My sister

My sister Patricia, who I have known in my heart as Patty all these years, is fighting the hardest fight of her life.  She has multiple myeloma.  It has manifested in the form of brittle bones.  It has manifested in the way of soft tumors.  It has manifested in liquid collecting on her heart and in her lungs.  She has fought it for several years and the fight is getting harder.  I love her so dearly.  I don't want her to be in pain.  As her son said, "I am mad at cancer!"  That is the way that I feel right now.  Forgive me for not writing more on this.  But I would like to ask that anyone reading this whisper a prayer for her right now. 

Today is Sunday and December has begun.  I am counting my blessings today.  We are looking forward to celebrating the birth of our dear Lord and Saviour!  It is so exciting!  My son is excited too.  He said he only wants three presents.  I mean if that is good enough for Jesus, that should be good enough for me.  That is what he said.  So cool. 

We will be completing our Financial Peace University class this coming week.  It has been a beautiful time to come together and meet with a great group of people.  Some of them are already out of debt.  Some of them are already in retirement.  Some of them are just starting out.  Some of them are like us and working on a bit of a do-over.  We are just waking up each morning and thanking God for what we have and taking another step in the right direction.  And when the money runs out, we don't spend anymore.  That is common sense.  That is practical living.  That is the way we are going to live our lives.  It is a daily commitment not to owe anyone any money.  Never again.  That makes me feel great just even to write it down!  One step...one step...one step...it takes a while, but it is so worth it!  My other sister and I have made a pact to support each other in this!

It is getting chilly here.  We turn the heat way down at night to conserve on electricity.  I was surprised to wake up cold last night.  I guess it is time to find some more blankets.  No snow or anything like that, although we did have snow once this year already.  But there is often ice on the puddles and sometimes the car doors get frozen shut.  I always laugh and myself and my son trying to pry the doors open in the mornings.  :-)
Tim and I went out for dinner at my company's Christmas party last night.  It was fun to get dressed up and eat a nice meal.  The meal was especially nice for me because it was mainly seafood.  I LOVE seafood.  And I don't get enough of it. 

Well, it is getting light out.  The chickens are wanting to get out and have a run around.  And I have been lazy this morning and I haven't fed any of the animals yet.  Guess it is time.  Have a splendid day. 

Thanksgiving and Thankfulness

I woke up early.  I woke up at 4:50 AM.  This is on a day off and one where I would think that most people would take the chance to sleep in.  Me?  Not so much.  I woke up with my brain going at 100 miles per hour.  All the things that I can do with this day...all the possibilities!  So much to think about!  So much to say.  But what takes priority?  Journaling?  These are thoughts I write down, but pretty much just keep to myself.  Blogging?  These are thoughts that I like to share.  And if I blog, what of these many thoughts running around in my head want to be written down? 

I think I will just start simply today.  Looking over the week, several things stand out.  We have been taking a class to help get our finances in order.  It is the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University class.  The class covers from the basics of checkbook keeping, to more advanced issues like how to invest, to the  real meaning of STEWARDSHIP.  I mean the idea that all we have belongs to God and we are just taking care of it for a time.  This is a great class and it teaches good, old-fashioned values of how to give, save and spend.  I sometimes forget the spend part, so Tim and Carl have to remind me.  Yes, money is for fun too!  Sometimes I forget. 

So on that same line of thought, I wanted to talk about being thankful for having the opportunity through that class of building community in surprising places.  Everyone in the class except us go to the church that is sponsoring the class.  I just found it on the Dave Ramsey website.  What a neat group of people they are.  We have people who are just younger than my parents, who are in their 80s, to people who are half my age, newly married and looking to grow a family.  And since they have child-care, we get the added bonus of Carl making friends too.  And although we are already active members in our own church, we have invited ourselves to join them on their Tuesday evening get-togethers.  They have these for three months each session at different times of the year.  They are happy that we would want to join them.  We are happy that they would want us. 

So today, I am thankful for having the opportunity to build community in places unlooked for. 

And looking back over the year regarding food.  We have made so many changes.  Changes for our health.  Changes for the environment.  We so enjoyed participating in our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) for the second year.  We enjoyed meeting and talking with our farmers and their family.  And we enjoyed having fresh food that was grown lovingly and with no chemicals.  I have to admit that we had a little bit of a hard time using it all this year.  But I think that this was mainly due to our move.  But I think about the fact that we got our fruits and vegetables all summer long in one box.  We cut down on packaging and using plastic as well as getting wholesome and fresh food.  And we supported local growers...who, by the way, have a lovely growing family. 

So today, I am not only thankful for good, whole food, grown fresh and locally with a minimum of chemicals, but I am also thankful for knowing my farmers and for loving their family.  And on top of that, I am thankful that we were able to cut down on the amount of plastic and packaging that we used. 

We are eating mostly organic food now as well.  We try wherever we can to choose organic and to choose bulk food.  Cutting down on packaging and cutting down on chemicals used has become a habit over the last year.  That is good stuff.  I realize that it is not just good for us, but it is good for the land and it is good for the people who grow the food.  And by the way, I give a special thank you to my husband.  I think up these things and he implements.  What a great team we are. 

Chickens -- you know I have to say something about our chickens.  Let's see...when did we get our chickens?  I think they came to us in the Spring.  So it hasn't been quite a year.  What a crazy and wonderful idea to get them!  They have such wonderful personalities and they help me look at things so differently.  They talk to me when I come out in the yard.  And we have so much less food garbage because of them.  They have helped me make a commitment to lessen garbage all around.  At our house now, if it is organic (as in organic matter) and comes from our home, it has a place to go.  All our veggie scraps go to the chickens.  If it is meat, it goes to our dog.  If it is a little too far gone to give to the chickens or if it is tea bags or coffee filters, it goes to the worms. 

And I cannot forget to mention the eggs!  What a cool recycling process!  In goes our veggie scraps and some organic feed...out comes lovely eggs.  I gave some to my parents.  They laugh because the eggs are so small.  But I know that they are packed with nutrients...nutrients that we put there. 

Health...our health is better overall because we eat better.  Tim still has a lot of trouble with the neuropathy in his feet though.  We are working on that in a variety of ways.  I feel for him.  My goal for this upcoming year is to figure out how to get us up and moving more as a family.  We have tried several ideas, but they never seem to stick.  I know that there is something...I will keep looking.

We are working on building community in other ways too.  We have had a couple of Carl's friends over for play dates.  It is so much easier to do now that we live so centrally.  He has loved that and the boys have been so good.  Chatting with parents is a lot of fun for Tim and I as well.  And I have reconnected with old friends through FB.  I am working on reconnecting face to face as well. 

I had better say a few words about central heating.  If you have never lived without central heating, you have been very blessed.  I have lived in several places without it and I am telling you that I am VERY thankful to have it now.  I could expound on this, but I think you get the picture. 

I cannot close my thankfulness message without giving a tribute to my Gabby-dog.  I am so thankful to have had her in my life.  I am so thankful to have had the honor (and trial) of being with her when she passed.  She was a great soul and one that I am honored to have walked on this planet with. 

Love to you and yours on this day and every day.

