Little Coffee Beans

seven things ::

 Thankful. Smiling. Laughing. Appreciating. Adoring.

Loving. Holding. Remembering. Sharing. 

Here are seven little things that I'm loving today.

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:: Flowers sent by my man. We had a rough start to the day last week while he was travelling. Three hours later these were delivered to my door. He's a good one, he is. 

 

:: Front porch treats left by a sweet neighbor.

 

:: These balloons. They take off near my house every morning.

 

:: Having Nana here last week. These two are crazy about each other.

 

:: The flocks of goldfinches feeding on my sunflowers.

 

:: This stack of birthday books.

 

:: The carrot flowers in my garden. Have you smelled a carrot flower? You must!

 

What simple little things are you loving today?

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Inviting you to link up, and join my Tuesday ritual.

 

weekend in the kitchen

Motivated by Steve's encouragement, we set to pickling beans this weekend. I've known that this was an impending task, but when it came down to it, I was more interested in relaxing pregnant-style on the couch. After Steve came in from the garden with 3.5 pounds of beans and started pulling out our canning supplies, I found the motivation to join him in work. 

In no time at all, the beans were snapped (thanks to my enthusiastic helper), cleaned and ready for their jars.

Here's how it came together.

Dilly Beans

Gather ::

3.5 pounds of beans

9 pint sized jars

dill seed 

mustard seed (from last year's mustard crop)

peppercorns

peeled whole garlic cloves

1/2 Cup + 2 Tbs kosher salt

5 Cups apple cider vinegar

5 Cups water

* In a medium sized sauce pan boil the water, vinegar and salt. Prepare sterilized jars and add to each: 1 tsp of dill seed, mustard seed, peppercorns and 1-2 cloves of garlic. Pack well with washed beans, leaving about 1/2 inch head space. Cover with water/vinegar mixture. Process in a hot bath for 5-15 minutes, depending on the elevation where you live: 0-1,000ft 5 min, 1,000-6,000ft 10 min, above 6,000ft 15 min.

These have been a favorite snack all winter and our last jar has but 5-6 more pickles in it. Good timing on this harvest. And it looks like we'll be making dozens more in the coming days and weeks. There will be little freezing happening this season with our upcoming move, so bring on the pickles! 

*(Please read more detailed information about safe canning practices. This recipe is but a flavor guideline for how we processed our pickles.) 

{this moment}

 

Playing along with SouleMama - in her words {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, {extra}ordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your moment in the comments below.

around the garden ::

 

I love watching Zinnia in the garden these days. She works with such confidence as she goes around picking whatever ingredients I've requested for dinner. She'll stop whatever she's doing if I ask, "Zinnia will you please go pick Mama some tomatoes?" She jumps up nodding, her head cocked slightly to the side, responding, "Ooh yeah! That's a good idea. That's a great idea!" And off she goes. My little gardener.

The lesssons reach father than planting, watering, harvesting and eating. As I mentioned a few weeks back, our unseasonably warm spring left our kale suffering from the heat, and susceptible to encroaching aphid colonies. With Steve's vigorous aphid hunting, and occasional application of neem oil, it seems the biggest threat is under control.  Thankfully.

Zinnia, always within arms reach of any garden chore, has been learning alongside Dada how to handle aphids. She excitedly shows us when she finds a ladybug, proudly saying "ladybug like eat aphids". And a few days ago as Steve weeded, and I relaxed in the shade, she went about the task of inspecting the kale. As she walked among the kale plants I could hear her talking to herself but I couldn't decipher what she was saying. As she started ripping off leaves and tossing them to the ground I asked her what she was up to. We have a practice of only picking what we intend to eat, so I was curious about her growing discard pile. 

"What are you doing sweetie?"

 "Aphids all over Mama. Pick kale. We not like aphids. They eat too much our kale."

I had her bring over a leaf and sure enough, my girl was picking leaves with aphids on them, just like her Dada showed her how to do. We redirected her discard pile so those buggers weren't left to the garden floor and she was back at it. 

Last night as she drifted off to sleep, curled in the crook of my arm she spoke softly to herself, "Aphids eat too much our kale. Ladybug like eat aphids. Rae Rae (Zinnia) pick all the aphids off."

And moments later, my little gardener was sound asleep.

seven things ::

 Thankful. Smiling. Laughing. Appreciating. Adoring.

Loving. Holding. Remembering. Sharing. 

Here are seven little things that I'm loving today.

....................................................................................................................................................................................................................

