JANUARY Happened

wow.. long time, no blog.

I am going to summarize January – it was a blur.

We went to San Francisco and had lovely visits with friends and Manama. Got our city fix. I do love visiting cities now that I am a rural, pregnant housewife.

Our Seattle house finally sold… to be closed mid Feb. Meanwhile, we signed a lease for new home in Petrolia. More moving again but hopefully worth it with the reward of a beautiful house on 40 acres with functional heating method and lots more privacy.

The beloved Bonpanes made a pilgrimage from Los Angeles to see what we’re up to out here. The angelinos had their first visit to a yurt, we walked on the beach, fed the chickens, and ate lots of food. Colleen and I were equivalently pregnant and Ossian and baby Blase frolicked together like the lucky cousins that they are.

We then returned to San Fran for a conference and flew from there to Seattle for a whirlwind 36 hour move-everything-out-of-our-old-house adventure. We filled up yet another enormouse Uhaul which Blase drove desolately back to Petrolia while Ossian and I flew back to Oakland and made the 6 hour drive from there to Petrolia while nursing bad colds.

We reconvened in Petrolia to unload the Seattle truck and then frantically move out of our Old Coast Wagon Road Petrolia house into our new digs on Evergreen Way. We were feeling kind of tired and crabby during this process (maybe I should say I was feeling crabby – Blase rarely ventures into crabby)…. upon analysis, we realized that this move took us to our fourth residence in 6 months. All with one very pregnant wife, a husband with new job, and all with massive life adjustment to our rural endeavor.

It also rained for the entire month… starting just after my birthday. I’m not kidding ( we ended having a nearly record-breaking stretch of rain that lasted something like 48 days straight). I remember Blase saying when we lived in Seattle that he needed to move somewhere that wasn’t so rainy, like Petrolia… so here we are? Petrolia’s average rainfall is 81 inches .. I think Seattle gets about 36. Something’s fishy there.

That was January… thus the deliquent blog. I promise to get back in the saddle now.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year y’all.

We were a bit sleepy this morning after staying up late ( I made it until 11:30) grooving to the 8 plus piece band at Dick’s house. They redefined eclectic as they flowed through folk songs, surf songs, jazz jams, funk, and some uncategorizables. Blase played for 4 hours.  It was an exceptionally beautiful night.  Though there is nothing resembling a street light in this neck of the woods, the night was bright with bulging moonlight and enthusiastic stars against a crisp slate sky.

Had a luscious New Year’s breakfast with our slumber party babysitters, baby Ella and her parents…. Fresh squeezed juice, chewy organic bacon, a cheesy frittata, and hot caffeinated beverages. We then hit the beach which was a jewel in the sun. It was a perfect day .

Para -glider-kiter people were flying from the ridge down to the beach, one after another. Not sure what the correct term is for this sport. It’s like a large kite mixed with hanglider and involves a comfy looking seat for the operator. The waves were mellow and glassy on top. Lots of spying sea lions, surfing pelicans, and swirling driftwood.

Ossian fell asleep on Blase’s back and we walked south along the beach. When we came upon an abundant mussel bed, we filled up Ossian’s dinosaur boots, Blase’s pockets, and our cheese puff bag with the hearty mollusks. We were excited to serve them for my birthday celebration the next day and hauled the mussels home.

That night, we decided we should try a few of the mussels just to see how they were. We had a few and then a few more, sauteed in garlic, chili flakes, wine, and butter….. one thing led to another and we ate all NINE POUNDS OF MUSSELS. Just me and blase… 9 pounds. If that sounds obscene, that’s because it is.

There’s a photo below that shows a bit of the carnage. The other photos are the before shots from our frolic at the beach.