Happy Birthday Tim!

Happy Birthday to my multi talented hubby. Here he is playing the wedding singer! Be sure to wish him a happy birthday! He blogs at Applehead.

Love Abounds in this House

The Midwife

World War Two has always been a time period that fascinated me. Though the political and economic changes are interesting enough, what I really enjoy are the stories of people. The experiences of those who lived through this time were not only turning points in their own lives, they were turning points in the whole culture in many respects. 

As a woman and a mother, I also find stories of birth and mothering particularly interesting. So, when I was asked to review a copy of The Midwife, stories of a midwife in London post-WWII, I was pretty certain I would like this book. 

I was not disappointed. The author served the poor population of the London Docklands. Her stories of the people and her experiences make you laugh, make you cry, and sometimes are just outright shocking. 

I was touched and amazed by the woman you birthed twenty-five babies. The twenty-fifth of whom was born at 28 weeks gestation. It survived, with out a hospital stay. The story of the prostitute, and the women she lived with both appalled and saddened me. The antics of one of the older nuns at the convent where the author lived are simply hilarious.  

The Midwife is an entertaining read. It is full of insight into the lives of those living in the slums of London after World War II. There are stories of sadness and loss, but also stories of those who, despite their circumstances were able thrive and create happy homes for their families. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

No More Brace Face

snow? SNOW!

You've got to be kidding me. There are actually flurries flying outside right now. Did I mention how sick of snow I was this winter? A little snow is good. This year I felt like I was living in Northeast Ohio again, too much snow!

It is officially spring, and I have no desire to see that white flaky stuff for another seven months. Go away!

In case you've wondered where I've been the last two weeks, I've been here, just keeping my head above water with the various responsibilities and activities we have right now. Just a few highlights to catch you up. 

-Animals

Two calves have been born. The first one had a little trouble getting started, but Papaw says she is looking good now. The second gave Mamaw and Papaw a scare too, for a different reason. His momma hid him. With the cold weather Papaw wanted to be sure he was doing ok, and searched to whole pasture to no avail. We still don't know where she had him, but he was with momma this morning at feeding time. 

We were supposed to get 50 chicks last week. You know when the weather was warm and nice. The hatchery had a short hatch, so our chicks should be here this week now. You know when it is cold and nasty. 

Desert (goat) had two bucklings last night while I was at work. Don't ask me why, but she had them out in the muddy shed yard instead of three feet away in the nice warm shed. They were still wet and a little cold when I got home. I dried them off and laid them in the hay in the shed. I had forgotten that Desert is a very protective mom. She went in the shed with the kids, gave me the evil eye and started stomping her foot at me. I thought it'd be best to just leave them all alone at that point. 

-Work

I wore a pedometer to work on Sunday. I walked two and half miles while I was at work. I'm hoping that one of the side effects of working will be losing weight. :)

Work really is going fairly well. Most days I can actually say that is enjoyable to be there interacting with adults and making some money. It does make things very busy, and time pressed at home. It has been adjustment for all of us, but over all I think it is worthwhile. 

-The Garden

Peas, lettuce, radish, beets, chard, carrots, strawberries, grapes, and asparagus have been planted. But not by me. I did manage to help with the cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli and rhubarb. I'm feeling like a slacker. The seedlings need thinning and the weeds are sprouting up about as fast as the seedlings, but it has been too wet to get into the garden.

I checked my garden notebook and saw that I put beans in mid April the last two years. Just around the corner, if the snow stops. 

- The Family

Jeff and Gail (Tim's parents) are on their way here. The kids are very excited. Other than that the kids have eyes only for the Wii.  

I think that catches you up on the highlights. It is still snowing, and I am pouting, but I have to go fold laundry and get ready for work. 

Nolan age 4 - Self Portrait

Yesterday Nolan drew a picture of himself, as an adult. When asked how old he was in this picture, he responded, "As old as you." I"ll just leave it at that. 

