"New" Bike!!

I know many of you have heard about the updates I've been making on my beloved bike. In May, James and I spent several days painting it. I had no idea it would take so long, but it was well worth it. I really enjoyed hanging out with James and Miles, and also learning more of the ins and outs of my bike. For those of you who never saw my bike in its original form, here it is:
Essentially, the job was a lot of sanding between coats. It's pretty hard getting in all the little spots, but by doing a little by hand and a lot with the electric sander, we got it done. We also put on a new bell and nice new sparkly handlebar tape (and new handlebars from Elizabeth). You can see Miles was trying to help, although he kind of ended up getting in the way! But I love him anyway. I also think James' mullet added an extra special touch to the effort.




With his new color James and Dano renamed the bike Purple Rain. The new name suits him well, and so far it's been really great just riding around Boise exploring new and old places, and seeing all the incredible growth!

New Additions

I mentioned in my last post that I have been volunteering at the Humane Society. I've enjoyed it so much that I wanted to do something extra so I applied to be a foster mom. Much to my parent's chagrin, we are now housing a family of cats. We have five kittens and a mama. They are super adorable, even though they pretty much cry constantly. The kittens are two weeks old, and even the mom is only somewhere between six and twelve months old. So the office has become the busiest room in the house, but in a very good way. Here are some pictures, which should put a smile on anyone's face. I will be sure to keep everyone updated on their growth and adoption progress!

I took my first sewing class today! I was so excited and it did not disappoint. I got off to a slow start (my grandma's old machine definitely needs a tune-up), but once I got going, I was hooked. My teacher is actually a girl from my graduating class at Boise, and it really helps to have someone I know helping me along. We're starting with a pretty difficult project ( a dress... requiring a stretchy stitch... with stripes!), but I'm in no hurry and want to take the class all summer. I'm not worried. These are some pictures of the cutting I brought home as homework. The weird zig zags are my practice runs on the machine and there's a picture of how the dress will (hopefully) look when I'm finished. I will be sure to update everyone as I progress.



Other than that, I have been busy starting my new volunteer job at the Idaho Humane Society. I really love playing with the dogs and just helping out with everything they need. It's definitely helping with my puppy craving! Oh, and James and I made some DELICIOUS granola bars...

skillz

Among other skills I hope to master this summer, I would love to perfect my cooking. As many of you know, I have happily been a vegan for a little over a year. Although I think what you eat is a personal decision, I think vegan cooking is some of those most challenging, and thus rewarding I've ever tried. This weekend I had a dinner party with some friends (taste testers, as I fondly think of them). The menu was: Simple garden salad with Mediterranean Olive Oil and Lemon Vinaigrette, homemade Rosemary Focaccia, and Spinach Linguine with homemade Basil-Cilantro Pesto and Artichokes. Luckily, I had enough basil and cilantro in the garden to make the pesto, and it was super delicious. Extremely fresh and perfect for summer pasta. I'm going to use up space and post the recipe, because I think everyone (Emily) will love it!

Basil-Cilantro Pesto
Makes about 1 cup

2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
1/3 c slivered or sliced almonds
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil

Place the basil, cilantro, almonds, garlic, lemon juice, and salt in a food processor and blend until pasty, scraping down the sides occasionally. With the food processor on, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. Blend until relatively smooth and no large chunks are left.

Hopefully these pictures will convince everyone to experiment with this delicious vegan recipe!


Oh, and of course we had to have dessert. I decided to make individual cherry pies for the girls instead of one large one. I think it was a nice surprise, and as mom would say, definitely a "do-againer!" Thanks Maddie, Jess, and Dawn for coming and good luck in all of your awesome summer adventures!

Salsa

After the dresser, I (along with my mom and grandma) also planted my long sought after salsa garden. We did tomatoes, cilantro, and jalapeno peppers. So far it's pretty puny, but I'm confidant it's going to yield delicious salsa ingredients in no time.