Yard Remodel

We must be totally crazy. Right in the middle of severe yard work time we are adding on to the kitchen. There is not enough time in the day to even come close to getting all of the fall yard work done. I've been working as much as I can but Lance is so busy working on the kitchen that I'm all on my own with this. So far there have been 30 spring bulbs planted with 40 more to go, seven roses moved and tons of ivy and perennials cut down. On top of all of this the snails are still on the move and so I must watch everywhere for them. Here is a picture of the current yard mess but I know it's always worth it in the spring.

Kitchen Remodel

Well, after all these years of talk the remodel has finally began. I am so nervous about having my kitchen torn apart. Lance is so brave attempting this himself, I'm so thankful for that. Our next door neighbor has done a considerable amount of work and if it weren't for him we would only be half as far with it as we are. James came over and helped today which was a huge blessing they put the new door on and it's a normal size foe normal people.

Juniper Beer

Here is a photo of the brew with Juniper. We gathered about 4 pounds of berries from Grand Gulch and for extraness some actual branches from across the street. I'm a little worried that might be too much but I reeeeally wanted to taste it strongly. I will let you know how this one does.

Grand Gulch

Grand Gulch is a place Lance and I have not been. We have driven by a few times but never stopped. When we were discussing where to go on our fal excursion as soon as it was mention I was like YESSSSS! Beside the fact that It was Everetts final place to explore it was definately a place on my list not traveled. We had to get a permit ahead of time and the BLM office is only open till noon so we had to leave at 5:30 in the morning and we got there with only 10 minutes to spare. We went in through Todie Canyon and it was very rough with our giant packs on and took forever (I wouldn't go in that way again). We had it all planned out like where to get water and camp but it turned out all the springs we were counting on were dry so we quickly changed our plans and didn't get to see all we wanted. The water we could find was extremely buggy and dirty, by the end both of our filters were clogged. The Native American ruins were exquisite and you could explore many of them. The fall colors were also very beautiful. I can't wait to go back and finish exploring this great unspoiled treasure of Utah.

Canning Season

One of my favorite times of year is here. Canning. I really don't know what I would do without it. You wouldn't be able to preserve food or you just wouldn't be able to can. I've done all of the usual things this year, pears, peaches, salsa, pear butter, pickles, green beans, and now I'm in the middle of apples. This year I'm going to try pickling some Jalapenos. I love just trying things to see if it works and I have a new stove to boot.

New stove of heaven.

We finally got a new stove. Yay!! I am so excited to cook now. I told Lance that I would cook everyday and so I plan on doing that. The best part is it has an extra large burner so with ease and quickness I can heat up the big, giant canner or the big, giant brew pot. The other cool thing is I don't have to light the burners with a match half the time. Hopefully I can keep her nice and new and clean looking.

Portland

My cousin lives in Portland and had invited us up there a couple of times. I don't know why we hadn't gone sooner we had so much endless fun. We hiked in the Colombia River Gorge, ate bacon doughnuts, drank lots of good beer, went to Edgefield where they make their own gin, enjoyed an afternoon at the Saturday Market, checked out the Rogue Nation, and drove to the coast for some serious beauty and rest. On top of all of that my cousin had such a marvelous place for us to stay.

Our new little home away from home.

We have finally got a little baby trailer. It is from 1970 and in perfect condition. It is so cute and cosy I think we will have many great trips with her. Her name is Ellie because she looks like an Elephant and is a Rancho El Rae brand. She was owned by only one person, which is why she is in almost perfect condition. We took James, Becca, Sebastian, and Bosco on this excursion and had a blast. Previously we took her out with Asher and Halen and before that Christian and Jackson so we're already getting some good use.

Homebrewing Finally!

Yay! It has been my dream for so long to try brewing beer. Mark and Sarah came to stay and they agreed to help me get started with my first brew. It's an Amber Ale and we all wore aprons so I named it 4 Aprons Amber. The next one I'm going to try is a Plum beer, since I have so many plums I don't know what to do with them. I have so many ideas for beer and it takes so long to brew it. That's my only complaint so far.

High Uintahs

I love the summer backpacking season. When it's totally hot in the desert it's totally cool in the High Uintahs. We are so blessed to be able to load up the pack and be at the trailhead in an hour. Long lake was our destination since it was a pretty short hike. We took Sugar Pie and she had a blast. My pack was only about 20 pounds as you don;t need to pack water due to it being everywhere. Much, much better than Havasupai. My pack there was 30 pounds and every bit as painful as it sounds. Lance's was 60 though so I should just shut up. He's so sweet carrying some of my things too. Sug gets off easy, all she carries is a stick too big for her.

