Happy Thanksgiving

There are quite a number of things I could blog about, my cousin Janelle's beautiful wedding, our family's Thanksgiving dinner last night, and of course - Jericho and his many growing talents. I can talk about all that later, instead, today I am devoting this post to cranberries. It seems only fitting seeing as the time of year where a tonne of cranberries are consumed are - you guessed it - Thanksgiving.

My dad has been a cranberry farmer for a number of years now. I can't remember how long, but I know it took several years after they were planted for the vines to even be able to produce a single berry. And there have been plenty of frustrations - from Ocean Spray and their ability to control the market price of cranberries - resulting in several farms declaring bankruptcy... to years where as a result of weather or vines being damaged there was low return... it's been a long journey. But of all the jobs my dad has had, I truly believe he is the most passionate about cranberries. You'll have to ask him why... but I think he is just fascinated by them. And he seems to have been able to discover many secrets to having a successful cranberry farm. One is a big word in farming today - diversification.

Now, as a result of the preceding paragraph, some of you may already be sleeping, some may be a little intrigued.. and some may be looking forward to all you may learn about the harvesting of cranberries. Yep. That's what this is all about. My little family and I headed out to one of my dad's fields and watched as the berries were being boomed and slowly sucked up onto a modified blueberry picker. If you have the machinery... why not just make it work for you instead of going out looking for it? It's quite cool to watch actually. I remember being 21 or somewhere around there and helping. I hated it then, but now to be able to see it from the outside seems more exciting somehow.

After we took a bunch of pictures, we headed over to the processing area which is only a few years old in regards to being able to process cranberries. If any of you know where my parent's live, it's just a little ways down closer to the bridge in a big gray and red building. My dad was there and he was pretty much in his glory. I think cranberry harvest just might be his favorite time of the year. He has designed and built a structure that works perfectly for getting berries from point A to B. The trucks that are filled with berries from the bogs unload into an 18' deep cement encasement. The walled area is filled with water for several reasons. One, cranberries float easily. Two, having strong sprays of water slowly moves the berries up conveyor belts. And three, the berries are cleaned as they go through several points being sprayed. After the conveyor belt, there is a shaker area with small holes. The berries fall through and hopefully most leaves and twigs don't. They they go through a blower which takes away remaining leaves and twigs. Then they are dumped into huge boxes and wrapped in plastic ready for freezing, selling, or whatever their destiny may hold.

It was a fun day just to watch all the activity. Jericho had fun too. Apparently he really likes cranberries. I think he ate about 10 or so. And he found some bamboo stick he wouldn't let go of for awhile. All in all, it was about as much fun as the pumpkin patch and a lot less busy!

I took many, many, many pictures... Hopefully you can better understand the process by perusing them. Oh - and we got a 25 lb box of cranberries and if you want a cup or two, come on down.

Random

# of days until my due date: 134
# of months Jericho will be tomorrow: 11
# of steps in a row he took tonight at my moms: 3
# of auditions missed because he can't fully walk yet: 1
# of pictures I need to sift through to pick the ones I want to print for his scrapbook: 1181
# of months of his life not included in that count: 2
# of days until one year of NOT being a church secretary: 17
# of days until my baby turns one: 32

Long Time No Blog

Several people have mentioned to me that my lack of blogging has left them feeling a little out of the loop on my life. I even received a phone call from New York. So, to all my devoted fans - here are the last few weeks in point form... enjoy!

1. Our one night cruise was amazing. We had a great time shopping in Seattle, having a great dinner with friends at the Cheesecake Factory, and the boat! Wow. It was awesome. Nate and I did plenty of exploring and had a fun dip in the hot tub on the front top deck with Steve & Michelle. We saw almost our whole group walk by at one point or the other. For those who may be concerned that a pregnant woman was using a hot tub, this hot tub was more like a warmish bath. I would get out once in awhile to get away from the steam... but it was lovely to just relax. Saturday night I was starting to really miss my boy. I cried for a bit, but got over it once I was on my way to dinner. I even had a pedicure afterwards. There were a lot of different things that were fun and a lot of funny happenstances - like Nate and his pig addiction and Bethany with her mustache. Overall, I am very glad I came and thank my friend Rachael for inviting us.






2. Jericho has been growing like a weed lately, and also developing a tiny bit of an attitude. Those who know him well know that usually when he is startled by loud noises, or people or when we say "no!" that sometimes this results in plenty of tears. I was beginning to think he would be a very sensitive boy, but lately has been much less noise sensitive and almost bully-like to some younger babies. It's nice and not so nice at the same time. I don't want him to be so mean, but I don't want him to cry like a "ahem" baby every time someone speaks to loudly. I'm working on it.






3. I had a bit of a scare last week. I woke up in the middle of the night a few times worrying that there was something wrong with baby #2. I can't explain it, just know that it was a physical feeling and it scared me. A lot. I called the midwife and she did reassure me that because I wasn't experiencing other symptoms, it sounded like nothing. But to keep my eyes open. I am feeling better. We thought that when we went for our ultrasound they would be able to answer any concerns. Which brings me to #4.

4. The ultrasound was a bit of a disappointment. I had these concerns, and she didn't address anything. I know she's only a technician, but she barely said anything of merit besides the fact that my dates may be wrong. She was a very sweet young woman, and I know she's only doing her job, I just wish I didn't have to wait for my midwife to get the results before I know anything. Argh. Plus, if my dates are very wrong that means that my due date will change which means that I may not be half way. Another argh. But I spoke with my midwife today and she said they don't usually change a due date unless it's off by more than 10 days.




5. We went to say a quick goodbye to some friends who are moving away. The day was spend waiting for them to get their U-Haul that they had booked 5 weeks ago. NEVER ever ever rent a U-Haul.



6. Jericho's little friend turned one on Sunday. Tasia has been a fun little friend for him and when her and her parents were over Thursday evening it was fun watching them play. At one point, Tasia was on his wooden walking toy and he was pushing her around. Later they traded spots and she got a turn. They are really cute together. Being at her first birthday reminded me that in a few short weeks my little man will be celebrating his first year as well. Time to plan a party!!!