A little song of thankfulness from Bing Crosby

Saturday again

It is Saturday.  I started a post last night that was all doom and gloom.  Just having a big of a rough ride the past month...or so.  But I erased it.  I didn't feel like sharing at that level yesterday.  But today...actually the wee hours of the morning brought out a different side of me.  I got up because the cats were going crazy. They usually can control themselves until just about 5:30 AM and then it is like they just cannot control it for one more moment.  This time Yodalina was doing her hunting trill at the window.  Has your cat ever done that?  Pretty wild sound. 

So I got up and started my morning business...feed the cats, let the dog out...WHAT?!  It was snowing!  I had heard rumors of snow, but then everyone had said that there was no chance.  Well it was snowing and not just a little bit!  The ground was already covered and it was coming down sweetly.  It was still dark out, so it was fun to be able to see the white coming out of the sky.  Belle was first puzzled and then thrilled!  I stood inside and watched her tearing back and forth across the yard.  Then she settled with a kurplunk! right in the snow.  Her breed was bread for snow in the Pyranean mountains.  Wonder how to spell that.  I should look it up.  In any case, she was in heaven. 

I let it get light and after an unsuccessful attempt at waking my son up, I got my pink, quilted, farmer-girl pants and work coat on and took Belle and myself out for a walk.  It was just barely light out, so people were surprised to see the two of us.  I made sure to wear my reflective vest too, just for that reason. 

Ok, I have to admit that it was a bit different than my winter walks last year in the woods.  Belle has no concept of cars.  She was on a long leash and she would just walk out into the street whenever she thought something was interesting.  I need to teach her a little more about cars.  And we aren't used to seeing other people either.  After we were well into the walk, this lady ran up behind me and scared the living daylights out of me.  Belle was oblivious.  The lady was quite nice and apologized.  She said she tried really hard not to scare me.  And I found it interesting that no one waves when they drive by in the cars.  I guess my arm would have gotten tired after waving to all those cars anyway.  I thought it was interesting too that most of them did not even take the time to get the snow off their windows before they got on their way.  I mean, how could they see? 

As we were walking, there was a lovely red maple with most of its leaves still on.  It stood in the snow like a beautifully dressed queen in all of her splendor. 

We walked up to a school and decided to cut through their field as I was pretty sure that the road on the opposite side was less traveled.  It was interesting how quiet it got as we walked away from the road.  We both relaxed a little as we didn't have to worry so much about watching for cars.  And then on the other side there were sidewalks to keep us up off the road.  I would have taken that road first, but it gets pretty dark back there and with the light just coming up I thought it safer to take the busier street. 

In any case, it is an adventure to live in town after years of living outside of it.  Lots of rules to re-learn.  Like when you are walking early in the morning, be careful to keep your eyes averted from all open windows.  I won't go into how I found out that this was important.  It is a reminder for you though to keep your blinds closed when you are up first thing in the morning....:-)

Well, the morning has dwindled away since then.  I collected my fresh eggs from our girls and cooked them up.  Tasty!  And now the snow is almost gone.  I am looking out at the blanket of golden leaves instead.  They are reminding me that there is work to do and the weekend is only so long. 

Love to you and yours on this Saturday and always. 

Lovely Saturday

How nice to have a clear Saturday in the Fall!  My guys were working on updating the computer, so Belle and I took the opportunity to spend it mostly outside.  Our shed had a lot of moss and other debris on it.  I worked on it for quite a while.  I couldn't finish it, but I will. 

Then I looked at the worm bin.  I have been feeding them regularly, but just haven't taken much time to check on them.  WOW there are a TON of worms in there.  They have been busy while I have been ignoring them.  The people who lived her before had started a compost bin.  I cleaned out part of our garden and dumped old tomato stocks in there.  Then I thought, well there are a lot of worms for one little bin!  So I added about half the bin to the compost bin.  Not sure how that will work, but hopefully things will break down faster.  And it was past time to clean out my original bin too.  Now just to start USING the gold in there!!  Ok, I think I will let it grow over the winter and use it in the spring. 

As I said, I worked on the garden areas as well.  I got one pretty cleaned up and then Tim and I moved the chickens onto that one so they can clean it all up and give it a good fertilizing as well.  We will dig the fertilizer in before it freezes and it should be ready for good planting next year.  Then they get to clean up the next portion.  They are so good at cleaning up weeds and such. 

Next I tackled the leaves.  We have a lot of leaves from two huge cherry trees in our yard.  I keep thinking about having them taken down, but they really are beautiful big trees.  In any case, I raked a bit and covered our non-garden areas with the leaves.  Hopefully they will protect the areas from the weather and they will keep the weeds down.  Even if they don't break down (they are thick leaves!) I can rake them off the beds and continue to compost them in another area when spring comes. 

We are just at the beginning of the leaves dropping, so there will be a lot more where those came from.  I will be able to get a good load of them onto the side gardens.  These gardens don't get much sun.  I will look at what kind of veggies grow well in more shadier areas and see if I can get some stuff to grow there next year. 

Watched a very interesting documentary last night.  It was called Forks over Knives.  It talked a lot about how it is better for our health to eat less meat, fish and dairy.  I think it would be less costly too, even with eating all organic foods.  It is tough on Tim as he does the cooking around here.  So I am thinking about doing some research and seeing what I can do.  I understand grains and vegetables better than I ever have meat anyway.  I assured him that we are not going to CUT out meat completely, but lessening it is a smart thing.  And it seems easier to do in the winter when there are stews and soups that warm the tummy and the soul. 

Carl wants the computer, so I had better go.  Thanks for sharing this lovely Sunday morning with me.

Gabby

Time flies when life is happening.  It has been too long since I wrote here.  And now I want to write about our friend Gabby who passed away yesterday.  It is a sad story in some ways, but a story of salvation in other ways. 

We first met Gabby about five months after Lizzie passed away.  Bear was moving into old age and after losing two dogs in two years, this girl was worried about Bear moving on quickly.  We wanted to get a dog who was three of four years old.  One that was young enough that he or she could have some life and energy, but old enough that he or she wouldn't drive Bear absolutely crazy.  Here enters Gabby.

I got all excited about getting a new dog.  Yeah for a new dog!  A new member of the family!  I started looking at the web...and after purusing many dogs, I noticed Gabby.  She was at our community shelter.  She was a beautiful brown and white dog with smiling eyes.  She was old.  OLD? When they say "seven" do they mean older than that?  We just gave up two dogs in two years, could we handle another who might go at any time?  And yet, she stuck in my heart. 

I was determined not to play favorites when we got the shelter.  I wanted to stay open to whoever was there.  And so I looked here and there.  Well, what did Tim do?  He went straight in and found her kennel.  "Here she is! Let's take her into the play yard."  Are you sure?  I mean she is OLD.  "Seven isn't so old.  And besides, we are used to older dogs."  Ok, well let's take her out then.  As he and Carl took her into the yard, I went to the front to ask about her.  They said she was a drop off.  The original owner went off to school and left Gabby with her little sister.  Now her little sister was getting married and she didn't want the hassle of a dog.  The shelter staff said she is a "good dog." 

I got back and walked into the play yard just in time to see Gabby jump up on Carl, very gently I might add, and give him a HUG.  That is right, a hug.  There is just no other way to describe what she did.  Carl was very pleased and this decided it for him on the spot.  Honestly, I don't remember too much more of the time in the play yard.  What I do remember is that Gabby did not want to go back into that kennel! 

