Thursday, December 29, 2011

Season's Greetings!


Thanksgiving came and went - it was lovely like every year - and Christmas has past now, too.  Exciting season.  The weather is definitely not typical - it feels like a nice Wisconsin spring; not its winter.

Thanksgiving...












Christmas...

Graham's school Christmas Concert

A new baby for Christmas - she's in heaven

A blue lightsaber for Christmas - he's in heaven

This Teddy Bear is made from their great Grandpa Slim's New Zealand wool winter coat with their great Grandma Slim's buttons!




And of course the latest of Jason's cooking.  There's no photo but one of my recent favorites is chicken and mozzarella ravioli from Costco and shredded carrots and coined zucchini with a balsamic sauce.  Ooh la la.  Love it.


Great chicken sandwich with avocado and arugula on ciabatta sticks from Breadsmith on the Foreman grill - with a fresh spinach salad


From the continuously added to collection of orzo or rice creations - many times containing spinach and sun-dried tomatoes (what a deal at Costco for a bag of sd tomatoes!) 

This is becoming a regular meal since we've resolved to have fish once a week.  With the grain trilogy from Trader Joe's (cous cous, quinoa and orzo) and a favorite - honey and soy sauce carrots

Pretty incredible recipe from Julia Child! Go Jason!  He made it for our Christmas here with Nan.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Fish Tacos Daily

Whoa, we made the change to a Mac!  So things are different and this old dog is trying to learn the new tricks.  There a lot of little differences that are taking time to research or get used to.

We took a family vacation to Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico and stayed at Jason's cousins' house there.  Wow, what an experience!

Jason and Graham had fish tacos everyday on the beach.  We ate amazing food.  We watched the surfers and boogie boarded.  Played in the sand.  Partook in a slew of the various local vendors criss crossing the beach and the streets...

I'd need a few days to write all about the trip so as they say 'pictures speak a thousand words'...and it also holds true that even the pictures don't do justice to our amazement and experience there.

Multitude of thanks to the Beidlemans for sharing with us this piece of Eden!  Here is a link to some of the pictures - warning: there are 100+!

https://picasaweb.google.com/107388018529096333529/MexicoDec2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCL_rjq7Lmc3gBQ&feat=directlink



Monday, November 28, 2011

Robin Teresa Bate

Twelve years ago today, my sister Robin, at 20 years old, passed into heaven due to a violent car accident on her way back to university the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

She was an artist, an outdoors-woman, a drummer, a horse lover, a dancer, a music lover, an innovator, a non-conformist, a snowboarder, a free thinker, a dreamer, an optimist, an observer, a daughter, a sister, a niece, a granddaughter, a friend, a student and a forever inspiration.

As I remember and think about her today, though my heart aches; I have a sense of calm, of peace, definitely Grace and a humble trust in God's mysterious plan.

There was no other way to make it this far and long without trusting, praying and relying on the outpouring of love and support from the amazing and angelic people around me.

Losing Robin was devastating and unthinkable but the things that have come from it have forever changed me and my life for the better.  That to me is a miracle.

I've learned so much from the crushing loss.  I still find myself sweating the small stuff and getting bent out of shape about frivolous things; that at the moment seem monumental, but I've learned that no matter what happens; even the death of one loved so much, everything's going to be all right.

By letting go and trusting that there is a divine plan, I can tap into the peace and happiness and joy that is inside always waiting patiently.


There is divinity, blessing and good in every situation, thing and person; no matter how daunting it may seem.  We have to let go of our hurts, our control, our judgements, our insecurities and find it.  It's our duty and our right - happiness and peace and joy are there, we just have to live in a way to uncover and partake.

Love and true peace and hugs and laughter and smiles to you!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

The First Snow!

So pretty this morning - the snow was light and fluffy and beautiful.  I mean, we live in Wisconsin, so this is what we signed up for - may be difficult but I say we embrace it.

Aaaand that's outdated.  It's sunny right now and beautiful - just like the weekend - warm and sunny!  It's still fall...

