Pleasures and Precious Riches

Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant things.  Proverbs 24:3&4

     I read this yesterday, while skimming through Proverbs, looking for a verse to memorize.  These verses caught my eye and immediately made me think of my parents and the home I grew up in.  

     My father is the wisest man I know, and my mother is the wisest woman.  My parents built and established our house as a home and my mother was constantly teaching us everything she knew about the amazing world God created.  Because of her knowledge, the chambers of our house were filled with love, books, rocks, flowers, fresh baked bread, seeds, laughter, home grown veggies, and music - all the most pleasant and precious riches.

   My parents are wonderful people of God.

Teething babies and sick cats do not make for a pleasant afternoon.

Yesterday it sounded like a murder in progress in this apartment.  I am so glad that the woman underneath us was on vacation.  

Haydn, pronounced Hye-din, named after the composer, was sick yesterday.  Really sick.

It started when I was in the middle of mopping the floor.  He began puking, which, in keeping to tradition, he only does on a carpeted area.  As soon as I got one mess cleaned up he was working on expelling another.  I racked my brain for some reason for him to be sick, but found none.  Because I have a 10 months old, there was nothing that he could have eaten off the floor and no chemicals he could have gotten into.  He didn't seem to be running a fever and his nose was wet.  I tried to force some hairball medication into him, but it came right back up.  As he was gacking up the hairball medication, I stood up and knocked the scissors off the sewing table.  Jane woke up screaming bloody murder.  I picked her up, but with the cat howling feline doomsday verses at my feet, I couldn't calm her down.  I finally sat down and nursed her to calm her down.  

Meanwhile, Haydn was laying on the bed in the living room.  My husband and I slept on a twin mattress when we first got married, and we sometimes pull it out to sleep on just for fun.   The cat pooped on this bed, right in front of me.  I had considered locking him in the bathroom, but he had been in the litter box or throwing up every time I went to confine him.  Now I wished I had interrupted a puke in order to quarantine him.

I put a crying Jane in the high chair with a handful and ran the cat into the litter box.  The I called my mom while I cleaned up the mess.  She suggested taking away his food for 12 hours and locking him in the bathroom, which I did, as soon as he left the litter box.  After locking him up, I cleaned up the remaining puke piles.

This morning both the cat and baby are substantially happier.  Haydn is no worse for the wear after yesterday, and Jane seems to have no long term psychological effects.  

There are a lot of worse things that could have happened in combination.  I'm glad I only had to deal with a puking cat and a teething baby together.

Chickens

Someday I want to have chickens.  I want Americaunas and Barred Rocks for sure, maybe some heirloom Speckled Sussex.

In order to have chickens, we're going to have a yard of our own.  I'm fairly certain the apartment dwellers will not want to share their yard with 6 hens.  Since our first house will probably be in the city limits of town, I looked up the laws that I'll have to abide by.

* Six hens is the maximum number allowed per tract of land regardless of the number of dwelling units.

* No roosters.

* No breeding or fertilizer production for commercial purposes.

* No at-large (free roaming) chickens allowed. Must be kept in an enclosure or fenced area at all times. Chickens shall be secured in a henhouse or chicken tractor during non-daylight hours.

* Enclosures must be kept in a clean, dry, odor-free, neat and sanitary condition at all times so as not to cause odor or noise problems with neighbors. Enforcement is complaint-based.

* Enclosures must be located no closer than three feet from property line and at least 25 feet from another residence or business.

* Enclosures must provide adequate ventilation and adequate sun and shade and must be impermeable to rodents, wild birds and predators, including dogs and cats.

* Enclosures shall only be located to the rear of the dwelling or other main structure and may be located in the rear yard as required by the zoning code.

* The chicken owner shall take necessary action to reduce the attraction of predators and rodents and the potential infestation of insects and parasites.

* Chickens found to be infested with insects and parasites that may result in unhealthy conditions to human habitation may be removed by an animal control officer.

* The chicken owner must provide for the storage and removal of chicken manure. All stored manure shall be covered by a fully enclosed structure with a roof or lid over the entire structure. No more than three cubic feet of manure shall be stored. All other manure not used for composting or fertilizing shall be removed.

* Any violation of the ordinance that constitutes a health hazard or that interferes with the use or enjoyment of neighboring property is a nuisance and may be abated under the general nuisance abatement provisions of the city.

* Each day that a violation continues is a separate offense.

I really want hens but there is not a hen house any where that is impermeable to predators. 

I'm also not sure what to do with the chicken poo.  Our yard won't be big enough for me to move the hens around and let them 'graze', distributing the poo evenly over our lawn.

I think I'll wait till we have a house and yard before I start thinking more seriously about hens.  Or maybe we'll find a house in the country.  

