So as Terah's 3rd birthday approached the perfect present came to mind fairly easily! This gal has gotten quite into taking photos and a quick google search landed me on a blog post reviewing the top most popular digital cameras for kids. Sure enough there was one especially designed for kids 3 and up! I wish I could feel 100% happy about purchasing an electronic device made in China - it's full of mixed emotions for sure. That said, the fun of seeing Terah with her little camera makes it hard to resist a nice dose of joy too! I hope to write more about her birthday soon, but for now I'm going to share a few of my favorites from here first 160+ photos on her camera!
A follow up newsflash: it is NOT raining and our girls are at their first official soccer practice. The season is underway...finally! And they are at soccer with just Terah and Jason. I am now home from work and looking forward to attempting to knock out this blog post before my napless almost 3 year old arrives home and demands my undivided attention. It seems that napless is becoming a more common state by the day so we'll enjoy those evenings where she is well rested but not expect them to come around as often as we might all like! There's no in between with her. She either doesn't nap or takes a 3-4 hour nap and sometimes has to be woken!
So back to this past weekend. It was a full and special one in many ways! My 40th birthday dawned with hot drinks with Jason and reading birthday greetings compiled by a close friends from friends and family near and far. So I started the day feeling loved and appreciated! A walk with another close friend (and Terah) was followed by omelets for breakfast made by Jason!
I also loved watching how the day started and then changed so drastically in a few hours. Here are three photos I took in about an hour's time that morning of our yard and the mountain:
It was around breakfast when the gifts and cards from Kali started coming my way. That girl blew me away! Over the course of my birthday, I received from Kali alone four birthday cards (one for each decade) that I will cherish FOREVER, organic fair trade yarn for knitting dishcloths, a fair trade dark chocolate bar, crystallized ginger, and two sets of coupons (4 each). She was so cute with the 40 theme, making all my cards 40 square inches with the last one being 1 x 40. She so clearly wanted this to be a special year for me and her words of love for me and of appreciation for the work I put into making others' birthdays special made all that work over the years feel 100% worth it.
Alida and Terah have some developmental milestones to hit yet where they can be more aware of how to make other people feel special and it is a bit of a shift for a 2 and 7 year old to remove themselves from the center of the universe. Those challenges aside, they added their own touches to the day, most notably with Terah singing, "Happy birthday dear Mommy, Happy birthday to Janelle" and their dance shows thought up to Alida, which turned into a family dance party. I looked over to see the sweetest moment happening between Terah and Alida as they prepared and happened to have my camera in hand. Score!
I was not able to avoid an afternoon office work stint while Terah napped but that was ok. I knew the following day was going to be a day off entirely... In the evening we got to celebrate Ivy's 2nd birthday with her and then came home and watched Akeelah and the Bee (which I had seen a number of times, which is my favorite way to watch a movie - no suspense left!). I still love that movie! It felt like a good end to the birthday with some good reminders thrown in there like this one from Our Greatest Fear by Marianne Williamson: "And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."
On Saturday, Jason turned 42 and we spent the day at the Mountain Run Jam in Sedalia, VA - what a gorgeous place! Jason had met the organizers of the Jam 2 years in a row at the VABF conference and this year they invited him to do a workshop. Initially I was very ready to "wet blanket" the idea of us driving 2 hours on my birthday to camp all weekend with 3 kids, meaning I'd mostly like be on childcare while Jason networked. But I find that if I pause and allow my brain to shift into creative thinking mode, I can often come up with some good alternative ideas. This time was no exception and we found ourselves traveling to the Jam with good friends and NO kids, thanks to Emily gifting us childcare for the day for our bdays!!
I will not linger on the note that both to and fro we spent more time on the road than necessary - on the way there WAY MORE time! We got to talking, we didn't read the google map closely, and I'm not my dad who can sniff out about any destination even without directions. Therefore, we took a very circuitous route. But we were with good friends and their presence de-escalated (somewhat) the tension for me and Jason! I do actually really wish there was some easy "chill pill" that I could keep a ready supply of handy with me at all times!! Overall the day was a success - good conversations, good food, good connections, good workshop... It was also a VERY dog-friendly event, so I found myself very grateful I didn't have 2 kiddos hanging on me all day!
Home late on Saturday and up Sunday with more adventures in store for us! The girls and I headed to the Staunton train station in the afternoon to pick up Sara, who had taken the train cross country from Washington to apprentice at Tangly Woods this month. Some time ago I got a "cold email" from her noting that she had read something Jason had published in The Sun magazine, googled his name, found our blog, had been reading it off and on for a few years and was interested in knowing if we ever had folks come and apprentice with us. The short answer is that no we have not. But there's always a first right? I chuckled as I replied noting that she knew a lot more about us than us about her, but through email and zoom and hearing from folks that have worked with her closely, we mutually determined it sounded like a good fit! There were a few hiccups to the pick up due to Staunton swelling in number by over 10,000 for a Harry Potter event, leading to ALL the roads being blocked off including the ones that went to the train station. So the girls and I left our car at a convenience store and walked to the train station. Thankfully Sara was a light packer and due to our tardiness she even got to see a marriage proposal happen before her eyes before we walked back to the car and headed home.
We are looking forward to our next few weeks together. I anticipate it being be a positive exchange and good learning experience all around! I would say of our girls, Alida would most like to steal her to "apprentice" with her in game playing.
I'm really looking forward to being able to turn my attention a bit more to the homestead in the coming days. It's been a really full (ok, also stressful) work week that is wanting to take all my surplus hours and more! But I'm hoping the next few days at home may lend themselves to Jason and I getting a chance to get our heads around the fall harvests and cover cropping. It feels like all the rain and the warm weather now has me feeling a bit disoriented about the time of year. The "farewell summer" here is in full bloom right now and is reminding me that we have indeed said goodbye to summer even if today felt rather summer-like.
I'll end with a few other favorites from recent days. The monarchs this year...Wow! And our little corn picker. She gets a Wow too! She'll be 3 one week from tomorrow - ready or not!
When many folks are thinking about self-provisioning from the soil around them, they often find the notion of growing seeds for consumption, i.e., grains, intimidating. It's easier to imagine the traditional garden vegetables and tubers.
O.k., so at least I, Jason, have felt that way.
Being serious about this stuff, however, we have tried to dabble in grains despite our trepidation, and it turns out to be laborious, yes, in general, but not prohibitively so. Some species are more involved than others, and require more specialized knowledge and infrastructure (this doesn't have to be complicated). Some are easier and more accessible.
The easiest we've found is probably grain amaranth. That'll be another post. Next easiest is probably buckwheat. That's this post.
Buckwheat grows well in most decent garden-type soils. It is useful in the garden as a cover crop, since it grows so darn fast it out-competes most weeds. A month after sowing, it can be two feet tall and flowering. Another month or so and you've got a grain crop! For cover crop purposes, most people till it in when it flowers or soon after to avoid the weeds surging through it, to avoid it becoming taller and stringier (harder to till in but still pretty easy), and to avoid the seed being developed enough to resprout as a weed in the next crop. It is purported to release phosphorous bound in the soil.
If you are like us, you don't own a tiller, and it's easier to deal with cover crops once they give up voluntarily. Also, we like to eat a little grain (but not too much)! Buckwheat supplies some nutrients that cereal grains don't, and has some other nutritional advantages. Also, the greens are edible! Quite nice, in fact. Some will warn of the oxalic acid content. I can't confirm or deny this, or comment on just how much to worry about it...spinach is also in this category, and westerners might like to know buckwheat greens are popular in parts of Asia. While we're listing attributes, know that beneficial insects love the flowers' nectar, and it is supposed to make great honey.
