12.29.2011

Mad About

We're still mad about our red lipstick, inspired by Mad Men and the bright berry colors the ladies wear. Here we are sporting our own Red Zin from Bare Minerals. My girl Ada and I are finding the red an inspirational color for hunting a Christmas tree.



And of course, red goes wonderfully with cocktail hour in Seattle at a dark little bar/restaurant called the ZigZag.


12.28.2011

A very very very fine house

So, at long last, some photos of our new house and and the move! October was a month of ceaseless work in anticipation of moving in.
We ripped up the carpet and re-did the floors. Notice, under the tools, the amount of paint and dirt to be removed, not to mention oodles of screws and staples. And then there were the holes that had to be replaced with new boards.

We color tested, primed, and painted!


Here's the upstairs with refinished original hardwood and fresh paint (although I just redid the yellow).

We installed our Brian-made shelves!


And we made it home!


12.19.2011

4 by 2012!


A few steps closer from accomplishing  my 12 by 2012 goals. This week, I hope to get the downstairs painted completely, my yoga goal completed, save-the-date cards published, and a few caterers in mind. I am planning on using a 10-day pass to the gym every day this week, grade for a little while every day, and read for the pure joy of reading.

1. Blog: update and rethink blog with steps taken/initiated toward new design for the new year. Done!
2. Academics: Complete my grad. level PSU class with an A and a possible publication. Done! 
3. Painting: Finish painting the bedroom sky blue, the guest bedroom hazel green, the hallway a turquoise/teal and the downstairs a creamy latte/chocolate brown.
In progress. Yesterday I painted first coat of downstairs hallway in Divine Twilight.
4. Donate old clothes and books. Done!
5. Host a friend's Thanksgiving: Invite people over for a Thanksgiving potluck the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. Done!
6. Host some thank-you dinners for friends who have been super helpful in the past month of stress and madness. Done!
7. Unpack. Done!
8. Buy a washer and dryer. Done! 
9. Buy a new phone and get set up on family plan and teacher discount. Done!
10. Take real steps for wedding planning. 
We have three houses rented and the wedding spot rented, and I've started to look at dresses. Photographer is confirmed. Need to call caterer and print and mail save-the-date cards.
11. Start taking photographs and publishing them again. In progress.
12. Go to yoga at least 7 times. In progress.

12.16.2011

The 10 List

It's Friday. Here are ten things for which I am grateful.

1. Oh, so grateful for the fact that it's almost winter break and I have two weeks off to work out, to read, to paint my house, to decorate my house, to spend time with friends, to sleep in, etc!
2. I'm grateful that our friends got us 10-day gym passes to use over break! My lazy butt needs some exercise!
3. That I am healthy right now (even if I'm out of shape).
4. That my mom, dad, and sisters are healthy.
5. That I found two great and affordable photographers for the wedding.
6. I'm grateful for my family, all of them, even though I miss them a lot right now.
7. Grateful for our Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Hopefully I will be able to upload pictures soon.
8. Coffee. I am, every day, grateful for coffee.
9. Grateful that I have someone in my life who loves me a lot, even when I don't love myself that much.
10. I'm grateful for having such an intense, challenging, fun job that keeps me connected to kids, creativity, intellectual growth, and forces me to examine how I treat those around me--and that I always strive (though don't always succeed) to do so in a compassionate, patient manner--on a daily basis.

Wow. Some big, some small. What are you grateful for?

12.12.2011

6 by 2012!


Setting goals on Monday, I've been finding, is a great way to focus myself for the week and hold myself accountable to what I want/need to accomplish. Knowing that I am publishing this, and writing a weekly reflection has also helped me be mindful of exactly what I can/did get done. I feel excited about being able to report that I completed one of my goals, and I purposely schedule in ways to check other goals off the list. I think that I am going to continue this Monday habit in the new year. I want my goals to reflect a variety of areas that are important in my life: academics, career, creativity, health/exercise/diet, home, and socializing (doing things for others).

This week: publish some photos, take some photos, go to yoga at least once, buy a new phone, host birthday party, look for a wedding caterer, settle on photographer.
For winter break: finish painting interior, stencil interior, settle on caterer.