Havasupai and Oatman

We just had the most awesome hiking experience in the Grand Canyon. 20 miles round trip into the Havasupai Nation. It was absolutely beautiful. The water is a lovely shade of turquoise green and the falls are very powerful it feels like a hurricane when you're underneat them. It's also so loud that you can't even hear anything but torrents of water. I was so sore after hiking the 10 miles in that I didn't know how I was going to hike out. I had planned on taking the helicopter out but my wonderful friends Asher, Halen, Tim, and Hope, would not let me. I'm sure glad in retrospect that they "encouraged me " to hike out because it would have felt like I cheated otherwise. We had so much fun playing in the water it was a little cold but you get used to it after a while I only wished I could have played in it more. We hiked out just as quick as we hiked in I was so surprised. After that we saw the Burrows in the ghost town Oatman there were babies and they were only 2 weeks old so they couldn't be fed the carrots.

Hot Lemonade Cave Dreams

We set out on a hot dry afternoon to hike Neff's Canyon. It was blissful until the rain started pouring down. We found a small cave big enough for one person , if your lucky, but we were able to squeeze three people in. We still got quite a bit wet but it was extremely exhilarating. I love adventure, it is so awesome to be able have a nice little rainy hike in the afternoon even though it feels dangerous. We waited it out for awhile but decided to trek out in the sheeting rain. We made it fine and it was well worth it. Although I never found the hot Lemonade Shack at the end of the trail, maybe it was there because we never made it there. We did enjoy some cold beer though.

Hostile Takeover

There has been a takeover in the garden while I was gone. Not only by weeds but also by some native plants that I planted a couple of years ago. I have been trying to get rid of them all year with no success. I've tried weed killer (2 different kinds) and pulling them, that's hard though because you don't want to squish snails. Don't ever plant Evening Primrose or Four o'clocks. I hope anyone who I have given them to will forgive me.

Bittersweet

Well, It is over, the long awaited floating house trip with our dear Becca and James. It is so sad when you are so excited about something for months and then boom, it's just over. I'm glad that the time went pretty slowly while we were there. We stayed in Escalante canyon (my favorite area) the whole time. The first 3 nights were in a tributary called Willow Creek and the last 3 were in Davis Gulch. Wilow was a bit breezy and I was blown across the canyon while just trying to float. It was so scary I thought I was going to tip over and the only thing going through my mind was Lance saying "wear your life vest", I had to be rescued by boat. Davis Gulch was intoxicating (literally) there was so much beauty there I thought I might not survive.

We spent our days lounging on floaties, eating, drinking, kayaking, and fishing. Lance and I hiked into Davis Gulch and it was definitely the highlight of the trip. There were Prickly Pear blooming all over. Also, some Indian Paintbrush, Yucca, and Purple Sage to name a few. It was such a splendid time of year in the desert, I so regret not hiking into Willow. Next time. Sugarpie had fun swimming after her stick and James had fun putting her in her place. All in all it was a refreshing time in the desert and it is also really good to be home in my garden during my favorite time of year.

Chicago Shopping

Today we got cancelled in Chicago at 8 in the morning so we decided to go into the city. It was so much fun. I hadn't been there in a few months and I really love this city. We started with an early lunch and a cold Goose Island, a good local brew, at a delicious Thai restaurant. We then strolled the streets on such a picturesque sunny day. We went to Saks Fifth Avenue got mini makeovers and sprayed ourselves with exquisite fragrances. What a girly day, I think we all need it once in a while. We then began to shop at all sorts of boutiques and of coarse H and M since it's one of my favorites. We tried on pretty dresses and many other silly things. Oh, how fun my job can be!

Part Time Yay!

Finally after 3 years I have been awarded the elusive part time. I can't believe I have stuck it out this long. It's so awesome I won't have to get trips dropped or picked up anymore and I'll have a better chance of getting the trips I want. This just makes the most amazing job all that more amazing, and It's just in time for Summer!

Everett Ruess: Found?

Wow I cannot believe it. The body of the famed wanderer was finally found on comb ridge. This changes EVERYTHING. Everyone thought his last place was Davis Gulch when in fact it was 60 miles east. How did he get there? Did he take his burros across the river? What did he see and why would someone want to kill such a tender guy? Lance and I have been looking at Davis Gulch for many years for any sort of clues or artifacts about the disappearance and now this just changes everything. There's so much I want to know about his experiences in Grand Gulch. Where is his 1934 journal? Does someone have it out there or was it burned never to reach his family's eyes? We will probably never know but I am so happy for his family, although saddened that his brother who spent his whole life dedicated to finding him died only a year before they found him.

Spur of the Moment Zion

I'm so excited we get to go to Zion with our wonderful friends Kevin and Kathy. I was already happy to be going to the Kaparowits but we decided the weather would be too cold and Kevin's Jeep wasn't ready. We may also meet up with Sarah and Mark. Lance and I really wanted to go to Zion but decided we could not afford to squeeze it in so this is a huge blessing to actually be going the last minute. Yay!

I Still Have A Job

I just finished Recurrant two days ago and I got 100%. I was quite nervous this year as things seemed a little different. I had so many people praying for me that I actually had fun. I studied so much that I felt pepared and that was awesome . I also got to hang out with friends I haven't seen in a long time. I can relax now, I have the rest of the month off and were leaving for Zion tomorrow. Yippee!

