Today my house smells like coffee, bacon, and pancakes, and am relaxing after a fun night celebrating my friends birthday last night. I have been trying to make a point of getting out, and seeing friends more. It feels good!  My friends Brian and Heather have been pretty busy with work and law school, so after 3 years of chatting on Facebook, it’s nice to see them in person!

The week also brought a rousing game of mini-golf (I totally won), a lot of work projects completed, and the realization that I need to get off my bum and get working on the house in preparation for  the baby!

Originally, I had planned to start the nursery and some projects in about 6 weeks, giving me plenty of time to finish gutting my house, setting up a nursery and prepping for baby. But then the stuff started coming, and it was no longer an option. In the next week, I’ll have a crib, a bassinet, and a mattress with no where to go, which means it’s time to trim down what I have!  My mom, awesome as she is, decided to buy a few essentials for the nursery since base had a crazy good deal AND a 20% off coupon. So between that, and freakishly short shipping time, stuff is on its’ way!

Speaking of baby…I started having round ligament pain. Which, if you’ve never had it…holy crap. This is the reason people need a baby class at, I don’t know, week 2. Your stomach/womb/middle of your entire baby storage area starts making these odd pokie pulling motions, and you think-oh holy shit, this isn’t good. After a call to the nurse, and a nap, I am feeling much better. Sigh. There’s other things that no one seems to mention when you get pregnant, and I’ll get to listing those one of these days too. 🙂

Last weekend, I went to a baby shower for my bestie Jen-Here’s a couple quick pics:

This is now one of my favorite pics!  Jen is over 8 months, and I’m just about 5 months. I love that I can go through this with her, and that I get a sneak peek into what I am going to go through.  It’s also much easier, when you’re main drinking buddy is on a hiatus, too.

This is us again, with a quilt that I made her. I am making myself a matching one as well. SO soft and fluffy!!!

I have decided that Saturday’s will be my relaxing and craft/canning days. Nick generally works at least one weekend day, so I get to have some time to play and clean and do the things that most guys aren’t super keen on.  Today, I’m debating whether to start cleaning, or do some sewing. It’s nice that these are the issues that I am now facing.  I have my other dog Barkley over this weekend too, so a trip to the Dog Park will be in order.  I also have a book release party for a friend later tonight. So, all in all, it will be a good and busy day.

Sunday will be a hike to tire Barkley out before returning him to his Daddy’s house. It’ll also be good to get out and stretch as well!

Here’s to a good weekend!
Raina

Yesterday, I made the hard decision to put my fur baby to sleep. I had no idea that there was a big time bomb in her belly waiting to explode. By the way she was acting, no one would have known. She was the happiest, sweetest, most gentle pup I have ever met, and I am heart broken.

A few days ago, Mia developed a UTI, and I had her started on a course of antibiotics.  Even though her little bladder wasn’t working so well, and it was clear she wasn’t feeling well, she was still playful and snuggly-her normal self, with a giant smile and a whip-like tail that could clear the coffee table in one fail swoop.

Friday, we planned to go camping, only to find that Chicken Little was sick and looked like she may not make it through. Now, this isn’t the first time that Little had been at death’s door. We fed her some apple cider vinegar through a syringe and gave her snuggles. It was clear that she wasn’t going to be with us much longer. It turns out that was the case-she passed while we were away.

We left to go camping-after all that has been going on the past few months with my Dad dying, I needed a break, mentally and physically. Mia seemed a little tired, but that changed pretty quickly when we let her know it was bye-bye time. Over 7 hours later, we still weren’t at the camp ground-traffic had been hellish. Mia feasted on fries, her food and water. She was happy to be out of the car and into a hotel room.

Saturday, we started back out to get to the campground, stopping at Ruby Beach to play. She romped through the waves and played on the beach, wagging her tail and smiling. I had no idea that less than 24 hours later, I’d be making a horrible decision. We met up with friends, and headed back to the campground and we went to hike along the river. She walked the trails, leading the way and played in the water, and laid on the rocks, relaxing while we all hung out. Later that night, we knew something wasn’t quite right. She was lethargic and wouldn’t eat, and just wanted to sleep. We put her in our tent and let her rest. She came back out a little later to sit with us and rest, but it was clear she wasn’t well. We thought that she had been reacting the antibiotics and still had her infection from eating everything in site, but I still worried. That night, we pulled her into the camp bed with us and snuggled her. This was our favorite part about camping with her. It was the rare time that we let her sleep with us. She was restless most of the night, and we kept waking to check on her.

