A Year In Review

Three hundred and sixty four days ago I turned forty-nine and started this blog. The whole aim of the blog was to set myself a challenge that, while doing, would prevent me from slipping into a 'woe is me--I'm so old' mentality. And on that, I can say I succeeded. No, I didn't hit the magical number of fifty in all my categories. And I'm okay with that. My challenge, my grading scale.

To summarize:

I read way beyond my targeted fifty books, although I nowhere near hit twenty-five classics. Classics are time consuming. Sometimes very beautifully descriptive, but not a quick read. It can take them a whole chapter describing what a meadow looks like, and I must admit my mind wanders a bit to my grocery list, or some other task that needs doing. I also discovered speed reading the Bible is probably not likely to confer upon one wisdom and spiritual enlightenment. I proceed along with this at a more prayerful and respectful pace.

I have truly enjoyed visiting new places. The sense of curiosity I felt as I ventured into a new place was, in a way, childlike. And it didn't matter if it was a gift store or a restaurant or a hiking trail. It was new to me and I delighted in the discovery.

In the foods eaten category--I did my best. The difficulty came in trying to find something new to try. I wanted to try foie gras, but couldn't find a restaurant nearby that served it. I have to admit, in my kitchen right now is tofu (no I've never eaten it), seaweed (had sushi maybe once) and sake. Even if I went right now and sampled those three, I still would not reach the fifty. But hey, I tried. And I know that in the future, I will say yes to weird foods, as long as they are gluten free. And not too stomach turning. I mean, really, there's a sense of adventure and then there's just plain disgusting.

The things learned category was actually the hardest to quantify. I suppose I could go to the dictionary right now and find a handful of words I didn't know and top off the list, but what's the point? What I discovered is that as long as you push yourself into uncharted territory, learning happens. I didn't know last October that I would be a chicken owner. All the learning involved with that alone I feel allows me to say sure, I've learned fifty things.

And now onto contests. I see these contests in magazines and hear about them on the radio, and
wonder, does anyone ever really win any of those? And the answer to that is YES. I have known people who have entered and won contests. I haven't personally, but I have come close. And so it is with great humility that I announce that I was a finalist in the Vlasic Pickle contest. And the winner of $100. I found out this morning, and what a fitting and slightly weird way to end this year.

For those of you who have stuck it out with me on this journey, I thank you and ask you to check back to this site in the future. I haven't yet determined what direction to take the blog, but you all will be the first to know. Till then keep dancing.

Dashing Toward the Finish Line

Birthday countdown is rushing toward single digits and I am scrambling to complete the lists. I may not be successful but I'm going down fighting.

I have recently sampled Arugula and some Trader Joe's baby greens. How did I miss the Arugula craze? I must have spent the last decade in a cave. I liked it okay, no big drum roll, though. The baby greens made for a cute salad, and really, don't we love it when our food is cute?

We journeyed over the mountain to the far eastern side of the state to visit family and along the way went to quite a few places I have never been.

We went rollerskating and I channeled my inner fifteen year old. What a blast to feel the breeze in my face as I gained confidence and sped up. It was possible I looked like a fool, but guess what? One of the few things that is good about getting older is the worry about what people will think of me is practically nonexistent. I had fun and that's all that mattered.

We spent the next morning across the state line in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. We walked the longest floating boardwalk, browsed some of the cool shops, and ate lunch at the Bonsai Bistro. Thank you Bonsai for the extensive gluten free choices. Eating out can truly be a pain when you're gluten free, and having a restaurant understand this is a blessing. On the way back, we spotted a nut factory and zipped off the freeway to check it out. This was my kind of day. No real schedule, no plan, just wander where you want and go into any place that catches your eye. Perfect.

The next day our daughter-in-law took me to one of the best places on the planet. Greenbluff. It is an area of around thirty farms in an easy driving loop, that feature gift shops, U-pick orchards and farmstands. I could have spent the entire day or even week exploring and spreading my oh-so-endless stack of cash around to as many of them as possible. Thank you, Sarah. This may have been a new place visited for me, but I guarantee I will be back.

Vlasic Pickle Anyone?

I have spent the last eleven months attempting to check off fifty things on several different lists. A silly feat I set myself on my forty ninth birthday so as to have something to occupy my time in the twelve months leading up to this momentous and somewhat depressing birthday.

As is evident from the lists, some things are easier to accomplish than others. I have been entering contests as I find them trying desperately to get to fifty. I initially included this category because I was interested to see if anyone actually ever wins one of these. I had always had a sneaking suspicion that I never won anything because I just wasn't diligent enough. So I figured that if I at least entered fifty of them, then I upped my chances somewhat. So far I still haven't won anything. Maybe I'd be better off buying a lottery ticket. Who knows?

I do rather have my hopes up today as I entered the Vlasic pickle contest. Now I know I might be spoiling my chances by talking about it before the deadline passes, but that's the kind of person I am. I love living on the edge.

