Lughnasadh (August 1st) came and went in a blaze of wondrous nuptial glory this year but our family celebration was a bit lost in the rush until this past Saturday.

The day started with a trip to the South Hill to volunteer for Bountiful Baskets and pick up our weekly produce from them. When we got home, Michael started mowing the lawn while the kids and I made breakfast. (Or rather, the kids mauled the oranges while I juiced them, but really oranges juice better when they are rolled anyhow.) I also made scrambled eggs full of garden fresh herbs and whole wheat pancakes topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

We spent almost the whole day lounging around the yard watching the kids thrive in their element. Ivy was so adorable propelling herself across the yard using Damian’s tractor (video!,) I spent some time weeding and fixed some holes by our deck stairs, and Damian splashed around in his pool and drew on everything in sight with chalk (one of the best outdoor toys ever.) At one point I looked over at the kids’ soon-to-be sandbox. I had built the frame for it back in July and had intended on filling it with sand as a Lughnasadh surprise for the kids. That was one of those things that got lost in the aforementioned rush.

I shared that thought with Michael and after some brief discussion and list making, we piled into the car and went to Northwest Seed & Pet and Home Depot. Northwest Seed & Pet because I needed a soil test kit. We also spent a little time wandering around the pet section. They usually have some puppies but mostly it is birds, snakes, fish and insects and arachnids. They also have a big tortoise who wanders around, he is a store pet. There is a crocodile too, but obviously he does not wander (yikes.) Damian thought they were all pretty awesome, especially the big parrot that said HELLOOOO! At Home Depot we bought some sprinkler supplies for the front yard, a mop, a lavender plant and most importantly ten 50lbs bags of play sand (about $30 worth for the curious.) We also bought a small trap to weight down over the sandbox when not in use so keep the stray cats out of it.

Back in the van, zoomed home. Damian had fallen asleep on the way back so he went into his bed for a nap while Michael played with Ivy and I hauled, opened and poured bags of sand.

From drab to rad! And all done before the end of nap time (I also fired up the grill for burgers and zucchini and mostly built a bench.) Once Damian woke he was thrilled to discover the update in the yard. The evening ended wonderfully, even Michael got in on the sandbox action.


I think you’ll agree that it was a well received surprise.

I hope you had as blessed a Lughnasadh (or weekend in general) as we did!

Modeled by a lovely cantaloupe is Damian’s almost finished apple hat (I only have the leaves left to do.) I love how it has turned out except for one big BIG problem. It doesn’t fit Damian! Even though my gauge was right and I knit the two-year-old size, it just won’t fit (and the universe knows I’ve tried!) So frustrating!

The problem is not the circumference, which is right on, it is the depth. This knit does not come down over his ears. Not all is lost though. Ivy is also blessed with a spacious home for her brain and it turns out that this hat fits her well. As I had intended on making her one as well (sabbat gifts for our Autumn Equinox apple picking trip) it works out in the end. I will do the same one for Damian again but add two or three inches in depth.

In other knits have cast on the first Yule gift for family, a Seaman’s Cap. I have a really nice navy blue wool blend for it. Not sharing who it is for of course but hopefully it will be well received (and fit!)

I have also settled on the first sweater I want to knit. It is for Ivy and I hope to have it, and one for Damian, done by Thanksgiving.

What’s on your needles?

I knit this yesterday afternoon to replace the small cardboard box Damian’s harmonica came in. It is all in stockinette and with the same bright red yarn that I made his Ostara bunny with. The binded off edge is a little rough (can you tell that I frog more projects then I bind off) but Damian’s seemed pleased with it. I made it a little big so that he can easily get his harmonica in or out.

Now I want an neon orange one for my camera…

Damian will be turning two on June 6th, in just 18 days! My little man is growing up! Several people have emailed or messages me on Facebook asking what Damian wants, so I thought I would put a general entry up about it.

I tried asking Damian what he wanted for his birthday but all I got was “aaaaaple! an an an attleh (turtle) an an an Aos! (our cat)” Red, round and furry? (So he wants a Streptococcus pyogenes?) Obviously I needed a better system then his developing language skills, so pointing it was! Basically, Damian and I browsed Amazon during Ivy’s nap this morning and I added most of the stuff he pointed at to the children’s wishlist. Hopefully this with give potential gifters some ideas or inspiration.

This weekend we celebrated Beltane. It has been less then sunny these past few days, so Damian and I made some simple decorations, like the rainbow butterfly garlands above our family altar. We also did some Spring cleaning, my little guy loves to help me clean. I love that! Ivy has been focusing all her energy into forward movement, she can wiggle forward about two feet now before needing to rest, so cute! She is going to have crawling down in no time.

