My Little Orange Kitchen

East Or Bust

The truth about my side of the family is we never do things the normal way and this goes back to my great-great grandmother traveling East by covered wagon.  She left her husband, packed up the kids and made her way to New York to start a new life...which makes me laugh because it sounds very typical of the women in my family. Not the leaving husbands part, just going in opposite directions.

Though, last week, Mark and I did make it West. This was our second trip to Arizona and we stayed with Mark's aunt and uncle.  The first visit was stressful for my in-laws because they were prepared to  run interference between Mark's Uncle Gary and me because Gary has a bit of a thing for collecting machine guns and strong views on immigration which they worried would offend me terribly. 

The funny part is that Gary and I got along very well...we were careful and respected one another enough to not become adamant about expressing our beliefs and we actually found common ground. Gary is a hardcore animal person and he and Connie basically run an operation rescue on their land. Fifteen cats, three dogs, a rabbit and three horses. Gary is the one people call when someone has abandoned yet another litter of kittens.  I respect Gary a great deal. In fact, the first trip was such a success that Mark and I chose to visit his aunt and uncle on our own for this visit.

Of course the animals were everywhere.  I wish my pictures had turned out...here is Ollie, whose pen I helped clean (except for the afternoon I fell asleep and missed my start-time!).

Here he is with his mask on  backwards...to me he looked so cute!  Ah, the indignity.

   

And even though I am not a small dog person, these little guys were endearing (sort of...the bigger one didn't like us! Connie said she was happy to see us go!):

They have a lovely house and Mark and I had a lot of privacy on our end of place...but, my favorite spot is this...it's the doors off of one end of their bedroom...I love the bouganvillas and how they almost match the stained glass roses on the mini bell tower.

Connie will kill me for posting this photo...but as she was trimming the umbrella with tiny colored lights, I couldn't help but think that I wish my 39 year old legs looked as good as her 61 year old legs! I guess sixty really is the new forty!

We ate out most of the time we were there and the hands down favorite was Joe's BBQ in Gilbert. I'm not even a BBQ nut like Mark is, but my brisket and hot links did the job!  Joe's is only ten years old, but has a great reputation and is being featured on Guy Fieri's Food Network show on May 19th.

I was enchanted by all of the flowers and flowering shrubs we saw along the highways and roads, but Connie's flower pots were gorgeous...so many cheerful yellows....

This blew me away. I had no idea that in certain places people irrigate residential land...We had to get home one day so that Gary could flood his property and horse pasture...

The water flows in from Colorado and costs $18.00 per hour of "floodtime"....they drink well-water because the water that flows to Arizona is basically coming in by way of open ditch and people worry that so much of it evaporates that it leaves some concentrated "bad things" behind. Yet, many people do drink it.

I have to report that the most idiotic thing overheard on the trip was when Mark was wandering through a Ralph Lauren Polo store and saw a girl showing her boyfriend some shirts he might like and the guy, demonstrating how much of an idiot snob he is, noticed the sale price, scoffed and said, "I don't ever buy Polo on sale."  Mark had to laugh out loud.

All and all it was a great trip and we so appreciate Connie and Gary opening up their home to us...Plus, I came home with a new HOT PINK camping knife courtesy of Gary, which I guess is the benefit of having an Uncle in-law who is prepared for any emergency you could present...No hot dog stick will be safe from me n' my blade! Notice the vintage book endpapers it's resting on...they''ll be a business card holder soon. 

OK....AS PROMISED.  This is just Day One of the giveaways that will begin today and end next Friday.  The rules?  Just leave a comment and you'll have a chance at winning the item I offer up!  Enter again and again!! Ha! How's that for blatant comment wrangling! I have no shame! But, you guys are such  loyal readers! Plus, I like giving things away!

Item One:

The eight ounce jar of Andrew  Weil's Organic Manuka Honey pictured above. It's infused with extracts of astragalus root, schisandra berry, elderberry and amia fruit.  Two to three teaspoons a day is said to help your immune system, plus it's sweet and so good.  Origins has ticked me off for using excess shipping packaging, but because Andrew Weil is donates all of his after tax profits to an organization that supports Integrative Medicine, well, I made an exception. Plus, Origins has taken some good steps and was named one of the top 30 "greenest" companies by the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Power Partnership.   And they are working on getting  the parabens out of their products completely.  And all of their packaging is at least 50 percent post-consumer recycled.

Stay tuned for more One Year Anniversary Hi-jinx!  And some bath and body give-aways courtesy of my trip to Lush.

                                          

The Big Chill

I'm sad to report that my first solo camping trip of the season was not a huge success.  Note to self: Wait at least a few weeks after the Spring thaw before sleeping on wet ground. 

