Four New Mei Tais

Here are four new mei tais that I’ve finished.  I am getting better and better at them (although I broke two needles finishing the top two last week!).  I think my favorite part is picking out the fabric and then watching it all come together.

I even get to use a hammer for this new feature.  Check it out!

Uncle Rick

I haven’t felt like I can put anything up on my blog until I mark the passing of my uncle who died unexpectedly last week.  He was a fountain of knowledge (truly).  He had a love for the outdoors – for gemstones and sailing and hikes through the woods and the scarlet tanager.  He was a devoted grandfather who will be sorely missed.

The call came on Tuesday of last week and with waves of emotion came a flurry of phone calls, planning for the funeral.  My dad’s whole side of the family lives in NY, so we were trying to decide if we could go.  Kevin was very encouraging (I am so lucky to have him).   The wee hours of Thursday morning found us on the road.

Even though it was a stretch for us to get there, I am so grateful that we went.  It really meant a lot to my family that we were all there.  It was healing to share good memories of Uncle Rick and to be able to give hugs when they were needed.  I never realized how important it is to be able to say good-bye to the one who is gone.  There was a deeper relationship forged through this sorrow that I will never regret I was a part of.

This only strengthened my belief and understanding about family.  Family is sacred.

Our prayers remain in NY with my family.

The Boy Who Never Grew Up

Elinore and I have been reading Peter Pan together.  We were on the last chapter and Elinore said, “What is the name of this chapter?”

“When Wendy Grew Up,” I said.

“Whatever did she do that for?” she asked.

Raw Milk

Several months ago our family made a switch to raw milk. Raw milk means unpasteurized and unhomogenized. We did a lot of research noting the benefits and risks to drinking raw milk. Without going into detail (which would make this long and probably contain a short history of pasteurization), we were convinced that we should give it a try. RealMilk.com gave us lots of information on the value of raw milk. Several books we've been interested in lately have highlighted the fact that just buying organic doesn't mean that your product was produced sustainably. In my book this goes hand in hand. We've heard it again and again, buy local! Buy from smaller farmers who are practicing sustainability. So, we got in touch with some local farmers in Holland and purchased a cow share (the sale of raw milk is not legal in Michigan, although it is in some states). The farm has about 18 cows, I think, and is totally family run. While they aren't organic, the cows are pasture fed as long as the season allows, and then fed a mixture of grains in the winter. They do everything as naturally as possible.

Once a week we get a gallon (plus a little extra while the supply is good) of fresh whole milk. We go out to pick it up, but are in a rotation, so our family only picks up once every three weeks. The milk is delicious!! It is sweet and oh so good. In the beginning I did have to get over the fact that I was drinking milk straight from the udder, but now it doesn't faze me at all. Look at all that cream on top!! The cows our farm has are jersey cows which have one of the highest fat contents. Often I shake the cream back in, but now if I ever need cream for a recipe I almost always have some! We all look forward to getting our fresh milk and our visit to the farm.

 

Pumpkeen

That is what Tobin calls them. And he is obsessed by the way. Totally obsessed with pumpkins. He is also picking up words amazingly fast right now. He puts two words together even. He calls Elinore "Nee-nore" which is so cute. His favorite thing to do these days is put his toy chair next to our love seat, stand on the very back of it, and do a flip over the arm onto the couch. Sweet. Not allowed, by the way,...although hard to discipline when you're cracking up...

 
 
 

Elinore was a fairy for Halloween this year. Thanks to my mom for making her skirt! She was in love with her costume. The night was quite cold, but it didn't seem to bother her. I don't think she would have dreamt of taking off her wings to put on her coat!

The next morning I made her give up half of her candy (she picked which ones), and then I told her she could eat as much as she wants. My policy is: get it out of the house as fast as possible so that I don't have to fight that battle for weeks. Besides I'd rather have one super junky day than lots of sort of junky days. Anyway, she kept asking me how many pieces she was allowed to eat. I don't think she believed "you can have as much as you want". The only thing she ate all day besides candy was a banana, and by the time she went to bed she was feeling rather sick! I guess it worked because the next morning she gave up (totally unprompted) three of the remaining five pieces of candy, and then it was gone! And she didn't seem to mind.

Ablaze

A park close to our house was just a carpet of leaves a couple weeks ago. Absolutely golden. We played. Toby threw them in the air. Elinore threw them on Toby. I smiled.
 
 
 

Sorry for the silence

Our computer is broken. I hope to be up and running again soon!