Sunday Happy

Have you ever have lice as an adult? Wait hold on, let’s back up. No I don’t have lice, but I a few years ago I did and whoa that was some shit. (Thats what happens when you hang with littles all the time.) This week my head starting itching like crazy so there was a minute when I thought I might have gotten them again. But I have had it checked, a few times, and it is just dry skin. From all the hats. Because it has been pretty chilly and I have been cold. So no lice, just hats and cold weather making my head itch. Phew!

Anyway, week was up and down. Started off with camping which was amazing. The drive alone down there (Cooliadge State Park) was freaking fantastic. The peak of foliage and oh boy was it peak. And then when we got to the campground, we went on a nice long hike in the most vibrant world of colors. That was a A+ hike fore sure. Then back to the campground to make fire, eat food, cuddle cause it was super duper cold (got to 33) and crawl into the tent for the night. Woke up, very cold, jumped in o the car and hit the road. Back to town we came.

Then another week of stuff. Life stuff. Not fun stuff. Very very stressful stuff. But stuff that needed dealing and is still being dealt with. Mostly the mr, but when the mr is ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy (HAHA!) so it was kind of another pretty stressful week. And so that is life.

But the good is still good. I don’t have lice, the world is gorgeous, we had a chilly rainy day which are some of my favorite days. I picked up second to last farm share and heavy stocked up on squash and starting knitting a new hat. I made the cutest cookie ever and went to the dentist which actually sucked but is always good to go and be responsible about dental health. Made an ice cream cake and dinner for Barb for her birthday at my moms for her family party (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!) The lady turned 20 and I can't even. Then I made her birthday pancakes on her actual birthday and we went grocery shopping so she could run up and down the isles with the mr collecting all the packages of batteries. Because she is now 20 and needs batteries? Yeah, we will just say that was it. And napped. I took a nap this week and it was amazing. I don’t think I nap enough.

Other then that, the week just flew by. Dealing with the stuff, hanging with the people, doing the work thing.

Now its Sunday and yes, we are doing it, camping. Second to last, if not the last time. Depends on if we get that rain next weekend that the weather people say we are suppose to get. So we are making tonight really count. Going to some land on a mountain out in the middle of no where. We are so in need of this, to get the heck away for the night. And it is going to be beautiful and amazing and we have a great hike planned out and there is not cell service. Winter jacket, hats and mittens, and all the blankets we can fit into the are. I am excited.

Interent links from the week.

-You can now live like Barbie. Oh freaking jeez. Barbie Malibu Dreamhouse!

-Am I Drinking Too Much Seltzer Water? Good question, one I hear all the time.

-Jesus Shoes. For real? For real.

-I want these toilets. I get these toilets. 10 Easy Pieces: Designer Toilets. Tankless toilet..what a dream!.

-Eat, Drink And Be Wary: Ex-CIA Officer Reveals How Eateries Are Key To Spycraft. Totally makes sense.

-Currently in the middle of reading this book. It is so good. Only problem is that I started reading it a few days ago and it is due back at the library in 2 days (I forgot I had it out). It is 550+ pages long and I am not sure I am going to be able to finish it before it is due back. Might have to occur some late fees for this one.

-Coffee without the beans. The day has come. Inside the Seattle Company Plotting Lab-Made ‘Coffee’ Without Beans

-Another reason to read. Reading Before Bed Might Make You Healthier and Happier

-What Does Sunny D Taste Like? My dad used to buy it when we were kids and all I can remember it tasting like was shit. I think it actually made me throw up once. I was way more a Hi-C girl.

-6.6 lb bucket of tahini….It’s in my shopping cart.

Pictures from the week

-C

Sunday Happy

The week started off a okay because camping and camping is camping and is always good. We went to Branbury State Park which is right in between Lake Dunmore and the Green Mountain National Forest. We didn’t bring kayaks because we wanted to spend most of the time hiking plus I can’t get wet and be outside in these temperatures…. I will freeze to death. After a nice drive of foliage peeping, we got to the park, picked our site, made tea, and as we were setting up, the mr somehow knocked over his cup and covered his socked foot in boiling hot water. Blisters, big nasty ones, formed right away, but he championed on. Even managed to hike around all afternoon which in hindsight was not the smartest because his sandals were digging into the burns. But he survived and we camped on. He fished, I read, we ate dinner, watched the fire, crawled into the tent, and listened as the rain began. Woke up at the usual time in a slight puddle (it rained hard) tossed the wet stuff into the car, and headed on home to tend to wounds and the business of life.

The rest of the week, well, not going to lie, has kind of sucked for reasons that I am not going to get into. But let’s just say that sometime people can really fucking suck. The shit show has been mostly affecting the mr but the stress is palpable. On top of dealing with our usual life stuff, he has been making so many phone calls, dealing with unhelpful people, driving back and forth long distances on a moments notice. I have been trying to make things easier on him by not being a pain in the ass, making him pumpkin bread and wearing strips on prints and all the bright colors. I think the outfit might have been lost on him, but it made me happy. And he liked the pumpkin bread so that was a win.

