Little Coffee Beans

weekending

 

Ah. This was one of those on-the-cusp-of-spring weekends that had my little family in such a sweet groove. Our projects were centered around gardening, and most of our work happened outside. The laundry went unfolded, the kitchen sink stayed full of dirty dishes, the floors went un-swept. We happily busied ourselves with yard work, tended to the tomato starts, built a chick brooder, and found a chicken coop (more about the chicks in a few days, I'm so excited!).

We also met up with the family for a little birthday celebration for my nephew. After twenty years of living far, far away from my mom and sister, it is now possible to meet up with them for an afternoon. How cool is that?

Hope your weekend included some family love, too.

Monday, here we go.

 

                                                                                                        Joining Amanda

 

Related articles

weekending

weekending

weekending

This weekend began peacefully with the four of us sleeping in, cherishing morning cuddles in our newly expanded bed.

It was a fist-full of grass and a mouth-full of pine needles. It was sunhats and garden sketching.

And walking, beers in hand, along our forest trail, past the creek, and up the hill to the neighbor's house for leisurely afternoon playtime (and happy hour) on the lawn.

It was a Dada and his girl discovering fish and salamanders, and more tadpoles in the little hidden pond across the way. 

And a Mama who had a few minutes of sitting on the porch, alone.

It ended with sun-kissed cheeks, an early dinner and bedtime. And even with day light savings thrown in the mix, the children managed to drift off to sleep while the sun peeked through their windows. 

This weekend, with its whispers of the spring to come, made me thankful, so very thankful, that we call this spot home.

How was your weekend?

 

Joining Amanda. 

 

weekending

this weekend began, veiled in mist, 

and ended with the neighbors joining us for the first cook-out of the season.

on friday, we managed to get out of the house for a field trip

to our favorite pub, for fish and chips and beers.

saturday's mail brought more treasures from across the country (recent goodies from maine, connecticut, arizona, colorado, massachusetts, georgia - we're seriously feeling the mail-love!).

in between this and that were the typical chores of a saturday and sunday.

i found joy in knitting while the children napped,

and the man found the time for a few laps on the tricky trail.

the four of us tromped around the woods together, too

mapping out a creek side trail.

oh, and there we more house secrets uncovered,

revealing another layer of mystery about this old house.

this monday morning started too early, although fireside,

with a baby boy who's mastering rolling from back to belly,

and a little (big) girl eager to play her favorite game.

soon the diggers will arrive.

(sigh)

let's just say our in-ground swimming pool (in the crawl space)

will soon meet its fate.

come hell or high water, we'll get this house in order.

the backhoes are on their way.

 

linking with amanda

 

+ edited to add: i liked that photo well enough to make it my winter cover photo. february is better late than never to update to a winter look, no? 

weekending

This weekend was a mix of good and less good:

there was small town fun with a parade followed by the lighting of the lake

nana and poppy sleeping over

blueberry pancakes on Sunday morning

waking up before the baby

two kids napping at the same time

then two kids not napping at all

tromping through the woods and playing down by the creek

picking and cutting down our tree, right in the front yard

staying out after dark at the playground

and emergency surgery for one of our cats (Earl is doing okay this morning, but she's had a rough few days)

 

linking with Amanda for the first time.

 

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.) 

in the heat of the weekend

Our high of 102 degrees on Saturday broke a 58 year record for Boulder. It's crazy-pants hot out there. We're running the a/c all day, and after about 9 AM, it feels like a sauna outside. This is not our usual Colorado summer. The climate is changing friends, and Colorado is one of the ten fastest warming states. After an incredibly warm and dry spring, summer is off to a hot and fiery start. We currently have eight wildfires burning in the state, and again, today I could smell woodsmoke in my neighborhood. As I write this I hear thunder drumming outside, and there's no real rain falling, which means another fire is just one lightening strike away.  

We're parched.

Even so, we made time this weekend to enjoy what we love most about where we live: the trails. With temps this hot though, hiking in the morning is a must. We got out early Friday and Saturday to take advantage of what coolness we could find.

You may have noticed by now that we try to keep Zinnia well covered in the sun. At 6,000+ ft above sea level the sun is intense and I want to keep her baby skin smooth and sunburn free as long as we can. On hikes she's most often dressed in linen pants, and a long sleeve sun shirt. These keep the rays off of her, but are breezy enough to prevent her from getting too warm. And while I'm on the subject of sun, do you know about the Environmental Working Groups sunscreen list? It's a great list that catalogs and rates many, many sunscreens in order of toxicity and effectiveness. They have a great app too that I reference while I'm shopping so that I can pick the best product. I was surprised to find that a few of my favorite "eco groovy" products did not pass their stringent tests. 

Even with the heat, we had a nice relaxing weekend. And this Monday morning, as we're heading into another hot, hot week, we're sending out rain drenched thoughts to those battling the fires, and visions of safe returns to those currently displaced from their homes.

Summer time, and the living is Easy

Look at these legs. Bruised and scabbed and growing strong. These are the legs of a walker. A runner. A climber. These are the legs of a flower who just wants to go. And go. And grow. 

We had a lovely weekend with early morning trips to the park.

Afternoons in the garden.

And time spent with loved ones.

We also had a teeny tiny bit of this caused by growing molars. 

Loving these sweet days of summer!

Crafting for the Bird

Yesterday our little friend, the Bird, turned ONE. Such a big milestone for him. And maybe a bigger one for his two Mamas.

To celebrate the occasion I whipped up this little Nap Pillow - made with a sweet Tree print fabric then stuffed it with a Night Night book, and a little heart to hold.

And stitched up a little  handmade card

Happy Birthday Avi Bird!

It was one of those weekends

One dirt road {blocked by snow} led to another and to another and to another.

And to still another.

This is our most super-wicked-extra-favorite valley and we come here every year to bask in all its wildflower glory. Well, do you see all that snow in the distance? Yep, that's where we usually camp when we make our annual July trip. This year we came in June. 
 

Locals will tell you that this region has three seasons - July, August & Winter. 

Well it might not still be winter up there, but it is most definitely early spring.

So, we changed location and found a place to do our thing.

 

 

 

 

 It was one of those weekends, where nothing went as planned, and you know what? It was all right anyway. 

Gratefully celebrating the bestest Dada I know!

Weekending {up at 10,000 feet}

Friday afternoon we packed up the big white Van

And headed way, way, way down a bumpy dirt road

To one of our favorite high alpine valleys

 Where we walked and we jumped

And we read

As we watched the sun set.

When the next morning came, we walked through the trees

 To the Wilderness up high

Where Dada fished for rainbows

And Mama and Zinnia played in the dirt

And smelled the wildflowers

Then we hiked back down through the aspens

Back to our sweet camp spot by the river

And we ate some yummy homegrown food

And drank our new favorite IPA

And we kept track of it all in our little camp book.

Then the next morning when we woke up

We did the same thing

All over again!

Hope you had a beautiful weekend too!