These days in the mountain

I find myself taking pictures or editing pictures a lot lately. I think I am getting better at this hobby of mine. I can tell because I find tons of mistakes on pictures I used to love. I am sure a year from now I will probably think that the pictures below are not so great after all, but for now this is where we are, Adiel and I, so I am also sure I will be fond of these memories.

 

I try to spend some time everyday outside in the mountain with Adiel. She loves being with the dogs, and as long as there is some dirt or plants she finds something interesting to do. When we take long walks Uri joins because it is too much for me to handle on my own (3 dogs and baby still on my back on the way up) and we take the dogs on leashes (I am not so comfortable with the stroller because our walk gets steep and also it is harder to push it up the hill than to take Adiel on me). 

Here she is holding the leash. It was getting dark so the chances of finding someone on the way were little and our dog "Evy" (as Adiel calls her) responds very well to orders, so we let her.

My dear Evita was with me during all my pregnancy (when Uri and I had to be apart) and even during my labor. I remember specially a moment when I was in the bathroom floor pushing and I did not want so many people with me, but Evita was there and she would make me feel better by laying next to me calmly, she knew exactly what was going on. I believe Adiel and her have a special bond. Still (I know) it is never good to get too relaxed with a big dog and a baby. Evita is territorial and particular, so I am glad Adiel wants to naturally let her know who is in charge here, but one step at a time.

She is also about babies right now (human and dolls). Maybe because she is not the little one at the kinder garden anymore and she is learning how to be gentle and caring for them.

I have seen some baby fashion on the internet. I have to admit some of it is gorgeous (like what you see here), but I do not think babies and kids should be wearing expensive designer clothes, but things that are right to play and explore. Most of her clothes was given to us as presents or inherited by other babies. Still I think she has some great style! However, 3 weeks ago I indulged in buying her those boots. Aren't they fantastic? I am hoping she is going to wear them until the end of the winter. I bought them in a Mexican shoes store for kids. It is called Mickey and it has been around for many decades all over the country (they were not that expensive though, something like $32).

Soon I will be moving on to a new blog and will start writing in Spanish too (I do Spanish much better than English, thank you). I will let you know.

Until soon,
Mercedes

one and a half

When I saw this idea on Pinterest, I just decided to do my own version. Everything changes so fast with the little ones, it is nice to let them know what they were up to at a certain age.

Adiel these days...

I like this picture because it shows, in a very natural way, where she is at right now. She is all about the details, her senses, exploring. She inspects, smells and tastes as much as she can! 

On the background Uri and our neighbor Jan, who was a successful motorcycle racer back in the day. Now he has a workshop that is like heaven for Uri, where he can shape any piece of metal Uri needs to build his engine (this is also where Uri built his Baja Bug). Jan helps us a lot with anything electrical and mecanical, and believe me, when you live in a self sufficient house with solar panels and with a built-it-yourself kind of husband, a good neighbor like Jan is very much appreciated.

Take care,
Mercedes

Crocodile Sunday

A couple of weeks ago we went to Crocodile beach, my favorite spot in the camp. It is a 300m sandy beach in a very secluded corner, that very few people know about. It's quiet, protected from the strong waves and the wind, its beautiful and it is amazing for taking nicely framed, dreamy pictures. It is known as Crocodile beach by some of the neighbors, not because there are crocodiles, but because of a giant rock that splits the beach in two, looking like a crocodile from above.

Lately we do not visit it often because it has become a big production with Adiel and because we need to carry her for a long steep hike (no flip flops in this beach). We all like to go though, but specially the dogs.

This was our Sunday at the beach.

I love focusing on the little details like this one of the sand in her arm.

Sometimes focusing on the details happens by accident with nice results. I love this one of Adiel jumping onto daddy's arms, but what you see best is her father's strong hands holding her tiny fingers.

 

This last one is Uri writing her Hebrew name on the sand.

Have a nice weekend.

Mercedes

My neighbor Aris

Reality check! This blog is public!

I was thinking I am sharing the pictures and adventures of my daughter with some of my friends and family... when I wrote about the birthday party of our neighbor Aris it never occurred to me that sooner or later someone was going to google his name and get to this blog. He still is an important figure. As I told you, I consider him family, we love him. We have dinners together often and once in a while he talks to us about his life. The man is the most knowledgeable person I have ever known. He is kind, intelligent, sharp, strong... we really look up to him. He is the type of person that will speak his mind and take a stand for the things that he believes in. He is tough, he is honest and wise. 

