moved in and it was cold and rainy in the morning.  Still, H and Milton did their short trail run, managing to get back before it really started raining, although they did get caught in it coming back from Dave's.  When it had dried up. A and M went out for a six-miler on Pipe Dream, while H did a solo road ride.  50s is too cold for me for biking but just fine for hiking.  After an chill afternoon of reading, A and H walked over to our friends C and F's house for some yard beers and good conversation.  The fact that they are dealing with an infestation of attic raccoons made for a lively discussion.

Desert days

Thursday: After H and M did another short trail run, A and M headed over to Millcreek for a hike that was not along Pipe Dream.  We were the first ones in the parking lot but there were several vehicles there by the time we got back.  There is water in the creek but, due to the record-low snow levels, it is way under where it should be this time of year.  Still, Milton enjoyed himself quite a lot, splashing and wading in the creek.  From there, H and A did their road ride - it was a gorgeous day and NO wind.  We took Milton out for patio beers at the Spitfire in the afternoon and he scored a piece of bacon from another customer who had been saving it for her own dog, but who just couldn't resist giving it to ours.  That evening, we made sheet pan gnocchi and roasted veggies and took it over to our neighbor for dinner together.

Prickly pear (or just prickly?)

Friday:  The weather had been quite nice all week, rainy Wednesday notwithstanding, but now it was starting to get quite a bit warmer, pushing up into the middle 80s.  H and Milton did a trail run on Pipe Dream; then A and Milton did a hike on Pipe Dream; then H and A did their road ride.  We did go out to Woody's for a quick beer, but swung by the first Arts & Ag market of the summer over at shady Swanny Park.  

Serious thorns

Saturday:  By Saturday, Milton was definitely showing some cumulative fatigue.  Still, he did a short trail run with H and a town walk with A.  He didn't even complain that much when H and A set out for their road ride.  The afternoon was spent weeding, changing smoke detector batteries, and one last beer at Woody's - where another patron left $20 in the jukebox for us to play.  

In his happy place, on a trail

Sunday:  And then it was done.  We did a shorter (16 mile) road ride, moped around, cleaned the house, moped around, packed the truck, moped around, and drove back to SLC.  Vacation over.

Now that's a view

oh yeah it's spring

In case you're wondering: Alta's year-to-date snowfall is still at 260".  That's just over half the historical average.  It almost hit 90F in SLC in the middle of March.  It's so bad.  But no, climate change isn't real.  (That was sarcasm.)

"Thin cover"

Still, ever the optimist, H went skiing on Saturday.  Ski resorts are closing early left and right around here.  Alta probably has the most snow but it's melting quickly.  The photo he took, looking down at Wildcat base, shows the southern-facing slopes across the canyon nearly bare.  And people have moved on, not wanting to pay the exorbitant pass prices for such subpar conditions.  H walked out of the lodge at 9:17 a.m. (Alta's chairs start loading at 9:15) and walked right onto the Collins chair without waiting in line.  When he left midday, the Wildcat base parking lot was not close to full.

Forsythia (and now I've exhausted my

knowledge of flowering trees/shrubs)

Down in the valley, A and M did their thing: five mile walk, taking photos of all the neighborhood flowering trees; and then nearly three hours of weeding.  The weeds are early and extra-prolific this year because they never stopped growing - it never got wintery enough.  

Pink one (might be a nectarine tree?)

There was also time for laundry and chocolate chip cookie baking and a trip to the library.  

At the neighborhood park

Oh!  And the day before, on A's way home from work, she stopped by SLC's Chinatown.  It's not really Chinatown like in NYC or Boston or San Francisco: it's a strip mall with lots of restaurants, stores and the biggest Asian grocery store in Utah, which is why I stopped.  

There's even a gate

I love an Asian grocery store with the variety of veggies, tofu, noodles, spices and so many snacks.  And I had a momentary pang of wishing I wasn't vegan when I saw the multiple bakeries - I LOVE Chinese pastries.

