Tie Dyes, Cattle and a Wipe Out

The kids have been begging for it so I made it happen, 2012 tie dyes!  

We passed on this great tradition last summer due to our move and my pregnancy so I was feeling a bit rusty on the technique.  But early in the morning of Memorial Day I threw on the old tie dyed sweatshirt, mixed up the first batch of dye and the energy and excitement for this project instantly returned.  

    

I was so excited about it that I thought to incorporate a quick lesson on textiles and chemistry for my crowd of participates, children mostly under the of 12.  But I think I lost them when I started explaining the cell structure of cellulose fibers.

So we moved on to the demonstration and I had their immediate attention.

Then the tying and dying finally began.  Two amazing and talented friends, Beth and Jessica, took to it like pros.

We invited the kids to participate in shifts of three at a time and when it was not their turn I encouraged them to play far from the dye table.  There was plenty nearby to keep them entertained, singing to babies, spraying each other with the hose, climbing trees, eating foil dinners and playing with goats.  We really packed it in and kept the party going until we ran out of day light.

Earlier in the day, before we started the tie dyes, Paul took a van full of boys to a nearby livestock auction.  He's been thinking about beef cattle and was determined to make it happen.  They came home empty but he made contact with some local farmers who led him to some available cattle.  He negotiated the deal while tending to the foil dinners and 2 beautiful Angus heifers were picked the very next day. 

Meanwhile back home I was suffering from a little wipe out.  You see the most fun part of tie dying is untying and opening up the surprise.  I started the rinsing before noon and I was bounding around the house in so much excitement from the process I decided to jump and skip over the 3 last steps going down to the play room, I landed on Paul's size 16 Keen sandals, twisted my ankle and wiped out.  I greeted Paul's return from picking up the cattle crawling on my hands and knees to the side porch.  He was then a gentleman and carried me like a new bride to the pasture to give these little ladies a visit.

I've been hoping for a small break in my cooking and cleaning duties and I suppose this wipe out allowed it to happen. I have not been able to stand or walk since.  

  

Today we are all in our tie dyes and that is enough to lift my spirits while I continue to ice my foot and keep it elevated on the couch.  Just happy I got them rinsed, washed and hung before my injury.  

So here's to the making of multiple memories in just one day.  It seems our days are as vibrant and unpredictable as the very shirts we created, sometimes we have an idea of what we'd like happen, and sometimes we just show up, in both cases we go with the flow and enjoy the unfolding of it.  The joy of it being in both the process and results, whatever they may be.   

A Gift from Japan

Look what beautiful gift came in the mail for baby Charles a couple weeks ago, designed and sewn by Marie's mom in Japan, this mini quilt is not too bulky for travel and the perfect size for him to roll and play. 

   

I love the mix of Laura Ashley fabrics used, they are all very sentimental to me.  Without even knowing it Marie's mom had pieces of the exact fabrics I used to decorate my bedroom as a teenager.  This is such a treasure!

And perfect size for the cozy co-sleeper.  Doumo arigatou gozaimasu!  Charles and I both love this very special gift.

A Season for Sowing

There hasn't been much time or even thought about sewing these days, I've been too busy sowing.  It took me all last week to finish planting our garden and I realized I must have been hungry when I ordered the all those seeds because what started out as plans for a simple garden, one that would ease our family into the experience, turned into over 7,000 sq feet of cultivated earth to care for.  This was hard sweaty work, even more so with a sleeping baby on my back.

Most of the progress was made during the hours when Paul was able to slip away from his desk but the romantic vision I had of the whole family working together never accumulated.  In most cases it was just me alone in the garden, once in a while calling out, begging for helping hands or at least calling to be reassured someone had an eye on George.  I thought of all the times I abandoned my own mom while she worked so hard in the garden and I felt so sad, I even called her to tell her I was sorry for that.

  

Here I am on day 4 or 5 looking so tired and, honestly, very irritable.  I'm all suited up not so much for the dirt but for sun protection.  The hat was a Mother's day gift I picked out for myself and the overalls were a gift from Kaley.   

At one point I felt so alone and overwhelmed I thought to just lay in the freshly tilled soil and do "dirt angels".  Laying there in the dirt I looked up at the sky and asked "what did I get myself into?", "why am I doing this?", "what kind of seeds have I sown in my children that they are not even helping me?"  This kind of discouragement followed and grew within me over the course a couple days.  Charles hit a peak in his colic, we had another injured hen to care for, I found poison ivy in the garden, I discovered ants were getting into the bee hive and beetles on the asparagus, the children were fighting, Paul was consumed with work stress and the goats had dropped significantly in their milk production.  I honestly wondered if I was ruining everything living thing in my path.  

It all came to a head early one morning as I milked the goats, my tears were as warm and heavy as the milk hitting the pail.  Then the words gently came to me, "Look unto me in every thought, doubt not, fear not" (D&C 6:36).  So that is what I did, literally.  Every time a discouraging thought threatened to overcome me I looked up towards the sun, repeated the verse and consciously disabled the power of discouragement within me.  With this came greater clarity and direction.

