Farm Days

Well, I have even considered stopping my posts because I am so behind, but here I am. Winter is done. Hurrah!! Healthwise I was OK until January and it has been pretty rough since then.

The pictures are not too recent, but one is Lily kissing a Valentine. Emma and Valentine are big girls now and almost weened. The other is of Lillian carrying the box of baby chicks back to the barn the morning they came. The chicks are 4 weeks old now and we have had only 4 casulaties out of 30 chicks. Lillian is slowly coming to terms with the fact hat some of these birds will be food and some will be for eggs. In the spirit of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle she knows that extra eggs will be hers to sell. She has already lined up a few customers. She is an absolutely outstanding farmer and I am so proud of her. She often accompanies me on chores. She has learned how to milk--especially if it meand squirting the barn walls! She helps feed and water too. Now that the goats are out on pasture, she feeds the kids dandelions while I milk. She loves her chocolate milk and Lizzie mozzarella!

Lillian was very proud to have mom and Valentine visit preschool for farm week. School is almost over now (only 2 weeks left!). She has loved it and it has been great for her. She has really blossomed in the past month or so and is now a little chatterbox at school. We want to keep the momentum going and have signed her up fro dance, soccer, and four sessions of Zoo Camp.

Our farm is really going now. The goats are doing great. We made it through deworming, birth, disbudding and milking in 4 below! The chickens are doing well and almost ready to move outside. The garden is fenced in and I have had mostly great successed with starting my own veggies from seed. Paco gave me my heart's desire for our anniversary--a small greenhouse which is packed full of wonderful things like green sausage tomato, wonderberry, mexican sour gherkins, triamble squash, and zucchino rampicante plants! When you are buying heritage seeds and not just the same old hybrids from the grenhouses, it is amazing what you can grow.

In about 3 weeks, we will be receiving fruit plants---strawberry, rhubarb, raspberry, blackberry, 3 kinds of grapes, and even a species of kiwi! I am so excited--as well as overwhelmed, tired, and sunburned!

"My Body Couldn't Stop Watching"

Lillian now uses this phrase when something is really wonderful to watch--like the parades at Disney World and the Velveteen Rabbit theatre piece we just saw. She also says things like "my body needs a carrot" and "My body wants to stay with you mom"

The picture is of Lillian making a snow angel in our latest snowfall. What a wet winter! We trekked to the back of the property to try out her new sled, but there was too much snow and we got too wet and cold getting back there to really stay long. Once inside we warmed up with some goat's milk hot chocoalte.

The other pic is of Valentine and Emma born on Sunday afternoon-Feb. 2. They had already been born when I got to the barn and I just helped clean them off and brought them in to get warm. We had already pretty much decided to bottle raise them, but when Emma tried to nurse, Lizzie clomped her in the head with a back hoof. Her maternal instinct is zero and she wants nothing to do with them. Our decision was made for us. They were inside in a dog kennel for about 4 days and now they are in the barn with the does. Paco sectioned off a corner of the stall with a heat lamp for them.

Since we got doelings, we won't have to deal with castration, but we are going to have to disbud this weekend. This entails burning off the nubs under the skin that will soon become horns. Sounds fun, huh?

Lizzie is a crappy mom but a stupendous milker! Her milk is still builiding and we are already getting 1 1/2+gallons a day. About half of that goes to Emma and Vaklentine, who are sleek and happy. I have made some feta and It is wonderful!!

Another busy Valentine's Day has come and gone. La Scala broke sales records and Paco and I marked 13 married years. He got me a small greenhouse and I got him a gold bracelet. I have all my seeds and some on order and am itching to get the greenhouse going!

Our chickens are on order. We expect 15 Araucana pullets for eggs and 15 Cronish cross for meat. I am still debating about turkeys. Turkeys and chickens are supposed to be raised separately and that just won't work very well for us.

Lillian, who named the doelings, is getting used to the goats and has been accompanying me to the barn for the evening milking. She really likes that she has milk she is not allergic too and that she can have grilled cheese sandwiches!!

