Baby Bums

I really need to order my cloth diaper materials already. It's just so hard because there's so many choices out there! The thing that makes me most annoyed is how little access there is for cloth diapers in the area. Sure, I can buy pre-folds (1 doz for $12) at the local Wal-Mart but you can't find covers, pins, or plastic pants sized for smaller than a potty-training toddler anywhere around! Oh well... I should just order my stuff and be done. Have just about everything else ready for baby's arrival. Clothes are washed, diapers are sorted, changing table is almost ready...Just have to finish washing the baby bedding and blankets and pack my hospital bag. And I still have five weeks to go! Not bad, huh...

Christmas Eats

Can you believe it? I celebrated the holidays without attempting a single bit of traditional baking on my part, Santa came and left wool socks but no candy in my stocking, I ate very little sweets over the entire holiday weekend, and (surprisingly enough) it still felt like Christmas. I did make some yummy homeade eggnog but decreased the amount of sugar (could probably do so again) and used our milk so I didn't feel quite so bad about that indulgence. It's got me wondering... Can Christmas be celebrated without the cookies, bakery, and other sugary treats? I do like my Christmas cookies and was able to limit myself to just four this year, but I wish I had the willpower my hubby has. He hasn't eaten any goodies for the last two months! I will admit to having a sweet tooth and I always start the holiday season with good intentions but rarely manage to follow them. This year I did though, proving to myself that it can be done. I felt better too. None of that icky "I ate too much" feeling after Christmas Day Dinner. Is it just because I am pregnant that I am watching how much and what I eat? Or is it that I am finally changing eating habits for the better? I suppose I will have to wait and see if these good habits stick after the baby is born. (One thing I discovered over the weekend...A chilled clementine is sweeter and tastier than any cookie I tried.)

Christmas To Do List

1. Make eggnog, prepare cheese & cracker tray, and get milk for family (in-laws) get-together on Christmas Day. (Should really call and find out if I need to bring more food too.)

2. Clean house and make meatballs for family (mine) get-together on Sunday. (Don't want my family to see what my house looks like on a regular basis, now would I? hehe)

3. Figure out one more gift idea and wrap remaining gifts. (Any good but quick homeade gift ideas out there?)

4. Get a tree and decorate it. (Just haven't had the time to find one yet.)

5. Quit sitting at the computer and get some work done already. (Get off your butt already, Jill!)

6. Enjoy the holidays with family, friends, and whoever else stops in.

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

'Tis the Season

To be warm. Let me tell you that I am really enjoying my woodstove these days. Even on 'warmer' days like today, it's nice to not feel guilty about keeping the house at 70 degrees.

In other news, I had a doctor's appointment yesterday and my weight gain is still hovering around 13-14 pounds total, though a weekend bout with the stomach flu is partially to blame. Everything is looking good with the exception of a possible breech baby (based on the fact that the Dr. had to look for the heartbeat above my belly button instead of below). The Dr. is going to re-evaluate at my appointment next week and if she still thinks the baby is breech, I have to go for an ultrasound to find out for sure. However, the Dr. also said not to worry as I still have six weeks to go and that the baby may flip on it's own. Easier said than done but I'm trying. I don't want to spend the next weeks worrying about something that may not be an issue.

Cold Mornings

It's getting to be that time of year again. Yes, I know Christmas is on the way but that's not what I am talking about. It's time for the thermometer to show dreaded NEGATIVE numbers. Yep, it was officially -0.6 degrees F this morning when I headed out to do chores. At least it was warm here. The in-laws had a temp of -2 degrees. These colder mornings mean cold fingers and toes while milking, chasing cows, and feeding calves. It also means that my 'automatic' starter on the pickup needs to be in working order. (aka my husband) That 'automatic vehicle starter' is also a pretty good 'automatic fire starter' for the wood stove, too. (Thanks, honey. I don't tell you that enough!) I am also getting prepared for the inevitable frozen water/sewer lines (water line has frozen a few times already including today). There's a bucket of water in the bathroom, a gallon of drinking water in the kitchen, plenty of hand sanitizer and, of course, I stocked the outhouse toilet paper supply.

Baby on Board

I am 31 weeks pregnant and only have 9 weeks left to go.
That's 9 weeks left of:
-hearing the stories of farmer's wives who milked in the morning, went in and had their baby, and were back out in the barn for evening milking
-not fitting behind the steering wheel of my car
-hearing all about the awful labors and the extraordinarily short and sweet labors
-waddling
-waiting on pins and needles to meet the little imp that daily reminds me of it's existence with 'gentle' nudges and bumps to various internal organs and bones
-having to pee every few minutes
-not being able bend over and tie my shoes

It's also 9 weeks left of:
-wondering what my baby will look like
-hoping the times flies by
-waiting to fulfill my greatest wish
-waiting to meet the miracle that is my baby

Saved the best reason for last.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so thankful this year. I am surrounded with a wonderfully loving family, exceptionally awesome friends, and I have my faith. I am entering the last weeks of a normal, uneventful pregnancy. (30 weeks exactly on Thanksgiving Day!) Our farm is doing okay, the cows are (mostly) healthy, and Fall fieldwork is just about done despite wet weather, mud, and mold. I am thankful for a four-day trip to the UP to see family I haven't seen since August. (Also thankful for the four days without chore duty...) The usual assortment of the usual things to be thankful for. However, I am thankful for a rather unorthodox thing as well...

Due to a whole herd lice infestation, I am VERY thankful that humans can't get bovine lice.

HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Never thought I would be glad for...

At my last doctor's appointment, I mentioned that I am worried about having a big baby. (Seeing as the last three babies around here have been 10+lbs, can you blame me?) My doctor reassured me with the facts. 1. My weight gain is minimal. Only 11 pounds to date. (She still thinks I am going to gain 25+ pounds but I am still determined to prove her wrong.) 2. My glucose tolerance test came back normal so gestational diabetes isn't a concern. (Yay!) 3. "With your pelvis, I can see you easily delivering an 8 or 9 pound baby." (8 OR 9?!?!? Yikes!) Good to know my big hips are good for something other making it hard to find pants that fit right. :)

What a Way to Start the Morning...

Chasing cows into the holding pen for morning milking and an overeager cow decided to knock me over. Fortunately, I had a soft landing as I was standing behind a cow laying in a stall. I sat down on the soft, doughy part of her leg. Unfortunately, I also happened to sit right down in the middle of a cow patty that was conveniently left by another accommodating cow. I swear I heard the cow who knocked me down snickering as she headed up to the holding pen.

The World's Best Feeling

Is when you have the energy to make four supper meals-worth of food to add to your freezer, a batch of cookies, tonight's supper already on the table, and a (mostly) tidy house all with an hour to spare before chore time. I wish I had this much energy on a daily basis. Why is it that I get so ambitious on the days when I am the most in need of a nap? Is this just a pregnancy thing?

Oh, and wish me luck on my glucose test tomorrow. A bit nervous about it thought I really shouldn't be. I've felt better than I ever have during this pregnancy and my weight gain is still under 10 pounds total (at least according to my bathroom scale although it tells me I've gained more than I wanted to in the last six weeks). No signs or symptoms of it otherwise. Just something that's been on my mind.

It's that time of year again...

No, I don't mean the weather. (It's TOO early for snow!) There's two times during the year that I absolutely just dread. The first is Tax Time, which I am sure no one is very fond of anyway, and the second is Organic Inspection Time. Both times, there's so much paperwork to be done and, it seems, never enough time to finish it. Lanny turns into a bear because he would much rather be working on other things instead of paperwork but it needs to be done. At least this year we have a different organic inspector. Last year's inspection was 8 hours long! This year promises to be a much shorter inspection. Whew!

