Fall is a sneaky snake

Why is it mid October?  What happened?

Pretty sure I was knocked in the head and am suddenly have a Jason Bourne experience except much less violent. 

What did I do in the two months I didn't post?

Well I mostly worked my little tuchus off(Yiddish slang for butt) this summer.  Much, much, much, more work than I'd anticipated due to other people at my job taking off large portions of time.  I'm not mad about it because now that fall is here...

(my favorite time of year)

( yes I'm that basic)

...I am taking MY time off!

Conclusion is... I'm going to be posting more adventurey things here in the future as well as my studies in medicinal herbs paired with my continued education in essential oils!  Also the DIY things I so love to do! (Can we say home made SPF makeup?)

I've done several outdoor excursions this summer on my wee days off so thats coming up soon!

Also did a teensy bit of traveling here in the states. Mainly one road trip across the top of the US to the MidWest and some mountain biking/hiking/outdoorsying in Colorado!  

If you don't already follow me on instagram, that's the best way to keep up with me when I'm not posting here as much!

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Oh boy have I missed writing here and I'm so excited to get back into the swing of things!

Family Hike

"The family that hikes together stays together."  

-Annonymous

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On a bit of a rainy typical fall PNW day,  we (Mom, Dad, Luke, Sarah, Sawyer, Oma, and yours truly) took a family hike up to Susan Creek Falls just up the North Umpqua River from our home.  

Yes it was pouring rain at first...but seriously...what's a little bit of the elements when you've got the beautiful PNW forest around you and are with your loving and adventurous family?  We don't melt.

Armed with raincoats for all the family trekked up the path heading deep into the woods.  I was on a bike ride and was planning to catch up to them part way in after I'd done a few miles on a BLM road.  

Sure enough I met up with them about 2/3 of the way in to the falls.  I biked the rest of the way then walked back to join them.

Once we were at the falls...I turned baby snatcher and took Sawyer James (in his crazy adorable L.L. Bean rain gear) and marched across the bridge to see the falls up close.  He was mesmerized. He did not care that it was raining or cold...he is afraid of nothing.  Except the vacuum...not a big fan of that.

And then we walked down to the creek.  He immediatly tried to dive out of my arms into the water!  I parked him by the edge so he could grab leaves and stones and that child was so content I was envious.  

Cold water don't care.

Cold rocks don't care.

Soggy leaves don't care.

Mud don't care.

He loved it and would NOT be pried away.

That's the hand of his Daddy right there...holding him back because he wanted to keep exploring that creek!

Is that not one of the cutest little rain suit clad adventurers you've ever seen?

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I'm not a Mom.  

I'm only an Auntie.

I'm an observer of the humans I see around me, both family and strangers.

I'm an outdoor enthusiast who loves adventure...and when I see a little boy not even 1 year old, unafraid of nature and the outdoors...

that warms my heart.

There are millions of humans in this country and around the world who are afraid of the elements.

Afraid of nature.

Humans who have no idea how to exist in nature without iPhones and google maps and being 100% comfortable at all times.

It's sad.  It's dangerous.  It's terribly depressing.

I wish every person would be open to experiencing the joy and wonder that my little nephew experienced.  His socks were wet and his hands were cold but he wasn't bothered with that.  He was learning.  Comfort was not his priority.  Learning was.

Here's a challenge I've put on myself and I'd like you to join me!

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Learn something new.  

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Maybe it's reading about Black tea vs Green tea.

Maybe it's listening to an audio book instead of music.

Maybe it's going to a dance class or painting class or language class.

I challenge you to learn something and don't focus on how comfortable you are.  

Choose something to learn and make it happen even if it's not gloriously fun all the time and super convenient. 

Let's not be lazy.  Let's be adventurous learners!

Things to Be Thankful For

Season started in Arizona and I'm on week 3.  Lots of training, exhaustion, frustration, and pain in these weeks as we get ready to go, go, GO all summer.  When things get really rough in life it's easy to wallow and be bummed out and lose the pumped up attitude. When performances aren't what we'd hoped or the direction you're going might need to change, or you learn a new limitation you have...well...it's the pits.  ​

When you know that quitting is the worst failure but you just can't imagine going on...how do you get your mind set to persevere? How do you keep from whining? How do you put one bloody and bruised foot in front of the other?​

Here's what I do. 

I think over the joys in my life. What am I thankful for? What have I got to look forward to? ​

My List

1. My Jesus and His Mercy to me. Without Him I'm literally just dust blowing in the wind.

2. My Mom and Dad who pep talk me when I call home. After all it's their fault I'm as stubborn as I am! 

3. The skin that is still on my feet after a massive PT hike. {So that's what feet without skin look like}

4. Essential oils for healing and soothing my sore bod. Natural healing at its best.

5. My body that can heal from the beating it takes at work. {I won't limp forever right?}

6. Getting to stand up in my bestfriend's  wedding. The sweetest human alive got married. 

7. A sweet housemate who is sharing her ultra feminine home with me for a few month. With pretty doilies on the table!

8.  A wonderful library just down the road. #booksfordays

7. A solid church with a night service so I can attend. Hallelujah!

8. Shania Twain who sings me to work and back. { "That Don't Impress Me Much" anybody?!}

9. he joy of being artsy and learning hand lettering. Oh it's fun to create pretty words!

