"Thank you Mrs Red"
“Thank you Mrs. Red”
Good evening loved ones. What a lovely place to be writing, I am out on the veranda in the dark listening to the frogs, the flapping of bats’ wings, watching mosquitoes hover on the hideously bright computer screen and on my hands, and feeling a slight breeze. Typically I write in my bedroom but tonight Matt and I are here alone, with Mary and Keith on vacation and Jacinta gone to sleep. It is very peaceful, actually this whole week has been quite peaceful.
Matt and I decided to do a cleansing fast Monday through Thursday, a fast once done by the Seneca tribe in the Eastern US. It was fruit on Monday, herbal tea on Tuesday, vegetables on Wednesday and vegetable broth on Thursday. Matt was working so it was harder for him to lie low and just expend less energy. Thus he added coffee to his detox 2 days in to ward off headaches. I added a big piece of quiche on herbal tea day and Matt added in toast and Vegemite. We decided that herbal tea day was a bit over the top. I enjoyed the challenge and actually felt rejuvenated by Wednesday. I cooked less, enjoyed the simple taste of plain vegetables and fruit, and it was honestly a very good way to clean out the fridge. Typically fasting brings me to new heights and depths in my mind, but this one involved some nourishment, so that didn’t happen. Jacinta loved fruit day and still wishes it would return, but with a lack of water, I can’t be washing so many poopy nappies. We played a bit more indoors and lingered those extra few minutes with the chickens rather than bustling on to the next chore. We picked flowers and pressed them into books, and squirted the fruit trees with soapy water as our only garden work on Tuesday. I spent most nap times and evenings reading the Constant Gardener, a great big novel recommended to me by Matt and Maggie. On Thursday we decided again to adapt the fast and go out for pizza to celebrate the end (which should have been 12 hours later). We had a lovely night out and found a good restaurant to share with visitors. Thus, a peaceful week.
Matt worked at the bank all five days this week, so perhaps his week wasn’t as peaceful, but perhaps he had peace of mind earning a living. Watching cricket brings Matt great joy and there was a bit to see this week. I am still amazed by the length and depth of possible conversations about this sport. Perhaps it’s like beer or wine, an acquired taste. Hey, one day, I may be able to converse about cricket at length, just wait! Although, I’d rather knit, smile and tune out, so don’t hold your breath. The house water pump was still playing up this week so Matt spent time each day after work researching and fixing the problem. For now, I think the problem has been solved. The dam pump is another story, completely busted now, we spent time looking into the purchase of another and as I said before, it was an expensive mistake I made, bummer. As for the growing grass and broken mower, Matt solved the problem today without a machete. Although we’ve had no rain for 2 weeks, the grass is still long so he mowed the lawn with a tractor and weed wacked the entire orchard. If you have seen a weed-wacker, and can envision how big the “orchard” is, you’ll know that it was some real labor.
Au contraire from last week’s lack of outings, this week I got out quite a bit. Playgroup began again after the summer school holidays. Jess went back to the amazing array of big plastic toys she’ll never own and 25 little kids milling around her, ages 9 months to 5 years old. It seems that play group is just that to her, toys. It was interesting to see that this time she spent a lot of her time giving a baby doll a bath in the pool. She took breaks to chuck someone’s mechanical Care Bear in the pool (giving it a bath too), pursue other little girls’ fruit bowls, carefully delight in her own bowl of fruit, and rock on big plastic rocking horses. She is kind to others, but a bit unaware of them unless they happen to be riding the same horse. Rory, her one friend who visits the house, seems to have the same take on playgroup, toys! They delight in each other’s arrival, “Rory!” and then it’s off to explore on their own.
Matt and I went out alone again this week, for our first choir practice of the season. My friend Michelle brought Rory over to play and take care of Jacinta while we went out to sing. We had fun learning South African freedom songs, one new one in Zulu, and one that we knew in English, and a gypsy song by Zap Mama. Singing in 4 part harmony is just celestial for me, and I don’t often get to sing in a choir with Matt. We lack men, so they were very happy to see Matt, example: all of our tenors are women pushing their voice limits. Out of 12 people, there are 2 Americans, 1 Brit, and 1 German, not including Matt who is now ½ American (hee hee). The choir director is very cool, seems to have lived in Africa for a while. All the while Jacinta was at home loving her time with Michelle and Rory, seemingly not conscious that anything had changed since we snuck away without saying goodbye. When we returned we found her wide awake at her little table drawing with crayons, and just looked up at us to say hello. As Michelle said, she got to know her better that night than all of our time together, Jacinta is a very strong and determined little girl. She knows what she likes, what she wants and will find a way to tell you.
