Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s a lovely day here. All white with gusty winds and some sun attempting to peek through the clouds. There are a few flakes drifting in the wind but I’m not sure if they’re actually falling from the sky or being buffeted by the somewhat strong upon occasion breeze.

Before plowing/shoveling this morning.

Yesterday we had a snow day. It didn’t really start snowing in earnest until after school would have started but by the time school would have been out, there were a few inches. Funny that the same storm 30 to 40 years ago would have resulted in maybe an early release but we would have trudged home through the snow. There might have been hot chocolate involved. There may have been shoveling snow involved. There may have been homework. There may have been a fire to sit by while drinking that hot chocolate and doing homework. But there would have been school.

After plowing/shoveling this morning.

I have decided that there is a huge difference between where I grew up, Siskiyou County, California, and Massachusetts. It’s called population. In Massachusetts in 1978 there was a blizzard. It dumped three feet of snow and made drifts up to second story windows and stopped life for a week or so. People still talk about it like it was a huge deal and, for here, I think it must have been. In McCloud, I remember having storms that dumped up to three feet of snow. I kind of doubt they made the news. I remember seeing pictures of the winder I was born or maybe the winter before where the snow was up to the top of Grandma and Papa’s porch. I remember the same thing happened in 1996. People here say that the difference between here and the south is that they get an inch or two of snow in the south and it closes everything down for a week but here they clean up and get on with life the next day. The difference between here and Siskiyou County is that except in the worst storms, life continues on. Storm? Yeah, so what? In all honesty, I do remember Grandma talking about a storm that did shut things down for a few days. I’d be willing to bet the same storm would have shut things down for longer than a few days if it happened almost anywhere else.

Anyway, that is all for now. Have a fantastic day!

Cold

You know it’s cold outside when the cold water from the kitchen faucet (which is cold) steams as you pour it in the goats water bucket. Oh, yeah.

You know your 12-year-old is something of a tyrant when he goes to the door and yells, “Bus!” in order to get his younger brothers outside when the bus is still at least two minutes away and they’ve all been told to stay inside until the bus can be seen at the end of the driveway it does not stop at.

How cold is it? Cold enough to freeze on instant contact the hairs in your nose. Cold enough that your face hurts after being out for the approximate two minutes it takes to dump a gallon of water in the bucket for the goats and dump their grain and vegetable scraps in the black thing we dump that stuff in. Cold enough to freeze your mittens, which you didn’t realize were wet, to the gate into the goat pen. Cold enough to register -4° and weather.com says it feels like -16°. Yes, I know that some of you who might be reading this have experienced colder temperatures. I am sorry. When it gets down below 0, it’s just cold and I would like to have a recount of votes because this is just plain ridiculous. It’s cold enough that I’m going to wait to finish feeding the goats. They need another pitcher of water and they need hay. And they don’t seem particularly excited about being outside.

I have it—you know how we’re supposed to be experiencing global warming and that clearly is a croc but is supposedly caused by the actions of us humans? Well, wouldn’t it be funny if our actions are actually causing global cooling? Because that’s what it feels like. I don’t remember temperatures like this when I was a kid. (Did I say that? Hmmmm, my mother has a goat. That’s food for thought.)

Yesterday was an okay sort of day. I am hungry.

Now I am no longer hungry. I don’t really feel like sitting here, either.

Yesterday during the day I don’t feel like I accomplished much. Dishes and laundry and that’s about it. I did get some knitting done. Once everyone was home from school, I got pork chops ready and ‘fried’ rice together in the crock pot for dinner so it would be ready even though I would be gone. Paul reports that it went over well; everyone had seconds and I can see that there aren’t many leftovers.

Are things or people more important?

Class was good. Liz was there reading during her shift as there were no laboring women. After class, Liz and I stayed for about an hour talking to Meredeth. I am so glad that I am doing this doula program if for no other reason than I got to meet Meredeth. I would love to really dig in and discuss some of what we talked about last night but I really just don’t feel that would be entirely appropriate because I would likely be too specific or not specific enough.