Be sure to notice the colorful pants, (Could you miss those?!) and the earrings.

A Little of This and A Little of That

The last few weeks have been busy! I started a new job. We've been working on getting the garden in, appliances and equipment have been breaking, and Jake and his kids are visiting. We are trying to keep up with everything. It has left my head spinning. Here are few updates and funny things in no particular order. 

Yesterday, while I was at work, Mamaw was watching my kids and Jake's three also. Papaw, Tim and Jake were working on connecting the water lines to the pig barn. First, they had to fix the excavator. 

I did not see this event, I only saw the after effects. They were working on the hydraulic lines. Mamaw and the kids were standing back, at what appeared to be a safe distance, watching the guys work. One of the line connections came loose and sent a hydraulic oil shower on everything below, including Mamaw and the kids. 

When I got home Mamaw had just finished giving five kids a bath. (Thankfully Vivian had been taking her nap, and Kellen was counting his Wii money, or there would have been seven to clean up.) One bath was not enough. Their hair was still greasy. They all got a second bath before bed. 

This week one of our school projects was to make soap carvings. The idea was to carve a figure of a fish and a man to remind us of the story of Jonah. Um... the carvings didn't really turn out all that well, but the kids had a fund time making them. 

It was a little messy, but I'm not complaining. They grated about five bars of soap that I can use for Laundry Detergent.

Vivian (3) has developed this fascination with driving lately. She will ask me if she can drive up to the barn to feed the sheep. Then she will tell me that when she is the mommy she will drive the van. Perhaps I should have mentioned this to Papaw before he took Viv up to the barn with him. 

Vivian rode up to the barn with Papaw to feed the cows. On the way back he stopped to open the gate to drive through the pasture. As he was walking back toward the truck, he sees Vivian in the driver seat. Then the engine revs loudly. She was pushing the accelerator. Luckily,  she does not know how to put the vehicle in gear -  yet. 

Nolan (4) has been quite the character lately. The other day I was trying to put laundry away. It had been a long morning with numerous interruptions. The kids were having a hard time staying on task for school, and I was trying to get a list of things done before work. 

I was in the boy's closet hanging up Nolan's clothes, and he comes in to ask me for a snack (again.) I said, "Isn't it almost time for lunch? What time is it Nolan?" I know full well that Nolan is only beginning to grasp the concept of time, and he does not know how to tell time yet. The question was a blatant attempt to buy me a couple minutes to finish my task while he went and looked at the clock and asked Kellen or Lydia what time it was. It didn't work. He didn't miss a beat, but looked right at me with his mischievous little grin and said, "It is snack time."

Nolan completely adores his older brother, much to Kellen's annoyance. Nolan wants to do everything that Kellen does. Nolan loves and hates everything that Kellen loves and hates. If you ask Nolan what he wants to drink or eat, he asks Kellen what he wants, then asks to have the same as Kellen. It really is very cute, at least from my perspective.  

We got our income tax returns this week. Most of that money is slated to pay off debt, but there are a few things that we've been waiting to buy with it. One of those things is new mattresses for the boy's beds. Thier mattresses are very old and in poor shape. 

Friday, Tim came home with the new mattresses. He and Kellen took the old ones off and put them in the burn pile. A little later we see Nolan crying. It was the hurt feelings cry. He, Lydia and Jude had been playing. I assumed that somehow his feelings had been hurt while they were playing. I was wrong. He was crying because he didn't want a new mattress. 

We tried talking to him about why the new mattress was better. We tried using the fact that he wants to be just like Kellen. Kellen likes the new mattress. Nolan bought that for about five minutes before he was in tears over the old mattress again. 

Nolan literally pouted and cried over that mattress for about 24 hours. Of course it wasn't constant. He would play for awhile, and then out of the blue he'd be crying about the mattress. Who knew a little kid could care so much about a mattress? 

