Sailing with the Eva's

Henrik's Mom and friend, both named Eva, came to visit from Stockholm- we went boating, dining, shopping, sightseeing, and... sailing!  My friend Patrick took us out in to the Ten Thousand Islands aboard his 34' yacht and we had such a lovely time.  And felt a little fancy, too!




 


Such gorgeous scenery



All of us were on watch for dolphins

 

Enjoying some Swedish skagen rora- a shrimp salad of sorts

Lunch in the galley

Swedish ladies enjoying themeselves

Really relaxing in the hammock at the stern

Temperatures dropped and we bundled up

View of the yacht from the dingy heading to the island

Just another day in paradise

OBX Visitors

Karl came to visit from OBX!  Sheba was soooooo happy to see her former daddy and her giant-sized pup, Ziggy.  And Christine taught us how to make sushi!  It was an adventure on every account :)

Maverick actually looks small next to 85-pound Ziggy!

Four dogs in the kitchen, all happy that Karl is cooking/dropping food!

Still can't believe Sheba had such a HUGE puppy!

They have the same mannerisms- so cute to see them together again

We started dinner with a bit of sake

Next up- seaweed salad and kimchi



Lots of choices- veggies, raw fish, cream cheese, rice




Chef Karl gives us a demo on making inside-out rolls (rice on outside)



Delicious display of the various rolls we all put together

Sneaking in a before-dinner smooch

Christine and Karl, proud of the dinner creation

Kale chips

Henrik is back and I made his favorite- kale chips!  Can't believe my "meatitarian" boyfriend craves a leafy green vegetable!!  I added a side of polenta in case he didn't save me any kale chips :)

If you haven't yet been blessed with the goodness of kale chips, you too can easily make your own...

1. Rinse and derib an entire head of kale
2. Pam a baking dish or pan and arrange kale in a single layer
3. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle fresh ground pepper and sea salt on top
4. Bake about 15 min at 425-degrees until very crispy (they'll lose the bright green color and look burnt)

Some say they taste like french fries!  All I know is that Henrik can eat the whole head himself :)

A Chilly Few Days

Just as I declared that I didn't turn on the heat in all of 2011... it got cold, and I turned on the heat the first week in January 2012!  Only at night, and only for a few days, but brrrr, we were chilly!  I moved Otis inside and dug out the doggie blankies.  And then we were all snug as a bug :)

Grapefruit is ripe!

Sheba is sidetracked while hunting for Chuck, the orange tennis ball, among the giant yellow fruits!  She's thinking "look at all these balls, I'm in heaven!"

I finally had a ripe fruit off my tree today!  I've been enjoying oodles from Henrik's trees, but his are white and my are pink, and apparently mine take longer to sweeten.  I think I've made about 5 gallons of juice already- can't get enough of it, so delish!

New Year's Day at the Dog Park

How better to ring in the new year than a visit to the doggie park?

Sheba is no less crazy for toys in 2012 than ever before... even though she turns EIGHT years old in April!

Almost there...

She may be the craziest dog there is- how does she get that much height?

Sheba is so incredible, she has fans to cheer her on!

New Year's Eve

One fur kid spend NYE on the sofa... one in behind the bathroom door... and then all four dogs in one bed

Sheba's been waiting all year to snuggle up there!

Poor Mav, he just hates fireworks

 

But I felt the most loved, on just a sliver of bed