Jars

It's photo time!! The new camera is in action. Here is what we have

Jars, on jars, on jars. We've got 2 kinds of Kimchi, sauerkraut, persimmon butter and bulbs!!

This is a close up and maybe my best picture so far.  

Here are two little guys I've got growing. Someday, they'll flower 

A postcard that I sent to a friend in China (fingers crossed that it makes it) 

postcard that I sent to a friend in New Orleans

Besides hiding from the cold in my sleeping bag and working, this is mostly what I've been up too. Also, writing down a story to possibly tell at a storytelling night this Thursday (if I can get over my brutally handicapping stage fright). Getting some inside plants started, harvesting the last of my tomatoes, and cooking awesome meals. Check out this one that I made here. 

Winter is coming. And, we'll have some delicious stuff to show for it. Next Sunday's crafternoon gathering will lead to grain alcohol infusions. I'm thinking basil vodka for bloody marys. It's gift making season!

Bits and pieces

I have so many different projects underway. You guys best be glad that I don't have any way to capture the complete wreck that is my room right now.

I'm making little ambient light arrangements for my room. I'm getting rid of my couch and my desk, stripping a section of my room of two layers of wallpaper and one layer of paint in order to repaint it.

I just procured a loft for free and am now on the rampage fixing my room up. Ordered some sweet shelves for my future, and, am going to repaint my dresser. to match my shiny new wall. Besides that I'm trying to outfit a corner of my bed to be a little couch for reading while sitting up. That's important stuff. Nothing is done. Most of this is still a dream. But it's a dream that can be realized. I have three days a week off from work.

Wallpaper striping formula, primer, white paint, an electric sander, a tiny bit of colorful paint 3 colors, a little bit of wood to build supports on the loft/couch and a drill. That's what I need. I might pull up my carpet after this too. I just pulled up a bit to find that there is hardwood floor underneath of this ugly stuff. Why would you do that to a space?!

Besides that I'm working on some Christmas projects, postcards, and some ongoing yard work. My biggest problem is that I forget to eat when I get all caught up in these things. I've been living off of brussel sprouts and corn tortillas for two days for lack of faster and better things to eat once I realize that I'm starving. It'll all balance out eventually. Plus, brussel sprouts are the best. But seriously, who wants to come over and feed me?

The gift of gratitude

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude. 
Denis Waitley 

If gratitude is a gift, then ya'll are about to get a whole bunch of presents from me. Because in the spirit of the season, but also as a gesture that should be made more often, here is a abbreviated list of things for which I am thankful. 

I give thanks for the new community that I have in Portland, from my friends that now live in the neighborhood, to those that live all the way out in Kenton. I am grateful to have come in contact with all the lovelies that I have and to have the support of my friends as I embark on a variety of emotional journeys.

I am almost everyday thankful that my stomach is not as weak and pained as it used to be. By all accounts I have a finicky stomach but if you all just knew how much worse it could be. (Shout out to those of you who do). 

I am eternally grateful to have been blessed with a family that is a: still around. b: very supportive. c: very handsome (I's got to get these genetics from somewhere baby dolls). But even more this time around, I am thankful for the way that my family and I got to grow closer over the past year and to be there for my grandmother as she was sick. I am thankful to see my immediate family this upcoming holiday season, I can't wait. 

With appreciation, I view the relationships that haven't made it because in the long run they will help me fine tune what I want and need and are great growing experiences. 

I appreciate, the fine food of the town in which I live.

Same for the shovel that helps me conquer blackberry bushes, plant veggies and bulbs. 

I really appreciate my roomies, who are a generally well meaning and kind block of people living far too close together. 

I appreciate the friends that aren't close by. It is a wonderful thing to have community all around the country but my how I do miss them. 

I am truly grateful for the people that I work with because work is only bearable when you do it with good people and am so happy to have a job that not only pays the bills but settles me down on the most anxious days and lets me be creative. 

