A Day In the Life – Search For Seven

Goals 2023

February 16, 2023February 16, 2023 Keira

Here it is, halfway through February. As you know (you don’t know. I have no followers), I refuse to set goals in January. I take January off, mentally. I survive and mend in January. Perhaps because it’s “always Winter and never Christmas.” This year, I’ve needed a few other weeks, too. But I’m here. I’m feeling the need to set goals. It’s time. (Cue crazy Rafiki).

So… What goals do I have?

1. Finish the basement. It’s 4 years overdue. It’s sooo close. If. we. can. just. cross. the. finish. line…

2. Get chickens. Yeah. Totally did that. Blame the ADHD impulse and my Mama. But on the flip side have you seen the cost of eggs lately? And I already have half a coop, a rundown run (pun intended), and help with them on the way. So I guess the goal isn’t “get” chickens. It’s keeping them alive when they get here.

3. Homeschool a girly that is struggling socially in school. She has some body delays, and socially it’s becoming awkward for her. So I wanna give her a year to recoup, stay on track, and then we will evaluate how she’s doing. Kinda hope she loves it because it’s always something I have wanted but it’s a serious commitment and I don’t wanna mess that up. We’re talking a kid’s wellbeing here. I don’t wanna take that lightly. I intend to send the other 2 to school. Mostly because it eases the transition for those that have always discouraged me and because that gives one-on-one time to the one that needs it.

Man I sound all domestic and homey!

4. Find it in my soul to pick up the dropped ball of FHE lessons instead of hasty find a picture and talk about it lessons. And when that is done, work on a scripture study guide. That I also started and set down. Man my ADHD is killing me. Actually I always just thought it was a personal failing. It wasn’t until I was 36, had newborn twins and was drowning in exhaustion and Dr Pepper that I asked for help. And that was because I zoned out while driving all my precious cargo because the car in front of me had shiny rims. No lie. Clearly meds don’t fix everything, though, because I am dreading picking up these juggle balls. Not because I don’t want to do them but because I don’t want to drop them. Or any other ball. Am I ready? I can barely do dishes and laundry. But part of that is because I’m lagging in the motivation category. And when I’m lagging on motivation it often helps to add something new. That’s why I love gardening in the spring. It’s something new. It’s a new garden. But it’s -4° today and my driveway is drifted over with snow and wind and I’m not ready to think about spring yet.

That being said, 5. Keep up with a garden. Back to domesticity, haha. I was debating about the 2 rows of tomatoes. Or maybe cutting back carrots. But, as I’ve hinted at, life seems to be changing in my family of origin and the extra garden space will probably be a blessing. And if I keep chickens it will both rock the mouse population (hopefully in my favor but who knows. They might all move further into my garden) and they can eat the shrivelled carrots I didn’t get to in time.

5.1 grow onions from seeds. Which means I need to get started soon. But as I said, it’s snowing outside! It’s cold in my house. I just can’t bring myself yet. Soon.

5.2 try lavender again. Pray we can fix the watering “sitch.” Pray they get enough light indoors. Pray they *finally* grow bigger than an inch high.

5.3 don’t make my tomatoes struggle this year by inadequate potting soil and starting them as early as I’d like to. I’d love to get my greenhouse here and ready to install, but it’s gonna cost me a pretty penny to transport it around a mountain range. Long story. Probably too much personal information. I inherited it but it isn’t near me. Let’s say that.

6. Figure out how to be a better neighbor when I’m a hermit. World peace. I have awesome neighbors. I wanna be like them. And I wanna be better at helping them. And my husband. And my kids.

Anyway, I usually publish these goals here to keep me accountable. And then I look at them in January and evaluate myself. But I don’t feel like looking at last year’s so, … Moving on.

A Day in the Life, FHE, Spiritual

Conference Activities

March 22, 2022June 24, 2022 Keira

Dear Reader,

An unspoken thing that I personally think is amazing about conference is that there are so many family traditions involved in how each household watches conference. If you feel like you need a new tradition in your family, here are are some resources I have found from the Church (while planning our FHE lesson for this week) that are totally free to you!