Anyway, even as things are kind of shitty, there was still some good things, like having dinner with my mom and Paul, farm share a plenty, and harvesting the scarlet runner beans (the prettiest bean ever!). I got into the studio to glaze my ceramic pumpkins and ghosts with Barb (I dropped a pumpkin and smashed it. That was after I cut my hand open an hour before. Good times) and I saved a kiln from being misfired which I patted myself on the back for. We also stopped over and hung with littles for a hot minute just because we missed them and then made the realization that we just need to get the hell out of here for a while. Fresh places, fresh faces, you know?

Back to Sunday. As of right now we are camping tonight. Suppose to go to Coolidge State Park in the heart of the peak of the foliage with lots and lots of hiking to be had. Hopefully there isn’t more shitty shit that will prevent us from taking off. I will probably lose it if we don’t go and end up running away into the woods anyways. Then maybe someone will find me in a week of two. Yeah, at least a week of staying away from the crazy cray cray. But it would be nice to take the mr with me. He needs the break more then I do.

Internet from the week

-Dressing up for Halloween? Here is some inspiration. 8 Sexy Outdoor-Themed Halloween Costumes. Sexy Matterhorn….Done.

-California's massive power outage is a wake-up call for the whole country. Is this going to be a new normal? Shit is getting real, for real.

-Noodle art is cool. Meet the Illustrator Who Turns Noodle Soup Into Art

-There is a whole lot of snow meatless meats these days and it can be confusing. Everything You've Ever Wondered About Meatless Meat, Explained

-It's so much more than cooking. I felt like I cold have wrote this article….. Soooo much more then cooking.

-Why You Never See Your Friends Anymore. Real life.

-Beans or soup. Soup or beans. Why not both? When You're Cooking Dried Beans, You're Already Halfway to Soup

-Water Bottles Have Long Been the Unexpected Status Symbols of High School. For real. I was part of the colored Nalgene wave…. Blue with a yellow top and covered in Phish stickers because that was how I rolled.

-Eat them all, except the ones that are not edible. The Ultimate Guide to Winter Squash (for Your Front Stoop & Your Stew!)

-The 4 Ingredients That Make Up the Perfect Reading Space. I agree but would add one more….quite!

Pictures from the week.

Sunday Happy

Is it crazy that I am just so stinking excited about spring? Because I am. I am very very excited. The list of seeds has been started, gardens have been mapped out, and I even looked (but no unpacked) my box of spring/summer clothes this week. I know, I know, it's Vermont and this is a temporary weather thing, but 50's this week.. I'll take it. Then I'll take another snow storm because that's what we do. But the spring sunshine.. It's freaking magical. 

As weeks go, this one passed with nothing to crazy happening (in my little world bubble anyway,  the world is another story). I might have broken my arm (not really, but it feels like it) and I might be growing a squirrels nest in my hair, so I can call myself accomplished?  But really what I have been really into is cleaning. With all this warm weather I find myself taking to the light fixtures and windows. Spring cleansing is happening and I am determined to tackle something everyday that is not in my usual cleaning routine, like cleaning the insides and outsides all the light fixtures. or taking the bathroom fans down and cleaning those out (you should do that too). When the urge strikes, embrace it. It might be some to of the most gratifying cleaning ever. 

Valentines Day happened and was really nice. The mr and I took the day and drove out of town to Montpelier and saw all the hearts. Then we hit the woods for a while, drank lots of coffee,bouht ourselves some daffodils,  then went home and just relaxed. Then we ended the night with early dinner and watched To Wong Fu, Thanks For Everything because Patrick Swayze in drag just might be everything. 

And the rest of the weeks just flew on by with olympics (every morning when I go to the gym, one of the tv's is on the Canadian Olympic channel. I have been keeping up with the louge, the skeleton, the curling, and speed skating with those guys.Canada is pretty good), spoon carving, sister chatting, library time, and lot of long walks. The mr had been doing side work and trying to glue the very first coffee mug I ever made like 15 years ago back together after he dropped it on the side walk. I have spent a lot of time making and baking in the kitchen .Fresh bread everyday, tinctures and tonics, hot sauce, and soup, soup, soup.  We are trying to embrace this quite time now before things get crazy again, and we know that they will, oh they will too soon. 

Oh, and I have been slowly painting all the stars in the kids room slowing cave. We had the littles came over the other night for play practice, pizza, and star paining.I let each kid paint their astronomical sign and then make up their own constellation. It is coming out so great and I can't wait to finish it and deck it all out with new pillows in the shape of stars and planet and make fake camp fire and set up a little tent.... Man I am a pretty awesome aunt.  

I think today I am going to make large quantities of coffee and make some of those pillows I was taking about and maybe try and finish  painting the stars. I am excited about the room and want to keep the momentum going. Plus I really just want sleep in there myself. So I will do that and then I am going to brush my hair today because really, it is starting to dread and I don't know if I am ready for that again. 

