9-10 weeks

Hmmm, yep, the blog. Still here, still of interest. It gets confusing, y'all. Things posted here get to different people than Facebook, which is different than real life (really!). I get lost sometimes, assuming some in one world know things posted elsewhere. And huh, maybe it would be nice to see/communicate/interact with people more in PERSON. What a concept, eh?

I'm enjoying most parts of my "new life" (ie home more with kids, no workplace, no regular paycheck....hmmm) but am really realizing what a support system a real full-time job can be. Benefits, co-workers, SICK PAY. I've been struggling to get enough paying hours completed, between kid's germs and my germs and various other things. We are still working to get the hang of things. Oddly, I miss that old workplace more NOW than I did for the past nearly-year that I've been gone. We get a little isolated out here.

But here, I do have some very cute "co-workers"... one almost 10-week old little person, who is still looking much like her brother (in similar-aged photo on left)! She definitely seems to be a bit more social, with lots of "talking" and eye contact.



Big brother Bean is still doing well, most of the time. I've had some not-great mama bear moments with him lately, when he's deliberately doing something to pester baby Peach; grrr! But he's mostly a very good boy. Here he's showing off a HUGE apple from our tree, a "crisp" (honeycrisp) apple that was very tasty when we had it for lunch today!



And in other news (that should probaby get it's own post when I get a chance)... we are now hooked up to the electric grid out here! The yard is still a mess from the trenching (digger! In the yard!) and they haven't re-connected the solar panel yet (boo). But it's been nice not to worry about power on these dark wet fall days. We'll get our first power bill in a decade soon, though, which might not be as fun.



More later!

Updates

Well, hello! I just wanted to check in a give a few updates, for those of you who are playing along at home.

My job, (or what the heck?): Yes, indeed, I finally made the leap last week. I sent a big serious letter to family members back in May giving my reasons for wanting to move on from my "good job" in town, but then was offered a temporary part-time situation, so I stayed. And tried to be happy. And tried to appreciate all the good things about that place. And so on and so on and BLAH! And now the part-time is ending, and I just am not ready or willing to do 5 days a week away from my home and son. Leaving feels good, even if scary from a financial standpoint. I've been agonizing over this decision for a very long time, and it feels SO good to finally have brain space again, not always thinking about what the right decision might be and what would this or that be like, or what. I realize I've made new challenges for myself, but I'm excited to face those new things.

Lyme Disease: I have just finished my antibiotics and feel much better. I'm slowly getting some energy back. Last week, I could hardly walk a mile without wanting to lay down for a quick nap. Today, I ran a ways and it felt really good. I've been motivated to get some exercise every day; trying to get back into it slowly. My rash is gone, but I still have a weird, peeling ring on my leg; ewww.

Our House: Yep, it is still tehnically "on the market", but we still have so much to do. We want to move to the Spiral Earth Land Cooperative, a group we are helping to form. They own land on the South Shore of Lake Superior, closer to the lake, near a wonderful sandy beach. We'd have to build our own home to live there permanently, so we'll have to sell this one first. And so, it may be a great, crazy adventure, but I'm feeling more energy these days (see job and lymes, above).

Bean: continues to be exceptionally cute, if I do say so myself, and into more things these days. He loves his grandparents and the great new (garage sale) toys they brought on their last visit. His words are increasing every day; Baby, Apple (with both syllables), No... it's a new world dawning, in more ways than one!

Walking and Helping

Bean may still be my "little" baby, but he's sure interested in getting more involved in daily life, even chores!

We present...walking! Maybe the vaccuum cleaner is next?

The Camera's Back!

I finally found the camera battery charger! Whew. We missed a whole couple of weeks, including cousin A's baptism and gathering. But we've been havin' a good time...


Testing out the new teeth...


Chasing things with the ever-speedier army crawl...


Smiling (with vintage Apple from my childhood; Thanks Grandma!)

Standing up a lot...


And even welcoming the Almost-Spring. It will be here soon!

Baby Safe

We're feeling better now, able to get some projects done! This one required skilled hired help, but still, it's something important off our list, completed.

Our house is wierd. It was built in the 80's by a family who was living in the basement as they built it, as far as we know, and I've always suspected it was designed by someone who didn't usually design houses (sketched on a napkin, perhaps?).

