Flower Girl Bouquet

This is the bouquet my grand daughter 

will carry in the wedding.

I saw the idea on the internet and because 

it's made of felt it's a good choice for a 2 1/2 yr old

to carry without worrying about her dropping it

or forgetting it somewhere:)

It looks simple but took 8 hrs to complete!

No wonder the price was so high 

to order one online.

 One project down...on to the next one!

30 Years of Commitment

Yesterday was our 30th Anniversary!

Yikes!

From our last anniversary to this has been

a true test of commitment to our vows...

it was one of the hardest years I have ever lived,

but in the end we are in a much better place.

It's like the analogy of a garden, if you don't 

till the soil you won't have anything grow.

I feel more ready now then in a long time to

go into the next 30 together:)

Swimming into Summer's End

The hot days of August are winding down 

and I've been thinking that this is the first year

since 1986 that I won't be "getting" 

anyone to school!

My youngest goes into 11th grade and has 

a car, (and an alarm clock!)

so in other words I can go on 

pretending it's still summer as long as I want:)

Pantry = Disaster Area

I have been looking at this mess in my pantry

all summer!  The hour

of time that I felt like doing any

organizing...just never came!

Once I got going it didn't take that long, but

it's amazing how many stale chips 

and out of date packaged food

one pantry can hold!
The bins are all from the Dollar Tree

I'm linking up with
Delightful Order
For the Thursday Party

Wedding Guest Book

Shana wanted a scrapbook style

guest book for her wedding.

I have made some similar to this

for regular scrapbooks so it

was fairly easy to do.

It will be a keepsake that she can

keep out on display as she can add in 

wedding photos later.

One project crossed off the list:)

Bridal Shower

My daughter Shana's bridal shower took place

a week ago at my house.

Her bridesmaids and friends (and me!)

put together a fun event which the bride

seemed to enjoy wholeheartedly.

We were able to have it outside as the weather

was decent and the dress up game

was a hoot:)

Locovore Challenge Day #7

I'm done!

I did it!

I was a locovore for a week:)

Breakfast

 Lunch...It's actually pretty amazing to have
a fast food place that is known for its'
local food and ingredients.

 Sunday Supper...always easy and simple

 What I learned this week

-I don't think being a complete locovore is
for me, but being a partial one ie: eating
what is in season and shopping at local
farms and stores is fine.
-I really missed odd things that I didn't know
I really even cared about, like Cheetos or coffee creamer!
-I felt great while on this challenge, but a person has
to be careful not to eat TOO many veggies, or the tummy
protests!
-Because I am GF, I have to eat with an eye on ingredients
anyway so that part was a given for me
-I really like to support local businesses, whether for food
or otherwise
-I think God just has such a creative eye to come
up with all the colors and tastes of fresh
fruits and veggies:)

Score for Day 7
95%

Locovore Challenge Day #6

Counting down to the last day

of my Locovore Challenge!

Breakfast

 Lunch

 Dinner...Rockys Pizza...
Does that count? It's local!


What I learned
-I miss chocolate and popcorn!
-I'm ready for easier meals
-It takes creativity to do food Blogging!!!

Score Day 6
85%

Locovore Challenge Day #5

I was truly back on track today!

Breakfast

 Lunch

 Dinner (OUT!)

The food at this place was DELISH!

I was able to choose from a wide variety of 

things because fresh local foods tend

to be more GF friendly.

What I learned

-have you noticed how vivid the colors

of all the foods are?!

-it's worth the extra time to eat a lunch

like I had today

-Eating out can be really great if you 

choose the right place

Score Day 5

95%

Locovore Challenge Day #4

Still out of town for most of this day...so 

I had to make do.

Breakfast was eaten at a local 

(to where I was staying)

coffee shop where they roast their 

own free trade coffee 

and the muffin was baked at the local bakery

that serves GF.

The rest of the day was spent traveling
by car...not a great idea when trying to eat
local!

What I learned
-my stomach feels better on local food
-it's not worth getting stressed about to skip a day
-it's just a personal challenge!

