Foggy Day on the Farm: Rhodie Hill Farm in Pictures

The "Island within an Island"!

Salmon berry bushes on the fence line & the old blue barn with Lucy running in the foreground

moss on a madrona & rope swing view of the pond


Lucy peering into the lower field

the lovely pond from atop the hill

Ladder to the island

Caspian and Joey: the little ponies

Caspian's eye

Stella sleeping on my back and raindrop on cedar


old goat house in the woods, abandoned

Old rock wall

Cool textures and shapes

The dirty side of the farm

Rhodie buds full of potential and the gazebo

Sign of Spring

The old Rhodies


Greenhouse Massage Studio on the far right through the fog


Pumpkin from last fall


Greenhouse Massage Studio


The back 5 acres

Green Burritos

One of my Favorite recipes are BURRITOS! These burritos are called "green" because I pair black eyed peas and wild rice with spinach, lime, and green salsa. You can also add a onion and sausage.

Black eyed peas: soak 1-2 cups in water for 1-4 hours. Cook for approximately 1-2 hours (depending on soaking time). beans should be soft when poked with a fork or finger.

Cook Wild Rice: 2 cups water to one cup rice.

Steam 100% corn tortillas (we love the small sprouted corn tortillas) in a bamboo steamer.

Then fill up your tortilla with beans, rice, spinach, green salsa, and serve with a slice of lime.

BREAKFAST LEFTOVER beans and rice RECIPE:
The next morning we made eggs over easy and fried the rice and beans and steamed some spinach to use the leftover ingredients. It was WONDERFUL! Oh, and add some more salsa verde too.

1-Year old Stella really really Rocks out to the Music

Little Stella has been quite the music lover, for a while now. We have been taking the Music Together Class from Kat Fritz since Stella was a newborn and it certainly has resonated with her. She will stop crying in the car seat if I turn on a music together CD, which did not work for big sis when she was a baby. In the video Stella is hanging on to the speaker as she dances . . .


Baby Stella Dancing Video

Marina's Creative Play

I love pulling out my camera and snapping pictures when I catch the girls making something interesting or playing an unusual game. It's like when you see your child growing and reaching new levels right before your eyes. If I saw a flower blooming from bud to full flower in a minute it would most certainly get my attention! So here I present some milestones . . .

Marina "painting" her horses nails

Marina lined up numerous animals on various furniture, organizing them just so on the top of the couch. See below pics as well

An unusual morning of sunshine. More animals organized by Marina

Another view of the animals Marina set up. I think there may have been some motivation to keep them out of 1 year old Stella's reach as well!

Stella and P.J. relax in the sun

A Place for Kids to Explore: Castle "Community" Park Playground, Maxwelton Road Langley

Castle Park on Maxwelton Road is a mass of wooden stairs, tunnels, towers, and walkways. The "castle" follows no particular logical order, but provides plenty of fun, as long as you are willing to chase after you toddler and leave your adult friends behind. There is much to explore: a wooden boat that kids can climb in and play with the steering wheel while a parent pushes it up and down gently, tunnel slides, swings, fireman pole, and numerous weaving mazes of wooden walkways. It is almost dizzying.

There is a baby/small toddler (6 month to 2 year old) section with smaller size slides, climbing bars, and swings with foot holes for safety. Then there is a section for bigger kids including regular swings. Unfortunately, as a mother of one of each type of kid: a 1 year old that wants to do everything that her big sister (almost4 years old) does, it is challenging, especially with the swings. There are no baby swings in the big kid swing section or visa versa.

. . . That said, this park is unique and worth it anyway! Go visit and have fun. There are also many miles of trails (biking, hiking, running), baseball fields, soccer fields, and a skate park, so there is really something for every member of the family whatever their age.

The girls play alone (no one else was there, besides me!) at the park on a chilly January afternoon

Marina enjoys the "big" kid swings, but Stella has to be patient, no baby swings here, and she notices!

There is baby Stella (1 yo) waiting while Marina enjoys the sensation of flying--wheeeeee

Stelly's turn! On the baby swing . . .

. . . While Marina waits!

There in the distance (above) is the skate park, you can see it from the playground

Stella takes a try at climbing stairs

and driving

Weeding in the Garden in January at Rododendron Hill Farm

1504 Coffee Bar: First Organic Espresso on the Island, and it is worth coming back for!

Above: Jessica, owner of 1504, chats with a customer

Above: the storefront in Freeland by the Shortstop gas station (across from the Island Athletic Club---that's right you can get an organic latte after your workout)

1504 Coffeebar is definitely worth checking out. You could almost miss it nestled in a development in Freeland next to a Coldwell Banker Real Estate Office and The Short Stop Gas Station, but you wouldn't want to! The store has been under new ownership for 2 years and happily still carries organic espresso, the first on the island, and still resides in its original location (see below for address).

The store was established in 1989 and was one of the first places to sell espresso on the island, pioneering organic espresso before it was popular. Although the shop looks modest from the outside, you enter into a unique setting, even amid the numerous coffee stands and shops that now cover South Whidbey. The shop offers a complete espresso menu with your choice of organic or regular milk, soup of the day, handmade local food (like Dorcas' samoosas) and local products like scarves, jewelry, tea cups, and art. It is one of the unique South Whidbey stores that has withstood the test of time.

Meet Jessica Leon, the owner of 1504. Jessica came to the island because of the local monastery. She was living in a monastery in Japan before moving to Whidbey. After living at the Whidbey Island monastery she and her husband Simon bought a home in Clinton and she worked as a home office organizer and at US Bank before deciding that she wanted to do something entirely new. When a friend told her about a coffee shop for sale in Freeland, she knew it was what she was looking for and she bought it within 3 weeks. She then began learning about how to run a business and how to make espresso.

Jessica has created a local meeting place that offers friendly service, a comfortable and aesthetic environment, and great coffee. When I visited the shop last Saturday I was happy to see that it fulfilled all of those needs and more. Jessica embodies the Whidbey Island ideal of being a successful business owner and offering islanders a unique service. Since buying the shop Jessica has created a new seating area with couches, new lighting, organic milk as an option with your espresso, and offers local crafts and art on the walls.

Go by the shop and try the organic espresso, it is lovely.

The hardware

Jessica Leon, owner of 1504 Coffeebar

Above: Kids and adults will enjoy the store's funny mascot barista

new cozy seating

Soup menu

Some gift ideas. . .

P.S. you were probably wondering about the "1504". It was originally the store's address, and they paid to have it be the phone number as well, but when the 525 Highway addresses changed so did coffee shop's address (see below).
Here is the contact information for Jessica's coffee shop:

1504 Coffeebar
18205 State Route 525 #7
Freeland WA 98249
360.331.1504