A Desert Oasis

We recently had the pleasure to visit a true desert oasis. After waking before the sun and hiking double digit miles with 2 days worth of gear on our back we arrived at what I can only describe as paradise. I can't give away all the details but please enjoy these photos.

Love.

There is a sentence I've heard uttered many times. I try to brush it off as I'm sure those speaking it don't mean offense, but it's been slowly nagging at me. It's something that maybe you've heard before, maybe you've even said it - "You don't know love until you have children". 

To assume this statement is true would mean the feeling I have towards my brothers and my parents, isn't sincere love, that the deep connection I have with my spouse isn't an authentic love, and the emotions I feel towards my friends isn't genuine love. I don't have children but that doesn't mean I don't know what love is. Just because I haven't incubated a human doesn't mean I haven't experienced love. 


Perhaps I've chosen not to have kids because of a rough childhood I don't wish to inflict on another human being. Maybe I desperately want children but biology is against me. Maybe the world today isn't the place I want to raise children. Does the reason really matter?

I do believe that the feeling experienced after having children is different, and I do believe that it too, is love. It's a new perspective on love. We just have different perspectives. 

Evening Paddle

As some of you may know Josh and I purchased kayaks this summer. We've only been out a handful of times but I've been enjoying the stealth it gives me to sneak up on unsuspecting wildlife. This was not taken with a zoom lens!

Spring is in the air.

In honor of the unseasonably warm weather here in the high country (and my resulting desire for summer) this post features some wildflowers I photographed last summer.

Take a Hike

There are so many reasons I love living in the mountains. The outdoor recreation, 360 degree views, closeness to nature (there is a herd of mule deer that live on our street, in town) and of course the outdoor recreation.

The places you are able to access with your own two feet is truly breath taking. This past summer we did an overnight backpacking trip for the first time in more time than I want to admit. The hike we chose, Horseshoe Lake, sounded like an easy hike so we packed our bags and set out on the trail.

If you know me even a little you know I hate hiking up which tends to pose a problem when hiking at all here. The trail in was roughly 3.5 miles to our destination and, as it happened, it was up the entire way. Eventually I made it to the destination where the boys already had camp established. The sun was setting and I was exhausted so I broke out the wine and relaxed.

In the morning the sun came up over the mountains and shone down on a crystal clear high alpine lake. Definitely worth the hike up.

Out with the old, in with the new

Josh and I have been operating with the same old computer for years. In terms of technology it's a dinosaur. He purchased it before we even met in 2007, so yea we need a new one.

We've been discussing a new computer for quite sometime too, but until this week we've done nothing about it. This weekend Josh fell asleep on the couch so I took it upon myself to do it. And I did it. And I'm back! 

Uploading and editing photos on and old computer was a drag so I haven't done it in a while. That doesn't mean I haven't been taking photos. Just before Christmas the sky let loose with some huge fluffy snowflakes. Teddy loves the snow so we took him out to play. 

Hey there, it's been a while.

Nice seeing you again! It's been a while since my last post - living in the mountains leaves little time for blogging but it's so much more exciting than prairie life so I probably should blog more.

Summer is in full swing here and we've been getting out as much as we can and enjoying nature.  Summer comes to an end far to quick here so we have to cram it all in.  We've done quite a bit of hiking since we can take Teddy along and he seems to have fully adjusted to mountain life too.  Although being a mountain dog already there wasn't much of an adjustment to make!

Teddy: Greater Rocky Mountain Dog

Thanks for stopping by again.  Hopefully we will see more of each other!

New Place, New Name

Check the new header!  Like it?  Notice the new name?  Because we no longer live on the prairie the original name was no longer fitting.  After much consideration I chose to just drop the location and stick with "The New Little House."

We don't have our own house yet.  We live communally with our two friends, their little girl, and their two dogs.  It's a pretty good situation, although temporary.  We hope to be able to have our own house by this spring, however we are at the mercy of the housing market which up here is pretty slim picking.

Josh is enjoying his new job and new position.  I am still unemployed but hope to start work soon so long as my background check checks out.

Teddy loves being a mountain dog.  He has made friends with the dogs here and they have been showing him how to live the mountain dog lifestyle.  He has been cross country skiing and romping in the deep snow.  His favorite activity though seems to be chasing Charley, who is quite tolerant of his puppy ways.

All in all we are settling in well and are so very happy to be back in the mountains!

Bittersweet Goodbye

This new year is bringing so many new things into our life. Our move to Colorado is almost here. Our dream to be mountain people again is almost our reality! With all the great new things we have coming to us this new year I can't help but feel a bit mournful. I have to leave a family that, without them I may not have moved to Kansas and because of them I was able to stay in Kansas. Their role in my time here has been very significant.

When I accepted the job four and a half years ago I always knew I would eventually leave. This situation was meant to be temporary. I have stayed much longer than anyone anticipated.

