I had one of those overwhelmingly proud mama moments recently that I have to share. Juniper and I spent the morning of my birthday harvesting fruit for the Portland Fruit Tree Project. They help local fruit tree owners maintain their trees in exchange for donating the fruit to the Oregon Food Bank. If you volunteer for a harvest party, half the fruit goes to the
First of the Season Berry Picking
I had the pleasure of spending a recent sunny morning at a nearby farm picking berries with my friend Denise and my 3-year old Juniper. It’s been an annual early-June tradition since long before Juniper was born and each year this day marks both the kick-off the u-pick season and also the passage of time. I remember when a decade ago nearby Sauvie’s Island was
Portland Fruit Tree Project
Since I am gardenless this season after our recent move, I am completely dependent on local farms and generous friends to help fill our harvest basket. I was delighted to discover a local non-profit called the Portland Fruit Tree Project just as harvest season began to roll in, which has kept us up to our eyeballs in fruit. This particular organization has been around for
Buying Beef in Bulk
Winter storms are the perfect excuse to hole up inside on these dark days over a bowl of slow-cooked roast beef. We recently purchased beef in bulk from a local farmer to help us spend more time lingering at the table this winter and less time running out to the grocery store. If you are a meat-eater, buying your meat in larger portions can be
Happy Birthday to Me
Another year is behind me and I find myself again feeling a little wiser for it. This year I decided to celebrate my birthday by enjoying all of my favorite things – my lovely family, some gorgeous landscapes and u-pick produce. Here is a photo-heavy recap. The first stop on my birthday celebration was lunch at Double Mountain Brewery in Hood River. This small town
Friendsgiving
There are too many great photos to share from our Thanksgiving spent with friends, or Friendsgiving, this year. So fewer words and more pictures! First, don’t all good things start with friends jammed in a teeny kitchen cooking together? I feel like I’ll remember all that giddy energy in the kitchen more than almost anything that night. So great to celebrate with some of my
Thanksgiving Prep
Thanksgiving falls at a weird time in my graduate school schedule. It’s always the week before our final studio design review, so I’m cranking on drawings when most people are pouring over holiday recipes. The picture below is the world I live in right now: sketches, trace paper, tea and pomegranates (a little treat to keep me in my seat working). The last few years
Dog Attack = Chicken Dinner
My chickens have never been great jumpers, probably because they are fairly lazy and spoiled. My neighbor’s chickens, however, are expert jumpers. It’s not uncommon for them to hop the fence into our yard to hang out, but lately they have started hopping their back fence into the nearby alleyway. Tragedy struck last week when one of my neighbor’s beautiful Black Sexlinks hopped the fence
New England Farm Wedding
I just returned from a blissful week in New England where I attended one of the sweetest weddings ever. We flew from one Portland (Oregon) to another Portland (Maine) and somehow the world did not spontaneously combust. Our friends getting married, Dan and Emily, gave us a great reason to visit this part of the country. Portland, Maine, can be summed up in one word:
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