My body and Me

When I first started this blog a year ago, I wrote about my struggle to get healthier and make a lifestyle change. Since then, I have struggled to change my thinking from 'sugar=yummy' to 'sugar=bad', learned to curb my emotional eating habits, dealt with my husband's crazy diets (remember the 'milk diet'?), lost 18 pounds, and discovered I had a jawbone hiding beneath my double chin. Okay, maybe the double chin wasn't that big but the very fact that I can crack a joke or two about my weight proves that my weight isn't as sensitive an issue as it used to be. Throughout the last year, I've learned to love my body for what it is-strong, curvaceous, nurturing-instead of what I thought others would see it as-lumpy, bulgy, and too big. I am proud to have lost weight before getting pregnant and even prouder that my weight gain has been relatively minimal since. My goals were to lose weight and learn to live healthier and I've done that. (It's still a shocker to me when I go grocery shopping and the first thing I do is read the ingredients label. If there is corn syrup or sugar in it at all, I usually put it back.) We eat more fresh produce now than we used to, our meat is all from local producers that we know, and I don't bake goodies. I still miss the sugary sweets once in a while but I feel so sick and achey and tired if I eat too much sugar that it's not hard to avoid sweets. My problem is I miss what I remember it tasting like. I know I have a long struggle ahead of me yet. I have to get through the final four months of my pregnancy while keeping my weight gain down. Then I have to lose the lingering 'baby weight' before I can even think about losing any more! Then, I need to be committed to keeping the weight off! However, I am hopeful that I can do this. I managed to make it through the last year of lifestyle changes. Perhaps I can make it through another year. (I also want to prove my doctor wrong. She said it would be preferable that I keep my weight gain down during this pregnancy but I probably wouldn't be able to do it. We'll see.)

Things I Learned This Summer

-It's a pretty good sign you are having a bad day when the bull runs through a three-wire electric fence to get away from you. I've been shocked by that fence he escaped through and it left a mark on my arm that tingled for two hours and lasted four days.

-Doing a blood draw on a cow means lots of bellowing, lots of stepping around, lots of 'oops', and LOTS of poops. *Sigh* The things you do to find out if a cow is prego or not...

-I never thought I would be happy to discuss breeding rates but they now rank up there with somatic cell counts, calf treatments, and causes of hoof rot. Now I am getting interested in field paperwork.

-I am perfectly capable of cleaning out a clogged drainage line even if it's my fourth time cleaning it out in one day. I might be pretty annoyed at that point, but I can still do it.

-I can't grow corn. Last year, I planted it too deep and harvested the few puny stalks WAY too late. I couldn't even freeze it because it was SO overripe! This year, I planted it too shallow and picked it too soon. Maybe next year I'll finally get it right...

-Puppies are cute but I am SO glad we don't have any anymore. (Thanks to everyone who took one!)

-Farming is becoming the only thing I can talk about. (Notice how most of my 'lessons' have to do with the farm...)

-I enjoy being a farmer's wife but I'll leave the tractor driving to my husband.

A New Twist

We tried making our favorite after-chores snack last night only to find out we didn't have one pretty necessary item. Have you ever tried to make Orange Julius without orange juice? The only frozen juice we had in the freezer was grape so I told Lanny (jokingly) that we could either have Grape Julius or no Julius. He took me seriously and before I could say anything, he was adding the grape juice concentrate. Surprisingly it turned out really good! It was smooth and grape-y and very yummy. One thing though-grape juice concentrate is pretty sweet compared to orange juice concentrate and the Grape Julius came out a bit more sweet than we would have preferred. Lanny recommends that we use less concentrate and a bit more liquid next time to balance it out.

Calving Time

Well, it's that time of year again...The cows are starting the Fall Freshening Season. So far, we've had eight heifer calves, seven bull calves, and one calf that didn't survive birth. We are about par for the course at this time of year. Calving season is always a hectic time of year and, while it's nice to see those cute calves, I do breathe a big sigh of relief when the season is over. (I also breathe a very big sigh of relief when the calves are all weaned and hauled to the calf barn.) Each season bring about the miracle of birth but it also brings about the need for ALOT of patience. No matter how many calves you have at one time, you will be guaranteed to have at least one that can escape any kind of pen you have it in, a few that get sick, a few that are too stubborn to learn how to drink properly from a bottle, and a fewer than you would like that do everything right. So far I've had a calf fall down a fox hole while trying to run to Momma out in the pasture, two calves who could wiggle out of the 12 inch opening in their hutches, and, currently, a stubborn bull calf who protested his being taken from Mom by refusing to drink his bottle. And this doesn't include the cows...We have several cows who regularly wander up to the barn to bellow for their babies who, being penned up, can't respond with anything other than a pitiful little bleat. We also discovered we have some pretty messed up breeding records because we have cows giving birth two to three months before they are scheduled to do so and, in a few cases, without us knowing they were even pregnant! It's frustrating, amazing, and funny all at once. Well, I guess that's just life on the farm.

Farmer's Almanac-Knows it all or a Bunch of Hooey?

We bought the 2010 Farmer's Almanac this year, kind of as a jokey thing, but it has alot more info in it than I originally thought it would. (It's got some great articles on stretching the grocery bill, going 'green', and ways to reuse common household items.) However, I was most interested in the weather predictions. A few weeks ago (this was before we bought the Almanac), I told Lanny that I thought we were in for a cold winter because of the unseasonably cool summer we had. I just had this feeling that we are in for some bitter days. Lanny told me that my prediction was funny because the Farmer's Almanac was predicting the same thing while meteorologists are predicting an unseasonably warm winter. I am sticking to my original idea of cold but not because the Almanac says so. It's because I just have this weird notion that I am right. I hope I am proven wrong as I am having a winter baby but we'll see who's right in the end.

Tidbits

-You know you have flies in the house when you hang a new sticky fly strip and within five minutes is has ten flies on it. Two hours later, over thirty flies have landed on it! Plus, there's still at least a dozen flies roaming the house. All this after both Lanny and I spent an hour swatting flies this morning.

-My car is possessed. I keep having weird, but explainable according to Lanny, things happen while I am driving it. Yet, these things almost always happen when I am driving, never when Lanny is the driver. Except the tape player...It randomly turns on even without a tape in it no matter who is driving.

-We have two escape artists-in-training right now. Never underestimate a calf who is determined to find a bottle or Momma-whichever comes first. Nothing will hold them when they are hungry.

-On top of two Houdini-like calves, we have a steer who somehow manages to sneak into the very places you wouldn't think he could fit. So far, he's snuck out of the holding pen three times into a fenced in area full of boards, cement blocks, and stickers, and managed to fit through three wires of electric fencing into my garden. Thankfully, he only munched the quack grass growing in there. Hmmm...Maybe I should let him in there more regularly if he's such a good 'weed whacker'.

-I wish my sweet corn would hurry up and ripen already. I am craving it something fierce but with 300+ feet of it out in the field, I hate to buy it from the store.

-I will never take having meat in the freezer for granted again. It only takes having your puppies unplug your chest freezer and causing your entire meat supply to spoil to keep that in perspective. Our freezer may smell a bit icky at times, but at least it's got fresh meat in it again.

