We're All Just Making Babies

The Aracaunas are laying! This means that there are three small blue eggs each day in a little hole they've dug at the back of their coop. We have a surplus of eggs now for the first time. It's been fun giving them away and eating them. Their small size makes two of them the perfect breakfast.

And, we are growing, too. My belly now measures a whopping 36 inches! And my belly button is getting shallower each day. This little babe is moving quite a bit. Chris has felt its gentle movements through my skin. We are ruling out all sorts of names (like Janson and Hans) and accepting just as many.

We recently were gifted a book called Boy or Girl? 50 Fun Ways to Find out!


Our favorite test so far is called Mirror, Mirror on the Wall.
This old German tale checks not whether you are the fairest mother of them all but what your eyes say. Stare into a mirror for one minute, but not more than three. Do your eyes dilate? If yes, a boy. If they don't, a girl.

Hmmmm. We'll let you know the book's prediction once we've completed all the tests. Though the truth will only be revealed in January!

Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral?

Our urban garden project has just expanded to include growing a human! Wow! How do we do it, you wonder? Well, our thumbs are just that green.

We are planning on harvesting in mid-January, so keep your eyes peeled for news on this hardy, winter perennial.

The Latest Peek

Here is our HIVE VIDEO!

This is an up-close-and-personal encounter with our bees. It's the only footage we've captured while opening the hive. (Please excuse/enjoy the excessive narration.)

We're still a few months away from collecting honey. At that point, the top box (which excludes the queen and therefore, the larva) will be filled with honey that we can tap into. We will borrow an extractor from the Alameda Beekeepers' Association for the job. We will be sure to document that exciting process.

Stay tuned for more news in a few days...

The Bamboo Battle is Won!

The Bobcat was with us for 24 hours. Chris was clearly in love.


Then the painstaking task of separating root from dirt. What to do with the root piles the size of small cars, we are not yet sure.


Thank you, Pat, for the wheelbarrow!

The Guido Project is U..n..d..e..r..w..a..y

We are busy getting the house more sturdy and beautiful. Mom came out last week to help us with paint colors.



Chris used a machete to decapitate the bamboo so we could pile it up and rent an excavator to break up the rhizomes.



We discovered the original mantle behind some painted wooden siding. What a treat! There is even an alcove next to the fireplace that we uncovered that is perfect for built-ins.



And Chris has learned that demolition is quite rewarding.




See you this weekend at our party: Guido House, Pre-Transformation!

Checking the bees...with Dad!

Our New Home!

We just bought a house! Or, at least, we are in the midst of buying it. One of our favorite parts of the new house is the large yard! We are eagerly planning a chicken run, vegetable garden, and orchard of loquat, pear, lemon, and fig. Chris's mom has saved some loquat seeds for us and a fig tree from his grandmother, Sentina. We are excited to continue the Barabaria family tree line.



We will be moving in around June/July, after the roof and windows have been replaced. We will be doing quite a bit of work on the place (see pic). The biggest garden project will be removing the bamboo grove, which was trimmed down for the house sale. Our new neighbor told us that it has been growing here for 20+ years.



We have been making plans while we wait for the keys:



We will let you know when we have our weekend bamboo digging party!