More Mountain Vacation & Country Street Decor, My Mini Vintage Display

Hailey, Idaho Miner's Cabin

More Mountain Vacation-
Here's more photos of our trip to Sun Valley-

Sun Valley resort building, love the Nordic style and flowers

Gorgeous flowers

Cute Hailey coffee place vintage truck

and gas pumps

Old Hailey town hall, love the steeple!

These are all from the outside looking into the Miner's cabin, wish could could have taken an inside tour! It's right behind the town hall. Sorry for the blur, but you get the idea...

Nice dough bowl

Another Hailey truck

Cute!

The day after we got back from Sun Valley we took our daughter up to McCall for a Payette lake cruise. She only gets 2 split days off work, and since Dave was on vacation we did a back-to-back trip. Shorter drive and the cruise was fun! We drove up (2 hours), had a quick lunch and got to the ferry. Nice and relaxing. It's always a good 10-15 degrees cooler up there, great in the summer! I'd love to retire somewhere outside McCall on an acre, love the cooler weather and snow in the winter.

Payette Lake

We stopped at Cascade Lake on the way back and Dave and Michelle played on the beach while I took photos and relaxed...

Cascade Lake fun

My Mini Vintage Display-
It took me a bit of time to figure out where to put my heavy, thrifted, iron mini-pot rack so.... I put it on the top of my vintage window frame! Dave hung it, as he's taller. I may add more. In the fall/winter/spring I will add some seasonal things, for now it's good....

I love the iron scroll work

My 1920's vintage kitchen tools

A Little Sun Valley Vacation, Using Trip Advisor, Harvesting Veggies, No Rain- Again, Lemon Scones & Blackberries

A Little Sun Valley Vacation-
After doing a lot of research, we decided to take a short vacation for 3 days to the Sun Valley area here in Idaho. We decided not to go to Yellowstone or the Tetons, since we were late in planning. I found a nice, cheap motel in Bellevue, below Hailey and Ketchum. The great thing is Hailey, much of what Bruce Willis has owned, is the incredible, low cost food places to eat. Think grass fed beef burgers on brioche rolls, with organic veggies at the Power House Pub & Bike Store  Yum! And only $10.00, that would be cheap for Boise. Dave loved the HUGE beer selection! We had breakfast at Shorty's Diner, a fun 50's style place. Willis owns that building too.

Ketchum is the very expensive, somewhat snobby ski area. Lots of mega-mansions up there, and too many golf courses to count. By contrast we've gone to McCall, a resort area, and there's no snobbish behavior from what we've seen. Very relaxed. We went to 2 museums, both closed for some unknown reason. The really cool thing we did was to take a gondola up to 7,000 feet, on Bald Mountain, for lunch! It was a gorgeous ride, but a bit hazy from forest fire smoke. We ate out on the deck (sorry no pics) and had gourmet sandwiches, and relaxed. The Roundhouse interior was really gorgeous, built in the 20's. I love the mountain theme-

Roundhouse deck

I want that sled table!!!

I always try to buy a little something from a special trip. I found this recycled-glass sun catcher for $10.00 in Ketchum, gorgeous purple/blue...

Using Trip Advisor-
One of the things I love is doing research before any kind of travel. I use Tripadvisor! Since we travel rarely, and on a very tight budget, we need more bang for the buck. We've found low cost, reliable motels, meals, and other excursions on it. I also write reviews after we go to some of those places. I highly recommend it!

Harvesting Veggies-

We're finally getting a steady supply of tomatoes: yellow, plum, cherry and some Early Girls. Peppers seem to be late all over the valley, must be the heat. I know fruit won't set on tomatoes if it's over 85 or 90. Maybe peppers too? Yellow squash are coming, pickling cukes, and lots more blackberries!

 

I won the battle of the Swiss Chard! After planting and covering with bird netting, I have a good crop!!!

Twin Falls, Idaho

No Rain, Again-
While we have had lots of thunder heads, and heat, we've had zero rain. Yesterday the rain that bypassed us went east to Twin Falls. We really need some rain, to help rid us of the smokey skies. The lightning has been pretty bad lately, sparking small fires up in the hills and mountains nearby. I have heard at least 6 NIFC planes overhead the last hour. We saw one of these yesterday near McCall-

Used for moving water, had a tube on it, from Sikorsky S-64 Skycrane

Lemon Scones & Blackberries-

I made some quick lemon scones, added our dead-ripe blackberries, with some leftover lemon curd for an amazing quick dessert. Oh man, those berries are so good!