Michael had to go into work for a few hours on Saturday morning but when he came home, we gave the children their Beltane gift. I dye 30×30″ playsilks, one red, one blue and one yellow, for them. I also left one white. So far they have been peekaboo cloths, super hero caps, pretty streamers to wave around, tablecloths for the nature table, they were even used for juggling by our friends who came over later in the day (play is not just for kids!) If you have ever spent any time around young children, you know that the most simple objects are the ones that are the most full of possibilities. That is why I chose playsilks their Beltane gift. Summer is all about play, bright colors and simple joy. I am tempted to make ones in the secondary colors (and black) for Summer Solstice to complete the rainbow.

As mentioned earlier, our friends came over in the afternoon and we celebrated Caswallon’s birthday. I made a stir fry, Shannon brought the drinks and Andrea made waffle cake (yum!) Later I made popcorn and we watched a movie. It was a really wonderful day.

And a truly horrid night! Damian woke up screaming and holding his stomach. Indigestion like I’ve never seen before. The tears lasted for over an hour before he fell asleep in my arms, I brought him to our bed and rubbed his back whenever he woke up, but he still woke up crying on and off until 4. Then we finally got some real sleep, till 6:30 at leasdt, when Ivy woke for the day. I snuck out pf the bedroom to let Damian sleep.

Bad sleep aside, Sunday was fun. Once everyone was awake, I made apple Dutch babies for breakfast and at 11 Andrea came over to babysit. Michael and I went on a date. We saw Clash of the Titans and ate out. I loved original but I also quite liked the new one too because it was so different. My favorite part was the little part with the owl, that felt like a hat tip and a little jab to the fans of the original. It is so nice to get out with Michael and for us to spend time alone together. When we came home we just relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. Last night was a good night, no tummy aches, just good catch up sleep.

There is nothing like a great weekend to set the stage for the week. Life is so full of possibilities. Blessed Beltane!

Seriously my friends know the quickest route to my heart. Peter and Andrea recently gifted me with orange Aqua Gems. my favorite color plus gardening, the gift double win! Andrea blogged about Aqua Gems the other day if you want to read the details but basically, once I hydrated mine, I ended up with a quart of the beautiful little gems. I scrounged up a few glass jars and poured them in.

My aloe and spider plants are rather prolific in the baby making department so I decided to “repot” them in the Aqua Gems. I used a little organic liquid fertilizer when watering the other day to keep the nutrients up but other then that just enough water to keep the beads full. So far the two aloe and one spider plant seem to be doing just great. I love looking at them in the sunlight.

Have you tried any novelty gardening items? How did they work out for you?

Today is just a yucky day. I know, I know, we need the rain, it is important so that we have no water restrictions in the summer, but do we need the 50mph winds? And this dampness that seems to just invade your body with it’s chill. Not even Damian wants to go outside, though he is loving watching out wind chime spinning in the Douglas Fir.

Sun or not, today has had some very bright spots. Damian and I felted eggs at the kitchen sink (he wore his new apron!) I called my mom and we chatted while Damian wrecked havoc on my pots and pans cupboard and Ivy rolled around the living room floor. I got a package from my mom and grandma too. I freely admit, I love getting packages, who doesn’t? But this one was extra special and a complete surprise, technically it is for Ivy and Damian, but hey, I’ll be planting them. It was flowers from Spring Hill Nursery. Deluxe Toad Lilies and Summer Cheer Daffodil (both summer blooming varieties) and Pink Double Delight Coneflower. As soon as these winds die down I will be planting the lilies and daffodils outside (in the bench garden I think.) I’ll need to harden off the coneflowers first since they are starts but I think I will plant them by the bench too.

What a lovely start to the week!

(Despite the hard freezes my herbs are still determined to keep growing back.)

You know, I don’t have a sabbat post like this for the Ostara (Spring Equinox.) I should rectify that, though I have a decent excuse for why it has not been done (or Beltane’s or Litha’s post.) While I like spending all the sabbats outside, Spring Equinox is really the start of the nicer weather here, as well as the planting season. I’d much rather be up to my elbows in the garden then researching a post.

How does the quote go? God made rainy days so that gardeners can do housework? Blogging counts as housework right?

So does knitting, at least in my world. It has become a bit of a tradition to give my children a gift each sabbat, preferable handmade, but always natural and lovely. I knit these bunnies this time (using the pattern from Rhythm of the Home.) I doubled the pattern for Damian’s, he decided that it needed to wear his leather and antler necklace (which is actually something I got years ago at a medieval recreation event.) It is the first thing I have ever knit beyond a scarf and I admit, I am so very proud of myself. Even more pleased that Damian and Ivy seem to love them.

We virtually spent every day light moment from when Michael got off work Friday until Saturday evening outside. I transplanted my Ragged Jack Kale, Bloomsdale Spinach and Forellenschuss Lettuce under row cover and also inoculated and planted my Amish Snap Peas. My greens seem to be doing quite well. I think my kale might actually be doing better in the cooler outside temperatures.