If I have not mentioned some things that I should clearly be thankful for, don't you worry kiddos, this is an abbreviated list right?  a good thanksgiving. Eat your heart out. 

where one follows the other

Lists are the bomb.com. You know that. You can get so much done in a day, even if you wake up late, if only there is a tidy little list waiting for you to cross it's items out.

I'm back to running and while it is basically pathetic in comparison to what my body was capable of a month and a half ago, it's better than nothing. Everything is a give and take.

Also, my garden is going to be spectacular next year. I have planted a bunch of bulbs, have a little section planned out for the tubers I'll be getting in the spring, and will still have a steady crop of veggies I think. I'm even learning about spacing and whatnot. You're only a novice once. People don't understand the growers excitement but growing things is like witnessing magic all the time. Were does all that plant come from? It can't be that tiny little seed.

This is where my garden is right now. Still harvesting tomatoes off of my cherry tomato plant, got some inside basil working away. The bush snap peas are getting bigger but not a whole lot to harvest yet, two measly spinach plants have decided to grow. Slugs are eating everything. The carrots are taking off, I have at least one daikon radish ready to pick and a couple little red radishes showing their heads, the broccoli is still tiny (thanks slugs) but I have volunteer red lettuce, one kale plant that is hardy as all get out, and a whole bunch of chinese cabbage that I don't even know what to do with.

Next year: I will have radishes, bush peas, kale, spinach and lavender at the very least (I guess thyme and rosemary too) But, I also plan on having another tomato plant, a winter squash plant, a zucchini plant and perhaps an eggplant. Get excited and plan on staying with me come august. Because, there will be too much food for my household (it is best to remain ever hopeful).

Time

It's about time. It's all about time. It's time to catch you sweethearts up on my life in which I feel like there isn't time for much.

To be fair, I spent all day today reading and cleaning (with a break for some farm veggie pickup and birthday cupcake ingredient gathering). There really is time but I have been spending a lot of it with a specific someone and that means less time at home cooking meals for me, keeping up with the New Yorker, or finding pants to wear in the winter.

Yesterday I did devote a span of the good stuff (a couple hours) to looking for those pants to no avail. Why is it so hard for someone with solidly muscular legs that also happen to be as short as a 12 year old's to find pants that fit? Wait, did I just answer my own question? Going shopping for pants actually makes me feel insecure about my body. I am beautiful. It is ridiculous. But, how many pairs of pants can you try on before you start to wonder why it is that your body deviates from the standard of beauty so much that you can't squeeze even a small section of the aforementioned pant over your calf?  Or you wonder why your butt crack has to hang out? Answer: because your thighs are too big to keep the appropriately fitting waist from getting quite to where it is going. Finding pants might be worse than finding a bathing suit. I'm thinking of buying quite a few pairs of merino wool tights and just calling it a tie. But, I'm not sure that I will be warm enough all winter in skirts and very thick tights. I tend to wear pants and tights with great regularity in my own home throughout the nippy season. Oh, the joys of the encroaching cold season. And the rain. Let's not get started on the rain.

Besides being basically bummed about winter wear, I have been thinking about my grandma a lot which also makes me bummed in a much more serious mournful type of way. I fear that I have really not been that much fun to hang around for the past couple of weeks. Plus, being sad makes me homesick so I miss the family and the friends of the east coast especially much.

When, I work my way back to normalcy, I have lots to do. Food to cook before it goes bad, triathlon participants to cheer on, gardens to maintain, books to read. As a bit of a coincidence I am reading "Mountains Beyond Mountains" which my lovely older brother is also reading. One of my marathon training buddies is turning the big 30 this year. Coming into another decade isn't something you get to do often and I'd like it to be a special time, so there is that in my life as well.