I finally got my vintage apron washed and ironed. I like it!!!

Kitchen Counter Re-Do, History of RV's & A Truly Off Road RV, 100 Day Pantry Cookbook

Kitchen Counter Organization Re-Do-
You know how you just get used to something? Then one day you have one of those "what was I thinking?" moments? I did. My kitchen counter wasn't too messy, but a bit cluttered looking, and in need of reorganizing. This week I was looking at some various organizing ideas for one of our bedroom, then stumbled on to lots kitchen counters ideas. They jumped out at me! Hey, why was my toaster clear across the kitchen away from the food prep area? And the bread box? Hmmm... got me thinking. The short version- I looked more closely at what really gets used daily, and what doesn't. While some have a system of having empty counters, it's a bit to stark for my tastes. Here's what I did, yes it's my kitchen! I know, you've never seen it before :) I hope you like it!

First I took everything off, and wiped down and cleaned, then made piles.
I decided what I really needed to be out. It didn't take too long to decide. Then I moved things closer to where they should be. So...
Toaster and breadbox moved closer to the food prep area
Cutting board off the counter, behind the sink
Created a fermenting station, since I do Water Kefir and am now doing veggies. 
I put the electric can opener in the cupboard. I use one because of some arthritis in my hands, but only once or twice a week, so why have it out?
I put the hot and cold teas in a new little rack I found at Costco, perfect timing! They are 2 for $16.00, all bamboo, with little removable brackets. Perfect size for the teas. I my get some more for another part of the house. Something similar somewhere else was twice the price.
Moved the decorative bin over, to make room for the bread box.
Done! So this is the "after version". It may not make Better Home Gardens but it works for me. Now if I could just get new, solid counters!!! Sigh, someday.

Fermenting station to the right, on the far left before I bought my bamboo organizer

Bamboo organizer now in far right corner

Hot teas on top, cold on the bottom, cute

the clips are removable and you can use individually

I had hoped to find something like this for under the upper cabinet, but they aren't sold thru Etsy anymore. I may make some to sell :)

 

History of RV's & A Truly Off Road RV-
There's a fascinating look at the history of RV's here Living In Rvs Vs.Tiny Houses! I would add to that info- a lot of RV materials are unhealthy. Off gassing formaldehyde, poor ventilation, a lot of plastics. This came up with people living full time in RVs after Katrina. People started getting sick. I've also seen RV's being built in films and it's all about speed, not quality. Very cheaply made, structurally speaking. It's really the opposite of well-crafted tiny houses. My biggest problem, with either, is that very few people seem to be into self sufficiency, growing their own foods and storing it. They are completely dependent on city/county utilities and buy almost all of their foods. There's no real storage. This is most of what I've read, and I'm sure there are exceptions. Not my thing, here's my thing- Mercedes Benz Zetros  a truly off-road RV. I would do this Mercedes Benz Zetros tricked out with solar, and water making capabilities as well, and a nicer paint job :) Sounds like the way to go! There are very little truly off-grid RVs I've seen for sale. Most are heavily modified by owners. Now if I just had the $$$ for a Zetros! This baby will take you anywhere!!! Some say though, the only way to be truly zombie proof is by sea. Hmmm, I know how to sail!

100 Day Pantry Cookbook-

I had spotted this book somewhere, and decided to order a used copy. It's here 100 Day Pantry Quick Gourmet Meals  While I love fresh foods like anyone else, there's all kind of reasons you might want to think about all the "what ifs?" There's no water needed for any of these recipes, a real bonus. Most of the ingredients are pretty commonly available, but it make you think about things? Dried celery, nope I don't have any. Should I? Some of this is also not very healthy, but probably okay in a pinch. Jars of cheese? OMG the sodium and fat, ew. Anyway, there's some pretty good recipes complied, and for $7.00 it's in my stash. It's always good to have a quick reference if things go bad, in a hurry... or you're just exhausted for another day at work/home!

A little something over my kitchen sink :)