Bob's Red Mill

If you're looking for a new breakfast spot, Anneke and Erin would probably recommend Bob's Red Mill. We went last month with Erin and her dad (I'm a little slow on the uploading), and everyone agreed it's delicious and pretty cheap. It looks really crowded when you get there, but there are plenty of tables. Plus you can load up on all the bulk beans and grains you can handle afterwards. Two thumbs up!

ONE YEAR OLD!

Happy birthday, our beautiful girl. We love you so much, words don't describe it.

(warning: slideshow is looooong. May test the endurance of all but the most doting grandparents.)

Defeat

Please pray/send lovingkindness/tumor-fightin' words to Zoe Goss and her family, who all hail from my hometown. Zoe is five and has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Neuroblastoma. Her mom wrote on their webpage that when they start to feel down they chant, "defeat!" Defeat, indeed.

I'm sitting at the keyboard not knowing what else to write. Just please keep them in your thoughts and/or prayers as they fight this battle.

Happy Birthday 2009, Emma!

Faithful readers may remember reading about Emma's birthday last year, when I was great with child and relieved that our baby and Emma would not share the same birthday. I was bummed that day because I missed out on her celebratory cross-country skiing adventure, so this year I was determined not to miss it. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating, so we opted for a rainy hike through the Gorge, instead. The hike was beautiful but treacherous, with downed trees blocking the trail the whole way. There were three creek-crossings/fordings! Little baby S rode contentedly in the backpack and was a trouper almost the whole way. I must say I would have been an absolute nervous wreck had Anneke been in tow, but S's family is TOUGH and muscled/muddled through to the end. Baby S's mom treated us to cupcakes at the end. Next year we'll go skiing, Emma! But this year I still had a great time.

Amateur celebrity chefs

Caroline and I signed up to review a cookbook with the Oregonian. A few weeks ago we received an email notifying us that our turn to do a cookbook review had come up. We were both very excited about it, and we formulated grandiose ideas of becoming regular amateur cookbook reviewers. Our stick would be cooking with the baby and bickering back and forth about the right way to dice onions and the like.

Well after a few sessions of bickering, we came up with the following video of one of our test recipes from the book we reviewed. You can be the judge if we are destined for the Food Network, or maybe just a lowly, unwatched, video podcast.

Belated happy birthday to me

Oops, it's past midnight, so no longer my birthday. But I had a good one. Can I just say I got 63 facebook birthday wishes from friends from every walk of my life? I know most of these folks don't think about me very much in their day-to-day lives, and that's why it meant even more that they took the time to wish me happy birthday. I'm definitely going to return the favor from now on.

I spent my birthday with Anneke and then Dave feeling very grateful. It was Ash Wednesday, and I didn't make it to church for the service (okay, because I went out for a very un-Lenten meal. it was Fat Wednesday). But I have figured out my Lenten discipline, and besides that I know I don't take any of my blessings for granted. That's a blessing in itself.

I think an additional Lenten discipline needs to be sending out birthday cards--that will be much more enjoyable than giving up ice cream or cussing.

The child care puzzle

Hey,friends in Portland with kids!

So I'm looking for daycare for our little munchkin--20-24 hours a week. I've found some good information and referral sources, but wanted to put this question out there: what do you know about day care in this city, particularly on the East side? Any recommendations? I'm especially curious about in-home/family-based daycare, as I feel like I've done what I can with wait lists, etc. at actual day care centers.

If you have thoughts please email them to me rather than posting comments to protect our privacy, etc.