I'm into the tapering bit of my marathon training. Tapering always makes me feel week even though I know it is for the best. I also miss all those endorphins that go along with my long and medium runs. That probably hasn't been helping out with the general malaise that I have been feeling. Still, I'm excited (and yes, incredibly nervous) for race day. Is it stupid to do two races within 3 weeks of one another? I am beginning to think it is. But, I'm signed up, it's too late. What to do about that?

Well now, I'm off to eat tomato pie and contemplate how life can be so wonderful as to have things such as tomato pie. Wish me luck on living with joy. Until next time.

Eternal Spring

Summer here is actually eternal spring. Zucchini's are just starting to go crazy, the temperature never gets very high, and flowers are just overflowing your conceptual boundaries of how beautiful flowers should be all of the time. 

I am constantly overwhelmed by the beauty of it all and the promise as well. On my runs I pick figs for snacks and we go outside our front door to snag a sweet bursting handful of blackberries when we need some extra sugar in our lives. 

 These are the zucch's that I picked off my plant this morning. Also I brought in a handful of tomatoes. Plus, my neighbor just moved and hooked me up with his stash of green tomatoes so I made a beautiful and delicious (if I do say so myself) green tomato pie. Things are so plentiful. Feeding ourselves at this house just got so affordable. 

Adventure time

I have been hanging out with a bunch of adventurers. We've gone on adventure runs where we ended up sliding down steep embankments to get to roads and finding secret parks and happening upon beautiful rose gardens.
We've gone to parties where we danced all day and then walked across the city stopping only for peanut butter and jelly fries.
We've caught cherries that were impromptu picked from up high and thrown into waiting baskets (made of t-shirts being worn).

Work has been plentiful but oh, there is so much time in a day. Yesterday I visited the Rhododendron garden and stopped by a vietnamese sandwhich spot and ate green tea and red bean cake. It is good to be young and full of hope and energy.

I hope that you are finding some adventures of your own out there.

Best,
Rachel

Friend Dinner

I am so excited to make this recipe (in approximation, I'm not getting crazy and buying $7 gluten free granola) that I've planned a friend dinner so that I can make it happen without eating them all myself.
Now, I've just got to make the rest of the dinner plans and things can happen.

I love summer time, friend dinners, and planning events so that you can make one dish.

What're your favorite dishes to make with friends?

P.S. I might make this dish too.

Shout outs today to Sprout Health for hooking it up on the recipes.

Restless

I am mad uneasy right now about getting up and going. I can feel the need to move pulling at me but I am torn up by the changes in my life that are about to happen.

I don't know how to give up the lead role in the day to day activities of my Mamaw's life but I am so excited to have freedom for my own day to day activities. I really don't know how I'm going to get over seeing her every day and being such a central part of her existence.

I am really, really hyped about seeing my friends back west but I almost can't bear the idea of leaving my Richmond friends behind.

I love the sights and sounds of a Richmond spring but I am so, so, so, excited to see spring in Portland. To watch my tulips come up, and plant a small garden, is such an exciting prospect. My heart quickens at the idea.

Lately, I've been craving the kind of trust that only people who don't really really need you can put into you.  I want my grandmom to trust that I'll clean up a mess or cook something right or fold something and put it away correctly.

If it's really important that those things happen because you can't do it yourself, it's very hard to trust that someone else will do them to your specifications. It's even harder (if not impossible) to let go of those specifications and let someone do things their way.

And I understand that, because I love to be in control. One of the things that I'm looking forward to upon my return to Portland is having complete control of my diet again. I might go temporarily vegan as a response to all of the meat that I've eaten since I was here. I can't wait to make beans and rice and curry! I haven't taken full advantage of the goodness of east coast beers since I've been here (I just don't have the right kind of free time to get some good beers in me as a general rule). So, I'm even excited to be able to drink beer when I'd like to drink it.

I'm excited for yoga and running regularly. I'm bummed that I have to leave the runner friendly city (and my great runner friends) of Richmond.

I'm saddened to leave any prospects of love that I feel like Richmond offers me and Portland doesn't. Why is that? Why would one city not want me so badly when another does? It's all in my head. Probably.

