Wednesday, 10 March 2010
Blueberry Joy
Mother, wife, sister, friend. This is our second year on the farm, a dream we've had since we were first married. We unschool, AP parent, and grow our own food (or try to).
Sunday, 7 March 2010
Babywearing, a Short Reflection
I wear my babies. A lot. At least 6 hours a day now that I have the Calyx figured out. I hold my babies. I share my sleep with them. To me that is normal. It is certainly easier than anything else I've ever done, including trying to be a conventional parent.
Lil'Bug walked at 13 months, well within the range of normal. She was starting to talk at 9 and learning baby signs as well. Still within the range of normal. Babies have a lot to learn about being an upright communicating human, it is hard work.
The first nine months of Lil'Bug's life I worked full time, attended graduate school at night, served on three volunteer boards, and she was at a conventional at home day care that did not wear her. She was on the floor plenty.
Blueberry is too. She is on my back now when we go out, during some naptimes, while I do chores, while we hike, ect, but she also gets plenty of playtime on the floor. She may be an early or a late walker, but I carry her MORE. Babywearing does not harm the baby. There is certainly a lack of respect for children as human beings, as people, in a certain facet of our society and that seems to be the normal order of things. That is heartbreaking.
Yes, it was criticism that prompted this short ranting. I wonder sometimes if the critical actually understand how hurtful words can be, especially when said in front of the children. Perhaps, since children are not considered full members of society, that little detail didn't matter to the critic. Yes, that is me being snarky.
The first nine months of Lil'Bug's life I worked full time, attended graduate school at night, served on three volunteer boards, and she was at a conventional at home day care that did not wear her. She was on the floor plenty.
Yes, it was criticism that prompted this short ranting. I wonder sometimes if the critical actually understand how hurtful words can be, especially when said in front of the children. Perhaps, since children are not considered full members of society, that little detail didn't matter to the critic. Yes, that is me being snarky.
Mother, wife, sister, friend. This is our second year on the farm, a dream we've had since we were first married. We unschool, AP parent, and grow our own food (or try to).
Lamb Stew, an original recipe!
I started out with a lamb shank and thought that I had read a recipe online for a lamb stew using a shank and navy beans. Then....I couldn't find it. My beans had been shelled and soaked, the lamb thawed.
So I decided to just make a stew myself. I read a couple sites to get a feel for what seasoning typically get used for lamb, what veggies get added, and official temperatures and such.
As typical for me I read the package wrong and they were lamb leg STEAKS not shank. So it was. I had carrots on hand and onion too, but I was out of chicken stock. Hmmmm.
So here is the incredibly simple recipe that I put together this morning an set the oven before going to church. An amazing and nutritous lunch was ready when we came home four hours later. So easy, so good.
1-2 1b package of lamb meat.
3 carrots cut up, bite size
2 cups of, soaked overnight, beans. We used our own, varieties were Jacobs Cattle bean and Ying Yang bean. A seven bean mix like the kind sold for ham soup would work though.
1 medium yellow onion
1 T Rosemary
2 T French Thyme
some butter
about a teaspoon of course sea salt
enough water to fill the dutch oven after ingredients are added.
*optional, a slice of bacon leftover (or hidden for this purpose) from breakfast. usually my family vetoes wasting bacon in such a manner! I used cottage bacon from "Eggs and Bacon" for the addition and the only way I managed it was making a whole pound of bacon and extra eggs, leaving one small slice back in the pan. Everyone ate and was full and unawares of the rebel slice. The hardest person to keep from eating it was me. Ha!
I melted the butter in the dutch oven and browned the lamb on both sides. Then I added everything else. Covered and set in the oven at 400 for 30 minutes. Then I turned it down to 200. That was at 8:45 am and at 12:30 it was done and AMAZING. I'll add pictures in a bit.
Dearest said it was the best soup I have EVER made, possibly the best meal ever too. He really likes lamb. Both girls finished their bowls. I served, as a side, crusty 5MAD bread with butter.
I was nervous to use seasoning other than cayenne. The joke is around here that I don't know how to make anything without it. Ha! Well, it is kind of true actually. Even my cinnamon rolls and sugar cookies get kicked up a notch. What can I say? I really like Thyme though and since I was out of chicken broth to use as a soup base, the herbs really played an important roll in creating a good broth.
So I decided to just make a stew myself. I read a couple sites to get a feel for what seasoning typically get used for lamb, what veggies get added, and official temperatures and such.
As typical for me I read the package wrong and they were lamb leg STEAKS not shank. So it was. I had carrots on hand and onion too, but I was out of chicken stock. Hmmmm.
