Saturday, February 18, 2012

Look what we made!!!

    Meet the newest addition to the Rusty Roof crew, Ozzie!!! So now you know, this is what has been distracting us for the last 9 months! He is amazing! Born with all the abilities necessary for infant survival, he is a talented boy. Now Husband and I have so much to learn about him and ourselves.

   Like how to execute the perfect swaddle.

Sleep on demand.

Even taking a walk is a new adventure! Here is proud Husband and Dad with our boy wrapped up in his Moby ( a baby carrying device ) walking the farm after a snowstorm that descended on Seattle just days after Ozzie was born. We called it the "Blizzard of Oz."


We couldn't have made it through those first weeks without the help of our family. My Mom cooked and presented us with this fantastic chicken dinner complete with a snow filled flower pot used to chill the champagne. She also picked and steamed some greens from our over-wintering kale and collard plants. It was such a balm to my overwhelmed body and spirit and we toasted our lovely baby and new outlook on our lives.


So, not to worry this will not become a baby centered blog! Although he will play a starring role we still have so much work to do in our yard and garden. There are still many projects that we are itching to do and times a wasting ( ok, so maybe there is no wasted time with a new baby ). But hey! It's February already and peas need to be planted and roses and fruit trees pruned!   


So stay tuned! I will leave you with this sweet video of Ozzie and Husband that just about melts my heart. Awwwww. 'Til next time!

Now we're cooking...With Gas!!



   Phew! It has been so long since we've posted I'm a little embarrassed. Sometimes life gets in the way of what you really want to be doing. We have been super busy, what can I say? Now that it is December most of our projects have been indoors. The most exciting to date is that we have officially upgraded to a gas stove.  It is hard to describe the elegance of cooking with a gas stove as opposed to electric. The one we got is no stainless steel Viking range with six burners and a convection oven. The stove we selected is probably older than Husband and I combined and is not exactly in pristine shape. But somehow it really fits in with our kitchen. That may be because our kitchen desperately needs a remodel but all in good time ( 10+ years probably ). 
   I must say Husband really did a bang up job installing this antiquated appliance. It is a testament to his energy and willingness to try new tasks that we now have a working gas stove and the house didn't blow up. It took about two or three trips to the hardware store ( what home improvement project doesn't ), a chance meeting with an electrician neighbor who is generous with his knowledge, and some finger crossing, but he did it! And as I baked him a big ole batch of his favorite cookies today I thought how lucky I am. Sheesh! What a sap! But it's true. Thanks Hubby. 


  These are what's left of the potatoes we harvested from our bin. I'm not ready to say the bin was a success. We only got about 5 or 6 pounds of potatoes and it feels like we could have done better. We speculate that we didn't water enough or perhaps didn't cover them quite correctly as they grew taller inside the bin. Who knows? We'll try again next year! 


   It was nice to have the potatoes to mash for Thanksgiving though. Husband took on the cooking duties this year and here's a nice pic of the proud chef with his first bird! 


   Another big project of the fall was doing something with the giant box of Honeycrisp apples Grandma Gwen laid on us during her visit to Seattle from Spokane. That box was daunting but what easier thing to make apples into than applesauce! But then there was so much applesauce I had to go farther and make it into apple butter. I pulled out the Crock Pot, scoured the interwebs for a good recipe and made us some deeelicious cinnamon-y, thick and gooey apple butter! It has been so nice to spread on my morning toast with butter and a sprinkle of Brewer's yeast. Plus, since I didn't get a chance to make jam this year, we have been using it for peanut butter sandwiches. So so good!