Our California Trip Itinerary

We're going to California...just want to share our itinerary...for fun so you can see where we are, and so you can find us if need be!

Sunday: Eugene, OR...we're staying in a residential neighborhood in a studio cabin that we found on Craig's List. Then we'll head down the Coast Highway to...

Monday: Jughandle Creek Farm, Caspar, CA...near Mendocino, ool la la, maybe to the local nude beach

http://www.jughandle.creek.org/main_entry.htm

Tuesday-Thursday: Redwoods Haus Bed and Breakfast, Stinson Beach, CA

http://www.stinson-beach.com/

Friday: The Red Victorian in the Haight District, San Francisco, CA

http://www.redvic.com/

Saturday: Heading back up I-5 and probably ending up in exciting Red Bluff, CA

http://www.lamplighterlodge.us/

Sunday: Up to Ashland to check it out...then to the Wolf Creek Inn

http://www.thewolfcreekinn.com/

Monday: Portland! The Mark Spencer Hotel

http://www.markspencer.com/

Beach Sunday...

Joseph and Dad, digging in the sand.

Thimbleberries and Me

Just a shout out from Joseph..."Here I am peeps, up here at the Cabin, eatin' Thimbleberries...my new fav food."

The Egg and I

Oooo, I just finished my delicious book, 'The Egg and I' by Betty MacDonald. I admit, I am on a Betty MacDonald kick and I might continue the streak. I loved this book...most of it anyway. It was very harsh on Native Americans...I suppose it was part of the times, but hard to swallow anyway, but for the most part it was witty, interesting, hilarious in parts, and smartly old-fashioned. The book chronicles Betty MacDonald's life on a chicken ranch on the Olympic Peninsula. She lives the life of a regular farm wife...stoking 'Stove', canning, gardening, sewing, washing, bearin' a babe, and visiting with the colorful neighbors on the Mountain. She has lots and lots of gripes, but I think somewhere deep down inside she loves it...more than someone who was born into that kind of life would...she's from a cultured city family and I think she appreciates the 'hard life' and all of its quaintness, where others wouldn't...despite the fact that she complains the whole time. In fact, the book is really one big long complaint, but for some reason it's brimming with positivity and charm.

and coming in first on my summer reading list...

'The Egg and I' by Betty MacDonald

Starting with the first sentence:

"ALONG with teaching us that lamb must be cooled with garlic and that a lady never scratches her head or spits, my mother taught my sisters and me that it is a wife's bounden duty to see that her husband is happy in his work." ...doesn't it sound downright devine? Especially after finding out the Ma and Pa Kettle where character spin offs...AND that The Egg and I was made into a move starring Claudette Colbert and Fred McMurray!

Lazy summer days...

Is so nice eh? Just enjoying some hot summer days...

what's in a name?

announcing the new name for this blog...vivre d'amour et d'eau fraîche...to live on love alone. Now I realize that it might be a major faux pas to suddenly make a blog title change, and I thought about starting an altogether new blog, but I wanted to find something that would express the intent of what I've already blogged about. Though perhaps a little pretentious given that I don't speak French, vivre d'amour et d'eau fraîche, looks so beautiful to me, and fills me with more love, so I'm doing it, and it beats the snot out of 'Dakota's Blog'. Watch out, because I'm getting a little tired of this template too...I haven't found a new one that I think suits the site yet, but don't think you went to the wrong place if it suddenly changes.

and...on that farm there was a Joseph...ee I ee I Oh.

For the 4th of July we went and stayed at the Betty MacDonald Farm on Vashon Island. What an absolute treasure! Betty MacDonald wrote the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books, The Egg and I, and Onions in the Stew.

http://www.bettymacdonaldfarm.com/

We explored the island for two days and these are two of my favorite things that we found.

Though the Straus Family Creamery is in California, you can buy bottled cream and half n' half and exchange the bottle. It's sweet! You can taste that the cows are grass fed! I love it! It came from the cool coffee shop next door to my second favorite thing on Vashon Island...

The second thing is Chilkat Traders Antiques. They have an amazing collection of art books, quilts, cool old paintings (including two drawings by Andy Warhol @ $12,500 each)...pottery, native american blankets and baskets, and vintage Betty MacDonald books!

Kick up yer heels!

OK...I must admit that this is a little test...me thinks maybe I have alot of 'Lurkers'...is anyone out there? I'm aiming this test at the Shameless Sisters...please please comment! Are we going to the Hen Heather?!! I'm excited to dance with real cowboys.

Splish Splash

Joseph went swimming for the first time today! We went down to Colman Pool, which is salt water piped in from the Sound, and swam all around! Joseph loved it and splashed all around and played with other babies.

mmmm....carrots

Though this is obviously not a photo of him doing so...Joseph took three steps for Clay on Wednesday night and three for Ama today...maybe for Mama too soon?!

