Clamming in Humboldt bay...

is everything I hoped it would be. 

Last year I attended the Humboldt Bay Symposium and saw a presentation on Humboldt bay clams that ignited an interest in me to go clamming.  Apparently not many people around Humboldt bay clam.  And in fact the number of clammers continue to decline every year.  For this reason, the bag limit of clams is 50 here, practically double the limit of any other county or state in the Pacific Northwest.

So for the last few months I've been amping up my enthusiasm to try this.  The biggest hurdle to going clamming here seemed to be the lack of information of where and how to.  I could find plenty of information about clamming in Oregon but nothing came up online for Humboldt.  I emailed around and eventually found a map from 1978 that showed Humboldt Bay and the different types of clams that could be found in certain areas.  I also talked to someone who had clammed around here and got some good tips.

The tides were right this weekend to get out on a low tide during daylight hours.  I purchased a fishing license grabbed my mud boots, shovel and a bucket and we were off.  I really wasn't sure what to expect.  I didn't want to get my hopes up, not knowing if I would find any clams or not.

But that worry was short-lived as Trevor pulled out a large gaper clam, arm covered in sandy mud, from the first hole that he dug.  Just a few minutes later I had one myself.  We dug and dug and dug for 2.5 hours as we honed our technique.  Towards the end we were both getting tired and our hands quite numb.  At one time I had both arms completely submerged in a large hole I had dug and it was collapsing on my arms.  I no longer had the strength to pull myself out and had to solicit Trevor's help to pull me out before I went in head first.

We ended up with 19 clams in the end.  Mostly gapers and Washingtons, and we were exhausted!  We both woke up sore the next morning but with smiles on our faces.  I was a little worried about cleaning the clams but it really wasn't that bad.  I gave thanks to the clams many, many times and did my best to get all their meat and not waste any.

We ended up making a yummy fresh Humboldt Clam Chowder for dinner with extra meat to spare for fritters.
We are looking forward to the next time we go out, having a little experience now, and would love to take anyone else interested in helping to dig some holes.

It's not 2010 anymore...

so will I or will I not continue this blog?  The year will tell.

Why did my blogging fall short last year?  I believe I know.  Heartbreak followed by working on my thesis, followed by falling in love, followed by being in love and finally defending and finishing my thesis.  Mainly it was thesis.  I spent way too many hours on my computer last year doing research and writing to want to spend more time blogging.

Once my thesis was submitted at the end of last year my brain began expanding in many directions.  For the first time in a long time I have time to research and learn about topics other than my thesis.  This has been exhilarating and overwhelming all at once.  My brain wants to catch up on all the many things that I haven't been able to give my attention to for the last 4-5 years, only those years are gone and I can only move forward.  I must have more patience with myself and stay focused on a few topics rather than being scattered over the many topics that I have an interest in.

I must take advantage the time that I have right now in my life to learn as much as possible in preparation for times when I may not have so much free time.  It's time to organize, learn, and establish healthy and environmentally conscious habits that will be useful in my life journey (more insight to what this means in upcoming blogs).

Oh, and I need to practice my guitar more, take another ceramics class, learn more about green building, learn about beekeeping, research my latest business idea, practice more yoga, learn to collect seaweeds, learn to make sprouted bread, sprout more often, design an expanded garden, create a better nighttime routine, meditate daily, be better at planning weekly meal plans, learn how to raise goats, make my own soap?, communicate with aliens > not... just checking to see if you're actually still reading this.  Oh yeah, patience! 

It's not August yet...

so this is my last chance to get a July posting in.  It is summer.  Life is good.  Full of swims in the river, eating raspberries, making homemade ice cream, BBQing with friends, weeding the garden and good ol' work.  Yep, even work is better in the summer, at least the parts when I'm outside in the dunes.

Last weekend I got to work at the Lanphere Dunes, known as the most pristine dune ecosystem on the Pacific Northwest coast.  It was a glorious day, starting with a walk through the dune forest.  I had a hard time keeping up as I couldn't resist picking the ginormous huckleberries growing along the trail.  As we hiked up out of the forest onto an open dune sheet I was met with the sweet, sweet smell of yellow sand verbena in bloom.

We headed out to work on the foredunes where beach buckwheat blooms (the pink ones) were plentiful.  It was foggy for a good portion of the morning but the sun came out by the end to offer a brilliant view of the north coast.  I love the dunes!

