Food, Feathers and Fun!

Tonight I was able to take part in a dinner hosted by Christina Orchid who ran a very well know restaurant on Orcas Island for nearly 30 years. The restaurant was called "Christina's" and it was still in business when we moved to the island but she has sold it and now holds demo cooking classes at her farm. I went with a group from Doe Bay and we sat at a long table and observed while Christina taught us how to make various dishes, not hands on, but still interesting and enjoyable. We had lovage soup (it's like celery but more herby tasting), vegetable stuffed eggplant with greens, black eyed peas and drizzled with a chutney-like sauce. For dessert she mad an angel food cake (which seemed so simple as long as you can get the egg whites whipped!) with rhubarb sauce and rosemary infused lemon ice cream all made during the demo. I don't have any pictures, but trust me it was yummy and I definitely ate for two!

I think the belly has had a growth spurt in the last week. No new belly shots though. I am 16 weeks and 3 days along and I have been very hungry and extra thirsty. We get a tart cherry juice by the case and I LOVE it! It has a lot of antioxidants too. I am eating more fish lately to keep up the protein intake and lots of greens from vitamins and minerals (and besides I love kale, collards and spinach!) We are going to start our own garden plot very soon. It is so important to us to grow at least some of our own food.

We had a sad day the other day when one of our chickens was killed in the night. The coop door was accidentally left open overnight by those who care for them and a raccoon got in. This chicken was getting over an illness and was not yet roosting up high with the rest of them which made her an easy target. She was unnamed when we brought her from Indralaya and the Doe Bay garden crew had named her Beyonce. We are now down to 7 chickens.

Here's a picture of Ruby from a year ago, she is very much alive and thriving!

Another shot of some of the chickens... I realized I never updated the blog on the subject of chickens after I posted their arrival! They are now 2 years old, but these pics are from last summer.


I recently revisited Indralaya (to get my mail and say hello!) and the new (returned) managers asked to take my picture to post on the Indralaya blog that they started. Here is the link to check it out:

http://thisweekatindralaya.blogspot.com/

I would like to share a few more pictures now that are from my trip to California this winter.

River and I with the positive results of the pregnancy test! We found out while visiting our friends in Morro Bay who have a baby that was 9 months old when we were there, so they bestowed hand-me-down gifts such as the lovely baby wrap carrier that River is wearing here!

Here we are celebrating our
12 year wedding anniversary!
This was days before we found out I was pregnant! We were at a quaint Inn right on Morro Bay where they lend you bicycles for the day!

Here I am at Disneyland in front of Thunder Mountain. Always been one of my favorites! We had a great day full of fun and time spent with family. It was both River and Thomas Jay's first visit! Here's River standing near a dolphin topiary at It's a Small World.

Thomas Jay turned 3 years old while we were visiting which was the reason behind the Disneyland trip. Here he is enjoying his birthday dessert at the Rainforest Cafe. He is such a handsome boy!

I'll leave you now with this awesome picture of Minke birdwatching. He actually just likes to sit in my lap and watch the cursor move around the screen! Today he did catch a shrew though, so he is becoming a hunter. He is the best cat ever!

Baby's Heartbeat!

My Baby's Heartbeat! It was so exciting to hear the quick, little, rhythmic beats! Of course I knew I was pregnant but now it is so much more real! Here's the video I took while my midwife Cynthia used the "Doppler" on my belly. It was taken almost 2 weeks ago. We will have the ultrasound in another 3 weeks. So stay tuned for more baby news!



We finally had a sunny spring day that was a bit warm! Tomorrow is looking to be even warmer with a big ol' high of 57 degrees! Never thought that the high 50's would feel warm to me, but it does. I sat in the sun today for a bit and soaked it in.

I'll leave you for now with this photo of me taken yesterday (yes, those are Christmas PJs). My belly grows by the day, little by little. I am 4 months along now! 16 weeks! Lately I have been craving artichoke hearts... yum.

April showers bring May flowers!

Spring is starting to bloom around here! We are really feeling anxious to start to feel the warmth of the sun and see more light green leaves on the trees! At least I do live where there are evergreen trees such a firs and hemlock and they do brighten the winter landscape so I am thankful for that. The midwife did say however that I am a little low on my Vitamin D levels (lack of sun, of course!)

I will visit my midwife, Cynthia Jaffe, again this Tuesday and this time I will get to hear the baby's heartbeat! I will see if it is possible to video it and post it on the blog here. The ultrasound is 5 weeks away and I can't wait to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl! Seems so crazy that they can tell at that stage since they are still so small. Right now my baby is said to be the size of a peach. I haven't felt any movements yet but the normal time frame for that is 16-20 weeks. Can't wait to feel those "butterfly flutters"! I have 2 friends on the island who are pregnant with a similar due date. It is nice to have pregnant friends and I was afraid I wouldn't since I live on an island. It will be cool to trade stories and experiences with each other.

I hope that this blog will help me stay more connected to all of you that I don't get to see very often and that the pictures and videos will help soften the distance. Here is a photo of me along Cascade Creek in the state park where we took a walk the day before yesterday. We saw a lot of amphibian eggs in a small pond and some very small fresh water crustaceans, kind of like shrimp or sand fleas that swim. The frogs have been very active in the ponds near our house and I enjoy leaving the window open a bit to hear their night sounds.

Thursday nights are open mic night at Doe Bay and this week River went up there twice with two different ensembles! For his first act he was able to just be the front man because there were 2 other guitar players, a drummer and a bass player. They did Doors covers and River pulled off a great Jim Morrison! The next time he went up and played guitar and did a couple of his own songs and a improvised blues song with a backing band. Here are some shots from that memorable night!

He's my Superstar! XOX