Adventures in running a small coffee shop-

Life is interesting.  Things don't always go as planned, but how boring would it be if it did?  When we moved to our new home in Central CA, I thought that maybe I'd work, but maybe I would just run our little farm.  Well, the farm hasn't quite happened.  We are lucky to have a beautiful spot to park our little RV home, with rolling hills and wonderful weather....

But the farm piece we have finally admitted will be a little down the road.  So what to do with my time?  It just so happened that the little coffee shop in town was going through a transition and needed some help.  I thought, hey, why not try it out?

Little did I know, I would love it!  It is adorable, I get to meet lots of fun people - locals and travelers - and I get to bake as much as I want.  I have to say, it is such a huge change from what I used to do, but it is pretty rewarding to hand someone one of these homemade pop

tarts....

Or one of these muffins...

And people tell you how much they appreciate homemade pastries and food.  It is pretty nice.  

And because we are small, I can take a little extra time to get to know people and chat.  Yesterday I was excited to meet a couple women traveling through, one from Southern CA and her sister visiting from Texas, who love to knit, and we compared projects!  And now we are both connected on Ravelry. How sweet is that?  I just love making those kinds of connections.

So if you are ever traveling on Hwy 101 in Cali and see a turnoff for little San Miguel, come visit me at the Coffee Station.  I will tell you all about the little history of our tiny town and get you some yummy pastries or wake you up with some great coffee. 

Life takes you in different directions...and I am feeling pretty darn lucky right now that it keeps things fresh and interesting. Never a dull moment!

Ash

Joys of a new climate...

We are still getting used to the dramatic difference in climate from Eugene, Oregon to San Miguel/Paso Robles, Cali.  And so far we are really enjoying it.  There have been a few really warm days already, which is new, but we have been dealing with it well.  For example, my hubby found a great way to cool off with his 'redneck' pool/hot tub.  It has been cracking us up, but has also come in handy.

When it is warm, no fire, just a cool tub.  And when it is cool, light up the fire, which we pump water through a copper coil in the the fire pit and back to the tub.  Kind of ingenious, that man is.

The other thing that is so different is when to plant our vegis.  We got going early, planting greens and peas in February.  Look at the peas I just harvested already!  In Eugene, we were lucky if it was dry enough in May to even plant!

They were quite delicious.

Peppers are already coming on, and the tomatoes are doing well, too!

With it being sunny so often, the other thing that is different is how many eggs we get from the chickens!  Again, in Eugene, there was less light and was cooler, therefore the chickens molted and then slowed laying for the winter.  

But here, they are always laying!  I forgot to check for a couple of days and was over run with eggs!

Overall, we are loving the change.  We need rain here badly (or should say needed, as it is now past rainy season here), but we are making the most of it, and loving getting to be outdoors so often.  Dinners are outside, relaxing in the tub or hammock outside, or even my 'mobile office' that I set up outside....

Just me and the dog out on a hill doing our work.  Not too shabby.

Hope you are enjoying your Spring, wherever you may be!

Ash

Big changes and exciting new adventures...

There are some big changes headed down the pipeline.  I have made Eugene, OR my happy little home for over 10 years now, and it has treated me rather well.  I have learned a lot, met wonderful people, loved the natural environment here and had the opportunity to work in a field I am passionate about.  But change is good, and it is time for brand new adventures.  So, my hubby, my friend, and I, along with all our animals, are downsizing dramatically to fit into our new-to-us 1986 Winnebago and traveling down to our new home in Central California to try our hand at raising some animals and farming a little.  It is scary, but also so very exciting!

I will make sure to share with you all the transformations of our little Winny (we have named it Oliver) as we get it all spiffied up and ready to live in. (Have you heard of glamping?  Because if not, look that up!  Or here, check out my pinterest board on ideas for my tiny house renovations!  Or check out this earlier post of another blogger and her adventures in glamping!)

Here are some before pics of Oliver.  (By the way, driving a 26ft RV is some experience in itself!)