Then for some reason, last night at bed time, Nolan suddenly decided that the new mattress was nice. Relieved, we all went to bed peacefully. 

Vivian isn't with the plan.

The kids have a plan. They are saving their money for a Wii. I posted about it today in The Wii Fund. They are doing really well too, saving money and working together. Well, not all together. There is one who isn't with the plan. 

Whenever we are out running errands Vivian always wants to go out to eat. I wonder where she got that from? Going out to eat is not in our budget right now, and my response usually runs along the lines of, "Do you have any money?" 

This week Vivian got some birthday money, and Lydia got some late birthday money from a neighbor. The kids and I were talking. Lydia and Kellen were talking about adding Lydia's money to the Wii fund. I looked at Vivian and asked, "Do you want to add you birthday money to the Wii Fund?" She replied, "No. Out to eat." The girl knows what she wants. 

The family that gardens together....

eats well. 

It finally feels like spring! The kids are spending the better part of the day playing outside. Lydia has mastered the art of bike riding. She really could ride at the end of the summer last year, but lost her confidence after a wreck. This year she hopped right on, and is riding all over the place. 

The frogs are singing and laying eggs. The daffodils are blooming, and it is warm, gloriously warm. There may yet be cold weather in store for us, but we are enjoying the warmth while it is here. And of course spring means garden!

We've learned with this clay soil if you want to get early vegetables in you have to move fast. The last two springs early plants never were put in. We'd miss the opportunity when it was dry, and then it would rain and the garden would be too wet to work. The past few days the weather had just been perfect. Unfortunately, it did not coincide with my schedule. 

I'm always bugging Papaw to till the garden in the spring. This year I was trying to not be a pest about it. Saturday I was gone all day. When I returned, my little garden had been tilled. The new hillside we are planting was tilled, and there were loud pounding sounds coming from that direction. 

The pounding sounds were these posts being driven in. Do you know what these posts are for? They still need a few rows of wire added to them, and then they will be ready for the grapes that Mamaw ordered! Grapes! Yippee! That new area will also be home to strawberry plants, asparagus, and rhubarb that will be arriving soon.

Yet, another new small spot was tilled for blueberry bushes, and for extra space for corn and other vegetables. Papaw also tilled the big garden. 

I was so excited, but you know what tilling means; planting. I wasn't sure when I was going to plant the early seeds. I was gone all day Sunday, needed to get groceries, and a whole long list of things that I need to get done was weighing down on me. I figured I'd squeeze it in somewhere. 

Sunday when I was gone Tim secured up the chicken fence. (We had a few renegades that were finding their way out. Don't want them to scratch up all the garden seeds.) And when I got home there was this: 

Actually, there was a whole garden full of these markers with different names. Mamaw, Papaw, and Tim filled the whole thing with peas, lettuce, Swiss chard, beets, radish, and carrots. What a relief!  There are a few more things to plant like onions and potatoes, that should arrive soon, and some broccoli and Brussels sprout seedlings I need to harden off, but they planted everything that was ready to go! I am so grateful!

My Baby is Three!

Today is little Vivi's birthday. So hard to believe that she is three! 

She sure keeps life interesting around here. She is cute and sweet, and happiest when she is helping. She loves to "help" cook, clean, and feed the animals. She is not afraid to tell you how she feels, and is very independent. (Traits, I'm telling myself, will serve her well later.) She still loves to suck on that knuckle though, and like to play the baby when it suits her. Well, she is my baby! :) We love her to pieces! 

Tonight, we will have a little family celebration with a menu of Vivian's choice. We are having pizza and cake. The cake will be topped with a Blue's Clue's decoration a friend gave us awhile back. She has asked about the cake ever since we were given the decoration. Persistent she is! 

The Bog Beast

Wordless Wednesday

In case you are wondering, this picture was taken a few weeks ago when it actually was warm outside. Currently, all the mud is frozen much to Nolan's dismay. 

We laughed. We cried. We ate a lot of pork.

More drama on the farm. . .

It is now a completely proven fact that I have no idea how to tell when an animal is about to give birth. Part of the problem is that we let our boys run freely with our girls, and nature takes its course. That often leaves me guessing at when breeding occurred. Changing this system is under discussion, but right now we are not really set up to keep the boys separate from the girls and from each other.  So, it is a guessing game. 

So far this season, I've had two that I've put in the nursery pen way before they've needed to be, and counting this morning, I've had two that took me by surprise. I should get the last one right though. We have one goat left to kid, and I know when she was bred. One out of five ain't bad? Geesh!

I've been watching Mini Ewe (our yearling) for a couple of weeks now. In the last couple days her udder had gotten a little larger, but was still small. Her back side was slightly swollen, but no more so than it has been for a couple weeks. There was no discharge. 

This morning Tim and I went out to feed the animals. It was the normal craziness of trying to walk through slick as snot mud on sloping ground to separate the goats, sheep, and donkey to their respective feeders while they all crowd around you begging for their feed. After they all got settled I heard a "Maaaa" that I didn't recognize. A quick glance toward the sheep revealed that all expected animals were accounted for. "Maaaa." 

Where was that coming from? Following the sound to the goat shed, "Maaaa," and there underneath the building I could see four long black legs attached to the mouth making that racket. A single lamb, that part I did expect. It's a ram. He and Mini are doing great, and are now in the nursery.  

Also today the big ram came back home. He went to service a few girls at another farm late last fall. In exchange, he stayed there over the winter. It was a good deal for the farmer. He had been paying what I think is a ridiculous price for stud service. It was a good deal for us. We did not have to feed him all winter, but more importantly, I didn't have to deal with him for several months. 

This ram does not have a name, but I refer to him as Butthead. He is huge, and he likes to butt. He has sent many of us flying down the pasture. He hasn't exactly hurt us, unless you count our pride that is, but you always have to be on your guard with him. 

In addition, he fights with all the other male animals. He has gotten beaten up by our boar. He and our buck goat would fight to the death if we left them together, and we suspect that he had a run in with a buck deer last year also. No, I wasn't real thrilled about him coming home, but he does produce nice lambs. 

All this drama happened before nine-thirty this morning. 

Afterward Kellen and I rushed out of here to make a 10:00 fair goat meeting. While we were gone, Mamaw and Ashley flipped the four wheeler while looking in the pasture for a cow that recently miscarried. Ashley has a little bruising, and I think they are both a bit sore, but no major injuries. 

Since I also flipped the darn thing last summer, (did I neglect to post that? hmm....) the men folk here have decreed that the women folk here are no longer allowed to drive it. Honestly, I have no desire too unless I'm on flat ground, and there is precious little of that here. 

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. Papaw and Tim worked on the pig barn. Mamaw took all the kids except Vivian to the movies. I worked on some things in the house. Oh, we did eat a lot of pork.

Though I recently stated elsewhere that we needed to cut back on the consumption of our homegrown pork, I realized afterwards that I have quite a bit of pork already defrosted in the refrigerator. Now, we have to use that up don't we? Wouldn't want it to go to waste now would we? Mmmmm. . . sausage gravy, biscuits and fried potatoes for lunch. Eggs, bacon and toast for dinner. 

Just another day on the farm. 

Flying Goat

Wordless Wednesday

For a Little Perspective

Once upon a time Tim and I were youth group leaders in our church. Those youth are now all grown up, and we have lost contact. Recently, Tim discovered the Facebook page and blog of one of the girls that we were fairly close to, Julianna. Even as a young teen, she was very confident, and level headed. What she is doing now has blown me away. See for yourself, Julianna in Uganda.  

Lately, I've been feeling very overwhelmed by the tasks and responsibilities on my plate. Will somebody define hardship? over at Hot Belly Mama's was a wonderful reminder to me to stop and enjoy what we have here. 