Watch videos sharing the personal testimonies of the Apostles.
Print off and fill out conference notebooks (for older or for younger kids; or one of these pages one, two for in between)
color by topic pages (I personally think this one is worth it! love it). There is this one, as well, but a) it’s outdated, and b) it’s not as pretty. But it is still a good resource!
Conference Bingo! This is what our family does! we have pages my aunt made when we were kids, but the topics have shifted slightly and it’s getting harder to get bingos! So I think I’m gonna print these off, instead, this year. Before conference, I go to the dollar store and pick out little toys and party favors. I buy things that are less than a dollar (so multiple things in a pack) for bingos and then 1 dollar prize per session per kid for blackouts (I might have to make the “sustaining leaders” a free space in order to do that on this print-out). I try to pick prizes that are projects or crafts, so that my kids have some form of entertainment during conference, as opposed to a figurine, but even little figurines have value while entertaining kids for so long. Here is another page, but it has President Monson represented for “prophet,” so it’s a little outdated.
Here are some awesome coloring pages of the General Authorities! See if your family can recognize them and know their names.
There are a lot of picture searches within the church’s website, but these two (one, two) deal particularly with General Conference.
Same thing goes for coloring pages. I found 5 in particular that are about conference (but I bet there are more hidden in the “internet cracks.” Some of these have President Monson, but he was still a prophet (one, two, three, four, five). And here is one about King Benjamin teaching his people, in case you’re following along with our FHE lessons.
Here’s a poster with kids coloring for conference.
This page has a blank bingo sheet, but I like the idea of drawing the ties given on the bottom.
Challenge your family to listen for key words and keep a tally of what is said.
If you told your family about King Benjamin teaching his people, this activity about his people pitching his tents toward the temple will have deeper meaning.
Here is a connect four game based off of listening to key words.
This one seems fun, too. Color in a square for each clue you see or hear.
assign a small treat to key words and each time that word is heard, the hearer can get a treat.
Here is a dot-to-dot of the prophet (and a picture story).
There is nothing to print here, but this story talks about watching conference via a tent, like King Benjamin. You could build a fort like they do in the story or a real tent. If it’s stable enough, you could even allow your family to sleep in it one night!
This activity involves 1 word for each letter of the alphabet and suggests writing notes about each word.
Here is a rope code game that has a hidden answer at the bottom of the page.
For kids that can read, they could cover these words as they hear them.
The second page of this story from the friend gives a nice way to take notes on a talk. If your note-taker can read but isn’t ready to take that thorough of notes, they might be able to follow this outline.
Here is a 2-week countdown of activities to prepare for conference.
And this is a crossword search with conference words.
If you want to update the pictures, this is a fun mini-conference setup with chairs and a pulpit that you can have the speakers walk to. But it’s from 2012.
This coloring page is similar to some others already listed, but a little bit simpler. It would still require reading, though. Or there is this one, tied to the talk before it.
Here’s a wiggle break rhyme to get kids up and moving, if needed.

tutorials

Notes to self: Paper Piecing; The tutorials all failed me.

February 28, 2018August 2, 2020 Keira

I’ve been paper piecing a quilt for my future niece (she’s already my niece, but she’s not on the outside yet…) and vowed never to volunteer to make a paper pieced quilt ever again on the first two blocks, but this morning (3 days after starting, to put it in perspective; 2 blocks, 3 days), I think I’ve finally figured it out! So, in case I ever decide to make a paper pieced quilt again, I thought I’d write a few tips to future-me. I hope future-you will find them useful too.

First, if you think you’re a pro at quilting, paper piecing will question that belief. It really just feels backward to other quilting methods. It feels like backward math, upside down quilting, and a whole bunch of angles that are scary if you watch tutorials. Because they all make it look so easy, and then you sit down and it’s not and you may … ahem… think about saying a few things you don’t want your toddler to repeat.
Secondly, there’s a reason that paper piecing is a major scrap-buster. It leaves a LOT of wasted fabric. It feels like you’re cutting in the middle of the fabric. And if you’re a regular quilter, it makes you cringe. But… It DOES use up scraps. And after a while, you can get the hang of finding the best placement for scraps.
If you don’t have a light table, you will wish you did. Windows and holding it up to the light will make it about 5 times harder than a light table. I got mine way cheap back in the day (it’s probably 15 years old. A quick Amazon search proves that mine is WAY out dated and that they have come a long way in design aspects. But hey, it still works. Unless you press too hard. Then it shorts and you have to press hard again to “turn it back on.”
If the pieces don’t have a seam allowance added to the outside, add them. And don’t forget to keep them in your calculations for the middle of the semi-blocks.
This one is kind of a given, but order is important. Not just in pieces, but in method.
1. First, line up your first piece. It’s usually the biggest. Most of the time, they’re numbered, but if you’re like me then you can’t be bothered to settle for something that’s not exactly the way you want it, so you either tweaked it or created your own. If it’s not pre-numbered, it’s [usually] pretty easy to figure out which piece to sew first. Find the piece that doesn’t require any other seam in place. I have one of the pieces I designed myself (after looking at pieces online, so it’s not really what I’d call an original) and it’s NOT the way the pieces should be, because there are 2 sections that require seams. Usually, you make the pieces so that doesn’t happen, but it’s not a terrible fix when you know what you’re doing (or figure it out as you go, as Yours Truly likes to do). It’s just not able to be it’s own little box, really. Still sews the same. I just have to remember there’s no seam allowance on that part.
  
