Mulled Cranberry Apple Cider

Normally, we don't drink juice of any kind, as the fructose in that highly concentrated form is almost as bad for you as the processed sugar in pop. We go with purified water, or raw milk, or honey-sweetened tea. At this season of the year, however, with scads of people coming in and out of the house, it is nice to have a little "something special" warming up your hands, your tastebuds, and making you feel good all over.

This recipe got particular rave reviews this past weekend. I would like to lay exclusive claim to the origin, but I am pretty sure I stole the idea from one of my aunties. Enjoy:

Mulled Cranberry Apple Cider
Serves lots!

In a large (LARGE!) saucepan or crockpot, mix the following ingredients:

3 L (or Qts.) unsweetened apple juice, not from concentrate (raw is best, if you can find/make it)
1 L (Qt.) unsweetened cranberry juice (if possible not from concentrate, but good luck finding that!)
1/2 bag fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 small bag frozen mixed fieldberries
1 stick cinnamon, at least 2" long
4 whole cloves

Heat on a very low temperature until steaming. Do not let boil. Serve by ladling into mugs. Maintain heat over low temperature for duration of party. After several hours, if there is only a little bit left in the pot, it may need to be watered down some. (Those dregs can get pretty potent!)

Happy holidays, everyone!

This Is Your Wake-Up Call

Jude got his sleeping patterns from his mother--he would rather stay up late and sleep in than go to bed at 7:30 with his brothers. We normally don't let this sort of thing fly--after all, Mommy and Daddy have plenty of non-conducive-to-child-involvement stuff that they do while staying up late. (Like scrapbooking, reading, and watching movies. What were you thinking of?) In the past, Jason has threatened to wake Jude up on a school day by lifting him up by the ankles and swinging him around until he is awake.

With all the guests over the weekend, and the kids going to bed, on average, several hours after their normal bedtime, the wake-up times of all three children seemed to be getting later, but most especially for our firstborn . Thus, it was no surprise this morning when I had to wake Jude up at about 8:40--I knew I had probably let him sleep too long already, but c'est la vie.

After missing his dad this morning before Jason left for work, Jude had this conversation with Jason tonight before bed:

"Dad, can you wake me up in the morning before you go to work? You can pick me up by the ankles if you want."

"Okay."

"But you don't need to swing me around."

"You think just picking you up by the ankles will do it, eh?"

"Yeah."

And I thought my alarm clock was jarring...

-----------
Edit: Apparently, I should have had Jason write this one. He recorded the accurate, and much funnier story in the comments, which I am putting up here for those of you who never read the comments:

December 30: For the record Jude was awake right at 7 a.m. sharp as soon as I hopped out of bed. I think his subconscious was quite "attentive" and ready to wake up Jude on a second's notice to avoid the "hanging".

I know this may seem to be a bit picky but here is a more accurate version of the conversion if you want to update the blog. I won't be offended if you don't because you are on dialup. This is more for posterity and because I think the original version is even funnier than the version you wrote.

The conversation was like this.

"Dad, you can wake me up in the morning before you go to work. You can pick me up by the ankles and swing me around if you want."

"Okay. Are you sure?"

"But if I wake up when you pick me up by my ankles you don't have to swing me around."

"Are you sure?"

"Ya, only swing me around if I don't wake up. I think I will wake up when you pick me up by the ankles."

"Probably. Go to bed now, OK? If you are not awake in the morning I will wake you up."

"OK, Dad. Don't forget to pick me up in morning."

"Don't worry son, I won't forget. Goodnight."

On the 8th Day of Hannukah...

What a great, great day... and week...

Admittedly, like every week, it had it's ups and downs. But, since it is very late, and I am very tired, I am going to try to limit my rambling and write this post in an eight-point list, one for each day of Hannukah. (That does not necessarily mean that each point will correlate with events from the same-numbered day! Just warnin' ya.)

