Sarah and Jeff and Abe and Josie

It feels good to have two inches of mud caked onto my clogs. Under my nails. On my pants. It feels good to hoe, turn, and hoe some more. To plant and just know something will grow. It just feels good. The winter crop of kale has been harvested, their spot now occupied by beets.

Chard and turnips- check. Peas and corn- check. Spinach that needs thinning- check.

Rhubarb is growing without even having to work for it. In past years I brought rhubarb back to Arizona when we visited Jeff’s Grandma in Cherokee. It just doesn’t seem right to buy it in a store.

Some pictures of what’s been going on around Marlinton. Our four-footed friends have returned, the Greenbrier River Race, and a whole lot of Abraham.

Dear Spain,

Thank you for an incredible two weeks. Abraham loved the well-attended birthday party you threw for him and says thanks for all the candy. You were very gracious despite our halting, rusty Spanish. You were a little unfair with the exchange rate, but we forgive you. Thank you also for your abundant sunshine, castles, Digestive crackers, great food, punctual public transit, and friendly, baby-loving people. Yours truly,

Sarah, Jeff, and the Abraham

Thanks also to Lauren, Jay, Thomas, Lili, and Wyatt, for shuttling us around, shuffling their schedules, hunting for Easter eggs with us, for Abe’s first birthday party, and everything else. Have fun with the new little one!

View the whole album here.

It’s Tuesday, April 6th, three days since we celebrated Abraham’s first birthday in Rota, Spain, with Lauren, Jay, and family. We left there on Sunday and have been seeing the sights before we head back later in the week. So far, Abe’s favorite travel game is to pick out random people on trains or in restaurants and smile at them until they smile back. Usually he can coax them into a game of peek-a-boo and on the trains, more often than not, they end up holding him in their laps for a while. They love babies in Spain, but they really love Abraham. So far he’s left quite a trail of broken hearts and cracker crumbs in his wake.

Here are a few pix until we have time to post more.

Abraham packing for the trip.

Here he is getting impatient with the flight crew. Abe’s usual lack of foot wear doesn’t get him, or us, in trouble at home, but in Spain, it’s practically a stoning offense.

Abe and daddy after storming the keep in Zahara de la Sierra.

Abe (back row), Jeff, Sarah, and Lauren.

There’s more to come!