So far, we have torn out the carpet and linoleum and repainted the interior all white.  Pics of that to come as soon as the paint job is completely finished.  But already there is a huge difference and it feels much more bright and even gives the illusion of a larger space.

So stay tuned for our big adventures in remodeling, traveling, and relocating!  The big move happens at the end of next month!  So much to do!

Ash

Back to the Ranch...

As you may remember, in past years we have taken a trip down to central California to check out a wonderful ranch, the Work Ranch.  They offer trail rides, they raise cattle, they have the cutest cat in the world, they raise barley and just so happens that my parents are helping as ranch hands right now, so I get an awesome excuse to go see this wonderful place.

It was soooo wonderful there.  I helped each morning feed the horses, calves, goats and pig.  The weather, while chilly, was sunny and clear.  And having time to sit and look out at the rolling hills and slow down from my crazy life, well, let's just say that it was pretty tough to come back to my daily grind.

The view from our bunk house....

Visiting the calving area....

Look at the calves!

Love the old architecture on the farms...

An old farmstead...

Sweet animals to feed...

An evening by the campfire...

A fallen old farmhouse...

The ranch is very close to the fault...

And, they also have an area where you can dig for fossils...we found this awesome old sand dollar in the middle of California's rolling hills.  Pretty awesome to think about.

They have some of the best pets I have met, too.  This guy is Miles, but their cats and other dogs were pretty darn fun, too.  Including Charlie the cat (no pic...boo...), who likes to ride on the Kubota with us when feeding the animals.

Hope you can take a little time this year to explore (or re-explore) some special places.  Which reminds me, I need to share the 2013 Manifesto with you soon! 

Ash

Much needed holiday

Yup...I missed the last Feature Friday.  BUT....I think I have a good excuse!  I was on the road for a much needed holiday.  It was an awesome, yet crazy, road trip with friends to San Fran then Reno and back.

It was kind of one of those trips where you are going non-stop.  But man, did we pack in the fun!

Gotta love the San Fran architecture.  Took lots of fun pics of cute houses!

And look at my fun new ring! hehehehe

We made our way to the Ferry Building...which is seriously awesome.  Great food, fun atmosphere.  If you go to San Fran, go there!  

Then the next day we made our way to Pier 39.  What a fun place!  I think I had been there when I was younger, but so fun as an adult!

And probably THE highlight of the trip was when my hubby got pulled onto the little stage to be the 'ventriloquist dummy'!  Oh....we about died from laughter!

Hubby also got some really cool shots of Alcatraz from the pay-to-view contraptions.

We did not make it on the tour this time, but we all decided we'd figure it out next time for sure!

Then we had to go see the sea lions.  This guys was hanging all alone.

And then we went to the....

Yup, I got a pic with Obama and Clinton. Look at them pose to be in a pic with me.

I love Cleopatra.  I was pretty amazed at how good these wax sculptures are!

My friend and I saw Nixon, too. 

The boy pharaoh.

After a trip to SF filled to the brim with activities, we bid the city goodbye and hit the road again, this time to go check out Reno, NV.

We decided to stay on the cheap at the Sands, which was awesomely retro!  Check out Mel's, where we had our first meal in Reno.

Apparently, I did not get as many pics in Reno, though.  I was kind of surprised at how many places have closed down since we last visited, about 7 or 8 years ago.  It is a fun 'little' city, but has def seen better days.

Saturday, we went to see my parents in Clio.  You may remember the cute little tiny town with this funny little sign from an earlier trip...so cute!  And pretty relaxing with yummy, homemade food!

Finally, we hit the pool for a few hours to get our sun fix, and we packed up and started for home.  I have to say, that I really do kind of miss the desert.  Growing up in AZ made me appreciate the warmth, sun, and the sparse, yet impressive scenery.

We made it home safe and sound at about 1am.  Whew!  Next time, we add a day or two of down time before going back to work, though!  Today was a little rough!

Hope you have had a chance to go adventure this summer!

Ash