Well, the good news is...wait for it...I have a new job!
A friend tipped me off that there was an opening at the radio station where she worked, I applied for it, had an interview after Christmas, and a JOB OFFER last Friday!
I start today. It's at an AM Radio oldies station, perfect for me and my weirdly old-fashioned lifestyle. I'll be the Office Manager, which is really like being Station Manager based on the duties involved. It's 30 hours per week, and I'll arrive home each day just a few minutes after the Little Woodchuck gets home from pre-school. That was a very important feature of the job for me.
LW is now on MassHealth (Massachusett's Medicaid plan) and we're waiting for Mister Woodchuck and me to be approved for some sort of subsidized health care.
Maybe, just maybe, things are looking up.
Molly the sheep is hanging in there. She's got arthritis now, not uncommon for a sheep of her ancient-ness, and she has a birthday coming up next month! She'll turn 16 years, and we're going to make a big cornbread loaf with applesauce filling for her birthday. Molly will like that very much, believe me!
04 January, 2011
11 October, 2010
Autumn.
After that first batch of canned tomatoes (which failed, by the way), I learned a good bit more about canning and have successfully canned a lot more things. Jams seem to be my specialty:
Tomato jam
Hot pepper jam
Peach jam, both regular and low sugar
Halved peaches in light sugar syrup
Tomatoes
The last two batches of tomatoes were a success. I had posted frantically on Ball's Facebook page about the first batch failure, and one of their experts gave me the advice I needed to have successful batches thereafter.
The hard frost came night before last, and the garden officially shut down. I picked all the green tomatoes and all the peppers the day before the frost, and all are ripening in big trays here and there around the house. I'll probably pickle and can the peppers, and we'll use the tomatoes for sauce for freezing.
Hay delivery was last week. I have to run over to Four Star Farm in Northfield this week to pick up my winter bedding straw. We'll clean up around the barn and hay shed and then we'll be ready for winter. I had Cupid and Io shorn a second time this season. They're longwools and this year they put on a heck of a lot of wool over the summer despite the heat and drought. I had Kevin Ford come out and shear the two sheep. He uses hand shears, the old fashioned way. He's a great, great shearer.
We almost lost Molly three times this year. After she contracted Lepto--and survived it by some freaking miracle--she had a complete wool break. That means all her follicles and cuticles stopped producing and severed off any wool or nails that were growing. Wool break only happens when a sheep is under incredible health stress. All her wool fell off and she looked like a pinky mouse, poor old girl. We made a cover for her out of thrift store t-shirts to protect her skin from sun and biting insects while the follicles and cuticles recovered. Her wool is growing now, thank goodness, though we are keeping her in an old microfiber fleece sweatshirt to help keep her warm. She'll wear that all winter. Her feet also suffered from the break, and I've had to carefully trim her toenails so that her feet don't get damaged while the old dead nails move outward and are replaced with new nail material. In another couple weeks, she'll have all new toenails. It's been very challenging for dear old Molly.
We've all been sick pretty much since the start of the school year. LW has come home with everything the other kids are sick with, and then we catch it. This last bout has been the worst. I ended up at the doctor last Friday; we thought I might have walking pneumonia. Fortunately, I don't, but I'm now on an inhaler to help my lungs heal.
Yesterday we had a little run-around party for LW. It was originally scheduled for the Sunday previous, but we were all too sick then. Her birthday was at the end of September, and I sent home-made mini-cupcakes to her preschool class for the kids, and did a little puppet show for them using Sweetie, one of our professional-grade monster puppets. The children LOVED Sweetie. At yesterday's party, two of the children were from LW's preschool class and they asked me to bring out Sweetie again. I also brought out another monster puppet, a full-body one with eyes that open and close. We haven't named him yet.
We made a big leaf pile for the kids to jump in, made a small castle out of hay bales for climbing on and running around, I put up my old backpacking tent for them to dive into, there was a sand table, kick balls, toy trucks, and a wagon big enough to pull around with three kids inside. We had grapes, fish crackers, juice, and birthday cake. Every child went home with a pumpkin, and they got to feed the sheep. It was a no-gift party, which I prefer. Everyone had a good time, there was no chaos, just a lot of good old-fashioned fun.
Back in September, I worked as a temporary factory worker at the new candle company in Bernardston. I was hoping it might turn into a permanent position, but it didn't. And the job search goes on.
Tomato jam
Hot pepper jam
Peach jam, both regular and low sugar
Halved peaches in light sugar syrup
Tomatoes
The last two batches of tomatoes were a success. I had posted frantically on Ball's Facebook page about the first batch failure, and one of their experts gave me the advice I needed to have successful batches thereafter.
The hard frost came night before last, and the garden officially shut down. I picked all the green tomatoes and all the peppers the day before the frost, and all are ripening in big trays here and there around the house. I'll probably pickle and can the peppers, and we'll use the tomatoes for sauce for freezing.
Hay delivery was last week. I have to run over to Four Star Farm in Northfield this week to pick up my winter bedding straw. We'll clean up around the barn and hay shed and then we'll be ready for winter. I had Cupid and Io shorn a second time this season. They're longwools and this year they put on a heck of a lot of wool over the summer despite the heat and drought. I had Kevin Ford come out and shear the two sheep. He uses hand shears, the old fashioned way. He's a great, great shearer.
We almost lost Molly three times this year. After she contracted Lepto--and survived it by some freaking miracle--she had a complete wool break. That means all her follicles and cuticles stopped producing and severed off any wool or nails that were growing. Wool break only happens when a sheep is under incredible health stress. All her wool fell off and she looked like a pinky mouse, poor old girl. We made a cover for her out of thrift store t-shirts to protect her skin from sun and biting insects while the follicles and cuticles recovered. Her wool is growing now, thank goodness, though we are keeping her in an old microfiber fleece sweatshirt to help keep her warm. She'll wear that all winter. Her feet also suffered from the break, and I've had to carefully trim her toenails so that her feet don't get damaged while the old dead nails move outward and are replaced with new nail material. In another couple weeks, she'll have all new toenails. It's been very challenging for dear old Molly.
We've all been sick pretty much since the start of the school year. LW has come home with everything the other kids are sick with, and then we catch it. This last bout has been the worst. I ended up at the doctor last Friday; we thought I might have walking pneumonia. Fortunately, I don't, but I'm now on an inhaler to help my lungs heal.
Yesterday we had a little run-around party for LW. It was originally scheduled for the Sunday previous, but we were all too sick then. Her birthday was at the end of September, and I sent home-made mini-cupcakes to her preschool class for the kids, and did a little puppet show for them using Sweetie, one of our professional-grade monster puppets. The children LOVED Sweetie. At yesterday's party, two of the children were from LW's preschool class and they asked me to bring out Sweetie again. I also brought out another monster puppet, a full-body one with eyes that open and close. We haven't named him yet.
We made a big leaf pile for the kids to jump in, made a small castle out of hay bales for climbing on and running around, I put up my old backpacking tent for them to dive into, there was a sand table, kick balls, toy trucks, and a wagon big enough to pull around with three kids inside. We had grapes, fish crackers, juice, and birthday cake. Every child went home with a pumpkin, and they got to feed the sheep. It was a no-gift party, which I prefer. Everyone had a good time, there was no chaos, just a lot of good old-fashioned fun.
Back in September, I worked as a temporary factory worker at the new candle company in Bernardston. I was hoping it might turn into a permanent position, but it didn't. And the job search goes on.
31 August, 2010
I'm canning two quarts of tomatoes in their own juice this morning, as a test. Our crop of tomatoes is finally ripening and, as I mentioned previously, I want to provide my family with tomatoes off-season that are not canned in BPA-lined containers.
Thanks to the wonders of modern prescription pharmaceuticals, I'm canning without having a heart attack or a nervous breakdown! Home canning can be quite nervous making. I have to keep LW out of the kitchen for the duration of the process. I've kept the baby gate between the kitchen and the rest of the house in place for that very reason.
No word on the dairy co-op job. I suspect I didn't get it.
We're having a heat wave. I hate it exceedingly. And of course I'm canning in the middle of this miserable heat. I can't wait for autumn coolness to return.
I'm making a backpack for LW for preschool. The teacher requested that the kids have a backpack, so I decided to sew one. All the pieces are cut out, I just have to stitch it together. Friday there's an open house at the preschool, and then school begins after Labor Day for the preschoolers.
Thanks to the wonders of modern prescription pharmaceuticals, I'm canning without having a heart attack or a nervous breakdown! Home canning can be quite nervous making. I have to keep LW out of the kitchen for the duration of the process. I've kept the baby gate between the kitchen and the rest of the house in place for that very reason.
No word on the dairy co-op job. I suspect I didn't get it.
We're having a heat wave. I hate it exceedingly. And of course I'm canning in the middle of this miserable heat. I can't wait for autumn coolness to return.
I'm making a backpack for LW for preschool. The teacher requested that the kids have a backpack, so I decided to sew one. All the pieces are cut out, I just have to stitch it together. Friday there's an open house at the preschool, and then school begins after Labor Day for the preschoolers.
22 August, 2010
The Tide of Summer Has Turned.
Now it's all about getting ready for autumn and winter.
I ordered my winter hay for the livestock. Two less mouths to feed, what with Kodiak and Snowdrop gone, but frankly I'd happily buy more hay if it meant having my dear llama boy and sweet sheep girl back and in good health. So many losses this year...
I had the money saved from early this year to buy next winter's hay.
My mom gave me her old car. We now have a safe car to drive LW around in; MW's car has a hole in the gas tank that we can't afford to fix. We call that car Russian Roulette, for good reason.
I spent the weekend canning peaches. Mom bought me a bushel of peaches and gave me two dozen quart-size canning jars that she's had for years. I had a canning kettle and jar lifter already, so it was just a matter of purchasing new lids and some sugar to make syrup for canning the peaches in.
I'll scrounge more jars from somewhere, because I want to can as many tomatoes as possible. I know that commercial metal cans are lined with BPA, and every time we purchase a can of tomatoes I cringe. We cook beans from dried beans, and I buy fresh or frozen vegetables, all to avoid buying commercial metal cans, but tomatoes off season are awful and expensive and I want to use the ones we've grown instead. So canning them is the only way. I've done all the canning myself thus far, but I'll need MW's help to do the tomatoes.
I have a job interview tomorrow. It's an office position for our local dairy cooperative. My years in agriculture support in the county will, hopefully, help but I'm not expecting to land the position. There are just too many applicants for each job that opens 'round here.
Raining today, which will help the garden and the pastures to recover from this drought.
I ordered my winter hay for the livestock. Two less mouths to feed, what with Kodiak and Snowdrop gone, but frankly I'd happily buy more hay if it meant having my dear llama boy and sweet sheep girl back and in good health. So many losses this year...
I had the money saved from early this year to buy next winter's hay.
My mom gave me her old car. We now have a safe car to drive LW around in; MW's car has a hole in the gas tank that we can't afford to fix. We call that car Russian Roulette, for good reason.
I spent the weekend canning peaches. Mom bought me a bushel of peaches and gave me two dozen quart-size canning jars that she's had for years. I had a canning kettle and jar lifter already, so it was just a matter of purchasing new lids and some sugar to make syrup for canning the peaches in.
I'll scrounge more jars from somewhere, because I want to can as many tomatoes as possible. I know that commercial metal cans are lined with BPA, and every time we purchase a can of tomatoes I cringe. We cook beans from dried beans, and I buy fresh or frozen vegetables, all to avoid buying commercial metal cans, but tomatoes off season are awful and expensive and I want to use the ones we've grown instead. So canning them is the only way. I've done all the canning myself thus far, but I'll need MW's help to do the tomatoes.
I have a job interview tomorrow. It's an office position for our local dairy cooperative. My years in agriculture support in the county will, hopefully, help but I'm not expecting to land the position. There are just too many applicants for each job that opens 'round here.
Raining today, which will help the garden and the pastures to recover from this drought.
17 July, 2010
In shock.
It's amazing how quickly ones life can fall apart.
End of April, I lost my job. I'd tried to cut back on my hours of work time to spare myself of the sort of stress I've endured for ten years with the company, stress that has left me with a permanent heart condition. And when I wasn't as insanely productive as a result, my position came to an end.
I've applied for all sorts of jobs, had many interviews, but no takers. If I thought I had stress before, it was nothing in comparison to what I'm experiencing now. Thank god for the heart meds I'm on. We may lose the farm if I'm unable to find work, fast.
We lost one of the sheep to Leptospirosis on July 1, and another sheep contracted it and barely survived. She only survived because, once we had a confirmed diagnosis from Cornell on the first one we lost, I vaccinated the entire flock against Lepto and put them all on high dosages of antibiotics to try to prevent further cases.
LW was accepted by the pre-school. For the afternoon session. She's looking very much forward to going. I can only hope that her school experience is far better than mine. My parents jumped us around from school to school because of my brother's learning disabilities, and it wreaked havoc on me socially and academically.
The donkey that lives just down the road has made his early morning happy bray. Time for me to log off and do some chores while the rest of my family is still asleep.
30 March, 2010
Tea Party. The Liberal, Nice Kind.
Last week, Little Woodchuck and I got invited to a mother-daughter tea party! It was held on Saturday, and boy oh boy did we have fun.
There were five little girls and five moms. The little girls all got dressed up, even LW got dressed up, and had lovely snacks and treats at a little table. The moms all got dressed up, except me of course because I didn't know I was supposed to, and we chatted while our little ones had their snacks. The food was really good, and LW ate everything I put on her plate.
As us moms were chatting, I suddenly realized that every one of them but me was a psychologist, psychiatrist, or therapist. After listening to them kvetch about their work for a half hour, I managed to change the subject to more general topics, and it was much more relaxing after that. Not only for me, but for them too.
Mister Woodchuck starts his work for the US Census in a couple weeks. It will be good for him to get out of the house. I'll be stranded without a car, but I'll manage.
LW was screened for preschool recently. I hope she gets in. She'll be four in September, and she desperately wants to be with other children. I set up as many playdates as I can, but the structure of a good preschool will help her immensely. She's an extremely well-behaved, respectful child, but she needs more to do every day than I can supply.
20 March, 2010
The kind of excitement I don't really need.
So I'd been having an irregular heartbeat for a while.
A week ago Friday it got REALLY bad. Thursday night I dreamed that a dead man fell from the ceiling and landed on me, and I woke up with my heart thudding so hard and irregularly I thought I was having a heart attack right then and there. I got scared. I called the medical center first thing Friday morning. They told me to come in right away.
Had an EKG. On the spot. Right after they listened to my heart and it sounded like intermittent gunfire. I got to see the printout. It was pretty bad.
And now I'm on heart medication. Fortunately, it's a generic and not expensive. My mom is going to help me pay for last week's trip to the medical center and this week's follow-up trip, as I have a $4000 deductible on my health insurance.
A week ago Friday it got REALLY bad. Thursday night I dreamed that a dead man fell from the ceiling and landed on me, and I woke up with my heart thudding so hard and irregularly I thought I was having a heart attack right then and there. I got scared. I called the medical center first thing Friday morning. They told me to come in right away.
Had an EKG. On the spot. Right after they listened to my heart and it sounded like intermittent gunfire. I got to see the printout. It was pretty bad.
And now I'm on heart medication. Fortunately, it's a generic and not expensive. My mom is going to help me pay for last week's trip to the medical center and this week's follow-up trip, as I have a $4000 deductible on my health insurance.
It's been very scary, believe me. And now I'm in my 40s and on heart meds. Damnitalltohell.
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