Taking a picture a day and posting it is not a new concept, but it is my new project. Inspired by many other bloggers, and people on Flickr, I decided the best way to show my appreciation for my new camera is to take a picture a day for a year. So far I’ve managed two a day, it’s a good way to start, but it is only day 2… we’ll see how long this lasts. I won’t be sharing every picture here on my blog, because you’d get bored, and I’d never have a chance to write about anything else… but I really liked my Day 2 pictures, so I thought I’d share them here. For the remaining 364, check out my Flickr!

This is one of the best foods known to man, friends. I made a double batch tonight, and had to share. They are that yummy… I could exist off these. They are relatively easy to make, and bring back wonderful memories of Kentucky and Corona.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to throw a beer bottle against the wall? I always find myself wondering that too… the last time, or the time before… one of the two, I was visiting Mary Dawn I made these for her and family… we ate them all, and Sidney, her wonderful husband, very lovingly took the Corona out of my hand so I wouldn’t act upon my desire to know.

I no longer drink beer, or eat flour tortillas, but these are just as good. They are my “go to” for impressing friends, and at one point, prospective men.  I made them for a guy once, who was having dinner with my family and me… and I pulled them out of the oven without using a mitt. Impressive, oh yeah. He laughed, and laughed, and forgot to explain how the house wiring worked when he left. I like to think that it was because my food was that good, and not the fact he’d watched me nearly drop an entire pan of heavenly manna due to sheer idiocy. Humor me, ok?

Now this dish was created using this recipe. I have changed it, using corn tortillas, canned jalapenos & carrots, pepper jack cheese along with monterey jack, more garlic, taco spice, cumin, onions, and uhm… more chicken, and more cream cheese. I make a huge pan of the filling, dump some in a bowl to eat with chips, and make enchiladas with the rest.

This is one of those things you twist and make your own… no recipe really needed. And yes, that’s old (I wouldn’t say vintage) Pyrex. I collect it. Just because. I don’t have a favorite pattern, I just like the teal on white, or white on teal versions… or just the plain white/clear stuff. I pick it up at garage sales for cheap. What doesn’t have lids goes into my office for storing things, and what does have lids gets washed and cooked with… a lot.

Enjoy!

When we got home from church today Chris and I dug up the rest of the west wall, and south wall… tomorrow I’m going to finish fishing out the large rocks (the last tenant filled the beds in with rock, it has taken us quite a while to get it all up), and then sectioning off areas with small white rocks as borders.

I spent about two hours researching the seeds I had, and decided which ones to plant and where they would go… my herbs all died (save the basil and garlic chives) during the last heart wave, because I didn’t water them.. so I’m replanting them all in a raised half circle bed, and putting in veggies.

If you click the “Our Garden” sign below it will take you to a layout of the garden, including the apple trees (there are another few apple trees and possibly a pear tree down the hill on our land too - The landlady has an apple, a pear, and some chestnut trees. Plus her own tomatoes, herbs, and lilacs. I imagine we will be doing a lot of canning together, she knows how, I don’t.), and the succesful tomatoes and peas we planted a while back. Last night we realized peas were in and enjoyed a few of them. So delicious, I have 7 tomatoes between my 5 plants, and can’t wait to see more!

Later in the summer we’ll put in cabbage, carrots, broccoli, brussels sprouts, more peas, spinach, and collard greens along the east wall of the house, or in another part of the yard.

Chris and I had an argument the other day that resulted in a promise to spend more dedicated time with one another. We set aside 6pm to 7pm as “us” time, whether it be watching tv, working in the garden, or planning next weeks dinners. Hopefully this will ease the distance between us that comes from him watching television in the living room, and me playing on the computer or at my craft desk in the office.

