Life Update

Hi!
Lots has been going on in my recent summertime! Lets start with moving!
We have officially moved into our new house, and it is practically perfect in every way. In fact, let me count the ways.

1) We all have our own bedrooms... finally
2) There is lots of outdoor space for gardening :)
3) There is an apple tree
4) There is a cute and magical draping tree for sitting under
5) There are wood floors
6) Rent is less than our maximum budget
7) Walking distance to the Olympia food Co-op
8) Right next to the bus stop for school, downtown, safeway, and the mall
9) Our friends are very close
10) There is a big nature trail and awesome elementary school playground within walking distance
11) We are close to the best soft serve ice cream and milkshakes in the universe
12) Everything ever is a short bus ride or bike ride away
13) Olympia is amazing

So life is good. The house is still a big mess from moving and chaos so I don't have pictures for you, but Hanna will be back in 4 days (!!!!) and we will start putting things together. The kitchen is ready to go but the living room is full of boxes and random annoying items. Of course, my room is happy and fully decorated. The yard is also a huge mess and needs a lot of work. So much work that my father and craig are planning on coming down with the tractor and tearing up the yard. Might as well start fresh. It's a nightmare.

I have made some progress though, yesterday I woke up early and felt inspired to work outside, so I tore apart the rockery outside our back patio and rebuilt it, filled it with delicious compost and planted my first flower garden! Oh sorry, our flower garden. I'm not taking over... I'm just motivated and antsy to get in the dirt.

Before:

After:

Yay pretty flowers. I also have a dream that by the end of the summer I will have a colorful medley of jars in my cupboard full of delicious homemade things. I'm well on my way to fulfilling this dream. Last night I made lots of tomato sauce with the huge amount of neglected and dying tomatoes I rescued from foxglove, to join my 5 different kinds of jams I've made, chutneys, and my soon to be pickles.

I love canning. I love knowing where my food comes from, knowing that I was involved in the making of it, and having delicious things to eat in the winter. I also made a ton of pesto with 2 flats of basil that foxglove threw out, and froze it in ice cube trays for easy pasta. My lovely new perennial garden came from their reject plants too. One person's trash is another person's treasure I guess!

School doesn't start until the 28th, so I'm loving being able to spend the end of my summer in Olympia getting settled and being our house's mama bear.
Stay tuned for pictures of our house once we get everything put together!