Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Many faces of Marina the Mermaid
Here are some of my favorite pictures of 3 year old Marina. She is so fun to take pictures of so I have a lot!
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Above: as princess again, I played around with this pic as I liked it so much i tried it out in b & w
Above: as horseback rider, she actually wore pants, as in overalls (!!!!) for horseback riding, of course not pictured. Now this is noteworthy. Pants have NOT been a part of her personal wardrobe since I used to pick out her clothes . . . when was that? At 1 1/2? Yeah, a while ago! She must really like her ponies!
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Above: as princess again, I played around with this pic as I liked it so much i tried it out in b & w
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Above: HERE IT IS: PANTS!!! Usually it's tights and dresses, the longer the better.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Maxwelton Beach in October
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Labels:
cold weather,
marina,
maxwelton beach,
october,
stella
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Herbed Clay Pot Chicken with Apples and Baby Potatoes
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For the herbs I used garlic (pressed), diced rosemary, and fresh thyme. For one chicken you will need about 5 garlic cloves, 1-2 TBS diced rosemary, and 2 TBS fresh thyme (take leaves off the sticks). The herbs may be stuffed under the skin (on the breasts) and be sure to save a little to sprinkle on top of the skin.
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Labels:
apples,
chicken,
chicken in a clay pot,
clay pot,
dinner,
herbed clay pot chicken,
herbs,
potatoes,
recipes
Friday, October 17, 2008
October Ground Turkey, Squash & Lentil Soup: have dinner prepared for days!
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Ingredients:
rain
wind
cold house
hungry family
lots of fall vegetables
noodles or rice
Halloween quickly approaching
urge to have an easy dinner on hand for several days in a row (or lunch or breakfast)
You'll need:
4 1/2 quarts water
MEAT
1 pound ground turkey
1-2 chickens (without meat, leftover from another meal, you can freeze the bones and use them later)
VEGETABLES
1/2 winter squash, peeled seeded and chopped small
5 carrots
3 celery
2 red onion
8 very small red and white potatoes (1"x 1" or so) or make up for bigger size by using fewer
2 head broccoli: chop stems and separate from heads
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
5 cloves garlic
LEGUMES:
3 cups of the small pink lentils
HERBS:
sprig of rosemary, thyme, and two bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste (or soy sauce)
I separate ingredients by how long they take to cook so start by cooking the chicken carcasses for 2-4 hours in a 5 quart soup pan with 4 quarts of water. Cook it on low heat so that it is simmering slowly. Add sprig of Rosemary, thyme, salt and two bay leaves. Cook until 1- 1 1/2 hours before dinner, then strain out bones and add below ingredients (chopped to approx the same size):
squash
onion
carrot
celery
lentils
potatoes
broccoli stems (save the tree tops for later)
Cook above ingredients until soft then add (approx 15 mins before din din). Also, if you are cooking noodles, begin now. Noodles are a great addition to this meal!
broccoli heads (chopped small)
mushrooms (sliced)
garlic, pressed or thinly chopped
ground turkey, formed into small balls
Cook at a simmer for 15-20 minutes, or unitl ingredients are tender, and in the case of the turkey, cooked all the way through!
Allow time for the soup to cool before serving.
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The noodles were a hit for both kids, as was the soup!
Labels:
baby food,
breakfast,
dinner,
ground turkey,
kid food,
lentils,
lunch,
mr. mobley tanhini sauce,
noodles,
october,
recipe,
soup,
winter squash
Thursday, October 16, 2008
The Miracle Kitten: a starving stray kitten comes to life with lots of love, heat, and kitten formula
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Look at those eyes! (above) The kitten's eyes looked so strange until recently: pain, lack of connection to reality, like it left its body . . .
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There must be something about having so many cats at our farm that just drew this kitten in. . . we have a litter of kittens right now and a few cats from a previous litter, so we have 10 cats right now! The litter and their mom are living in the barn. We plan to keep a few as barn & mousing cats.
After a long, exciting and stimulating morning with friends riding the new ponies and a few emotional break downs from so much activity, I was happy to sit in my fav chair and relax watching the girls play with toys, hugging a cupo of coffee. The phone rings and I think, nah, too busy relaxing for a phone call, plus, I've had my share of socializing for the day!
It was my friend Ellie asking for advice as she'd found a stray kitten, looking very bad nearly on her doorstep. I was immediately at attention. I am always game to try to help a hurt animal. In this case we had kitten formula sitting around and I loaded that up, some mauka honey in case the kitten had injuries and some small animal bottles. Marina was very excitd and carried the "doctor" bag out to the car in anticipation.
When we arrived I was shocked to see how dead the kitten was looking! It was writhing to the touch, no eye contact, glassy eyes, barely breathing and COLD. I had Ellie get a heating pad and turn on her heat. We held the kitten wrapped in a towel by the heater and readied the bottle with formula and water.
The kitten wouldn't even open its mouth. Teeth clenched I had to drip the milk onto its teeth holding its limp head just so to get it to swallow. Fearing it wouldn' make it through the night I took the kitten home and within hours it was lapping milk from the bottle, turning its head from side to side, even standing up! As we speak, it is purring at being touched and looking lively. What a transformation! It was apparently starving to death, and the love and milk and heat revived it.
Labels:
ellie,
farm animals,
kittens,
stray cat,
stray kitten
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Whidbey Children's Theater, Martha Murphy's Preschool Class Performs the Jungle Book, Langley, WA
Martha Murphy puts on a wonderful theater class for 3 to 4 year olds (and older too). Marina has been in the class for the past 5 weeks. The session ended and another 4 week session begins next week, tuesday at 1 pm to 2 pm. Parents get to leave kids and get a cup of coffee ;) during class. I highly recommend this class! Checkout the Children's theater online at: http://www.whidbey.com/wct/. Martha is wonderful with the kids. She uses their input and includes them at their level while making everything fun, sticking to a theme, and stretching them to play new and interesting parts. At the end of the sessions, the kids put on a play for the parents.
Pictured below is the fall class' presentation of the Jungle Book
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The children show how they respond to Martha saying "pin drop": drop your heads and be still and quiet.
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Pictured below is the fall class' presentation of the Jungle Book
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The children show how they respond to Martha saying "pin drop": drop your heads and be still and quiet.
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Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Fun at the Pumkin Patch in October, Sherman Farm, Coupeville
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I think it is quite impressive how many kids are engaging with the camera at once (or at least nearly so). Notice Baby Stella is in a pumpkin cage ;)
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There was even a straw bale play area near the parking lot. We played a lot here, and took a lot of pictures.
Labels:
coupeville,
fresh produce,
october,
pumkin,
pumpkin patch,
Sherman farm
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The Bayview Farmers Market in October: A Lively Affair
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Fresh baby beets and beet greens. The beet greens are wonderful, they taste like spinach and are wonderful in soup, stir fry, or salad. Also try the greens baked in polenta!
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Mr. Mobley's soup and sauce! If you haven't tried the tahini sauce, it's a must. Great on rice, vegetables, salad, and more (or so I've heard). Check him out at: http://mrmobleys.wordpress.com/
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Labels:
art,
autumn,
bayview corner,
bayview farmer's market,
crafts,
fall,
farmer's market,
fresh produce,
fresh vegetables,
mobley,
Mr.Mobley,
october,
produce,
vendors
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