Best.

Mothersday from chris roeleveld on Vimeo.

A video my brother once made for my mom for mother's day. I know it's not the mother's day season, but it's still the best. And my throat gets a little tight every time I watch it. (well, the first time I shed a tear too)

Before the half year mark!

It seems like my blog habits have a certain trend. 1 month in between, 3 months in between, now 6 months...At this rate the next post can be expected at some point in november 2010.

I really hope that this won't happen and that I can make some attempt at sharing more frequently (although if I had anybody who was interested in this blog I am sure I have lost all hope for anyone to be interested now). I admire those who can keep up so well. Blogs are popping up everywhere. Now, even my grandparents have started a blog! Amazing people.

I have to say, though, there have been good reasons not to blog for so long. I have been really busy with good things and there were a lot of things that needed to have a higher priority than to update this blog. And not that I have nothing to do now, but things have slowed down a bit and I have this month and next month to enjoy a bit quieter agenda and to-do list. Things will pick up in January when I dive into full-time classes again until about april or may.

I hope I can share some of the things that i have been getting into lately like food production issues, knitting, learning how to be a mama, cooking, farming and the list goes on, although I think those are the biggest. If anything I hope this can be a place where I can get some of my own thoughts and ideas organized...

Milestones!

Wow! So many things have been happening since the last time I posted anything-that was over 3 months ago. Things have been really busy here and it has been hard to find the time for things like blogging (not that anyone really is waiting for a post...)

Here is a short summary of what has happened:
Mom came to visit
Went to Scotland for 2 weeks
Cameron turned one
Cameron started to walk on his own
Cameron is trying to say some words
Kate is trying to finish up her internship and started full-time classes

It seems like the last month Cameron has grown so much and is really not a baby anymore but a little boy. It's so fun to be part of. I think we can say that his first word is uh-oh, which he's been saying the last couple of days. He's also been intensely interested in zippers lately.

It was fun to celebrate his first birthday. It was a beautiful sunny day. It is still surreal to think back on this last year with him. From going into labor and knowing he was on his way into the world, to looking into his eyes in the middle of the night that first night, to worrying about why he was crying, to little sounds and giggles, to eating and crawling and then walking and playing and then now. (and that skips a lot of big things!) One thing I love that he has been into the last week is reading books. People who know Cameron would say 'active' is an understatement when describing him, so sitting on my lap wasn't exactly his favorite thing to do. But for the last few days he's been enjoying reading books on our lap. It'll even go so far that he'll grab the book and then walk over to sit on our lap. I love it and I love the close contact it gives. He's learned how to point and will enthusiastically point at different things in the book and make some sort of noise.

We had a lovely holiday in Scotland in the beginning of April. We had some beautiful weather (nice surprise!), took some walks, let granny and papa enjoy Cameron, saw lots of family and my mom and Elisabeth were also able to make it over for easter weekend (since my mom was in Holland at this time). Neil was busy planting trees and dreaming...
Here are some pictures to capture some good moments of the last while. Hopefully it won't be another 3 months before I post again!

Our Daily Bread

Last night we watched the movie 'Our Daily Bread' with some friends. It's a movie by Nikolaus Geyrhalter about food production (in Europe, as far as I know). The movie had no words or subtitles, just footage of the origins and process of our food. Though there was no spoken explanation to what was shown, the images said enough. I was quite horrified (I even dreamt about little piglets last night).

To me one of the saddest things was seeing the different workers at their jobs, especially those involved with livestock and poultry. They have this super mundane, monotonous work day in and day out. They showed people working with such things as chicks, cows, trees, fish, pigs, tomatoes, and more. In each situation there was no dignity in their jobs, and they had no choice about it. People spending their who day castrating piglets. Over and over and over. Or scooping up hundreds of chickens and stuffing as many as possible into crates to be processed. In wanting our food to be as efficient, cheap, and much we not only rob animals of their basic instincts and a normal life, but we do it to people too. There is all-around now regard for life and the quality thereof.

To what extent can we say that people have choice in this? I don't really know. What are the alternatives and who is in charge? Who makes jobs like this available, we the consumers, the producers, the government? How much farther can/will this go?

In the past I've been somewhat aware of the food production issue, but i think I mostly viewed it in terms of health/nutrition. How is food production effecting my health? I knew there was a difference in mass produced food compared to what would come from the small farmer, but it wasn't a huge issue. Maybe it's not as healthy, but then again, people are living longer these days then they were before the age of mass production. And it wasn't as much where the food was coming from as what food people choose that makes them unhealthy. Organic bacon, sweets, and butter isn't going to make you healthy.

Since seeing this documentary I feel this issue in a new light and the bigger pictures. This simply isn't they way things are supposed to be.

Cameron taking some assisted steps

Today Cameron took his first few steps supported by his little cart. He was very excited about it!

It's been a while since I've posted anything. Things have been busy over the last 2 months. We took a big trip to St. Louis for Christmas and had lots of fun there with Oma and Opa, Christmas day, Molly and David's wedding in Columbia, paintballing, horseback riding, and....knitting (couldn't leave that behind).

Now it's back to school and the same not-so-regular routine.

Here's a picture of what I'm working on now: it's my first attempt at cable knitting. It's going to be a hat for Neil...if it fits.