-Thank Goodness It's Over! Lanny is 'officially' back on a 'regular' diet again! Yay! Wait...He did say he didn't want to eat sugar (or anything derived from sugar) if possible. And he's already talking about another diet idea... I think I'm going to hide his 'milk' books for awhile. They keep giving him ideas...

-Gotta get back to work. There's dishes to wash, flies to swat, a garbage to empty, and a whole list of other chores to finish today. At least I get to go to town tomorrow and hit up some garage sales while I am there! Can't wait!

Climbing on my soapbox

L got an email from one of his sisters with a link to an article on how the US produces so-called 'cheap' food. It's called "Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food." I agree with it's premise that the food industry has gotten to be just that-it's all about the almighty dollar instead of raising healthy food. The article also talks about what we can do to fix our food situation. It's amazingly simple: go back to small family-owned farms and use less chemicals/antibiotics to raise crops and animals. I totally agree with the premise that the American food industry relies way too much on scientific and chemical means to grow more food in less time and with less cost. For example-many small grains are harvested after being sprayed with Round-Up so it can be harvested faster and cheaper but don't all weed killers have 'Toxic-do not ingest' warning labels on them? According to the author, we are doing everything right on our farm. Our cows are allowed access to pasture and the outside world on all but the most inclement winter days instead of being cooped up 24-7. (Even on subzero degree days, the cows still love to go outside so it's got to be really bad out there before they want to stay indoors all day long.) Our crops are averaging reasonable yields yet we don't spray or use any chemicals of any kind. We use natural fertilizers, minerals, and crop rotation to keep the soil healthy. We treat our cows with homeopathic and natural remedies with higher success rates than my in-laws saw using conventional treatments. Yes, it's more expensive to farm this way, but I feel so much better about eating what we produce because there aren't the chemicals there. I don't want to blow my own horn here, but simply point out that we don't do things 'conventionally' and are still yielding much the same results. My challenge to you is this-read the article and think about it's message. Do you agree or disagree with the article? If you don't agree, I don't expect you to change your mind. I just want you to think about it. I didn't come by my opinions on organics overnight and I don't expect anyone else to either.

Cloth Diapers

As many of you may already know (and if you don't, now you will) I am due in early February. After my prior miscarriages, I am still nervous about the possibility of another but everything is going well so far. Anyway, I am curious about cloth diapers. I know, I know...You might be thinking I am crazy but I have good reasons for wanting to try cloth diapers. Being an organic farmer's wife, I personally feel a responsibility to be at least somewhat 'green' and this is, in my opinion anyway, another way for me to do that. (Disposable diapers don't compost as I found out when our dog dragged one home from a dump pile and proceeded to shred it on my doorstep.) Plus, they save money and are easier on a baby's bum (or so I've been told).

I am just curious of your experiences with 'clothies' (or lack thereof). What is your opinion? Use them or not? If you have used them, do you recommend them? What brands, styles, etc. did you try? Any that aren't so good? And do you know of any resources where I could find more information on cloth diapers?

Cows And Kids

Cows are like kids. They drool, are capable of making a much larger mess than you thought possible, holler when they are hungry, do what they want to do rather than what you would like them to do, and eat their own snot.

Happy Lines

Did you know that cows can get wrinkles? Well, they aren't actually wrinkles, but rather 'happy lines'. Happy lines are horizontal lines that appear on the cow's side and indicate she is content. Above is the picture of the bull I promised to post ages ago. If you look closely, you can see his 'happy lines' about halfway down his side. (It's not the best picture of these lines, I apologize.)

Since 'happy lines' prove the cow is content and they look an awful lot like wrinkles, I've decided I won't have wrinkles when I get older. I'm going to have 'happy lines' just like the cows.

Finnish Tree

This was taken during my recent camping trip to the North Shore. I just had to admire the tenacity (or perhaps stubborn-ness) of the tree growing out of solid rock. Perhaps it has some Finnish 'roots'?

Potpourri

-How come dishes always pile up despite the fact that I am only cook for one and a half people right now? (One and a half because Lanny isn't eating enough for a whole person yet. He's not eating much other than fruit and you don't need plate for that, so I suppose I am only cooking for me, really....)

-I want to move stuff into the house, out of the house, and around the house. I just need someone who's better at fitting alot of stuff into not alot of space to help.

-Never lament about not having a lawn when one lives alongside a pasture. I said something the other day about not having grass around the house and Lanny pointed out that I do to have a lawn. 90 acres of it in fact and I don't even need to mow.

-In a perfect world, the rain we got today would have been limited to the pasture, my garden, and my tomatoes. Too bad this isn't a perfect world.

-We finally named the puppy. I wasn't too thrilled with keeping her (and she's still up for adoption if anyone is interested) so her name isn't too imaginative. Next time you stop by, you will see Mindy and her progeny, Pups.

-I should have allowed more room for the pumpkins as they are starting to overtake the watermelon, the cantelope, and the cucumbers. I also planted way too much lettuce...again...Even with Lanny eating a raw foods diet, we still have too much. You think I would learn.

-Our barn cat is now a morning chores cat, too. He likes to come sit by the cows while we are milking in the morning and mew piteously in hopes of getting some milk. He's doing something right because the cows haven't pooped nearly as much when he's in the barn.

-Our tent claims to be a two-person backpacking tent. This translates as "the tent will fit two people only if they sleep on their sides and it's impossible for both to change at the same time." It also means that I spent an entire weekend with Lanny's campfire smoke smelling clothes in a very compact space.

-If there's one scent I CANNOT stand it's the smell of campfire smoke on clothing and in my hair. Don't ask me why this is, because I can't explain it. It permeates everything when you go camping.

-Why is it that you always manage to pack WAY more than you need when you go camping? I packed enough food to last a week and I was the only one eating it. We went camping on the North Shore last weekend and between the two of us, we filled our car. How is this possible?

Check the Fridge

I have fond memories of my parent's fridge door. It's a funny thing to admit but it's true. One could usually find my latest masterpiece among the artsy contributions of my younger siblings. There might also be a chore schedule (made with good intentions but rarely followed with such), a calendar of some kind, magnets of all shapes and sizes (including the requisite alphabet letters), and the odd A+ paper or two. However, my ffavorite part of the fridge door was the comics section. My mom had (and still does) this thing about cutting out particularly humorous comics from the newspaper and taping them to the fridge door. Family-based comics like Baby Blues, Hi and Lois, and (by far the best one of all) For Better or For Worse featured prominently as they so closely reflected family life . Calvin and Hobbes and Family Circle were other regulars. Occasionally, Beetle Bailey or Garfield might find a niche somewhere as well. Every time I walked past the fridge, I had to stop and see if anything new had replaced an 'oldie but a goodie'. She didn't throw out any of those old strips either. She has nearly filled her second photo album with those saved strips. It makes for a fun afternoon to sit and page through those old comics.

Looking at my fridge, I see that I am doing much the same thing. Since we don't regularly get a newspaper with comic strips in it, my fridge is a bit sparce in the funnies division, but I've got a few good ones there. They are joined by the grocery list, a calendar, pictures of family and friends, a variety of magnets, and my To-Do list that never seems to get smaller. Someday, I'll have my own albums of comic strips.

Fly Season

June is hay season. We are currently getting toward the end of first crop hay, though there is still quite a bit of hay to cut, rake, bale, haul, and wrap.

June is weed season. I seem to be out in my garden every day picking out the pigweed, clover, dandelions, and quack grass that seem to multiply exponentially despite my daily weeding. The guys have been busy cultivating the corn fields in between haying duties, but there's still some of that left to do too. We want the corn to be knee-high by the 4th of July, not the weeds.

