Family Day!

Jeffrey, Ellie and I were all over the place today!  Lots of playing, some shopping, some visiting with friends, and lots of down time!

At Miss Amy's shop, Bella Bellies

Of course she's reading the book about animals!

Daddy dragged EG around like this for what seemed like hours!

Reading her Horse Breeds book

I managed to bottle my Red Cabbage Kimchi (yes, I know they normally use napa cabbage), oil my butcher block (I picked up the mineral oil while we were out shopping), dry pumpkin seeds to hull for pepitas, start a bottle of Spiced Pumpkin Vodka, roast a pumpkin and puree it for making pumpkin pie or bread, AND make a delicious dinner of Chicken with Pumpkin-Seed (Pepita) Mole! 

Red Cabbage "Kimchi"

Before oiling...

...after oiling

Drying pumpkin seeds after removing all the pulp

Pumpkin vodka ready to sit for a few months!

Ready to roast in the oven for pumpkin puree

Chicken with Pepita Mole sauce

Having recently decided that football games would be watched only after EG went to sleep, Jeffrey was really exceptionally helpful.  I think he had a taste of what my life is like when he's gone, and I'm home alone.  It was nice to have him engaged and participating in everything.  I really, really, really am blessed with a wonderful husband...we've got a great partnership, that's for sure!

RANDOM PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Uneventful is Good.

Today is done, and I'm happy to report that it was pretty uneventful.  Jeffrey and I went with our realtor to check out a house that we have no interest in buying (or ability to, for that matter!), but wanted to see the interior of (I'm a house gawker - I love walking through houses!!!!).  One of my addictions is searching houses online and getting ideas and inspiration from them.  I'm always curious what's on the market for what price.  Back when Jeffrey and I started discussing moving from Los Angeles to Oregon, I spent most of my spare time online looking at RMLS listings.  I must have searched close to 2,000 homes online and driven by or walked through hundreds before we found Deer Park! Anyway, this house was definitely amazing; in fact, it reminded me of Madonna's Sunset Blvd. house in Beverly Hills.  I'm glad that Kathleen (our absolute favorite realtor) was willing to show us the house -- even though she knew we were just curious to see what a house like that looks like inside! Every tiny detail was finished impeccably, and the main level of the house was just stunning. Anyway, it took ages to go through since it was huge, but I got lots of good ideas for when or if we ever remodel Deer Park!  Or maybe I can just find a big group of friends, and we can all go in on it -- I think there'd be room for everyone in the 9,999 sq. ft.! It could be a commune!!!! Who's in?

It felt like we were in the Hamptons 

The rest of the day Jeffrey took charge of Ellie, and I was able to concentrate on making the last batch of quince jelly.  I must say, I love the floral aroma of quince.  It's powerful, but so unique and fruity and fresh!

This time I didn't spill the juice, so I got 12 jars from the batch

Dr. Fisher called in the afternoon to check on Boots and Dr. Frank.  Boots is definitely still sore, but is no longer sprinkling through the house as he runs outside to pee.  Frank actually looked quite good today - there was hardly any swelling in his hind end, and while he didn't eat much of the grass hay, he just looks better.  Gabby came and gave both the boys a long hand walk for me, and then to balance out the kindness she showed yesterday, let Frank roll in the mud.  Let's make this clear: the MUD!  We're not talking about damp ground or wet sand or grassy area with a little mud. No. We're talking the real thing - sticky, dirty, wet M-U-D.  In her defense, she said he was begging her, and she felt sorry for him!  I can't blame her; he did seem rather happy when I went over to give him his dinner. So, what the heck, we're not going to Thermal next week!

Dinner tonight was Fettucini with Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce and Chicken and Apple Sausages.  It really was delicious.  We have so many butternut squashes, that I think I'll be revisiting all my old squash recipes over the course of the next few months; I had forgotten how yummy this recipe is.  The Butternut Squash soup that I learned how to make from Madonna's chef Mayumi, though, is my favorite and I always serve it for Thanksgiving - which is only a few weeks away! Wow! Seriously, less than 3 weeks!!!! That's NUTS - I guess I know what I'll be doing next week!

Jeffrey and I had hoped to have a Christmas party this year, but unfortunately, it doesn't look like that's going to happen.  There's just too much going on, too close together!

After dinner, Jeffrey took EG to her bath, and I cleaned up the kitchen.  It felt like I had been in there forever, and I was happy to spend sometime with my little munchkin before she went off to sleep.  We played the piano, played with Boots, threw a few fits because we were having issues communicating, and then just crashed.

sooooooo tired!