It was wonderful but so very loud

It was a little overwhelming - brightly-colored and -lit, with music blaring, and very busy.  I got tofu, rice sticks, rice noodles, mirin, some ruffle-y baby bok choy, Szechuan peppercorns, Chinese five-spice and an Indonesian hot sauce.  I wanted to get so much more (they had fresh jackfruits - huge!) but was proud of my restraint.  I can't believe it's taken sixteen years for me to get there.  To be honest, I prefer the Ocean Mart in Sandy: it's a little smaller, but calmer and still has a huge variety.

holding at 260

I mean, yikes.  Middle of March and only 260" of snowfall at Alta on the year?  And after a sunny, warm week, the base depth is down to 90".  H didn't take the earliest bus on Saturday, nor did he feel the need to hustle down to board at the first stop.  He definitely made the right call: there were only four riders on his bus.  He could see immediately upon arriving at Wildcat base that they'd lost a lot of snow during the week.  It was cloudy and overcast and the light was as flat as light can be without actually skiing in the clouds.  It was warmish, though, already in the low 40s when the lifts started turning, so the snow hadn't set up too hard overnight.  Still, he reported it as probably the worst day of the season for him.  (Just wait until Sunday!)

Kinda gloomy

Down in the valley, A and M weren't the most productive but they were fairly busy.  After laundry and the usual five mile Dimple Dell walk, they met A's brother J and his friend B from college for lunch/beers at the Hog Wallow (M waited in the car).  They were in town for some skiing, renting a place between Solitude and Brighton in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  But they'd already had at least five ski days in Colorado before arriving in SLC, and had just done two days of touring up in BCC, so they were looking for a bit of a break.  (Of course, J did swing by Solitude after lunch for an hour or two's worth of resort runs.)  The Hog Wallow was way busier than I expected, although with the skiing such crappy conditions I shouldn't have been surprised.

Our boy loves a bar

And then, at 4 p.m., H and A and M all went to meet E and K at the Watershed's dog-friendly patio for beers and vegan bar food.  We hadn't all been together since Christmas (!) so it was good to catch up.  Plus Milton charmed a couple of bikers, making new friends as he always does.  

mind the gap

 Oops - certainly didn't mean for such a long break between posts.  We went down to Moab last weekend for a friend's mother's funeral, and then I had to work long hours to make up the time (without burning a precious vacation day), so things just got away from me here.

On the trail again

It was a little surreal, being in Moab and having to do grown-up things, like wear real clothes and be places at certain times.  The funeral was at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Moab Community Church (which amazingly didn't immediately catch fire when H and I entered), then a luncheon, and then the graveside service out in Castle Valley.  The funeral was nice, actually, very personal with folks telling stories about the decedent, plus lots of songs.  And we hadn't thought to bring beer to the graveside service, but a number of folks did, so there's that.

"Whazzat?" Milton, probably

That afternoon, we hung out with our neighbor and her dog, drinking beers and getting caught up.  That was really good too and we hadn't had the chance for a while: she is a commercial fisherman who spends her late springs/summers/early falls on her boat in Alaska.

Keep 'er movin'

We did manage a little bit of trail time, much to Milton's delight, putting together a 7+ miler on Pipe Dream.  Despite the snow earlier in the week, the trail was in good shape - mostly dry and not muddy.  It wasn't heavily trafficked either, although we did meet a couple of nice dogs out with their people.

Here come the spring flowers!

And finally, to wrap up the adulting, our hot water heater/tank needs to be replaced as it has no expansion tank (?) and is leaking directly onto the pilot light.  There were lukewarm showers all weekend, which wouldn't have been a problem if it was already summer.  It was a decent weekend but all things considered, I think I prefer not to have to adult so much.

untitled (because i've been sitting for 20 minutes unable to come up with something clever)

Ski-wise, Sunday was pretty close to Saturday, although a little less: a little less crowded, a little less sunny, the snow a little less good.  H took the 6:10 a.m. bus again and found it about as full as the day before.  In case you're wondering, that bus gets to Wildcat Base at 6:50 - which is almost 2.5 hours before the lifts open.  He sits in the Goldminer's Daughter Lodge, drinks his thermos of coffee and reads.  And that, my friends, is dedication.

