Celebrating Sarah

Tiny Kitten Sarah ~ July 2011~ first day home

Remember that tiny little stripey kitten that I first wrote about last July? My kitten Sarah, the little princess that  came into my life to lighten my heart, and  reminds me so much of my sweet Jessie, has been doing very well. She is healthy, playful and growing.

She is a delight and she comforted me and also Frieda during Frieda's last few months here on earth. Sarah kept watch over Frieda and would follow her room to room around the house. Sarah kept my heart full of love and allowed me to take care of Frieda when she needed me most. She also reminded me that both Jessie and Frieda would return to live with us in our home again. I believe with all my heart that she is right about that.

Sarah & Frieda ~ March 2012

Anyway, the reason for this blog post is that today is my sweet Sarah's first birthday! She was born 1 year ago today! May 9th. Yay Sarah! Way to be! She's a feisty little Taurus. We sang happy birthday to her over breakfast. Salmon & trout flavored breakfast this morning. For her, not me.

Happy Birthday Sarah! 

Love, Mama Jen

I have more pictures than words for this post. So here are a few photos of Sarah since she came to live with us here in our mountain home.

July 2011~ trying to blend in...

July 2011~ she destroyed that pink mousie

What? You told me to relax. So I'm relaxin' (she loves paper)

Princess Sarah on top of her tower ~ April 2012

I love her dearly, especially when she kisses my nose and bites my fingers & toes. She keeps me smiling.

I love you, Mom! Is it dinner time yet?

 More photos and stories of Sarah and our lives together to come in the future. I promise. May we live many, many happy years together.

© Copyright 2012 Mountain Harvest Basket

Gifts from Oregon

Look at this beautiful personalized Critter Farm birthday card! Just wow!

About a week after my birthday, I received a package in the mail postmarked Oregon. It was from my blog friend Danni, Farmgirl dk of Critter Farm. She had mentioned via email that she would be sending me a little something in honor of my birthday. So I kept a watchful eye on my mailbox.

It arrived at exactly the right time. I was having a bad day, feeling tired and not having much of anything go well. Then this package arrived from Danni. It perked me right up. A friend reaching across the miles to wish me happiness. So wonderful to have friends like this.

So I opened the box to find this dried flower lying atop the packing paper:


Not sure what kind of flower it is, but I was pleased to have a bit of Oregon's nature sent to me. I am saving the seed head and will plant the seeds to grow Oregon flowers of my own. How cool.

Underneath the packing paper I found two colorfully wrapped gifts:

Such cute wrapping paper. I especially like the one with the farm animals


I loved the wrapping paper. I saved the one with the farm animals on it and have shown it to everyone who has come into my home since I received the gifts. It's so Critter Farm. Such attention to the details makes the gifts even more special.

So what was inside the pretty papers? Totally cool gifts, that's what!

Totally cool gifts!

A custom made card, soft & chewy gummi bears and a great book that Danni tells me is one of her favorites. The title is "Peace at Heart" by Barbara Drake. The author has a farm in Oregon and she wrote about her experiences there. I haven't read very much of it yet, as I seldom sit down long enough to read these days, but what I've read so far has really pulled me in. Once I start reading a chapter, I can't seem to put it down till I finish it.

These gifts were perfect. And they arrived with perfect timing. A hand of friendship reaching out to me across the miles making a positive difference in my life. Thank you for your gifts Danni. You made my day so much brighter.

The book will continue to brighten my days. The gummis, well, they were half gone mere minutes after I received them. They are no more. Poor little gummis. All gone now.


Yummi Gummis! So soft & chewy.

I am thankful that I have such good friends.


© Copyright 2010 Mountain Harvest Basket

Happy Birthday to Me ~ A Belated Report

Look at those cool wavy neon candles! Love 'em!

So this birthday post is belated. Maybe I am moving more slowly since I turned 50. Oh well, here are the highlights of the big "five-oh" last month. It was a good day.

We had my birthday party and "cake ceremony" at Jack's home. This is how it looked when I walked in:

Helium Balloons and Piles 'o Presents!

I was seated at the table and then Jack brought in the flaming cake. The guys were singing the Happy Birthday song to me, so maybe that accounted for the dorky look on Jack's face in this photo (or maybe he just looked dorky):

Jack and the birthday cake he made ~ chocolate, of course



So here's the flaming cake:(Bob was standing by with a fire extinguisher, just in case)

Beautiful cake! Dangerous flames.


Here's me just after I blew out all the candles (Jack wasn't quite quick enough with the camera):

Sort of looks like I am praying (or saying my mantra)

We saved the cake eating for after dinner and I went on to open that stack of gifts, but apparently I didn't take any pictures of that part of the celebration. I loved all of my gifts. The guys did a great job on wrapping and gifting.

