Clarita Elizabeth

Yes, it's a girl!!! :) We had our ultrasound this morning and there she was, happy as could be, little heart beating away at 155 beats per minute! We also saw her stomach, kidneys, bladder, spine, umbilical cord, brain... all healthy and wonderful inside her 10 oz. body. And tiny hands and feet waving, stretching and kicking up a storm!

We've had the name picked out almost since we knew I was pregnant - Clarita after my paternal grandmother, Elizabeth after my maternal grandmother, as well as my mom and almost every other female on that side of the family, where it goes back a long ways. :) We will call her Clara.

At the moment we could not be more excited or totally in love with our little girl than we already are, although I'm sure we will feel differently once she actually arrives. The technician said our dates were pretty close, so we're still aiming for Aug. 27th, although that may be slightly revised once the radiologist exams all the measurements. I have an appointment with the doctor on Thurs. so we'll go over things in more detail then, although right now the details don't really matter - we are just so happy and thankful to have a strong, healthy little one who is growing and developing well. :)

Thank you all for your many prayers and much support, we feel much loved and very, very blessed!

Good Food

This week Luke started a new job working for a construction company that does both commercial and agricultural buildings, mostly pole-barn-style which is his favorite type to work on! This means that he leaves home a little before 6am every morning and gets off from work between 4 and 5. However, he still has shoeing clients so Wed. and Thurs. nights he did not get home until 9pm or later! I'm so thankful for my hardworking husband!!! But all this hard work means he needs to be fed very well. And he has to pack a lunch every day, instead of pulling together something in the kitchen in between braiding projects. So I made a major shopping trip on Monday morning and think I've done pretty well feeding my sweet hubby all week. Unfortunately I don't have pictures... maybe next week. ;)

Monday night we had chick pea and cauliflower curry in the crock pot - SO EASY and so very very yummy. Luke used to think putting fruit/nuts/etc. on already cooked food was really strange, but now he's a convert. :)

Cauliflower/Chick Pea Curry

1/2 med. cauliflower, chopped
1 med. onion, chopped
2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 can chick peas, mostly drained
1 can coconut milk
1-2 T Patak's mild curry paste (to taste)

Dump everything in the crock pot and cook for about 6 hrs. Or 4 or 8, whatever's most convenient! Potatoes can be substituted for the cauliflower (did this a couple weeks ago when we didn't have cauliflower). We ate our curry with brown rice, raisins, and flaked coconut - craisins were delicious last time, pineapple and/or mango would be lovely as well! This made enough for one dinner (with Luke having seconds) and lunch for Luke the next day. :)

On Monday I found pot roast for only $1.89/lb, so I snatched it up! I've never made pot roast before, but searched allrecipes (my fave!) and made pot roast on Tues. night. Here's my adjusted version of the recipe I used:

1 3-4 lb pot roast (mine was 3.26 :))
1 onion, chopped
1 packet dry onion soup mix
1 c water
1/4 c Worcestershire sauce
Seasoned salt and garlic powder

I chopped the onion and put half in the bottom of the crock pot. The recipe recommended montreal steak seasoning, which I didn't have, so I rubbed the roast with seasoned salt and garlic powder, then put it on top of the onions, sprinkled the dry onion soup mix and remaining chopped onion on top, and poured the water and Worcestershire sauce over top. Cooked for 8-9 hrs. on low. Luke said it was yummy and tender, and he's been eating roast beef sandwiches all week! :)

Luke's crew has a coffee break every morning and one member is assigned to bring snacks to share. Yesterday was Luke's day, so Wed. night I baked a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting which I sent along, and his crew loved it. This cake was yummy and very moist - I left the nuts out, not knowing the tastes of the guys he works with, but think it would be even better with them in.

Beat with a mixer:
4 eggs
3/4 c oil
1/2 c applesauce
1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
3 t vanilla extract

Stir together and add to eggs/sugar:
2 c flour
2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg

Fold in:
3 c grated carrots (use largest holes on box grater)
1 c pecans or walnuts

Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake in a 350 oven for 40-50 min.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Blend til creamy:
1/4 c butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1 t vanilla

Add up to 4 c powdered sugar, to reach desired consistency/sweetness. (I used 2 1/2 c, think I'll use a tad more next time as the frosting was a little soft, but nobody seemed to care!)

