Winter 2011

I love living here! I know I've said it bajillion times. Living in a more country setting has really changed something inside me. I feel more grateful for life. I feel more connected to nature. I feel deeply interested in what lives and grows outside. I feel more at peace. I am so grateful to live here!

Here's the setting sun cradled in the cleft of the hills. What perfect placement!

So, here's some of what was going on around here for the last few months.

Stuff we made:

Ally made cupcakes. Here's the one she decorated for me.

Cliff got a rock tumbler for Christmas. It's something he's been interested in for a long time--his Grandfather used to tumble rocks and make beautiful jewelry with the results. Here are some rocks somewhere in the middle of the polishing process.

Cliff made this arbor for our friends Vicki and Josh's wedding. It was our wedding gift to them--they plan to put it in their garden when they move into their first house. My Vicki planned the whole wedding herself--and she supervised every detail of it. Quite a feat!


Isaiah is really into making ice cream these days--he has one of those "ball" ice cream makers where you pour the stuff into it and roll it back and forth until the ice cream's all solid and delicious. It makes about a pint, which is perfect for sharing. He's made some really delicious combinations so far.

Allegra's made tons of stuff, as usual, but I guess I'm so used to her extreme creativity that I fail to take pictures! I'm gonna right that wrong. She's very interested in selling her creations on etsy. I told her that as soon as she perfects 10 things that are easy to reproduce, then we'd start an etsy shop. She's excited. I'll let you know when she's online.

Well, we didn't make this guy--but Reed and Dorothy did! This is Bruce Theodore Galbraith and he was born in January (on the 15th). He's SOOOO adorable. I just want to smell him and squeeze him. And then hand him back if he cries. Here he is with Allegra. He was blessed in church just yesterday. He's growing so fast. I think it's because he pretty much never stops eating. Maybe Dorothy will have ONE child who's not a skinny little thing. So far Bruce is going the right way to tank-hood. Or would that be tank-dom. Whatever it is, he is a.dor.a.ble. Think he and Carmen high-fived as he was walking out Heaven's door? It's a nice thought, isn't it.


Creatures we encountered:

Tangerine was caught trespassing on my neighbor's roof and earned herself a trip to the slammer. I had to bail her out to the tune of $45. Boy did that make me mad. Paying for my own cat!! Questions I asked: why didn't my neighbor think to call me? Why are people at animal shelters and vets so unnaturally obsessed with the personification of pets? Why must I feel like a criminal because my cat gets lost? Epithets I'd like to scream: Well, on second thought, let's skip those. Anyway, here she is, back where she belongs (cuddling up with her sister, Cherry). Was she glad to see us? No. Was she grateful for her rescue? Not hardly. Cuz, see, she's a cat. Yeah. But! We're glad to have her back anyway!


A blatant invitation. Yes, love has been in season at my house. This has involved, yowling, spraying, posing, moaning and assuming "the position". And that was just Cliff! hahahahaha. I couldn't resist it. Just kidding. Anyway, the girls were hungry and the boy was willing and it was our job to maintain everybody's high standards until a couple of spays were accomplished. Hundreds of dollars and a fun and punitive trip to the vet later, the girls are safe and the boy is forever frustrated. At least with my girls he is. He can sow his wild oats elsewhere. I'm so glad THAT'S all over. Now all the cats are outside cats. My rodent-catching team is springing into action!

Speaking of which, here's Lily with a HUGE gopher she caught. It must have been a bigger portion than she could eat, cuz she took a few bites and set the leftovers aside for later. And, typically, someone else ate them before she could (I hate that! "Where are those leftovers from the restaurant last night?" "Oh, Dad had them for breakfast!" "DARN!"). Some daring vulture came and carried off the remains for his dining pleasure. Go team!


We went to Seacliff beach in March with our great friends the Evans. I love the beach in winter! It's so different from the summer beach, and often the weather is more pleasant than it would be in summer too! This year there were tons of these little jellies washed up on the beach. The kids rifled through the recycling bins and pulled out cups and bottles to fill with ocean water and little jellies. They were so cool to watch!! The Evans took them back to their beach house for the night and released them back into the ocean (from the pier) the next morning. They were still blooping away!


Do cacti count as "creatures" (what a wonderfully alliterative sentence!)? Here is Isaiah's cactus collection. He is so into these spiny plants--he checks their water levels, he keeps watering calendars, he monitors their growth, he scours the plant shops for more.... pretty cool, eh?

Me:

I found my street! It's in Pleasant Hill. Shall we move, do you think?


I looove shopping. And I'm addicted to "the deal". My philosophy is: if it's not on sale, it's not worth it. This is closely related to the "if it's cheap, it's good" idea or the "if it's under $10 I'll love it no matter what color it is" school of thought. Cuz my idea of a sale is not the same as some other people's ideas of a sale. If it's not less than $20, I don't think it can be considered a "deal". If it's less than $10 and it looks good on me, I'll be floating out of the store amid a choir of hallelujah angels. This wool pea coat was $15 at Old Navy. Sigh. Nirvana.


I'm trying really hard to improve our eating habits. I have always considered myself a "healthy" eater, but I'm starting to be more observant and honest with myself. I do really like healthy foods but I don't think we've been eating them nearly as much as I've been imagining that we do. And I worry. So we've been making some changes and smoothies like this are part of those changes. We have smoothies every morning now for breakfast. They look so beautiful layered in the blender like this! Of course, once you blend it all up, that lovely spinach turns everything kind of... well, not so attractive a color. But so delicious! Just one step on a better path for us, I hope.