Looks like they got the Backside open

Milton and A had a pretty full day.  We did our Dimple Dell walk, then got some bread dough started.  While that proofed, we did a Costco run and a load of laundry.  Then the rest of the day got fit in between stretching and shaping and resting and baking the baguettes: cleaning bathrooms, making peanut butter cupcakes (with chocolate frosting) and a tomato-chickpea stew for dinner.  Written out like that, it doesn't seem like much but the whole baguette process takes 5+ hours.  Not something that can be done on a weeknight.

First ever baguette attempt

dry february

I mean, we're all back to having a beer or a glass of wine with dinner.  But snow?  In Utah?  Not so much.  This last week, a teeny little system brough Alta about two inches, which is literally the only snow we've had since New Year's.  Greatest snow on Earth?  Not hardly.  H, because he is dedicated/foolhardy/will drive himself crazy if he doesn't go skiing, went up both days this past weekend.  On Saturday, under mostly blue skies, it was 34F at the base for his first chair lift ride of the morning and it was 49F for his last lift ride.

Lotta bare dirt there

On Sunday, it was more of the same: mostly blue skies, unseasonably warm.  Like, 50F when he left in the early afternoon.  On January 31st.  Does it count as a "January thaw" when winter hasn't even started yet?

Spring skiing on 1 February

On the homefront (and A is continuing to feel pretty good about her decision to not get a season pass again this year), A and M kept busy.  Saturday was a 4.8 mile Dimple Dell walk, then vacuuming and laundry, and making a batch of InstantPot chickpeas, running a couple of errands (too many people out and about on Saturday mornings - yeesh), and baking chocolate chip cookies.  Kind of a quiet day.  Sunday saw us doing our DD walk again - lots of people out there on a Sunday, walkers and runners and dog walkers and equestrians, all enjoying the springlike conditions - and then it was so warm that Milton got to hang out in the sun on his tie-out in the driveway, just like he likes to do.  A made a batch of vegan bolognese pasta sauce for the freezer and swiffered everything.  Not that it needed it.

Awesome firepits

And then, when H got home from skiing, the whole family went out for beers and vegan sammiches at The Watershed, where Milton made friends with everyone on the dog-friendly patio.  Just because it's not feeling like winter doesn't mean we can't take advantage of it.

dry january

 In an attempt to give her liver a break, A has been doing a dry January.  Unfortunately, it seems like the Utah ski areas have been doing so as well: there hasn't been any noticeable snow since the beginning of the month.  H will not be stopped, however, continuing to sharpen the edges of his rock skis, ride the early bus, sit in the Goldminer's Daughter lodge with his thermos of coffee and book and shooting the shit with the other locker room denizens, and doing rock-hard groomer laps until the 1:30 p.m. bus.  

Needs more snow

This past Saturday was the coldest day this season, with beginning temperatures of 11F and a midday "warm-up" to 22F.  Yikes.  It was a beautiful day up there, of course, and he snapped the above photo, capturing a ribbon of low cloud making its way up Little Cottonwood Canyon.

The chocolate chips keep them

from being entirely healthy

Down in the valley, A and M were pretty productive.  While waiting for the temperature to rise to 22F, A did a load of laundry (so much laundry) and made Instant-Pot black beans and a batch of chocolate-hazelnut-coconut breakfast cookies.  We did our Dimple Dell walk, where we got to see (a) a cute little kestrel sitting atop a spruce tree, ignoring the nearby flock of robins who were watching him very closely, and (b) our walk acquaintance Aya, the cutest, sweetest Norwegian elkhound, who was overjoyed to see Milton again.  