Sunday it rained, so I did housework. The pantry demanded my Spring cleaning attention, so I go together my cleaning gear and spent several hours in the basement. My dehydrator, pressure canner and canning jars were rediscovered and set up again. I am ready to start harvesting again, no pressure garden… Today it is raining again, but that’s okay, the house really does need my attention. There are a few more photos from recent days here (I see Spring Equinox as a peak day but all the days around it as a time, the time of Ostara.)

How did you spent the Spring Equinox?

If today be sunny and bright, Winter again will show its might.
If today be cloudy and gray, Winter soon will pass away.

Today is Oimelc, or at least it is for those of us who celebrate it on the full moon closest to February 1st. One of the many traditional activities on this day is weather prediction (hence the rhyme) and let me tell you, today was neither sunny or bright! Come on Spring!

This morning was time for cooking. I made marinara sauce, meatballs and croutons for dinner (spaghetti and meatballs with Caesar salad.) Damian spent most of his time crashing his tonka firetruck into block towers he was building on the kitchen floor. In between all that I did some Spring cleaning, nursed my baby girl and flipping through my new books.

Speaking of that little girl, Ivy turned two months old today. Michael came home early from work since she had an appointment with her pediatrician (the hemangioma specialist isn’t till Monday.) Her weight and height are both in the 95 percentiles!

Damian received his Oimelc gift from us today, a tambourine! Though he is too young to help me with our Oimelc ritual with candles, he is not too young to ring some “chimes”. I am loving watching him laughing with total joy while banging away!

Damian also helped me make marshmallows for our hot cocoa and a movie party tomorrow. We also made chocolate mint shortbreads. While I pretend not to notice I think it is cute when little hands sneak warm a cookie off the cooling rack.

If you want to read more about Oimelc and our family traditions I’ll send you here but I really just wanted to wish you all a blessed Oimelc and share a few piece of mine with you. I hope you had a lovely day and cloudy too if you can’t wait till Spring!

Time to unwrap the gifts!

Toddler crayons rock! (From Grandma Lorie, as is the Stud Muffin shirt.)

New books are also awesome. As Damian unwrapped each one he made Michael read it to him.

Damian received a ton of gifts from family, so therefor there are a ton of pictures. Michael and I bought him a Tonka firetruck which has been zooming around the house for the past few days, along with the wooden helicopter from his Aunt Lydia. He also received an awesome pedal powered tractor from his Grandma Lorie, Great Grandma Mason and Great Uncle Stan. As if I already couldn’t keep up with him, now he has wheels! I think he is in love. They sent him the John Deer shirt to complete the look. (Now if we could just get a plow and tiller for it, I would never need to do yard work again…) Ivy received clothes and a huge singing plush hound (it sings “Blue Christmas”.) I have a video of her with said dog which I have yet to upload. We also received a wooden advent calender, a duvet cover and a camera (thank you Uncle Stan!) and a jigsaw. Come warmer weather and a little practice, Michael and I are going to try our hands at some simple wooden children’s toys. I am really excited about that.

Christmas was lovely and I am certain Damian was completely thrilled with his gifts (as he is still playing with them all.) The day had a perfect wrap up for him too, hot chocolate and a snuggle in his new red bathrobe (made with love by yours truly, with a pattern created by my mother-in-law.) I could make a tradition out of just that you know…

Though we do our main gifts unwrapping on Christmas Day (as that is the day Michael always has off work) we tend to share a couple smaller gifts on Winter Solstice. This weekend we had a small Solstice gathering at our home and Michelle gave Damian the small wooden car in the picture (she also brought onsies and a hand knitted blanket for Ivy as well as an heirloom crib quilt.) Every year Michael gives me the beautiful We’Moon datebook on the Solstice and I tend to make him something by hand. This year I made him a set of juggling balls.

(Damian with the heirloom crib quilt. It has bluebirds on it.)

I bought The Return of the Light for our children. It contains 12 short stories from around the world about the return of light, perfect for the Solstice. Reading to them is very important to me and I love it when I am able to find seasonal as well as spiritual stories. Ideally, I would have given it to them for Saint Nicholas Day but it arrived several days later, so Solstice it is! (Theoretically, I will have it a little more together next year. Not surprisingly, Ivy’s birth put a bit of a hold on some holiday surprises this year.)

Of course I like receiving gifts, I adore my datebook filled with beautiful images and inspirational works, but I do not think anything makes me quite so happy as seeing the look of the faces of the people I give to. It was nice seeing Michael juggling within minutes of opening his gift (and Damian giggling with joy) it is wonderful to have Damian cuddle up beside me while I feed Ivy and read them both a story. Lasting happiness for me is in those moments more then anything else.

My Great Grandma Mason made this sweater for me last year but it didn’t fit till this year. It is SO soft and wonderful, it has car and train buttons! I love it and I won’t even let Mommy take it off me for my naps.

Tomorrow we are carrying on our Autumn Equinox tradition of going out to Beck’s Harvest House in Greenbluff to pick apples. Initially we were going to go today but with high winds and a 40% of rain in forecast we postpone for tomorrow, banking on the weatherman’s promise of a perfect Autumn day.

