Turkey basters, magic wands, etc.

It was just a few minutes after we put Sofia to bed last night when we heard an outburst coming from her bedroom. And then again. We stopped what we were doing and started listening. For some reason, Sof was yelling out "Banano!" at the top of her lungs. Repeatedly. She wasn't upset, just exuberantly yelling. And it was simply hilarious.

This is a good example of life with Sofia recently - she's just funny to be around. The last few days she's been carrying around a turkey baster and occasionally singing into her "microphone" about whatever she's playing with. Or maybe about Lucy, or maybe a song about bahti (her blankie). And then, of course, she gives herself a round of applause after every song. If it's not the turkey baster, it's her magic wand and she's turning things into animals, yelling "Pot!" Which I have deduced is supposed to be "Poof!"

I suppose what I really need to do is videotape her more, because the thing I love most these days is her sweet little voice. I think about how quickly she's going to be a girl, a teen, a woman, and it almost breaks my heart to think I won't get to hear that innocent voice every morning. I wake up every day excited to hear what she has to say and how she's going to figure out how to say it.

To actually keep up with other news, it's been a most eventful and summer, and all highly unexpected events. We've experienced joy, loss and grief and in the midst of all of that, sold our lovely house. It's not easy to leave this house that I'm still head over heels in love with, but the decision to sell came after lots of prayer, thought and discussion. And for the house to sell in this economony after only 20 days on the market...well, I suppose this was meant to be.

I've also spent the summer dedicating hours to my new dance troupe, Nagamani, created by the amazing Lorraine, whom I met in Alaska about five years ago. I think we're on our way to some good things! Debut performances in Portland coming up Aug. 17 & 28!

My first little vegetable garden is producing beautifully. We've been happily scarfing up the sweet Walla Walla onions as they mature one by one. I'm biting my nails and watching my tomatoes, hoping that we'll be able to harvest some before we have to leave the house. We're also enjoying the absolute bounty, and I do mean bounty, of fresh berries. Sofia and I recently went berry picking on Sauvie Island, and she's been pooping blue for days. This trip also included an inadvertent jaunt on a nude beach, but that's a story for another day.

So from here...I'm not really sure where we're going to end up. We're set to re-enter the world of home rentals, and though I'm not particularly excited about it, it's rather liberating in some ways. And I know it'll lead to us finding the home that is right for all of us, wherever that might be.

But in the immediate and predictable future, a visit from Jess and Aidan! Can't wait to see them and get some good cousin pictures.

I've been slacking on taking pics lately, but here's Sof on Sauvie Island and a Nagamani promo shot: