little black journal

Yesterday was full of reminders that I truly have so much to be thankful for.  The sound of laughter coming from our nieces and nephew, the smell of fresh-baked apple pie, the coziness of a warm home, the beauty of sunlight sparkling on a lake, the joy of being surrounded by people that I have come to love as my very own family…  It was a good day, spent lounging around the house together, eating to the point of stuffed-ness, playing games, and laughing till our cheeks hurt.  Shane and I pulled ourselves out of our post-dinner food comas to take a drive and enjoy the sunshine, returning just in time to re-stuff ourselves with dessert.  Perfection.

May we all count and share our blessings throughout the year to come.

I was thrilled to look out the window yesterday morning and see that the ground had been covered with a fluffy blanket of white snow overnight.  I grabbed my camera and rushed outside to snap a few pictures and take in the pristine-ness of it all.  There are few things more beautiful than snow topped branches.

The rest of the day was lovely and low-key.  We spent the rest of the morning drinking coffee with Shane’s sister, picking up the last few things for the big Thanksgiving meal, and revisiting some of Shane’s favorite neighborhood spots.  This little park was the perfect place to snap a few more pictures of our white little wonderland.  I was sad to see that the snow was already disappearing (I suppose beauty really is fleeting), but I managed to get a couple of shots before I needed to hop back in the car and thaw my fingers in front of the heater.

Shane and I had some time to kill last night before meeting up with a few of his friends for drinks, so we decided on a whim to check out the town’s bowling alley.  I was skeptical about how much fun it would be for just the two of us to bowl together, but after my third strike, I was having a blast, grinning ear to ear.  Yes, I came from behind and managed to crush Shane in our first game.

I was not so lucky in game 2, and Shane will probably give me a hard time for not posting those scores here, but I never claimed to be a fair and balanced reporter…

We ended the evening with a few of Shane’s old high school buddies at the local wine bar/ale house.  It was fun to listen to them reminisce – I obviously didn’t know Shane in high school, so I am always eager to gather more of the bits and pieces of memories from this time in his life.

Well, I’m off to prepare my first ever Thanksgiving apple pie – happy Thanksgiving to all of you!  God bless.

Wandering the streets of downtown Portland was wonderful, but getting to spend some time hanging out with my niece was even better.  Elise is motoring all over the place these days, darting from room to room, pausing only occasionally to catch her balance, and then she’s off once again.  She still loves books, and I treasure the moments that she’ll snuggle up on my lap and let me read to her.  She is expanding her vocabulary daily, but still uses the bit of sign language she has learned when she really wants to get her point across (the sign for ‘more’ is very popular when it comes to snack-time).  As with any one and half year-old, she has her mellow moments and her not-so-mellow moments.  I caught her on one of her more mellow mornings yesterday, as I hung out with her on Alberta Street while Kathryn got her hair cut.  We went to a coffee shop together, and she sat on my lap as I drank my latte and she munched on rice cakes, while we flipped through the paper together.  It was lovely, true auntie-niece bonding time.  I love this little girl so much, and although I hate to miss out on so much of her growth, I am already looking forward to seeing what new words she has learned or interests she has developed when I catch up with her again next month.  It’s fun to see her personality shine through more and more with each visit.  And is it really possible that she just keeps getting cuter and cuter?

We spent most of this weekend down in Portland, enjoying some much-needed time with my brother, sister-in-law, and niece.  It had been over 3 months since my last visit, and I was itching to see how Elise had grown and changed.  She is crawling all over the place now, attempting to take her first steps, although the spill that she took a couple of weeks ago, and the subsequent broken ankle and cumbersome cast, have set her back a little bit walking-wise.  She is incredibly good-natured and has many sorts of smiles – after waking up from a nap she will tuck in her chin and look up at you with a bashful little grin; when you lift her up into the air or tickle her stomach she will squeal with unrestrained laughter.  She is also eating all kinds of new things – veggies are clearly not her favorite, but she has recently discovered the joy of spaghetti, in all its glorious messiness:

Such a darling, loving, fun little girl…  And once again, I am left wondering, “When can I see her again?!”

I spent last weekend down in Portland and realized that my blog was due for an Elise update.My precious little baby niece is becoming more and more of a little girl each time I see her.Smiling more, laughing more, babbling more, and taking more of an interest in whatever it is that’s going on around her. She loves to look at books (future book club member-in-training!) and is so content to sit on her blanket and flip through one of her stories.  She is a snuggler, too, which I am quick to take advantage of.  On Sunday morning before I left, I spent a good thirty minutes on the couch with her in my lap, while she studied my face and played with my hair.  The silver charm bracelet I was wearing was a big hit with her as well, so I shamelessly used that as a distraction to hold on to her for just a little bit longer.  The minute we left town, I was immediately wondering when I will see her again – a single weekend every couple of months feels far too infrequent during this period when she’s growing and changing so rapidly, but I’m thankful, nonetheless, for whatever time I do get to spend with her.  I’m becoming more and more attached to this little person who is developing and demonstrating her own personality and likes and dislikes. And it’s exciting to know that in the not-too-distant future, she’ll truly know me as “Auntie Kelly” and will begin to recognize me when I walk in the door. Can’t wait to see what lies around the corner with this little girl…

I received one of my most special packages ever in the mail yesterday.  Since my grandmother’s passing last year, my family back on the east coast has been slowly going through her things, setting aside certain items for each family member.  I received two boxes yesterday filled with treasures that exceeded any hopes I had for having something special to remember Nannie by.