Joseph and his Keene side Cousins

Last weekend we went up to Camano Island for cousin Ryan Teather's graduation party! Ryan is going to San Francisco University, so Joseph put on his tie dyes and his Rasta Hat and we celebrated! Joseph had lots of fun with his cousins who treat him like one of the gang! Clockwise from the top: Liam Duncan, Ashlyn & Ryan Teather, Dylan & Luka Bergan, & Joseph

Novelty Hill Winery Opening

WHAT?! She's posting something other than Joseph's latest meals? YES! These photos are from the Novelty Hill Winery http://www.noveltyhillwines.com/ opening party for the designers, sub-consultants, contractors, etc. Great food, fun reconnecting with the team, and so amazing to see something come to life that we all spent so much time working on.

Letters to Joseph-June

Dear Joseph:
June has been a whirlwind! We moved to our new house on June 2nd and it was also Uncle Asa’s 30th birthday! Your Ama Joyce took care of you while we moved all of our furniture…then we went to Asa’s BBQ…then we spent the night in our new house and I’m afraid you fell off the bed in the middle of the night. Luckily, we were just on a mattress on the floor since we’d been unsuccessful in getting our box spring up the stairs of the house…so it was not a tragedy.
You are loving our new house…you have lots more spots for your toys and room to cruise. You are standing for 20-30 seconds at a time and have made moves to take steps. You are starting to eat better too…I just hand you a breadstick ,which you love, and when you open your mouth to nibble it, I shove in some prunes or such. We just went to your 9 month well-child check and you are doing ‘awesome’ according to our beloved Dr. Ben Danielson. You weigh 19 lbs. 11 oz…this drops you down from the 50th percentile to the 35th percentile, but no one is worried because you are eating better and I think it’s because you are burning so many calories with all of your standing and cruising! He says you are incredibly alert, interested, curious, sensitive, and aware…we knew all that already.
During the second weekend in June, our wonderful Auntie Ali made a surprise visit…we had lots and lots of fun visiting with her. We went to a party and stayed late…I kept you on my back while I sang karaoke with Auntie Ali. You were transfixed with the treadle sewing machine in the hall at this party…we think you are fascinated with wheels and moving parts. The next day we went to the Sculpture Garden, up to Cousin Henry’s and to dinner at our haunt, the Kingfish Café. It was here that Auntie Ali discovered your favorite food: Grits with Saffron! Now we know that your Southern roots are showing!
In the middle of the month, you went to two birthday parties on the same day! You went to Indi and Jude Reynolds birthday party…it was a Wizard of Oz theme and you dressed up as the Cowardly Lion. We pinned the heart on the Tin Man. Then we went to Cousin Dylan’s 5th birthday party…you played with all the kids and loved all the attention!
Just last weekend we went to your second cousin Ryan Teather’s graduation. You played with all of your cousins and they treated you like ‘one of the gang’…they pulled you around the lawn on an old blanket and your cousin Ashlyn watched out for you…it was so fun to see because that was how my generation of cousins played…so many good memories.
I’m so excited for the summer…today we went down to Colman Pool for your first real swim. We got all the way down there and it was closed for repairs, so we went up to the wading pool. You sat right down in the water and splashed all around and watched the kids. You love to watch other kids! You babble about when you are having fun…dee dee dee, ot ot….cha, che…sometimes you hiss a little, this also means happiness. You beam your gap toothed grin at all you meet and charm everyone’s pants off. You found a purple ball (you seem to be particularly drawn to purple…beads, balls, shovels) and played with it for a long time. I took you to the ‘deep’ end’ and your stretched yourself out to swim, but decided it was too cold. We’ll try again tomorrow for the big pool.
Love, Mama