June is also fly season. I feel bad for the cows because they come into the barn followed by hordes of the pests. Despite the continual tail swishing and kicking feet, the flies continue to bother. We do use an organic fly repellant but it only lasts so long. I feel especially bad for a young cow with the unfortunate nickname of "Shortcut". She lost her tail for unknown reasons (most likely cause-frozen off during a winter) and is left with a piddly little stump about a foot in length. We've tried to come up with a fake tail that would allow her to swish flies with the best of them, but haven't figured out a good way to attach it. Any ideas?

What's for dinner? Milk!

Well, for my husband it is anyway.

My husband has been reading "The Untold Story of Milk" by Ron Schmid, ND. After reading about a diet described in the book-for one full month, he would consume nothing but our milk, he decided to try it. Since June 3, he has had nothing but raw milk, a little bit of raw milk cheese, and villia (did I spell that right?). I am proud that he has stuck with it this long and with little complaint. (The only complaints I get are when I happen to eat pasty in front of him.) When asked what the purpose of being on this diet is, he replies, "It's good for lowering high blood pressure and bringing up low blood pressure. It helps overweight people lose weight, but allows underweight people to gain. It's good for diabetes, artheritis, heart disease, asthma, allergies, and a whole bunch of other things." I think it sounds like on of those 'too good to be true' diets but I am seeing a difference in him already. He's lost some weight, his blood pressure and resting heart rate are down, and he feels good. Am I doing this diet? Nope. I hope to try it sometime in the future, but my hubby decided to start his diet the day after I went grocery shopping. He told me I am not allowed to do the diet because there is too much food in the fridge.

Now, after being on the milk diet for a month, he wants to go a month without eating anything cooked. I forsee July's menu being filled with alot of salad. If, by August, you see me sprouting salad greens and rabbit ears, you'll know why. Oh and if you would like to read the book, we have an extra copy.

That's a BIG bunch of bull..

I really do mean that. Our bull is a big boy. The guys are pretty proud because 'Bulldy" is even college educated. (We bought him from a university that has a dairy research program.) Unfortunately, I don't know how much he learned while he was there... Yesterday, he couldn't figure out heads from tails when it came to the cows. Lanny claims it's actually a common occurance, but I just had to tease.

(If I can, later I will repost this with a picture of big bad Bulldy boy.)

Meet Mindy

This is my dog Mindy. She's a pretty good dog even though she doesn't chase cows like we hoped, is a shameless flirt, and thinks she is a lap dog. She eats June Bugs. I just saw her crunch one down like it was the greatest treat in the world. She also likes to 'play' with frogs. It's hilarious to watch her sniff the frog until it jumps and then she pounces on it (like a cat!). She will repeat this until the frog is either dead or playing dead, in which case she will carry it off to a semi-secluded area and eat it.

Oh Happy Day!

Yay! This came yesterday. We've been on the Organic Valley truck for a month but this just makes it seem 'official'.

I posted on FreeCycle and got two responses to my Free Puppy ad already! Hopefully these cute little girls will have homes sometime next week. I'm getting too attached and it's gonna be hard to give them away.

Why I Love Thunderstorms...

Actually, I don't really like them all that much, personally. I'm not afraid of thunder though. There's something about the lightening that I just don't care for. I am getting better and don't quite have that 'hide your head under the covers' feeling anymore and can actually admire the beauty of a bolt of lightning as it zips from the clouds, but I still don't have to like them.

However, as a farmer's wife, I understand the necessity of thunderstorms. Ever notice why the leaves and the grass always look so much greener after a thunderstorm? They are getting a big boost of nitrogen, that's why. When the lightning burns the air, it is adding nitrogen to the air which is really good for plant growth.

The other thing I like about thunderstorms is the water. Everything smells so fresh and clean after a rainstorm. It also means I have to water my garden that much less. While I may not like thunderstorms, anything that gets me out of hauling bucket after bucket of water to my 45 foot long garden is okay with me.

Growing Pains

I wish my garden grew faster than the weeds. I was out there checking on the soil (hoping to plant potatoes today) but it was a bit too wet. I did notice, however, that bunches of clover and a renegade blade of grass here or there were already trying to sneak out of the soil. That clover is the worst. I know the cows like it and there is something magical about finding a four-leaf clover (I once found a five-leaf clover out in the pasture. Honestly!) but it's impossible to get rid of! Clover, picker plants, and pig weed are my gardening nightmares. All have extensive root systems that rival gopher and ant tunnels. All are invasive weeds that take over a garden at a moment's notice. And, two of those weeds are covered in the sharpest dagger-pointed sticker seeds possible. They are like spies-they sneak their way into the garden and hide until you least expect them to pop up. I can't count the number of times I have reached for a cucumber or carrot and grabbed a picker plant by mistake or found a clump of clover bullying my pitiful plants into submission. Hopefully, I will be able to keep my garden growing more than just weeds and rocks this year. I have good intentions so we'll see if I actually live up to my expectations.

Puppies and Plants

You would think I don't feed my puppies. I walk outside in the morning and they start trying to eat my toes because they are so hungry. They do this three time a day. So, I've asked before, I'll ask again. Who wants a puppy? I have three left. Price: FREE!!!

I am experimenting this year. I am direct seeding everything in the garden. Last year, I killed all of my starts. The tomatoes and green peppers started pretty good but died before I could replant them. My pumpkins survived until I transplanted them. A week after I put them in the garden, all were shriveled up little dead plants. So, pumpkins and watermelon are already planted and we'll see if they make it. It's my hope that I will get at least one of each.

Miscarriage and Me

I've wanted to write an entry about miscarriage for a while now. For some, miscarriage is a personal thing. It's something to deal with privately. I, however, find that I have this almost insatiable need to know more about them. I need to learn about miscarriage and what doctors think. I need to know other women have coped. It's as if, by knowing more, I can better come to terms with what happened. I have also found it therapeutic to talk about it. It's my 'vent', because if I don't get these feelings out in the open, I get overwhelmed. I also look at it as part of my healing. I am coming to terms with what has been happening over the last year and a half. I am seeing that I can move past this and I am a stronger woman for my experiences. I have had several questions in recent months on how I have handled my multiple miscarriages, possible signs of a miscarriage, the unknown cause of each one, and how I am approaching my fertility issues now. Most people who ask are curious. They don't know much about miscarriage as they've never had to deal with one. Others ask to see how their experiences line up with mine. Some ask simply to learn. I plan to write a few more entries on miscarriage answering the more common questions I have received. If you have a specific query, let me know via email, phone, or in person and I will try to address it as best I can.

Definition of a Farmer's Wife

10 Signs I Am Truly A Farmer's Wife:

1. I asked Lanny for a pair of vice grips or a garden spade for my birthday instead of a meal at a fancy restaurant.

2. I am able to talk about somatic cell counts, field work, gardening, and cows and actually (sound like I) know what I am saying.

3. The sight of cows contentedly grazing in a lush green pasture is wonderful not only because it's such an iconic country picture, but because it means the cows are happy and happy cows make more milk.

4. I find milking cows to be a (generally) relaxing time of day.

5. I wake up at the 'crack of dawn' whether I need to milk cows or not.

6. I am used to planning spur of the moment trips when the only notice we are going is Lanny telling me at 10pm that we are leaving after morning chores the very next morning.

