Easter Resurrection Day

So timely that we celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus in the spring.  That's not surprising; the Lord's time is always right, and He holds all our times in His hand.

I spent this special Sunday at home, nursing a cold, mostly in bed, but I took some moments to walk in my moccasins and catch images of the first blossoms of spring.

 Gabe's chicken-dyed Easter eggs - truly natural.

Lydia hard-boiled eggs and made a platter of stuffed ones for Easter with Aunt Janelle and Uncle Seth.  Such a special time they had with all the family.
Marshal brought me home these photos of our sweet kids, growing up but surely not yet outgrown a chance to hunt for eggs!

March Brings Springtime

They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb.  March came in with the vestiges of mid-winter and went with the first signs of spring.

March 6th morning?!

March sky opening up on the way to school and work.

Snow still makes a pretty picture.

No violets or daffodils for my birthday this year, but there is promise!

Lydia led me on the spring proof walk around the house to show me the first crocuses.

My Birthday

Lydia surprised me with cupcakes!  They were special ones to delight me.  She is becoming quite the proficient baker with any recipe.  These were coconut flour and cacao with a butter, honey, cacao butter cream frosting.

Marshal gave me a beautiful cookbook.  He knows me.    He also gifted me soft, warm, and pretty alpaca gifts that I'm wearing today.

Lydia made us omelettes this Saturday morning.

My Girl

Birthday Twins
Birthday song round two with the blessing song and lit candles on the Janelle's labor of love, "Nourishing" delectable carrot cake!

Both got our wish.

Thank you wonderful family for such a birthday blessing gathering.  I am thoroughly blessed with you all, let alone your talents and gifts.  So fun to have cousin Audrey and Eowyn close enough to add to the cheer.  We celebrated with Kim's best ever gourmet pizza factory, green salad anointed by Sierra's professional culinary hand, 7 flavors of blissfully creamy, farm fresh ice cream, hand made by Meg, and the fabulous cake!  Thank you all for spoiling me with loving gifts and sentiment.  Thank you Mom and Dad for hosting and enduring the mayhem and cacophony of all of us together.  And thank you Luke for being you and celebrating with me our special day!

St Patty's Day

My, oh my, it is the 17th of March!  Yesterday, Lydia and I were driving home in the late evening sunshine!  Yes, sunshine!  It was a beautiful day in the Gorge and surrounding hills and valleys.  Felt like spring down by the river.  We are still in the snow melt phase, and today, dashing in and out of the rain, upon the sodden, clinging earth, I wondered what I'm to do when the snow is truly absent to clean the soles of my boots!  It was a wonderful winter of clean boots!  I digress.... What I really was aiming to say, was that upon driving back home after ballet, the seasonal sign on the corner was a Happy St. Patty's Day sign with a bright rainbow and big pot of gold!  I was torn between trying to get home to feed my hungry belly and turning around and finding a place to take a photo in the evening sunshine.  I was kicking myself today, in the rainy gray, that my hungry belly won out, and I missed that bright picture of a "big pot of gold at the base of Mt Adams."
We had our busiest day yet in the clinic, and every deposit is like gold, not only in coin, but in trust and lifts our hopes that we can succeed and serve our community well.  Quite apropos that today was our biggest day of new memberships, and each member's paid enrollment fee goes into a "trust account."
Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Marshal spent 24 hours working the ER until this morning in Goldendale, and was not cognitive of why his patient was sharing about having to choose a green shirt today.  Lydia happened to look at the calendar in the nick of time before we dashed out the door.  Got to get our green on!
Came home late this evening.  Grandpa arrived to join Marshal in tractor hunting on the morrow, and we ate a late dinner of lamb chops that Gabe had taken from the freezer.  They cooked up so good, and we had a impromptu delicious meal.  We must have the luck of the Irish when it comes to cooking up good vittles.  We do have a considerable amount of Irish blood in our veins from both our Jim dads!

Quite a pretty meal fitting for St Patrick's Day!

And here is our St Patty's Day portrait.  Two Irish lasses.

Thank you cousin Fletcher for the iMessage to Gabe.  Our Leprechaun names we came up with at dinner were:  Bashful Freckle Face, Shy Clover Hair, Itty Bitty Stubby Toes, Feisty Freckle Face, and Sappy Short Legs.  Just guess who is who!  *Note that Grandpa is here too.

Valentines

February 14th!  Really?!  We are caught up in clinic set up, moving boxes all over again, snowbound animals, slush and ice, home school, trips to town, unforeseen challenges like the water heater burning out....  Who has time for crafting love notes and parties?  Lydia retrieved the Valentine box from the storage on an errand to the barn the night before.  She put her energies into making Valentine's for all of us.  The day upon us, Marshal took pork chops out from our newly slaughtered pig and went to the big city for a water heater.  The evening drew near, and Gabe and I put together our three valentines, gleaning Lydia's leftover scraps left out on the table.  Marshal came home with more than a water heater.  He put surprises in our valentine bags and handed me a bouquet of "spray" roses, in a lovely blushy pink with a kiss.  Our weary selves pressed onward and put together a lovely evening of sweet celebration that surprised.  Sweet tradition carried on.

Honey spiced hand-raised pork chops with red cabbage, stewed apples, and peas.   

Roses are Eye Candy

Smelling the Roses So Sweet

French Fritter, Beignets, a recipe Marshal and I have shared since our teens.

Lydia's Valentine to Dad

And Marshal "came through for Lydia" with cards and chocolate surprises in each bag.  By the way, Trader Joe's fair trade organic chocolate "batons" are a real winner.  The chocolate is from Canada, but tastes like the smoothest Swiss chocolate I remember.  The chocolate with coffee bean was the favorite.  Lydia's had real organic raspberries and mine was 72% dark.  All were amazingly fine.

The Long Winter

It is not really long.  The days still pass faster than I can take time to take them in.  But amazingly, it is still snowing!

Marshal warms up his muscles with a bit of shoveling every morning.

The "view" out my bedroom window.

Snow Buried Yard and  Farm

I can't see the birds.

The sun said good morning this February day between flurries!

From the Kitchen Sink Window.

Open House TLC Tour

We are official.  Final inspection passed without a hitch.  We opened up the clinic for the community to see during the weekend's Cabin Fever days.  It was a wet snowy day and the plows couldn't keep up or plow all out, but many came to the clinic anyway.  The grange had soup next door, even without power.  Our power didn't flicker and the clinic gave a warm welcome.  Just last week Marshal, Luke, and Bill were finishing this work of their hands, unwrapping it literally from the layers of paper, and unveiling it from under the layers of dust and tools.  We all marveled how beautiful it is!

Reception Window Welcome
Bev, store owner across the street, gave the first housewarming indoor plant.

Main Exam Room
Oak medical cabinet gift is from Marshal's uncle.

Same exam room from opposite perspective.

Second Exam/Surgery with Private Bath/Laundry/Utility

Marshal's Office and Lab behind the Reception Desk

Glimpse of the ADA Compliant Restroom
Mirror came in the mail today.

Reception

Nutritional Consult Couch

Cookies for the Welcome
Community members enthusiastically brought wild smoked salmon, more cookies, and cupcakes! I had to open the other leaf of the table and spill the goodies onto the kitchen counter.

Ginger Tea on the Hot Plate

Leaving off with a Cookie Close Up
Lydia, Havilah, and Naphtali baked the cookies to perfection with organic einkorn, butter, sugars, oats and raisins, ginger, almond flavor and poppyseed.