Adorable November

Today being the last day of November, here are just a few things I found adorable during this month of gratitude.

Lately, Henry has been going by the nickname Hammyburger...and now we know why. A toy hamburger patty has become his new favorite thing at Nana's house. Not sure why...I guess he just loves meat!

Olivia finding a comfy place to sit. This is what happens when Nana is tending.

Henry...adorable, sweet baby Henry. The back story on this photo...digging through storage boxes of old toys, we came across this hat. Dean bought one for each of the girls during one of his many trips to Russia. Cass, Dione and Jocie wore these hats for years.

Scrunchy nose face!

Shooting photos with the babies is always adventuresome and adorable. Add freezing cold temps, fresh wet snow, a snowman whose Oreo eyes were eaten by the dog, and then throw in a live chicken just to really create mayhem!

You know those babies must think we are NUTS!

And that 's the end of the photo shoot! Sorry Henry...but even your pout is adorable! By the way, the cards turned out great...I can't wait to find one in my mailbox!

Ah...sweet tender moments of Olivia and Papa snuggling on the sofa...love her adorable little belly!

A birthday cupcake surprise from Jocie's friends...Autumn, Sid, and Lindsay. They spent hours making them...aren't they gorgeous? Love you girls...truly, madly, deeply I do!

Getting ready to send out a few orders of jiggysticks...adore...adore...adore! A big thank you to everyone who has supported our adventure so far. Dean continues to send me a text every time he receives one of your orders...he adores it completely!

The latest jiggystick flavor...Raspberry Vanilla. I love how this label turned out!

Taken with the iphone 4s...not bad.

And finally...The Teenager on the first day of the ski season Saturday. As he stepped into those new Line skis and headed down the mountain, I couldn't help but sense Jocie skiing right along with him; smiling and proud of her totally legit baby brother!

Pausing The Press to Give Thanks

Undeniably there are some things we absolutely wish were different here at The Garlick Press...however, we are truly grateful for bounteous blessings.

Gathering my girls together, donning matching aprons and cooking up a feast! It is so satisfying to see my grown up daughters excited about cooking a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Mama Cass and Lawyer Girl are both excellent chefs...and Olivia, you should see her stir! 

Of course there is admiration for the toddling toddler...watching Olivia as she gains independence, wobbling for balance and strutting around the house feeling so BIG! And she is learning new words daily.

But my favorite word happens to be when she reaches out those chubby pink arms, looks at me with her gorgeous innocent eyes and calls me "Nana!" Making my heart skip a beat or two, I am so so grateful to be her Nana!

Lawyer Girl sneaks a moment with Nephew Baby, the youngest addition at The Garlick Press. Henry is 100% boy, intelligent and generally happy. He moves across the floor with something we call "The Wounded Soldier Crawl." Henry and Nana are buds too!

It's times like these that I"m grateful for the chaos that ensues when we congregate together. Four dogs, six adults (now that The Teenager is taller than me I guess he is adult-ish), and two babies. 

I will always be especially thankful for The Teenager; I don't know how I would have survived the last three years without his daily presence in my home and in my heart! Plus...I really LOVE his freckles. Henry, if you are lucky you'll get freckles like your Uncle Chet. The Teenager is the best uncle...all the babies love him!

As the oldest of my offspring, I admire and revere the wife and momma that Cass has become. Being one of her children has got to be so much fun as she makes each day an adventure! Momma Cass is deep in baby laundry, diapers, baby food, and keeping up with crawling and toddling little people.

Yet she still finds time to read; not just picture books, nearly one hundred novels a year. I have seen her reading Harry Potter to wide-eyed Henry or Little Women to inquisitive Olivia.

Brilliant and driven, Lawyer Girl is accomplishing something I never even dared dream about. Not only envisaging her future as a lawyer, Dione is accomplishing her goals and more. She is the only person I know who gets giddy when discussing anything related to the law! I am grateful that she is happy in her life and close enough to fly home for holidays!

Like most of our celebrations, we take Thanksgiving serious at The Garlick Press, and go all out...right down to our pies!


Pie...so grateful for pie...but not as much as Dean is!  By the way...pie night is just around the corner!

With gratitude and respect, I love my wonderful son-in-law Bob who works so hard at providing a beautiful life for the grand babies. He adores Cassandra, especially when she says something funny. He is the first to laugh out loud, admiring her sense of humor. And you should see how Olivia and Henry adore their Daddy.

 Learning how to use utensils...both hands at the same time!

 Henry's first Thanksgiving was fabulous. I don't think either baby said a word the entire time we were eating dinner. And that's something, with two babies at the table!


Dear hubby Dean...who makes my whole life complete. We've been through so much together. I remember concerned friends and family wondered if our marriage would survive losing a child, because so many do not. I'm grateful not only that we survived but that we are living and loving each other with every breath we take.

As we sit down to share this Thanksgiving table with family members, I also have to express gratitude for double ovens, electricity, and fresh turkeys from the store; thanking my lucky stars that I am not a pilgrim plucking feathers for my holiday bird!

Oh yes...and chocolate cornucopias...yum! Doesn't it look like Izzy is telling Dean a secret..."Say Dad, could you please pass the cornucopia!"

 Patient, lovable Izzy...I'm even grateful for the pooch...she makes the days delightful!

 These three appear to be thankful for a Thanksgiving nap.

Oh yes...and Izzy is most thankful for leftovers!

Hope your Ho Ho Turkey Day was wonderful too!

Additional thanks... As I posted this one, I noticed it was my 200th post! I am thankful for those who read The Garlick Press and also those of you who leave comments. I love them all...and each one inspires me to keep writing and photographing life.

Waking Up

Waking up to the first snowfall of the season is always exhilarating. When we crawled from our snug little beds on Saturday, 9 inches of snow covered the world outside.

Almost a foot of snow this early can often cause considerable damage. Many of the autumn leaves are still gripping the branches acting as a landing pad for the falling snow. Consequently we lost a few branches.

The chickens were as surprised as we were when waking up this morning.

Always anxious to leave the coop for a daily recess, I wondered what the girls would do when first stepping in the cold white stuff. They seem hesitant...

and then turn their tail feathers scurrying back into the coop. What a bunch of chickens!

Hopefully the bees survived this first storm and are all tucked in for cold weather. Drone bees serve no purpose in the winter and only consume precious food. So they have been voted off the island and kicked out of the hive. The remaining bees will huddle tightly around the leftover honey comb vibrating their tiny wings together. The bees will keep the hive at a balmy temperature of 94 degrees all winter.

As the sun begins to fill the morning sky, the air is still and silent; snow dampening the noises of daylight...

all too soon the silence will be filled with noise from snow-blowers and giggling kiddos.

Just don't hit the Nikon...boys!

Another check of the chickens...

"What's going on here?"

As the days grow shorter, the chickens will soon stop laying eggs for the winter.So far though, they haven't slacked off a bit. Preparing for Thanksgiving, I'm stock piling eggs in the fridge.

Thank you Mother Clucker for this gorgeous fresh egg!

Because we procrastinated putting the trampoline away, the boys need to clear the snow off the tramp and pack it up.

But not before Chet plays a new game...jump up and down on the trampoline...

letting snow and ice fly everywhere.

I do believe the teenager is enjoying himself.


Back to work!

Even the dogs LOVE the first snowfall.

Izzy's feet turn into snowballs after a morning of playing in the white stuff. She'll have to go in a tub to melt off all that snow.

Winter has made an early arrival to our valley. The next time we see the lawn will most likely be in April!

Welcome winter...we can't wait to play in you!

PS...Do you think The Red One sent the snow for my birthday?