Along with the pickle contest, I managed to check off a few more things today by going to the Chehalis garlic festival where I sampled garlic ice cream and garlic peanut brittle. Both of which were very tasty and not at all odd, surprisingly enough. All in all a successful day.

A View From the Clouds

I have always wanted to live the road less traveled kind of life, but have never really done it. Last night, however, I got a little closer. For my husband's fiftieth birthday I surprised him with a night in a treehouse. It was a taste of childhood magic, high up in a cedar tree. Our own eagle's aerie for a night. A trickling creek sung us to sleep and the foggy morning light coming in the skylight gently woke us up.

The man who built this treehouse and the even higher observation tower is truly living the road less traveled kind of life. He actually lived in the treehouse for a couple of years, and although he lives on the ground now, he has more treehouse projects underway. He explained some of the planned construction then guided us up and around the many stairs and across the bridge to heaven and finally into the tower. The only thing that gave me pause was a hint of motion sickness as you feel a definite swaying as a breeze hits.

I may usually travel the well beaten path of life, but every now and then I plan on veering off, because the thrill of the unknown cannot be beat.

Is This Candid Camera?

Life happens while you're waiting for life to happen. Ever notice that? We spend a lot of time waiting for something big to happen and we actually miss out on all the little things that make up the fabric of our lives.

I've been trying for quite some time to be more aware of just being present in my life. Not waiting for something. And it's funny, when you are in that heightened sense of awareness, things stand out at you. You notice the feel of the sun on your skin--not unusual for me as I move my lawn chair clear across the grass or driveway to continue to be in the path of the setting sun--or the smell of someone down the street setting off their leftover fireworks.

Then there are things that even a totally dense person would notice. Like coming home from having your hair cut in the morning and seeing your husband in the backyard with livestock. Oh, not the livestock that you know you own, like chickens. But much bigger livestock that you had never in your wildest dreams thought you'd see in your backyard. Like COWS!! But such is the fabric of my life.

We are at full on wedding central mode at my house with ribbons and ring bearing pillows and cases of wine, and we have cows in our backyard!! An hour or so of munching and a couple of phone calls to neighbors (who really do you call when you have cows in your backyard?) and one extremely large pile of cowpie, and the intruders were off from whence they came.

And in all the hullabaloo I almost forgot to mention that one of our lovely ladies came of age on Monday the 12th and left us a fine gift. Our very first egg. And that's our life, folks. Crazy and a bit surreal, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

When Life Hands You Mint--Make Mojitos!

Five years ago we moved into our house and one of the things that swayed our purchase decision was the size of the property--nine-tenths of an acre. There are times when I suspect we bit off more than we can chew.

These grounds have a life of their own. Oh, we attempt to show them who is the boss and whip them into order, but they laugh at us and go right on proliferating their weeds and dropping their leaves and sending their thorny shoots everywhere.

And then there is the mint. At first I loved the mint, but then it took over a little garden plot and I was forced to do fierce battle with it. I ruthlessly cleared the whole lot of it. For a few moments I felt guilty, and I bore the smell of my murderous assault with shame.

Well. Do not spend too much time mourning the loss of the mint, as it has had the last laugh. This year it has sneakily sprung up from between the cracks of a brick landing around our deck. It stands tall and proud, and vibrantly healthy. And I did what any reasonably sane person would do. I surrendered; then plucked a few leaves and made mojitos.

A word about mojitos. I had had one once and hated it. It tasted like a very sweet toothpasty medicine. But I had a bunch of mint and a bunch of limes and a desire to make a beautiful marriage between the two. And I discovered it's like all marriages--the key is balance. You must achieve the perfect blend between the intensely sweet simple syrup, the sour limes and the, well, minty mint. And then, like all marriages, it takes some muddling. But it's worth the effort.

Playing Catch Up

You remember the trailer to the Flintstone's where Fred is desperately running on the treadmill? Well, that's what I feel like life is like. Sometimes the treadmill is turned on low and it isn't difficult to keep up, but other times it is switched on hyper drive.

I think there are some people that thrive on being busy. They love the activity level of scurrying around from here to there. I am not one of those people. I like long unbroken periods of quiet, reflective time. I am drawn to houses with those wide, covered porches. I picture afternoons reading and evenings chatting with friends and family with a glass of fresh lemonade or wine or hot chocolate.

So I am doing my best right now not to get flung off the treadmill and so far I am succeeding, although things like a blog post keeps getting shuffled to the bottom of the to-do list.

Quick update: Had a very brief but enjoyable trip to Oahu. Waikiki was too populated for me and traffic was intense, but a much more peaceful feeling was reached outside of the main cities.
Five airports later arrived in Albuquerque for a wedding and catching up with family. It was great to see everyone.

Now it's our turn to host family for our daughter's wedding and I am having to keep and update lists and jog with occasional bursts of outright running lest I go sailing. But at least I have a porch (albeit narrow) and a chilling bottle of wine. Cheers.