Awkward Olive

Last year I made rhubarb rosemary gin and tonics , Amaze balls! Lights, bells, whistles, fireworks, bam, bang, hello! How had I not thought of this earlier? Lemon curd is only one of my most favorite things ever, and both lemon and rhubarb share that wonderful tanginess.

I spent the rest of that day wistfully dreaming of rhubarb curd and magical it would be, and at the end of the work day I promptly came home and made up a recipe. Rhubarb Curd- Author adapted from Dana Velden recipe. The rhubarb I have growing in my yard is mostly green… therefore my rhubarb curd looks like muddy lemon curd. These last few days have been beautiful in Oregon.

There is a live webcam … But these last two days the sun has been shining, the sky is blue, and I keep having a twinge of nostalgia for the clear crisp winter days… the blizzards not so much. I crave snow about once a year… one weekend is the perfect amount. Preferably around Christmas, anything over that just seems excessive.

I adore the dreariness of Oregon winters. I crave it a little bit, actually. The cozy foggy mornings that just beg you to snuggle in with a good book and a cup of tea. The bright green grass contrasting the dark charcoal sky.

The drizzling rain… It soothes my soul, which is probably why I moved to Oregon in the first place. Thankfully, I have a happy lamp, which typically does the trick, even though it is a little ridiculous. When my parents first made the move to Oregon the weather transition was a little rough on them. After a bit of complaining, the light made its way over to my place, and mostly I used it for my house plants, but every so often I pull it out for personal use. Hello achievements mental note: This happens to me often.

Embracing the everyday encounters that give life a little flavor

So I took the motivation, I took the sense of purpose, I took the energy from the sun, and put on some garden gloves. I started the project a few weeks ago, but still had some beds that needed clearing. Today was the perfect day…. And then I kept going.

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I clean out the tomato beds, I pruned the raspberries, I did a little weeding, trimmed back the mint, and even swept my patio. I would have gone so far as to pick up dog poop, only my super duper pooper scooper broke into a million pieces after 1 scoop. BUT one thing I did observe in this midst of this yard project was how happy it made me.

Working in my garden, and growing my own food brings me epic amounts of joy, and even though this is the not fun part of gardening, I still found myself getting excited by the pruning. I imagine this is sort of how first time parents feel. It was epic in its awkwardness.

Thankfully some strangers came to my aid, and It appeared as though my 35 lb pumpkin child was unscathed! Appearances can be deceiving though… a week later as I was getting ready to carve said pumpkin, I discovered two giant bruises towards the bottom. Did it crawl on me? Does it have friends? Should I burn the house down?

Tag: Gardening

I should have known all of this was foreshadowing what came next… as I wiggled loose the lid of the pumpkin and lifted it away from its seams there was an outpouring of fruit flies. Hundreds and hundreds of fruit flies. I like to eat the pumpkin seeds and I like the idea of carving pumpkins, but my knife skills are always lacking, and after trying to carve some intricate letters, many failed attempts, two broken pumpkin saws, I began to have that feeling of a failed craft project.

But you cannot keep this girl away from a good pumpkin patch adventure! All the pumpkin recipes.

Thanks for being patient. So I just wanted to let you know, I have plans writing plans, travel plans, yoga plans, life plans… Firstly, the blog is getting a little makeover… because it is time! Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks and months.

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What would you like to hear more of? What are your favorite types of posts? November 29, Leave a comment. Click to share on Pinterest Opens in new window Click to share on Twitter Opens in new window Click to share on Facebook Opens in new window Click to email this to a friend Opens in new window.

November 21, November 21, Leave a comment. November 19, November 21, Leave a comment. November 12, November 12, Leave a comment. October 29, October 29, Leave a comment. My Pumpkin Crew September 20, Leave a comment.

September 28, Leave a comment. Everyday we have a choice To approach things with grace, understanding… the expectation of hope… I often invite my students to either rest their palms up A sign of receptivity… of openness To what? That is up to them. I ask them to focus to breathe… and then we move onto what is next. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.

• Embracing the everyday encounters that give life a little flavor?
• The IBOC Handbook: Understanding HD Radio (TM) Technology;
• The Awkward Olive Does Lunch: Autumn coleslaw and how to make a dressing without a recipe.
• The Man of Snow and Other Tales.

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You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Last month, one of my best friends got married in Hood River. We chatted, the laughed, we ate, we reminisced, we ate some more. It was amazing to be able to spend some quality time with some of my closest friends, and it was also really inspiring to see what everyone was cooking.

I know I tend to get stuck in a food rut, always going back to my go-to salads and quinoa dishes, so it was really fun to see what some of my friends had in their culinary repertoire.