Track Record

Last year I had such a great track record for keeping this space updated but this year, I've completely dropped the ball. I can't believe it's almost been a month since I posted last. I've got to come up with a way to stay current! Maybe I need to do a 52 Weeks project or something. Hmm. I'll give that a thought.

Catching up... It's July 7 and I'm wondering how that happened. I've been working like mad, cooking up a storm, enjoying the new deck, playing any chance I get, hanging out with the neighbors, and relaxing a fair amount too. I'm not sure if I ever mentioned it, but my contract with the Forest Service was extended this season, so I've been on the road quite a bit since May, photographing campgrounds, cabins and guard stations for Recreation.gov again. I've already been on 11 trips so far and I've shot over 300 new images for the website just this season. And as usual when out on the road, I take a few other cameras with me so I've made a lot of Polaroids (including the one up top made in Pine Valley, Utah) and shot two rolls in my K1000. I've kind of put on the brakes with my remaining Polaroid stash and I flip flop almost weekly from using it slowly to burning straight through it. I've got enough to last me about another year if I use it at the same rate I have been, but I've definitely got more space in my fridge lately. I just hope the still-in-development color stuff from The Impossible Project will knock my socks off!

I've spent a lot of time in the kitchen lately, and I just love it. I've been trying to cull new recipes for my food blog, Budding Foodie. I've got a list of eight new recipes to share there, so I hope you'll click over. It's been a fun blog to maintain, and a very exciting project for me. When I first got married, I really hated cooking, but something changed about five years ago and ever since then, I've gotten so much more comfortable in the kitchen, and just this past weekend, I considered buying an apron. That ought to tell you how often I'm cooking. We've spent a lot of wonderful recent evenings on the deck and the front porch with plates or bowls of fresh vegetables, pastas, salads, and desserts in front of us.

Oh! And as I'm writing, I realize I can cross #3 and #15 off my birthday list. This past weekend, my husband taught me the workings of the grill and I made chipotle peach chicken and potatoes one night, and pizza the next. All on the grill! And as of mid-June, our garden is elevated and planted with pumpkins, tomatillos, tomatoes, jalapenos, zucchini, and strawberries. Inside, I've got cilantro, flat-leaf parsley, chives, and rosemary growing in pots. It's a green, growing summer!

I hope you've all had a lovely summer so far and a very happy Fourth. I hope I've still got readers after all this time away. I hope to be back very soon with some sort of a posting schedule. Lately if it's not on my calendar, it won't happen. Here's to sandals, sunblock, homemade ice cream, fresh berries, and beach towels.