LifeCycle

One Step Closer to Roughin' It

2011-12-29T11:21:00.000-08:00

I grew up camping. Car camping. Every summer my dad would take a week off work and he, my mom, my two brothers and I would load in to the station wagon and head to the mountains or the ocean. I'm so thankful to my parents for those vacations because as I got older I learned that some people have never been camping. Also, as I got older I tried to make camping as comfortable as possible bringing many conveniences from home . All that has changed since my first bike camping trip, which really helped me learn to not overpack and bring only the necessities, the bare minimum, when camping.

Some people feel that car camping is not camping at all. To them camping means hiking in with a pack on your back and setting up camp where ever you feel like it. No designated camp spot. No fire pit. No porta-potty. No running water. Just the ground below, the sky above, and your essentials.

That type of camping has become more appealing to me over the past few years and for me, this trip that we went on in July was one step closer to that type of camping.

We drove up to Buck's Lake on a Friday after work, stayed in our car at a Pacific Crest Trailhead parking lot, then drove to Silver Lake in the morning and set up camp. Silver Lake does have designated camp spots but they are more remote than your typical campground. There are only 8 camp spots and the majority of them are spaced quite some distance apart. Each spot has a fire pit and a table. There are 'outhouses' but no running water.

After setting up camp, we packed our bags and went for a hike. When we returned we went for a walk around our camp, checking out our surroundings. Everything checked out ok (we saw no signs of any human eating wild animals) so I felt a bit more at ease. I've been living in the city far too long.

Camp....

Silver Lake on our way to the trail...

The hike....

Climbing, climbing, climbing...nature's stair master.

Level ground. It was SO beautiful. And eerily quiet.

We found a little clearing near the edge of the ridge where we sat and ate lunch. It looked like someone had camped there recently.

Our view during lunch. Breathtaking. The lake in the far background is Silver Lake, where we started.

Heading back. It's all downhill from here...

The area around our camp...

Camp fun....

Summer memories ~ Rekindled Flame

2011-12-17T23:04:00.000-08:00

We always try to go camping at least once during the summer. Some years we go only once, and some years we don't go at all. After taking that first trip this year, our love affair with camping was rekindled. We once again were in love with the crisp mountain fresh air, the clear sky, mountain fauna, wildflowers, fishing, campfires, and relaxing. People that like camping will say that it is relaxing, and I suppose in a way it is. But I actually think I do more while camping than while not. I hike hillsides to fetch wood for the fire, then chop it, and carry it back to camp. I go fishing, cook and clean. I am constantly busy when camping, but it's an enjoyable busy. This year's camping trips motivated Brian to seek out some additional axes to add to our camping gear. And to make us a wood carrier. The first picture is of both of those items. The others are of our second camping trip of the year at Deer Creek.

The drive into the nearest town of Chester, CA takes about 30 minutes. The highway splits the Pacific Crest Trail, something that always catches our attention. We finally stopped, parked, and walked the trail a ways. Up to this point Brian and I had only fantasized about a back packing trip. We'd read stories of people who have hiked part, or all of, the PCT. I'm always so touched by people who have the courage for such a feat. In between the parking lot and the trail was a box of goodies left by a "trail angel". For some reason just seeing what's in the picture below brought tears to my eyes. There is something magical about back packing and trail angels, and apparently a desire to experience this magic myself. This whole experience led to a discussion between Brian and I about planning a back packing trip for our upcoming vacation in September. Even though it wasn't the trip we planned, we did go back packing. I'll share that trip in another post.

Summer Memories ~ 1st Camping Trip of the Year

2011-12-09T23:51:00.000-08:00

We went to Deer Creek in June for our first camping trip of the year. We fished, gathered and chopped wood, saw an Osprey for the first time. Saturday, we drove the 40 minutes to Mt. Lassen and there was still so much snow the road was closed after 10 miles in. We enjoyed this trip so much we went back 3 more times.

Summer Memories ~ Ride to Day on The Farm

2011-11-21T22:57:00.000-08:00

In May, Edible Pedal organized a group ride to 'A Day on the Farm' at Soil Born Farm, a local, organic farm. The ride from Edible Pedal was approx. 15 miles, and mostly on the American River Bike Trail. Brian and I rode about 40 miles that day, and had a great time!

We spotted these wild turkeys right off the bike trail on our trip home. Had to stop and admire for a few minutes.

trike progress

2011-11-19T09:29:00.000-08:00

I've been getting a lot done on my trike project. Its almost finished except for a few small pieces that I need to make.

I decided to go ahead and make a coroplast tailbox for it, Just need to make a lid and figure out how to hold it to the trike.

I'll be running 12v rear lighting that I made from some broken tail lamps out of various cars that I have worked on at my day job.

Poler

2011-11-10T06:22:00.000-08:00

Poler is a pretty cool company making outdoor gear. I'm a big fan of the napsack, even though I don't have one yet. I'm not sure I would ever take it off. Check them out, www.polerstuff.com.

Electric assist cargo trike

2011-10-09T21:15:00.000-07:00

I sold my car a couple months back, so Monica and I have been sharing her car and commuting on our bikes as much as possible. I've been trying to figure out the best option for me to live car free and be able to commute 40 miles per day. I've been riding an xtracycle with e-assist but its time for something more comfortable so I've been building this.....

The plan is to house the battery in the space behind the seat, below the top tube, and use the space on top of the tube for cargo, possibly build racks for panniers. The long term plans are to build a coroplast tail box and attach a front fairing.

This weekend I worked on the front steering booms and made the seat frame. The seat will be mesh fabric.

Whole Earth Festival

2011-05-08T22:10:00.000-07:00

For the past 42 years UC Davis has held the Whole Earth Festival. It's an annual, weekend long event about 25 miles away from us. We went Saturday and saw Clan Dyken, walked around the vendor area (where we were motivated to make leather shoes and sew), ate, and became entranced by the drum circle and kept being pulled back to it. The whole event screams peace, freedom, love and makes me wish every day was a Whole Earth Festival.

This girl was very bendy and jingly

Cob Making

Drum Circle Love

new cargo bike

2011-05-03T06:28:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a new cargo bike in my spare time. This one is built from two mountain bike frames, a broken pressure washer (the cargo platform), some new steel, and some scrap steel. I'm not happy with a few small things but overall its turning out pretty cool. I plan on using this for rolling advertisement for Carsick Designs. The bicycle film festival makes a stop here in a week and I'm hoping to have it on the road by then.

Lazy Days of Winter

2011-03-29T23:04:00.000-07:00

Stretch......Yawn.....Stretch..... I'm slowly awakening from my winter hibernation. The shortened daylight and cold temperatures of winter took their toll on my motivation and desire to do anything but the temperatures are rising and the daylight hours have already extended. I'm so happy about this.

Sitting here late at night blogging, the only one up, I miss this. These past months, when the thought of writing a post crosses my mind I conclude I have nothing to write about. Which is still somewhat true but blogging is like most things. The more you do it the more you want to do it.

Something new that we've experienced lately is wild meat. We were given wild boar, elk, and deer from someone we know who hunts. The wild boar (a smoked slab, breakfast sausage and roast) went first and we had the elk steak tonight. First time I've eaten elk and I really liked it.

Looking forward to the lazy days of summer.

Monica

Cargo Bikes

2011-02-11T23:53:00.000-08:00

Brian recently got a larger battery for his e-assist commuter xtracycle and is just about finished with the battery storage box. He's really been wanting an electric cargo bike and actually started building it today. Once the bike is built his new battery and hub motor will be transferred from the xtracycle to the new cargo bike. We'll post pictures of the progress soon.

One goal we are working towards is to, one day, be as car free as possible. We are hoping to each have an e-assist bike as a car replacement. Not just regular sized bikes, but some sort of load carrying or cargo bike. Here are just of few of the bikes Brian has found while spending countless hours searching the internet. Enjoy!

