2010 Harvest

2010

Apples: from Haggen's, 1 gallon of wine

Blackberries:  from the garden, lots for eating and sharing, 12 12oz jars and 2 8oz jars of blackberry nectarine jam

Blueberries: from Boxx Berry Farm, 5 8 oz jars canned blueberry lemon syrup, 6 8 oz jars of canned blueberry lime jam, 6 lbs of frozen berries for wine making, 4 lbs frozen berries, 1 lb dehydrated berries

Cherries: purchased on drive from Eastern Washington, 1 gallon of wine; from the garden, eaten fresh

Carrots: from the garden, some for eating; from Half Acre Farm, 1 gallon of wine

Coffee: from Hammerhead Coffee, 1 gallon of wine

Cucumbers:  10 lbs from Boxx Berry Farm, 7 quarts and 1 pint of dill pickles

Dandelions:  from the garden, 1 gallon of wine

Green Beans: from the garden, lots for eating and 3 pints dilly beans, 14 lbs from Half Acre Farms for 12 pints dilly beans and 6 quarts of canned beans.

Kale: from the garden, eaten fresh and made kale chips

Lavendar: from the garden, 1 bundle dried

Lettuce: from the garden, eaten fresh, too much to keep up with

Mint: from the garden, 6 8oz jars of jelly

Nectarines:  20lb box from Eastern Washington, 12 12oz jars and 2 8oz jars of blackberry-nectarine jam, 8 8oz jars of nectarine basil preserves, 6 quarts of canned nectarines,

Onions: from the garden, 1 lb baby onions

Peaches:  20lb box from Eastern Washington plus some, 10 quarts of canned peaches, 12 8oz jars of raspberry peach jam, 10 8z jars of peach cobbler preserves

Radishes: from the garden, eaten fresh, too much to keep up with

Raspberries: from Boxx Berry Farm, 56 ounces of sure-jell freezer jam, 40 ounces of Ball freezer jam, 3 lbs of frozen whole raspberries (used in raspberry peach jam), 9 8oz jars cooked canned jam, 6 lbs of frozen berries ready for wine making, 12 8oz jars of raspberry peach jam

Rhubarb: from Boxx Berry Farm, 120 ounces of strawberry rhubarb sure-jell freezer jam

Sage: picked on drive from Eastern Washington, 16 bundles dried

Spinach: from the garden, eaten fresh, too much to keep up with

Strawberries: from Boxx Berry Farm, 120 ounces of strawberry rhubarb sure-jell freezer jam, 1 gallon of wine; from the garden, eaten fresh

Sugar Snap Peas: from the garden, eaten fresh, needed better staking

Swiss Chard:  from Half Acre Farms, some for eating and some frozen for the winter

Zucchini: from the garden, lots for eating and sharing

Mice, I think

Warning: This post is about suspected rodents. Please don't judge us harshly, we do live in a rented manufactured home that is who knows how old....

How disgusting is this? A few weeks ago, I opened my little used storage cupboard to find 2 1/2 lbs of pistachio shells all over my food.  And the little mouse droppings that come with it.  Gross.  And totally annoying that my 5lb bag of pistachios was destroyed. Luckily, everything else was in glass containers that I was able to wash without any harm.  And I wondered why the cats were really obsessed with that cupboard....

We got that problem taken care of, and about a week later (probably related) we started hearing scratching noises underneath the house. Perisistent and loud. All night long. A first there was just one creature making noise, in the corner of our bathroom. Then each night, there were more noises. And they started to spread so they were under all parts of the house. It was getting hard to sleep, it really went on all night long. We put traps out, but no luck. Finally, the maintenance guy came and put out poison (I know it's terrible, we felt awful about all the little mice being tortured to death). Now it's so amazingly silent at night. I love it.  Pesky little creatures trying to invade our house....

The Shredder

Lucy has turned into a shredder. Anytime we leave anything in her crate that has any kind of stuff in it she rips it to shreds. Even when we leave her something else to chew on, she just really likes the stuffing! Any suggestions how to prevent this? It's hard to do training when it's a behavior that happens when you aren't around!

For now we are filling her crate with lots of old blankets and towels that have no stuffing in them. Not quite as soft, but at least they aren't destroyed everyday!

10 Weeks 5 Days

Even though every book says it's too early to be showing, I've gotten my first few comments from people, asking if I'm pregnant. Although I can tell, I think I just look chubby to most people. But I will take it as a compliment that people assume that I'm pregnant instead of chubby. I suppose it's time to start showing pictures!

Here is me, in the middle of our freezing snow storm at 7 weeks, 3 days pregnant.  Yes, I'm poking my belly out.  I learned not to do that pretty quick.

And here is me, this last Monday, at 10 Weeks, 5 days pregnant. And ten lbs lighter, still. That just amazes me. Losing 10 lbs was a struggle for when I was exercising and dieting; I still can't believe I've lost that much weight.

Lucy Won!

Lucy won this giveaway, sponsored by Simba the Golden Retriever.  She was very excited by the fancy cookies from NerdyDog, she never gets to eat anything that pretty!  Lucy won three gorgeous cookies, here's how eating the first one went.  This whole process took over 5 minutes, she was very careful to savor it!

Waiting for the snowman.

"Maybe if I don't look at it I can have it sooner."

"Really?  For me?"

Licking gently

"That's delicious!  What is this thing?"

More licking

Holding it VERY gently in her mouth.

And settling down to enjoy.