All fluffed up against the cold

Back at the house, we made those black beans into four quarts of soup for the freezer, turned frozen cranberries into sauce for oatmeal topping, folded and put away a metric ton of laundry (so much laundry), walked to the library (just A, no dogs allowed), changed the sheets in the guest room, and made some headway in Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (not A's usual genre but fascinating).

No snow in the forecast, by the way.

love local

As we inch ever closer towards Christmas, little (and not so little) local holiday markets and fairs are popping up across the Salt Lake valley.  I don't usually go to such things but this year, when I saw the Love Local market being held at the Wasatch Community Gardens, I felt compelled to put some money back into the local economy (aside from supporting our favorite bartenders at Woody's).

The winter garden beds at Wasatch Community Gardens

It was a $5 entry fee (going to WCG) and then there were lots of vendors selling hand made soaps, balms, oils, notecards, textiles, wreaths, pottery, herbal mixtures and tinctures, preserves, pickles, paintings, carvings, jewelry, mushroom-growing kits, decor and ornaments, hot sauces and relishes, candles, dog and cat treats, tote bags ... There were a couple of food vendors too, selling Thai street food and empanadas and arepas, plus a little beer/wine garden.

My haul

It seemed pretty well attended, and I had gotten there towards the early side - and had to circle several times before finding a parking spot.  Everyone was friendly and it was great to see folks out supporting small local businesses.  We need more of that.

enjoying the long weekend

 The rest of the Thanksgiving long weekend passed in a blur.  The weather continued to hold all the way until Sunday, so that was a treat.  On Friday, we three went up to Sand Flats for a hike (3.4 miles) out on the Slickrock/practice loop trail.  It was quite busy up there, with a fair number of MTBers but even more dirt bikers.  The campgrounds - at least the first two - were way fuller than they had been two weeks ago.

Checking out the dirt bikes behind us

We had tasty leftovers for dinner. 

Wide open spaces

On Saturday, we did a bunch of house stuff - yard clean up, hanging pictures, house-cleaning - and A and M did a 3.2 mile town walk.  Late afternoon, our friends C and F let us know that they'd gotten a babysitter so we walked to their house and hung out there for a while for beers and boardgames.  And we got to watch as C's gigantic Christmas decorations inflated themselves.  Impressive, if slightly unhinged.

Look how big that snowman is

We had leftovers for dinner.  Still tasty.

These guys had been up in the La Sals

Sunday morning, all there was to do was get up and go.  We did run into some weather on Route 6, from Soldier Summit down to Spanish Fork: it was wet and snowing but luckily not sticking to the road yet.  (Later that evening, the road would be shut down for several hours due to crashes/slide offs).  Back in the Salt Lake valley, the rain continued.  Gloomy, yes, but bringing much needed moisture and even a little bit of snow to the mountains.  Could winter actually be coming?

the puny utahn baking show

 The Great British Baking Show (a/k/a The Great British Bake-Off, in its home country) is my emotional comfort show.  I cannot tell you how many times I've watched it - or at least the seasons available on Netflix - because I keep cycling through, again and again.  It is delightful, calming and supportive, and the baking is amazing.

I am a terrible baker, exacerbated by the vegan thing and also living at altitude.  But I love to bake.  I'm decent at cookies and cupcakes, which makes H happy; bat about 50% on cakes; and struggle with bread.  Even the worst homemade bread can be dunked in soup, though, so very little gets wasted.

Since there's NO SNOW, there's not much to post about.  So lucky you, here are some terrible photos of the very mediocre bakes I've done lately.  Happy Thanksgiving, y'all, to those who celebrate.