Some of you might remember that I purchased an Autumn-themed board book for Damian as a Lughnasadh gift. I am really happy to report that he loves it, the pictures are so vivid and detailed that they completely captivate him. I would recommend it to anyone thinking about purchasing a similar gift with one word of caution, there are no words in it, only paintings. I personally prefer that as I can make up a different tale each time we go through it, but I realize that that is not for everyone.

Building on the idea of gifting him with something seasonal for each sabbat I recently purchased him Autumn Equinox gift, which I wanted to reflect our yearly trip to the orchards. I found lots of beautiful ideas but ultimately Michael helped me chose a Holztiger wooden apple tree (which I think is exceptionally well crafted.) Though Autumn Equinox will not technically arrive until Tuesday, we gave it to him today as we will be apple picking tomorrow.

I know that most children only associate Christmas or their birthday with special traditions and/or presents but since our family celebrates the Wheel of the Year I like the idea of doing something special with my children at the beginning and height of each of the seasons (what we refer to as sabbats of which we have eight.) I do not intend for each sabbat to be heralded with a gift, ultimately I would love it to become more of some kind of craft where we can talk about the meaning of the sabbat while we create something special together as well as our traditional activities (such as apple picking.) However that idea will largely depend on Damian being able to say more then 20 words and no longer attempting to eat craft supplies! So a board book or a small gift is the most developmentally appropriate at the moment.

Holztiger toys are geared more towards imaginary play which Damian is still a little young for, however I have no doubt he will grow into that phase (as it is natural.) For now though, he is more then pleased with his new toy even if his current use of it is running around the house waving it around like a club and occasionally stopping beside me to show me one of the bright red apples painted on it. Last year he was only 3 1/2 months old for the Harvest Festival and slept through most of it but I am sure that will not be the case with him this year. I can’t wait to see what he thinks of the big red apples hanging off the trees!

I lost Aos yesterday and as there is a new hole in the screen I thought he had escaped. However the words of my friend Andrea came to me at the right time while I stood in the living room, “Look up!” Tall people always seem to be telling us short people that… Damned if they aren’t usually right too.

In a remotely related note, that apple tree on the shelf is my Autumn Equinox gift for Damian (when we go apple picking.) We will see how old Damian has to get before that “hiding place” stops working.

My Grandma Mason recently sent me a couple Countryside magazines from when she was focused on homesteading. I love them, enough so that I am considering subscribing, as the magazine is still around. Even though the information in these two is older then me, I still find it relevant and am amazed by how what is old is new again. (I suppose people say vintage instead of old now don’t they?) For example I recently I read an article about how there are high levels of certain man-made toxics in some women’s breastmilk, showing how toxic we have made our own environment. One of the magazines also had a little article about that, from more then 30 years ago!

Everything that is old is new again… except the prices! A corn kernel cutter for 65¢, seriously? Granted, wages were less back then but I noticed that the price of homesteading books hasn’t changed much, it still ranges between $8 and $20. I also noticed that most of the ads in the magazine do not have phone numbers listed and instead use P.O. Boxes and small order forms. Naturally there are no urls or email addresses! The only color photos are on front and back cover. Most of the images inside, especially in the ads, are hand drawn. I think that is neater then photos.

My grandma teased me in her letter that she was initially going to start sending me the magazines starting them from 1986 (when I was born) but realized that they were all older then me. These two are from October 1977 and May 1978. So far I am still reading the October 1977 issue which is all about storing and preserving your harvest, particularly root cellaring, and explains how to convert a portion of your basement into one. Love the headlines on the May issue’s cover “How to outwit a cow”. Hehe! Maybe cows are smarter then I give them credit for…

Anyhow just wanted to share a little bit of my vintage magazines with you. (On a side note I love that my grandma always puts Mrs before my name on envelopes and I love that she includes handwritten letters. It is so nice receiving something someone took the time to sit down and write nowadays.)

Oh! And those are some tomatoes I picked from my garden this morning in the photo. Clockwise from the top, a Black Krim, two Amish Paste and a few Cherry Romas and Stupice.

My Grandma Lorie sent me a gift package with new clothes! These are the shirts she sent, I love them! Almost as cool as the box they came in, boxes are awesome. Mommy says she is just going to wrap up empty boxes for Yule for me, is she serious? I picked out my clothes this morning and I must admit, I think I look quite dashing.

My new (orange!) PowerShot SD1200 IS arrived today and it is fantastic! Granted I really expected no less as my last one was 5 years old and had 7 less megapixels, but the quality of photos and upgrades to the features on the new Powershot are really amazing. Many loves and thanks to my wonderful honey for buying me a new one, even if he did hide away in the bedroom for an hour playing with it setting it up first.

