nom nom nom

 If pictures are to believed, all we've been doing here in Spokane is eating!    Well, eating, preparing to eat, drinking wine, eating.

one of the few meals I've cooked at home, crab cakes!

In reality, while we have definitely been enjoying our food,  we've also been enjoying the pleasurable relationships and conversations that surround preparing and then sharing a meal with people we love.

Sometimes just Dave and I enjoy a meal out in the world (finally!).   We try to find places where we can sit outdoors and enjoy the sunshine along with our food and wine.     At Osprey Bistro (beside the Spokane River) we lucked in to Half Price Wine Wednesday and had a lovely bottle of French Rose.   Since it was just lunchtime, however, we didn't finish our bottle and wanted to take it home with us.      The cork was one of those lovely synthetic "corks" that wouldn't fit back in the bottle, no matter how we all tried, so our waitress got creative with a rubber glove and rubberband. 

We put our bag of wine back in the Jeep and had a nice walk along the river before we headed home.

under the bridge

see mama duck and her chicks?

  When we got back to Beluga we decided to enjoy the last of our Rose' and when we  took it out of the bag we had a very hearty laugh!

Dave is helping Jesse with some projects at his house a couple days a week.    When they're done, one of them comes back to Beluga to pick me up and we all have dinner together.    Sometimes we're included in the prep. work.

a man concentrating on his task

Dave rolled the sticky chicken meatballs, Erin kept the prep dishes washed, Jesse worked at the stove.   I was the sauce master and official photographer. 

   We all had a really nice family time and ended up with a wonderful meal!    Greek Chicken Meatballs with Lemon Butter Orzo....nom nom nom.

Later on we all took a post prandial stroll around the nearby and historic Manito Park.    We chose the Rose Garden for our walk this night.   The day's heat had calmed and we all enjoyed the ability to walk without  "glowing".

sniff sniff sniff

not roses

Another "work" day ended with Jesse and Erin preparing one of their favorite meals for us.   Tahdig with Spiced Golden Chickpeas.   Oh, and marinated, grilled chicken too!   nom nom nom

Jesse performs the careful "poking of holes"

Daves checks the temperature

I set the table, under close supervision.....

Mmmmmmm

One day Dave and I took an enjoyable drive along the ever present Spokane River to Arbor Crest Winery.    It sits high atop a bluff overlooking....guess what? (yes, the river) .     The grounds are beautiful, we had it pretty much to ourselves since it was a Monday.     

our only company was a flock of busy turkeys

the glasses are not as big as they appear!

While the drive and the surroundings were stellar, we were disappointed with the wineries offerings.  We didn't enjoy our samplings and the charcuterie tray, while delicious, was served in a plastic to go box with plastic silverware and cups.     It looked different on their website...surprise!    All well, it was an enjoyable afternoon all in all.

Yesterday we had a another dining pleasure - with friends!    Jodee and Bill Gravel were just a few miles away, in Liberty Lake, for a few days and she suggested we meet for lunch at an old Spokane legend, Clinkerdagger!     We hadn't seen each other in a very long time - we had a lot of catching up to do....

We had the perfect table, outside, overlooking the falls.    The company was wonderful as was the food.   We spent a lovely warm afternoon filling each other in on what has gone on in our our lives and our future plans.   It was so nice to see them again, Thanks Jodee, for suggesting it.

Today is another work and dinner day -  I look forward to it mightily!