35 weeks and garden update
35 weeks now. Only about a month to go until we meet this new little person! I can’t believe how fast it’s all gone by this time. At the same time it doesn’t surprise me. We’ve become a busy bunch this year- expanding the garden, fixing up the house (slowly but surely), philosophizing our heads off (we can’t seem to help ourselves these days), spending time with family and friends, all of course while taking care of Vera… I’m glad though- it’s kept me active and happy for the most part, and I feel really good for being almost done cooking this baby. Last time I felt good, but not this good. I was much more rickety and it was harder to move at this point with Vera. Makes me wonder if I have a smaller baby this time or if I’m just stronger. I’ve still got 5 weeks to go, so I’ll just focus on staying happy and comfortable. I am glad to have a pretty open schedule from here on out. I’m off-call now, although I still have a postpartum visit or two, and I’m done watching my niece this week. Open open open. I love the miscellaneous work that I do, but I’m definitely ready to nest and just focus on my stuff for a few weeks. This house is a complete pit, too, so I’m going to get my sister’s help and I’ll get this place whipped into shape in no time. Feeling nostalgic, I found this entry I wrote when I was just as far along with Vera. Fun.
Spring weather is kind of amazing. I can’t believe the amount of growth from some of these plants. All this rain mixed with heat… our potato plants have basically exploded, and we’ve had to build up two more panels already.
Green everywhere! This weekend we’ll put up our trellises, mulch the walkways, and get our chickens. So excited. Until then I’ve got a lot of weeding and thinning to do (it’s meditative… right?), and I want to put straw down into the beds- we’ve had some scorching hot days and I want to keep things well mulched.
Our baby cherry tree! It produces the sweetest little mini cherries. I’ve got to do something with them soon before all the critters find out about them. Any ideas? Tonight we’re going strawberry picking again after Jeff gets home from work… probably in the rain, but I don’t mind. Ending a long day with a fresh bowl of strawberries and milk is one of my favorite things right now. I’m also reading some fiction finally, so I’m a happy girl.
This weekend we gave our tv and the tv unit that Jeff made (his first piece of furniture!) to our friend who lives downstairs. It feels a little weird, actually, but both of us are happy that we did it. We ended up just trading him for his little tv, which we’ll just hook up for special stuff- I want Vera to be able to pop in a video for a sleepover or something in the future, and I like to use it to work out sometimes. That kind of thing doesn’t bother me. I realize that it’s not the having of the tv that bothers me, it’s the routine use of it, and mostly how crazy I think it makes kids (I remember myself freaking out over my mom turning the thing off). I just really want it to be a treat, and Vera is so much less emotionally stable after watching- and so are all the other kids that come over here. It’s hard to not use it all the time when we have it, so I’m just going to keep it in a corner or a closet and we’ll have to hook it up to use it. Or I might keep it all hooked up, but then make a cool fabric cover for everything so the kids don’t even notice it. Vera has asked about it but I just tell her we said goodbye to it and she finds something else to do. I think in a couple of weeks we won’t even notice. I’m looking forward to doing more interactive stuff with Jeff at night, too.
Oh yeah, and the thrifting fairies? They are looking out for us, I swear! Jeff and I were telling my little sister about how when we want something we can just throw it out into the universe and it ends up coming to us. It’s been kind of weird, actually. Plus, when we buy something thinking we couldn’t find it, we learn our lesson by seeing the opportunity just days later. Well, we were sitting around flipping through my dad’s Lehman’s catalogue (I drool over that stuff), and I was admiring the pasta maker. Jeff laughed and said that we had one a few years ago from a garage sale, but it was missing a part and we never used it (clearly, because I don’t remember it at all), and we got rid of it. I said that now I wanted one, and Jeff and I both said "Universe! Pasta maker!"- as has become our custom when we see some gadget or something that we want. That was last week. Yesterday we were at Jeff’s parent’s house, and his dad said "Do you guys have any interest in making pasta?" We both burst out laughing.
Thanks universe! I called my little sister on the way home and said "Guess what the universe just gave us?" and she was like "What… a pasta maker?" Haha. So she’s coming over tomorrow night for some homemade pasta. Love.
I’m excited about this, because we’ve pretty much cut out all the refined grain products in our diets. We have treats here and there, but mostly we stick to whole, soaked grains and sourdough stuff. But pasta is delicious. So, I’m thinking I’ll make our own pasta out of sprouted flour… plus I’ve heard it’s super easy to make and there’s nothing like fresh pasta. Yay! Plus, see the ravioli maker? I’m planning on making some homemade ravioli and pierogies to freeze for easy postpartum meals… So happy.
That’s all. Today I’m doing sourdoughy things, playing with Vera, trying to get this place back in some kind of order, crafting a little, strawberry picking later, and then reading my book. Bliss, I tell you.
*Also, I wanted to mention that I know I haven’t been commenting as much lately- I’ve been all over the place. But I’m still reading and interested- I’ll do better soon. 🙂
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I’ll be interested in hearing how it goes with the ravioli attachment, and if you figure out any tricks. I found that any moisture at all in the filling made the dough tear. I’ve been planning to try a few more recipes, but haven’t gotten around to it. It would be great to figure out some good recipes that work with that thing, so we could make a few large batches for the freezer.
