After a great conference and our fun trip to Spokane I finally made it to the farmers market! There are some new vendors, old familiar faces and lots of yummy treats.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Farmers Market Season
The Redmond Farmers Market season started the weekend I was in TN and Nick was nice enough to torture me by sending me these yummy pictures.
After a great conference and our fun trip to Spokane I finally made it to the farmers market! There are some new vendors, old familiar faces and lots of yummy treats.
After a great conference and our fun trip to Spokane I finally made it to the farmers market! There are some new vendors, old familiar faces and lots of yummy treats.
Spokane trip
We finally had a chance to travel to Spokane and visit Aaron and Connie for a wonderful weekend of fun that was during the weekend of the lilac parade. We only found a few lilacs and they weren't really blooming, however, this last weekend at home our lilacs popped!
The drive over the pass was amazing!!
While in Spokane we took in the beauty of the Japanese Gardens and parks, toured the crazy high running Spokane Falls and we had great fun at the Lilac parade.
Thanks for a great time friends!!
The drive over the pass was amazing!!
While in Spokane we took in the beauty of the Japanese Gardens and parks, toured the crazy high running Spokane Falls and we had great fun at the Lilac parade.
Thanks for a great time friends!!
Scrapbooking Delights
I had the privilege of working on a couple of scrapbooking projects recently that I wanted to share.
First… I wanted to make my sister’s graduation announcements and she was kind enough to give me permission and I absolutely love how they turned out! I used a small, raised sticker for the graduation cap and wrote the calligraphy on the front. The inside I printed and filled in with calligraphy. The back is a diploma rubber stamp, written in with calligraphy. The dye-cut insert is a grad cap on heavy cardstock paper with silver metallic handwritten printing. So much fun and so proud of my beautiful sister!!
Second… With a bit of trepidation I asked Tim and Lindsay if it would be alright if I took pictures for them in a maternity shoot. I had some ideas in mind that I gleaned from some beautiful photography websites and also an idea of something I wanted to make for them. They were kind enough to say yes and we had a great time over two days taking a TON of pictures! I took copies home and worked on this lovely 27 page scrapbook/memory book for them. I had so much fun scrapbooking in a totally different way than I usually do (i.e. papers, stamps, pens, stickers, etc.). All supplies were purchased at Ben Franklin Crafts and I used lots of different papers, stickers and several different styles of layouts. Thanks Tim and Lindsay for allowing me to work on this project and I hope you enjoy the book as well!!
First… I wanted to make my sister’s graduation announcements and she was kind enough to give me permission and I absolutely love how they turned out! I used a small, raised sticker for the graduation cap and wrote the calligraphy on the front. The inside I printed and filled in with calligraphy. The back is a diploma rubber stamp, written in with calligraphy. The dye-cut insert is a grad cap on heavy cardstock paper with silver metallic handwritten printing. So much fun and so proud of my beautiful sister!!
Second… With a bit of trepidation I asked Tim and Lindsay if it would be alright if I took pictures for them in a maternity shoot. I had some ideas in mind that I gleaned from some beautiful photography websites and also an idea of something I wanted to make for them. They were kind enough to say yes and we had a great time over two days taking a TON of pictures! I took copies home and worked on this lovely 27 page scrapbook/memory book for them. I had so much fun scrapbooking in a totally different way than I usually do (i.e. papers, stamps, pens, stickers, etc.). All supplies were purchased at Ben Franklin Crafts and I used lots of different papers, stickers and several different styles of layouts. Thanks Tim and Lindsay for allowing me to work on this project and I hope you enjoy the book as well!!
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Tennessee Volunteers
WARNING: this is an extremely long post, so happy reading!
The south feels like home, specifically Tennessee. When I arrived in Chattanooga at 5 a.m. and stepped out of my car and the humidity caressed my face; when the first person greeted me and said “hi” in that gentle rolling lilt that makes “Hi” sound like it has two syllables it brought tears to my eyes and a lump to my throat. That could also have been the fact that I had not slept for over 24 hours, aside from catnaps on the planes! I lived in Collegedale for four and a half years at the stunning campus of Southern Adventist University where I attended nursing school. I met my best friend there, met people that I call family and whom I have the privilege of joining every other Thanksgiving for a rip-roaring good time; we’ve also shared spring breaks, weddings, babies and road trips. It was where I was able to heal after the death of my sister; where I found my calling of nursing and where I left a piece of my heart and soul. Part of me would move back to Tennessee in a heartbeat. I love the state, I love the people, I LOVE the food and I love this opportunity to help during such tragedy.
