Stimulating For the Tummy...or something like that

What a Thanksgiving adventure!  Aaron and I hosted the big day yesterday...and by "hosted" we mean Ed joined us for lunch.

I became obsessed with making a "real" Thanksgiving dinner.  No.  Not turkey...mostly because neither of us like turkey too much... but a good down home roast instead.  Having never cooked a roast, I took a test run at it two weeks ago.  It wasn't great, but I thought I could pull it off.  Everyone says it's easy.  Well, once more I'll prove I'm not everyone.

It started on Wednesday night when I tried - twice - to make the Pear Upside-Down Cake out of the Bon Appetit magazine.  Aaron said he wanted it and I was determined to make it.  Well, determined until I screwed up the caramel sauce twice in a row and spent the next hour cleaning burnt caramel out of my sauce pans.  "Honey, pass me the All Cakes Considered book...I need something with pear...."  Finding none, I picked Spiced Apple Cake.  Apples and Pears aren't that much different, are they?  Turns out that was WAY easier than the two-sauce-pans-and-it-still-didn't-work caramel cake! In a little more than an hour we had a near-perfect dessert.   This will prove to be the most successful dish of the day.

Next up: Pumpkin Pie. Another first.  This time I agree with the reviews.  Pumpkin Pie is easy to make.  I used cookie cutters from grandma Obermeyer to make a little edge on the pie.  Doesn't quite look like the pictures in the Williams Sonoma catalog.  How do they do that?

Thursday morning Aaron got up and before even eating breakfast he made his carrot cake. Really it's more like a "carrot bread", but he grew up calling it a cake, so cake it remains.  Now we don't feel guilty having cake for breakfast!  He knew I needed the oven for Roast 2011 no later than noon, so early morning baking was the way to go.

Now let the roasting begin!! This is Bessy. She was raised living a hippy dippy organic life on a farm in Oregon. I like to think of her as being scratched behind the ears and living a good cow life until I purchased her from the guy at Central Market. Following directions from all my friends and family in the Midwest with a few hints from Paula Dean and the Neelys I forged ahead.... Except for two weeks ago I've never really cooked a hunk of meat before.  Let's give it a whirl, why don't we?

I browned, I seasoned, I put in a roaster with veggies and a little water (later I learned, a little too much water and not nearly enough seasoning).  I kept vigil with a meat thermometer in hand.  Mom said, "you can tell when it's done just stick a fork in it".  I'm sure she's right.  Her and dad just push on the roast with a finger and declare it dinner time. Me?  I'm filled with the fear of botulism and don't want to accidentally end up with beef tartar -- so I repeatedly poke Bessy with the thermometer starting about an hour after she went in.  It doesn't seem to be done...but it's been hours, the appetizers have all been eaten and the men folk are getting restless.  Now what?

Finally Aaron tired of the football game and waiting for dinner declared the roast finished.  I do think the thermometer was correct...it was a little bit rare - thought I don't think the guys minded one bit. 

The roast?  Well, it was a decent second shot, but not anywhere as good as mom made. Since I know some of you are wondering...yes, this semi-vegetarian went right ahead and tasted the roast. I had to know for myself how it was and couldn't count on the polite nods from Aaron and Ed. It was a little rare, the veggies a little al dente and the au jus a little thin.  *sigh*.  Isn't that how it goes? All that prep and attention and it's just not quite right.  Humpf.  I give myself a B.  Aaron gave me an A just for getting a meal on the table.  Thanks, babe.  You can have more spicy pear cake.

Me?  Well, I'm thankful for guys who don't complain and eat what's put in front of them.  THAAANK YOU!
 
This is our Splendid Table. At least it looked good. Oh! And Aaron said the fruit salad was his favorite.  Eat up honey!  Next year I'm going to carve a pineapple to look like a turkey and shout "dinner time". 