Restless. Yep, that about sums it up.

3 from 70.

It is supposed to be 70 degrees on Thursday which is three days from now. That being said, I got snowed in town last night and didn't make it back until this morning. Shout out to Scott & Renee who don't know me well but still feed me (lasagna), gave me drink, (home brewed beer) and entertained me, (Apples to Apples and a movie plus good conversation) then let me crash at their house.

blue skies and snowy trees 

 Snow in tree nooks, Daniel in the background

Branches are down, but snow begins to melt. 

The white stuff did melt enough to let me get back to Mamaw's in time to cook breakfast: my first ever making of soft boiled eggs was a success. Hurray for short term snow. I hope somebody got a snow day though. 

Steady does it.

We're moving into a bit of a routine, Mamaw and I.

Eat yogurt first thing in the morning.
Drink Gatorade too.
Eat real breakfast -yesterday steak and eggs, today ham and cheese quiche.
Alongside breakfast, take pills.
Rest or reading time.
Lunch time with the drinking of more Gatorade*,
TV, nap, read, get out of the house: depending on energy levels (Yesterday we went to the Spa! a few days ago we went to the Audiologist)
Snack time & Gatorade
Get mail**, accept phone calls, maybe clean up a little
Dinner time. It isn't irregular for another member of the family to come over and make or help out with dinner.Last night my aunt, Sarah, came over and made meat loaf, the night before my uncle came over and grilled steaks. Tonight, another uncle, Scott, is coming over to hang out during or shortly after the dinner hour.
TV: Wheel of Fortune
TV: Jeopardy: I think we're getting better at the game.
Bed 

*Gatorade is consumed every time I can convince Mamaw to drink more of it.
** if you know her, send Mamaw mail. It makes her day so much better and I don't see a reason why any day has to go by where she doesn't get something good in the mail.

As you can see, much of our day consists of eating, drinking, sleeping, and sitting. It's an easy life, but one that pretty much guarantees that a few pounds will be gained whilst I'm here. Hopefully, running and kart-wheeling will keep those pounds at bay for a time. If not, my second hope is that my family doesn't give me too hard a time about said pounds (Hear that family?!?!).

I am always, happy to be a help, and am thankful to all of my aunts, uncles, and cousins for making it easy for me to help by giving me so much support and away time.

Shout outs this week to: Eddy for coming over and making us steaks; Sarah both for picking up much of her family and transplanting them to Mamaw's for dinner last night making it possible for me to go out and see my friends and for checking in regularly to see how things are going; Scott for coming over tonight so I can go to an impromptu baby shower; and my Cousin Aaron who is willing to come over tomorrow night if need be, so I can go to another friend's birthday party. You guys really make life easy on me and I appreciate it ever so much.

Waffles

Today, My friend Dan and I made waffles for lunch. This is what happened. 

Dan started off with a more fun approach to waffles 

Mine were just traditional scattered berries. 

Binicula style waffle 

A vampire and a vampire cat. 

floral pattern 

Comfort

One more restaurant off the list today.

I knocked out Comfort today for a pre-run lunch with some friends and running buddies. "What was had?" you ask. It started off with some sweet tea.

A note: Thank you, the south, for bringing us yet another thing that is good. I know you've had some bad moments with slavery and everything, but you've gone above and beyond with both fried foods and sweet tea.

Next we got into entrees and sandwiches. I picked an entree because I wanted two sides (I really wanted only sides and would have appreciated a  combo side plate option). My friends had respectively, blackened chicken with green beans and mashed potatoes, and a country ham sandwich with potato salad. I personally had meat loaf with squash casserole and french fries. Give me the option and I will always get french fries. That may be something that I need to change, but I deeply love the ol' frenchies, especially with some pesto mayo. But, I digress...

