Un-Tangled After a Great Vacation

There is nothing more rewarding than returning home after a nice vacation. Sure, the vacation itself was terrific: great company, wonderful conversation, renewed friendships, delicious food, fresh air, nature's beauty and invigorating exercise.

Escaping all the chores and routines at home are what vacations are all about. You don't have laundry all over the house, don't have to go grocery shopping, don't have to take care of the pets, don't have to cook meals and on and on. 




The fact that you don't have to do these things is precisely why its so much fun to pitch and help out when your vacation is visiting family and friends at their homes. A special dish, homemade biscotti, even stacking the wood! A great adventure even though it's not an exotic destination.

The Pacific Northwest is full of great things to do, especially when there is family to visit. Multiple hikes and a climb to the top of St. Helen's were on the list of to do's this summer and they were accomplished during our vacation. What a great time we had visiting, helping, eating, drinking, exploring, celebrating. A perfect vacation.

What is so rewarding is when, after all the fun and freedom from responsibility, you return and realize that you really like your home, love your backyard and garden, your routines and hobbies and wouldn't trade them for anything. Except possibly a similar home in Italy! Imagine having lemon and olives trees along with all the rest of the orto, and a wood-oven for pizza and bread....

Backyard Beauties

I hope you enjoy these new pictures from our yard. We have found a few surprises this year, I hope they may delight you.

Summer in the Backyard

Please enjoy some of the scenes from our backyard this past week. Our projects are winding down and now I hope for some time to relax and enjoy our yard during the (finally) warmer months this summer.  Morning coffee on the  deck, quiet evenings in the yard or under the pergola can be the best moments of the day.  Felting, crafting or reading outside in the soft warm air can be transcendent, and harvesting your own food is one of the most soul-satisfying chores there is. I love to create the days meals while I peruse the very fresh market that is my backyard. Now if I only had an outdoor bread oven!

Chores, Chores, Chores - or - No Time for Dancing!

Life has been busy this spring. While the summer season has not officially started, it is beginning to feel like it might just be here. The plants are really starting to bloom, the grass continues to grow, school is winding up and the tomato plants are starting to perk up. And we have had a couple of projects keeping us busy at home for the past few weeks.

Easter

Easter breakfast

Life has reached a hectic pace and I've been dancing too fast to sit down and write anything. So what follows are some images of our Easter day food and activities. To all my friends and family that we didn't see over the Easter holiday, I hope you had happy and fun gatherings and lots of good food.

Get hopping!

It's not quite Easter, but in our backyard it is time to get hopping! The hops we planted last spring are up and taking over. They look healthy and beautiful just the way they are, but we know that they will do best with just a few shoots left to grow tall.






Such a pity to cut all those spears. My husband found it a hard task to make himself do.

Now those shoots should really speed toward the sky!  We are looking forward to both their fruit and the shade they will provide by covering our pergola in the summer.

After all that hard morning work we ate "our garden's" first big salad of the year. Hopefully there will be many more to follow. That makes me anxious for the peppers and tomatoes in August. And the fresh basil. And...

A busy Saturday

Today was a lovely day for being outside. It was supposed to shower, but the rain held off until this evening, which gave us warm and partly sunny weather for working and playing.