And now for the most important course of the day - Dessert.   Yes, you count correctly.  Three people = four desserts + whipped cream.  Now it's a "real" Thanksgiving!  Everything here is an A+.  Yep, definitely stick with what you're good at!

And here's Ed.  It's important that your guests get into the spirit of the holiday.

Next up?  I will attempt to make beef stew with all the left overs.  Wish me luck...I've never done that before either.

Quote of the Day: "It's Stimulation for the Eyes"

I don't even know what to say to that, but it was definitely the quote of the show.  Stimulation for the eyes indeed.  In fact, the whole show was pretty amazing - lots of high quality art there.  Aaron was in good company.

Our Seattle debut was a fine success.  We had a lot of fun, added people to the mailing list and, yes, sold a bit.  Yay Aaron!

There were even people who texted photos to their friends and brought people in the next day to check out Aaron's work.  I think he did a great job.

Here are some pictures:

Aaron is showing off the flames.

My first purchase of the weekend --- bottles of wine from the wine tasting tent. 
That's where 5 pours for 5 dollars will get you a good evening's relaxation!

I think this booth shot will be a winner on Aaron's next application.  Don't you?

It's a sale! It's a sale!!! (see the flames worked)

Aaron's display...looked pretty darned good.

Aaron's new display concept.  Recycled frame that were painted and hung.  It made all the pendants look more like art.  It also allowed us to display more.  Very nice.

One Word: Bucolic

bu·col·ic/byo͞oˈkälik/

Adjective:	Of or relating to the pleasant aspects of the countryside and country life.
Noun:	A pastoral poem.
Synonyms:	pastoral - rustic - rural

Funtown, Wisconsin --- where everything is more fun with cows!  ...plus, it's altogether better than a pastoral poem.

The definition of Funtown (as Heidi explained to her elementary school-aged boys) "Is wherever Anner and Heidi are gathered."  That just about covers it.  Antarctica.  Marshall Islands.  Seattle.  And, yes, bucolic Eau Clarie, WI.  It's all Funtown.

Aaron and I joined the Kampe Family in beautiful Eau Claire, WI for a long weekend of smalltown goodness. 

All the grown-ups went out for a night on the Funtown, which included dinner in what was described as "finer dining" on a tourist website, a tour of public art (Yes!  Eau Claire is big enough for a public arts program....we were impressed), dessert at none other than the Chocolate Lounge and a viewing of Captain America in a historic movie theater.  I'll just say all of this far exceeded my pre-conceived notion of Heidi's hometown.

Anner and Heidi ready for our grown-ups night on the town. I continue to maintain that we were seperated at birth.
For those who don't know... we were continuously being confused for each other on the Ice.

The decor inside the 'finer dining' establishment.  Look closely and you'll see that the beer sign is riddled with gun shots.  Ahh..this is what I expected.

I do NOT miss living somewhere with "snowmobile route" signs.  We did, however, see at least a few miles of a paved bike path with actual bikers and runner using it.  Again: we were impressed.

We spent a day in Augusta, WI...just about 1/2 hour from Funtown.  There was a vibrant Amish community (is "vibrant" the right word to describe the Amish??)  and I was surprised at how friendly they were..waving to us from their horse and buggies.

Turns out the only picture of Aaron and I was taken at this silo in Augusta.  You can't see it but there's a buggie depot behind the silo.  Honest there is.  Six or so horse-drawn buggies.  Right there.  In one spot.  Really.

While we were at Funtown, Mike took pictures of Aaron's jewelry.  We've had a heck of a time getting really good pictures of his work for show applications or the website.  Mike is a very artsy and good photographer.  He did some really great pictures from our wedding, so why not try jewelry?You would not believe that amount of gear it takes to take a picture of just one pendant.  When we left, the raw pictures (before post-production touch-ups) looked awesome.  We can't wait to see the final versions.

Mike spent an epic 12 hour day taking pictures of Aaron's jewelry. 

