Colorado, Colorado, Colora-a-a-a-doooo

I just returned from a trip to, you guessed it, Colorado this last weekend. I was there Wednesday-Saturday last week, and it was so much fun! I got there Wednesday night, met up with Jared on Thursday in Denver, who was in town with the band, had a delish brunch all by my self like a big girl,

 best eggs Benedict ever, sorry aunt Vicky

then was able to bring my cousins, and a few of their friends to the show Thursday night at the Fillmore auditorium (it was wonderful, obvi)

 fleet foxes, sold out

Friday I met up with my cousin at the Boulder Bookstore in downtown Boulder (where she works) and we went to an amazing local brewery, introducing me to some fabulous new beers, and simultaneously changing my mind about 'hoppy' beers forever! Now to find it in Washington somewhere...

 enjoyed since 1979, just like me!! 

Saturday we hit the Boulder farmers market, which was great, but it was mother hot, so I ended up only getting a lemonade. We went hiking later that day and I managed to not die, even though it was almost 100 degrees (something my Lily white skin hasn't experienced live in at least 2 years)

 stop frowning! you're going to have wrinkles!

 the top of that mountain is just behind that tree on the left...

Later that night, we went to see on of my favorite bad movies, Point Break, at the outdoor cinema they have in  Boulder.
I had to leave super early to try to catch the first flight out, Sunday, which didn't happen, but i did manage to get on to the next one (4 hours later) since some of the people ahead of me bailed (thankyouverymuch) but we still sat on the plane at the gate for over an hour while they ran some computer diagnostic crap (which is fine, except there was a devil child on board who would not stop shrieking at an unworldly decibel) but finally we were off, and I had a double bloody Mary to celebrate!
A super big thank you to my cousin Christine and her BF Dan for letting me crash on their couch, and taking me to see the sights, and also to my other cousin Bradley who took time out from grad school and being 'the other Bradley Cooper' to hang out with me/us, and his GF Erin, who came hiking and put up with this grandma having to stop every 2 seconds because she's old and lives at sea level ;)

skinny bitch

I've never been the cutest/prettiest/coolest/smartest in any group of average girls, but I have been the skinniest. I'm really not saying this to be braggy, and it's really not that great by comparison (no guy outside of Los Angeles or the Fashion/entertainment industry has ever been heard saying, 'I really dig skinny chicks, I don't care how pretty they are' not that I've heard anyway) and it doesn't matter if you're being made fun of because your too fat or too skinny, it hurts either way, trust me.
Anyway, as ubiquitous as the quest for skinny is in the life of the American female, I have to say, I was given a good foundation. We always ate pretty healthy growing up, and I have the physical tendency toward skinniness, even though it doesn't necessarily run in the family. I was(am) never(not) particularly athletic, and not into sports, but always active (and now with the farm, i mean...) and never really gained weight until I was in my mid 20s. At my most unhealthy though, it wouldn't have mattered if I weighed 100 or 1000 lbs, I felt like shit. I was tired all the time, my skin sucked and all of my clothes made me feel like sausage. To contrast that, when we first started farming and getting into more holistic body care(?)(using less chemical stuff, etc) I was doing physical labor most of the day, eating extremely close to the ground (so to speak) and had a killer tan. I may have been dirt poor, but I felt amazing.
I'm currently surfing the space between. I eat more meat than I did a few years ago, and don't always have time to prepare every meal from scratch. I use oil of olay and sometimes even eat (gasp) fast food. I try really hard not to be a totalitarian about any of this stuff, and as strongly as I feel about being healthy, I hate the sound of my own voice and cringe at the memory of the times I've gotten super preachy about it. So, if I ever got on your nerves with my 'down with monsanto' ethos, sorry about that. love ya!
At this point I feel balance is king, all the rest is clanging gongs, ya know?

my 1st lunch today (I usually have 2 small breakfasts and 2 small lunches)

 remains of the yummiest breakfast I ever made

 tuna noodle casserole from (sort of) scratch

before and after

Eggs and Strawberries!

I was super bummed I didn't get the garden up and going before I hurt my back, but summer is making such a slow approach this year, I might not be too late after all, and I definitely want to get a jump on some over wintering.
Currently we have strawberries and eggs! I had mentioned in an earlier post that I wasn't sure if the strawberries would produce this year, and they very much are! yay! I absolutely love fresh strawberries, so I'm so super excited!

Here's a few pics, Eggs, fresh from the nest, and our modest 'farm stand' (AKA  "the blue cooler")

 here's the strawberry field, a few strawberries on the vine, and fresh picked!!

I also have a small row of potatoes going (that's a surprise volunteer to the left there) and some Italian culinary sage that overwintered, and is now flowering with pretty purple flowers! (the chickens lay their eggs in there sometimes too! :)

I never got my chives planted, but they seemed to do pretty well in the wheelbarrow ;)

the bunnies are back too! caught this one with the camera as it was getting away...

Whenever I start to get bummed about our short growing season here, I catch a glimpse of something beautiful that makes me grateful for the place I live...

