One Local Summer

For the past few years now, I have become an advocate for the "Eat Local" movement. Even before I was aware that there was an actual "movement" I tried to cook from organic, local ingredients. I feel so much better about what I eat when I know where my food comes from...the asparagus we ate tonight was picked yesterday (not weeks ago and trucked hundreds of miles to our supermarket). Jake and I are fortunate enough to live in an area where we can drive less than 8 miles and be at a market that sells a wide variety of local goods or go out to the actual farm and meet the people who grow what we eat (which is the case when we go out to Hendricks).
This year, I've decided to take part of the "Eat Local Challenge" mainly because I would like to show an actual commitment to eating within my region and partly because I would like to invite others to join me. While I don't want to sound too "preachy" I would like to encourage everyone to check out the website for some good information and tips about eating locally (www.eatlocalchallenge.com). Local Harvest (www.localharvest.org) is another good resource for finding farms and farmers markets in your area. Lastly, if you are interested in the subject I would HIGHLY recommend Barbara Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle".

Maryland Sheep & Wool

Last weekend Jake and I trekked down to the Maryland Sheep and Wool (MDS&W) festival. This is always such a fun outing for me...and despite his allergies, even Jake has a good time. This year I vowed not to come home with a lot of yarn - I'm really trying to knit down my stash. I was good...only bought two balls of yarn, one ball of Malibrigo
- b/c I couldn't resist the color or the price, and a ball of sock yarn by March Hare dyed in "ruby slipper" colorway (no Wizard of Oz fan could pass that up).
Despite being a little grey, the weather held off and didn't rain (we went Saturday - I heard the Sunday festival goers weren't so lucky).
While we were there, I met Heather of Craftlit - a podcast that I love listening to while I knit, drive, work, etc. We also met Amy of Knitty and Jennie the Potter - whose mugs I L-O-V-E!
We almost came home with an angora bunny - it was so adorable and only 6 weeks old! I REALLY wanted it...and almost resorted to begging. Jake, squashed my dreams of spinning angora fiber from my very own rabbit. His reasons:
#1 - I don't spin. I don't have time to knit as much as I would like, let alone start learning how to spin.
#2 - where would we keep a rabbit?
#3 - I'm not home enough to take care of the dog that we have, and he would be the one, cleaning out rabbit cages while I was traveling.
So, sadly, we didn't leave MDS&W with a bunny. But it really was CUTE!

(Ignore the bad picture of me - the humidity from the rain we had the past few days made my hair incredibly flat)

Charmed

A couple of weeks ago, we hosted a wine party at our house. We made up a bunch of little wine charms for the occasion. Here's a closer shot of a couple of them. They were VERY easy. Couple of beeds and a charm on earring hoops.



Wine Charms made by Jake & Rae

Before and After

Looking back I don't think I've posted many pictures of the house Jake and I purchased last November. In order to catch everyone up, we purchased a 70 year old little brick house on almost half an acre. The house has been taken care of pretty impecibly, however the decor hasn't really been updated in the past 20 years. Here is the progress so far...

Before we moved in we painted the living and dining room...
Living room (Before)

Living room (After)

Dining room (before)


Dining room (after)


Just last week we painted our downstairs powder room (we've now scraped wallpaper in two rooms - the $40 steamer was well worth the investment).

Downstairs bathroom (before)


Yes, those are gold sea shells stenciled on the wall (we painted over a lot of stenciling):

Downstairs bathroom (after)



I think the most drastic thing we have done so far also happened last week. We had eight trees taken down last week, some of them had lived here for a very long time. In the past 3 days we've had 2 separate instances where random people walking by have stopped us to comment on how much better the house looks.

Backyard (before)


Backyard (after) - It looks a little sparse because the trees on the left have not bloomed yet - we really only cut down the trees on the right hand side.


We're hoping that this tree removal, along with our relocation program, will reduce the number of squirrels in the yard (here's hoping). For those counting, below is a picture of POW number 005. In trying to chew his way out, he got his head stuck in the bottom corner of the cage...he was a little angry.

Caught!

Well, after 3 days Jake has outwitted a squirrel. We've had 2 days of false alarms (trap launched, no squirrel) and one of no activity. But today, after a long day at work, Jake could finally claim VICTORY. One little, furry beast was in the trap when we got home.


It's a zoo here right now. The squirrel is freaking out and the dog is going crazy. CRAZY. She's been chasing squirrels all winter and now she is able to come nose to nose. And did you know that squirrels growl? Today I learned that when in a cage face to face with a black lab, a squirrel will growl.


