Saturday morning

We needed a few hours as just the three of us. It was a crazy, emotional, sleep-deprived week and we needed the calm and security of our normal Saturday routine, which is "not a whole damn lot" as long as we're all together and the pace is relaxed and focused on the moment.





It was a crisp, foggy morning when Penelope finally convinced us to get out of bed. I sent the other two out for milk and then began making breakfast.




Biscuits and gravy.




Both are my mom's recipe. Actually my maternal grandmother's, at the very least. So very delicious and made a tiny bit healthier with chicken sausage instead of pork. Anything to help justify the serving size your stomach longs for when the aroma starts to fill the house...




While I was cooking, and after the milk and paper were delivered, Jeffrey and Pea entertained themselves by playing with Legos.




Or rather, Daddoo built and Pea directed (we've had no problem "finding our voice" around here).




The completed projects--one to tip over later while clapping heartily, one to fill our bellies, along with good, strong, fresh pressed coffee:







And more biscuits for later, to eat with butter and honey while lazily going through the Sunday paper...

Open letter to blogs I read

Dear (insert your blog name here):

I don't completely understand it either, but after years of very busy, stressful jobs that paid me in cold, hard cash, I left all that for what I thought would be a sleepy little bubble of domesticity and peaceful hours stretching upon open hours. It hasn't exactly been like that.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this: in the midst of days full of "calm and peaceful and completely uneventful domesticity", I sometimes open up one of your lovely blogs, with the very best intentions of reading and commenting (especially here and here and here), and then my life happens. The phone rings, the child falls off her rocking horse (literally), I realize that now really is the best time for a shower on this particular day, etc. So my computer sits there, at your site, for minutes, hours, sometimes even days. Which means that if you're already getting crazy emails from someone in the Pacific Northwest, then the sight of my IP address, logged on for 25 hours and 16 minutes, just made your list of "crazy" and the odd times I actually do leave a comment leave you with that itchy feeling in your throat. (Or maybe not--I'm just imagining how I feel when I see someone apparently spending their whole day looking at just two of my pages).

So then, I would just like all of you with site meters and stats and fancy things like that to know that I'm very definitely not stalking you. I promise. You see, I've already got too much going on as it is--the concentration and detail would do me in.

Thanks for allowing me to clear this up.

That's all.

Chicken Little

Penelope has handled this last week so well--the hospital visits (for hours), seeing her uncle attached to tubes and wires and looking very sick and weak, the many older and sicker people up and down the halls. The hospital now knows her by sight. And she's made many friends with the help of this:




her Halloween chicken suit.

If she were older I would teach her to say, "the sky is falling!". But we're not up to sentences just yet, so I content myself with the hilarious and constant repetitions of her new favorite words: "bockadeedee" (broccoli) and (in low, growly voice) "coooooookeeeeee" (her version of Cookie Monster).

Update

My brother had surgery last Wednesday night. He had an amazing surgeon, who was able to do what was necessary (remove some colon and a tiny bit of bowel) without having to do an ileostomy or really anything requiring a bag. Thank god. He's too young. On the flip side, he has a good 7-9 inches of staples down his belly and he's going to have to be on a very strict diet for pretty much the rest of his life. But you know? I'm just glad to see him get to HAVE a life--there's really no price to put on that.

It's going to be a long, slow recovery to healthy--but he suddenly has so many good resources at his disposal: really good gastrointestinal specialists, a good surgeon, friends who know a LOT about the sort of healing nutrition he'll need, and people around him who are determined that he doesn't shoulder the financial load (which is staggering) alone.

I spent Thursday and Sunday night with him and my mom and sister have traded off the other nights so he doesn't have to be alone. Friends and family have shown up as they can and other people, near and far, are praying and doing research and working on finding him a place to live (he had to give up his apartment and let his job go for now)and it all means so much to him.

If you are one of the people doing any of this, please know how grateful we all are--words can't even say, but thank you, thank you, thank you.



I have much more to think about, attempt to process, say, write, show you... But it will have to wait until after nap time. I slept only a few hours last night. Those hospital cots are like something from the state pen. Jeffrey says the ones in prison are actually better. I wonder how he knows? But thankfully Jeremy slept longer than he has in a week. He can't wait to see a different set of four walls.

Gelato

News

My brother is back in the hospital. This time they are going to do surgery, hopefully today but possibly tomorrow (apparently it's a busy day for surgery). Honestly? We're quite relieved. He's been in so much pain. He's a little scared and, of course, anxious, as to what the surgeon finds, etc.





The hardest part is seeing him struggle to hope.

Teach me how to shine

I love this song so much.

And, of course, it reminds me of these fine people.

Monday

It's been a few days...

We had a great weekend--my family came over on Saturday and we made a huge pot of chicken noodle soup with the remains of this:




Thursday dinner--herb-stuffed roast chicken with lemon and garlic and my favorite honey-roasted root veggies and my favorite kind of noodles. It was rainy and cold so we mostly sat around and drank lots of coffee and told stories and played with Pea and with Charlie (my sister's little dog) and ate the yummy pumpkin bread my friend Kelly had brought over and played lots and lots of competitive Pounce.

Sunday I spoke again at church. It went really well, I think. Then Jeffrey worked on the garage (we're determined to make our end of year organization goals and there's a lot to wade through, unfortunately) and I made another big pot of soup--this time lentil. Our friends Paul and Sharla came over and we ate and drank wine and I made cookies and we had a lovely time. Sharla is a brilliant writer and one day the world will hear from her, I think.



