Last year, around Christmas, I discovered Portland, Oregon’s elusive Santasquatch. And this year? The Octicorn–plus five more reasons to visit Portland. Drink some beer. Did you know that Portland has more breweries than any other city in the world? Widmer. Hopworks. McMenamins. Laurelwood. Hair of the Dog. Base Camp. If beer isn’t your thing, Portland […]
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Once upon a time there was a farm stand: Country Mercantile
Once upon a time, there was a little roadside produce stand in the Tri-Cities. The little stand grew and grew and grew, until one day it morphed into Country Mercantile. When you see everything (and I mean everything) the store has to offer, it’s hard to imagine owners Jay and Janece Wood’s humble beginning, selling […]
400 posts–140,000 words
Last Friday, I published my 400th Pampers and Pakhlava post (truth be told, my total post count is at 430, but two years ago, I made 30 posts private). Assuming an average of 350 words per post (many are longer, but I also have posts with photographs and few words), I have written over 140,000 […]
The Hungry Shark: Baby Bird book review
Rawr. RAWWWRRR. [I am really hungry.] Shhhhh. Rarrr. Shew. Shhhhkk. [I’m hungry. Like a shoe. Whoops, I mean shark. Shoe is my favorite new word.] Ssssseee. Nananahuh. SsseeeWewewee. [Yes, I know sharks are carnivores, but this shark is different. She likes seaweed.] Tee-tee. Preee-tee. [Pretty pictures too.] Pffft. MamaananaHaitimamma. [p.s. The author, Tamia Sheldon, is […]
Star of Mommy’s Blog
When I started my blog a few years ago, I planned to write more about travel to Armenia and our adoption. That’s why Pampers and Pakhlava is Pampers and Pakhlava after all. Then, for a variety of personal reasons, I ultimately chose to limit what I published on the internet while our adoption was still […]
Comfort food: A bowl of soup to honor the memory of a friend
Today marks the third anniversary of my friend Dee’s passing, and tonight Joel and I will sit down to enjoy a bowl Moosewood Mushroom Barley Soup in her memory, just as we did last year and the year before that. Making this soup—which Dee and I enjoyed together on many occasions–is my way of honoring […]