what the H-E-doublehockeysticks?!?!

sooooooo.....it was 75 last week.  and then this morning....i woke up to this:

Do you think they're going to make it?

oh my pooooor babies!

Photos Posted: 106
Days Left: 259

optimism

when i look back now its almost funny, how easy it was for me to be optimistic in peace corps.  that serial optimism of college and peace corps and whenever else i had it feels like its deserting me.  i mean seriously, in mauritania i found a putrefied rat carcass inside the foam of my bed and we all had a good laugh about it, scraped it off, and then i slept on that bed and was thankful for it, even though it stunk to high heaven.  when a spider the size of my hand fell from my ceiling and starting racing around my room, i collected myself, and took it as a challenge, to face my fears and find that spider myself!  when i spent 4 days in taxis or broken down on the side of the road on a journey that, with proper roadways and vehicles, should have taken about 10 hours, i made friends with my fellow passengers, told stories about sea monsters, slept on roadsides and in the back of cars, and soldiered onward until i could get back to my site and share my adventures with pride.  

what happened to that here?  why is it that all of a sudden a little thing like my supervisor getting laid off and an uncomfortable work environment are shaking my normally steady optimism?  

for two years now there has been no plan in my life, no forethought, just impulse, and as a result, very little continuity.  Since i graduated from college, i have lived in 4 places on 2 continents and 3 coasts, been to 3 countries and 18 states, spoken at least pieces of 7 languages, gone on 4 road trips, visited dozens of friends, applied for hundreds of jobs (worked 4), taken thousands of photos, met many new faces, seen many new things, baked my first cheesecake (and my 2nd through my 5th), learned to cook without a recipe, made my own potato chips, taught myself how to knit, become penpals with my grandma, snowshoed in the desolation wilderness of lake tahoe, learned the history of the sierra nevada, backpacked through southeastern senegal, collected and eaten wild mushrooms, started my first (albeit very small) garden, learned to identify ferns, stayed in a beach house in senegal, crossed the continent in my little red car, started sewing my first quilt, climbed ski slopes just to get cell phone service, walked a 5 mile round trip to walmart to buy a single plate, painted feet on sneakers, become a brunette, held a monkey, presented a model of a watershed to 100 kindergarten students, given up vegetarianism, catered a christmas party, tailgated my first NFL game, and so much more.  i have a list of 100 things i want to do before i die, and in these last 2 years i have checked more things off of that list than in the previous 22.  so optimism, i don't know where you've been off to, but i'm going to need you back.  having you around has been pretty good to me! 

sometimes you just have to stop, and make that list for yourself.  it doesn't have to be things you've done, it can be people you love, things you're thankful for, reasons why you are lucky to be you, it doesn't matter, as long as you finish it with a smile and an "i can do this" attitude.  

my chocolate wrapper says it all.  keep your chin up, all the smiles you need are already in your heart!

photos posted: 105

days left: 260

art? or salad?

I've been on a food kick lately, so you get my dinner for tonights photo...spinach and herb salad with cheddar cheese, sliced strawberries, and flax seeds.  And, of course, a pale ale.  Yum!

Photos Posted: 104
Days Left: 261

Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake

So yesterday I mentioned some cheesecake, and here it is. Now you know me, I started with a recipe, but things got a little switched around along the way and I ended up making it my own.  Adapted from this recipe, mine is a little bit smaller with a little bit different topping, but i'm pretty sure it contains the same amount of delicious.  This was the easiest cheesecake I've ever made, and the quickest...so without further ado, here is the recipe, just in case anyone wants to give it a try.

For the Crust: Combine 6 tbsp of melter butter with one sleeve of crushed graham crackers and press the mixture into the bottom of an 8 inch spring form pan.  Bake for 5 minutes at 375 and then set aside.