I can say this, though. Hospital birth is medicalized and pregnant women and their partners are brainwashed. Not enough women take childbirth education classes and I’m sure they aren’t all equal but if more took Meredeth’s classes, or ones even similar, I think it might make a difference. Women say they couldn’t give birth at home. Well, why the heck not? I’m not so different from these women but my experiences mean nothing to them. “Oh, I could never do that!” they say. Why the heck not?

Just makes me mad and gives me a headache that people can be so stupid. I’m not saying that all women should have their babies at home. I would like to say that they should question everything and everyone. I have to have an IV? Why? I have to have the monitor on? Why? You think I should have this or that or the other? Why? Etc., etc., etc. Oh, so you’re a doctor. Well, that’s great. Have you ever given birth? No? Well I suppose there’s time. No? Well, you are a man so I would guess not. Yes? Were you put through all this crap? Have you any feelings? Can you make my kidneys filter blood and produce urine? Can you make my pancreas work? No? Well, how about we just let my uterus do its job without all these interventions?

On my list of things to do today include FAFSA work, applications to colleges, contacting Birth Wise, and doing homework as well as a few other things because I believe that women deserve to have intelligent choices and if I don’t do my part, who will?

Have a great day!

1,006 Words (not counting captions)

Good morning! There is nothing quite like the 12-year-old sticking his head in the door and yelling, “The bus is here!!!” in order to get the 10-year-old and the 7-year-old moving a little faster so that everyone is waiting for the bus when it comes rather than the bus having to wait for one of them, most likely and often the 7-year-old. It just left; two minutes earlier than usual. And the great thing is that Seth has his simple machine for Valentine’s Day and Joseph has his Valentine’s Day cards. Sometimes it’s the simple things, you know?

Seth in his snow fort.

Yesterday I did a little research online for goat food. I feed the goats alfalfa pellets, sweet grain, and crimped oats as well as hay. I wouldn’t give them the alfalfa pellets if we actually had alfalfa hay but it seems to be difficult to find around here; the only kind I’ve seen is just pasture grass cut and baled. While the goats like it for the most part, it does not provide everything they need. Speaking of everything they need, they could probably use a mineral block as well. I’ll have to take a look the next time I’m at a feed store. Anyway, there is a Tractor Supply Co. by Aldi’s where Paul likes to go. I thought that since that’s on his way home if he goes that way (and he usually does, especially if I tell him we need something at the store), I’d check out the prices of the sweet grain and alfalfa pellets because we are low on sweet and out of pellets. I looked, compared prices, discovered that the prices were about $2.00 less per 50 pound bag, and told Paul in an email exactly what I wanted. Mind you, I looked on the Tractor Supply website for the information I got. When he got home, he said that he couldn’t get the alfalfa pellets I’d told him to because they don’t carry them. Are you kidding me? Then why have them on the website? Anyway, he got a 40 pound bag for the price listed for a 50 pound bag; still a better price than anywhere else I’ve gotten them. He also said that whoever he spoke to at the store wanted to know why I wanted the alfalfa pellets for goats; it’s horse food. Really? I’ve only had goats on and off for how many years? Since before Laura was born so for more than twenty-two years. In all that time I’ve probably never done any research or read anything or talked to anyone about what my goats need in the way of food and nutrition so, yeah, I probably have no idea what the heck they need. Sure. Just give me what I want and don’t question my intelligence thus showing your lack thereof.

In other news, Cedric and Seth both had scouts last night. We took Cedric to the Carrignan’s and dropped him off and then went to the Pitney’s. Sam’s mom offered to bring Seth home any time I need due to conflicts with time as they live almost around the corner just about two minutes away. I need to tuck that away for future reference.

