Knitting, Explosions and a Special Guest! AKA - New Podcast Episode!

Hey lovely peeps!

It has been a busy couple of weeks, but we are excited to share a new podcast episode...this week with explosions AND a special guest!

Click here to go directly to Soundcloud to listen, or head over to your favorite podcast player like iTunes or Stitcher! (And don't forget to rate and review if you do so others can find us!)

We talk a bunch about knitting, and I refer a ton to these articles by Sheep and Stitch:

http://sheepandstitch.com/the-history-of-knitting-part-1-mysterious-origins/

http://sheepandstitch.com/the-history-of-knitting-pt-2-madonnas-stockings-and-guilds-oh-my/

Thanks to Sheep and Stitch for the great articles!  Head over to see some of the photos and paintings we refer to in the episode!

We also mention our sister podcast, Keeping Up with the Clampetts, who you can check out here.

And local chicken farm, Dare 2 Dream!  Check them out more here!

And of course, thanks to All the Apparatus for the intro and outro music!

Thanks so much to everyone who listens! We <3 you!

- Ric and Ash

Prepping for our first 3 day show!

Whew!  I know I have been awful at posting, but we have been hard at work preparing for our first 3 day show!  We are heading to the Creston Rodeo for 3 days of good food, selling our goods, festivities, and LOTS of sun.  We are in a heat wave (it was still 80 degrees at 10pm last night....I think about 104 at the hottest part of the day yesterday....) and I have been wracking my brain on how to deal with the dust and heat at our booth.

First, we bought some awesome bright green astroturf to put down to cut down on the dust right in our booth and to be adorable.  Next I set to work making a give-a-away to those that come check out the booth that will be much needed....paper fans!

In the making...

Ta da!  I had fun designing it!

Of course, in addition to making things to make the booth look nice and help everyone not die of heat stroke, we have been hard at work making some more product.  I am a bit nervous I still don't have quite enough, and will be working like a maniac today to finish, but I am pleased with the results.

Still working on this pillowcase...

How perfect is this fabric?!  I just love it with the edging.
I hope someone takes these pillowcases home to love!

And a few more towels to add to the mix.

So if you are in the Central Coast area of California, come stop by this weekend! (Here is our etsy local link for a little more info!)  Just head on down to the tiny and adorable town of Creston and you can't miss it!

More soon!

Ash

The hubby's new job with Wine Country Craftsman!

First, I like wine. I am no sommelier, but I know I love reds in particular and have a lot of fun living in an area with tons to try.  I try and patronize the ones with little or no irrigation (also known as dry farming) and are trying to be either organic or at least sustainable, since we are in one of the worst droughts we have seen in this area.

ANYWAY... how does this relate to the hubby's new job?  Well, his new job just so happens to be right in line with upcycling, sustainability and the wine industry...but instead of making wine, they make wonderful high end art, furniture and home goods from the old wine barrels and torn out old growth vines.  I mean, how do you not covet these?

I think these would be so perfect in the hubby's office...

Pretty sure the cats would fight over this...

Yes, please...

The hubby has just set up their new blog and is helping maintain their website, so you should stop on over and say hello!  I love their intro on the blog....

"This shop is full of stories. That's what happens when you take a bunch of mad geniuses and give them tools, toys, materials, and booze: great things, each of which has a great story. We're usually too busy kicking out the things to stop and tell their stories.  So here's where we'll let the stories out. Watch this space for behind-the-scenes photos, mini-profiles of our awesome artists, DIY tips, and drunken ramblings about the joy of creating art."

How fun does that sound?  So happy he has found such a great place with creative artists who work so hard to reuse discarded items to make such neat new art.

Ash

Rolling with the punches and supporting local farms = really good food!

This year has been a year for learning about gardening in our new climate and how to work with all the little critters of the area.  My big hopes for a large, prosperous garden faded fairly quickly when plants that I was told were not on the list of things wild critters would eat were killed off.  Marigolds to keep pests away were 'snipped' off to die, the little boogers didn't even eat them.  Just wanted them gone.  And the 8 tomato plants planted in the spring are now down to 2.  I hope to finally get some fruit off of them now that I have built a large wire cage to try and keep these two alive.  Nothing like watching a squirrel take off with tomatoes in its little hands or mouth to make you realize you need to batten down the hatches.

Almost done with this cage to keep the wild animals out.
A few more tweaks and my last 2 plants might just make it.

My green beans are trying hard to stay alive!
Anything poking out of the cage get eaten, so a new cage will be coming asap.

And that chicken coop that we built has yet to be filled with chickens.  I am pretty picky about my eggs, and would prefer fresh over store bought any day.

Luckily, our friend-lords came to the rescue and asked us to join them in sharing a CSA box from Talley Farms in San Luis Obispo.  They deliver the boxes to handy pick-up points throughout the county, and work with other local farms to fill the wonderful boxes with lots off goodies.  For cheap.  Seriously, so much fresh food for way less than you'd spend at the store.

This big box filled to the brim with vegis and fruits each week? Yes, please!

As for eggs, between the friend-lords' lovely little chickens and our friends out at Vicarious Ranch (check out their fun and adorable Facebook here), I basically never have to get store bought eggs (at least during the laying season here.)   So I can support local farms and ranches and my friends, while getting all the goodies I could not produce myself.

Color coded eggs from the friend-lords!

Baking bread and admiring the lovely colors of my delivery of eggs from Vicarious Ranch!

Last night was such a great and delicious example of how well we eat because of the good food we get.  We used the spinach and heirloom tomatoes we got in our CSA box, baked some french bread (seen rising in the photo above) and some of those eggs to make our own take on this delicious open face egg sandwich over at My Fitness Pal's blog.  Man...this one is definitely staying in the rotation.

We tweaked the above recipe with our homemade french bread and larger portions...cuz we can.

So, even though my efforts this year to build our own garden thus far have not quite worked as planned, our 'failures' have taught us a TON and during which we have found these wonderful farms and friends to support in the process.  It's a win-win for sure.

Life is all about learning, eating real food, and supporting our local farms.  At least it is in my book.  (Well, I'd probably expand upon that a little more, like making goods yourself and supporting local artisans off all kinds, but hey, I am biased.)

Ash

PS - I will be letting you know more about local farms like Vicarious Ranch soon!  We will soon be featuring a local farm, artisan or handicrafter each month.  Stay tuned!)