1. A brief explanation: Jason and I decided to stop celebrating Christmas in 2003, after being shown a video that had much of the same information as this article. (Thank you to my cousin Alex for bringing the article to my attention.) I highly recommend that if you only have time to either a) read the rest of this blog post or b) read the article, pick B. Trust me, I won't be offended. (Plus, B is much more likely to have a lasting impact on your life than the next 7 points I'm going to expound on at this late hour.)

Since that time, we have not really "celebrated" anything at this time of year. And, contrary to what some people may think, our kids are not emotionally scarred by growing up knowing that not only does Santa Claus not exist, but that Jesus was not born on December 25th, and this time of year is not about getting whatever we ask and beg and plead for, and that Mommy and Daddy won't lie to them, even for fun. Our Decembers have passed nearly stress-free while we watch the buying frenzy over a quiet cup of hot chocolate from corner coffee stands in the mall, and perhaps scoop up an after-Christmas deal on the yearly board game we buy for our family's trove, or Noah's birthday in February. Our wallets are not any more pinched in January than any other month (especially now that we are not paying the heating bills for our drafty "ex"-house in forty below weather), and we feel much more at liberty to bless friends and family with gifts at any time of the year we pleased, instead of playing the "political gift-giving" game every December.

However, over time we have had a growing interest in the Judaic roots of our faith--the "root" of the tree to which we, as Gentiles, are grafted into. While Hannukah is not one of the 7 major feasts on the Jewish Calendar, we thought this would be as good a time as any to start learning more about it. Thus, we celebrated our first Hannukah this year, replete with gelt, and Spin the Dreidel, and lots and lots of latkes. Yum!

2. I love holidays. And by "holidays," I mean "days off," of course. Even if it means that I just get to work in a different way, I have been enjoying my fair share of relaxing, too. Plus, I mended at least 7 items on the pile, including a favourite red sweater of mine that needed the zipper replaced for at least a year.

3. Red is my favourite colour. For years, I've been saying I have no favourite colour, but when I look into my closet and realize that I reach for red more often than anything else, and love just adding a hint of red to whatever I'm wearing (or scrapbooking!), I have to admit that yes, I do have a favourite colour. And that's okay! :-D

4. I promised myself I would not gloat to folks back home about the weather here when we moved, because I remember how I would feel when my mother would call me on Christmas Day and brag about the fact that she was wearing shorts, while I had to put on at least fifteen layers to cross the street and get the mail. SO! I just want to clarify that this is not a brag--this is a recording for posterity. (This is my journal, after all.) Today, for church, I wore what many would consider a "summer" cotton dress. I wore tights, and calf-high leather boots, and a longish sweater, and a scarf. That's it. December 28th. It was awesome.

5. The reason I needed to record that for posterity is that it is nearly official that our sojourn to warmer temperatures has a soon-coming end. With the economic slowdown, it looks like we will be heading north by spring. (Hopefully not before, as moving to Alberta at the end of January is definitely NOT our idea of a good time!) God could work a miracle, and January could be amazing, but statistically-speaking, that is not likely to happen. So. That's that. Needless to say, we have mixed feelings about it all. You'll probably get to hear lots more about those in future posts, so I won't keep on about it right now.

6. Wowee, have I been doing a lot of cooking this week. We had a planned Hannukah party tonight, to which we invited our pastors Victor and Susan and their kids, and the youth pastor Adam and his wife Alicia and their kids. That was really, really fun, and we had a blast getting to know them a little bit better. Of course, there was lots of food, with latkes being an integral part of the menu! (A latke is a cake fried in oil. Tonight's were potato and apple latkes with home-made applesauce. Yum!)

However, one of the families I invited were not able to come tonight, so at the last minute we had them on Friday night instead. They are a wonderful couple named Gerald and Bonnie Nipp. We met them because they run an organic chicken and egg operation, and we tracked them down on the internet. Without going into too much detail, I just want to say that I love these people in an inexplicable, "soul-attraction" sort of way. We have so, so much in common. Anyway, that night we had cheese latkes (which I made) and zucchini latkes (which Bonnie made) to accompany a chicken dinner with lots and lots more food!

