"Chick Lits" and tea!

When I started our Pfeiffer Cottage Inn book club last November, I never realized just how this thing would take off. We enjoyed a dinner around the dining table in our inn and enjoyed each other's company and talking about our books. The club grew as we shared meals together, our favorite reads and each other's company! Often going from food to books to girl talk, each meeting was different and familiar at the same time. A perfect book/dinner club with a few old friends and lots of new ones.

This season, we are beginning our book club meetings again at the inn. And, thanks to Jeannie, we have a name..."Chick-Lits!" How sweet is that?! I love it! And, I have been so excited to get this new season of reading and gathering going so I have chosen Tuesday, September 7th at 6pm do so!

And yes ladies...we don't do "tea's" at the inn however, this time we will enjoy our reads, our summer stories, our meal and tea around the dining table at our inn. So, please, when you are gathering ALL the books you didn't have time to read this summer, pack a few tea bags or loose tea to share as well. I will be making finger sandwiches and a salad to go with the tea YOU will bring. I thought a tea exchange would be a fun way to find out what each of us enjoy. You only need to bring one or two servings to share and when you do, please be prepared to share with us why you chose it. It can be any kind of tea you want to bring. And, if you are not a tea drinker, that's ok too! There is no pressure here at all. Just find one you think you'd like to try and bring it along.

If any of you have a knowledge of tea, it would be a great time to let us all in on it. I love tea but don't spend enough time relaxing and sipping it. Hmmm...maybe I should...sounds really good at the end of this busy summer.

For my friends that are new to the club this year, I want you to know that we are a "no pressure" kind of club. We don't all read the same books every month. We have a very diverse and interesting group of women that just love to read...anything! So, we have had friends bring mysteries, self-help, love story's, cook books, novels, short stories...several genres to share. There are no rules, no strict guide lines to follow. Just read what you LOVE to read and come and share it with us. Be sure to bring the book and/or books you are reading or have read all summer. We sometimes enjoy exchanging our books too.

I don't think I have had much time to read this summer. I got rid of the tv by my bed so I could fall asleep reading instead of listening to news. So, I have read a little more than normal. I finished a few and am still working on "Omnivores Dilemma." I've lost 20 lbs. in the last four months by doing some very easy things and making some minor changes in my diet and will be excited to share my reads and my story with you all at our first of the season meeting.

So...if you are new to the club and have more questions, please call me or email or leave a comment on this blog. If you are a seasoned "Chick-Lit," then you know how it goes and I hope you return this season for more books, more "good" meals together and more "girl talk!" It's been fun ladies...see you in a few weeks!

...and these two belt buckles walked in!

Justin and Kaelynne are 8 and 10 and love "really good" food just like the rest of our family. They kept telling me that we HAD to go to "Sweetie Pie's Ribeyes." It is near where they are going to live soon. So, I finally caved and took them there for dinner tonight. A true Texas experience for sure!

I have been seeing signs all over Texas advertising "fried pies", "fried meat" and even "fried cream!" So, when Justin informed me he was ordering the "Apricot Fried Pie," I said, "cool!" All I wanted was a bite anyways.

Decatur, Texas is a small town. Flat, hot, simple but cute just the same. A sweet town square with a gorgeous court house in the center. So, Sweetie Pie's is a nice stop and not so unique in this part of Texas but a great experience for me...a Pacific Northwest foodie!

With items on the menu such as, "Rosin" Baked Potatoes, you absolutely cannot bypass this experience. The potatoes are huge, hot and fluffy. They are "lowered in to a vat of boiling pine tree rosin where they are baked and wrapped in brown paper for serving!" Another favorite, their "Hot Bacon Dressing!" They stole that version from a dressing served at Mader's Restaurant in downtown Milwaukee. Oh, and the honey...well let's just say, they're claiming that their Babe's Honey can help with local folk's allergies and is called "Texas Brush Honey." It is made from bees visiting Catclaw, Mesquite, White Brush, Huajillo and Persimon!

And...if you are wondering, there really are cowboys in Texas. I saw two tonight. Well, all I saw at first were the huge "true Texan" belt buckles. Oh, then I noticed the cowboy hats as my head followed my eyes to those again huge hats resting on those real cowboy heads. And yes, they had boots on too. Real cowboy boots. Not designer, only worn on Rodeo Drive cowboy boots. These were real used and worn on a daily basis, "wrangler isn't just a brand of clothing" kind of cowboy boots. I had to smile cause when I was in high school, we used to call cowboys "goat ropers!" Cowboy looking guys that maybe actually roped goats or cows or whatever but I don't think they were "real" cowboys. Not like true Texas cowboys anyways.

