Our Victory Garden - 6/23/13

It's been just over a month since we got the very first few starts and seeds in our garden - radishes, kale, lettuces and peas - most of which started off on such rocky footing that I wondered if we'd started too late, chosen the wrong varieties, or otherwise blown it again this year.

In spite of my concerns, we kept plugging still more seeds and starts into the garden beds and watering everything each evening just before heading in for the night. It's a really nice "chore" when compared to some of our other glorious options, like feeding the pigs. In the garden, you get to calmly walk amongst little green things and flowers, doing a mental inventory of any changes that have occurred in the past 24 hours, or any that will need to be made in the next 24. All the while, swallows and robins swoop and dart overhead, catching mosquitoes and gnats. It's extremely peaceful.

Even being that connected with a place, you don't always really notice the very small daily changes. It's sort of like raising kids - you take your eye off of them for a minute, and suddenly they're huge. Our garden pulled just this sort of presto-change-o on me this weekend. We left town for just 3 nights, only to come back to our very own greenery jungle.

Everything grew appreciably in just those few days. The beet tops have grown by inches and they're starting to put on some root as well. The lettuces and kale need a good, heavy-handed trim, lest they go to seed, and the peas, finally recovered from the trauma of transplantation, have started blooming like crazy and setting pods. But the runaway success, the beast in my garden are the radishes. Behold -

A 2-ounce Cherry Belle and a 3-ounce French Breakfast radish.

These beauties were planted from seed just 35 days ago. Gotta love that fast turnaround! We still have several dozen in the ground that urgently need picking, so it looks like our little pipe dream of a small, roadside farm stand could be just a day or two away from becoming a reality. We won't have much variety -  just the radishes, kale, lettuces, oregano, lavender and some eggs - but boy, what a long time in coming this little project has been! Farmer Chelle is one happy little camper right now. :)

Stocking Up for a Shindig!

Maybe I've mentioned once or twice that the past year has been slightly bumpy? Well this weekend is shaping up to be the official end to the year of bleh. My nephews (and their awesome parents) are coming to visit, all the way from Tennessee, and that, my friends, calls for a party.

In preparation for the party, I've been running my hiney off, trying to get this old place looking nice, and trying to plan a yummy-but-not-overly-complicated menu for our BBQ/Karaoke Good Times-fest. Today I took a stroll through our infant garden and was happy to see that a few of our very early crops should be ready to go, come the weekend.

We don't have a lot, maybe just enough for a very Spring-y green salad - lettuces, radishes, basil, thyme, chives and *maybe* some strawberries and beets. And, if I steal the pigs' goat milk ration for a day, I can make up some fresh chevre. Hmm... this is kinda coming together!

Anyway, even after going half bananas planning and plotting this par-tay, I can't wait to have a house full of family and friends here to help us celebrate Fathers Day, the beginning of Summer, lots of May/June/July birthdays, our recovery from our year of crazy, and most importantly, the safe return of my brother-in-law from his most recent tour overseas. Our cup runneth over with Good Things.

Now, let's get funky! :)))

My handsome little nephews, gettin' their crazy on.

My First Alive Day - 5/15/2013

Normally, I wouldn't want to make a thing out of anything to do with me personally, because I'm just not a big-whoop kinda gal. But today is a pretty major milestone for me - one year since my accident.

For those of you who might not have been around when the accident happened, you can catch yourself up, if you so choose, here.

These past 365 days have felt like a thousand at least. Crawling back toward normalcy has been painfully, frustratingly slow. I have healed from my injuries, but still carry many scars, both physical and emotional. My flashbacks and panic attacks have, mercifully, passed. The first few months after the accident, the sound of a low-flying helicopter or of a buzzing saw or lawnmower induced a heavy-breathing, adrenaline out-of-nowhere anxiety response. The helicopter made sense, but the saw and lawnmower? The best we could figure is that it must have sounded something like the jaws of life did, opening and pulling my car apart.