As I logged each leg of the journey – two layovers and two plane changes – my heart beat faster with anticipation of seeing friends, excitement for helping and putting action behind my words and a feeling of coming home. As I prepare to go back to school for my Masters I have decided that what I want to do is anything related to activism – human rights, care of our planet, health and wellness, women and children, etc. While I have not decided on a final path of activism, I want to put my feet in the field and start helping out wherever I can. I feel so privileged and blessed that things fell into place with work and with our finances that I was able to travel to Tennessee and help out in a small way.
Tennessee Day 1
Due to unforeseen circumstances of plane delays and such craziness, I did not arrive in Chattanooga until 5 a.m. Saturday morning. I could not find a hotel that was not full and ended up stopping at the dorm, sleeping on a mattress with my neck pillow for traveling and a throw from the dean’s couch for four hours. I went to Tim and Emily’s for a quick shower and some breakfast before hitting the ground running. My first stop was to check in on some people with significant health needs staying at Southern’s dorm and see if there was anything they needed. After spending some time helping them out I grabbed some lunch and then headed out to Apison, TN, where the tornado had caused significant damage and total loss to many homes. I spent several hours sorting through someone’s home, belongings and life. We separated burnable items from trash, metal and things that might be salvageable. I felt like I would work on one little section, turn around and you couldn’t tell anything had been done. It was so overwhelming…
I finished out the evening by checking in on the residents at Southern again and making sure they were tucked in for the night. Then I fell into bed and laughed myself to tears with my bestie Miss Nikki!!
Tennessee Day 2
Started off by checking in on the residents again and making sure they were o.k. Spent most of the morning and afternoon working to help make sure people had medications, gas cards, BP monitors and other medical supplies. Once everyone was all settled I said my goodbyes and made one last round. I then had to wave farewell to Tommy, Sandy and Nikki as they headed back to Nashville. In the evening, Tim and I went up to a different area of Apison and helped clear debris from around one house. It felt like we had cleared out so much, but as we drove away our view filled up again with the hundreds of trees still needing to be cleared. Again, so overwhelming…
Random moment: Tim and I were looking through pictures and videos of the devastation and realized that I had watched a video on Facebook of the man whose house I had worked at on Saturday. I wanted to show how much progress can be made in such a short time. The video link was posted 1-2 days after the tornado hit, the next picture is 9 days later and the last picture is 11 days later.
Video: watch it here.
Tennessee Day 3
I started off the morning early and Emily was so sweet to drive me around looking for people that needed help. We stopped at several places, but most of the places we first stopped at had insurance adjusters out and were in a wait-and-see mode; then we drove back down to the valley. Apison – the majority lived in trailer homes or hand built houses, had no insurance and lived at or below the poverty level. The help needed there is never-ending; however, most people we talked to would say, “We’re fine; go find someone else who really needs help”. Emily dropped me off at the spot I had been working at on Saturday and I was shocked to see how much work had been done and it really invigorated me to see all the progress. I drove around with another group and had the pleasure of meeting Bobby Elliot – this kind hearted giant of a man whose house was still standing (amazingly!!), despite the trailer next to his house being utterly smashed. We walked to the back part of his property and started clearing debris from an area where a trailer home had been thrown from behind a hill and been obliterated as it smashed into the ground. As Bobby and I worked he pointed to some blue gloves and a tourniquet on the ground and asked if I knew what they represented; he then told me the story of the hours after the tornado blasted through Apison. They had gone to the backside of his property looking for people and at the damage, all you could hear were the sounds of big machines, people yelling, chainsaws and the wind; all of a sudden someone yelled, “Everyone quiet, I thought I heard something”. A hush fell over the hill and a small moan was heard, they found a 9-year old boy, the sole survivor of his entire family. Working alongside that spot, in the boiling heat of the sun and the searing heat of the fire, I thought about what it would be like to lose my ENTIRE family, home, possessions and nearly my life. It was a very sobering day to end my time in Tennessee on.
