My name is...

I feel like the proudest Mamma Bear on the block. Look what Orion did for his homework last night. He was supposed to write his name and he did this all by himself. With maybe only a little prompting from Big Daddy.

8th Annual Kigali Peace Marathon

Talk about inspiring...he was running the marathon

The starting line of the marathoners



Yay! Team Ali-Dembrow



Team Shedd

and the winner is...Orion!






A Little Bit About Breakfast

From The Joy of Cooking - 1964 edition

the best oatmeal pancakes (sorry...griddle cakes) in the world

Chris's infamous bacon weave...a beauty!

I am not a huge breakfast fan...never have been and probably never will be. You know those people who just love themselves a good brunch or a hearty sit down on the weekends? Just not me! That is not to say in my old age I have not grown to appreciate a fine breakfast but I much prefer a cocktail or an appetizer any day. I digress when I start talking about cocktails and appetizers. So O boy loves breakfast and one Saturday morning with nothing better to do I pulled down my old ancient copy of the Joy of Cooking and looked at pancake recipes. What I found was this recipe for oatmeal griddle cakes that I have basically made every single Saturday since I found the recipe. They are fantastic! O has oatmeal every morning for breakfast from a giant vat that I make in advance. At the end of the week there is always enough left over to put together a batch of these lovely pancakes. I have found they really are best if you mix them up the night before and leave overnight in the fridge. Makes for super easy cooking on the bleary Saturday morning at 6am.

On another note...meat! Our friend, Paul, was posting about bacon the other day, which got me to thinking about the bacon weave that our other friend, Chris, made on a ski trip a couple of years ago. Amazing! I have never made one and frankly it kinda creeps me out but damn if it doesn't look pretty. OK enough about breakfast, its time for a drink!

I can write it...myself!

A Rainy Sunday Morning

Mamma mamma mamma...come quick I have to show you something

Wowza! Look at that crazy mud puddle!

"I love my thomas the tank engine boots"



I think I have mud on my eye

Tour O' the Backyard

I have fallen in love with our backyard again. Sometimes I get annoyed with it - I am not sure why - all the leaves that continue to fall from the avocado tree? all the weird weeds that grow? all the strange pruning that seems to happen when I am not home? But lately I have been having a new appreciation for the interesting mix of flowers that just keep popping up. These are mostly annuals (or they would be annuals in colder climes) but here they grow, bloom, wither and bloom again. It's really pretty amazing. It's different to live in a backyard that is only yours for a short period of time. We only planted a few of the plants - most came with the house and were mature when we moved in. Some have been mangled beyond recognition...we have a rose bush that my friend Heidi would shudder at. It's been pruned so wrong so many times the poor thing is one long branch. There is not a huge feeling of ownership that comes when you own a house and all the hard work and investment is yours but still, lately, I have really been digging our lush green oasis in the city.

Our pomegranate tree. We have never had more than 1 or 2 fruits at a time. Then we pruned a bit, and holy shit...there are at least 50 pomegranates on this tree...

A huge ass avocado that fell from our tree - about 50 feet in the air. I keep thinking I should make Orion wear his bike helmet when he is playing in the backyard.

This is a start that I smuggled in from one of my trips to Bujumbura - I don't know exactly what it is but it gets these crazy green balls on it and these amazing pink flowers.

New set of bananas

Eric's pineapple plant

New set of sunflowers

Uganda Flora and Fauna

Both Uganda and Rwanda use eucalyptus trees for lots of things - in Uganda they use them to hand carve wooden canoes. On our weekend get away we took a boat ride to one of the 29 islands in Lake Boy. There we walked around a bit and saw some amazing old trees. Check out the peeling bark.

On one of our hikes we walked by this little group of handmade houses. The material was so pretty - it was rough and you could see some sort of straw in it.

I am in love with these weaver birds - they are so loud! It's like they party all day and night.

Got Meat?

One of the most interesting things I saw during our time in Cape Town was the love that folks had for dried meat. It is sold in every type of food store and in many different styles. Some is dry and seasoned, some is like a stick of pepperoni. Different types have different names - the kind I liked the best was called biltong. These two shots were taken in a fancy whole-foods type grocery store. You could pick what type of biltong you wanted and purchase it by the kilo.

Boat Rides

We took a boat ride everyday while up in Uganda. O loved them and it gave us a chance to see all the birds this area is known for. I have some pictures I will post of them soon!

14 Years of Wedded Bliss!

Enter a 22 year old woman with nothing better to do in her life than pack it all up into one back pack (that she still has mind you) and head off to someplace called Guyana (not Guinea or French Guiana). In this land that was hotter than Hades, she met a Mr. Right for Now who she felt was all wrong for her but who made her laugh until her sides hurt (and he cooked a mean spaghetti, too). The relat...ionship was based on attraction, friendship, fun, a crazy mini-bus, and a small country. But the thing is…things changed and the couple continued to grow together and believe it or not they stayed together (to the amazement and disbelief of many people). In fact, they not only stayed together but they thrived together, each making the other a better person. He made her find peace in chaos, she made him appreciate a decorated house. They have journeyed down a path that includes amazing friends and family, a son beyond compare, unconditional support for an unconventional life and blessings wide and deep. They walk together as equals and today celebrate 14 years of love, laugher, adventure and the never-ending search for the perfect beach vacation. I love you my sweet green funk!