“Thank you Mrs. Red,” Jacinta said to the reddish brown hen as we leave the chook pen with our 3 eggs in hand. I’ve tried to teach her to thank the chickens for the gifts they offer, but I didn’t imagine she’d start saying it yet! She is starting to learn their names, the 4 Mrs. Reds are easy, “Top,” for MopTop, “Laly” for the Painted Lady, and 3 of the 4 baby chicks’ names. “Divozzo” is a bit hard for now (: By the way, the chicks are getting very big, Otto is almost big enough to leave the nest! Everyone but Iris has been given the boot and has to sleep out of the protection of mum’s bum. Jess has a few more names to learn but the “thank you,” was beautiful. Tonight at dinner, after every bite of egg she said, “Thank you.” At first I thought she was speaking to me, thanking me for cooking her dinner, but nope, it was for the creator of the egg. “Pretty” was an important word this week, she pointed out that the eggs were pretty, that the chicks were pretty, that our dried flowers were pretty, that various clothes were pretty and that, (smile) “mommy…pretty.” “Side” tells us that if we are outside, she wants to go inside, and if we are inside, “side” means, “let’s go outside.” She even says, “Jess” now!
Jess has become a story teller. Tuesday night I was avoiding the kitchen at dinner time because it was herbal tea day. We went down to the new shed to hang out. We blew bubbles, pressed flowers, watered the herbs and sprayed the aphids infesting the citrus trees with soap. On the way back up in our super cool wagon (thanks Mom and George!), Jess was riding proud with the empty watering cans and it was almost dark. I reached for the gate and grabbed a frog by accident and screamed. For the rest of the night Jacinta told the tale, over and over, “Froggy!” “Mommy!” “Touch” “Ahhhhh!”
She would change the word order and tell it just as excitedly the first time as the twentieth. It was beautiful. We visited Michelle on Tuesday morning, again to avoid being home on herbal tea day. Her daughter Emma burnt her leg on hot soup and Jess heard her scream and saw the ice being applied. So for the next few days she would say, “Emma” “ice” “owwwww!” and I’d fill in the blanks as she got excited and very involved feeling overwhelming compassion for Emma. Her memory is starting to surface. I noticed it this week when Jacinta pulled the photo of my mom and George down and said, “Gramma,” “birdies,” and pointed to her own shoulder to tell me that at Grandma’s house, you can see birdies that sit on shoulders! This warmed my heart, to think that at 16 months we left my mom in Indiana and that at 20 months, she still remembers these essential details.
This week I took back a bit of myself that I had been missing, a crafty side which leads me to sometimes make mediocre handmade gifts for people. They have a purpose, fulfilling my need for creativity, but not always a real use for the receiver.
I made a few cards out of dried flowers and had so much fun doing it! I often do this, begin a project and think…..”I could earn money doing this!” But, no, I won’t invest just yet, don’t worry. I’ve had this same thought with noodles, candles, herbal teas, jams, applesauce, grain coffee, herbal sachets, granola. Funny enough, I’ve always known I’ll never earn anything from knitting. In my spare thought time this week, while lying down with Jacinta I dreamed up a weekly farmer’s market here in Macksville that will take me years to organize. It kept me up thinking 2 extra hours that night too! Perhaps within 5 years or so, I’ll have something to sell! Today I had 4 hours to myself while Matt took Jacinta on a shopping trip to a bigger town. It was so quiet, being here alone, sitting in the new shed, looking out at the dam, sifting my fingers through compost soil, filling up 84 little pots, planting 20 different types of seeds and having the time to label them, water them and create a make-shift table for them. Another peaceful day, Thank you Mrs. Earth!
Here are a few recipes I’ve just adapted from other’s and enjoyed.
Bug Spray
1 part calendula oil 1 part rubbing alcohol
1 part cider vinegar 1 part eucalyptus oil (cheap here)
1 part tea tree/lavender oil
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies (typical Shana concoction)
2 bananas ¼ cup softened butter
1 cup peanut butter 2/3 cup honey
2 Tbs molasses 2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup oatmeal 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat germ ½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder 2 tsp baking soda
Combine wet ingredients
Combine dry ingredients
Mix wet and dry together
Make 4 dozen cookies
Bake at about 375 for about 10 minutes…
(temps are different here and I don’t watch time)
Good evening loved ones. What a lovely place to be writing, I am out on the veranda in the dark listening to the frogs, the flapping of bats’ wings, watching mosquitoes hover on the hideously bright computer screen and on my hands, and feeling a slight breeze. Typically I write in my bedroom but tonight Matt and I are here alone, with Mary and Keith on vacation and Jacinta gone to sleep. It is very peaceful, actually this whole week has been quite peaceful.