This is a Bullitt and can be found here http://www.larryvsharry.com/english/index.html

Another great cargo bike site can be found here http://cetmacargo.com/CETMAcargoindex.htm

These cool bikes pictured below can be found at http://www.metrofiets.com/

We have been seeing more and more long bikes, xtracycles, but don't see cargo bikes here in Sacramento. Are there any cargo bikes roaming the streets where you live?

Jerusalem Artichoke a.k.a. Sunchoke

2011-01-11T23:08:00.000-08:00

On a quick trip to our farmer's market on Sunday morning to by our favorite organic brown rice, we stopped by the one and only organic veggie vendor at our market. Since it was late, late morning their few tables were mostly empty save for a few bins of potatoes and Jerusalem Artichokes. I have never eaten a Jerusalem Artichoke. Never even seen one. I'd seen the name before but that's about it. After learning from the vendor that they are super easy to cook and great in soups we grabbed some. After all, we were planning on making soup.

We don't regularly patronize the Sacramento farmer's market on Sundays partly because there are not many organic farms that come here. There are, on a good day, about 5 but most of them sell one specific item. Rice (and almonds and almond butter). Apples. Oranges. When I said earlier we have one organic veggie vendor, I'm referring to one who sells a variety of vegetables. I'm sure if I took the time to talk with some of the farmers I'd maybe learn that they use organic methods but just aren't certified. But it's usually so crowded (another reason we don't regularly go) that I feel like a pinball in a pinball machine as I bounce off of people walking through the dang place which leaves me feeling not too chatty. So, we only go when we are on a mission for something specific. Get in. Grab it. Get out. Ding, ding, ding. Wizard Bonus!

Our favorite brown rice is one of those mission items. It comes from Massa Organics which isn't too far from Chico, CA and from where some of our relatives live. I'm so thankful they make the nearly 2 hour trek to Sacramento when they do. I wasn't too fond of brown rice until I tried theirs and now I'm hooked. I don't know what it is that's different about theirs but it's damn good.

The Jerusalem Artichokes ended up being good also. They are easy breezy and delicious. Simply wash with a scrub brush (no need to peel) then chop and cook. To me they taste EXACTLY like the heart of a cooked, fresh artichoke. The best part! And without having to deal with all the artichoke leaves! So, if you haven't tried them before, buy some the next time you see them (or seek them out). C'mon, live a little.

~ Monica

2011-01-08T23:49:00.000-08:00

We have a new bike shop in town owned by the guy who owns a food-delivery-by-bike business here in Sacramento. He has been participating in Second Saturday Art Walk. We went tonight and he had these vintage touring bikes on display.

It was difficult getting pictures of the entire bikes because of the crowd of people but you can get the gist.

The owner offers bike valet, a safe place to leave your bike while patronizing the nearby restaurants and coffee shop (next door). He carries (and plans to only carry) local, handmade cycling caps, and bags including some Carsick Designs panniers. He has some big plans for his space and wants us to be a part of it which is super exciting. He is a big fan of bike touring and is talking about organizing touring classes to get more people involved.

It's 2011

2011-01-01T01:07:00.000-08:00

I don't care so much for New Year's celebrations (excessive drinking, gunshots, and illegal fireworks that misfire way to close to my house for comfort) or New Year resolutions. Every day is the beginning of a new year, really. Why wait to lose weight or save money or pay off debt until the New Year? Is it easier to measure time by starting something new on Jan. 1? Is it easier to look back on the previous year and be proud of accomplishments and think about ways to successfully accomplish the goals not achieved?

I do agree with the act of setting resolutions and a deadline to accomplish them. The thirst to learn and grow is extremely healthy and I hope my thirst is never quenched. My issue with New Year's resolutions is that people set themselves up for failure. People are pressured to set goals for themselves because that's what you are suppose to do, rather than being motivated from deep within. Another aspect to accomplishing a goal, in addition to setting a deadline, is taking the time to create a plan that addresses exactly what needs to be done to make it happen. I have a feeling isn't getting done by many New Year's Resolutionists.

To be forthright, I've never set a NYR and I can't recall ever knowing anyone that has, or at least that let me in on their secret. So maybe my take on NYR's is all a story I've made up to make myself feel better about the fear of failure and going against the norm.

One little word with so many different meanings....

res·o·lu·tion (rĕzˌə-lo͞oˈshən)

noun

The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination.
A resolving to do something.
A course of action determined or decided on.
A formal statement of a decision or expression of opinion put before or adopted by an assembly such as the U.S. Congress.
Physics & Chemistry The act or process of separating or reducing something into its constituent parts: the prismatic resolution of sunlight into its spectral colors.
The fineness of detail that can be distinguished in an image, as on a video display terminal.
Medicine The subsiding or termination of an abnormal condition, such as a fever or an inflammation.
Law A court decision.
a. An explanation, as of a problem or puzzle; a solution.
b. The part of a literary work in which the complications of the plot are resolved or simplified.
Music
a. The progression of a dissonant tone or chord to a consonant tone or chord.
b. The tone or chord to which such a progression is made.
The substitution of one metrical unit for another, especially the substitution of two short syllables for one long syllable in quantitative verse.

Carsick Designs

2010-12-08T22:28:00.000-08:00

We will have a booth at the Bazaar Bizarre in San Francisco this weekend, selling panniers, backpacks, and tool bags.

Autumn bike commuting can be done

2010-11-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

One thing I love about bike commuting is experiencing the transition from one season to another. I know winter is coming when I no longer wear my shorts and short sleeved shirt on my morning commute. I've learned that having the right tools for the job makes all the difference. When it comes to winter bike commuting for me that means long johns, wool socks, a wool long sleeved under shirt, my home made head band to cover my ears (made from the sleeve of a 2nd hand merino wool sweater) and some sort of wind breaker or rain jacket, depending on the weather. Or one of Brian's merino wool button ups that I've taken a liking to this year.

Wool has won my heart only within the past few years. I grew up hating wool. Having sensitive skin, just the thought of it made me itchy! But I've grown to love merino wool for active wear. It's warm when you need it to be and cool when you need it to be. It breathes and doesn't stink like synthetic active wear does. I do get a little itchy from the merino wool but it's only slight and it's only when cooling down after being hot and sweaty. And for me, the advantages far outweigh this little irritation that soon passes. If you are reluctant about wool as I was, start with something small, like socks to try it out. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

There have been quite a few occasions when I've thought "that would be a great picture" while commuting on my way to work. I've thought about carrying my camera with me but I'm usually running late so it's best that I don't. Brian took the camera with him this week. Here are a few pics he took.

beautiful sunrise on a chilly, foggy morning commute

even though traffic isn't so bad, riding is more fun than driving

checking to see how visible the bike is

A cyclist stopped Brian and asked about his green lights. The guy told Brian he was really noticeable, easy to see. They are two Down Low Glows from Rock the Bike and can be found at www.rockthebike.com. Another place to get similar lights is Bike Brightz, www.bikebrightz.com.

Let's help each other not be afraid of the dark and cold.

Our new tiny home. On wheels

2010-10-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

Brian and I went and picked up the Sportscoach yesterday. I have to admit I was uneasy about it all week. I kept asking myself "Are we making the right decision?" "Why are we buying a motorhome again?" "Is this going to be a money pit?" Our whole plan is to make our life simpler, less complicated, less cluttered with stuff, and I wonder if this is going to hinder that plan. Then, on Friday, I looked at pictures I had taken of it, and I was excited about it.

The moment I saw it yesterday I became excited again and those questions disappeared. What's the point on dwelling on them? It's too late. We bought it. It's ours. I have to remind myself that this wasn't a spur of the moment decision. We've been leading up to this for the past couple of years. Living full time in our coach and traveling is going to be a more enjoyable life than spending our days going to jobs that we don't like in order to pay for our home that is too big for us, and to pay for the useless 'stuff' we've managed to fill it with. A home that we don't get to enjoy because we spend our time working to pay for.