For the Filling: Using an electric mixer, beat one and a half pounds of softened cream cheese until smooth, beat in the following one at a time: 2 eggs, 3/4 cup of sugar, 1 tbsp of vanilla, and about 1 tbsp lemon zest, beat all together until smooth and fluffy, and then gently fold in one pint of fresh strawberries, cleaned and chopped into small pieces.  Pour onto crust and bake at 375 until the middle is just barely set (30-40 minutes).  Remove from oven, run a knife around the edge of the pan and cover and let cool.  When it is no longer hot to the touch, move it into the fridge and chill at least 3 hours, overnight if possible.  

For the Topping: Clean and quarter another pint of strawberries and put them in a saucepan.  Add about 1/4 cup of maple syrup, 2 tbsp sugar, and a splash of water (add a bit of corn starch if you have any, I didn't so my topping was a bit thin, but still good).  Reduce the sauce over low heat until desired thickness is reached, cool and pour over the cheesecake.  Let set for another few hours if possible, serve chilled.  Yummmm.

So there you have it, for today a photo and a recipe.  I know only like 6 people read this, but please let me know what you think if you try any of the recipes I post here, I love to get feedback.  

Photos Posted: 103
Days Left: 262

focus on ferns

Today I went on the American River Conservancy's "Focus on Ferns" benefit walk.  I learned a LOT about ferns in the area, not to mention trees, mushrooms, flowers, and newts.  We hiked about 2 miles in, to a beautiful waterfall, where we sat and had lunch and then headed back up the hill.  It was an amazing day for it, perfect weather with blues skies and sunshine but not toooo hot; it was great.  Here is my fern/photo of the day:

This is a Goldback Fern, so named for the "gold" colored dusty spores it forms on the back of the leaves,  If you press it to your pant leg it will leave a print of its shape in gold powder.  

ps. I made a cheesecake today, but its for tomorrow, so perhaps a picture tomorrow...possibly even a recipe if i like it.

Photos Posted: 102
Days Left: 263

coooooooooooookies

Today I got to spend my lunch break on the shores of beautiful Jenkinson Lake (aka drinking water reservoir) in Pollack Pines.  I had an apple and baby carrots and some tasty brie I got at a little cheese shop downtown, it was a pretty fabulous lunch.  Heres a little photo memory of my bright, sunshiney afternoon for photo numero one hundred and oneeeeee!

After my amazing afternoon at the park I decided the only way to end this Friday was with my new favorite evening activity, going to the baking/kitchen aisle in the nearest department store and letting myself pick something out.  Tonight I got a mixing bowl, a new cutting board (because my old one was cheap and made out of glass and it ruined my only knife....booo!), and a can opener.  Then I popped over to the grocery and got everything I needed to make one of my very favorite cookie recipes of all time, Chocolate-Butterscotch-Chip-Coconut-Cooooookies!  (Adapted from my Mom's old school Betty Crocker Cookbook recipe for "Sugar Jumbles") and lucky you, I'm going to share it with you here:

Mix thoroughly: 1/2 cup of butter, 3/4 cup sugar (half white and half brown), 1 egg, and 1 tsp vanilla. 

Sift together and stir in: 1 and 1/8 cup flour (i used whole wheat and they were still delicious), 1/4 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 a tsp salt.

Fold in: ~1/2 cup chocolate chips, ~1/2 cup butterscotch chips, ~1/2 cup shredded coconut

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto a lightly greased (or non-stick) cookie sheet and bake at 375 for 7-9 minutes, cool on sheet for 3 minutes, then move to wire rack and finish cooling, then enjoy...if you can wait that long!

okay, they don't photograph well, but they're still amazingggly tasty...try it, I dare you not to like them!

Photos Posted: 101
Days Left: 264

one hundred!

Oh...my...gosh.  I have been doing this for a whole 100 days already!  This feels like a milestone, but as usual, I'm at home this evening, and unusually it is also raining outside.  I probably took 100 photos that I then deemed unworthy of day 100 before I came up with this one:

It just seems to tie it all together oh so well because, and this is a way back play back here folks, but if you've been with me on this since the beginning, you'll recall that on day two, my photo was a christmas light.  So here we are, 100 days in, and up pops another one!  hopefully by day 365 I'll be close enough to home that my last picture can be of the same subject as my first: Miss Bella.  To celebrate this milestone, you might have noticed I gave the blog a new look.  I'm playing with templates and it may change a few more times before I settle on a final look, but I like this one quite a bit!  Hope you do too!