The Road to Kellogg, MN.  As it turned out this wasn't the road to Kellogg due to a wrong turn we made, but you can see what a beautiful mistake it was!  We took the scenic route from Funtown to Anner's mom house.  It was about a 3+ hour drive, but luckily it was an absolutely beautiful drive and we made lots of stops.

Road not-quite-to Kellogg, MN

We believe this is the answer to "Where's the beef?".
We found this on the actual road to Kellogg and HAD to stop.

We stopped at Lark Toys, a toy/carousel/cafe extravaganza in Kellog for a soda and 18 holes of mini-golf.  Aaron won by a stroke and a half.  You might wonder about "and a half" but sometimes you have to average a couple of attempts...

Aaron putting in mini-golf.

 One final bit to mention.  Before heading to Funtown, we stopped for a pizza party at grandma's nursing home.  Our nephew Michael met us there.  He was just home from Crazy Hair Day during spirit week at school.  Can't wait to bring this out at his wedding someday.  Note that his hair matches Aaron's shirt perfectly!

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Michael's Crazy Hair

Once home, there's nothing that feels better than your own: glass of water from the faucet, sheets on your own bed and the water pressure of your own shower.  We were asleep within a few hours of getting home.

Moments after we returned home it became an epic fight between Anner-And-The-Laundry... at the time of this writing, load #4 is in the wash.  I believe Anner will triumph.

Seattle Brain Cancer Walk 2011

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." -Margaret Mead, Anthropologist

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who helped make the SBCW a reality.  That includes our friends who sponsored us, donated gifts for patients and survivors, joined our friend Karen's team- Worthy of Hope, or gave us moral support to 'just keep at it'. 

We're just so proud of how it turned out.  Ten months of planning went into a four-hour event.  It's like a wedding..plan, plan, plan - *POOF* All done!

We are thrilled that the Walkers have raised $465,000, so far.  And with a matching pledge, that number is doubled to $930,000!  We hope to reach $1M by the end of the year.  That would be as much as we raised in the first three years, combined! 

We walk in memory of John Norsworthy.
This year 2,000 people joined the walk and 83 of them were Patients and Survivors.

Nan and Anner - Patient/Survivor Area Co-Chairs
Nan brought the beautiful flowers on the background - giving our area some festive cheer.

Nan and I worked together all year to design the Patient/Survivor Area. 
It's a place where all the Patients are invited to be pampered. 
Our goal is that every Patient feels like King or Queen for a day.

If you're gonna cure cancer, you've gotta get up early in the morning!  My friends know just what kind of commitment that is for me.  Nan picked me up at 5:40 and we arrived at Seattle Center before the sun rose.  Here, the balloon arch for the Patient Area is being unloaded.  We think our arch was hands down the coolest, ever!

This is Arden and she's the coordinator for the event.  This was her first year with the SBCW and she did a tremendous amount of work...all with her trademark smile and cheery disposition.

Our really cool arch in place.  LOVE IT!

(HEY! put down that candy...it's for the patients!)
Our friend Howie who juuust moved to town asked repeatedly, "how can I help...just tell me...I'll be there."  I didn't realize she was serious until the week of the walk when she asked "when am I supposed to arrive?"  I asked her to attend a 1-hour orientation the next day and just like that she was there. How great is that?

She welcomed the Patients and showed them all about the stuff we had for them.   

Here are just four of our volunteers from Northwestern Mutual Financial. Nearly everyone at NWMF volunteers at the Walk. 
They do it with incredible enthusiasm and expertise.  

This is Dana.  She saw my name and number on a poster and called me up out of the blue a few weeks ago and, like Howie, said "when and where...I'm helping!"  Another driven volunteer.  This kind of passion and commitment shows on Walk Day.

These two pictures are the Tent of Honor where we pay tribute to everyone we walk for.  You'll see a bunch of little tiny paper cranes; the colorful stripes on the sides of the tent.  Volunteers spent MONTHS folding 15 THOUSAND cranes.  The tent was breathtaking. 
The picture below includes the tribute to our friend John, Karen's husband.

