The holidays are coming (as well as my birthday) and of course that makes me think about gift giving and gift getting. In past years I have attempted to always plan ahead, make extreme crafting plans to hand-make everything..just for it to be about Dec. 20th me acting like a total bitch and like 2 crafts done.....this year I want to give myself a break and follow these rules:
1. When gift giving you only buy mass produced items when specifically requested.
2. If rule #1 doesn't apply then the next item must be hand-made or made by a local company.
3. Each gift must have the focus on the person and NOT the price.
I don't know about you all but seriously I am soooo sick of having crap. or even 2, 3, 6 of the same items. Why the holidays turned into a time to go into debt I don't know. Instead of being caught up in the real meaning of the holidays, which is being with loved ones, sharing memories and laughter!
Let's just see how this goes.......................
I have also emailed my family a "wish list" with stuff following the same rules...you should of heard my explanation to my mother about why I would want a "used tea kettle from this etsy web site?"....ha.
PS does anyone else kinda want to throw everything they have all away (or recycle it) and start again????
Lacy
Halloween
Last night we gave over 11 pounds of candy out. It made me proud of our hot minute of community within Nopo. 99% of the kids were dressed up, extremely polite and really cute! Learned a Martha tip as well...I used Yankee Candles (small jar kind) in our jack-o-lanterns and had many parents (as well as kids) comment on how good our Porch smelled. Noted and Noted for next year.
On another note I am already sick of this weather....Like wanting to bash head into wall sick of it...I am ashamed to admit this...I am a native and shouldn't feel this way until at least February. I have a feeling that this is going to be a long winter. Also the chickens have almost stopped laying, which while frustrating we did get an egg almost as big as my palm! Crazy....
I have also felt the need to make some baked goods and another necessity is roaring his big fat head...the need to work off those baked goods.....I was starting to become addicted to running though the thought of running in the rain doesn't make me want to lace up to tennies so we are going to start looking around for alternatives to help not only keep those baked goods off my hips and also help me survive this winter weather.
Last tip of the night YOU MUST try roasted brussel sprouts...why did my mom boil them??!!? A new favorite!
Lacy
On another note I am already sick of this weather....Like wanting to bash head into wall sick of it...I am ashamed to admit this...I am a native and shouldn't feel this way until at least February. I have a feeling that this is going to be a long winter. Also the chickens have almost stopped laying, which while frustrating we did get an egg almost as big as my palm! Crazy....
I have also felt the need to make some baked goods and another necessity is roaring his big fat head...the need to work off those baked goods.....I was starting to become addicted to running though the thought of running in the rain doesn't make me want to lace up to tennies so we are going to start looking around for alternatives to help not only keep those baked goods off my hips and also help me survive this winter weather.
Last tip of the night YOU MUST try roasted brussel sprouts...why did my mom boil them??!!? A new favorite!
Lacy
To avoid the depression from the rain.
10 Things I am Currently in Love with:
1. Red Wine.
2. Fleece Pants (seriously I think about them at work....actually I think more about "could I find a black pair that I could wear to work?? Or even more important would anyone say anything???)
3. Having 4 happy chickens...its been a long haul but I am really lovin' the new birds we got!
4. Having girl friends who aren't afraid to call you on your shit. (seriously....that is real friendship)
5. Babies (and dogs for that matter) in Halloween costumes...I don't care if they don't understand the holiday I want to dump like a million pieces of candy on them...or maybe offer to trade the candy for them.....
6. My new broom (from http://www.broommagic.com/) Local and freakin lovely!! (Note I did not say I like sweeping).
7. Did I mention Red Wine?
8. The color Burnt Orange.
9. The smell of a burning fire place (which currently I can only get from a yankee candle but still good enough)
10. My man's beard....seriously. HOT.
1. Red Wine.
2. Fleece Pants (seriously I think about them at work....actually I think more about "could I find a black pair that I could wear to work?? Or even more important would anyone say anything???)
3. Having 4 happy chickens...its been a long haul but I am really lovin' the new birds we got!
4. Having girl friends who aren't afraid to call you on your shit. (seriously....that is real friendship)
5. Babies (and dogs for that matter) in Halloween costumes...I don't care if they don't understand the holiday I want to dump like a million pieces of candy on them...or maybe offer to trade the candy for them.....