  New photo by Keira / Google Photos
2. Glue it in place (tutorial taught me that. I don’t like glue for anything but the first piece (unless it’s really small, which also seems backward. But when the small pieces slip, it’s much more noticeable. If you’re gluing more than the first piece, sew it, iron it open, and then glue it to the paper), but some tutorials say glue the whole way. It is helpful for keeping the piece in place, but it also gums up your iron, and then you have a brown spot in the middle of your project that won’t come out until you wash it. At least it had BETTER come out… haven’t washed it yet…) WITH THE BACK FACING THE BLOCK (it feels backward. We are taught right-sides-together for most of sewing, but technically, this step is wrong sides together. Tutorials DIDN’T teach me that tidbit. You’re welcome).
3. Using the light table, take another scrap (or in my case, the background color, that is about the size of a fat quarter. Not the easiest size, which is part of my frustration, but I want all the background colors to be the same, and I only have so much of this scrap so I would rather not waste all of it willy-nilly. FOLD THE PIECE DOWN THE SEAM LINE! Seriously, that is the trick! It changed all my complication and frustration into an, “oh, this isn’t so bad!” Place that folded-glued piece of paper over the other fabric. LINE UP AN EDGE OF THE BACKGROUND FABRIC (Seriously. Saves cutting, guessing, and wasting). Using the light table (and your fingers to feel the seam if you can’t see it well, make sure that piece is all lined up and fits in the square (REMEMBERING 1/4″ SEAM ALLOWANCES ALL THE WAY AROUND, including the folded line). Lay the paper flat (unfold it), pin the 2 layers of fabric and the paper together.
  