I should have known when I called the ranger to ask if it was really necessary to make a reservation and he laughed and said,"Uh, no?" that perhaps there could be a reason camping in mid-April isn't exactly a Wisconsin tradition.  Then he asked if I had a heater in my camper. Camper? Heater?  Heater shmeater...I'm going to be in a tent!

He had no response.

I asked him to to tell me what site would be the best since I'd be checking in after the rangers were gone for the day and wasn't familiar with park.  He said "Well, that depends where you guys want to be.  Do you want to be close to the water?" 

I figured now was as good a time as any to inform him that actually, there was no "you guys", I'd be camping alone.

"Oh, well then in that case you'll want to be near people so..."  he began. I interrupted..."Well, you might think that and I'm sure most women would want to, but actually I want to be as far away from people as possible."

Silence on the other end.

Finally, he said, "Well, I just assumed that you'd feel more comfortable with people around..." I said, "HA! You'd think so, but nope, I'm the type that goes all the way and thinks since I'm alone, get me as far away from potential help as possible! Agahaahahaahaahahaaha!"... I was laughing at myself, and of how ridiculous this sounds, and he began to laugh too, but I got the feeling he didn't know why it was so funny. 

Frankly, Mark doesn't think it's at all funny.

Then the ranger suggested the completely deserted Southern end, but said the park had 123 sites and only 5 people were there (in heated RVs), so no matter where I chose, I'd be alone "if that's what you really want."

COOL!

I loaded my car and headed up to Door County's Potawatomie State Park.

I knew this trip wouldn't be as primitive as my last one because I could basically drive to my site and set-up, but when I entered the park, I was horrified.

Yes, the sites were nice and wooded (the park is gorgeous), but they are very close to one another. I mean only 50 feet apart max!!!  I made a note never to camp there during the busy season because privacy would be impossible.  You'd definitely have to change clothes in your tent and I'm sure I'd hear everyone's campfire conversations. 

I kept yelling as I drove by the "community" of campsites looking for the most secluded one, "NO, WAY!!! ARE THEY FOR REAL!!! OH, MY GOD! WTF!!!!!!"    

But, I calmed down and reminded myself there were no other campers AT ALL in the southern section and I was free to pick any site I wanted without worry of "neighbors" and to just relax and stop acting as if I'd shown up to a jam packed campground full of belligerent drunk hunters and screaming kids (not that kids are as bad as belligerent drunk hunters...I like kids really...and hey, I've even been a belligerent drunk in my time, but I needed to be alone).   

I set up my tent here...unaware that I was looking at ground that had a  slight touch of the permafrost. :)

Here's the set-up and can you see another site's fire ring in the distance? That's how unbearably close the sites are!  My friends assure me this is actually a nice distance compared to other campgrounds, but I like more primitive backwoods no one can see or hear you camping.  Notice the solar light I snagged from our front walk...I congratulated myself on my brilliance for realizing it would make a pretty little welcome light coming back from peeing in the dark.  I staked the fly pretty far out because it was misting rain and I wanted to be sure I didn't have to adjust in the middle of the night.

In the above picture you can see my tent guardians...I left my mini pink flamingos at home in favor of the more fierce (and auspicious) foo-dogs.

Of course I feng-shuied my tent...Here is the helpful people section:

My toiletries:

The latest in Campground Couture:

Every girl's bedside in the wild essentials...I use that knife to sharpen sticks and I must admit I feel like a total bad ass!!!! It's over sixty years old and was a gift from my father in-law.

A room with a view:

My jewelry looked so pretty on the moss covered picnic table ( I made the earrings a few years ago):

If a pretty umbrella and gorgeous vintage towel hang in the woods and no one can see them...well, they're still pretty:

Moss on the rocks...the colors in real life were stunningly beautiful:

The misty rain let up completely and I was able to make a great dinner...It was about 7:30 and still light  so it was easy to get everything going...I brought in two ricks of wood, but also used my back packing camp stove.

Prepped peppers and asparagus:

Peppers and onions:

Trader Joe's Chicken Italian Sausage and asparagus in the pot...notice, the fire was a little too new to start cooking on...it took another 20 minutes to generate heat as opposed to just flames:

The best campfire salt...chardonnay smoked sea salt:

Slightly overdone asparagus with warm balsamic vinegar and parmigiano-reggiano cheese. Overdoing it worked in this case, because the soft asparagus seemed to soak up the vinegar more than when I just steam it for a few minutes. It was very flavorful.   