1. Blog: update and rethink blog with steps taken/initiated toward new design for the new year. Done!
2. Academics: Complete my grad. level PSU class with an A and a possible publication. Done! Not sure of my grade, but the class is over.
3. Painting: Finish painting the bedroom sky blue, the guest bedroom hazel green, the hallway a turquoise/teal and the downstairs a creamy latte/chocolate brown.
In progress: finished the second coat of hazel green in the guest bedroom and finished the blue in the bedroom.
4. Donate old clothes and books. Done!
5. Host a friend's Thanksgiving: Invite people over for a Thanksgiving potluck the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. Done!
6. Host some thank-you dinners for friends who have been super helpful in the past month of stress and madness. This one has morphed a bit, but I have tried to return the karma. I am hosting a birthday party for one friend, another stayed at my house this weekend because she needed a place, and we hosted our Thanksfriending. So this one is in progress.
7. Unpack. Done!
8. Buy a washer and dryer. Done! 
9. Buy a new phone and get set up on family plan and teacher discount.
10. Take real steps for wedding planning. 
We have three houses rented and the wedding spot rented, and I've started to look at dresses. Plus, I think we found our photographer! Still need to find the caterer.
11. Start taking photographs and publishing them again. In progress.
12. Go to yoga at least 7 times. In progress: I am going for the 6th time tonight!

12.09.2011

10 Things

It's Friday, a good day for reflection. Here are 10 things I'm grateful for.

I'm grateful

1. ...that it's Friday.
2. ...for all of the dear friends I have who are willing and able to help me plan and coordinate my wedding.
3. ...that I live a 3-minute walk from my favorite and affordable yoga studio.
4. ...that the sun is shining.
5. ...for the enthusiasm and curiosity of my students.
6. ...that winter break is only one week away.
7. ...for my lovely new home.
8. ...that I'm actually enjoying wedding planning.
9. ...for Elijah-Six Toes, my sweet purry kitty.
10. ...for the Mad Men-a-thon that I'm having tonight!

12.06.2011

Mad About

So, I'm totally mad about Mad Men. I've finally caught the bug. Can you guess, from this picture, one aspect of Mad Men that I adore?

Photo courtesy of AMC
Here's another hint (and it's not Joan's curves, although those are nice).
Here's another clue:
The candy red, cherry red, strawberry red lips of the Mad Men women! So this weekend, I treated myself to Bare Essentials Red Zin (seen above). It's such a yummy, bright red. What a great way to add a bold color to a gray sweater, black slacks, gray boots...or just a gray Portland day. Also looks pretty amazing with turquoise or red.

Hmmm, the theme song by RJD2 just started playing on my Pandora station. Curious.

12.05.2011

7 by 2012!


Here's the 12 by 2012 update: I am making some real progress, and a few of my smaller goals are rather small. One of the largest has been my academic goal: much of my time has been spent working on this goal, and I am so close to being there. I don't know if I'll receive an A, but I'll be as close as I possibly can.

1. Blog: update and rethink blog with steps taken/initiated toward new design for the new year. Done!
2. Academics: Complete my grad. level PSU class with an A and a possible publication.
Final draft of introductory essay completed. We also presented a panel discussion on our work at the Multnomah County Library that we got some great feedback on, including from our professor. Just have to write a 3-5 page reflection.
3. Painting: Finish painting the bedroom sky blue, the guest bedroom hazel green, the hallway a turquoise/teal and the downstairs a creamy latte/chocolate brown.
In progress: finished the second coat of hazel green in the guest bedroom and finished the blue in the bedroom.
4. Donate old clothes and books. Done!
5. Host a friend's Thanksgiving: Invite people over for a Thanksgiving potluck the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. Done!
6. Host some thank-you dinners for friends who have been super helpful in the past month of stress and madness.
7. Unpack. Done!
8. Buy a washer and dryer. Done! 
9. Buy a new phone and get set up on family plan and teacher discount.
10. Take real steps toward the next big project (to be clarified later). 
We have three houses rented, the wedding spot rented, and I've started to look at dresses. That's some progress, but I'd like to find a caterer and photographer by Jan. 1.
11. Start taking photographs and publishing them again.
12. Go to yoga at least 7 times.
In progress: I am going for the 5th time tonight after work!

