We are grateful for all of the blessings and life lessons we were gifted with in 2007. Here are a few of the moments that stand out. Happy New Year to one and all!
Love,
Erica, Mike, Declan, and Quinlan
Quinny learned to walk.
We raised chickens.
Declan went fishing for the first time.
We said good-bye to Grandma and Grandpa’s dear kitty Stella.
We love and deeply miss our beloved Gumpa.
Poor Declan, he woke up with chicken pox on Christmas morning. Just covered with spots! Quinn’s was such a mild episode, but Declan got what the doctor called a “classic” case. He had a couple of rough days, but the worst of it seems to be behind him at this point and he should be on the mend soon.
We enjoyed a delightful Christmas morning here at home. Declan was thrilled to discover Santa’s note in response to the one he wrote the night before, as well as the empty snack plates. (We are LOVING this Santa stuff!) We opened up a few presents, then we got ready and headed over to Gemma and Papa’s house to celebrate the day along with Grandma and Grandpa. We ate a delicious feast, were spoiled with loads of gifts, and the kids did well, considering they weren’t feeling well.
We hope you all had a Merry Christmas!
Alright, so Declan’s note to Santa on Christmas Eve began, “All I want for Christmas is a laser helicopter…” Mike and I exchanged glances thinking, “Well, let the heartbreak begin!” because we didn’t get that for him. Santa’s note addressed this issue, saying something like “My elves tell me that the laser helicopter doesn’t handle very well, so I got you this (Nerf Dart Tag Set) instead….” Declan was so happy to get it! Here he is, striking a pose with Dad in their cool new garb.
I’m including this one because everyone’s always asking me where *I* am in the blog, but when my niece Kai started asking for me, well, let’s just say, here you are, Kai – this one’s for you!
Auntie Erica and Uncle Mike were surprised with special gifts from Declan and Quinn, via a thoughtful Gemma, and D took this picture of us opening them.
Quinn can’t decide if she’s terrified of this moving Santa decoration or not. She likes to stand sort of near it, well-attached to Papa, and makes him turn it on and off while she clings to his shoulder.
Quinny cleverly positions herself next to a loving Gemma, who will surely lend her granddaughter a hand if she needs help getting into MOMMY’S chocolates…
Patient Grandpa showing a VERY patient Declan the ropes on his new laptop-gaming toy.
Quinny teasing a laughing Grandma about giving her new teddy bear a kiss.
…D and Q made some batter
(photo followed by video link)
Download link
then chopped up some carrots
(Quinn ate some too, but no matter!).
D placed cookies and eggnog in the window with care
in hopes that Santa Claus and the reindeer
soon would be there.
The kids ended with a note for St. Nick
(they both love to write).
Wishes from us for a Merry Christmas to all…
and to all, a good night!
Our countdown to Christmas continues!
Declan’s first time on skis, on location at Our Driveway Mtn. Within minutes he was doing little jumps. That’s really no surprise, considering the fact that Mike and I such expert skiers…(yeah, right)
Some breakfast-time cookie decorating.
Working hard on this year’s gingerbread house.
Working hard on this year’s gingerbread house candy inventory reduction plan.
This week…..
Quinny got chicken pox! I turned 38! We got lots of snow!
Quinn seems to have a pretty mild case of the pox, hopefully she’s on the way out of it as I write this. The day of our doctor appointment I was scheduled to lead a group caroling at the local nursing home. I dressed Quinn in this gorgeous outfit in case she was cleared to go, which she wasn’t, since it’s highly contagious. Thanks for the holiday duds, Grandma!
I had a terrific birthday – Mike spoiled me with gifts (including the beautiful sweater I’m wearing below!), Declan drew me a picture and gave me a dollar (I think he wondered if I’d be as excited as he was when a friend mailed him a birthday card this summer with $1 or $2 in it!), and Quinny took an extra long nap. To close out the day, we enjoyed pizza and cake at Gemma and Papa’s house.
This week, we got around a foot+ of snow and the kids have had a blast playing in it. The chickens aren’t quite sure what to make of the white stuff. This morning when Mike went to open the coop after receiving an additional coating of sleet and freezing rain, he said he was pretty sure that the chickens said, “Yeah, right!” about going outside.
Getting the mail.
Making gingerbread cookies with buddy Norah.
Decorating experts!
So it’s been quite a week, an emotional roller coaster. I found out about each of these things within hours of each other on the same day, last Friday.
1. Pregnant friend killed in car accident, unborn baby lives
2. A friend received an Emmy award for his global warming PSA
3. A friend received NYSCA Composer Commission Grant
Details on each one listed below, for anyone interested.
1. My friend Katherine Mester was in a car accident a little over a week ago, 7.5 months pregnant. She was rushed to the hospital, they were able to save the baby but Katherine didn’t make it. The baby, Isabel Katherine, was in the neonatal ICU this week and now she’s home! I’m grieving the loss of my friend (we met when she was my Pilates teacher while I was pregnant with Quinn) but I’m really looking forward to meeting this little light when I visit the family this week.