Final thoughts
I made it home… getting to Tennessee was ridiculous and I ran into many road blocks; there were frustrations while in Tennessee of feeling so helpless and unable to help as much as I wanted; there were challenges getting home of delayed flights and lost luggage. There were friends to greet me when I arrived, a roof over my head each night, a comfortable bed to sleep in, food to eat, a husband to kiss when I stepped off the plane, another roof over my head, a bed to sleep in and my things in hand within 24 hours. Bottom line though, I had a home and family to come back to. I heard so many stories of loss, stories of love, stories of pain and stories of kindness. It will take a long time for the humidity, heat, smells of smoke and rotting wood, sounds of chainsaws, heavy machinery and hollers to leave my head, skin and soul. I loved every minute that I was in Tennessee and felt so honored to work alongside the people who were there much longer than I was and will be there for much longer than I was able to be. The work will continue, homes will be repaired and rebuilt, the trees will grow back and life will move on. My heart aches for Tennessee, but after seeing that small spot cleaned up and ready for a trailer or home to be built on again gives me hope. Hope is what will keep the communities in Tennessee, and the other areas hit by the tornados and now floods, united and thriving.
The south feels like home, specifically Tennessee. When I arrived in Chattanooga at 5 a.m. and stepped out of my car and the humidity caressed my face; when the first person greeted me and said “hi” in that gentle rolling lilt that makes “Hi” sound like it has two syllables it brought tears to my eyes and a lump to my throat. That could also have been the fact that I had not slept for over 24 hours, aside from catnaps on the planes! I lived in Collegedale for four and a half years at the stunning campus of Southern Adventist University where I attended nursing school. I met my best friend there, met people that I call family and whom I have the privilege of joining every other Thanksgiving for a rip-roaring good time; we’ve also shared spring breaks, weddings, babies and road trips. It was where I was able to heal after the death of my sister; where I found my calling of nursing and where I left a piece of my heart and soul. Part of me would move back to Tennessee in a heartbeat. I love the state, I love the people, I LOVE the food and I love this opportunity to help during such tragedy.
As I logged each leg of the journey – two layovers and two plane changes – my heart beat faster with anticipation of seeing friends, excitement for helping and putting action behind my words and a feeling of coming home. As I prepare to go back to school for my Masters I have decided that what I want to do is anything related to activism – human rights, care of our planet, health and wellness, women and children, etc. While I have not decided on a final path of activism, I want to put my feet in the field and start helping out wherever I can. I feel so privileged and blessed that things fell into place with work and with our finances that I was able to travel to Tennessee and help out in a small way.
Tennessee Day 1
Due to unforeseen circumstances of plane delays and such craziness, I did not arrive in Chattanooga until 5 a.m. Saturday morning. I could not find a hotel that was not full and ended up stopping at the dorm, sleeping on a mattress with my neck pillow for traveling and a throw from the dean’s couch for four hours. I went to Tim and Emily’s for a quick shower and some breakfast before hitting the ground running. My first stop was to check in on some people with significant health needs staying at Southern’s dorm and see if there was anything they needed. After spending some time helping them out I grabbed some lunch and then headed out to Apison, TN, where the tornado had caused significant damage and total loss to many homes. I spent several hours sorting through someone’s home, belongings and life. We separated burnable items from trash, metal and things that might be salvageable. I felt like I would work on one little section, turn around and you couldn’t tell anything had been done. It was so overwhelming…
I finished out the evening by checking in on the residents at Southern again and making sure they were tucked in for the night. Then I fell into bed and laughed myself to tears with my bestie Miss Nikki!!