12.04.2011

welcome to the neighborhood

As you may have surmised, we've moved into our first home, and one of the reasons that we fell in love with our house is the location. Here are some cell-phone images from a dusky stroll I recently took.


In this last photo, beyond the bridge, you can see Mt. Hood. On a clear day, from the St. John's bridge, Hood, Adams, and Helen's are all easily visible!

12.03.2011

never say never when it comes to "i do"

Okay, so I am learning that there are some things that I have to eat my words on, and that number one thing right now is:

I will never spend more than $500 on a wedding dress.

Yeah, well...I am totally in love with a dress that's, ahem, a bit more than that. Two dresses, actually.

And so, I am trimming the fat elsewhere. And one way to do that is to buy flowers and make our own bouquets, which brings me to...

A Beautiful Mess: what a darling blog. Crafty and whimsical and funky and cute. And filled with DIY wedding inspiration. She has a post that I might use on how to make my own bouquet, since I want to cut costs.

As I visualize my wedding, I picture sunflowers and lavender rather than roses and lilies, pulled pork sandwiches and beer rather than caviar and champagne, checkered table cloths on picnic tables rather than silk table cloths and table settings. I picture flying a kite, strolling on the beach, dancing barefoot in the grass, and walking down the aisle to the sound of the waves on the surf.

12.01.2011

Portland Composts

So, the entire city of Portland is rethinking trash. Or at least, I am. For the past month, Portland residents have only had their trash picked up twice. We all have rather small trash containers that are now only picked up every other week, and in exchange, our yard and food scraps are picked up every week. So now, all food scraps, including meat, go into the yard debris bin and are taken to a facility and composted. Our recycling is still picked up weekly as well.

I didn't initially think this new program would be a challenge; but sometimes it's really difficult. Especially when you've just moved. Or when you're hosting a party of some sort. Or just when your trash is full three days after they've picked it up, and you realize you can pay money to leave it at the dump or cut down on what you throw away indefinitely.

Ideologically and financially, I prefer the latter. So I literally find myself looking around and thinking of ways to reduce my waste, to buy compostable items instead of disposable, and to attempt to recycle more. I already did all of those things before, so it's actually a bit of a stretch of the imagination. However, it's exciting to think that other households are facing the same challenges.

Here's what I find myself doing: intentionally buying compostable paper plates if I'm having a larger party over; intentionally putting all scraps of food into the compost, emptying my vacuum bag and dustpan into the compost, feeding vegetable scraps to my chickens, putting meat scraps in the fridge until they're ready for the compost. Anyone else have other tips?

11.29.2011

grateful

On Thanksgiving, I went to yoga and was asked to reflect on someone in my life who filled me with a sense of gratitude. Whoever resonated with me that day.

On that day, it was my mother.

Yesterday, I found out that my college roommate's mother passed away; she had a heart attack.

So I'm writing a thank-you post to the mothers out there. Think of your own mother; let yourself feel grateful, sad, homesick, happy--whatever you need to feel.

I feel grateful, undeniably grateful and homesick and happy and a bit sad.

Thanksgiving should be everyday, except for maybe the gross over-eating. I want to focus this blog more on ways of bringing serenity, grace, and gratitude into my life while also reaching toward my goals, be the reaches baby steps or giant bounds.

Today, I feel gratitude again to my mother, beautiful, healthy, loved.

11.26.2011

8 by 2012!

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all. Today, Brian and I are hosting our first Thanksgiving in our new home; some of our favorite friends are joining us and we're having a pot-luck style feast. We're roasting an obscenely large turkey, slow cooking three home-culled chickens (yesterday's big project), making stuffing, and baking some pies. Friends are bringing the rest.