And on Thursday, although we were not celebrating Christmas, I was still planning on cooking. Obviously, we still need to eat, so I thought this would be a good night for East Indian food. Lamb and Mint curry, Dahl curry, basmati rice, chapatis, and salad made for a wonderful feast. We found out that two of Mom and Mike's friends were both alone that day, so we invited them to share the meal. One of the guests brought a Singaporean dessert that was fantastic, and the perfect end to the meal. Surprisingly, no latkes that night. (I think we had had them for lunch.)

7. I have also managed to squeeze in a scrapbook layout here and there. I haven't scanned them all, but here's a couple that I really love:




8. "Latke" is really fun to say. Try it: "Latke, latke, latke..."

Happy Monday, friends! I hope your holidays were blessed!

Do You Hear What I Hear?

I love that Adonai heard
my voice when I prayed;
because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.

The cords of death were all around me
Sh'ol's constrictions held me fast;
I was finding only distress and anguish.
But I called on the name of Adonai:
"Please, Adonai! Save me!"

Adonai is merciful and righteous;
yes, our God is compassionate.
Adonai preserves the thoughtless;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
My soul, return to your rest!
For Adonai has been generous toward you.
Yes, you have rescued me from death,
my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.
I will go on walking in the presence of Adonai
in the lands of the living.
I will keep on trusting even when I say,
"I am utterly miserable,"
even when, in my panic, I declare,
"Everything human is deceptive."

Psalm 116:1-11 (The Jewish Bible)

Raw Milk vs. Pasteurized: What's the difference?

I began this blog almost three years ago, and for most of that time I have had on my "to-do" list to write a post about why I prefer to drink raw milk. Well, I'm not really getting around to it: I am borrowing a well-written summary from someone else.

Right now, you can go and cast your vote to raise awareness with the new Obama team to help get the issue of legalizing raw milk into their "top ten issues" list. You will have to sign up for the site, but it is a quick and simple procedure--you can always cancel your account right after. Just go to:
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/legalize_milk

This post was written by Mary Rudinger, who included this in the comments on the voting page. With her permission, I am reprinting it here:

Milk straight from the cow is how mankind drank it for thousands of years. In the late 1800s, as people moved into the cities, urban confinement dairies sprang up. "Swill dairies" was the name given to feedlots where cows were fed swill from nearby liquor distilleries. Open milk wagons moving through city streets with horse manure complicated things. Milk from these dairies was of such poor quality that it was thought to be contributing to the high death rate of urban infants at the time (the yearly death rate of U.S. infants in cities was about half of the yearly birth rate).
In the 21st century, pasteurization is unnecessary if cows are raised in clean environments. Modern dairy procedures no longer necessitate sterilization. For the public health, raw milk must be a lawful choice for consumers who have studied the issue and choose raw milk.

Pasteurizing and homogenizing deprives milk of its natural nutritional content, and adds artificial chemicals and hormones. A propaganda campaign of germ phobia was launched in the early 1900s that exists to this day. The powers that be frightened city folk about the bacteria in raw milk. The propagandists did not reveal that raw milk has enzymes and lactic acids that prevent bad bacteria from growing. They did not reveal that when the inherent bacteria enter pasteurized milk, it grows quicker and becomes harmful because it is fed on the mutations and contaminants caused by pasteurization. Milk contaminated with bovine fecal matter and bovine disease could be sold as long as it had been pasteurized. In time, cows were dosed with hormones and antibiotics. Farmers could be sloppy, cows could be dirty or diseased, and milk became a cheap commodity designed for long shelf life, not human health.