Geek.Farm.Life

I have been so busy and/or sick since we came home that I haven't got my posting done. Lots is happening.

First, we got Lillian's food sensitivity results and a lot of stuff showed up. She has intolerance of gluten, dairy, and soy!! Also cantaloupe (this was very high), hazelnuts (also very high), peas, and navy beans. wow. what is even more amazing is that within 2 days of taking these things out of her diet, she was a different kid. no more crying, tantrums. she is no longer argumentative. she (and we) are so much happier. it is a true miracle. she is taking it in stride and has been very understanding. she even told she she is much happier now. both of her teachers have told me she is a lot more alert in school. yeah!!!!!!

She has shot up recently and is very busy crafting and working very hard on learning to read.

Paco has finished moving the electrical box for the house. He is now putting the wall and ceiling back together. It will be great to have the new dining room for summer.

the other big news is that on Friday 11 we got our goats. We have 2 Nubian does that we have renamed Mabel and Lizzy. Mabel is a young doe that lost her kid prematurely is we are milking her now. Lizzy is a 4 yr old doe and she is due with twins (we think) on Feb. 5. This is her second time settling (pregnancy) and should be a good milker. We are getting a quart a day from Mabel and expect at least twice that from Lizzy. Mabel is very quiet and nervous. But Lizzy is a hell raiser. They came from a herd of 20 and now the very pregnant Lizzy is trying to assert her dominance in the new herd which includes all us humans. She has gotten several good smacks to her muzzle daily. This feels strange to me, but this is goat language. I have to tell her I am the herd queen. Even though I am often milking in subzero temps, I LOVE it. I love the milking, I love the barn, I love it all. And now I have dairy products that Lillian can eat. She can have grilled cheese thanks to my Mabel mozzarella. I have made chevre and kefir also. The chevre was great, but the kefir will need some work.

My seed orders are in and I am working on plans for the chickens and turkeys. We are going to turn one of the lean-to's into a poultry house. We are going to get a few laying hens, some broilers and turkeys for meat.

I am giddily happy with my early farming efforts. I am nervous about our upcoming births but also excited. I just love it!! I found a GREAT podcast called geek.farm.life about 2 silicon valley city nerds that moved to Indiana to produce their own food. They have a "farm phone" and they play and answer the calls on the podcast. Check out episode 102 to hear my goat question. I am sure I will be calling lots more. I highly recommend the podcast for it's entertainment value.

I am taking a nutrition course at Morton Center with Dr. Lightstone. It is good. I know a lot, but am learning a lot too. I found out about agave nectar!

I am taking a mediation class tomorrow. namaste;)

More Disney Pics

Disney Pictures

Yes, we had a great time. Too much to do right now to add more, but I wanted to get these up.

A Meditative Christmas

The picture is of Lillian boogeying down at the La Scala Christmas Party.

The most exciting news is that our goats are coming!! We will bring them here the weekend after our vacation. One doe is lactating already, but lost her kid and the other doe is due in February. We are starting to get things ready. The hardest part may be finding hay.

This Christmas has been a joyful low stress one. I have changed in some significant way. I am not so stressed--no longer have a foot long to do list in my head. I am much, much closer to my ideal of living in the moment.

Our sugarless Christmas has been great and I think a big part of my new calmer self. Lillian and I made some kick-butt stevia-sweetened biscotti.

Lillian is finally breaking up the congestion that has been plaguing her and her tonsils for so long. Her tonsils are still huge but I think we are on the road to recovery--thank you zinc and Chinese herbs!!!

Paco's latest lipid panel was incredible--all his numbers were great not just good. He is taking the same high-quality fish oil I am and look at the results!!
total ch--188 to 146
total ldl--98 to 82
total hdl--42 to 46
triglycerides--238-to 90!!

Low sugar much lower carb diet we are all following is helping a lot too.