Here's the 12 by 2012 update:

1. Blog: update and rethink blog with steps taken/initiated toward new design for the new year.
In progress now that I've posted about our engagement!
2. Academics: Complete my grad. level PSU class with an A and a possible publication.
Progress continues here. Final draft due in one week, so this week I will focus on this goal.
3. Painting: Finish painting the bedroom sky blue, the guest bedroom hazel green, the hallway a turquoise/teal and the downstairs a creamy latte/chocolate brown.
In progress: finished the second coat of hazel green in the guest bedroom and finished the blue in the bedroom.
4. Donate old clothes and books.
Done!
5. Host a friend's Thanksgiving: Invite people over for a Thanksgiving potluck the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend.
Done-ish! Or this will be done all too soon.
6. Host some thank-you dinners for friends who have been super helpful in the past month of stress and madness.
7. Unpack. I still have lots of projects and decorating to do, but I feel safe to say that this is done!
8. Buy a washer and dryer.
Done! 
9. Buy a new phone and get set up on family plan and teacher discount.
10. Take real steps toward the next big project (to be clarified later). 
We have three houses rented, the wedding spot rented, and I've started to look at dresses. That's some progress, but I'd like to find a caterer and photographer by Jan. 1.
11. Start taking photographs and publishing them again.
12. Go to yoga at least 7 times.
In progress: Went four times!

11.14.2011

10 by 2012!


Compared to last week, I am feeling rested and wonderful, frankly. Of course, there's still a lot on my plate, but my first quarter grades are done--whoo! And the big move is over! I feel like less of a crazy person when I have a place to come home to that's neat, homey, and semi-organized.

Here's another Monday update on ways I've chiseled away at my list this week.

1. Blog: update and rethink blog with steps taken/initiated toward new design for the new year.
In progress now that I've posted about our engagement!
2. Academics: Complete my grad. level PSU class with an A and a possible publication.
Progress continues here. Need to revise my rough draft tonight for a meeting with my professor tomorrow, but have a thesis that seems to be shaping up nicely. Professor seems to not hate our first draft.
3. Painting: Finish painting the bedroom sky blue, the guest bedroom hazel green, the hallway a turquoise/teal and the downstairs a creamy latte/chocolate brown.
In progress: finished the second coat of hazel green in the guest bedroom.
4. Donate old clothes and books.
In progress: The pile is in the trunk of my car!
5. Host a friend's Thanksgiving: Invite people over for a Thanksgiving potluck the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend.
In progress: I invited folks! I ordered a turkey! Now I just need to tell people what to bring!
6. Host some thank-you dinners for friends who have been super helpful in the past month of stress and madness.
7. Unpack. I still have lots of projects and decorating to do, but I feel safe to say that this is done!
8. Buy a washer and dryer.
Done! 
9. Buy a new phone and get set up on family plan and teacher discount.
10. Take real steps toward the next big project (to be clarified later). 
So, this is the wedding plans, and we are making progress. We've found a wedding party house and a location for the wedding itself. My parents have also rented a house on the coast. Now I have to start seriously looking for a dress, a photographer, and a caterer. Ah!
11. Start taking photographs and publishing them again.
12. Go to yoga at least 7 times.
In progress: Went twice!

11.10.2011

Engaged!

So, I've been hinting at some big changes going on in my life since about late July, and the first one is the fact that we're engaged! Brian asked me on the coast, at sunset, in late July. We were sitting on a bench, surrounded by trees, home to deer and elk, with an amazing view of the waters and the colors of the sunset. I've been meaning to post, but I wanted to use an engagement pictures and other big life changes got in the way (more on that soon!). So here is the big news, at long last!

Thanks to Amy for taking this incredible photo of us under the St. John's bridge. The lighting is so romantic and perfect, and as in life, he is supporting me and making me feel as though I could fly.

I have a graphic design student at my high school designing our save-the-date cards. I can't wait to see what she comes up with, using other amazing photos by Amy.

11.07.2011

11 by 2012!


In a moment of total stress anxiety, with deadlines looming, it feels really great to look at my 12 goals and see how productive I've been in the past week! It's easy to forget what's been accomplished and be hard on oneself when expectations are high, time is short, and the piles of grading, reading, writing, etc. seem to grow rather than shrink.