Tennessee Day 2
Started off by checking in on the residents again and making sure they were o.k. Spent most of the morning and afternoon working to help make sure people had medications, gas cards, BP monitors and other medical supplies. Once everyone was all settled I said my goodbyes and made one last round. I then had to wave farewell to Tommy, Sandy and Nikki as they headed back to Nashville. In the evening, Tim and I went up to a different area of Apison and helped clear debris from around one house. It felt like we had cleared out so much, but as we drove away our view filled up again with the hundreds of trees still needing to be cleared. Again, so overwhelming…
Random moment: Tim and I were looking through pictures and videos of the devastation and realized that I had watched a video on Facebook of the man whose house I had worked at on Saturday. I wanted to show how much progress can be made in such a short time. The video link was posted 1-2 days after the tornado hit, the next picture is 9 days later and the last picture is 11 days later.
Video: watch it here.
Tennessee Day 3
I started off the morning early and Emily was so sweet to drive me around looking for people that needed help. We stopped at several places, but most of the places we first stopped at had insurance adjusters out and were in a wait-and-see mode; then we drove back down to the valley. Apison – the majority lived in trailer homes or hand built houses, had no insurance and lived at or below the poverty level. The help needed there is never-ending; however, most people we talked to would say, “We’re fine; go find someone else who really needs help”. Emily dropped me off at the spot I had been working at on Saturday and I was shocked to see how much work had been done and it really invigorated me to see all the progress. I drove around with another group and had the pleasure of meeting Bobby Elliot – this kind hearted giant of a man whose house was still standing (amazingly!!), despite the trailer next to his house being utterly smashed. We walked to the back part of his property and started clearing debris from an area where a trailer home had been thrown from behind a hill and been obliterated as it smashed into the ground. As Bobby and I worked he pointed to some blue gloves and a tourniquet on the ground and asked if I knew what they represented; he then told me the story of the hours after the tornado blasted through Apison. They had gone to the backside of his property looking for people and at the damage, all you could hear were the sounds of big machines, people yelling, chainsaws and the wind; all of a sudden someone yelled, “Everyone quiet, I thought I heard something”. A hush fell over the hill and a small moan was heard, they found a 9-year old boy, the sole survivor of his entire family. Working alongside that spot, in the boiling heat of the sun and the searing heat of the fire, I thought about what it would be like to lose my ENTIRE family, home, possessions and nearly my life. It was a very sobering day to end my time in Tennessee on.
Final thoughts
I made it home… getting to Tennessee was ridiculous and I ran into many road blocks; there were frustrations while in Tennessee of feeling so helpless and unable to help as much as I wanted; there were challenges getting home of delayed flights and lost luggage. There were friends to greet me when I arrived, a roof over my head each night, a comfortable bed to sleep in, food to eat, a husband to kiss when I stepped off the plane, another roof over my head, a bed to sleep in and my things in hand within 24 hours. Bottom line though, I had a home and family to come back to. I heard so many stories of loss, stories of love, stories of pain and stories of kindness. It will take a long time for the humidity, heat, smells of smoke and rotting wood, sounds of chainsaws, heavy machinery and hollers to leave my head, skin and soul. I loved every minute that I was in Tennessee and felt so honored to work alongside the people who were there much longer than I was and will be there for much longer than I was able to be. The work will continue, homes will be repaired and rebuilt, the trees will grow back and life will move on. My heart aches for Tennessee, but after seeing that small spot cleaned up and ready for a trailer or home to be built on again gives me hope. Hope is what will keep the communities in Tennessee, and the other areas hit by the tornados and now floods, united and thriving.
Spring in Seattle
You know the sun is shining in Seattle if there are numerous people out laying in the sun despite it only being in the 60’s! Nick and I decided to partake in the “first” true spring day by taking the top partially off the Jeep, buying cold coffee drinks and taking Jack to the park where we read, took pictures and threw the Frisbee around. The day could not have been better!