       

The feast meal with a coal-roasted ear of corn and baby potatoes...heavy on the carbs, but I had planned to hike the nine mile trail loop first thing in the morning:

So, you might be asking yourself why this trip wasn't a success? I mean, so far, it looks pretty good right?

Well, after a few hours of fire-gazing and relaxing, I decided to call it a night and prepared to hit the tent with my lantern and a book (a very good book). I figured I'd do a little reading and then some meditative clearing of my mind...The whole trip was planned to help me let go of some of the residual stress from jury duty and my super compassionate outlook on the accused. It left me emotionally distraught and I figured a few nights alone in the woods would help me put things in perspective. 

I snuggled into my sleeping bag (on top of a sleeping pad and a quilt) and began to read...I noticed it was a little cold (it looked like I was sending out smoke signals as I breathed), but I figured it would be no time at all before my body heat filled the tent and I'd be toasty. Nope.

An hour or two later, I realized that it was going to be a long cold night...and that 40 degrees sounded warm, unless you were sleeping on still frozen ground. I went to my car and got three of the scarves I usually have draped over the passenger seat neck rest (long story--for another post). 

I put on my coat, three shirts, pants, two pairs of socks and tied a scarf over my head like a hat.  I was pretty bulked up at this point and could barely squeeze into my sleeping bag. I managed to make it work and reached over to turn out my lantern. It was dark and cold and you also have to remember I was a little overstuffed from my asparagus, Italian sausage, peppers, corn, potatoes and pickles.  To say I was uncomfortable was an understatement. After five minutes of waiting to either feel warm or fall asleep and be put out of my misery, I had to pee.  Good lord.

I slowly rolled out of my bag and to the entrance of the tent. And then, because I looked like this:

I fell over and out of the tent.

When I got up, I was muddy, but not too discouraged and began to take off clothes so I could go and pee by a tree. Yes, you read correctly...there was no way I was going to waddle in the dark to the pit toilet in the freezing cold.

I did what I set out to do and then fell again!!!!  I twisted my ankle and limped back to the tent (very glad that I did not have an audience). I managed to get myself back into the sleeping bag and shivered for at least an hour until I finally drifted off...I woke up to the sound of tapping on my tent. I immediately reached for my flashlight. "Hello?????"....no answer.  I used my advanced survival in the wilderness skills to determine it was just a branch and after a few minutes of freezing, I drifted off again...only to be startled awake by the same tapping...

I was hazy, sleepy and cold...I wasn't thinking clearly and decided the tapping must be rain. As I drifted off again...the tapping got really loud and I finally got scared...someone was close...very close and toying with me...just like in a horror movie.  Oh God, where's a belligerent drunk or screaming kid when you need one! As I was preparing myself for my impending death or some kind of scene out of Deliverance, I actually drifted off to sleep again...(it's a survival technique not often talked about). 

I awoke again and this time the tapping was so close and loud it almost sounded like it was in THE TENT!!!!   

I finally realized it was. It was both in my tent and in my head...

I was so cold that my teeth were chattering as I slept. 

I felt like an idiot, but still managed to laugh as I wondered if I'd share the news with you Kitchenettes. 

Then, I realized that my whole body was rigid and tense from the cold...I debated leaving the tent and sleeping in my car, but that meant I'd have to leave the sleeping bag...I wasn't thinking clearly (did I mention this?) and decided to stay in the tent and stick it out until morning...I drifted in and out of sleep until about five when the birds (or cold) woke me up...I called Mark and later my mom and said that I had the worst night ever. 

I got up and made my breakfast:

Then, I considered my options:

1. Stay another night and freeze.
2. Leave the campground and drive to a store to get some more blankets or a tent heater and try another night.
3. Go home and wait a few more weeks before trying it again...having learned that 70 degree days don't mean warm nights in WI.

I went with option 3. In retrospect, I realize that 40 degrees isn't super cold, but it was cold and damp and while my skin loves cold and damp (really, it always looks good because of the moisture in the air) it is the type of weather that I tend to do the worst in. I've always hated that feeling of cold and damp linens or even the scent of cabins that are cold and damp. I has somehow gotten chilled to the bone and there was no way I was going to warm up. Oh well.

I'll have more successful trips later and my planned second dinner of wild mushroom cous-cous will taste just as good in May. I also learned that when something is troubling me, I can't expect to escape it by seeking out a change in the scenery...wherever you go, there you are.  I have to let the trial go without the help of the woods.    

In other news...I made this wallet and it sold within an hour of listing it in the shop...It's a new favorite.

And thanks to Ruby Crowned Kinglet, I'm a new fan of Liberty Fabrics.   

So, how was your weekend?