That morning, I woke up early, and it was clear we needed to do something. She couldn’t walk, and she seemed confused. We broke camp quickly, and I drove 50 on forest service roads and sped my way to the nearest town to find a hospital. We ended up driving to Olympia, where she ended up collapsing on their floor, too weak to even stand on her own. They rushed her in back and started running tests and hydrating her. A little while later, the doc came in with news. It was just like a shitty dream. You’re there, but not 100%. Words were thrown out-cancer, rupture, surgery. And just like that we knew it was bad. I snapped back to reality to see what could be done. She had a tumor in her belly that had ruptured, and she was bleeding internally. It would have happened no matter what.

What did we want to do? I told the doc I have a credit card with a high limit. Do you what you need. More tests were run. More bad news, and I remember Nick and I saying, do whatever it takes. Make her better. The decision was made to get her as stable as we could and drive her to a hospital in Tacoma, as the doc put it, “We are like Community Care, this place is like Harbor View”. Traffic was almost at a standstill. Didn’t people get it? We were crying, and Mia was in shock, but on pain killers. I drove as fast as traffic would let me, weaving in and out of cars, trying to go faster. We made it to the hospital, where they carted her off and tried to save her. Shortly after, the doc came back in and gave us the news. IF they could stabilize her, and IF they could get her through anesthesia then she MAY make it through surgery. The cancer would come back, based on what they were seeing. She was riddled with illness. The doc gave us an estimate that if we could get her through, she’d be back in this state in 3-6 months, IF we were lucky. So many if’s. It came down to if she was in pain. She was medicated, but in shock. She had no idea what was going on, but was clearly scared. We asked to see her and she was in such bad shape. She was huffing instead of breathing, and she wanted to lay next to me, but was too weak to push herself closer. It was clear that we couldn’t do this to her. I couldn’t do this to her over and over. It wasn’t fair to either of us. We made the decision to put her to sleep, and I held her and explained what was going to happen and that we loved her and told her all of the things that a good momma and Daddy should. The doc came in and I held her head and Nick and I whispered into her fuzzy, soft ears. And just like that she was gone. We stayed with her for a long time after that, putting her and holding her, not believing that she was actually gone.

We made our way home, with her collar in hand. The house was and is still so quiet, no toe nails clacking on the hardwoods, or happy grunts, as she took over the couch, or the chair. For the first time in years, I ate a snack without sharing it. Last night, I didn’t have a dog come try to tell me that it was time for bed. I didn’t have my couch buddy while watching a movie. Such a huge part of my life is gone. I am so lucky to have had one last adventure with her. We had fun, and she got to play in her favorite places. I got to hold her close, and smell her, and tell her that I loved her more than anything in the world. For that, I am so, so grateful. She was truly an amazing pup, and I am so happy that she was given to me, and that I was able to do so much with her.  It’s hard to believe this pic was just over a day ago now. To you, Meepers, I miss and love you so much.

“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don’t know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring–it was peace.” 
―Milan Kundera

Hold your fuzzies close, all.
Raina and Nick

Just can’t wait to get on the road again…Yep. Now you’re signing it. Sorry (ish).

I am in dire need of an escape to anywhere that isn’t Seattle or Tacoma, or my house (which technically falls in that Seattle bucket). This weekend, I’ll be doing just that!

Every year, I see ads for the Barn House sale (http://www.barnhousebh.com/). Tons of pretty, soft things and antiques, doo-dads, and what-not’s. And every year, I wake up and say meh. Not this time, oh no! I’ll be waiting up at the crack of dawn (ok, probably later than that) and hitting the road to Battle Ground, Washington, just off of the I-5 corridor, and close to Portland, where I will ooh and ahh over lovely things. I have to admit, I am pretty excited to go after all these years. From there, I’ll be heading to Portland to go to Powell’s books to feed my literary love and then to Fabric Depot for a sale that they are having.


Sunday, I’ll be heading to the East Side (Bellevue, no E WA) to see a good friend, to gab about babies and to pick up some baby goodies from her fast-growing, beautiful little girl. 


I’ll definitely try not to make this blog all about baby, but I do want to give a quick update!  I went in for the results of my genetic testing quad screen thing and to do a baby check up…Noodle’s heart is strong, healthy and loud, and the doc said it sounded like he was just moving all over the place. My test results scored really well and my likelihood of having a genetic disorder is 1:5000. Yes, pretty much nil. Insert sigh of relief here. For my age, the risk of having a baby with Downs Syndrome is 1:1342 apparently. Take that odds. 


