Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall

Summer's over already, are you sure?  Well alright then if you say so. 

What a delightful summer it was, no wonder its my favorite season.  We had the boat out as much as possible with friends and neighbors skiing, tubing, fishing, and diving into the cool waters of Idaho.  Other memories made were the many camping trips, outdoor parties, relaxing in the backyard, and so much more.

Our most special mention for the season were the moments spent with both of our Grandmother's.  In June we took my Grandma Geri on our long awaited dream trip to Yellowstone.  It was just the three of us on a nice road trip to a beautiful place.  We drove non-stop for three days and the sights we saw were breathtaking.  It was so special to experience that with her and keep my promise made over ten years ago that we would someday do this together.
About a week after we returned home from Yellowstone, we got the call from Michigan that our Grandma DiMaria wasn't doing too well, and that it was time.  We jumped in the car right away and were in Michigan 36 hours later. The next four days we spent by her bedside holding hands, hugging, laughing, smiling...saying our goodbyes.  We'll never forget all the special memories and moments surrounded by all of the family.  And leave it up to Grandma and her Italian sassiness right through till the end, she had us in fits of laughter for most of the time.  Grandma passed away about a week after we came home, just a few days before her 96th birthday.  She lived a beautiful life, and she'll be carried in our hearts always.  Riposa in pace Nonna, ti vogliamo bene.

And time marches on...the leaves are turning now, Autumn is here. We'll be close to home for the holidays this year.  With college out of the way, I've been decorating pumpkins for the front stoop and am very much looking forward to getting into the Christmas goodies.  But before I can get ahead of myself, there's still some fall projects to do around the house.  We've got painting to do indoors and out, and also just bought a new Stor Mor shed that'll be used for all of our gardening/camping/boating supplies.  Very much looking forward to getting a bit more organized in our tiny little abode.

Zucchini Hamburger Pie

Ready for the top crust, and I must say "Look at those tomatoes!"

Loving the new cookbook I just picked up, if you have a garden, its a must have!

1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/4 cup minced onion
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup diced pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano (I used fresh)
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes (I used fresh)
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
Pastry for double crust deep-dish pie (9-10 inches)
4 cups sliced zucchini, divided
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1.  In a skillet, cook beef, onion, salt and garlic salt; drain well.  Add the green pepper, oregano, parsley, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and egg; mix well.  Set aside.

2.  Place bottom pastry in glass pie plate; layer 2 cups of zucchini in crust.  Cover with beef mixture.  Cover with tomato slices and remaining zucchini.  Roll out remaining pastry to fill top of pie.  Place over filling.  Trim, seal and flute edges.  Cut slits in pastry. 

3.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until crust is lightly browned.  Refrigerate leftovers. 
     Yield:  6-8 servings.

Hope ft. Jason Mraz - Love Love Love [Official Video]

This is the most beautiful song, enjoy!

Lam Research Celebrates 30 Years

This September marks Lam's 30th year Anniversary.  For our celebration in Boise, I took the guys Go-Kart racing.  It was so nice to escape the craziness of work for a long lunch and have some fun on the track. 

Left to Right

Shibu, Dave, John, Dana, Am, Jeff, Lee, Mato and Charles

Labor Day Weekend

Just got back from Stanley, had an amazing weekend camping with all of our neighbors.  It was our usual tradition near Knapp Creek cutting as much wood as we could for everyone's wood stoves.  Gotta prep for winter!  We brought back about 8-10 cords - that's alotta wood! 

Timothy's all mighty powerful Jeep - Ha Ha

Friday night as we were all hanging out, John looked over and swore to the group that he saw a black wolf about 15 yards away.  We weren't quite sure until the next morning when some friends down the road confirmed by telling us that they had also seen two wolves leaving our camp area early Saturday morning.  So being the curious creatures that we are...Craig, Arley and I went on a 5-7 mile hike in the forest (pistols included) to see if we could find them.  No such luck, but we did visit a beautiful alpine lake and got a very good workout in the nice weather. 

Got home Monday around three in the afternoon, just enough time to unpack the camper, shower and get the goodies out for the first Boise State game of the season.  It was an amazing start to the season, Boise State beating Virginia Tech 33-30!!!  That keeps us 3rd place in the AP Poll and brings us up to 3rd in the USA  Today Coaches Poll.  GO BRONCOS!!!

Wow, all in just one Friday

Such a fun-filled night!!! 

We finally found the boat we've been looking for.  It's a 2002 21' Sun Tracker Deck Boat. Seats 10 and gets up to 33 MPH, perfect for pulling behind.  Phil's in heaven with the trolling motor and front deck setup perfectly for fishing. Can't wait to have all of our friends & family out for a good time!

Phil inspecting at the shop, this exterior shot shows the two front deck seats

The interior, gotta love the wrap-around seating and sun tanning deck in back

After our neighbors toured the new boat, we walked down to PizzalChik for a few pitchers of beer and some delicious pizza.  Played some foosball and listened to the great house band.  Love that place!

Our favorite cook, Montana watching Bob & Phil play

Shmoozing on my honey as he was teasing me with those nasty anchovies he loves so much.

After all that, we still weren't done. Caught a cab over to Laura's house to catch her birthday party.  We told her on the way over via text, "Its too late, we're not coming" and then as we walked in sent her another, "Surprise, open the gate woman!".  She loved it and I was so glad that even so late into the night, we still made it over.  It was a great party with fabulous friends!  Phil brought her a very appropriate bottle of wine, "Sin Zin".  Ha!!

Exploring Yellowstone with Grandma July 9-11, 2010