Mmm, there are few things that make me feel better than making good food that people can enjoy. I think I inherited this from my mother... ;)

A Guest and a Growing Resident :)

Our friend Sandy is on vacation right now in Florida and the Bahamas. Poor Sandy! So we have her australian shepherd maggie for two weeks. Sadie and Maggie are always a little disconcerted the first 24 hrs. or so that Maggie is here, but then they settle into a routine of playing together every morning, running around outside, and last night they sacked out on the couch with Luke:

Two content pups!!

This morning, as requested by multiple friends and family, ;) we took more belly pictures. Luke's shop happened to have the best light, and just as he went to snap the picture the dogs ran past the window outside, distracting me, hence the funny look. However, Luke decided he liked this picture the best, so it's the one you get to see. :)

We are 17 weeks exactly today, 3 weeks from halfway! :) I feel bigger and bigger every day, but other than that am feeling pretty good, with most of my queasies gone and headaches fading as well, yay! We had a great appointment with our OB a couple weeks ago, who we LOVE, and are looking forward to our ultrasound in just a couple of weeks!!!

Woohoo!!!

We are now officially in the second trimester! Yay!!! :) Things I am looking forward to:

- reduced queasies and somewhat more energy (already enjoying a little bit of this)
- finding out baby-O's sex (only 6 weeks to go!)
- warmer weather on the way!
- painting and setting up the baby-room once said warmer weather arrives
- riding again for a bit, if only on slow walks on quiet horses :)
- watching my belly grow as we continue to witness the amazing miracle of God creating a new little person
- finally fitting into maternity clothes (since my regular clothes already don't fit... =P)
- actually enjoying food again :)
- feeling baby-O move!!!

It's no wonder they call this the "honeymoon" trimester. :) I'm sure there are many more things I've thought of at different times that my brain just doesn't want to remember right now... but that's a pretty good list of the highlights! We are so, so excited. :)

For the faraway relatives... (and friends!)

Taken last night, at 12 1/2 weeks. I can't suck it in anymore! ;)

Working on a Major Baking Project...

We expect the final product to be ready sometime in the end of August. :)

As Requested

Here is Grammie's granola recipe, much loved by all the Pinckney generations. :) I've also included an approximation of my own adapted recipe, although I change things every time I make it depending on what I'm craving at the moment. I must say, though, that the most recent maple-pecan variation is, I think, one of the best yet. So without further ado, here they are:

Grammie's Granola

3 c rolled oats
1/2 c wheat bran
1/2 c wheat germ
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/4 t salt
~1 c nuts, any kind (Grammie usually uses slivered almonds, my favorite is pecans)
1/4 c water
1/2 c oil
1/2 c honey
1 t vanilla

Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients and add to dry, mix well. Spread on a greased 9x13 baking sheet and bake at 250 for 1 hr., stirring every 20 minutes.

I always substitute ground flax seeds for the whole wheat flour, and have used a mix of chopped almonds, pecans, and/or walnuts for the nuts.

I have substituted combinations of corn syrup and maple syrup for some or all of the honey.

I usually reduce the oil to 1/4 c and up both the water and sweetener to compensate, or sometimes use 1/4 c oil and 1/2 c fruit juice (white grape, apple, etc.) instead of the 1/2 c oil and 1/4 c water.

I usually bake in two 9x13 glass baking dishes as the thinner layer helps the granola dry out faster, although I also do one dish sometimes and just let it bake a little longer. Once the hour is up I stir the granola one more time, turn the oven off and return granola to the warm oven for another hour or so (or until I remember it!) to finish drying and cool.

For Apple Cinnamon Granola: substitute apple juice for the water and 1/4 c applesauce for 1/4 c of the oil. Add 2 t cinnamon to the dry ingredients. (I usually use walnuts with this version.)

For Maple Pecan Granola: use 1 c (or slightly more) chopped pecans for the nuts. For wet ingredients use 1/4 c water, 1/4 c oil, 1/4 c honey, 1/2 c maple syrup and 2 t vanilla (or up to 3/4 c maple syrup, replacing the honey - I use honey to keep the cost down slightly).

Have fun experimenting and enjoy the results! :)

YUM!

Current favorite breakfast:

Roughly 1/2 c frozen triple berry blend, thawed
1/2 - 3/4 c french vanilla yogurt
1/2 c homemade maple-pecan granola

Antioxidants, calcium, protein, omega-3s (flax in the granola), whole grains, and, if you close your eyes and have a decent imagination, it tastes a bit like berry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Now really, what more could you ask for in a breakfast food?