6. My new broom (from http://www.broommagic.com/) Local and freakin lovely!! (Note I did not say I like sweeping).
7. Did I mention Red Wine?
8. The color Burnt Orange.
9. The smell of a burning fire place (which currently I can only get from a yankee candle but still good enough)
10. My man's beard....seriously. HOT.
Creating Community
The view of the lake was breathtaking and made me realize how blessed I am to live in such an amazing place. Its ridiculous that I don't get out and see the beauty that is Oregon more often. I think this is going to be my New Year's resolution! Anyhoo we proceeded to climb up the pretty intense .7 miles towards the fire look-out. Once up there the amazing view turned into beyond belief beauty..there was only one other guy up there. We immediately asked if he was the guy riding the bike and instantly this moment of "nosiness" lead to an amazing connection. He immediately told us about this journey he is taking from Alaska to South America..all on bike. He also is climbing the highest mountain of each country he goes through and had some amazing stories. We chatted with him for about 30 minutes and sadly he was biking away from us or we would have bought him dinner. I thought I would share his website with you and he promised it would be in English by the end of the month. And the next time you are out try to start a conversation with the stranger next to you....you never know who they might be, or the journey they are on.
The highest World
Lacy
Love.
I think about Love and what that means quite a lot. As a person who has been in a couple long-term relationships and is in one currently you start to realize...and quite quickly that Love is not that of fairy tales. It is not prince charming sweeping me off my feet, or someone to swoop down and rescue me. There are days that I think that "happy ever after" would be pretty awesome but I look out the window see my man getting pure joy running around the backyard like a crazy person trying to wear out our dog and that thought vanishes. The moments where he looks at me and thanks me, genuinely, for reheating left-over spaghetti...from a week ago...makes me realize that love is everyday.
I look at my parents who after 25 years of marriage divorced. I think it is this experience that really made me start looking at love. How two people who made it through some major life issues together could fall "out of love". They were the couple you would always find making out on the couch (much to my teenage horror), the ones who genuinely showed that while not always roses that laughter could cure most things. How you go from that to "done" made me realize how fragile, how fleeting, how precious Love can be.
On this day of "National Coming Out" I thought of love again. I thought of one of my best friends not being able to marry the woman who makes her smile. Makes her happy and fulfilled.
Of the young gay males in college I RA'd for that would keep me up crying because they didn't want to be different, couldn't fathom coming out to their parent/families/friends.
The teens who are killing themselves because of bullying.
They were afraid that the Love they felt for someone else would end the love others felt for them.
I thought of my love for family members who, to be completely honest, if we were not related by blood I would have no ties too because they couldn't look past their Love for their God to see that at the core of it all is Love. His greatest gift.
Love.
4 letters. Though it is what life is made up of. It has caused both my best and worst times in my life. But at the end of the day I know that I can marry that man out that window. I can talk about him, and our life at work with no worries. I can march my ass down the street holding his hand and NO one will look the other way. It kills me inside that my friends can't do the same. I am not perfect. I have no idea what actually constitutes "Love" but what I do know what it is not:
Hate.
I am an ally. Not because of political reasons, not because of some moral compass, or religious shenanigans but because of the look my best friend Jayme has when she looks at her girlfriend....god for that reason, even when she talks about her. It is like my friend comes to life, she starts to shine. How anyone can hate that, can deny that, can harass that is beyond my comprehension.
So I will just go about loving ALL my friends, and all the people they love. I will continue to love those that are uneducated, misguided and scared. Because at the end of the day I know that I am 100 million percent better for it. That this is how we will end homophobia:
Love.
Lacy
I look at my parents who after 25 years of marriage divorced. I think it is this experience that really made me start looking at love. How two people who made it through some major life issues together could fall "out of love". They were the couple you would always find making out on the couch (much to my teenage horror), the ones who genuinely showed that while not always roses that laughter could cure most things. How you go from that to "done" made me realize how fragile, how fleeting, how precious Love can be.
On this day of "National Coming Out" I thought of love again. I thought of one of my best friends not being able to marry the woman who makes her smile. Makes her happy and fulfilled.
Of the young gay males in college I RA'd for that would keep me up crying because they didn't want to be different, couldn't fathom coming out to their parent/families/friends.
The teens who are killing themselves because of bullying.
They were afraid that the Love they felt for someone else would end the love others felt for them.
I thought of my love for family members who, to be completely honest, if we were not related by blood I would have no ties too because they couldn't look past their Love for their God to see that at the core of it all is Love. His greatest gift.
Love.
4 letters. Though it is what life is made up of. It has caused both my best and worst times in my life. But at the end of the day I know that I can marry that man out that window. I can talk about him, and our life at work with no worries. I can march my ass down the street holding his hand and NO one will look the other way. It kills me inside that my friends can't do the same. I am not perfect. I have no idea what actually constitutes "Love" but what I do know what it is not:
Hate.
I am an ally. Not because of political reasons, not because of some moral compass, or religious shenanigans but because of the look my best friend Jayme has when she looks at her girlfriend....god for that reason, even when she talks about her. It is like my friend comes to life, she starts to shine. How anyone can hate that, can deny that, can harass that is beyond my comprehension.
So I will just go about loving ALL my friends, and all the people they love. I will continue to love those that are uneducated, misguided and scared. Because at the end of the day I know that I am 100 million percent better for it. That this is how we will end homophobia:
Love.
