Garden

More garden shots. Let's see, we're attempting to grow: 2 different varieties of strawberries, three types of tomatoes, sugar snap peas, corn, lemon cucumber, 2 types of squash, mustard greens, rainbow chard, green onions, artichokes, kale, broccoli, radishes, red bell pepper, blueberries, huckleberries, raspberries, peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint, italian parsley, thyme, dill, cilantro, and lettuce. All this is a not-so-big space.

Hmmm....

What IS he doing?

Things are growing!

Thought I'd post some pictures of our yard. The birch trees were an excellent addition (Thanks, Mom). I have 9 hydrangea plants around the house and all of them are about to burst out in full bloom. I can't hardly wait. Berries are coming too...and the garden is doubling every week. Eating lots of lettuce, snap peas, mustard greens, and artichokes.

Ecomobile

Meet my new form of transportation. This is our recent acquisition with the intention to cut back on gas consumption. I ride my cruiser nearly all over Eureka with Riley in tow. Went on a joy ride on Sunday and the rule is; if Papa comes, he pulls the weight. I like the weekends. This particular weekend I scored twice because not only did Tom pull the trailer, but he washed my bike for me too. My biggest accomplishment: Costco run with Riley (40 lbs), dog food (40 lbs), 2 gallons of organic milk, and a flat of organic eggs. Need I mention, Costco is at sea level and I live on nearly the highest elevation in Eureka?

Homeschool Farmer's Market

What does Humboldt mean to me? These pictures get close to summing it up. Homebaked bread and cookies, handmade crafts and utilitarian goods, fresh herbs here and there, garden-fresh lettuce and salad fixings, handpicked flowers, sweet and kind children, loving mothers and fathers, stopping our own little commerce to pray to our Heavenly Father for a sick child, goats and roosters in the yard, sunny summer days, and cool kombucha tea.

We all brought goods from home to sell...I made granola. It was a big hit. And the picture with everything on the butcher block is my loot! All this, homemade and homegrown for $25! The fresh flowers alone are worth this meager amount.

London is Puzzled

It is finished!!!! We brought home a puzzle of the London skyline from our brief visit to England in May. After dinner, last Saturday, which was also Chris' birthday, we were deciding which game to play and instead of the usual Settlers or Carcassonne, we broke out of the norm and started a puzzle. With seven of us working diligently, we did all of the easy pieces first. Throughout the week, with the help of Chris as well as his father, Rob, we got within 100 pieces remaining. Until last night...Allison and Donnie were over, along with Chris and Rob, and we excitedly put in the last piece. Actually, Riley put in the last piece. After watching us all week dedicate all free time to perring over this random mess of pieces, he learned how to do it himself. He would come up to Chris with a piece and say, "Here you go. Try this one." In the final moments of the finishing frenzy, I asked Riley to stand aside. Soon he was standing on the chair, looking over our heads. Then he climbed onto my back for a better look. Finally, he worked his way right onto the table and slithered in like a snake...with the final piece.... And he placed it in nicely. And finally, London was puzzled.

River Tuesdays!

Been heading down to Eel River off of the Avenue of the Giants every Tuesday. The weather has been perfectly warm and the river, perfectly cool. Happy people splashing in the water abound as well as numerous sand toys and blow up rafts and floaties. Humboldt summer = river days.

Baby Dick is Born!!!!

Adam and Deanna had a baby girl Sunday night around 9:30pm. Tatum Fei AKA Potatum in Riley-speak). So cute, so cuddly, so warm, so new. Rowan was the happy big sister and Colleen was the beaming-with-joy Grandmother. A girl. A miracle.

Summer Salad

It's summer time. And for me that means dinner comes from my raised beds and I get to eat outside in the sun at 8 o'clock in the evening. This scrumptous salad is made with homegrown salad greens, julienne carrots, roasted beets, loads of bleu cheese, and honey mustard dressing. So easy...so good.

Big Day for Riley

Riley "graduated" today. Which is quite humorous really, since he isn't even 3 years old yet. However, I've been teaching him and he's been learning...so I think we can get away with calling that process "school" if we want to. As part of Christian Home Educators in Humboldt CO, we had the big end-of-the-year picnic today; which basically celebrates graduation from one grade to the next. But since Riley is still in the 2 year range, he'll be "graduating" from preschool for the next few years. I made him a home-made certificate hallmarking his best accomplishment this year: learning his ABC's and 123's. He is excellent at the alphabet, can spell his name, and can count to 20 without help. He also knows a variety of colors, shapes, animals, directions, adjectives, and absolutely everything about trains (including semaphores)...but I figure that is all part of being a 2 year old and learning about the world around him. Oh yes- and another thing to celebrate in his young life is he has three Bible verses memorized. Not bad for someone who still says, "I carry you" when he wants to be held. We had a great day in the sun, playing on the playground and welcoming summer into our lives.

Homemaking Mishaps

Oops...left the kefir too long...started making cheese. If you make kefir, you don't want to do that. BUT if you do...scoop the curdles out and use in smoothies or in anything you would do with cottage cheese and then put the whey in an airtight container and place in fridge and use in recipes. For example...making sourkraut. Pictures of my own to follow. You can also put it in sourdough bread instead of water...there are lots of uses for whey and it is full of protein. And the bread was sourdough bread that rose faster than expected...and bigger than ever before.

Best Friends

Riley enjoying the hottest day in Humboldt's history a few weeks ago (85 degrees!) with his best friend, Naya.