who knows where the time goes . . .

amazingly it's been a year since I've made a post.
life has been in the way of blogging about life it seems.
too busy "doing" to write or share about it. 
it's been a good year. . . . maybe not as productive as we may have liked, but full of stuff that made us smile.
hope the same was true for anyone who reads this. 


february 2014:

spring came with it's usual fanfare. it amazes me how early spring is here - the coastal influence i think.


many places - places where i have lived - can be their coldest in february. 


but here spring shows her colors proudly and shakes off the winter blues nicely.

march 2014:

a walk on the beach is always special . . .

and an anniversary hike to some waterfalls, 
through a lush forest of mossy trees and ferns
was especially enjoyable. . .









april 2014:

when company visits, a trip to shore acres state park is always a great activity - the tulips and azaleas were as amazing as usual.




all play and no work gets little done . . . 








so, just to be clear - we did get some work
done on the house remodel over the past year. 

not as much as we had hoped, but we 
finally passed out plumbing rough-in inspection and our mechanical inspection.

we got the green light to finish work on our laundry room and 3/4 bath without the need of anymore inspections (other than the final).

:-)

may 2014:

more company for a visit . . . stayed in a yurt out at the beach and explored the south slough area and the coquille lighthouse near bandon. . . ate seafood and s'mores . . . talked and laughed around the campfire . . .

good times with good friends are always the best . . .


june 2014:

the first of summer's fruits are raspberries . . .


and they're absolutely delicious.

  

the garden is full of flowers
and fresh herbs for the picking . . .













july 2014:

we go to a local blueberry farm and pick these beauties.

we eat them fresh until we are blue in the face, plus we stock up the freezer for winter use.

they are so wonderful.

we haven't had the opportunity to do much mushrooming around these parts, but a friend of ours took us out on his property to collect a few lobster mushrooms . . . that was a fun experience and all the better to go with someone familiar with the area and the mushrooms that grow here.

once the apples came on the dehydrator was pulled out of storage. i always dry 18-22 quarts of apples a year. we eat them primarily as a snack. 

and himalayan blackberries are bountiful around these parts . . . we eat them in muffins, mixed berry galettes, cobblers, and by the handful fresh. . .


and cooking them up for winter-use jam is a weekly project for me as well.










august 2014:

late summer brings the arrival of homegrown, vine-ripened tomatoes . . .


one of the best parts of summer if you ask me.

again the dehydrator is put into service to dry small sungold tomatoes . . . these are wonderful in winter stews and soups.







september 2014:

and i'm always baking bread every 2-3 days . . . we eat a lot of bread.











october 2014:

we love to eat.
and eat a variety of foods always with the season.
food is fresher, and more likely to be local, this way.
and more affordable too.

when we were offered several bags of pomegranates we did not hesitate to say yes.

we gave away several to friends, but ate one a day au natural.

plus i found several recipes to try . . . nice to take advantage of such a windfall as they babies are usually too expensive for our budget.

as always, i planted our garlic right around halloween.
it grows all winter long in our mild climate, and i harvest it in the summer.













november 2014:

autumn is my favorite season.

i love the colors.

i love the sound of blowing leaves.

i'm not so keen on winter being fast on its heels, but nothing's perfect.

we buy local cranberries and stock up the freezer with them.

i especially like to make a mixed berry galette with cranberries, blueberries and either strawberries or raspberries - or both.

we made a trip to nevada to visit friends and family . . .




and got lucky - found a 5-1/2" foot, 32" wide, white, cast iron bathtub for cheap at the local habitat restore. i've been looking for one in a neutral color for several years now. to buy one new through our local hardware store it would've been about $12000. way too expensive for us. they were asking $10 for it. we bought it before we gave much thought on how to get it back home. but the little honda car has a receiver hitch on it so . . . uhaul wanted $120 to rent one. but hubby found a perfect trailer on craigslist for $150. we had to buy lights for it so it cost close to $200 when all was said and done. but once back in oregon we sold it for about $300 so it all worked out wonderfully.

december 2014:

ta-da: the bathtub. i know, it's just a basic tub, but that's all i wanted. i just didn't want to spend an arm and a leg to get it.


here i got the wall all insulated so we could slide it into place. it's propped up on 2x4's so hubby can do the drain work - which is all done at this writing.

as the year winded down we spent it in the usual ways . . .



the annual winter solstice party . . .



lovely meals with friends.


and a festive ringing in of the new year.

january 2015:

so, i'm up to date. ;-)

i hope everyone had a most enjoyable 2014. . .

and all the best in 2015. take care.