Hanging with daddy

Giggling at the dogs

Trying to put Jax's collar on

Boots with Alien eyes

Tomorrow I'm hoping to start some pumpkin vodka (the report from Renee is that last year's is finally ready and delicious), and quite possibly make some banana bread to freeze for the holidays.  I'll definitely be roasting the leftover pumpkin for pumpkin pies, bread and cookies.  I'll be needing roasted pumpkin seeds for my yummy Chicken with Pepita Mole - which I'm hoping to make for dinner  tomorrow!  I love that I most of the ingredients for that dish, I've grown here at Deer Park.

You know what else I love? I love that it's late enough to hit the hay! Goodnight!

RANDOM PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Angel Friends

While exhaustion is knocking on my door tonight, I still feel the need to post at least a short note about today.  At about 1:30 this afternoon, I thought I was "done."  I was ready to give the horses away or let them loose on Barb Ellison's property up the road (seriously, her horses live better than the average American!).  I was ready to take Dr. Fisher up on his offer to take the dogs.  I was just ready for something to go right!

I managed to motivate to go pick up a few bales of grass hay for the Frankster to try, and on my way there, called and made an appointment for Boots to see the vet.  The little turd was having issues with his pee-pee, and wouldn't let anyone touch his back. In the past, those symptoms indicated a bladder infection or kidney stone.  When Aimee answered the phone, I just about burst into tears. 

"How's your horse?" she asked politely.

"He's fine - today it's my f'ing dog!!!"

Silence. It was obvious that she was telling whoever else was at the desk that it was me on the phone.

"Oh MAN, Melissa. Ok, we'll get you in."

When I walked into the office later in the afternoon, everyone who saw me just looked at me with those eyes that either said, "Lady, you're NEUROTIC" or "You poor thing!!!"

I had to fight back tears when Dr. Fisher walked into the exam room.  I think he sensed that, because he was exceptionally kind.  After examining Boots, testing his urine, and poking him sufficiently, he decided that Mr. Dingleberry (as he calls Boots) must have been nailed by one of the horses.  Thinking back, I remember Boots howling at Frank yesterday; I had just assumed Boots was being his usual dominating self, but now, I'm pretty sure Frank had whacked him.  

Of course, I couldn't be with the vet and not discuss Dr. Frank.  We again discussed all the different possible issues, and came up with a few ideas, but nothing solid yet.  We're putting him on Probiotics for a while to see if that will help.  The fecal and urine tests should be back from OSU tomorrow, at which point we may know more.  There's a slight chance that it's simply an allergy...let's hope.

When I got back to Deer Park, I headed over to the barn to drop off the probiotics in the feed shed and check on the boys.  As I rounded the corner and looked into the field in front of their stalls, I about fell over.  There in the middle of the area I usually ride in was a round pen -- all assembled!  I had known that Gabby was going to come out to exercise Avdou for me, and remembered that she had mentioned that her old round pen was leaning up against her barn. But I never in a million years would have imagined that she would go through the effort of loading her truck, unloading her truck, and then setting it all up without even a mention.  I nearly burst into tears.

There are moments when I realize that the hard times that I'm going through are really part of a bigger picture.  It's so easy to get stuck with the stress that overrides my daily tasks, losing sight of all else.  Gabby reminded me of that today with her kindness.  I needed that gesture of warmth, of care, of encouragement - and it was tangible.  That round pen means more than just a place to exercise the horses; it brought strength back to me somehow.  It reminded me that while I'm challenged by the circumstances in my life, there are people who ARE genuinely understanding, who are also willing to stretch themselves, to feel and sympathize with others, to extend a helping hand - and without even being asked.  Thank you, Gabby, for having a heart of gold.  Thanks to all of you who have offered encouragement throughout the last few weeks!  I really am blessed to have you all in my life!

the miraculous round pen

Aside from my time with the horses, dogs, vet, and hay, I was able to start another round of quince jelly, as well as decorate the living room for Thanksgiving.  It feels good to have that crossed off my list of things to do and to have the bounty of fall right in my living room!  Jeffrey was so complimentary of the sideboard arrangement.  He kept saying, "In LA, that would be like $500!!!" I love that he appreciates weeds that I bring in from outside!

Straining the quince to make juice for the jelly

The fireplace

The sideboard - the arrangement is all from our garden!

While I was busy adjusting leaves and wheat, Ellie decided to help me out by giving Boots his exercise (with her pajama cape, of course)!  It really was precious to see the two of them - even when they weren't in agreement on where they would go next!

Jax wanted in on the fun!

THIS WAY!

Jeffrey returned home tonight - I'm thrilled!  It's a good start to what I'm hoping will be a fantastic weekend!

RANDOM PHOTOS OF THE DAY

Blowing bubbles all by herself!

Yovani had the day off from school today, so she had a playmate!

