Well, well, here we are back in familiar territory! Since
arriving back in the USA three weeks ago, I was able to get Stella (my car) out
of storage, tuned up, re-registered and road ready so now the original crowd (blog
name, get it?!) is back together again! I won’t sugar coat it. I miss my bike.
A lot. BUT I must admit, Stella has her upsides too…like cargo space and
weather protection…
I think Charlie was also quite pleased to be reunited with
the Chihuahua pack and has adjusted nicely! He has lots of chase time with
siblings and even plays tug-a-war with his sister. :)
After the jet-lag subsided, I promptly started working a few days a week for Mom as well as doing all my favorite summer McCall activities such as biking around Payette Lake, kayaking on the river, berry picking and enjoying lots of sunshine (with lots of sunscreen!). To celebrate my birthday (YEY I made it to 28!), Mom and I took a flight out to our secret backcountry apricot stash and made off with more than we could actually handle. OOPS! After letting the apricots fully ripen a few days in the sun, we spent more than a few days canning them and ended up with this….
….yeah, this times twenty!! So much jam! (Like seriously, if anyone
wants a jar, please let me know and I will figure out how to get you one,
because we now have more than we could likely eat in a lifetime, and it’s
soooooooo so SO tasty!)
While we were in little-house-on-the-prairie mode Mom and I also made some delicious smelling lavender and orange soap as well as like 10lbs of elk sausage! Although the soap isn’t ready for use yet, it smells heavenly and as far as the sausage is concerned, I cannot vouch personally for its flavor, but I am told it is yummy…and it definitely smelled great in the oven!
In the midst of all those projects, I attended my 10-year
high school reunion! I don’t have any group photos at this time but here is one
of Camille and I. Ten years later and we are still buds! Here’s to you my dear!
:D It’s good to catch up again!
Now, I don’t know if at this point I fall into the local or tourist category here in McCall, but my goodness is this place busy in the summer these days! That statement probably makes me sound so old and grumpy, but that isn’t the case at all! It seems that McCall has really got it going on lately, which is good for local business as well as those trying to escape the sky-rocketing temps further south. That being said, I was not too bummed to take one of the busier weeks in McCall to escape and visit nearby family and friends. I first stopped in Boise to meet up with my dear friend Kyler
for his
cousins wedding (because its summer and weddings are everywhere and who doesn’t
love love?!) and then headed on to Hailey, Idaho to see my aunt and uncle for a
few days. While there, Mom and I visited Neil’s crash site together (which was
torturous and marvelous at the same time), went for a hike and did a bit of
shopping. After Hailey, I continued on
to Stanley, Idaho to see my grandparents, another aunt and uncle as well as a
few dear cousins. As per the Stanley usual, we went on a great hike together
and enjoyed lots of catching up and chill time!
Whew! After typing this all out, it occurs to me that I have
actually done quite a bit in three weeks! Readjusting here is challenging at times but, it feels great to see Mom every day, and even greater to know that at this point my life is wide open for all kinds of magical things to enter it! I am
doing my best to keep up on my Dutch language skills by reading and listening
to articles online, just in case my path leads back there in the future, while
also searching for jobs (and making travel plans!) everywhere. No location is
safe from my attention at this point! I will keep everyone updated, because who
knows, maybe a girl and a tiny white Chihuahua will be coming soon to a
location near you! Love and miss you all (as usual!). xoxo