  New video by Keira / Google Photos
  
  New photo by Keira / Google Photos
  
  gosh, my hands look so old in this picture. Dry weather is not my friend, apparently…
4. Go to your cutting mat, take your acrylic ruler, and make sure you have 1/4″ seam allowances all the way around. Repin, if necessary. (if you have a flat light box, or a small acrylic ruler, this step can be done on the light table – which would be quite helpful – but I’m using my big ruler and the light table is too awkwardly angled). No real cutting needs to happen at this stage.
5. sew down the seam line.
6. Iron the seam open (fold back the not-glued-down piece, iron flat. That’s another part that just seems backward. Normally you have a LOT more liberty as to which way you iron and almost always iron the piece to the darker side. In paper piecing, you don’t have the choice, and if you’re using a light background color, chances are you are ironing toward the background and it’ll show. DON’T CUT UNTIL YOU IRON.
7. Fold the pattern at the next seam. Go to your cutting mat. Take your acrylic ruler and cut the scraps to 1/4″ from that fold.
8. Place the next piece of fabric along the fold, making sure that you have enough fabric to handle anything folded over in the piece of paper (seriously, this step! Makes the difference between picking out with a few mutterings (for the 6th time) and getting it right the first time. FOLDING THE PAPER IS THE MOST HELPFUL ADVICE I CAN GIVE (aside from the whole measure-twice-cut-once rule. Because I had a few cut-the-scrap-i-needed-almost-clean-off moments…). It seems silly, but it isn’t. trust me. Use the light table, if you need. Don’t forget seam allowances. unfold the paper, pin, sew.
9. Repeat steps 6-8 as needed.
Never sew that seam unless you’ve already cut the seam to 1/4″. Once you’re in the hang of what you’re doing, it’s okay to ignore this rule, just be careful. And for best results, cut it BEFORE you iron it. I tried cutting seam allowances after I sew/iron and have accidentally cut the entire piece off (see above). I’ve also tried cutting the seam allowance before I iron and cut the piece the wrong shape because it’s hard to wrap your brain around what is quilt piece and what is seam allowance. If you already have a flat seam there, there’s no need to cut it and accidentally cut the wrong part until after it’s ironed. Once it’s ironed it’s sooo much easier to tell what should be there. Then, you’re cutting the next seam allowance, not your quilt piece.
Got a piece that’s just perfect but doesn’t have flat edge where the seam allowance is? tread with caution. It’s doable. Remember to fold the paper over and make sure it all really does fit nicely. Then sew it, and be VERY careful what you cut. I made a little video of me doing it backward on one square. Just because it’s easier to show than to explain.
Sew well into the next piece. Tutorials will say this but they don’t really explain why. I know of at least 2 reasons. 1) you have the seam allowance for those pieces becoming one piece on the next seam (you still need 1/4″ seam allowance. If you haven’t sewn all the way up, your quilt will either pull funny or unravel after it’s sewn. Both are bad. SECONDLY, when you pull the paper off of the pieces to sew the next seam, they tend to unravel. even at a small stitch, the first few stitches will probably come out.
Which brings me to another tip: stitch length. The tutorials all say go to 1.0 stitch length. Well, they clearly haven’t had to pick out as many seams as I have over the past few days. I’ve found that 1.8 works just fine and I’m not ruining my fabric (or my ability to see straight) when I have to pick it out. ALSO: if your machine is like mine, it is much easier to tell where I’m going if I center the needle. My machine thinks it should always (ALWAYS) be on the left and that is one of my biggest pet peeves about a machine that I otherwise love (the other is that it does NOT like starting on the edge of the fabric. It can’t figure out how to feed it properly so I have to use pins to guide it through a few stitches. But that’s another story.)
If you have a machine that automatically resets itself when you sew, it is worth leaving it on until you’re done sewing for the day. Because otherwise, you’re guaranteed to forget to turn the stitches down and re-center the needle. This goes against a major rule my mother taught me. But if I leave the presser foot up my machine wont sew, so my toddler won’t accidentally sew her fingers. I think that was one of the main reasons she always made us turn it off the second we stood up.
If you don’t have a garbage you can slip right under your table/cutting surface, tape a grocery bag to the edge of the table, then you can slide your scraps and discarded paper right into the trash.

New photo by Keira / Google Photos
I’ve learned that it helps when tearing the paper out of seam so that you can move on to the next seam (where you sewed past the line on purpose), if you tear it from the side it unravels a little less than if you tear it from the last stitch. And if you’re having trouble removing the paper at the end, spraying it with a FINE mist of water will weaken the paper enough it comes right out.

What do you think, clear as mud, right? Well it’s definitely one of those its-easier-when-you-start kind of projects. And don’t work on the most important one first. Practice on an eaiser/not as prominent piece first.

A Day in the Life

The Eyes Have [Them…]

September 17, 2014January 9, 2018 Keira

Glasses, I mean.

Not mine. I still have about perfect vision. I was a little far-sighted, he said, but not enough to bother putting glasses on. Basically, if my eyes get tired, I should exercise them by looking at something far away for a few minutes (like out a window).

But the other members of my family? Yup, they’re all glasses-wearing super-stars. Ranger has had glasses since he was in elementary school… but he NEVER wears them. And never isn’t an exaggeration. His best friends had no idea he even wore glasses. And he’s known them since before high school. He also got contacts this time. And he’s worn them about as long as it takes to leave the doctor’s office, go grocery shopping, and come home. Then he took them out. He’s supposed to ease into them and go back to see the eye doc. He hasn’t made it that far.

He looks like a sophisticated stud in his glasses. Too bad no one will ever know.

The girly got glasses, too. But they’re the same prescription as last year. She will only wear them if NO ONE comments on them. And since she never wears them, when she does people ALWAYS comment on them. So they get left at home quite often, too. They’re just supposed to be for reading, so it’s not really a big deal, but they definitely make a difference.

A Day in the Life

And It’s Not Even Ours Yet

September 2, 2014June 24, 2022 Keira

I have done more work on our new house than I’ve done the entire time I’ve lived in this old house, and it’s not even finalized yet! All thanks to a paranoid state housing department.

I can’t really complain. When we get in, this house will be the best and safest house I’ve ever lived in. It’s pretty sad, considering all the upgrades I know we will do to it in the future. It’s no where near as nice a house as it will be.

