Camp Trip: the fashion.

Plaid Flannel is a good option.

A large brimmed hat to shade your eye from the sun. Excellent.

For the fisherman, come prepared with a fishing vest. Functional, indeed.

However, if you really want to exhibit the essence of camping, come prepared with a Paul Bunyan costume (although, this is not that far off from how he dresses). All he is missing is his blue ox (Halloween costume? I think so. Jayson as Paul + Me as Babe the Blue Ox = AWESOME)

Framer? Possibly.

latte lesson #1

Last week, I announced that I didn't know how to use my espresso machine. So Sunday afternoon seemed like the perfect time to learn.

What I didn't know is that using an espresso machine is that it is kinda complicated. And there is a right way to do it. You can't just go at it willy-nilly with no game plan. You have to read the directions.

Here is the teacher/reader of the manual.

 Here is the machine in question.

 Here is the student. Receiving my latte lesson #1.

Didn't expect to see us in our sweats, eh? Sisterfriend thinks the sweats are ridiculous. Apparently, people my age should not be lounging in grandma sweats, but perhaps some type of comfy athletic clothing. I will admit that the elastic around the ankles is not so attractive. And it doesn't help that both Jay and I wear them regularly. It really drops the coolness factor quite a bit. I mean, if we are already dressing like this, what will happen when we ARE old? Oh dear, I will think about that later.

By the end of it. We did make some lattes. However, we learned that we made it in the wrong order (espresso first, then milk = wrong). And it didn't taste all that great. There is still much to learn. Don't worry, you will hear all about it.

Oh Dear

There are some things you need to know about Jay.
He is one of the most loyal, hardworking, and genuinely good men in the world. He works at a propane shop. With his grandpa. He loves family. He never takes a sick day. He is a peacemaker. He has his teaching credential and will probably never teach. But because of his degree, he knows way more about child development and child rearing than I ever will. He always carries a pocket knife. Even to church. He is handy. He will be the best dad ever. He is understanding. He doesn't judge. He loves God. He will talk to anyone. He loves to camp. He doesn't like the dark. He likes coffee. He loves man food. He is an athlete. He rarely says a bad word about anyone.  But when he does, he's mad. He names his appliances. He hates when people are selfish, because he doesn't understand it. He has a better understanding of love than most. And he is one of the weirdest people I know. 

I do not kid you. The things that come out of his mouth are just plain bizarre at times. He has a great sense of humor but is just weird. And I love him for it. Weird is SO much better than boring.

Anyway, the other night I was in the shower. Jay walks in the bathroom, and asks, "What if I put mascara on my moustache." I replied with, "I don't know." And to be honest, I really didn't care. I was really enjoying my hot shower. A couple of minutes later, he is laughing at himself. And then pictures are being taken.

Yep, he sure did. He painted his moustache. I found these pictures later as the evidence.

As you can tell, the horseshoe moustache is sticking around. He says he is keeping it for March. However, he grew it hoping that is would shock people. Most people has told him that they like it. He is coming up with something more shocking for April. Oh dear.

Normally, the moustache is much lighter. Lots of blonde hairs. He is somethin' else.

Put your work clothes on.

Hey. 

Last Friday, Jay had the day off! I loved it. It is rare that we get to spend an entire weekday together. It was awesome. So, since we had the whole day together, we woke up and didn't know what to do with ourselves. We had the WHOLE day. Go on a hike? Go for a bikeride? Do a project?  Jay said he felt like building something. Sure. I went with it. What shall we build? Hmmm.

After my coffee table post, I had received a message from a friend asking if we could make a bench. Well, we hadn't made a bench... We didn't know. So Jay thought before we committed to making something for someone, we could make one for ourselves to see how it came out. {When I say 'We', I shouldn't because Jay does all of the work.}

Anyway, we have a little bar in our kitchen and I really wanted to buy some bar stools. But we really don't like spending money. So this is how the idea for our long bench-bar stool came about. I wanted a bar stool and Jay wanted to build. So we got busy!

Back to the workshop!

The table saw!

 Here he is! The moustache is growing in nicely, I might add.

At one point during the project, Jay received a call from his work with the news that someone came in to get propane and also offered to buy one of their shop cats (Babushka). The man wanted Babushka in order to make carne asada. Or should I say gato asada. Thought you would want to know. Weird things happen.

The little bench bar stool is taking shape. What a guy!

 While Jay was out there, working hard, I was wandering around doing silly things. Did some laundry. Painted a few frames white from our frame wall, sanded a rack, painted a rack, and took pictures of this silly dog. His name is Hunter. He is really a crotchety old man stuck in a dog body. He doesn't really enjoy being petted or played with. He gets agitated when a human face gets to close to his face. Kisses, forget it. Picking him up and cuddling him, no way. He growls. He exposes his old-man doggie dentures. And even when I went in here to take pictures of him, he just acted annoyed. Leave him alone, it is for your own good. He makes you feel insecure. Why doesn't this dog like me?