Friends, Family, and Furry Friends

There seems to be a direct relationship between the level of stress in my life and the amount of time I spend in the kitchen each day.  Looking at my To Do list this morning, I realized that I had carried one item from one list to the next for weeks: "Lemon-Sage Wine Mustard." Yeah. I've been talking about making and canning the mustard for over a month now, and today I decided it had been put off long enough.  As I started prepping the ingredients, I happened upon 9 lbs. of tomatillos that had gone undiscovered in the crisper.  One more week and they'd be more suited for the compost pile than for eating, so suddenly the mustard seemed to once again be less of a priority.  Out came the cutting board, and I got down to business cooking the tomatillos for freezing (they need to be cooked before they're frozen!).  Of course, while taking the first batch of tomatillos out to the freezer, I noticed 2 heads of cabbage. OH MAN! Those would be bad by tomorrow or the day after, and I can't stand the thought of losing any of the produce that I have left, plus, Ed (Mom's husband) LOVES my pickled cabbage.  So the mustard got bumped again.

By the time my friend Amy showed up to visit, I was in the middle of cooking tomatillos, pickling cabbage, and soaking mustard seeds in wine.  The kitchen was a disaster, but Ellie Graye was in bed napping.  Having Amy there really helped me to relax and took my mind off Frankie.  I was so happy to have her sitting there, watching and chatting while I was working that everything took three times as long, but I really didn't care.  As I smelled my way through my adapted kimchi recipe, she reminded me, "Don't forget to write that down." If only I had stopped at the moment and done exactly that!  Far too frequently I use a recipe as a "base" and then add what my nose tells me to, but forget to write it down, so I have to figure it all out again the next time I make it.  Such is the case with this batch of cabbage -- I know I added ginger when the recipe didn't call for it, but there was something else I threw in there at the last minute that I just can't recall!

Starting the fermenting process

Despite having the distraction of Amy, I still managed to get everything done - and I enjoyed myself as I worked!  She cracks me up! As she was leaving she commented, "Wow. I just sat here and did nothing while you made...you made...MUSTARD!?!?!" I giggled, realizing how incredibly odd that sounded - and how much more odd that would have been when I was living in LA.  But somehow here at Deer Park it just has to be that way; my Hollywood life seems so distant!

It's sweet and yummy and unique!

After Amy left, I braved the wind and the rain, and went out to check on Frank who seems to be doing a lot better.  I've ordered new hay that I will pick up tomorrow (they'll give me 10 bales free since they want to keep my business, and are pretty sure their hay was dry when it was baled).  I'll super inspect it, and move on from there.  I'm feeling hopeful today about his prognosis; I'm not sure I have a reason to feel hopeful, but I definitely do.  

Ellie Graye was, as usual, non-stop.  She's constantly moving, constantly learning, and constantly full of energy!  She's got so much personality!  Her "thing" today revolved around her pajamas: yes, her pjs. She decided that she wanted to wear them like a cape - arms only, no feet!  It was a riot.  The entire day she wore her pjs like that, sometimes holding the feet in her hands, other times letting them drag behind her like a second set of legs.  It really was comical to see.

Whenever the phone rings, whether we're in the car or at home, Ellie's eyes light up and she says, "Papa!!!" or "DaDa!"  She loves talking to him on the phone.  She'll smile and say, "Hiiiiiiiiiiii" and then hug the phone or blow kisses.  I finally had the camera close by to capture some of the cuteness.  She's definitely daddy's little girl!

*note the dress under the pjs!

Ellie's Uncle Colin came by this evening to visit and catch up.  It's been quite a while since he and I have spent time alone together, so it was extremely nice to have him around to chat with.  Earlier in the day I had started bottling a few of the infused vodkas that have been brewing since June and July, so he did a taste testing of the Spiced Wild Plum and then the plain Wild Plum.  As usual with him, the Wild Plum won - he says the Spiced Plum tastes a bit like pie.  I made him chicken tikka masala, and served it with Trader Joe's Flatbread.  I hadn't had Indian food in ages, so I was happy to pull out the recipe and have a scrummy yummy dinner.  

Mommy MUST have been tired, because the TV was on!!!

Scrummy Yummy, Delicious!

Uncle Colin, Boots, Jax and EG played for ages, until Ellie hit that over-stimulated, over-tired mode, and took it out on Boots.  She's at that stage where she understands but is testing how firm my rules and boundries are.  She stopped just before hitting him a third time, looked at me, then BAM. She hit him.  So, off to bed it was!  

Boots is definitely having some health issues again.  He's extremely guarded with his kidney area, and is acting a bit out of sorts.  He's needy and cranky, and just isn't his usual bubbly self.  If he's still not feeling well in the morning, I'll have to consider taking him in.  Ugh. My animal situation is ridiculous!

Ok. I feel sleep coming on - I'm not even going to bother editing...  

The struggles of life make the good times all that much more enjoyable, right??? :-) 

RANDOM PHOTOS OF THE DAY