Hope you also enjoy these wonderful blogs. 

New Kids

These were not a surprise.  Poor Sally was huge. Her udder so big she could barely walk. When we went to feed yesterday afternoon, there they were, a boy and a girl. The doeling was very fresh. She is quite a bit smaller, so we will keep an eye on her, but both kids seem healthy and were nursing. Sally is a first time momma. She was busy cleaning up the kids, but we gave her a little help. 

The goats change so fast! In the picture below, the kid Kellen is holding is a month old. Lydia is holding the new doeling. 

In other farm new, most of the fat hogs have been sent to the butcher or the market. We got our fresh pork from the butcher on Tuesday (the smoked portions take a little longer.) I can't remember the last time I've had small farm raised pork. It is excellent!  

The new piglets are almost all sold as 4-H pigs. The two new gilts, including Kellen's Ashes, will be bred soon. Seedlings are started, and garden plans are being made. Chicks will soon be ordered. There will be calves, more kids and lambs this spring yet too. There is always something exciting going on! 

What you learn when the power is out.

Two weeks ago ice took the power out for more than two days. A few days later, the power was out again for the better part of the day when a car hit a pole. This week the power was out, yet again, for two days thanks to extremely high winds. While being without power that many days certainly has its inconveniences, we did learn a few things. 

1. Camping equipment is for more than camping. 

2. The dishwasher makes an excellent drying rack for hand washed dishes. 

3. Who ever invented head lamps is a genius. 

4. An ample supply of firewood, flashlights, and batteries is a household requirement. 

5. Putting the kids to bed with the sun is kind of nice. 

6. A good book is almost as distracting to me as the computer. 

7. Our kids have fantastic imaginations. 

8. Fasting electric is good for the mind, not to mention the electric bill. 

9. Hot showers are one of the most under rated pleasures on earth. 

10. Sometimes what you miss surprises you. One of the things I missed the most was my garbage disposal. 

Though we have learned some lessons, I hope that we don't have to put them into practice again anytime soon! 

Could it be?

Laundry on the clothes line.
Lunch on the back deck.
Birds singing.
Walks in the woods with out jackets.
Could it be spring?

Probably not to stay. Not yet, but we will enjoy it while we can!

None as Scary as This

There once was a time when I had quite the reputation. I was young, fiercely independent, over confident, and inexperienced. All dangerous qualities for someone behind the wheel of a car. 

In high school and college I had many car accidents. No one ever got hurt, but I did put many a ding and bend in several cars. The accidents, though not major, were frequent enough that I spent a good deal of time on high risk insurance. I also spent several months of college without a car when my parents wisely decided that I was not responsible enough to keep my car. Yes, I had a lot of accidents a long time ago, but none were as scary as the one that happened on Wednesday. 

We've had a crazy winter here. Lots of snow, and lots of ice. Those of you who are acquainted with our driveway, may think that it is a little crazy without snow or ice. Wednesday afternoon I had an appointment. I planned to take the kids with me, and drop them off at Tim's office during the appointment. We were all ready, and loaded in the vehicle, and headed out the driveway. 

We do have an alternate driveway that we can use during bad weather. It runs through the neighbors property, and involves opening and closing two gates in the pasture. There was still snow and ice on the ground, but I didn't even think about using the alternate driveway. I had taken our driveway up to the neighbors barn earlier that day in my "farm" van. No problems. 

I headed out the drive in the "family" van.  Apparently, the farm van has much better tires, and the family van could use a couple new ones. I got to the first hill. I got about three quarters up it. My tires were spinning. My first thought was that I hadn't taken a good enough run for the hill. 

It has happened before, and I could simply back down and give it another run. That was my plan. My plan didn't work out so well. 

I put on the brake to change gears. Before I even got the gear changed the van started sliding; backward. And it was sliding to the wrong side of the driveway. The side that drops off down the hollow. 

