La la la-ahhhhhhh

Ahhhhhh

The new modem has arrived. = )

I have had so much frustrated research in its absence!
As a result, we now own a battery back-up surge protector for the precious (and apparently fragile) dsl modem.

Lloyd has been working overtime at the mill, while sadly, others have been laid off. Yesterday was the first day he EVER said his pay made him want to work more overtime. He is a happy man with a little $$ in pocket! Even talking about projects around here that need doing.

I try to keep him fed & happy. Keeping the house tidy sure helps! Everyone has been doing a lot better job with their chores, which certainly helps overall morale on the homestead. I feel like I'm getting back to actual 'stay at home mom' and all of the benefits to the family that that affords. As opposed to the frazzled, overworked, can't possibly stay on top of any one thing woman who sleeps and gets ready for work in the same house as the rest of you but is too tired and grumpy to care! hahahaha. i think....

As for the research. I friggin' love you internet! I have been reading up on Icelandic Sheep, composting, art, homesteading, working from home, water storage, animal husbandry, old friends blogs & 25 random things about me on facebook (what a fun thing to do & to read others!). Thank you internet and all of your interesting and informative contributers!

Still super looking forward to spring with seedlings & gardens & chickens & sunshine and all of that good, good stuff. The kids are getting excited, too. The older ones try to be cool but they are starting to crack and tell me what kind of chicks THEY want! hee hee. Lloyd is even looking at the hatchery catalog! This all makes me sooooo happy!

Day after tomorrow is Heidi's 22nd birthday. She is in Portland and I miss her, a lot. I worry about her when I can't see her and talk to her more often. Sweet little pooky. *sniff* Isn't she lovely?


A lovely Saturday. Warm and relaxing. Good moods all around. Ahhhh

President Obama!

my modem died.

moment of silence

apparently they are not cut out for fluctuating off-grid power.
my "surge protector" is actually an outlet strip. f*cker.

I did not get to watch the inauguration streaming live.
(network rabbit ears reception tv IS better than nothing!)

I must invest in a battery backup surge protector for my precious electronics. Being without has been rougher than I would have imagined-
I have missed blogging and facebook and the ability to look up information when a question pops into my head!

OK- enough whining!


The inauguration!!!!!! Our new PRESIDENT!! That darling benediction giving preacher-what a joy!! I am so happy about Barak Obama!


I am also VERY excited about ordering baby chicks from my new Murray McMurray catalog. Come on spring....I can hardly wait for the homestead to burst into life again! I am jazzed to do some yard work this weekend!
Chickens (maybe Turkeys, too!), the garden, the birdies & frogs.
My impatience would have it all here tomorrow and there is much to do still to get ready. Mother nature is so wise!! :)

Life is good!

Days fly by!

I went into town today, haven't been there for awhile. It was fun for a change.

I...

...had a nice, long, warm shower at the boat haven.
...ran into an old coworker and had a nice chat.
...went to the co-op and bought good bread and cheese.
...listened to my favorite cd on the good car stereo.
...picked up a copy of the local paper and saw an interesting job listing.
...don't know if I'll get it, but it was exhilerating to call and apply.
...daydreamed about working again.
...spent some quality time with one of my daughters.
...came home, stoked the fire and made tasty supper.
...read my new Back Home magazine.
...caught up on my facebook & friends blogs.
...caught up on my blog.
...have determined my criteria for accepting a job:

it has to be as much fun as gardening.

Good luck, jobs!

Another lovely day! Life is good!

a couple days catch up...

Mr. Stinky (the spotted skunk) is now making our 6am morning meeting a daily event. I gave him some peanut butter a few mornings ago and we are apparently "best friends" now. I don't mind, he/she is adorable.

The teenager situation is resolved and, as is usually the case, things are better. It needed to come to a head, so to speak. It did and wow! What a relief. The tension level in the household has dropped dramatically. Yay!

Holly (my oldest at 27) was selected to build a habitat home, construction to begin in April.
Now she has the opportunity to buy a previously built habitat home in an established community here. It is really like a dream! The community philosophy, common groungs, garden, greenspace, and common house are so beautiful. She and the girls will be able to have peaceful open outdoors right in the center of town. The best of both worlds. Without construction noise for the next 3+ years. I hope it all works out for them. So wonderful if it does!

I have been browsing through websites that offer advice about getting through the next few years of recession/depression/economic downturn. I have discovered that we are in a pretty good situation with our land (able to grow food & raise meat animals), being off-grid (not dependent on the machine for heat & power), tiny bit of mortgage, no credit card debt, no car payments. We have survival skills (hunting, fishing, gardening, cooking, food preservation, building). We have books about living off the land. We have almost all that we need to get through a tough period, if we need to.

I would like to thank my grandfather for the fact that we have the land to take care of our family. He explained to me when I was young how important it was to always have enough ground to feed you family if you need to. I believed him and have always wanted what we have now. And we worked toward it because of his sage advice. Thank you, grandpa lee.



And I thank my grandma for the skills I bring to the table-gardening, cooking, food preservation, sewing, knitting, mothering. She was/is a much, MUCH harder worker than I am, but she patiently taught me most of the life skills that I use daily to manage this household. Thank you, grandma maralyn.

And I am thankful for my talented and hardworking husband, who possesses skills and abilities that I lack. Together we make a great team, with plenty of strapping children to help out when we need it. AND he makes the best french pressed, hand delivered coffee ever. Served with love-my favorite <3

I've been very blessed.

Another beautiful day.

eff yoo cee kay

Well- Old friends found on facebook! So nice to reconnect in even a small way. Photos of new times and memories of old times. Good stuff.

Then there's reality!

One of my children super f*d up today. UGH!
CAPITAL EFF YOO CEE KAY!
On the bright side I do believe the reign of terror (continually blowing us off) is OVER. There has been quite a humbling. I know what it feels like to be a super smart know it all teenager. It is a bit embarassing the second you realize that you weren't AT ALL as smart (or cool, or mature, or correct, or tricky, or incognito) as you thought you were.

Come on silver lining and the perspective of time and distance. *slow motion sequence* Hmmmm, would I rather have sore nipples and a screaming baby or this. That would just be postponing this. UGH!
*fast forward*

Said child came crying to ask for a hug, not so tough after all.
Poor baby, growing up is hard.
Today was a beautiful day.

last night

I had delicious dinner & cookies ready to eat when everyone got home.
Hurry, so we can all go watch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
It was a lovely movie. Very sweet & touching. Made me sad about my grandpa who is 90 years old (also born in 1918, just like B.B.) and suffering from dementia. How much easier it would be to understand and care for him if he physically reverted into a child.
It made me think about my absent daddy and all of the daddys absent from their childrens lives, for reasons-real or imagined-but still missing & missing out. I have compassion for their wanting to be there but being unable for reasons-that was my daddy. Before he was killed and couldn't ever try again. :(
Love is so precious. Life so short.
Today is a beautiful day.

honestly....

Blogging before the kids get home from school makes me seem like a mellow person. (?!?!) I'm not sure how much jangle should come through for my blog to be honest.

Maybe my blog can be like the shower for me. My only alone time. Peaceful in a life of nearly continual chaos. Not all of the chaos is unpleasant, mind you. I love their witty sarcasm and all of the beautiful drawings by the reamful. I'm just low on fuel for quite a few reasons.
Some I have the power to improve, some I seem to have no control over.
It is a process, I suppose. Some sunshine would help. I'm going to go for a walk in the chilly today. That will help, too. I haven't been out of doors enough. hiding

Well-the peaceful me is just a tiny piece of peace and a tiny piece of me, but it is honest. I will use my quiet time to try to help it grow. I did have more patience last evening. Maybe blogging is helping already. hmmm
It certainly can't harm. I do find a lot of pleasure reading others blogs and the postings they share. Really touching and beautiful stuff we are.

Chicken and dumplings for dinner might soothe the savage beasts in all of them. Then we could have a sweet evening. The real question is....
will chocolate chip cookies help or not? That is a double edged sword. Sugar, butter-not good. Warm cookies and milk-SO good. We'll see how it goes.

ho hum

another quiet day.

Thinking about seeds for the garden this summer. I have a wild desire to plant the whole thing with basil and just make & sell pesto for a living. Lloyd makes the best pesto, ever.... I could use his recipe....hmmm.

Will people buy pesto in this economy?

Who cares.

It is my favorite smell in the world-basil in the sunshine, basil in the shade, it doesn't matter. Real estate doesn't thrill me like pesto does. And I had SO much basil last year.(See Tiger sitting between basil & romaine in pic). I guess I will discuss the idea with the pesto king and see what he thinks.

Way better than working at wal*mart (gag)!

First blog

Well....here I go a-blogging.

First day back to school for the kids after an extraspecially looooong Christmas vacation, many thanks to mother nature for a foot of snow that stayed, and stayed, and stayed. It was beautiful and for the most part a very pleasant & cozy holiday. Lloyd was home for the holidays, too. An extra bonus-we all got to relax and sleep in. The cold out, toasty inside, white Christmas felt like home for me.

It started with drama (hell day!low on wood, cccold outside & in, followed by every frustrating roadblock imaginable) ended with a big surprise (a SPOTTED SKUNK in the house, stomping at the cats!) But, ahhh the middle...so mellow...delicious food...family...friends...finally figuring out facebook...music...games...visiting...very nice.

I am thankful for the quiet today. A pause to reflect, take it all in and appreciate it, without any pressure. I feel rejuvenated, thank you solitude for providing me a "tude adjustment!