As we were reminiscing recently, Tim told me that what he remembers the most about seeing her for the first time in realy life, was that she looked completely defeated.  She was laying there and the dog that was in the kennel with her was dancing on her head in an attempt to get us to notice him.  I remember the food being spilled all over too and Gabby had no life in her eyes.  All that changed when she came out into the play yard that day. 

So at the desk, I remember we had to call our landlord.  That was strange.  I realized in a split second that our landlord could say no!  I mean, we had always owned our own home and no one could say one way or the other...BUT she said yes.  Thank YOU! 

And then I had to live with the feeling that we were making a big mistake.  Was it all show?  Was she really so calm?  Was she really this smart?  Hee hee...well, she did make a lot of messes those first few days home.  She seemed to have forgotten how to go to the bathroom outside.  And then there was the time that she decided that she would eat a dozen or so eggs that were left out on the counter.  Wow that was a mess.  She liked to eat other things off the counter as well.  The routine got to be, "Did you knock that bread bag on the floor?"  No, not me.  And then we would look at Gabby. 

Bear took our new addition to the family in stride.  They seemed to enjoy each other's company.  And Gabby continued to adore Carl.  But her real true love was Tim.  Maybe it was just because anyone who came within 10 feet of us could tell that Bear and I loved each other dearly.  Or maybe it was that Tim is such a great guy. But whatever the reason, Gabby fell in love with Tim.  The other day, Tim said, "She is MY dog.  She is everything that I think a dog should be.  I chose her!" 

Well, Gabby lived through Bear's passing which was just eight months after she came to live with us.  And then she live through being an only dog for all of five months.  And then she even lived through the new addition of Belle.

Gabby got to run free in the woods.  But she never chose to stay out long.  She loved our walks in the woods and in the fields.  She loved sniffing things and digging out in the fields.  She loved life.  And she reminded us how to love life.

Well, we moved about a month ago and Gabby lived through that too.  She was a trooper.  She was worried as we packed up and on the day of the actual move.  But I think that she knew...she knew that wherever we were that was home.  And she hopefully knew that we would never leave her.

Until the other day, she was a bright shining being: climbing up on the bed every night to warm Tim's side of the bed, snoring like the dickens once she got to sleep, eating her fill of food and drinking her fill of water, and just enjoying every minute.  In the midst of all that, I noticed she was gaining some weight.  I thought, 'Well, she does have a more sedentary life here than she did in the woods.'  Then we went camping and my sis sat our animals.  I don't remember saying it, but Tim said that I noticed her weight again when we got back from camping. 

But it wasn't until last Friday that I started worrying.  I am a great worrier, so this is pretty surprising.  I noticed that Gabby's belly felt tight and it looked distended.  I called early on Saturday morning to see if I could get into the vet.  They didn't call back even after they had been open an hour.  I called again...had to leave another message.  Finally I called again and they said that it could be bloat and that I needed to get in there asap. 

So...I loaded Gabby up and went to see the vet.  The story is getting long...well, the long and short of it is that we went home that day with an x-ray and proof that her belly was full of fluid.  We took blood.  The blood work came out fine.  F I N E. Looking back, that was not fair.  On Wednesday we brought her back in to have an ultrasound.  But in the meantime she was spoiled and walked and loved on.  Then I got the call on Wednesday morning.  They weren't going to do the ultrasound after all.  They knew what it was.  She had a tumor on her heart.  Her heart cavity was full of fluid as well as her belly. 

And then we were told that she didn't have any more chances.  And it was time...before things got really bad.  She was so happy and so seemingly healthy.  We took her for a walk in the beautiful Autumn sunshine.  We went to the store and bought her a big can of the best canned dogfood money could buy.  She got the lion's share and Belle got a nibble as well.  And then we scritched her and loved on her and read her a book and prayed over her.  And then she went to sleep and slept the sleep of the beloved. 

Gabby once again became Gabrielle.  Yes, Gabrielle the Beloved.

I met an old friend while I was walking tonight...

I met an old friend as I as walking tonight.  We were on our way home from a good walk and there she was just walking around the corner.  She didn't remember me at first, but then it all came back to her when I re-introduced myself.  We ended up dumping the dogs so that I could talk and watch nature boy (who seems to not know what a car is). 

We walked a long ways.  And it was getting dark, so we turned around.  And we walked and talked some more.  What did we talk about?  Well, mostly about body mechanics, and counting our blessings about being healthier than we were the last time we saw each other.  We talked about food and how organic is so much better...but growing it yourself is even better than that.  And we talked about the neighbors.  Who still lives in the neighborhood.  Who has chickens.  :-)  Who has kids. 

And we walked her to her house and she gave us green beans...of course ones she grew herself.  And then she walked us home because she didn't want our lovely, spontaneous walk to end.  And we promised to chat more some other evening. 

And I came in here and thought, "Hmmm...I was looking for community out there because it was near a small town and it was in a farming community.  And I came home and was reminded that I had it here all along."  It was a good reminder. 

Love to you and yours on this lovely Fall evening.

Going Home

Hello.  It has been some time since I wrote on here.  A lot of changes have been happening and some of them were tough and I had to go through them before I could write about them.  In explanation, we decided to move after some time living out on 5 acres out in the woods.  It was a tough decision for many reasons.  It was a down-size in the amount of land we had access to and it was a down-size in the amount of living space.  And it affected others.  Hard choices...

SO...we did it!  We made the tough decisions.  We did the packing.  We gave away a bunch of stuff.  We took a bunch of stuff to the dump and we donated a bunch of stuff to the Goodwill.  It was freeing and still it wasn't quite enough.  We still have so much!!  So what we did was we moved most of it into the garage first.  We are going through each box as we move it into the house.  We are questioning whether we have the space for it and whether we have a place for it and then questioning whether we need it.  It makes for a slow unpack, but it seems to be working.  Less clutter, means less things to take care of.  Less to take care of means more time with family (one of my most important values in case you couldn't tell). 

So the things that I have found through this move are that smaller sometimes is better.  The house seems bigger than I thought it would be.  In that we each have our own space and can retreat to those spaces when we need time alone.  I loved it when I saw Carl laying on his bed reading by himself the first time.  So sweet!  And we don't have to yell to find someone anymore. 

The yard is big and there is plenty to do to get it in shape.  I mowed the lawn with the push mower yesterday!  It was great fun and good exercise.  The chickens have lots to peck at and clean up for us too.  And the dogs and the cats seem to be settling in well.  We got a cat tree from our sister and her fiance and the cats love to climb it and feel like they are on top of the world.  And the cats only hid the first day.  That was a relief!  Everyone kept telling me that they would be hiding for weeks.  Maybe it is because there are fewer placed to hide here.  :-)  The dogs need more exercise than they did when they could run free, but that is good for us too.  Dogs needing exercise equals us getting more exercise.  Win/Win. 

Carl is enjoying the pavement.  Sounds weird, but where we lived before we just had gravel.  So he gets to ride his bike and his scooter.  That is fun for him.  And of course his friends are closer too.  That is a plus. 

Our neighbors have already been over asking about when we are going to take care of this or that.  It is a good lesson for me, as I learn to just tell them that we are taking care of one thing at a time, as we can in our time.  That is the blessing of owning a home.  We get to decide when and we get to save the money and plan for when. 