The seller and I took care of the paperwork while Brian attached the windshield wipers we had purchased on our way up to get it since the forecast called for rain. $35. And so it begins.

Brian was super nervous about his first time behind the wheel of a motorhome. He drove it for about 10 minutes on a test drive last week but this was going to be a 45 minute drive, on the freeway, in the rain. He did great and got us home safely. He parked it on the street, turned it off and opened our gate to back it into the back yard. When he went to start it again, it struggled and didn't start. Sounded like a dead battery. I thought "Oh great! Here we go. We just bought a piece of junk." Turns out it was a loose battery cable and Brian got it into our yard like he'd done it a hundred times before.

Here are some pics. We will be doing some remodeling because we feel that some of it is "god awful" so stay tuned for the upgrades.

The couch folds down into a bed.

The captains chairs swivel around and the little table is removable and there is a larger table to be put in its place.

"10-4 big buddy". Yes, we have a cb.

Yes, that is a built in blender! There are other gadgets offered for it online like a food processor and coffee grinder.

The bathroom. Which will be getting a makeover.

Lots of built in storage and a walk way next to the bed which was a plus for me. Part of the counter folds up and makes a vanity. I don't plan on using that but it's a cool feature. I WILL be using the built in hamper though.

The bar with the door closed

The ice maker

The bar with the door open. All mirrored inside.

We've Come to a Conclusion

2010-10-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

Brian and I have spent the past couple years doing some soul searching and making some positive changes in our lives. Even though many things have changed (ride our bikes more, make healthier choices when buying groceries, no more tv to name a few) many things have stayed the same (same jobs, same house, same rat race). We've had numerous discussions about how we are not happy with our way of life. We feel like we are missing out on so much. We work 5 days a week and try to squeeze in some amount of real "living" on our two days off. The scales just don't balance out and we are working on tipping them. We've had many ideas on how to do this: We've thought about buying a rural piece of land and farming; we've talked about moving to Portland, OR; we've considered bike touring for an indefinite period of time; we've been intrigued by the thought of living in an eco community.....but there was always a feeling of reluctancy with each of our ideas, until.....

In July, on our way home from a camping trip to Buck's Lake we started up this discussion once again and came to a conclusion that we both felt comfortable and excited with. We decided to travel for an indefinite period of time in a self contained vehicle. After doing some research we decided on converting an old school bus. We actually did buy a bus about a month ago but got our money back after the DMV told us the title was suppose to be destroyed along with this bus. This got us thinking more realistically about all the work and money involved with converting a bus and we shifted gears and started looking into motorhomes. Long story short, we put a deposit on a motorhome this weekend. If it passes smog, it's ours and we'll drive it home next weekend. It's a 1983 Sportscoach. We are planning on doing some renovations just to make it our own. Here is a picture of the outside. More pics to come once it's ours.

Summer, in a nutshell

2010-09-25T01:01:00.000-07:00

I posted my keirin track bike for sell on Craigs List....

...and an old Schwinn that I converted into a single speed.

We had a yard sale and gave some stuff away

We visited Mt. Lassen....

...a creepy cave....

...Dunsmuir, where we slept in a train car and walked under a waterfall...

the yellow car was our home for the night

...Mt. Shasta...

we decided to go on a hike once we drove up the mountain and i was fascinated by this plant we saw along the way

I was so glad to see there was a sign to teach me what this was

...and Mt. Shasta City where we drank from this natural spring...

...and frolicked through this enchanted forest...

(unfortunately i didn't have my camera on the correct setting. these pictures don't do it justice)

...and roamed the streets where we saw this sign...

...and the home of our most recent dreams. Thus, the craigslist ads, yard sales and giving things away. More on all that in a future post.

The Mags

2010-09-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

This is our seldom mentioned dog, Maggie. She is in charge of security, rodent control, and keeping the floor clear of crumbs. She is getting old and skinny but she is always on alert, even when napping in the sun.

My anniversary PRESENT! How could I forget?

2010-08-08T00:25:00.000-07:00

As a follow up to my anniversary post, I want to share what Brian made me for our anniversary. It is a travel bag. I've been talking about wanting one for some time. Something just big enough to carry the necessities...phone, cards, keys. Being the awesome husband he is Brian made one for me. I LOVE hand made gifts! Especially from him.

Salt and pepper shakers

2010-08-07T23:30:00.000-07:00

I use to have this thing for buying "cool" salt and pepper shakers that don't look like your typical shaker. I ended up with a couple of expensive, modern looking sets that are completely impractical. They are a pain in the rear to refill and don't hold very much. We don't use very much salt when cooking so I guess that was my reasoning to myself when I bought them. We've been buying S-n-P in bulk and have just been spooning it out of the bag because these shakers are such a pain. Well, that is a pain as well and today I had all I could stands and decided to make my own shakers.

I really like the shape of these and they are so sleek and see through and the top is cut at an angle. The bottom looks like stainless steel (it's coated plastic)...

...but this is how much it holds. You put the salt/pepper in the bottom and then screw it back onto the top. A cherry tomato doesn't even fit in the bottom!

This set looks even more like stainless and they don't fall over. They wobble, like weeble wobbles. ("Say no more. I want them!") They don't hold much either.

My new salt shaker made using a jelly canning jar and lid.

I poked holes in the lid using a knife

It holds pa-lenty of salt

I even made a matching one for the pepper.

I'm sure this will help me be more efficient in the kitchen.

Happy Anniversary!

2010-08-06T23:29:00.000-07:00

July 13 was our anniversary. I drafted a post on the 14th but never completed it. Better late than never, right?

We usually make a nice dinner at home for our anniversary but this year I wanted to pack a picnic dinner and ride our bikes to a park along the river. So we did just that. It was a week day and we did this after work. Wanting to be home before dark we didn't have much time to spare once we reached our destination and ate.

Dinner consisted of turkey, cheese, baguette.....oh no wait, that's right.... we FORGOT the baguette. Kale salad, potato salad, a nectarine, chips and root beer. Chocolate for dessert. The best anniversary dinner to date.

A Carsick Designs bag serving us well

Guy West Bridge across the American River

The American River

Looking West

The American River

Looking East

The simplicity of camping

2010-08-04T23:01:00.000-07:00

Brian and I went camping at our ol' stand by last weekend, Buck's Lake. It's about 20 miles from the town where Brian grew up and it's the place we go when we want to go camping but haven't made plans to go elsewhere. We brought our bikes and went for a ride on Saturday, a long, hilly, strenuous ride that was mostly on a 4-wheel drive road. A ride that rewarded us with the most amazing views and surprised us with a variety of sweet aromatic flora. Camping and bike touring always remind me of how little I really need to live and motivate me to continue lightening the load of all the useless stuff in this house.

Brian lived in this structure 22 years ago when he worked at Lakeshore Resort. No running water, bathroom or kitchen. (the porta potty wasn't there back then) Now it's used for boat rentals.

The beauty is always there

2010-07-10T23:11:00.000-07:00

We haven't been tending to the garden as obsessively as last year so things are looking a bit uncared for. Mostly the yard is just overgrown with weeds and grass, which to me is a weed. But, there are also other projects that we are wanting or needing to do as well, just sitting there. Waiting. So, there are times when I become overwhelmed just by entering the backyard, only seeing all the chores and unfinished projects. I've found that taking action, no matter how small, helps. As I was out weeding the other evening I actually felt myself begin to feel less overwhelmed and my perspective shifted to noticing all the bounty in the yard.

what a mess

Our tomatoes (and grass) with jalapeno peppers in the outlining cinder blocks. In the background, our green house and compost bin which has a couple raspberry bushes growing next to it. Also, our lime tree which produced a massive amount of limes and was doing really well last winter, and then all of a sudden, froze. It seems to be making a come back but we are keeping our fingers crossed. We enjoy virgin mojitos with fresh lime.

the black pot in the foreground is our cilantro that's gone to seed. behind that is chamomile that has beautiful daisy-like flowers and a pleasant aroma, basil self-watering containers, nasturtiums, grape vines, and, our bed.

a beautiful red rose and the worm tea container with a dispenser

the hibiscus trees are blooming...