Letters to Joseph-May

Dear Joseph:
May was a busy month…suddenly your Dad and I decided that we needed to MOVE! Now let me first say that we LOVE our old house. We worked so hard making that house a home and we envisioned bringing you up until perhaps the age of 5 in that house. But we started feeling the space pinch a bit. So May was filled with visits to open houses, signing of papers, and packing. Through all of this, you haven’t missed a beat.
First of all…you’ve got a total of 6 teeth! They’ve all come in during May for the most part…two front teeth, two just next to the front teeth on either side, and of course your bottom two. I wish I could say that you have stopped biting me, but oooch, I’d be lying. Another absolutely amazing thing happened in the last week of May. We were at the park with Cousin Dylan and Luka and Aunt Andrea…we were sitting on a blanket on the grass, and suddenly, you stood up!!! Pretty much out of no where and from a seated position! Now you stand all the time. No steps yet, but they are coming soon!
Another crazy thing you did this month…we were standing outside and Pepe , the little dog across the street, was barking. You waved and said HI! I am not kidding. Then you did the same thing to your Dad on his birthday…what a kid!
I feel I need to touch on the house thing again…even before we thought of moving, we entered your beautiful room in a nursery contest, prompted by your Auntie Ali.
http://nursery.apartmenttherapy.com/nursery/small-cool-2007-entries/18-josephs-lantern-festival-021451
We didn’t win…but got lots of nice comments such as:
“So good-looking and non commercial, love that. I adore your lanterns, I also used lanterns in my daughter's nursery. I like the look of the cabinetry next to shelves. Are they built-in custom or furniture? Also may I ask a source on the prints above the crib? Congratulations on creating a space where a creative child will grow!”

“So beautiful! I love this space for a wee one, but the best part is that it's a space that will be a nice refuge for an adult too. So many nurseries look like spaces that only a kid would want to hang out in”

“If I truly assess the other nurseries using your exact rules/criteria for submission, my favorite other entry is #18: "Joseph's Lantern Festival". I love everything about it - the beautiful color on the walls, the punchy lanterns, the playful artwork above the crib, and the stately yet folksy rocking chair. It's a fantastic mix of eclectic pieces. Overall, I like the simplicity of the room and the sense of calm it evokes. It's child-like yet sophisticated.”

“'Josephs lantern festival' I liked the lanterns and artwork a lot and the fact that the lanterns were the colorful inspiration for the rest of the room. I also relate to starting with things that are special to you and let the room grow while the child reveals itself to you. I loved how the things from their own childhood, like the nursing chair from the mom's nursery and their own toys were incorporated in the room. To me it has a nice natural balance between style and personality.”

This was such a nice farewell to the house where you were born…I know that though you may not consciously remember that house, that it will remain a foundation in your soul as it does in mine. Of course it was very difficult for us to leave that house…I gave birth to you in that house…but I realize that you are my home, and we will make this new house our home since you are in it. All the same…I love to think of memories there…sitting around the firebowl in the back yard with you all bundled up and asleep on my chest. You crawling around in the grass with Liam. Me lying on the bed during the summer of ’06, very pregnant, lights dim, french doors open and the warm summer night breeze floating the curtains…thinking of what you would be like and how much I would love you. And even before you were born…playing with Seamus in the yard, burying my face in his soft neck fur. Dancing with your Dad in the living room. And so many more…
On to the summer my dear…
Love, Mama

Letters to Joseph-April Part Two

Dear Joseph:
OK, you are TOTALLY crawling now. It’s April 25th and you can scoot! I do notice though, that you really prefer to stand. Today we went over to your cousin Henry’s house and you just watched and watched him walking around. I could tell you were thinking, ‘I could do that’. You then crawled over to me, (I was sitting on the floor), and pushed yourself up on my knee and stood there for a half a second, and then sat right down. So, though you have mastered crawling, it seems to only be a means to get yourself to whatever you can pull yourself up on, so you can practice your real passion, standing. This of course, like most things, may change, but right now I don’t seem to have to be chasing your crawling self all over the house. I wonder though, are you going to be walking soon?!
Then there’s your eating…as I mentioned earlier in the month, I didn’t want to get in a battle with food with you, so we backed off on it. But today Henry was eating some banana bread that Auntie Malia made, so I gave you a little fleck to eat. You opened your mouth for it and seemed to like it, so later on, I decided to give some other food a try. WOO HOO…you opened your mouth over and over for the organic apples and blueberries. I got so excited that you were eating that YOU got excited to eat! I clapped and laughed with each bite and you loved that, so you kept doing it.
OK, on to some mushy stuff. I LOVE you. Every day you bring so much indescribable joy to me and I just hug you tight and give you countless kisses all day long. I hold your little body and rub your little back and think about how lucky I am to have you to be with all the time. Your little soft cheeks and sweet eyes melt me through and through. At night I hold you and snuggle you and give you all the nursing you want. It’s true, you don’t sleep through the night because you know I’m there to give you nourishment anytime you want, but I don’t believe that I’m spoiling you. I believe that I’m giving you sustenance…physically and emotionally. I want you to feel secure in getting all of your needs met…I feel so strongly that with this foundation, it will enable you to be secure and independent always.
So much love peanut,
Mama
P.S. I just have to tell you that pretty much everywhere we go, people comment on how very cute you are. They gush about your cute cheeks, but are also all very taken with your beautiful blue eyes. You’re a charmer!

Success!!!