In the meantime, we are working on not getting used to living around boxes and remembering to upack them and not make them our friends.  :-)  I feel like we have been guided to this decision.  It wasn't easy, but it seems to have been the right one for where we are right now.  I am getting the feeling that this is just the beginning.  Love to you on this Fall day. 

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

Hi!  It is my favorite day, SATURDAY!  It is a beautiful day here in the Northwest!  Weird that the weather turned nice once we entered into September.  But it has been nice to be able to enjoy it in the evenings and on the weekends.  Here, the evenings cool off, so it makes sleeping easier. 

Well, we are making progress towards our move.  It is hard going through old papers and things and trying to get rid of as much as we can.  But it is good too.  I mean REALLY good.  Freeing in a way that I haven't felt for a while.  Tim even said this morning, "You know, I think we should just unpack six dishes.  It has been nice having just six to deal with."  I think he is catching the fever too. 

Tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  Tim is singing in a memorial concert.  It is free and it is at the Performing Arts Center in downtown Olympia.  It should be really great.  200 people singing together.  Yee Haw! 

Let's see, I haven't talked about the dogs lately.  Belle has learned to come most of the time.  That is sweet.  She knows that she can go back out after she comes and eats usually.  She loves being outside, that if for sure.  I think I am going to be challenged trying to keep her exercised in town, but that will be good for me too.  Carl has a scooter now and can scoot or bike or ride the surrey too.  He is an active boy and it will be interesting to see how he uses his energy.  Gabby is pretty laid back.  She isn't as good on a leash as Belle is.  Maybe I will have to get one of those pinch collars.  I talked to a friend of mine about it.  It seems to be less harmful than a choke chain.  Hopefully Gabby will figure it out quickly. 

This morning I heard the Blue Heron "Blue".  I didn't get to see her, but it was good to know she is around.  And I saw a lizard this morning too.  I am happy to say that they don't freak me out like they did when I first came here.  And I am not surprised by snakes or hopping mice either.  And I am not as freaked out by my worm bin either.  I love to see the worms doing their work.  They have been working hard lately.  But they don't get as much to eat any more since the chickens came.  They only get what the chickens don't want. 

Ok, well this has been all over the place, but I am glad I wrote.  Hope you enjoyed it too.

What's New?

Well, it has been a while since I posted here.  There are a lot of reasons for this, but the main one is that we will be moving soon.  It was a big decision for us and a hard one to make.  As you have seen throughout my blog entries, I love where we live and I love the interaction with the wildlife.  But, it is time to move on for a number of reasons.  And here I am looking into the future and trying to figure out how to keep my goals and life purpose in mind as we make this change. 

The good thing is that there is a lot of nature around where we will be living as well.  We need to make a little more of an effort to get out in it though.  We have learned a lot about home upkeep and property care since we moved out here and we have a little more creativity as well.  We hope that living closer in will give us a little more energy to be able to use some of that creativity. 

On another topic, we took a day off last week and we went to Pioneer Farm in Eatonville.  It is a small farm and museum and there are cabins, a barn, a wood working area and a blacksmith shop that are reminiscent of those used in the 1800s in this area by the early settlers.  It showed the small homes, the sleeping quarters, and the utensils that people of that era used.  It was fun for Tim and I as well as for Carl.  My favorite part was milking the cow.  I have never milked a cow, have you?  Carl liked the wood-working shop the best.  He got to go over there during the activity time and scrape bark off a tree with a neat tool.  Tim spent his activity time at the forge and he straightened out the horseshoe that was there.  It was a great day.  The sun was out and although it was warm, our tour guides were awesome.  They answered all our questions with great patience.  I have to admit that it was a little weird hearing them talking about their futon and this and that later when we were in the trading post.  They had slipped out of their characters and it was a bit jarring. 

SO, as we move on in our lives, we are looking for new ways to have fun together, to bring a little of the country to our new home in town, to invite more people to share in our lives and to continue being good to one another. 

By the way, our chickens are getting big.  They should be laying by this time next month.  Yes, we will be taking them with us! 

Thoughts on "The American Dream"

I had a great talk with my best friend yesterday.  He also happens to be my husband.  We were talking about what "The American Dream" really is. 

We talked about the idea of the consumer's American Dream and what it was a generation ago:  a home of your own, one that you could actually afford; a dishwasher; a washer and dryer in your own home; a bedroom for each parent couple and for perhaps for every two children and that each had their own med or a bed to share; a bathroom with indoor plumbing and a shower or bath; a car of your own; and access to a good job for one of the parents and public schooling through high school for each child.  And a week vacation that didn't include camping or fishing or something close to home, was saved for and done every 5 years or so.  I look over this list and there are so many people who would disagree with me.  But I see that even this list is full of luxuries that so many people are not enjoying right now.  The turn in the economy is a serious wake-up call.  Not to mention the discussions that I have with friends who visit or live in other countries and think that even this list would never be attainable for the average citizen of that country.

I personally lived in a suburb of Tokyo for 8 years.  My apartment had one, 6 mat (measured in tatami) room, a hallway that served as a kitchen with a sink, a gas stove that I had to provide myself, a small counter space and a refrigerator.  Then there was a room with a Japanese tub and a sit-down shower area and next to that a room with the toilet in in.  I did not own or drive a car the whole time I was there.  I did have a bicycle for some of that time. 

I "Googled" The American Dream and I found this interesting site:  http://www.americansc.org.uk/Online/American_Dream.htm

I thought it was interesting in that it was from a British writer:

Traditionally, Americans have sought to realise the American dream of success, fame and wealth through thrift and hard work. However, the industrialisation of the 19th and 20th centuries began to erode the dream, replacing it with a philosophy of "get rich quick".

The article is interesting and seems to be worth the read if you should be interested.  I am not condoning everything that is said, but it is worth pondering.  And I guess I would like to add, that the idea of buying on credit and paying for it later, and buying because "we deserve it" are also big parts of where the American Dream have gone.

I am in a mood of thinking about where we are financially and where we want to be.  The idea of the American Dream is very intertwined with that.  I mean, it isn't that we have the desire to keep up with the Jones.  It is just that sometimes we read too many Better Homes and Garden magazine where it looks like everyone has large, beautiful houses and all the time in the world to enjoy them.  :-)

We are working on it.  That is what counts.  We are facing reality and looking towards the future.  That is what counts.  We are walking in Faith.  That is what counts. 

Love to you and yours.  P

Learning about yarn

Today the yarn store in Yelm had their open house.  I have been waiting for it for weeks!  We were actually invited to go to this store a year ago.  We went to the Thurston County Fair and met two women.  One was spinning yarn with a spinning wheel and one was using a hand spindle.  Carl took his turn with the hand spindle and the woman was impressed with how nice his work was.  They were both very nice and their stories of the store reminded me of some of the knitting club books that I have read in the past.  Kind of like a quilting circle without the quilting.  Creativity and comeraderie. 