...and so is the mint

I even found all these little treasures

We have a blackberry vine in the front yard that was here when we moved in. I usually dont water enough so we've never had berries. I've been watering this year because I wanted berries. These are the first of them. I'm thankful the plants aren't bothered by the mess. I think they are trying to tell me something.

Changing our World by Sleeping Outdoors

2010-06-25T20:17:00.000-07:00

We've been sleeping in the back yard under our grape arbor.

We planned on sleeping out just one night, possibly two, and then going back to sleeping indoors on work nights, which are during the week for us. We were worried we wouldn't get a good nights sleep, BUT, after being out there for two weeks and enjoying it so much, we are no longer worried about that.

I still find it amazing how the tiniest of efforts and just little changes can have a huge impact.

When we started this blog we were making some changes that were bringing us back to a similar way of life we lived as children and as young adults with less money. Back to a time when we rode our bikes, worked in the garden, lived without central heating and air conditioning, played outdoors, were creative, and made due with what we had. We were beginning to come full circle.

Sleeping outside is another one of those changes for us. Summers here in Sacramento are HOT and since I work in an air conditioned office all day, adjusting to the heat is difficult for me. Towards the end of winter we decided to see how long we could go without using the heater, just how cold it would have to get before we caved. That was the last time we used the heater.

Now that it's hot we want to see how long we can go without the air conditioner and it's not as easy. (Heat = grumpy!) This has brought us outdoors where, once the sun goes down, it is cool. For now anyhow. It is only June.

I want to enjoy being outside no matter what the temperature, just like when I was younger. And I know the more I'm out there the easier that will be.

Eggs and Potatoes

2010-06-25T19:55:00.000-07:00

Brian spotted this nest hidden in one of our rose bushes. We were admiring all the materials used and how each piece is strategically placed just so. There is straw, twine, kite string, twigs...We are especially fond of the piece of turquoise yarn. Then I peeked inside and noticed there are 3 light turquoise eggs in there!

We haven't seen any birds coming around to tend to them so we are wondering what they taste like. No! Just kidding. I'm wondering if there is possibly something wrong with them.

We haven't been putting too much work into our garden, well, not as much as last year, so it is extra exciting when we are able to harvest something. Last night we went to the garden to pick some potatoes for today's lunch. Once we started digging them up we couldn't stop and ended up with quite a few in varying sizes. We did eventually stop before digging up ALL the plants so we are looking forward to another potato harvest.

Chico Bicycle Music Festival

2010-06-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

We went to Chico for the second annual bicycle music festival last weekend. Bikes ruled the streets for a while. Lots of xtracycles, cargo trailers, a couple of cargo bikes, pedicabs, recumbents, cruisers, mountain bikes, trikes, a tall bike and more.

The music was all pedal powered.

Chico locals Ma Muse playing in the park

Busy lately

2010-05-04T06:12:00.000-07:00

We have not had time to update lately. We have been working on Carsick Designs a lot. We just started a website with a blog so be sure to come check it out. www.carsickdesigns.com

2010-04-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the Bicycle swap meet in Downtown Sacramento. We hauled a big box of parts, Monica's road bike and some panniers. We met a lot of people, handed out a bunch of business cards, talked cargo bikes and sewing all day. We left with only a couple of parts and my panniers.

The cargo bike was a hit, lots of people interested in buying it from me, and lots of requests to build more.

I installed a yakima fork mount to the rear of the xtracycle and Monica used it to haul her road bike.

Exciting new adventure

2010-04-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

I've decided to start a business sewing and selling panniers and such. I created a new blog dedicated to the business. I have two sets almost finished that I'll be taking to a local bike swap this weekend. You can check them out on the new blog @ http://carsickdesign.blogspot.com/

We have been BUSY lately

2010-04-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

Hauling dirt with the cargo bike

Making panniers for upcoming bike swap meet

Planting seeds for our garden.

Horror movie

2010-03-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

I am not fond of, and don't watch, horror movies. However, Brian and I watched one last night and yes, it was disturbing but this one is different. It was also very educational, and motivating. I recommend it to EVERYONE. Even if you, like me, don't care for scary movies.

Here is a link to the movie on hulu. You can watch it right here from your computer. For free! It's 1.5 hours in length. Warning: There are lots of facts and statistics thrown at you.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/67878/the-future-of-food

More cargo bike fun

2010-03-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

I put the cargo bike together last week. I took it for a test ride only to discover the bottom bracket was too low. I thought I could get by with it, I would just have to remember- no pedaling in corners. Monica assured me this was the wrong idea. So out came the hacksaw and welder. I made a few changes and its was back together the next day. I gained 2 inches without affecting my steering angle too much.

I mounted a flat bed and a gm parts crate on it until I build a box. The kickstand is temporary, I'm working on a better design. We decided to take it to the grocery store today. I was a little worried about getting 5 miles from home, loading it with groceries and having a problem. So I loaded a Datsun engine block in the box and took it for a spin. 85 lbs and it handled with no problem. We bought 65 lbs of groceries, the bike laughed at me. The only problem I noticed is my cantilever brake sucks. Before I mount the front brake I'm going to try and get a set of v-brakes. This thing is a smile making machine. I think I'm ready to start building another one.

Pupa not cocoon

2010-03-06T22:48:00.000-08:00

Well, the strange 'thing' we found in the backyard that we thought was some sort of cocoon is a Luna Moth pupa. Or at least it looks very similar to the picture of one we found on Wikipedia, here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actias_luna

What on earth?

2010-03-02T22:12:00.000-08:00

When cleaning out the beds on Sunday I came across a lot of creepy crawlies, including worms. Tons of worms!

Brian, however, hit the jackpot when he dug up this. I thought it was a piece of a carrot at first. Upon realizing it was indeed not a carrot and that I had no idea what was in my hand, I tossed it in a panic. It landed on the side walk and we went back to digging. A few minutes later we look over and it had squirted a bright yellow liquid from itself. DI-SCU-SSTING! But I'm still so curious as to what the hell it is. Our guess is a cocoon of some sort. Any ideas?

The same, but different

2010-03-02T21:11:00.000-08:00

We are at it again. Sunday we finally started some seeds. Brian made soil blocks and we planted tomatoes, jalapenos, and celery. Last year we had a bounty of Juliet tomatoes which we loved. We dehydrated and froze a bunch, and they were very tasty. However, we couldn't find any organic Juliet seeds this year so we opted for the Amish Paste which we've read good things about.

Last year, in an effort to turn our back yard lawn into a garden, we covered the grass with cardboard and put raised beds atop the cardboard. The beds were filled with soil, of course, and we filled the area outside the raised beds with bark. And later, straw.

This process worked well for us but as we began planning for this year we debated keeping the beds. The beds are filled with weeds and we decided it would be easier to remove them without the boxes in our way. So, we started that process on Sunday as well. This is what we have so far.

In this space I planted lettuces, carrots and beets.

We both think it looks and feels more like a little farm.

cargo bike update

2010-02-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

The cargo bike went on its first test ride this morning! So far I'm pretty happy with it. I still need to build a kickstand and reinforce a couple of spots. The cranks I put on are too long and hit the ground in corners, but otherwise it rides very nice. I gave it one gear in the front and five in the rear. The brake cable is just temporary, I'll put on a longer one after its painted. I plan on test riding it for a while then it will get torn down and get a paint job, front brake, cargo box, and new cables.

spring is coming

2010-02-13T09:50:00.000-08:00

Its starting to warm up here, lots of signs of new life.