A couple of months ago Uri and Aris got together to do fresh handmade ravioli. It was a beautiful afternoon and a delicious dinner. (A series to Aris' family)

 I like the shots of his hands. You can see the guy is an artist, a builder, an inventor. He is delicate and precise, but strong and firm (Italian).

I will keep a closer look at what kind of information makes it into this blog from now on! But if you are reading this because of Aris, please drop him a line and I will take it to him.

Take care,

Mercedes

A family portrait

It is so rare to be able to take family portraits if you do not plan it... We wanted to take one for a long time, but never really put any effort into it.

Yesterday, after I came back from work, we took a very short walk with the dogs and suddenly discovered that our cat was joining us. We continued a little longer and he slowly got to where we all were, so I decided to just find a way to snap a picture. I hanged my camera from a small post and set it on the timer. And here it is. The whole family. Our beloved Reilly, the alfa male who recently lost his hearing; then Coffy, the youngest of the dogs who is an adventurer and a great hunter; Evita, our pit mix who will always be our first baby; our cat Redmond, who is ooooold but still does the job; Uri, Adiel and me. 

This was the first attempt... It was hard keeping so many little ones together and in frame.

Lately I have been complaining... It gets difficult driving every day to the city and back, specially with Adiel. I drive one hour to get to her kinder garden and then to work. When I finish I pick her up, we go grab lunch somewhere, we do some errands and then head home for another hour. I wish we were closer to the city, maybe on the north side, where there are also more young families, restaurants, cultural activities, etc. The truth is I really love my home and our remote end of the mountain. We have put so much work and love in our place and it gives us so much back. We feel privileged to be able to live in a place like this and enjoy these lovely moments. Everything has a price and driving for a hour is not so high.

 This is our house and our adobe dome.

Redmond the red cat.

It was a month ago that we took our Redmond to the vet for a check up and we came back with one of those cone collars that prevent them from scratching an open wound. You see, Red has been on cortisone for over 3 years due to a form of cat cancer, and now he has a tumor under his tongue. He is usually happy and active, he is still hunting, but once in a while he needs a shot to be able to eat properly.  So one month ago when we had to keep him inside the house with that collar he totally freaked out. On the third day he disappeared. We looked for him e-ve-ry-where. We hiked ALL around the mountain more than once looking for him (he needed his meds). Apparently he jumped from a 2 and a half story high, through a tinny opening in a window WITH the collar on... We thought he had left us for good, we thought he had gone to hide and die. Believe me, we looked everywhere and then waited. We were so terribly sad, we cried, we talked about him... And then, after a day, he came back still wearing the collar (I can not tell you how dangerous it is for an old cat to spend the night out in the mountain with a giant collar on that does not even let him see where he is stepping... there are lot's of predators out there!). When he came back and we saw him mawing out in the patio, we were crazy excited and cried even more!!! He is stubborn and has a couple of very annoying habits, hehe, but we love him so so much. He is a great cat and he keeps our mountain house free of mice, snakes and insects.

And he is the sweetest to my Adiel.

 I hope living in Nature has a great positive impact on Adiel. I look forward to talk to her about all the flora and fauna that surround us.

I don't know for how long we will be here and where we will go afterwards...  I also don't know how our family will change in the years to come... but I know right now we are loving it!

Until soon,
Mercedes

Insta-Friday and potty time!

Yes!! Adiel has begun her potty training! What??! She is only 1 year and almost 4 months... It took me by surprise, but apparently she is imitating the older kids at the Montessori kinder garden and she lets the teachers know when she wants to visit the potty, she sits there with a book and then she pees! I do not plan on pushing her to accomplish anything on this matter yet, but I am attending whenever she lets me know she wants to pee. We will see...

On a different note, I recently got my iphone, and with it came many great apps. Of course my first one was Instagram, to be able to take some nicely filtered pictures and share them with my network. So here are my pictures of the week. You will see some deck fun in the sun, baby horse (the name is Chiquillo), neighbors house (my favorite in the mountain), a sunset walk with daddy, the fields, some sugar craving, a few sky shots and a home made ravioli dinner preparation with Uri and our neighbor Aris (yes, it was yummy!).

 

 

For more Inta-Friday here is the link:

 

Have a great weekend.

Until soon,

Mercedes