It’s been weeks… months… of perfect weather in Seattle. Instead of warm days interspersed with rain, we’ve had nothing but sun. Happily, the hottest it got was in the low 90’s. Most days, it’s in the 70’s and 80’s.

Last weekend, we attended a picnic for residents and property owners of Fidalgo Bay Estates in Anacortes. We fit in the latter group, having purchased a 1.5 acre lot in 2003 with the hope of eventually building a house on it. At this point, we’ve carved out some crude paths, planted a few trees and lilacs, and installed the septic system. Plus, Rich serves on one of the homeowner boards… and he coordinates the twice-yearly clean-up event.

Rich asked that I make something to “impress,” yet be easy to prepare. Friday evening, I boiled a dozen eggs, cut in half, and mashed up the yolks with sweet mustard, chopped chive, mayonnaise, and Cajun seasoning. On Saturday, I piped in the yolks and garnished the eggs with herbs from our garden.

Also on Friday night, I pounded four chicken breasts then layered on wilted spinach, basil leaves, thinly sliced carrots, and red peppers. I rolled each breast into a roll, wrapped in foil, and boiled them for around 30 minutes. After being refrigerated overnight, I sliced the rolls in half-inch thick.

I put spring lettuce mix on a large platter, plunked the deviled eggs in the middle, surrounded by the sliced chicken rolls, and then garnished with multi-colored miniature tomatoes, and slices of carrots, cut to resemble flowers. The food definitely impressed and probably took around two hours to make!

On Sunday, we had thoroughly enjoyed sailing on Lake Washington with strong winds and clear skies.

For the past few weeks, Rich has been working on installing bucket lights in the kitchen of our Kirkland house. The large space in the ceiling where we had florescent tubes, it going to house two large skylights! This weekend, Rich is planning to cut the holes in the ceiling and install the skylights. It’s going to look amazing!

Next, we’re going to order a small peninsula for the kitchen, which will increase the work and storage space. My first project on the peninsula will be to make fresh pasta.

In early fall, Rich will start to remodel the middle bathroom. He already installed a new fan and light. Even though a bath is quite small, it’s going to be a major undertaking because we need to remove the wallpaper and either texture the walls (lots of work) or put a textured wallpaper on the wall and paint over it.

We also need to replace the vanity, toilet, lights, mirror, remove the ghastly oak trim… replace the glass doors over the bathtub, and redo the flooring. While a lot of work (and expense) a remodeled bathroom significantly enhances the value of a house.