7. I can finally tell the tractors apart (most of the time anyway).

8. Ask me about treating mastitis and I can give you at least five different treatment options off the top of my head.

9. I know what different kinds of manure mean for the cow's health and that a 'cowpie' can be a good thing.

10. Getting pooped on no longer phases me.

Spring Cleaning

It's that time of year again...The grasses (okay, weeds) are sprouting, the fields are being planted, Mindy's pups are growing. And it's time for the dreaded spring cleaning...Well, I dread it anyway. I don't dread it for the work though...I dread it because it aggravates my allergies. I am constantly amazed at how much dust and dirt accumulates during the winter months. Sweeping, vaccuuming, scrubbing...It doesn't matter, the dust is still disturbed enough to fly up my nose. This spring has been no different. I am currently battling the lasting dregs of a sinus infection that has stubbornly hung on for over a week. I wish I could spring clean my sinuses! And my ears... I haven't been able to hear out of my left ear since this snot bug took up residence in my apparently comfortably homelike sinuses. The same bug must have wanted a swimming pool as the fluid build-up in my ear was quite high. I tried everything I could think of to dislodge the little menace-two kinds of essential oils, a few drops of rubbing alcohol, ear candling, doing nothing, seeing the chiropractor (I had never heard of an ear adjustment before but I have had one now.), even breaking down and taking some Robitussin for cold relief. I had a lymphatic cleanse done yesterday and it seems to have worked a bit. When I blew my nose for the first time this morning, my ear finally POPPED (loudly) and my hearing seems to be a bit better since. Hopefully it will continue to improve. Now, I am off to go garage saleing. How ironic that I spend my week cleaning and downsizing my stuff only to add to it...

Family Ties

FAMILY. Commonly thought of as a man, a woman, and their children. At least that's what you normally think of after hearing the word, right?



Family. It's something I have dreamed of and yearned for. After Lanny and I got married, I expected it to happen right away. I was heartbroken when it didn't. Three miscarriages and a year and a half later, I still don't have the babies I have dreamed of.



Family. Lanny reminded me after a recent bout of tears due to my latest miscarriage, that he married me for ME, not because of my ability to have babies. I realized that my husband is my family, even if we don't have the babies we both want yet.



Family. We sang a song in church one Sunday about raising a family in faith. Not only was I reminded to take my fears, doubts, and grief to God but also to lean on him for strength. I was also reminded that my family is more than just Lanny, me and any children we may have. It's our parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, and our friends. Heck, it can even mean our cows if that's what we want.



FAMILY. When Lanny's Great Uncle Vern died, I was reminded again that family is what you make it. He didn't have any children of his own, yet he had more family than you can shake a stick at. Whether or not kids are in my future, I will never be without FAMILY.

Food for thought

I read an article in the Fargo paper not that long ago about a former FDA honcho who wrote a book on food addictions and compulsive eating habits. I thought, "That's the book for me." Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the book or the author... It got me thinking, though, that I've slipped back into many of my old ways. I haven't lost any more weight since December and I know I still have lots to lose. I am being brutally honest with myself-I NEED to get healthy. I remember how good I felt when I realized that I was down over 20 pounds from my heaviest weight. I want to reclaim that feeling and earlier this week, I started to do something about it. I've been having back troubles lately so I did yoga stretches for 30 minutes twice this week. I felt so much more limber and I had more energy. I have also made more of an effort to incorporate fruits and veggies into my diet. Both Lanny and I are eating fruit on our way to morning chores. I also made a point of putting out salad fixings with each supper meal we ate last week. It was so easy I actually thought, "Now why didn't I think of this before?"! Starting tomorrow, I am going to keep a notebook on the table and write down everything I eat. Everything that I have read on successful dieting talks about keeping a food diary because it tends to discourage compulsive eating and 'cheating'. I have also discovered that keeping a 'water' chart on the fridge helps, too. I never seem to drink enough water because I forget to drink it. Since this is an issue, I created a chart to show how much liquid I have consumed in one day. At the end of the day, I noticed how proud I was on how many boxes I had checked off. (One box equals one 8 oz glass of liquid) Each day showed an increase in the number of boxes and, after a week, I was up to the amount of water I need each day. I have noticed that if I have reminders like this water chart and the food diary, I hold myself more accountable and I am more aware of what and how much I am eating. One last motivational tool-we just got a really nice WeightWatchers scale. It gives you body weight, %body fat, and %body water. There isn't anything more motivational than seeing that weight number going down and the water number going up.

Little Momma

My dog Mindy Lou, as you know, just had her puppies this last week. She's a pretty good momma to her pups. She chased the cat away and has so thoroughly terrorized him that he won't come near the house even to eat. She is in the straw doghouse 95% of the day doing nothing but feeding her greedy little ones. She is constantly cleaning them, moving them to more comfortable spots, and just generally loving them. However, she also leaves them high and dry at a moments notice if anyone goes outside or comes down the driveway. The other night, Lanny came home from the farm and Mindy jumped up so fast that her nursing puppies all somersaulted sideways. Now, I went outside to feed her and found that she had been laying on top her straw doghouse. However, when she jumped on the straw bale that forms the roof, the twines holding it together snapped and the bale caved in. Somehow, she managed to get one puppy out (or else it crawled out on it's own) before I discovered it. Thankfully, the bale wasn't really heavy and the four puppies remaining inside were unharmed. I suppose she climbed on top the doghouse to get some peace and quiet for a few minutes (what mom wouldn't want that?) and the twines, frayed at the edges, just gave out. It just seems like Mindy is a bit scatterbrained at the moment and I found it humorous enough to write about.

Making it a Good Day

Yesterday was just 'one of those days' and by the time I got home from town, I was in a pretty nasty mood. Here's what went wrong yesterday:
1. The chiropractor's office scheduled me at one time, but told me my appointment was an hour later.
2. I hurt pretty bad after chiropractor appointment.
3. Our 'newer' car started acting up-miscellaneous electrical issues, squealing, stalling, not shifting, speedometer malfunctioning, etc.
4. I realized just how much I need to pay in doctor bills for this past month, got some news I didn't want to hear, and spent way more time in town than I had wanted to.

After spending half the day being upset, I got sick of it. I decided to quit being crabby and MAKE it a good day by focusing on the positives instead of the negatives. It worked! Here's how my day went once I revised my thinking.
1. Despite the appointment mixup, there was another appointment available and I got in 20 minutes earlier than I was expecting. Yay!
2. The pain from being adjusted meant that I no longer had bones out of place. Peaceful night's sleep awaits!
3. Thankfully, the car malfunctioned now instead of on a trip somewhere (I know how much fun car trips are when the car breaks down and you are halfway between point A and point B), now Lanny knows that the alternator is probably shot, and I didn't get stranded in town despite my car troubles. I also got to take the 'scenic route' home from Menahga and got to see some pretty spectacular sights, not to mention some pretty spectacular washed-out roads.
4. I called and set up a payment plan for the bills after resolving (yet again) to not worry about money so much, realized that the news was well-meant but that I don't have to listen to everything everyone else tells me, and actually enjoyed being out of the house on a beautiful day. (Enjoyed it all the more since I wasn't sick anymore!)
5. I fed my dog and watched her care for her five adorable little puppies. (Anyone wanting a mixed breed puppy? If so, let me know. They will be ready early to mid June, I am guessing.)

Home Health

*DISCLAIMER* The following post may come across a quite whiney and full of complaints. Be advised that the author has spent the last two weeks unwittingly catching every cold, flu, and other common viruses so generously shared by viewers like you.