1. Blog: update and rethink blog with steps taken/initiated toward new design for the new year.
2. Academics: Complete my grad. level PSU class with an A and a possible publication.
In progress. Worked extremely hard almost all weekend on classwork, but now feeling behind with school (teaching).
3. Painting: Finish painting the bedroom sky blue, the guest bedroom hazel green, the hallway a turquoise/teal and the downstairs a creamy latte/chocolate brown.
In progress: finished the second coat of hazel green in the guest bedroom.
4. Donate old clothes and books.
In progress: The pile is growing!
5. Host a friend's Thanksgiving: Invite people over for a Thanksgiving potluck the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend.
6. Host some thank-you dinners for friends who have been super helpful in the past month of stress and madness.
7. Unpack. In progress: only a few straggling boxes remain!
8. Buy a washer and dryer.
Done! Washed about 20 loads this weekend!!!
9. Buy a new phone and get set up on family plan and teacher discount.
10. Take real steps toward the next big project (to be clarified later). 
Definitely in progress!!!
11. Start taking photographs and publishing them again.
12. Go to yoga at least 7 times.
In progress: Went once!

10.31.2011

12 by 2012

I'm still here! I'm still alive! And today, for the first time in a long, long while, I felt inspired to blog. In part, because I need some space from work, work, work, work, work, which has been my life for the past six months. And for another, I discovered Twelve by 2012 and felt motivated to create my own list.

1. Blog: update and rethink blog with steps taken/initiated toward new design for the new year.
2. Academics: Complete my grad. level PSU class with an A and a possible publication.
3. Painting: Finish painting the bedroom sky blue, the guest bedroom hazel green, the hallway a turquoise/teal and the downstairs a creamy latte/chocolate brown.
4. Donate old clothes and books.
5. Host a friend's Thanksgiving: Invite people over for a Thanksgiving potluck the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend.
6. Host some thank-you dinners for friends who have been super helpful in the past month of stress and madness.
7. Unpack.
8. Buy a washer and dryer.
9. Buy a new phone and get set up on family plan and teacher discount.
10. Take real steps toward the next big project (to be clarified later). 
11. Start taking photographs and publishing them again.
12. Go to yoga at least 7 times.

I will post back with progress. I'm looking forward to Goal 1. I probably have no readers anymore, but I have a lot to write about and share.

9.11.2011

Rejuvenation

Here are recipes for a mini-facial that you can often concoct from your own garden and pantry. I recommend using cucumbers on the eyes while doing the face mask, and if you wanted to extend this process, you could make a medley of lavender, chamomile, and other herbs (perhaps rosemary). Steep this in almost-boiling water and then steam your skin to open the pores for at least 10 minutes. Then proceed to the face mask. Your skin, body, and mind will feel refreshed and rejuvenated.
Enjoy!

Gentle Face Wash

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable glycerin
1 T. pure castile soap
10 drops of favorite essential oil

Apply with sea sponge in circular motion and rinse with warm water.


Herbal Salt Scrub

1/4 cup grapeseed oil or other oil
1/2 cup fine sea salt
1 T. coconut oil
1 T. diced fresh herbs
a few drops of essential oil (optional)

Apply to exfoliate skin after facial cleanser. Substitute sugar for sensitive skin.


Face Mask (great for rejuvenating dried/sun burnt skin)

1 cup natural yogurt
1/2 cup oatmeal

for oily skin: add 1-2 drops lime juice
for dry skin: add 1-2 T. honey

Mix and apply to skin for 10-15 minutes. Rinse.


Chamomile Toner

1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
2 T. dried chamomile, crushed
4 cups water

Boil water and then let cool slightly. Add herbs and let steep for 15 minutes, at least. Strain into a jar and keep in fridge for 2 weeks. Apply with cotton balls. Good for oily skin.


Rosemary Toner

1/2 cup chopped fresh rosemary
4 cups water
several drops rosemary essential oil

Follow ingredients above, adding oil and a sprig of rosemary when finished. Great for healing damaged or dry skin. Works for all skin types.

