Nevada

Nevada can be a lonely state. Lonely and harsh. With it's endless desert scrub only broken by the occasional pile of tailings.  There are small towns, with small tired buildings, hours and hours apart from one another. Often times the town will boast a glaringly bright Mcdonalds with a table full of old desert dwellers gathered for their morning conversations and free coffee refills. Even the towns that are said to be going gangbusters due to a currently successful mining operation always seem half-hearted, as if the residents are living with their coats on and one foot out the door.

Sometimes though, Nevada surprises us with it's beauty. And if I happen to have a cup full of that 99 cent coffee I think I'd like to stay.

catalina island

we really couldn't of asked for a more perfect long weekend. the best weather, lots of yummy fish tacos and great company.  it was also pretty awesome having a professional photographer along...check out his photos here. 

 

really missing dave and his large catch in this photo

  

yuba river

an invite to spend the afternoon at the yuba river was a welcome break from our weekend designated to working on the house.

before we made our escape to the river though, we did manage to reside/stain two of the exterior walls. denver had previously decided that we wouldn't need to replace the exsisting roof and some of the exsisting exterior siding but it's been a bit tricky coming up with a solution to blend the old and the new.

we eventually decided to go for vertical fir siding with weathered steel in the eves and opted to stain the old/new the same color; for a deliciously dark monotone look that also pleases the very lazy paint contractor (myself). i had been secretly hoping for black siding all along but finally realized it just didn't work with our house style and surrounding environment. we eventually settled on a dark grey that seems to suit the house so much better, blends the old wood with the new and really works with the tiled roof, at least we think so. i can't wait to show pictures of the progress.

downieville classic

yay! downieville! it's been on our to-do list for a while now, so stoked to of finally made it happen.
14 miles and almost 5000ft of downhill single track;  seriously one of the most fun trails we've yet to ride.

can't wait to go back and give it another go.

virginia city, nv

lake tahoe

 

Each time I catch a glimpse, it's like I'm seeing it for the very first time, like we've just discovered a new landmark and will soon be joining Lewis and Clark in the american history books. Never mind the massive houses lining the shores and boats scooting to and fro across the surface like a game of tic-tac-toe.  

The beaches on the west and north shores are always nice. but my favorite is the east side, massive freckled granite boulders trace the shoreline, providing hours of endless entertainment and the perfect place to spend an afternoon.

in progress

there is a wildfire nearby. the smoke tinting our sunrises and sunsets with a unique hue. lots of pinks and purples, sometimes bright sometimes pastel.

denver went outside to capture a few photos of the smokey evening sky, i went along but got distracted by our forlorn airstream battling the encroaching weeds for driveway space. the airstream project has been on a standstill since we bought the new house. full of random odds and ends that we couldn't find a place for in the move, license plate hanging upside down, paint faded, patches of new aluminum glowing against the old.

joining the ranks of a work-in-progress our new house stands just as tattered (and has also been on standstill for the last three weeks while denver has been remodeling a condo on the other side of town). i think you've all seen pictures of the new house when we first moved in. Now it only looks worse with patches of tyvek, boarded over windows and partially removed decks. the whole set-up makes me want to duck my head in shame each time i pull into the driveway and discontentment rears up its joy-stealing head.

the fact is, the girl who has difficulty seeing the value in process married the guy who loves a good project. bam. God knew he would have a chance to do a little heart work.

i spent the last remodel disgruntled and longing for the finished product. only to realize that the satisfaction of a job-well done lasted about two days before discontentment returned, leaving me wishing for something new. 

i've realized that i treat life with the same approach that i've treated these remodels, constantly looking to the future as the end goal. chaffing at the day to day instead of realizing that life is the day to day. life is all about process and until i learn to enjoy that process i'm going to be settling for about 2% enjoyment and 98% discontentment. 

i'm ready to see the sky in all it's glory, 

pull into the driveway and just feel thankful for a place to call home.