Focaccia with olives: decent but needed to be

baked longer due to olives' moisture content

Chocolate-peppermint crinkle cookies: trying

new Christmas cookie recipes and these were

WAY too sweet for me (but not for H)

Pumpkin bread: haven't tried it yet,

seemed a little claggy on the bottom

Pumpkin cheesecake bars: haven't tried these

yet either but will not be making again as

the recipe took WAY too long to do

can't be mad tho'

It has been unseasonably warm and dry this October/first half of November (How many years do we say it's "unseasonably warm" before we accept the fact that the climate has changed and warmer is the new normal?  Asking for a friend.) and it's throwing off all the ski resorts, having to push their opening days back, and then back again, and then back again.  Brian Head had very optimistically said they were going to open November 7 ... as of the date of this writing, they're hoping for November 21.  Also 11/21: Alta and Park City.  Solitude is shooting for 11/19, Snowbird 11/27 and Snowbasin 11/28.  All subject to change, of course, which it definitely will do unless the weather also changes.

In-town colors

In the meantime, the unseasonably warm and dry fall weather has been very enjoyable, especially down in Moab.  Both H and I had Veteran's Day (Tuesday) off of work and we finagled a long weekend out of it by taking Monday as well, driving down Friday mid-afternoon.  Traffic was much less through Utah County and between Spanish Fork and Price, but it sure seemed like Main Street was hopping when we got to Moab, with lots of folks in town for the Moab Folk Festival.  Fewer side-by-sides, more post-modern hippies.  (Who am I kidding?  There's never fewer side-by-sides.)  We swung by Woody's Friday night for a post-drive decompression beer, and got to catch up with our friend C, which was great as we hadn't been sure we'd get to see him this weekend.

Dry Anasazi beans (got

'em at Moonflower Co-op)

Despite being forecasted for overcast, Saturday was pretty clear.  Chilly to start, but warming up nicely as the sun rose higher.  A and Milton set out for a Pipe Dream hike first, then H followed later for a trail run.  The dog abandoned me for H as he passed us on the first leg of the out-and-back; I had to leash Milton so he'd stay with me when H came back by.  That last bit was less fun for both of us, but at least he towed me up the hills.  (H: 4.86 miles; A: 4.5 miles; M: somewhat more than that).

Over 600 miles on the one on the

right - time for new shoes

Determined to enjoy the afternoon, we three walked to the Spitfire later for beers (FYI pitchers are not any better a deal than by the glass), then had an early backyard firepit with our neighbor A and her dog.  Both H and neighbor A are early to bed people so the time change (even though we hate it) at least allows some star-gazing before bedtime.

the watershed

 On Saturday, we hooked up with E and K (Milton's girlfriends) and went for lunch and beers at the newly-rechristened Watershed in Midvale.  Formerly The Midway, once their Bar Rescue contract was up, they immediately renamed the venue, got rid of all the kitchy carnival decor and improved their patio set-up with a roof, windbreak and big gas firepits.  They had also recently instituted a big vegan menu, in addition to their regular one, and we felt that it was important to go check it out.  Also: beer.

E and K were already on the patio, cozied up to a firepit with a bloody mary and seasonal pumpkin spice white russian.  After ordering our beers and checking with the waitress, H fetched Milton from the car to join us.  Our waitress was smitten as M turned his charm on her and the other folks sitting next to us.

So needy

Despite the road noise (900 East, just south of Ft. Union), it was quite nice there on the patio.  The firepits are surrounded by shelves for food and beers, although the glasses did get pretty warm.  We talked with the bartender and he was enthused for it to get even colder, saying that he figured it would stay relatively comfortable well into the winter.

So flirty

Food-wise, we all ate off the vegan menu.  K got the buffalo wrap (okay/would not get again but really good garlic fries); E got the vegan nachos (huge and quite good); H got the garlic cheeseburger (not overly garlicky and Beyond Burgers are not his favorite, although that is a personal preference not a dis); and I got the costra tacos with vegan asado (delicious but super-messy, and the salsa was excellent and spicy).  The vegan asado was also a Beyond product and I have to admit that I really wasn't sure that it was plant-based.  

So, a bar with a dog-friendly patio and decent vegan bar food, only a 10-15 minute drive from our house?  Bravo, The Watershed - we'll be back.