Author: Julia

I am a retired software solutions architect. I have been married to my husband, Bruce, for over forty years. We went full-time RVing for 3.5 years and saw much of the United States. After deciding to stop RVing, we bought a ranch house halfway up a hill on five acres. After Bruce and I talked about names for our five acres, we settled on Blackberry Homestead as a homage to the wild blackberries on the hill. We are working on creating our homestead. I love cooking and enjoy sharing recipes. I am also an artist, and I’ll share my current projects. Gardening and reading are my favorite hobbies.

One Year WordPress Anniversary!

October 12, 2020 I recently received a notice from WordPress that I signed up a year ago. I checked to see how many posts I published in that year and the number was 207 posts. That was way more post than I expected! I have really enjoyed blogging this year and following so many of […]

Instant Pot Low FODMAP Pot Roast

Since Bruce is trying to eat a low FODMAP diet, and I had a chuck roast, I looked for a good pot roast recipe that I could modify to be low FODMAP. I found one in The Rootitoot Cookbook, A Grandma’s Recipes for Your Instant Pot by Ruth “Rootitoot” McCusker. If you haven’t discovered her […]

Driving Back to Golden, CO from Moab, UT

October 5, 2020 On September 30th (Wednesday), we got up and packed up and loaded the truck up. We both did a quick check around the rented RV to make sure we hadn’t left anything. We managed to get out at 8:00 AM. We drove to I-70 along Hwy 128 and it was very beautiful […]

ABA’s Education Campaign

October 5, 2020 In my day job, I am a Solutions Architect * who works at a bank. Since fraud is on the rise, I thought I would share information about the American Bankers Association (ABA) campaign to raise awareness of phishing scams as part of the national Cybersecurity Awareness month. The campaign is under […]

Scenic Byway – Hwy 128 Outside of Moab

October 3, 2020 On September 29th (Tuesday), after our stop at Lions Park, Bruce and I discussed going into town and getting something to eat for lunch. We also discussed taking Hwy 128 to see the views. We determined with the construction traffic in Moab, that it would be easier to take Hwy 128 from […]

Lions Park, Moab UT

October 3, 2020 Along the Colorado River, at the intersection of Hwy 191 and Hwy 128, there is a beautiful park called Lions Park. It has paths along the river, picnic tables shaded by trees, and a foot bridge across the Colorado River. How could we resist walking over the bridge? After we had hiked […]

Driving to Moab, UT From Golden, CO

October 2, 2020 On September 26th (Saturday) morning, we packed up the truck and headed out at 7:50 AM. We checked the traffic on I-70 and luckily, it wasn’t backed up, so we head out along I-70. To me, I-70 through the Rocky Mountains is one of the most beautiful sections of interstate in the […]

The Canyonlands by Night and Day Sound and Light Show in Moab

October 2, 2020 The Canyonlands by Night and Day Sound and Light Show sounded like a lot of fun. It promised a cowboy-style Dutch oven dinner and a boat ride at night with lighting along the some of the canyon walls that the Colorado River has carved out. We got there early and picked up […]

Stopping in Fruita, CO at the Dinosaur Journey Museum

October 2, 2020 I had been wanting to see the Dinosaur Journey Museum which is a part of the Museum of Western Colorado for some time. I let Bruce know that I wanted to stop in Fruita, CO to see the Dinosaur Journey Museum and I asked if we should stop on the way to […]

The Moab Giants Museum and Dinosaur Park

October 2, 2020 Since we couldn’t get into Arches on September 27th (Sunday), we went to the Moab Giants Museum and Dinosaur Park, just north of Arches. This museum had a 3D “aquarium” that show pre-historic sea creatures. It was amazing and I wish it had a few more exhibits. They also had a small […]