According to the Weston A. Price Foundation:

"Pasteurization destroys enzymes, diminishes vitamin content, denatures fragile milk proteins, destroys vitamins C, B12 and B6, kills beneficial bacteria, promotes pathogens and is associated with allergies, increased tooth decay, colic in infants, growth problems in children, osteoporosis, arthritis, heart disease and cancer. Calves fed pasteurized milk do poorly and many die before maturity. Raw milk sours naturally but pasteurized milk turns putrid; processors must remove slime and pus from pasteurized milk by a process of centrifugal clarification. Inspection of dairy herds for disease is not required for pasteurized milk. Much commercial milk is now ultra-pasteurized to get rid of heat-resistant bacteria and give it a longer shelf life. Ultra-pasteurization is a violent process that takes milk from a chilled temperature to above the boiling point in less than two seconds.”

Homogenization strains fat particles through tiny pores under great pressure. Because of homogenization, an enzyme called xanthine oxidase is able to pass through the gut wall into the bloodstream intact where it attacks plasmalogen within artery walls. Plasmalogen is a tissue that makes up 30 percent of human heart muscle and artery wall cells. The body registers an injury and sends its nurse, cholesterol, to the scene to lay down bandaids – what we call cholesterol plaques. Over time, they calcify. Eventually this leads to blockage of blood flow, arteriosclerosis. Some doctors believe that the rise in heart attacks in America corresponds with the rise in consumption of homogenized milk.

The economic fight to kill raw milk is tremendous. For example, Dr. Al Sears wrote on 8-11-18: “You know I’ve raised some serious concerns about the health hazards of commercial milk. Specifically, I’ve talked about how pasteurizing and homogenizing strips milk of some natural nutritional content—not to mention the addition of artificial chemicals and hormones… The Australian Dairy Industry Council’s (ADIC) response was not friendly. They accused me of being a hired gun whose ideas about health and wellness make me a biased commentator. The phrase was ‘Mr. Rent a Statement for money’ and asked if I had anything better to do than write ‘false and misleading articles.’ Even the most skeptical reader would be hard-pressed to show how I profited from my statements about the dangers of commercial dairy products. I’m not in the business of selling milk. I don’t have any connection to the industry. All I did was suggest that organic milk was a better alternative, and cited a new study proving it.”

Too many people suffer from chronic illness. It is time to sift out the PR hype and competitive interests from the fact, and allow people to make their own choices in this matter. It took citizen activist groups to draw attention to the trans fat issue, and to the problems with mercury fillings. It is time we stopped letting the dairymen’s lobbyists dictate this issue.

Mary has been published in newsletters and health magazines. She says:

"I am amazed that the Obama site has the time to turn something like this around, that's great. I am holding an Obama-Daschle health care discussion in the Phoenix area December 28th. I am amazed how many people opened their databases to me, amazed at how much people want input into not just health care 'reform,' but the holistic perspective of creating a healthier population such that we need fewer medical services/interventions."

If anyone is interested in attending Mary's health care talk, please contact me (address at left) for her e-mail address.

Be well!

10-second Update

Wow, it seems that the weeks I have the most to blog about are the weeks that I barely have time to load the "compose post" page.

Here's a quick bullet list of what's been happening:

• While enjoying a soak in the jacuzzi last Saturday night, we received a phone call from Jason's mom that his uncle was probably only days away from dying of Hepatitis C. Obviously, we knew this would happen eventually, but not exactly when. We decided that Jason should go home right away to try and see him before he passed. He flew out early Monday morning and will return tomorrow night. So far, Dale is hanging in there, but it's been a good thing for Jason to get to spend this time with him this week, and see the rest of the family, too.
• This was our last week of home schooling before the holidays. Yay! A break!
• I've been trying to get our yearly newsletter together this week. Okay, I know I haven't sent it out for two years, now. Maybe I'll make it the "bi-annual" newsletter. Just be thankful I didn't stretch it to three!
• I bought the world's most expensive hot chocolate from the local coffee shop to pay "rent" for the high-speed internet I've been using while I check e-mail and post this in town, today. At least it tastes good.
  
• We have decided to celebrate Hannukah this year. I don't have time to explain why. It starts tomorrow, which makes it awkward, as we do not have a Hannukiah (menorah) and I will be out most of the day tomorrow, as Jason flies in tomorrow night. Oh, well. It's our first time, and we don't really know what we're doing, anyway. We'll blunder through it somehow.

