Putty and paint

Good day y’all! Hope all is well in your land, no complaints here. Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat. Actually, we have no geese, but the chick that hatched last week is still alive and getting fatter. The clucky gray hen is seemingly pleased to finally be a mother after all of that effort. I wonder if she’s disappointed that she only has one chick to look after. Perhaps she had a few more starting out but lost them to snakes and lizards. One chick will surely be enough for me!

This week was cooler than most and feigned signs of thunderstorms almost every day. Matt and I have decided that most people who assure you that a storm is coming from this direction or that and that it will surely arrive by the afternoon, are full of it, even people who are paid to predict the weather. My theory has become: it will not rain. If dark thunderclouds hang directly above, hang the laundry out. It will rain five drops, then blow over and completely skip our little five acre lot. Our poor garden looks amazing for the dryness it has withstood. Lo and behold, last night it rained! It rained more than five drops, perhaps millions! It was enough rain to worry us while we puttied the floorboards next to the big window with two sections of glass missing. Today it rained again, enough to help out the water tank and surely enough to make the plants smile! The garden doesn’t get much help from me these days, but the rain has pitched in a bit. The cows came in again and left their mark, more lost corn and a nectarine tree branch. Harvest is about all I can do right now, it has been fun picking corn, peppers, lettuce, beans, swiss chard, squash, tomatoes, a strawberry here and there, and loads of cucumbers. Munching on borage flowers in the garden is a new thing for Jess and I, they are lovely to look at and in salads. We have nasturtium flowers everywhere but they are a bit spicy for our taste.

Most of our time has been spent on the house, its completion is getting so close we can taste it. Matt has had another week fully devoted to house building and has pushed himself to make it worthwhile. We’ve had a few less naps and a few late nights, but what has been done is shocking. All of the dry wall has been installed, glued together with putty, sanded, and painted with two coats. The ceilings are all white, the kitchen/living room is a salmon-like orange, the hallway is purple, our room is a sage-like green, and Jacinta’s room is yellow and blue. Matt is out there right now finishing up second coats on the hallway and then, painting will be complete. For the time being, we’re skipping the bathroom completely. Tonight we will finish puttying the floor and tomorrow, Matt will sand the floorboards. In doing so, we will discover the true color of the hardwood which has been either dirty or covered in floor putty since we found it in the building pile outside. By Monday morning when the rent-a-sander needs to be returned to the hardware store, we’ll have walls, windows, floors that are nearly ready to be used. Matt goes back to work at the bank next week but will try and build closets in the evening so that we can move into the bedroom section sometime soon. It is hard to believe, yet very exciting that perhaps next month we will be in our own space.

For the time being, we are still in shared space, not only with kind Keith and Mary, but with a rat. This week, it decided to come and live in our bedroom. At nights, I would awake to him either rummaging in the garbage basket, Jacinta’s musical instrument basket, Matt’s closet or under the couch. In my frustration I would try to scare him off by throwing things at him and making him run from one side of the room to another. My goal was to oust him from the room, but it didn’t work. I actually stepped on it at one point and screamed. It is summer and we have no food in our bedroom, I do not understand. The traps don’t work, they don’t take the bait. Hopefully our section of the house will be rat-proof. Keith found a rat’s nest behind a couch in the lounge room. Contents: lids to dog food tins, a few of Jacinta’s toys, a seashell, the box from the rat poison, a piece of paper that was originally taped to a cupboard saying, “Keep doors closed to keep out mice!” and an empty packet of corn seeds. I was actually elated to find that corn packet as I thought I had gone crazy having placed it on the cupboard one night and the next day searched the house for the seeds to plant. I haven’t gone crazy, the rats are just good thieves.

Speaking of rats, Jacinta’s newest phrase is, “Something stinks in here!” It could be anything from a dead mouse to the normal passing odor coming out of a busy bathroom. Never fear, Jacinta will not let it go unnoticed. Nor she will be unnoticed every ten minutes saying, “I need something to eat,” or “I wanna eat some fruit.” We are trying to teach her the difference between needs and wants, but I don’t think she really understands. She is also learning to ask other people to get what she wants. On Friday my friend Trish accompanied Jess and I to Kempsey for a doctor’s appointment and a picnic at the river. Trish will assist at the birth so that Jacinta can come and go as she is comfortable in the room so they are spending more time together in preparation. Jess has learned to ask sweet Trish even when I am present, “Trish…I’m hungry. Can I have something to eat?” It may be fruit and crackers she’s after and not candy and cookies, but it’s constant and used as entertainment rather than nourishment. Even at playgroup, she’ll hang next to me begging for any handouts until she is firmly told she MUST go and play. Then she’ll come back ten minutes later and try again. I assure you, she is not starving. It may be that I used food too often as appeasement when she was younger. I love food, yeah, that’s probably it.

Thursday night the Yarahappini acapella choir in which I sing did a little show for our families. We sang about nine songs, none of which had anything to do with Christmas and had a nice time. We had all brought food and wine, so there was quite a spread before us as we sang. Jacinta was in hell looking at the table full of fruit, cheese and crackers for all nine songs having been told that she must wait until we had finished singing. She hung on me for half of the songs, but luckily I escaped her for the one Zulu song I had just learned the lead for. It was great fun singing the lead in this lively South African freedom song, having the choir follow a few beats after me. African music makes me so happy, the harmonies are just so different to Western music. Choir and playgroup will come to halt now as school children go on holiday until February. I suppose this will make me relax more at home which can only be good for me and the baby.

Matt and I have now had three “Calm Birthing” classes and are truly enjoying the opportunity to relax. The last two times we have brought Rae, the midwife down to the shed near the orchard, and had our classes in camp chairs. It’s so nice to sit and watch the garden for a few hours while we talk, learn, listen and meditate. Rae is very kind, experienced, and humble. We hope to have her at the birth as a doula if she is not on shift at the hospital. My health is fine although I’m low on a few vitamins and am working it out with the doctors. It makes me sad that I must get a shot of vitamin B12 rather than eat it, but I’ve tried my own way and it’s not working. So I suppose I should just be grateful for the help. I had a 24 hour nausea experience, but luckily it washed away when Jess and I went to the beach. Other than that, I can feel the baby’s head from time to time, feel great and have enjoyed life and especially, helping out on the house this week.

Christmas is almost here. Typically I busy myself in preparation for this holiday making gifts for loved ones. This year, I can find time only to build the house, nourish myself and my family (when they want something healthy), and keep our living space slightly clean. It is a different year, and I will welcome the free time again when it returns. It’s hard to contemplate how different life will be three months from now, but I surely am excited for the change! Hot Christmas will never mean much for me unless I can dig up some inner meaning to connect me to all I know and love about Christmas with my mom, dad and sister in the Midwest. As I grow up and experience it with Matt and my children, I suppose it will be my children’s only reality, not just a poor substitute for a white Christmas. All things in time.

Blessings to you all this week.

Peace,

Shana