Little Vacation

Hey y'all! A couple of weeks ago we took a trip to San Francisco for the weekend. It was fabulous! While staying there we took a side day trip to Big Basin State Park and Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz. Again, amazing! Christopher and I realized the other day that we have been together for 17 years (almost 15 years married) this next week. People who meet us for the first time would have no idea it has been so long. We act like a newly married couple all of the time. We truly love spending time together, and we are best friends. Here is just a peek at how silly we can be on vacation.

What was the last trip you took? Who did you go with? We would love to hear from you.

Hugs,
Jenni

An Afternoon Together

Hey there! It has been awhile, but we have been busy around our little bungalow. In the midst of chaos, we have taken a little time out of the hard work of fixing our sweet space. We spent the weekend hiking the local trails and enjoying each other. After pricing applesauce at the store and thinking about the ingredients, I knew that we could make it cheaper and healthier at home. Yesterday, we decided to try a family recipe for homemade applesauce. Together we peeled and cored the "organic" apples. I did the cooking and Christopher was the taste tester. Other than a FaceTime session with my mom to check that I was doing this properly, we did this with just the two of us. It was fantastic! Our homemade applesauce is delicious. We put it in mason jars, but I did not process them. If I was going to do that I would have to add lemon juice and I did not want it to taint the flavor. It made far more than I expected, and we shared a jar with Christopher's parents and my mom. Do you have a favorite applesauce recipe? We'd love to try any recipe sent our way.

Hugs,
Jenni

Flood Preparations

With the little amount of rain we had a few weeks ago (about 1 inch), it brought mud and debris through our neighborhood. Luckily, it bypassed our house and we didn't have too much damage. The chicken coop was a disaster, but we got that cleaned up fairly quickly. As the approaching storm was being followed by the media, we decided to tackle the job of prepping for flood conditions this week. Sunday we took the opportunity to go to the city yard and grab sandbags. It took several truckloads of sandbags. We spent the past few days placing sandbags in the possible flow paths around our property. This time we were smart enough to place sandbags around the chicken run/coop as well. Of course, Sunday it decided to give us a few downpours and you will see in the following photographs how my mascara is definitely not waterproof. Here are a few snapshots of our past few days of preparations.

Here is a partial truckload of sandbags from the city yard.

Christopher stacking old and new sandbags.

Jenni shoveling old sandbags into new ones.

Jenni, the drowned rat with mascara that isn't waterproof.

Our sandbags being taken over by the falling leaves.

Although we are hoping for plentiful rains, we also are praying for the mud and debris to pass right by our bungalow. Hopefully, we will emerge from the storm with a lot to be thankful for this rainy season.

Hugs,
Jenni

Homecoming 2014

Now that October has come to a close we'd like to share a few of our small town Homecoming events that we attended. First of all, Christopher teaches at our local high school, which we both attended, and it was Homecoming this past month. We never miss the Homecoming Parade. This year we took photos of our bag pipers, the highlight of the parade. The following day we took part in the Homecoming festivities of the university we both attended, the University of La Verne. We dragged our sister-in-law along to join us in the Fun Run. There are a few pictures to show the fun that we had that day. We hope your month was just as fun and exciting, and remember that it doesn't have to be Homecoming to go home.

Bag pipers of Glendora High School-Homecoming Parade 2014

Before starting the ULV Fun Run 2014

Christopher and Michelle during the ULV Fun Run 2014

This was our view of Christopher for most of the run.

After the run Michelle and I are still smiling.

What a great way to celebrate Fall this season! Let's all prepare for the coming holiday season. We can't wait to see how you celebrate.

Hugs,
Jenni

A Craft as Old as Recorded Time

Sometimes the old ways are the best ways. At least, that is how I felt this year when I decided to have a home brewing party for my birthday here at the ol’ bungalow.  This time around the calendar I invited my beer making / beer appreciating family and friends here to the house for a great evening of comparisons between home brews and store bought micro brews.  The result was a hoppin’ (pun intended) good time! There is something pretty great about getting in touch with a craft as old as recorded time. You can do side some research on your own time for that one. Just know that more than a few of us drank of the bottle conditioned snot. The ancient Egyptians would have said “more please” to that one! How about you?

"Free Ranging" Time

As we approach the end of October, we have been allowing the girls a little more "free ranging" time. They love to wander the yard in search of tasty treats. We absolutely love our girls. With the cooling temperatures, we will once again find ourselves with an afternoon cocktail in the backyard while the girls, and Biscuit, run free. However, it is time to thoroughly clean the coop. I guess we will get to that this weekend. In the meantime, enjoy a few snapshots of Holly (Buff Orpington) and Sabrina (Copper Maran).

Holly is sneaking into the garden.

Sabrina is looking beautiful as always.

Do you own chickens? Do you want to own chickens? Leave us a comment here. We'd love to hear from you.

Hugs,
Jenni

Fall is Here!

As the sun begins to set earlier each night and temperatures toy with us, we realize that the fall season is here. Crisp mornings greet us as we rise before the sun, but warm afternoons envelope us as a reminder that summer does not want to leave us. Apple cider, cinnamon, and pumpkin arouse our sense of smell. The spicy scent of pumpkin butter wafts through the house as it cooks on the stove. Leaves crunch underfoot. Skies appear as a vibrant blue. As we walk the dog, we see less people on the street. We can smell the fires that are burning to keep homes warm. There is no doubt that fall has made a quiet, subtle entrance into our lives. It is time to cuddle up with the ones you love.

We'd love to hear how you plan to embrace the fall season.

Hugs,
Jenni