Music

I love music so much. It brings me alive and awake. Some music makes me feel young and cool, some nostalgic, some very sad, and some makes me feel really close to God. I was thinking the other day about how every single one of my close friends are musicians. That's cool. I have a guitar but it doesn't come natural to me. I think one of these days I'm going to pick it back up.

Super Sadness

I can't believe after 20 years my beloved TGI Friday's has been closed. It was the first Friday's in Utah. We were like a family there and to just know that I can never go into the building anymore is just so tragic. I started working there in January 1995 when it was only six years old. I had just came there from The Kowloon Cafe and was so shocked that a restaurant could be so immaculately clean, thanks to Troy. I met and worked with and trained countless people over the 11 years I worked there. I ran into a guy the other day and I didn't remember who he was until he said "hey, you trained me here in the far cafe". I will still be close friends with my dear friend Barbara who will keep me up to date on everyone else. Oh, but there is no solace for me, wonderful Friday's as I know it is no more. Unfortunatley I had to quite there three years ago for my other job but the last few times they let me work there were like a dream. I will treasure it always.

Floor Dining

I had to write about the special dinners we had at Rolf and Nicole's. It was casual yet so elegant. They would just whip up something amazing and it would be like no big deal (fresh baked croissants, pizza, sage stuffed chicken breasts) or it would be authentic English fish and chips from a little take away down the street. It was amazing that we could enjoy an exquisite meal and fabulous company just lounging around on the floor.

England

Lance and I had the opportunity to go to England last week. We stayed with Rolf and Nicole. They were so super hospitable and showed us around some of their favorite places. We saw an awesome castle, the 7 sisters on Beechy Head, beautiful countryside, Canterbury, many many things in London and had some incredible food. We also took the car under the English Channel on a train and drove through France and spent a day in Brugge, Belgium. We had chocolate, waffles, and some good beer. We also rode around on a boat (they call Brugge the Venice of the north) through quaint little canyons of homes and shops. It normally rains quite a bit in February but we didn't get rained on once. What a wonderful blessing.

Alligator Adventures

Anytime I get the chance to hang out in NYC I just can't pass it up. You wouldn't think a wilderness girl like me would enjoy it so much but I just can't help it. The night was filled with the usual adventures but one was especially special. In little Italy we went to a friends local favorite from when he used to live there. Cha Cha's is the name. After talking to the owner a bit the man he was sitting with (he was from Gatorland in Florida) unzipped this duffel bag on his lap and pulled out a 3 foot albino alligator. I was freaking out. He then opened up a smaller bag and inside was a 6 month old alligator which I am holding here and a 5 month old Crocodile. Amazing. After that we ended our night at a crazy club called Happy Endings. It truly was.

Beautiful Ring

A couple of years ago I went to Israel and among other fabulous items I purchased a ring that was in the shape of a crown. There's an amazing street market that takes up two entire streets offering fresh produce (the largest I've ever seen) and endless art from locals of Tel Aviv and beyond. A while back I actually lost the ring. It's unfortunate demise was that of a DC landfill I'm sure. Shameful. I grieved my lost memento for quite sometime. Well, I have just received another ring from the treasured street market. Julie just came from there and actually bought it for me. This one has a wrapping olive branch around it, so fitting for right now with such a need for peace.

Desert Dreams

I miss the desert desperately. It feels like an eternity since I've been there. It is so cold where I am. I think I was fooling myself when a friend and I tried to go for a walk along a beautiful frozen river in Golden. It was sunny but I think only 5 degrees. Yeah. I know the desert is probably frozen right now but I can pretend. Right? If only I could just play in some dirt (or lay in it) and smell some sagebrush mmmmmm.

New Activities of Boredom

The skiing was incredible. I didn't forget a thing. I was about as good as I ever was which is not very good at all. I can't wait to go again but I'll have to save up for a while due to the high cost of everything skiing. Today I can add some new items of accomplishment to the list: Painted a dresser, made a measuring stick for Jackson, went ice skating , and baked a pie for national pie day. I also purchased some paint for the kitchen but believe it or not I actually have to go back to work now so there's no time for that. Sigh! I think I'm more productive when I have less time off. I know,weird.

New Year New Blog

One commitment I've made this year was to create some kind of journal so I thought why not a blog? So, I'm going to give it a shot. I've been off work now for two weeks and still have another week to go. I am dying of boredom which is so unusual for me. I've cooked, early spring cleaned, knitted up a storm, gone bowling a couple of times and walked the neighborhood relentlessly. I think I learned my lesson on giving away too many trips. Anyway, Lance and I are going skiing on Monday and I'm so excited. We haven't been for like 15 years. We usually snowboard but we haven't even done that for like 7 years. So, hopefully we don't hurt ourselves. Today just as I was feeling the boredom creep in unbearably a friend called me to work at Fridays tomorrow ( they let me work there whenever they need it) and it gave me hope for the future :) God never let's it get too bad for me to handle. I love Him.