I hope we aren't embarking on another virus that takes its good old time making its way through all of us. Once again we aren't clear where this one originated. That said, as the photos will attest to below, we are interacting (joyfully) with a handful of little people these days AND we are involved in the outdoor rec soccer season AND masks indoors aren't any kind of completely full proof strategy anyway. So here we are again. I hope it is short lived and doesn't cause a reworking of the coming week, most importantly the extended family coming to visit AND Terah's birthday festivities.
The older girls didn't have any change of plans today and will probably be burning the midnight oil. They are volunteering in Staunton for a "double header" at the American Shakespeare Center. They did one show, had enough time to snag a pizza and are back at the theater for the second show. Jason's plans for the day also went unchanged, other than who his date is for the comedy show. Earlier today, he took a short trip over the mountain to attend the memorial service for the mom of one of his college roommates. It was a friend that drove a long way to give Jason a hug at Nora's memorial service and it felt fitting and right for Jason to be present to him in a similar way. So I guess it is just me and Terah that had our Saturday reworked a bit. I did still manage to savor a hike with friends this afternoon while a smattering of videos entertained Terah as Tylenol worked its magic.
The older girls didn't have any change of plans today and will probably be burning the midnight oil. They are volunteering in Staunton for a "double header" at the American Shakespeare Center. They did one show, had enough time to snag a pizza and are back at the theater for the second show. Jason's plans for the day also went unchanged, other than who his date is for the comedy show. Earlier today, he took a short trip over the mountain to attend the memorial service for the mom of one of his college roommates. It was a friend that drove a long way to give Jason a hug at Nora's memorial service and it felt fitting and right for Jason to be present to him in a similar way. So I guess it is just me and Terah that had our Saturday reworked a bit. I did still manage to savor a hike with friends this afternoon while a smattering of videos entertained Terah as Tylenol worked its magic.
Now backing way up to the last time I posted. I was noting that we were headed out to see what we would find in the potato patch that afternoon. I'll pick up there by saying, "In short...not much!"
Thursday, September 21
Our potato yield has been going down about 1/2 bushel a year for a number of years now. This year it went down a whopping 2 bushels - meaning we dug up the entire patch for a generous half bushel (hardly more than we planted). I guess it is still free exercise, but since I'm giving up exercise for joyful movement, this is not exactly the way I would choose to move my body for fun! So we have made this firm commitment to each other - we will eat every last potato we grew this year and we will start fresh with some new seed next year. We hope to try out some varieties that might be less susceptible to viruses and might work better in our systems. Wish us luck...we all LOVE potatoes! And it is amazing how improved the soil is so now it is dreamy to dig in BUT there's just not many potatoes to dig up. While the work was depressing, it was almost so ridiculous as to be somewhat amusing (at least for a portion of the time). We started to almost feel surprised anytime we would find a potato!
In more encouraging news, the bike shed project moved along in some substantial ways in recent weeks. Jason was finally able to give time to getting the bond beam poured. This opened the possibility for a cascade of other projects to be worked on (e.g. the wood used for the bond beam frame was now able to shift in purpose to the shelving for his construction trailer... and the remaining concrete could be used for a much needed ramp into the garden shed...and the remaining sand could be distributed around the fire ring...and the remaining gravel for the parking spot by the bike shed....you get the idea!).
Unfortunately, Kali and I were still not able to check the "Yes" for the "Do you feel healthy and well today?" question on the American Red Cross rapidpass sign in for donating blood. So Jason gave platelets and we rescheduled (for tomorrow, so we'll see if we have to reschedule again...).
