Tag Archives | outdoors

1st Birthday! {Giveaway & Q/A}

 Cupcake

This is our blog, White Gunpowder’s 1st birthday … Yay!
We filled this post with too many things but I hope it will be fun, insightful and encouraging.  First, dive right in and enter the giveaway for your choice of
ONE, $100 gift card to one lucky winner.

Giveaway

Easy to enter, pick one or all the options in the entry below and that’s it.  The more you enter the better your chances of winning will be.  Come back everyday and enter in the giveaway until it ends at 12:00AM on August 2nd 2013.
Contact us
if you have any questions.


 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.

Bill and I also answered a few questions that we’ve been asked and thought others might want to know or are curious about too.

Q&A

 Little more about us, chickens, dog, blogging and White Gunpowder.

Bill hunting in Montana

Yellowston National Parkwhite serving trays
.

Q:  How did you came up with the name “White Gunpowder”?

The name came together while on vacation in Wyoming (amazing view at 13,000 feet above sea level) and Montana last year.  We wanted the website to be a reflection of the two of us, our personality and interests.   I came up with the first word “White” and Bill likes the word “Gunpowder”.  White in general for me describes clean, fresh, new and things like crisp white shirts, kitchen cabinets, plates, serving pieces,  linens and towels.  For Bill, Gunpowder represents the great outdoors, hunting, fishing and hiking.  

Chickens
Q:  What breed of chickens do you have?

A:  We started with 12 chickens and 11 different breeds.  Last year we lost 4  due injuries and unknown sicknesses and gave one rooster away to a friend. Currently we have 7 breeds:  Speckled Sussex, Americana, Delaware, Dominique, Barred Rock, Golden Sex Links, and Austra White chickens.  They are very much a part of our family and we enjoy their fresh eggs everyday.

.

pile of recipes

.
.
.
.
Blogs .

Q:  Why did you decide to put together the website and what will it be all about?

{reason one} For many years I’ve tried to compile my recipes into a cookbook-like manner to someday give my children but with very little success.  They have said to me often “I want this recipe or that recipe or can you write this recipe down for me…” The website brought discipline and structure for me and it has been helpful so far to record {with pictures too} these recipes that have been stacking up on shelves, bookmarked, and filed in my notebooks.

{reason two}  The curiosity of what is blogging and wanting to know more about it.  This is a fairly new concept for me even though it has been around for awhile.  Other than using it as an archive for my recipes Bill and I didn’t have any particular reasons or ideas of what will be the focus of the website.  The answer to the question was often, “I’m not sure yet.”  It’s been a year now and we should have a pretty good idea. Right?  We might not have narrowed it down to a category but we know it will be what interests us and we hope you will enjoy it too.

Please meet these wonderful Bloggers that we have come to know and are sharing their interests and talents.
{click on the names/websites below to continue…}
A Bright and Beautiful Life ⎜
All This Crazy Grace ⎜Jayme Designs
Jenny Ikari DesignKains On The Creek
My Sophia Ryan ⎜Pretty Wrapped
Simply Domestic ⎜Wool and Flax

 

.

Blogging 101.

do what you love

 

Q:  Did you know how to put together a website when you decided to do this?

The Answer is a big NO!
We knew the basic computer stuff, but not the inner workings of the computer, software, or how to take something from point A to make it work at point B.  We had doubts, but in the end our decision was to “Jump In” with a lot of help from Ryan and Emily at Jones Design Company.  I have been following her blog and enjoyed reading it and be inspired by what she was posting. In June 2012, Emily featured on her blog “ your blog is waiting“, perfect timing.  I knew she would give the step by step instructions without all the “Techi” confusing terminologies.  In addition to the The Blog Class, Ryan and Emily also provided a support group for the Members where we can continue to help each other and to keep up with the news and updates. The step-by-step instructions and the support have been great!

We hope our little story inspired you to take a leap and try something new or start what you’ve been thinking about but were a little unsure.  We can’t say that it will be a smooth ride, but if you are doing what you love the obstacles will become a little easier with each step you take.  Through the many challenges of putting the website together, I{Kay} feel it was worth it.  I’m still amazed at all the things I learned and ‘Can Do’ now.  I’m enjoying it.

.

Glory-1

Glory-2

Glory-3

Would like to see more pictures of your dog, Glory.

⟵ Glory as a puppy at the beach.

Glory {French Brittany} turned 2 years old in May, she’s a happy dog, great with the family and always wants to please.
After two years she is NOT out of her “puppy chewing stage” yet!

 

 

.

⟵ Glory, naturally on a hunt for a bird and loves the water.

After researching and narrowing down the different breeds of bird hunting dogs our decision took us to Arizona to Sun Country Breton.  Don and Linda Rice were great to work with and they kept us up to date about how the puppies were doing and had lots of photos to share.  The next litter of puppies will be available early 2014.

 

 

Interested in a French Brittany
{Epagneul Breton}?
{continue to Sun Country Breton
for more info …
}
or
{Sun Country Breton on Facebook …}

.

Kay
.

.

I think that’s it for us on this 1st Birthday of White Gunpowder!
It’s always wonderful to hear from friends and new friends, contact us or make a comment on one {or more} of our blog posts.

–Kay

………………………………………………………………………………………………..

posted by: Bill & Kay

27 comments

Beach Scavenger Hunt {printable}

Beach, Scavenger Hunt

To the beach!  With a bucket in one hand and a shovel in the other, my kids are ready to have fun in the sand {if and when they get there}.  Their buckets were always full of treasures by the time we left the beach.  I created these simple illustrations of the sea life and things often found along the Pacific Northwest beaches.  Fun and whimsical drawings to be used on a beach scavenger hunt and/or as a fun print to display and remind you of the trip.
{free printable Here … beach scavenger hunt list}

.Beach Pacific

A Trip to the ocean is our family annual summer vacation.  Great family time to enjoy a little bit of beach living, the sand, the ocean, salty air and relaxation.  Last year we skipped it and headed to the mountains instead.  I was a little surprised at how much they are craving the ocean.  For the past few months the question kept popping up as to when we will be going?  Sometimes in life we take things for granted and realized how much we miss it when it’s not there.

