Mar
19
2009Spring and Fall are my favorite seasons here. I love the glories of 60-70 degree weather here in the Spring as the world awakes from its Winter drearies. I love the busyness of spring: the planting, the desire to go walking, the bees all in a hustle around the tree, and the joyous laughter of children floating over the neighborhood. But I love Fall too when the HEAT of summer is dissipating. The hills are awash in splendid color. And the pace of things is slower: the veggies just need picking, the family is gathered around for plentiful meals, the walks are lingering, and the bees seem to be lazily darting around for that last drop of nectar.
But at the moment, I’m spending days outside wandering on petal strewn paths in open toed shoes and enjoying God creating everything anew.
Mar
15
2009
Derek and I made Beef and Portobello Turnovers for dinner. I never make this dish without my sweet kitchen assistant. He pours in the filling and closes up the pastry while I roll out the dough. If he didn’t help my dough would end up too warm and melty. Anyhow, it’s a great weekend cooking together project that was totally set off by those steamed sugar snap peas. Yummy.
Mar
12
2009There’s only one situation where that math works: when two people start a family 😀 Derek and I are expecting a little squirming (and crying) bundle of joy around October 7, 2009. Little One (or LO as Derek and I are calling it) was sort of unexpected and sort of planned for. Honestly, we didn’t expect to conceive two weeks after stopping contraceptives! But we’re excited (and scared) as only new parents can be!
As I write this now (March 12th), I’m about 3 weeks shy of finishing my first trimester. I don’t really look (though I’ve gained some pudge) or feel pregnant. My main “symptoms” are frequent trips to the potty, food aversions rather than food cravings, sleepiness (I literally slept about 2 1/2 weeks of my life away), and a very sensitive smeller (I bought Derek Listerine so he could still get kisses regardless of what he had just eaten). Oh, and I could eat all the time. I’m eating 5-6 small meals a day and sometimes I still wake up in the middle of the night hungry.
It’s sort of a surreal experience. Derek and I talk about LO, talk about decorating the nursery, bought a car seat and Exersaucer at church yardsale (total cost $15!!), I’ve bought 3 items of “maternity” clothing (hey, that little pudge makes buttoning pants over a sensitive belly uncomfortable!), and I start crying randomly when reading anything about babies (hormones, Hurray!), but there’s just no real processing that we’ll have a little person in our home before October ends. It’s like playing house when you were in preschool. So surreal.
Mar
12
2009When we brought Olive cat home from the Humane Society, she was a tiny adventurous 6 week old ball of fluff complete with ear tufts. My mom and sister were staying with us along with 2 pint sized dogs. We left the house for an afternoon outing and when we came back, we couldn’t find Olive anywhere! It took us about 10 minutes of searching before we discovered the crafty kitten asleep on my dinner plates in a cabinet. To think- she had convinced us that she couldn’t jump up on the couch! Sneaky Cat!
Her love affair with cabinets has never ended. This morning, my faithful alarm clock Olive woke me up by trying to pull open the bathroom cabinets. She does this every morning (and sometimes in the middle of the night too. ARG.) One day when Derek removed a drawer to fix it that evening, she squeezed through the opening and happily frolicked in the cabinets until I pulled her out by the scruff of her neck. The last two mornings I have awoken to discover the bottom sandwich bag drawer scattered about my kitchen. I kept thinking it was Derek failing to make his lunch on time and leaving in a hurry after digging about for a sandwich bag. Until I discovered Olive claw marks in a freezer bag.
Monday, I caught the star crossed lover in action. I just don’t understand why we pick out abnormal cats…everytime….
