Rural Dreams

Things Steve Makes

This funky barn has presented all kinds of opportunities for Steve to use power tools. The first project was a bench for next to the front door for people to sit on to take shoes on and off. After a couple of false starts, he mastered this design and made a larger version that sits at the top of a hill outside. We LOVE this bench.

The next project was a small deck that extends out the back door. There was nothing there before and it was muddy and rocky. He got this deck finished within 24 hours. About half of the wood was already here - stored behind the chicken coop. It is very simple and small but represents a significant quality of life improvement. Its completion also coincided with the removal of a broken refrigerator that was junking up the back of the house.

The latest thing is sort of the crowning item - it is a 3 paneled screen to provide some privacy for the bathroom. I think that it might have been the first thing started and he just finished it last night. It is made with 1x2s from the discount lumber store (read: wavy) and some fabric that I bought on sale in Texas a long time ago. We didn't scrimp on the paint though - it is "buttermilk" paint for restoration painting. Inspecting the can more closely we discovered that the paint is not actual buttermilk paint but its a nice color anyhow. The bench is painted with the same kind of paint.

A link to this article

A link to this article for us white folks via greensward:

"It speaks volumes about the work white folks must do, individually and collectively to overcome that which is always beneath the surface; to overcome the tendency to cash in the chips which represent the perquisites of whiteness; to traffic in privileges"...

Punny Hair

The very first day that we were here I noticed that the hair salons all have terrible names. On that day, when we were returning our moving truck, I saw Headhunter, and Hair-We-Are. There is also Mane Street (not so bad really), and Pam's Lil Hairhouse (I almost like this one). Today I see an announcement in the paper that Total-E-Clips is merging with Hairy Situations on May 1st. I'm almost sad that there'll be one less terrible name.

There is a florist here that also got in on the action with the name The Rosery.

Aidan was diagnosed today with

Aidan was diagnosed today with a six month speech delay - not enough to qualify for services - which is just fine with me. He was absolutely charming and adorable and clever during the whole evaluation. I thought that the evaluators would be annoyed, but I think that they were just happy to see a healthy kid.

When I called early intervention

When I called early intervention for Aidan's speech delay a few weeks ago, I swear he wasn't talking. He had a few words, but there wasn't any doubt in my mind that he was talking much much less than other kids his age. Now his evaluation is finally set for tomorrow and he talks non-stop. He repeats the last few words of EVERYTHING we say. For the first time we are thinking that we have to watch our language! He talks on the phone every chance he gets. He says phrases like, "I want this please" and "beans and rice, noodles and cheese". When I ask him what color his hair is he says orange. He sang happy birthday to both grandmothers on the phone - it was all vowels, but the effort was there. He used to not ever make a SOUND. Actually, that's not completely true. He would say "ball" - over and over again.

If it wasn't for the fact that I have had to explain to them repeatedly that we never go to the doctor (because they want his medical records) and that he has always been incredibly healthy, I'd be afraid that they'd think I was a hypochondriac.

I got this in my

I got this in my inbox today. I had to check several times to make sure that I had read correctly that it was written by a politician.

Peace is Patriotic

Happy Birthday Mom! Click here

Happy Birthday Mom!

Click here

(if that doesn't work, click here)

The local quilt shop had

The local quilt shop had a sale and I bought a bunch of fabric and a book on color. This inspired me to just finish the quilt that I've been working on for two years:

I left Steve's legs there in the picture because I thought they were funny.

I hand quilted it which I will never do again because I found out that there is a local woman with a long arm quilting machine who will do a quilt this size for about $25. So from now on it is just quilt tops for me. I am really interested in color so I got a book called Color from the Heart. There are some pics from it here, but they are not my favorites. There is another book that I like also called Successful Scrap Quilts From Simple Rectangles.

Jes posted a picture of

Jes posted a picture of me with a bunch of HipKids. Check out Eli, the redhead next to Aidan with the mohawk.

It has been the third

It has been the third 90 degree day in a row. Our landlord, Larry, is in town and spent the day moving a bunch of his junk from the barn to the chicken coop so we can put in a real bathroom with walls. I scadaddled outa here with Aidan and went on a hike in Stockbridge with Will & Val's family. Our destination was a place called "Ice Glen" where there is snow and ice even in July. We trudged up the hill for a long time wondering if we had fallen victim to some sort of rural myth. Eventually, Aidan decided he had had enough and refused to walk any way except down hill. Aidan went down with Will and his daughter, Spring. I continued on with Val and their son Kevin, in search of the cold. As we got to the top of the hill, not only was it not cold, but the evergreens gave way to hardwoods which DON'T EVEN HAVE LEAVES YET so there was no shade. We got to the top of the hill and climbed a fire tower that gave us a fantastic view but it was hot as blazes. As we turned around to head down the hill, another hiker informed us that we had taken a wrong turn. All in all, Aidan was a really good hiker for a two year old.

We are toying with the idea of going to Washington this weekend. I wish I had planned earlier and gotten a place on a bus. They are all filled up now. There is a send off rally in Albany tomorrow night. We are going to go there and see what happens.

Aidan just woke up... goodnight!

Are you ready for a

Are you ready for a whole mess of pictures?