It took one extremely painful plastic surgery, and three months of daily bandage changes, debriding and antibiotics to put my scalp back together, but I now have no more exposed skull, no more infection, only a few bright-pink patches of scar tissue that my stylist and I are trying to find creative ways to make less noticeable. It is a far better outcome than anybody in their right mind could have imagined upon seeing the mess that was there right after the accident, not to mention the secondary mess made by the staff at the first hospital I was treated at having hastily stapled my scalp back together with large amounts of my hair and the floor of the Mojave desert still caked within my wound. The infection that followed presented a greater and more immediate risk to my health than the accident itself had. The threat of MRSA, a very real and terrifying possibility for someone with a wound that takes 3 months to close, never left my mind. The near-daily wound care appointments and the copious antibiotics kept it at bay though, thankfully. Thank heaven for strong antibiotics! I will say though - three months on antibiotics of any sort, no matter how carefully managed and counter-balanced with probiotics, does NOT do a body good.

Some of the smaller, slower to resolve things left over from my accident are a wicked case of anemia that has been dogging me now for the entire past year, regardless of how many protein/vitamin/mineral supplements that I eat/drink/swallow.  Maybe the worst thing of all though are the brain issues. By brain issues, I mean the classic Traumatic Brain Injury complaints - amnesia, irritability (stemming in part from my lost ability to multitask and concentrate well), poor short-term memory and poor word-recall. I have good days and bad days. Being tired seems to aggravate my symptoms, and by the end of the day, I find myself fishing for simple words. For someone who has always been a voracious reader, and who fancies herself a bit of a word-nerd, it is particularly painful to be without words.

So I didn't get out of this mess unscathed, but I did get out of it. I'm here with my husband and my kids because I couldn't give in to it all and leave them. I've been working my way back toward being fully-functional one inch at a time. I'm getting there.

So, scars and all, I want to celebrate. My homegirls, my sister and I plan to go out tomorrow for a drink to mark my now having one year "post" under my belt. I never took my life for granted, but seeing it almost go, followed by a year of kicking my own butt to get back where I need to be, and watching my husband cover for me with our girls, our farm and a zillion other little and not-so-little things while I took the time to get myself back together, well, it increases your appreciation for what is real and good and true in your life, exponentially.

Tomorrow we'll bust out the champagne and rock out some karaoke, because that's my happiness in a nutshell - being free and silly and fearless and sappy with the people I love - and I absolutely plan to take advantage of every single second I'm given with them.

GGG Holiday Giveaway Winner!

Of the 16 valid entries received, the winner was...

#16! My homegirl, Kristin! Thank you all SO MUCH for stopping by and entering the giveaway. I look forward to holding another again soon.

I haven't forgotten...

...that I promised you all a sweet giveaway. I'm presently in the throes of Bazaar/Thanksgiving prep and half out of my head stressing over details. You guys are on my mind, though half-buried beneath a giant to-do list, you're still there. ;)

I'm doing a food-nerd favorite things/homemade goodies themed basket, so unless I sell clean out of them between this weekend and next, you can count on some soap, scrub and washcloths in there.

I won't tease you anymore. Just hang in there with me, friends. I'll get my booty in gear....eventually.

Chelle

Woohoo!

We made it! Three years and 25,000 pageviews later, this little blog is still kickin'.

As promised, there will be a celebratory giveaway! Right now I'm still building my basket of goodies. I want to load it up with my favorite food-nerd, locally made and generally-nifty stuff, but I have to do so on a budget, so I'm pecking away at it.

I will make a big, honkin' deal out of it when I finally do post the giveaway though, so stick around. :)

Thanks again for reading, guys & gals. It means more to me than you know.

Chelle

We are here.

When our family moved to our little farm just two years ago, we had a laundry list of things that we'd hoped to accomplish. We wanted to own livestock beyond backyard chickens, we wanted an epic kitchen garden, a towering orchard, and honestly, just to simplify our lives, clear away the clutter and return our focus to the tasks and pastimes that nourish us, emotionally and physically.

We moved forward in our progression toward "real" farm life - we built a herd of happy dairy goats, expanded our flock of laying hens, and harvested as much produce from our own land as our clumsy attempts at gardening would allow. But our true benchmark for success, our pie-in-the-sky daydream was to raise and harvest enough to feed ourselves - well.