This little piece of oddity had never really bothered me before, until I thought of it in terms of a toddler...


There is 8-foot drop into the entry way from the dining room... divided by a wall that comes up just past my knee. Eeeek. You can see the top of the front door in this picture.


We usually had many plants on the "wall", so it was less noticable. Perhaps it's nice to have all that light, but yikes, what were the builders thinking? Luckily, it occured to me that it definitely wasn't baby-safe before Bean had a chance to show us that himself; he's still not very mobile.



So, this is what we now have! WF was worried it would look a bit like a prison, but it's definitely safer. I think it looks fine...We'll have to relocate plants, etc, but here's to a more kid-safe house!

Topsy turvy temps

There’s something wrong with this picture;

My (usually accurate) car thermometer read -26 F at the lowest point on the way to work this morning. And now my personal thermometer reads 100.8. Hmmm… thought I had kicked this bug yesterday!

So, where do I apply to have those numbers rearranged a bit? Guess I should go home and try to sleep….

Random List

In interest of an efficient, 3 a.m. posting, I present a list:

1. I have lost my "everyday" glasses, likely in the weeds along a friend's half-mile long driveway. Was distracted and likely put them on the bumper before putting on prescription sunglasses when going for a run. Very sad. Am considering renting a metal detector; we're not finding them with other methods. My first truly bone-headed "new mom fog" move, I think. Now the question becomes: at what price vanity? My back-up glasses are functional, but I don't like them. Hmmm.

2. It is truly feeling like Fall around here. I sit here typing away in a cold draft, coming from someplace unknown. We're already dressing the poor baby-bean in winter clothes and hats. I know we will need to keep the house warmer this year, but this house has a weird ability to make heat inputs disappear; even the woodstove doesn't help much. Grrr. But I suppose firing up the furnace for the year will help. We purchased an insane amout of pre-buy propane this year. $$$$

3. Speaking of $$$, we are still trying to figure out a budget/expense/income plan that works for us. I always thought families who said they needed two incomes were not trying hard enough; now I realize it totally depends on the size of that income. I'd love to not be tied to my "no-telecommuting-ever" office job, but right now the finances do not permit that. Need to get more inspired looking for alternatives, I guess.

4. And last but definitely not least, Bean-baby continues to be cute! A new milestone this week: sitting in the exersaucer! He really had his first taste of exersaucer freedom at daycare, but I'm pretending that's not the case. Can't bear to think of him having "firsts" at daycare without me. They even went on a field trip to a farm last week; hard to get my head around him going on field trips without me already. 4 months seems a little early to let go, doesn't it?

Anyway. Exersaucer=cute. He's really been more interested in sitting up lately; mobility is not far behind!


(Note: more positive posts later; I don't work tomorrow, will be more cheerful when the sun comes up!)

House glimpse

Ok, time to get caught up on some house projects updates.

Remember this? And here's what our living room often looked like on a regular basis. Ahem.


It's looking considerably better now. WF and a coworker did the tile flooring, an immense improvement over painted OSB. It doesn't feel too cold; even my mother approved! I think we got the color right. Wish it was a bit darker for solar gain, but the room is so dark already...

I did buy ONE new piece of furniture, a glider, after months of searching thrift shops and missing any deals. But other improvements are just from a slipcover and a better arrangement, plus a little clutter control. It feels like a room I'd want to hang out in, now. Ahhh!



I'm also feeling pretty ready in the baby-room. This room has had a long journey, from crap-catcher to empty shell, to cozy little room with "accidental" but cute matchiness. The only new purchase in this room was a wool rug, which Lutsen is doing her best to make look not-new. All other items came from thrift shops or friends/neighbors, with the exception of the lovely quilt on the changing table. That was made by "Grandma," a new way of describing my own mother that will take some getting used to! We don't plan to use the crib much, at least at first, but it's part of the "scene" for the room, right?



We spent the snow day yesterday setting up the surprisingly complex co-sleeper, which doesn't fit in our room all that well, but might be manageable. We'll see.

I even have pics from the bathroom's transformation from an ill-advised 80's sponge painting experiment to a lovely calming plain blue, but I'll save that for later. This has been a LONG extended period of nesting that included paint and curtains and all sorts of shopping-related things, but the house is feeling much more MINE and comfortable, now. I thank baby-to-be for offering so much good inspiration!