Today Joseph successfully ingested a half a baby food jar of organic apples and blueberries! He opened his usually closed tight mouth and gobbled up spoonful after spoonful! Hopefully this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship with solid food!

Letters to Joseph-April Part One

Dear Joseph:
April has been so fun so far! We’ve had some sunny days and we’ve been spending time in the yard A LOT! I bring you outside and set you on a piece of Mexican oilcloth and we play with toys. Sometimes you play independently for a while as I garden or drink a beer. Occasionally you grab blades of grass and put them in your mouth, but you don’t get too upset when I fish them out.
You’ve REALLY been into paper lately too. You’d eat the whole Sunday Times if we let you. Pretty much anything you grab goes right into your mouth. Right at the beginning of April we noticed that you were sleeping restlessly and being a little grumpy. As I was putting you into the car on April 2nd…I saw that your first tooth had erupted! Then, later on April 14th, when your Auntie Melissa was visiting us, we spied a little pearl of the next tooth. Both are your two bottom teeth…the first was on your right hand side. I’m afraid you’ve bit me while nursing a few times…I yelp and you look scared and I think you probably won’t do it much more. We’ve given you ice cubes in your netted nibbly and a little Tylenol a few times at night. You’ve been a little irritable at times with the teething, and mostly only want to be held by me when you’re hurting. We had a party for Grandma Joyce’s 60th birthday and you were a little anti-social, crying when anyone else held you. We all started dancing and you fell asleep in the front pack while we rocked out to Proud Mary.
Then there’s eating. We have tried to feed you every kind of appropriate food under the sun, but you are NOT willing to eat. You close your mouth tight and the only time any food gets in your mouth is when you take the spoon yourself and MAYBE a little sneaks its way in. The rest stays on your face. I guess we started trying to feed you back in mid March, and I didn’t write it in the last letter because it hasn’t really worked out yet. We started with rice cereal and have tried avocado, pears, plums, sweet potato, and carrots. Carrots seem to offend you the least and you seem to make a facial mask out of them as well. Me hopes this doesn’t mean that it’ll be a battle to get you to eat as you grow older. We aren’t pushing it, and you will find your way with food in time…you surely aren’t starving as you weigh in at about 18 pounds and nurse like it’s goin’ out of style.
You are so fun and happy…a pleasure to be around. You are getting really good at crawling, usually getting about 3 or 4 feet at a time. Easter was very fun and the Easter Bunny came with a little wooden bunny and a soft bunny rattle.
I bought you your first pair of Salt Water Sandals in anticipation of warmer weather…black, size 5 infant, to give you a little room to grow into them.
More to follow as spring sprungs.
Love you suga bee,
Momma

Letters to Joseph-March

Dear Joseph:
March was an exciting month since we took you on your first airplane ride! You were so great and hardly cried at all…we did have a little leg between Houston and Austin where you cried a lot…we think it was partly because it was super hot on the plane and because it was such a short flight that your ears never got a chance to get used to the altitude. We stripped you down and gave you an ice cube in your netted nibbly. That’s what I call this contraption that is basically a little net bag with a handle…it’s made so that you can suck on fruit and stuff like that without choking. The other day though, Liam stole it from you while there was a teething biscuit in it…he ripped the net open and we had to get another one.
We had a blast in Austin visiting Chris and Camille! Melissa and MacKenzie came down from Dallas to visit too! It was South by Southwest Music Fest and we saw some super great bands...like Bob Schneider and The Polyphonic Spree. We had to seek out all ages, outdoor venues to protect your ears...we put little mini earplugs in your ears and you slept through most everything. Chris and Camille's house is so beautiful and comfortable and we loved it and loved staying there. They were so hospitable and gracious with sharing their busy weekend with us! It was also great for Melissa and Mac to meet you for the first time!
After we came home from Austin, your Dad had to go on a business trip to Portland. Grandma Joyce and I decided to take the train down to meet him there. We had a fun train ride and you played with your sock monkey and wood rattly toys and napped a little.
We walked all around the Pearl District and bought you a summer hat. That night, we cooked crab cakes in the kitchenette. Also that night, March 24th to be exact, you started to crawl. You weren’t totally proficient yet, but you covered ground on your hands and knees. There was also a swivel chair in our hotel room and you liked to be spun around on it.
Another fun thing this month is that you are getting to like being carried on my back. I can put you in the Ergo Carrier and walk all around with you…I can do a little gardening, cleaning, and of course walks with you. As spring is coming along…this is good stuff.
I love you sweet potata,
Momma

Choppin Brocolli at the Mean Eyed Cat

I'm told that the guy behind Joseph and Camille's Aunt Kathy, is Dana Carvey. Adam Sandler was at the bar too. OH, and we saw Steve Earle at the San Jose.