The Blue & Gold, which is scheduled for this Thursday, might have to be postponed due to a snow storm that is supposed to hit that day. I guess the biggest problem with that is the guesswork involved because everyone needs 24-hours’ notice and I don’t think it’s really possible to completely accurately predict by 6:00 pm Wednesday evening if at 6:00 Thursday evening the roads are going to be bad. Don’t envy Mr. Pitney’s position on that one. I do kind of hope it is postponed because that will certainly give Diana Chunn time to get everything recorded for Cedric which will allow him to cross over at the Blue & Gold rather than waiting until May.

Tonight I have a childbirth education class. While Paul is of the opinion that if after 8 children I don’t know how to give birth then maybe I should consider another occupation, I am looking forward to the class. I love the instructor and I like my fellow doulas. And I love pregnant bellies. I just don’t care for the hospital. We also have missionaries for supper. I’m not sure yet what I’m going to feed them but I’d like for it to be nice because it’s Elder Stoa’s last meal with us as he’s leaving Friday. Maybe pork chops and fried rice with broccoli. I don’t know. I’ll go check the freezers when I’m done here and take out something that won’t require a terribly long thawing-out time.

Laura seems to be doing well. She had two jobs for two days and then the second one let her go. I’m not sure I agree with the decision but it wasn’t mine to make. She said yesterday she had just gotten a call from the Provo O’Reilly’s which I guess is an auto parts store. She’s off today and is going to call and see about scheduling an interview. She also has a guy in her life. His name is Daven and you really should talk to her for more info on that. I could really use her for a week or two moving things around here but in the meantime, I guess she has her own life to live even if it isn’t much of a life living with a bunch of girls in a college city working all the time. You know, just my take on things.

I think this is going to be it for today. As of whenever I get the number written, you’ve gotten 953 words and quite frankly, that’s enough for now. Especially since I think I want to write more words later about a different topic. But that will have to wait until the house is relatively people free and I’ve folded a bit of laundry and have fed the goats.

Have a splendiferous day!

Real Life and School (yes, two posts in one day--don't die)

So, this time I’m starting today even though it probably won’t get posted until tomorrow. Unless I decide to do two today. We’ll see how it goes.

I posted earlier today on Facebook this: “I think that we do not live in the real world. We live in an artificial construct and most people have no idea what 'real' is.” I believe this.

In the real world, people grow/raise/hunt/gather their food. They give birth when the baby is ready to be born. They build what and when they need, they make what they need when they need. In the real world, life is governed by four things: food, shelter, clothing, and faith. We do not live in a real world. We live in a world that is governed by money and schedules.

Our children are each only physically born once. That birth tends to be dictated by money and schedules. How can doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies get more money out of this woman who is pregnant? How can this birth happen in time for the doctor to go on vacation or end his/her shift? That birth tends, in the United States, to happen in a hospital. That birth tends to be medicated and has a 1 in 3 chance of being surgical. That birth probably will not happen in the real world.

In the real world, that birth would happen when it is supposed to happen. When the mother and the baby are both ready, physically if not emotionally, the birth occurs. That birth should happen in the most ideal way possible. And by ideal, I do not mean by elective cesarean or even necessarily in a hospital but certainly not on a time-table or as dictated by money and a schedule. Ideally, I think there should be hospitals with trained people inside who can save the mother and/or baby if that becomes necessary.

In the real world, our lives would be dictated by the seasons rather than a work schedule. I hate Paul’s schedule. He is almost never home for dinner. He has to plan in advance for anything. I hate school schedules (and we’ll get to more about school later). Why does a child in the United States have to learn to read by the time that child is done with kindergarten? Why? Give me one good reason. Just one. And it had better be a darn good one. Backed up by provable fact, not the fiction that is free for all out there.

In the real world, we would be getting ready to begin a garden soon rather than planning what vegetables to buy at the store tonight. In the real world, we would be getting ready to have baby goats rather than buying milk from the store today (actually, we are getting ready to have baby goats). In the real world, life would look a lot different than it does right now.

I think I was spoiled by having midwives when it was time to have my babies. I saw the same midwife and assistant during pregnancy, the same midwife and assistant were at the birth. The same midwife and assistant were present for the entire labor and birth, there were no shift changes. I think I got a taste for the real world and I think this artificial construct we live in leaves a really foul taste in my mouth.