:: Fresh-picked salads.

 

:: This quote (from Live What You Love - notes from an unusual life by Bob & Melinda Blanchard).

 

:: I heart my geek! He took apart my d.e.a.d. iPhone and breathed new life into it.

 

:: Zinnia season!

 

:: Her carefully arranging the "rae rae (zinnia) flowers".

 

:: These two sillies. The Bird and the Flower cracking each other up.

 

:: Little buckets full of tomatoes.

 

What simple little things are you loving today?

........................................................................

Inviting you to link up, and join my Tuesday ritual.

 

the process of change

Oh, these spinning summer days are feeling hectic. I have to remind myself as we scan tax documents for the second time, email with realtors and loan agents, make phone calls to property managers, and quietly obsess over details when we wake in the middle of the night that this too shall pass. And all of this - all of the busy-ness, the stress, the to-do lists - all of it, we chose.

And I remind myself daily of how lucky we are to have these opportunities.

Even still, sometimes I think we're a little crazy. Maybe more than a little crazy for manifesting a new job (for Steve), a cross country house purchase, and subsequent move, and the birthing of a new family member - all at the same time.

We were ready for change, and it's change we created. I just remind myself to breathe, and rest, and ignore the growing pile of toys and random debris on the floor. I also do what I can to keep Steve sane by encouraging his morning runs, keeping him from pulling at his curls (a sure sign of stress), and by offering him a cold one as we settle into our afternoons.

On Saturday we got out for a family walk. It was nice to be away from to-do lists, and as we took our time strolling down the trail I think we all found a few moments of peace. This Monday morning, as we head into another week of busy doing, I hold firmly to the belief that if all of this craziness is meant to work out, then it will work out. I am letting go of the stress that has been tying me to this process.

Letting it go.

Hope you have a lovely, and stress-free start to your week.

 

{this moment}

 

 

Playing along with SouleMama - in her words {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, {extra}ordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your moment in the comments below.

birthday love

I've had a tradition since my early twenties of making sure I wake up outside on my birthday. This idea was introduced to me by Rosemary Gladstar, when I had the opportunity to meet her after an inspiring lecture she gave many, many moons ago. Being a summer baby, this is an easy task and I've only missed a few outside birthdays in the last twenty years. I've birthday-camped all over Colorado ( and a few other states), but this valley in Crested Butte is by far my favorite, favorite place to celebrate. We debated going this year, but with Steve starting a new job, my birthday falling mid week, and, oh yeah, the fact that I'm 32 weeks pregnant, and driving four hours followed by 10 miles on a crazy-ass dirt road would likely shake me up like a soda can, we decided to stay home. I'm only slightly disappointed. 

I had a lovely day yesterday. Phone calls and emails from loved ones. A few sweet gifts to open. An afternoon with my beautiful niece and Zinnia. And (thanks to my niece) a fancy date night out with Steve. The meal was absolutely amazing, and having a few hours with just my man was the best gift I could ask for. Not to mention coming home to a quiet house, with Zinnia soundly sleeping, and my niece reporting an evening of happy, playful times.

Yes, it was a happy birthday, indeed.

Cheers to thirty-eight! 

thirty eight

I love birthdays. Especially my own. Today as I begin my 39th journey around the sun, my Dad begins his 62nd.

I love sharing my birthday with my Dad. 

Happy Birthday Dad! Wishing us both a year of new beginnings, and many more happy days ahead.

seven things ::

 Thankful. Smiling. Laughing. Appreciating. Adoring.

Loving. Holding. Remembering. Sharing. 

Here are seven little things that I'm loving today.

....................................................................................................................................................................................................................

:: Last week it was the cherries. This week, the Colorado peaches have won our hearts.

 

:: Fun with harvests. Dinner included grilled zucchini and eggplant stuffed black bean burritos, with quinoa, fresh tomatoes and a little spicy salsa. (Thanks for cooking babe.)

 

:: These two creating a game of memory after dinner.

 

:: A few quiet moments to finally crack open this mail treasure from last week. (And yes, those are undies and snow boots on the floor. My girl rocks the latest in summer toddler fashion.)

 

:: Zinnia, figuring out how to spray water using only her fingers. Pure joy.

 

:: Morning glories. Only one morning does each blossom open, and with no scent, but oh, how I love them.

 

:: Snuggling up as we watch the afternoon monsoon roll over.

What simple little things are you loving today?

........................................................................

Inviting you to link up, and join my Tuesday ritual.