Well, gotta go. The kids are whining and I've got projects to complete. Happy holidays, friends!

Celebration Time, Come On!

We stepped up onto the wrap-around porch of our bed and breakfast and traveled back in time: 120 years back, to be exact. The ornate Victorian mansion was beyond anything I had expected or dreamed. Inside we were greeted with an intricately-decorated Christmas tree and all kinds of decorations that looked like they had teleported out of the pages of Romantic Homes. The air was filled with the homy aroma of cinnamon (that started to make my nose run, actually, so it was probably a scented candle), and the inviting presence of Debra, our gracious hostess. She asked for our breakfast preferences, then gave us the grand tour: the ladies' parlour (with the 120-year-old Steinway and an open invitation to play on it), the gentleman's parlour (complete with a stuffed fox eating a quail, and a couple of stuffed pheasants on the wall above the fireplace), the dining room--already laid for breakfast, under the watchful eye of Queen Victoria--and tomorrow we get to see some of the guest rooms in the house (besides ours).

Five years. It has been almost that long since Jason and I have had a romantic getaway. I was 35 weeks pregnant with Noah, and we decided to use up a hotel certificate I had earned for all my hard work selling kitchen tools with The Pampered Chef for a weekend getaway to Banff--a much-needed respite before adding a new baby to the mix. It was the end of January, but we had a blast anyway. Banff is still a wonderful place to visit, even in the middle of winter, even on a tight budget. Jason splurged on a gorgeous bouquet of flowers and some new lingerie and a cozy robe, which were waiting for us when we got into the hotel.

For souvenirs, we got some good memories--and I got hit with food poisoning on our way home. Between all the road-side pit-stops so I could empty my stomach, we somehow managed to pick up Jude from my uncle and aunt's in Calgary and get all the way back to Red Deer, but by then I was dehydrated enough that I was beginning to have contractions. So, I got to spend the night in the maternity ward at the hospital, being re-hydrated by I.V. The contractions eased off, and I was able to go home the next day. Just another day in the life.

This time, we are not squeezing out whatever we can get for free or cheap out of our holiday. If Jason splurged on flowers and slippers before, this time the whole holiday is a splurge. This is by far the most luxurious holiday we have ever had. We are at The Empress of Little Rock--a restored historical mansion with mind-blowing attention to detail. Our room includes a shower spa, a jacuzzi tub where you can sit and watch the fireplace, and had a fruit basket, champagne, and cozy robes waiting for us. The finishing touch were the rose petals strewn over the bed. Upon closer inspection, these turned out to be silk, but still beautiful and fragrant.

Tomorrow, we will be trying to squeeze in a few different "touristy" things, possibly including a tour through the Clinton Presidential Library and the State Museum, but definitely including the play of It's A Wonderful Life tomorrow night. How great is that?

After finding out that we preferred tea over coffee with our breakfast, Debra asked us, "So what are you celebrating?"

With huge grins on both of our faces, the reply was "We're DEBT FREE!"

Definitely a reason to celebrate.

Can't Beat the Real Thing

"With all the publicity about eggs and cholesterol causing heart disease, the food industry quickly responded in making a preparation that looked and tasted like eggs ... one such product was called EGG BEATERS. An experiment was conducted at the Burnsides Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, by Meena Kasmau Navidi and Fred A. Kummerow in which one group of lactating rats was fed exclusively on fresh shell eggs and another on EGG BEATERS. The rats on fresh shell eggs thrived, were perfectly healthy, and grew normally. Those on EGG BEATERS did not grow normally, were stunted, and all died long before reaching maturity." H. Leon Abrams Vegetarianism: An Anthropological/Nutritional Evaluation

Fruit Stuffing

At the recent Thanksgiving meal, I experimented with a few new recipes. Mike declared this the best dressing he had ever eaten. I was inordinately embarrassed, of course, but it is always nice to have one's culinary efforts receive due appreciation.