I tried... I really did. I did the tinctures, the oils, and every other home remedy I could think of. Nothing worked. Not only had I spent the last week and a half battling allergies, sporadic sore throats, laryngitis, a 24-hour flu bug, and a whole host of minor aches and pains, but I spent this entire weekend sicker than I care to be for a really long time (say...forever?). My fever started sometime early Saturday morning and didn't really 'break' until Monday morning. I had..wait make that STILL HAVE that stubborn stomach flu bug that's going around. I had headaches. I had chills. I had soreness, fatigue, etc. etc. I still feel like I've been through the wringer and it's Tuesday! Boy, was I annoyed to spend a 40 degree no-chore-duty Sunday stuck in bed... So after a long weekend of being sick and nearly two week's worth of various illnesses, I broke down and went to the doctor's yesterday. She prescribed an antibiotic for a bladder infection and said to push fluids, etc. for the stomach flu and get plenty of rest. I said, Ok. After I got home, I read the warning label for the pills the doc ordered. "May cause diarhea" WHAT? I just went in because I was sick and now the medicine that's supposed to make me better could possibly add to my troubles? *Sigh* That's what I get for going in instead of just sticking it out a few more days....I do have to add, though, that I haven't had a sore throat since Friday night. That's got to count for something, doesn't it?

Today's To Do List

I asked Lanny what I should write about today and he replied, "Write a list of everything that you should be doing instead of writing." Since I had no other grand ideas, I figured why not? So here's my list of things I should be doing instead of writing this post...
1. Finish washing the dishes so I have a clean counter for the first time in two weeks.
2. Bake Banana Bread (this has been on my list for the last four days and just never gets done...)
3. Bake for Salmen Ladies Weekend, Church, Bible Class, and/or company.
4. Start filing this year's receipts and update books.
5. Finish my garden seed list and order seeds.
6. Clean the bathroom.
7. Make the bed.
8. Wash at least one load of clothes.
9. Finish straightening up the house.
10. Exercise for 30 minutes.

If I can accomplish all ten things on this list today, then I will treat myself tonight with something. Not sure with what, yet, but I am sure I'll figure out something. Well, I am not getting anything on my list done by sitting here so away I go to tackle my chores!

*Update* I finished washing my dishes and baked some goodies but then Lanny came home for supper. There went my clean counter and half a pan of bars (or so it seems). I moved some things that need to be filed to my 'need to be filed' basket but didn't get any actual filing done. I finished (just about) my seed list but didn't get my seeds ordered. I walked into the bathroom to clean it but the phone rang and I 'left it for later'. I forgot the clothes at home when I went to do chores, which is usually when I wash clothes. Etc. Etc. In summation-I can easily start a project but have a terrible time actually finishing it. And, no, I did not get my treat...

The new and improved...Dog House

All I can think of at the moment is that Spring has sprung a leak. One major blessing-my house is on pillars so I don't have to worry about flooded basements or water in the house or, in the case of some in Fargo, the possibility of my house floating away. The only real worry I have right now is that my dog Mindy Lou could have puppies any day now. Since her current bed of choice, a nest of straw insulating our water line under the house, doesn't provide enough protection from wind and water for brand-new puppies, Lanny built her a doghouse. This is the second doghouse in the last year and her third one overall. The first one was a cardboard box with a hole in one side and the bottom cut off. We put old baby blankets on the floor for insulation and voila-instant dog house. It worked until she got too big to fit in the box, but it was spring at that point so we just burnt the box and blankets. The second doghouse was built this past Fall. It is constructed of small square straw bales stacked up on three sides with a piece of plywood for a roof. For extra insulation, we spread straw inside and on the roof. Unfortunately, Mindy spent more time on top her doghouse than in it and it drifted in over the winter. Now, it's too reckety to use and she's due to have her puppies soon. I was all for making her an 'actual' doghouse out of wood, since there's plenty of scrap wood laying around but Lanny didn't want to go into that much effort. His idea is to use an old pickup topper placed on a pallet but he needs to put some straw in it before she can use it. We will see if Doghouse #3 is the way to go or not. I'll keep you posted.

If you see my voice, send it back this way...

I discovered something strange about myself today. Well, actually Lanny discovered it but that's besides the point.... What's so funny about me is that I like to hear myself talk when my voice is disappearing. For some odd reason, my voice has been slowly losing itself as the week has gone by and this morning was no different. It's this oddly nasal combination of gravel and rusty saw blades with just a hint of fingernails-on-the-chalkboard just for good measure. Add to this, I whistle the occasional high-C! when I get particularly riled up. As if this isn't enough, I can only make noise if I force an inordinately large amount of air through my voice box. I sound like I am hyperventilating as I speak since I have to breathe every few words. I was complaining earlier about this and Lanny told me I should just stop talking for a while and my voice would come back. I told him that's pointless. It's too easy. I think the reason I like hearing my voice like this is because 1. it sounds so interesting in my head and I can only imagine what it sounds like to the rest of the world, 2. it cracks me up because no matter how hard I try to yell, it still comes out as a whisper, and 3. it's so unlike my normal voice, that it's cool. Does this make any sense? Well, it does in my thought process and that's good enough for me.

Calf Chores

The following excerpt is from my future, probably-will-never-actually-be-written guide to farm life. It will be found in the chapter The Care and Feeding of Calves.

Put bottle into bottle feeder. Climb into pen and, using all available upper body strength, wrestle calf over to feeder. Stick fingers into calf's mouth in an attempt to guide it to the bottle's nipple. Calf isn't fooled and shakes head several times, resulting in skinned knuckles from calf's overly sharp teeth. Lose grip on calf due to sore fingers. Chase calf around pen a few times. Sigh in angry frustration before wrestling calf over to the feeder a few more times. Each time, the calf is too slippery and gets away. Try to keep voice down when calf stomps on tender toes encased in non-steel toed barn boots. Play Ring-Around-The-Rosey with calf before getting a lucky grab on it's neck. Get head-butted in numerous places by starvingly hungry calf looking for bottle. Yelp in pain and lose grip on calf yet again. Catch calf in far corner before wrestling calf over to the bottle one last time. Get calf to actually start drinking before it backs up too much and nipple slips out of mouth. Mentally contemplate your choices as calf runs circles around your legs, trying to find the bottle. Throw hands up in air, give up in angry frustration and stomp back to milkhouse while mentally haranguing L414 for giving birth to such a 'high spirited' animal before finding Lanny to feed that darn, pushy, wish-I-could-use-a-stronger-word calf.....

What driveway?

Well, Spring is in the air....*Happy Sigh* The air smells so clean and refreshing, the fields are starting to poke through (meaning Lanny will be getting antsy-pantsy to start farming again), and I have three new calves to take care of. I love this time of year. It's a time of birth and rebirth, a fresh start for everything. It's wonderful! I am even enjoying calf chores, for the moment. There's only three little ones-two bull calves and the daintiest, darlingest, prettiest heifer calf you've ever seen. She is this soft brown color, so itty-bitty compared to the bull calves, and just looks like a "Daisy" to me. (Well, one of the bull calves is either half-blind or just plain stupid. It wanders everywhere but where the bottle is and bumps into everything!) Yessireebob! Spring is a gorgeous time of year. *UPDATE* That bull calf I mentioned above...Well, I found out it wasn't as stupid as I thought. (The blindness is still debatable.) It had a pretty nasty infection and we ended up having to put it down since it couldn't stand up anymore. Poor calf... Now I feel bad for thinking it was stupid...

