Final Holiday Preparations

This is the second year we've been away from our families for the holidays. We miss our loved ones tremendously at this time of year. In order to alleviate our heartache, we try to go all out and carry on several Christmas traditions. Here is our holiday checklist:

Tree? Check.

Sugar Cookies? Check.

Ryan's Sugar Induced Headache? Check.

Stockings Hung By The Fire With Care? Check.
Wait a second...

How is it that our dog's stocking is already stuffed with presents?


Well, he has been a good boy this year, and it doesn't hurt to have an honorary Santa title.

We hope everyone has a great holiday and takes a little time to relax and enjoy good company.

I know it's a little early, but here's a look back at 2007... Nonerick style!

First Snow

Seattle has a pretty temperate climate. Famous for its rain, our city rarely gets cold enough to support snow and even more rarely allows snow to accumulate. Today was one of those rare days - take a look at this:

Our balcony with Christmas decorations and our pots of herbs. At this point we were thinking, "oh, it's just a light dusting of snow."

A couple of hours later, Ryan started to get nervous with memories of Syracuse. He told me about his mom's Christmas lights buried in mounds of snow. I think Ryan has nothing to worry about--a few inches of snow is nothing compared to the feet of snow in the 'Cuse.

Soma's Snow Scooping Technique

Big News!

After many months searching for the right job, I am happy to report that as of today I am joining the working masses. You are looking at (or reading about) the next Associate Director of Washington Water Policy for the nonprofit organization American Rivers. American Rivers does a wide range of work from protecting and preserving rivers and habitat to protecting public health and water quality. At American Rivers, my work will include implementation of the Water for Life and the River Heritage programs. I'm very excited to be working with American Rivers and to be involved in water policy, an increasingly urgent and important issue both domestically and around the world.

Stay tuned for updates as I get settled!

Taking Advantage of a Long Weekend and Good Weather

Well, Thanksgiving weekend is almost over and the Nonerick clan decided to take full advantage of the long weekend and amazing weather. In Seattle, it doesn't happen very often that the sun comes out for 4 days straight--especially at this time of year, which tends to be the darkest and rainiest season.

Ryan and I wanted to get out and soak up some vitamin D, but we didn't want to battle holiday traffic and risk getting to a trail only to find it muddy or snowy. In other words, we didn't want to work for recreation. So, we went to my favorite nursery, Swanson's to pick up a few plants for winter containers outside our front door and to see Swanson's reindeer and holiday train set display. This year, Swanson's is hosting Dasher and Blitzen. I think this is Blitzen:

Blitzen looks a little thick around the middle. Maybe he stores up fat as energy for his Christmas Eve duties--think carbo loading before an endurance event like a marathon.

Today we went to our favorite park in Seattle, Discovery Park, which has everyone you could want. 2.8-8 miles of walking trails in an urban forest and/or along the beach of the Puget Sound. Usually on clear days, you can see the Olympic Mountains across the Sound, but the few clouds in the sky shielded the snow-capped Olympics from view... bummer.

Ryan checking out the view and hoping for a glimpse of the mountains.

This is Soma's favorite tree in Discovery Park.
As you can see, the tree is massive, and Ryan and Soma enjoy the tree for different reasons. Ryan likes thinking about how old the tree is and how unusual it is to find such a large tree in a city. Soma just wants to chase any squirrels that scurry up the tree to avoid him.

The Cure for a Tofurkey Hangover

Ugh... as much as I love Tofurkey, the morning after is not a pretty picture. Ryan and I both nursed symptoms of a food binge this morning. Regardless of your dietary preference (vegetarian or omnivore), everyone experiences the ills that follow a gluttonous food fest: a little extra time on the toilet, fatigue, and that special sort of nausea that is only felt when you eat enough food to fill both your stomach and your esophagus. For those Tofurkey skeptics that think our tummy troubles were the result of a tofu turkey, our hangover is probably more the result of the whole meal and the two desserts that we've munched on for the last 16 hours.

After a few hours of moping around the house, we decided it was time to get outside. The sun has been out in full force for the last few days, so we packed up and went to the Arboretum. We're hoping to hike in the mountains (pending any significant snow accumulations) later this weekend. Stay tuned for more potential pictures.

With smiles like these, who would know that we're about to barf?

First Signs of Winter
Seattle has been pretty cold this week (highs in the 40s and lows below freezing). We were surprised to see frost at lunchtime when the sun is out and warming the air up quickly.

A Man and His Dog

The Last Bits of Autumn Color at the Arboretum

A Path Called "Azalea Way"
In the spring, this walk is full of beautiful rhododendron blooms.

Phase 2 of a Thankgiving hangover treatment plan is to sit on the couch and watch your favorite sporting event. For us, this means college basketball. Syracuse takes on the University of Washington in the NIT at Madison Square Garden. Not to add pressure to the Orange, but if the 'Cuse wins, our digestive issues will probably subside. If they lose, we will have a total relapse because of the stress brought on by watching a promising team lose to a clearly inferior group of ball players. Go Orange!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Last year, we started a tradition of hosting some of our friends for an "orphan Thanksgiving". As you can probably guess, an "orphan" is someone who doesn't have any family locally and can't or does not travel home for Thanksgiving. This year, we missed the presence of our friends Bonnie and Joe, who participated in the inaugural event last year, but have since moved to Washington, DC. However, we enjoyed a new participant, Becky.

Thanksgiving preparations begin early for the Nonericks. A few days before the big meal, we start making and preparing food dishes, usually desserts. I made a pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap crust and Ryan, an emerging baker, made homemade apple pie. He used these crust ingredients from this apple pie recipe, and this filling recipe.

Some of you may be asking yourself, "How do two vegetarians celebrate a traditional Thanksgiving? " Yes, it's true that we don't eat turkey, but we have the next best thing: Tofurkey!

Mmmm... Tofurkey!!

Tofurkey does not come in the shape of a turkey (I think some turkey substitutes do), but it does have a yummy stuffing, "giblet" gravy, dumplings, and a soy-based turkey-jerky "wishbone". For the record, we have made a turkey for those meat eaters among us, but this year we didn't because most (or all) of our guests were vegetarian/more vegetarian than not.

Another Thanksgiving tradition is football. While preparing for the big feast, we watched the Packer/Lions game. I'm giving thanks for the Packer's 10-1 start this season. Next week, the Packers have a huge game against the Cowboys. Stay tuned for more football updates because this could be THE season, if you know what I'm sayin'.

Even Canadians Love The Packers

Here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving fun:

The Table
You may notice Ryan in the background. He's making whole wheat dinner rolls from scratch.


My attempt to Martha Stewart the heck out of our table.

Soma after returning from a play session at the dog park. Whenever we have guests coming over, we try to wear Soma out--do you think it worked?

I think this picture really captures the food-coma feeling of Thanksgiving. Granted, Soma does not eat people food, but this is definitely how I feel after eating Tofurkey with all the fixings.

Sitting on the couch in full food-coma mode. I don't know about the others, but I used all my energy to smile for this photo.
From the left are Byron, Amy, Becky, and me!

More than anything else, we are thankful for good friends, good family, and a good life. We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!