This moment: yes, a day late :)
Posted on | February 18, 2012 | 6 Comments
True love
Posted on | February 9, 2012 | 7 Comments
]Bliss
Posted on | February 2, 2012 | 11 Comments
This moment: a last peak
Posted on | January 27, 2012 | 6 Comments
Gratitude Sunday
Posted on | January 22, 2012 | 5 Comments
- A wonderful, short hike up in the mountains near our home yesterday. We were greeted by a mega white out (but yay for snow!) but that didn't stop us from snapping some photos and relishing nature.
- Seeing a herd of about 20-30 elk about twenty miles up the road from where we live - we were driving (to the above destination) and just happened to spot this giant, beautiful herd. We pulled over and managed to snap a few photos as they quickly withdrew into the forest. What beautiful creatures.
- Relaxing, yet productive days at home. It's nice finding that happy medium.
- Managing to stay out of the major flood zones (we still had flooding, as shown above, but nothing that required evacuation) and never lose our power this week. Our region has been plagued by massive flooding and windstorms as of late, and we are so grateful our neighborhood was spared (not to mention all our trees have remained standing!).
- A wonderful husband who has taken on most of the outside chores as of late. Our property is so muddy and extremely slippery these last couple weeks, and it saves me the worry of losing my balance (a theme all too common these days).
- Raspberry leaf tea. Need I say more?
- The wonderful anticipation I wake up with each day thinking, 'this could be the day!' I've been having such vivid dreams about our daughter (well, she was our son last night!) the last few days - brown, thin hair about an inch or so long, sticking out all over. She's long and thin with a perfect face and just the right amount of chub in her cheeks. It'll be interesting to see if my dreams are correct at all?
- Wonderful support from local friends and also bloggers out there regarding my birth plan. Sharing such intimate details is sometimes plagued by negative people and their horrid comments (which unfortunately I too have experienced, a couple this week alone).
- Our wood stove, as mentioned in the previous post.
- New friendships established with a couple B works with. They have the same due date as us!
Tales of a wood stove:
Posted on | January 20, 2012 | 2 Comments
We purchased our dream home in April 2010 - an older home on private, wooded acreage. Not everyones dream, by any means, but it fulfilled ours. Along with it came a wood stove as a secondary source of heat, forced air being the primary. We were so excited to start using it for many reasons - obviously economical reasons, but also the ambiance of having a wood stove in the home and having a large supply of fuel on our property. Within about four months of living here, when we first started having fires, we decided to have a chimney sweeper come to clean it out. Long story short: our lovely yet archaic woodstove was not to 'code' despite that never being mentioned in our initial inspection. We accepted this and didn't fret; after all, we had a working source of heat for the winter months.
Fast forward nearly two years later, and we finally installed a properly working wood stove this past week. It is absolutely amazing what a difference it has made: once we have a roaring fire in there, the house stays warm nearly all day (as opposed to our forced air which turned on every 20 minutes, and we always felt cold - definitely something that bothered me with the coming attraction into our lives!).
I've already put it to good use with a little inspiration of some friends - Wooly Moss Roots and Cold Antler Farm, to name just two. Last night I experimented with an easy from scratch bread recipe, and I let it rise next to the stove overnight (the bowl with the towel covering it). This morning I boiled a pot of water for raspberry leaf tea, and we have also been using a kettle to humidify the area. Finally, tonight I hung a load of laundry to dry next to the stove. I can just picture our cloth diapers hanging soon (is it weird I'm excited about that?)!
So there you go: one more puzzle piece of our little homestead (at least I like to call it that) complete. Does anyone else have a wood stove - if so, please share ideas you use your wood stove for, I would love to hear!
Water buffalo:
Posted on | January 14, 2012 | 6 Comments
― Ina May Gaskin, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth
This moment: a day in the office
Posted on | January 13, 2012 | 2 Comments
Gratitude Sunday
Posted on | January 8, 2012 | 2 Comments
- Reaching the near 37 week milestone - the birth center I'm planning on delivering at delivers only between 37-41 weeks, otherwise you have to go to the hospital. We've had a few nights of regular pressure waves as of late, but we're talking babe into staying in at least until Wednesday.
- The scent of lavender. I just can't get enough of it lately.
- Getting the nursery near complete - cloth diapers all washed and ready to go, a few more pictures up on the wall, last minute orders on amazon, and even a little bag packed for d-day. Because we finished so many things I will probably end up going postdates, like most first time mommas (in other words: despite being ready, we're not holding our breath).
- Sunny days and clear nights: something so rarely seen this time of year.
- Speaking of clear days - catching a glimpse of an outstanding sunset yesterday evening and capturing it with my SLR. My battery had died and I was warming it up between my palms and reinserting for one picture at a time. I fell in love with nature all over again.
- Yesterday was also spent up on the Willamette River, B fly fishing and me reading and exploring. It was one of those days you relish: a day I realize we'll never be able to repeat, in particular the solitude and silence.
- Music. I've been into making different playlists lately, and there are just some songs that will never get old.
- Wonderful hand me downs for the baby. We got a great stroller from B's sister in Europe, among lots of clothes from a myriad of people. It makes me feel so blessed to have such generous people in our life.
- The excitement of putting in a new wood stove this coming week - finally we can use our dried lumber in the shed and turn off the horribly uneconomical furnace. I'm eager to use it for more than just heating the house (heating food, drying clothes, etc!).
- Apples, oranges, bananas, and of course peanut butter. I just can't get enough!
- My 89 year old grandmother being released from the hospital and as a result completely quitting smoking. I'm so proud of her, I can't imagine it was easy after smoking her entire life. Now my mother just needs to quit...
- An excited, eager, and nervous but beautiful husband. I've seen so many new emotions in him lately as we prepare for babies birth. I know he is going to be a fantastic support.
- The fact that I am off work as of 38 weeks, or January 18th. I'm so grateful that I have a secure job and benefits that can help us afford this. It will be a wonderful time of reflection.
This moment: 9 months!
Posted on | January 6, 2012 | 5 Comments
- April
- I am a RN & natural momma in the Pacific Northwest, married to a beautiful man I adore. Nature is my niche, animals get me. I read and I write, I hike and I love photography. Welcomed our daughter Hazel Annan earthside in February 2012 after three years of infertility & our second miracle daughter Juniper Louise in April 2014.
