Almond Blossoms

I have enjoyed walking past the almond trees on our street since the end of February when they appeared to bloom overnight. You can hear the trees before you see them as they are usually full of  bees. I love to stop and take a moment to inhale their sweet scent.

All these new surprises out here sure have made the transition easier on us.

Any signs of spring where you live?  

Just a few things I am loving this week.

Loving the late afternoon light this time of year. 

Loving the winter salad from this cookbook. Grated beet, carrot and turnip. Swiss chard. Radish sprouts. Sesame seeds. Topped with tahini dressing.

And this breakfast. Corn tortillas. Fried eggs. Cheddar. Cilantro. Hot sauce. Yes.

And loving this sewing book I checked out from the library.
And this song.
And this show.
Ah, so much to love this week.

Have a great weekend. Hope it's full of gorgeous light, yummy food and beautiful music.

Garden! And some new friends.

A few shots of our garden this year. It's coming along slowly, but surely.

And we got two new hens! Meet Agnes (aka Mrs. Miyagi because she can catch flies with her beak) and Loretta. Don't ask us which one is which. They are a little skittish as you can see from the photo, but are settling in nicely. 

Taking the day off tomorrow to go canoeing and swimming. It's been HOT here and we are itchin' to get the boat out and feel some cold water on our skin. Til' next time!

Ladies and Gents...We have a winner!

But, before I announce who won the Valentine's Day soap giveaway, please let me say how touched and honored I felt to read all the comments you lovely people wrote about what you grateful for. Thank you.

And, secondly, I wanted to share a few things I am grateful for today:

I am grateful I have a wonderful and loving friend out there who writes me letters regularly. She happens to be a fantastic cook and she takes the time to write out a recipe or two and include them in her letters. A true gift.

I am grateful to have time to walk around my neighborhood and notice small signs of sweetness like this bud breaking through a branch.

I am grateful for having watched this TED talk by Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor. It was an inspiring, fascinating and powerful talk about the human brain and how we choose to live our lives. If you have 18 minutes I suggest giving it your time. She also wrote a book that I hope to read soon.

And, lastly, I am grateful for my sweet hound dog. He was nice enough to help me announce the winner too!

Congrats to Pig and Fish, aka Deb and Nanako! Shoot me an email and let me know which soap set you want and where to send it.

Thanks again to everyone who entered and I hope you all have a beautiful weekend!

Winter Musings.

Hope you all had a lovely holiday out there!  I will be back in full force on the blog after the New Year (which is soon, I know). I have been taking a wee break to restock my wares and have a little down time from computer land.

But until then, here are some photos of our yard when we got a big snow a few weeks ago. Stu and I went to check on our chickens in the morning and walked into a snowy wonderland. I am feeling nostalgic today because it has warmed up like crazy and the snow is melting fast. Come back snow, come back!

See y'all in 2012!

The Hills are Alive

Flagstaff is a special place to live. It just is. And the aspen trees this time of year practically make me burst out into song they're so damn beautiful ( kinda like the opening scene from The Sound of Music).

I went on a hike with Lou today and I wanted to share some of this beauty with you. Singing optional.

Soap + Fall = Awesome

It's been an amazing week in these parts. I've felt really inspired by all the autumn goodness that happens this time of year.

The light is golden. The air is crisp. The leaves are bright, bold colors. Oh, and we got our first snow!

I have been picking up little pieces of  "autumnness" around the neighbor hood to take photos for my Etsy shop. I am really pleased with them.

I thought you might like to see 'em too. Happy Fall!

Lemongrass Eucalyptus Soap 

Unscented Soap 

Lavender Orange Soap 

Orange Grapefruit Clove Soap 

Mint Spruce Soap 

Fir Needle Spruce Beer Soap 

Our Backyard. It Makes Me Happy.

Garden update! Remember what it looked like back in May? Matt's dad (upon seeing that post) thought we might be trying to grow food on a concrete slab.  Well, it's amazing what a shovel and some compost can do for your soil. Dig deep as they say.

Note: These photos are a few weeks old so some of the plants are a bit farther along and some have well, um, crapped out. Our pattypan squash has succumbed to powdery mildew and looks real sad. But, at least we got one squash from it! If anyone has any advice on that disease, fee free to let me know.

Oh! And if you're a garden/book nerd like me I highly recommend reading this book! I checked it out from the library a while back and loved it. It's part gardening how-to, part spiritual memoir, part poetry. Really great stuff. Yeah, I might have teared up multiple times while reading, but I'm a giant sap. But, regardless, it's a good book to curl up with and daydream about vegetables. Cup of tea optional.

Okay, without further adieu, here's some shots of our humble garden. I'm proud.

scarlet runner beans flowering

sad. the fruits never got bigger than this.

tomato flowers

bright lights chard

basil. how i love thee.

little baby cuke

hoop house transformed!

Ode to My Chickens

Blanche and Trudy. I love em. There. I said it!

I mean, look at these ladies. How could you not?

Blanche on the left and Trudy on the right

 Every day I find their eggs in the coop I practically bow down to them in thanks. Their eggs are beautiful and damn near perfect if you ask me. Big brown ones from Blanche. Smallish white ones from the Trudster.

And they don't ask for much in return.  But, we try to give them some goodness. Current faves are juicy slugs, wheat berries, bananas and dandelion greens.

And they have another special fan as well. Stu the cat. He might love them more than me. He likes to sleep next to them for most of the day. The neighbor cat joins him for naps outside the coop occasionally. We're not sure if they are trying to plot the chickens demise or if they simply enjoy the company. Or both.

I didn't think these ladies would bring me so much joy, but holy crap do they ever. I feel so lucky that our friend Tony gave them to us (pretty much in exchange for breakfast) and so incredibly grateful for the food they provide us with.

Maybe one day I'll get around to learning Cluck Old Hen on Matt's banjo so I can serenade them (secret dream!). But, until then, listen to this version. The young girl on the mandolin kills it!