What can I say, I’ve lived in some pretty trashy places. Trashy might not be the right word… we’ll call them Ghetto. Which is derogatory, again. What can I say… Sometimes knowing the history of words gets me into trouble. For instance, in my life, I’ve lived in two single-wide trailers fastened together. I’ve lived in houses where I had to duck to get into my room. I’ve also lived in a house where my bedroom was on the other side of the bathroom. i.e. I had to wait to go into or out of my room whenever anyone showered. And then there’s the current model, that is falling apart and flooding around me. (Seriously, if we get any more rain, we’re going to have to wade in my basement. I’m NOT happy about it, and I keep telling myself it doesn’t matter because I’m moving, but my house smells like wet basement now. Not a fan). I can’t wait to move into a house that needs some personality, but doesn’t need new everything.

And doesn’t flood when we flush the toilets.

Let me tell you THAT’s fun.

Not.

It started simply enough. First we had to put these counters together. They DONT match and are incredibly cheap, like really really cheap, in that the center cabinet where the sink is doesn’t even really exist cheap.

We recruited our friend Mike to help with that. He nailed the counters together, and we nailed the top to them. It passed inspection, even though I hate it.

Untitled

As soon as we can actually sign the papers and move in, I’m going to tear out the wall connecting the kitchen to the laundry room. Right now the kitchen is pathetically small, and I LIVE in the kitchen. It’s not a good situation. But the laundry room can easily go downstairs. I know it means more walking for laundry, but I do laundry a few times a week. I cook a few times a DAY. A bigger kitchen is pretty important to me. I’ve had it all designed and graphed out for months. And when Ranger found out how much it costs to get cabinets installed (hence why Mike’s jimmy-rigging the counters in the previous picture), he agreed to make me a custom kitchen. He’s pretty handy, but getting him to make time is another story. He is always tired after work, and then there’s everything that NEEDS done… I might just have to make this kitchen a need… But anyway, it’s functional. And I hooked up the plumbing myself.

And between Ranger and I, we also got the toilet in … a more toilet-y location. As in, back where the toilet hole actually is and not in the tub. I hooked up the pipes to it as well, and I added the toilet mechanism all by myself. Call me Rosie.

Then, on to round two: We had to add a stair rail (which is silly, in my opinion) and fix the stucco in the back.

The stucco was fixed in the front and on one side, but the seller ran out of $ so that’s as far as it went (seriously, the cost of repairing stucco about equal to the cost of putting up siding! Pretty sure when we go about fixing the stucco in a few years (because stucco only lasts a few years), we’ll just upgrade to siding.

Most of the back of the house is just tiny cracks, and when we asked Lowe’s a while ago, they said if it’s just tiny cracks, you can get away with just painting over it and it’ll last an extra year. Since our extra income this year is going into GETTING the house (and getting out of debt), an extra year is just what we need. Also, the appraiser pointed out how the stucco wont stick to wood anyway and so it would need to be painted. So, I painted it. And in the process, I broke the paint can. So… I painted a little more than I would have liked. It looks Über-fab right now, but hey, it’s less I have to worry about when winter comes. We also calked up the obvious cracks. This wood slab really belongs to what used to be the deck. My guess is that the seller put up as small a deck as possible (it’s tiny!) in order to call it a deck after the wood deck needed replaced, and the wood slab is what’s left over from where the deck used to be.

Untitled

It’ll pass appraisal, at any rate. And at this point, I don’t care, I just want IN IT. No one sees the back of the house anyway… at least they don’t when the yard is non-existent.

Untitled

This is one of the few windows that still needs replaced. This one and two windows in the main part of the house are still aluminum. The rest have been upgraded to vinyl. You see that white half-circle up on the railroad ties? That’s what is left of the lid.

A Day in the Life, Archives

Happy Birthday, Adella (a post I never published)

August 28, 2014January 9, 2018 Keira

This is an old post I never got around to pushing the little publish button for, so you get it now… 3 months later than I intended. I’m great like that…

Most of my family has birthdays during 2 semi-annual spurts. Instead of having family reunions, then, we have family birthday parties. We used to ~~do 2 a year~~ attempt to hold 2 a year (we never seemed to get to the second one… and my birthday falls in that category. I was sick of getting jipped (I’m going to get history buffs and politicals mad at me for that word). So we made it an annual thing instead of semi-annual.