New cargo bike

2010-02-08T12:03:00.000-08:00

I've been leaving work early or not going at all a lot lately. This isn't so great for the paycheck but it sure is good for my life. I've been getting a little yard work done, preparing for this years garden. I built my cargo trailer, and have been sewing some panniers.

Last week I was trying to think of what I could do with this mountain bike frame I have laying around. I thought of making it into a single speed cruiser. Maybe I would sell it. But I started kicking around this idea for a long john style bike. With a little inspiration from here and a whole bunch of inspiration and support from Tom's cargo bikes ( Tom is super helpful, plus he shows how to build the bikes that he makes and sells), I came up with this.

I'm into it 25 bucks so far, I think I'll only need to buy a couple little things to get it running. I bought the front wheel for 82 cents at a thrift store ( I did buy a new tire and tube). The fork is the original mountain bike fork with 3 inches removed. I built the steerer tube and front of the frame with tubing from a local supplier. Most everything else is leftovers.

I still have to make some steering linkages, build a cargo box or flatbed, add a little paint, brakes, drive train etc. But its moving along fast. I can't wait to test ride this.

Our first CSA box

2010-02-04T21:22:00.000-08:00

I picked up our first Full Belly Farm CSA box yesterday. We got spinach, turnips, rutabagas, green garlic, carrots, butternut squash, kale, and 2 Hachiya persimmons. Those are mine. Brian wants nothing to do with those.

sunday adventure

2010-01-31T19:46:00.000-08:00

new bag for Monica. Olive green liner

Coyote tan exterior

off shoot of the American River

Bike trailer update

2010-01-29T14:05:00.001-08:00

I didn't go to work today so I worked on the bike trailer. Its mostly finished, It just needs some final welding and paint.

Once it was all together I could not help but hook it to the electric bike and take it for a spin. I had it up to about 22mph and could barely tell it was there, just a little rattling on bumps. It handled a lot better than I thought it would. I was doing full speed u turns on our street with no problems.

I cobbled the hitch together with some stuff I had laying around ( some kind of spherical joint/pillow block/ brass bushing thing- a model A ford shock mount bolt and a piece of pipe for the tongue.)

Very happy with the results. I can't wait to start hauling stuff.

bike trailer

2010-01-28T16:11:00.001-08:00

My dad was the kind of guy that saved everything, knowing that someday he would need it for something. He had a couple of wheelchairs torn apart in his stash of stuff. He gave me the wheels a couple years back. He thought I could use them to build a bike trailer.

I never really needed a trailer with the xtracycle, but last year we hauled a bunch of bags of compost and potting soil from our local nursery. Plus we get straw bales for mulch from our feed store. Since we don't have a pick up truck we haul it in Monica's car and this leaves a big mess that I end up cleaning. I could get the compost in the xtracycle but the straw bales were to big.

My work is really slow right now so I decided to go for it. I'm trying to use only material I have on hand, It looks like I will only need to buy one short stick of tubing for the tongue and some bolts to hold down the floor. Its pretty heavy but I will be towing it with my electric assist xtracycle. Hopefully next week it will be completely welded, painted and getting put to work.

Community Supported Agriculture

2010-01-27T22:37:00.000-08:00

Brian and I have been talking about our plans for this summer's garden. Last summer we took on quite a feat by completely transforming our entire backyard into a garden. We decided, before the summer ended, that we needed to scale it back some. We bit off more than we can chew and it became overwhelming and at times discouraging. We reached a point where we just 'gave up' on it and I don't want that to happen this year. Since we both have full time jobs we need more of a transitional process. We are wanting to gradually ween ourselves off our current jobs while gradually becoming more and more self sufficient.

We haven't decided exactly what we are planting yet but I'm going to refrain from trying to grow a whole produce department in my backyard. For now anyhow.

Since, for the time being, we wont be growing all the produce we want we decided to join Full Belly Farm's Community Supported Agriculture, a local, organic CSA in Guinda, CA. www.fullbellyfarm.com. I'm excited about it and look forward to what this change brings into our lives.

finally a break in the rain

2010-01-25T06:31:00.000-08:00

We had a window of no rain on saturday, so we took a ride on the bike trail. We rode about 16 miles and it felt like 65 miles. Definitely need to get in shape.

I just finished a matching set of panniers for my bike

Monica found a mascot for her bike a couple weeks back

On a roll

2010-01-03T17:06:00.000-08:00

We've ridden our bikes two out of three days this year! Today was just coffee and groceries but it was fun.

Monica is still rocking the new pannier with no problems.

I rode the xtracycle so I could test out the new bag.

Cappuccino at Temple.

Starting the year off right

2010-01-01T16:26:00.000-08:00

We went for a short ride today. We left our house and headed to the american river bike trail. We went west along the river, and took a side trip along the levee to some ponds where we saw some beaver last year. No beaver this time, just a couple of hawks and some ducks.

we took a short section of single track, through a marsh area overgrown with blackberries.

Monica had my new pannier on her bike and the contents stayed nice and dry despite the rain. We stopped at rei to look for a touring book that I've wanted for a while, no book but it was a nice break. Monica fell in the mud while hiking up a hill to cross some train tracks to get back to the bike trail. The weather was nice, it rained most of the way. About 12 miles, it felt nice to get back on the bike and be outside.

xtracycle bag part 2

2009-12-31T14:31:00.003-08:00

I left work at noon today and decided to finish up the xtracycle bag.

floating liner pinned in place

Attaching liner to outer bag with binding tape and swing away binder

Back of bag, I need to transfer hooks and backing from old bag still

side pocket big enough for a u lock

front of bag

I installed grommets in the rear for mounting the hooks

Floating liner, black binding is on edge of pocket used for backing board and hardware.

Bright yellow will be good for seeing small items that are in bottom of bag.

xtracycle bags

2009-12-31T06:30:00.000-08:00

I designed my own bags for my xtracycle a couple years ago when I first bought it. My mom did the sewing on them. About a year ago I modified them so they were removable more like a pannier. Now seems like the right time to sew up a new set of bags. I started on one a couple nights ago. Here are some progress pics. The outer bag is espresso cordura.

Marking the first pieces.

I need a bigger cutting table.

The sides sewn on.

Adding the topstitch to the rear panel.

The outer bag is finished.

The floating liner is going to be spectre yellow. All the pieces are cut and ready to sew.

SEWSTORM

2009-12-27T15:50:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a pannier pattern for a couple weeks. I came up with a basic pattern that i used to sew up a couple of practice bags. I've spent most of my waking hours thinking of ways to improve it. I felt like it was time to make a real one so I sold one of my xtracycles to buy some fabric and hardware.

Yesterday afternoon I decided to get started. I changed a few things as I went and still have a few more changes to make. The first one took me about 8 hours total, but I think the next one will only take a couple hours.

The outside is foilage green and espresso 1000 denier cordura. I made a floating liner out of grey/green 420 denier coated nylon. I'm hoping they will be fairly water resistant with the floating liner. I used auto door panel backing board for the inner support.

Monica is going to test it out tomorrow on her ride to work. She will let me know if I need to make changes or if it is acceptable. I've made/ built lots of stuff in my life (cars, motorcycles, mopeds, art, etc.) . This is the first time I can remember that I have been impressed with the final product.

Inspiration

2009-12-09T09:09:00.000-08:00

I'm looking forward to this weekend. On Saturday Brian, his mom, and I are going to the Bazaar Bizarre in San Francisco. Brian and I went last year and I was so inspired after seeing people who are being actively creative, making stuff and doing things, and I look forward to being inspired (and motivated) again this year.

