Clearing off the memory card

I have a terrible, awful, no-good habit of taking lots of pictures and never moving them off the camera/memory card.  Not all of them need a whole post, but some are worth sharing.

Willie is technically Travis’ cat, but I love him to pieces.  We each picked a kitten out at the shelter and he picked Willie, even though he’s a boy cat and he was a little skittish.  We were only going to get female cats and we wanted cats that were going to be lovebugs (like our Clair).  Turns out, Willie is more of a lovebug than Clair ever was.  If you are sitting on the couch, he will find you, lay down, and fall asleep on your lap.  He is good at spreading around the cat-lazy.  And, so far, the biggest problem we’ve had with him is that he paws at the air instead of covering stuff with the litter.

This was one of the first strawberry harvests from our garden.  Last year, I planted 6 strawberry plants (two varieties) and got just a few berries from them.  Over the course of a year, the plants spread out and took over half the raised garden bed.  This year, I probably pick a handful of ripe berries every week.  Never enough to make a dessert or jam, but certainly enough that we both get to enjoy them.  I wish I knew what varieties I planted – one makes little berries that are super sweet, the other one makes nice, big berries that are still sweet, but not as sweet as the little ones.  Every now and then, I come across a berry that is overripe. Those go to the chickens, who fight over it and chase each other around until one of them finishes it.

When we were in Hawaii for our second dinner “reception” (after the wedding I haven’t posted about yet), our friends Cami & Jeff took us around North Shore to visit some of their favorite spots.  One of the best was Romy’s and when we came back home I craved that garlicky shrimp like nothing else.  I haven’t perfected the spicy shoyu sauce they give with the shrimp, but I think I have the buttery garlic chunks figured out.  I also threw in some spinach to make myself feel better about all the butter clinging to the shrimp.

I actually had to look at the time/date stamp to figure out what this was! This was our Valentine’s dinner!  Roasted asparagus, half a sweet potato, and filet mignon topped with caramelized onions, red wine, and balsamic vinegar.  I can’t remember the last time we went out on Valentine’s Day, which is kind of how I prefer it.  Why spend the night in a crowded restaurant with overpriced “special” menus when we can have something equally delicious in the comfort of our own home?  Granted, I was probably already wearing my comfy pants by dinner time, but at least the food looked great!

Okay – I think I’m getting close.  A few more random pictures to come, and also some real posts!