I thought of the funny cartoon my sister drew, then changed the words, "lead me, guide me, plant beside me", "lead me, guide me, weed beside me", "lead me, guide me, milk beside me", "lead me guide me, fold beside me", "lead me, guide me, cook beside me", "lead me, guide me, clean beside me".  I realized I had been pushing my children away because I wanted things done in a certain way, I also realized that it was better to do this kind of work with only one or two of them at a time.  In addition, it came to my attention that the trick of "The Little Red Hen" does not work when you are planting kale, cabbage and beets.  So I let them help where they were most excited with the expected the results.

Here Peter is watering the sunflower house that he and Clara worked together to plant.

Meanwhile, Maryanna was serving up warm mud pies.

And later Clara helped me plant some marigolds.

Our work of planting was completed!  Below is a portion of it.  Now after I catch up on laundry, the work to water, weed and tend to it will begin and we will do so armed with realistic expectations as we look to the sun with hope of a delicious harvest.   

How to be a Beekeeper

William and I dressed up as beekeepers last weekend.  That was the easy part.  

When it was time to pick up the bees my stomach started turning.  There they were waiting and buzzing for me, only a 45 minute drive and then I could lock them in the garage and have 24 hours to build the courage needed to dump them in.  The children on the other hand were so excited!  6 of them came along for the pick up and poked at the box as if they were puppies.  

Can you imagine what would have happened had the box opened in transit?  I could and that is why I drove oh so carefully taking slow deep breaths the whole way.  What did I get myself into?!

  

I committed to buy the bees and hive just a few days after Charles was born.  At that point I was still riding the post birth high, so full of peace and love that I felt I could nurture anything, even 15,000 buzzing bees.  It was decided that instead of getting an iPhone this year I would get bees, Paul made it clear that he had no interest in taking part.

But William the animal lover said he'd join me.  For weeks he's been asking me "when are the bees coming, when are the bees coming"?, and I'd think back......"oh boy, don't remind me".  I went to a bee keeping workshop and shared my notes with William.  We got books from the library and watched a bunch of YouTube videos, it was a crash course the week before the bees arrived.  But then it was time to turn over to experience as the teacher and we suited up.

I'm trying really hard to look happy here but I have yet to master the art of "fake happy".  William on the other hand experienced a genuine awe from the moment we picked the package up.

The thing about bees is they can smell fear which can trigger a few stings (even through a bee suit) or even a swarm.  The smoker is intended to mask any smell and calm the bees, but in the moment of need I actually forgot how to use it.  I just was ready to get the job done as quickly as possible.  Before we opened the package we sent everyone far away then knelt down in prayer together.  We prayed for peace and calmness, we expressed our gratitude for the earth and all creations, we prayed that the bees would like their new home and that we could become good stewards over them even though we really did not know what we were doing, and we prayed again "that mommy would not be so scared".  Then we set up a tripod and video.

It is not easy to describe the experience.  I had to draw courage from so deep inside and spread it to the actual tips of my fingers to get the job done, it was incredible.  I instinctively sang to myself, a combination of primary songs and yoga songs.  It took so much out of me that as soon as the hive was closed up and all the bees brushed off of us (we were covered at one point because I spilled the bee food on me) I walked back to the house with tears streaming down my face.

William on the other hand stood still and cool the whole time, mesmerized, at one point telling me with bees all over his head "I've never been so in love with bugs before in my whole life."  He would have kissed them all if he could have.

Here is our very amateur video of two amateur beekeepers.



We went back a few days later, knelt in prayer again, then opened the hive to remove the queen cage and be sure she escaped.  After we accomplished our task we sat in the grass and in the quiet with the bees, just watching them and letting them watch us.  I then felt a little more like a beekeeper and wondered why I was so freaked out before.  Then I laid in the grass, just listened to the buzzing and felt I was among friends.

Meanwhile Peter's been watching from afar and gradually creeping closer, we may have another bee keeper in the making.

Wrapped in love

I wanted those who supported me during my pregnancy and assisted in the birth of Charles to know how much I appreciated the tender care they offered on my behalf.  It took me 8 babies to really learn what it means not only how to care for myself but how to allow others to care for me as well.  These women, my midwives, my friend Krissy and sister Mary wrapped me in love through their service during a time when I felt physically weak and emotionally vulnerable.  My experiences with them taught me so much about sisterhood, my vision of "Relief Society" shifted and I am forever changed.

I made a wrap bracelet for each of these women.  Originally inspired by the Sundance catalog I was thrilled to find a great tutorial on Pinterest.  Each bracelet is different with varying semi precious stones and different lengths.  I am not an expert crafter and simply making them on top my bed during my postpartum recovery time they are not perfect, but with them I offer my love, that they may feel it wrapped around them.     