We are still in the rhythm of Mon/Wed/Sat harvest days but the amount coming in on those days is decreasing. Tomatoes are ALMOST done! Okra never really got started!! We are still getting a little mess of pole beans every few days, lots of trombone squash, plenty of sweet peppers for abundant fresh eating, some muscadine grapes and kiwis (which I normally eat before I get back to the house), and then both white and red raspberries. The chestnut trees had a much smaller crop this year, but I don't think the same is true for persimmons. I try to get out to pick them off the ground each morning before we let the chickens range because it is one of their first and favorite spots to come! I'm happy with the slowing of the regular harvests! The root cellar shelves are brimming with jars of so many different colors. I think it is probably the most beautiful room in the house!
I got an early birthday present on the eve of my birth! While Jason and the girls stayed home (Jason working on the trailer and Jason and Kali doing what might be the final mowing), I took a day trip to visit with a dear childhood friend in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. We found a lovely meeting spot halfway between our homes. We walked and talked as fast as we could for four hours straight and then parted ways determined to do it again much sooner than the years that had passed since we had last met up in the same spot. It was a gorgeous day on a beautiful trail, but I honestly would not have cared all that much about the scenery. 
As I walked down the driveway Thursday morning, the view gave me my first present of the day. Then I kicked off my bday morning with some friend time with Christen before bringing Luca back to Tangly Woods with me. The girls played with him while I scrambled to prepare brunch for all of us. That was the hectic part of my day, but I knew what was coming next so I endured! 😉 It was a lovely day for a picnic outside and the chickens were VERY happy to join us, especially once they realized there was a little person in the mix who was happier tossing things from his tray than he was eating the things.
It is worth noting that I made a funny cake pie in honor of Jason's birthday and it was the funniest funny cake pie I've ever made. It looked like a shoo fly pie but I did not get confused on the recipe. Somehow the chocolate sauce didn't sink to the bottom like it is supposed to but mixed all throughout the pie. There were no leftovers, so I guess it was not too much of a flop.
We were the only guests with reservations that night when we showed up. The owners met us there with their adorable baby so I got some baby snuggles to kick off our time away - big bonus!! They also gave us a tour and told us we could poke around and look at all the suites and even switch if we wanted to (which we did end up doing!). The shareable details of our sweet time together includes enjoing walking downtown to pick up Bella Luna pizza/pasta, finishing the final season of Sex Education (what an amazing show!!!), dreaming about getting started on pavilion plans/construction in the next year, and being served a delicious breakfast before checking out in the morning!
The fun didn't end there though. Jason graciously did the town/farm errands on his birthday while I took my weekly walk with Virginia. Then we both went to Ivan and Corey's for the afternoon. I got to savor Bear snuggles and smiles while Jason helped put together some pre-fab cabinets. At one point I was at the house alone with Bear and love how once everyone else departs the animals come find me. First the cat climbed up on my lap and then the dog didn't want to miss out. We had a big old cuddle party!
Prior to our Tangly Woods birthday dinner, Jason was busy getting the barley cover cropping in. It's mostly in now except for the pig paddock area. Most of it is already coming up in cute green rows (and clearly the slugs think it is not just cute but also tasty)...I was occupied much of the day making A LOT OF HOT SAUCE! Friday's farm errands netted us two boxes of hot peppers from the co-op and the pigs will not eat them. So over two days I made more hot sauce than we will be able to use for quite some time. The orange stuff looks really innocent but it packs a punch. My hands and Jason's were burning just after washing the dishes after I finished up (I used gloves for the whole process). And things I've made since then keep tasting hot if I use the same cutting board! So we may do some adjustments on our garden plans for 2024 and skip hot peppers once again!
The pigs are getting lots of greens these days as I have started harvesting sweet potato greens for us and them. I've been trying to saute some most days to boost my iron stores (in hopes that I will pass my hemoglobin screening for blood donation). The pigs should be doing great on their iron stores with how many greens they are consuming daily. They are also getting squash vine trimmings. We'll keep giving them daily doses until frost comes!
In the evening we kicked off the first of several birthday celebrations for Terah. Since my parents will be away all of next week, we celebrated early (much to Terah's delight). She requested and helped decorate her very chocolately chocolate cake and chose pizza for the meal. Thankfully she was feeling just fine and able to enjoy it thoroughly. Hopefully she'll be her normal chipper self by her next birthday celebration Tuesday...