Since there is another holiday upcoming where many people will be stuffing themselves once again, I thought I would share this with all of you.

Fruit Stuffing
Makes about 3 qts.

4 tbsp. butter
1 med. yellow onion
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
3 sticks celery, chopped fine
4 med. apples, washed and diced
3/4 c. raisins
1/4 c. dried cranberries (for a total of 1 c. dried fruit. Other ratios and fruits can be used, if desired)
2 tsp. dried sage
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. coarse grey sea salt
1/2 tsp. green peppercorns, cracked
3/4 loaf whole-grain or sprouted-grain bread, cubed
1 c. chicken or turkey stock

In a large cast-iron pan, saute onions, garlic, celery, and apples in butter until soft--about 5 minutes. Add dried fruit, spices, salt and pepper and stir-fry for one minute more. Turn off heat and mix in bread cubes and stock.

Place in lightly-buttered 3-qt. casserole and cover. Bake in 350F oven for 40-45 minutes or until top is golden and toasted. (I just popped mine in alongside my bird when it was almost done cooking.)

Enjoy!

Red Tie Affair

So, my new friend Alicia (who invited us to the Christmas Ball on Friday, along with her husband Adam) just sent me this photo she took of Jason and me dancing that night. It is the only photo I have of us from the evening, so I am glad it turned out so well!

(This sari earned me the "best-dressed" title from one of the gentlemen in attendance!)

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Paper Faces On Parade... Or Not.

Captain Jack? Shipmate Jason? Either way, one sexy pirate.

Belle in Burgundy.

The Cutest Lion with his fly open, ever.

Sir Jude of Arkanshire

Captain Noah Hook, who was too distracted to smile for the camera.

Okay, so we didn't so much go for the "masque" part of the Masquerade Ball. But we had fun dressing up in our costumes, none-the-less.

"Let me explain... No, there is too much. Let me sum up:"

Monday:
I was looking at a full week. I had nearly finished Jason's costume for Thursday night's upcoming Masquerade Ball, but had only barely begun mine. Some of the lace trimming that I had ordered for my dress from eBay had not even arrived yet! Sew, sew, sew...

Tuesday:
After dropping Jude off at karate, an error in judgment on my part led to the right side of our van being scraped up with paint from not one, but two other vehicles. Sigh. I don't have time to deal with an accident this week. But can I just say: "Thank the Lord for our emergency fund!!!"

I know you're wondering, so I'll just tell you. While trying to make a right turn around an SUV parked too close to the curb, I scraped her back bumper corner. Then, while trying to pull into the parking spot two cars ahead of her, I scraped another car's front bumper corner. Our van has the most damage by far. Nothing was hurt, except my pride. Sigh again.

However, two bright spots in the day: I got to talk to my friend Amanda, who called at just the right God-appointed moment to brighten my spirits. Then, we got invited to a private fancy Christmas party for Friday night by one of our church's associate pastors. Yay! The chance to meet new people!

Wednesday:
The nights just keep getting later, don't they? Whose stupid idea was it to make this costume, anyway?

The damage estimate on my van comes in at nearly $2000. Thank goodness for insurance.

Thursday:
Today is the big day. I have accepted that my costume will not be finished, as I have not even started altering the pattern for the gown yet. In fact, I still have some issues to work out with the panier and petticoat--fortunately, those are both solved by the time we leave for the party, in part thanks to advice from a local costume designer an acquaintance put me in touch with. Whoo-HOO! While I spent several hours sewing up a separate bodice to try and "fake" the rest of my costume, I must have done something wrong because it was WAY too small. Like "it-looks-like-I-made-it-for-my-kid" too small. Undefeated, I threw a cashmere shawl and a brooch on to cover up my corset and chemise and went with it anyway. The fan did a lovely job of keeping me cool under all those layers!