Photos Posted:100!!!!!!
Days Left: 265

self portrait

what you see is not always what you get.

Photos Posted: 99
Days Left: 266

update!

I haven't posted a picture of my babies lately, so I thought I would give you an update.  The Pansies are doing very well (as Pansies always do!) and I get to see their little smiling faces every day before and after work.  The strawberries have the beginnings of fruit, not anywhere near ripe, but still conspicuously strawberr-ily looking, so I can't wait until they're all rosy red!  My tomato is probably twice the size it was when I got it, all fuzzy and such, but the most exciting news of all is that my little baby basils are poking out their happy little heads!  And here is their first (partial, as there are many more not shown here) family portrait:

(The red in the top left is just the tag from the tomato plant)

What do you know, I can grow things! Hopefully they make it even bigger, like full size, or something crazy like that, but I'm already pretty proud of myself!  Its already warm enough here to where they don't have to come in at night anymore, so they don't get to listen to music with me in the evenings anymore, which I'm sure they miss.  I'll have to start pointing my speakers out the window for them.  I did sit outside with them for about an hour today while I drew a picture of a pansy, so at least they aren't lonely.  :o)

Photos Posted: 98
Days Left: 267

behind againnnn...

sooooo yeah...i missed another day, well...2.  I took pictures for both of them, I just never got around to posting them.  My bad, seriously, i'll try not to let it happen again.  It will, be you can rest assured I'll be trying not to let it happen when it does.  Anyway on Saturday I drove all the way up to Nevada City, I saw this on the way and had to pull over.  This is the North Fork American River, and the bridge in the foreground is the trail that I'm walking on.  The larger bridge on the tips of the hills is foresthill road i think, I had thought it was highway 80 but i was wrong, thats a few miles behind it.  Everyday here I find things like this and think "why did this happen?  who ever thought this was a good idea?"  Roads like this don't make sense to me.  Roads carved out of mountains and crossing huge expensive bridges over vast canyons and valleys.  I know, i know, you have to get from point A to point B and building these crazy roads is the best way to do that, but if any of you have seen the little, narrow, winding roads that service entire TOWNS out here you would understand where I'm coming from.  For a place thats supposed to be environmentally friendly, conservation conscious, and working toward sustainability, they sure raped the crap out of their landscape and environment before they got to where they are today.  

(Saturday's Picture)

posted: 95
left: 270

This one was taken in Coloma, CA at the Wildflower Walk held there to benefit the Sierra Nevada Alliance.  It was a beautiful day and we walked down a hillside covered with California Poppies all the way to the edge of the South Fork American River (1000 vertical foot difference) and back up to the house where the event was hosted.  It was perfect, and gorgeous, and despite all the time I spent sitting on the side of the path staring at the swaying poppies and beautiful blue skies, I still can't make the decision that I know needs to be made, ASAP. Thats just my little life drama though, and its not really important, not in the grand scheme of things.  What is are moments like this: 

Look at this photo and pretend you're 5 years old, laying in a field of flowers, looking at the sun and then blinking away the sunspots in your eyes.  Its almost like you can just breathe out all your worries with one heavy, happy sigh.  I like this picture because it makes me feel so free!

posted: 96
left: 269

And now for todays photo!

Whew, finally caught up.  This photo was taken this morning at Gold Bug State Park where I was helping the Resource Conservation District mark the locations of local vegetation (non-invasives) on a GPS for the landscape architect to use when planning the new and improved park.  The pink ribbons indicated the species to be saved, and this little guy is some kind of oak, but I don't know which.

Photos Posted: 97

Days Left: 268

dusty books.

those books are my journals from Africa, way back before life stopped making sense.

posted: 94
left: 271

dogs make everything better

i had a rough day, its a long story, but by the end of it i just needed a walk, some time to stare at the sky, and just evaluate what just happened.  it was 75 degrees today, sunny and beautiful, and somehow a dark cloud just hung over my little corner of this normally wonderful town.  I grabbed my sketchbook, my camera, and i decided to take a walk to do some thinking.  I ended up bringing along a friend, and her sunny attitude brightened my own.  Here is a photo of the smiling Bailey, who brought a little sunshine back into my life on a pretty dark day.