Matt and I decided to do a cleansing fast Monday through Thursday, a fast once done by the Seneca tribe in the Eastern US. It was fruit on Monday, herbal tea on Tuesday, vegetables on Wednesday and vegetable broth on Thursday. Matt was working so it was harder for him to lie low and just expend less energy. Thus he added coffee to his detox 2 days in to ward off headaches. I added a big piece of quiche on herbal tea day and Matt added in toast and Vegemite. We decided that herbal tea day was a bit over the top. I enjoyed the challenge and actually felt rejuvenated by Wednesday. I cooked less, enjoyed the simple taste of plain vegetables and fruit, and it was honestly a very good way to clean out the fridge. Typically fasting brings me to new heights and depths in my mind, but this one involved some nourishment, so that didn’t happen. Jacinta loved fruit day and still wishes it would return, but with a lack of water, I can’t be washing so many poopy nappies. We played a bit more indoors and lingered those extra few minutes with the chickens rather than bustling on to the next chore. We picked flowers and pressed them into books, and squirted the fruit trees with soapy water as our only garden work on Tuesday. I spent most nap times and evenings reading the Constant Gardener, a great big novel recommended to me by Matt and Maggie. On Thursday we decided again to adapt the fast and go out for pizza to celebrate the end (which should have been 12 hours later). We had a lovely night out and found a good restaurant to share with visitors. Thus, a peaceful week.
Matt worked at the bank all five days this week, so perhaps his week wasn’t as peaceful, but perhaps he had peace of mind earning a living. Watching cricket brings Matt great joy and there was a bit to see this week. I am still amazed by the length and depth of possible conversations about this sport. Perhaps it’s like beer or wine, an acquired taste. Hey, one day, I may be able to converse about cricket at length, just wait! Although, I’d rather knit, smile and tune out, so don’t hold your breath. The house water pump was still playing up this week so Matt spent time each day after work researching and fixing the problem. For now, I think the problem has been solved. The dam pump is another story, completely busted now, we spent time looking into the purchase of another and as I said before, it was an expensive mistake I made, bummer. As for the growing grass and broken mower, Matt solved the problem today without a machete. Although we’ve had no rain for 2 weeks, the grass is still long so he mowed the lawn with a tractor and weed wacked the entire orchard. If you have seen a weed-wacker, and can envision how big the “orchard” is, you’ll know that it was some real labor.
Au contraire from last week’s lack of outings, this week I got out quite a bit. Playgroup began again after the summer school holidays. Jess went back to the amazing array of big plastic toys she’ll never own and 25 little kids milling around her, ages 9 months to 5 years old. It seems that play group is just that to her, toys. It was interesting to see that this time she spent a lot of her time giving a baby doll a bath in the pool. She took breaks to chuck someone’s mechanical Care Bear in the pool (giving it a bath too), pursue other little girls’ fruit bowls, carefully delight in her own bowl of fruit, and rock on big plastic rocking horses. She is kind to others, but a bit unaware of them unless they happen to be riding the same horse. Rory, her one friend who visits the house, seems to have the same take on playgroup, toys! They delight in each other’s arrival, “Rory!” and then it’s off to explore on their own.
Matt and I went out alone again this week, for our first choir practice of the season. My friend Michelle brought Rory over to play and take care of Jacinta while we went out to sing. We had fun learning South African freedom songs, one new one in Zulu, and one that we knew in English, and a gypsy song by Zap Mama. Singing in 4 part harmony is just celestial for me, and I don’t often get to sing in a choir with Matt. We lack men, so they were very happy to see Matt, example: all of our tenors are women pushing their voice limits. Out of 12 people, there are 2 Americans, 1 Brit, and 1 German, not including Matt who is now ½ American (hee hee). The choir director is very cool, seems to have lived in Africa for a while. All the while Jacinta was at home loving her time with Michelle and Rory, seemingly not conscious that anything had changed since we snuck away without saying goodbye. When we returned we found her wide awake at her little table drawing with crayons, and just looked up at us to say hello. As Michelle said, she got to know her better that night than all of our time together, Jacinta is a very strong and determined little girl. She knows what she likes, what she wants and will find a way to tell you.
