My anniversary PRESENT! How could I forget?

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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.