Decking the halls

Amy and Katie helped us decorate the tree this year. We added some ornaments from my childhood that mom sent home with me. Tristen took over making "the scene" with the little fake popcorn gingerbread house thingie. (Bo will know what I mean!)

Creation station

Another great visit from Bellingham. Here all the kiddos are gathered at the kitchen island to produce refrigerator art.

Seattle half

I've always wanted to run a marathon.

Some years back, I figured I'd better start with a half-marathon. I talked about it for a couple of years (Eric reminds me) and then got pretty close to actually running the Seattle half-marathon in 2010. But when I found out I was pregnant with Tillie a few weeks before the race, I stopped training -- to be cautious and because I didn't feel well.

Long about July of this year, I decided to reclaim my body, now that Tillie is two, and to kick-start my running practice with a good goal. Why not pick up where I left off and finally run "the Seattle half?"

As usual, I roped Eric into doing this with me -- and thank goodness, or I would have bailed half-way through. His texts and emails and running mixes kept me going.

My training was temporarily interrupted a number of times this fall: by Chris's accident, by the school boundaries issue, and by a terrible case of tendonitis, among other stressors. But I persisted -- training between 5:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. during the week, with long runs on Sunday mornings.

I stopped having fun around mid-September and decided that after this race I would fall back, work on speed, and stick to 10K races.

Meanwhile, about a week ago, I attempted 12 miles around Green Lake, to see whether I had a snowball's chance of making it. I did make it, but my tendonitis flared severely in my left foot, and I developed some intense back stiffness. I limped over my taper week -- which included Thanksgiving. In between preparing the pumpkin fondue and setting the table, I iced my feet and took herbal anti-inflammatories.

I wasn't sure I could finish. I wasn't sure I should even start.

But as soon as Eric arrived on Saturday morning, I knew I was all in. And yesterday, we did it -- with Chris and Tristen cheering us on at the 5-mile marker and the finish line. It was great to check in with Laura, too, at about 10.5 miles.

The weather was warm and windy. The race itself was harder than I expected: it really is a very hilly course! I had to stop briefly three times -- to deal with a too-tight ace bandage and to pee. I also had to drink more water than usual and fuel (with craisins) an extra time. I took six minutes longer than I expected (pace 12:36), but I finished feeling pretty good overall -- though I was very sore and tired after the race and today.

I'm super grateful for Eric's comaraderie throughout the training, prerace festivities, and the race itself (though we ran separately); for encouraging words from coach Laura and bro Keith when I was thinking of bailing; for a motivating presentation by Chi Running guru Danny Dreyer in early October; and for ongoing support from Chris and Tristen and Tillie, who have put up with my training runs for months. Tristen biked along side me on my 7-mile and 8-mile runs and on my short taper-week run. He has been a super cheerleader.

Glad to have this goal behind me!
 

Really bad "we picked up our race packet" selfy.

Eric and I always call ourselves "Team Orange." The Seattle Marathon
organizers must have been thinking of us when they designed this year's shirt!

Eric had a hard race, too, but he still came in with a pace under 10 minutes.

Eric watched me cross the finish line in his space blanket.

After the race. Thanks to photographer Chris!

Orphan turkey fry

We fried the turkey this year, with nary a house fire. Thanks to Mom for the new turkey fryer, to Chris for executing, to New Paul for carving (and gravy!), and to everyone who came to heckle. Bountiful harvest, delicious food, great company.

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Wing-it pumpkin fondue

Several years ago a friend brought a delicious baked-in-a-pumpkin fondue to Thanksgiving. When I tried to make the recipe myself, I found that it was fairly complicated, very rich, and required multiple kinds of expensive cheeses. I didn’t mind making it once in a while, but it wasn’t something I could throw together for a mid-week meal or potluck.

So I started winging a similar recipe based on ingredients I almost always have on hand (even the pie pumpkins, because we grow them). Now I always get asked for my recipe, so this is it, in a nutshell:

Ingredients (in order of appearance):

• Pie pumpkin (get one on the larger end)
• Olive oil
• Garlic, 1 or 2 cloves (optional really, if your stuffing mix is yummy enough)
• Bag of dry stuffing mix (I use the Arrowhead stuff you get at PCC)
• Cheese, grated (I use white sharp cheddar, but you could use emmental and gruyere like the original recipe)
• Beans (optional and only if using as main dish – I throw in kidney beans when I want to serve this to the kids for dinner)
• Milk, 1 or 2 cups (whatever % you have on hand)
• Salt and pepper (optional really, if your stuffing mix is salty enough)
• Cranberry sauce or pomegranate seeds (optional – I usually serve the fondue with something bright and tangy)
• Crackers (only if using as appetizer)

Steps:

1. Cut off top of pumpkin (save top!) and scoop out the insides. (I save seeds for roasting.)
2. Press  garlic and rub it along the inside of the pumpkin with a little olive oil.
3. Layer inside of pumpkin with cheese, beans (if using), and dry stuffing. Fill up the pumpkin. Really smoosh in as many layers as you can. End with cheese layer.
4. Whisk salt and pepper into milk to taste.
5. Pour the milk mixture into the pumpkin until you can see the liquid at the top of the pumpkin.
6. Place pumpkin in pie pan or oven-safe dish with top on.
7. Brush or rub olive oil on outside of pumpkin.
8. Bake in oven (around 400 degrees) for a couple of hours – until the pumpkin is soft enough that you could easily eat it (stick fork in from the outside to test).
9. Remove from oven, eat warm. If using as an entree, scoop it onto plates, making sure to scoop up pumpkin in addition to the cheesy mixture. If using as an appetizer, scatter crackers and a blob of cranberry sauce around the base.

So the basic idea is: fill up a pumpkin with yummy stuff, bake it all together, eat it. Always a crowd pleaser because of the presentation and taste!

Neighborhood spooks

Masters and their masterpieces