Monthly Archives: November 2007

Thank you! THANK YOU!

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Thank you everyone for the support you have given our family since Kaia broke her leg!  Your kindness means the world to us!  We feel very blessed!

Kaia got her cast on this morning.  She is moving much more easily now and enjoying her new purple cast!  They took xrays and said her bone is healing very well.  She should only need to be in the cast for 16 days.  After that we’ll see if she needs any kind of support for a while as she gets use to walking again.  But, really, she is doing fantastic and may even get to go back to school on Thursday!

Color

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So, I’m thinking of what color to paint the exterior of the house.  Our cabin is stained in a red, which is really nice, but I think I’d like something more vibrant.  I’m thinking soft yellow, with a white trim…. what do you think?  It would stand out nicely against all the green around us, and the colors on the living roof.

The windows are going in as we try to close up the house.  The thing that will take the longest is the cordwood.  But, if we can get the rest of the house closed up, we may be able to seal up the cordwood holes with plastic and get a wood stove in to heat the house.  Then we will be able to do more cordwood when it is cold.

Here’s another picture of the insulation.  This is upstairs, looking into the stairwell.

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Here’s the wall to the right of the front door.  The little dots in the wall are glass nuggets.  We put a shelf in there (see the big rectangle piece of wood sticking out?)… maybe a little plant will sit on it once the house is done?
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Here’s the dining room wall.
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Here’s a close up of the cordwood above the dining room window.  I’m proud of me for that little sunny design :-)
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This is the wall to the right of the dining room window.  It was a very cloudy day when I took this pic.  You should see how that red bottle shines on a sunny day!!  We put another shelf in this wall too, and the bottle above it to let light through to whatever we put there.  We may put the glass chicken on one of these inside shelves.
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learning flexiblity

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Kaia is doing well! Thank you all for your well wishes and concern. The orthopedic doc wants her to keep her splint on until next Tuesday to be sure that any swelling is gone before they cast it. Then he thinks the cast will only be on for 2 or 2 1/2 weeks. So, not so bad. He said the break is a full break through the bone, but the bones didn’t move, so they didn’t have to set them, and the break is below the growth plate, so she shouldn’t have any problems there either. She’s been moving around (by crawling and scooting) with ease and throws herself onto the couch. She’s even been putting a little weight on it and doesn’t have any pain. Her main problem is that her heel itches like crazy when she is sleeping. I think her foot is going to sleep and she wakes up when it starts tingling.

We went to her Nana’s house for dinner last night… here she is (the little brain child) trying to figure out the game “Battleship” and ‘resting’ on the couch. She’s learning to be flexible about getting around, and we’re given another lesson flexibility in our lives…

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The insulation went in yesterday. Easy-peasy! They just spray it (icynene) into the walls in a very thin layer and it puffs up to fill the wall space. We would have loved to use something totally sustainable, but this was the closest we could get for what we needed. Icynene is a petroleum product, but it is supposed to be more air quality friendly and non toxic. It’s also more energy efficient.

See the thin, white spray on the upper left wall…

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Here’s what it puffs into:

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Cool, eh?

Feeling down

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Kaia broke her leg last night.  My poor little one!  She was at a birthday party where there was a trampoline and too many people were jumping at once.  She came down as the trampoline was bouncing up, and the impact was enough to break the top of her tibia!  She was in a lot of pain, but there was no swelling or color change.  So I was hoping it was just a sprain.  But, as the night wore on and the pain continued, we decided to take her to the ER.  So, now she is in a full leg splint, from hip to toes!  She was up until 5am in the ER, so I’ve got her on some pain killers now to help her get some sleep.  Tomorrow, we will go to an orthopedist to get a ‘permanent’ cast put on her leg.  It may be on a few weeks, it could be a month or more.  We’ll know on Monday.  Poor thing.  She can’t move.  The cast is almost half her weight… she can’t get up the stairs to her bedroom,  she can’t get in or out of her car seat,  she can’t get into her chair to eat a meal, she can’t go the bathroom by herself.  I know that this time will fly and kids bones heal fast, but I don’t care!  I wish it had been my leg!  I can’t stand to see her in pain!  This, on top of Suki’s surgery, not having insurance, and not having much money left to finish the house, and the whole family is feeling a bit low.

Tooth like a walrus!