More Room Progress

We are finally back into the swing of house projects! WF put the finishing touches on the baby-bedroom paint today (I don't like the word nursery, for some reason; the kid is not a plant!). Wow. Quite a change from this, just about 2 months ago:


to this intermediate stage...
And now THIS:


Complete with new marmoleum and wool rug; i still need to find curtains and all that. I am not a "decorator", but it is nice to have something that looks a bit deliberate/coordinated and gives a nice harmonious feel. Then I need to find some actual baby furniture so I have a place to store all this baby stuff I am supposed to be accumulating. Eeek! We're trying to keep it fairly simple, and the baby won't be sleeping in this room alone until it is much older, so there is some time.

But wow, we're getting closer, eh?

Floor Story

So, the big Marmoleum flooring project is just about over (thankgoodness) and we are pleased with the results. No more OSB or holey 25 yr old vinyl as a flooring material; whoo! That alone is exciting, but I do like the color and feel of this stuff, and there's NO smell of toxic vinyl, etc. It's long-wearing, but we've already managed to ding it while moving furniture back into place. Ah, well... at least the color goes all the way through, so it's not that noticeable. At the cost for this stuff (not cheap) we will not be replacing it any time soon (whew)!

A couple gratuitous flooring views (as clean as you'll ever see these rooms!):


Dining Room


Bedroom
(can you see why I didn't want to go with wood floors? We didn't install the wood walls; they are nice if a bit dark).

Things are slowing getting back to normal, with installation of the stove today so we (WF) can cook. Still a few things to reinstall, but our friend Lutsen is willing to help, so we're getting there:



We also had exciting critter news today: can you see this winter's first offering, hidden here in the hay? WF thinks it's from an older hen, who has finally finished molting. We haven't had any eggs for the past couple months, so it's exciting to see this happening again. Horray for projects proceeding!

Room Progress

This is also a place to post some accomplishments!


(a clean if ugly slate)

The small room of big clutter, the previous “office/library” that became storage space and is designated to someday become the baby’s room…is NOW CLEAR! Completely empty. No carpet, nothing. Whew. The Marmoleum flooring installers are there now, working fast (I hope) to get the job done by tomorrow for the 4 upstairs rooms. It feels really good to be at this next step.

Of course, the living room now looks like this:


Eeek! The upheaval isn’t ideal right now (no holiday decorating/baking or even working on cards has happened this year) but we’re moving forward.

It’s probably a better time than the original install date in January in regards to my belly. I’m not feeling TOO big yet, but this belly (and baby) is definitely growing! I feel pretty good, but know I only have about 5 weeks left before the third trimester, when supposedly this new energy level drops again.

After the holidays, with new (non-toxic) flooring and ideally new (low VOC) paint, I’ll be able to focus on getting the room (and the rest of the house) ready for the new resident. Baby-to-be already has some things that need a home, and having a physical place for them in our house will help me get my mental space more ready.

I’m hoping it will be fun, rather than the usual stress that accompanies most “house” dealings for me. This house overwhelms me, sometimes, and it feels really good to be getting through some of the long-standing challenges (like flooring and clutter). Whew!

Working, hardly

At work. Can't post pictures- no time. Am part of a Strategic Team working on multi-departmental continuous improvement project ideas for input to the Organization Development work group and Steering Team, who will utilize said input for achievement of Organizational Excellence goals.

Lawd, save us from ourselves!

Fridge Glimpse

I’ve been tagged by Burdockboy to reveal all! Bravely show off a deep, dark secret, the... inside of my refrigerator AND freezer. Yes, indeed. This is the real view, NOT edited for public consumption- ahem.


Actually, we DO have a FASCINATING refrigerator. Really! It’s an ultra-efficient Sunfrost, purchased by WF when he decided to power the house with solar (before my time here). Refrigerators are one of the highest energy users in a home. This one is much gentler on our limited power supply.

It’s a fine fridge but rather small due to the thick insulation (see the freezer). It’s not metal on the outside, so no magnets. The bottom drawers are just dry storage, not cold. We don’t keep ice cream around, partly because the freezer has an amazing ability to suck the moisture out of most foods very quickly. And it’s not “frost free”, needing a good defrosting every once in a while. But other than that, it’s a regular food storage unit, luxurious by most global standards.

It was interesting to see how “familiar” Burdockboy’s fridge looked (much cleaner, of course), showing a certain food interest/ethic. Returnable glass milk jug, organic dairy products, etc. It’s fun to recognize “kin” via food choices! I remember visiting a distant relative’s house years ago and not recognizing any of the food- it was all “weird” natural brands. Now, my food looks like that, and I’m mystified when I go to my own relative’s houses with the “standard American” food. It’s just a different world. We shop mostly at our local food co-op, something plenty of other people think is weird.

Our fridge is also full of re-used food containers, eggs, and general mess. We’re just not home enough to keep a good handle on the contents, and I’m actually quite embarrassed about it much of the time. An odd tendency to store lots of food, working full time in town and making lunches from left-overs every day does not a clean fridge make. So there, Burdockboy: truth in memes! I’m letting you all peer into the depths of my food-consumer soul… be kind!

Kerf-es! What the kerf?!

We’ve been working fairly diligently to seal up the house for winter, trying to avoid early symptoms of hypothermia while actually INSIDE the house (ahem). We’ve put up LOTS of plastic on the drafty windows, even some on the outside of windows to accommodate indoor cat windowsill-sitting. (We’re such softies!) It's helped quite a bit.

But one thing that’s been stumping me is the silly front door seal. The old one is disintegrating, and it seemed like a fairly obvious fix. Run to the home store, buy something, stick it on and we’re done, right? Nope. I’ve purchased a couple things, and really none would even begin to fit. Puzzling.

WF and the Internets to the rescue! He recently found the perfect thing:
A kerf-fitted compression door set. (say that 10 times fast). Well, of course! I was forgetting to consider the kerf! (!?!?!). I love language and words, but this was a new one to me. From Answers.com:

kerf (kûrf)
n.
1. A groove or notch made by a cutting tool, such as a saw or an ax.
2. The width of a groove made by a cutting tool.

[Middle English, from Old English cyrf, a cutting.]

So, now not only do we have to try to decipher home-improvement projects and the copious inventory of these crazy warehouse stores and their apathetic teenaged employees, but we need to learn Middle English, too. I’ll get right on that.

Solar power!

Today's post brought to you by real sun-power...


The sun came out today! Very exciting: celebration included treats for the chickens (they are NOT pets- ahem) and enthusiastic use of the electric sewing machine. Yeah!

We DO live off the grid here, but we don’t depend solely on our solar panels for electricity. That would be nearly impossible this time of year in MN. November is one of the worst months, ironically, even worse than later winter. So, we have a small generator hooked up to our big propane tank to make more power when the batteries need help. (We also use propane for heat and cooking in the winter).

We’re in the lap of luxury if we choose to run the generator. (Wash clothes AND vacuum at the same time: Crazy!) It’s just a bit stinky and loud. The whole point of solar panels is to reduce our contribution to air pollution and greenhouse gas emission, etc. So, we scrimp (and pester each other to turn off lights, ahem) until the batteries absolutely need a recharge.

So, no feeling sorry for us: it was a conscious decision to take this “standard suburban/rural” house of the grid a while back. WF chose not to reconnect the house to the grid a few years ago when some neighbor projects necessitated taking down the power poles, and so we’re in a sort of “artificial” off-grid world. Our house is definitely not a typical off-grid house, and needs quite a bit of electricity to run “normally”- ie well pump and septic. We end up scrimping more than most people would with a solar array of this size, but live very comfortably with a small, efficient fridge (w/ tiny freezer), efficient washer but no dryer, etc. We use the septic system as little as possible (WF is a humanure convert). All lights are compact flourescent; an incandescent bulb would be a ridiculous waste.

The solar decision was made before my time here, and I actually don’t think about it that much. Some of my co-workers are convinced I’m living in a cave without “real” electricity, but really, is it THAT weird to live without toasters or waffle irons or microwaves? Or electric sewing machines? I am coveting my grandmother’s old treadle machine these days. If you’re set up for it and give it a bit of thought, it really IS easy to live without much electricity.

4 degrees and a breeze

Warning: privileged whining ahead-

So, it’s getting chilly and we’re into the days of our ultra-virtuous but darn uncomfortable propane rationing. Our house is off-the-grid as far as electricity, but we’re dependent upon a big tank of propane for our house boiler. The house was built (by someone else, not us) to be heated with propane, with a largely decorative fireplace (more about that later).