But the grain. That's what we're here for today. The reason buckwheat makes such a good entry-level grain for the home gardener is that harvesting the grain can be so simple and effective with tools you probably already own. Bunches of still-standing, still-green plants (even from a weedy patch) can be cut with a sickle and slapped pretty forcefully against the inside of the sloped front of an ordinary home wheelbarrow, and the vast majority of the seed will end up in the wheelbarrow. See the video below for our technique:
See? No cutting, binding, shocking, etc. Just cut and slap, and you're all threshed. The grain will need to be dried in a thinnish layer in an airy place immediately so it doesn't mildew. Then you will want to winnow it to remove leaves and dust, etc. If you are just using it for more cover crop seed, you're all done after that.
If you hope to eat it, grinding will be necessary, but that's another process. We still have some things to learn about that but...there's really nothing that compares to chocolate persimmon muffins made with home grown and ground buckwheat flour!
Newsflash: It's still raining! The girls' fall soccer season started 3 weeks ago and they have yet to step foot on the field. The only time practices/games were not cancelled was the one Saturday we were in West Virginia. So off to a very slow start!
I attempted to start this blog post much earlier in the day and got about as much as the title written before the day got busy and work things overtook any attempts at "virtual scrapbooking." But I told my family that if I didn't get time to do the blog post tonight, I'd have to come up with a new title (since I now only have a few more hours to enjoy being 39)!
We just arrived home from a fun birthday-eve time with my birthday buddy (Ivy) and her Mommy and Daddy! We met up at the EMU dining hall - I know, we are quite extravagant in our celebrating! It happened to be their local harvest meal, which was why we selected it (and it did not disappoint - though Terah seemed most excited about her first taste of Lucky Charms)...And I'd say the most fun was had in the empty lobby area afterwards trying to jump up and touch the ceiling or the little ones swinging on the coat racks. As of tomorrow, Ivy and Terah will get to enjoy being 2 together for less than 2 weeks, and I'll be 20x the age of my niece!
But now I'm getting ahead of myself. We are spreading out the fun and celebration this year (and I guess last year too - since we kicked off the celebrations with me cashing in my 39th birthday present of time with just Jason!). There are many pictures from this past week and I'll share just a small selection here. It was a full and fun week! Monday-Wednesday Jason and I enjoyed time at home just us. Wednesday we rejoined the girls in WV. Thursday-Friday we went to Cass Railroad and the Green Bank Observatory. We returned to Mom and Dad's Friday and Friday-Sunday enjoyed our annual tradition of a weekend with 3 generations of good friends. We came home Sunday full to the brim of good memories and gratefulness for precious friendships!
Here's a few more snippets from the week. I won't be able to sum up all the highlights, as I think I have about a 1/2 hour here (the three girls are making a vanilla ice cream custard to try for my birthday tomorrow - they are trying out a recipe for me that we will then use for Terah's birthday coming up if we like it!)
Jason and I missed the girls (a little) while they were gone, but once we knew they were having a wonderful time in WV and that Terah made it through the first night without me fine, we relaxed into enjoying our time together (which ended up feeling very precious and short)! We did squeeze in one game of Upwords on the second night. The scores were too close for my comfort but I pulled through with a 9 point lead at the end. And proved once again that I'm still a very poor sport when playing this particular game with Jason. Sigh! Jason sort of enjoys getting my dander up with games.
Wednesday morning was a flurry of getting ready to leave the homestead for 5 days and so our duo time didn't end on a relaxing note, and we both commented how completely crazy and chaotic it would have been had we tried to weave 3 kiddos into the mix. As it was, once we got on 33 headed west, we were able to take the trip over the mountains at a leisurely pace stopping for TWO hikes! We stopped at the top of the Shenandoah to hike to High Knob Tower and then drive over a few more mountains before stopping and hiking Senaca Rocks. We arrived tired but happy. Terah didn't quite make it until we arrived and was sacked out and only roused to give a little smile as she settled into my arms. It also meant we didn't get to talk about whether she was going to be done nursing or not and in the middle of the night she caved! So we are back to nursing at night and naps most days and that's ok by me!
Thursday morning we were off to Cass, WV. We had borrowed a minivan, which meant that my folks could travel with us which was delightful! It was really fun to not have to caravan but to all be in one vehicle (well, they may not have found it as delightful when kiddos were getting tired, but overall I think everyone did pretty well).
