by Kelli Donley | Sep 14, 2012 | Colorado, Politico
A few shots from President Obama’s recent visit to Golden: Helicopters, metal detectors and a 3 hour line to get into the park. Secretary of the Interior and former Colorado Senator Ken Salazar kicks off the event. It rained for 20 hours the day before. Most of...
by Kelli Donley | Sep 13, 2012 | Colorado, Flora and Fauna
Those cute little seeds came from those even cuter plums, which came from Wyoming. Meaning they should grow here, right? One thing I miss dearly about Arizona is the 4 full gardening seasons available. Sure August is a pain, but the rosemary loves the heat. So do...
by Kelli Donley | Sep 12, 2012 | Heirloom Homestead, June Cleaver, Kitchen Talk
The crab apple trees in Golden are ripe for harvesting, and that’s just what several friends and I did the other day. I came home with more than 50 pounds of fruit and an idea. What if I put together a meal with apples in each course? As my friend Juliann says...
by Kelli Donley | Sep 11, 2012 | Flora and Fauna, Happy Hippie, Heirloom Homestead
Have you read “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle?” I’ve long considered Barbara Kingsolver one of the best American authors. I adore her work, have written fan letters, stumbled all over myself with inappropriate fan-girl questions the one time we met, and...
by Kelli Donley | Sep 10, 2012 | Heirloom Homestead, Kitchen Talk, Recipes
My friend Bill mentioned a couple weeks ago that he makes his baba ganoush by starting at the BBQ. With a hot grill and a bit of olive oil, the smoky flavor of charred eggplant comes through beautifully. When I ran across eggplant at the market a few days later I...
by Kelli Donley | Sep 8, 2012 | Colorado, Happy Hippie, Heirloom Homestead
The leaves are transforming golden. Blackbirds gather in their Hitchcock gangs along the fence, in the yard, perched on the beds — all too close to the precious few remaining tomatoes. The squash vines are starting to die, the leaves an ashen gray. Forest green...
by Kelli Donley | Sep 5, 2012 | Journal
In Prescott last weekend, I stopped at booth at an art fair to buy a decorative metal yard stake for a friend. I walked up to the checkout, handed the female vendor the stake and chatted her up, as I would just about anyone. “Hey, thanks for this. Did you make...
by Kelli Donley | Sep 4, 2012 | Arizona, Celebrate!
I got away with some friends for a long holiday weekend; while the home we rented was spacious, clean and more than met our needs — a few of the decorations were so strange, they were worthy of reporting. Okay. Fine. The dog cowboy hat might have been my...
by Kelli Donley | Sep 2, 2012 | CAOK, Heirloom Homestead, June Cleaver
My friend David recently took a nasty tumble while on rollerskates, causing a spiral fracture of his tibia. He’s been on the couch recovering from surgery for a bit, and needed a pick-me-up. I was on my way out the door for a long weekend with friends and...
by Kelli Donley | Sep 1, 2012 | Domestic Art, Fabric-by-Fabric Sew Along
Friends, this sew-along is not my friend. I’m telling you, I was 80% through this swaddle blanket (or as I like to call it, Death By Bias Tape blanket) and realized I was having ZERO FUN. Sometimes these sew-alongs are a tough mission in simple following...