We went out to dinner at our local Japanese restaurant a few miles away. We usually sit at the sushi bar or get a table in the dining room, but this time we decided to sit at the teppan yaki table where the chef cooks our food in front of us while entertaining us with a performance, "Benihana" style.

We started with drinks:

I had saki and hot green tea ~ in separate cups

Jack had Japanese beer

First course was miso soup:

Miso Soup

Then started the entertainment as well as the cooking of our meals:

Egg Balancing and Tossing!

The chef artfully sliced up a big onion and then stacked in the form of a volcano, to which he added some "fuel":

Fueling up the onion volcano

Then he lit it on fire, and boy did it flame up!

Flaming onion volcano!

The volcano quieted down and started to smoke while he turned his attention to the preparation of our main courses:

Chicken, shrimp, calamari, scallops and a smokin' volcano

Next he chopped and cooked the veggies and finished the meats and seafood:

Our dinner, artfully prepared


This was my birthday dinner plate:

Veggies, beef & shrimp

We ate until we were stuffed. I took home about half of mine. Had to leave room for some birthday cake and ice cream, don't ya know.

Chocolate birthday cake with my favorite natural peach ice cream.

All the food, the singing, the balloons, the gifts and the love made my 50th birthday a perfect celebration. My thanks to my partners, Jack and Bob, for making my special days even more special.

© Copyright 2010 Mountain Harvest Basket

Late Summer Reflections: 50 Trips Around the Sun

Late Summer View ~ Dry & Hot


It is the third week in August. Late summer. Almost time for the kids to be back in school. Time to get in that last minute summer vacation.

Some call it the “dog days of summer”. Though the weather is still blazing hot, I know that autumn is just around the corner. Every August I realize this, and every August seems to sneak up on me suddenly as if I didn’t know it was coming. As if I couldn’t read my calendar.


Can you spy the veggies in between the weeds?

There are major weeds in my vegetable garden right now. I have really neglected it this year. I never even got most of it planted, and now it’s too late. For this year anyway. It’s just too hot out, and I have been too busy with other things to pay much attention to my beloved garden. The garden that feeds me. The garden that I enjoy so much.

The late summer season and my neglected garden seem to be metaphors for my own life. I feel as though I am entering my own late summer season, and I am aware that I have neglected many important areas of my life over the past few years.

Oh, I have been busy, not lazy at all. I always have something going on. Some project or plan on which I am working. It just seems that much of my time and energy have been siphoned off lately taking care of other people’s problems, cleaning up other’s messes and trying to find balance in my life that I swear I used to have. I haven’t spent enough time on the things that I love the most in this life. I need to focus more on the things (and beings!) that make me truly happy, that inspire me, that help me to grow and evolve my soul.



Whispering Jessie ~ My Sweet Kitty



Jack & Bob


Each August I think about these things, but particularly so this third week in August of this particular year. This is a special time for me.

Today is my 50th birthday.

At exactly 10am today I turned 50 years old. That’s the big five-oh. A half century. I am a “semi-centenarian”, if there is such a thing.

I guess I am feeling this birthday much more than I felt my 40th or my 30th. With this birthday come many things that have to do with the aging process that I don’t really like.

Physical body changes. Sleep disturbances. Weight gain. Forgetfulness and distraction. Acute mental and emotional awareness that I am not a young woman anymore. These are some of the things that I don’t really like.

The medical people refer to me as a “post-menopausal woman”. Great label. Thanks. Thanks, so much. Accurate, but not very flattering.

Aches and pains seem to occur more frequently now. Stiffness. Especially in the morning upon waking. Waking, that is, if I even get any sleep at all during the night.

I went bra shopping the other day. I really needed some new ones as my old ones were so tattered and worn. This is not a chore that I look forward to. Standing there in the unflattering vaguely blue-green florescent lighting in the department store dressing room looking at that middle aged woman staring back from the mirror at me. That can’t be me, I think to myself. I don’t feel like that woman looks. Didn’t I just turn 20, like yesterday? This woman’s body is overweight and saggy! That can’t be me. And these bras don’t fit like they used to fit on my once thin and sexy young body. It depressed me for a few minutes. Not a long time, I recovered my good mood fairly quickly, but it’s still not a fun task to shop for clothes or intimate apparel these days. Forget about bathing suits.

I need to get in shape and lose some weight. I am not happy with how my body looks or performs. I need my strength and flexibility back. It will take work, but I must do it, and do it soon. I want to feel strong, vibrant and sexy.