I had some misgivings about the train trip when it came into the station and started blowing its whistle and releasing steam (loudly). Terah got increasingly fearful of the train and was clearly doubting the wisdom of requesting a train trip. I was SO grateful our tickets happened to be for the last car in the lineup (the farthest from the engine) but it was still very loud and with the surprise factor of never knowing for sure when the sounds would come. Terah and Alida pretty much had their hands on their ears constantly and Terah had trembling lips and kept saying "I'm scared." It was hard for me to not bail. I even asked Jason right before we pulled out if I should. It was going to be a 5 hour trip and I didn't want to ruin the experience for our co-passengers, and we couldn't exactly get off halfway. Jason assured me he thought she would be fine...and sure enough he was right!
Maybe 15-20 minutes into the ride, we were standing at the back watching the mountains around us, and Terah was leaning on my chest. All of a sudden she said, "I'm a little more excited now." Relief flooded through me. And what transpired then was a great conversation between us about fear and excitement and how when fear is overwhelming, it is hard to feel excited. But as you get used to something and it gets a little less frightening, then excitement can make its way in. And before you know it the balance has tipped. In the end, she really enjoyed it.
Our trip took us to the top of Bald Knob. The view was incredible! Terah was sufficiently worn out by this point and sacked out on the way back down. I will admit to being rocked to sleep for multiple very short snoozes on the way back down as well. I am very glad we did the trip, but don't know that I'll want to do such a ride again. I think it was a good thing for me to reflect on the railroad and it's role in the development of the infrastructure of our country. I will admit that it was painful to watch the huge black plumes of smoke and knowing that our scenic trip was burning tons of coal. I think sometimes the things we are involved in that are very polluting are not quite as obvious as this was, so it was just a reminder to me of how many resources we use, sometimes very unaware, in work and in play!
I was a little relieved when we were all back safe and sound with no meltdowns and with fear transformed into enjoyment of a new adventure! After a stop off at the gift shops (where a little birthday shopping took place), we walked up to the "company house" where we would be bunking for the night. We enjoyed supper there before taking a walk back down into town and to a little park we had seen on our way back into the station. Terah had so much fun walking on the train tracks and got quite good at it! And, in all honesty, I think she had almost as much fun at the little play ground as she did on the expensive scenic railroad. Though I'm not sure the playground will be nearly as memorable. I wouldn't be surprised if she will remember the train trip for a really, really long time! I think it felt good to all of us adults to just see the girls enjoying a beautiful evening in the park. And Mom and Dad looked perfectly in their element with Dad watching for birds and Mom knitting!
A night's sleep later and full up on funny cake and shoo fly pie (thanks, Mom!) complete with an early rendition of Happy Birthday for me and Jason, we were off to Green Bank Observatory. Our girls soaked it up and Alida is traipsing around in her souvenir t-shirt as I type! And we were in luck! You could pay for a bus tour around the observatory so Terah got to mark "bus ride" off her bucket list as well. We were caught up, EXCEPT that when we noted that now she has ridden a boat, train and bus, she thought and piped up, "I don't think I've ever ridden an airplane."
The place was pretty incredible, and the girls especially enjoyed the museum with lots of interactive activities. We could have spent a whole day there easily. But after a picnic lunch we headed back to Mom and Dad's, since more fun was in our future (and more friends would soon be joining us).
This was the 6th year that we have gathered for a weekend with the same friends at Mom and Dad's. The slideshow Mom and Dad put together of the last 5 years together was a great reminder of all the changes that have occurred - on one of the pictures of the first year, Terah asked if she was there. She wasn't even dreamed of at that point and now how could we possibly imagine life without her! Now we are a group of 14 - 6 granddaughters, 4 "middle-age" parents (trying to try on this title and see if I'm ready to live into it), and 4 grandparents.
