A video of Finley from 4-7 weeks

Check out the new video of Finley that we put on YouTube! Click here

Summer Kitchen and Garden Part I

With the strange combination of really hot days, rain and some very low temperatures, our harvest hasnt been great. I am starting to get bored with no job to stimulate my mind, so Ive started challenging myself in the kitchen. Ive been making more complicated recipes and trying to learn as much as possible about various cooking techniques. It all focuses on what is in season and making as much as possible from scratch. The most valuable lesson I learned is that my oven is 20 degrees off! Now that I know that and can adjust the temperature, my food is coming out way better!


We grew more peas than we could eat, mostly cooking them as a side dish sauteed with olive oil, salt and pepper. We learned that they taste great alongside garlic scapes, which are ready at the same time.

I made fig jam for the first time. Its extremely easy - ripe figs, sugar, lemon juice and water heated until thick and then refrigerated. It tastes great with Brie or goat cheese and crackers!
We also had decent harvests of broccoli and cauliflower. Sadly the broccoli had lots of bugs, making most of it inedible. We still managed to get more than we could eat. I tried cauliflower for the first time and it was a success. It was slightly purple and delicious! To save the harvest I made a huge dutch oven full of chickpea, cauliflower and potato curry.

thick cut pork chops with parmesan roasted broccoli

Is it possible to plant the right amount of zucchini? It always seems like we have way more than we can ever eat. Every year I struggle to find recipes, especially that can make the huge ones taste good. So far Ive made zucchini bread and zucchini gratin. Im planning on trying zucchini pancakes this week. Hopefully I'll come up with more ideas

Zucchini gratin

Ben and I are on a low carb diet, which is working out well for me. Ive lost most of the weight I gained when I was pregnant and am down to the hardest part. Coming up with new egg dishes has been a challenge. We've had lots of frittata and hardboiled eggs in salads. I decided to try a souffle. Im not sure if it was worth it. It was hard. I had to start over once in the middle and then it didnt come out as well as I hoped AND it is not good left over.

spinach and cheddar souffle

My low carb diet isnt extreme and includes lots of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Breakfast is always hard, especially when you hate oatmeal like me. I love granola with milk and fruit and am happy eating is almost every day. We buy so much granola that I decide to start making it. I tried the cooks illustrated recipe and it came out too sticky. Bon Appetit had an article recently about granola. That recipe came out perfectly.

3 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3 T packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup honey
2 T vegetable oil
1 cup dried fruit (I used zante currants)

Preheat oven to 300F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Mix first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Stir honey and oil in saucepan over medium low heat until smooth. Poor honey mixture over oat mixture and toss. Spread on prepared sheet. Bake until golden, stirring every 10 minutes for 40 minutes. Mix in fruit. Cool to room temperature and store in a glass jar.

We had our first harvest of Japanese wineberries. Wow! These berries are good! Really really good. I am going to make scones with them and then hopefully freeze some (if there is any left). We have also been snacking on them and mixing them with our cereal in the morning

The tomatoes, peppers and basil are getting there!

We have 3 whole apples

bee balm

larkspur

fucshia

stellars jay

Where is Ari?

When I hear stories about people giving up their dogs to a shelter because they had a baby, moved, or simply because life got to busy.....I shudder. I strongly believe that when someone makes a commitment to adopt a dog, it should be a permanent arrangement for the life of that dog. It is unacceptable to ditch a dog when he becomes inconvenient. But what about when someone loves your dog and wants to give him a better life that you are capable of providing?


Ari wants nothing more than to spend all of his time in the company of his favorite people and not be bothered by children, puppies or too much activity. Our household is no longer his ideal situation. After over a yer of thought, I have determined that keeping him from the life that is being offered to him would be selfish. My very good friend Brooke and her Mom are willing (and excited) to allow Ari to live the good life in Portland. He will spend his days with his old buddies Cleo and Jesse, moving freely between a big grassy yard and the house. He loves nothing more than to lay in the sun all day long.