I am teaching Lillian to meditate. My own mediation practice has deepened with my new-found tranquility (and aided in it of course) and I thought this was something I could share with her. Lillian's personality is much like her mother's, she can be very stubborn and rigid. This leaves her frustrated a lot of the time. I would like to raise her with some of the tools to deal that.
Anyway, I talked her through a mediation before sleeping last week. She loved it and immediately turned over and fell asleep. I have downloaded some podcasts for her too. Meditating has now become the last thing she does each night and often falls asleep during it. Here is a link to a great children's Christmas mediation.
http://www.learnoutloud.com/Podcast-Directory/Self-Development/Prayer-and-Meditation/Meditation-Station-Podcast/18820#

growing

Lillian has suddenly shot up. I measured her and she has gained a 1/2 inch since summer. We went out today and got a new pair of jeans since she only has one pair that is not flood pants. The picture is of her with her first pigtails. As you can see, these just barely qualify. She has been growing her hair so she can have pigtails for 6 months now. I prefer her hair short, but she has her own ideas now.

We are having such a nice and calm holiday season. The La Scala party was last weekend and went very well. We baked 12 dozen cookies and I did not eat a one! Lillian did all the sprinkles, as is tradition. Last year's cookies had mountains of sprinkles and this year's had 3 or 4 carefully placed sprinkles. What a difference a year makes. This is her minimalist year.

After 2 bouts of antibiotics, she still has white blotches on her enormous tonsils. She was home form school on Wednesday, but seems to be feeling good (still white blotches) and will be in school tomorrow. She is on Chinese herbs now and that seems to be helping. We see the naturopath, Dr. Lightstone tomorrow to get the results of her food allergy testing. I hope their is something there that helps.

who's the fairest of them all

Riggy has been found! I called all the places we were in the mall (again) and Riggy was at Bath and Body Works. Lillian was gleeful to have the "real" Riggy back. I will keep the on-order Riggy hidden away for the next time this happens.





Another mall moment: we took Lillian in the Disney store to get her excited about the trip. She quickly found a pepto-bismol pink vanity complete with rollers, brush, comb, etc. She LOVED it. This is exactly the kind of thing I would NEVER buy her. She did not care about anything else in the store as she styled her hair and looked in the mirror. So, I wonder---am I right in denying her something so basically girlie? I am not very girlie myself. It was hard for me to even buy her a baby doll. Once I did, I saw the error of my ways. I know in my heart that surrounding her with over the top pink and lavender plastic toys that teach her being a girl is all bout her appearance are WRONG! ----but what inner yearning and natural desire am I ignoring?





The picture is phase one of construction of our gingerbread house. Lillian is taking a picture to send Nanny and holding Nanny "on the phone" at the same time. I will include the finished product here also.

that time of year

Today we celebrated Paco's Birthday. pretty quietly--none of the fanfare of last year. Lily gave him a bag of animal crackers and I got him a standing double work light that he already loves.

We went out to eat and then to the mall to see Santa. She has been pledging that this is the year she will not be afraid of Santa. The first year she wouldn't go near him. Last year she took a candy cane from him, but just barely. This year's pic speaks for itself.

This video is form a couple of week's ago, but it definitely deserves airtime. Lily is singing " A Bushel and a Peck" which her nanny used to sing to her almost daily.

Today also had a low point. Somewhere in the mall Lillian lost her constant companion "Riggy" short for Rigoberta. Lillian has had this little cloth doll since she was about 6 months old and sleeps with her, takes her to school, and drags her around most every day. We realized when we got home and made some phone calls, but it seems that Riggy is indeed gone. I have already been online and ordered another Riggy from Discount School supply. She took it pretty well, overall.

you big momma's boy

Now that I am back in the blogging swing of things, they just keep coming, huh?

Today Lillian said to Paco: "hey, you big momma's boy!" after we picked ourselves up off the floor we realized that Lillian had learned this from Paco himself who has been heard to say this about his youngest brother Carlos. She said she also heard it in the movie Bambi II which we recently viewed. What kills me is that her mind files these away for days, even weeks and then she zings them out at contextually correct, but unexpected moments.

