Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and thyme.

Beth and I had the second in a series of unofficial "lessons" in natural and herbal remedies from Mrs. Flippen today. I missed the first one since we were in Indiana but got a quick catch up on what they did from Beth which was to make their own Echinneacea tincture. Today we finished it and I am now stocked for a long time! I counldn't beleive how much cheaper it is to make yourself!!! Of course you have to grow it in your yard like Mrs. Flippen does.

Anyway today we made a cold and flu remedy which is actually quite tasty to use as a salad dressing or take straight. First we spent lots of time chopping up a half cup each of parsley, garlic, onion, horseradish root, and ginger root. Then we put it in a quart jar and filled it to the top with raw apple cider vinegar. Next she chucked the whole concoction in the blender, put it back in the jar and closed the jar. It was so easy. Now I have it sitting on my counter and I have to shake it every day for a couple weeks to prevent any part from molding and then strain it into a jar through cheesecloth.

She also gave us a wonderful talk on her experience with natural remedies. She is a veritable bible of information. The most interesting thing I learned is that garlic contains two compounds which combine when it is cut open with a knife to produce a chemical called "allison" which has highly potent antibactierial and antiviral properties but is only active for twenty minutes and then its potency diminishes, so you have to consume it right away. Smelly I suppose, but fascinating nonetheless.

Anyway other than that I lazed about and ate cheddar cheese and pineapple (not together, that sounded really gross) all afternoon, did not go for my daily walk, and read a prengancy book Beth let me borrow while the kids trashed the bedroom. I did however practice some more guitar this evening. I still sound atrocious but enjoy myself thoughoughly.

So here's to herbal remedies and guitar --hence the most wonderful title of my post.

p.s. One of the few times I have ever wished to be a man has been trying to sing a Johnny cash song on the guitar. I don't think even the most feminist guitar player should attempt it. You just need a man's voice. At least Ben and I can sing "It ain't me Babe" together.

Better late than never. . .

I felt the baby kick two nights in a row now and it is so cute. I've felt this baby earlier than Angelica and Z. Anyway while searching for info on calculating due date by quickening which is how they did it back in the olden days I found this interesting article on calculating due dates with some very interesting statistics. First of all, this explains why most women I know tell me they are always "late" with their babies. As my midwife told me with Zita who was a "late" baby. They all decide to come out sooner or later.

So I for one intend to kick back, relax, and enjoy more platters of Chrismas goodies for the full Christmas season (which goes until Jan 13 AT LEAST) if little Hatke hasn't made his appearence. And if my baby isn't here yet, you can just bring me more fruitcake and admire my hugness.

http://www.transitiontoparenthood.com/ttp/birthed/duedatespaper.htm

Gwen I LOVE the new calendar. Thanks do much. Viva Italia!

Well onto the real topic of this post which is, gender predictions. I went to the midwife today and got to see Karen again, who I haven't seen since Zita's birth. She is so great. As you know midwives are women who practice dark arts and after many chants, incantations, and smelly herbs, the stars were read and Karen was able to tell me what gender the baby was. So much more natural than those weird "sonograms". Don't those make your baby have three heads?

Okay I'm joking. . . . really. I wish you would beleive me. I'm serious. Karen looks like the kind of woman that keeps Talbots in buisness.

Anyway, i think I am having a girl and that's that. I know I am fatter and huger sooner but I'm gonna chalk it up to third pregnancy at this point and starting the pregnancy eight pounds less than my pp weight with Zita. I don't know why. My vibe right now is girl. (Now lest ye think I am great at this kind of thing, my prediction for Zita was completely off the mark, and the chinese lunar calendar says I am having a boy.) Still right now I think its a girl.

Merry Christmas.

p.s. maggie I will call you tomorrow.
p.p.s. Do it Annie. Blogger welcomes you with open arms, or software, or whatever.

Wheee--four months along.

Latley I have grown out of all my pants and have been wearing more skirts. Maria just lent me a bunch of maternity pants though so now I am set. Another person I will firmly shake the hand of in heaven is the inventor of under the belly maternity pants. So much more comfortable.

