2 years ago today

Tomorrow morning is the Glacier Challenge.

As I was preparing for my leg of the race tonight (and by preparing I mean eating homemade pizza and watching hulu), it hit me that at this time 2 years ago I was spending my first night in my new apartment after just pulling in to town with Dad and Mike, trying to get a decent night's sleep before I competed the next morning in the same race.

I had agreed to be on Whitefish Therapy's team, so literally less than 24 hours after getting my keys, I was canoeing Whitefish River (and pretty much dying since I had done one day of training all summer) on the second-to-last leg of the race.

Talk about jumping right in! Nothing like being so sore you can barely get dressed, much less lift people's limbs all day, on your first day of work.

I had a blast though, and this will be my 3rd time at it. Last year I did the road bike section, and this year I'm running the last leg of the course.

Who knows, maybe I'll come back one year and do the whole thing on my own... but in the meantime, wish me luck!

Meet my new best friend.

Did I mention that I finally invested in the best kitchen appliance I will ever own??

Can you see the drool marks on the shiny stainless bowl?

Can you smell and taste the endless amounts of baked goodies I will be able to make with this bad boy?

Can you tell that I'm pretty stoked about it?!

And of course, what better way to break it in than with a full-on batch of Linda Smith Cookies.

Oh, and did I tell you that I got an ice cream maker attachment too?

If I disappear from the public for a while, you'll know where to find me. Up to my chin in dough and frozen magic.

Mission: PDX

Kyle and I got back very early Monday morning from a whirlwind of a weekend trip to the City of Roses.

If you haven't yet heard, we'll be moving to Portland this fall. Both Kyle and I are super excited to be moving back to a city and do the urban thing for a while. While we love Whitefish and hate to leave a place where you can be hiking, mountain biking, or skiing within minutes of our door, we are ready for a change of pace. It feels like the perfect time in our lives to live it up!

So this weekend was all about exploration. Scope the neighborhoods, check out the public transportation, and most importantly - find some really good food.

(digging in at Pok Pok - Kyle was like a little kid on Christmas morning;

at the Screen Door for brunch - totally worth the wait)

I wish I had taken more pictures of some of the places we went. We had some awesome desserts and pastries (my fav) as well as food and drinks. We even managed to watch a little of the Grand Floral Parade outside of our hotel room, and caught glimpses of the City Fair going on and some smaller street fairs. There were definitely not enough hours in the day to see everything we wanted, but we will be back!

Oh yes, we can

A little back story: Last fall/winter we had 2 students at the clinic, Jamie and Amanda, who were interested in learning to can their own jam. I had plans to do so anyway since I was out of stock, so they came over for a "canning party" before going cross country skiing one Saturday. We successfully got the jars all filled and processed and sealed up, but they never quite set up like we had hoped.....so we ended up with strawberry sauce instead.

Well, I've had the jars sitting out, waiting to be poured back in to the pot and fixed up, then returned to the jars so that they can be eaten. However, for the last 6 months they've just been sitting there, taunting me, teasing me with their sweet goodness while I keep putting off the re-do.

So anyway, I FINALLY corrected the recipe and have been enjoying some delicious homemade strawberry jam - on my very own homemade bagels, nonetheless. One of the most rewarding baking projects to date! They're really not that hard to make, if you find the right recipe. I'm sure they'd be even better if I used the recipes that call for overnight proofing and whatnot, but hey, I like to keep things simple.

So then I had the canning bug...and some cucumbers to use up... so I went for it and made some pickles. Another pretty easy task, just a little time consuming. But, ta-dah! Pickles that cost almost nothing that taste better than the store bought kind.

Saving the environment, one loaf at a time.

I told you I had projects going on, so here's numero uno: bags.

I've been following a woman's blog about reducing household waste, which has been a goal of mine but something I've gotten away from recently. I was inspired to start up again, and my first task was to make bulk shopping and food storage bags.

I have been baking bread a lot more lately, but the problem has been in how to store it. My loaves are too big for most plastic bags, which I don't want to use anyway since they ultimately end up in the trash after a few uses. And I hate to use plastic wrap because I feel like the plastic seeps into the bread and gives it a funny taste. I had been using foil but, again, it ends up in the trash can.

Solution: fabric bags.

I know, I know, seems counter-intuitive to store a baked good in a breathable bag, but it actually has worked pretty well so far! Yes, if it's left in the pantry for over a week it gets hard, but we don't often go past that long before it's all eaten up (toasted homemade bread with butter is one of my many addictions). And it holds up great in the freezer, too. Who'dathunk?

I also took an old sheet and some laundry bag material and sewed up some bags for bulk items at the store. My goal is to significantly reduce the amount of packaging I take from the store, so I'm buying most things in bulk (flour, oats, even chocolate chips and pasta) and from the bulk produce. To go even further, I take my own bulk bags instead of the plastic ones at the store. I write the numbers down on a piece of scrap paper (usually a receipt from the previous trip) and have the tare weights of the bag written right on the fabric. So far it's worked great! When I get home, I just put it into glass jars for storage.

It was great to break out the sewing machine and be creative again. Having projects definitely helps my sanity in this wet and cold Montana spring.

I'm baaaaack!

For anyone who is even still following this practically abandoned blog.....

It's making a comeback!

I've taken quite the hiatus, but I think it's about time to resurface. I've been hard at work creating, cooking, baking, sewing...all sorts of fun projects lately. And what better way to keep a tally on them than to archive it on this here blog.

And with the weather finally getting nicer and nicer it's about time to head into the wilderness and see what kind of trouble I can't get myself into.

I know I'll have stories to tell.

So you can look forward to some new posts, as well as a little blog facelift action to come!

It's good to be back.

Seasons change, and so do we.

You know how you get to that point where too much has gone on to know what to write about so you put it off but the list just gets longer and longer so you want to write less and less?

Welcome to my blog!

My household has grown since we spoke last. Kyle (and I) adopted a little orange fluffball of a kitten last month. His name is Remi, short for Remoulade Wellington Toots McGoo Big Kitty Belly Little Pretzel Peanut Monkey.

And he's freakin' adorable.

Zoje, though getting more comfortable with the idea, was not so stoked about him. He pretty much plays the little brother card to a "t", but at least they run around and chase each other for exercise.

I bought my ski pass last week. Possibly selling my skis and buying some new ones over the next few months. There was snow on the mountain yesterday, and the temps this week won't get over 62 according to the experts. Winter, here we come!

Kyle is in Illinois on a month-long "tour", if you will. He's playing some shows there while business is slowing down here in Whitefish during the shoulder season. Go and see him if you're around and have a free night. He's good, I promise! (Listen and find out where he's playing here.)

Went camping and saw Dave Matthews at the Gorge in Washington over Labor Day Weekend. Had a bear scare but made it out alive and well. Gosh I love camping!

Had another bear scare last week mountain biking on Big Mountain. Turned a corner and there he (or she) was! 30 feet is as close as I hope I ever have to get. Good thing I was going slowly uphill, and not flying downhill!

I'm coming back to IL next week for Kristina's wedding. Going to be a short trip, but really looking forward to seeing old friends and spending time with family.

Ok, I think we're caught up now! Happy autumn, everyone.