It's hard to tell in the picture, but she is just rolling it around in her mouth.  With her eyes closed :)

Breaking off a small nubbin to chew on.

Making it last.

Licking the floor for any crumbs

Licking her lips in happiness!

Thanks Simba and NerdyDog for the delicious holiday treat!

Psi-Bands

These amazingly simple bands have made me happy. In the last 2 1/2 weeks that I've been sick, I've lost 9 lbs. I was throwing up 8-12 times a day and feeling nauseous most of the time. I really wasn't keeping much food down. I was starting to get to into survival only mode, I really wasn't much fun to be around. Luckily, I had a slight reprieve over the Thanksgiving weekend when I wasn't too sick, otherwise I think I would be feeling more tired. I got these little bands Tuesday night and haven't thrown up since. Still a little nauseous in the morning, but I can eat and keep food down. I'm starting to feel human again. It's amazing. And there are no side effects. You can read more about Psi-bands here.

Matt & Vanessa's Wedding

Remember back in August when I mentioned in passing that we were going to a really fun weekend long wedding? Yeah, I don't blame you for not remembering. It was a LONG time ago. And I am just now getting around to posting pictures, even though I've had the pictures pulled out and on my flickr account for a while now. But the wedding was so fun that I want to write about it, even if I'm 4 months late, just so I don't forget!

Matt & Vanessa were married at the camp where they met.  Having never been to a camp like this, I didn't really know what to expect for a camp wedding.  Let me tell you, it was awesome!  Guests started arriving Friday night for a welcoming BBQ and campfire.  We all stayed in our own rooms in the lodge, or in cabins, just like you would at camp!  Saturday, guests had time to themselves to hike or explore the local town.  A group of us chose to go on a hike down to the freezing cold river and watch crazy boys, the groom and all the groomsmen, jump in the water!  Later that afternoon, the wedding ceremony was held in an adorable little chapel, with Christmas lights strung up, and a brass quintet playing music.

Love the rustic yet beautiful setting!

Look how happy they are!

Andrew, playing his part of groomsmen.

After the wedding ceremony, we moved out to a large grassy lawn space where we were able to mingle with friends, enjoy a delicious catered dinner, large group dancing (the only wedding I've ever been at where EVERYONE danced!), and, later in the evening, a big campfire!

Look at all of us dancing!

The wedding was really perfect!  It was beautiful, but not so fancy that you felt uncomfortable and awkward.  Everyone was relaxed and surrounded by friends.  There was lots of laughing!  I don't have many pictures of later in the evening, but these last pictures of the groom and his groomsmen should give you a good idea of how much fun everyone was having!

Congratulations Matt & Vanessa! It was a really fun wedding and we are so glad that we got to be there on your special day!

Thanksgiving

After a little bit of fuss about getting everyone there due to weather conditions, we spent a relaxing two days with my immediate family and my mom's parents.  In addition to a Thanksgiving feast, we got to celebrate Emma's, Taylor's, Rachelle's, Andrew's, and Granny's birthdays and we had a blessing ceremony with Taylor's family for Levi!   Needless to say, we had two days full of celebrating and eating.  The food was delicious and we spent a lot of time relaxing, playing games, talking, and sleeping. 

The board Andrew made my dad-and the one we got Taylor- definitely got used during our stay.  I think my family has a new favorite game!

Although seeing everyone all at once was a treat, the new baby was definitely the highlight of our Thanksgiving!  We spent a great deal of time fussing over Mr. Levi!  Here are a few of my favorite candid shots of him from our two days with my family.

Levi and Grandma...he really doesn't like to be snuggled!

How can he be cute even when he is mad?  P.S.  Lucy REALLY loved those fleece socks hanging around her eye level....

Moments after the previous picture!

Miss Emma is a natural at putting babies to sleep!

Levi's happy sleeping spot!

It's December....

And I still haven't done everything on my list from November!

A few interesting tidbits from that list that I haven't yet shared:

We met with one of the midwives at the Bellingham Birth Center for a consultation and got a brief tour. We have to decided that we are going to use their services! I am excited! We have our first full appointment next Friday!

I did make the apple bisque soup...which probably was really good (at least Andrew and Winn told me so) but it tasted completely gross to my overly picky taste buds. So I never took pictures and shared the recipe. We ate it one night with bread and goat cheese (which tasted way better to me) and had two tupperware fulls that went in the freezer, and two more that went bad in the fridge because Andrew couldn't eat it all by himself. Do you call that a bust?

My favorite from November:

A long weekend spent with family, getting to meet my new nephew, eating lots of delicious food, being extremely lazy, seeing Harry Potter, and not throwing up once in 4 days!  If only I could get 11 hours of sleep every night!

In the plan for December:

Getting our new bedframe that is our Christmas present to ourselves.
Making and buying Christmas presents for family and friends.
Bottling more wine this weekend.
Starting to journal in my pregnancy books...I feel like I can start now after our ultrasound on Wednesday!
Finishing my book.
Organizing photos.
Drinking hot cocca.
Remake the sweet potato recipe we used at Thanksgiving, it was delicious!
Two weeks of sleeping in!

Happy Birthday Andrew!

Happy Birthday Andrew!
I love you!

First Ultrasound

We had our first ultrasound today and everything went perfectly! We have one healthy baby with a beating heart...which was exactly what we were looking for! The due date is July 5th, give our take a few days. Fun due date to have as it's Wade's birthday...maybe this year we will give him his first grandchild for a birthday present! Here are a few very grainy pictures from our visit today: