Pillowcase Pledge

I, Schroeder the cat, do solemnly swear: There will be no puking on the pillowcases. (No promises about shedding, though...)

A Stitch in Time

A stitch in time saves nine…

When I was younger, I didn’t really understand that saying. Maybe it was because the book “A Wrinkle in Time” got to me before Ben Franklin did? I took “time” in the same meaning as the book title: stitching time. How does one stitch time? And what 9 things does it save? Memories?

I recently realized that my grandmother managed to “stitch time.” She passed away nearly 4 months ago; it’s still hard to believe she’s gone. Last weekend, my mother gave my brother and I each a set of pillowcases that Grandma embroidered. They had been carefully pressed and stored in a drawer, saved during her big move to the small apartment a couple years ago. I doubt they’d ever been used, being too fancy for “everyday.” I had never seen them before, and didn’t even know she had done that sort of work. Where in the world did she find time to stich, with 9 kids and a house to keep? When DID women find time for themselves and everything else, with Monday washdays, Tuesday ironing days, etc….?

I have carefully stored them in my “linen closet” (top shelf, IKEA wardrobe, ahem). I too will likely keep them wrapped up, tucked away. Who can stand the thought of staining a pristine white pillowcase? What if the cats throw up on them?

Today I was at Goodwill (sweater shopping) and came across a “vintage” pile of embroidered handkerchiefs, napkins and dresser scarves, all painstakingly hand-sewn and pressed by someone years ago. Now, jumbled in a pile, they sell for a couple dollars to random strangers.

Every once in a while, a piece speaks to me and I take it home, wondering about the woman that created it. Did she enjoy the skill, likely taught by her own mother? Was she working on her hope chest before marriage, only to abandon the skill after the kids came, as a suspect my grandmother did? Was this one of her only creative outlets? When did she find the time to spend on this intricate art?

I don’t really want to embroider handkerchiefs or pillowcases, but I do yearn for that “simpler” time, whatever its definite flaws. I suspect TV, computers and commuting played a smaller role in the lives of those women. I bet their downtowns were still lively and full. I bet they washed their hair less often and had less “stuff” than us. My life as a “modern” woman gives me countless more choices, yet I can hardly find the time to cook for WF, let alone knit or sew as I’d like to…

Anyway, regardless of the deeper meanings of embroidery and it’s heyday, I am grateful to my family for sharing my grandmother’s work with me. I’m glad it didn’t end up in a pile at Goodwill. If I can’t learn from her, I’ll try to learn from the stitches she left behind. A stitch in time, indeed!

(pictures not loading: maybe later?)

Bear-ly Winter

Last night the coop, both chicken-tractors and MY CAR were all thoroughly inspected for edible potential by a large, flat-footed critter. (See super-creative, helpful circling on the best tracks- ha).


The tracks in the snow tell us this: A BEAR standing up, placing his or her big feet on the back/top of my car (!) and elsewhere. One chicken-tractor has a bit of damage, but that might have been the wind (gale warnings last night). Everything’s locked up pretty tight, so no pre-bed snacks for the furry visitor this time.

So I’m wondering: when does this hibernation thing begin??

And So It Begins

The first snow! On October 11th!




Bill the elder cat says: Entirely too soon. I disapprove of these styrofoam pellet snow bits. Can I go back inside now?














We're hanging onto summer with a few fresh tomatoes for dinner tonight: who says they have to be red? These are some tasty Nebraska Wedding orange examples, a good producer in our area ...Available through Seed Saver's exchange!



But the tomato supply on the window-sill is dwindling. Is it really winter already?

Garden 'n Chicken Check-in

So, the blog has strayed lately to personal and "people" topics, without much chicken or garden content- hmm. Partly that's because it feels like we're never home, not doing much bonding (or harvesting!) in the garden or observing the quiet puttering ways of poultry. WF just finished unloading manure in the dark and rain; such is the life of a two-jobs-in-town and too-much-traveling existence right now.

Looking back at the calendar, I confirmed that I haven't spent two continuous days here since June- always work or travel or family events happening. But "the farm" (as WF's sister delights in saying- we can't quite bring ourselves to call it that yet) is still here, carrying on in the face our town-based distractions!

The young chicks are now over 3 months old: still a long ways from laying eggs (T-mins first egg is December 1st or so) but not really looking like babies anymore.



Here they are inspecting the adult tractor (they have their own new tractor, expertly, if painstakingly, built by WF) and learning to mix with the big hens (and rooster). All 8 are still with us, but the two roosters are starting to look a bit tasty, ahem. We're still not seasoned with the butchering thing, but WF thinks he could do the deed when needed. Still, anyone need a young rooster?

The "old chickens" are currently molting, so there are not many eggs. But each hen who grows back enough feathers avoids this winter's stewpot, so I'm silently cheering them on!

The garden still has plenty of old stuff; dry beans were hastily harvested at twilight today, and we're hoping the beets and carrots can get through the predicted SNOW tonight- we'll finish harvest this weekend. There have been some lovely potatos, thanks to WF. Garlic has been planted. A few tomato vines still hang in the garage with tiny grape tomatoes, slowly ripening. My doorstep kale garden has been ravaged by deer (some of it was actually TOUCHING the house: they have no shame!) but there's some hope of carrying that through for a little longer, providing a few green treats for the chickens later in cold fall.

The rain is falling right now and temps are dropping, so we'll see what the world looks like in the morning! Stay warm!

(non-loading picture of cozy warm stove here)
First fire, October 4th or so-?

Hair-indipity

So, I don’t listen to tapes in my car that often (recall I’m on 1991-era technology in there) but yesterday I was frustrated with the public radio offerings and popped in a Tom Paxton tape (which I like, but also don’t listen to that often).

What are the chances that RIGHT as I was driving into the parking lot of the hair salon, planning with some trepidation to cut off my long hair, the song “When You Shook Your Long Hair Down” (swooning over the effect of said hair) would start playing?

Ah, yes. But I still went ahead with it, even agreeing to a somewhat-flippy, shorter-than-I-intended “motion cut”: egads. I generally dislike the salon experience (one of the reasons I had such long hair: avoidance of those places) and had hoped this person would be different (she advertised in our co-op newsletter as a wash-and-wear expert!). She was very nice, but still did the 5 “product” routine. I prevented any suggestion of curling or straightening irons with a mention of our off-grid life: no electricity for heat-producing, energy-sucking appliances (even hair driers are out in the winter). She agreed that my “alternative lifestyle” does require a simple hairstyle- ha! WF approves, too.

It does feel good to have less hair. The amputated braid (eww- but it does feel a little like a dislocated limb!) is awaiting mailing to Locks of Love. I’ve heard that they don’t often end up using American hair for long wigs (generally too damaged) but I don’t need it anymore, either. Unless, of course, I take up Victorian hair art...not likely!

I could have gone the route Snail Spirals recently did (so cute!) but I really don’t think WF is up for even attempting a straight cut on my crazy hair. But maybe someday when this flippy cut grows out….