Next comes the question of what to do with the little bugger. First, let me say...I HATE rodents (When I was 5 and saw a rat on the woodpile in our back yard, I screamed so loud that my dad came running out of the house with a shotgun). I hate rodents and really, squirrels are rats with tails. That said, I really don't want to KILL them - which is Jake's first solution. If he had it his way, he would be shooting them with a bebe gun. But, I don't want all those deaths on Jake's conscience - or that karma at our house. So, tonight we are going to try the relocation method. Hopefully that will work out best for all parties.

On the topic of squirrel relocation....someone (on the internet - the source of all things true) said that you have to drive them 30 miles away, so they don't find there way back. I would like to ask that person, how they know it's the same squirrel. Are these people tagging squirrels to identify which ones are on their property? I've personally seen 5 squirrels at once in my yard...they all look the freaking same. We're going to take this squirrel to the park 5 miles away, and hope it's not industrious enough to run back 5 miles (crossing roads and a river, I might add).

Spring has Sprung

Happy Spring!

I'm so ready to get rid of the cold ugliness of winter and move into the warm, longer days of spring. Here at Casa del Jake & Rae we are shifting into gear. This weekend the spring cleaning (and unpacking) started in the basement and the upstairs bedrooms. We're trying to finish the "moving in" process by unpacking the boxes that were stashed just in time to welcome the holidays. Also, we've been itching to get outside into the yard. The daffodils and other bulbs are starting to sprout. It's kind of fun going around the yard and trying to identify the plants that have lived here longer than we have. Also, the vegetable seeds arrived and are now in their starter cups. General weeding and backyard clean-up has begun.
Today, Jake declared war on the family of squirrels that have been ravishing our bird feeders and driving the dog crazy all winter. The last straw was the destruction of a bird feeder and garbage can lid.



This morning, dressed in camouflage, Jake left for the hardware store. He returned with his "solution" to the squirrel problem. Living in the middle of town, sniping is out of the question. As is poisoning the menaces, since Emma spends a lot of time sniffing around the yard. Instead, he's decided that he is going to "relocate" the little rodents.

I can't imagine this ending well on either side, meanwhile visions of Caddy Shack are dancing in my head.

iLove

We just recently upgraded our phones to iPhones and I have to say - I LUV my new toy! These devices are really amazing - internet, phone, camera, ipod, and much more all in one tiny device. It has really freed up a lot of space in my travel bag. Speaking of travel bags...see my new Kate Spade laptop bag/carry-on next to my iPhone - this was a birthday gift from my wonderful husband and it's fabulous! (I'm a very spoiled girl)

Holy Crap it's March!

I really can't believe it's already March, where has 2009 gone? My head truly is spinning. Two business trips abroad - Italy in February (below is a picture of the view from my hotel in Stressa) and the U.K. this month - have put my day to day routine into a bit of a tailspin.

I'm not doing too well with the New Years resolutions - I've only been to knitting once and haven't made one book group. In all fairness, I haven't been particuliarly motivated to read the books for book group because I was sucked into the Twilight chronicles (I really could barely think of anything else, let alone start another book I really had no interest in). I haven't forgotten any birthdays, however I am very delinquent in mailing my grandmother's birthday gift (why does the Post Office have to close at 4?)

I am trying to achieve a better work/life balance - easier said than done. For instance, the reason I have time to post to this blog is because I got stuck at work to late to get home in time for yoga...did I mention I've been going to yoga? Anyway, aside from the craziness, things are going well with us. The weather this weekend was so nice, we were able to get out and work in the yard for the first time. Funny, because last Sunday (March 1st) I had to fly out of Philadelphia in a blizzard (seriously, Jake said we got about 8 inches of snow between Sunday night and Monday).

Trying to think of what else has been happening during the past two and a half months, but it all seems like a blur. I'm not going to promise more frequent posts, but I will say that I do hope to post more frequently...it seems the best way to keep everyone up to date. Drop me a note and let me know how you're doing - for those of you I haven't heard from in awhile. Cheers!..Ciao

In closing, I would like to take a moment to recognize the passing of Popeye, my parents Silky Terrier. Popeye had been a member of the family for the past 14 and a half years. He will be missed greatly. (This is him asleep, btw..just in case you were wondering)

Happy New Year

Reflection.