When I look in my mirror these days, I see my Mom looking back at me. Now, I love my Mom dearly, and I think she was a very pretty woman, but I am not ready to look as old as she was when I last saw her at age 73 (she passed away 13 years ago). I see more and more of her in my mirror each passing day. I say “Hi Mom” and walk away from the mirror.

My 40th birthday seemed like it was going to be a milestone. A turning point. My entry into middle age. But it really didn’t have a major effect on my psyche. It came and went largely unnoticed.

I remember on my 30th birthday, I sent my Mom a bouquet of flowers with a special note attached saying “Mom, thank you for having me. I love you.” She loved all flowers, and my gift really touched her heart. She thanked me over and over again. I am so glad that I did that for my 30th and did not wait, because my Mom wasn’t here for my 40th. I am glad I got the chance to thank her for creating me, raising me and giving me her love and wisdom. I do still miss her so very much. Especially on my birthday. She always made my birthday very special with her fun gifts wrapped in colorful papers and ribbons.


My Mom ~ Jennie


I think maybe that’s why this 50th birthday is making me pause and think so much. Maybe I am just really missing my Mom right now. I miss her nurturing and her acceptance. I miss her passion for life, her laughter and her love.

A lot has been going on in my life this past year. A lot of changes. A lot of responsibilities. A lot of stress. I have had to deal with letting go of things that I had been holding onto for a very long time. Letting go of some things from my childhood, too. I’ll write more about these things another time, but for now, I guess I have been a bit too focused on my own aging because of having to let go of my childhood things. All at once. With me sort of kicking and screaming to keep hold of them. At age 50. Sheesh.

I need to learn which things to keep and which to let go freely. I need to get my balance back. My joy. My passion. My zest for life. I need to look forward to new chapters in my life. My fifties. OK. If I have to. There are worse things than growing older.

I actually like my life. I am loved. I have friends. I have family. My home is comfortable and pleasant. I have plenty to eat. (too much usually!) I really do have it good. I need to focus on those positive things more often.

This milestone 50th birthday has been a wake up call for me to actively improve the things in my life that need improving and to let go of the things that are not working to make me happy.

It’s time. I have much work to do.

I will start tomorrow.

Today we celebrate and eat cake & ice cream!




Happy Birthday to me! I love you all. Thank you for being in my life. ♥

© Copyright 2010 Mountain Harvest Basket

Healthy Baby

Annelise enjoying the bananas!

Jack's granddaughter Annelise will have her first birthday on April 11th. Her Mom and Dad are having a party for her complete with music, cake, ice cream etc. We are planning to attend, and I will report back here about the festivities.

For now though, I just had to share this latest cute photo of Annelise learning to enjoy healthy foods while shopping with her Mom and Dad!

She is such a cutie! I love this photo.

© Copyright 2009 Mountain Harvest Basket

Belated Birthday Posts

Candle Forest



Walnut Butterflies

I have been so busy and stressed out for the past several weeks that I have had little time to create blog posts. I did make time to post about my 1/2 birthday celebration and my other milestones, but I neglected to post about Jack's birthday at the end of January and also about Bob's birthday at the end of February. Sorry Guys. You know how busy I have been dealing long distance with my Dad's issues. I know you understand.

Anyway, in this post I will catch up by showing you some photos from both men's birthday celebrations. We all had a fun time, ate too much cake and ice cream and laughed a lot.

In the photos above leading off this post, you can see some close ups of Jack's birthday carrot cake with lemon vanilla cream cheese frosting.



Below is the same cake in all its flaming glory!

Beeswax candles aglow for Jack's birthday

Blow hard Jack! Get them all out. Good job!

Some of Jack's birthday presents waiting for the party to begin

This was a good moist carrot cake...Mmmm....

Along with the cake we had Jack's favorite Natural Vanilla ice cream from Breyer's. No ice cream photos though.

One last shot of the flaming cake before it disappears...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now Bob's birthday is really Leap Day, but we celebrated it on February 28th this year. Bob requested either a carrot cake or a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting for his birthday cake this year. I decided to experiment and give him a little of both.

He got a chocolate cream cheese frosted carrot cake!

Bob's Chocolate Carrot Birthday Cake

Jack supplied Bob's requested ice cream: Rocky Road. Again, no ice cream photos.

Of course there were birthday gifts to go along with the cake:

Gifts and Cake ~ natural beeswax candles, of course

And some balloons too:

Birthday Balloons

Bob successfully blows out all of the candles

Chocolate Covered Carrot Birthday Cake...moist and delicious

I think I prefer the lemon vanilla cream cheese frosting on my carrot cake, but the chocolate cream cheese frosting was very good too. I think the white frosting looks better on the carrot cake, provides more contrast in colors. Both cakes were devoured very quickly.

