The Great Pumpkin Recipe

The Great pumpkin recipe is out of the Big Green Egg Cookbook for “Eggheads”.  The Green Egg is the best charcoal BBQ ever invented.  This recipe is loosely based from a recipe out of a Native American cookbook.  The pumpkin was a staple of both Colonial America and Native Americans.  The original recipe called for ground buffalo or ground venison mixed with Italian sausages, so feel free to add your own substitutions.   It is always a special treat each year when the Pie Pumpkins show up in the produce department.

Click here to view recipe

The Investment Tax Landscape: Countdown to 2013

Victoria Trigg reminds us that the tax landscape will likely be changing in 2013.  In December 2010, Congress extended the so-called Bush-era tax cuts.  However, for investors, the legislation may have been a stay of execution rather than a full pardon.  As of January 1, 2013, federal tax rates on income, qualifying dividends, and capital gains (among other provisions) are scheduled to revert to previous levels.  Given recent partisan wrangling, no one can be completely sure about precisely what will happen. 

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Trends and Innovations: Self-Driving Cars Approved

California, Nevada and Florida have all approved the use of self-driving cars, and similar bills are pending in at least three other states.  While the availability of these vehicles is likely a few years away, the legislation is expected to propel the development of self-driving technology even further.  Google is one of the leaders at the moment, with General Motors, and Nissan, among others, vying to take a piece of the driverless pie. 

Click below to see what developments have been unfolding with each:

Google Self-Driving Car

General Motors Self-Driving Car

Nissan Leaf-Based Autonomous Car 

Patio Rebuild in Yakima

Rocke and I spent a great deal of time this spring and summer rebuilding the deck at my parent’s house.  I originally designed the existing 45’X60’ deck 40 years ago and still loved it but it had lost its integrity and had to be replaced.  We had the new deck engineered and designed by our friend, Nancy Charron of Traho Architects.  We took a week off to demo the old deck and trellis and then spent a week rebuilding.  My daughter and her friends, Loch and Allyn, spent a weekend helping stain the wood and hanging the big beams.  

Hole in One – Almost!

I am new to golf and accomplished my first birdie by landing the ball only a few inches from the hole on the fourth hole of the Nile Golf Course.   I don’t get out on the course very often so I rely on my personal trainer, Byron Dondoyano for golf conditioning.  It really helps prepare you even if you can’t spend several days a week golfing.  My best friend, Tish Johnson, and I try to play nine holes every Monday at Glen Acres, and my husband and I every Friday at the Nile.   With all of our various business and personal activities I feel fortunate if I get out two or three times a month.