I especially love the act of making something out of something else. Using something old to make something new. Making something out of something that is on its way to the trash or being donated. It's because of this that I have a difficult time simplifying. But I'm working on it. Trying to be realistic and find a balance.

Conflict

2009-12-07T22:39:00.000-08:00

One thing bike touring has taught me is just how little one needs to survive.

For quite some time now Brian and I have been conflicted about whether we should quit our jobs, sell all our possessions and travel around on our bikes, or just sell MOST of our possessions and simplify our life so we can quit our current jobs and start doing something we enjoy for a living.

Well, we haven't come to a decision but we are simplifying and no matter which we choose (if either. or both) this will prove to be beneficial. We've been going through our house with a fine tooth comb and so far we've had a yard sale, sold a bunch of cd's and some dvd's, put some stuff on e-bay, and this weekend we are vending at an antique fair in town to try and rid ourselves of boxes of items that have been stored in the closets of spare rooms and in the garage rafters.

You see, we use to wander thrift stores, antique stores, and swap meets for fun. I took interest in old, quirky kitchen and bathroom gadgets, especially if they were pink (like the Tidie Dryer that "Quickly Dries....Bras, panties, hose, gloves.") Or turquoise. Then there was the old fan phase, then the old toy phase.....I couldn't pass these things up because they were so cool! Had to have them.

Now, as all this stuff sits in boxes at one end of my living room waiting to be shown off at the antique fair, I look at it and think "these are the things holding us back."

Just like bike touring, with each item we get rid of I feel a little lighter and it's a little easier to move.

"beautiful day for a ride"

2009-11-30T16:46:00.000-08:00

It was 8:20 a.m. yesterday morning when I got on my bike and was about to pull out of the driveway when a teen age boy rode by on his bike and said "beautiful day for a ride". All I could respond with was "Yep".

I couldn't stop thinking about those 5 words my whole way to work. "It's 43 degrees out. Most people I know would think it was a bit cold for a ride."......"Most kids I come across in my neighborhood don't say anything to me, or if they do it's a smart ass comment"........"That boy must have good parents."......."The sky is clear and blue, the sun is shining, I'm riding my bike. It truly is a beautiful day for a ride."

~Monica

For the birds

2009-11-29T20:29:00.000-08:00

Brian and I went to the Yolo Wildlife viewing area today. It's between Sacramento and Davis and can be seen from the Yolo Causeway on Highway 80. Speeding by it at 70 miles an hour the acres of wetlands and rice fields probably go unnoticed by many. When we first started walking around it seemed like there wasn't much to see but once I took the time to slow down and zoom in on what was right in front of me, there was so much to see. Here is some of what we saw.

Bike Tour 2009

2009-11-24T23:07:00.000-08:00

Sorry we've been neglecting you for so long blog.

In September Brian and I took time off work for a bike tour. As we were deliberating about where to ride, we decided against flying or taking the train to our starting location. After finding out that the Power To The Peaceful festival was taking place in Golden Gate Park the last weekend of our vacation, we decided this would be our final destination. We decided to ride the northern coast from Fort Bragg (we were dropped off a little south of there) to San Francisco (where we were picked up after the festival).

Here are some pictures of our adventure.

Entrance to a cemetery

Gualala, CA - Our destination for Day 1

We found this spot with a beautiful view to eat our lunch

Gualala Point Regional Park. Home for the night...

Our site was right next to the Gualala river

Some shots from Day 2:

Entrance to Fort Ross Cemetery

As we were stopped, taking a much needed break after some serious climbing, we watched this car ascend even further, and disappear into the fog. I was grateful that I was on my bike, able to take in every inch of the scenery rather than speeding by in a car, having to pay attention only to the road.

Lunch and coffee at Cafe Aquatica in Jenner (if ever in Jenner, go here!)

After riding down the most beautiful, long, smooth, curvy hill (I actually laughed out loud while riding down it) we rode into Bodega Bay, our destination.

Home for the night, Day 2

We were looking forward to that hot tub ALL DAY. It was everything we hoped for.

Wanting something healthy for dinner I was disappointed to discover our options were a fish n chips place or a fancy looking italian restaurant. We chose the fish n chips which ended up being super delicious.

Day 3:

After filling up on the complimentary breakfast and coffee at the office in the morning we made our way out of Bodega Bay.

We stopped at this market in Valley Ford for lunch

Leaving Tomales heading to Point Reyes Station

We rode past this boat junk yard and I found it fascinating

We stopped on the side of the road for some fuel (fresh fruit and trail mix) and rest. I collected some oyster shells after noticing they were all around me.

Entering Samuel P. Taylor State Park on the cross Marin trail

This trail is so beautiful, and peaceful.

My bike - Surly Long Haul Trucker

Brian's bike

Our secluded hiker/biker spot at Samuel P. Taylor

Riding out of the park, on our way to Lagunitas Market for coffee and the best breakfast bagels.

Riding from Lagunitas to Corte Madera, the weather was unusually hot. The thermometer on my bike computer reached 103 at one point. It was a rough day and we decided to rent a hotel room in Corte Madera instead of riding on to the Marin Headlands like we initially planned. We had no regrets about that decision.

We woke up to sporadic rain fall which added to the enjoyment of the day's ride from Corte Madera, across the Golden Gate Bridge, and into the city.

Michael Franti @ Power To The Peaceful

Chicks on stilts, dancing

I know, it looks scary, but it wasn't.

After hanging out here most of the day we rode down to the beach where our ride was patiently waiting for us. We were both sad the adventure was ending. At least until the next one....

things happen for a reason

2009-11-22T17:22:00.000-08:00

I don't want to get all yoga but sometimes things do seem to happen for a reason. I HATE what I do for a living and have been desperately seeking something that involves using my creativity and skills.

My grandpa did upholstery for a living, he had his own shop at his house. About 8 years ago he gave all his equipment to my mom, she kept it in his shop and did some furniture and a few cars for my dad and I. My grandpa passed away about 4 years ago and the stuff has not seen much use since then. I often think of moving up there just to use the shop and learn to make bicycle panniers. I mess around on Monica's machine at home sometimes. I've made a couple small bags and done some repairs on my xtracycle bags.

A couple weeks back we were visiting my mom and she said she needed to get the stuff out of the shop before it was ruined and asked if I wanted it. I of course accepted the offer and quickly brought the sewing machine home and made room for it.

My plan is to practice sewing with it every night and work on some bag designs. In the last few days I've already made two dog beds and one pannier. I'm learning how to set the tension on the machine and sew small stuff without running my fingers under the needle.

My next step is to sell some of the stuff we have been collecting for the past 16 years and use some of the money for supplies. Hopefully by then I will have enough practice to make bags and sell them.

Here it is singer 16-188, no zig zag, no reverse, no embroidery, no button hole option just straight strong stitches. I'm not sure of the year but the parts book that came with it is dated 1923. My mom said it belonged to my grandpa since before she was born(1949)

I dont wanna grow up

2009-11-16T22:48:00.000-08:00

Brian's new commuter

2009-09-27T13:09:00.000-07:00

I want to ride my bike to work, and I did for a while. But its a 24 mile one way commute. By the time I got home, and got my stuff ready for the next day I would be exhausted. A few days in a row would kick my butt. I know the right thing to do would be get a job closer to home, but until we make some major lifestyle changes this job works out well for me. So after a lot of thought I purchased an ezee electric assist kit with a 48 volt battery upgrade, and another xtracycle base kit. I combined it with some extra parts I had laying around and built this urban assault vehicle.
This thing is bad ass! I've been riding it for a few weeks now. I average 24 miles an hour. With time for stop lights it takes me about 1 hour and 10 minutes to get to work. In the car it would take me 35 minutes to an hour depending on traffic. I charge the battery at night and recharge when I get to work. Now instead of sitting on my ass on the freeway, I get a couple of hours exercise a day. Plus we spend a lot less at the pump.

marin headlands

2009-08-05T22:05:00.000-07:00

We are doing a bicycle tour next month from Corvallis Oregon to Fort Bragg CA. We have not been training at all this year, so we headed to cooler weather to ride some hills. We spent a lot of time looking around the bunkers buried in the hillsides. It was near 100 degree in Sacramento, it was quite a bit cooler down there.