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So, Suki went in for surgery Wed. Well, she actually just went in to have her teeth cleaned so that the doc could see what was going on in her mouth to cause all the swelling. They found that her left k-9 tooth had a hole in it. But, he said he had never seen anything like it before. The tip of the tooth had a little donut like hole in it that extended up all the way to the root. There was no chips, breaks or cracks anywhere else! (And her other k-9 has a dimple in the end like it is trying to do the same thing! Weird!) Anyway, bacteria got in through the hole and caused a raging infection. The root of the tooth was black and the bone around it was being eaten away. So they had to take the tooth out. Luckily, the k-9 is used for snagging things that are running away… so she doesn’t need it for chewing. Not so luckily she has huge k-9′s. The doc said it was like taking out a walrus’ tooth. They had to cut both sides of the gum around the tooth and fold it back to expose the bone. Then saw away at the bone to get the tooth loose. They then take the flap of gum and fold it over the hole and suture it closed. Poor thing! She is on two types of pain medication and antibiotics. Wed night, she was really groggy and slept most of the time. Thurs. morning, she seemed like her old self again. I can tell she is in some pain, but she is so stoic. I’m giving her the pain medication as prescribed, even if she is running around and chasing chickens, ’cause she had MAJOR surgery!  I’ve got pictures of the surgery on a floppy.  I’ll post them when I can get them on the computer.

Passed!

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The Structural Engineer came out today and said we are good to go!  He sees no problem with our house and sent a letter to the inspector.  So, we will go ahead with insulation on Monday!  Yeah!  The power company is also coming out next week to run a line to the house.  It’s been too cold to lay cordwood so we are doing other things to try to get the house closed in, like putting the windows and doors in.

CYA

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We had our big framing inspection yesterday. It was really nerve wracking ’cause this inspector hadn’t been out to the house since we poured the foundation! So, we didn’t know what he would say. But all in all he really liked it. He kept talking about articles that he’d seen for alternative building and that he’d love to try something like this but didn’t have the guts, or a wife that would live in a alternative structure. But, since he doesn’t know a lot about this kind of building he’s asked us to get the structural engineer back out to sign off on it. He said “I think everything looks great. I just need him to send me a letter saying it’s structurally sound… it’s a CYA (cover your ass) move you know…” So, we hope to have the engineer out this next week.

We are going to finish framing up all the windows and getting prepared for insulation, which happens on the 19th. We are also busting ass to try to get all the cordwood done by the end of the month. (So, if you are a local and want some experience laying cordwood, come on out!! We could use the extra hands and would love your help!)

Free Rice

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Check out this great site!

Free Rice 

You can build your vocabulary and help the hungry…. Yes, it takes a while to build your ‘stash’ of rice, but if you look at the “totals” it can really add up!

Cordwood party weekend!

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We’ve laid cordwood all day yesterday and today and we are making good progress.  We had 8 people come out and help!! It’s so much more effective to have at least 4 people working at one time.  That way, someone can be mixing mortar, two people can be laying the wood, and someone can be pointing the mortar that has hardened enough to ‘finish’.  We are probably about half way done.  So, if we can get a few more cordwood work days in before the weather is consistently cold, we may be good to go!!

Here we have laid ‘big bertha’ in her place in the wall.  It is the only large round piece that we have.  They tend to crack, so we didn’t want to risk it with too many large pieces.  But she seems to be holding up well.

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And here is ‘big birtha’ a few hours later.  Kaia said it look like she has bottle hair :-)   I love the way it turned out!

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These are the kitchen walls.  We worked on the left section today.

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We did this section yesterday and today.  On the inside there more bottles making a pattern up the wall.

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This is the living room area. The 2 sections to the right of the triangle are almost finished now!
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Animal News

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So, Suki is loving her raw food! She has so much more energy and really seems to be happier since we started her on her new diet. But that lump on her muzzle just won’t go away. A few years ago she got a swelling on the left side of her muzzle. We thought she was stung by a bee, but the swelling never went away. I took her to a vet who said it didn’t look like anything to be concerned about and that it may just be a fluid cyst. Well, it stayed the same size for the last 2 years and recently got larger. I looked in her mouth to see her gums were red and inflamed with some pustular drainage in her upper mouth. I took her to the vet again today (a different one) and they said that it could be an abscessed tooth, but because of where the drainage is located, they think it may be a foreign body lodged in her gums. The only way to tell is for us to take her to an animal hospital an hour away, have her be anesthetized and get a CT scan of her head! UGH! They did some blood work today. I’ll know tomorrow how that looks and when we can get in for the CT scan (and how much it will cost). I’ve had her on some herbs that have brought down the redness and swelling, and she is showing no signs of discomfort. But, there is still drainage.

