use real butter

Recipe: pim’s pad thai

Did you have as lovely a weekend as I did? I hope so! Even if you don’t celebrate the Fourth of July (let’s say, because you are British) I hope the weekend treated you well.

even the yard had red (paintbrush), white (yarrow), and blue (blue flax)

We hiked in the mountains, got a little work done, ran a few errands, ate some great food, and saw brilliant, spectacular, thrilling fireworks! I love fireworks. Love love love love them. I’m a parrot when it comes to those dazzling and colorful displays, which is why I had to capture some at the reservoir on Saturday.

boom! bang! pow!

You can see more of the fireworks photographs on my photo blog. Every Fourth of July, Jeremy and I marvel that local kids have not yet burned down the entire expanse that is the American West. I mean really, fire+beer+young men+forests = not a good scenario.

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: vietnamese spring rolls

I know it seems that I was MIA here, and I was… but I wasn’t. I was completely in action all weekend which was why I had nary a minute to sit down and write anything coherent (although that assumes what I typically write is coherent…). But it was a lovely weekend and I’ll tell you why: my eye doctor had a last-minute cancellation and asked if I could come in last week instead of July 28, 2036. I have new Oasys contacts for dry eyes on and life has become a lot happier. A lot happier.

wildflowers fully underway in our yard

Just a few of the highlights with lots of pictures, okay? I finally got myself to the Boulder Farmer’s Market on Saturday. Seems trivial enough, but Saturday mornings for us are typically spent UP in the mountains, not DOWN on the flats.

fresh picked lettuce

itty bitty strawberries

boatloads of colorful radishes

The reason I wasn’t in the mountains was because I had a shindig at The Cup, which lovely Gwen organized for Denver/Boulder bloggers. Lady bloggers. Kickass lady bloggers. It was actually a pre-meet for Blogher 09 goers and a great opportunity to network in person with local women who move in different circles. Fascinating, but more importantly, fun. All of the photos from the pre-meet can be viewed here.

these two = definite trouble (manisha and dana)

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: beef sushi roll

There is just over a day left to enter the drawing for the Kyocera ceramic knife. I’m impressed with the turnout – so many people who love to flirt with danger! Nice.

Yesterday was my last day of tele class. I’m happy to get my time back, but also a little sad because it was so much more than just improving my tele skills. The good thing is that we have plans beyond class. Alpha chicks rule.

our group minus two

By the time we were done on the mountain, the snow was coming down fast in large fluffy flakes. It was a great day, but it wasn’t over. We all met up afterward for drinks and appetizers and to see Bode, our instructor’s 8 month old border collie. Bode (named for Bode Miller) is already a superstar and he is going to take the agility competitions by storm. It’s quite amazing to be around such an intelligent dog (and then later I went home to Kaweah, Dog of Simple Brain).

let’s play tug

**Jump for more butter**