I am sorry if that seemed rather disjointed. I think that the artificial construct that we live in and think is real is rather disjointed. So many of us have these jobs that require us to be gone for large portions of the day and then we go home to a family. This family needs more of our time and energy. Some of us are very good at maintaining a schedule. Some of us are not. Some of us don’t mind having our time used up by the mundane things in life (I’m thinking laundry, dishes, cleaning house, etc.) while others of us would love to have more time to do things that we really enjoy (you know, like knitting, spinning, sewing, playing racquetball [that’s Paul], skiing, etc.).

When did we start having to be gone for large chunks of time during the day? When we, as a civilization, began gravitating from a largely agricultural way of life to a more industrialized way of life. When did we start having to send our children away for large chunks of time to school? Public education as we know it is thought to have begun in the 1800’s. When did we start thinking that we have to have something for our children to do constantly? That’s a good question. Is it when we started moving away from the land and into the city? Is it when we thought both parents had to be gone all day working a job? When? And why?

School. It was good enough for me, it’s good enough for my kids.

Well, for one thing, I don’t send my kids to school. They live in the goat shed and yard and in the back field. Their mothers give me milk. We’d like to teach one to be a pack goat this year.

For another thing, when did you go to school? In the 60’s? The 70’s? The 80’s? Is life the same now as it was then? Are they teaching the same things now that they did then? I believe the answers to these questions are a resounding NO and NO. I am a product of the 70’s and 80’s. I think teachers were allowed to teach then. At least more than they are now. Now they have to teach this common core crap. Want to keep students in the US from achieving on standardized tests when compared to students from other countries? Keep shoving this dross down their throats.

Stop filling up their heads with a lot of rubbish that they likely won’t need when they’ve become adults. Stop forcing my square child into a round hole. Honestly, even thinking about this makes me want to use language that I don’t use.

And then there is the subject of dishwashers. Don’t get me going on that one, either. I just can’t handle the stress of it right now.

Only Half

Good morning! I was overcome this morning by the desire to eat an apple. So, I am eating one as I type. Just to let you know, you know?

Kitty and Seth hanging out before the bus came.

My mother did get home safely. I found her on Facebook Saturday and she said that she got home to frozen pipes. Not fun. However, with a heater, they quickly (relatively speaking, of course) were unfrozen and now everything is cool. Literally. That’s why she had frozen pipes to begin with. So now it’s cool but the pipes are no longer frozen. Unless, of course, they have refrozen.

Kitty is a shoulder cat.

Saturday morning the Tiger Scouts came over for a scavenger hunt in the woods. That was interesting. Cedric and Seth went too and Seth went without snow boots. I just don’t know about that boy sometimes. After the hike we had hot chocolate that Roger didn’t like and muffins that the Brinker’s brought and cookies that Amena made while we were outside.

A bunny trail.

I spent most of the afternoon hoping that the women who were in labor would have their babies so I could stay home and sleep Saturday night. I did everything in my power to make it happen by getting as ready as I possibly could. Alas, it was to no avail. There were women in labor still when I called so I got dressed and went. What an interesting night it was. Previously formed opinions about people were changed, new people were met, different philosophies of birth were encountered. I would love to tell you more about it but I’m afraid that part will have to wait a few years.

Some boys: Roger, Cedric, Joseph, Seth behind Joseph, Jamison.

I got home not long after 7:00 and fed animals. Then I took a shower and got ready for our YW presidency meeting. I woke Amena up and told her to help Joseph and Seth, Joseph especially, find clothes and be ready. Then Cedric and I took off. My plan was to stay for my meeting, for Sacrament meeting, and my meeting with a member of the bishopric and then go home and sleep. My plan worked until I got home. I cooked instead because I didn’t feel like eating bean soup.