So when he got off work today, well yesterday now, we went to the store for sugar and ice, then dropped that off at home, changed into tennis shoes, and decided to go for a walk. It took us some time to find just where we wanted to go, normally we go to Riverside State Park and walk around the swinging bridge crossing Bowl & Pitcher, if we want to get out, but that just didn’t sound fun today and it’s a decent drive. Instead we drove through town and found a park we didn’t know was there, and after tracing our way through Browne’s Addition, downtown, to our street, and back we finally settled on crossing Sandifur Memorial Bridge, which goes over the river and then winds up the hill towards part of an old railway structure that once was a bridge.

It wasn’t a long walk, and it was paved, which meant much less risk of falling, but it was uphill for the first half. I am not a decent judge of distance, but I’d say it was maybe a quarter of a mile up, and then a quarter of a mile down? It was hot, and poor Whiskey was pooped and ready to get his feet off the pavement about ¾’s of the way up. When we got all the way to the old railway part we turned around and instead of crossing the bridge back to the parking lot we slid down to the river so the puppy dunk his paws.

Whiskey’s not afraid of water, we found out. He plopped his whole body down in the water and laid still for a solid 10 minutes. It was adorable, and a total turn around from his behavior at the lake the other day. Of course while we were down there we saw a baby rattlesnake on the water, but it saw Whiskey and promptly changed course. That was a slightly scary moment for me, although eventually I got up the guts to remove my shoes and put my feet in the water. It felt so good to sit there on a rock and let my then tired feet rest in the cool waves. The area is clearly marked no swimming, but we found an nook that stilled the fast waters enough that feet in the water seemed safe enough.

I didn’t know where we were until we got home and googled the park. The bridge is a part of the Centennial Trail, which is 36 miles of paved trails. Unfortunately it’s not completely connected to the trail system, but it will be someday.  Chris and I decided to go back at least 3 times a week and walk at least that half a mile, if not every day, because it’s no hidden fact that we both desperately need the exercise, and so does the dog. Although now that I know what it is a part of, we may go investigate some other areas, or start the trail down at Riverfront Park instead.

In all honesty, I am glad we made this “discovery” today. First the park, which is much closer to the house than the one we normally go to, it’s also sort of hidden away so it’ll be less crowded… and then the bridge, and now the trail. Tomorrow I am going to drag Chris downtown to start the trail at Riverfront, and see how that goes. One of the things I have really missed about where I lived in Oregon was easy access to several different lakes, beaches, and rivers. Our experience with finding a place to swim at Silver Lake was so rotten I had given up on learning to love Spokane… but today (sorry, yesterday) refueled my fire. I can’t wait to explore further! Plus, I was so exhausted when we came home, I made dinner, and sat down with Chris to watch a movie and fell asleep. My sleeping pattern has been so neurotic lately, it takes me hours to fall asleep… just dozing off was nice.

Several weeks ago I ventured into the world of rubber stamping, paper crafting, and handmade cards. Instead of boring everyone here with details about my new adventure I made a separate blog on Blogger and started to post there. It’s not working. The crafting is going fantastically, I have several cards made already, and have truly enjoyed having a new outlet for my artistic side… but trying to wedge this small part of my life into a place separate from All She Is wasn’t working. I have been blogging here for over four years now, and it’s home. Plus, Blogger sort of sucks once you’re used to having all the control and options that using Wordpress and your own domain allows you.

So here we are. I have brought my few posts from Bonafide Shambles over here, and will throughout the week begin posting the cards I have already made. I also want to show off the new desk and crafting area Chris and I put together last weekend, and start displaying more of digital art work.

With one change comes another, in addition to making Bonafide Shambles a seamless part of All She Is, I am going to try and post more about living a gluten-free lifestyle here. Many of the blogs in my feed reader are centered around gluten-free eating, and there are a large source of inspiration for me. I may not have as many recipes or witty words to offer, but I would like to start chronicling this journey publicly, in hopes that it might help someone else.

There will be a few new sets of links. I have over 300 blogs in my feed reader, unfortunately I can not link ALL of these people in my side bar, so please keep an eye open for some new pages with links to my favorite card-markers, gluten-free bloggers, and much more.