This is something I've been meaning to do for a very long time. More than a few times I have sat down at my computer and started listing in my head things I am thankful for. But for some reason I keep putting it off, not taking the time to actually write the list down or share it with anyone. So, the procrastination ends here. I have decided that my inability to list all the things I would like to at once is no reason to put off listing anything at all (very hard for my perfectionist self to do...)! So this is a beginning.

For winter things:

1. Beautiful snow that fell last night, refreshing the white blanket covering our world at the moment.

2. Morning sunshine turning the snow into crystals, coming through my window and warming our home.

3. Our wonderful woodstove! It is an absolute gift and in the chilly mornings I rarely leave the 8-ft. radius around it where the heat is the strongest if I can help it! (Luckily the computer, loveseat and refrigerator are all in this radius!)

4. Warm clothes. On these frigid days I am all too mindful of those who don't have Carhartt coveralls, fleece hats and winter boots to insulate them from the freezing temperatures.

5. My little canine heater. I'm sure she will show up on this list many times, but when it's chilly out she is a wonderful source of comforting heat as she curls up next to me on the couch and snuggles in for a good nap.

6. Our electric teakettle. It heats up water in a heartbeat for tea, hot cocoa or instant oatmeal, all warming necessities in a New England winter!

7. My husband and his commitment this fall to cutting, splitting and stacking firewood (and yes, I helped!) and this winter to bringing in heavy armloads, getting the woodstove going in the mornings and keeping it well stoked throughout the day so that the house is toasty warm when I get home at night. (And yes, I do my best to help and fill in when he's gone and I'm at home and most days I'm pretty successful. :) )

That's it for now. I feel as though it should be longer, but now that I'm started I'll be back often. :)

A World Transformed

Amazing what beauty such a destructive force as ice can create! Overnight our world was transformed into a million glittering crystals - a fairy realm that we were permitted to glimpse for a short time. To take advantage of the beauty we took a Sunday afternoon drive with some friends - I hope you enjoy this small sampling of our pictures!

These are for you, kk, because I love sun glare too! :)

Towards the end of our drive the sun was setting and you could just see the silver tips of the trees shining above these dark barns... peaceful and beautiful!

Winter Wonderland (or Chill Zone!)

Welcome to the Northeast, home of the "frozen chosen" - how may I help you?

I'm not complaining, I promise. I chose to live here and I chose to work at a job which requires me to be outside in the elements when most people wouldn't even think of venturing to the mailbox. Plus, I am fortunate in that I have a wonderful husband and friends who outfitted me very well this winter: from new insulated Carhartt bibs and good winter boots to ultra-warm Nike long-underwear, instant hand-warmers and toe-warmers and extra-soft fleece-lined gloves (thank you Luke, Ilona, Sandy and Jamie!) I am wrapped up from head to toe and my body stays quite warm no matter what the weather throws at me. I am thankful. I even enjoy the brisk feeling in the air, the cool light in the sky and the feeling of sucking cold air into warm lungs.

However, -4 real temperature with winds on top of that? You've got to be kidding me. This morning I watched in dismay as my car's thermometer dropped... and dropped... the closer we got to the barn. 6:35 - positive 1 at my house. 6:45 - 0 in Hoosick Falls. 6:55 - -2 in Buskirk picking up Vidal. 7:10 - -4 at the barn as we start our workday. Sure, I was warm, but after putting just 4 horses outside I wasn't sure if I still had a face or if it had fallen off somewhere by the pastures! The horses that live outside were covered with frost wherever they weren't already covered by a blanket - even the long winter fuzz on their necks was stiff and white! Logan (Luke's horse) looked like he had had his tips professionally done! This is when I profusely thank God for a heated tack room to thaw out in and a home made toasty by the woodstove my husband stoaked high before leaving for the afternoon.

Despite the cold, I couldn't help but marvel at the beauty it brought along - trees, fences, horses all transformed to glittering white by the hard frost, snow singing underfoot as horses squeaked across it towards their pastures, crisp air and a beautiful sunrise shining through the clear, cold sky. I wished I had my camera, but I doubt it would've worked in the cold! But I do have pictures from the incredible ice storm we had in December, which I will post as well.

Weekend of Fall Fun

Last weekend was perfect fall weather - sunny days and cold nights, crisp air and beautiful leaves. On Saturday we had a "fall festival" at our church and Luke and I provided pony rides with Luke's horse Logan. He was a huge hit and we had everyone from the very young to the not-so-young on his back.