I met Kara when she was three months old.  She had a bobbly bald head and big blue eyes.  She was a quiet baby so I did all the talking. I forced her to do tummy time. She hated it and screamed until she learned to roll over. We frequently took walks around the neighborhood. We spent a lot of time together until she was nearly two years old.

That is when we welcomed her baby brother Dean. Dean was a long skinny frog legged baby. Without a doubt he looks just like his daddy. With Kara's help I learned how to care for two children. He joined us on our walks and accompanied me to the coffee shop while Kara participated in play groups.  He grew quick and soon proved to me boys are indeed different than girls no matter what anyone tried to tell me!

A soon as I had handle on two kids baby Elise joined us. She was a petite little thing! She was warmly welcomed by her older siblings and fell easily into the routine of our lives. Being the youngest she quickly learned that if she wanted to be heard she needed a big voice and I assure you she uses it!

Because of these children their parents and I have created a bond far beyond employer/employee. I dare say we are friends. Neither of us had any prior experience so we learned it all together. We discussed baby books, discipline strategies and developmental milestones. We laughed at their antics and lamented potty training. We are united in child rearing.

Now here I am, two weeks away from my last day with them. A day I will have to share with the new nanny.  I am incredibly emotional. I knew this day would come but until now had no idea how hard it would be. These kids are more to me than just a job. They are my kids too.

I'm sure the new nanny will take good care of them, she will figure out their routine and personal quirks. They will play and laugh together. But she won't love them like I do. She won't tear up at the first day of school. It won't tug at her heart when one of them is sick. All the scribbled crayon pictures they give her won't mean the same thing.

We haven't told the kids yet. We are not looking forward to having to have such a tough conversation with little ones who won't fully understand. I worry they won't understand why I'm leaving. I worry they will feel punished. I worry they will forget me.

Being a nanny is not raising someone else's children. It's helping the parents to raise those children and in the process becoming part of the family. Because of this I know that no matter what happens this family will be a part of my life for many years to come.

Mabel Hunts

And Josh was convinced she wasn't a killer...

The Long Awaited, Much Anticipated Post About Our Trip to Oregon!

It's been 4 weeks since our trip already, I'm such a terrible blogger!

Upon our arrival at PDX Josh's sister picked us up and took us straight to a brew pub down the street from her apartment. The place was Sasquatch Brewing Co.  I knew we were in Portland when our server was telling us about the specials and said, "...and your vegetarian option for tonight is..." That sort of thing NEVER happens in Kansas!

We played it cool that night and stayed in.  Josh and I were super tired from our long day of travel and we needed to adjust to the two hour time difference.  In the morning we walked down the block to a little park area that had food carts.  We had some delicious gluten-free waffles and then stopped by the farmers market.  I have never seen such colorful shiny berries in my life!  I'm certain I'll never have a berry quite and delicious as those.










We also got some kale, tomatoes, peppers, lemon cucumbers, pesto, jerky, and cider.





That day we met up with our friends, Matt and Emily for an early dinner (using our farmers market loot) and then headed to the park for a movie!  We arrived early to get a decent spot and then played bocce ball until dark.

They take bocce very seriously.

Monday, we explored the city and later met up with Emily who took Josh and I to the coast. We got there at sunset, which was totally perfect! As we got ready to leave the lookout we got a special treat!  The local elk herd decided to show itself. 

We camped that night at a nearby campground so we could enjoy the whole next day at the ocean.  In the morning we went to a surfer cove and watched the waves and drank some beers while lounging in the sand.

Josh and Em walking Hug Point.

Later we went to another beach where we had to brave the waves to get around some rocks to get to a place called Hug Point where the Oregon Trail passed along the beach.  It's this rock trail that is only passable at low tide.  There are anchors in the rock still that the wagons used to keep from being swept off into the ocean.  As a girl who was enamored with the idea of the Oregon trail, it was so exciting to be able to walk a part of history.

The anchors at Hug Point. 

Josh and I at Hug Point.

Next we went to a coastal town and had a fresh seafood dinner before heading to the beach again to see some tide pools.  We saw anemones, star fish, tiny crabs and lots of seagulls. Needless to say, the coast was my most favorite part of the trip.  

I convinced Josh to pretend like he likes me!

After getting home from the coast we quickly showered and went downtown to hang out at what is now Josh's favorite place in Portland, Ground Control.  It's a 21+ arcade where all the games are classics from childhood AND they serve beer!  And because it's Portland, it's good beer!  We spent a lot of quarters that night!

The next day was the day we planned to go to the Columbia River Gorge.  It was also the only rainy day we had all week.  The view wasn't quite as spectacular as it would have been but something about the mist and fog made it pretty great anyway.  While there we climbed Beacon Rock.  It's 500ft tall but the path up to the top (which was hand built nearly 100 years ago) is a mile.  

On Beacon Rock.

View of the Columbia River Gorge from the top of Beacon Rock.