Today we spent the entire day cleaning out our basement. We burnt large amounts of old college notes, papers, junk, etc, that has been sitting around our house. It was majorly theraputic to attempt to continue to declutter my life. For some reason burning things with memories attatched to them is much more satisfying then giving them to salvation army, who I know curses whenever they see my car driving off with its latest deposit there for them to rifle through. (Though of course burning almost anything is loads of fun. . . )

Of course I don't know if you all remember the days of livejournal when I linked to that girl who had totally embraced compacting andf manageed to fit all her family's essentials in a non cluttered way into that tiny 400 square foot apartment. I'm far away from that but I honestly am not the kind of person who loves living in huge spaces. It just stresses me out. I love visiting them, but I would be so happy in a small cottage. Of course it would be fabulous if all my freinds owned mansions, as they are so much fun to explore.

I suppose also it would be fun to live in a masnion with tons of other people so you only had to clean your little section of it. . . . .

sorry now I am rambling.. . .

In other news we sold our old car to a mexican man. He was awesomely hillarious. I think my favorite thing was when he said "come on, de money ees talking!!!!" Anyway it is nice to have just one car in our driveway again. . .

New skills, new bills.

Hooray for floors. As I speak two men in karate headbands are installing floors in my living room and I couldn't be happier.

This week has hallmarked two new skills that I am trying to pick up. One is soughdough bread making and I have a frothy tangy smelling bit of dough that has sat on my counter for a week. I have fed the little guy daily and I made my first doughdough loaf this morning. My previous efforts in this vein were about a year ago and the resulting bricks were chucked off of my back porch into the woods. They probably remain their uneaten and hardened into some kind of bread rocks that the squirrels play on.

But today's first attempt was actually edible and I ate it with my cafe late this morning. (by the way I got this very tre chic white cafe set at the thrift store (2 dollars!!!) that I have been using in the morning for breakfast. One thing I love about sourdough bread is it rises overnight and so you can have fresh warm bread with your breakfast. Now don't delude yourself into thinking that I am some sort of master breadbaker as one of my two loaves was cheerfully chucked into the woods this morning to join his brethren from the previous year. The other loaf however was somewhat lighter and had a nice chewy crust. Still . . . I have a long way to go.

The other skill I am trying to pick up is hardly worth mentioning since I am picking it up so late in life I will no doubt be popular with nobody but my children before they reach the age of reason. But I have mastered three chords on the guitar and am attempting to learn to play it without sounding like a trasho faker.

oop gotta go. Ben needs the computer. I'll finish this later. . . .

Joshua

Today it's been one year since little Joshua Schmiedicke left us for heaven. We wanted to make it out to the cemetary today but our break pads have worn out and we can't drive the car anywhere but the shop tomorrow. We are hoping to bring flowers out tomorrow evening though and Ben has been working hard on the design for the gravestone.

All our prayers to the Schmiedicke family today, for their continued consolation, healing, peace, and joy.

BACK!

No I'm not dead, we've just been visiting family in Lafayette. We had an enjoyable stay and my sister-in-law of limitless patience once again opened her doors to us all. The girls had lots of fun playing with their cousins and enjoying their favorite part of their grandmother's new addition, the mudpit in the backyard. (I enjoyed the rocking chairs on the back porch.)

We were bummed that we didn't get to talk to Father Tim, but after all, he is harder to see than the pope, so I shouldn't be too dissapointed.

It its good to be home in our own snug bed and be back into our routine. I have found that it is a source of increasing peacefulness for me the longer I have it. The last few days have been a little sad as the Powells are moving out of our basment. It is been such a fun adventure having them here and I will miss my daily chats with Beth while we hang out laundry and knead our bread. (those tasks women called drudgery long ago, only became drudgery when done in solitude--of this I am now convinced.) I will miss seeing Caryisa and Angelica play in the front yard chasing bugs and enjoying their curious conversations of which I can only imagine the topics. But I console myself that both our families are such gypsies that there is no doubt in my mind that the adventures of the past eight months will be repeated again.

And now I will be going through our pile of stuff in the basment and the harwood flooring men are comming the following week. AT LAST!!!

And thank God this has been a cool breezy summer so far. We are truly blessed. Other than two days in June I havne't pined for the AC once.