Well, then I read in the shopper's guide that we get in our mail that the yarn store was having an open house.  I read about it weeks ago and decided that I was finally going to go.  What a fun time we had.  Carl made felted soap.  Umm...not really sure how to explain this.  I will have to get Tim's rendition, but I do know that

the felt around the soap works like a loofah and exfoliates your skin.  I didn't get to watch the process as I was busy visiting with the animals and especially with the HUGE Great Pyrenees dog that protects the alpacas.  I don't think I have ever seen a bigger one than she was, and I have seen a few.  Anyway, Carl was very proud of his soap.  He picked Spider Man colors.  :-)

Then we learned about picking and combing the wool or alpaca fleece.  The lady giving the demonstration has been making yarn for 11 years!!  It is quite a process.  First you shear the animal and you let the fleece/wool sit for a while to make sure all the critters in it are dead. (She actually said that.) Then you have to wash it... in VERY HOT water and soap.  And then you have to rinse it in VERY HOT water.  (She told us all this too.)  You cannot handle it too much or else you will accidentally make felt out of it.  Then you pick it to pick the fibers apart, to take even more dirt out of it and to get all the short pieces out of it.  Then you card it (she had a carding machine that she explained is very rare to see).  She mixed some wool in with the alpaca fleece, as she said that it holds the shape better.  So because she was mixing it, she had to card it three times.  When we checked back in with her later she was at her spinning wheel spinning the fleece into yarn.  I talked to her about learning to spin, but she said that you have to be serious about it because you have to buy your own spinning wheel BEFORE the class.  Hmmm...don't think I have the time or money right now for that.  But it is a cool thought. 

What I thought was so interesting was that all the women that were there made it sound like this was just something that was done all the time.  It is surely a good use of materials that they get from their animals. 

They will be at the Thurston County Fair and they will be spinning and selling yarn at the Puyallup Fair too.  If you have a chance to check them out, it is worth watching. 

We had lunch with them and Carl got some really neat alpaca socks.  He is very proud of them. 

The rest of the day we spent at a BBQ for a very good friend of ours.  It was a lovely gathering to celebrate a really nice guy's birth day.  We had a lot of conversation and a lot of good food.  I wish I had more energy and I could paint a picture for you with words, but not tonight. 

By the way, the chickens are just about ready to begin laying.  They scratch little divots in the ground and sit on little pebbles.  I guess they are practicing. 

I hear laughter in the kitchen.  My sis and my son are playing a game together.  I had better go join in the fun. 

Love to you and yours. 



Sunday

Sunday morning.  I hope this one finds you safe and warm and feeling loved.

Missed yesterday's usual entry.  I think I slept in.  That is a miracle!  Then we had a lovely breakfast of eggs, quinoa pancakes, bacon, and raspberry kefir to drink.  Yummy.  If you haven't tried kefir yet, you should try it.  I think of it as a drinkable yogurt.  They have a lot of different kinds of flavors wherever they sell it.  It is good for the tummy if you can tolerate milk.  But you have to be careful (if this is of concern to you) of what they use if it is sweetened.  The last one was cane sugar, which I am ok with. 

Tim got his lap band filled last week.  He really has had a good experience this time.  I think he realized that they were over-filling it for him the past number of times and then he would always have trouble and then he wouldn't want to get it filled again.  This time, I see hope in his eyes.  He is able to feel full only after eating a small portion of food and he stays full until it is time to eat again.  He has decided he will fill it more regularly now and just not have them fill it so much.  That is all good. 

We went to Tim's Mom's to celebrate her birthday last night.  It was such a nice visit!  It was relaxing and warm.  We talked about her cats and played with her dog.  We talked a lot about what Carl wanted to talk about too.  He sometimes feels like he is side-lined when we go there, but this time there was a really nice balance of communication.  Then we went out to dinner.  Tim and I split a meal.  And between us we couldn't even eat all of the food!  Ok, so I have to admit that I was saving a little room for the rhubarb pie as well.  :-)  It was lovely!  We don't do that often at all, so it was a real treat.  Anyway, it was good reminder that we could share a meal and both feel full.  That will help me lose some weight and save money for us as well.

Carl is going to day camp this coming week with the cubscouts.  He is so excited!  He gets to shoot BB guns and do archery, take nature walks and do art projects.  I wish I could take some time off to be out there with him, but it is not in the cards this week.  Oh well, I know he will be in good hands and some of the other moms from our den will be out there at least part of the time.  Glad of that! 

Our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) has been working out so well this year.  We bought a half share and we are able to feed ourselves, my sis who has been staying with us and still have quite a bit to share with my parents.  It feel good knowing that we are helping the farmers, keeping us healthy and helping a few others out as well! 

And speaking of food, my sis cooked for us twice this week.  That was a lovely treat!

We have been supplementing our veggie box with lettuce from our own garden as well.  And I was able to pick and give my parents a big bag of lettuce (beautiful lime green and red-leafed lettuce) from our own garden last week as well.  It made me feel proud in that it has been a long time since we have had a garden. 

Our carrots aren't quite ready, but they are getting there.  Zuchs are showing their blooms.  Crooked neck squash are blooming as well and the onions continue to grow.  The peppers just didn't make it (we grew them from seed, but a little later than we should have).  But the tomato plants that we grew from seed are getting bigger.  I doubt we will really have tomatoes on them, but they are fun to watch grow, especially since I watched them from they were very tiny seeds. 

The chickens are enjoying the bounty of our garden as well.  They get some succulent leaves and they get all the tops and ends of all the veggies we prepare as well.  I think at this point they like the dandelions better, but either way I am happy. 

Other than that, as I move into my week I am working on more balance in my work/home life.  We are in need of a vacation too.  It won't be a long one or one far away at this point.  But I think we could all use a little away and rejuvenation time.  How about you? 

Love and God's blessing on you and yours this week.  Hope to see you again next weekend!

Changes in Connection

All I got in my email today were advertisements.  I think it is a comment on where I am at socially.  I remember when I was sad when I came back from Japan when the letters stopped coming.  When I was in Japan, people wrote letters to me.  Don't get me wrong, I got my share of advertisements there too.  And then there was email.  And everyone emailed.  "What is your email address?"  And then when Facebook came into being, it seemed I got more and more jokes and less and less actual emails.  And now pretty much all I get are advertisements.  And speaking of Facebook...you know when you "Like" something, you start getting all the updates from that.  And then I found that I was getting more updates than I was getting updates on my friends' lives.  The hardest ones were when I was getting notes like this, "This dog has three more hours of life.  Please save him!" signed Mary Lou from Northern Podunk Somewhere I Have No Idea Where It Is.  First of all, I can take no more dogs in and second of all I have two dogs to take care of as it is.  Not to mention the dogs in the neighborhood who I try to take care of as well.  And now I find that fewer and fewer people actually update on Facebook.  So there is less information and more advertisements.  And then I heard yesterday that there is now another site called Google+.  The idea of starting all over sounds...enticing. 

It is an interesting world we live in.  I talked to my Dad yesterday about some of this.  He doesn't like Facebook.  He said he gets tired of so much information.  But he still watches the news on TV and THAT makes me tired...ok, exhausted.  But Dad misses when people would take the time to update him on their lives by email...or even by the telephone.  It seems to me that we have so much information available that the information of connection seems to get lost.  And for me I will go one step further.  I get so much information, email, telephone calls, chats in the hall, that I am exhausted and cannot reach out to the people who really matter.  This is a deep thought for my Saturday morning.  :-)

Having said this, I am thinking a lot about connection this morning.  My sis is vacationing here for a couple weeks.  It is so awesome to have her.  Sometimes I think she thinks she is a bother, but that is SO far from the truth.  (Although I have been very busy with work lately and have not been the best hostess.) But I grew up in a household where there was always someone around and I would go back there in a minute.  Just a chat here or a walk there...what is better than that?  And last night another of our sisters came to visit.  It turned into dinner, a little walk and a good after dinner chat.  They even said no to desert because they had their fill of yummy (and healthy) food for dinner.  I loved that.  But the biggest piece is that I was reminded that I love "the Craic" as my husband would say. (Definition from the Urban Dictionary site below.)   I love the connection.  It doesn't matter if it is coupled with drink.  Good food helps though.  People are always more relaxed when their stomachs are full of good (and I would add healthy) food.  I need more Craic in my life with people who are trustworthy. 

