New Year, New Project

Welcome to January, my friends! I realize y'all have been here for the past several days, but I'm just now making an appearance into 2023. We returned from our trip to Cape Disappointment yesterday afternoon, and so I'm going to have to back way up to last year to cover all the images left on my camera. But first, let's talk about our trip to the coast, and then we'll catch up on the other stuff, okay?

It started out a pretty day, and the mountains were looking spectacular. It was cloud cover all around, but there was an opening in the clouds that allowed the sun to shine directly on them, making them look as if they were lit from within.

We managed to finish all of our packing and drive to the coast without rain, which was very nice. When we reached Astoria, we crossed over the tall, scary bridge.

Here we go...up and over.

As we crossed over, I managed to capture this image of a line of ships waiting for a pilot boat to help them navigate up the Columbia River, presumably to Portland or Longview.

In such dark weather, it was hard to get an in-focus picture as we reached the Washington side. You'll have to settle for this image from a sunnier day on a different trip.

Same goes for this image as we reached our final destination of Cape Disappointment State Park in Ilwaco, Washington. It's one of our favorite places along the Washington/Oregon coastline.

It was still dry when we arrived, and so we wasted no time getting out to the beach for a short walk. It was cold and windy. We caught the North Head Lighthouse just as it came around and flashed its light.

It was low tide, and the beach was wide and wet.

Being so cold and windy, we stayed only a few minutes before returning to the RV for the remainder of the day. 

The next morning, I finished all my hand sewing. I sewed a hanging sleeve onto the Poppy Mosaic. (I'll show you when we get it hung up this afternoon.) Also, I sewed the binding on this little "Stitches from the Heart" wall-hanging. Now it's ready to take its place among the other Valentine's Day decor when the time comes.

As usually happens when we visit Cape Disappointment, we got lucky with a dry morning Tuesday. We headed back out to the beach to find that the tide had come in. You can contrast the water level below with the image above.

The sandpipers were out hunting for sand crabs. They're such funny little birds. Their legs move so fast they can't be seen, and yet the bird seems utterly still as they scurry across the sand...kind of like cartoon characters.

Here's a close-up of one. He looks cold, doesn't he?

The day grew brighter as we walked along, and I captured this image of the lighthouse in the sunshine.

Our shadow selves made an appearance just then. We weren't sure if they would come along on this trip.

We made our way back to the RV for lunch, and then the rain started. It rained the rest of the time we were there. We did take a short walk during a dry period later in the day on Wednesday. The wind had come up and you can see the ocean waves were much rougher, with wind driving the spray.

It was a good day to spend on my embroidery. I filled the first section, and the second section is nearly full as well now.

We headed over to an area where we knew we could pick up some cell signal. We had a few messages we didn't want to miss. While we were there, we saw the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse through the mist.

With such nasty weather, we spent the rest of our visit inside staying warm. 

Coming home Thursday morning, we worried a little about crossing back over the tall, scary bridge. There is another way home, but it adds about an hour to our trip. It turned out to be an easy crossing. Even better, there was work being done on the bridge, and a pilot car was waiting to lead the line of cars across. The pilot car helped keep the speed of traffic down, which is always a good thing when towing a big fifth wheel across a windy expanse.

We arrived home to find everything in order. The kitties barely said hello before they wanted to go outside and check to see what they'd missed. It turned out to be not much because they were back inside in about five minutes. Smitty was champing at the bit to do some sewing.

Sadie just wanted someone to cover her up. She's missed having people around to pamper her.

So let's just back up to New Year's Eve. When we talked last, I was in the middle of making a new recipe known as Peanut Fish Stew. You might remember that I was in the process of pickling some celery that was to be used as an accompaniment to the stew.

And the stew turned out to be delicious. It was something different to do with fish, and we liked this dish very much. We thought the pickled celery added a nice flavor and texture, and so it was worth the effort.

The recipe for the Peanut Fish Stew can be found right here. The Spiced Pickled Celery can be found here. We had way more pickled celery than we needed, but I think it would be good mixed into tuna salad for sandwiches. If you have trouble opening those links, feel free to email me, and I'll be happy to send them to you.

We hosted the kids for a ham dinner on New Year's Day. That was fun. When I decided to make this ham, I believed it was uncooked. As it turns out, it was fully cured and smoked. We really just needed to reheat it. I still scored it and added a glaze. When it came from the oven, it looked like this:

Then Mike took a blow torch to it to caramelize the glaze and make a sort of "Flame Craft" ham like they sell in Kroger stores. It turned out great. I'd definitely do this again.

Along with the ham, we had some Maple Baked Beans the way Ina Garten makes them. I did those in my slow cooker. Also, a 7-Layer Salad the way my mom made it. Finally, some skillet cornbread, recipe compliments of my friend Debi.

It was all very tasty. I sent leftovers home with the kids, and there was plenty left over to take along on our trip. We still have leftovers, and so we'll be eating ham for the next week or so.

Finally, if you follow Project Quilting, then you know the 14th season(!) started on Sunday. The prompt for this first of six challenges is "One." We have one full week to make a quilt, and then we'll take a week off before the next prompt is announced. Knowing we were going to be gone for most of the week, I didn't think I'd participate. But then, I got an idea while we were gone. Then, when we got home, I still didn't think I'd do it. Then, my manic self took the reins. Resistance was futile. Within a matter of hours, I had it to quilting and binding stage. I don't want to show it just yet, although there's no rule against that. I'd just like to show it for the first time when it's all finished. So, here's a peek for you.

I'll show you the finished quilt when I can link up to the party tomorrow. Any guesses? 

The challenge quilt is the next thing on today's agenda. Actually, I don't have any idea about what's on today's agenda aside from sewing and unpacking. Unpacking should be a short effort. Finishing my quilt won't take long either. And then...I guess I'll have to check the calendar to see if I've assigned myself any tasks for today. As I sit here, I have no idea.

So I hope y'all are recovering from the holidays and are doing whatever works best for you in January. I'm feeling a little disorganized at the moment, but I should have my act pulled together before the day ends. Happy New Year, everybody. Let's make it a good one.