8.28.2011

herbalicious; or, yogurt face

I like to run. It's not my sole exercising venture. It's not my top pick. But, running can be really good to me, like today, when I was zoning out to bouncy dance beats and later, when the beats and melodies weren't quite as enticing, when I began to process some ideas that I'd had. I'm headed to a certain festival on Thursday, and at this festival, the spirit seems to be about creative freedom without the complications of commerce or greed. Creativity for creativity's sake. And also, giving for the pure sake of giving. Not everyone who attends this festival believes this or can/does follow this credo. But many do. Many, many do. And I realized, on my run, my own creative gift. So, upon returning from my run, I cut a basket full of herbs that I'd grown in my garden, I visited my local New Seasons, and I got to work.

Here's what I now have in front of me:

Cleansing facial wash: Made from my bees' honey, pure castile soap, vegetable glycerine, and lavender. So gentle and soothing. Honey is both cleansing and healing.

Salt scrubs to exfoliate: I made scrubs from lavender and rosemary; chamomile and lavender; bee balm and lavender; hyssop, mint, thyme, and rosemary; rosemary, citrus, lavender, and cloves; and one sugar scrub with basil, cloves, and orange zest. Making these was addicting, especially since I was working with my friend Amy. I can't wait to use them on my skin and to give them out as gifts to others. If any of these entice you, let me know, and I will send some your way.

Facial masks (not exactly sitting in front of me, because that would be gross): I plan to mix together yogurt and oatmeal, adding honey for dry skin and lime for oily skin. These masks, which should help rejuvenate skin that's been exposed to the sun and elements, will be applied for 15 minutes with cucumbers on the eyes.

Toner: A rosemary and rose hips toner spray, and a chamomile and mint toner for especially oily skin.

SPF 30 moisturizer, not made by me. And SPF 25 chapstick.

So next weekend, I will be giving free mini-facials in that order: cleansing, scrub, mask, toner, and SPF moisturizer, as well as a foot bath in minty carbonated water and then a minty foot lotion. I kept having these half-assed ideas: maybe I'd make bracelets or maybe I'd make tea. But this will be so soothing and fun and meaningful for people. And the fact that so many of the ingredients come from own yard is empowering.

8.27.2011

Overall, this summer's garden has been more bountiful and more satisfying than last year's garden. Since returning home from our road trip, I have regularly been harvesting early wonder and chioggia beets, green beans (that are purple until cooked) and pencil pod golden wax beans (which are now about done), poona keera cucumbers (also almost done), and an occassional carrot and artichoke. My sunflowers, grown from collected seeds from last year's flowers, have grown taller and with more success than last year. And now, my tomatoes are ripening, and tonight we enjoyed a large salad of cherry and isis tomatoes with basil, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Yum. I'm still full. I did prune the tomatoes violently today, in hopes of focusing the energy on the green tomatoes before our days of 85 degrees and sunshine fold over to cold and rain.


Tonight, while watering, I noticed that the borage that I planted by seed is blooming in my strawberry patch. Borage is supposed to grow well with strawberries, and of course, the honey bees LOVE borage. Love, love, love it. Plus, the flower is edible and supposedly has a cucumber-like flavor.

I attribute my successes not to weather but rather to better planning and better soil (thank you, chickens and composting). I mapped out my entire garden on graph paper, really considering the light and the hardships and fails of last year.

Sorry about the crappy photo above, from the cell phone. My camera got caught in the nude in a rainstorm in Montana and hasn't been feeling up to working since. I have another and better camera that I am trying to learn how to use, after having misplace, then found and simultaneously replaced the battery. So, I'm hoping to improve my understanding of photography with that venture when there's time.

Life's about to get crazy. There are many changes afoot. I will be updating soon, but this blog, likewise, will probably undergo some changes as well. Until then, let the mystery continue.

8.19.2011

Oregon Coast: a love story

Sun, salt, waves, wetsuits, surf, and sun, sun, sun! August on the Oregon coast.

8.17.2011

Wednesday Excursions


The blur of the sky as we return west.
 The sky gets smaller as the mountains grow closer.
Wispy white and deep blue.

8.05.2011

Feast!

