Now, where did I leave that?

Friday, April 20, 2012

Quickie Update

I owe you pictures, but for now:
  Kittens are doing well, except for a little problem with...shall we say 'eliminating'. Even with lots of help, it's still a challenge, but this too shall pass (couldn't resist; I crack myself up sometimes). Vet is pretty sure Bear, Marbles and Stripe are boys, and T-cubed and WC are girls. WC's eyes are half-open, and everyone else is in varying stages of peeking at the world. Linda is a saint, a trooper, and very, very tired.
 Coop is moving along, but we're at that part where, at the end of five hours of work, we stand there with aching muscles and say "Really???!!! That's all we got done today?". We're working on the roof rafters; we wanted a peaked roof and it's tough-going. But we're way ahead of where we were this time last year, so that's good. We decided against chicks. I'm sorry...all those fuzzy chick & kitten photos would have been adorable, but time is not our friend, and five fragile babies in one season is enough. We'll be taking back three of the nine we gave to our neighbors; alas, their daughter has grown fond of Mama, so Mama won't be coming back, but Millie will! Then we'll round up three more laying hens born this year. In an ideal world, we'd find an Australorp or two, and an Ameracauna, but we'll see. There may be a livestock auctionin our future.

  Coop-building  has exacerbated tendonitis in both hands so I can barely knit or spin; heck, yesterday I opened a jar and had shooting pains up my wrist and arm for an hour. I was all the way up to the heel flap on Linda's second sock, got confused and made such a mess of it I couldn't begin to figure out how to undo it. So I pulled it all out & am starting again. Deep and heavy sigh.

  The whole eating thing: it's been interesting! Had a Coke recently for the first time since starting, and it was rather nasty...way too sweet (a thing I've rarely--if ever--said about anything in my life) with distinct chemical overtones. I prefer my half fruit juice/half club soda beverage now. So my palate is most definitely being retrained. I've been told to go wheat & gluten -free for several months, with my late-May birthday as a half-way assessment point. Gluten-free is a struggle. Brown rice pasta is fabulous (who knew?) but can't be eaten cold (geez, talk about al dente!), so I'm despairing the loss of warm-weather pasta salad. Quinoa has become my friend. I miss real bread. But this week did a lunchtime happy dance in my office over a fresh, simple salad of arugula, pea shoots & cress (all from the Farmers' Market), peppers, zukes, tomatoes, chicken & olives, with a homemade balsamic vinagrette. This is a big deal for someone who used to happily eat bad cheeseburgers for lunch. The disappointing thing is that all these changes haven't resolved the hives,which was the whole point.

  The garden is growing, but slowly. We haven't started tomatoes yet, but will be harvesting a mesclun salad soon!

  Lilacs and honeysuckle are blooming, too early. The grapes are flowering before we had the chance to prune. Slow down, please? There are deep cracks from drought, and I worry about the well. There's rain forecasted for Sunday...we need it.

  And I'm ready and longing for those Summer Fridays off (we're closed on Fridays in June & July)...I can taste those three day weekends already. And it appears my beloved is no longer working Saturdays, so we're readjusting to actually being together on the weekends; each one so far (there's been two) is such a gift!!

And that's all, folks!!!

6 comments:

the wild magnolia said...

reading your post i realize how i want to live in my next life.

a garden, a coop with a hen and ladies, goaties, and a geese or two. i even want to venture out with non pasteurized milk. i want to be a bee keeper. a few fruit trees, a jersey cow. just enough land to make it, and oh, enough money to "be" full time.

hope your tendentious heals....i'm thinking rest....that is probably not going to happen? right?

you are smart to go with the grown chickens for now. kitties are enough to deal with.

i enjoy my visits.

Ashling said...

@ wild magnolia: I'd love a pair (girls) of 'goaties'--Angora, or even better, Pygora. Our property just doesn't lend itself well to that, and with both of us working at jobs full-time, I'm reluctant to add them to the 2 dog, 4 cat, 6ish chicken household. And I dream often of a life that is all about writing, fiber work, and tending critters and a bigger garden!! If only that pesky paying-the-bills thing didn't get in the way! Here's hoping you get to have that life you're wishing for one of these days!

Nancy J said...

Your garden sounds wonderful, and with all those kittens a busy time.Eliminating!!!Here in NZ I saw on TV baby tiger cubs being reared by hand, and the carers had to wipe their bottoms with a moist paper towel or wet wipe or similar to stimulate the muscles, no doubt mimicing what the mother would do by licking them.You are added to my blog list now!! The garden, here the tomatoes were so slow everywhere, and mesclun, so easy to grow and just cut off what you need.Is your diet change because of hives? Could it be possible these come from something in the garden? Hugh got them after digging potatoes or other veges,sometimes, and we thought it was something in the soil. Cheers from Jean in NZ.

Jen said...

I thoroughly enjoyed the updates--you certainly to wear a lot of hats!

Linda said...

There is a Yoga move that is suppose to help tendinitis...helps to stretch the muscles open...I used to use it during semesters...help quite a bit...

Loved the updates on everything... especially the kittens <3 ...

I have lost my following from time to time ...just a glitch on Bloggers end end...they usually come back....

My Honeysuckle is blooming too...very freaky being a month ahead on everything....I just wish the rain would get here...we need some so badly...

You & Linda have a wonderful weekend!! :)

Michaele said...

Great updates! I am so proud of you for the diet changes. You have inspired me : )