In the wake of the new year it’s always nice to pause for a moment and reflect on the events of 2008. For me and my family, 2008 was a year of firsts – Jake and I celebrated our 1st anniversary by buying our first house. We decided to set down some roots in the little town of Harleysville – just north of Philadelphia. Our 75 year old home has a lot of character – both good and bad. It has the woodwork and details you would expect from a craftsman-style home, however the décor from the past 20 years could stand some updating. We are in the slow process of removing the floral wallpaper and garish paint schemes – I see a lot of painting in my future.
Spending the holidays in our new home was a welcome first, it was the first Christmas that we had both of our families all under one roof. My parents and brother were our first houseguests, and despite terrible weather in the Pacific Northwest, they arrived Christmas morning. We also welcomed the arrival of our first nephew in 2008 – Gregory was born the beginning of December to jake’s sister and brother-in-law.
Although 2008 was not without its share of struggles and heartbreak, we feel very fortunate for who and what we have.

Looking forward.

I am a new year’s resolution junkie. I love the feeling of having a clean slate to start the year. While I try not to make empty resolutions that will be forgotten by Valentines day, I try to think about what I would like to focus on this year. For me, given the state of our nation, I plan to spend 2009 focusing on people not things. The health of me, my family and the planet is an area I would like to try and improve in the upcoming year. The other “resolution” I have was to spend more time on my relationships…2008 was a busy year for me, between the house, an overwhelming job, which I ended up leaving, to starting a new position and traveling for that position. In all the shuffle, I feel like I lost sight on what was truly important – Family and Friends. This year, I would like to resolve to recognize birthdays, anniversaries and other important milestones in people’s lives – rather than let them slip by forgotten or unannounced. I also plan to return to my social networks, in my hiatus from knitting and book group I have come to realize how much these weekly/monthly meetings meant to me. Nurturing the relationships we have with our family, friends and neighbors brings more meaning and purpose to life.

That said, I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2009.

September Update

So much has been going in the last two months that I figured I would use a couple of posts to bring everyone up to speed. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Jake and I put an offer in on a house at the beginning of the month. At the same time, I traveled to London on business. Poor Jake, he always gets stuck with messes while I'm gone. Actually it wasn't too bad, the offer was accepted and we had done all of the loan paperwork, it was really just scheduling inspections and watching interest rates. Speaking of interest rates, leave it to us to to make the biggest financial decision of our marriage (so far), during a time when the banking and lending industry was in collapse. Luckily for us our bank wasn't taken over or merging during this or I might have had a stroke. Even still I was on the phone with our loan officer almost daily checking rates and making sure we were still getting our mortgage. She has the patience of a saint ;)
Also during September, Jake and I went to Florida. After a very brief visit we set off in their old, but our new Volkswagon Vanagon. We took a 3 day road trip back from Florida to Pennsylvania in a 1987 VW Camper van.







The first of many adventures! Those of you who are up on your East Coast geography may have noticed that there was no North Carolina sign. Well, we were distracted by PEDRO
That pretty much wraps up the month of September. Check back soon for the October update.

One Year Ago...

Today we celebrate our one year wedding anniversary.

Buying a House

If the posts have been a little sporadic lately, it's because we have a lot going on in the S-K household. We have decided to put an offer in on a house and have been bogged down with going thru our stuff, filling out mortgage applications and just general running around. All of this in conjunction with working and trying to get outside and enjoy the rest of summer (August in the Northeast has been wonderful - sunny and hot, but not too hot). I will try to do a better job in the upcoming months of posting more frequently. Until then, enjoy this picture of Emma...

Jammed

The summer harvest continues. My tomatoes are coming in beautifully - we've enjoyed several Tomato and Basil salads this summer fresh out of the garden. Today I ventured out to Willow Creek Orchards. They have a beautiful selection of produce and other locally produced food. I picked up some peaches, coffee and locally raised buffalo. While I was there I decided to pick some blackberries...enough blackberries to make some jam. How many blackberries do you need in order to make jam? I wasn't really sure either, but I knew you needed a lot. So I picked A LOT. 2 baskets full of blackberries.
The biggest challenge to making jam is not picking the berries, but finding pectin in our grocery stores. I had to go to the Menonite market and still had trouble finding it.
At the end of the day I was able to make about 8 cups of blackberry jam still with lots of blackberries to spare. Now...what to do with the leftover blackberries...Any ideas?

Growing

My container garden is loving the sun and heat of the past few weeks.

Everyday I notice another small, green tomato beginning to grow.

Today I saw a couple of small pepper buds and to my surprise a pretty sizeable pepper.

The resident spider is keeping away the small pests - if only he could do something about our nemesis the squirrel - which is reeking havoc on the strawberries.

Photo meme

I normally don't get around to doing any MEME's, but I liked this one (which I saw on Skrilla Knits, and she borrowed from Katywhumpus.

The Rules:
a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd's mosaic maker).

the questions:
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you go to?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One Word to describe you.
12. Your flickr name.