The chicken-girls are getting big!  Around their eyes are getting reddish.  I need to take more pictures of them, as I am amazed at the change...really the transformation in them since we got them.  They are beautiful and each has her own personality.  Some come to visit when I come around, some run away.  They love being outside and especially when they get new ground to scratch.  I have had a few lettuce plants bolt and they have done a great job of cleaning them up. 

The garden is beautiful.  It is just like what I think it should look like.

I talked a lot about juicing last night, so I think I will juice today.  Tim had his lap band filled yesterday so he is on full liquids until tomorrow anyway.  Gotta make sure that he gets his veggies and fruits too! 

So...enough of my rambling today.  I hope that you and yours are well.  And I hope that you have something fun planned for the weekend.  I have so many projects in my head that I don't really know where to start! 

Craic

Irish word for fun/enjoyment that has been brought into the English language. usu. when mixed with alcohol and/or music. 'Bhi craic agus ceol againn' : We had fun and music. Fun doesn't really cut it though. General banter, good times had by all. Also, a person who is good fun/great company. It was great craic. She's great craic when she gets going. He's great craic when he has a few pints on him. What's the craic? How's the craic? The craic was mighty. )

Talk about GROUNDING!

Well, I have a better understanding of "grounding".  For me it means working with the ground.  :-)  I asked Tim to teach me how to use the weed eater today.  I probably have used one here and there in the past, but it hasn't been for a very long time.  There are lots of areas that have gone back to the jungle and I wasn't sure where to start.  But I decided that my goal wasn't a destination today, but it was the journey. 

I am getting a different view of being creative as well.  I mean what could be more creative than having a big portion of land and looking around to see where a path wants to become?  It was fun!  I just started somewhere and then I was somewhere else! 

I got to one area and Carl snuck up behind me.  So I turned to him and said, "Hey, I am making a path for you to play on and what would you like to see at the end of the path?"  He quickly said, "I would like TWO paths!  One entrance and one exit and then I want them to end at that baby tree right there.  Maybe I can even make a fort there, or we can pitch the tent!"  So that is just what I did.  I made one entrance and one exit! 

I have to admit that weed eating is tough.  Carl said he wanted to try, so I set him up.  He said, "No fair Mom, you make it look easy!"  That was the biggest compliment!  I explained that Daddy made it look easy and that I was wiped out.  I also explained that I was very glad that he came to spell me!  So he lost interest after a bit. 

Tim came to visit next and to see what I was doing.  He had been flaming weeds and had run out of propane.  So the next thing I knew, he had found a way up the hill on the riding lawn mower and he was working to make the paths even more accesible!  That was a good thing too...umm...because the weed eater is Tony's and he needs it back.  :-) 

Anyway, after all the work was done, I laid down and relaxed in the sunshine.  I looked up at the trees swaying in the breeze and at the blue sky.  A moment of pure quiet and peace.  And I realized that for me this is what "grounding" is all about.  Connection to the earth.  Connection to the sky.  Connection. 

Happy Fourth of July.  I thank God that I live in a place where I can take freedom for granted.  I try not to mind you...

A Beautiful Summer Day

We ate breakfast out on the porch this morning.  What a beautiful morning.  We went into town to the Farmer's Market.  It was funny to be there with no money in hand.  But we were really there to pick up the cherries that we were "owed" from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) or Farmshare.  We talked to a lot of people at the market.  I met a really cool couple who look like they are a bit younger than us.  They moved to the area to take care of the guy's grandmother.  They are using the time that they have to learn to farm.  They have chickens...6 of them...and they have planted a garden.  They buy goat milk from the librarian in town and they use essential oils to make soap, deodorant, lip balm, etc.  It was fun to talk to them, because they are still in the process of figuring things out and we are right there with them.  They told me about a book called The Backyard Homestead.  They said it was a great book for beginners.  I will check it out. 

Who else did I talk to?  Two ladies who spin fiber into yarn.  They told me that there is a "spinning guild" that meets here in town at the high school.  It is amazing what you can learn at the Farmer's Market.  :-)  They have alpacas and they spin their wool into yarn.  Very cool.  I always thought that I should save Bear's undercoat in the Spring when he was shedding and spin it.  I just didn't know where to start.  The lady has a Great Pyrenees like Belle to watch her alpacas.  She assured me that as Belle grows, her undercoat will grow too.  Maybe a second chance? 

And then I talked to a lady who has a nursery down the road from here.  She had some lovely things.  My favorite was a hanging basket, you know like everyone gives to their mothers on Mother's Day?  And it had draping tomato plants in it!  What a cool idea!  Wish I had had some money with me because she had marked them down too.  Oh well, I can dream a bit and then maybe go back next weekend.

That lady had a variety of herb starts as well.  We need to get an herb garden started.  Tim is a wonderful cook and he uses lots of herbs. Fresh herbs, yum! 

Our garden is growing well.  We have little tiny carrots and a few different kinds of lettuce.  Our Zuchs and Summer squash are getting big.  No actual veggies on there yet, but should be pretty soon.  The onions are growing.  The tomatoes and peppers...um, not so good.  But oh well.  The rabbits pretty much ate all of our rhubarb. 

SO...this is where we have come from our starting place of just wanting to make sure that our weeds were not up over our heads this year.  

As an update to our eating habits, we have pretty much moved over to as organic as we can get.  Our beef is grass fed from the farm we get our veggies from.  They aren't certified organic, but they use no pesticides and only organic fertilizer on their starts.

We are using mostly organic cleaners and body products.  It is a good start.  We don't juice as much as I would like, but honestly it is an acquired taste. 

That's all for today.  Hope you have a safe 4th of July. 

Wonder why when things really touch my heart...it makes me want to write?

Hi there.  It has been a while.  I was camping with the Cubscouts last weekend (first time camping in a campground in a tent for me!) and then who knows what has been going on since the last time I wrote.  Life.  That is what has been going on. 

Today's thoughts center around stuff that touches my heart.  My son dug out a set of baseball stuff from a young man friend of ours.  The young man passed them along to Carl when he outgrew them.  It is such a nice evening and we are moving into the last night of our first week of official...out of school-ness.  It is really the first night this week that I didn't work in the evening as well.  That makes it nicer too. 

But getting back to things...Carl asked us to pitch the ball to him.  We had things to do...but he went out anyway.  He tried and tried to throw the ball up and hit it himself.  It was sad to see in some ways and really lovely in others.  He has such a wonderful, kind and try-try-again spirit.  I so love that about him.  So I sent Tim out to pitch.  "Ok, but just a couple."  How long ago was that?  So he pitched and Carl hit and again...and again. But then he found a mit and Tim taught him how to use it.  That was when the real fun began.  They have been at it now for a long time.  Just hearing them calling to one another...does it get any better than that?  Simple pleasures, I know. 