I know it’s good for saving money and for reducing CO2 emissions, but setting the thermostat at 58-62 degrees F is not terribly comfortable for me. Hats and thick sweaters only work so well indoors (what about the hands?!?). I think my circulation is getting wimpier- I never used to get so cold. And it’s only October! I’m not sure if I can take 5 more months of this… it’s only going to get colder before it gets warmer!!

So, last year we set about attempting to make our house a bit less dependent on outside fuel and got an insert stove put into the (fake rock) fireplace. It’s lovely and does put out a bit of heat. Problem solved, right?

Ah, if only. The other day I was home for a good part of a cold, dreary day, and decided to try to make the place comfy with the stove. Never mind that the stove points away from the rest of the house, in it’s own room (with vaulted ceilings, ahem); maybe I could be toasty there! Last year we didn’t try to keep the stove going continuously because we didn’t have that much dry wood. This year: plenty. Yeah!

So, I merrily burned that stove pretty darn hot for most of the day. In that time, I was rewarded by a 4 degree increase in the closest thermostat, with nothing in other parts of the house (bedroom was sitting at a brisk 60 F) Sitting on the couch 4 feet from the stove, I still had cold hands and could feel a BREEZE! Insane. So, instead of enjoying my cozy fire, I commenced fretting over the crazy, inefficient shape of this “fancy” house and pondering new windows. Windows (and ridiculous sliding glass doors) have come a long way since 1982, right?

So, I’m investigating new windows and possibly a ceiling fan to get the heat out of the peak before it can sneak out the (inefficient) window in the apex. We’re bracing ourselves for a bit of a nasty price jolt, but I am looking forward to no more breeze in the stove-heated room. I also won’t feel so frivolous “wasting” wood for the experience of the fire when the heat is negligible. I will miss the great airdraw, though: I never have to blow on the fire- it’s like having a room-sized bellows!

I am grateful to live in a spacious house when so many people struggle to pay rent or yearn for a place like this. But neither WF nor I would have designed the house to be like this: it just happened to be on this piece of fairly-close-to-town property. And he just happened to own it when I married him. So, I really have to practice gratitude… and find some fingerless gloves for my computer time!

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-?

Living Without

Oh, woe is me! No hot water! A serious issue! Or wait, IS it?

We've had a change in our "standard of living" here at home lately... The water heater broke about 2 weeks ago. We smelled smoke during one of my admittedly lengthy hair-washing sessions (I try to keep that event to a healthy minimum) and that was it. We do still have running water, fresh and cold (!) from the well.

So is that a problem or not? In the throes of "regular" life like getting ready for work, dressing up for meetings, etc on a short time schedule, it sure sometimes feels like it. No quick warm showers! The horror! Ha. I can elicit sympathy from my boss and friends quickly if I want, "borrowing" showers in town.

W and I have been going back and forth about the best way to replace it, what system would be most efficient and cost-effective (but of course taking into account the idea that ANY amount of propane might be very expensive in the future). Tankless or not? Solar hot water is a dream for later... but don't want to rule it out. We will replace the system somehow, and likely soon. But we're reminded that this is no crisis, just a matter of expectations.

Humans definitely don't need anything close to our current western world expectations to survive. I don't REALLY need all that stuff, myself. I've lived without running water, lived without automatic heat. In those days, a hot shower somewhere was a luxury to be savored, not something to expect every morning. But when you are used to a certain level and are in the "world" that expects you to look "professional" every day, anything less seems like a problem.

We'll continue to straddle the two worlds for a while... trying to be more self-sufficient while living in this "regular" house and working. I vow to be better, and not grumble to W too much when the house is 59 degrees because the silly vaulted ceilings hog all the heat from our conservative propane use, or when we have to run the generator to have lights because the house has sucked all the solar power just running the well pump, etc. Someday, maybe we'll have always-available hot water (and heat!) from our winter woodstove, not a complex propane water heater and boiler that we don't know how to fix. We'll adjust our expectations, and we'll ironically be able to better take care of ourselves the more "difficult" (simple) we make our lives.

Ah, the complexity of half-way simplicity!



Here's some truer simplicity, ca. 1937. I image THEY would have appreciated some hot water, though!





From this Library of Congress exhibit. Fascinating...