  

Here I model with one of my favorite Tractor Supply shirts.  And now I just may help my kids make one for me for Mother's day because I'm ready to forget what was offered last Mother's day.  

A birthday in the country

The country man Paul had a birthday this past weekend so we surprised him with a Schleich chainsaw figure on top of his brownie cake - it looks just like him when he's off cutting wood.

We also invited some neighbors over for dinner but I dropped the ball on a few key ingredients for the planned dinner - there are no corner stores for quick ingredients here so our guests headed right back home and provided what we needed from their larder.

The birthday boy specifically requested "no gifts" but I ordered a few anyway, they were DIY books, one on organic orchard care and the other on how to build a tree house in one weekend.  So basically for his birthday we added a few pages to his "To Do" list.  But he was more than a good sport and couldn't stop laughing.

The kids made some great cards.  Here is the farm themed one William drew of him tilling the cake.......  

And now for the not so country thing I did for Paul on his birthday.  As soon as he woke up I hugged him, looked him in the eyes and said, "go check out the birthday message I just wrote for you on facebook."

Planting time

We got a few trees and bushes in on a perfectly soggy day last week.  It was an activity for the whole family so we did it for family night.

Since it was just after Henry's birthday, we offered him ownership of the blueberry bushes; they'll be "Henry's blueberries" as I hope to train him to full ownership in caring for them.

In addition to the blueberry bushes, we planted three Asian pear trees.  It was after touring a neighbor's property early last fall--when they were ripe and juicy--that the kids told me we had to plant a few on our property.  

I do not look too thrilled in the picture because at that very moment I was still reeling over a mother vs. the older children argument about where to plant the trees.  Apparently, where Paul and I had carefully planned and spaced them interfered with the boys' football field, as if there was not enough open grass to play in here.  The conflict was resolved (and the little tree survived a tipping wheel barrow incident) and Charlie got his pear tree right where we had originally planned. In the meantime; I have put cages around the little trees just in case the boys forget there are other places to play tackle football.    

In addition to blueberries and pears, we planted a bunch of strawberries.  A neighbor found a bunch of them in their woods and invited us over to dig them up and add to our existing patch.  So off I took with a wagon, some empty tubs, and a lot of little helpers.

"Who will help me plant the strawberries, blueberries and pear trees?" said the tired little Mommy.  And they all replied: "I will!"

Two reasons to celebrate

We hosted a small gathering with family and a few friends last Sunday.  It was Henry's birthday and also the day we blessed Charles.  

Here's Henry with the very special Thomas Train cake that Nanny made.  We got to sing to Henry two times because George knocked out the candles before Henry had a chance.  As we sang through the birthday song again I thought about what a sweet and sensitive boy he is and how lucky I am to be his mother. 

My sister Suz made some fancy farm cookies and shipped them for this special gathering. I was busy visiting with guests and forgot to take a picture before half of them were eaten but you can check them out on her blog here.

It was a beautiful day to celebrate outside.  Henry got a shovel and wheel barrow as gifts and had no problem sharing them with cousins as they worked to move wood chips.  It was a busy day indeed!

In the past we have taken formal pictures with our babies on the day of their blessings but that didn't happen this time.  James snapped this one of us just before I yelled at everyone to get in the car for church.

And I snapped this one during our party.  We love this little guy Charles, with his gentle breath and piercing eyes, and oh so long and skinny.  We feel so blessed that he has joined our family, what a joy it is to watch him grow into himself one day at a time. 

 

Haircuts

The sheep got sheared last Saturday.  I really don't have anything too exciting to write about it since we hired a professional to come and do the job.  We did enjoy watching and Paul even took a few practice passes for next year.

Once on their backs the sheep do not move, the hard part though is getting them there.  This guy was quick, he says he's sheared over 200 sheep in one day.

 

Here is Dulce, we barely recognized her without her wool coat.  All winter we thought she was ready to deliver babies since she was so fat but it turns out no lambs came from her and all that extra bulk was just wool.  

She suffered a few nicks from the shears but that is normal.  We asked what lotion or ointment we should use to help in healing and Sy (the sheep shearer) answered lanolin.  And to show you how little we actually know about sheep care we asked what kind of lanolin.  The sheep shearer just chuckled and reminded us that lanolin comes from sheep and it would naturally protect the minor wounds.

Look at her, she is now so creamy white and thin, as are the other two.  

I have to admit I was a little nervous about the wool since it seemed so dirty and gummed up with mud.  But I was reassured that the merino sheep have a higher percentage of oils that act as a barrier. Below is a close up of the beautiful fibers that were hiding beneath the dirt.  It is so soft!

I had dreams of bags of yarn to dye and knit.  Then I got a price quote from Zeillingers here in Michigan and probably won't be going that route with our processing, at least not this year.  Most people process the wool into roving then spin it themselves, but not sure I'd have time for that and knitting. So we'll probably just get a few comforters made up.  And if I have time I may sew up a few covers before Christmas.  Thank you sheep for cutting our grass and keeping us warm!