Lots going on with the house… Many pictures below
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Monthly Archives: October 2007
A Good Cause
Last year, my cousin J. and his partner, N., became pregnant with their first child. My Cousin J. is the kind of guy that everyone knew would make the best, most devoted dad, but it just never seemed like it would happen. So, when he and N. (both in their early 40′s) got pregnant we were all ecstatic! When N. was ~20 weeks along, she started having pre-term labor complications. After a few grueling weeks of bed rest and discussing options with doctors, viability, likelihood of complications, etc, N. was admitted to a high risk hospital. For the next few weeks, they did everything they could to try to ensure a good outcome for their baby, and they prayed their hearts out! I believe she was ~27 weeks gestation when baby P. was born. From working in Labor and Delivery, I can tell you that many babies born this early, if they make it out of intensive care, may be blind, deaf, mentally disabled, or other complications. Baby P. came out breathing on her own, and doing very well, but she was still only a little over one pound. For the next many months, J. and N. stayed by the side of baby P. Because the hospital was so far from home, they were unable to work. They were given a place to stay at the Ronald McDonald house by the hospital, where they had a room, shared kitchen, and the friendship of other parents whose children were in the intensive care. Baby P. was given excellent care and is now almost 8 months old and thriving. She has no long term complications and is the light of my cousins life.
To give a little back, Cousin J. is running a race to raise money for the Ronald McDonald house where they stayed while Baby P. was in the hospital. If you are financially able, it is a wonderful cause! You can check it out here.
My Cousin ‘ralph’!
I am working on a class about women’s health and menstruation, and it got me thinking about how I was introduced the ‘my period’. Around my house when I was a kid, we would always say “cousin Ralph has come for a visit” when we were having our periods. Now I call it my Moon time. I like that better and think it has a positive ring to it. From my students, I have heard all kinds of things from “on the rag”, to “aunt Flo”, to “the red flood”, to “goddess time”. So, I’m taking a survey… What do you say when you are bleeding? Be totally honest now… I want to hear all the positives and negatives.
The Chemicals in our World
One of the things I see in almost all of my clients (and that I have been working with in my own self) is an endocrine system that has been over taxed. Many of us live in a state of ‘fight or flight’… driving at high speeds to work, eating highly processed foods while on the run, taking on too many projects, fitting too many things into our days… And even those of us who have managed to bring down the stress levels in our lives still have to deal with an environment full of stressful and illness causing chemicals. My friend, Juliet Blankespoor, wrote a wonderful article about this that I think everyone should read.
Matilda
Matilda arrived on our doorsteps today. She needed a place to stay, and we have a little more room, so we’ve decided to invite her to join our family.
She’s a lovely lady and seems to be getting along well with our other ladies. She’s settling in very nicely. Kaia has taken to her immediately and follows her everywhere. We hope she will become a part of our cordwood wall and stay with us forever! Thought you’d like some pictures!
the past week
It’s been unseasonably warm here. So we’ve been hoping to lay some cordwood. Because we are using a lime-putty mortar mix, we need ~2 weeks without a hard freeze for it to dry. So, we are pushing it right now. The temps drop down into the low 40′s here last night, but they are supposed to be up in the 50′s (for the lows) by next week! Since it’s been so warm in the days, we may be ok. Anyway, to really start on the cordwood, we had to get the electrical done (which happened last week) and pass inspection (which we didn’t). Our electrician is from one county over and in that county they don’t require you to strip and tie off all the wires for the ‘rough inspection’. In our county, they do. So, he has to come back and do that. However, the inspector was really nice and said he has no problem with us laying the cordwood before the inspection is passed. YAY!!
So, here is a picture review of our last week. Continue reading
Suki, totally raw!
This is my sweet Suki. I got her from a dog rescue in 2001, and I realized the other day that she has been on the same brand of dog food since I got her 6 years ago! It’s supposed to be one of the healthiest dog foods, but still, to be on the same thing everyday for 6 years just seems unhealthy. (So, I’ve decided to start feeding her a raw diet. It just seems to make sense. This is what dogs would be eating in the wild. I use to have two cats that I fed a raw diet and they loved it! I don’t remember what made me switch back… convenience maybe.) Anyway, I spend ~$60 a month on dry dog food. I’ve calculated it out, and if I do some smart shopping, feeding her a meat and bones diet won’t cost any more… it may actually be cheaper. Once we are in our new house (and we have a little more kitchen room), I may contact some of our local organic/free range meat producers to see if I can get their scraps. So, for right now, I have started her on chicken necks (our local grocery stores will pack these up, along with organs, and mixed grounds, specifically for pet owners). After slowly adding other meats, I will try to (mostly) follow this menu, and spice it up as I get more use to it. So far she loves it!! Any raw feeders out there?