The dogs are out lazing about in the grass.  I did some juicing tonight and fed our chickens a little of the veggie pulp.  They didn't know what to do with it.  But a couple of them let me hold them.  They are getting so big!  They are starting to look like real in-the-magazine-kind of chickens now.  Not quite onto adult feed, but we will be there in about a week. They liked strawberries and lettuce.  I don't think they thought too much of the carrots, but if you think about it, carrots are kind of an acquired taste. 

I came home after a really frustrating day and decided it was time to get my wiggles out (as Carl puts it).  I ran and walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes!  That is a lot for me.  It got my heart pumping and the sweat going.  But most of all, it got rid of my wiggles.  Funny, but it gave me some energy too.  I have been so exhausted this week.  Never feeling like I can get ahead of the ball...you know the ball that is chasing me down. 

This is a joyous time for my family and a tough time too.  My oldest sister Patty is in the hospital this week.  She is kicking some cancer butt.  I heard she will be in-patient for 8 or 9 days.  She sounds hopeful.  And I am taking hope from that as well. 

And my niece (another sister' daughter) is graduating from school and officially becoming a Naturopath.  Is that cool or what? 

Oh and what other news?  My dog Belle's brother's family got in touch with us!  And we found out that he doesn't live that far away from us!  I wonder if they will remember each other?  It hasn't been a year, but they were just babies when they were separated.  I remember how sweet they were playing together.  From the picture they sent, it may be a case of city mouse meeting country mouse.  Do you know that story?  Well, their dog is definitely not the country mouse.  He was laying on what looked like an antique chair.  Funny.  But as they have a fence yard, we decided we would meet at their house.  We haven't made a date yet, but I am really looking forward to it. 

Ok, I think I am all taked out for now.  Love to you and yours.  And don't forget, no one is perfect.  Revel in your imperfection and remember that it is what really connects us all and helps us to need one another. 
P

The girls are in their element!

Ok, I already told you a number of times, but I love Saturdays!!  Today, I was so excited to get up and to see how the chickens did that I woke up at 5:30 AM and couldn't get back to sleep!  I checked on them.  They were eating and drinking and doing all the things chickens do.  The funnest part for me though was that they had ROOM.  They were not on top of each other and they had a little room to move around and check things out. 

I cleaned the kitchen, got a load of laundry going and picked up a bit while listening to Dave Ramsy recordings.  I listened to the Great Misunderstanding this morning.  It is inspirational.  It is about why giving is important.  And it got me revved up.

A few hours later I woke Tim up and he went out and mowed the little patch of lawn where we want to have our girls for their first stop.  We moved them over and opened their house.  It was fun to watch them peek their heads out.  They are only about two months old, and yesterday they hadn't been able to figure out how to use their ramp up into their home.  Today, their curiosity got the best of them and they all pushed each other down the ramp.  Now just to figure out how to get back up! 

It was fun to see them run!  They have been so cramped that they haven't been able to run.  Now they are running here and there.  I threw some feed around so that they they had something to search for and then I threw in some tiny pieces of carrot as well.  They are loving their freedom.

The dogs are a little too interested.  My nephew said something about an electric net.  I am going to get more info on that.  For now, I feel like Tim's chicken tractor is safe and secure. 

By the way, I am SO proud of my husband.  He designed this chicken tractor, he decided the pieces that he would need and he put the whole thing together.  It is beautiful!!  And I think he feels good about his work too.  I am sure that he has ideas for upgrades already.  :-)  That is just who he is. 

Love to you and yours on this Saturday morning.
P

P.S.  Pictures to follow.

Working on living more sustainably

I am finding I am struggling a bit with what blogging is for.  I read others' blogs and find that they blog in a certain direction.  My direction these days is learning to be more in nature and to live more frugally, more sustainably and with more ZEST!  I am looking for ZEST!!

Today is our chicken tractor day.  Tim drew up blue prints and we are going to work on building it today.  Carl was so cute yesterday.  He said, "Dad, I'll help you however I can!"  We have a list of items needed and we are planning to go to Home Depot in a bit. It should be an adventure. 

I am not much of a do-it-yourselfer.  But I am finding more and more that I can learn new things.  I am currently growing lettuce, carrots, onions, tomatoes, peppers, zucchinis and some yellow squash.  They are looking lovely and so far the rabbits haven't found the holes that got burned in the deer fencing around the garden.  How did the holes get burned?  Well...it had something to do with the cool weed burner we have.  But I won't say more about that.  :-)  I will probably be fixing our fence today too. 

Why do we want chickens?  Of course eggs are good.  And I like animals.  I like taking care of them and interacting with them.  And when I first thought about it, I talked to my sister who has a number of chickens.  She told me that they eat all their kitchen waste.  That is cool.  Mostly because our worm bin is too small and they are unable to keep up with the amount of veggie waste that we produce.  This is a good sign because when we got the worm bin, we didn't have much waste and it was just fine.  This shows that we are really working on eating better and eating more whole foods. 

And fertilizing is also a great part of chickens.  That is why we decided on a tractor.  Our soil is bad out here and every little bit of fertilizer and building up of the soil will help. 

I am a bit worried about the wildlife and them taking an interest in the chickens (this includes my dogs), but we just have to prepare the best way we can and then try it.  Hope it works!!

As another step in our frugal living/more sustainable living quest, we started back with our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) this week.  I like to call it our farmshare.  We get a half share of veggies and a half share of fruit every week.  The takings were sparse this week, as it has been unseasonably cold, but things should be moving in the right direction soon.  The farm is just down the road and they are a nice family.  It is neat to know where our vegetables are coming from. 

We are hoping to do some canning this year as well.  We use a lot of tomatoes in our cooking, and even putting these up ourselves would be a huge money-saver.  Or at least it would be cool to know that we grew them and canned them ourselves! 

It looks like it is going to be a lovely day today.  The sun is out and it is supposed to be in the mid-70s today.  NICE!  The dogs are already out enjoying the morning.  I guess I had better get there too. 

Friends

It was a lovely day yesterday.  It was a lovely start to a long and much-needed weekend.  We invited PEOPLE out!  We haven't done that in quite a while.  We have been tired, or the house is a mess or we are too busy...or for whatever reason.  But in any case, we took a chance and did yesterday. 

We cleaned like crazy in the morning and even though things were not perfect, we just let it go once they got here.  That is a big deal for both Tim and I, who sometimes get on a cleaning roll and just cannot stop even after out company get here. 

We invited a couple who are just about our age and who have a boy who is just a little older than Carl.  It was great for us and we got so much chatting and telling of stories in.  Good for my soul.  And it was so great to see Carl and his friend out in the yard/brush playing and just enjoying.  The weather cooperated and if I had had my head in the right place, I would have gotten some lovely pictures of two boys enjoying nature and each other.  But I will just have to remember it in my head instead. 

We took a walk.  The sun was shining down.  The dogs were running on ahead of us and bounding in the tall grass.  We walked down towards the river.  Just as we could see the river, Blue, our neighbor the Blue Heron decided to grace us with his presence.  Lovely and graceful as he took to the skies. 

The kids ran on ahead and the dogs got lost in the tall grass hunting for something.  I thought it was so neat to see the boys look back to make sure where their parents were and I motioned them to go on ahead and play, but to stay away from the river.  It is a freedom that we share with our child that is not part of this culture anymore.  And that is sad. 