Such a special weekend. We kicked off the weekend by making pizzas in my uncle's outdoor oven on the mountain top across from Mom and Dad's. I enjoyed a hike up the mountain with Kali and Alida! The evening was comfortable, the food yummy, and we were glad that everyone was safely there! The next day dawned foggy and drizzly - not exactly what we would have ordered for our big outing day but it worked out great! We had a picnic breakfast on our way to Dolly Sods, where we enjoyed watching the bird banding and Kali even got to hold and release a bird. The rest of us got to look at them, and I had a little bird placed to my ear to hear its fast heartbeat. From there we were not tuckered out yet, so we went cranberry picking and then stopped by the Canaan National Wildlife Refuge where we enjoyed a picnic lunch as the sun peaked out from the clouds.
Saturday afternoon, Jason and I enjoyed one of two hikes with the other middle agers - those walks/talks were precious times for me! And it was so lovely to leave knowing our kids were not missing us in the least! We are in a bit of a new stage of life on that front. On the first day the kids all went into the woods to the labyrinth and it was clearly a highlight for most of them. On the second day they painted river rocks. Having fun and attentive grandparents doesn't hurt anything - but this year the girls were also tearing around doing their own thing for some of the time. It feels so good when our children are very fond of our friends' children. It makes get- togethers a hit for the whole family! The weekend ended too soon, but not before a time of singing Sunday morning and a short hike before packing up to head out. The cool rainy weather nixed our plans/hopes of a swim at Seneca Rocks or a hike up the mountain. Dreams are already forming for next year!
In many ways, we weren't ready to leave, but it also felt good to be going home all together. Terah had even asked partway through the weekend when we were going back to our real home. She had been away for most of a week, and seemed to be eager to get reacquainted with it. The van was much more loaded down than when we came over just the 2 of us. We had the three gals and all their luggage and then had accumulated cranberries and MANY apples. I neglected to mention that Kali and Jason spent most of Friday afternoon hiking up to the land above Mom and Dad's home and carting back buckets and then a wheelbarrow load of apples. What beautiful fruits! Thanks Mom and Dad for sharing your bounty!
They sat for 2 days to ripen a bit more because I had to dive back into a busy work week at the office on Monday. But Tuesday I spent all the available cracks in my day canning 28 quarts of beautiful WV applesauce. What a treat that will be this winter, and a reminder of a very special September week! I ended up doing the applesauce mostly solo on Tuesday since Jason had a full day of getting things in order on the outside of the homestead. I was grateful there were no hiccups in the food processing day as I needed to be ready to walk out the door at 5:30 p.m.!
For weeks I had felt uncertain about what, if anything, I wanted to do special for my birthday. Then one day a facebook event was shared with me and for some reason I clicked on it to inquire. JMU was putting on a play called Intimate Apparel, which happened to be showing the week of my birthday. It got my wheels turning and after a quick check in with Jason and pondering the options for a few hours, I found myself emailing some friends to see if a few might like to join me. A few friends didn't want to join...they ALL did! In the end, I had nearly a 100% response rate and the play morphed into these wonderful friends organizing dinner together before the play. As we stood in a circle around a table spread with the gifts of their labor and love and they each shared when we had met and reflected on our friendships, I got a bit choked up. I felt so blessed and so surrounded in that moment - and maybe just a tad braver about growing older if it means time for these friendships to grow deeper and fuller! The play was also great, but it was really hard to leave the dinner table in order to get there on time (in fact we almost didn't make it).
Well, the ice cream custard is cooling and Kali is reading stories to the girls but I think I better wrap this up and work at getting to bed before I turn 40!
So as Terah's 3rd birthday approached the perfect present came to mind fairly easily! This gal has gotten quite into taking photos and a quick google search landed me on a blog post reviewing the top most popular digital cameras for kids. Sure enough there was one especially designed for kids 3 and up! I wish I could feel 100% happy about purchasing an electronic device made in China - it's full of mixed emotions for sure. That said, the fun of seeing Terah with her little camera makes it hard to resist a nice dose of joy too! I hope to write more about her birthday soon, but for now I'm going to share a few of my favorites from here first 160+ photos on her camera!