10. My electric blanket. 'Nuff said.

What is on your list? What reminds you to not wallow and whine?

Learning to Dutch Oven

New Year = New motivation to learn new skills.  Since I'm all about getting-back-to-basics, I thought I'd take my cooking skills to the next level and dry some Dutch Oven cooking.  

Lucky for me, my sweet sister-in-law has done tons of Civil War reenacting and learned from very skilled ladies how to cook meals on an open fire.  Having this wealth of of information right in the family was ideal for my venture of learning to use my Dutch Oven. 

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PS TIP

If you have a family member or friend with a unique skill, take the time to learn it!  Chances are they will be more than glad to share.  This is how I learned to knit originally.  Just ask!  Instead of paying for a class or online tutorial, just ask someone who already knows!

Think of the possibilities!

Learn to spin yarn, make soap, plant an herb garden, take film photographs, hand quilt a blanket...the list is quite endless.

This is also a great way to start, build, or maintain relationships.  Showing someone you respect their skill in an area you know very little or nothing can go a long way.  Take a humble pill, admit you aren't an expert at everything and revel in the freedom of learning!

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Here are the simple steps that led to scrumptious, fire cooked rolls.  Ours took approximately an hour to cook.

Any roll recipe will work.  This is the one my sis-in-law whipped up while I held her baby being a shameless Auntie.  I do not apologize. 

Follow your recipe instructions up to the part where you shape the rolls.  Don't put them in a pan, put them in the Dutch oven to rise.  Once risen, put the lid on and head for the fire.

1} Make a bed of coals.

This is done by having a medium to large fire, letting it burn down, and harvesting the coals.  My helpful brother took three shovel scoops full of hot coals and made a "bed" about 5 feet away from the main fire.  The coals were chopped up on a flat spot and allowed to cool for a few minutes so they were not glowing red.  Red is too hot and ABSOLUTELY NO OPEN FLAME! Flames will scorch your dish.  No fuego. 

Okay so we made the bed - Check

Evenly spread coals around the edges {Not touching the side...just radiating heat} - Check

One scoop on the lid spread evenly around - Check

2} Tend the fire

You know in historical books or fiction about pioneers when they say "the women tended the fire".  That wasn't just oh-let-me-pitch-another-log-on-the-fire-so-it-doesn't-go-out.  No, that was a careful and continuous shuffling of coals around to create an even heat source to cook an entire meal.  While they had children to care for, mending to do, churning, meat processing for winter, gardens to tend...women we do not have it hard today.  We have it easy.  No matter how tough you think you've got it...it could be a much much harder life.

Rant over

So every 10-15 minutes I stuck my hand down by the sides of the Dutch Oven to make sure there weren't hot spots and cool spots and then shifted {or had my trusty brother shift} the coals around, sometimes adding to, sometimes backing some off.  Around every 20 minutes we added another scoop on the lid as the old coals died down.  Again...don't get over zealous and heap red hot coals all over.  Slow and even radiant heat is the goal.

3} Check the Progress.  

Alright, listen up.  The whole point of the Dutch Oven is to trap the heat and cook your rolls {or whatever dish you chose} like a regular convection oven.  Lifting the lid every 10 minutes to see the progress only lets all the heat out from the top so you'll have done edges and soft middles. It's like trying to cook a turkey with the door open. Don't over do the checking!  

Granted, it is kind of a guessing game, but wait until the rolls have been cooking long enough that you think they are close to done.  Scrape the coals off of the lid, blow all the dust off, and using a hook {or bent stick as in my case} lift the lid a tiny bit to inspect.  

My rolls were brown on the edges and one side was starting to scorch but the tops of the rolls looked doughy.  I pulled the coals back from the edges and added a heaping scoop of coals to the lid.

10 minutes later they were done!

I had lined the Dutch Oven with foil in order to lift the rolls out easily.  Once the Dutch Oven is removed from the fire...it's still hot and will continue to cook what is inside, hence my roll evacuation plan.  Also I was surrounded by my hungry family who had partaken in this adventure and I wanted to gratify their appetites as soon as possible!

The side I thought had been scorched was only just.  One roll had a half-dollar sized dark portion on the edge, but it wasn't even burnt all the way.  I'd say one casualty is pretty good for a first try!

They were fantastic!  Oh my.  Eating hot rolls we just baked in the Dutch Oven on the fire as a family while standing in the fresh air on a beautiful Oregon afternoon was an AMAZING way to star the New Year!  I'm very thankful for the support of my Ranch Family as I explore new skills and adventures.  Pretty sure as long as I feed them yummys they will keep supporting :)

Now it's your turn!  Go learn something new.  Try the Dutch Oven or something else and broaden your horizons.  It's a New Year.  In 364 days, what do you want to have learned or accomplished?  Don't wait.  Make 2015 a year of learning and improving! Set a goal...you've got a little less than a year to reach it.  GO!