It was difficult to leave the beach on such a sunny day but at least I had more huckleberries to look forward to on the hike back.

Another trip to Roswell...

means another trip to the UFO Museum and Research Center.

Visiting my Grandma in Roswell, NM has always meant going to the UFO Museum.  What else is there to do in Roswell?  Absolutely nothing (almost> but that's another post).  Plainly said, I think the Museum is absolutely lame.  I mean, it is BAD.  It mainly consists of a bunch of framed newspaper articles displayed on walls.  Why then did I go again?  Like I said, what else is there to do?

Also, I've never taken photos.  This trip I took a lot more photos inside and outside the museum to give you a taste of the alien invasion of Roswell.  The number of photos is also another indicator of how bored I was.

Back when they called me Emy...

I once had a friend, Chris, who lived across the street from me.  And so did his little brother Shawn.  Chris and Shawn were my first ever friends.  We spent a lot of time playing in the yard and keeping ourselves entertained with whatever we could find.  We also enjoyed playing with He-Man and She-Ra action figures and saying, "I am Skeletor!"

Then, when I was about five and half I got my first lesson that all things in life change, when Chris and his family up and moved far, far, away.  My mom and I would take weekend trips to visit them for a few years but then they moved even farther away.  My only tie to Chris was via the letters we wrote to each other which continued through our high school days, but eventually that connection was lost.

And then a few months back I was on Facebook and decided to try and find Chris.  Sure enough, there he was with his wife and three kids.  What a great re-connect.  Next thing I knew his mother was contacting me to invite me to Chris's graduation celebration in Chico.  That's right.  Somehow Chris and his brother Shawn had both ended up back in Chico.  

The kicker is that Chris did not know that I was going to be at his party.  I was definitely nervous to show up considering we hadn't spoken since we were maybe 7 or 8 years old but I was also very excited.  It was really great to see Chris, Shawn, and his family again as well as meet newer additions to the family.  This is definitely one of those unexplainable connections in my life that just doesn't want to be severed.  I mean, seriously... what an amazing, crazy world we live in.   

Interesting to note that our order in heights reversed since childhood.

Kale Chips...

They MELT in your mouth!

I've seen several recipes for kale chips while perusing my favorite recipe blogs, which usually happen to be healthy, sugar free, gluten free kind of blogs. Anyways, the kale chips just did not sound appealing. How could tough, hard kale turn into this nice crisp chip that can easily be chewed and swallowed?

Well, as soon as I placed my first kale chip into my mouth my eyes popped at the intense burst of pleasure it brought to my taste buds. The chip really did melt in my mouth.! The flavor was reminiscent of eating a french fry and I had more chips in hand ready to scarf down before I had a chance to swallow the first chip. Like potato chips, these things are addicting. Once you eat one you just can't stop.

These kale chips are the best thing that I've discovered in a long time. I've been making many batches and sharing them with co-workers, neighbors and friends. I want everyone to experience the joy of kale chips. So I'm posting the recipe I use.

1 bunch of kale
1 lemon
2 Tbsp olive oil (give or take) it really doesn't take much though
sea salt

Trim kale and rip into chip-sized pieces. The ‘chips’ shrink slightly in the oven so I make them a little bigger. In a large bowl drizzle the olive oil, squeeze the lemon and sprinkle the sea salt. Use your hands to really mix it all up and coat the kale.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place kale on baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes at 350' or until kale is crispy.

I LOVE > wait for it...

TANGO! I don't just Love tango. I LOVE Tango!

I'll admit that it took a little prodding by a friend to get me to sign up for a tango dance class but all it took was one class and I was hooked. I smile the entire class and when the class is over I smile all the way home.

I never expected to enjoy dancing tango as much as I do. Going into it I felt I would be a fish out of water. I watched a few Youtube videos that had me a bit freaked out. Quite a bit freaked out really.

I'm not really sure what it is about this dance but I can't get enough. I love the music. I love the people. I even love the attire. Tonight I wore heels for the first time. Yes, you read right. Me in heels. I haven't worn heels since I was a bridesmaid over 10 years ago. It is easy to say that heels are a bit out of character for me which is exactly why I LOVE tango as much as I do. I get to be a different me and it feels good and it's fun. Yes, my feet do hurt after 2 hours of dancing in heels but the pleasure so outweighs the pain.

This Should Not Come As A Surprise...

