Holiday...

Cleaning, packing, organizing and waiting...waiting for our departure into the mountains. Tomorrow we leave for our 7 night camping venture. Getting ready for a big camp trip can be work, but when we actually hit the Interstate...it's all worth it...

I hope your 4th of July Holiday is as relaxing and adventurous as ours...You know I'll be sharing lots of new pictures when I return!

Cheers to all!

Photo above will be my view from our tent...You can check out past camp trips by clicking here.

Garden Dinner...

Perfect summer menu: Tacos with veggies from our garden and a margarita...Yum!

Since planting the garden I am keeping a list, if only a mental one, of our favorite meals and what we can/are growing ourselves to make that dinner. A true eye opener as to how much we depend on the local grocers shop and what meals are realistic to find in our small garden...

Rain Barrel Curiosity...

I was asked this question in the comments of Rain Rain Come Again, and thought it was worth sharing....

Q- "How do you deal with mosquitoes and the standing water. Any tips?"

A- "No standing water at all. We have a faucet/hose in the bottom of the barrel. The hose goes under the deck, under some rocks and empties at the base of a few trees. Instant watering. Depending on how much it rains, the barrel may fill up...but only to empty soon at the pace of gravity in the hose."

Rollin' Along in a V-Dub...

As the gas prices rise even higher, we have parked our gas guzzling Ford/SUV and have gone back to our roots...in a VW Van. We have planned on doing this for a while and finally, it is a reality. Many camping trips, joy rides looking for our dream farm house and rides to school will be done in this blue beauty.

Our first weekend trip in "Blue" was over Father's Day weekend. We headed up north towards Ketchum, ID to spend time with family. Meeting of the V-Dubs we call it. I can't pretend I don't just love being in the "V-Dub Club" again. It's inevitable...the waves, peace signs and nods are fantastic! You don't get that when you drive any other vehicle. Status seeking? No, just a love for VWs...

More photos of our Father's Day trip...

RRR...

Reducing the amount of water used in cooking, Reusing the pasta water for boiling potatoes, Recycled water for plants.

How are you RRR-ing?

Rain Rain, Come Again...

Stick races in the rain...a family favorite.

Rain in the desert means...our rain barrel is overflowing with goodness. Just look at all the pollen floating on top...it's no wonder Roxie has been sniffling.

Went to the Market...

I had never used African Black Soap before, but am now in love with it! A soap maker at the farmers market gets this great stuff, adds her own goodness to it, like tea tree oil, and sells the bars along side her own. My only dilemma is it is not a completely local buy. But I had to try it out, just this once...

We also picked up a batch of seasoned pretzels to go along with some wonderful homemade mustard. We especially liked the Raspberry and Red Wine Dill mustard. The Red Wine Dill mustard had a surprisingly rich, soft flavor. We will most definitely be visiting the mustard maker again. Dried plums, cinnamon rolls and even homemade doggy treats were purchased that sunny, farmers market day.

Our farmers market may be small, but it is big on good vibes. Looking forward to more of the fresh veggies, yummy homemade bread and noodles, soap and even just the great conversation we find at our weekly farmers market.

Just Say No...to Grass

It's amazing to me how much water people pour on their lawns. Just look at the contrast between the green lawns and our dirt. Yah...the dirt isn't that appealing...but it won't be like this for long. Seriously, have you seen my backyard? No grass there either.

To be completely honest...I am tired of being the "white trash" of the neighborhood, but not enough to lay sod or any other water guzzling species. We have plans for a native-scape. Rocks, native grasses and bushes, perhaps even a tree. Word on the block is the city is going to ban lawns anyhow...'bout time we say!

Besides living in a desert and trying to conserve our precious resources, we're also saving lots of money...if you were to see our water bill this year compared to last, you would be going this route as well.

In our small way, we're saving the planet...one choice at a time.

Birthday Girl...

My baby has turned 4 years old! I put together a little garden party, complete with garden bunting and pinata. A bit of sewing from mama gave Roxie her wanted garden hat and matching top. Happy Birthday to my little girl...your smile brightens my day.

Yard Sale Find...

.25 for Solar Tea...gotta love the yard sale!

Garden Love...

Summer is here...I can say that now that all of our costumes have been made and recitals have been danced. Phew!

Besides sewing costumes like a crazy woman, I have been called such, I have been enjoying my garden. Last night we ate our first big salad from the garden!

Also, when Lance returned home after his long trip away, he rebuilt the pond/bird bath. We had used what we already had in our yard to begin with. Not really being our style of pond, we purchased a pallet of rock to redo it. Much better. The fish are loving the rock ledges and the tadpoles are already getting bigger. We have many birds frequenting the pond now, they are even getting use to us and stick around when we walk by.

Oh, summer...looking forward to you even more. Next on the schedule (besides playing catch-up with house work) is to get our camping gear stocked for next weekend and then again for our big 4th of July trip, Yippie!!!

Click here for more of our updated garden photos...and more dance prop photos.

Ink Up...

Playing a tattoo game with Sunshine and friends...can you guess the bloggers behind the tats? It was a lot harder then I thought it would be. I could only really guess at one. I am looking forward to meeting these other tattooed bloggers...

The story behind my tat...I never really wanted a tattoo. That is, before my brother, Sam, started with his body ink. You could say we have brother-sister tattoos.

To me, my tattoo means strength and fortitude. The water, rock, Koi and cherry blossoms pull all four elements together, with each blossom representing one of my daughters and the Koi, love and affection.

Check out my inking photos here. Although I need to update this photo file (my brother has more ink to share) you can still get an idea of how my four hour sitting went...