.

Pacific Beach

The Pacific Northwest beaches tends to be cooler in temperature with clouds and wind.  There are rare occasions on our visits when the temperature hits the high 80s°F, blue sky and it felt like we were on a tropical island, and then at other times the rain, hail and a lot of wind.  No matter what the weather may be, we have not been disappointed.  Our kids are looking forward to the next beach vacation!
{we’ll be updating our Facebook page with new pictures when we get back from the trip}

.

at the beach

This is one of my  favorite pictures of Hannah(L) and Grace(R) from many years ago.  The curiosity and the excitement of finding treasures along the beach and sharing them.

.

Beach display

Share with us your family’s favorite vacation spot?

Beach illustrations KS

 {free printable Here … beach scavenger hunt list}
All printables are for personal use Only

………………………………………………………………………………………………..

posted by: Kay

2 comments

Medical Teams International {Field of Dreams} Dinner & Auction

Medical Teams International, Field of Dreams

Medical Teams International, dinner & auction

What a wonderful setting for a gathering outdoors.   The ‘Field of Dreams‘ is the name for this annual dinner and auction event at the Seattle Mariner’s baseball field, organized by Medical Teams International.  Bill and I had the opportunity to attend it recently.  We were looking down to the field below where all the tables were set for the dinner and a fun night of entertainment and live auction.

 

Medical Teams dinner & auction

Bill on the baseball field and standing next to the pitcher’s mound.

.

Highlights from the live auction

Medical Team International Dinner & Auction

.

Medical Teams International, dinner & auction

Bill with two friends that have been a part of this special event for many years.  Bob Carroll(L) was the last year’s holder of  the winning  ‘Golden Ticket’ for a trip to Hawaii.     Joe Boldan(R) is part of the Steering Committee for Medical Teams International.

 Medical Teams International, dinner & auction

The night ended successfully and raised over $2 million dollars.  Medical Teams International started here in the Pacific Northwest caring for people in the local neighborhoods by providing dental care and other assistance.  Over the years they have partnered with companies and other organizations and now travel around the world and provide the aid to those in need.   {learn more …}

 

 {answer to the trivia is “C“, the cream pie that Jim Zorn was holding}

………………………………………………………………………………………………..

posted by: Bill & Kay

0 comments

ORVIS “Free” Fly Fishing Lessons

Orvis, fly fishing flies

It’s time to go fishing, take the whole family, an early Father’s Day outing, learn something new! Whatever the reason may be, come and join other people across America and learn how to fly fish.  Orvis stores across the country have been offering free fly fishing classes on the weekends.  These classes will be ending in the next few weeks. There is still time left to participate and take advantage of this wonderful opportunity {Click Here to find the store nearest you and register}.  This is open to all ages, beginners and all skill levels of fly fishing.  All equipment and supplies will be provided by Orvis.  Just sign up and show up for the class.

Orvis, fly fishing 101

I finished the class a few weeks ago with six friends at the Orvis store in Denver, Colorado. The Orvis staff was outstanding.  They were very knowledgeable, experienced, and knew all the material extremely well.  The group was made up of people with little knowledge of fly fishing to people like me that have been enjoying this since childhood.  We had a great time learning casting techniques, understanding the rod, reel and line relationship, knots, and selecting flies.  In a few weeks my friends are heading back out for the “201 class” and fishing a local river (there will be a small fee to attend the “201 class”)  It was a great experience, and I recommend it to all.

 

{video not playing, click Here}

.

Soon I will be attending another fly fishing “101 class” with my kids at the Orvis store in Bellevue, Washington.  It will be a fun day with them.  The last time we did any fly fishing together was back in 2009.  Definitely time to get back and do more fly fishing as a family.

Fly Fishing lessons

Go and give it a try!
{to register and find the nearest ORVIS store, Click Here}

images & sources: dry flies, Orvis  ⎜  Orvis fly fishing 101 & video

………………………………………………………………………………………………..

posted by: Bill                   0

0 comments

Gardening & Entertaining Outdoors

gardening & entertaining

 

Gathered a few favorites things for entertaining and gardening this summer.   It’s nice to add a twist to the basics that’s unexpected like the “Cape Cod birdhouse” painted in a pale mint color and soft blue hose that should be on display.  I am eyeing the citronella candle in the square container.  What about you?

1.garden tote, West Elm    2.Heritage garden hose, Terrain   3.Cape Cod birdhouse, Terrain   4.matches butterfly brocade cylinder, Boutique Theo   5.happy boat, Design Lemonade   6.Washi bandages, Pretty Strips   7.Galvanized square citronella pot, Crate and Barrel   8.garden labels, Paulova Ceramics   9.metallic coil terrarium, Anthropologie   10.garden tags, free printables White Gunpowder  11.Gumboots Toile clog, Hard to Find

____________________________________

flower / herb garden{English Bluebells}

flower / herb garden{Strawberry flowers}

flower / herb garden{chives}

A wonderful time to enjoy the garden and the beauty that can only can be observed early in the morning.  It was about 6:30am when I decided to take a stroll through the garden as the sun started to peak through the cool, misty air.  I came back around the second time with my camera and took these pictures with the dew still clinging to the leaves and flowers.

………………………………………………………………………………………………..

posted by: Kay               4

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
4 comments