GWM on 813

In July, Jay's mom, Gayle, came for an action packed 6-days. She was very excited to see our new home and meet Lefty.

We threw her right into it with a Sunday ticket to Targhee Fest. Lots of sun and socializing!





On our bike ride home,


we had a special treat on a the ride home-neighborhood owls!



More bikes and wildlife:



A trip out to a re-constructed railroad trestle that is now a pathway:



On the way, we stopped by to see Baby Eagle:







Time for some culture. A Grand Teton Music Festival classical concert preceded by a gondola ride at Jackson Hole and a cocktail at Couloir.



(Check out the Jackson airport in the background.)



My friend Anna came along for the ride!



Excellent view on a clear evening.



Excellent company.

Jay and Gayle took her father's wood-canvas canoe on it's maiden voyage west of the Mississippi.



Happy that it floats!



Of course, a walk after taco night is crucial.






Vacation capped by a beautiful Driggs sky. We can't wait for Gayle's next visit.

South Fork, JR free.

Last June, I was lucky enough to visit Southfork. This 4th of July, I visited a different type of South Fork... of the Snake River. We loaded our friends' boats with gear and pushed off from Conant Boat Ramp.

Our main reason for leaving town was the volatile combination of Glenn Beck and his band of supporters on the 3rd and the hippies arriving for the Widespread Panic concert at the Spud Drive-In on the 4th. I couldn't supervise Maz packing the car fast enough!

While everyone else fished,







I was very busy on the 2-day float. Relaxing.



knitting,



learning to row (will be learning for a while),



and snapping photos.

Poof!

All of a sudden, summer is here. That means the afternoon sun tears me away from the computer and the basement, the garage door flies up, paint brushes come out, the bike tires get pumped up, the hiking shoes get dusted off and the windows are open!

A week ago, we were bundled and clad in Gore-Tex for the Driggs Sunday concert.




We found plenty of things to smile about.



But there was no green sheen yet.



POOF!

4514 miles. 15.5 for me.

My Dad runs (he's 70 plus).



My sister runs.

My friends run marathons. And crazy races like this, this and this.

That means I don't really have an excuse. So 3 weeks ago, I started running in preparation for running with my friend Mike, who is currently on Project America Run. I started helping him get ready for this journey last fall and today he passed through Driggs.

So I borrowed something for safety, filled up my water bottles and laced up my shoes.





It was a beautiful day to trot down Packsaddle Road.



Jenny and Mike coming in for a landing.



At the end of Packsaddle, a Sheriff's deputy waited to escort us into town along busy Highway 33. Star treatment!

I was honored to place a flag for Ismael Solorio (AZ), 21 years old.

And Brian Lee Holden (NC), 21 years old.

And Todd Singleton (MI), 24 years old.

My first 7.5 miles are done and the next 8 arrive on Thursday when the Driggs runners send him further east with 3000+ more flags.

Snowball Flight- March 2010

We rolled into Bryce Canyon where there was more snow on the ground than in Driggs.



It was a perfect snowball snow.

With Resolve

I gave up on making resolutions a long time ago, but I did decide this year to try a few new things. One of the these was to learn to cook Indian food with one new recipe a month. My experience consuming it is minimal, so I have little knowledge of spices used and popular dishes. My experience cooking it? Even less.

Conquered so far:
Samosas with a sweet and sour dipping sauce- pastry pockets with peas, mushrooms and potatoes.

Tofu Vindaloo- a thick, spicy stew served on rice and the running favorite

Vindal- ew? Not a chance!

Vegetable Biryani with Mango Chutney and Naan Bread- A vegetable and rice mixture with a chunky mango sauce

Indian Spiced Stuffed Peppers- a veggie take on the traditional


Freestyle Poona Pancakes-basmati and lentil based batter, fried and served with fresh sauces and vegetables.


Enjoying a pancake dinner.

I was going to run the whole 12 months/12 recipes committed to following the directions, not substituting (except veggies for meat), not repeating and establishing a knowledge base before getting jiggy with Bombay's cuisine. That lasted 3 recipes. Sorry. I got antsy. And the Mango Chutney was so delicious!


CD prepares the chutney.

I am loving the balance between the warm spices (cinnamon, cardamom, cloves) and savory/spicy (garlic, cilantro, serrano peppers) along with learning how to use fruits in dinner (raisins, mango). The sheer anticipation of what is going to end up on the plate is exciting and nervewracking. I know what Fusilli with Basil and Grape Tomatoes is going to taste like; Mulligatawny Stew on the other hand...

Wish me luck! I have at least 8 more recipes to discover and more cardamom to purchase!

