~~~My Grass is Blue~~~

I can't believe I forgot to tell you about The Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival in Winfield! This was our 11th year to go and it only gets better and better. Of course it rained ALL day on Thursday but we didn't let it get us down. It rains almost every year, so we're pros. Such great people that we camp with. We have a blast together! I didn't even leave the campsite to see music very much because I was just having too much fun relaxing, chatting, cooking and laughing!

The sunset on the drive there. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive.

Our buddy, Kevin (Little Kevy).

The Chair Ninjas "chair" peoples tents every year. 

The first-time Winfield goer always gets "chaired" first. 

Chris sharing a moment with the guard of our tent.

 We made double sure the rain wouldn't leak into our tent. 

Oh yea, and Chris made that super cool picnic table. 

It fits together like a puzzle. No screws or nails involved.

Campground decorations.

Sausage and okra. Deelish!

This was the 3rd year for the Suit Parade. A campsite brings bags and 

bags full of old suits. Everyone digs through and picks one out. 

Then we all march around the entire festival. It's ridiculous. 

Chris always has an ulterior motive and comes home with some 

pretty nice suits. 

Chad got creative and pinned two suit jackets together.

The tiny city of Winfield is flooded with thousands of people 

during this week and so everyone holds garage sales. Pretty smart if you ask me! Chris and Kevin always go. Chris found some cool stuff, including this box of fish tackle. The kiddos were very intrigued.

Lunch!

Our campsite!

Saturday night group dinner. 

Packing it up. Hey, that's a lot of stuff!

See ya next year, Winfield!

~~~Don't sweat it~~~

So, my best friend is moving away. Bummer. We're like bread and butter, we are. Josh built a sweat lodge in his back yard about 3 years ago and we've been sweatin' ever since (only during fall and winter though). Since he's gonna be movin' on, we decided to move the ~sweat~ to my house. We have an entire side of the house that backs up to the woods that we haven't really utilized. Chris piles his reclaimed lumber collection over there and it's kind of a mess. Building the sweat lodge there has encouraged us to clean up the area. Chris is going to built a structure to organize all of his wood and I think we can really make something of this space. It is so easy to access from our front deck, it's perfect for this. 

Wikipedia says: "The sweat lodge (also called purification ceremony, sweat house, medicine lodge, medicine house, or simply sweat) is a ceremonial sauna and is an important event in some North American First Nations or Native American cultures." 

As we were creating the hut, a hawk swooped right over Josh's head and landed above us on a tree branch. He shook his tail feathers at us. It was a sign.

I feel as though Josh gifted this to me and I'm honored. It is a cleansing and healing practice that I intend on keeping sacred and special. 

Thank you

 **{{JOSH}}**

XOXOXO

Don't worry, you don't wear jeans and long sleeves in there. ;)

***FALL*** Ahhhh.

Well, my fall garden is planted and little tiny things are starting to pop up. I've never had a fall garden. This summer was so incredibly hot and unproductive that I don't really feel like I did much gardening. So I'm pretty excited! I've planted kohlrabi, beets, tatsoi, arugula, radishes and mustard greens! Healthy stuff! The weather is perfect so we've been outside a bunch. I made my fall trip out to Henry's Plant Farm to get some perennials and see Homer and the succulents and peacocks. I love it out there. Especially on a gorgeous day. Been cooking quite a bit. Below are photos of my latest favorite thing: Brussels sprout and caramelized lemon pizza. YUM.