Everyone seemed to enjoy their own meals. I, personally, was not disappointing by mine but I also did not fall in love. Maybe, meatloaf isn't for me. I really don't have much experience with the stuff and in the process of giving something new a chance, I may have found that thing that I don't really like. The squash casserole was cheesy and off the hook and the aforementioned frenchies were classic, salty fried potatoes. Who can complain about that?

Dessert was a caramelized banana topped banana pudding which was plenty rich and would probably overwhelm the individual but we shared. So, it was all good. As it was a dessert, I enjoyed it a whole bunch but it didn't blow me out of the water. I still favor both the tiny pecan pie of Pasture and the appropriately sized tres leches cake of Kuba Kuba. I can't wait to get some pie at Ipanema later.

I've got to step up my running game to deal with all of this eating out. On a pro exercise note, I did get my bike into Richmond today and it is near being completely put together. So, then, I'll be biking everywhere I go in town. I can not wait.

There's my review take it or leave it. Also, if you don't favor being uncomfortably full during your bout of exercise, try to not eat at comfort on the day of exercise.

Restauranteer

I love the restaurants of Richmond and their underpaid service people. As a homage to the wonderful food of this beautiful city I am eating at as many of these delightful eateries as I can afford whilst I'm in town.
Sometimes, I don't even have to worry about if I can afford it or not. In my one week of Richmond time, I've already been treated to one tasty meal and a beer or two by the generous personalities in my life.

I'm compiling a richmond list of places that I would like to eat at, some for the first time and some as a loving, returning customer. It's a work in progress, but here's what I have so far.

Places to eat in Richmond, VA


1) The Franklin Inn Tuesday was my  first time at this tiny cafe and I found it has loads of character and some pretty dank fried zucchini, all beer battered with local beer from 2) Legend Brewery. I've never eaten here at the first brewpub that I ever even heard of and I think it is high time to remedy that.

3) Kuba Kuba Classic Fan deliciousness. Who doesn't like Kuba Kuba? Crazies, that's who. Three words. Tres Leches Cake. Take that crazies.

4) Comfort: Down home southern comfort food. I've pretty much only heard good things. Before, I was deterred by price, but now I know of something I didn't know before. Lunch menu. I'll be seeing you soon Comfort.

5) The Black Sheep: Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. I want everything that The Black Sheep has to offer. EVERYTHING. I love this place with the hopeless devotion that a puppy dog reserves for the one member of the household that gives them people food. I could write a whole post about The Black Sheep on its own.

6) Mekong: A few years ago when everyone was tripping over themselves to get some Pho. Mekong was the place to be. I'm not sure why, but up until recently I had no interest. Now, Mekong is on my radar and I will go there before I leave town.

7) Thai Diner: is on the list. But, let's face it, I eat Thai food all the time in Portland from Authentic Thai so I might not make it. However, if I get to a Thai Diner, it'll probably be Thai Diner Too in Carytown because of their proxemity to 8)Bev's: I'm lactose intolerant but I will risk violent illness to eat a little bit of Bev's Ginger ice cream.

9) Pasture: Brand new, and still working out the kinks in a couple of places, Pasture is operated by those that bring us Comfort. Offering beers brewed from the very under appreciated breweries of the mid Atlantic, small plates of southern food, and a starkly handsome space. This hip dining establishment is open now, but is a place that I would go back to in four months. By that time it will, probably, be fully, and deliciously operational.

10) Pearly's Restaurant: My friends love it and I trust them. It also, seems to be a hit among the Richmond Marathon crowd for which I've always had a special place in my heart.

11) I tried to stop at 10 but Ipanema  ruined my plan. I just love it too much with it's delicious pies, $2 draft beers on Monday nights and otherwise charming basement decor.

12) Bottoms Up Pizza A pizza joint I still haven't tried, despite the fact that my college boyfriend's modelishous, freshman year roomie worked there, I never brought myself to head downtown for this highly recommended pizza. What can I say? The world of a college freshman is small and there is a certain lack of expendable income during this part of our lives. Nevertheless, I don't know of any other gourmet style pizza places in the area, so this seems like a place to hit up.

