AfricanKelli

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September

: Matty returns to Australia and is already missed

: 10 Golden days

: 22nd French birthday party for Shoshana

: The return of the Pre-emptive Strikes Bowling Team

: Sin Nombre, Arrested Development, Weeds, Californication — thank you Netflix

: Bon Iver in concert last night; so very good!

: Spending time with new girlfriends, laughing equally at ourselves and each other

: Reuniting with a girlfriend I missed very much

: Jackie O on the cover of Vanity Fair, Michelle Williams on the cover of Vogue, me drowning in Fall couture dreams

: The most fascinating podcast I’ve ever listened to — thank you Radiolabs

: The community garden pushes us to learn how to pickle (okra)

: A new community garden takes root with high school students in south Phoenix

: The pumpkins keep flowering in the garden, but no signs of actual fruit yet . . .

: Market on Mill takes off and Tempe has a community gathering for farmers and hippie folk

: New Jay-Z

: My novel is solely awaiting a cover design;  so very close to the finish line — Amazon

: New reasons to bake chocolate cake

I hope your month was filled with beauty and grace,

K

When Sandy saw this month’s Craft challenge, she was excited to have a couple pouches for her pooches, Sage and Bo. Happily, I obliged and she sent photos of her sweet pets rocking their new accessories:

Way to work it, Sage!

When I was in Colorado, my brother Cody and his dog were out on a lengthy camping/hunting/testosterone fest when his pup, Raja, became seriously injured. Raja was chasing something through the woods when he was impaled by a stick that nearly killed him. Cody called me, after hiking six miles out with his beloved pup and getting him to an emergency vet clinic, rather hysterical.

If you look closely, you can see Raja’s stitches. There were way too many. Thankfully, he survived! And today is my little brother’s birthday. So happy day to both the Colorado boys!

“He survived? Ah, nuts!”

~K

I’m home again, home again after a lovely week in Colorado pet-sitting for my friends Sheila and Charlie. They were off to Africa and left me with their gorgeous home, a car full of gas, a GPS system, 5 furry friends to spend time with and WI-FI. I sat at their kitchen table busting through my work each day so I could go outside afterward and explore. Spending so much time away from home and my propoer desk feels decadent. I am so very lucky I’ve been able to escape from the heat as much as I have this summer.

I appreciated every cool breeze, the pitter patter of paws as the pups approached my bed each morning and simply being in a new environment. There cannot be enough said about the healing properties of reveling in sweet, thin mountain air. I spent hours lost one day on a hike only to find a path marked with “Beware of mountain lion!” signs. As my heart raced and I breathed as hard as I could in the altitude, I still couldn’t help but smile and stick my arms out in “Sound of Music” fashion. (Okay, in all honesty — I cried. I sat down and cried and was 4-miles off course, panicked, without water and completely freaked out when a ranger on a horse found me and got me back on course. Resume soundtrack music… ) The golden hills, dotted with the occasional pine and bouquet of purple wildflowers, with an absurdly bright blue sky above and towering gray Flat Iron mountains in the distance, made me feel alive.

When I wasn’t hiking, I was finding ways to follow my passions without my sewing machine. I saw this dutch oven in Sheila’s hutch and once I was done drooling over the size and color of the Le Creuset, I knew I had to cook. Roast chicken and vegetables is the easiest way to make a savory meal that makes the entire home smell welcoming. I threw together some veggies and rosemary from the garden and voila — a meal waiting for my friends when they returned from their time-zone hopping:

The funny thing is, when they landed yesterday we couldn’t stop thanking each other. I was so grateful to have a different place to work and to connect with my creativity. I made considerable progress on a few projects that sorely needed my attention. They were happy their pets were still alive and the house hadn’t burned down.

Win-win and a jiggity jig,

K

From garden to table:

Roasted at 350 for 25 minutes with a dash of EVOO

Spicy Tuna Burgers with Roast Veggies an Beet Greens:

1 can (regular sized, not giant/tiny) of tuna in water
1/4 cup of breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons of spicy mustard
1 egg white
dash of salt and pepper
EV Olive Oil for the frying pan

Combine all the ingredients, minus the EVOO. Drain the tuna and continuing adding mustard until you feel like the mixture is burger-patty consistency. I think 3 tablespoons is enough, but it is up to you. This makes two large patties. Heat EVOO in the frying pan and cook for 3 minutes on each side.

I like to add wasabi paste on top. It’s nice with the tuna.

Trim some of those beet greens and throw them in the pan to soak up the tuna browning:

Dark chocolate almond brownies for Cody’s birthday dinner. The recipe would be a Betty Crocker mix + a handful of almonds + the high altitude instructions on the box. Voila!

~K