Rural Farmgirl

Dear Baby,

Tue, 14 Jan 2014 07:31:25 0000

Hello Farmgirls! The baby hasn't come yet. I am writing this on Tuesday as I have predicted that the baby will be arriving on Wednesday the 15th (or at least making an uncomfortable fuss). It is a full moon, and just two days from the due date. But who knows?

Nesting instincts took over for part of last week, leaving me with a freezer full of delicious home cooked food, clean baby clothes, clean car, contact list for baby's arrival, and a packed bag for the birth center. Recently, I've shifted to feeling more contemplative. A result of this is a letter to our future little nugget. It seemed like a necessary thing for me to do, and I'd like to share it with you all!

New! Nuevo! Nouveau!

Thu, 2 Jan 2014 07:12:57 0000

Here I am, sitting in our yurt on the first day of 2014--fire roaring in the wood stove, the dog happily squeak-squeak-squeaking one of her Christmas presents, Evan reading a trashy Steven King novel on the couch, and me wearing new slippers. We just got back from watching the newest Hobbit movie in 3D. It might be our last chance to go to a movie at the theater without making babysitting arrangements for a LONG time. All in all, I’d say this is a great first day of 2014, and I’m sure it’s the first of many more to come (and I’m sure it will be miles better than a few of them are apt to be!).

While 2013 proved to be a year of numerable life changes (attaining my graduate degree, building and moving to a new home, getting pregnant), obstacles successfully hurdled (writing a thesis, struggling to accept that a “dream” job I had taken wasn’t the right fit), and experiences learned from (more farming and teaching!); I have to admit that I’m glad it is over. It was stressful yet empowering, it was fast-paced yet fulfilling, and it was mutable yet grounding. The good came with the bad and vice versa...so yes, I’m totally okay with saying, “Sayonara 2013, hello 2014!! Out with the old and in with the new!”

Hello Beauty Full. The baby's crib. Don't worry, baby won't be sleeping with any of this stuff.

Long Nights Moon

Thu, 19 Dec 2013 04:07:11 0000

Long time no see Farmgirls! MJF and co. was kind enough to let me pass on my most recent blog entry because it was my birthday and I was SO TIRED of staring at my computer...but there is more to come on that later.

We just experienced December's full moon--called the "cold moon" by some and the "long nights moon" by others. Either way, it was the longest night of the year and it appeared to be the smallest one of the year. As an Alaskan, we can go months without seeing the moon, so this show of the moon for 14 or 15 hours is pretty great.

I tried to takea picture of the moon...but it was just a white dot in a black sky. So, here is Evan, all frosted up during an evening walk with Moki. It's this dark around 5 p.m.!

Winter Beginnings in the Yurt

Wed, 20 Nov 2013 22:17:33 0000

Since my last post about cravings, several have been satiated! Evan and I went out for some delicious Korean food, I skyped with my nieces, got our very first electrical outlet in the yurt, and...it SNOWED! Hooray! Winter is here, and the yurt is treating us well so far. I'd like to think it's because we are treating the yurt well...It's a symbiotic, mutually beneficial type of thing. We are good to it, so it is good to us.

Cravings

Wed, 6 Nov 2013 20:37:27 0000

crav-ing (noun): a powerful desire for something; an intense, urgent, or abnormal desire or longing;

Once in awhile, we all want something so badly it is hard to get off of our minds. Sometimes, these come out of nowhere; other times they are fueled by seeing or smelling something that we just can't forget. Sometimes, it feels like we need these items or we won't be able to go on. Obviously, these cravings are generally not a part of our hierarchy of needs and we would survive just fine. However, our sanity might take a hit.

One of the most common questions I get asked as a pregnant woman is "do you have any crazy cravings?" Generally, the answer to that is, "Not really..." I crave ice cream and chocolate sometimes, but I think I always crave ice cream and chocolate. Sometimes I crave green things like kale and Brussels sprouts, but I sometimes crave green things when I'm not pregnant. So, while I don't have any "crazy" food cravings, I am way more apt to give into my food cravings than I was before. I'm generally just a lot more insatiably hungry!

However, I've also been taking note of some of life's cravings that are not food centered.

One of my cravings stems from this beautiful--yet snowless--November in Alaska scene...

Living in the Round: Getting Better All the Time

Wed, 23 Oct 2013 23:28:19 0000

I think we've done it. We've surpassed that hump of "are we completely insane?" and "I wish we had never done this." It is a good feeling. This progress into being a pseudo home-owner has progressed much like any good Shakespearean dramatic plot structure. We began with the feeling of "a yurt would be super cool." We progressed to late yurt arrival, into constant rain, into being broke and annoyed, into being nearly smoked out of our new home. The rising action was nearly unbearable until...until we reached the climax of getting our chimney and rain cap checked out. I was about ready to throw in the towel, to be honest. I was about ready to move into some boring apartment with stained carpet, a funny smelling fridge and a postage stamp sized dog yard.

Now, we have tentatively entered the denouement. The possibility of yurt life for this coming winter doesn't seem so unlikely or doubtful. It's getting better all the time...

A finished wall for the loft, a nicely stacked pile of wood and a woodpile that warms rather than smokes make this Farmgirl a happy camper.

Suspended Animation

Thu, 10 Oct 2013 07:19:16 0000

{sidenote: Argh...This blog platform just erased my ENTIRE post that I had nearly just finished...I hope this write up is as good as the last. I apologize if it is not...But none of you will ever know. It's my own fault for not saving it...}

Many of you have been asking in the past several weeks for updates on the yurt and yurt life. However, there hasn't much to update you about! Living in the yurt is still very much like glorified camping. The interior hasn't changed too much, and I'm still too embarrassed by all of the stuff spilling out of boxes to post real pictures of the interior. I have been living in a kind of suspended animation since the end of September for several reasons. Nonetheless, I can give you a small idea of what living in the yurt has been like.

Our yurt exterior. We are in a beautifully wooded area, the neighbors are fairly close, but it's okay for now!

The Pregnant Farmer

Thu, 26 Sep 2013 07:47:48 0000

Sometimes people worry about me--"You're not hauling huge loads, are you?" or "Are you worried about contact with manure?" However, people are mostly the same ol,' same ol.' They either think farming is an adventurous and interesting career choice, or they don't. For those few folks who have worried about my life as a pregnant farm worker, I assure them that my job is safe, fun, and probably much healthier than many other jobs I could have!

The Pregnant Farmer in non-farming clothing.

Alaskan Mini-Vacations

Thu, 12 Sep 2013 01:35:16 0000

It has been a busy fall. Between building the yurt, finishing up the farming season, and starting the school year, there shouldn't be much time for anything else. However, the last two weeks have also seen two multi-day road trips in Alaska. First, Evan and I drove to Kasilof, Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula for a friend's wedding. With Evan being a member of the wedding party, we arrived on a Thursday and made it a long weekend. The following week, I made my way up to Fairbanks to conduct a bit of research for my thesis work. Both trips--even though they were for non-recreation purposes--provided some unexpected, yet welcomed respite from our busy schedules.

Living in the Round: Almost There

Thu, 29 Aug 2013 00:06:17 0000

The day we had been waiting for--mostly patiently and largely excitedly--finally came on the evening (well, more like night, it was 10 p.m.) of Sunday, August 18. A beat up moving truck rolled into Matt and Amanda's driveway and out stepped a dreadlocked man named Georgie and his lanky partner, whose name escapes me (maybe Seth?). They were the bearers of our new living abode, our very own yurt; and they were only 48 days late.

A Farmgirl and her Almost Yurt!