A celebratory week...our 4th and final

The Panys closed on their new home giving us a cause to celebrate....though one is never needed when we get together.  Chris performed his magic with our favorite duck on the rotisserie.

I made you laugh..haha!

Scrumptious

We begged for a repeat of Beth's delicious Brussels sprouts, the absolutely best.  They will definitely grace a holiday table before the year is over now that I have recipe in hand.

The best Brussels sprouts

Housewarming presents were in order for this auspicious occasion.  Howard chose a snow shovel for Chris, just in case he doesn't head south before the first snow.

Grumble, grumble....

For Beth, I thought this plaque would be appropriate for the new kitchen.

Yes, a lot!

Enough with this picture taking, let's eat!

Another wonderful evening

Chris hit the nail on the head when he said..."I don't know why we bother to eat out".  Amen to that!   And there is more....  Howard's birthday on October 2nd.  He started his day by running a 12 K.  That's about 8 miles!

Looking good!

The Panys joined us later for Howard's famous rack of lamb...yes he had to cook in spite of being the star of the day...with all the yummy trimmings.  Chris finally got the green beans he had been asking for, with a few Idaho potatoes roasted along with the lamb.  I attempted a cake using the low carb baking mix from Cliff's Country Market.  I think a bit more practice and substitutions are in order.  Beth's peaches in brandy definitely added to the palate.

The coating is rosemary, parsley, garlic & bread crumbs

Ahh, the presentation with a fine Chianti

An experiment with low carb baking!

I think a few comments on Caldwell and our month here are in order.  You've already heard about our scenic drives and our wonderful times with friends and food.  But this small town showed us a tremendous amount of hospitality.  Just to mention a few:

A call to Camping World in Boise to see if they possibly had a handle for our Dometic refrigerator resulted in the store manager personally delivering it on her way home from work...."it's right on my way"!  People actually do this?!

I desperately needed to get some clothes altered before our upcoming trip and found Alterations by Carol.  Carol invited me over to her very impressive shop located in her home, took all the measurements, and two weeks later my things were done professionally and inexpensively.

Superior Paint and Glass guided Howard step-by-step in the major stripping, sanding, and re-varnishing of our dining table.  They also matched our dashboard and chairs with the perfect vinyl paint to touch up scratches and wears.

And, as mentioned above, Cliff's Country Market, with their great selection of fresh produce, and hard-to-find low carb products.  It just so happens that Cliff is a diabetic as well as a baker and needed to seriously alter his diet, thus offering more selections for his customers.  We have been following a low carb diet for quite awhile as it works better for us, but often miss out on breads and bakery items.  Cliff's gave us lots of normally forbidden goodies!

The entire month of September brought sunny skies and temps in the 80s.  Absolutely perfect for dining al fresco and sitting out well into the balmy evenings.  And just to top off a near perfect month, Verizon decided to send us blazing 4 G internet....in Caldwell, Idaho.

Yes, we'll be back next year, probably in September, to check on Beth and Chris.  We'll also visit many of the beautiful Idaho Power campgrounds and certainly return to the Ambassador RV Park, whose monthly rate of $345 breaks down to only $11.50 per night, with a great staff and amenities.

Now we're off on a rainy day, Oct. 5th, with a busy month ahead...heading back to Oregon.