Photos Posted: 93
Days Left: 272

saint pattys day!

when i got back from the grocery store today i found this neat little fellow waiting outside my place...he was very patient while i took his picture, but then he hopped off to do other things, it being saint patrick's day and all i'm sure he had important social obligations this evening.

califrognia

Photos Posted: 92
Days Left: 273

live in the moment

and dance like nobody's watching...

i wish the background was a little less cluttered in this one, but i'll never get a face like this again so i gave up trying.  i got dizzy spinning around my one room apartment trying to get a good photo of movement, and i ended up with this, kind of ghostly...but neato none the less.  (click to enlarge is you can't see the face)

Photos Posted: 91
Days Left: 274

yikes

i know this picture is a little weird, but i put it up because it is different than the other stuff i have been doing lately, and while i love my little baby strawberries, and my other plants, and cake, macro shots of plants and baked goods are what i did fairly well before and in the spirit of the whole one photo a day thing, i need to branch out and do some different things with my camera.  so here you go, a close up of my eye ball.

Photos Posted: 90
Days Left: 275

this one goes out to Luis!

Luis my Friend, I know its a bit late, but this cake was made with you in mind.  I miss you sir!  Hope your birthday was happy and wish you were here to share some cake and share some of your infinite knowledge about why Portugal is the most awesome place ever...someday I'll get there!  and when I do...you can bet your ass there will be cake!

Happy Birthday to: Arthur (6th), Elly (11th), Luis (12th), Becca Moore (14th), Me (14th), Hsiao-Han (15th), Celia (16th), Becky Fogarty (29th), and Meaghan Gallagher (31st)!

And of course lots of love, smiles, and happy thoughts to everyone, no matter when your birthday is!

And now for the photo of the day:

(click to enlarge if you'd like a better look)

Taken on a hike this morning in Coloma, CA, this is a fence post with a few dozen acorns tucked into it.  I learned that the Acorn Woodpecker stores their winter snacks in just about any wooden surface they can find, such as a fence post, or perhaps a little more irritatingly, the wooden siding on houses round these parts. 

Photos Posted: 89
Days Left: 276

sprinkles

today was busy, but not really.  just, you know, busier than i typically am these days.  now i'm tired, its my birthday on the east coast, but i'm not waiting for it to roll on over to this coastline, bed time

Photos Posted: 88
Days Left: 277

rainy days

Today was cold and gray and rainy, and I came home and my pretty little flowers looked up at me with their little wet faces and they just looked so happy that I couldn't help but be happy too!  I baked fresh homemade mac and cheese with a bread crumb crust for dinner from a recipe I adapted from Alton Brown (a food network nerd that I idolize because I'm a nerd and I love other nerds! especially foodie nerds!).  I made it much like he did except I used sweet onions and sauteed them with baby portabello mushrooms, didn't measure anything, and left out the egg, and added a bit of sour cream instead.  I also used a random selection of cheeses, just to use up what was in my fridge.  It came out fabulous, if i don't say so myself.  mmmm mmmm good!  And then, just cuz I was in the mood for a pick-me-up, I opened the mail (even though I was going to save it for Sunday so I would have something to open on my birthday).  I had to share this, because I just have to say that I am blessed.  I have wonderful friends and a wonderful family and a wonderful lucky habit of finding people that treat me like family where ever I go.  I may be bored here sometimes, I may not have quite found my place in this town yet, but I have to be grateful for what I have, because its so much more than many.  So without further ado, here is my photo of the day, my little smiling flower.  It was taken with an extremely high (3200) ISO because my little flowers were out playing in the rain until well after dark, so thats why its so grainy.  I hope they make you smile too!

Photos Posted: 87

Days Left: 278

new babies!