We share gifts with each member of the family (I don’t know how much longer that’s gonna last. I like it, but you never know. When we actually start getting a ton of grandkids/ nieces/ nephews, that will get expensive.)

Last year, we had big plans for the family birthday party… and they all got canceled. Instead we held a funeral for my sister’s stillborn angel.

So this year, as we were sharing presents, we all took a balloon outside and let it go (Yes, I’m going to have the environmentalist groups hounding me now, too). It was a birthday present to Adella.

How did she thank us? Giant hail balls.

Grandma (my mom) barely made it in alive! Just kidding, she was fine, but that was still some scary hail!

At any rate, happy first birthday, Adella. Nice aim.

A Day in the Life

How We Spend Our Freetime

August 18, 2014January 9, 2018 Keira

We spent many nights at the local movie theater/arcade. This is what happens when you’re the only kid still up on a Friday date night in a college town. She made bank! All the college kids handed her their tickets.

And spent her earnings wisely… Interestingly, her favorite color isn’t really purple. Sometimes it is, but she changes her mind so often, I wouldn’t say she’s really GOT a favorite color. But out of the colors there, purple won. Purple, soccer, and zebra. That’s how to be a cool kid, I guess…

We spent many minutes moving the location of this silly sticky hand.

Isn’t this a cool cloud formation? There’s been a ton of rain this summer. I am rained out! Seriously, you do not want to cross my path in February if I don’t get a little more sunshine this summer!

I made a goal to cover the whole driveway in sidewalk chalk. This is as far as we got, so I guess we’ll have to start all over again!

a sunrise and a very quick (and extremely inaccurate solar system rendition)

Mom, Dad, and Daughter. In a rainstorm

The new house doesn’t have that great of a driveway, so I guess I should embrace this one for the few minutes (translate: ages!!!! Seriously, I want to move! I’m so not patient enough for this!) I still have one.

the rest of the summer has been less than glamorous… We’ve been doing TONS of packing. 9 years in a house is hard to pack up. And then there’s the back and forth between lenders. And the just plain doing nothing moments.

But there was that one time that my Father-in-law trusted me to care for the buffalo while he was out of town on vacation, and I let them out… That was exciting. I’m happy to announce that I got them back in, all by myself! That has to make up for the fact that I let them out, right? The whole time I’m thinking “my father-in-law is never going to trust me ever again!” Luckily, I used the armor of the car to get them all collected into a corner of the driveway, right by the gate, and I was still strange enough that by the time I got out of the car, they’d figured that they’d rather be in the safety of the pen than to mess with a stranger. And I don’t think the bull fit through the gate, so they definitely felt safer on the same side of the fence with him. I definitely felt safer on the OTHER SIDE of that fence. Apparently, none of the men use the gate for just that reason. They all climb over. AFTER I let them out, Ranger told me not to use the gate because buffalo will keep track of how you come in and out and will work at that spot. Smart stinkers.

We’ve watched the babies grow up, too. That’s been pretty fun.

A Day in the Life

Huckleberry Heaven

August 16, 2014June 24, 2022 Keira

My husband, daughter and myself all love camping, but can never seem to find the time to go. Every time we tried, this would happen:

This time, we just gave up and went. It still sprinkled on us each night we stayed, but we had a blast anyway, and we didn’t let the rain get to us. We found an amazing camping spot, and plan to make a tradition of it.

We went just to go camping, but these little berries made it that much better! We ended up picking 2 gallons. Too bad most of them were used for a certain family member’s wedding… it was still well worth it though.

It was so nice to get away from everything pending in our lives. Up there, it’s just you, your campsite, and the side of the mountain. Oh, and the family picking on the hill next to you that locks themselves out of their car, raids your huckleberry patch (she was determined that by picking the whole branch and then collecting the berries, she’s doing the bush a favor. I’m pretty sure she’s crazy. Anyone know if she’s really right?) All I know is she blazed through our berry patch and didn’t make me all that happy to have to share the hill. She also had strong opinions on everything. Her husband was cool though.

One thing we’ll check for next time: making sure the firepit is clean! It’s kind of a no-brainer for my eagle scout husband, but we were in such a hurry to get the tent up in the minimal time between rain and dark that we forgot. Ranger heard the pop and knew what it was, but we didn’t find the evidence until morning. Soooo glad it missed us all…

Seriously! I was pretty disgusted with the cleanliness of the campsite, anyway (why do people think it’s a good idea to mix beer, guns, and camping? sounds pretty …. not so thinky… to me…), but it made it pretty easy to leave it better than we found it!