Then, on Sunday evening, Jonathan arrived from Boston to spend a couple days with us! After dinner he and Sadie enjoyed cuddling on the couch, enjoying the warmth of the woodstove.

On Monday we all went apple-picking near Saratoga. Jonathan and Luke worked hard to find the best apples left in an already-well-picked orchard.

Even Sadie had fun chasing after fallen apples! And at the end of the day we came home with lots and lots of crisp Empires and HUGE Ida Reds. Fresh fall apples are the best!

Fall Foliage

Ask most people why they live in New England, and they'll say "the fall." This is the time of year when our usually quiet, sometimes sleepy little towns wake up and are bustling with foliage tourists - "leaf peepers." :) To those of us who live here, the foliage can just be normal. But when you actually stop and look, it's truly incredible. Here a few pictures of the beautiful foliage up at the barn, taken early in the morning when the sun was just rising.

The view from the top of the driveway, looking down towards Jamie's house.

George and Jasmine and the trees by the house.

The trees surrounding our big grazing pasture.

The big tree on the side of the driveway.

A close-up of the big tree.

On Completing a Quarter of a Century

Yesterday I turned 25. Sadie was the first one to wish me a happy birthday (Luke was still asleep). Then it was Luke's turn: "You're 25... that's scary!" Later in the day my mother passed on a bit of sage advice received from her mom on the same birthday: "The reason you feel so much older is because you round up to 30 now." 30, really?!?! That still seems like a long ways away.

But not as long as it used to. 5 years ago, 5 years seemed an eternity - 25 seemed a long way off, and I had a long list of things I thought I would have done by now. Some of them happened: getting married, graduating from college, finding a job, although it is certainly a job I never imagined. Some of the things on my list, I'm still waiting for. I certainly never would have been able to predict 5 years ago where I am today, living only 20 miles from my hometown and riding horses for the same trainer I worked with in high school! Somehow I know I thought I would have travelled a lot farther by now - be living farther away, perhaps using my psychology degree in a more direct way working with kids or even adults, occasionally travelling the world or even the country. Instead I stay close to home to care for animals that never take a break from living, so we cannot take off for 2 weeks and not care for them. And I am dealing with people's fears and insecurities in a much more indirect way as I teach, trying to instill confidence in a nervous kid, helping an adult to overcome their self-consciousness, pushing another student to develop a strong work ethic and sense of responsibility. It is very different from where I thought I would be, taxing in many ways, yet rewarding as well, as we see a young horse develop from a ball of nerves to a confident and accomplished partner with the ability to calmly do its job and take care of the person on its back, or as a young student, after several years of half-hearted riding, suddenly becomes inspired and blossoms into a beautiful and hard-working rider, a joy to teach and watch.

I have come to realize that our lives are always in transition - no matter what goals we may accomplish, whether or not we stay at the same job or in the same area for years on end, the strands of our lives never remain the same. Many times the changing of strands is painful - the loss of a friend and student, personal pain that opens your eyes to the suffering of many others, seeing those you love suffer unanticipated hardship. At other times it is joyful - reconnecting with an old friend, meeting new students and clients, seeing a favorite horse go to a wonderful home. The goal of life cannot be to achieve some static state, or else we will be constantly dissapointed at the inevitable changes in life. Instead, our goal must be to use the strands we are given to create a beautiful tapestry - ever-changing, ever become richer and more deeply layered as we learn, feel and grow. Though we have had our share of heartaches in the past year, we look forward to the year of change ahead with anticipation.

My prayer for this year is that we - I - would accept and embrace the changes more gracefully, trusting that my loving Father knows best where my path is headed and how the strands of my life must intertwine with others to create the tapestry that He is weaving. Though I have no idea where the next 25 years or even the next 5 will take us, I know we will be held in the palm of His hand, wrapped in His love and guided by His light.

Yard Progress

I have been making slow progress in the yard this summer - the first bed of hastas is growing, one more bed of hastas is put in and two of the new plants even sent up flower shoots!

My asiatic lilies finished blooming about 10 days ago and now (finally!) my beautiful stargazer lilies are blooming!

The morning glories are sending up their long shoots and a few deep purple blossoms have ventured out. I transplanted some of the stems to the other side of the porch steps so we'll eventually we'll have railings covered with green vines and delicate flowers.

I love how the garden changes from month to month. The picture on the left is in late June, with the astilbe and asiatics. The picture on the right was today, with the morning glories and oriental Stargazers.

