Monday, December 21, 2009

Gretel Gets Ready for Christmas

Getting ready for Christmas takes a lot of effort. Bare bottom time with your dog and your Smartwool socks is a must....

Practicing that big smile for the camera is also imperative.




Taking a rest between all these smiles is important as well.


Hey, she's getting pretty good at this stuff!



More Lights and Wonderful Insulation

Living with bare bulbs has gotten old, and as a Christmas present to ourselves, Casey and I decided to have a few light fixtures repaired. This one was found in the basement when we initially cleaned all the junk out of our house. We think it is probably the original dining room fixture dating back to the 1910s. The folks at Hippo Hardware got it back into working order and cleaned it up. We love its beautiful old patina.


The light in the living room was a gift from my aunt and uncle Barb and Jerry Porter. It is made of plaster and had the guys at Hippo drooling and offering Casey oodles of items in trade! I guess these are pretty rare and quite unusual to find in such good condition. So it too adds an incredibly original feel to the house and is quite gorgeous with its rich colors and fancy tassel.





Last but not least, and certainly none too soon, we got tons of insulation installed last week! All attic spaces now have knee-deep insulation and the ceiling of the basement is completely insulated as well! Casey had to spend a full day prepping for the work - drilling vent holes, sealing all the cracks with spray foam, getting all the old unworthy insulation out, running wires and pipe in the basement ceiling before everything got covered up.... Here he is in his moon suit before heading into the attic. (Incidentally, he does quite an impressive moon-walk in this outfit!)






Jaime's Back In Town!

Our friend Jaime, who has spent the past year working for a prominent Landscape Architecture firm in Germany, has finally moved back to Portland! She spent her first week home staying with us and got to meet Gretel for the first time. They hit it off right away!

Jaime caught us in the bustle of Christmas preparations, and was a big help with working on special projects, helping with decorations and keeping Gretel amused. Gretel enjoyed the extra attention!








Saturday, December 19, 2009

"Christmas with the Camerons"

I've been enjoying "Christmas with the Camerons" for many years now. This year was full of wonderful food, great company, Christmas carols and general good cheer. Andrea's mom, aka Mims, brought these funny headbands and also gave Gretel a beautiful Christmas dress (along with Andrea's sister Kare) for her first Christmas!

Gretel in her new dress!


Crazy headband crew: Andrea, Liesl, Casey, Kare and Henry



Mims and Grandpa Tom brough oysters as a treat. We ate them baked with a lime juice/hot sauce mixture. YUM!! Here's Alistair licking oyster shells.


Miley kissing Gretel.

And here's a face I know (and love) well from 10 years as her cubemate.....!

Friday, December 4, 2009

Two Teeth!

What's new with this little girly today? Why her first two teeth, of course! This morning Gretel was not as interested in reading her book as chewing on her book. She has had yet another cold and is about as slobbery as one baby girl can be. I took a peek in her mouth just on a hunch and sure enough, two pearly whites are poking through on the bottom of her mouth! I tried to take some photos but, well, you can imagine what a challenge that would be! So instead feast your eyes on the Clivia in its full glory. Wow!


And a video of Gretel playing for those of you who don't get to see her regularly....