Jason ended up looking much more piratey than we thought he would. In fact, Cap'n Jack and Captain Hook were smash hits at the party. The kids had a blast chasing around and being chased by the other kids. And it was nice for us to get out and meet some people (at last!) Jude and Jason made Jude a shield to go with his knight costume as the finishing touch. Totally fun! (Blogger's being dumb right now, so I'll post photos later.)

Plus! For the first time in my life I met someone else with the same name as me! Hers is spelled Talina. Of course, I had to get a picture. :-)

Friday:
Part of my list of tasks for the day included hemming up the pants on the suit I had got Jason for our anniversary several years ago. He had never worn it because although it fit him in the shoulders (which is how I had to purchase it, considering how wide his shoulders are) it had always been far too big for him in the waist. Well, lo and behold, if we didn't discover that his desk jobs over the last couple of years weren't good for something! We had never managed to get the thing altered, and now we didn't need to! ;-D So, his pants got hemmed, and I got to see my hubby in a suit for the first time, um, ever? Unless you count the few times I have seen him in a tux at ours and other's weddings he was involved in. Me-ow, that's all I'm going to say about that.

We had a blast at the party, and met tons of new people from our church, even coming home with our first dinner invitation for this upcoming Thursday night! I would probably have had a lot more fun, even, if I had not twisted and sprained my ankle on the way to the party! I applied some peppermint oil, which reduced the inflammation and pain enough for me to manage through the night. I stayed off my feet as much as possible, though.

Saturday:
When I woke up, I could barely walk. It looked like my ankle had a baseball concealed inside it. Thank goodness Jason was going to be home to help with the kids all day. Oh, and also, to get me an ice pack. And breakfast. And tea...

I had originally planned to clean the house and maybe sew some more on my costume. (C'mon, I gotta finish it!) The whole "not walking" thing put a kaibosh on that plan, though. Instead, I propped myself by my "craft" table (also used as our classroom table), put my feet up, and did something I haven't done much lately--scrapbooked. It was wonderful. I got 5 whole layouts done, and played with oil pastels and glitter. I got ink on my hands and relived some good memories. No wonder I love this hobby!

I still had to go out and milk the cow in the afternoon. If only I had some good, proper "farmgirl" mudboots. But no, I have prissy, feminine-narrow "towngirl" boots. After some grunting, I managed to get my swollen foot into it anyway. Oops, I forgot that meant that I'd have to get it out again!

Mike's dog Tuffy is not usually here while I am milking, but when he is here, he is not supposed to be in the cow pen. Well, yesterday he was here, and not listening very well. I was nearly done milking the first side when he startled the cow. If it weren't for my sprained ankle, there would have been very little harm done. As it was, I dropped the bucket of milk and the cow stepped on my good foot.

I rarely cry actual tears from physical pain. However, I have to admit that as I finished milking the cow (because you have to finish) I cried. I cried some more when I had to take off those prissy towngirl boots. Even with Jason's help, it was an excruciating and slow process. And what's worse, how do you limp when you've got two "bad" feet?

Thankfully, with much icing, and essential oil application, and putting-up-of-the-feet, and a good night's sleep later, I was able to hobble out of bed this morning with only a barely noticeable limp. It has become more pronounced with use today, but things are definitely on the mend.

This week was one amazing roller-coaster ride. I don't know why we got all the excitement we had been missing out on crammed into one seven-day stretch, but I am looking forward to a week that is actually a little more structured and routine, with less of the vehicle-and-bodily-injury-type excitement, and more of the building-relationship-type excitement.

How was your week, friends?

Costume Diary: Captain Jack, part Two

Well, the pants are done. They turned out okay, if strangely saggy in the backside. The only problem is, as Jason said, "I don't feel very piratey."

I have to agree with him. So, our costume titles may be reduced to "18th-century gentleman and lady going to a masquerade ball." :-D

Of course, that is making the major assumption that my gown will be done by then. Which is not looking extremely likely at the moment, since I am still working out the kinks in the first and simplest part of my costume--the chemise.

To be Continued again...

Captain Jack, Part One