New items, warmers and more!

Thru Hiker Forest hand warmers

I've been busy crocheting and hiking this past month; and trying to create some hiking/outdoor gear that people can look good while being active.  I created a new etsy shop for these items called Colorado Girl Gear.  I have been toying around with the name for a while now, and I kept coming back to this one so I went with it.  I have many more items to add to the shop, and when I get over this cold, I plan to take some more photos. 
Things in the shop have been pretty slow this summer, and it's made me question doing this full time, but I do enjoy it much more than going into an office so for now I am going to keep pushing forward.  Maybe I haven't quite found my niche online and I haven't had much experience selling locally.  Most small business fail or quit within the first year, and I am determined to make this work. 

I spent a lot of time this summer in the mountains by myself with the dogs, hiking.  You can read about my adventures in my hiking blog.  I sometimes consider redirecting my time to writing a book about hiking in Colorado; I don't know quite where to focus the book yet but I hope it will come to me like all other creative ideas.  Randomly as I fall asleep or while hiking in the wilderness.    For now, here are a few more of my crochet hiking items. 



Make Chex mix from your old snacks instead of throwing them out.

One of my pet peeves is wasting things, I hate it!  Even though I try to be diligent about not wasting anything, we still throw things away from time to time and it makes me feel terrible. 

One way I have come up with to combat stale snack foods and the inevitable toss, is to make the snacks into a "chex mix." 
This batch in particular has old pretzels, cheezits, croutons, sesame seeds, and triscuits. 
I added to it about 2 tbsp of butter; 1-2 tbsp of Worcester sauce (depending on taste), garlic powder, salt, pepper, onion powder, and seasoning salt.  All to taste.  Put it in the oven on 300-325 degrees (no higher) for 30 minutes or until crunchy.   Take out and let cool about 10 minutes before eating.  Now you have a new snack food that tastes different and uses up stale old food that you would have wasted anyway :) 
Do you have any personal ways you save leftovers?

Another thing I do is to save my vegetable stumps, and anything that I would normally toss in a freezer bag in the fridge; when i fill up the bag, I boil all of the stuff in sort of a "garbage soup" for 1 hour.  Drain all the "garbage" out and keep the broth; I pour mine into muffin tins and then put them in the freezer until they are frozen solid.  Then remove and put in freezer bags, these now are 1 cup servings of vegetable broth.  Yum! 

Fun in Breckenridge!

Views from the 4x4 drive road; sharp cliffs, scenic views.

At the end of August my family came out to visit; and I have been planning on blogging about it since they left.  Finally, I found some time! 
My parents and sister with her new hubby Cody came to Denver along with my parents friends Bob and Marsha.  We drove into Breckenridge to stay in a condo for the weekend to do some hiking, shopping and spending time together as a family. 
My parents flew into Denver on Wednesday and we drove up to Breck that evening sans Josh who was still working and going to drive up with Laura and Cody. 
It was nice to spend some time with my parents, just the three of us; we had a great lunch at the Backcountry Brewery in Frisco (recommend the Wheeler Wheat beer!!) and a drive up the mountain pass outside of Breck up a 4x4 drive road for beautiful views of the mountains and lake below (photo above).
Thursday we explored the town and waited for Laura, Cody and Josh to come up that evening; then we went out to dinner and prepared ourselves for our long hike on Friday. 

Is the head tilt genetic?

My dad, sister, Cody, Josh, myself and Bob hiked a 14er; Mt. Lincoln via the Kite Lake route on Friday, as this was the best weather day of the weekend.  This is the second 14er my sister has hiked, and the third for my dad and the 9th for Josh and I. 
Overall the hike went really well, everyone except for Bob Tighe reached the top, but he had been battling a bad cold and made it to about 14,000 feet, but not to the peak.  The hike went better than expected, with everyone making it safely with no altitude sickness and only minor falls. 
On Saturday we were all a little tired and sore from the hike, and we stayed nearby the condo, shopping, drinking and taking a ride on the free Gondola in Breck to the Alpine slide on the ski slopes.  As a kid I loved the alpine slides in Kentucky and on the East Coast when I had ridden them before, I remember being completely fearless on the dips and turns.  It was really fun to try it out again as an adult; it took a few minutes, but I did get my fearless nature back and flew down the mountain, yippie!! 

The theme for Saturday; sit at a bar, drink a beer.

My favorite part of the day was w hen Laura, Cody, Josh and I went to Joe's Dive bar for lunch, (it was not a dive bar, it was really good!) they had great pizza, a super great bartender and atmosphere.  From there the festivities continued well into the evening as we bar hopped and had fun; ending the night in a Sorry tournament that I lost every time.

On Sunday Cody, Laura and my dad were up early to catch a flight; my mom who is newly retired stayed until Wednesday. 
We had a great trip with the family and hope they come out again soon.  Here are a few more pics from the visit. 

