he's baaaaack

So I forgot to mention that over the past week and a half my parents have witnessed more and more sightings of our little crazy kitty Furio - yes the very same kitty we pretty much signed off to the coyotes 2 weeks ago (see Operation Kitty: Failed post for more).  Even more encouraging he has been coming around each evening for dinner.  And today Isabelle and I drove down to Rhode Island for a visit to grammy & grampy's after dropping Aaron off at the airport for his meeting in NC.  Right on cue (actually a little early) Furio showed up for dinner and with little hope that I would actually catch our kitty I brought out the food and called him close.  And he came!

thinking about how much he wants that food...

Closer and closer....and he eventually ate out of the bowl right next to me!  I cautiously leaned over to pet him (assuming he would bolt) and he didn't budge - I seized the moment and grabbed him by the scruff and successfully got him inside!

ferociously eating his bowl of food

He is a little skinny, a little scruffy, and a few ticks too many... but our little kitty is back.  I was a bit nervous he would have snapped and gone over to the wild side but he is as sweet as ever and in desperate need of attention.  He is purring up a storm and yowling at us every time we visit with him and even letting isabelle give him some love.

we are so happy and keeping our fingers crossed 

that he actually makes it up to New Hampshire this time... 

Operation Kitty: SUCCESS!!

rosy cheeks and dreams of the big red barn....

snuggle buddies

Friday Isabelle woke up with some rosy warm cheeks so in fear of something horrible brewing we took it easy.  Naps all around, lots of reading, cuddling (with Sid), and popcorn on the couch.  And after a tired momma got tired of reading books to Isabelle, she decided she could "read" them to herself.  And she did!  She practically knew every word to "Any Room For Me?" - the classic story of the old man losing his mitten in the woods which then becomes occupied by the mouse, frog, hare, fox, wild boar, and huge bear (and yes i have memorized this book too...).  I just love to hear the inflection of her voice when she reads "of course, come in" - just like mom and dad.

our favorite book lately

Fortunately the rosy warm cheeks were gone by the evening and she even perked up a little and did a few laps around the house in celebration of burrito night.  Saturday we decided it was hay ride weather and in true New England fashion knew it wouldn't be too hard to find one within a half an hour.  We decided to head over to Woodstock, VT to Billings farm, a small farm over 138 years old with a working dairy heard, draft horses, oxen, and a farm museum. They have the cutest doe eyed jersey cows and even had a hand full of calves that I lovingly let suck on my fingers (mommy instincts kicking in).

our wagon ride in waiting, pulled by two huge percherons

isabelle loving the bumps and bouncing of the horse drawn wagon

And at some point I must have scarred isabelle.  Likely when she was about 9 months old and in a bouncy seat in the middle of a cold barn while I chased after my flock of research sheep for my master's project or maybe when she was 3 months old and I took breaks from dissecting lamb intestine to breast feed.  She was surrounded by livestock as a baby and then at some point she became deathly afraid of the possible moo or baa that might emerge from the ruminant belly.  She refuses to get up close and personal with livestock and I don't know if this child is actually mine sometimes.  Yesterday as we walked through the dairy barn she clings, shuts her eyes, and buries herself into her dad's shoulder and only sneaks a quick peak at the calves.  I'm sure it is just a phase, just not a phase I quite expected from my child.  Me, who secretly (or not so secretly), wants desperately to someday live in Margret Wise Brown's "Big Red Barn"...

about as close as isabelle will get to the cows...

recently enjoyed

here are a collection of photos over the past few days 
that capture some recently enjoyed moments
...not too many words needed

finally getting around to use my possum/merino yarn (gifted from NZ via kelly)

slippers
(on this same day we went for a dip in the lake - loving the "heat wave")

the reflection of leaves on the lake

finding clothing given to isabelle when she was born that i never thought would fit her

(butterfly sweatshirt - thank you alicia & lars!)

isabelle making our favorite granola bar recipe

(i will post this recipe sooner or later - it is a win)

mung bean sprouts

a busy stove top 

(making stock with leftover chicken carcass & rehydrating chickpeas for falafel night)

weekend:perfect

This weekend the weather warmed up and we decided to hop in the car and visit one of my favorite places  (now only an hour away) - White Mountain National Forest.  My family vacationed here when we were young children and then as I got older my dad took me on countless backpacking trips through the Whites.  Each time I can remember driving home thinking... I love this place....this is where I want to live...  And now, several years later, here we are - right in the thick of it.

We drove up to Lincoln, passed the classic touristy Clarks Trading Post and Whale's Tale Water Park, and had our sites set on Indian Head Trail, a 1.9 mile moderate hike up Mt. Pemigewasset.  And well, it kicked my butt pretty hard on the way up.... 7 months pregnant and my center of gravity is slightly off... not to mention the pounds I am packing... but it was so worth it.  The foliage is just starting to turn and the views were great.

sweaty back

yes...we got a good work out (both aaron and i were carrying an extra 30 pounds)

foliage and a sweaty bump

silliness

And on Sunday we enjoyed a visit from Nana and GG.  The weather was picture perfect again and we enjoyed likely our last grilled burger and pasta salad for this year (outside anyways).

