long skirts and high shoes

"His story went on. He had challenged another for the love of a lass in Pennsylvania many years before, and by that impulsive and un-knightly act, two children were born. A girl, Nelly Mae, and a boy, John, half-brother and sister you have never seen, he said. Looking down to avoid my stare of surprise and to soothe his apparently irritated conscience, I broke the deathly silence with a little humor. How could one distinguish sightless shape from beauty or ugliness? (I was old enough to understand how one could cheat another of his sweetheart under a chestnut tree, even in the days of long skirts or high shoes.)

His only answer was a refreshing chuckle that seemed to bring some hidden memories back to his aging mind. After a few moments he said, young man, the only change since the creation of mankind, in that natural emotional science, is time. The imagination is the same. We build a nest for two after that crafty conception. I asked him why he had never mentioned this subject before. He replied with a look of relief, as if some of the heaviness had left his mind, and went on to tell me about his early life up to the time of his marriage."

-another excerpt from my Great Grandpa Buckley's story

Have a good weekend!

"It will grow into a big... orange... pumpkin."

 David came over on Tuesday to help around the farm. When he walked into our house, the first thing he said was, "hello Jamie, how are you?" Elena (his au pair) and I were completely taken aback! This was the first time he'd ever asked Jamie in a full sentence how he was doing. Even more surprisingly, he went on to have a conversation about how his day at school was good, and so on, and so on.

It makes me so happy to see his verbal skills improving like this because when I first met him a couple years ago, David spoke mainly in single words. One of our goals was to teach him how to answer and ask the who what when where why questions. His therapists have clearly helped him tremendously this past year and he's so proud to be able to converse with other people in a way that they can relate and respond to. 

 Still, so much of the communication that David and I share is non-verbal or tonal (like through certain sounds and songs), which is why I feel that farming/kids/autism are so compatible. Have you ever read about the concept of plant perception? (I know, I know, that was a wiki link...) I first learned about it in a book I've mentioned here before and now I've done it again.

 In fact, I read this book when I was walking back and forth from David's house when I was still one of his therapists. (It's probably responsible for my shift in opinion of my role in ABA/VB therapy.) I remember meandering home, reading a passage about how plants have pores that open up every morning when birds start to sing. The tones of their songs actually trigger the cells to open. Then the plants silently communicate with one another by transferring vapors (like water and oxygen) from their bodies with each other and their surrounding atmosphere. Sounds like magic, doesn't it? They're called Stomata. And guess what? Humans have pores too. We're also sensitive to tones/frequencies.

That concept blew my mind, and woke me up to the fact that verbal communication is not the only form of communication. Maybe David was trying to communicate with me on a level I wasn't aware of... From that point forward we were smelling guitars, feeling their vibrating strings on our cheeks, and learning to spell words by associating them with particular musical tones. We put glue on our hands and felt it. We took walks and paused to look at trees. Not to glaze over them, but to actually see the patterns they traced in the wind, like towering, leafy goddesses. He opened my mind to a completely amazing way of experiencing this planet and the life we share upon it.

Our time together on Tuesday was wonderful. Of course, he wanted to go for a ride in the truck. He got in, rolled his window down, put his seat belt on, and we rambled down the gravel road in our little neck of the woods. I drove slowly, careful to take in everything about the journey to Pawnee's driveway and back. At first I started pointing things out to him, but I finally got it and just shut myself up. (Finally, McKenzie!) When we were almost home, David said quietly to himself, "I am really happy right now." (Gosh, typing that has totally brought tears to my eyes.)

ps. We planted pumpkin seeds together. And then he made it rain off the front porch...

a cold spell

 The forecast called for below freezing temperatures (even after the recent 83 degree day) so we covered the peach trees with wool blankets and sheets in an effort to keep the blossoms from being too cold. Fortunately, it never got cold enough to even mandate wool blankets, but the trees were prepared! I considered doing the whole misting water on the trees. Interestingly, the water freezes over the blossom, which emits energy into the blossom from the action of freezing itself. I never knew that freezing produced heat! Anyway, I decided to go with the blankets because I read that the water thing is risky and sometimes requires you to stay up the whole night monitoring the temperature and misting frequently.

the cutest things you ever did see

 Their names are Penelope and Melvin.

They live with Steph and Gene next door until it's warm enough to bring them outside.

They poop and spit up a lot.

They're obsessed with cleaning themselves and had a marvelous time ducking under the bathwater today. 

Kisses on their heads calm them down.

When they flap their itty bitty wings my heart skips a beat!

good, good news

Last week Jamie had his external fixator and PICC line removed. He's still on oral antibiotics and getting weekly blood tests to check on his low white blood cell count, but the worst is over! He's gaining dexterity by the day, and the holes have almost completely healed over.

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Those first photos show what happens when you leave taters in your closet for too long and forget about them. Oops! 

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Raked out the barnyard, mulched the orchard with poo, and planted one Flemish Beauty Pear, one Bartlett Pear, and one Montmorency Cherry yesterday evening.

What did you do this weekend?

we have ducklings!

But this post is not going to be about baby ducks, even though they're cute as can be... It needs to be a reminder to myself about my dressing habits. Yesterday I went through my wardrobe and bagged up 3/4 of it to donate. (See all those empty hangers?!) It was all from the thrift shop to begin with, but still, that's pretty bad. How did I let myself accumulate so much? I haven't even bought anything in six months! And I never buy anything new (unless it's underwear!) Anyway, I realized that I need a set of ground-rules for this area of my life. Sorry if this bores you, but it's necessary. Without further ado, dear me: 

Don't buy something if it doesn't fit perfectly. You are not going to make time to "alter" it like you imagine.  Yet.

Your clothes have to be soft, comfortable, and made from a material that's not synthetic. It just gets nubby and smells weird. You only ever wear like three or four cotton shirts anyway, so why have a closet full of I might wear it somedays.

Make sure that everything has at least a couple items to wear with it. Just because a shirt is well made and has a kind of pretty fabric, don't buy it unless you know what you'll feel comfortable pairing it with.

It's not calming to get dressed in the morning if your closet is filled with things that don't go together or don't feel comfortable to wear. Actually, you generally dislike picking out outfits. Let's try to make that more enjoyable by giving yourself less choice. Imagine yourself as a preschooler requiring order and routine.

 
You hate folding laundry. You hate it. So having less clothing means less folding.

You also have a tendency to change more than once in the morning because whatever you started wearing was actually uncomfortable.

First, why own it if it's uncomfortable, and second, the less you have the more inclined you'll be to take pleasure in putting a shirt back on a hanger instead of leaving it on the floor.

Jot down pieces of clothing you wish you had and look for them at the thrift store instead of mindlessly browsing. If you never find them, buy some fabric instead and sew them.