It is honestly hard for me to visualize myself not missing him everyday and wanting him back. Ari came into my life when I lived in Olympia many years ago. I had just moved to Olympia to start school with dreams of living in the country with my own garden and my own dog. The first friend I met there, Brooke, had just gotten her dog Cleo. Brooke and I talked about our favorite dog breeds for months and went to the pound to look at abandoned dogs until we couldnt stand to look into their sad eyes any longer. One day Robin (my boyfriend ) and I went to the pound with a plan to bring home the first cute puppy we saw. We saw two adorable puppies and took them out to play. One of them had massive paws, long legs and was pouncing and dancing around. We knew he was going home with us and we knew he was going to be huge. I told my landlord, who only allowed small dogs, that he was a mix the size of a cocker spaniel. It wasnt a complete lie because at the time, he was that size.


We had so much fun with him. After only a few months, I found it hard to imagine my life without a dog. Ari and Cleo were best friends and together with Brooke and I explored all of the walking trails in Olympia countless times. While Ari may not love kids, puppies, or anything cute, he is unbelievably loyal and desperate to please. Although recently he has become withdrawn and mopes around the house.

When Robin and I broke up after a 5 year relationship he was there and ready to join me as the next stage of my life began. He moved with me numerous times to various living situations with various dogs and people. He always adjusted without complaint. After Ari and I started spending a lot of time with Ben, he finally found someone that he loved more than me. You would think my feelings would be hurt, but I adored the way his eyes would light up at the sound of Bens truck approaching and then he would greet Ben by flopping down on the ground, whining and wiggling. True to his nature, he willingly plays flyball because we want him to, not because he truely loves it. Ari will always be my first dog. The dog that taught me about the true companionship and unrelenting commitment. I love him so much, that I am willing to share him during his remaining years. I promised him that he would live a happy life, free of neglect and abuse with people that treasure him and I believe that I have not broken our promise.

Finley is 3 months!!

The summer is flying by and we are having lots of fun! Finley is so much easier to travel with at this age. She has been to several all day events and even spent a weekend away at a flyball tournament. She continues to cry less and smile and laugh more, which makes everyone very happy. She is now wearing 3-6 month clothes and it seems she will grow out of them really fast. She has just started watching everything around her very intently. She is very happy to see Ben when he gets home and loves watching the dogs play. She was especially fascinated by all the animals and action at the sheep farm!

12 weeks

13 weeks

In order to make our lives easier for traveling with dogs and Finley we decided to get a trailer to tow with our truck. We are very excited to go on camping trips and all of our dog events with a traveling hotel.

Here is the floor plan and a photo!

First Swim + More Photos

Finley is now 11 weeks old now and is really changing quickly! She loves her activity gym and will stay there for awhile watching and grabbing toys. She stopped eating at night, but still wants to be fed at least every 2 hours during the day. She also started sleeping with us, which is not something that we planned. Its easy to say what you are going to do until you find something that allows everyone to get sleep. She sleeps well in our bed from 11 pm until 5 am and then after eating goes back to sleep until 9:30. We start her in the bassinet, but she wakes up crying after about an hour. We know we will have to deal with this issue soon, but for now we are all enjoying more sleep.











Finley LOVES this bird mobile I made for her! Sometimes we put her on her changing table just because the mobile makes her smile and laugh. Its one of the few places she is happy being put down. She will also tolerate her swing for short periods of time. Most of her napping happens attached to one of us in her carrier.

She is trying very hard to suck her fingers. Im not sure how I feel about it, but I wouldnt mind if she sucked her thumb instead of my pinky finger! We tried a pacifier but she isnt interested at all.

We took her swimming! She loved it! She didnt cry at all and seemed to be really content floating around with me.

After the pool she was very tired

11 weeks!

Quality time with Dad

She loves to be held in a standing position. Its pretty amazing how strong her legs are getting from all the standing she does.