Luke's parents are visiting right now and have been helping in the yard as well (yay! :)). Luke and his dad cut down one of the huge pine trees on the side and are thinning out the others - now we just have to get the old red shed torn down and we'll have a lovely little picnic spot!

Luke's mom has been tearing out the weeds next to the porch and has cleared a large area which I plan to use as an herb garden. So far she has found several large pieces of slate and one old brown glass bottle, still completely intact, in her digging.

The next steps are to add some small flowers to the hasta beds, start planting the herb garden and mulch all the beds to cut down on the weeds. By fall I'm hoping to have cleared out the red shed, put in one more hasta bed, made a good start on the herb garden and lined as many beds as possible with stones (gathered from the paddocks at the barn!). We'll see how far we get... :)

Summertime

Yesterday was not the hottest day we've had this year, but it was buggy and muggy and just not much fun. Neither the horses nor I had much motivation to do anything, so I just rode a couple of them and then organized... cleaning out the trailer from the show on Sunday (which was a lot of fun!), updating feed and turnout charts, administering the bi-monthly dose of wormer to all the horses (it comes in a tube you stick in their mouths and squirt into the back of their throats but it tastes horrible so it can be a little bit of a "catch me if you can" game), etc. Even with less riding than usual, I was hot and sticky by the end of the day and was grateful and excited to get a phone call from Luke suggesting a dip in the nearby Battenkill River. He ran by the house and picked up my swimsuit, and off we went. Although the water was a little colder than he had thought it would be, it felt delicious. Those of you who know me to be a cautious cold-water-enterer should be very impressed that I was the first one to jump all the way in underwater! The public-access spot we stopped at was not very deep, so we didn't really "swim," but it still felt wonderful just to be in the cool water.

After a short detour back to the barn to check on a horse, we came home to a lovely light dinner of toasted pita bread, raisins, feta cheese and homemade tabouleh from a dear Iranian friend.

Yummy! I haven't had good tabouleh in awhile, and this was wonderful - it even included dried mint from our friend's sister in Lebanon! A perfect ending to a hot summer day. Thank you Wassim :)

A Summer Surprise

At 7:30 yesterday morning, as I was about to jump in the shower, my phone rang:

"Hello?"

Luke: "Hey, Jasmine had her foal last night, and Judy found it in the ditch this morning!"

"Oh no..."

"No, no, it's alive!"
"Really???"

"Yeah, it's a little colt. Judy carried it up to Jamie's house, and then they took it back down to Jasmine, I'm on my way to Rite Aid to get a couple things for them."

"Okay, I'll be there shortly!"

Sure enough, upon arriving at the barn, this is what I saw:

We knew Jasmine, the mom, was pregnant but didn't think she was due until Sept. or Oct. because she and the father are both wild and can't be handled. But she tricked us!

"Beamer" is an athletic little bugger, standing and walking much easier than Bailey did, probably because he's about 1/3 of the size Bailey was! Judy, one of the women who does morning chores at the barn, found him outside the pasture in the ditch by the driveway and at first thought he was a baby deer! We're guessing he stood shortly after birth, fell, rolled under the fence, tried to stand again and then toppled down into the ditch. He was shivering and mama was franticly calling for him, both were MUCH happier when reunited! However, Jasmine was nervous and kept moving, not letting him nurse for quite some time. Luke and Eric came and moved their shed, cleaned it, put rubber mats and shavings down, and then we carried Beamer in and Jasmine followed. They were both more relaxed in their "palace," with shade and fewer flies to bother them.

I stayed through the afternoon and ended up going in and standing on one side of the shed to block Jasmine so she had to stand still and let Beamer nurse. After doing that a couple of times she settled right in, and by late afternoon was nursing well all by himself. Yay!!! He's already quite the character - he took a 10 min. nap standing up yesterday, which is how adult horses sleep most often but I've never seen a foal able to do that at only 12 hrs. old! I was cleaning the stall out all around him and he didn't once flinch or even bat an eyelid.

He eventually woke up enough to nurse a little more and then lie down for a real nap. He loves to sleep with his knees tucked up under his chin, and I told Jamie he's practicing to be a jumper when he grows up. We'll see!

Jamie has always wanted a BMW and there's a (very nice) used one for sale in Hoosick Falls that she really wanted for her birthday (in mid-July) but knows she can't afford. So, she got a surprise equine Beamer for her birthday instead! Our lives are certainly never boring. :)