This scarf was probably my favorite item in the box.  It was neat that as I called my parents yesterday to tell them what I had received, and as I described this jade green paisley silk scarf, my dad knew exactly the item I was talking about – he could picture Nannie wearing it.

These wine glasses were a wedding gift for my grandparents.  They were married for over 60 years, which means that these glasses are decades older than anything else we have in our kitchen cabinets.  They are so beautifully delicate and “antique”.  They are unlike anything I would ever pick out for myself and yet, somehow, they are perfectly my style.  I look forward to sharing a special bottle of wine, poured in these glasses, next time our family is together.

This is a brooch that Nannie wore often – the epitome of my grandmother’s elegance and grace.  I wore it today to brunch with some girlfriends and felt instantly classier the second I pinned it on.

As I look at these heirlooms, I can’t help but wonder, “What do Shane and I own that will be passed onto our family for generations?”  Our wedding registry consisted mostly of basic kitchen necessities from Crate and Barrel, and it seems that we’ll probably outlast our Ikea furniture.  For the most part, I’m okay with this – I’m glad that we have chosen to minimize our possessions, to keep a simple home.  But it would be nice to have those two or three extra-special objects that our children or grandchildren would cherish one day.  A friend reminded me today that traveling is a perfect opportunity to pick up something that has memory and meaning behind it, so I’ll soon be combing the streets of Paris for that special vase or necklace.  Yes, I like that idea…

Our prayers were answered and the weather cleared up enough on Christmas Eve afternoon for us to make the trek down to Portland.  We have spent the past two days taking refuge from the cold winter weather in my brother and sister-in-law’s warm, welcoming home; indulging in all kinds of baked goodies; and enjoying the blessing of family.  Good memories have been made of watching Elise experience her first Christmas, sharing an un-traditional holiday meal of fajitas, and simply sitting around together in the living room, relaxing and chatting and watching the snow fall outside.

Thanks be to God for the blessings he has lavished upon us, the foremost of these being his Son.  May you carry the peace and hope offered by the birth of Jesus Christ into the year to come.

Shane and I returned this afternoon from a weekend down at my parents’ house in LaPine, Oregon (25 miles south of Bend), and though the 6-hour drive was long, the trip was well worth it.  Some of our best times down there are when we just hang around the house – Shane and my dad will engage in a die-hard ping-pong match while my mom and I contentedly knit together on the couch – but it’s also fun to get out and do some exploring.  Friday was nature day, as we drove over to Falls River and did some wandering along the riverbank.  I snapped photos, Shane skipped rocks, and we all did what we could to soak in every last drop of the quickly-vanishing summer.

Saturday we sacrificed a walk in the woods for a stroll through the posh streets of Bend.  I am becoming quite taken with this town: lots of wonderful little cafes and restaurants, a beautiful park that borders the Deschutes River, and several of those want-inducing, but all-too-expensive, trendy boutiques.  We spent some time wine-tasting at a cozy Italian restaurant and then walked through the park along the water, stopping to admire the beautiful homes that border the river.  I have a feeling that Bend will be even bigger next time we visit – hopefully it continues to climb the cool-factor charts as well…

Last night we enjoyed a quiet evening at the house, reading, knitting, ping-ponging.  I convinced my dad to build a fire in the wood-burning stove (whether or not it was really cold enough for a fire was debatable, but he humored me nonetheless), and I found such pleasure in just lounging around with my family.

It was hard to leave after only two days there, but such is the life of a working couple, I suppose…

Shane and I returned yesterday from a quick trip to Portland, and once again, I am already dying to get back down there to spend more time with my niece.  She is such a good-natured, lovable, beautiful little girl.  She is growing so quickly, changing with each trip, smiling more, babbling more, becoming more animated in her facial expressions and movements.  And it’s been so fun to see the effect that parenthood has had on my brother and sister-in-law.  I never doubted that Mitch would be a fantastic dad, but still, it’s surprising and wonderful to see him hold his little girl with such tenderness.  Then again, who couldn’t help but to be absolutely melted by a face like this?

Just got back from a fantastic couple of days in Portland, visiting with my brother, sister-in-law, and niece.  Elise continues to be precious and beautiful and wonderfully good-natured. She patiently endured my incessant photo-snapping and even cooperated with a smile or two.  These are some of my favorites:

I have become quite the mommy-in-training, under the tutelage of my brother and sister-in-law.  I think I have bath-giving, bottle-feeding, and burping down.  But I’m saving diaper-changing for later…