twenty six

word on the street is i'm thinking of moving this blog over to Wordpress. i know, i know! big news. i've never really liked Blogger. just the name sounds silly to me. i hated the address: onedeepdrawer.blogspot.com. those two short "o" sounds right next to each other. yuck! Wordpress sounds much more dignified to my ears.

so the plan is to stay here through the end of the month, and then move here.

and another link for those who don't like change:

http://onedeepdrawer.wordpress.com/

it's not that big of a deal is it? if it is, just let me know. nothing's final. and i might find that Blogger really is more my speed. we'll see.

twenty five

ladies and gentlemen, may i direct your attention to our Flickr page. many, many pictures have been uploaded in the last few days, so let me get you up to speed on our comings and goings...

1. our trip to Yakima...i can't decide if going down the water slide was the most fun part of the trip or eating shave ice. my favorite was green apple with a squirt of sour zinger. yum! and don't you just love the sense of style that Jess has? by the by, the pictures from Hood River are from the trip home. we stopped for a Big Dinger Dog and Cokes. more yum!
   
2. swim lessons...i've already mentioned those, but here are a few more pictures. Maisy Layton has almost the exact same suit as our Mamie.
   
3. picking strawberries in the front yard. such bounty. i'm going to make home made ice cream with this morning's pick.
4. Nicki + Kev...are moving to town from Bellingham. M is quite fond of them and the sweet dog Zion.
5. the garden and the girl in the bonnet...what a harvest already.
6. Jude...came for a visit. Marg and Thad went out for her birthday to a yummy dinner. and we got to spend the evening with Jude painting and playing.

that's what's up with us. and you?

twenty four

it's Papa's birthday!

a little cake. a few presents. this is not quite half of AP's presents. looks like it's going to be a good year! he's gone just now doing work stuff. he was supposed to take the day off, but something came up. so he'll be home soon. already this morning we went out to breakfast with our friends, Nicki and Kevin. they'll be moving down from Washington in a few weeks. so we took a look at their new place and ate at Petite Provence. we hadn't been back since last spring when we came for a visit. such yummy pastry. cheese croissant! happy birthday indeed. i don't know what the rest of the day holds for us. it's going to be warmer today. maybe we'll make some homemade strawberry ice cream if we have enough ripe berries. we've been giving so many away! home grown Oregon strawberries make for happy neighbors.

here's to a great year for Andy and our family and many happy returns of the day!

twenty three

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twenty two

we are freshly home from a trip to see our dear friends in the Yakima valley. it's a lovely trip from here through the Gorge and then over the Columbia to Washington. farm land and mountain views, desert and rainforest. for a while the little one was asleep in the back seat and we could quietly enjoy the view. we found surprises along our route too.

like the town of Toppenish. it's the city of murals, the town's history is recorded in beautiful paintings there on the side of the Napa Auto Parts store! i love the different story lines and perspectives all in one piece. we drove without knowing where we were going or what we would see, and it was certainly worth turning off of the highway.

further on toward home we found an orthodox monastery. in the middle of no place at all, 18 women live together. lives devoted to prayer and coffee roasting and pastry making. let me tell you, after a weekend when our girl was out of sorts, grumpy and not really sleeping much, their life is very intriguing.

twenty one

there's a sort of folk wisdom among midwives and families who homebirth that babies born in the water always have an affinity for it. i've been at more than one gathering where there's a kid playing in a fountain and someone will walk by and say, yep! he's a water baby. and our water baby is no different.

we've been doing swim lessons this week. there's an indoor pool quite close to our house and this week was FREE swim lesson week. so last Saturday i woke up early and stood in line to sign us up for a week of Starfish lessons. really it's just an excuse to be in the water with the little one. we sing some splashy songs and play with water toys. Mabel loves it. alot. she wakes up ready to go. she talks about it all the way there (bus! pool! kick kick kick!). last night i think she must have been practicing here swimming in her sleep. i was getting kicked so much i had to take a blanket and go sleep on the couch.

she's always a little disappointed that Uncle Dave and Trev aren't going to be at the pool. the last time she swam was when they came for a visit, so the two are tied in her mind. but on our way to the pool, we do pass a KFC. she's started calling the Colonel "Chicken Papa." and because Dave's always up for some chicken, she talks about eating some chicken with Dave and Trev. and we will in just over a month!

twenty

look what came in the mail today! a neat pen pouch from Amy at the Creative Mom Podcast.

the package came hand stamped...


but the best surprise was the lovely stitching outlining the bird. i just love it! and i've got a new journal. just in time for the first day of summer to begin a season of nature journaling.