So, overall, things are good .I continue to clean and organize the house, and am trying to trim down the 35X35 list…slowly, but surely, things are coming together!  Now, to wrap up a workday and start making some boysenberry jelly! 🙂

Here’s to good weekends, good times, and getting on the road!
Raina

“On the road again –
Just can’t wait to get on the road again.
The life I love is making music with my friends

And I can’t wait to get on the road again.
On the road again

Goin’ places that I’ve never been.
Seein’ things that I may never see again

And I can’t wait to get on the road again.
On the road again –
Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway
We’re the best of friends.
Insisting that the world keep turning our way […]” ~Willie Nelson

I love weekends where the only thing I have to accomplish is getting out of bed. It’s been a good weekend, full of running errands, being outside, doing crafts, and making jelly and pickles. Here’s a few shots. You’ll have to pardon the messy lawn and plants that are in progress  of being trimmed. Normally, my pots look much nicer! The girls are getting so big!  The darkest one is Chicken Little, the one with the black collar is Fern (check out her fuzzy feet!), and the big one is Garbanzo 🙂

I had a lot of fun making pickles and jam, too. Here’s a little before and after from yesterdays veggie and fruit shopping:

Here’s to good weekends!
Raina

Step 1 of things not to do in early pregnancy:

Go to Babies R Us.

Whole. Lee. Crap.

If you haven’t ever been there, this is a giant warehouse of baby crap. It is literally floor to ceiling stuff. Its like a hoarder lived in a warehouse and collected so much baby stuff that you need heavy machinery to bring things down.

Step 2 of things not to do in early pregnancy:
Go to Babies R Us, hungry.

I went to the registry desk thinking, sweet….I’ll go in, register and get out.

Oh. No.

They gave me a gun!  Now, before you think-yay!  stuffed animal target practice!!  Pull back a bit. This was a little shopping scanner thing that you walk around with and click on things that you may want.

The gal gave me good advice-“here’s a list, and don’t just get new born items. You’ll have more crap than you’ll need”. Best advice I heard that day.

I roamed around Babies R Hell, scanning myself into a frenzy, seeing how many dance moves and James Bond style scans I could get in. A girls gotta make this fun, right?  And it kept other people away from me, as I am sure they thought that I was nuts. Meh.

I now have close to 100 things on a registry, most of which are functional and most of which were cute. The best part? Some nice guy saw that I was clearly not having fun, and gave his voucher for a $10 gift card. Score. I got to dance, wave my scanner around like James Bond AND I came out ahead. Not a bad way to spent a Saturday.

Speaking of scores…of sorts…My Grandma got me maternity clothes. Please note: My grandma is, well, a Grandma. She knows I love vintage things, and she knows I am not quite sure what I need. She got me some things that aren’t quite my style, but the thought behind it was pretty awesome. She did get me a pant suit made with glitter fabric, that she initially bought for herself.  I’m curious to try this one on, as my Grandma is itty bitty these days.  Here, for your gawking pleasure: the one thing I will be donating (and letting her know that I donated)…While it may look like a skirt/sweater combo with a bacon print, don’t be fooled. The pattern actually looks like microtubules:

So how does this story wrap up? I eventually go home, after stopping at 5 more places, which results in patterns for baby clothes and diaper covers, decaf ginger peach tea, stamps for baby shower and announcements, and a car full of bell and hot pepper plants; a flat of raspberries, a 15 lb box of green beans and a case of strawberries.

Lesson learned?  When you go to Babies R Us, you have to locate more awesome things as fast as possible to get passed the craziness that is that place. Mission accomplished.

Here’s to finding your bit of crazy and a way through it!

Raina

Holy. Cow.
I knocked so much off of my to do list this weekend, and It. Felt. Good!

I was able to get in some canning, and made spaghetti sauce and my chipotle cherry jam. I also got in some photography for Lucha Libre, a Mexican Wrestling event here in South Park. I cleaned and emptied boxes, trimmed back the jungle that is my garden, AND I finally uploaded my pics from Yellowstone (sheesh, almost two months later). It felt really good having 2 days in a row that I could spend doing whatever I wanted, and it was nice to be in public again to see friends and show off my non-existent baby bump (it’s there, really!). So…without further delay, may I bombard you with pictures!

OH I love Jam. To the left-smokey, delicious chipotle cherry jam; to the right-veggie spaghetti sauce.

This guy was so fuzzy and cute. I had to stay across the road from him, but  he was still close enough to see his cute fuzzy feet!  Look at those things! Aside from the whole “he could rip your face off” claws, those are too cute.

I hadn’t ever seen one of these things.  It’s a Prong Horn. Looks like he found something delicious to eat!

Much like the bear, I wanted to give these guys a big ole hug. While it wouldn’t have ended  well,  they still  made me squeal like a little kid when I saw them!