Gaetan S Greene, Hawke Yoon, Pamela Shin and 81 others like this.

Denna Garretson-Garcia congrats! miss u guys! ((hugs))
Henderson King woow congrats to both of you!
Michael Tutt hear hear!!!
Kellie Ross Carpen Congratulations!!!!
Cynthia Chavez You two are an inspiration! We love you!
Becky DoRan-Radvilas Happy anniversary!!!!
Nicole Woodruff LOVE you and your true romance story. Your relationship is certainly one I admire.
Jennifer L. LaVallee Congratulations on your love and strength of love for each other. I have no doubt you guys will continue to hold that bond forever.
Jo Schellenberg Happy Walking down the road as partners - Day! Love to all three of you. Always, Jo xo
Maureen Gibbons Kishna I remember amusingly your Mr. Right for Now warning me about my crush in Guyana. What a crazy and wonderful 15 years its been! I think when ones love and bonds form in a place like that you know you will never be bored with one another.
Mitzi Mitchell That is beautiful Eric. It brought a tear to my eye. I am so happy you found each other in this chaotic world we live. Bless you both on this very special day.
Dawn Hardley JUST beautiful, congrats!!!!
Paul Talan amen! Love to you brother and you Stacy. Ooo and the wee man too.
David Chavez One love. Love you guys so much, give O a hi-five for me.
Shevonn Slinkey Congrats to the both of u :) very blessed union.
Cammie Oster What a great love story...happy anniversary Eric and Stacy!
Amy Brown happy anniversary!!! Love you both!
Colin Andre Jackson Congrats to you both. I will take a drink for you shortly. CHEERS!!!
Michael Ketover ‎14 years!!!!
Sonya Justus Wow, awesome love story. Congrats on your life and love together!
Soca Muse It was a pleasure to meet you guys all those years ago and i'm so happy to have found such beautiful friends that make me 'believe' i love you guys soooo much, Happy Anniversary and here's to an eternity of happiness and joy for you both xxx
Katy Hanson Happy Anniversary!!!
Stephen Berlinguette very sweet. happy anniversary to you both.
Rebecca Wharton Peil Beautifully written -- happy anniversary! If I hadn't been interrupted by a 4yo twice while reading, it prob would've brought a tear to my eye.
Lisa Ribail Loomis Congrats! Good story.
Karen Schlosser Happy anniversary you two!!
Teresa Wrenn You tell a great amazing story! And are so lucky to be living it!! Love you!! :)
Chase Elenz Umm.. I havent known Eric for 14 years, silly. Still two of my favorite people ino the world. Miss you both.
Kristin Haber Wow, so beautiful! You are magical, magnificent creatures.
Carol Olson Wow...and what an amazing day that was...so many years ago! I miss you both like crazy. Congratulations!!
Michelle Holmes cheers neighbors! still have Orion's photo on my wall.. some nights I can even see the constellation outside my window (above his photo) heart, mic
Costa Fiorillo Eric my friend, that was beautiful!! Haven't spoken to you since Highschool, you always had a special way about you, our President.
David M Miller happy anniversary to you stacy and eric !! i will also never forget guyana , meeting you eric and good old Rough Rider,[ minibus ] one love always D !! xo
Gina Nez A beautiful story and more to come! Sending you tons of congrats, happiness, peace and love that you both deserve. Miss ya...
Corrie Carstens My hope is for continued love and living your life the way you do! And that you might tap that sentiment in your own writing for O so that it doesn't disappear in technology and he can reread in the future how truly happy his parents are!
Patricia Thomas ‎..... and it became "legally official" and the celebration was where????? hosted by????? you guys are so so beautiful together!!
Megan Dean Osorio Congrats! Remember our time together at the old Baha'i house fondly! Hope to reunite some day for some crazy stories!
Jessica Harleman-Underdown Happy Anniversary
Tina DoRan Criste what a great thing.. mr right for now turned out to be! I remember those letters about E.
Ginny Baresch ahhhh Congratulations
Francoise Debeaumont Bravo to you both
Nate Tsosie Happy Anniversary Brtha may u 2 be blessed by thee almighty n mother earth n father sun walk n peace n harmony my brtha ...
Barbara Downes-Torino Congrats to you both!..God's richest blessings for a long life of love, peace & happiness together!..Eric, I am so proud of you bro! xxx
Jim Bennett Congratulations you 2 may you always find the peace and happiness you deserve
Kelli Ketover you guys are awesome!
Patricia Maierson Congratulations! We miss you guys, but joy in the adventures you share here! Many....MANY happinesses! Blessings!
Denise Johnson-Hoelscher Smiles. Loved reading this and wishing you years of the same.