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

Events and elections time...what can I say?

Just wanted to let you all know I am still around, but have been caught up in work.  First we had our big annual fundraiser with over 1,100 people (whew!)....

So fun! And then I was off to Michigan to do some learning and networking at the national conference.    I got to go to Grand Rapids, drink some local craft beer, and also see Lake Michigan!  

The view of the river from the hotel....

It had recently flooded there, so the river is still very high.

And can you believe this is a lake?  Lake Michigan was gorgeous.  It felt like I was back at the Oregon coast!

Finally, I have been fully engaged in an election on the coast, in Newport, and I am working hard to get good things done there to help protect the ocean and the environment.  But that has taken up evenings and weekends...so come May 21st, I will be all yours again!

It was a wonderful day yesterday to hit the streets in Newport and talk to voters. 

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I am still alive and hoping to get back to the regularly scheduled postings soon!

Ash

Feature Fridays and Happy Loves Rosie

I decided that this week I needed another fix of adorable campers and caravans that have been fixed up to be almost too retro-cute to bear.  So, I went on over to Happy Loves Rosie, a blog that offers me just that. I mean, I could show you this pic right here and stop this whole post.  This is the epitome!

Right?!  But you then seriously need to check out the rest of her page, and of course, the whole post to see the interior of her cute little caravan.

Happy, the author of this blog, sounds like she would be a blast to hang out with.  And she has a keen eye for great vintage items, which she then sells at her online store.  I mean, seriously, she has some fun stuff, that I would almost pay the shipping overseas for!

Her blog is a retro feast for the eyes!  I was supposed to be writing this blog post, but instead just kept getting side tracked by the colorful images....like this one of her getting organized...

Look at the cute tins and teapots in the background, too!

And she even shares some great free vintage patterns and images, like this cute tea cosy pattern!

Ok, I need to show another picture of the caravan....so hard to choose!

In fact, you better head over there right now and see what I am talking about!

Happy Friday!

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 

While I have been away...

I am sorry to have stayed away for so long...these last couple of weeks about killed me, but I am back.  Sadly, a big part of the chaos was a death in my husband's family.  A Great Aunt that truly was someone special and will be missed.  I have to tell you that it really says something about you if your plumber and hairdresser come to your funeral.  I hope that I can be that awesome.

But it also brought time for travels, great memories, new experiences and meeting new people and seeing old friends.  The trip took us across the country to an adorable town on Long Island, Hauppauge.  Here we are on the approach into JFK airport at night....so pretty!

The adjoining town, Smithtown, is full of yummy pizza, fresh baked goodies, the cutest and most well stocked little grocery store I've ever seen and super friendly people.

While in NY, we had to go into the city.  The time difference messed with us quite a bit, and therefore we got into NYC later than we had hoped on a Sunday...therefore we spent time walking the city and eating, but a lot of places had closed before we could get there.  Still, we had a blast.

NYC pizza in Penn Station (talking with our new friend, Joe.)

Blurry NYC at night...

My hubby trying out authentic steamed buns.

But a few other things happened while I was away.  One, I was handed down some beautiful china tea-ware.  It is such a pleasure and honor to have these passed down and I will share pics of these gorgeous pieces soon.

The other thing is that I was given the Liebster Award by a fellow blogger!  I am super stoked, and I can't wait to tell you more about that.  But in the meantime, here is the link to the wonderful blog that gave me this award with more info on it - Sneezy Detour.  Thanks so much, Tracy for thinking of Civic Stitching for this award!

So much to tell you...so little time.  More soon!  

Ash