It seemed like a pretty far-fetched idea, considering where we started and the road blocks that we've come up against, but somewhere along the way, by trickle and drop, we made it here.

This shocking arrival of providence dawned on me last week as I was sitting down to dinner. We had a pork roast, raised by my husband's Aunt & Uncle, our Greek salad was made from tomatoes and cucumbers grown by my friends Lisa and Jen, respectively, and we drank our fresh juiced blackberry-apple cider. When it occurred to me that this food was all produced by people we know and love, an immense feeling of lightness and happiness flooded over me. We didn't get here alone, but, we are here.

:)

A Plethora of Good Things

Life has been wacky for a while now, so I'm going to focus on nothing but the positives today. I've got a heck of a lot to be thankful for!

*I just found out that we've been accepted as doggy foster parents! We get our first foster pup next weekend.

*I got SO HOOKED UP with garden goodies by my sweet and generous friend, Lisa, that my kitchen runneth over with garlic and beans.

*Three of my four apple trees are loaded with fruit, as is my one and only pear tree. Pies & cider... nom.

*It's been 3 months since my accident, and I'd say I'm, 80% back to normal. My broken arm has healed, my scalp wound has finally closed, and my cognitive issues seem to be dogging me less. :)

*The girls go back to school in two weeks and three days. But who's counting?

*Fritzen & Oreo, two Lamancha does that we sold to a friend earlier this year, are here for a romantic getaway with our guy, Buckley. I get extra goat nuzzles this week!

*The vet got back to us re: Anabelle. It seems that she had something like cancer, which sucks, but the good news is that the rest of our flock is not at risk. Trying to see this as a good thing, even though I know her last days were hard.

*The heat wave seems to have passed, temporarily at least. The difference between 75 degrees and 95 degrees is too beautiful to describe.

*I have an awesome giveaway in the works! Stay tuned. :)

Granola Giveaway #3

In celebration of my 200th post, I'm giving away a bag full of granola & farm goodies! Check it out -



This Farm Aid shopping tote is filled with some of my favorite earth-friendly products, an inspirational read and some gardening goodies to get you outside and planting. This package includes-

*Farm Aid "Farmers Kick Ass" shopping tote
*Farm Aid "Farmers Kick Ass" pin
*Alba Botanica Coconut Milk Face wash (Love this!)
*Three dishcloths, hand-knit by yours truly
*Biobag non-GMO, 100% compostable bags for your compost bin
*Ladies size medium Bamboo Gardening Gloves
*"Farm City" by Novella Carpenter (used copy, cuz that's how I roll)
*Miscellaneous heirloom seeds from Victory Seed Company

I'll probably throw a few more goodies in there before I mail this off, but you'll have to wait and see. ;)

All that you need to do to enter is to leave a comment on this post. I'll draw the winner on Friday the 17th, so check back and spread the word! Thanks again to all of my followers and friends for reading.

Good luck!!!

Graced by Grace

Our funky little Golden Laced Polish hen, Gracie, finally laid her first-ever egg today. I found it in the nest box and quickly put it back, so that the girls could find it later. They came back from critter patrol running and hooting down the driveway with the telltale white egg.

We now have a full spectrum of egg colors!

My husband's family is of Ukrainian heritage, so Grace's timing is just perfect for us to make some Ukrainian Easter eggs from our own eggs. It's a painstaking process, sort of like Batiking an egg. But some of the designs are pretty amazing. This will be a family time double-whammy of using what we grow and honoring the culture of our heritage.

Thank you, Gracie girl! :)

Look Who's New in the Hollow, Winter 2011

Valentine, born 2/14/11

Oreo & Buckley, born 2/14/11

Hop, born 2/10/11

Barley, born 2/10/11

Surprise! Eight(?) baby bunnies, born sometime late this past week.

Hop & Barley trying to figure out this whole "nursing" thing

Kisses for Mama from Barley boy :)

2 out, 7 to go

My chicks were officially due today, and I came home from a wonderful, relaxing day at the spa to find our first hatchling, Scout still wet and wobbly on her feet.


Scout, about an hour and a half after hatching, hanging out next to her brother/sister.

About 2 hours after Scout came Daisy.





