Time off and slow-cooked chicken

This is my view. I am in love with it.

I’m sitting on the deck next to Andy, looking out at this amazing landscape, and the only sounds breaking the silence are a very occasional car, a crow cawing in the distance, and the water lapping at the shore. The sun is warm but a chill in the air still requires a sweatshirt to be comfortable. The rain all day yesterday has washed everything clean. My feet are sore from hiking. I may have touched poison oak on said hike but I’m trying not to think about it. We’re going to have cheese and wine for dinner, and for dessert we bought an armload of candy bars at the little town store.  These are the moments we live for. And I couldn’t be happier.

We went back and forth this year about what our anniversary trip would entail. There were many options, most involving a lot of travel and a lot of activity. At the last minute, we did a one-eighty and went for complete relaxation only two hours away. Sure, we threw in a hike or two, but for the most part, sitting on this deck or in front of the fire has been our number one priority. And although I’m obviously not doing the best job of unplugging completely, I’ve done far better than I hoped.

With that in mind, I’m taking a shortcut and padding this post with photos from our trip and a jump to a recipe I wrote earlier this week. Forgive me...



If you're in need of a make-ahead dinner for Valentine's Day so you can spend the evening cooing with your loved one, check out this Slow-cooked Chicken and Potatoes in White Wine Sauce recipe. The meat is so tender you'll be lucky to get it out of the slow cooker attached to the bone. And you won't have to do a thing once it's cooking...except eat it later.

Now back to the vacation photos...

Okay...one more food shot:

Now I'm unplugging again...see you Monday.