On a much different note, did you know that there are lizards in this area? I had no idea! I thought they’d gravitate toward a much warmer climate. I’ve got my feet up on the rocks next to the fire while the kiddo is sleeping in the tent, and suddenly Ranger freezes, staring directly under my feet. That’s the thing of nightmares! WHAT IS UNDER MY FEET! But eventually, Ranger points to a crawly thing circling our firepit. He made a complete circle and went back up into the woods. When I got back to civilization, I looked him up. I think he was a Long-nosed leopard lizard. Apparently, there are a few varieties of lizards in the area, but they were all news to me! Lizards in Idaho! Blew my mind!

A Day in the Life

E+J wedding

August 15, 2014November 17, 2020 Keira

Sorry it’s been so long since I posted. I’ve had so much to say, but I managed to lock myself out of admin because I somehow only half managed to change the password somewhere. I finally had to delete all the shortcuts and apps in my browser and sign in all over again. Such is life.

Update is: there’s still no update on moving. We’ve been in the “almost… Just one more step” stage for about a month and a half. We really are “almost there,” though. We’ve done everything but sign the papers and get the carpet and windows in. I am soooo ready to be outta this house!

But now to the fun stuff. After about a 3 year absence from the cake scene ( my sister’s wedding really did me in!) I made a cake again! This time for my new sister-in-law’s wedding. It was so fun.

I admit I was so worried. The forecast has said rain all week. And the bride was DETERMINED to have an outdoor wedding.

The clouds hung threateningly the entire ceremony/reception, and about an hr and a half into the reception, it wasn’t a threat, but a downpour. I’m pretty impressed, though. It ended up working out amazingly.

This is before they added the wildflowers to the mug. it was pretty cute and incredibly cheap!

By then, the traditions had all been attended to, and it’s the part of the reception that just drags on, so when the rain came, most people left, and only the close friends and family stayed.

It turned into one big wet afterparty. With an amazing sunset.

(sorry I can’t take pictures! It’s pretty irritating. I keep promising myself I’ll take a class, but never find the time to do so)

I love this picture. I’m bummed it’s blurry. This is true love. You know the country song I don’t dance? That’s the song that goes off in my head each time I look at this picture. The lyrics are so perfect! I’m so glad my Father-in-law found someone that loves him so perfectly.

Anyway, the cake turned out amazing. After having such a long hiatus, I was pretty worried I wouldn’t be able to call on enough skill. Luckily, it seems that the cake-making skill stuck a little better than the “riding a bike” skill (fyi, I can’t ride a bike. I’ve learned twice and never really enjoyed it so I run while my family rides. I get a much more intense workout, and I actually like it better…)

and the cupcakes were divine! I came up with the recipes myself. That meant that when they were gone before the reception got rained out and that all the comments of “oh my, these are so good!” went right to my head. It’s pretty inflated, now. Probably not enough to make another cake, just yet, but I’m definitely suffering from an expanded ego.

The white cupcakes are white chocolate with huckleberry filling and white chocolate butter cream and sprinkles on top. The purple-frosted cupcakes are lemon cupcakes with huckleberry filling, huckleberry frosting, and huckleberries. I wish I had made a gel of the huckleberry liquid and drizzled it on top of the white chocolate cupcakes, but maybe next time someone wants to pay me good money for huckleberry cupcakes… those buggers are purple gold, I tell ya!

Memorial 14

May 30, 2014January 9, 2018 Keira

Ranger and I both have so much family in the area, that Memorial Day gets kind of tricky. This year, I really wanted to spend time in Victor and Tetonia and pay my respects.

No one else was all that thrilled, but we made it in time for the ceremony at the Victor Cemetery. I thought it was beautiful.

I have 2 uncles, one great uncle, and one second cousin in the American Legion (okay, my second cousin isn’t really in it, he just accompanies my great uncle during Taps), so it was pretty neat to see them all.

Untitled

The salute.

Then, on to why we really came to the cemetery. Visiting my niece and grandparents and aunt and great aunts/uncles, and some great-aunts and uncles.

The sod over Grandma is still new, but Adella’s grass is pretty lush. Then we stopped by the other family cemetery and visited my cousin and great-grandparents.

So much family! And we didn’t make it to any of Ranger’s side. Not enough time.