Remembering Oso...Almost two years ago.

My life the past few years has been anything, but ordinary.  We moved from the NW Washington town of Darrington just over a year ago.  The Oso Landslide that happened just about two years ago, was a life changer for not only our community, but our lives as well. Due to the heartbreaking loss of life from the slide, we made the decision to leave our beloved home after we suddenly woke up to river front property about 7 months following.

 I do not know if  I will ever forget how I felt during the minutes, hours, days, weeks and months that followed.  There will forever be a part of my heart and soul that was damaged.  I can't even imagine the pain and sadness that the slide victims, survivors, and their families experienced and are still experiencing.  I was writing for the Concrete Herald at the time and conducted interviews.  I actually felt horrible while trying to make the phone calls. Sewn into my mind forever from the scanner radio are the words "body bag, pieces, body bag, pieces."

 Then you think back to the memories you had with the lost ones you knew.  Tears still fall from my eyes when I remember the contacts I had with some of them and for the friends of mine who lost someone/s.  It was nice to be a part of such a wonderful and strong community.  A special shout out to the people of Darrington and my friends that are still hurting and mourning for love ones lost.  As time passes may you find peace in your heart and soul!

Sinus Headache, Snicker Doodles, and Soup (Potato)

What do you do when you are a stay at home mom with a sinus headache, two rambunctious girls, and a rainy day?  #1. You need to find a way to keep them busy without them arguing, which leads to three year old high pitched temper tantrums!

My solution:  The Kitchen!

Not only do I have nice bar stools to sit at while I supervise and help, but the wonderful smells, (aside from one tray of cookies getting burnt) and warm vapors from the oven and stove top have made my headache less painful.

This time of year always find me craving cinnamon and potatoes!  Especially cinnamon, when I don't feel well or have been stressing out.  The past few weeks have been weary trying to battle the County and Bank.   One of my grandmothers mailed me a classic 1985 Betty Crocker Cookie Book a few weeks ago and today was a good day to use it.  Of course, I tailor and tweak almost all recipes I try to my own taste buds, but today I only added some vanilla extract to this Snicker Doodle Recipe.

 

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and Cream together until slightly fluffy:

 

1 1/2 Cups sugar

1 Cup butter (or you can use half butter and shortening)

2 Eggs

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

 

Mix in:

 

2 3/4 Cup flour

2 teaspoons cream of tarter

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

 

Form 1 inch balls and roll into a bowl with:

 

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

 

Bake for 8 to 9 minutes, remove from oven and put on a cooling rack after two minutes. ENJOY!

 

Potato soup





 

Picture is before I added the liquids

 

 1. Cut up 1/2 pound of bacon into 1 inch pieces and sauté in soup pot until almost crisp.

2. While the bacon is cooking,  Cut up 1 large carrot into small coin pieces and dice three stalks of celery. Sauté with bacon until soft and bacon is nice and crisp.

3. Cut up 4 medium to large potatoes.  I like to dice one potato smaller than the rest to help with thickening add to pot.

4.  Add one 32 oz. chicken broth and enough water to just cover your other ingredients.  You can use all chicken broth if you want.

5. Add 1 Tablespoon dill  and parsley if you like and salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer on medium -high for approximately 25 minutes and potatoes are well cooked and very soft. I also like to add in two teaspoons of smoked paprika.

6. Add 1 cup of cream (whole milk, half and half or whipping)

7. Now if you want a creamer  soup still,  you can use an immersion blender to thicken it up or add a mixture of cream and flour.

Enjoy

 

 

 

What do we do now?



(River has taken 300 plus feet in just under a year and two heavy rain storms. Orange dots mark current top of bank.)

We received a pretty clear warning from the Sauk River last November.  An approximate 100 plus by 700 feet of land disappeared in the night.  We received  another pretty clear warning from personnel of Snohomish County, “highly erodible soil.” We received more warning from Army Corps of Engineers that our property would continue to erode. 

We could not sleep at night when it was raining. Echoes of hearing, “parts in bag,” from the  scanner during the Oso disaster fresh in our minds. The parents of three, two of whom under the age of 4;  How do we keep our two small girls and teen safe from frigid rushing waters, mud, and current?  We seek safety and go into financial ruin.

That was suppose to be our “raise the family in” home.

What has Snohomish county done for us?  They allowed us to build in a Critical Area they knew a new ordinance would not allow a few months after.  They never sent documents after the fact to warn us we were in a Channel Migrations Zone or that we were on "highly erodible soil.” They got all their building permit fees and taxes paid for 7 plus years.  They have continued to receive tax money from our bank for the current year.