Five of the remaining 7 eggs have pipped, but no one is super close to hatching at the moment. I'm so excited/worried though, that I don't know if I'll be able to sleep tonight. I guess that this must be what an expectant dad must feel like - excited, anxious, worried and totally powerless to help. Uhg!

Anyway, I thought I'd share the chicky cuteness before going back to stare intently at my babies and their siblings-to-be, willing them to hurry up and bust on out to join the nutty lot that is our family. ;)

More pics tomorrow for sure!

I'm a wi-nner and you can be too!

My homegirl Michelle, (Yes, another Michelle. The 70's & 80's were rife with Michelles. And there was no shortage of Jennifers either, but I digress...) over at All Home Cooking, All Year Long has very kindly nominated me for a Stiletto Award. Part of the deal with receiving this award is that you get to nominate 5 of your favorite blogs to be recognized as well, which for me, is kind of better than getting the award myself. I follow many blogs, but the following have a special place on my dashboard. These are the gals who inspire me, encourage me, and frequently have me laughing my butt off-

Jen @ Knitters-Knitters. Woman, you are awesome. I have never in my life known a more skilled and prolific knitter than you. And, you are freakin' hilarious! :)

Kris @ Quilted Simple. Another Wonder Woman! Mom, knitter, quilter and farmer extraordinaire. :)

Banu @ A Hungry Bear Won't Dance. You are just lovely and brilliant and a killer cook. I've said it before, and I'll say it again - you need to write a cookbook! :)

Amy @ Life in the Slow Lane. You are a fount of nutritional info, girl! :)

Little T @ Raw Adventures of an Army Wife. For so many reasons - your writing is so honest, and you do crazy-awesome things with crochet that I could only dream of pulling off. (For the uninitiated, behold the awesomeness that is the bacon scarf!) :)



Blog on, my friends!

(Oh - and Andrea & Michelle would most definitely be on this list as well, but they've already won.) ;)

EGGS!

Hallalujah! While checking on the hens this afternoon, I discovered our first egg. I'd been pretty worried that we weren't going to get one before the laydies closed up shop for the winter, but I guess we lucked out. I decided to let the girls find the egg as soon as they got home from school, and when Scarlet opened the nest box door, lo and behold there were two eggs in there! Both were small and a lovely pinkish brown, and must, therefore be Annabel's, she being our only non-Americauna (blue egg) hen. Behold the proud Grannies -



:)

Harvest Season

It’s getting to be that time of year. The kids are back in school, the salmon are running, my tomato plants are giving one last, massive fruitful push, and, (as previously mentioned), my crafty-bug has kicked in. Autumn is far and away my favorite season, though I’ve noticed that few people seem to share my love of mellow gray days and downpours. They seem instead to want an eternal summer of clear skies and 80 degree days. I must assume that the majority of these summer people are most likely not gardeners, since most of us garden-folk are weary of the sowing/tending/harvesting cycle by this point in the year and welcome the fall weather for the slow down that it promises.

To me, there is not much in this world more satisfying than sitting down after a long day (or season’s) work and celebrating the fruits (and vegetables) of your labors. This small reward takes many forms – a cupboard full of jewel-colored jars of jam, a chest freezer filled to the gills with your own veggies, and maybe the best of all, the harvest festival – apple cider presses, kids cracking nuts with a hammer (yikes!), neighbors sharing and exchanging their garden goodies and smiles all around.

I was lucky enough to attend a neighborhood harvest party just this past weekend. The party was held by the Wendell Berry Community Garden project to celebrate a year of growing a huge assortment of beautiful, organic fruits and veggies, and in turn, donating thousands of pounds of said veggies to the Thurston County food bank. I was thoroughly inspired by their example. This is the sort of thing that drives me to get out there in my yard and rip up sod and plant in its place loads of extra vegetables, destined to be given away to those who need them the most. I am s-l-o-w-l-y getting there. Every year we add a new garden bed or two, and the previous year’s hits and misses help us decide what will work and what won’t. So, instead of being altogether calming, this particular harvest festival was actually pretty motivating. Rather than taking my ease with a latte and a good book, I am already sketching and plotting next spring’s garden.