Now, on a happier note… we are getting Max back!!! 2 years ago, my baby Max (a Devon Rex cat that I had had for 8 years) went to live with some friends of ours. It broke my heart to give him away, but he was very unhappy with our living situation (tiny apartment with no other animal friends) and needed more companionship. Well, last week, I got an email from my friend. She said Max was doing ok, but he was lonely. He is again an only cat since the two cats they had when they adopted Max had died. Plus, she started having allergy problems to him during her last pregnancy earlier this year. So, as soon as the big house is done, Max will be coming home!!! He is 10 years old, but going strong! I’m hoping to get another younger cat (hopefully another Devon) to be a companion! Yay!! I’ve missed him!

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AHG Symposium

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Things have been cruising along busily for the past few weeks.

I spent much of last week in Columbia, MD at the American Herbalist’s Guild Symposium, which was fantastic, as usual! I spent most of the time in Paul Bergner’s classes. He’s got a fantastic way of explaining things in a way I understand. First was a 6 hour intensive on Clinical Nutrition in the Herbal Paradigm. We talked about macro and micro nutrients in the prehistoric, agrarian, and modern diet, and how the deficiencies and imbalances that have come about since industrialization have led to modern diseases. After that we began to discuss patterns of imbalance that are seen in the modern day diet: 1) The SAD pattern
(Standard American Diet), 2) The Anorexia pattern, 3) The Junk-Food Vegetarian pattern, 4) The Stress-Carbohydrate pattern, 5) The Insulin Resistance pattern, and 6) the Food Allergy pattern. It was fantastic! I have such a hard time with my clients and being able to describe why food is so important to health. I think the research he presented will help me to educate my clients in a way they can understand.

The next day I went to a talk on HPV and the new Gardasil vaccine given by Mary Bove. I was enraged when I left the class! So far, here is what we know about the vaccine…
–In June of 2006 the FDA approved Gardasil to be used on females age 9 through 26.
–The vaccine trial for Gardasil was a 14 day trial on women averaging 23 years of age (there were no girls under 12 in the study, yet it is being recommended by the FDA for 9 year olds!). The 14 day trial showed protection against 4 types of HPV (Two of these types of HPV cause over 70% of the cervical cancers, but there are over 100 different types of HPV.) Gardasil was tested alone. It was not given with any other vaccinations (yet we often give vaccinations in groups, ex: MMR and DTaP)
–As of May, 2007 (one year after approval by the FDA) there have been 2227 adverse reactions reported to the CDC (and only ~10% of all adverse reactions are ever reported). The reactions included 13 cases of GBS (Group Beta Strep.), 239 cases of fainting with temporary loss of consciousness (some also with head injuries and fractures), and seven deaths reported after receiving Gardasil. There have also been respiratory and cardiac problems, neuromuscular and coordination problems, and convulsions.
–The vaccine does not contain mercury. As a substitute preservative, it has 225 mcg Aluminum. (so if girls get all three shots, they will be getting 675 mcg aluminum)
–The 3 series of shots cost $360 wholesale. So if states made it mandatory to get this vaccine, Merck (the only producer of Gardasil) stands to make $3 billion dollars a year!)
–There is no long term testing on this vaccination. We have no idea long term effect on women, fetuses, health… and how long it will remain effective.

So, what about education??? We will force our girls to get a vaccination against potential cervical cancer, but we won’t teach them safe sex practices?? And what about getting our girls to have PAP smears as a preventative for cervical cancer? Cervical cancer is a slow progressing cancer. If we get pap smears, we are much more likely to catch cervical changes before it progresses. And what about educating our girls about healthy nutrition and body care? With a strong immune system, about 80% of HPV infections will be cleared rapidly from the body.

There is so much we don’t know about this vaccine! I would encourage all of you to become educated so you can make the best decisions for your children!

Next I went to a class on Herbal Gastroenterology talk by David Winston. This was another fantastic talk on how the digestive system is key to good health!!

I spent the next day with Paul Bergner again hearing his talks on Patient Energetics. Herbalist and fellow blogger, Guido Mase, give a great description of the class on his blog.

Then, it was on to Tongue Diagnosis with Christopher Hobbs. Tongue diagnosis is something that has been skimmed over in all the herb schools I have been to. I realize that it is not really a diagnostic tool, but more of a way to confirm what you may be seeing in a client. I really enjoyed his class. He kept it pretty simple (what a hot or cold tongue looks like and where different regions of the body are reflected in the tongue). But, it definitely helped.

Next years symposium is supposed to be in Seattle!  I hope I can make it!  They can really add up in price, especially if you have to fly.  But, you really can’t put a price on knowledge, education, and feeling of community with fellow herbalists.