If you look at my last post you can see how well it does the macros which I love so dearly but really at the end of the day, it is shots like the one above that make up the bulk of my hard drive (and backup) space. Happy family moments. That is why I have anticipated the arrival of my new camera so fiercely, I need those cute photos!

I mean how else am I going to embarrass my children further down the road?

Saturday was my birthday and Mommy and Daddy threw me a big party! I helped Mommy pick out my awesome dinosaur overalls to make sure I looked extra adorable and I managed to get even more snuggles then usual because of my big face booboo. A couple hours before my party Daddy was helping me down the deck stairs, and I decided I was going to try the last one all by myself (I am a year old after all!), but I slip and face-planted right into the walkway. It looks a lot worse then it feels but I still got the extra snuggles!

Almost everyone I know came, Cheyenne, Caswallon, Ileen, Michelle, Mikcos, Nathan, Ben, Laurie, Peter, Andrea, Ariella, Lydia, Grandpa and Grandma Stewart, Ginanne, Jordan and Emily. We had a big barbecue with hotdogs, hamburgers and corn-on-the-cob, Mommy is the grill master!

Afterwards we did my presents! I received spiritual gifts from almost everyone for my altar as well as a whispered blessing (they all made me smile!) I received a cool dragon tealight holder and yellow stone egg from Michelle, Mikcos and Nathan; color runes from Cheyenne (these are wooden disks she painted with colors and put in a red bag, so pretty!); an awesome piece of obsidian from Peter and Andrea; a spider plant in a RED (can you tell I like that color?) pot from Laurie and Ben; a shiny CTR dogtag from Ginanne, Jordan and Emily; and really pretty book from Grandma and Grandpa Stewart, Ariella and Lydia. They also gave me an outfit and super cool wooden building blocks. All of these gifts were in a big shiny RED radio flyer wagon from Grandpa Tolman.

After presents came my cake! Mommy made me an whole-wheat applesauce cake shaped like the moon. It looked awesome and tasted even better! I think Mommy actually thought I was going to stay clean for a minute, but nooo, people need the grubby cake photo, so I was happy to oblige.

My birthday was so fun! I had a wonderful time, I can’t wait till my next year! (And there are lots more photos from my party here.)

This weekend we had lots of fun. We went to Aunt Shannon’s mom’s home and did an Easter Egg hunt. There was a child one and an adult one. Since I am so special I got to help Mommy and Daddy with the adult one, maybe next year I will get to do both.

I also got a HUGE basket of stuff from Grandma, Great Grandma and my Great Uncle. I had to share some of the stuff with Mommy and Daddy, but that is okay, they let me play with the best part – the wrapping! Mommy found a bunch of seeds in basket and some garden tools, Daddy found a dvd and I got clothes and a stuffed bunny! And candy of course.

(Mommy put more photos up here.)

These are the socks my friends Ileen and Caswallon gave me for my birthday. I really love thick comfy colorful socks. I have never seen a pair in my favorite colors, but Ileen found them! (She also gave me green nubbly socks for Solstice.) This past Friday my friends surprised me with a few birthday things. Andrea made me a chocolate cake with orange frosting, it was soooo good – and had star candles! Peter and her also gave me orange yarn (shot of it in my photoblog) and homemade orange soda and rootbeer. Do you know how you know you are always welcome at a friend’s home? When they have a basket in their living room stocked with toys for your child. Shannon is so awesome! All my friends are made of pure love.

So my birthday definitely lifted my spirits, now comes the fight to keep them up. Shannon gave me a vitamin D supplement I have been trying out. I can’t tell if it is making a difference yet, I think so though. It has been foggy for two days (with a quick hour of BEAUTIFUL sunshine yesterday – I grabbed a quick photo of it steaming across our altar.) The news says that the stagnant air (and therefore fog) will be here at least till the middle of next week, bleh! This happens every January and gets me really down, but I haven’t felt as moody since beginning the supplement. I haven’t slept as well though, not sure if that is related.

My Aunt Ruth talked about comfort foods on her blog today, an important topic for me. On one hand, if I eat cookies, my mood improves, but on the other hand, as soon as that sugar wears off, I feel even worse then before. So I try to avoid it right now. For the most part, I eat comfort foods when I am bored, so I am trying to avoid that too. When I am stressed I tend to skip meals because I feel queasy, but the moment I run out of things to do, out comes the cookie sheet. (I don’t keep junkfood around so I have to make my own.) Recognizing that trigger is important for me, I actually have a sticky note inside my recipe folder that says “Are you hungry or BORED?” I still make junkfood of course, I just won’t let myself binge on it when I am bored. Maybe that is why I have taken up knitting, it is a defense mechanism for the munchies! Eating a decent breakfast every morning helps too.

My one other change to fight the Winter blues is that I have also seriously started indoor exercise last week, which I read can help alleviate seasonal depression. I thought it would be so hard so I set a goal to do it three times a week. I start with tai chi and then do some simply exercises (crunches, push ups etc) and stretching, and some dancing. I found that my spirits are so lifted afterwards that I have not had a problem keeping it up. In fact I find myself doing tai chi every morning now.