Here's a description of my kitchen right now: in addition to my laptop on kitchen table, there's an open bottle of Rhone style red wine, a handful of nasturtium seeds, two organic nectarines, two organic peaches, a basket of freshly harvested yellow and purple green beans. On my kitchen counter, a homemade butcher block littered with cucumber, shallots, and basil from the garden. Down past the dirty dishes sit six jars of cooling and thickening blueberry jam, made from blueberries that Brian and I picked yesterday and Willamette blackberry wildflower honey from 2009 before I had bees. It tastes like (guess what?!) blueberries and honey!

This is the best time of year for food. A significant percentage of our meals are from our own backyard. This morning, I made scrambled eggs with shallots, thyme, sage, and goat cheese. Everything was from our backyard except for the butter and goat cheese. It's time to pick your own fruit at farms (raspberries and peaches are next!), forage for figs and blackberries, and harvest from the garden. Soon, we will be traipsing through the woods for chanterelles and lobster mushrooms, boating for Dungeness crabs, and with any luck, feasting on our heirloom tomatoes!

8.03.2011

Wednesday Excursions

Alicia's Garden, Chesapeake City, Maryland
In the interest of sharing some of my summer adventures and in the hopes of motivating me to edit and cull through my hundreds of photos (and per request from MIL in Minnesota), I want to share some of my photos from my trip. So every Wednesday (hopefully), I will try to publish a few photos with captions of where they were taken.
Alicia's Garden, Chesapeake City, MD 7/10/11

8.02.2011

honey man

This summer has been one intense adventure after another, from camping by a glacial stream under Mt. Hood with amazing people and music to an epic trip around the country via Phoenix, Austin, Atlanta, Chesapeake City (the apex of the trip--my beautiful sister's wedding), Carlisle, Erie, the St. Croix River, Minneapolis, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Devil's Tower, Montana, Spokane, and then home again; but only briefly, because then we were off to the coast for four days of sunshine, spectacular views, pelicans, cormorants, sea gulls, starfish, sand, surfing, friends, and sunsets (more on this adventure to come), and then a weekend on our friend's boat on the great Columbia River, camping on Government Island--a state park that is only accessible via boat--and soaking in the rare Oregon sun (soaking in a bit too much in my case on Sunday) and again enjoying spectacular views of Mt. Hood.

It's been a summer of travel, of reconnecting with old friends and family, of renewed love, of falling in love with the mountains and the water, of building dreams and setting solid goals--and of course, a summer filled with my garden and reading.

When I got home from the trip, my garden seemed brilliant to my eyes. My friends who watched over it for me had tied up my tomatoes and everything looked lush and spectacular. Still no ripe tomatoes, but I heard yesterday that we have not yet had one day over 90 degrees yet this summer and only seven days in the 80s. Still, my garden grows: for lunch we had a salad of greens, beets, carrots, berries, and cucumber all from the garden, with a tarragon dressing. My herb spiral is lush with mint, oregano, sage, thyme, calendula, and Chinese hyssop. My peppers have many little buds and flowers on them. My tomatoes are green and growing. My artichoke is tall and ripening its 3rd artichoke heart; the sunflowers started blooming today.

The chickens are healthy, although baby has a bald spot from being pecked by the older witches. Poor baby. Still, they get by and we continue to eat eggs from our own backyard. The bees seem healthy and they certainly seem happy in my backyard with the lavender, vegetable and herb blossoms, and blackberry bramble that my neighbor lets grow wild in his untended backyard. However, there is an ant colony that wants to live with the bees, and we are working to fight that off.

The honey man, Allen, came by yesterday. He comes by door-to-door in the summer, carrying plastic bags filled with a delicious amber honey that he sells for about $12. We bought honey from him the first time we met him (before we had our own), and since then, we've often talked to him about beekeeping. He's an odd fellow, always overdressed and looking over heated. He seems far more at ease discussing bees when Brian is around; perhaps Brian is better at putting him at ease. The honey man understands and keeps Langstroth hives, so he's always curious about our top-bar hive. Yesterday, we showed him the hive, and this is when we discovered the ant issue. We wiped away the ants and promised to look inside of the hive today. Then, we gave the honey man a spoonful of our bees' honey, and he thought it was "really, really good." So good that we traded with him for a jar of his. This was high praise coming from the honey man.