She had school this morning and this afternoon she announced to me that her friend Julia does like boys. Lillian has said to us several times over the past month or so and that she does not like boys so I was pretty sure that this conversation topic was all Lillian's. This dislike seems to stem from a little boy named Isaac in her class who has some issues with keeping his hands to himself. Anyway, I asked Lillian if she asked Julia about this and she affirmed. After a moment, she said, "Yes, but she is still my friend" So even though Julia has disappointed her, she has decided to make the friendship work. BTW, I have pointed out to Lillian that there are some boys she likes a lot---daddy, grampy, and her cousins to name a few. She agrees, bit still says she does not like boys in general. FINE BY ME.

ok, big guy

A few Lillian tidbits. One of her often said phrases now is "OK, big guy" or "I'm right behind you, big guy" No idea where this came from.

The other night we had someone knock on the door after dark. Considering we are out in the middle of nowhere and have almost zero friends, this was surprising, almost alarming. Afterward, Lillian kept looking out the window and saying the "coast is clear." good grief!!

Another acupuncture treatment today. I think it is causing a healing crisis. I am dizzy, nauseous, weak, achy, and tired. I go back on Monday and will be armed with lots of questions.

Lillian and I worked on our gingerbread house today. I will post a pic soon. We wore our matching Christmas aprons. It was the height of cuteness. It was an odd experience making agingerbread house and not even being able to stick my frosting-covered fingers in my mouth.

Happy Thanksgiving. We had a pretty quiet day. We had the big turkey dinner when my family was here 2 weeks ago. Today we made some mixotes. Yum!! I had bad fibro days today and yesterday, Paco is still coughing and Lillian is on her second round of antibiotics (cringe!) with big white splotches on her tonsils. Needless to say, none of us are at our best.

Paco's remodeling project is barreling along. Our cluttered entry/laundry room/basement entry is becoming a big room which will eventually be our dining room with a big glass door (I am hoping for French) to the patio (yet too exist). He has been on a home remodeling blitzkrieg and has really been enjoying it. He has replaced 3 bathroom faucets (rubbed bronze in place of ugly, shiny chrome!) and tiled my kitchen back splash with handmade talavera tiles (yippee skippie!)

Lillian, besides being under the weather for weeks is loving school and is very excited for Christmas and vacation. She and I started putting up some Christmas decorations today and she was jumping up and down about Santa coming. She seems to be under the impression that we need to do a really great job decorating in order for him to visit us with presents. Her heart's desire for Christmas is a submarine. Mom has got this under control.

Although I am not feeling as great as I would like, I feel like I am making real progress health wise. I am seeing a naturopath now and she is great! I have had testing done and found that I am allergic to cane sugar! Cutting the sugar out has helped my digestion. I am also gradually changing my eating habits to eat an anti-inflammatory diet. I am also allergic to lentils. Thanks to Chinese medicine and good nutrition, I have avoided antibiotics so far this fall and my mood has been good. I am a believer.

I saw my new chiropractor yesterday. He also does acupuncture. I had my first treatment and go back tomorrow. I wonder if the Chiro/acupuncture didn't set of the FM flare, but we shall see. I already know that I may have to feel worse at times to feel better.

We are all looking forward to our first real family vacation. We are spending a week in January at Walt Disney World resort in Orlando. This is the ultimate cheesy American vacation, but right now nothing appeals to me more than acres of Pre-fab fun and diversion. Lillian is almost bursting with excitement and Paco is looking forward to it and especially happy that it is all paid for (even food) and the restaurant will be closed while we are gone!

My Master Gardener Classes are coming to a close and I will be doing my volunteer hours this spring. Paco finished my raised beds and we got them filled with compost and leaf mulch. I planted one whole bed with 10 kinds of organic garlic. I am excited for spring and all the things I want to get in the ground---blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, apple trees, and grapes to name a few.

The video is of Lillian dancing along with the American Indians at the Feast of the Hunter's Moon.