Celebrating Adam's Sixteenth Birthday

Our wee baby Adam, who stands at 6-foot 3-inches, is one, not so wee, and two, is now sixteen years old. Our Taurus baby proves his sun sign true every day, too. He's firmly grounded, fiercely loving, not easily swayed by foolishness, responsible, nurturing, creative, and oh, so funny. And more, he's a remarkable friend. (Recently, the two of us had the house to ourselves one evening and we spent the whole night watching the entire Mad Max franchise and discussing the upcoming installment. That night will forever be one of the Best Things Ever.)

We celebrated Adam with sixteen balloons, sixteen candles, gifts, surprises, and a cake. Adam thought a crab roll sounded like just the thing so we went over to Young's and sat in the sun by the ocean eating scrumptious seafood for an early dinner. What a perfect evening.

Alex and I pinch ourselves, occasionally, knowing that not all parents are so fortunate to know their teens and spend time together like we do. Adam and Olivia are also well-aware that not all siblings call each other friends. It is a profound joy to celebrate their teen years with them. There's no going back and I wouldn't want to. Our youngest is sixteen. He's marvelous and we love him beyond measure. Happy Birthday, sweet Adam.

Teenagers...What A Bunch Of Competent Individuals

We're screaming up on the heels of birthday season as it is, but then my wee babes have to go and look all adult-like, suddenly. What the hell? DON'T THEY LOVE ME?



Look at this guy, would ya? Wasn't he in some blockbuster summer movie? No? Well he should be! I took this photo while he was on his 87th run to tend to the ducks and chickens that afternoon, because he does things like that, I guess.



Though Olivia has had her driver's permit since she was 15, the last 18 months have thrown us some curve balls here, so Olivia simply renewed her permit and never scheduled her driving exam because life can be tedious that way sometimes. But she sent her card in a week or so ago and got her date and off she went on Monday to take her exam and pass her test all in one go like an almost adult or something (I had to take mine twice, wanna fight?)

And then she goes out all yesterday afternoon on her first solo trip to run errands and attend the Youth Activism Gathering meeting-because she's on the planning team-like she's just trying to prove how responsible and competent she is. (She also designed the YAG poster. Because. Skills.)



This was after she spent the morning sorting our older seeds testing them for germination. GAWD. Teenagers. With their patience. And abilities.

Whatever.

It's not like I'm proud of them or anything.

Beatrice

Trigger Warning for pet/animal illness, disability, death, grief, trauma, and loss.











We had to say goodbye to our beloved guinea pig,  Beatrice, yesterday, a little less than a year after having to say goodbye to her companion Annabelle, which seems wholly unfair. Beatrice was middle-aged and reasonably healthy until this month, when she began showing signs of weight loss and UTI symptoms. By Monday this week, she began to refuse food and water and so we packed her up and drove her the two hours to our caring and skilled guinea pig vet. There, they discovered she had several bladder stones, one larger than a pea, near the end of her urethra, and the vet was, miraculously, able to flush them out. The procedure went well, Beatrice recovered from the anesthetic normally, and we went home with her. And still, she would not eat or drink unless we force fed her, which we did. Worse, she was not eliminating. Back to the vet we rushed yesterday morning, and our vet kept her for the day and medicated her for pain and attempted to rehydrate her and get more food in her, but it was clear by 5pm that Beatrice was fading. We all knew her prognosis wasn't good, but there was a sliver of hope that with enough fluids and nutrition, she might begin to rally. Unfortunately, that was not the case, and she was in distress. Having prepared Olivia and Adam for this probable outcome, as we did regarding Annabelle, they had said their goodbyes and given hugs and kisses before we left. And with everyone in agreement via text messages filled with sad emojis and many hearts, Alex and I held Beatrice one last time, rocking her and whispering our love to her, just as we did with Annabelle.

Beatrice, you were a funny, adorable, fluffy, goofy, and bossy guinea pig and we adored you so. We will miss you.

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things : Yuletide : Day Twelve

This was one of those days when it was a true pleasure to wake up with the sun, as there was actual golden sun gleaming through the trees and in through our windows, which was most welcome after a long stretch of gray days. With family arriving at noon, we got busy in the kitchen preparing the ham, potato leek soup, more Yule bread and filling cookie boxes for family to take home with them. With everything ready ahead of time, I grabbed my camera because the sunlight was so beautiful, and I went around snapping the house, singing carols and fluffing pillows, as needed. Doing so, I was gratified to see our treasures, amassed over two decades (and longer if you count the things from both my and Alex's childhoods), that help us mark the season, looking so sweet and lovely through my camera lens. The painting by my mother, the glove finger puppets from my childhood, the snowflakes our children cut (three to a window), my new Santa and Reindeer, our basket of Yule books that keeps being added to, the paperwhites in the American pottery, and the hundreds of special ornaments that adorn our tree. Later, it was family, gathered in the kitchen, and then at the table, and eventually around the tree to exchange gifts. These are a few of my favorite things. This our Yuletide, may we always keep it well.

On Not Hurrying: Yuletide : Day Eleven

Today started out both early and gray. We had our usual chores of feeding the chickens and ducks, guinea pigs and cats, and Alex started his Yule bread dough rising. We woke to some the mildest weather in weeks, and it's been so gray this entire month, so we were looking forward to the sun that was meant to show up in the afternoon. The kettle boiled and three of us sat to have cups of dark tea while carols played, and one of us slept in just a bit longer. Soon, all of us were together, eggs were scrambled, more tea was poured, and someone said we should do stockings. Oh, yes, of course, stockings! Then we sat at the kitchen table, opening our stocking gifts and drinking more tea, and we loved one another. Alex checked his dough, punched it down, and some of us went to brush teeth and properly dress for the day. Not one of us hurried.











The not hurrying turns out to be our favorite part of Yule and Santa Day in particular. There's no need to end the day by 9am, and we all relish the postponement of opening the gifts, wrapped so charmingly. The anticipation is sweet, and we wanted to savor it. Late morning, however, we all made our way to our tree, settled into our seats, and passed each other gifts. Olivia, as she did last year, had made us all something personal; hand-knit cowls for Alex and Adam in colors that bring out their eyes, and a darling felted portrait pin of a Speckled Sussex hen for me. For the family, to go with our felt Beatrice and Annabelle ornaments she made last year, she gave us a Claudia. Now we have a trio of guinea pigs to hang on our tree. Adam made us laugh with his attempts at reading German in the booklet that came with his new wood carving set. Olivia was so pleased with her wireless speaker, music lover that she is. Alex received his usual mixture of geekery and the practical, and this year it was Terry Pratchett and chainsaw gear. And then there was me, also as usual (I think my husband delights in finding the gift that will make me cry), sobbing over the gorgeous hand painted box with the soft sculpture Santa and Reindeer inside, made by our friend, Phoebe Wahl, and even more sobbing when Alex read her note, aloud. I adore her art and even more, the way she captures the magic that I so love about Yuletide in her so many of her works. These pieces will forever be a whimsical and charming part of our Yuletide tradition.



By noon, the sun was streaming in and we were down to the last box, which was long and narrow and leaned against the wall. It was for both Adam and Olivia.











We gave the kids cross-country skis, knowing they will be put to good use here on the farm. Of course, we will need snow. This day has turned bright and sunny, and oh so green, outside. Since we had quite a bit of snow in November, we weren't very disappointed not having a white Yuletide, and I'm quite certain snow will return.

There's no hurry, after all. Not this on this day, when everything feels good and magical and precious. Blessed Yule!