Anyway, I'm hoping to get some tomatoes and a few other things going in the green house, but I'd also like to get beets, carrots, and greens going for over wintering in one of the green houses as well. Lots of work to do and plants to pick up! hope the farmers market is still brimming with viable starts like it was a couple of weeks ago, fingies crossed!!

on me own for a bit

Dropped Jared off at the airport yesterday for another 5 week run. 3 weeks in Europe, and 2 weeks (or so) in the US. I'm really hoping to meet him out on the road this time, either Chicago or Denver, and planning to drive down to Edgefield for the last show of this run too. Cross your fingies for me!
I had a great time last night with my Dad, step mom and sister for a late dinner/happy hour for Fathers Day! Who would have known that fried mac and cheese dipped in spicy ranch was EVERYTHING! Good call Brianna!
I'm getting together with two of my friends that I've known the longest for dinner tonight and I have a feeling Jameson and Poutine are in my future...yesssssssss

It's been a while

So a lot has taken place in the last few weeks since I last posted. I had plans to get the garden started, but ended up hurting my back pretty bad, actually, probably the worst injury I've had this far in my life. boo. So I've been resting up ever since, and haven't been able to get the garden started at all. Thank God we got the strawberries in when we did! There are some berries starting to make their way out, but it's been pretty cold so far this year, which was a major bummer last year, so I'm really just  trying not to stress about it, and not be sad when I see other people's gardens. ;) I'm more and more glad that we're not committed to the markets, and that we're focusing on 'regular' work for now. Jared's been touring for a few weeks but was home the last 2 weeks, so we took the opportunity to go out to Port Townsend for the day,

 We hiked from Fort Warden to Point no point with Abbey. We found some beautiful rocks and even a few pieces of sea glass. it was really great!

  We also went camping, something we haven't done since last year. We decided to go out to the San Juan islands, Jared had never been up there, and it has been like, 15 years since I've been there myself.

We stayed at Moran state park, which had awesome hiking and camping

We also saw this, which is pretty much one of the most awesome things ever...

so that's pretty much where we're at now! jared's leaving on sunday for 5 weeks, but I've got chelsea handler and sarah silverman to keep me company...

Hooray for the sunny weekend

Spring is definitely upon us here in the PacNW! It's been beautiful and sunny this last week/weekend, but my allergies have been bothering me in varying levels of severity since last Thursday, and I noticed when Jared and I went to Portland last week (which for some reason didn't make it into my last blog post) that our car was covered in yellow dust. The cedars. wonderful. I love the cedars, but when they pollenate, holy moly. It was worst last thursday, and better ever since. I'm hoping to inundate my system with homeopathic remedies, and lots of sleep and exercise. That usually does the trick for me.
I was able to get a bit of rest this last week/weekend in the midst of getting-ready-for-tour craziness this last month. As I mentioned, we did a mini road trip to Portland last week. It was a whirlwind, there early and back by the evening to move the chickens (which did make it into the last blog, lol shows where my mind is). As for this last weekend I kinda took it easy. Saturday I had dinner with a couple of friends I hadn't seen in too long (we definitely need to make it a monthly thing!) and then spent sunday with my Mom. We went to lunch at one of my favorite places in bremerton, then on to the farm so I could get a little work in.

I got a row of potatoes planted,  hope to get at least one more in that section....fingers crossed for more sunny days!!

my mom played with Abbey, who looks like she got some sweet air a few times! Go Abbster!!

It's rainy today, but I wore my new (to me) supercute summer dress anyway. I decided on a tshirt and faux leather bomber to go with since it's blustery and coldish, and I think I made it work. What do you think?

v-neck t-shirt: Old Navy; Dress: vintage (Ebay store: ebay store: that makes me feel pretty); Jacket: xhilaration; loavers: Tods

Jared is back in seattle today and tomorrow for two nights of shows in town, then back on the road. My current Jared-is-away movie obsession is breakfast at Tiffanys... I think I might be scared if I actually knew how many times I've watched it so far! ;)

I'm baaaack!

ok, haven't posted in a while, but I'm back! The husby leaves for tour today (although they will be back in a week for two days) and it wraps up the first week of June. It would seem that I have plenty to keep me busy though! lol... There is much farm work to do so I'm crossing all fingers and toes that I get some sunny days off to get this done! 

We are out of the Highway 3 property (woo! Finally!) The last order of business was completed. We had to get out the ground rods for the old electric fence set up we had there, and 6-7 chive plants that we established last year.

 

Chives

We also had to move the truck and some last few things we had to collect. Much thanks to our old (*tear) neighbor Ron for all of his wonderful help. What a great guy!

So all of the focus is on the Lincoln/Stottlemeyer property now. Nigel couldn't handle being across the street from the noisy banty rooster and they proceeded to 'call and answer' each other every morning starting at around 4 am. Thanks much to our long suffering property owners for putting up with his crowy ass for 3 days.  So now that they're in a 'new' spot, I'm hoping they stay in their fence, otherwise Lucy (aka 'killer') the resident golden retriever will be waiting! (haha)

There's also a lot of Asian greens, lettuce, cilantro, and dill to get transplanted. I'm still hooping and covering, using remay instead of plastic for now. Last night I noticed that it had blown off the bok choy I already got in, so this will be the test to see how many bunnies the fence can keep out, they love those greens! 

I should be getting a few days off, the boy and fam are going to visit relatives, so I hope those days are sunny! 

Speaking of the boy... we have made some significant progress! He has 5 going on 8 teeth, and is standing a little here and there all on his own! Very busy little bee over here...

 The Boy

Abbey is also going to be with me every day too, so I'm hoping to find some sweet spots to take her to get her wiggles out. She's a good girl, as long as she gets some exercise, otherwise, MONSTER! And although we like taking walks together as a 3some, I don't usually have the time (read: patience) to take her on daily "walks"

 I may look sweet...

So it's back to the alone schedule... Work and ferry 4 days a week and farm and friends 3 days a week!

 My commute isn't so bad!

 

I hope you look forward to hearing all about how I spend my time alone! I plan on getting together with a few of my friends I haven't been able to see in a while, and will be watching my favorite movies back to back to back to back as usual..... good times!