29 June 2006

messy messy messy


messy messy messy
Originally uploaded by foodchronicles.
Kim has inspired me to get a shot of my terribly unproductive crafting space. It also serves as our computer production room as you can tell.

Well, we have just purchased an podcasting system that we need to get moving with and until I clean up some of this mess there is no productivity going on here.

I need to do some scanning to files, I definitely have run out of bookshelves, so I need another! and my picture needs to be framed. I'll post a picture once it is.

So here you are Kim, mine's worse than yours!

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27 June 2006

I've harvested some lavender


Three sisters 2
Originally uploaded by foodchronicles.
So the bushes are thick and full of blooms! So I went out and sat in the setting sun the other evening and snipped until I had a basketful of lavender. As I sat and snipped away a feeling came over me, "I was born to do this".

I love the quiet times that take me to a new place. Quiet enough to lose myself in thought and to allow possibilities to be explored. As I snipped, snipped , snipped I thought about how wonderful it was that only a short while ago I had put these plants in the ground and then dutifully ignored them. They did thier job and now I was reaping the benefit of their labor. I again thought, this is something I could do. Not because it was so easy, but that it was something I have wanted to do for so very long. Have someplace to call my own and make it beautiful.

So it is onward and upward. The Lavender farm is beginning to take shape. So much so that I have selected four different plans for homes. I need to let them sit for a couple of weeks and then go back to them to decide if my feelings about each of them are sufficient. Or if I need to continue my search. It will be a long process, but it shouldn't take forever.

This photograph compels me also. I love the artists' work of the three girls. It is my life in retrospect. Three sisters. I am one of three sisters. I have three daughters, one of my sisters has three daughters, and my other sister has two. It is a picture that reminds me of those generations of women, toiling to make their houses, homes. It's us and them together woven through time.

I wish you could smell the wonderful fragrance this bunch offers.
Close-up of the lavender Click on it to see it lifesize!

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26 June 2006

Home grown lavender


Home grown lavender
Originally uploaded by foodchronicles.
We recently took out a bunch of wild looking plants along the side yard. Then we put in some lavender. I have completely ignored it. No fertilizer, no garden talk, just here's the dirt guys, do your stuff kind of an attitude for getting these going.

They started out a 4 inch plants and over the course of a few months they've grown nice and large and are producing some really nice buds.
Their fragrance is wonderful. Even prior to blooming they gave off a wonderful aroma.

Here's an upclose pic of a few blooms:
close up of the lavender blossoms

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11 June 2006

Newsflash!

This very clever, very talented, cute, and funny guy is going to be at our local Ensign Books on Friday June 16th. Heh, looks like I have a date! I will make my way through the throngs of teeny bopper girls to let him know I think he's great. Every single film I have seen him in I have enjoyed. So if you don't have anything to do check out Kirby Heyborne's website and check his calendar, maybe he'll be close to you sometime this summer!

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I am not a writer

You all pretty much recognise that fact about me. However, I recognise a good writer when I read them. And one of the best writers on the internet is back!

He has moved his home and begun a new job sortof, and has written intermittently for months. Then he stopped and we have waited. Waited for a line, a scribble of a post, any words at all. Our wait has been worth every second. Each time I read his words, words of family and love, I think to myself how wonderful his words are. I could re-read them everyday, and in fact I have on occasion.

If you are not familiar with Tony Woodlief go over and get acquainted. Read his archives and be filled with the words of childhood, of family love, and of loss and gratitude. Life is too short to not be grateful and Tony expresses it so well.

For those of you who are familiar with Sand in the Gears, go back! He's back!

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05 June 2006

AmishRobot

Josh Penrod is my kindof guy. He writes stuff I love to read and has my sense of humor. What's that? Who's Josh Penrod? Well, obviously you are not in the "know". Josh just happens to be the author of the infamous "Angst In My Pants" and the owner of the blog AmishRobot. If you haven't read Angst In My Pants, do yourself a favor and wait until you are down, when you need a good laugh, or are on the way to the movies. You will thank me. Everyone does.

His most recent post has blessed us with the best young adult activity idea ever. I am definitely taking this to the next FHE we attend and it will go over so well. We'll increase sales of Mentos in the area so much people won't be able to find them in the store!

So thank you, Mr. Penrod! I have to smile when I hear your name. Oh, and give my regards to Matt.

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03 June 2006

Balloons!

Every year they hold the Temecula Valley Wine and Balloon Festival. We always say we'll go and then something comes up and we don't. This year we took a drive out to the area just to shoot some of the balloons.

We aren't into wine at all so the festival part was not in our equation. So, early this morning we set out to find balloons. And we did just that. Here are some of the pictures I took:

Close enough to touch

Close enough to really get some good shots.

Pretty Balloons

Balloons in a row

This photo shows some as they were getting closer to the road we were all on. As you see in the next shot, the one in the forground actually did land right in the middle of the road.

Oops! In the road!

Clear

I shot a ton of pics and others are on flickr. Not all though. It takes a while to get them downloaded!

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01 June 2006

I have a farm in Arizona


Puffs of clouds
Originally uploaded by foodchronicles.
Years ago I saw the movie Out of Africa. It only served to fuel my desire to have a plot of ground I could call my own. That day has come (well it did three years ago) and we have been on a five year plan to develop a working farm for our retirement. You see, my husband is a social worker, no retirement in that game. So we have to be creative and do those things that can provide a living and still be an enjoyment in our later years.

This past weekend we ran over to the property to give my sis and her hubby a chance to check it out. We had a great time and even saw some wildlife.
Antelope

Antelope at play
These are the antelope at play spoken of in the song Home on the Range. Sis saw them and was so excited as she never sees wildlife unless she goes to the pacific ocean to watch the elephant seals. So seeing the antelope in their natural habitat was a thrill. If you click on the picture and take a look at the large or original size photo you can see the antelope better.

We walked all of the land and set out a few plans as where everything would go. Ten acres of lavender will go in first, then some heirloom tomatoes and a few fruit trees. We will also most likely have a retreat where families can come for a respite, which could also be used for CEU conferences.

Big hopes start with small things, and out of small things come great things. Hopefully this will turn out to be a great thing.

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