So here is the incredibly simple recipe that I put together this morning an set the oven before going to church. An amazing and nutritous lunch was ready when we came home four hours later. So easy, so good.
1-2 1b package of lamb meat.
3 carrots cut up, bite size
2 cups of, soaked overnight, beans. We used our own, varieties were Jacobs Cattle bean and Ying Yang bean. A seven bean mix like the kind sold for ham soup would work though.
1 medium yellow onion
1 T Rosemary
2 T French Thyme
some butter
about a teaspoon of course sea salt
enough water to fill the dutch oven after ingredients are added.
*optional, a slice of bacon leftover (or hidden for this purpose) from breakfast. usually my family vetoes wasting bacon in such a manner! I used cottage bacon from "Eggs and Bacon" for the addition and the only way I managed it was making a whole pound of bacon and extra eggs, leaving one small slice back in the pan. Everyone ate and was full and unawares of the rebel slice. The hardest person to keep from eating it was me. Ha!
I melted the butter in the dutch oven and browned the lamb on both sides. Then I added everything else. Covered and set in the oven at 400 for 30 minutes. Then I turned it down to 200. That was at 8:45 am and at 12:30 it was done and AMAZING. I'll add pictures in a bit.
Dearest said it was the best soup I have EVER made, possibly the best meal ever too. He really likes lamb. Both girls finished their bowls. I served, as a side, crusty 5MAD bread with butter.
I was nervous to use seasoning other than cayenne. The joke is around here that I don't know how to make anything without it. Ha! Well, it is kind of true actually. Even my cinnamon rolls and sugar cookies get kicked up a notch. What can I say? I really like Thyme though and since I was out of chicken broth to use as a soup base, the herbs really played an important roll in creating a good broth.
Mother, wife, sister, friend. This is our second year on the farm, a dream we've had since we were first married. We unschool, AP parent, and grow our own food (or try to).
Frozen in the Mud
It got me thinking. What are my own regrets? Have I righted them? One of my regrets was a ring that a friend gave me in middle school. We both thought it was play jewelery and when I found it it was a garnet set in white gold, I told her but refused to give it back. I was 12 and stupid. You know what, I still have that ring and the thing I regretted was that I felt it ruined that friendship. I sought her out on facebook, admitted my folly. You know what? She didn't even remember the ring, BUT she was thrilled to hear from me!
Another regret I have is my manuscript drawer. I have an almost complete manuscript in there, unfinished. I also have a folder containing a slip of paper from the New Yorker saying that my work was just not quite right, but could I revise and resend? I initially took this as a rejection letter, but yet it still sits there untouched. It came when we were moving and I had a lot of other things going on. What excuse do I have now, 11 years later. Every day that passes, I regret not mailing it out.
I regret getting out of the habit of writing. This I can fix, I think.
Ah. I regret firing my daycare provider #2 the way that I did. It was cowardly and I handled the aftermath poorly. She made a bad decision and I had every right to fire her, but I should have done it in person and not by email and the resulting flame email back and forth is what killed our friendship. Though in retrospect, it was fading out anyway. I guess the point is that I regret not being a better person and handling it all with grace. I have since tried a lot harder to be honest and in person with people. Sometimes I miss her, but I know that it is a dead friendship and there is no need to waste time feeling sorry for myself. I also regret the time I lost feeling sorry for myself.
You know, that has been my problem for many years. Being honest and in person with people. Not that I lie, but I guess it is a lie to say everything is fine when it isn't. Or that I'd rather not talk about it when I would. It is a skill I learned when I was growing up, to make the best of the situation I was in. The one time I sought help, no one believed me anyway. Abused kids don't ask for help, I didn't fit the profile. So I regret not standing up for myself, advocating for my own welfare. Being a little selfish on that front.
But on the opposite end of that (or maybe as example of that), I regret not having a better relationship with my sister. I think I get all huffy and puffy about things that don't matter because of the things that do matter to me that I can't talk about. I have told her how I feel and I get the brush off or she cries (thus I can't talk about it). So we stick to the safe topics which end up with us bickering and me reverting to the know it all role. Perhaps it is based in resentment that she escaped the abuse I suffered, not that I wish it on her in any way, but because it allows her to view the situation in a rosier light and still allow the abuser such a huge role in her life. Why wouldn't she, she wasn't physically hurt.
You know though, regret is an anchor that weighs our heart down. I don't want to change my life or where I am in it, but by reflecting on these things I can make a point not to repeat these mistakes and actually conquer the beasts in the manuscript drawer! So you see this is a season of reflection for me, and soon the days will get longer and the sun will shine again.
Mother, wife, sister, friend. This is our second year on the farm, a dream we've had since we were first married. We unschool, AP parent, and grow our own food (or try to).
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