Except in reference to our driveway, that is.... *Sad Sigh* Yep, it's time for greasy, tire-spinning trips down a mucky, rutted lake-covered dirt trail. (Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating there a bit.) It's the time of year when I sigh as I turn onto the driveway, firmly grip the steering wheel and try to find the right balance of speed and stealth to creep through the pond-like puddles without getting stranded in the middle or hung up on a hidden rut. It takes a certain skill to navigate a dirt driveway in springtime and I applaud any of you who do so.

Who I am...

Who I am-

I am a woman, strong and capable of doing many things I never thought possible.
I am a wife, a homemaker, a chef, and an interior decorator.
I am a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a niece, a granddaughter.
I am a dairy farmer, a self-educated cow medicator, and a 'replacement momma' to the calves.
I am a friend (hopefully a good one) with an always open door and empty ear for listening.
I am a struggling optimist, trying to keep the "Why ME?" questions at bay while looking to the future, bright with promise.
I am hopeful that I will be a mother someday, that my medical troubles will soon be past me and I will no longer have empty arms.
I am happy that my babies are in God's care, and will never have to experience the trials of this earth, yet sad that I never got to see them smile.
I am not perfect, nor do I wish to be.
And most of all, I am simply ME.

Kaleidoscope

Kaleidoscopes used to be fun things to play with. A simple tube with mirrors and bits of colored plastic was all it took to keep us amused for a while. We used to spend alot of time twirling it this way and that, trying to see what kind of magical stained glass windows we could create next. It's been within this last week and a half that I have discovered something wonderful about my kaleidoscopic life. Life is always changing, shifting into something new based on the events of my day. Of course, not every day can be a happy pretty kaleidoscope-full of bright colors and intricate patterns. There are the dark days that just don't seem to have any happiness in them. Yet, looking back at the end of the day, I can usually find beauty in those somber colors and simple patterns. I just have to look past the surface of my day's events and see how everything turned out in the end. It's hard sometimes, but I've found it can be done.

Gray Day

It's a pretty good UP day outside today. I notice them alot more now that I have lived in MN for over a year. I don't mind the fact that it's grey outside...I mind the fact that Lanny still hasn't gotten a replacement fuse for the windshield wipers. (I swear my car is possessed! You turn it on and the wipers turn on by themselves!) He had to take it out so the wipers would turn off and it must have fallen out of the car. So unfortunately for me, wet roads are the norm for today. Actually, it's not that bad not having wipers. I've been able to keep back from traffic enough that I haven't had much spray on the window. Thank goodness for small mercies.

Making and Doing

I have come to the conclusion that I am really, really, really, really good at making plans but really, really, really, really bad about actually doing them. Like this blog... I made a promise to myself that I would post on here more often, but unfortunately, that plan didn't work out so well. I am constantly making plans to clean my house and reorganize my kitchen and finish knitting my mom's christmas present (from three years ago!) and do more sewing, etc. Does any of it really ever get done? Nope... Well, I guess I could say it only gets done if I have a really good reason to do so. Like having company over. Then my house gets cleaned. I should have more company over. Maybe I should have my parents over. Then the house REALLY gets cleaned. ;) Anyone have any ideas or hints for how they overcame (or plan to overcome :P ) their procrastination habits?

10 Random Things From The Last Week

1. My accountant asked how my weight loss program is going. He's the last person I would have ever expected to ask me.

2. Lanny told me that our sewer line froze. The thing is that no one's been home for two weeks so there shouldn't have been any water going through the pipe anyway.

3. I fell asleep before 11pm two nights in a row! (First time that's happened in a while)

4. I woke up 45 minutes before I needed to be up and decided to unload the dishwasher and read instead of going back to bed.

5. I figured out how to play some of the songs from the song book on the piano. No need to make me play for church, though... I can only play with the right hand and I can't play chords.

6. I made a cherry cheesecake but didn't eat a single piece of it. I also managed to stay away from the ice cream most of the time.

7. The big toe on my left foot remains sore despite the fact that the ungrateful cow stepped on it three weeks ago. I discovered this by stubbing it painfully on a dresser the other morning. (Lanny didn't think that I stubbed my toe on accident... He thought I did it just to see if it was still sore...)

8. I realized that my dog Mindy is most likely going to have puppies within a few months. (If she does, any takers? The mother is 1/2 Australian Shepherd, part Alaskan Husky, part Malamute, and part Golden Lab. The father is a philandering chocolate lab+who know's what? that needs to be neutered.)

9. I learned to love an automatic dishwasher.

10. I have the night off of chores and am absolutely loving it!

Tax Time

I just love this time of year...(note the heavy sarcasm in that statement) Lanny and I are going to be meeting with our accountant tomorrow to turn in our tax paperwork. I must say that I am both looking forward to and dreading this appointment. I am looking forward to it because then we will be done for another year, but dreading it because we will find out how much we owe the IRS for the last year. I am also dreading it because Lanny and I have this tradition of going to DQ after the appointment to 'celebrate'. Unfortunately, while I have been slipping in the dieting area, fast food and ice cream still make me sick if I have too much. Perhaps we will have to change our 'celebrate' tradition to Subway instead....

I must also add that I took for granted how easy it was to do my taxes before I married a self-employed farmer. It's times like this that I miss a paycheck with taxes already deducted, EZ-tax forms, and my dad's proficient use of the TurboTax computer program.

Bits and Pieces

I love to quilt. I love that I can take a seemingly innocuous piece of material and change it into something unique. I love that I can put together the same pattern but it's never the same quilt as the last. I also love that quilts keep you warm and cozy on cold winter days. I love how quilts show just how much love was put into them. They are a wonderfully useful gift and, in my opinion, you can never have enough of them!

I made my brother Tommy a quilt with the "Sunbonnet Sam' pattern. It's so cute with a little straw-hatted boy in overalls and a flannel shirt with his 'fishin' pole over his shoulder. I added a "not-so-secret" pocket in one corner just to make it different. Greg and Aaron both have homemade quilts courtesy of me. The fun thing about those quilts (just a basic block pattern) is that I used pieces from my oldest, favorite pair of jeans (that no longer fit) for some of the blocks. I also found that bandanas make really fun corner pieces for the borders.

I guess that's my favorite part of quilting. I can take a treasured cloth item that's meant for the ragbag and reuse it. It adds character to the quilt and then there's a history to go along with it. I have this dream that my kids will all have a "Mom Made" quilt with a story behind each patch. I have a good start on one quilt already. (I've also been toying with the idea of 're-doing' my wedding dress. I heard of a lady who made her's into baptismal gowns for her kids and I think I have fallen in love with the idea.)

Catching some Zzzzzzz....

Before I met Lanny, I was not a napper unless I was 1. sick or 2. working night shift at the Old Folk's Home. Even after we first were married, I still did not grasp the concept of an all-day Sunday snooze marathon. It drove me nuts that Lanny loved nothing more than sleeping all day when I had all of this energy and wanted to 'get out'. Fast forward to May 2008. I had started to nap on Sundays, just not as much as he was, but then I started doing chores on a regular basis. Now, I out-nap my husband some days. Like today... I won't admit it unless he asks, but I did fall back asleep after he left this afternoon. To recap my day, we climbed into bed for our daily, after-breakfast snooze. Total time-30 minutes. He hit the 'snooze' button a few times. Total time-15 minutes. He climbed out of bed and got to work finishing up our tax stuff, I slept on. Total time-60 minutes. He left on an errand, I was supposed to get up and get my act together but continued napping. Total time-55 minutes. I woke up but didn't get out of bed and fell back asleep. Total time-16 minutes. Total napping time this afternoon-176 minutes. And I feel like I need to go to bed right now, I am that tired. Darn those late nights of visiting and sauna-ing after evening chores and having a sick husband who hacks and coughs half the night....