Down these stairs was a very creepy metal door that only opened a little bit, Monica had a panicked look on her face after walking down there. After seeing some people emerge out of the darkness we finally stepped inside.

looking past the doorway was PITCH BLACK, I snapped a few photos, expecting to see monsters hiding in the shadows, unfortunately it was just this.

There are hidden entrances all over the mountainsides.

This deer was 20 feet from the road and about 50 feet from grass, trees and water. Not sure why she picked this small patch for lunch.

play day

2009-08-05T21:56:00.000-07:00

We are getting a little burnt out on all work and no play so we took a break and went to the yuba river. We drove to purdons crossing and hiked upstream a little until we found a magical spot. We did not get there until around 6 pm so we only had a couple hours until dark but it was really nice. Can't wait to go back.

Dehydrated tomatoes

2009-07-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

Last year I got some sun dried tomatoes from a friend/organic farm manager and they were super delicious! When we finished them I bought some at the store and they were not even close, not as sweet. I found out from my friend that she used Juliette tomatoes, so, this year when we sought out tomato plants I made sure we got some Juliette's. I've been so looking forward to making these, hoping they will turn out just as delicious as Kay's. In with the Juliette's we dried Roma's and a couple Speckled Roman's. And yes, they are delicious!

Pickles

2009-07-23T06:36:00.000-07:00

We received a water bath canner for an anniversary present, and we have been harvesting lots of cucumbers so we decided to make a batch of pickles. We followed a basic recipe and added jalapeno, garlic, black peppercorns, and grape leaves. We will let them sit a couple of months and see how they turned out, hopefully it works because we are making more tonight!

Morning glory

2009-07-15T21:55:00.000-07:00

Our greenhouse has not been getting any love from us lately. It has been overrun by morning glory's. Monica snapped this picture a while back and I thought t was cool.

Chico bicycle music festival

2009-07-11T07:11:00.001-07:00

This is from the chico bicycle music festival. Parts of the video were filmed from the back of my Xtracycle.

drive work drive garden drive work drive garden

2009-07-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

ever notice that when you start doing something you like other things in your life don't seem as important and aren't as fulfilling?

today we picked all the beets that were left in the beet box, some carrots, MORE cucumbers, sungold and juliette tomatoes, 4 strawberries (the most to date) and 2 scallopinis. we did this in about an hours time. after driving and working 8 hours it was the best part of our day. although, today is Wednesday which means we went to the Davis Farmer's Market and The Village Bakery for a slice of pizza and that is always a treat!

More harvesting

2009-07-06T18:23:00.001-07:00

We picked this first bunch of stuff on Friday July 3rd. Notice the 5 cucumbers, this is getting to be a daily occurrence.
We didn't pick much on Saturday or Sunday. But tonight we picked the first round of Roma's for us, plus another bowl full of sungolds. Just one squash today.
Tonight was a big haul of cucumbers-12. There are alot more that are very close to ready, so I'm sure we will get a bunch more tomorrow.
This is the first one of these for us also, Spreckled Roman. It looks cool, we see how it tastes later tonight.
Looks like time to make some gazpacho.

I can't believe this is our back yard

2009-07-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

Brian made these cool tee-pee's for the Mediterranean Cucumber and Kentucky Wonder Bean beds.

Our Nasturtiums. I've been putting the flowers in our salads. This is the first time in my life I've eaten flowers and it's still quite a novelty for me.

When I look at this picture I feel like I'm looking at someone else's garden. But no, it's ours and when I look closely I can see the blood, sweat, and tears Brian and I have put into it.

failed camping trip

2009-07-03T17:04:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we took off for an overnight camping trip. The Yuba River was our destination. Thanks to me (Brian) and some directions I got from the internet we ended up in the middle of nowhere, lost. We saw a cool ghost town (?) These buildings were on the outskirts of that town. We should have waited till dark and camped inside one, but we were on a quest to get to mother truckers for one of their famous sandwiches. The sandwich was worth getting lost.

We finally made it to the river, but unfortunately all campgrounds were full. We drove further until finally making it to the gold lakes basin where we cruised through a campground and found a nice spot, or so we thought. It wasn't until after we paid for it that we discovered it was next to a small lake and a stream. Sounds nice huh? It was until the mosquitos found out we were there. We through some food on the fire, and sat in the car reading until it was time to eat. We ate in the car and then went to the tent and tried to sleep. At 6 am we decided that we should bail out. We were on the road by 6:15. We stopped a few miles later to brush our teeth and snap a couple of photos of the sierra buttes.Our trip didn't turn out as expected but after looking at these pictures it wasn't a wasted trip. Expect the unexpected.

Daily harvest

2009-07-03T06:43:00.000-07:00

This is two days in a row of harvesting.

cucumbers, sage, basil, sungold tomatoes, squash, plums(from over the fence in the neighbors yard), kentucky wonder beans, purple green beans, zucchini, crookneck, scallopini, salad greens, beets.

Six Dollar Burger

2009-06-27T06:39:00.000-07:00

Monica made a beautiful salad from our garden. We grew everything but some of the strawberries (one was from our garden), and the dressing.

Hard work paying off

2009-06-27T06:28:00.000-07:00

Thursday June 25th. This is way better than mowing the lawn! Our garden is rewarding us for our hard work. Salad greens, borage, nasturtiums, cucumbers, purple green beans (what the what?), strawberry, chioggia beets, sungold tomatoes, zucchini. dinner is gonna be good.

Its been a long time coming

2009-06-11T06:08:00.000-07:00

We have been wanting to get rid of the grass in the front of our house for a long time. Grass makes no sense for us, we don't water it, we don't enjoy mowing and edging, we don't have kids to play on it, and I've never really understood why its the standard of neighborhoods everywhere. So after talking about tearing it out for a long time, we saw a front yard a few miles from here where the owners were digging out sections and planting vegetables. That was just the inspiration we needed to get started. We only dug up a small section, but it was a big step for us. We planted 4 jalapenos, 2 tomatoes, 2 zucchini, and 3 watermelons. Plus we started some seeds in soil blocks-sunflowers, kentucky wonder beans, pinto beans and popcorn. these will all go out front when they are ready.

here is the before shot.

After digging up the grass and adding compost, used coffee grounds, and top soil.
Finished until seedlings are ready to transplant. The grass will be disappearing quickly now.

Harvest time

2009-06-11T06:03:00.001-07:00

The backyard is thanking us for treating it right.
Monica picked some squash, our first tomatoes and some baby greens.

The whole backyard- sorta

2009-06-05T06:36:00.001-07:00

garden update

2009-06-05T06:23:00.000-07:00

Tiny little cattle beans
roma tomatoes
our second batch of zucchini and some basil

we planted 8 hills of 3 cantalope plants

our first scallopini. EVER!

Chico bicycle music festival

2009-05-19T06:20:00.000-07:00

We went to Chico for the bicycle music festival. Its a self supported day of music and bicycle riding. The sound system is built into four xtracycles ridden by the ginger ninjas from North San Jaun CA. The bikes are parked on the stage and volunteers from the audience pedal them which powers the sound system. No electricity or fossil fuels are needed. Several bands play at each location, when the last band plays everything is packed up and transported by bike to another venue. This continues into the night.
The fossil fool from the bay area is a bike rapper who has a sound sytem built into his bike, he had a guest singer named metysn riding with him.
Lots of dancing in the hot sun.
I hauled a film producer on the back of my bike for a few miles, he is working on a sustainability project for pbs.

brightsiding

2009-05-14T14:26:00.000-07:00

I saw a news story on gma about "brightsiding" basically the positive effects of a poor economy.