2. My friend Mark Greene won an Emmy! (Proud papa to Gus, 2.5 yrs.)
HUDSON VALLEY-MADE “BIG FUN WITH GLOBAL WARMING” CARTOON
WINS 2007 EMMY® AWARD
Kingston, NY — Pecos Pictures, a small animation and video production company based in New York’s Hudson River Valley, won the 2007 National Public Service Announcement/Broadband Emmy® Award for “Big Fun with Global Warming.” This cartoon was one of two Stinky Toons licensed to the Sierra Club website by Pecos Pictures. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded the Emmy at its “Humanitarian, Public and Community Service Emmy Awards” ceremony on Nov. 9 in New York City.
Big Fun features a skeptic named Stinky. He has serious doubts about the whole idea of Global Warming. Until the impact of carbon pollution hits home with him — literally. “It’s classic Bugs Bunny-type, drop the anvil on ’em humor –updated for the age of Global Warming,” said the cartoon’s creator, Kingston resident Mark Greene. He adds, “Humor is a great way to make the science behind climate change more accessible and memorable.”
The second Stinky Toon licensed to the Sierra Club site is entitled “Stinky Gets Gas,” taking a humorous look at the cars we drive and the gas they guzzle. Both cartoons are 90 seconds in length, and can be viewed at http://www.pecospictures.com.
3. Our good friend Carlo DeRosa won a Composer Commission Grant from NYSCA (New York State Council on the Arts)! Congratulations and thanks to UNISON Arts Center for partnering with Carlo on this exciting project. Carlo is a talented bass player living in New York City – his most recent work can be found on the outrageous album of Victor Prieto, “Persistencia,” jazz accordion. It is a fantastic album. (And no, he didn’t tell me to write any of this!) His website is carloderosa.com.
Enjoy!
Helping Dad with a project.
She loves her tricycle!
Play-doh fun with Olin.
Wheeeeeeeeee!!!!!
We did it!
As the weather got colder, we knew it would be time for the older hens to go. They were our very first chickens, the ones given to us by Linda-Brook back in April. She had pulled them from her flock because they were getting beaten-up by the roosters. When they came to us, they were missing a lot of feathers which never grew back. We are grateful for the many eggs they provided for us during these last 8 months, and now we will enjoy them as soup stock.
How did we do it?
We carried each one over to a rope Mike set up hanging from a tree and hung them upside down by their feet (poultry become docile when you carry/hang them upside down). Then we each killed one. We stretched out the neck/head with one hand, then sliced through the neck with a knife in the other hand, then stood back. Even though the bird is dead, it twitches around a lot afterwards before it finally stops.
We left them to drain for a while, then dipped them in a pot of hot water for 30 seconds before plucking, this helps to separate the quills from whatever holds them under the skin. Then we plucked them. Mike did most of the work from that point on as I tended to dinner and the kids. It was a lot of work. He carefully cleaned them out and prepped them for cooking. It was so cool to see the organs, different sizes of forthcoming egg yolks, and to discover there was actually a little more meat on them than we had anticipated. Declan watched each step of the slaughter and cleaning and was interested to see how chickens and humans share some of the same parts like hearts and livers.
I found that the act of killing the chicken was no big deal after all. The anticipation was a lot more intense. I just didn’t have any idea about how it would go, but it was pretty easy. But like I said, it’s the work afterwards that is tedious and time-consuming. Mike did a great job!
This slaughter was always the plan when we got chickens: that we would gather the eggs, and when the laying hens got old, we would slaughter them for stock. The hens that we raised from chicks continue to lay, albeit at a slower rate in these cold-weather months, and we’ll probably slaughter them next fall/winter or the following year, depending on how they’re holding up.
These are the hens we killed today (photo from April, 2007). There are three in this picture – the one in front dropped dead after a heatwave this summer.
Erica goes in for the kill.
Mike cleans and preps.
We woke up this morning to the first snow of the season! The kids were so excited and couldn’t wait to go outside and have a snowball fight. We got about one inch and it was pretty light snow, not the packing kind, but we had a good time throwing it at each other.
The snow made for a nice setting today when we headed out to cut down our Christmas tree. Afterwards, we warmed up by the bonfire and enjoyed hot cocoa, candy canes, and s’mores.
First snow of the season!
Mike trying to convince a skeptical Declan that *this* is the perfect tree.
Got it!
We enjoyed a lovely and delicious Thanksgiving at Gemma and Papa’s house along with Grandma and Grandpa, and Aunt Elisa. We also had fun celebrating Grandma’s birthday!
Gathering around the table.
Quinny is thankful for…Papa sharing all of his food with her!
It was soooo warm on Thanksgiving!
Happy Birthday, Grandma!
Eating MORE of Papa’s food.
Mike and Declan playing with our new Wii game.