Score Day 4
25%

Locovore Challenge Day #3

My "Eating Local" plans for this week 

got kind of thrown for a loop

as I had to go out

of town on business for 2 days...

So I began day 3 just fine with a local
Breakfast

 Lunch was on the run in the car on my way over
Mt. Hood!

Dinner...not local...:(

What I learned
-if not locally produced then organic
-if not organic then family farm
-if not family farm then local business
-if not local business then fair trade
-if all else fails DO NOT eat at McD's!

Score Day 3
50%

Out in the Fields "Farm to Table" Dinner

I was inspired by a chance encounter

online with "Outstanding in the Field" website...

It seemed only right with such a similar name

that I should do a dinner along the same lines,

and in the same week as my locovore challenge.

I have to say as Chef, shopper and server I spent

the ENTIRE day on this meal!

It was a beautiful evening in the "field"

and my family seemed to enjoy all 

the local bounty.

Some items were purchased at the Farmers Market

including the free range chickens and bread.

The only things I fudged on were once

again seasonings and flavoring, but 

 95% of this meal was locally grown.

To my delight I also finally found a great

GF recipe book so the tart crusts were 

tasty and gluten free:)

Locovore Challenge Day #2

Breakfast

 Lunch

 Dinner requires it's own post!

What I learned today...
-it's very expensive to eat local foods!
-it requires a lot of driving
-it takes longer to make

Score for Day 2
85%

Locovore Challenge Day #1

 Breakfast

 Lunch

Dinner

What I learned today...

-it takes a lot of time and planning

to eat this way!

-I'm glad Tillamook is only 92 miles from my house!

-It's going to be hard to find seasonings and

flavorings that fit the criteria

-foods that are not processed don't taste 

as flavorful (yet) and will require some getting used to:)

SCORE for Day 1

75 %

Locovore Challenge

I have become very interested lately in the idea of 

eating more locally grown food...

mostly because of my belief that much of 

what we eat is so full of chemicals and

changed so dramatically that we are 

getting cancer at a more rapid rate then ever before, 

and it just plain tastes better!!!

So I set myself a personal challenge...

try to live as a locovore for 1 week.

I picked the easiest possible month, August...

and will go from Monday to Sunday of this week.

What is a locovore?

"You eat only foods available within a 100

mile radius of your home"

How to be a locovore:

1. Know your reasons for eating local foods

(see above)

2. Decide how strict you will be

(I will try, but with a gluten free diet, 

some grains etc. may not be grown locally)

3. Shop local Farmers Markets

4. Visit produce stands

5. Ask where food is from

6. Read labels

(I do that anyway to stay GF)

7. Distinguish between local and organic

(they are not one and the same)

8. Know the best seasons for various foods

9. Grow your own

( a little late in the year for that!)

10. Examine the source of your grains, dairy, meat and eggs

11. Minimize processed food

I am very excited about this challenge and will

post each day on my progress:)

Fresh Lunch with Friends

When you start visiting at lunch and are

surprised when your husband calls to 

ask what's for supper and you 

had no clue it was 5 pm,

that's a good visit with friends!!

The lunch was made from the fresh bounty

of summer and from local sources.

It's amazing what our part of the 

US can produce...it's all that rain

we complain about I suppose:)

Saturday Evening at the Fair

Clark County Fair 2011

Is it a Fruit or a Veggie? I don't care!

Picked my very first ripe tomato today...

from my very own bush.

(I think they are as good as candy in season.)

Then I biked on down to the little veggie

stand on the corner and asked the owner

"Can I buy some green tomatoes?"

She looked at me kind of funny and said

"Well I guess so!"

So I had to explain that I am not from the 

South, but I love fried green tomatoes,

and then she happily went and picked me some!

And that's what I had for lunch:)

For Anne

There are Fairies in my garden,

watch with me and see.

They flit among the flowers

and dance beneath the trees.

The mossy rock is carpet soft,

green leaves a shady glen,

don't let them hear your foot-fall,

for they're quick to vanish then.

So you must be very quiet "Shhhh"

or we won't get a peek,

there are fairies in my garden,

watch with me and see.

Karen