Before.

Today, because I know how important this is too you, I am going to give you the BEFORE tour of my farm.  Or is it a ranch?   Sometimes I get confused.  Do you need a cow to make it a ranch?  If so then we will call it a farm.  Hang in there... I get even more random as we move on.

I am recording this for posterity so I can gloat over all my hard work when it is all grown up and beautiful.  Note: I use the words "my hard work" very, very loosely.

This is the "ranch-front".  Note the spindley little tree that is destined to grow up and be a magnificent, wonderful (insert name since I forgot) tree one day.  Grow fast little one, grow fast.

update:  Grandma Zee says this is a Maple tree.  Sounds good to me!

And here we have Cinderella.  She is a very good Cinderella and we love her.  I do know the name of this spindley little guy - Eastern Redbud. Rumor has it that it will also be beautiful.  Since everything looks dead right now, I will trust in rumors.

 This is the orchard.  I love my orchard, almost as much as I love Cinderella.  It has a Shinko Pear, Gleason Elberta Peach, Satsuma Plum, Ruby Jon Apple and Honey Crisp Apple.  I don't know this because I have a fabulous memory.  I know this because I saved the little tags that came with the splindley little trees.

This is the path to the back-forty.  In some parts of the country, the back-forty refers to acres.  Here it refers to the back 40 feet of my ranch.  Sometimes I call it Sherwood Forest.  Because I can.  

The stones are a project that is down the list a ways for Farmer Robert.  Someday they will be level and surrounded by pretty ground cover instead of weeds.

Cinderella planted two very small, dead-looking climbing rose bushes that she promised me will eventually go up and over our pretty arbor that is the entrance to the back-forty.  I have much faith in Cinderella.

Over here on the North side we have the garden.  I think it is very, very large.  Cinderella and Farmer Robert keep complaining it isn't big enough.  But really - how many veggies do we need??  Just eat more vitamins for heavens sake.  Farmer Robert's next project is a beautiful arbor with bench for our grape vines to grow over.

Grapes to eat; not ferment, stomp and drink like my Italian ancestors.  Unless of course, I take up that sort of thing in the future.

The fire pit and weeds.  Again, this is a project down the list.  Some day the fire pit will be raised up and the weeds will be obliterated.  I don't care too much, since I can make s'mores just as well in a flat fire pit as in a raised fire pit.  It doesn't take much to make me happy.

Stay with me here - this one requires a bit of imagination.  The three rock rings (made by Cinderella) hold blueberry plants. Yes- blueberry plants.  I don't have much faith that they will grow here, but I certainly won't be sad if I am proven wrong.

The space going towards the fence is for our chicken coop/rabbit hutch/wood shed.  And it is going to be the cutest little thing.  People are going to want to come visit just to see it.  And eat blueberries while cooking s'mores.  That is what multi-tasking farm people do, you know.

These are garden boxes.   I know you thought it was the beginning of a covered wagon and I was going to take my family west, but HAHA - you are wrong.  Professor honey-buns (do you like Farmer Robert or Professor Honey-buns better??  I can't decide) built this and did a fabulous job.  Now we have to fill them with dirt and plant little seeds.  Then we sing songs and dance around them when there is a full moon until they grow into edible things.

And this is Brody our cute little neighbor, who helped me kill weeds today.
And Shea, who didn't help with anything because she was getting ready to go to The Hunger Games, which is much, much more important than farming.
And Kamo, who doesn't do anything but cause trouble.

Thank you for going on my tour.

Let me tell you....

...why I love our little spot on earth.  

• It's beautiful.  Every day, I marvel at the mountains.  Sunrise and sunset.   Four seasons.  Lakes and rivers.  Beauty everywhere.
• People care.  Yes - I know that people care everywhere, but I feel more of a sense of community here.
• My kids have great friends.  Yes, there is drinking, drugs and other issues.... just like the rest of the world.  But there are so many good kids that it is easy to find friends with the same values.
• A couple days after Braden's accident, he was still struggling and one evening a few of his friends came over and simply sat with him and watched TV.  Just what he needed.
• There isn't pressure to date, hook up, be serious.  Yesterday Braden was asked to Morp (girls-choice Prom).   The kids get together in groups and make it F.U.N.  This is what high school social life should be.

I have ALWAYS said that a person can be happy anywhere, and I truly believe that.  I'm just grateful that right now here is my anywhere.

San Diego - Part II

Give me a vacation with a bike and a kayak and I am happy.
Happy, happy, happy!

 

On Wednesday, we went on a bike/kayak tour of La Jolla.

8th most expensive city in the U.S.

Wizard of Oz was written here.

That's all I remember of the facts of La Jolla.  But I do remember how beautiful it was!

You can see the temple way off in the distance....
We were at the highest point of the area.

Seals at the Children's Beach

We hiked down into a cave.... amazing shot!

snapshot of my very cold toes.

We saw a dolphin - twice!
and yes, it was freezing.

San Diego - Part I

Last week, Robert and I headed to San Diego to spend a few days.  

I planned the trip for Robert's 50th birthday.... 

it originally had a baseball game included;

but who knew that the San Diego Padres played their home games in Arizona in March?

I guess everyone but me.

We stayed at the Hotel Del Coronado -  amazingly fabulous!

It was VERY cold and windy.... so hot chocolate on the beach was perfect.
Perfect except that it costs $5.
EVERYTHING was expensive.

 Beach combing for treasures....

 The hotel grounds were absolutely beautiful!

 We stopped over at the San Diego Temple... breathtaking!

 The coastline is really amazing and so very different everywhere you go.

Coming home....

Mom flew up to Seattle last week to meet my nephew's ship as it came in from  the middle east.  

Waiting for the ship

Morgan was on the USS John C. Stennis Aircraft Carier

Morgan and his mama :)

Morgan and his girlfriend Beth

Morgan, Annalisa and Grandma Zee

Morgan, Ann, Grandma and Annalisa
yes - it was cold!

Chopped

Shea and her friends decided to have a Chopped challenge (great show on the Food Network)

We did two rounds.  Each team is given "mystery items" and then they have to make a main dish and then a dessert.

Here are a few of the mystery items:

Bacon

Jello

Taco shells

Bananas

Meatballs

Robert, Braden and I were judges.  Dishes were judged on presentation, creativity and taste.

Ashton, Brooklyn, Kelsey, Brianna, Erin & Shea

Two teams and
a little trash-talking

30 minutes for each round.
Time flies when you are crazy.

Team B created Meatballs with banana/jello sauce over toast.
not so very yummy.

Team A made Jello Ramen Tacos with bacon and mustard sauce.

I wish I had pictures of the dessert round - the plates looked great!

It's been a while...

Life has been a bit crazy around here lately so taking pictures and blogging have been pushed waaaaayyyy down the list.  But here are a few shots from this past weekend when Kayla and Tyson were visiting.

Braden, Kayla and Kamo making cookies.

Kamo is learning a few things.
Going pee in appropriate places just doesn't happen to be one of them.