enjoying the view

Mirepoix

One of the most enjoyable parts of being home with Isabelle is our afternoon ritual of starting dinner.  In Idaho, while both Aaron and I were working, dinner prep was often rushed and not child friendly - a hungry mom & dad buzzing around the kitchen trying to get food on the table while isabelle often got upset about not being included and/or hunger.  Now we get to work together to prepare food  - with no rush.  And not only is this fun but it has actually improved her eating habits tremendously (i know i know it isn't brain surgery -  just exciting).  Isabelle is not necessarily a bad eater - she cracks me up when she eats handfuls of sprouts like they are candy or destroys a bowl of plain chickpeas - but she hasn't been exactly outgoing in her eating habits (nose up to anything with the mirepoix or holy trinity - sauteed onion, carrots, and celery).  I think, fingers crossed, that all this involvement in the kitchen is paying off.  All week Isabelle has been (for the most part) eating everything on her plate - and so proud of herself for trying everything.

Here are a few pictures from our week... enjoy!

isabelle with her old gnome hat that she insisted on wearing until her new one was finished

new gnome hat finished - needed for the past weeks cold weather!

kneading the pasta dough

later turned into ravioli that was not so pretty but oh so yummy

note to self: next time don't make ravioli...just make lasagna or spaghetti

cooking the ravioli and heating up some homemade sauce

digging through the recycling for cardboard to cut out leaves, pumpkins, and apples 

to be painted in fall colors

isabelle stirring the risotto - remembering not to break a single grain....

end result: roasted butternut squash and pea risotto

isabelle demolishing her lentil soup and corn bread

so proud she decided to eat her Mirepoix!

  

making a little sunshine

why that sun looks awfully sunny...

It has been a bit dreary out here - so different from our normal Moscow dry weather we had just gotten use to.  I gave Isabelle some fall colors to paint with and talked about the leaves changing colors and this was all she wanted to draw...I suppose I can't blame her... I could use a little sun myself.  But with the lack of sun we have been trying to keep up with fun indoor activities (it is so tempting to netflix my way through the day...) and as soon as the rain stops we run outside for a game of chase or her latest favorite game....frisbee.  My fingers have also been busy getting my knitting muscles worn in - a gnome hat and bootie set for the baby and before I could start any other baby projects Isabelle reminded me that her gnome hat no longer fit and she needed a new one too... 

creating little gnome apparel

Isabelle appropriately picked out yarn with pink and purple...her favorite colors.  And since baby may be a boy or girl we figure gray and white is a perfect genderless color combo.  Isabelle and I are not the only ones getting crafty these days.... Aaron is working on his first NH brew as we speak (and possibly ruining our stove as well...there are some weird smells coming from the kitchen).  He is making a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone ("with a little extra hop love added to it" - aaron) that should be drink ready in about a months time.

fingers crossed the stove works after...

My parents and I got Aaron the brew kit for his birthday this past year and unfortunately I haven't been able to reap the benefits considering I have been pregnant.  I have snuck a taste or two and look forward to being able to drink a glass at some point...

and remember these?

These are the garnets that my friend Rebekka and I mined for in Idaho a few months before we left (see the original post here).  I had taken them into the local gem shop in Moscow to see what if anything could be done and I decided on these beauties...

one of the small circular garnets I found cut in half, polished, and set into earrings

I am so in love with them.  Not just because the are beautiful but because they will always remind me of our time in Idaho and that fun hot day spent digging up earth to find these little blackish rocks that once polished shine with a reddish purple glow.  I have to say thank you thank you thank you to my mom for funding the setting of the stones in the earrings - yes I am completely in love with them!

Lastly, thank you for all the kind words about our missing kitty, 

we greatly appreciate your words and thoughts. 

operation kitty: failed...

Furio: 2007 - ? M.I.K.A (Missing In Kitty Action)
you will be missed :(

So Friday morning we drove down to my parents with hopes of catching the escapee, Furio, and finally bringing him home.  Unfortunately, during the two days that we were there we didn't see him once.  Which due to the surroundings I am not all that surprised - if you haven't seen my parents house... just think - back road and behind their house are acres upon acres of forest.  We are all saddened to lose our crazy kitty and hope he is enjoying being a full time out door cat or resting in peace in the great out doors.

Isabelle & Sid

We are very grateful for our other kitty Sid - who as much as we can't stand how needy he is or thick headed he can be - he is still here and will always remind us of Furio.

O's & P's

Rainy days

In other news, the weather has been less than lovely here - rainy and cold.  We officially broke out the down comforters, sweaters, and slippers in effort to delay turning on the heat (it is only October for goodness sakes).  Isabelle has been keeping busy with puzzles, coloring, and her new letters are O and P.  Neither Aaron or I have emphasized or tried to teach her any letters but she has started to come up with them on her own - she has "mastered" drawing  I, T, O, and P in the last month and we are quite impressed with her little self driven desire to draw letters.  She is also a whiz at picking out letters while reading books or while driving along - she often comes up with, "S-T-O-P....mama stop!" - and then she will slip in there "remember don't break the car mama!" (thanks for the reminder kiddo....).  I have thought about trying to do a letter a week but I think for now I will just encourage her curiosity with letters and let her go at her own pace - I want my 3 year old to just be a 3 year old.  If that means mastering the alphabet or not...thats A-Okay with me,  because your only 3 once... right?!