On the Summit of Mt. Cameron! 

pretty pic of my mom.  thats me way in the background

mmmm, beer

My parents at the Reservior

Gondola ride up the mountain to alpine park

Josh and I after a few beerz on Saturday

Where did August go?

I cannot believe we are already into September; this summer really FLEW by!  Just 6 months ago, I quit my job and took a 6 month contract position from home working just 16 hours.  Now, that contract job has ended, summer is over, and its time for autumn, holidays and winter.  Today I went into the office to turn in my laptop and other items and said a 'goodbye' to the ladies in the office; they were all so easy to work with and kind, it was one of my favorite jobs.  But I am glad to have a little time off.  I have such a long 'to-do' list that I really need to get to work on; plus I haven't had much time to work on my new organic Colorado Girl accessory and clothing line. 

Along with work and the farmers market, we had a very busy July-September.  We had two wedding, my sister's in Michigan and a good friends in Colorado, my family came out and visited us, including my new brother in law who joined us for a 14er hike, my 31st birthday, and trying to squeeze in camping and hiking before it becomes too cold in the mountains.   While it's been a summer of fun, it's been busy and eventful, and I am looking forward to some down time this fall to bake, garden, and do some sewing and crafting for myself. 

New hiking wrist warmers.

My latest crafting obsession is crocheting!  I learned to crochet years ago in college, I made a huge unfinished blanket, some scarves and then I put away my hook for knitting needles and sewing.  I don't remember what it was exactly that made me stop crocheting, but it must have been sheer madness to change over from the hook to knitting needles, and it feels great to have my old, faithful crochet hook back.  My grandmother on my mom's side was a whiz with the hook; she made all of her grandchildren and even great-grandchildren blankets that each of us cherish.  While I lack the patience to make a blanket, I have been making wrist warmers, neck warmers, ear warmers, scarves, and creating my own patterns  for these items to best suit the Outdoorsey Girl.  Check out some of my new items on my website and I would love to hear what you think about them!  Lots more to come. 

Gramma Flo's Zucchini Bread Recipe

Our garden this year has produced several large zucchini and I wasn't prepared with how to use all this zucchini bounty without wasting it.  I was telling this to my grandmother, who suggested I make zucchini bread and she sent along her recipe.
My grandparents are in their mid 80s and still have a garden of their own, much larger than our garden; so I knew gramma would have a great recipe; she also sent another zuke recipe that I will try with my next from the garden.  I finally make some bread last night and it sure is tasty so I wanted to add the recipe here.

Zucchini Bread - Gramma Flo's from Aunt Dodo's Kitchen.

Ingredients:  3 eggs, 2 Cup Sugar, 2 t vanilla, 1 cup cooking oil, 2 cups grated zucchini, 3 cup flour, 1 t baking soda, 2 t cinnamon, 4t baking powder, 1t salt.  Optional; 1 cup chopped nuts (or sub chocolate chips).

Mix together in a large bowl and pour into 2 greased loaf pans.  Bake 325 for 1 hour.

Gramma says; Aunt Hazel used to add 1 can of drained crushed pineapple, but Gramma has never tried it.  (sounds good though, next time:)

Since I am not much of a baker; I want to add my two cents to the recipe.  I added 3/4 cup of brown sugar and just 1 cup of regular sugar since I was low on granulated sugar and it tasted great!  I also poured half of my mixture into a cupcake pan, since we do not have two loaf pans; if you want to make the cupcakes only bake for 37-40 minutes.  I also added a little bit of honey and chocolate chips instead of nuts.
I grated my zucchini with a carrot peeler and that worked just fine; I did leave some of the outer skin on and then I chopped up the grated zucchini before adding it to the mixture.

I live at high altitude, so I did not drain the water out of the zucchini and the bread is very moist; I also baked the bread for just about 55 minutes as things cook faster up here.

This is a yummy zucchini recipe and it turned out really good; I am eating some for breakfast now actually.  Thanks gramma, Aunt Dodo and Aunt Hazel for the recipe.

Gramma Flo's Zuchini Bread Recipe

Our garden this year has produced several large zucchini and I wasn't prepared with how to use all this zucchini bounty without wasting it.  I was telling this to my grandmother, who suggested I make zucchini bread and she sent along her recipe. 
My grandparents are in their mid 80s and still have a garden of their own, much larger than our garden; so I knew gramma would have a great recipe; she also sent another zuke recipe that I will try with my next from the garden.  I finally make some bread last night and it sure is tasty so I wanted to add the recipe here. 

Zucchini Bread - Gramma Flo's from Aunt Dodo's Kitchen. 

Ingredients:  3 eggs, 2 Cup Sugar, 2 t vanilla, 1 cup cooking oil, 2 cups grated zucchini, 3 cup flour, 1 t baking soda, 2 t cinnamon, 4t baking powder, 1t salt.  Optional; 1 cup chopped nuts (or sub chocolate chips).