No picture here

     I have no picture to post today because I couldn't capture it with a camera if I tried.
     God gave me a perfect moment yesterday.  
     It started raining so my husband, knowing I love the rain, told me to go outside.  I did, and the world was wonderful.  
     The wet concrete beneath my bare feet was warm and the rain fell steadily all around.  I was the only person outside for the wind to play with, and it cavorted around me, raising goosebumps that made me feel even more alive.
     The sky to my back was a light grey, a dulling silver mass, but in front of me the sky was breathtaking.
Periwinkle clouds stand, like giant Percheron, their silhouettes lined in white and a soft peach.  The blue sky is a subtle, yet bright, background for these patient majesties.  They don't move the entire time I am out there.  They wait for the wind to lead them away.
     The clouds around them gradually faded back above me into the grey mass.  Yet even the rain clouds had a patch that shows the sky, like the knees of well loved jeans show the scraped up legs they hold.
     The air was so full of the smell of rain on concrete that I could taste it.  The spicy sweet smell invigorates.  
Even the cars driving add to the music of the moment.  Nothing, not sounds, or colors, or smells, clashes together.  Everything is made into a soft and beautiful melody and harmony.  Even I am made more beautiful, the wind and rain curling my hair into rings around my face more perfectly than any beautician could replicate.
     I took in as much as I could, and then the moment was over.  The colors fade, and the world looks like an old photograph of itself.  My husband opened the door and I realize how soaked and chilled I am, but have seen the young dandelion leaves and the rain kissing and seen the world ring out for a moment of wonderful music.
     It was worth it.
     God is so good to me.

I want to be more of a producer and less of a consumer.

I want to be more of a Proverbs 31 woman.  She produces constantly.  She spins, weaves, cooks, sews, and sells.  She is always making things for her family or to sell.  She rises early and stays up late to do these things.  She is a hard working woman.  She doesn't buy pre-processed pre-packaged items. Everything is made with love and sweat.  I want to be more like her.  

I want less convenience and more pure labor.  It's better for you.

I will be a producer, not a consumer.

I will make my own bread, tortilla's, and rolls, not buy plastic wrapped preservative filled loaves. 

I will knit my own socks.  I wonder if there's a pattern for hand knitted toe socks...

I will grow my own tomatoes, not settle for watery red fruit.

I will write my own ideas, not just read other people's.  

I will make music, not just listen to it.  

I will produce, not consume.

A friend's post is making me rethink my blog.  I set it up only a week and a half ago.  I know that many people write to inspire other people.

I have no hopes of inspiring anyone other than myself.  If it does inspire others, it will be a miracle (an actual act of God) and have nothing to do with me or my writing.  

Is my blog doing what it is meant to do?  I like to think that so far it is.  We'll see how it's going in a couple of months.

In other news...

My sister-in-law taught me to knit Friday and I am going to knit a pair of socks.  Yes, I realize that this is not what most beginners start with.  I know people who have knit for a long time without ever knitting a sock.  However, if I can knit a sock, I will be able to knit anything.  At least in theory.

So far I have practiced knitting, purling, and casting on.  This evening I will practice kfb(Knit Front and Back), M1 (Make one), and (BO)Binding off.  As well as learning the ecryptic lingo of the yarn.

I have high hopes for this endeavor.  

At he moment I am borrowing needles.  I will be scrounging yard sales and  thrift stores for needles and yarn now.  As soon as I have either a circular needle or some double pointed needles I will begin my socks.

"Cheater Cheater Pants on Fire"

That's a home-schooler's playground taunt/accusation.  My younger brother said it frequently.
I have a confession to make.
I'm a cheater.
I cheat at sewing.
Only my most trusted friends are allowed to see the wrong side of any sewing project.  I will do anything possible to avoid seam ripping.  Anything.  Even cutting out the entire seam and starting fresh.  This normally works because most patterns are big on me to begin with, so I have a lot of room for this kind of fudging.
I also have a few other aces hidden in my sewing box.  For example, here is a dress I have sewn for Jane for the Fourth of July.

Adorable, huh?
Let me share some of the dirty little secrets this dress has.
None of the inside seams are finished.
The seams on one side don't line up.
I had no pattern, and therefore no instructions on how to put this dress together.  The skirt pieces were sewn to the front and back of the bodice separately and then the dress was sewn down the sides.  This was great, until the hems didn't line up.  I redid the hem, so now the stitches slope a little, but the bottom edge lines up.
I could not get the lining in the neck to lay flat.  I clipped the seams and ironed it until I was afraid of melting the fabric.  It still stood up, like a mandarin collar wannabe.
That's why there are little stars around the neckline.  I embroidered them to hold down the lining.  Sneaky, right?
I also made the neck big enough so I would not have to put in a zipper, buttons, Velcro, snaps, etc.  No closure of any kind on this dress.
Over time my sewing projects will get better, but right now my time is better spent reading a book to Jane than sweating over perfect seams on a dress she'll probably wear only once.