Still hankering for "home" in the Pacific Northwest, I am finding a bit of home in experiencing "good food," the humor in hummoungous belt buckles and sweetness in the mosey in the walk of the true Texas cowboy!

...yee haw ya'll!

It's not my fault I love beer!

I know exactly when it started. I was there the second it began. I remember grabbing that cold bottle as the opening touched my lips and I felt the salt tingle my tongue as the golden ale filled my mouth. I giggled with delight and begged nana for more...she said no!

It is my grandmother's fault that I love beer so much. As soon as we even looked like we were going to take our first step, she would coax her grandchildren in to taking that lunge, that short walk, that trek in to "beervana!" It's no wonder that most of us in our family love beer. There is nothing like a cold one after finishing the gardening on a hot summer day or enjoying one with my honey on the front porch in the afternoon. But, in the last two years, my tastes for beer have changed dramatically. I no longer crave the average brew. I need flavor, I need substance and mostly...it needs to be iced cold, served in a glass or bottle and it needs to be local!

I am so stinking lucky to live here. And, if Oregon was a drug...it would be my drug of choice! Besides boasting the best beer in the country, if not the world, Oregon can entice you to taste all it's good stuff. Offering temptations in the form of food and drink, it's desire to drag you up a trail just to show off that humongous waterfall or make you stare at that tree that caught your eye cause you could swear it's on fire is Oregon's way of sucking you in till you don't wanna leave. Whatever it is that draws you in to it's soul, can make you wonder...am I in heaven? Oregon can do that to a person.

So much more to see, to taste, to visit, to hike, to swim, to play and to drink! Do I have time?

A Very "Green" Vacation!

A very "GREEN" vacation!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010 by Debbie Lusk

We love being "green!" We love preserving our natural resources, we love the word, "sustainable" and we love experiencing all of this in the natural beauty that surrounds each of us living in or visiting the great "green" state of Oregon!

Not only are we on the forefront of all that exudes "green," we are and have been the example to the rest of the country that if you wanna be green, you have to learn from the best! Riding our bikes, using public transportation, conserving, recycling, you name it, we are doing it, re-creating it or sharing it!

And, for some of us, we love "experiencing" being green too! Filling our "re-usable" water bottles with our perfect tap water, we headed out for our hiking adventure on a trail near Mary's Peak! About 20 miles out of Philomath near Corvallis is where we began our trek yesterday.

We only had a few hours before our guests were arriving so we headed out and up the trail to Mary's Peak by noon! It was a gorgeous day but all I could think about was getting my exercise in and getting as far as possible up the trail before heading back down. Taking a few people "new to Oregon" with us, was exciting. We love showing off this awesome place and couldn't wait to start walking. About half way through our walk, someone said, "wow...this place is really green!" I almost laughed cause if I had a dollar for every time someone said that to me...well...you know how that goes. But hearing again those words, I had to slow down and take it all in! I looked up and saw the magnificant trees stretching toward the sun. I saw each wild flower and thought about how perfect each petal is. I saw water falls, I stepped over the biggest slug I have ever seen and sat long enough to watch a spider weave her web.

Over two hours later and still not sure how far we got up the mountain, but we met some great people on the trail, pet some nice dogs and will take more time next trip to make it to the "peak!"

If you are visiting Oregon and want a true "green" experience, check out our trails! Pack your camel packs, your lunch and your sun screen and get your hiking boots and get going!

Don't forget to stop and smell the flowers and experience Oregon's green!

See you on the trail!

So, you're engaged!

Monday, August 9, 2010 by Debbie Lusk

So...whether you JUST got engaged, are planning to GET engaged or just come to weddings for the cake, come to one of our very gorgeous wedding venues in Linn County!

We get phone calls all the time from soon to be honeymooners looking for a special place to spend their first night of wedded bliss! I always ask them where they are getting married. I have heard, "a hazelnut orchard, a park, a farm, a historic downtown building, etc." In a region of Oregon that has such a variety of choices, most choose nature over a brick building for their nuptials. A vintage wedding hall aglow with candle lights, original details of wood floors and massive white beams overhead does make for wonderful wedding photos too!

How does this sound..."a landscaped vineyard with gorge views" or "a wedding with the grace of a bygone era." Or this one..."a romantic legacy!" Still only coming for the cake...hmmm. If you want folks to murmur something like these phrases, getting married here in the Willamette Valley will surely make it memorable!

And...if you already have your perfect "place" picked out, check out one of the Willamette Valley's inns for your first day as husband and wife! A romantic inn such as The Pfeiffer Cottage Inn, will provide sparkling wines, chocolates, bubbles and a private breakfast for two for the newlyweds!

See you at the cake table!