 

Ok, back to the point. 

Here is the bench being painted. We white-washed the top and gave the legs a coat of a gray/blue.

 And here it is in our APT! It is perfect. We have eaten there. We use it! Yay! I sit here often while I am on my computer. It is a perfect little work space.

Bench Barstool = Complete

This project took one whole day. We spend a little under $20 to complete it.

Surveying the Land {the quest for Kern River Trail}.

This all started with an internet search. Doesn't it always? I searched 'Hiking Trails near Bakersfield.' And over and over, every site said that the Kern River Trail was a good one. Moderate slopes, 5.2 miles one way. Perfect I thought! And as an added bonus, there was information on wildflower viewing mid-March to late-April! Ally's lucky day! 

I thought, "Let's Go!" So we packed a lunch, hopped in the truck, and started driving. We entered the Kern Canyon. And drove.

And drove.

And drove. 
Sometimes, you get to experience this rare thing where the radio plays all of your current favs. It was happening on this day. We even heard OUR song (Josh Turner - "Would you go with me"). Love country radio. It will change your life. Really, it will.

Ok. Back to Kern River Trail. On one of the websites, it said the trailhead was off Hyw 178 and Delonegha Rd. In fact, the website even said "You can't miss it!" Pu-lease. Jay and I SEARCHED for the trailhead. Forever.

This, my friends, is Lake Isabella. If you get to Lake Isabella, you have gone WAY to far. We went way to far. We got swept away with the music. And the drive. And the wind. Oh, let's be honest. We got lost... and we couldn't find the trailhead.

So we stopped at the Lake, planning our next move.

I got out to see if it was cold. It wasn't. Spring is in the air. Makes me a happy girl.

Jay stayed in the truck.

Since we didn't find the trailhead, we decided to forget it. We picked a different turn off and went for it. Black Gulch South. Never heard of it. Let's do it.

It was a wide sandy trail. Not what we expected, but a nice little walk. Afterwards, I found out that it is actually for off-road vehicles, but the the access road was closed. So it made for a peaceful little afternoon.

And there were wildflowers. I love wildflowers. They make me feel alive. Look at them growing out there on their own. No caretaker or anything. If I were a flower, I would like to be a wild one.

There were also pine cones at big as your head. "I've got a lovely bunch of pine cones, diddle-de-dee. There they are a'standing in a row..." Lion King? Anyone?

There were nice open spaces near the river to picnic at... or camp. But you GOT to bring your own shovel if you're going to camp! The sign said! And we all know you GOT to! Camper's Code!

 

We had a lovely little stroll, ate our lunch and then walked back to the truck. 

And wouldn't you know it... on our drive back down the canyon, we saw the trailhead for the elusive Kern River Trail. We plan on doing it soon. I'll let you know how it goes. In fact, you should just come with us.

friday grill night(s).

So, let me begin by tell you some things about Sisterfriend. First, she is older than me. She is bossy. She likes to read. In fact, she loves to read. She has long blonde hair and she loves to have her hair played with/braided. She cooks. She can get off her bike while it is still moving. She has a birthmark on her eye and I don't really know that it is there until someone wants to cover it with make-up. And she is my best friend. Our favorite activity is sitting around and making faces at each other. We are boring. But luckily, we like to be bored together.

Here she is making a face:

Isn't she intimidating? Really she is not. She just pretends to be. By making silly faces. Another thing you need to know about Sisterfriend is that we live in the same apartment complex. Yeah, that's right. I live about 40 steps from her apartment. So we see them alot, her and HeyBrother. We have dinner together a couple of nights a week and we grill together on Fridays. Jay & HeyBrother are learning the complexities of grilling. So last Friday, we got together for another grill night.

After eating, we were all hangin' out. We played a rousing game of Blokus. If you don't know Blokus, go to Target and buy it. Now. After Blokus, the boys started playing Battlefield. Here is one of them playing.

Here is the other one. Doing something on the computer.

When the boys play Battlefield, normally SisterFriend and I sit around and look at each other. By not this Friday night! We decided that the game Clue would be the only thing to satisfy our boredom. So, we drove to HeyBrother's parents house to borrow the game. On the way, SisterFriend said she wanted to stop for some lemons... out of the front yard of some people's yard. So... that's exactly what we did. We stopped, she grapped, and we drove off.

And LOOK AT THE SIZE OF THAT LEMON! It is huge and beautiful. And there are tons more hanging on the tree... We just have to go back and steal more. Which we will. I assure you.

Comparing the size of the lemon to the size of Sisterfriend's head. Seriously, it is quite big.

She gets giggly late at night.

So do I.

It was one of our better Friday Grill nights.  

Lemon thievery and all.

{the horseshoe}

Introducing:

The Horseshoe Moustache.

It is growing on me.

It might become his thing. 

We'll see.