Hopefully these new additions to my blogging fodder will mean more reguluar posts! We shall see.

I’ve had entirely to much to drink. My eyes are heavy with sleep and wine, my fingers coated in butter, and mouth full of the lingering taste of arepas. Some stuff with cheese, some with butter, the last with jam. Licking my lips bring each of those tastes back into the lime light. Reliving the wine, my eyes close and I struggle to open them again. Cooking while drunk left the tips of my fingers burnt. Who needs a spatula when moving things from the frying pan to the baking sheet? Not me, not me.

Skidding across the floor on spilt oil has left my ankle wrenched. Delicious pangs of pain shoot up my leg every time it shifts in my flip flop. I was racing to the living room to get Chris’ phone as his alarm went off. My beloved fell asleep on the couch, after a long night of talking, and driving around aimlessly. We went far, windows down, the radio pulsing, and silence between us.

Earlier in the day we had his Uncle over for lunch, grilled chicken, cabbage, and watermelon… with a side of Whiskey yapping and strolling around the house next door. You see, Uncle M, who is only a few years older than us… will be renting the house next door starting June 1st. At first I was upset, didn’t we just escape this fool? But a few times now he’s been over for dinner. So kind and quiet, bringing me beer, which made me sick, and complimenting my cooking. Away from his family, he is no fool. Chris smiles a bit bigger with him around, and it is good… I will admit, to have someone we know near.

Days like today, and nights, sleepless as it was, like tonight.. Remind me of just how full my life is. The ache in my back from the gluten I ate by mistake earlier is ok. There is so much more to focus on. The sleepy smile Chris gave me when I inquired as to what time he needed to be up to go fishing. The soft whimper of the puppy as I shoo him into the crate.

The wonderful love from my friends. Mary Dawn, who messaged me out of the blue, Kelly, who for the past months has been a voice of clarity amongst the confusion that has become my life…Linda, who always has something positive to say… Honey, who says thank you, and asks to help… Bobby, the man I so rarely hear from. Random voices and words, each reminding me of how much I am loved. My mother, calling just to talk… Becky, who is so entangled in her plans for the wedding of the year in August… Nicole, expecting her first baby, pictures of ultra sounds and swollen stomachs found on my phone.

I take in every bit of kindness from these people, and my heart swells. So impossibly full of things I can’t believe I have the chance to feel. Tears, perhaps they are red, like my wine…roll over my cheeks, itchy and hot from cooking over a hot stove… reminding me of the blessings I have to count. Two hands and two feet just won’t do, I am afraid.

At the end of the month I am going to the coast to see my Mom and sister, and even Bill. My heart awkwardly beats, when I realize why. Two years, you know. May 31st. At this time last year I was still so empty, so desperately alone in a sea of people who cared to much. In the shower the other day, watching the last bit of dye from my hair run down the drain… I breathed, and felt whole. My spirit has knitted itself back together. There are still days of incredible emptiness, and despair, but most days I pull air in, and it stays… before it leaked out, slow, and so subtle I didn’t realize just what I was missing.

This new healing, I have to reach out every day and poke it. Hello, hurt, are you still there? Yes, comes the faint reply… I’m here, but you’re forgetting me more with each passing moment. Hurt, he’ll always be there, but instead of being a frozen stone in my belly, he’s becoming this warm, living part of me. Small, inconspicuous until I need to be reminded. Reminding that nights like tonight, days like today, weeks like this week, so full of ups and downs… are not to be taken for granted. Because that lovely, understanding man in the living room, he won’t be here forever. Neither will all of you. So I tickle, hurt, and say thank you. What I would do without him, without you?

At the beginning of this post, I had a point. My apologies, for losing it. When I finish the end of my glass of wine, I’ll stretch and ponder some more. But no, it’s corked and away…the last thing I need right now is more. I have enough. So much. Call me lucky, darling, who else is so blessed?