Do you believe in dreams?

Do you believe in dreams? I am not sure how much stock I put in dreams but here's one dream that definitly left an impression. I was sitting on a bench in this garden maze (you know, the kind with high hedge walls?) on a sunny summer day. Picture perfect. The walls of the maze formed a three sided room around my seat and I am holding a peacefully sleeping baby girl in my arms. She is cradled close, almost smiling and I know that she is my daughter. Suddenly I hear the light giggle of a little girl wafting through the air and look up to see a child of about 5 or 6 run past the entrance to my garden room. She has curly blonde hair and is wearing a frilly white dress. I notice this as she peeks in at me. Then, smiling as calmly as my slumbering child, she walks towards me with arms outstretched. As this girl approaches, she appears to grow before my eyes. She stops in front of me, aged to a young woman of 20 with a laughing smile, and motions for me to hand my baby to her. Cradling the infant, she turns to walk out the way she came. I make no move to stop her, knowing instinctively that my baby is in good hands. Just before she leaves the room, I ask her "What's your name?" With a wide grin, she answers, "Jodi" and leaves.

Now what makes this dream so different from the rest of the ones that I have had? One-it happened during a particularly emotional time after my first miscarriage (a baby that I was POSITIVE was a girl), Two-my mother-in-law had a daughter named Jodi who died soon after birth, and Three-While I knew that my m-i-l had a baby who died very young, I didn't know her name was Jodi until I told Lanny about my dream. What do you think? Was this merely my mind finding a way for me to cope with the loss and grief I was feeling over the miscarriage or was it God's way of showing me that my baby was going to be well-cared for in her heavenly home? I believe the latter.

Cows and crap

Cows go poop... Alot... It's a fact of nature, I know, but I just thought I would point it out. Before I met Lanny, cow manure was nothing more than a pile of stinky poop. We would head out to The Camp and pass the dairy farm in Traprock Valley on a hot summer day...Phew! What a stink! However, now my eyes have been opened. Manure is solid (and sometimes liquid) gold to farmers. It's free fertilizer if it's from your own barnyard animals. Yes, it stinks. Yes, it splatters. Yes, it's disgusting. But you can do so much with it. Obviously, it helps things grow. It's also a pretty good cow health indicator. It's amazing how much you can learn about a cow's well-being from a cow pattie! The color, the shape, the smell, the texture...it all tells the story of how that cow is feeling. Mindy, my doggy, loves the more solid bits. She's been known to sneak into the calf pens to get the choicest pieces for an afternoon snack. It's a pretty good clothing dye, too. If you want proof, come check out my barn clothes though it's more of a 'tie-dyed' effect than all-over coverage. Lanny has said that's it's a natural air freshener. I disagree, but he said "What's more natural than that smell?" One last suggestion: baseball bases. I guess the dried ones work pretty good but the mushy ones make for an interesting ball game. ;)

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Well, it's that time of year again... Valentine's Day. Full of hearts and pretty pinks and candy and flowers and etc. etc. My hubby doesn't believe in V-day. He thinks we should be celebrating love every day so what's the point of V-day? So, another year goes by without the mushy cards or roses or candy boxes. But in all reality, do I mind? Nope. Not one bit. I told him that I would make him bring any flowers he buys me back to the shop because they are so darn expensive at this time of year. I can't eat candy because I get sick from the sugar content. A mushy sentimental card would be nice but kind of a waste of money. Besides, he really does show me how much he loves me in other ways. So I don't care if I don't get more than a verbal valentine because it means alot just like that.

That aside, I do have to confess that each time I walk down those candy and card aisles in the store, I miss those elementary school days. You know, when everyone would bring those cute little cards with kitschy messages on them folded in half around a piece of candy? We used to make card holders and then hurriedly toss cards in them so we could eat the candy sooner. *Sigh* To be a kid again... Almost makes me want to buy the candy and cards. I said almost...

Five Favorite Things

I have come to realize that I like things in groups of fives... I am currently obsessed with five authors (see sidebar) and five homemade things (again-see sidebar). It gets to the point where I go to the library and check out each book by a particular author (not all on the say day, mind you). Once I have read them all, the books become ho-hum so I switch to another author. Same goes for the handmade things. I will do/make that thing until I lose interest and then something else takes it's place but it's always in groups of fives. I have a college pal who once claimed that she had to eat things in pairs (eg. two chips at a time). My sister-in-law Heidi tends to be interested in things for three weeks. Lanny's interests last about three days. If it lasts longer than that, then I know he's serious about it. Does anyone else out there have idiosyncrasies like this or is it just a select few of us?

Organic Farming

Well, it's official. We are organic farmers. Yep, we got our organic certification just the other day. Lanny argues that the full calendar year for transitioning to organic is up on March 1st, but I say that since we got the certification, we are organic now. What's a few weeks difference matter?

I may be big into organics now, but I wasn't always. In fact, I knew very little about organics (aside from the fact that organic groceries always cost more in the store) before I met Lanny. Now, it has become an integral part of how I approach gardening, farming, grocery shopping, just about everything! Sometimes I wonder if I am a bit TOO gung-ho about it, but I just think about how much better I feel about what I am eating, drinking, using, and doing. Then I don't worry about it. My mother-in-law once said that she doesn't feel like she needs to worry about eating an unwashed organic apple (compared to conventional) because it doesn't have all of the sprays and chemicals on it. I concur.

Sloppy, Slushy Days

Is Ol' Man Winter just toying with us or is Spring actually on the way? It is so wonderfully warm outside right now. (Well, it is for this time of year in MN anyway...) I am getting so itchy to be outside and just BREATHE! In fact, I am starting to daydream about my garden this year. Shockingly, I ended up with quite a bit of produce from my weed-laden garden of the past year (see first post and you'll understand why I am so shocked). We are just now eating the last of the potatoes and green beans. I got my seed catalog out and have thumbed through it, daydreaming of rows filled with lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, green peppers, tomatoes, etc. I can't wait to start! Unfortunately, it's still Winter and the ground is still covered in snow. While it's been warming up enough to make me daydream of my dream garden (though not all of that weeding!), it's also been warming up enough to melt the snowbanks lining our driveway and the roads. What a mess! All of that slop and slush and mush... That's the part I don't like about Spring-the thaw.

This warm weather has also got me thinking more about exercising. I can't wait to get out and start walking again! I know, I know... I could be out walking right now, but it's too sloppy to really get moving. You can walk but once you get up to speed, you had better watch your step! I slipped several times this past winter due to slick roads and driveways and would prefer to keep myself upright. Although, I have discovered snowshoeing. Fun, fun, fun! BTW-an update with the whole lifestyle change, it's a work in progress. I have lost some weight (quite a bit in my mind but still got a ways to go...) and am feeling SO much better about myself. Unfortunately, I have found myself slipping back into some bad habits-too much starch and sugar, not enough sleep, not enough exercise. Still, I have noticed many things have changed for the better. I do tend to think more about what I eat, especially when my hubby points out how much I am eating of the bad stuff. The sugar cravings are getting more manageable, especially since I get so sick from eating the stuff. Exercise has become fun! What a surprise to find out how good I can feel after a workout! If I keep myself in a routine, I find it easier to work working out into my day's schedule. Unfortunately for me, if I skip too many days, I get out of that routine and BAM! I am back to couch-potatoe status. Grrrr.... Got to work on it but no one said that this would be easy.