Ps. I'll end with one more morning mountain view, just because!
Our potato yield has been going down about 1/2 bushel a year for a number of years now. This year it went down a whopping 2 bushels - meaning we dug up the entire patch for a generous half bushel (hardly more than we planted). I guess it is still free exercise, but since I'm giving up exercise for joyful movement, this is not exactly the way I would choose to move my body for fun! So we have made this firm commitment to each other - we will eat every last potato we grew this year and we will start fresh with some new seed next year. We hope to try out some varieties that might be less susceptible to viruses and might work better in our systems. Wish us luck...we all LOVE potatoes! And it is amazing how improved the soil is so now it is dreamy to dig in BUT there's just not many potatoes to dig up. While the work was depressing, it was almost so ridiculous as to be somewhat amusing (at least for a portion of the time). We started to almost feel surprised anytime we would find a potato!
Friday, September 22
In more encouraging news, the bike shed project moved along in some substantial ways in recent weeks. Jason was finally able to give time to getting the bond beam poured. This opened the possibility for a cascade of other projects to be worked on (e.g. the wood used for the bond beam frame was now able to shift in purpose to the shelving for his construction trailer... and the remaining concrete could be used for a much needed ramp into the garden shed...and the remaining sand could be distributed around the fire ring...and the remaining gravel for the parking spot by the bike shed....you get the idea!). In the evening we had our first meal with Mom and Dad since we landed the long lasting/slow moving colds. It still didn't feel wise to be indoors together but pizza pockets around an outdoor fire felt fun and safe enough!
Saturday, September 23
We welcomed a RAINY day (and an unexpected day at home due to our day trip being cancelled because of the storms in the area). So instead we had a nuts and bolts kind of day at home and the younger kiddos made our first fire in wood stove and enjoyed lots of snuggling beside it.
Sunday, September 24
Unfortunately, Kali and I were still not able to check the "Yes" for the "Do you feel healthy and well today?" question on the American Red Cross rapidpass sign in for donating blood. So Jason gave platelets and we rescheduled (for tomorrow, so we'll see if we have to reschedule again...). Most of my spare time these days is working on the final dregs of food processing (e.g. using the FINAL tomatoes to get some tomato paste on the canning shelves for next year's salsa making or filling the dehydrator with some combo of drying tomatoes, paprika peppers and raspberries). A good number of Kali's spare hours are going to her college class and sometimes she finds creative spots to do her assignments! Photo credit to my dad who spotted Kali on the roof and snapped a photo!
Monday, September 25
We are still in the rhythm of Mon/Wed/Sat harvest days but the amount coming in on those days is decreasing. Tomatoes are ALMOST done! Okra never really got started!! We are still getting a little mess of pole beans every few days, lots of trombone squash, plenty of sweet peppers for abundant fresh eating, some muscadine grapes and kiwis (which I normally eat before I get back to the house), and then both white and red raspberries. The chestnut trees had a much smaller crop this year, but I don't think the same is true for persimmons. I try to get out to pick them off the ground each morning before we let the chickens range because it is one of their first and favorite spots to come! I'm happy with the slowing of the regular harvests! The root cellar shelves are brimming with jars of so many different colors. I think it is probably the most beautiful room in the house!
Tuesday, September 26
Jason continued the clean up from the bike shed wall project on this day and commenced on the trailer work (by putting all the contents of his work trailer into the garage!). In the evening we enjoyed a little jaunt down the road to join Jonathan, Christen and Luca for some cider pressing. I mostly meandered around with Luca and so don't have good cider pressing pictures but do have a good "Luca with a watermelon" photo!