Another spring-like weekend was spent working out in the garden. This year I decided to just use compost from Cedar Grove and I’m so glad I picked up 1½ cubic yards because I’ll have just enough to top off my potato box. This year our goal with the garden is to make it be primarily for freezing and small amounts of eating, but our main fresh veggies will come from the market. That being said I’ve planted a ton of beans (sugar and snow peas and green beans), squash, zucchini, lettuces (arugula, green, butter crunch, mesclun greens, spinach), radishes, potatoes, carrots and onions. Plus all my lovely herbs. To top it off I planted an array of flowers as well. Finally all the seeds are in the ground and the plants in the new greenhouse. I finally found a greenhouse that allows me to walk inside, put lots of plants inside, is removable for winter storage (if I want), has room for a shelving unit and secures to the ground so it doesn’t blow away in the crazy winds we get in our backyard. My tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant and peppers are thriving inside and I’m excited to maybe grow some warmer weather items! The garden is totally planted and just yesterday I walked outside and while checking the boxes discovered that my radishes, arugula and lettuce are starting to all sprout. Nick thinks I’m funny when I squeal in delight over the little plants and tell them how cute and sweet they are. They like it though – I know it!
The other very exciting thing was that my red worms arrived and have been placed in the worm bin. They are working hard and my food compost is turning out beautifully. Not quite sure how to move them into a new pile once the old one is ready, but I’ll figure it out. Maybe I can train worms…
I think everyone knows how passionate I am about greening up our lovely planet and reducing waste, and I was so excited to discover these fantastic little bags at Central Market on my last shopping trip:
If you want to buy some ecobags of your own, just visit: www.ecobags.com They have the mesh bags for produce and solid cotton bags that are for bread or other bulk items. The bags are made with fair trade, 100% cotton and can be washed if soiled and reused over and over versus using plastic bags. I was also thrilled to find out that Central Market will let you bring in your own jars, containers, etc. for items like cheese, meats, bulk items, etc. Just remember to ask one of the staff members to weigh your container before you put items in it. Talk to your local market and they may allow you to do the same.
Spring is finally in Seattle and while there have been a couple of light frosts since the first day of spring and definitely many rainy days – the air smells different, the green is brilliant, the cherry trees are blooming, the tulips are nodding and the garden is growing!
Another spring-like weekend was spent working out in the garden. This year I decided to just use compost from Cedar Grove and I’m so glad I picked up 1½ cubic yards because I’ll have just enough to top off my potato box. This year our goal with the garden is to make it be primarily for freezing and small amounts of eating, but our main fresh veggies will come from the market. That being said I’ve planted a ton of beans (sugar and snow peas and green beans), squash, zucchini, lettuces (arugula, green, butter crunch, mesclun greens, spinach), radishes, potatoes, carrots and onions. Plus all my lovely herbs. To top it off I planted an array of flowers as well. Finally all the seeds are in the ground and the plants in the new greenhouse. I finally found a greenhouse that allows me to walk inside, put lots of plants inside, is removable for winter storage (if I want), has room for a shelving unit and secures to the ground so it doesn’t blow away in the crazy winds we get in our backyard. My tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant and peppers are thriving inside and I’m excited to maybe grow some warmer weather items! The garden is totally planted and just yesterday I walked outside and while checking the boxes discovered that my radishes, arugula and lettuce are starting to all sprout. Nick thinks I’m funny when I squeal in delight over the little plants and tell them how cute and sweet they are. They like it though – I know it!
The other very exciting thing was that my red worms arrived and have been placed in the worm bin. They are working hard and my food compost is turning out beautifully. Not quite sure how to move them into a new pile once the old one is ready, but I’ll figure it out. Maybe I can train worms…
I think everyone knows how passionate I am about greening up our lovely planet and reducing waste, and I was so excited to discover these fantastic little bags at Central Market on my last shopping trip:
If you want to buy some ecobags of your own, just visit: www.ecobags.com They have the mesh bags for produce and solid cotton bags that are for bread or other bulk items. The bags are made with fair trade, 100% cotton and can be washed if soiled and reused over and over versus using plastic bags. I was also thrilled to find out that Central Market will let you bring in your own jars, containers, etc. for items like cheese, meats, bulk items, etc. Just remember to ask one of the staff members to weigh your container before you put items in it. Talk to your local market and they may allow you to do the same.
Spring is finally in Seattle and while there have been a couple of light frosts since the first day of spring and definitely many rainy days – the air smells different, the green is brilliant, the cherry trees are blooming, the tulips are nodding and the garden is growing!
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