I'm crazy> it's true. I've considered myself crazy for a variety of reasons in the past and I've now added one more. I've turned into one of those crazy people that enjoys running. Well, I've always enjoyed running short distances and have for nearly 15 years. It is running long distances that I consider to be crazy. About 3 years ago I decided on a whim to train for a 1/2 marathon. Problem was that I got mono about 4 weeks prior to the race. So that ended my first period of running craziness.

Then along came my friend Iowa and we started running together on a weekly basis. She suggested running the 5&3/4 Trinidad to Clam Beach "fun run" in February of this year. I ran it with her and had mixed feelings about the "fun" part. Mostly due to the fact that for some reason I was really nervous about running my first race which had me feeling really sick prior to and during the race. Iowa assured me that everyone gets nervous before their first race and that the next one will be easier and "funner." How could I refuse?

So today I ran 9.3 miles in the Redwood Wild Rivers Run along the Smith River. It was a perfect, sunny spring day on the northcoast. The route went along the South Fork of the Smith River and through old growth redwoods. White petaled trilliums dotted the ancient landscape as we ran and ran and ran and ran. At the three mile marker a nice gentleman sat in a sunny spot on a bridge playing his banjo. Reminded me of Kermit the Frog!

Anyways, we did it! Yes, I'm pleased with myself which brings me back to the point about being crazy. Running races is seriously crazy. You get nervous for no reason and yet you're choosing to do it. You run so long that your feet start to hurt and if you really push it your legs start to feel like rubber at the end. And yet, each time I run I only want to run more. It is addicting.

Like most things in my life I'm going with the flow of it all. Before this race was even over Iowa was plugging the idea of the Avenue of the Giants 1/2 Marathon coming up in 6 weeks. Not sure if I want to do it or not. Time will tell. But for today I will bask in the bliss of being a crazy runner.

A Lovely Spring Visit...

A lovely spring equinox day in many ways.

First, the weather couldn't be much better. While at the dunes/beach this morning it was so pleasant I was in short sleeves. The ocean was brilliantly calm and I felt so thankful to live and work in such a beautiful environment.

Even better than the sunny beach was getting to see my friend Fireman and meet his wife and son. Fireman and I went to HSU together and haven't seen each other in 8 years. It didn't seem like much had changed, except Arcata, according to Fireman. Mini Fireman had just turned one and enjoyed his first experience at the Arcata Plaza. And Kelly... well, she suggested getting coffee at 2pm in the afternoon and I knew right away that I was gonna like her. And I did.

Spring fever...

It's spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you've got it, you want - oh, you don't quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!
~Mark Twain

Loy Krathong - Day Three...

Three days of festivities, decoration and all day and all night sounds of fireworks. This was quite the festival! We were all feeling a bit worn by day three with little sleep but there was yet another parade to attend and we didn't want to miss out. The costumes and floats were the most intricate I've ever seen with loud speaker systems that told a story in both English and Thai. Notice the elaborate hair-dos in this short video.



Starting my first night in Chiang Mai I was able to scan the night sky for glowing lanterns that people had sent up as part of a ritual. Traditional belief has it that when these huge hot lanterns are set adrift and float away, so do the troubles of the persons who launched the balloon. The third night was the peak of lanterns. The sky was filled with the seemingly magical lanterns floating and bobbing about with the shifting of the breeze. It is impossible to truly capture what it is like to witness a sky full of lanterns but here is a quick video I took with some live music in the background to set the mood.



Jeremy and I both successfully launched a lantern my last night in Thailand. In addition to hoping the lanterns would take away all of our troubles we added our own personal wishes. The perfect ending to a wonderful visit with my brother and Thailand.

Upon my return to to San Francisco I at first thought the stars in the night sky were lanterns. I was so used to looking for lanterns and hadn't seen stars in Chiang Mai as the pollution hides them. It took me a few days to get re-accustomed to stars and not lanterns.

My Brother Lives in Thailand and Now I Know Why...

Now that I have FINALLY visited Jeremy in Thailand I can say that I kind of understand why he chooses to live there. And there are many good reasons that he does. I will name just a few.

First of all is that while his US family misses him very much he now has a family in Thailand.











While he left many friends behind he has made many new friends in Thailand, including Matt and David pictured here.











And have I mentioned Lilly?



















Jeremy likes Thailand because there he can drink fancy teas and has ample time to play scrabble.






He is also able to be crafty and not be judged by Martha Stuart. Who knew that crafts could make him so happy?

And when he's in Thailand he can host visitors like me. He gets two thumbs up!