So here's a few snapshots of recent days, typed with bleary eyes. We've been pushing kinda hard to get some things wrapped up before trying to take it easy (at least easier!) on some of the upcoming days.
With a desire to make his best effort to do our full quarantine right, Jason took the plunge and shaved to give himself a good mask seal. And Jason also enjoys changes and finds it interesting to do something new for a bit. I won't lie - I'm eager for the full beard again! It was actually interesting for me to note how that little change made Jason feel less "cozy" and "warm" to me. I'm fascinated by how such a small change can feel like such a big difference. For Jason it made him feel close to our late neighbor, Samuel, who would shave his beard during the time of year that he needed to wear a mask for fruit tree spraying.
Speaking of the quarantine, I think we have all done pretty well. There have been hard moments - my hardest was this week needing to say goodbye to baby Ezzah and her family as they leave for Canada earlier than expected. My heart ached not being able to hold her one more time. And then there is the daily little pangs when it would feel so natural to just pop upstairs to Mom and Dad's for a bit or invite them down to join us. This time has also highlighted how I never take breaks at work and always just eat at my desk - not being able to do that, I have had a hard time finding a good routine for drinking/eating while at work. All these things have made me so much more aware of aspects of what this time has been like for so many people. And, again, how little our routines have changed in comparison. We are really glad that our lives allow for us to do this quarantine and we are one more covid test away from podding up with some of the Benner family for Christmas. The girls and Jason had their first covid test experience tonight and all are glad to now know what to expect for the next time and to know that it wasn't as bad as the younger two had feared. All did just fine!
In addition to the Benner family additions this Christmas, there are more stockings hung this year for some of the new bears from WV and for Wally of course. I sure hope someone else has taken care of presents for them, as I have been very neglectful on the stuffed animal front!
It was finally the year to harvest the tree along the lane that we've been watching for some time. Once again some thought it would be too small, but it was just dwarfed by the huge black walnut. It fits the space perfectly.
Alida and Terah have been busy making Christmas cards. They had "an order" to fill and thankfully made a few extras that have all been purchased by me. :)
We finally managed to clear out one side of the wood shed in order to cut, split and stack the wood pile that has been waiting to be processed. We just don't need to burn much wood in our home to stay warm so it appears we are not going to need to do much clearing this winter for firewood generation. Kali and Jason worked together on getting the shed full over parts of several days this week and we are all stocked up for the foreseeable future.
This morning I did chores so that Jason could split a log that was laying in the way of the brush pile to be burned Tuesday for biochar. He was so cute - he came to find me and said that he knew it was a complete extra thing but he thought I'd really want to see how the splitting was going. I did, in fact, really enjoy seeing it, but mostly enjoyed how lit up he was about it. Both Jason and I get pretty excited about things that most people might think are "not worth writing home about" (or in this instance, blogging about). I have said a few times in recent weeks how I feel like I was born in the wrong century. I cannot relate in any way to the excitement that some people feel about a new phone or computer. In fact, it fills me with complete dread. See my P.S. below for more on that!
In closing, I will just give a shout out to the yummy dinner Kali made for us this evening. I was almost as pleased by the colors on my plate as anything. Why do I love to photograph plates of food so much sometimes? This was a Rosie-roast (which gave me a moment to reflect on how I still miss that pig and wish she was still around for me to feed thistles to), complemented by mashed sweet potatoes (which were better than I expected), cranberry sauce and fermented onions and dilly beans. Based on the menus the girls helped me choose for the week, there will be more colorful meals so there may be more photos to come. For now, it's time to head towards bed (since that is often a long process in this household!).
P.S. I mentioned technology above. It seems we have spent more on devices in recent weeks than in all our years together. It's the first time we have needed to purchase a computer and it's still sitting in the box it came in many days ago (waiting for us to have time and the courage to dive into figuring something new out). We have also taken the plunge back to multiple phones in our household. We didn't think it was going to work for someone to call me in labor and it happen to be a day Jason had the phone on a construction site. :) Weren't sure one phone for me doing doula work and Jason doing contracting was going to be appreciated by our potential clients/customers. And as we wait for the SIM card to get our new phone fully functional, our one and only family phone seems to be on the brink. It no longer is charging reliably, which is rather essential to its ongoing functioning. Sigh! So for anyone reading this who might text or call us, if you do and don't get a response it is not that we are ignoring you (our phone may have finally conked). I should add that our kids do not share our aversion to devices. They are quite pleased with their early joint Christmas present (a new Chromebook) and it took Kali less than an evening to get it all set up!
With a desire to make his best effort to do our full quarantine right, Jason took the plunge and shaved to give himself a good mask seal. And Jason also enjoys changes and finds it interesting to do something new for a bit. I won't lie - I'm eager for the full beard again! It was actually interesting for me to note how that little change made Jason feel less "cozy" and "warm" to me. I'm fascinated by how such a small change can feel like such a big difference. For Jason it made him feel close to our late neighbor, Samuel, who would shave his beard during the time of year that he needed to wear a mask for fruit tree spraying. Speaking of the quarantine, I think we have all done pretty well. There have been hard moments - my hardest was this week needing to say goodbye to baby Ezzah and her family as they leave for Canada earlier than expected. My heart ached not being able to hold her one more time. And then there is the daily little pangs when it would feel so natural to just pop upstairs to Mom and Dad's for a bit or invite them down to join us. This time has also highlighted how I never take breaks at work and always just eat at my desk - not being able to do that, I have had a hard time finding a good routine for drinking/eating while at work. All these things have made me so much more aware of aspects of what this time has been like for so many people. And, again, how little our routines have changed in comparison. We are really glad that our lives allow for us to do this quarantine and we are one more covid test away from podding up with some of the Benner family for Christmas. The girls and Jason had their first covid test experience tonight and all are glad to now know what to expect for the next time and to know that it wasn't as bad as the younger two had feared. All did just fine!BUT I can get really excited about the different shades of brown and green in the garden, and how adding a layer of compost on a bed can just transform it. That was today! After a morning of odds and ends and Christmas food preparations, Jason and I spent the afternoon until dark (with a very cute 6 year old chatterbox and enthusiastic "helper") emptying the ring of compost and duff in preparation for the winter solstice and our annual biochar burn. I'm going to be sore tomorrow, but it was worth it. We distributed a whole lot of nutrients to a whole lot of garden beds today! As we pushed to get done by dark, there was a beautiful sunset through the woods on one side of us and a gorgeous moonrise on the other.
P.S. I mentioned technology above. It seems we have spent more on devices in recent weeks than in all our years together. It's the first time we have needed to purchase a computer and it's still sitting in the box it came in many days ago (waiting for us to have time and the courage to dive into figuring something new out). We have also taken the plunge back to multiple phones in our household. We didn't think it was going to work for someone to call me in labor and it happen to be a day Jason had the phone on a construction site. :) Weren't sure one phone for me doing doula work and Jason doing contracting was going to be appreciated by our potential clients/customers. And as we wait for the SIM card to get our new phone fully functional, our one and only family phone seems to be on the brink. It no longer is charging reliably, which is rather essential to its ongoing functioning. Sigh! So for anyone reading this who might text or call us, if you do and don't get a response it is not that we are ignoring you (our phone may have finally conked). I should add that our kids do not share our aversion to devices. They are quite pleased with their early joint Christmas present (a new Chromebook) and it took Kali less than an evening to get it all set up!
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