Over the weekend, the first real rain storm since the first event, The Sauk took another approximate 100  by 700 foot piece of land. Looking at about 300 total.  Some more going in during small rains during the year.  The well to the house is now unusable and on the current bank of the river.  The house is now just over 100 feet from the current main Sauk River Channel.

We were smart and sought safety.  We are physically safe, but far from Financially secure.  We feel emotionally abused by the enormity of the mighty County that is too stubborn to help and an un-sympathetic Bank.

 

What is Snohomish county doing for us?  Put us on some “maybe” list for FEMA funding.

What is our bank doing for us?  Seeking the remainder of our mortgage.

What is Pierce County doing in a similar Critical Area Channel Migration Zone.  BUYING A WHOLE NEIGBORHOOD OUT.

Homemade Pasta Anyone?

    

     I have been keeping an Atlas 150 Pasta Machine in my cupboard for over 15 years.  It has to weigh at least 20 lbs.  It survived the "do I really need you?" questioning that goes along with each move.  With the expiration date nearing on the Semolina flour, the help and culinary curiosity of my two mini sues chefs, today was the day I finally decided it was time to summon up my inherent Italian genes and give Pasta making a try.

     I have watched numerous homemade pasta making tutorials over the years  and decided upon using the recipe on the back of the Bob's Red Mill Semolina Flour package.  I however doubled it, used pink Himalayan sea salt, and used my Kitchen aid for initial mixing and then kneading.  I only had to hand knead with my helpers for about a minute.

      I was a little ambitious at attempting the angel hair pasta off the bat, therefore ruining one small slice of my dough loaf, but the second section worked just fine after I adjusted the thickness setting.  Having a helper to crank the pasta maker is very nice also.  I think this would be a fun rainy day date event.  I will say that the cute little nest of noodles that they do on the videos is easier said than done with the Angel hair.  The linguine was much easier and ravioli and lasagna would be a snap.  I will be making many more pasta noodles in the near future.

     These noodles will go perfect with my Italian canned diced tomatoes, a small can of tomato paste, and the sausage from a local meat market for a delicious robust sauce!


Recipe for Homemade pasta
3 cups of Semolina flour
4 eggs
1 teaspoon of sea salt
4 tablespoons of Olive oil of your choice
4 tablespoons of water

77 months - My Breast Feeding Story

I just weaned the baby of the family.   I am having mixed feelings about the whole thing.   I have devoted 77 months of my life to providing my three, unique and beautiful children, with the best milk on earth. A chapter in my mommy life is now closed.  The cherished memories of little eyes looking up at me with love, little hands gently playing with my face, along with  the not so cherished memories of sore nipples, crying babies in the night, and sleep deprivation will never be forgotten.  "It's a good thing they are so cute."  I use to joke to myself, while barely being awake enough to feed them every two hours or less some nights.

 I nursed the baby of the family, my daughter Josie, the longest at 38 months.  I have been nursing straight for the past 52 months.   I nursed Skyla, my oldest daughter, for 14 months with 8 of those months while being pregnant with Josie.  The other 25 months is from 15 years ago when my first child, Ben, was born.

I have estimated that I have produced over 300 gallons of milk.  I nursed a son, I nursed two daughters, I even nursed during a pregnancy.  All three of my children pretty much never had a bottle except a couple in the hospital for some supplementation. They also never took to pacifiers either.  If they were hungry or upset they got my breast. 

I have been fortunate enough to be able to be the hands on type of mom I always wanted to be.  My patient husband of Skyla and Josie, in the beginning before our girls where born was like, "about a year is enough, right?"  "One is good, but two is better" I replied.  Hoping that I could make it last a little longer.  Then our Josie was born and one year became just over three.  My children were nursed to sleep and always next to us either in bed or Skyla in a family heirloom wooden crib at night.

I will admit the first 3 to 6 months of my son's life I felt like a milk cow.  Weighing in at a hefty 9lbs 11 oz, my little man was never far from the breast.  After about 1 and half he just nursed in the morning for one snack and mommy time. Skyla, my independent one  was easy to wean thank heavens because her sister was just about to be born.  I did get in about a two week break before Josie was born.  Then we come to Josie.  Her more gentle nature and yearning for mommas milk and comfort persuaded me to nurse her the longest.

I will never forgot my three momma milk loving babies nursing moments.  I will also note that so far, non of my children have had ear infections or serious allergies like my hay fever.

Northernwood Mom has become River Sea Writer

With our move from North Cascades of WA to Astoria Oregon, a name change was in order.  Living near the majestic mouth of the mighty Columbia River, has so far been a welcomed changed.  Fresh breezes with hints of salty air surround me almost all the time.  The beauty and serenity here is priceless.  City fun is not far and of course the massive Pacific Ocean.  River and Sea meet here to create a bounty of beauty and experiences to savor!  Please come along for the ride.