The risk of being practical.

I'm going to try to paint a picture with my words..  Let's see if it works..

We've been weeding in the vineyard the last couple days.  Being the practical girl I am I have wanted to dress practically.  Jeans - especially the jeans they sell these days - don't provide enough coverage for a person who is doing a lot of leaning over and crawling around on the ground.  Especially for a female with, uh... curves.  So, to be practical I wore my overalls.

Yesterday I got a little too much sun. Being the practical sort I donned a white t-shirt for shoulder coverage and a big floppy brimmed hat.  On earlier weeding expeditions I wore tennis shoes which quickly filled with the loose dirt and became uncomfortable, so for practicality I wore my big boots.

I never looked in the mirror.  I was being practical.

While we were weeding Peter spied signs of a predator that had the potential to threaten our farm family so he asked me to go get the shotgun since I was closer to the house than he was.  It was the practical thing to do.

As I returned to the field, traipsing across the uneven ground with a bit of an ambling gait, shotgun in hand, overalls, boots, floopy hat, Peter burst out laughing and finally mustered a "Thanks Jed!"

Apparently I was a mustache, baggy jacket and hunting dog shy of looking just like Jed Clampett.

The sun is at it's apex now and it's very hot outside.  I've come in the house, because it's practical not to get heat stroke, I've showered and cleaned up.

As I sit here writing this post I'm wearing make up and a dress.  Not the least bit practical, but when your somewhat newish husband starts saying you remind him of Jed Clampett it's really important to STOP being practical.

Reflections on the past year.

Peter and I celebrated our 1st anniversary this past weekend.  The event gave me pause to reflect upon the past year.  A LOT has happened.  What a year it's been.  Moving, kids, work, unemployment, moving again.., The wonderful thing is that I've had Peter to share the ride with.  Let me make this clear... he's NOT perfect.  But he IS perfect for ME.  There are things he does that make me want to jump up and down and stamp my foot.  I'm pretty sure there are things I do that make him want to run screaming.  Moving in with someone at our ripe old age is not easy.  We are both set in our ways.  We both have our own ideas on how to do things.  There were a lot of compromises and adjustments that had to be made. I think we're thriving - I believe in the past year we've managed to build a stable foundation that will enable us to weather the storms life throws at us in the coming years.

Since we got married in Hawaii without any fanfare and since we never had the opportunity to celebrate with friends and family we decided we needed to have a party.  What could we do but throw a luau, so a luau we threw!

My friend Elaine decorated a cake for us:

Friends from Lynden stopped by.  Friends from Salem and Portland drove all the way up here to celebrate with us.

We feasted on pork and salmon, fruit, roasted vegetables, cake and mai tai's.  We had a fire in the fire pit and sang songs.  We are so blessed that we have these people in our lives that were so generous to gift us with their company for our evening.

Even my brother and his wife joined us, all the way from Florida.  Coincidentally, they were celebrating their 29th wedding anniversary two days after our first.  They arrived late on the 4th and we hit the ground running. We went off to B.C. for lunch and a brewery tour. We picnicked along Sammish Bay feasting on oysters, crab, cheese and wine. We drove to to top of Mt. Baker and we even got in a little rest and relaxation.  We celebrated their anniversary in our little house on the ditch with a fancy candlelit dinner of homemade tortellini. 

It's been a busy week.  All the guests have gone home and it's time to get down to business around here.  We have landscaping to do, the vineyard to weed, a fiber studio to build, and oh so much more.

July 1st. A very special day indeed.

5 years ago today Peter showed up on my doorstep after an extended absence in my life.  5 years ago today our lives together began for real.  Ahhhhhhh.....

Things are bustling around this little house on the ditch.  Cadbury and Chupa are settling in nicely.  We've managed to build a temporary, but crude, shelter in the pasture to provide them with shade and shelter from the rain.  I've almost got Cadbury coming to me when it's time to go to the barn for the night.  Up until yesterday we had to have a mini alpaca rodeo every night.  Last night I managed to corner Cadbury and put her on her lead without any drama at all.  Of course, once Cadbury is leashed, Chupa is easy.

The arrival of the alpacas has re-shuffled priorities around here too.  We've had construction debris clogging up the barn.  That's space we need!  The debris was the old roof tear off from two houses, all the carpeting, linoleum, wallpaper, ceiling texture and other junk our remodeling has created.  We had to rent a trailer and for two days we schlepped back and forth to the local dump.  All in all we removed over 5 tons (yes.. 5 TONS - I tracked it).

I think everyone should be made to hang out at the dump for a few days.  The offensive amount of waste this country creates is disgusting.  I have this theory that many many people toss the trash in the garbage and watch it get carried away by the big truck and don't think of it again.  Trash doesn't just go away.  It has to go somewhere.  In the case of Bellingham it all get's carted to Eastern Oregon to a big landfill.  Around the farm we recycle, compost, re-use, and create very little waste (except for the construction...).  I have lot's more to say on THAT topic - but I'll get off my soapbox for now.  Fair warning though, it may come up again later.

My dear big brother and his lovely wife are coming for a visit.   They'll be here in 4 days.  I've known of their coming visit for months but I have procrastinated in getting a room ready for them.  Just as a reminder.. this is what the room looked like a few months ago and little had changed in there by last week:

As of last night, this is how the room looks:

The floor is still horrible linoleum, the ceiling still has texture, the walls need paint but the room is clean, empty of clutter and, I hope, welcoming.  After their visit I will strip the ceiling (eek - more construction debris!!), paint and do the floors - eventually.  I'm sure I'll have to go play with the alpacas first.