Anyhow Damian is waking so it is potty time. He is in underwear about 80% of the time (not as night or later in the evening) for a couple days. We have had a couple accidents but it is going much better then I expected! If we need to go back to diapers that is okay, this is more of a trial then anything else. I’m so proud of him though.

My mother, grandmother and uncle all chipped together and bought me a KitchenAid mixer for Christmas. I love love love it! I was thinking of making an orange dust cover for it, but I am using it so much use that so I don’t think it will ever have time to gather dust.

I have been using it for a few days now and made four loaves of whole wheat bread. It makes enough dough for about two loaves at a time, which is great, homemade bread twice a week. It kneads the dough in about 10 minutes. I’ve also used it to mix together my cast iron meatloaf on Sunday. I haven’t used the whisk attachment yet, but I think I might try making some whipped cream in the next week though I should probably make something to put it on. (Granted I am totally capable of eating whipped cream out of a bowl with a spoon.) I love this thing.

Now to go peruse Amazon for some attachments.

I made out like a bandit this Winter Solstice! I got…

Wooden blocks from my Great Aunt Ruth and cousin Becka. The blocks are so awesome, I strategically place them so that Mommy steps on them, mwahahahaha! I push my wagon around the floor too! When I unwrapped it, it looked like this!

I got a musical riding horse from Grandma and Great Grandma Mason (Mommy’s family) and lots of cute books and a crawling Pooh bear. The box was pretty fun too! They also gave me the green PJs that I am wearing in some of these photos.

I got a pull along fabric and wood crocodile (which Mommy needs to get a better photo of) from Grandpa Tolman (Mommy’s father.) I crawl around trailing it behind me and then turn around and maul it while growling. I am soooo fearsome! Grandpa Tolman also got me some long sleeve onsies (I am wearing one in this photo,) sneakers and a baby book about the Solstice! Mommy is going to read it to me tonight.

And as if I wasn’t spoiled enough, Uncle Justin and Aunt Heather got me:

Another thing which allows me to unleash my inner geek! Daddy especially loves this one (he had to explain it to Mommy…)

I had a wonderful Solstice and I hope you did too. Thank you for all the gifts, I am really enjoying them. Mommy and Daddy took a video of me unwrapping them which will be online soon.

Baby hugs! (That’s my Grandma Stewart.)

More Photos Here!

On Saturday we will be having our annual winter solstice gathering. So far it is looking like we will be fitting a record 15 (maybe 17!) people into our townhouse. I am use to at least a few people not being able to make it but I don’t think it is going to happen this year. I don’t mind really, just a little daunted.

I have so much left to do. I stayed up till 22:30 last night making snowflake pretzels and I still have one or two more batches to make. I have three kinds of cookies to finish for the gift plates and one kind of fudge. We will be feasting on pot roast, yams, a vegetarian/gluten-free dish, a pumpkin roll (or two,) egg nog, mulled cider and hard cider from Greenbluff. Most people are bringing a side dish to contribute too.

I don’t know if I have enough chairs… Or mugs…

I also need to finish my solstice cards (just need to glue them together,) ship some stuff to my mom, finish laundry (any ideas for getting red wine out of ivory jeans?) learn a ritual and finish a podcast. Well Michael has to just give it his magic touch, I already recorded it. I suppose I should find a moment to shower between now and Saturday too… Michael will help me clean Saturday morning (gathering starts at 16:00.) I suppose I also have to make dinners for us during this week too. And of course time for Damian, he makes me stop and take a breather.

I am making this all sound a bit stressful aren’t I? It is not that bad really, I kind of wish I had a hand but with some good music to motivate me I know I can get it done. I really enjoy having people over to entertain. Poor Damian though, he is watching mommy fly around doing a million things and I keep missing his potty cues for EC. Monday we had a tough day, I don’t think he was feeling very well and he cried so much and for so long that for the first time Daddy had to come home for a bit and rescue Mommy’s sanity.

Damian has been a bubbly happy little man since though and is cruising! That means he gets up against something (like the futon) and walks all along it using it for a bit of support. He grins huge when I look at him and gives lots of hugs when I need them. I sit him in his high chair with some toys so he can see what I am doing on the counter. We have started solids, he has had apples, carrots and yams and potatoes so far.

Kim (my mother-in-law) and her parents stopped by yesterday to pick up Lydia’s gift (Michael’s youngest sister) and drop off a few early gifts. Grandma Stott made us a really pretty appliquéd angel decoration, Kim made us caramel and gave me a little book, she also made Damian a stocking. I’ll get pictures of all those things later, probably on the Sunday. I’ll be making another big meal on Sunday for the Solstice and we will open our gifts. Sunday will be more relaxed though, since it will just be Michael, Damian and me.