Let us know how it goes with making the dough with sprouted flour.
I’ll definitely update about my pasta adventures! I hope the ravioli works! I wonder if you chilled your filling first… I dunno.
Yup, it was chilled. One was a mushroom filling, and another had wilted chard and cheese. I’ve used both recipes with hand made ravioli, but it was just enough moisture to dampen the dough so it tore instead of pulling through the machine.
I think I’ll break it back out and try making a batch with a dry meat and cheese filling instead.
you look gorgeous 🙂
So sweet! Thanks for the boost- at 8 months along sometimes I feel a little out of my element. 🙂
aw, grace, you’re so beautiful! pregnancy definitely agrees with you, i can’t wait to see this new little one!
Thank you! You are so sweet. I realized that you and I are both counting down to around the same time. You with your wedding and me with this baby. It’s going to be a beautiful summer. 🙂
What a beautiful baby belly! 🙂 I’m glad you’re feeling good and not overwhelmed.
Pasta maker: can’t wait to hear more about that!
Thank you! I will definitely post about my pasta endeavors. Are you guys making anything fun these days?
Your garden has really gotten green! Wow! It looks wonderful! Speaking of looking wonderful, you look sooo beautiful!! I can’t believe you are already 35 weeks, how did that seem to happen so quickly??
I know- it happens overnight, literally! Green everywhere! And me at 35 weeks already… maybe that’s just how life works- blossoming overnight. 🙂
5 more weeks!!YAY that’s awesome! when it’s time to take in most of your garden will you already have the baby? Will it be a lot for you? do you have help?
And you- down to just a few hours! I know I’ll just blink and be right where you are.
Yep, the baby will be a about 2 months when I’m doing the bulk of the work. It’ll definitely be an adventure, but I’m going to ask for lots of help and my friends and I will have canning parties. 🙂 I also plan to wear baby on my back a lot.
well it’s good that you’ll have help and some recovery time!
these “hours” are tedious! I am very excited. I hope you post about baby wearing! I am very interested this will be my first baby wearing experience.BTW You look amazing!
Lovely baby belly:)
I’m curious to hear of your pasta-making adventures! My mom gave me her pasta maker a couple of years ago, and I’ve never tried it, but I’ve been thinking about it lately.
Your garden looks great, and yum, cherries!
I love how we can experiment on these things together! If you find any good recipes definitely share them. Also, keep me posted on your sourdough progress. I’m still trying to get it right…
I’m enjoying it, too:)
I have to get Kris to bring it down from my dad’s, and try it out…I’ll let you know how it goes!
My latest sourdough try tastes yummy, but just didn’t rise. I’m still not sure what I’m doing wrong, or maybe my starter isn’t active enough? Does yours double in size?
Yeah, mine seems to need developing still. Mine is a bit flat, almost always. I’m going to try rising it in a homemade banneton: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/5030/home-made-bannetons I never knew they existed, but I’ll give it a shot and hope it turns out better. 🙂
Hmmm, maybe I’ll give it a try…or maybe I’ll wait and see how yours turns out first;P
Is the starter supposed to get better with age, or is it mostly all about technique?
You look simply stunning. 🙂 I read Vera’s birth story the other day, by the way, and I forgot to comment on it, because the comment that was forming in my mind was more of an entry for my journal all on its own, lol. I’m thinking of you and wishing you a happy, healthy birth with your brand new little one!
The pasta maker sounds like fun!
Thank you so much! What sweet words and wishes. Did you write the entry you’re talking about? I’ll have to go flip through your journal. 🙂
Nope, I haven’t had time yet! 🙁
Part of it involved sort of a recap of my own birth experience, which I wrote about here. I will warn you before you click, though, that Delilah was born by planned (but not scheduled) C-section due some complications and breech presentation. (I couldn’t find a local provider who would attempt a vaginal delivery of a breech baby.)
Just warning in case you’d prefer not to read that sort of thing at the moment. (I know I didn’t like reading about interventive/surgical births toward the end of my pregnancy, until it was pretty certain I’d be having one.)
I did want to say, though, that yours was the first birth story I’ve read that included a transfer to hospital AND a transfer back home, and it was AWESOME to read that! 🙂
I really enjoyed reading that! Thanks for the warning, but for some reason it doesn’t bother me much to read about that stuff anymore (aside from just being mad about someone being treated badly or bullied, etc.). I wonder if it would be different if I were going to a hospital, but I guess I don’t fear interventions unless I really need them. Plus, your story sounds like most everyone was really good with you and your plans- so nice to read a “good” c-section story. Your baby is just delicious, too. 🙂
I’m looking forward to reading your upcoming post.
Let me just get my turn to tell you how beautiful you are.
Aw, I feel your love. 🙂
You look so beautiful! 😀
Your garden looks amazing. Good job!
That’s great that the universe is listening. I’ve never considered making my own pasta before. Sounds like fun! 🙂
Don’t worry about commenting on my journal. I know you are busy busy busy.
No…I cannot pee soup. (lol!)
Haha you get the joke. 🙂
Well, I will try to comment more often, but just know that even when I don’t I’m loving your thoughts and pictures lately!