The stuff I looked at on the internet. 

-Official Portraits of Barack and Michelle Obama by Kehinde Wiley and Amy Sherald. These are amazing and I want them too.

-I love him and this tiny desk only makes me love him more. Nick Hakim Tiny Desk Concert

-Take a trip down South Korea's Coffee Street. A street of coffee might be the best or worst thing ever. Probably the best tho. 

-At $600 bucks a pound.. no shit it's gold. California-Grown Coffee Is Becoming The State's Next Gold Mine

-My babysitter growing up had a waterbed and it was amazing and slightly frightening. The Weird True Story of the Rise and Fall of the Waterbed

-Photo of a Single Atom.  A. Single. Atom. I can't wrap my mind around it. 

-I think I should live in this cabin fo reals. A Wishfully Minimalist, Hopelessly Maximalist" Catskills Cabin

-Better Open a Window If You Plan on Eating These Gas-Inducing Veggies. 

-A ha. I knew it. By temp is like 97.5 so when I feel feverish at 99, well suck it dudes, I fever. Do I Have a Fever? My Temperature Is 98.6 but I Feel Feverish

-Constellations: The Zodiac Constellation Names. Because we need to know for the star cave. 

Pictures from the week.

Keep it real.

-C

Sunday Happy

Yawn, stretch, throw on some pants and back to it.

But it's taking a whole lot of will power to get up and go. It's just too perfect out to do much of anything. Is it weird that I love this cold and rainy weather? These are the days that I can spend all day in a ball of blankets on the couch next to a window looking out with hot beverages and good books.. I will get there soon, but not today. We started tiling the bathroom wall yesterday and need to finish it, along with he rest of the house.

This week flew by fast. It included a very quick foliage drive(stopped by a river so the mr could fly fish),  Barbara turning 17 while watching her field hockey game, a tiny little baby that fell in love with me and wants me to be it's new mommy, and the scraping and painting of so much everything. I think the highlight was when the 17 year old Barb stopped by the house to bring us coffee, hung out with us, and lent me her sweater that I love but probably won't ever get a chance to wear cause all I wear are grubby, paint stained clothes. But none the less, it was great and maybe I'll just wear the sweater to bed.  And the colors. Every time I walk out of the house and see all the trees, all the colors...it just blows my mind. So good.

Other then that, not much else. I am giving myself a political detox for a few days before i barf, eating lots of roasted celeriac and missing my kitchen. I can't freaking wait to spend all day cooking in baking in my kitchen. I can't freakin wait!

And now I got to find those pants.

Internet for the looking.

-Everyone Should Make Time for Daydreaming. I do me a lot of it.

-The Difference Between Pepitas and the Seeds from Your Halloween Pumpkin

-6 Things You Need To Know About Cycling On The Sidewalk. I sometimes bike the sidewalk, but only when I have to and very slowly.

- Maybe this is the reason I hate wearing shoes. ABSORB EARTH’S FREE FLOWING ELECTRONS THROUGH THE SOLES OF YOUR FEET(EARTHING)

-Read this book this week. One of my new favorite books. It changed the way I look at the world, especially trees.

-Forget Tomayto/Tomahto: The Real Debate Is, Should It Be Refrigerated?  II never do unless it's 100% necessary

-feel like this is a close representation of my knitting basket. A Mass of Tangled Red Yarn Unravels from a Loom to Overtake a Brazilian Chapel

-What Tree Is that has been a frequent question. Trees With Leaves - A Deciduous Tree Leaf Key

-Speaking of trees, I would live in this tree house.The tree alone is pretty amazing.

- A little preemptive in looking, but I told myself I that I get to buy knew sheets and duvet cover when we move into the house (I am a linens slut) This bed set is looking good, although can't go wrong with these either.

And pictures.

Have a great day.

-C

Pretty Trees

Vermont in the fall is like living in a world that is on fire… not literally, but the trees, all the colors. It's freaking crazy amazing and no matter how many years I have lived here (all my life) I still am in awe of of the beautifulness of it all.

Being the good  Vermonters that we are, the mr and I have taken to the road a couple times for some leaf pepping.  We pack a picnic lunch, a few layers of clothes,  get in the car and fallow the color. The music goes on(or NPR), a little bit of heat blowing from the dash, and settle in for an adventure. I bring my camera and he brings his fishing pole (just in case) Sometime we find a nice hiking trail, or sometimes we stay in the car cause it's pouring rain and freezing out. We always stop somewhere and get ourselves big hot cups of coffee and maybe stop at a quaint antique store (or salvation army) along the way. We also like to find our dream homes in the cuties little towns nestled in the valleys between the mountains all on fire. (someday!) It's just so much lovely and nice. I can never get enough. 

Ah Vermont… I love you. 

So needless to say, I have taken a crap-load of pictures over the past couple weeks. I figured I would share a few of my favorites.

Enjoy, and if you live where the trees turn, go watch.. it's freaking fantastic!