Aidan pushing, Bella sitting, Althea pulling:

I got Aidan a baseball mitt at the Goodwill store and he loves to play catch:

And some groovy sepia pics - I always forget that I have this effect on my camera and the kids found it pressing buttons.
This looks like Jes reading a book to Aidan & Bella, but she is really trying to read the directions to her digital camera:

And these were taken by Althea, 4 yrs old:

Farewell HipMama HipMama's bulletin boards

Farewell HipMama

HipMama's bulletin boards got shut down for good this past weekend. I feel strange saying this but I am really affected by it. Even Steve recognized the significance of it by mentioning that he wouldn't have a job if it weren't for HipMama (he works for a HipMama's husband that we met through the site). Things I learned about from HipMama: white privilege, RAWA, unschooling, BARF diet for dogs (which cured Wes' chronic ear problems), blogger, homemade natural cleaners, ways and reasons to circumvent the big business economy, and that it is very common for babies to twist the other nipple! I'm sure there is more but those are the things that come to mind readily.

I recently finished Dorothy Day's autobiography, The Long Loneliness. She mentions her daughter telling her how isolating motherhood is. It is so true. HipMama was a cure for that for a whole bunch of moms who are not only isolated by motherhood but also by a host of non-traditional ideals and situations. There were so many times that I was relieved to find other people who felt the same way as me: that Paul McCartney's 9-11 song was revolting, that attatchment parenting is worth it, that there is better kids' music out there than Disney soundtracks and that living without T.V. is great.

I feel blessed to have been a part of the experiment that the HipMama board was - and I will miss it!

I will also probably become much more productive...

Its a bug eat bug

Its a bug eat bug barn
As the weather gets warmer more and more bugs are appearing in the barn - ladybugs, wasps & spiders. That they are all carnivorous and they probably have their own little ecosystem going - all eating each other. Usually you like to have carnivorous bugs around for obvious reasons, but I think that in our big barn, the bugs are all benefiting from the bug abundance so that we don't have less bugs because one kind is eating all of the others but more bugs because there is such a plentiful supply of food.

I just came home from

I just came home from yoga and NO ONE IS HERE! I swear I skipped to the door from my car. What a fantastic feeling to walk into an empty house and not have to meet anyone's needs but my own. Makes me reminisce about the whole six months of my life that I lived alone. Hmmm... I was pretty lonely and ate lots of Ben & Jerr's pints in a night. So, I guess I have no regrets.

We're looking at a house in Austerlitz that was built in the 1760s. It needs a lot of work and it is right on the road, as houses were back then. There is actually a stone post that you can tie your horse to in front of the house. That'll come in handy. Steve keeps pointing out that the United States wasn't even a country yet. I am impressed that he knows that because I have no idea when the United States became a country. Not because I am a flake, mind you, its just that I don't remember numbers - like if we were driving and you told me what exit to get off at, I would have to ask you to remind me of the number three times before we reached the exit. Anyhow, Steve likes the house, which is important because he'll be fixing it up. Here it is.

This is certainly not our dream location, right on a busy road. We are thinking temporary, and not commited to it at all. We should probably get someone to look at the foundation - its a little funky, but we figure its been standing this long! It is on 1.3 acres and we would fence in the entire back of the property for dog, child, chickens etc. I've been thinking maybe we could get a sheep and not have to cut the grass!

This was my third week of yoga and my OMs still suck but I think I got over it, at least tonight.

I mentioned to Steve today

I mentioned to Steve today as we were stacking firewood outside that when the weather is warm I start to think about getting chickens and I gestured toward the chicken coop. Aidan caught the conversation and got very excited - we were about to go out and see Ice Age with Bella, Althea & family and all he wanted was to get chickens. It took a lot of enticing words to get him in the car: "movie, Pizza, bellaandalthea" over and over again.

Aidan is an incredibly stubborn

Aidan is an incredibly stubborn and persistent creature. Sometimes when I say no to something he doesn't forget about it and keeps after the thing ALL DAY LONG. He exhibited this as soon as he became mobile. I am grateful for this in a sense because it has steered me in the direction of giving him a lot of freedom, which works for me philosophically. If he had bent to my will early on I might be a lot more controlling with him. As it is, I just gave up and go with the flow. Of course if something is dangerous to him or someone else, or just plain rude or destructive, I step in with a bit more determination. But for me, parenting has not become the control game that I thought it would be.

Jes was over yesterday and showed me a website that generates an astrological chart for free and she did Aidan's:

Mars is in 29 Degrees Scorpio

Your likes and dislikes are strong and intense, never casual or superficial. You are known for your persistence and willful obsession. Once you have decided on a course of action, you are unstoppable. Your emotional actions tend to be extreme, although you try to keep them muted. You are not quick to anger, you do slow burns. And you tend to release your anger as sarcasm or irony. Beware of your tendency to hold grudges and to be vengeful. When you do fight, or release your internal tensions, you do so body and soul -- you become totally passionate and your outbursts are awesome to behold.

testing if this works, its

testing

if this works, its Aidan, Bella & Althea

Words I called to get

Words
I called to get early intervention services for Aidan's speech delay and now he's coming up with new words every day. I feel kind of silly about it - like they are going to come to do his evaluation and think I am a crackpot for thinking there is anything wrong with him.

Latest words:
mirror
more (said "mowr", he sounds like he has an irish brogue)
please (when he wants something that I have said no to - I have no idea where this came from)
nurse