Most of the animals just wanted to show me their bums. I was ok with that. On Facebook, I tagged either myself, or Nick, as a bum.

These two were awesome. The calf had been stuck across the river and was crying out for it’s momma. Eventually she braved the river and jumped in, to be greeted, and then left, by her momma. Apparently, she had things to do!

Lastly, Nick and I. This was after a long hike, and I am assuming way too many pictures. I bet he was just  ready to be done. I do have to say, I may be the queen of the self-taken picture! 🙂 So there you are, a photo recap, months past due, and a few things ticked off the to do list. Yay! All my best Raina

Today is a big day for me.  Today, I:
*Turned 34!
*Hit the 13 week mark in my pregnancy.


Oh, wait. You didn’t know that did you!?  I have been keeping this a secret-with everything that has been going on in my life lately, and the amount of stress that has been hitting, one worries. Well, I don’t know if that ever changes, but I didn’t want to make a huge announcement and then lose the baby.  I got to see the baby a few days after finding out about my Dad. It made the hurt lessen, and I had a unbelievably huge sigh of relief when we saw the little one moving around a little and the flicker of a heartbeat. I just felt like it was all going to be OK. 


It’s truly been “The Ultimate Craft Project”, except that it’s way cooler than knitting.  I started trying this past January, and then after a couple of months, it stuck. It has been a crazy whirlwind, and now that life has settled down a bit, I am looking forward to really experiencing this pregnancy for everything it has to offer.


I’ve been pretty lucky. I haven’t really been sick. No real morning sickness (just a few days at night). Nothing.  It’s been quite nice. The occasional shortness of breath and increased need to tinkle can suck it, but in the scheme of things, that’s not so bad. I still don’t look pregnant, just that I saddled up to an all you can eat diner table and ate a bit much. Again, not so bad.

Because calling your growing critter “it” feels weird, we’re going with Noodle until we find out what we’re having. Whether calling your baby “Noodle” or referring to the little being as a “critter” is any better than using “it”, I dunno. The name Noodle makes me laugh, and if the baby was anything like I was, Noodle will be long and lean.

There’s so much that I can say about this, and so much to feel, but for now I’ll just say this: 34 is going to be an amazing year, and I feel so darn lucky to have amazing people in my life, amazing adventures, and now an amazing little person that I am going to be able to bring into this world.

And without further adieu, Noodle, of course, this is now over 5 weeks old. So imagine a slightly smaller head and more…well…baby-ness going on in there.  That may be the cutest baby, ever.

All my best, to all of you!
Raina

Every child begins the world again…. ~Henry David Thoreau

The past 5 weeks have been a whirlwind.  1500 lbs worth of a dump run, close to 30 donation trips; one giant storage locker and two homes full of boxes and new furniture later, I am done moving my Dad’s things.  I have some pretty random new collections and more tools and fossils than I know what to do with, but it feels good to be done with the move. I now have the task of organizing everything, and finding a way to get a 7’4″ stereo cabinet that I built with my dad into my house. It looks like it is going to come in through my front window!

Today is the 4th of July, and I am sitting here in a little patch of sunlight, drinking coffee after having mac n cheese for breakfast. What? YOU don’t eat delicious mac n cheese for breakfast?? Normally, I don’t either, but it’s a rare day off with absolutely nothing that I HAVE to do, so I figured: Lets have a treat.  Mmmmm…..I highly recommend it; and I don’t have to feel like a piggy, since I have the day to use up some of the calories.

With moving and cleaning 4-5 days a week in a city an hour away, I haven’t been up to much in the way of crafts or gardening. This week and weekend will really be about getting that going again. A lot of things in the garden have gone to seed, so I will spending some of today trimming things back, pulling the potatoes, and harvesting lettuce.  I’ll also go through a few boxes and try to trim down some of the stuff that I have. My goal by the end of the summer is to get rid of 1/3 of the things I own (old and new). A daunting task, but one that needs to happen. Next up is editing the pics from Yellowstone, which sadly are still on film and in my digital camera.

I also want to get in the fields and  pick some fruit for fresh jam. My cherry and strawberry jams have all been hits and I cant wait to try my hand at some raspberry jelly!  Maybe this weekend, when I have a kitchen again 🙂

The ultimate craft project is actually coming along well, and I’ll have more on it in a week or so. I’m pretty excited about this project. If you can hold through the mystery, I think you’ll be pleased with what I have been working on!