Lacy
Digging..Stirring...Measuring...
Up to my eye balls in fruit/tomatoes/canning...I keep remind myself that there was a time that I would actually sit and eat my dinner...as opposed to the current situation where I make the dinner on any free burner I can find and eat while preparing my next canning adventure. That there used to be more to my life then canning jars, HUGE pots and my immersion blender. I used to do stuff...fun stuff....non-cook related stuff.... Though let me take a moment and proclaim my LOVE of my gas range!! It might be my favorite item in my house...SO just wanted to check in and state that if I never see another apple (besides the 60 pounds I have waiting for me still...) it will be a good life...Though there is NOTHING like still warm apple sauce on some bob's red mill grain cereal...uh-flippin-mazing.
Lacy
Lacy
When life hands you green tomatoes...
Ok I know its been awhile....I was so angry at the weather not assisting in this whole experiment I call a "garden". I wanted to punish something and because I have no power to make the sun shine I decided I would punish the blog...silly right??!!? So lets reflect on the amazingness of this year....
Lessons Learned:
-Just buy plants...don't grow from seed...you need counter space more then a million seedlings....
-The raised bed farthest to the right gets the least amount of sun...plan accordingly.
-Tomato plants get HUGE soooo don't plant bush beans behind them....
-Plant the tomatoes towards the back so you can plant other things in the front...
-buying plants via the mail doesn't work out...use saturday market instead.
-when using water walls for tomatoes put the cage around first then slide the water wall around that.
Okay so for year one we actually did okay...got a bunch of tomatoes (not enough to can sadly) but did find this option and let me just say "YUM!"...slow roasted tomatoes
Though we ended up with about 1 billion green tomatoes....so I searched the web and found the answer! It was simple, delish and uses green tomatoes. I doubled it and ended up with ten 12 oz jars.
Green Tomato Enchilada Sauce
Combine the following:
5 cups of chopped green tomatoes
1 1/2 cups seeded, chopped long green chiles
1/2 cup seeded finely chopped jalapenos
4 cups chopped onions
1 cup bottled lemon juice
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp. ground cumin
3 tbsp. oregano leaves (I used 1 1/2 tbsp. of ground mexican oregano)
1 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
Put it in a big sauce pan bring to a boil. Stir frequently and once it begins to boil, then reduce head and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
I then added 1/2 cup chopped cilantro and used my immersion blender to puree the sauce.
Ladle the hot salsa into your jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace. Process in a boiling water canner for 15 minutes and you are good to go!
Now enjoy!
I plan on making this a couple more times...we have that many green tomatoes! Oy. More experienced canners out there could you substitute lime juice for the lemon?? I think that would be more authentic though with the whole acid level issue involved in canning I didn't want to play around with the recipe too much.
Also just got my winter garden in so plan on hearing more about "lessons learned".
Lacy
* Just did some research and via the powers of the internet I have concluded that you could use lime juice which I think would taste more authentic. I am going to use limes for the next batch so I will update on the taste...
Lessons Learned:
-Just buy plants...don't grow from seed...you need counter space more then a million seedlings....
-The raised bed farthest to the right gets the least amount of sun...plan accordingly.
-Tomato plants get HUGE soooo don't plant bush beans behind them....
-Plant the tomatoes towards the back so you can plant other things in the front...
-buying plants via the mail doesn't work out...use saturday market instead.
-when using water walls for tomatoes put the cage around first then slide the water wall around that.
Okay so for year one we actually did okay...got a bunch of tomatoes (not enough to can sadly) but did find this option and let me just say "YUM!"...slow roasted tomatoes
Though we ended up with about 1 billion green tomatoes....so I searched the web and found the answer! It was simple, delish and uses green tomatoes. I doubled it and ended up with ten 12 oz jars.
Green Tomato Enchilada Sauce
Combine the following:
5 cups of chopped green tomatoes
1 1/2 cups seeded, chopped long green chiles
1/2 cup seeded finely chopped jalapenos
4 cups chopped onions
1 cup bottled lemon juice
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp. ground cumin
3 tbsp. oregano leaves (I used 1 1/2 tbsp. of ground mexican oregano)
1 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
I then added 1/2 cup chopped cilantro and used my immersion blender to puree the sauce.
Now enjoy!
I plan on making this a couple more times...we have that many green tomatoes! Oy. More experienced canners out there could you substitute lime juice for the lemon?? I think that would be more authentic though with the whole acid level issue involved in canning I didn't want to play around with the recipe too much.
Also just got my winter garden in so plan on hearing more about "lessons learned".
Lacy
* Just did some research and via the powers of the internet I have concluded that you could use lime juice which I think would taste more authentic. I am going to use limes for the next batch so I will update on the taste...