Now it's 8:30, the last load of laundry for the week (fingers crossed) is in and there's a huge pile of clean clothes/sheets/towels, to fold and put away. The kitchen is clean and Pea has been bathed and put to bed.

Monday is usually my chore day, leaving Tuesday for errands and food shopping and the rest of the week for playing and going to the library and seeing friends, but today was so nice out that I scratched the normal routine so we could soak in every minute of a sunny, dry fall day. Of course I didn't get any photos. But trust me--it was beautiful. And warm. First day in ever so long that we could play outside in short sleeves. I even had the windows open.

I always love a chance to get fresh, clean air into the house. Even in deepest, darkest winter I'll throw the windows wide on cleaning days--I think it's healthy. (Also healthy? Only using heat when it's really and truly needed. Healthy in lots of ways.)


We took homemade cookies (my secret spin on chocolate chip and Jeffrey's favorite) to our new neighbors this afternoon. One set of neighbors are new to the neighborhood like us, also in a new house, and the other set have been here since their house was one of the new ones--some 44 years ago. Both are very nice, retired, with grown children near and far. The ones who have been here for years, perhaps I'll call them the Browns, after the color of their house, have huge gardens and have already offered to let me garden with them in the spring. They gave Pea a pumpkin--the only pumpkin from their patch that made it this year--and seem to know how to make just about anything grow.



I am loving every minute of this neighborhood. Sure--in a perfect world we could afford to live right in the city that I love so much, but as it happens the schools where we are now are so much better and there is strong sense of community within the people that live around us. Many of them, like the Browns, have lived here for much of their lives and know everything that's gone on around here for... well, for almost ever. In fact, Mr. Brown was born in a little red house that in the winter I'll be able to see through the trees at the back of the field behind us. I would love to put down roots like that.

Thursday photo post

No time to think= nothing interesting to write. I'm trying to get used to more frequent posting as NaBloPoMo is close at hand and I normally prefer to write on inspiration or event basis rather than keeping a daily diary. I know--just the thing that every single writing course in the world tells you you must change.

But today--you would be bored to tears if I wrote. And anyway, we're having a friend over this morning so it's all about this:



But since I can't just leave it at that, here are some new favorite photos of Pea. Notice how bosomy my bosoms look. I'm not pregnant (yet) but thanks all the same for wondering and yet being decent enough to withhold the question. And yes, they're dark (the photos--not my bosoms) but I'm still figuring out the settings on our (3 month old) camera.

There's supposed to be some sort of windstorm today. Which means that tomorrow's post could be much more interesting.

My brain, this minute

Trying not to feel completely overwhelmed by everything I want to do to my house this week. Even though I know it's more realistic to spread it out. Pictures to hang, pillows and curtains to make/acquire, books to find in the still-chaotic garage, clothes to organize in the master closet, a guest bedroom to finish setting up, some touch-up painting to finish downstairs....

Was up too late last night reading the next book in Alexander McCall Smith's Isabel Dalhousie series. They're fast reads, but ever so fun.

Pea and I have had some rough times, yesterday and today. Every single thing elicits a very emotional response and I haven't had the best emotional reserves myself.

I have a good deal of studying to do for Sunday. I'm speaking at our little church again and I need to get my thoughts in order. As well as my references.

I need to decide (very soon) whether or not I'm roasting that chicken tonight.

Pea and I had a nice (though not very long) walk this morning, just before the rain hit again. It was brisk, with tiny sun rays breaking through the dark grey clouds, and then huge, splattering rain drops. I really love this part of the world, I do. Even in the dark days of winter I don't want to live anywhere else. Visit, yes--but not live.

Made a new recipe last night, from the current issue of Everyday Food. It was close to being good but needed something else (lemongrass?)

Pea just came up to where I'm sitting and gave me a very cracker-y hug and kiss. I am frustrated with myself for not being very compassionate with her today.

They're putting the second layer of asphalt on the new road behind us. The upside to the rain--we don't have to smell it.

Just poured myself a cup of decaf French press. Stumptown.

I really should clean the bathrooms today.

Blogger isn't letting me upload photos. They say that they are aware of the problem....

Anniversary

Exactly 1 month late, Jeffrey and I spent Saturday marking our 4th anniversary with a day trip to the pretty, historical town of Astoria.



The whole day, just the two of us.





The weather was perfect--misty and cool as we drove out of town in the morning



and then sunny and warm as we drove into the lovely old river town.



We found the perfect little cafe for lunch







with yummy, fresh seafood



and perfectly creamy chowder.



Then we spent a few hours walking around town







seeing beautiful things











inside and outside



and many things







that made us laugh.



We drove up a shade-dappled, winding road



past houses looking down at the water



up to the top of a hill





where this monument, The Column, stands.





We walked up all 164 steps



to the very top



where the views look something like this


and this







and this (a train, winding through the valley).



Then we went back into town and sat in a coffee shop





playing cards. We did this all the time when we were dating.



We came home to a crisp fall evening--perfect for Thom Kha soup and crispy rolls from our favorite local Thai place and watching Evening, curled up under feathers and the open window.


I love you, Jeffrey. I'm the luckiest girl in the world to get to live beside you.