Say "hello" to the Worthy of Hope Team. 

We had some of the best accessories on the walk.  Note the earrings with John's picture on them. (Thanks Evie!). You could tell where we had been because of the trail of purple feathers we left in our wake.  Sometime you need a trail in case you need to find your way back to the Food and Beverage Area...or the Stage...or the Bathroom. 



Just follow the Purple Feather Trail!

Aaron and I had these vases commissioned. 
The walk was near the Space Needle so that's how we picked that picture.     

Every one of the 2,000 people who walked on Saturday has a story.  I don't know these folks, but if you look at the sign you'll see they are walking in memory of a family member that passed away the week of the walk. 

We walked around the fountain at Seattle Center. 
We picked this venue because it's accessible to everyone.

This man rode in his wheel chair through the walk, but when they got to the finish line he crossed it under his own power. The entire walk stopped behind him and the crowd parted like a sea.  It was apparent that it was a huge personal triumph to take those steps. 
The crowd cheered...and then passed the hankys.  
That will be what I remember most from this walk. 
I talked to him later in the day.  He said that "every day is a gift" and that "we need a cure". 

Here's another fabulous volunteer welcoming a family to the Patient Survivor Area.

As part of our mission to make all Patients feel like king or queen for a day, we collected 102 donated "experiences".  Things like tickets to ball games, movies, dinner, theater, cruises, timeshare, hotel stays...you name it; we had it. 
It's kind of like Make-a-Wish for grown-ups.  The Patients get to pick one thing that they want to do and just like that it's theirs.

We also gave away professional photographs that we took on walk day.  We had special gourmet snacks and even chair massages.  It's so, SO much fun to be in the Patient Area.

Here's someone picking out an experience to take home.

Then all they have to do is have their name on the registration list and sign for their experiences.  They also had the chance to take free tickets to the Seattle Philharmonic or sign up for a cruise.

Happy customers!  This lady was psyched because it was free entry into the Chris Elliott Fund Golf Tourney.  She loves golf and this tournament supports brain cancer services.

Now what?  Well, we take a short break before planning our "thank you event" and then hunker down for another year of planning.  Or maybe they'll just go ahead and cure cancer in the meantime.  We can hope!  :)

Want more information about the Walk? Check out Facebook or the Seattle Brain Cancer Website.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/braincancer

http://www.braincancerwalk.org/

Six Days to go!

The Seattle Brain Cancer Walk is next Saturday...and we're down to the ity bity details...like making a cool team sign!

It's not quite finished but it's a good start...

10 Days and Counting!

10 months of work is about to come to fruition in just a short week-and-a-half.

The Seattle Brain Cancer Walk is a week from Saturday. As a co-organizer of the Patient/Survivor Tent we have been working round-the-clock to get all the details in order. As they say: the devil is in the details! This week I completed our volunteer notes, a PowerPoint presentation for volunteer orientation, and made bright green name tags for all our volunteers.

Luckily, I was able to take a few minutes out of my evening to play bocce with my hubby...later he beat me (soundly) in two board games. Then it was back to working on the walk for me.

Tonight we got some AMAZING NEWS from the Walk. An anonymous donor is matching up to the first half-million dollars we raise. Holy Cows....gotta get fundraising! It's an incredible offer. Given that the Ivy Center seems to get all our fundraising matched 10 times over that $500,000 will someday be $5 Million dollars in research and services. I ask you, how many investments grow ten times in this day-and-age? Well, it can't be fast enough for people with brain cancer. I'll keep you posted as Walk Day nears!

Here's the web page to the walk if you want to see how we're doing: http://www.braincancerwalk.org/

Summer is finally here....

We had the all-American weekend with unusually warm and sunny days.

On Friday we picnicked in the park on a beautiful night. 
On Saturday we did a little work.
On Sunday we went to a baseball game with friends. 

We had a great weekend!