Un año

Today Lydia is one year old!
We had a few little friends over for grapes and teething biscuits this afternoon. The grandparents came over for dinner and pumpkin pie this evening. Lydia was clueless and curious about the events.
At one, she is a very mellow little girl, especially in comparison to her sister. Her eyes are still gray and her hair a bit lighter than is the norm for our family.
She loves crawling up on the little trampoline and bouncing there. She also loves our kitten, Rosie. In fact, "Rosie" was her first word. She's not walking yet but feels comfortable pulling herself up on most objects that can support her.
She points a lot and claps at anything that delights her. She enjoys crawling around the garden and getting filthy. Baths with her sister are great fun too.
She's been eating a lot more solid food these past few weeks, and sleeps soundly through the night - although 5:30 seems to be her average waking time. Yikes!
She is a dear heart.
We love her inexplicably.
She is amazing.
Feliz Cumpleaños Lydia Grace

Burn Baby Burn

Holy Mole.
Pain burning PAIN.
Don't ever prepare anything with spicy chiles without gloves on.
I cut up some chiles 5 1/2 hours ago - 4 IBprofens, 6 different topical remedies and a whole lot of tears and swearing later, I am still unsure if I will get any relief/sleep tonight.
Ay ay ay.... canta no llores

Autumn Warmth

I've learned not to ask "What did you do at school today?" Last year I asked that question of Sahara often and gained little insight into her mornings at preschool.
This year, she goes to kindergarten Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. I pick her up when I am done teaching. We each eat a snack on the ride to pick up Lydia and I listen. Some days she sings, asks questions about this or that, other days she sits quietly munching an apple or some walnuts. Occasionally she lets me in on some of the drama of a kindergartener's morning.
-"Omani cried today Mama. Did you see Omani crying?
- "Misha is my friend. I love Misha."
Today was - "I am so patiently waiting to do the lotion but I have to wait a long time for my turn."
On Tuesday she only spoke one sentence to me on the ride back.

"Today we gathered all of the warmth of the sun into our hearts."

Ahhhh . . .

Heirloom

From Merriam Webster-

Main Entry:

heir·loom

Pronunciation:

\ˈer-ˌlüm\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English heirlome, from heir + lome-implement

Date:

15th century

I harvested the remainder of our heirloom tomatoes knowing the rain was to return today.

Flavor wise our favorite is the Copia.

Next comes the German Green Stripe:

We started some from seed, were given some by a neighbor, and purchased a few from Ruby and Amber's Organic Oasis, as well as at the Mt. Pisgah spring plant sale. We have reason to believe that some of those were labeled incorrectly. Hmmm...

And then there are the ones we didn't get to in time.

On a roll

Most afternoons, after nap/rest time, we head down the street for some picking.
I picked up these roller skates at a recent garage sale for $4. With a pair of thick socks they fit well.


I use Lydia in the stroller as my crutch. Sahara hops on her Skuut and we roll on down to the grape wall.


From afar, even up close, you wouldn't notice that these vines are covered with sweet grapes. Hundreds of pounds of them. Nobody, except for a few neighbors in the know, harvests them. The property on the west side is vacant and the house to the east in a rental. I knocked on their door last summer, as new tenants had recently moved in, to ask permission. The young gal looked at me like I was a strange old lady who was just a bit too friendly. Then she saw Sahara and smiled with approval. Amazing what having a kid around can do for you.


If you've been around, you may remember we picked great bunches last summer and pressed them into juice. This year we just pick small bundles that we slowly savor on our ride back home.
FYI - roller skating, while pushing a baby in a stroller, while keeping an eye on a riding 4 year old, while eating grapes puts one at high risk for mishaps. I have some bruises and a scraped up knee to prove it.