Wednesday, September 27
I got an early birthday present on the eve of my birth! While Jason and the girls stayed home (Jason working on the trailer and Jason and Kali doing what might be the final mowing), I took a day trip to visit with a dear childhood friend in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. We found a lovely meeting spot halfway between our homes. We walked and talked as fast as we could for four hours straight and then parted ways determined to do it again much sooner than the years that had passed since we had last met up in the same spot. It was a gorgeous day on a beautiful trail, but I honestly would not have cared all that much about the scenery. 
I got home in time for the mad rush of getting snacks, filling water bottles, donning soccer uniforms and getting out the door. The girls are loving the soccer season again so much!
Thursday, September 28 & Friday, September 29
What a sweet day marking turning 45! I will be honest and admit that for many years I worked hard to have as few expectations around my birthday as possible. I focused on planning/preparing things for Jason's the next day and then trying to brace myself to not be disappointed if I didn't feel all that special to anyone on my birthday. Yep, it wasn't a great way to mark and celebrate another year of life. This year I had fun planning something for me and Jason that spanned my birthday and his and it was just lovely!
It is worth noting that I made a funny cake pie in honor of Jason's birthday and it was the funniest funny cake pie I've ever made. It looked like a shoo fly pie but I did not get confused on the recipe. Somehow the chocolate sauce didn't sink to the bottom like it is supposed to but mixed all throughout the pie. There were no leftovers, so I guess it was not too much of a flop.Following brunch and doing all the corresponding dishes, Jason and I packed up and left our kiddos to fend for themselves for the night. Back in the summer, I was a back up doula for the owners of the Friendly City Inn in downtown Harrisonburg. As a thank you they offered Jason and I a night at the BnB. They did not have to twist my arm for me to accept. I decided to keep it a surprise for Jason and planned it for my birthday night into his. The girls were in on the surprise and got a good chuckle when Jason was packing some snacks as if it was a lengthy road trip (it took us about 15 minutes to get there!). I went from scurrying around to this:
We were the only guests with reservations that night when we showed up. The owners met us there with their adorable baby so I got some baby snuggles to kick off our time away - big bonus!! They also gave us a tour and told us we could poke around and look at all the suites and even switch if we wanted to (which we did end up doing!). The shareable details of our sweet time together includes enjoing walking downtown to pick up Bella Luna pizza/pasta, finishing the final season of Sex Education (what an amazing show!!!), dreaming about getting started on pavilion plans/construction in the next year, and being served a delicious breakfast before checking out in the morning!
The fun didn't end there though. Jason graciously did the town/farm errands on his birthday while I took my weekly walk with Virginia. Then we both went to Ivan and Corey's for the afternoon. I got to savor Bear snuggles and smiles while Jason helped put together some pre-fab cabinets. At one point I was at the house alone with Bear and love how once everyone else departs the animals come find me. First the cat climbed up on my lap and then the dog didn't want to miss out. We had a big old cuddle party!And if that wasn't enough! We landed home in the evening and enjoyed a home cooked meal and presents from our kiddos. There was a lot of laughter in the present opening since I had given the girls some money to buy presents from me for daddy and presents from daddy for me (without letting him in on it). I think that might be a new yearly tradition!
 |
| Terah made me a wooden spoon in the shop with Jason. I love it!! |
Saturday, September 30
As if all that celebrating wasn't enough, we had one more birthday dinner made by my mom on Saturday evening. We felt very well celebrated getting 45 and 47 off to a good start.
Prior to our Tangly Woods birthday dinner, Jason was busy getting the barley cover cropping in. It's mostly in now except for the pig paddock area. Most of it is already coming up in cute green rows (and clearly the slugs think it is not just cute but also tasty)...I was occupied much of the day making A LOT OF HOT SAUCE! Friday's farm errands netted us two boxes of hot peppers from the co-op and the pigs will not eat them. So over two days I made more hot sauce than we will be able to use for quite some time. The orange stuff looks really innocent but it packs a punch. My hands and Jason's were burning just after washing the dishes after I finished up (I used gloves for the whole process). And things I've made since then keep tasting hot if I use the same cutting board! So we may do some adjustments on our garden plans for 2024 and skip hot peppers once again!
