Hi!
It has been awhile, I know. I hope you haven't forgotten me (this blog, i mean).....
Leo has been busy! Travelling, for one. In late April we went to southern California for a Nudge family visit. Steve's parents were gracious in letting us take over their home. We went to the Wild Animal Park with William (Steve's oldest nephew). William was a fabulous companion for Leo- holding his hand, sharing his food (with Leo this is a non-negotiable), and just generally entertaining him. We went to the beach and Leo rolled around in the sand. As his mother, I was shocked! Growing up the sand was my least favorite part of the beach. We also hung out with Steve's childhood friend, Stephen Messner and his wife, Waen and their son, Kai who is just about the same age as Leo. Waen made us a super delicious Thai meal--red curried duck, yummy garlic and broccoli, a juicy chicken dish. On another day we went to the Graber Olive Company's packing facility in Ontario. If you have not had a Graber olive, you must! Go to the store--Whole Foods carries these. They are expensive, but totally worth it. The secret is they pick their manzanilla olives ripe and cure them in salt using equipment and methods from the late 1800's. Its trippy to see their operation and how old the equipment is. And, Oh! these olives are succulent- juicy and soft. FYI: Most manzanilla olives are picked unripe and gassed (with what exactly, I forget) to make black olives. Anyway, on to Leo. Here are some California pics. Also, next post will be a bit more current; although i do have to get in the post about our trip back to Mass.....
Love,
Amanda
