Visit with "Aunt" Kake and "Uncle" Leaf

It was Max's first car trip lasting longer than 30 minutes and he did rather well I'd say. I did end up crawling in the back and hugging the car seat so I could breastfeed while he was strapped in- but it was more preventative than out of desperation or anything- He napped some both ways and I didn't feel like I had to be in the backseat the whole drive or anything- so I view it as a success.

It was crazy to see how much San Marcos has changed since Jack and I were roaming the streets. Rivendell is no more *tear* and Paper Bear is downsizing! I never thought I'd see that day- I hope it is not a harbinger of things to come- those were/are two of my very favorite things about San Marcos. I was able to stop at Paper Bear and get a magnificent sunhat and a couple more charms that I'd been wanting for my bracelet- they are hard to find these days!

The endangered wild grass that grows in the river is now so prolific in one spot it's basically an island and yet people are still tubing around it. Maybe it's only me that has a paralyzing fear of underwater plant life.....

Anywho- I digress.

It's always lovely to visit these folks- I've known Kaite since 1993? (correct me if I'm wrong sweetie) and even though we have lived far away from each other a lot of that time every time I visit it's the same old friend dynamic no matter how much time has passed. I really treasure that.

We had a nice time catching up and playing show and tell- there's always so much to see and taste and admire at their home. Max had a great time- meeting new people and animals- he was very well-behaved if I do say so myself- he even took a regular length nap in our little foldable travel "bed" in one of their bedrooms- yippee! It's always a gamble as to where, when, if and for how long your baby will be able to sleep.

As always- the food was delicious- Jack and I are now big fans of grilled pattipan squash and will be making some as soon as we see it for sale at our HEB.

Pippi discovered the joys of licking baby feet and Max's feet were the main attraction any time they were within reach- it was pretty funny- he didn't seem to mind one bit.

I got to see all of Kaite's current "house" chickens- (they have more on some land nearby) and they were delightful as always- I love Saffron so much and the two ladies (Helga and Ursula) I'd not previously met were glorious.
I would love to post more pictures as I have a ton but it has been a really long time since my last post and I'm having picture uploading woes. I just got wireless internet- I don't know why this is happening. Poo.

In closing- I got to bring home 2 good sized boxes of eggs from Kaite's chickens! She was delighted that they were not taking up room in her fridge anymore (she had been stockpiling them- I guess for me?) but she has no idea how thrilled I am to get them. A bunch of them had been in there for quite some time and so I'm in the process of blowing them out- I'm keeping count so I know how many she gave me and how many get lost in the process. If anyone knows anything about letting eggs dry out inside their shells let me know!

Yay eggs! Homegrown ones always dye better than the lame store ones- their shells are so thin and inconsistent. I'm really looking forward to making a bunch more pysanky with these. :)

These are all the extra special eggs that were in the mix- oh the interesting details we are spared from by our homogenized grocery store society....

Max admires Helga (I think). It's always so fun to walk through a yard with chickens milling around- they're so much less menacing then geese.

Max met Paul for the first time and seemed reasonably unfazed by his boisterousness- which is good- but then Max is generally unfazed. It was great to see Paul and I was glad to have him meet the little guy.

This is Max looking super adorable on Kaite's beautimous fabrics/quilts with his own little gingham number thrown in the mix- he was being fascinated and charmed by Kaite when this photo was taken- she's the best Faerie Godmother a kid could ever ask for. So, a wondrous time was had by all (at least the members of my little family) and as always it was like a little visit to some amalgamation of a faerie palace, a petting zoo, Little House on the Prairie, some kind of fantastical factory and a tattoo shop. Thanks for having us! We hope to be back soon and often :)