So the blog comes to an end...

But not forever!

Steve & I decided we should have a combined blog.  What's this nonsense about updating two blogs when we're married & sharing our lives together?  :)  So with that being said, I want to introduce you to...(drumroll please)...

lipetzkybrewpub.blogspot.com

Our old blogs will remain alive & available for viewing, but we'll discontinue posting on those & going forward, will continue amusing you with our adventures on the new blog.  (Please update your blog links)

We're still working out the finer details (such as having more than one author & making sure we're both on the profile), so hang in there as we figure out the kinks.

See you on the other side!

"Hi. My name is Brewer. I love peanut butter."

We don't give our dogs entire jars of peanut butter.  Sometimes they help themselves when we're not home.

But we really did give Brewer this jar.  If we empty a jar of peanut butter (which is quite often in this PB-lovin home), we scrape out all that we can & give it to the dogs to clean the rest.  They.love.it.  Brewer, bless his heart, is a dopey dog that has nothing but love to give.  And damnit if he isn't proud of his toys.  He carried this jar around for what seemed like hours.  Walk into the bedroom?  He followed behind with his jar.  Try to shut the door to use the bathroom?  He pushed the door open with his massive forehead & brought his jar.  This boy has my heart by the strings.  *Sigh*

(And for the life of me, I cannot figure out why Blogger insists on turning the top picture on its side - I've adjusted it so it isn't too big for the site & tried everything to turn it back...no luck)

Lovely weekends

I've been feeling very much a homebody lately.  I've always enjoyed relaxing time at home, but it comes in phases (wholly depends on how much traveling I've done).  For the last year, we've traveled quite a bit; Boston for a wedding, holidays at parent's houses, trip to Cuba, preparations for our wedding in Rapid City (takes the cake for busiest time of year), honeymoon in OR, & Steve's cousin's wedding in Sioux Falls...and various other short trips thrown in there.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE traveling, but it can take a toll.

I've been stubborn about being home on the weekends recently.  Not necessarily everyday, all day - going out for a drink with friends is fairly common on the weekends - but I love getting off work on Friday & knowing I have a weekend filled with sleeping in, running, naps, working in the yard, baking, cooking, eating, drinking...

This weekend was one of those weekends.  :)  Saturday was rainy & cold, but I can't say I got much done.  Sunday was a different story.  Baked two loaves of pumpkin bread, cooked a batch of tomato sauce, prepared ingredients for French bread to begin rising on Monday morning, re-potted several indoor plants, & cleaned the chicken coop to prepare it for winter.  Success!  It helps the weather was fabulous on Sunday...sadly, probably one of our few nice days left for the year.

Honeymoon

My wonderful husband planned our honeymoon as a wedding gift to me.  The trip?  A bike ride through Willamette Valley wine country, staying at adorable B&B's, tasting fabulous wine, & checking out the beautiful scenery.  We started out the trip by meeting up with Dan & Linds for a super fun night out on the town.  The next day, we packed it in & started our trip. A few pictures from the adventure:

Dinner at our first B&B

We were going to out to a restaurant, but our "mom" laid out a large tray of local cheeses, spreads, olives, & homemade bread with a bottle of local wine.  We made it dinner &  it was divine.

Loading up the bikes at Pedro's house

We're ready!

Hops!  There are fields & fields of hops.  Steve was salivating.

Does anyone know what this flower is?  We couldn't get over the blue color.  From far away, it honestly looked like a pond on someone's property.  The flowers didn't smell very nice, but they had the most beautiful color.  And the bees were going crazy.

Close up

At our second-to-last B&B (& my favorite), the husband & wife allowed us to borrow their car to drive into town for dinner.  This is us by the car - we were so incredibly grateful!  We were able to shower & dress up for a nice dinner & drinks in town.  No bikes for the night.  :)

We had a wonderful time & highly recommend Willamette Valley for their wine country.  Wonderful wineries & the people that run them, delicious wine, bounties of delectable restaurants, & the most charming B&B's.  We hope to go back someday!  (Although we'll probably take our car next time & use the bikes for day trips :))

What's this? A blog?

It's been awhile since posting...and for that, I apologize.  It's been a busy summer - to say the least.  Here's a quick recap:

We got married....

I love that our first dance picture so closely resembles our cake topper

We've continued to work on the yard...

This area of the yard does not grow grass very well (so abundantly obvious in this picture), so we're working on maintenance free landscaping (note the rock path, the mulch, & addition of native, drought-tolerant plants).  The V-section between the slate path & the sidewalk will probably slowly become grass-free.  Our plans include semi-permanent "hot boxes" (small moveable "greenhouses" that we'll make using old windows from the house) & continuing to add the maintenance free landscaping.  A work in progress...

We've continued raising our four chickens...

The coop (with hops sitting on top of the weather proofing tarp)

The girl(s) have made us proud & begun laying eggs...  

(At this point we don't know who is laying the eggs, but we're almost positive it's Fenway, the Plymouth Rock White.  The pattern tends to be one egg every other day, although we had two days in a row of eggs.  They're small, closer to the size of a medium egg in the store, but delicious!)

We've been canning...

Apple sauce (with apples from a wild apple tree on one of Steve's project sites) & strawberry apple sauce

Canned peaches & peach salsa (not pictured)...

And chokecherry jelly from the abundantly wild chokecherry bushes around town...

And of course, we've participated in numerous races, both around town & outside the area.  (Sadly, no pictures of those at the moment)

That's our life in a nutshell for the past few months.  Regular blog posting shall now resume!  :)

Engagement Pics

Aw, why so sad Steve?

The lovely & talented Lindsay was kind enough to oblige us in taking our engagement photos.  A sampling of her wonderful work...