We made our annual pilgrimage to Ski-Hi Fruit Farm near Baraboo to remember and honor my little sis Robin.  She was so awesome.  I miss her, I miss her, I miss her.  She's unfathomably awesome now up there though.  Time does help heal.  It will be 12 years November 28 since her accident just beyond Ski-Hi.  Faith and grace bring endurance and peace; as has her life.  All is well. 







On our way home the sun rays through the clouds - reminds of of Jesus.

Graham's first loose tooth got entangled in a taffy apple!



Monday, October 31, 2011

I made it two a month - Oct #2!

It's Halloween!  Sunny then cloudy and fifties, I think...not bad.  Tonight some of our neighborhood families organize a 3-block trick-or- treat from 6-7:30 - it's dark and on Halloween so it's a little more authentic and reminds me of how it is/was? done when I was a youngster in Madison.



Jason has been honing his omelette skills.  This episode he added the spinach to the egg instead of wrapping it after the egg is cooked.  He cooks the eggs is a small skillet then bakes it and wraps whatever fixings we have on hand - here it's aged white cheddar, ham and fresh tomatoes from our garden.  Totally fantastic.



Sticking with the beloved roasted broccoli - shoutout to Jay and Ken - and Jason made whole wheat cous cous with asparagus and our dinner staple - sliced baguette with olive oil and this time balsamic v.

Chops from the pig Jason's Aunt Dar buys from a cousin who raised and showed it for 4H and shares the different cuts with the whole family!  So thoughtful.  And keepin' it local!  With it is tasteful carrots sauteed in honey, garlic powder and soy sauce and some fingerling potatoes.  Right on, real good.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Want to stick to my word...Oct # 1

Whoosh, this month went by fast...this day did not.  It was somehow slow paced and seemed not rushed nor did it seem to go by so fast like most - especially weekend - days.  This post is dedicated to today.  It was so nice. 

{Coming off a leisurely, pleasant and fun Friday and Saturday in Madison (Jason made a lot of headway on the upstairs bathroom [it's been demoed for 18+ months - wow] and the kidlets and I went to Madison to visit my Mom and Aunt Kathy) We went to the Cave of the Mounds with Nanny and my sister Brynn's service/therapy dog, Rocker.  What awesome, unique and fun stuff for kids to do.  Graham was giddy.  Not only did we go through the magnificent cave [complete with t-or-t stations (gems and fossils were the 'treat')] but there was coloring, a scavenger hunt, a dig, and we bought a bag of what looked like sand, ran it through a sluice, only to find dozens of awesome gems, rocks and fossils!  What a treat.  With Kathy, we had a favorite breakfast - crepes - and walked to the Vilas Zoo.  On our way out, I picked up my absolute favorite - fresh bagels from Bagels Forever - and Kathy took Graham to find an organizing box for his rocks.  Thank Nan and Kack!}

Back to today, Jason made waffles (his Grandma's recipe) as he occasionally does and they were seriously the best I've ever had, we played around, went to BBC for lighting in the bathroom, to the bike store and got Graham a great bike we've been eyeing at a really good price (his chain fell off every time he rode it of late and the last time we didn't even make it up Newberry before it snapped), had leftovers for lunch, Graham had us all bobbing for apples, we carved four pumpkins, handed out treats for the 3 hour city trick-or-treat, roasted the pumpkin seeds, made our favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe and ate in the dining room and decided to have dinner there every Sunday.

Jason's dinner this evening entailed parmesan and spinach stuffed chicken breast, fingerling potatoes and summer sweet corn - prepped and frozen by Jason's mom.  All so good.

Thank you God for such blessings.  Help us to recall these and also know that though sometimes seemingly unbearable, life becomes richer when we have days on the other end of the spectrum and rise above, persevere, grow and become better.


Graham gently? trying to make Estelle look for the picture
The farm was a another day but Octobery-Halloweeny - picking apples and pumpkins