" It's based on the belief that, though you can't control the stock market or your job security, you can control your outlook on life. So why not stay positive?"

I personally have been looking forward to a poor economy. If we can't afford our car payment-we will ride our bikes alot more. If we can't afford to go out to eat- we will eat better. If we can't afford to buy a bunch of useless shit- we won't have it holding us back from living a real true life. If we can't afford our house-maybe we could take off on our bikes, or hop a train, or backpack around the country. Life is pretty short and working for the man is a terrible way to spend it. So I spent my day planting tomatoes and soybeans so we can eat.

We made this bench out of a reclaimed thick oak slab that served its previous life as a floor of a car trailer.
24 soybean transplants
18 tomato transplants. that brings us to a total of 44 tomato plants for the season.

bicycle music festival

2009-05-12T19:32:00.000-07:00

If you like bikes, music, and fun. come to Chico for this.

garden update

2009-05-12T19:21:00.001-07:00

our first zucchinis are getting ready to bloom!
lots of seedlings that we need to transplant
cucumbers, black beans, cattle beans
purple bush beans, and cucumbers

potatoes in the trash cans are getting big
basil and cilantro in self watering containers
the first three zucchini plants are getting very big very fast!
.

We have worms

2009-04-27T06:19:00.000-07:00

In addition to our compost bins in the backyard we also have this bin full of red wigglers.We started with about a half pound of worms, about a month later we added another half pound. They seem to be reproducing pretty fast, there are lots of little babies squirming around in the box. We just have to add some shredded newspaper and some chopped up kitchen waste every once in a while, they seem to take care of themselves. Soon we will have a bin full of worm poop that we can add to our garden beds or make worm tea to fertilize our plants.
I've always thought of worm ranchers as a little strange but now I'm designing a large scale worm bin in my head, could worm castings or worm tea be my next career? Hmmm

New compost area and sheet mulching

2009-04-25T16:48:00.000-07:00

Our compost pile has been just that "a pile". it sat in the corner, with a very sad look. It was hard to see because in front of it was a dilapidated raised bed from years past, the raised bed was overgrown with weeds and had tomato cages and cardboard stacked on top of it. I've been wanting to do something with this area for a while, but have not had the chance. This morning I was up early with plans to do something else and this mess caught my eye, and now it is history.

I don't have any before photos, it was just too ugly to take its picture. First I built this compost area from two pallets, some used 2 x 4's, a gate leftover from when we rebuilt our fence and some used corrugated roofing tin.

Then I dug up the old bed and spread the dirt, and weeds around. I covered the whole mess with cardboard and watered it really well. I then spread straw over the cardboard and watered it again. My plan is to continue layering compost and mulch onto the straw. Hopefully by next year this will be usable soil. It took all day but it was worth it.

I feel so Liberated!

2009-04-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

written by Monica

I just canceled our satellite TV service. Brian and I have been wanting to do this for months but keep making excuses. But today is the day. I already feel so FREE! Next, it's getting rid of the TV. Who knows? Maybe we'll start a band with all our extra time.

Green string farm band

2009-04-22T06:51:00.000-07:00

get out of your chair and shake your butt!

Borage

2009-04-22T06:29:00.000-07:00

We recently dug up some borage from my gramma's house. It grows pretty wild in her yard, almost like a weed. We liked it because it has pretty flowers and attracted lots of bees. Once we brought it home we learned of its many uses, mainly its mood lifting abilities. Apparently drying the flowers and making tea with them makes you happy. We could all use a little happy in our lives so plant some borage and make tea.

Mountain biking

2009-04-19T20:18:00.000-07:00

We did a little mountain biking yesterday with Frank, Mike and Carly. Jenkinson lake trail at sly park.

Hmmm! can we jump off this cliff on the bikes?

This is sly park creek, which is really full right now.

Just upstream from a bridge we have crossed many times we found this, apparently the feeder creek for the lake is diverted threw the mountainside via a 1/2 mile long tunnel. We had to take a closer look.

Nice view of the Sierras on the final stretch

We had a pretty good ride and beautiful weather! Now get home and start planting.

Soil Blocks

2009-04-15T19:51:00.000-07:00

We recently bought a soil blocker from peaceful valley farm supply. Its a pretty cool way to start seeds, no pots are required, just some soil less potting mix, a little water and something to set the blocks on. I started these squash plants in them, Monica just transplanted them in to pots. They worked great.

Here are some bean and cucumbers that have not come up yet, I set the blocks on scraps of fence boards so we can move them in the house at night.
I wish we had bought this before wasting money on peat pots and trays from Talinis.

Bike ride!!!!

2009-04-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

We have not been riding our bikes at all this year, busy with the garden and helping my mom get back on her feet. We've done one mountain bike ride since Jan 5 and thats it. Yesterday we rode from our house to Davis. We stopped at a little drainage ditch that the skaters hang out at.

We went to the farmers Market and bought a few things. Then we headed to the Davis Natural foods co-op for some lunch. We ate and hung out with some birds on the patio at the co-op.

Then we headed back home. We always encounter some strange wilderness on this ride, (thousands of bats, geese, cranes, swarms of bugs, cow birds, hawks, etc.) This time we saw a coyote while crossing the yolo causeway. It stopped and stared up at us for a minute, it looked like it was trying to figure out how to get to us and eat us. It got bored with us and ran off. The causeway is always stressful with traffic coming at you at 75 mph!
The last 10 miles or so were rough especially for me who was pedaling as hard as I could to keep up with Monica ( which always seems to be the case). We saw another xtracycle going the opposite direction in West Sacramento which was cool. Our last stop on the way home was the capitol bridge. About 42 miles, not bad for our first ride in a while!

self watering containers

2009-04-06T19:14:00.000-07:00

I built a self watering container tonight for a zucchini seedling. I made it from two 5 gallon buckets from a donut shop, a cottage cheese container and a piece of plastic pipe to fill the reservoir.We have six zucchini seedlings total so I have to build 5 more. This should be a very simple way for us to grow these. Its a closed system so we should only have to fill the bottom reservoir with water every few days and sit back and watch it grow. Thanks to the homegrown evolution for the self watering container idea.

raised bed for cucumbers and chives

2009-04-01T06:20:00.000-07:00

We built this raised bed out of old redwood fences boards. Triangle shape because it fit in the space we had available. Monica planted chives around the outside. We will plant cucumbers in the middle, with a bamboo teepee for them to climb.

sunnie

2009-03-26T16:40:00.000-07:00

this was taken last year but it's one of my favorite pictures. that sunflower was so amazingly beautiful.

our own little strawberry patch

2009-03-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

i finally bought some strawberry plants yesterday and got them planted. since we've been starting everything from seed it's exciting to see actual plants in one of the beds.

i read that it's best to remove all blooms until July 1 so the plants can focus on growing and not producing fruit. makes sense, right? but i sure felt uneasy removing the few blooms that were there. i hope this doesn't turn out to be a case of 'don't believe everything you read'. i have a sneaking suspicion i'm going to stop removing the blooms before July 1.

food not lawns

2009-03-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well, here we go. This is our first post on our first blog ever. About 6 years ago we PAYED SOMEONE to install a sprinkler system and lawn in our backyard. Cool, now we had something to do on Saturdays (mow the grass)! Fortunately we sucked at that job. Then when our lawnmower was stolen from our backyard, it seemed someone was trying to tell us something. We decided that if we were going to grow something, we wanted it to feed us. We started by laying cardboard on our dying, weed infested lawn. Then we built raised beds, filled them with soil, and spread mulch in between them. The sprinkler system is being converted to use as a drip system. We started seeds in our greenhouse in February and have been working in our yarden every weekend since. We will keep you posted on how well we are able to feed ourselves from our back yard.