Lastly, is the coop!  The three new girls are in dire need of a big girl home. Nick and his Dad have been working on the massive structure between trips to Tacoma.  Its 5 times the size of my old coop, and will make for a great new home for all of my girls. I think today I will bring the new girls outside to check out their new world, and to see how they do.  Plus, the other girls have been cooped up (some pun intended) for way too long. It’ll be nice to get them out and have them stretch their chicken-y legs.

Well, that’s it for now! I have a pile of boxes staring me down and my Dad’s paintings that are begging to be hung up.  Hope your 4th is lovely, relaxing and full of happiness!

Cheers,
Raina

Lately, the weather has been…well…all over the map. We’ll have a day or two of what feels like summer, and then BAM! It’s clearly not summer. Mother Nature? You’re a tease!  A few days ago, I was coming out of my car in June, trying to escape big rain drops, while wearing a sweater and a thick coat.  I wanted something warm, thick and soothing. I wanted soup.  I was also too lazy to go to the store after dealing with the gloom, so I needed something quick and that I could pull out of my pantry or garden. In looking at my garden, my greens were out of control, and I needed to thin them out.  I had leeks and I knew there was pasta, beans, a little turkey and carrots and celery in the fridge.


Mmmm….Ribollita.  This is a yummy, hearty, rustic veggie soup that makes the best use of whatever random veggies you have on hand. The end result of the soup is that everything is cooked, but not so much that the veggies are over-tender.  If you don’t feel like cooking up everything after a long day, you can throw all of the items together in a crock pot, adding the beans and the pasta later. 

Meat wise, there’s a lot going on with this soup, so you can take the addition or leave it. I happened to have a fist full of ground turkey on hand, so I made small meat balls, and set those aside. I have also used ground meat, and cooked it within the soup adding more flavor. You really can’t mess this soup up, which is the nice thing about it.  


First up, gather and prep-note this is in the order I used everything:
I start with one leek, sliced in half long-wise and sliced up. How thick you want it depends on your taste.  Keep in mind, this will be cooking the longest. 
One small onion, diced
Garlic, minced. I LOVE garlic, so mince as many cloves as you like.
Olive Oil-about 2 Tb
Oregano-I like fresh and used two large springs about 3 inches long each
Dried thyme (or fresh, if you like), I used a quarter sized pinch that was rounded in the palm of my hand. Again, this is to taste
Salt and pepper.


While I was chopping the onion and leek, I was heating up my oil. Once hot, drop the garlic in and get it moving in the oil. It should sizzle a bit, but not brown too fast. After a couple of minutes, when the garlic is starting to become off-white, throw in the onion and leek, tossing it in the oil. Add your salt and pepper now. You’ll want to sweat these for a few mins.

While this is cooking up, prep the following veggies.
3 large carrots
3 ribs celery
Open 1 28 oz can of tomatoes, or 3 large beefsteak, diced
4 cups liquid-ideally stock

By now, your onion/leek/garlic is looking nice and ready. Add your carrots and celery and toss with the other veggies. Add your tomatoes and add your stock-I always have 2 cup bags in my freezer ready to go. You’ll want about 4 cups of liquid. Only have a couple cups? No worries, there’s lots of flavor coming from other veggies, so you can add water. I keep a cup or two of extra water handy, since the water level will go down as this cooks.

Add your thyme and oregano at this time.

Let this come to a gentle roll, and relax for a few. You’ll want to give it about 10 minutes.

Chop: 10 mushrooms-you can get a lot of flavor out these guys, so feel free to mix it up. Throw in your mushrooms. At this point, you’re about 20 mins into your soup, or at least 1 glass of wine, if you’re like me 🙂

Your soup should be getting thicker and the liquid level should be coming down. Keep adding enough liquid to keep the soup covered with extra room for additional veggies/pasta.

It’s testin’ time!  Pick a veggie-are they firm, but no longer raw, almost cooked well?  Now’s the time for the next step! If not, pour yourself some more wine and give it another 5-10 mins.

Wash and chiffonade your greens (a schmancy way of saying roll it, and run your knife through so it looks like green ribbon)-I like a few large bunches, but it can be to taste. Add and cook for 5-10 mins, longer for thick greens like kale.

After 5-10 mins, I check the greens; if they are close to tender, I am ready to move to the last steps. If not, keep checking on it every 5-10 minutes until the greens are cooked almost all the way through. Keep in mind, you’ll be cooking the pasta in the dish.

Throw in your favorite pasta and cook to the makers directions or however you like your pasta. When there’s 5 minutes left, add 1 15 oz can of cannelloni beans (drained and rinsed) and your meatballs, if adding any.

Once the pasta is done, your soup is done!  I like to add chunks of old bread and parmesan to the top. So good.

What’s your yucky weather, go to dish?