Mix together in a large bowl and pour into 2 greased loaf pans.  Bake 325 for 1 hour. 

Gramma says; Aunt Hazel used to add 1 can of drained crushed pineapple, but Gramma has never tried it.  (sounds good though, next time:)

Since I am not much of a baker; I want to add my two cents to the recipe.  I added 3/4 cup of brown sugar and just 1 cup of regular sugar since I was low on granulated sugar and it tasted great!  I also poured half of my mixture into a cupcake pan, since we do not have two loaf pans; if you want to make the cupcakes only bake for 37-40 minutes.  I also added a little bit of honey and chocolate chips instead of nuts. 
I grated my zucchini with a carrot peeler and that worked just fine; I did leave some of the outer skin on and then I chopped up the grated zucchini before adding it to the mixture. 

I live at high altitude, so I did not drain the water out of the zucchini and the bread is very moist; I also baked the bread for just about 55 minutes as things cook faster up here. 

This is a yummy zucchini recipe and it turned out really good; I am eating some for breakfast now actually.  Thanks gramma, Aunt Dodo and Aunt Hazel for the recipe. 

Solo Camping and The Bridge Concerts

One of my goals this summer was to do some solo camping, (with Rock, my dog, of course) and with my busy schedule, this hadn't happened yet, but I was determined to get in at least one night in by July.  My favorite band, The Bridge , was playing in Breckenridge on a Wednesday night and Josh wasn't able to go with me due to his work schedule.  I knew this was the perfect time to do some solo camping and to watch a great band; plus my cousin Patrick is the sax player in the band and over the years I have enjoyed getting to know the rest of the guys in the band as well and I was really excited about my day in the mountains! 

I woke up later than expected on Wednesday and got a couple of hours of work in before packing up the camping gear and getting on the road with Rock.  I arrived in Frisco, where the band was staying and my campground was located, and quickly went to the campground I had chosen, Peak One Campground, and found a spot near the water with views of the surrounding mountains and in height of the wildflower season. 

After picking out my site I called my cousin and drove over to the hotel to pick him up with whatever band mates wanted to hike.  In my rush to leave the house, I managed to leave directions for the hike I had wanted to do; fortunately the Breckenridge/Frisco area has loads of hikes and Kenny had observantly noticed several hikes along the stretch of highway 9 and we drove to the Gold Hill trailhead just between Frisco and Breckenridge. 

We hiked for a while and found a really sweet viewpoint with a handmade swing.  It was the first time I have come across a swing like that in the mountains and it was really unique.  After checking out the views for a while, the guys had to head back to the hotel to set up and sound check. 

I went back to camp and cooked dinner in a rush before the impending storm (the weather said 30% chance of rain)and just as I sat down to eat the rain came.   I quickly put everything away in the truck before scrambling into the tent with my potatoes and peas for dinner.  The rain didn't stop until 3:00am the next morning, so much for 30% chance of rain! 

At about 8:45pm, Rock and I got out of the tent and drove to the show in Breckenridge to hang out with Patrick.  It was raining and if you haven't been to Breckenridge before all of the buildings architecturally look very similar and  it was nearly impossible for me to find this club Three 20 South.  Finally, I had to call Patrick to come outside and chase down my car as I drove slowly by.  After I parked one of the club managers came outside as we were remarking about how difficult this place was to find.  She said; "It's hard to find, but everyone that matters knows about this place", I jokingly thought to myself maybe that was why I hadn't found it, didn't I matter? 

We got into the club and hung out for a few before the guys took the stage; at first there were only a few people that had arrived, but after the music started playing, people started to arrive.  These must have been the people that the club manager meant, I thought to myself. 

The Bridge started rocking and the vibe in the room was great, everyone was having a good time and dancing.  Song highlights of the night were; "Big Wheel", one of the newest songs;  crowd favorite, "Chains;" my favorite song, "Colorado Motel;" and the encore especially rocked which was an Al Green tune, "I'm a Ram."  Each time I see The Bridge I have a killer time and this Breckenridge show was one of my favorites of all time.

After the show ended I had to go back to my soggy tent with Rock and see what awaited us, it rained the entire show and it was still raining at 2am as I drove back.  Somehow the tent wasn't too wet, although it wasn't dry either, but it could have been worse.  I fitfully slept for 3 hours until the birds decided to park themselves in the trees above my head and make lots of noise.  The tent was even more wet by morning and I was not sleeping but it was really early and I just wanted to pack up and go home!  I hastily packed up my stuff, called my cousin and told him I was on my way to pick him up; he probably doesn't see 7am unless he stays up all night and groggily got his stuff around and met me to drive back to Golden. 

All in all it was a great time and a good first experience solo camping, even though the rain was a real downer.  It can only get better the next time I go solo camping, right?

*Post is Dedicated to Budman, 2008-2010 (as tour manager)