That's the list as of right now. Certainly, places were forgotten, Balliceaux for instance. I am open to new possibilities and if I happen to eat somewhere else while I'm here, that's okay. However, these are the mainstay of my Richmond restaurant to do list. I don't want to miss out on more than 20% of these places while I'm here. So, gear up Richmond. I will be eating with you. (Restaurants that weren't mentioned because the list was getting out of hand, but are on my extended list are: 821 Cafe, Mamma Zu's, Edo's Squid, 8 and 1/2)

On a related note: http://thisiswhyyourefat.tumblr.com/

I've gotta go eat lunch.

Birthday Dinner

I forgot to take pictures of the food!! I was so overwhelmed by the company. Sorry guys, you'll never get to see the delicious things that we consumed. However, I do have some pictures for you (not that you didn't already see them on Facebook). Shout out to my friend Jon who took these beautiful pictures.

Natalie, an awesome friend I've made in Portland

A bit of the party in reflection

Me and my friend Marika who I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before.

Birthday cake time.

The candles were in the shape of a heart

This week I also went to a GWAR show which was awesome. It was this crazy metal show played by dude's in costumes who acted out crazy little dramas where they destroyed monsters and such spraying "blood" into the audience. Everyone was covered in pinky-red when they left the show.

Also, San Francisco update: I'll be flying to the bay area on Sunday the 20th and coming back to Portland late on Thanksgiving evening. This is all possible due to a super cheap flight I got to take me there. And, it's awesome because I'll get to see both of my sisters since my days there overlap with both of their stays. I'm so excited.

The give and take of it

So Halloween has come and gone. I ended up not getting a picture of my exact full blown costume but I did get one picture (thanks to my friend Marika) which shows you a good approximation of what I did end up looking like.

Cruella-Lite. I'm not wearing my real dress or using my long cigar

but this is pretty much it.

Since Halloween it seems like a whole lot has happened. I guess it has been almost a week since my last post.

Firstly, despite my lack of Halloween candy eating, I did go to the dentist only to find that I have approximately 1,000 cavities. I was flabbergasted to say the least. Up until this point I've had perfectly good teeth with not a one cavity. It's kind of a bummer since I hate to end a positive streak and really it's only been this year that I've really come to be responsible about taking care of my teeth by both brushing and flossing on a super regular basis. So, it seems like the worst year for my teeth to fail me. Oh well, what are you going to do? I'm going to drill 'em out and fill 'em in, is what I'm going to do. I've already gotten some of them filled and I go in again on November 8th (the day after my birthday :( whomp, whomp).

Secondly, I met a boy on Halloween, well I've met him before but I really talked to him on Halloween while I was out at a show. He invited me to this lecture series that he had organized.

It was about food issues, especially in relation to where we live in Portland and it was really interesting. He also inspired me with his go-getter nature to look into more things that I can do in my community and now I'm going to volunteer with a tree planting group called Friends of Trees

If I like the organization I may look into being a community or team leader of sorts for a following planting season. Go get it, I guess.

I don't want to keep starting my paragraphs with numerical placements, so on top of all that, I have been planning my birthday party. This is something about which I am very excited. I am almost too jazzed up to sleep at night because of all of the planning and and anticipation. I'll just give you a quick menu peek here.

A) pigs in a blanket

B)home made tomato soup and Italian seasoned bread

C) Butternut squash Mac n' Cheese

D) roasted carrots

E) Something green

F) Honey Cake and cinnamon-coconut ice cream.

Don't worry, I'll take some pictures for you all to salivate at.

Also, I invited a cute boy to my birthday dinner. He works at the Restore and I just met him yesterday but he left me his number when he left the restore in the afternoon and we had a long text conversation immediately after. So, I think he's pretty interested in me. We'll see how he fields my friends at my birthday.

