Baby's first trip to Hopshire.

Well, it seems we really are going to have a kid at some point soonish.  I never exactly forget, but there are times that if feels more real than others.  Sarah is cleaning off the counter right now and I can see her reflection in the window.  Definitely pregnant!  We had a party for the monkey recently, too, with lots of friends, many of whom are also expecting.  Jenn did a nice job on the invitations.  

Dad took some pictures.  See his and Mom's blog, if you haven't already.  Neither Sarah nor I took one photo.  Luckily, Darren came through again.  I'll share just a few here.  At some point, we're going to have to start paying him.  It's as if we have our own personal, professional photographer.  Honestly, I was outside by the fire for a lot of the party, so I didn't see much of the inside.

Darren's shot of the front of Hopshire.  Jenn had the great idea to have our shindig at Hopshire, a local farm brewery that we've all enjoyed.  

Darren's shot of the brewery.  The tasting room is nicely decored, but they also open up the space you see here for picnics and parties and the like.  We did a pig and pints here once, and another time there was a shepherds pie cook off.  Randy and Diane (owners) have an annual harvest festival, too, where community members, including Erik and I bring hop harvests in to drop off for a Cohoperation brew.  All kinds of cool stuff.  As you can see, the party was well attended, and we felt incredibly loved.  Some people brought gifts, but we didn't open them there or play games or anything.  We cooked food and some friends brought more.  The real focus was on being together and celebrating the beginning of a new chapter.

Dad complains (a lot, sometimes) about being dragged out of the house, but people always enjoy seeing and chatting with him, and he usually enjoys them back.  Darren's photo.

Friends' kids/future baby sitters, Nora and Sebastian.  I'm not sure if they planned to coordinate outfits.  They had a lot of fun even though some of us hadn't napped.  They're so engrossed in play they didn't even notice Darren sneak this shot.

Good times, good laughs.  Holy crap! Sarah is pregnant!  We're going to be parents!  Darren was shooting from the stairs here, I think.  Clever angle.

Still a momma's boy. Darren's photo.

 Darren's photo.  Beautiful.

Mom and Livia.  They always have a good time.  Darren's photo.

Sarah and I both actually finished books recently.  We really enjoyed reading together.  It easily replaces the TV... I don't know why we don't do it more often.  Sarah read a book about the Beekman Boys that Margaret got her.  She got quite the chuckle out of it.  I read 1776.  It never really made sense to me why so many principals and bosses and the like read history books.  Now that I have to make harder decisions and ones with no clear good answer, it makes more sense.  I found it cathartic to read about Washington's trials and travails.  His issues with the British make my issues with 9th graders seem a little more manageable.

Shopping at momma goose.  Baby's first vest like Uncle Darren?

We started going through the lumber to look for some old barn wood for the kitchen.  I'm pretty proud of my lumber pile.  Hopefully we'll find some more uses for it... there is a lot.

Lot's of supervision.

This is the result of a trip out to Pat's.  Jonas goes with me pretty regularly, but it hadn't occurred to us to take Eva for some reason.  I guess we probably figured she'd be a pain in the but or stampede the horses or something.  To the contrary, she is hilarious and LOVES to run with Pat's puppy, Rocky.  They chased and swam and sniffed, and bulldozed through weeds.  Jonas was pretty busy trying to keep track of everyone. 

Is this new seat for me?

On Sunday, after the monkey party, Dad and I potsed around town.  I'd heard that there was a pair of hawks nesting up by one of our many bridges, and wanted to go see it.  We grabbed a couple binoculars and spied on her for a bit before we headed down town.

The wedge is without a doubt, my favorite simple machines.  The axe and knife, the splitting wedge, nails, saws, chisels, scissors, shims, mauls... man... oh yeah, and planes.

Cutest momma around.  Damn good carpenter, too.

Sigh...  seen better days.  Will again.

"Winter" break

Before Christmas, Sarah and I were super busy trying to get all of our projects done.  It was a lot of work, but we had a blast and supported each other, gave advice, and said "Wow, that looks really great!" and "Well, I wish I'd done a little better here." and things like that.  This is a shot of a rig that I set up to compensate for my poor mitering.  Always learning.

Cabins almost done in background, modern art coming together in the foreground, what a mess from the ground up!

This is Hubbard Valley.  Sarah and I have gone for many walks here, and I consider it one of the important places in our life.  Jonas and Eva seemed to remember it, though years have passed since our last hike.

My buddies.  We all enjoyed hanging out at Veneta's.  It was lovely, quiet, and calm, and the conversations and food were great.  Veneta made an amazing breakfast quiche for us with Gouda cheese and bacon in it.  Delicious.

One evening, Sarah had a hankerin' for a hamburger, so we went to check out a place called the Rail.  I was a little disappointed that it was attached to Summit Mall.  Sarah was a little disappointed that the wait was like 45 minutes.  None of us were disappointed with our dinners, and I was pretty happy with the beer.

After dinner, we went back to Veneta's, but nobody stayed up too late.

The adversaries measure each other up.

Coffee ceremony at Grandma Cressman's.  We had a lovely chat and snack with Grandma.

The peripatetic equestrian.  She didn't stop moving long enough to get a shot of her!  What a blast!

Headin' home!  I think she would have sat on the hood like a Nanny on the Cutty Sark and guided us back to port in good time.

Home.

Jonas and I are trying harder than ever to enjoy every moment.  I'm really pleased with this photo.  We've had impressive atmospheric phenomena this "winter".  Not much snow, but great fog!

After wandering around the house for a few minutes looking for AND calling for her, I found Eva happily snuggled into my clean clothes.

Veneta followed us up to New York for a second Christmas with Zhora, Jenn, and Bob, so Sarah and I got back to work on the gifts that we hadn't completed before we left.  With Sarah's input and purchases, I built Zhora a toolbox.  It was great to get to use my brand new bandsaw!  The design completely changed because I was able to do things that would have been too difficult and taken too long without the saw.  I was truly happy with the process and the outcome.

There's a wooden sheath for a saw glued into the bottom of the box and slots for screwdrivers, pencils, and the like on the side.

I used a thin piece of wood from a clementine box to make a spot to clip a tape measure on.

Here it is all done.  We also cut out a birdhouse, but didn't build it.  We gave the slabs of wood to Z and she got to build and paint the house with her mom and dad.  We had a lovely evening and dinner at Zhora's house and enjoyed opening all our gifts and sharing food and laughs and drinks!

It was a lovely break, and we felt so lucky and thrilled to get to spend it with people and animals that we love!  Thanks for all the gifts, and thanks a hundred fold for all the laughs, love, and memories.  Looking forward to seeing you all in this new year!