Crocheting

I'm starting on a baby blanket.  This yarn is superwash wool, called Gandalf the Gray!

Three clumps of rhubarb growing well.  Each had a flowering stalk growing out of the middle, which I plucked off, so the most delicious part of the plant can grow.  I made several batches of rhubarb sauce and then a friend gave us fresh locally grown strawberries, which I added to my most recent batch.

We also have strawberry plants in our garden, but no ripe fruit yet.

This is some our favorite cheese, Guggisberg baby swiss.

We wrapped up 1st grade with one child.  Below, are the watercolor paintings the students made before doing a fresco, where they used powdered pigments from Italy to make paint and applied it to the damp plaster:

My sister and her family came to visit last week and we had a memorial service at my father's grave.  It's been 8 years now since he passed away.  

Baby

A week ago, I had the ultrasound done and was so amazed at all that could be seen on our baby!  The photo below shows the baby's nose and 2 nostrils with mouth open!!  Isn't that neat?  Baby is measuring in the 93 percentile for growth.

I got my very first KitchenAid mixer!  Our cow has been producing more milk since we moved her our to pasture.  We get about 2 gallons every morning AND evening.  I use the ladle to skim off the top inch or 2 of cream and put it in the bowl to make whipped cream.

I also tried to make butter, unsuccessfully.  I'll give it a try again.

Two eager helpers!  I scooped the cream on the top of my matcha latte I made.  

Our two old apple trees are blooming.  We got 9 new apple trees that we ordered from Fedco in Maine.  

Hope you have a great week!

Big news

Most weekends we attend church services at the monastery near us.  The magnolia tree on the right is blooming now!  Friday evening and Saturday morning we went for the feast of St. George, namesday for one of our boys.

I forged in the drizzling rain, in the forest for ramps with our youngest on Wed. while our older son was in his church history and art class.  We chopped them up and cooked them with eggs.  I was going to make quiche, but even with scrambled eggs, a delightful flavorful addition. 

So, what are the children doing in their class?  They did printmaking, carved out several designs and printed them.  They just finished making a Liturgy book.  It's the 3rd book they've bound in that class. First, was one about the Kursk Root icon, then a compilation of all the students prints, then the Divine Liturgy. This time they also marbled paper to put in their Liturgy book, inside the front cover.  Next, they will be making frescoes in plaster.

We now have 10 spring lambs!  The oldest two are a month old now, several in between and one was born just 5 days ago.

I just ordered my 1st ever Kitchenaid mixer!  I would've gotten a sky blue one, but Costco has only red or silver and it costs less in the end ($299).  I chose red.  If you have any recipes you use yours for, please share.  I plan to make whipped cream, butter, brownies and bread... I'm considering the ice cream maker ($99) that's sold separately.  We have a lot of milk, from our dairy cow, so I think it would be used enough to make it worthwhile.  When our fresh milk sits, the cream separates and sits on top and so I can ladle it out to use for something special.  Most often, we shake it up and drink it as is.  

The big news is that I'm expecting!  Our oldest daughter is 21, in Oregon, then our 19 year old is in Ohio.  I miss seeing them on a regular basis, but we had a wonderful and quick visit with them in January.  I hope they will be able to come to New York when, or shortly after the new baby arrives.  As much as I liked having a homebirth, this time we live further from a hospital, if there's an emergency mid-labor, and I'm much older, so we'll have a midwife and hospital birth.  Please pray for me.  I have an ultrasound this Wed.