Tiny Dress Form

My niece Lucy loves her American Girl Twins, Jack and Jane. Like can't leave home without them LOVE. Having been quite the doll aficionado myself, I fully understand this obsession. But before we get to Lucy, let me tell you about Mrs. Ferguson.

Mrs. Ferguson was my aunt's mother-in-law. I never met her, but twice a year- Christmas and Birthday- my sister and I would receive a checkbook box of clothes for our Barbie dolls. Beautiful, detailed, beaded, hand crocheted doll clothes. Wedding dresses with booties and silver beading. Knit business suits with a button closure tank shirt. Leggings and tunics. Swimming suits. This was amazing work, but I didn't care about that, my sister and I had the most fashionable Barbie dolls in Bryn Mawr. Who was this mystery lady, loosely related to me? Why did she send me these amazing outfits every year without fail? I didn't think about that very long either; I wrote an awkward 7 year-old thank you note and went to organize the next fashion show.

Years later when I purchased my first sewing machine, one of the first things I wanted to try was Barbie doll clothes, to see exactly what Mrs. Ferguson went through. It had to be fun or she would not have been so steadfast in her shipments. I quickly found fit issues (Barbie's crazy 13.5cm-8.5cm-12.5cm figure) and the miniscule scale was beyond my skill.

So let's try something bigger- say an American Girl doll?

For Christmas, I made Lucy sleeping bags for Jack and Jane. Without an actual doll, I was concerned about proportion, so I made a dummy:



This worked fine for a fleece rectangle, but it would never work to design a corduroy swing coat with toggle buttons for Jane and a Members Only style jacket for Jack. No, no. This won't do.


I asked Mom and Alison to keep their eyes out for used AG dolls in the same size. "Are you kidding? These dolls are like gold!" "It's a miracle doll, E. Girls just don't USE them and then give them to Goodwill." Wow. I guess it had been a while since I was in the doll circle.

I stalked Craigslist. In several states. I combed Ebay for something used and abused. Everything was in mint condition with a minty price. I found a naked African American doll with one blue and one brown eye. I placed my bid. I was immediately outbid past my max.

Finally one night, I checked my 'Watch' list-an auction was ending in 26 minutes. In between watching Human Target and checking my bids, I received an email:



I immediately called Mom and Alison to brag about my Ebay bidding strategy. Then I found a pad of paper and started sketching and a week later, Junior arrived.


Junior chills by the Janome.

Now my tiny dress form lives in the sewing room, waiting to be poked, prodded, taped, draped and dressed in the latest tiny couture. I wait to have a Mrs. Ferguson experience. And Lucy waits for her checkbook box.

Only 295 Crafting Days Left Until Christmas

A few years ago, Jay and I found our Christmas to-buy-for list growing larger. To keep the shopping craziness down and creativity flowing, we decided to make small gifts for each other and everyone on the list.

With a fabulous bulk spice store around the corner, we grabbed an assortment of ingredients and developed Mexachusetts Spice Blend, Boston Gahden Herb Blend and North End Italian Seasoning. Since then, I've tried every year to make at least one gift for people on my list. I remember drowning in supplies that ended up being mittens, bread mix, sock monkeys, CD's,
puppets and scarves.



During the frenzy that is the holidays, I've found this is a relaxing way to spend November and December- working with my hands, fashioning a closure, dreaming up and researching an EKR-version of something on the e-mailed X-mas lists.

In 2009, I had a whole Santa's workshop to myself and my sewing machine in my newly built house. It is truly a luxury that I hope I never have to give up- being able to cut and spread out and litter the floor with thread with wild abandon.

I had ALL sorts of ideas, especially for all the nieces and nephews. One was an art-to-go kit inspired by my friend Amy (again). I found a pattern I liked here.



What a great solution for bored kids riding in the car, waiting for appointments or restaurants to blast out some serious creativity. Once I cranked out the first kit, I was a factory and made extras for the occasional neighbor kid visit or birthday that might pop up in the future. As soon as the crayons were tucked, they were gone; a neighbor with a 1 year old had a Christmas party, my nephews have a cousin and that occasional visit happened sooner rather than later.



Another fun project was an aromatherapy eye mask. My yoga teacher in Boston lived in my neighborhood and mentioned this one day on a walk home. We purchased sewing machines at the same time and our latest projects were often hot topics after the 7pm class at Crunch.



She suggested using essential oils to make rice fragrant and filling silk bags with the rice. It has a perfect weight and can also be warmed up in the microwave for sore muscles. I prefer the radiator/space heater method, conveniently located next to my desk!



I made eye masks in double digit quantities and they were soon gone too. Lots of girls in the family and one Lawyer Dad all need personal spa time.



I am excited to use the next 295 days to prototype the best holiday gifts for next year. The suggestion box is open!