Today, Brian and I opened the hive, brushing away ants and just nosing around. It looked as though the bees were doing all right and managing to keep the ants out of their beeswax. We're going to keep on peeking an try to keep that colony away from and off of the hive.

7.04.2011

Hiatus

On the road, reading novels aloud and watching the scenery change, the climate change, the temperature change. The clouds and humidity disappear and then reappear with a vengeance. The hills turn to canyons and the canyons turn into mesas and the mesas turn into mountains and the mountains turn into prairies. Old friendships are rekindled along the road: Phoenix, the White Mountains, Austin. We drive four-lane interstates where the speed limit is 80 and small town roads at 30. We eat; we feast: the flavors and tastes of this vast country. We are fat and stiff and dusty and wondering, where are we going today? How many miles do we need to travel until the next location? We've gone through two coolers, many refills of the tank, two RV parks, friends' beds, a state park, and we're not half way.

Until then, look for more blog posts post July 20th. Peace.

6.19.2011

Plein air day

A couple of weeks ago, Brian and I took some wooden backers for frames, paints, brushes, wine, cheese, and crackers to Cannon Beach on the coast, and then we parked ourselves on the beach and painted.
Here's the Rhode Island Red and Elijah, surfing. They're both coasting along pretty well, but behind them is Leno, who just wiped out and is swimming to retrieve is board.
Then we sat in the rain and watched an amazing sunset beneath the clouds and on the clear horizon with this couple who joined us at our fire. We ended up drinking wine and stoking the fire and getting to know them for a couple of hours and have since gotten together with them here in Portland. That was our plein air day at the coast.

6.18.2011

And then there were 3

On Monday, our little Rhode Island red laid her first little egg. The darker one is from the Americauna, the big one in the front is from the Speckled Sussex, and the little dirty one is from the Red. Since, she has laid four eggs, living up to her breed's reputation. Our other chickens had a much slower start at laying; her breed has laid as many as 365 eggs per year. Here's our little girl, all grown up.
 Thinking about her eggs and her struggle to fit in with the other chickens makes me miss our little black autralorp. Red had a tough go at it with Sussex and Americauna; I spent their first evening all together in the coop with them, trying to break up violent and excessive pecking. Red decided that she wanted to roost on my head, and it took over a week before she was allowed to sleep in the hen house with them. She still gets an occasional peck, but oddly, she seems to be more respected now that she is laying eggs. There appears to be a more peaceful acceptance amongst the flock.
Here she is taking a dirt bath. Chickens love and need to take dirt baths to prevent lice, mites, and other parasites from setting in. We let our chickens "bathe" every other day or so. That seems to be the only time they need a bath; sometimes I'll let her into her dirt bath area and she won't bathe but rather she'll munch on the comfrey leaves and peck out the ground.
My garden is growing despite our cold spring. The salmon berry bushes are taking over and will need some serious pruning after the first crop of berries is done. The sage, thyme, oregano, and mint are getting huge.
I'm quite proud of my foxgloves that I grew from seed. They are so tall. The hollyhocks are also getting rather huge and covered in buds. I've been grading and grading and grading, but school's out for summer. So now I need to spend some heavy duty time in the garden, weeding, pruning, staking, harvesting. We harvested two of our first ripe strawberries two days ago. I planted some beet seeds last week and want to plant the rest and some more beans and beets to stagger the crops.
I also plan on doing some self-indulging, errand running, party planning, trip planning, and wedding planning. I have a work meeting  and a knitting lesson (my second one! Here's my first planned project. By the way, this blog is adorable) on Tuesday, a message and haircut and book club on Wednesday, Brian's thirtieth birthday on Friday, and my sister's wedding on July 9! Whew! Adventures galore!
We put some of my photos in Brian's honeycomb frames in the living room. They look pretty rad. I would also like to alternate some with cool textiles or paints or collage. There are so many fun options.