Happy Anniversary!

A whole year later, I'm still feeling victorious.

I Just Have to Brag a Little

Look how awesome my dog is!






We're so proud!

Step Back in Time

Tyler and I spent the morning of July 4th in Thompson Falls, Montana immersed in the life and times of the town's founder, Dave Thompson. Thompson Falls absolutely loves Dave Thompson, and its citizens show their love by dressing up in their frontier best and demonstrating the skills that helped Dave survive his travels.

These ladies were scraping the flesh off an animal skin. It was kind of disturbing.
This is the world's cutest guitar player. I died.
This man hand carved the rifle he's holding, and dedicated it to his late wife Barbara J. The label says "Barbara J, Sweet and True."
This man is demonstrating how to make lead musket balls. He had a really nifty presentation.
Lead musket balls!
This man had some stories to tell, but I'm not sure how many of them were true.
Hand made knives!

Lilly

Confession: Tyler and I are a little impulsive.

We were in Louisville last weekend so I could suffer through the Bar. Afterward, we decided to stick around and travel up the Bourbon Trail. We both needed some Bourbon after that whole experience.* (Bourbon barrel-filled posts are to follow, of course.)

Somehow, in the midst of this, we ended up becoming proud owners of a Siberian Husky. Maybe it was all that alcohol?*

Say hello to Lilly.

*This is a joke. Tyler and I can't drink bourbon without coughing and tearing up. We just really like taking tours.

The Garden's Always Greener

I've been feeling pretty proud of my garden lately. For example, I planted a mostly dead lettuce plant that I'd had at my house and the garden brought it right back to life!

Yum! And check out my adorable little beet plants!

My tomatoes are getting ready to start producing.

And I love the look of these baby eggplant plants!

All of this was thrilling to me, until I made a crucial mistake. I looked over at my neighbor's garden plot. Look at THIS!

Even the bees like their plants better.

I'll tell you, though, I think I've had my revenge. Stay tuned for a post about my tomato plant trying to strangle their strawberries.

My Niece is Pretty

This is my niece. She's really pretty.

She's funny, too!

And she's really cuddly.

I'm totally going to steal her someday. Do you think her parents will mind?

When Life Hands You Cherries

... make cherry jam!

I used this recipe from allrecipies.com.

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 cups finely chopped or ground sour cherries 2 cups red raspberries

5 cups sugar 1 (1.75 ounce) package powdered fruit pectin

DIRECTIONS:

In a large kettle, combine cherries and raspberries; stir in sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Add pectin; return to a full rolling boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat; skim off foam. Pour hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4-in. headspace. Adjust caps. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath. If, like me, you're using sweet cherries, you may want to cut down on the sugar. My cherry jam turned out delicious, but intensely sweet. Tip: This homemade jam is a real hit at brunch parties. It makes you seem pretty legit.