When everyone got home and we had eaten, I went to bed. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to sleep because I haven’t had the best luck sleeping when it’s light outside but I was in bed around 2:30 and must have fallen asleep because I woke up around 6:00. The boys were watching August Rush so I finished it with them. Paul got home from home teaching the Fullers. We did prayer and scriptures. The boys went to bed. Paul watched a couple episodes of Gomer Pyle (or is it Pile?) and went upstairs. I wanted to get some knitting done and did two rows and then went to bed.

And today. Well, now, that’s a blank slate. So many things to do.

Have a great day!

From Friday (the 7th)

Good morning! Yes, I fell off the face of the earth. And coming back is a rude awakening, indeed!

The boys are having trouble getting ready this morning. I should clarify that: Seth and Joseph are having trouble getting ready this morning; Cedric is ready and has been encouraging his brothers to hurry up and finish. It is currently 7:24 and the bus should be here in about 15 minutes. Cedric doesn’t like being late and he doesn’t like his brothers to be either.

Bath, anyone?

Having my mom here was like having my mom here. She was supposed to leave on Wednesday but for once, the forecasted storm that was supposed to happen actually happened and we got somewhere near a foot over the course of the day. Her flight wasn’t cancelled or postponed but because she was flying in or through the Midwest and northeast, she was able to reschedule and left yesterday. I guess she arrived safely; she didn’t send me any messages so I don’t know for sure. She did say she’d most likely find a hotel and drive home today. Considering the fact that her flight was supposed to get in about 9:30, I think that would be a good idea.

What's left of the monkey bridge spanning the 'creek.'

Yesterday when I got home from Manchester, I looked for my gators and then went for a walk in the woods. I wanted to find some water because I really like pictures of water but our little creek is snowed over so I had to walk down to the bigger creek. 

One of the trees near Daniel's grave.

Sun through the trees.

Straight up.

Haruini Shawl

2/8 As some of you know, my mother was out for a couple of weeks. It has become a tradtion for us to visit a wonderful yarn/fiber/knitting/crocheting/weaving/spinning store in Northampton called Webs when she comes out. We took Grandma there when she came out as well (that was actually the first visit for all of us). I'm looking forward to taking Becky there whenever she and Jay get around to visiting (hoping for August) and I wouldn't mind taking Marie there but I'm not holding my breath.
Anyway, my mom got me some lovely yarn and I have begun construction of a shawl with it. I'll document my progress here. The pattern is called Haruini and I don't remember if I got it from KnitPicks or Ravelry but it calls for KnitPicks yarn and if you are interested, I'm sure you could search the name and find it.

This was at the end of day one.

And at the end of day two.

At the end of day four. Day three saw some progress; day four only added two rows.

At the end of day five. How do you like the color change with angle and lighting?

As you can see, progress is being made. I sometimes like to take a look at what my rate of progress has been and estimate when it will be finished but I haven't done that yet. It kind of takes away from the potential progress, you know.

At the end of day six. 

I'm not sure how obvious the rows I did yesterday are but I did get some done. Six or eight, I think. Only 30 rows to go before I start on Chart B. Don't think it'll happen today but hopefully soon. I love to watch as I pull the yarn out of the center of the ball. I'm thinking it's time for a ligher blue soon but because the yarn is a two ply made from individually hand dyed strands, who knows what will come out.

Ball of yarn at the beginning.

Ball of yarn after day eight.

At the end of day seven.

I actually stopped at the center on day eight.

I didn't really stop here, I just wanted to show a picture of something monumental: I finally got to the ligher blue (which you can see) and I finished the first chart (which you can't really tell).

I was hoping you'd be able to see the color variations.

2/24 Well, the good news is that this project is going to see itself completed in less than twenty days in spite of the fact that I didn't work on it each of those days. The other good news is that the next pictures I post will be of the finished product.

You can see the lighter blue stripe here. 

Ends woven in and everything.

Leftover yarn.

All done and drying.

Up close of the point.

2/25 All done! Pretty awesomely cool in my book if for no other reason than it's only the third thing I've ever actually finished other than socks. Now I'm ready to tackle something else.