Not the least important but maybe the furthest in advance, I am working on a trip to San Francisco in two weeks. It wouldn't be a very long trip (I'd probably get to San Francisco on a Sunday evening and leave on a Thursday at some point). But, I've been meaning to visit a friend down there for a year and now that Katelyn is down there I just can't resist the trip! Travels Hurrah!

Wish me the best of luck on everything coming together appropriately from dental work to travel plans. I hope you all are staying healthier in the mouth than I, and are having just as much fun this week. All the best to you all. Thanks for reading.

A little walk in the sun

Sickity sick is how I would describe my last 5 days. I've been real, real, ill.

However, three and a half days of antibiotics and my energy is back. My, lymph node is no longer incredibly large and covered in some scary looking grey-brown film. I can swallow food without incredible amounts of pain, and water with none. I can walk around my neighborhood and run into my fellow neighborhood mates (some of which are pretty cute). Which is exactly what I just did.

I don't have Strep or Mono and truth be told, no one knows what I have. But, I am on the mend and that's really all that I care about right now. Hurray for modern science! Hurray for healing! Things are on the up and up.

I'd like to make a quick shout out to my dad who was in contact with me from the beginning (convincing me to go to the doctor), Mamaw for checking in with me, my friend Natalie who came and kept me company while I was sick and to my roommates who did much the same. But, out of them, a special thanks to Travis who came and checked in on me when I couldn't leave my room. Also, shout outs to everyone who offered to bring me soup. I truly appreciate having this community of people that care here. It means so much to me.

East Coast Smeast Coast.

Some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

When I was packing up my green backpack and suitcase I realized that I owned a lot of green

In Delaware before we left for Virginia we tried to learn how to use the Camera's timer.

This was our best attempt.

A sink in my friends crazy old Richmond house

Another Bathroom's sink in the same house. A house full of crazy sinks

A flourless chocolate cake that my older sister made for my dad's birthday

Almond cheesecake covered in delicious fruit for the same birthday.

This is by no means all of the photos that I took but I thought I would give you a quick taste of how I spent some of my time while I was on the east coast. The report might be a little skewed towards sinks and cakes but I see nothing wrong with that.

Taking it easy

So, this past week has been full of helping my friend Kristopher move out of his house and become, temporarily homeless. I wanted to take before and after pictures of his house but I forgot to bring my camera over. Moving is always such a huge transition from start to finish and I would have loved to show off my handiwork. Oh well.

An appropriately summery bonus I got out of helping Kristopher out with the move is a brand new ice cream maker that no one in their house knew what to do with. I really get to enjoy summer now as I have the day off and a container full of homemade, watermelon sobet in my freezer. My household also got a kitchen rug and a loner chair out of the move.

The container and my bowl of summery deliciousness

Watermelon Sobet

Since my buddy is temporarily displaced he's been staying at our house for the past few days. Usually, this would be a problem because he has a puppy and I'm not much of a dog person but, she is officially the best dog ever. I have never had so many positive interactions with a dog. I might be falling in love. Today we went for a little run, which is something I've slacked on hard this week with all the moving help and chillin' time that I've been getting. Now she's lounging next to me as I cobble together this post outside (on a perfect, sunny and 72° day).

This is my new best friend Lucy

She's super, super cute.

Yet another thing I'm doing (with pictures too) as I enjoy the beautiful summer air outside is checking on my tomatoes. They're really coming along. I think today I counted 9 tomatoes on the plant but only one of them is getting red so far.

A bunch of green tomatoes

A peak at a red one.

I realize that it has been a serious while since the blog was last updated but please, friendly readers, don't be upset. I found my camera charger which means this and subsequent posts will be loaded with delicious summer pictures with which I hope to appease you.

blackberries

Hey! It turns out if my camera is plugged into my computer I can still get pictures off of it so here are some of the fruits of my yard

blackberries lit by the sun's rays

blackberries next to Sauce's bus