The local news is calling for 4 to 7 inches of new snow by tomorrow. One benefit to renting is that we don’t have to shovel our walkway! Anyhow I am going to grab some breakfast and start on some chocolate chip cookies…

One of the best parts of the Yule season… Shipping boxes!

I received my new blender yesterday. My dad treated me to an early Christmas gift and upgrade on my now dead Oster blender. My counter now glows with its latest addition, and orange (tangerine technically) KitchenAid blender.

It is beauuuuutiful, but then my weak spot for all things orange is well documented. Someday I was white and orange kitchen (so it can look like I work inside a orange creamsickle… Yummy.)

The first thing I made? Pumpkin Pie Smoothies of course, an orange blender deserves to be christened with an orange drink (okay the smoothie is a little more reminiscent of baby poo, but the pumpkin was once orange!) I made orange juice after that, perhaps that would have been more suitable a photo…

My kitchen may now return to its regular blender dependent schedule!

…that people ask me about Christmas.

A couple people have asked me recently what I want. I don’t need anything (unless anyone has a couch or futon mattress in decent condition they need taken off their hands.) I know that statement won’t fly with some of my family, so I’ll link you to our wishlist if you want any ideas.

As far as Damian goes, we mainly need winter clothes for him (size 9-12 months.) I don’t mind if they are used (almost all his clothes are second hand) as long as they are in good condition. I never expected him to be fitting in 9-12 months clothes in less then 6 months! Damian does not need anymore stuffed animals (we have half a closet full already.) If you want to get him a toy, I would prefer them not to be plastic. I have a few wooden toys on his wishlist, but I don’t mind if they are second hand either.

I’ve been putting up our tree and cleaning today. I forgot how tedious it is to shape an artificial tree and how ignoring the dishes for a few days makes a scary pile! I love having a tree though… and a clean home. I think I am going to make meatloaf for dinner…

And a baby picture, just because.

My great grandma and grandma Mason sent this for me. It is sooo soft, I love it.

My Auntie Andrea made this for me. I love it!

The maintenance people for our townhouse complex killed my rosemary. They were out spraying the other day and apparently the don’t know the difference between weeds in ground and a potted plant on my steps. Two days later the weeds and my rosemary are completely dead.

Arg! I’m pissed! That was my most used herb.

Anyhow, Tracy Holeton… I received a package from her with an adorable baby outfit in it but there was no note with it. The return address baby outfit from her, no note or anything. The return address is to a Tracy Holeton of Unico Inc. in Franksville, WI? I don’t know any Tracys.

Anyone know who my mystery woman is?

I totally adore this rocking chair, it is one of the most comfortable pieces of furniture I have ever sat in. I hope the baby likes being in it too. I try to keep the cats off the nursery furniture but I am lenient about the chair (as long as I don’t want to sit in it.) My Aunt Vickie crocheted the beautiful rainbow baby blanket draped over it.

Yesterday Michael and I went and set up our gift registry at Walmart for the baby shower, which will be on April 5th. I am really starting to look forward to it and having all my friends there celebrating the coming of our baby. The registry was really fun to create too, once you register they give you a little scanning gun (it reminds me of a phaser) and you can go around the store and scan the barcode of everything you want. Then it plugs in to the registry terminal and uploads everything to your registry. People can pull the registry up online or go to any store and find it (just look up Jaspenelle Stewart.) Michael and I really got into looking at all the cute baby stuff but we tried not to get to scan happy… hehe.

Walmart was fun but rather draining in a unique way (anyone use to small stores probably knows what I mean) so to recharge a bit Michael and I went for a walk by the Spokane River and he took this picture of me. I know I am right where I am suppose to be weight wise right now but some days I feel huge and cumbersome… but most of the time I am quite comfortable with how I am. I love how I look in this picture and I feel so blessed to be at this wonderful point in my life.

If you keep track of my photoblog you might have seen the macro of the antique bottle I posted the other day. I love glass bottles or most any size or shape, though I prefer ones with functional corks or lids that are relatively smooth. My exceptions to this preference are some antique bottles.

I am not exactly sure where this love for bottles began but my oldest memory of being fascinated with bottles goes back to when I was quite young. I remember looking at an old orange cream soda bottle and being utterly engrossed with the embossing on the glass and wondering how it was done.

At the moment I limit my bottles to the ones I really love and I only buy ones (in thrift stores) that I currently have a use for. The bottles in the photo above however, were given to me on Monday. An elderly woman in one of my friend’s families recently passed away and my friend somehow ended up with the bottles above. She gave them to me as she had no particular use for them and knew I would appreciate them. And I do, very much so! (Thank you Michelle!) The two rows of bottles on the left have no writing, the middle row only have embossed fluid ounce readings on them and the two right rows have heavy embossing, (the further right are actually old root beer syrup bottles.)

