Stollen goodies and Such

It's already been a busy morning.  Bill just headed off for work.  The grandpups are here.  Debbie and I have had our morning meeting and have adjourned.

Each morning when she brings the dogs, we deal with old business, new business and then adjourn.  Occasionally as she walks to her car an addendum or two will end the daily gab sessions. 

I love having a true friend as a daughter-in-law. 

Today she goes to Spokane for her Girl Scout work.  Tonight she camps in a tent with some other scout volunteers, and tomorrow they'll do some leader training.  So, her weekend is pretty well plotted out.

Before Debbie left, I had her slice off a piece of the fresh raspberry cream-cheese stollen (sliced almonds on top) I picked up yesterday at Miller's Country Story (Baldy and Division).  

Last weekend I took care of the Miller's mare Mia while they traveled to Ellensburg to visit their daughters.  So, in return, Nan gave me a choice of several different items which they prepare daily in their fabulous bakery.  

Oh, that stollen;  I'll use my usual play on words to point out that it is SO DELICIOUS.  

"How delicious is it?" readers may ask.

"So delicious, I have to hide it, lest it be STOLEN.  

I've managed to save enough for Mike and Mary to sample if they come by for a visit this morning.  I haven't seen them since the Ireland trip, so it will be fun handing over the souvenirs.  

The rest of the day will be spent taking care of some writing activities and attending to as much yard/garden work as the weather will allow.  So far, so good.

I bought some broccoli and Swiss-chard seed yesterday.  The owner of The Flower Farm shared with me a perfectly safe method of ridding broccoli of those pesky green caterpillers that always seem to rise to the top once the veggie is boiled.

He said Dipell or Thuracide works and that it can be applied even a day before harvest.  So, with that information, I decided to go all out on growing broccoli this year.  

We had that conversation about the pest control when I went over to The Flower Farm to purchase some celery starts.  The sign on the pots says "lots of water and direct sun."  

I decided to give celery a try again this year after failing miserably with it a few years ago.  Since that time, I've learned a lot about the condition of the soil where things are planted.  

So maybe this year's will be a success.  The starts are in the garden as I type, along with lots of lettuce and some blooming pansies.  If all works out okay, the next couple of weeks will see a great transformation from the blahs to vibrant color here at the Lovestead.

In other news, Bill and I enjoyed a nice visit last night at Mick Duffs with my classmates Rick and Janet Anthony.  They're here, along with a few other family members, for the weekend.

We had a great time comparing notes on our recent travels.  For Janet and Rick, the most recent adventure took them to the Panama Canal.  Janet is a birder so they also enjoyed one day of viewing various varieties of birds in that region.  

It's always fun to visit with them and do some catching up on family, travels and old friends.  

Well, I guess that's about it for this Friday.  Have a great TGIF and weekend.