Happy Birthday Jack and Bob!


© Copyright 2009 Mountain Harvest Basket

Two, or Maybe Three, Celebrations!

Colorful Balloons decorated the House


Gifts Piled on the Coffee Table

No, not a birthday exactly, but a 1/2 birthday. My 48 1/2 birthday! (That would be 48.5 for you decimal nerdy friends of mine out there.) Yes, we crazy folks out here in the California foothills celebrate every chance we get, and that means celebrating 1/2 birthdays. So yesterday, February 19th, was my half birthday.

We had my half party at Jack's home, adorned as you can see above, with balloons that both men inflated with their manly hot air. No helium this time, but then helium doesn't last as long as air anyway. These beautiful ballooons went home with me and are presently filling my office with colorful cheer.

The guys gave me some nice gifts. Half birthdays are not supposed to be as elaborate in the gift area as full birthdays, but this year I received some very nice and very useful gifts from both guys.

Before we get to the gifts however, you need to see my favorite photo of the night below:

Cake, candles, gifts and curious kitty!

This is my view of the 1/2 chocolate cake (baked by Bob) just before I made my wish and blew out the candles. Notice Jack's cat, Lestat (named for his sharp teeth), in the background being very curious about all of the interesting things that appeared on "his" coffee table. I just love this photo!

So here are a few of the gifts I received for this year's half birthday:

Loaf Pans from Jack

I received 3 wonderful commercial grade loaf pans from Jack. These pans are heavy duty commercial grade metal pans that I will use in my bread baking hobby. I am excited to have them and can't wait to make some time to use them. Notice that I received 3 loaf pans. Just enough for our family of 3. One loaf of bread for each of us!

Cute Mini Cast Iron Skillet

Bob gifted me with this tiny cast iron skillet. I wanted it for a spoon rest or to use for melting butter. It's adorable, and is presently resting in the middle of my stovetop! I placed the wine glass beside it so you could tell how small it is.

A Pair of Excellent Candle/Fire Lighters

I received a pair of my favorite candle lighters. These babies are hard to find in the stores. They are wonderful because they fold up at an angle so that you can stick them inside a deep candle holder without burning yourself. They are great! I will use them all the time. Good for lighting the fire or the BBQ too. Thanks Bob.

I also received a great cast iron griddle/grill that fits my stove or BBQ really well, and a cast iron food press/weight for meats or sandwiches, but I didn't get photos of them. Bob got those for me, and I am so grateful because I had researched them for about 3 months before deciding which ones I wanted. He got me exactly the ones I liked. I will use them to cook magnificent things for us to eat!

Of course my favorite gifts of all are shown in the next two photos:

Jack

Bob

For this 1/2 birthday party, Bob made me a 1/2 chocolate cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting that you saw in the photo above, but here's a close up shot:

Chocolate 1/2 birthday cake~ or what's left of it

Jack made us his famous Picante Chicken with Rice dinner. It was so delicious that we didn't even take the time to get any photos of it. I provided a simple tossed green salad to round out the meal. We had some nice red wine, good food and good company. A very cozy family celebration. Just what I needed since I've been so stressed lately. Thanks Guys!

Now the title of this blog post says that there was more than one celebration to talk about. My half birthday is the first one.

The second celebration is that today marks my one year anniversary of this Mountain Harvest Basket blog! I started this blog one year ago on February 20, 2008. Hard to believe that time has flown by so fast, but it has. So just imagine in your heads the Happy Birthday Song...

Happy Blogiversary to Me!

Happy Blogiversary to Me!

Happy Blogiversary and Thank You to my Loyal Readers!!

Happy Blogiversary to Me!

I am so glad that I started this blog because I really enjoy writing about all of the crazy stuff that happens around here, and I have made such good friends through my blogging circle. Blogging has really helped to keep me happy and sane this past year. Thank you all. I love every one of you.

I will try to think of a fun way to celebrate this one year anniversary of MHB in the next few days. Perhaps I'll come up with some sort of fun give away or contest or something. We'll see how creative I can be.

OK, so that was celebration number 2. There's still one more to go.

The third milestone to celebrate is that this blog post is my number 101! Yes, I am one post late. I should have noticed that my last post was number 100, but I have been very busy lately, so I am choosing to acknowledge and celebrate blog post number 101 instead. Yay! Over 100 postings so far! Wow!

There you have it. Three celebrations in one post. Whew! I am tired now. I just can't party like I used to, I guess.

Love to you all. Thanks for being here and sharing my Mountain Harvest Basket with me.

© Copyright 2009 Mountain Harvest Basket