The one I am holding in the picture for the right is my favorite. I have been trying to imagine what might have originally been in it. Obviously they all held fluid at some point, dry ingredient bottles tend to have wider mouths. The glass on my favorite one is quite thick and smooth except for a vertical seam on opposite sides. The only marking on the bottle is “192″ embossed on the bottom.

The reason I like smooth bottles the most is because they are excellent to relabel or paint, I usually fill them with spices. These bottles have narrow enough necks that I don’t particularly want to fill them with spices, so I am not quite sure what their eventual use will be for. I may even up just putting small matching “things” in them (like sea glass) for display, though I like functionality above all. It might be neat to put some of my cooking extracts in hand painted antique bottles, a shame to hide them away in the baking cupboard then… A use will come to me though.

~~~

Something I recently found out that I think is really neat is that I can get coupons from WIC between June and October that can only be used at local farmers markets. I think that is really cool!

Graywolf drew this beautiful picture and dedicated it to me and two more of her pregnant friends, Mearu and Lisa. It is called “Beidh mé leat”, which means “I’ll be with you”. Graywolf says we are amazing and I have to say, I think she is amazing too. She has been through a lot in her life and she is one of the most empowered people I know. Her art is incredible (she made the corset for my handfasting last summer!) and is only rivaled by her compassion for others. Thank you Graywolf for dedicating this piece in part to me, it really made my day.

I am feeling the baby move so much lately, every 3 hours or so I feel flutters. Michael even felt one recently and you should have seen the look on his face, it was so priceless. If I had to pick a moment to realize just how amazing of a father he is going to be, I think it was that one. This baby is such a precious gift and we both want to give it all the love in the world. Sometimes it is hard to believe that my little body is capable of growing a new life, one that Michael and I created together.

I think it is one of the most beautiful feelings in the world. I feel so very blessed.

A few people have asked me what I want for my birthday, which is on Wednesday!

I would like to have Bradley classes, which will cost $250 for a set (12 weeks.) I don’t expect someone to give me all that but every little bit helps. So if you want to give a little, we have a paypal account at:
babyfund[at]michaelandjaspenelle[dot]com
If by some chance we get more then $250, the rest will go towards more baby stuff!

So what am I doing for my birthday? Not sure yet, other then I going to the Pagan meetup downtown. I love seeing my friends!

Oh and that is me to the left if ya didn’t know. Is that a baby belly? It just kind of just appeared recently when I noticed that I no longer have a waist…

I think I felt the baby move recently, felt like a butterfly in my tummy, but maybe it is just wishful thinking!

I thought I was getting my ultrasound today but it turns out today was just a check up. I have lost three pounds which baffled me a bit as I have been eating and had very little morning sickness. I had bad morning sickness today though, so I wonder if it was water weight? Still I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight, so more food for me.

I am having my ultrasound on January 24th, I have to pee 3 hours before going and then drink 32oz of water and hold it. Oh joy. I just may explode! If we bring a blank vhs they will tape some of it for us, does anyone still use vhs? Do they sell them? I think we have a couple upstairs maybe… We don’t even have a vcr.

Still, all is well. One of Michael’s coworkers may be giving us a crib and I look forward to setting that up!

(Click drawing for a larger image.)

Do you remember that dream I had awhile back with the condor and vulture woman? Rah Bop drew a picture of that aspect of it and sent it to me for Christmas! I got it in the mail a few days ago and totally adore it!

I will do a Christmas recap post later but right now I really need a nap…

I was walking to the downtown Goodwill today when I found myself standing near a crosswalk waiting for light to change. There was a couple homeless guys there and we chatted for a few moments. This lady pulled up next to me and out of the blue handed me three bags, instructing that they were for each of us. I was a bit dumbfounded but I took them and she drove off.

Inside each of the bags was some food and a toothbrush and toothpaste (wonder if she was a dentist? ) I gave two of the bags to the homeless guys whom I was talking to and mine to another guy.

I have to admit I was a little miffed for a few minutes, “I do not look homeless!” I thought, looking down and my new boots and work jacket. Of course I do carry a large backpack around and was talking to homeless people. Michael sugguested this evening that the lady gave us all one just in case I was homeless, she didn’t want me to feel left out. That makes sense.

I think it was so thoughtful of that lady to be out delivering simple food items to people in need (even if I was a case of mistaken identity.) I like seeing people giving food and clothes to the homeless more then I like seeing them give money. Money can sadly be misused by some. This is certainly the giving time of year, which is wonderful, but I think it is so important to give back to the community all year around. Homelessness and poverty are not simply winter issues. (That said I think that lady was in the regular habit of handing out food.) This month, some of my local group are having a Winter Solstice gathering and we are asking all who attend to bring a donation for Second Harvest. We are hoping to make this a regular habit at all out sabbat gatherings. I think this is a good time of year to start the new tradition though.

Anyhow I am glad their are nice people left in the world, it gives me hope for the future.

~~~

Completely unrelated: Why don’t birdwatchers like those little brown sparrows? I don’t understand, they are amazingly cute and inquisitive.