Today was BEAUTIFUL!  60's, sunny, bluest of blue skies.  So I snuck out of work early and adopted some new babies.  Thats right folks, I am going to try to raise some plants, live ones, that are not cacti, and keep them alive.  This will be a challenge, as my traditional role with plants has been mostly just trying not to kill my Mom's house plants when she put them in my room, and usually I failed miserably at that.  These ones though, they are going to get sooooooo much love that they won't be able to help but grow up big and healthy!  I have a tiny tomato, basil seeds, some velvety purple pansies, and my pride and joy: my little baby strawberries!

Photos Posted: 86
Days Left: 279

look closely...

i have always loved the look of trees silhouetted against a sunset, right after the sun goes down when you have that beautiful watercolor sky fading from pink to orange to blue to night sky.  I wish i could do it justice with a photo or a painting or a drawing, but alas I have tried many times and its just never as amazing in 2-d as it is in real life.  Here is my latest attempt, I love how the trees here almost look like they are waving or dancing, from trunk to tree top.  Trees are neat!

Photos Posted: 85
Days Left: 280

woops

this is the texture of forgetfulness, i.e. i forgot to take a picture today...until now.

Photos Posted: 84
Days Left: 281

oooopsy

i took photos yesterday, lots of them!  I just spent so long trying (and failing) to send them to my parents, that I forgot to post one here.  So without further ado, here is yesterdays photo:

and here its todays...

photos posted: 83
Days left: 282

hope

Tiny flowers always give me hope, they are so little and delicate and yet they create life and grow into exciting things like fruit, and lets not forget how their cheery little faces spread joy.  Walked into El Dorado today, I brought along my writing stuff just in case I found a place to sit and write some letters i've been meaning to send.  Guess what I found instead: The El Dorado Post Office.  Once I saw it I knew I had to find a place to sit and write because I had my letters and my stamps and my address book with me, and I was right outside of a Post Office.  It was fate.  I found these little guys on my way home:

Photos Posted: 81
Days Left: 284

dinner

Not a great picture, but a great dinner.  Tonight, for the first time since I moved out here, I cooked my own dinner, from scratch, and ate a nice warm and delicious meal that was neither a salad, nor peanut butter and jelly.  What a great feeling.  I've missed it.

Photos Posted: 80
Days Left: 285

two face

taken with my webcam, built into my netbook, never really played with it before.   

Photos Posted: 79

Days Left: 286

lunch box

i just thought my lil lunch looked so cute today, i had to make it photo of the day!

complete with recycled box (from leftovers at a restaurant, but its been my lunch box for two weeks now) and recycled sandwich diaper (i cut off the neck of a bread loaf bag and tuck in the edges like wrapping a present, then stuck it down with duct tape, which sticks and peels so easily the same piece can be used over and over)...delicious, nutritious, and as healthy for the planet as it is for me.  I'm never buying a sandwich bag again!  Now i just have to work on eliminating those pesky Dove wrappers on my chocolate and i'll have an almost zero impact lunch!

Photos Posted: 78

Days Left: 287

lazy

I think I need to get out more, because I'm not taking any pictures at work, and I'm not taking any pictures between home and work, so i'll my pictures are in my apartment, except on the weekends.  Heres one more for good measure, and tomorrow i'll try to get one from outside somewhere...novel idea.

kitty sox.

Photos Posted: 77
Days Left: 288

complications in computerland...

Sadly I was unable to post a photo yesterday because my computer chose to take a day off.  It acted totally and completely broken, I even went through all the steps with tech support and started an order for a new part.  Then this morning, out of sheer optimism and hope, I plugged her in...just to see...and lo and behold, sheeeeeeee's back!  No computer of mine is gonna call it quits after only 2 months of use!  Shes tough as nails I tell you!  Hurray!  So today I will be posting yesterdays photo, taken on the El Dorado trail during my Sunday morning stroll:

trees here are awesome.  who am i kidding, trees everywhere are awesome.

so thats photo # 75 for yesterday, and heres today:

pretend its a flower.  its not. its a ceiling fan.

Photos Posted: 76

Days Left: 289