pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen

yes, i'm still getting bigger. i've officially started the uncomfortable phase, even though i still have 3 1/2 more months to go before the little champ arrives. sitting up starts to hurt by the end of the day and i find myself lying down to read every night. don't be offended by my derogatory comment about being barefoot and pregnant--i don't even get that joke--but it's true--i am barefoot and obviously pregnant. and that is the kitchen i'm in. i'm cooking moosewood's yummy potato soup recipe. it's one of the simplest potato soups i've made, but it's the best. just celery, onions, potatoes, milk, marjoram, and dill. it's great on rainy days like we've been having. i also took some advice from a recent posie gets cozy post and made the sour cream apple pie. i made mine a bit too runny so the apples didn't cook that well, but it's still good. and aren't those vintage embroidered hand towels lovely? you can thank my mother-in-law for those beauties.

i'd swim across lake michigan

we just spent a lovely weekend in michigan with my in-laws. my husband's brother and wife were also visiting from california, so it was quite the family get-together. we had a baby shower for them since they're due on two months before us. it got me geared up for my own shower. once the west coasters left for the airport sunday afternoon we headed to our friends' to ride horses. tom and paula live on a nice sized plot of land in the country where they own two of their own horses, sonny (shown above) and coin, and board three others. i forgot to get a picture of it, but their stable is called "T's Rockin' Ranch" and has an engraving of a guitar--very appropriate since tom's a vintage guitar collector.
even though I've been around horses plenty of times in my life, it's still amazing to see what large and powerful creatures they are up-close. their massive limbs and large eyes. it's intimidating. i like the whole lifestyle surrounding horseback riding--the woven blankets, the expensive leather saddles engraved with the artist's names--the whole bit. I left thinking I'd like to live like tom and paula when i get older--in the country, with a large back porch overlooking the trees, horses bought and boarded, woven saddle blankets, and a few vintage guitars.