yummy

In an attempt to utilize all the wonderful gifts we've received for Jos, I found a special spoon that our friend Chuck made somewhere in the wilds of Utah or some other remote place where he works with students. It's a special spoon, made of lovely wood and carved and sanded to perfection.

So, I just thought Josie might want to try out some rice cereal with it.

Well, she found the spoon interesting enough, but the cereal-- no thanks.Mommy's hand is better, or better yet, the high chair.Well, that was a fun experiment Mom, but lets get outta here!

Recipes of the Week

I made this for B&B this weekend-- it was delicious-- I especially liked the combo of the cream cheese topping with a very yummy bread. My cousin Makayla did all the hard part with grating carrots and apples and rinds-- go Makayla!

Carrot-Apple Bread (supposed to be Zucchini but I used apples instead!)
I also used egg substitute because I was out of eggs and has vegan replacement left over from Derek's visit, but I'm sure eggs will work just fine!

2 1/2 c unsifted all-purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 T baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 c packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 c buttermilk (I used vanilla yogurt)
2 T melted butter
grated rinds of one orange and 1 lemon
2 cups grated carrots
1 grated apple
(recipe calls for 1 c carrots and 1 c zucchini- grated)
whipped cream cheese with brown sugar and a pinch of powdered ginger for topping

preheat oven to 350 and butter a 9" by 5" by 3" loaf pan

Mix together flours, baking powder, soda, salt and sugar. Add remaining ingredients. Stir until well blended. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 1 1/4 hours or until bread is firm (I had trouble getting the whole thing cooked through-- many tries!) Cool 5 minutes and then unmold unto a rack. Slice and top with whipped cream cheese and ginger yummyness.

Butternut Bisque Soup
(we went to a garden-share dinner where they served something like this. I came home the next day determined to mimic the recipe it was soooo good. This one worked out pretty well!)

1 medium/large butternut, cubed into 1 inch pieces
2 medium onions, chopped
4 small carrots (from the garden) or 2 big ones
1 t of garlic
5 cups vegetable broth
2 T butter
1/4 cup cream (or yogurt, evaporated milk or what half and half)
1 t salt
nutmeg
cinnamon
vanilla
date sugar (this apparently is a sugar that is GOOD for you-- you can get it in health stores and cook with it not feeling a bit guilty. I wouldn't use it in coffee though)

Saute onions and garlic in pan, then add to vegetable broth with chopped squash and boil until it is all very soft. Puree in blender (or vitamix, if you have one) with 2 T butter and the cream. Add nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla and date sugar to taste. Top with a dollup of yogurt. If you puree it long enough it will be very smooth and silky and just delicious!

you would think

now that we are closing in on the end of 2009 I would be working on a photo album for this year. Not so. In fact, I just finished one for 2008... And with almost 7000 pictures to sort though SINCE JUNE this year is going to be a duzy. But, here is a glimpse of our past life:)



enjoy.

Sophie's visit

Last weekend, or was it 2 weekends ago? Who knows, time flies when days and nights are continually merged together into one. I think it was 2 weeks ago that Debby and Derek came for a visit and the weekend after that that Jordan and Lisa and Sophie came for a visit.

Either way, it seems that our weekend routine is to go for a hike along the Stone Valley Trail and enjoy the changing of the leaves.

We've tried to get out as much as possible to enjoy the fall, and it's been a real treat to watch the leaves change and feel the air grow cold and have frosty mornings and piercingly beautiful starlit nights.

Anyhow, with Sophie's arrival Josie had lots of fun getting to know her cousin.

This is the first time they noticed that each other existed, and boy did they notice.

Sophie much more than Josie.. she wanted to touch her and chew on her and pull her ears and hair. Jos seemed a little stunned and then didn't mind so much. Chewing on another baby's hand or picking another nose seemed a reasonable enough thing to do.

Sophie definitely has the edge on being on her tummy.

Even thought Jos doesn't protest it too much anymore, she's much prefer to be on her back and is perfecting the roll-over move with a giggle every time she finds a way to flip herself over.

Probably the most exciting thing in Josie;s world right now (besides her mama) is her new jumping toy. Boy does she LOVE to jump! And those long legs (which put her off the charts for her height percentile) love to kick! And do they kick!!! Jumping has become our post wake up and pre-nap routine and the exercise is great!

In other news, I've re-learned how to knit.

Which is an exciting prospect because it means that I can actually be creative and make something while multi-tasking. Unlike painting or blogging or photography, I can fully engage in a movie, a conversation or being with other people while my hands make something. So far, I've only made a hat for Jos, and another one I'm going to have to remake for a friend, and working on finishing a sweater that I started when I was in 9th grade and have lost the pattern to. That's what grandmothers are for though, and I will be spending time with mine trying to finish it. So, knitting has been added to my rather routine life of nursing, not sleeping, cooking and cleaning. Oh, yes, and running when I can. I'm trying to fight with all my might keeping on this pregnancy weight but it won't go away! (the cooking all day probably has something to do with that!) But, to my benefit, I mostly cook things from my or other's gardens so it's really all very healthy and good, but I probably shouldn't spend most of my time in the kitchen so I've resolved to run a 10k in a month. Which means I have to start completing my 3 mile runs without walking! At least I have a goal!

Gotta get in shape to live in the mountains of Vancouver!! That's right, we are moving come Christmas to Vancouver, British Columbia! Dave received an encouraging scholarship to help with his first year of Seminary and Regent College, and we decided to take advantage of the opportunity for him to pursue a dream that has been a long time in coming. Which means... there will be a very LONG car trip from NY to Vancouver starting before Christmas with a stopover in Ohio and Chicago and hopefully making it in time for classes to begin January 5th. Though it has always been a dream of mine to drive or bike across the county, doing it over the new year holiday isn't quite the right timing to make good time with a 6 month old so I will be flying to meet Dave in Seattle when he makes it there so we can drive across the border to our new home of the next 3 years at least (!!!!) together.

Thinking of this transition is the first time since leaving for China in 2001 that I do not have a category for. I have no idea what to expect or what my life will look like. It's an exciting and scary change for me. I am thrilled for Dave, it's so encouraging that he can have an opportunity to spend time in study and fellowship of a bunch of people who are passionate about ministry and for him to become more in-depth in thought and heart and purpose. But this is the first time that I haven't been running after a dream of mine since I can remember. But right now, I don't know what my dreams are at times, since so much of my time is living the reality of the present which is very real at 3 am and every hour after. My purpose right now is to be a wife and mother, and to make sure that my baby has all her needs met. I am looking forward with anticipation to see what my next vision and purpose will be. Wondering what on earth God has for us throughout seminary and afterward. Since I'm not a wilderness trip leader or classroom educator at the moment, perhaps desires that have been on the back burner can have a chance to come forward. We shall see what those will be.

So, as the dear child sleeps in her swing at my feet, and I think of what I will do with the next 4 hours of the day before I pick Dave up from school (he's a kindergarten teacher for the 1st 3 days of this week) maybe I will begin to dream...