too busy enjoying summer!!

Summer's so short here and it's finally in the 80's so it's warm enough to go swimming! Speacking of which, I'm late to meet Josh at Jackson Lake! gotta run! just wanted to say hey and let everyone know that I'm still alive.  and LIVING I am!! 

PEACE

Tricia

I don't worry, 'cause I'm sittin' on top of the world...

Last year if you asked me what I felt about summer, the response would be something along the lines of "it's the worst season, it's hot and I hate life." Well today was the first day that the temperature has reached 80. I don't have A/C at my house and it's not even a little bit warm in the house, however, I haven't really even been at home.  I haven't watched a second of television. I haven't been bored. I've been dirt baggin' it in the woods.  I do not hate life, or summer... in fact, I'm kinda in love with both.  

I've been sitting by campfires, climbing trees, chillin' with friends, making new friends, playing fetch with Elu, riding on boats, sleeping under the stars and LIVING

Zen...

 You know how when you're stressed out you are supposed to take a deep breath, close your eyes and picture your "happy place"? Well, I have found that works to some extent, but if you want to find true peace and serenity, you need to go to that place pysically and reconnect with what it is that you've been lacking.  

Luckily, whenever I need a dose of nature, I am not too far away

Morel Mushrooms

When I first heard people talking about how excited they were to go mushroom hunting this summer, I automatically assumed I was hearing hippies going looking for "wacky 'shrooms".  But then more and more people started heading to their "secret spots" looking for these mushrooms.  People are talking in the grocery store about primo conditions, they are late this year, etc and so forth.  I have gathered by this point that we're not dealing with trippy heady 'shrooms, we are in fact dealing with some sort of delicacy gourmet food.  At this point, I am still not seeing what the big deal with these mushrooms are, but I'm throughly intrigued. 

So when Josh took me to his secret mushroom patch, I was very excited to be a part of this which I've heard so much about.  I was never any good at "Where's Waldo" or "I Spy" books.  I'm terrible at finding proverbial needles in haystacks. Hell, I can't find my keys half the time! But I went, because he was very excited and I wanted to see what all the hype was about.  We drove around a few places, and looked a little, to no avail and then we went to his "sure fire" spot and started to spot a few.  I had only an hour to play before I had to go meet my friend Brandy, so I was unable to get the FULL experience, but I did find three!! 

I left and Josh continued picking.  After I went climbing, we met back at my house and proceeded to cook a meal with said mushrooms. 

I don't like mushrooms of any other variety. 

I at the best meal of my life that night. 

Josh had a T-bone marinated in garlic and red wine.  I had roasted eggplant marinated in garlic, red wine, a dash of salt and pepper.

The mushrooms were sauteed in butter, garlic and salt for about 20 minutes.  I poured some of the buttery sauce over my eggplant before I took it out of the oven.

I put the mushrooms on top of my roasted eggplant, sat down with a glass of red wine, took one bite and fell in love! 

I cannot do justice to how savory and succulent this fungus is.  I now know why people keep their spots a secret and talk about it for weeks. I will no longer judge mushroom hunters to be stupid hippies... Morel Mushrooms are divine! 

Balance...

 I grew up dancing. My mother always made fun of me that I had fantastic balance as long as I was dancing, but as soon as I stepped off the dance floor, I fell over.  I have fantastic physical balance.  I can stand on one foot for hours, I can center my body over whichever limb I need to to keep from falling over.  

Emotionally, I am not so balanced.  I am dedicating this summer to finding balance in my life.  I have ups and downs. A lot. Rarely is everything just normal. It's either AWESOME! or ALL HELL IS BREAKING LOOSE. I am looking for things to be on a more even keel.  

I am a super-sensitive person.  I take other's emotions and hardships and internalize them as my own.  I take my own short comings and problems and amplify them to a point where my life is over!  Mom always told me I should be an actress because I am uber dramatic! It's not that I try to be overly dramatic... I just really think that things are that bad. I have taken up meditation and it really seems to be helping. I just need to get in the habit of meditating even when (and especially when) everything is fine.  It's like preventative medicine. You have to do it even when you don't think you need it.  It builds up in your (emotional) system and helps to BALANCE you all the time.  If you start out balanced, when things get off kilter, it's a lot easier to fix.  Mental Maintenance, if you will. 

SO, my self-improvement project for the summer is to get my life in a constant state of balance- Zen.  

I'll let you know how it works out. 

not summer...

AHHH!! rain, rain rain. and guess what?!? Forecast is calling for snow in the valley later this week.  There was a blizzard on Togwotee Pass, according to my friend Sarah, I'm having to find my sweaters again.  Apparently there is no point in putting winter stuff away out here. Ever. 

Insomnia

Sometimes it sucks to be me... right now is definitely one of those times.

I have to work at 6:30 tomorrow. This is not usually a problem; I like working the morning shifts.  

The problem lies in the fact that it is 12:33 AM and I cannot sleep.

Why? Because I am a thinker.

Being a THINKER has it's ups and downs.  Generally, I enjoy escaping into my own little world and waxing philosophical about life, love the pursuit of happiness.  My head is a haven from the rest of the world.  My overactive imagination is actually one of my favorite qualities about myself. Sometimes, though, it comes and bites me in the ass! 

Thinking leads to more thinking.  One little iota of an idea grows and grows into this entire metropolis of things that could happen or should have happened or did happen.  YIKES!! 

Tonight's train of thought has led me to a list.  A list I think I will share with you.  Here, my dear readers, is a list of things I want in life: (beware of sub-categories)

1- a career

-that has a future

-that has benefits

-that I enjoy doing everyday

-(I tried and tried to come up with examples of actual careers I wanted to have, and I honestly DO NOT KNOW... and this is a terrible feeling). 

2- a significant other 

-who has a career they enjoy

- who wants a future (preferably with me)

-who also wants the same things on this list

3- to Travel 

-and to have the means to do it right

-a significant other to join me would me a huge bonus

-to live in another country for at least three months 

4- to one day own land

-5+ acres

-a veggie garden

-custom-design my home on that land

5- to one day own my own business

-a cafe/bar

-a sustainable and eco-friendly policy

-local and home-grown veggies! 

6- to learn how to be completely self-sufficient

-financially

-emotionally

-environmentally (ie: solar panels and water wheels)

7- to hone my creative side

-write a book

-learn how to solder silver

-become a better photographer 

There are not a lot of things on this list. I feel fairly confident I can accomplish over 75% in my lifetime and at least one in the next two years. (I'll keep you posted)

So now, at 1AM, I am going to hope that my list making has calmed my brain enough so that I might catch 40 winks- or whatever the phrase is.   

Summer continues...

After work on Saturday, Josh, Jeff and Brandi called me to get my ass down to Alpine and on the boat and bring my camping stuff! It seems that Josh had somehow convinced some man that he was responsible enough to test drive this guys boat for sale.  So, I loaded up Elu and headed for the boat ramp. Elu greatly enjoyed her first time on a boat... 

And Josh pretty much loved driving a boat... 

The scenery was beautiful.

Brandi decided to drive to the campsite while the rest of us went on an adventure! Luckily for us, cell phones worked on the river and we were able to meet up with the car, and drive into town for staples like beer and Jagermeister (and I was able to get my car so I would be on time for work the next day).  The weather held out on us, and we ended up with a relatively clear night. Very few hang-ups...

Except:

Elu and Kipper (Brandi's dog) got sprayed by a skunk

Josh caught himself on fire (just his pant leg)

The dogs found Elk legs, hooves still attached

Overall, it was a nice Saturday evening, and Elu was pooped!!