In hindsight, I realize that had I let off the brake I may have been able to stop the slide and regain control. It happened so fast, and the kids were in the car. All I wanted to do was stop. What do you do when you want to stop? You push the brake with all your might. It was instinctive. The brain didn't have a chance to over ride with logic. 

In the rear view mirror I saw the back of the van go over the edge, and then we stopped. The van was still in drive. My foot was still firmly placed on the brake. 

The three youngest kids really didn't understand what had just happened. Kellen was scared, but he stayed calm. He told Lydia and Nolan, who were in the back seat, to stay still and not to move. He asked me if they should move up to the front of the van. In the meantime, he leaned forward. 

I didn't know what to do. I could not tell exactly how we had stopped, or how much of the van was hanging over the edge. I could not see what was below us. In my mind, I pictured a car teetering on the edge, like in the movies,  about to fall over with the slightest weight change. I asked Kellen if there were any large trees behind us. You know, to stop us in case we went over. 

I reached for my phone, and called my dad. He was here. Tim was at work. Thankfully dad was working where he had cell service. I was half hysterical trying to tell him what had happened. He said he would fire up the Ditch Witch (which doubles as a tow truck around here) and be right out. I called Tim, still half hysterical, told him what had happened, and asked him to call and cancel my appointment. 

It seemed like an eternity until I saw Papaw coming. My leg was cramping. When I did finally see something coming, it was my farm van, not the ditch witch. The ditch witch wouldn't start, and dad had hooked it up to a battery charger. 

He came and gave the situation a good look. We weren't teetering on the edge, but were firmly hung up on the side of the drive way. I put the van in park, and we all got out. I had to climb out the passenger side. 

After I was out, I could see that the van wasn't going anywhere. Though there was a good drop off initially, below there was a fairly level area, and some nice big trees. I could also see that the hill I was trying to get up was a sheet of ice. 

I called Tim's office to let him know what was going on. His co-worker informed me that Tim was already on his way home. We were back home for only a few minutes before he walked in the house. 

By that time the ditch witch was ready to go. Papaw headed out with it down our driveway. Tim and I took the farm van down the neighbors drive way. (They are almost side by side the whole way, but the neighbors is almost completely flat.) Soon the van was out. There was no damage. The spot the dog is standing is where the van had been.  

I've been involved in a lot of accidents, but none were as scary as this. It is sobering to think of other ways this could have ended. I am so very thankful for the safety of my family on that day. 

In case you are wondering, I didn't use that driveway again until yesterday when things started melting. Even then my heart was racing the entire time. 

A trip to Holmes County, Ohio

Join me today at Scribbit for an online tour of my favorite places in Holmes County, Ohio. For those of you who are local, be sure to add your favorites spots in the comments. 

Snow, Ice and Piglets

What a week! It began snowing Tuesday morning. Then it was sleet and freezing rain. Then more snow. The power went off at 4:oo AM that night. It just came on again at 6:00 P.M. This evening. 

In the midst of all this, Papaw was trying hard to get the pig barn done before the sows were ready to farrow. You may notice that much of the building materials for this barn are from that barn we tore down in the fall. 

Thursday we moved the two sows, and all the fat pigs to the the unfinished building because the sows looked to be getting close. If you have never tried to herd pigs, I can only say that is chaos. We aren't set up yet with chutes to move the pigs, so we were leading them with feed and attempting to herd them. At the time it was quite frustrating, but I am sure that the whole thing would have appeared quite comical to anyone looking in from the outside. 

Then tonight, almost simultaneously with the power coming back on, Charcoal started having piglets. The building isn't complete, but she and the new little ones are snug and secure in a pen with a warming lamp. 

It has been an exhausting week. All I can say is thank God it is Friday, and thank God the electric is back on. Word is that another snow storm is headed our way early next week. I do believe this is why I moved away from Northeast Ohio wasn't it?