We pet our quickly growing chickens.  We talked over chicken tractor designs.  We took two of the chickens outside onto the grass in an upside down laundry basket, so they could enjoy the sunshine and get a little pecking in.  I was surprised to find that Gabby, our sweet dog, has a clear desire to get VERY close to our chickens.  That might be a problem as we get them outside into their tractor.  But I guess we will have to deal with that when the time comes...or better yet, prepare for it before that time comes.  The BoyScout motto is "Always be prepared."  We take that seriously around here, where a lack of prepartion could mean death. 

After our friends left, who by the way live the same hours we do and get up early and go to bed early, the cats came out.  They sniffed all around to see who it was who was here.  I told them they had nothing to be afraid of, but I guess two active young boys isn't the best on cats' nerves. 

Speaking of active boys though, I loved that our place is set up for running and sword-fighting and tag.  We have little furniture for the amount of space that we have.  It is a lovely setting for creative play.  It was nice not to have to say, "No running.  Settle down."  Sometimes a boy just needs to be a boy and run and play and pretend. 

It was good to share our peace of heaven with our friends.

Saturday

Wow.  I look out the window and am amazed at the beautiful sunshine.  I have been wanting to write for a bit, but instead I have been a voracious reader.  I am reading at least three books right now and in the interim I read the whole Reader's Digest magazine too.  Have you noticed that there is a lot less violence in Reader's Digest?  I mean when I first started taking it, there were more violent stories in it then there were what I would consider "good" ones.  Lots of stories about people being attacked by wild animals.  So I quit reading it for a while.  Now that I have gone back to reading it, I find that there is usually one stark reality-type article and the rest are about tips to help with life, etc.  Good stuff, good reading. 

On another matter, I am reading a really good book called Highly Sensitive People.  I have read pieces of it before, but I am going back and reading from the beginning.  It is a very good book for those of us who are highly sensitive and wouldn't have it any other way.  I am amazed at how each chapter really speaks to me and the type of personality that I have.  If you are interested, you should check it out. 

I have been sick.  It is weird because whenever I get tired, run-down, over-stressed lately, it goes straight to my chest.  I am looking at that more.  And thinking on it.  I am sure that there is a message there.  I am just not sure what it is yet.

I had to go out and save some people from my dogs.  The dogs bark a lot, but I can never tell if they are barking at people or bunnies.  This time it was a good hunch.  They were in the face of two people who were all decked out for going for a serious hike up the hill.  They even had their dog on a leash.  That was good to see.  Most people just figure that this is the boonies and they don't have to leash their dogs even when they are trespassing.  Anyway, I got the dogs to back down and let them by.

I was looking at Facebook today.  My Japanese friend posted pictures from 1994.  It is weird, but although that was 17 years ago, it doesn't seem like all that much time has passed.  It was good to see old friends' faces.  It made me wonder what they are up to. 

My sis had to put her 15 year old dog down a couple days ago.  They had him since he was a puppy.  It was harder for me to hear than I had thought.  I know that he is in a better place, but letting go of our animal friends/relatives is harder than I thought. 

As you can tell, my mind is in a lot of different places this morning.  I also participated in an Inspiring Women's Summit online.  I did not know that it started last week, so I have a lot of talks to catch up on.  I listened to a few of them yesterday.  Some were better than others, but they all had something good in them to take away. 

Food...I went to the Naturopath to deal with my chest cold.  They were very helpful.  I appreciated their use of intuition and their ability to listen to what I was saying.  For me these days it is all about preventative medicine instead of waiting until I get sick.  I haven't had many veggies to juice with, so I have slacked off on that some.  I have them now though, so maybe I will go put some together now.  It tastes WAY better when it is just juiced. 

Love to you on this beautiful day.

Chickens

Ok, so now I have graduated from feeding the wild birds.  We got chicks today!  The line up looks like this...once they grow up, we will have two beautiful black and white hens, one black with green shimmery hen and one gold with a little black.  I guess the gold one is one of the ones that people show.  So far they are tiny.  They were hatched on Tuesday.  I think they hatch them, feed and water them and throw them in a box.  Did you know that chicks are fed ex'd in a box with 200 of them all together?  That is just crazy. 

So we talked to the feed store guy for a while the other night about what the temperaments of the hens are.  We passed over the leghorns.  I guess they lay eggs like crazy, but they are flighty.  That isn't the best kind of hen to have if you are going to have them in a chicken tractor.  Yeah, I said chicken tractor.  It is a portable house and pen for chickens.  We can move them around and fertilize different areas of our yard.  At least that is the idea. 

We got the girls a few hours ago.  It is amazing to see how alive they have become just in the past few hours.  Tim was giving me the play by play for a while.  New chicken parents get a little nervous.  We will have to see how things turn out.  They are nice and warm and have food and water thanks to my big sis Monica. 

So the thing is about chicken tractors...I realized that chicken tractors for people who are going to have their chickens in a fenced yard can be different than people who have to watch for predators.  Even the dogs next door can be considered predators here.  Or our dogs for that matter.  So now we have to figure out what is going to keep them safe.  Maybe I will talk to my nephew Jason and get his thoughts.  He has had a variety of different chicken dwellings over the years.

Wish I had some funny stories to tell you, but so far we just got things set up.  I did learn that if you want to pick up chicks and you are coming at them from above, it is good to talk to them or hum while you are doing it.  Just think about Godzilla coming to pick you up.  You would be scared too!  And you have to be careful of them jumping out of your hands as you are holding them.  I already had one take a jump out.  Luckily she seemed ok afterwards.

I am sure that I will have more stories soon.  Have a good evening. 

Laughing

Good morning world!  I wanted to share a good laugh that Tim and I had last night.  We were driving home from a cubscout meeting and he was talking about wanting to set up a target shooting area that he could shoot his pellet gun.  Then he said, "I was thinking that we could set up a target range and shoot some cans...and then I realized that we have so little canned food in our house anymore that I can't find any cans!!"  And then he said and any cans that there are, are recycled so fast that I never see them! 

Needless to say, I agreed to help him collect some cans, even if it takes us a while.  :-)

So I think that this is a good place to update on our food stuff.  Sugar is not my friend.  We have been so good about lessening our sugar intake over the past few years.  But this season is really tough.  First there was my birthday:  cake and pie.  Then the first of my Mom's birthday parties: Cake.  Then there was Easter:  WAY too much candy, even though we tried to cut down on it this year.  But what we didn't know was that Carl was going to get a SECOND basket from his God father and step God mother.  It was sweet and too SWEET! 

So with all that said, this girl is going to have to work on getting rid of yeast.  Whenever I talk about yeast, everyone gets kind of red in the face.  I am not just talking about that kind of yeast infection.  I am talking about kind of having a yeast proliferation all throughout my body.  It makes me dizzy, my eyes hurt and get tired very quickly.  I have a hard time concentrating.  I am tired A LOT.  It is easy for me to get, but not easy to get rid of.  Do you know how hard it is to stay away from sugar when your body is saying, "WANT MORE!"  Anyway, it has been a good reminder of why we cut down in the first place. 

It is funny, but I have been thinking of things to write about all week and now that I have time to write my brain is empty.  Carl is up, so I guess this is enough for now.  Love to you and yours this week.