After the day on the gorge we hurried back to downtown Portland 

for a brew tour on a picnic table you must pedal in order to get to the next brewery. It was pretty fun way to see the city and get to drink some delicious beer.

The next morning was time to head back east, to Colorado for a wedding.  Our friends committed their lives to each other high in the mountains just days before the floods came.  

After the wedding we headed back to the heartland.  We were so happy to be home, shower in our bathroom, sleep in our bed and have our own space again.  It was a great vacation, and we definitely will go back. 

If you're interested in looking at my art prints visit my page! Heather Peters Photography Or if we're friends on facebook, all edited and unedited photos will be posted there!

Kansas State Fair - 100th Year!

I know this isn't the post you all were hoping for, but after a nine day vacation and going straight back to work, I haven't had time or energy to sort through and edit any of our Portland vacation pictures.  That will come this weekend.

In the meantime, the State Fair is town and it is celebrating it's 100th birthday!  Sadly I was too lazy and uninspired to enter any photos this year so I have no news there.  I did however get my yearly photo with the best scarecrow in Kansas.

Bardo the Clown

This is Bardo the Clown.  I don't know much about Bardo but I know he was a much loved character for this area.  He was an artist and painted many signs and garbage barrels at the state fair grounds.  He lived on the grounds for many decades.  In January he past away, which was a huge bummer for the community since he wouldn't be able to see the 100th state fair.  He lives on in this grand champion scarecrow though!

If you want to relive the last several scarecrows click here to see last years post.

I Dyed Yarn!

Finally a blog post about my yarn dying adventure!  Overall I'd say it went well.  I used the microwave method and some leftover bulk yarn I had laying around.  I picked up the dyes and a book on hand dying techniques at a local yarn shop.

First I soaked my yarn, then put it in the water vinegar mixture.  I poured my mixed dyes over the top of the yarn and since it was so bulky I poked it down with a spoon to help it penetrate all the yarn.










After it cooled down, I rinsed it and hung it to dry, and later re-skeined it.  I didn't know what to do with it and bulky isn't my favorite weight yarn anyway so I gave it to my friend who knitted it up for me into a great hat!

When the Husband is away...

...The wife will do things the husband has put off and won't help her with so that he can't argue about the outcome.

We've had plans to hang photos and things on the wall in our middle room for a while.  Although a large collage wall was Josh's idea he has been less than enthusiastic about hanging anything.  Meanwhile, I've been collecting frames and photos to be hung.

Last week Josh was gone for a training in Alabama.  I don't have much going on when he is gone and staring at that empty room was getting to me.  I've had all the command picture hanging hooks for a while so I just went for it and hung a few things.

And then it came to me... This room could actually be a functioning space!  We hadn't done anything with it because we thought it had to be a dining room and we for many reasons, didn't want it to be a dining room.  I didn't have all of the pieces I needed to make it what I had envisioned but I thought if I could set it up right maybe I could sell the idea to Josh.

Before

What I surprised Josh with.

Our final product!

As you can see Josh totally bought into it!  It makes the house feel so much more inviting and homey.  We have more frames and photos to hang but this is a thousand times better than it was!

The Great Wind of 2013

It happened on a Thursday.

The winds picked up.

The clouds to the South west grew dark.

Josh calls, "Turn on the TV - channel 12.  It's about the get bad."

I turn on the TV.  I look out the window, it's raining.

The winds are blowing straight and hard.  Branches next door have fallen, Leaves are swirling.

Lights flicker and go dark. The cable goes out.  Unsure of what is about to happen I take Mabel and Teddy to the basement.  Then we hear it.

We didn't know what it was at the time but we all jumped.

The winds calmed but the rain and thunder continued.  We go upstairs and see something out the back door that isn't usually there.

A tree.  A HUGE tree.

Once the rain stops and I am able to inspect the damage, I find that it's more than one tree, it's TWO HUGE TREES!  We are so lucky that the trees fell  across the yard.  The damage (as far as we can tell) is minimal, the garage and a back window.

Josh comes home.  He is totally shocked.  In the message I left him I left him he was under the impression it was just a large branch, not two trees! We heard later that winds were clocked in town at 88mph!

It's really difficult to get a decent photo that captures the real extremity of the situation.  We can't even begin clean up until we have all the right quotes for tree removal and damage sent in to the insurance company.  Poor Teddy doesn't have a back yard and you can tell he misses it.

View out the back door.

Tree #1

Tree #2

Garage Damage

Window Damage

Because we were out of power, lines down, Thursday, we stayed with friends Thursday night.  Friday, Teddy was able to come to work with me (we still didn't have power. lines still down).  The two youngest kiddos didn't really care that he was there, but the oldest - she and Ted are now besties! She whispered him secrets, gave him treats, played fetch with him and even asked when he was going to come over again.  Much to my delight Ted tolerated, probably even loved, every moment of it!