Sunday, October 1
After more hot sauce making, we got to enjoy a lovely fall hike with some of the first beautiful leaf colors with Emily, Jonas and Ivy. And then I ended my day with my first in person meeting with a new couple I'm working with prenatally. I really do not get tired of talking about birth, parenting, babies, life... It's a good fit!
Monday, October 2
Another week got under way and Jason focused on getting his work trailer finished up and restocked before he pulled it to a new job.
I took Terah to a second orthodontist for a first appointment (a place that takes Medicaid AND has a lot of large fish tanks!). We had it confirmed that we have taken the right steps to date and we are in a waiting time now to see what her mouth and teeth do AND we learned a lot about how their fish give birth (after holding the eggs/developing babies in their mouth for 3 weeks without eating, the mom fish spits the little fish out into the water!).
I enjoyed a delightful afternoon visit with my dear friends Don and Margaret (and neglected to take any photos) before we scurried off to soccer practice.
Tuesday, October 3
This was Jason's last day at home for the week before putting his Sassafras Enterprises hat on for the remainder of the week. It was another day with a variety of odds and ends, ending with a fun evening at Jonathan, Christen and Luca's. So maybe I'll include a few odds and ends that haven't fit neatly anywhere else in this post!
The pigs are getting lots of greens these days as I have started harvesting sweet potato greens for us and them. I've been trying to saute some most days to boost my iron stores (in hopes that I will pass my hemoglobin screening for blood donation). The pigs should be doing great on their iron stores with how many greens they are consuming daily. They are also getting squash vine trimmings. We'll keep giving them daily doses until frost comes!I've got a new winner with my kiddos. Even though my So Easy to Preserve recommends against drying raspberries, I tried it! And they keep their shape and get crispy and are a tasty tart delicious snack.
And I can't get to the end of this post with no chicken updates. So before I move to our trio of days with little people, I'll just note that Terah and Alida often take forever to go out for chores in the morning and then take forever to come in! They get very distracted with their chicken friends - giving them treats and working on their chicken training. And I'm on a streak of doing the morning chicken chores most days and my favorite stop is definitely the mama and our "Iowa chicks." They are growing so fast and are so perky!
Wednesday, October 4
So for the days that Jason was working away from home, me and the girls got to tend, snuggle, adore, play with, and love on some very special little people. And for Alida she got to read to, rock, and swing a little person to sleep three days in a row. She was VERY pleased about this! I don't know if their love of little people is nature or nurture, but either there's a gene for it they've gotten from me or maybe I've rubbed off on them. I love their sweetness with babies and children, but it does mean I have to do a lot of sharing! And it also means that sometimes I'm rejected at nap time and Alida is the requested book reader/snuggler!
As you can see, we were keeping our little friend up until the time that we were dressed and headed to the soccer fields again for their weekly games!
Thursday, October 5
Our Luca day! We had some additional guests/playmates with us for parts of our time with Luca. It was a full and fun time! I sent Jason a few pictures here and there and he sent me one of his work. I replied that my photos were definitely cuter!
Friday, October 6
And then yesterday we had our first stint of what I love to call "Bear Care" out at Tangly Woods. Bear seemed to thoroughly enjoy his first visit and did not disappoint us with his fascination with the ceiling fans and the black and white cloth in the front room. I've been asked multiple times since by Alida and Terah when they will see him next and there have been many "Bear is so adorable" utterances too! I could not agree more!
Well I think it is time to carry my moaning sleeping little one back to bed and try to get a start on my night of sleep too because something tells me it might be full of interruptions! I can kinda blog with whimpers and moans in the background but am not quite as skilled at sleeping through that kind of thing and she definitely is requesting to have her mommy at her side!
No comments:
Post a Comment