Tuesday, November 25, 2008

It's okay, Grandpa!


Grandpa Reichenberger went under the knife last Monday. In his right hip a calcification had gotten so big that it was pushing his leg out of socket. Ouch! He now has a new hip and is on the road to recovery. This past weekend we all went down to the beach to give Grandpa our love and support.

Cousin George

We are expecting an extra special treat this holiday. My cousin Christie is due to give birth to baby George on Dec 27. Just the other weekend, the Cordell side of the family all gathered to shower Chris with love and baby things. Now all we need is the baby!

Chris and her nieces are cutting the cake. Rachel (the youngest of the nieces) is checking out Lily and getting excited for her new cousin.

Seattle Children's Museum


A couple weeks ago I loaded Lily up in her brand new stroller and took her for a nice long walk down to the Seattle Children's Museum. We met up with Kristie, one of my oldest friends, and Zoe, her daughter, who were accompanied by Denise, Kristie's mom, and Shy, Kris's niece. The high points were the Mr. Potato Head exhibit, the Whole Foods shopping center, the water table, and... Who am I kidding? It was all great. Lily watched as Zoe and Shy ran all over and experienced all the centers. Some day she, too, will be running around with her big friends.

Signs of the Season

Over the past couple weeks the most wonderful thing has started to happen. As we wander down the streets, I keep noticing little signs of the season: Christmas trees for sale, twinkle lights outlining windows and filling trees of homes and and businesses in our neighborhood. We city folk aren't the only ones jumping on the holiday bandwagon a little early. I noticed a tree already decorated in a home down the street from my parents'. The "sign" that started the wave of holiday cheer for me was one that I have looked forward to every year that we've been in our little nest here on the hill. It's one that we can see from any of our west facing windows. Here's the view from the kitchen...

It isn't the clouds and all their texture. It isn't the ferry boats crisscrossing the water. It isn't even the Space Needle! It's that big yellow sign on the side of the theater pronouncing that it is officially time to get your tickets to see the Nutcracker! Can you see it in the view from our window? It's right there on the right side of the picture. Here it is a bit bigger...

I have the most wonderful memories of going to see this as a kid. Before Maurice Sendak created the current scenery, the King Rat was actually played by a dancer who did this fabulous dance just as he was dying. It involved his feet and arms repeatedly shooting up in the air and falling down as he lay on his back. Not that it isn't wonderful now, because it most certainly is! In a couple years we'll have to take Lily so she can start building her own memories of Sugar Plum Fairies and a magical Christmas.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Could we please take her picture?


That is exactly what they told me today as I was hunting down a diaper pail at Babies R Us (or as my mom likes to call it...We B Babies). Who am I to deny a photographer the opportunity to catch Lily in her lens. I hadn't really dressed her for the occasion, but I couldn't say no to a free picture!

Just a touch late...


For those who have been asking... here is Lily's elephant picture from her 4 month birthday.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Hail to the Chief


On November 4 our little family put on our coats and stepped out into the rain to make our way to Trinity Lutheran Church, our local polling booth. Out of the doors poured smiling people all sporting I Voted stickers. This is the last time anyone in the state of Washington will have the opportunity to do their voting without dropping their ballots in the mail and people were pretty proud that they had been able to fill in their bubbles and feed their choices into the big black vote counting machine. Ah, the satisfaction of knowing your votes have been counted. Lily gave a pat to the dalmatian with the red, white, and blue bandana while Andy fed his votes into the box. We walked out the doors of the church with big satisfied smiles and stickers on our shirts. Ahhhh!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Halloween Ladybug



Click the new "Lily-Halloween" link under photo albums for more Bug pictures.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Delicious!

Every Tuesday Lily and I head over to Bertschi School to visit the pre-k class and visit with friends at the school. Before we turn the stroller around and head toward home, I go to the front porch of the Hooper House and load up our order of fresh local produce from Full Circle Farm. It's this great service that supports local farmers and fills our home with wonderful organic fruit and veggies. The drop off location is our school and it arrives every Tuesday with a list of what should be in the box and some new recipes to try. We tried this one last week. Yum!

Pear Custard Bars
Recipe from Simply in Season

1/3 cup butter (softened)
1/3 cup sugar
Cream together with an electric mixer.

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
Add and beat until combined.

2/3 cup nuts (chopped)
Stir in and press into an 8 x 8-inch baking pan. Bake in pre-heated oven at 350° F until lightly browned, 20 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

8 ounces cream cheese (softened) or 1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
In a mixing bowl cream beat cream cheese until smooth (no need to beet the yogurt). Mix in sugar, egg, and vanilla. Pour over crust.

3 cups fresh pears (peeled and sliced)
Arrange over filling.

1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Combine and sprinkle over pears. Bake in preheated oven at 350° F for 25 to 30 minutes. (Center will be soft and will become firmer upon cooling.) Cool for 45 minutes, then cover and refrigerate at least 45 minutes before cutting. Store in refrigerator.