Miami Visit

Before making the trip to Cuba, we stopped in Miami for a few days to see family & do what Cubans do best...eat & drink.  A few snapshots of the weekend...

Stocking up before the family gathering.

Who let the crazy bandits in the back of the van?

I don't lay claim to him.

The Cuban version of crack.  Seriously.

Apparently it takes THISMANY people to carve a pig.  (Probably not, but the pig carvers do get first dibs).  A family affair.

There is no "waiting in line" at a Cuban pig roast.  Especially when you're family.  If you want some, especially the good pieces, you better shove yourself to the table & start digging in.

Inspecting Cuban treat bags put together by my lovely tia.

A dulce de leche treat.  That little thing is half the size of a yogurt container, filled entirely with dulce de leche.  I was on it like flies on...well, you get the point.

Last but not least, my favorite picture...

My grandpa, "Hot."  When I see him, I'll always be 8 years old &a he'll always be my strong grandpa who made me feel like the prettiest & smartest girl in the world.  I do no wrong in his eyes...the love of a grandfather to his only granddaughter.

He may be aging, but damnit, he still loves his pork.  :)

Chicks!

I've been wanting chickens for some time, especially after watching the eye-opening movie "Food, Inc."  Fresh eggs & (some day) fresh chicken meat (after they've lived long, productive lives & no longer produce eggs) enticed us enough to make the leap.  Knowing how the chickens lived (free-range with plenty of exercise & fresh air), what they ate (bugs, grass, all-natural feed), & how they were treated (as spoiled as our pups) makes the decision worthwhile.  Chickens are fairly easy to raise - and they cost approximately $3/chick & a 50 lb feed bag costs about $15.  Do a little research & anyone can raise chickens.

"Athena," an Araucana - she's the biggest of the group (long story, but in some races, they have special groups for "Athena" & "Clydesdale" - runners that are at a higher weight than typical runners).

"Grubby," a New Hampshire Red - she ate the first bug.

"Fenway," a Plymouth Rock White - think of Plymouth Rock, think of Boston, think of Boston, think of Fenway

"Fosters," an Australorp - Australorp...Australia...Fosters!  It's a stretch, but I'm fairly certain the chickens aren't worried about their names.  She's by far our favorite - much more docile & sweet than the others.  The other three are friendly enough, but we picked them up at an older age than typical & I don't think they bonded to us as younger chicks usually do.  Foster seems to be the youngest, so it seems she was more willing to consider us her "parent."

A very curious Brewer.  Guinness cannot be left alone with them (a true bird dog), Brewer is curious but kind of scared, & Gidget could care less.

They've since grown quite a bit, but we haven't had a chance to take pictures.  I'm sure we'll be posting updates, especially after we finish the coop & move them outside in a few weeks (if the weather ever clears...).

Cuba!

Let's ignore the fact that I've been a horrible blogger recently...

Moving on to more exciting things:  Cuba pictures!  Follow the link to see some of our adventures - be warned, this is only a fraction of pictures taken between 6 people!  To see more photos, check out Dan & Linds' blog or Jorge & Linda's blog.

We had a wonderful trip.  Heartbreaking, fun, adventurous, heartwarming, joyful, exciting...to name a few emotions that cross my mind from the trip.  We met dad's family & I can't believe we might never have known these wonderful people (two of his older cousins from his mom's side & their families).  When we first met them, you would never have known we were in a different country, speaking two different languages, & never met before (or seen each other in 48 years, as is the case with Jorge & his two cousins).  Without a doubt, it was obvious we were family.

I hope we can keep our Cuba connection alive.  Someday, I hope we can make our way back to that lovely little island, especially to visit family.  It's true they're repressed, but they are very strong people & they appear to be very happy people.  They may not have much, but they're clean, friendly, & simply make do with what they have.  I won't go into a political discussion, but I hope, not-so-secretly, they don't become an over-commercialized island with a Walmart, McDonald's, & Holiday Inn on every corner.  Not that it will happen if the embargo is lifted, but right now, it's a beautiful place to visit & take a step back in time to a more low-key, relaxed, day-to-day way of life.  If only we could learn to live so simply.

Mmm, shower water...

This is a common sight in the bathroom when someone is taking a shower.  Brewer has a deep fascination with showers (well, just about anything), and most especially, shower water.  Odd, yes.  If you happen to get near him while you're showering, he immediately tries to lick the shower water off your leg - even if it's soapy water.  We can't figure it out; my only guess is he likes the warm water.  Needless to say, it's guaranteed if you're in the shower & the bathroom door is cracked slightly, you'll turn around to see a big brown head staring up at you in fascination.

Workouts

I guess my knee has heeled - I haven't felt any tightness recently.  Maybe just another thing about getting older...the occasional ache or pain?

Sun
Snowshoeing

Mon
Rest day

Tues
30 min "cycling class" (self-taught cycling on a stationary bike)
PowerFlex
20 min yoga DVD

Wed
Cycling class X 2 (I took the morning cycling class & then was asked by the noon cycling instructor to sub due to a sick kiddo)

Thurs
Cycling class
PowerFlex

Fri
Cycling class
Run 25 min w/dogs & Steve at a new gravel trail outside of town
Zumba

The rest of the story...

Map for Cutler Draw, the groomed snowshoe/xcountry ski place that allows dogs.  Look closely at the names...

Gidget LOVES snow

One of my favorite pictures of Brewer & me

Steve & sun dappling through the trees

Sun warming the rocks

Guinness & his buddy Steve

Beauty.  Looking into Mutt Meadows

"Hey!  Whadja find?!" (Gidget & Brewer)

This is what happens when you try to capture a picture of Brewer while he's running toward you.

"Wheeeee!  I LOVE SNOW!" (Gidget)

Gidget & her buddy Chick