My own personal roses and thorns from this week are pretty clear in my mind and I'll dwell more on the rose than the thorn (though it has been hard for me to get it off my mind since I have a pretty clear physical reminder of it). One of my two baby teeth has become infected which has catapulted the process forward of "taking care of it." I'm on antibiotics (which I really don't like especially when nursing despite being assured it is safe for Alida to continue breastfeeding) to calm the infection and working at getting the extraction and implant process scheduled ASAP. I've never enjoyed dental procedures and so I'm working a lot with my own internal process as I prepare for this - it didn't feel like a particularly good sign that my body felt weak and all clammy just after making the appointment (which they later cancelled on me so the final plan is still pending). I know that there would be many ways to put this small "bump in the road" into perspective, and I'm working at it (that perspective-shaping is assisted in part by having a student in our program from Syria who is sharing updates and photos of the violence happening in his home country - it's hard to hold that together with my current reality!). But I have to admit that I keep coming back to the fact that they will be yanking out a tooth that is not loose and then putting something there in its place (with me awake!). Currently they want to schedule this on my birthday - it would make for a memorable 34th!
The rose is much more beautiful, fun, rewarding and life-giving. Sunday we had a wonderful day with good friends co-butchering and co-grape juice making. I have to admit that the whole butchering process has not gotten easier for me of late (but that would be a subject for a future blog post when my thoughts and feelings have sorted themselves out more), so I was quite happy to be absorbed in the tasks of child entertaining, feeding all the mouths in our home, and making grape juice. I LOVE making grape juice! I understand exactly how the process works but somehow it still seems magical to me to watch the hot sweet purple liquid pour into the jars. Kali, who has in recent months not been very interested in consuming much liquid, even guzzled two glasses full. Alida consumed her fair share of grapes, enjoying popping the juicy middles out of the skins. The house and homestead was bustling with activity all day and I smiled a lot. It was activities I love with people I love preparing food that is tasty and will add color and flavor to the table all winter long. At lunch when we all sat down for a hearty meal of baked lentils with cheese, swiss chard cheese bake, rice, and a grape rhubarb crisp, Jason commented how trying this life we are living is! It was a day of feeling full and rich, and tired by the end!Let me just slip in some other random newsworthy items here before getting on with this very rainy day - good for napping which might be why Alida is still sacked out at 8 a.m. (not sure why our eldest was up at 6 today - when the birds started singing she told me that it would now be impossible for her to fall back asleep).
A garden update! This picture can speak for itself. Needless to say, Jason was a bit surprised (and pleased) to unearth a partial hill of sweet potatoes when doing some weeding. They are HUGE! Let's hope we can figure out a process for curing them this year that doesn't half bake them in the process. We should be all set with a great source of vitamin A for awhile. We are still harvesting okra, basil, swiss chard, kale, peppers, amaranth, and an occasional watermelon. What we'll enjoy of tomatoes and beans are now tucked away in the freezer and cans. We are feeling overwhelmed with the generosity of neighbors who are sharing their surplus of broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, eggplant and squash. Lots of good eating happening around here. 
Maybe that accounts for some of the incredible fast growth in the kiddo department. I finally admitted that Alida did not have many clothes that fit her in her drawers. During a nap this week I made my way to the attic and pulled out the 2T clothing. I remember Kali wearing these things! I just had a hard time bringing myself to believe that our baby was ready for them. Well, I may have missed my chance because her belly is already exposed in some of the 2T shirts so I'll likely be headed back up there for the 3T box before much more time passes. Oh, it is going so fast! The shocking part of it was that Kali is also growing but mostly up. She came out to the kitchen giggling the other day with a pair of pants on that Alida had been wearing the night before. They fit her - they were capris on her, but they were snapped and zipped just fine and they had not been any too big on Alida. Kali was quite tickled that they could wear the same clothing. The shirt of Alida's that she had on was not quite so nice a fit. We've been enjoying seeing more of our neighbors along Happy Valley Road. We've been doing the hard task of trying to limit our involvements, which has meant letting go of some things we genuinely care about. Part of that process has involved trying to assess what gives us the most energy, where can we contribute the most, and what seems most life giving for our whole family. It seems that putting roots down in this place and investing in our community here is what really thrills us. And there are all sorts of fun connections and synergy that seems to go along with it, as well as learning about fun happenings. The girls were invited to come down the road on Saturday for some pony riding and pony cart riding. They loved it! Alida was particularly impressed with her bicycle helmet "hat." CUTE!
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