“Thank you Mrs. Red,” Jacinta said to the reddish brown hen as we leave the chook pen with our 3 eggs in hand. I’ve tried to teach her to thank the chickens for the gifts they offer, but I didn’t imagine she’d start saying it yet! She is starting to learn their names, the 4 Mrs. Reds are easy, “Top,” for MopTop, “Laly” for the Painted Lady, and 3 of the 4 baby chicks’ names. “Divozzo” is a bit hard for now (: By the way, the chicks are getting very big, Otto is almost big enough to leave the nest! Everyone but Iris has been given the boot and has to sleep out of the protection of mum’s bum. Jess has a few more names to learn but the “thank you,” was beautiful. Tonight at dinner, after every bite of egg she said, “Thank you.” At first I thought she was speaking to me, thanking me for cooking her dinner, but nope, it was for the creator of the egg. “Pretty” was an important word this week, she pointed out that the eggs were pretty, that the chicks were pretty, that our dried flowers were pretty, that various clothes were pretty and that, (smile) “mommy…pretty.” “Side” tells us that if we are outside, she wants to go inside, and if we are inside, “side” means, “let’s go outside.” She even says, “Jess” now!
Jess has become a story teller. Tuesday night I was avoiding the kitchen at dinner time because it was herbal tea day. We went down to the new shed to hang out. We blew bubbles, pressed flowers, watered the herbs and sprayed the aphids infesting the citrus trees with soap. On the way back up in our super cool wagon (thanks Mom and George!), Jess was riding proud with the empty watering cans and it was almost dark. I reached for the gate and grabbed a frog by accident and screamed. For the rest of the night Jacinta told the tale, over and over, “Froggy!” “Mommy!” “Touch” “Ahhhhh!”
She would change the word order and tell it just as excitedly the first time as the twentieth. It was beautiful. We visited Michelle on Tuesday morning, again to avoid being home on herbal tea day. Her daughter Emma burnt her leg on hot soup and Jess heard her scream and saw the ice being applied. So for the next few days she would say, “Emma” “ice” “owwwww!” and I’d fill in the blanks as she got excited and very involved feeling overwhelming compassion for Emma. Her memory is starting to surface. I noticed it this week when Jacinta pulled the photo of my mom and George down and said, “Gramma,” “birdies,” and pointed to her own shoulder to tell me that at Grandma’s house, you can see birdies that sit on shoulders! This warmed my heart, to think that at 16 months we left my mom in Indiana and that at 20 months, she still remembers these essential details.
This week I took back a bit of myself that I had been missing, a crafty side which leads me to sometimes make mediocre handmade gifts for people. They have a purpose, fulfilling my need for creativity, but not always a real use for the receiver.
I made a few cards out of dried flowers and had so much fun doing it! I often do this, begin a project and think…..”I could earn money doing this!” But, no, I won’t invest just yet, don’t worry. I’ve had this same thought with noodles, candles, herbal teas, jams, applesauce, grain coffee, herbal sachets, granola. Funny enough, I’ve always known I’ll never earn anything from knitting. In my spare thought time this week, while lying down with Jacinta I dreamed up a weekly farmer’s market here in Macksville that will take me years to organize. It kept me up thinking 2 extra hours that night too! Perhaps within 5 years or so, I’ll have something to sell! Today I had 4 hours to myself while Matt took Jacinta on a shopping trip to a bigger town. It was so quiet, being here alone, sitting in the new shed, looking out at the dam, sifting my fingers through compost soil, filling up 84 little pots, planting 20 different types of seeds and having the time to label them, water them and create a make-shift table for them. Another peaceful day, Thank you Mrs. Earth!
Here are a few recipes I’ve just adapted from other’s and enjoyed.
Bug Spray
1 part calendula oil 1 part rubbing alcohol
1 part cider vinegar 1 part eucalyptus oil (cheap here)
1 part tea tree/lavender oil
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Cookies (typical Shana concoction)
2 bananas ¼ cup softened butter
1 cup peanut butter 2/3 cup honey
2 Tbs molasses 2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup oatmeal 1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat germ ½ tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder 2 tsp baking soda
Combine wet ingredients
Combine dry ingredients
Mix wet and dry together
Make 4 dozen cookies
Bake at about 375 for about 10 minutes…
(temps are different here and I don’t watch time)
posted by Matt & Shana & Jacinta & Genevieve Henry at
11:03 PM
1 Comments:
Ok, does this bug spray really work? I would consider making it for Madelyn as I hate dousing her with the chemical variety. However, she is allergic to mosquito bites (of all things, in Michigan!) and it has to actually work!
By the way, I have pretty much just been reading Shana's weekly email. I have not been frequenting the blog. I will from now on. I have missed so many photos and quirky comments!
Sorry to hear about he demise of the pump. Did you try duct tape and a bigger hammer? This is truly all of the maintenance advise that I can give!
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