We’ve had so much rain over the past few weeks that during those moments when the sun shines, we almost don’t know what to do with ourselves. Jonny runs out to the sawmill to try and quickly mill some lumber for the guinea house (those guinea keets are stinking up the kitchen, despite daily bedding changes!) I managed to get that dresser painted. Jonny and I made a big indigo vat on the front porch over the weekend, and dyed yarn while the rain poured around us (and came leaking through our front porch roof…oh the projects that need to be done).
We’ve all had a really nasty respiratory bug, nearly unheard of for us this time of year. I wonder if the weather is to blame somehow? Coughing and wheezing all night when eight months pregnant is not fun! I’ve resigned myself to just sitting up, turning on my bedside lamp and knitting at odd hours. Might as well make the best of things!
The strawberries, which I consider the most important plants in the garden, are suffering. Too much rain means mold and slugs and more mold and more slugs. Seth says we need garden ducks for the slugs. I say, “No more animals just now, thank you.” We did manage to make a nice batch of strawberry kombucha. “Boocha,” as Job calls it. Kombucha is a new thing for us, after a long run with Jun. Jun requires raw honey, and it was just too expensive to keep it up. The Kombucha settles for sugar, which we can better handle.
We’ve always been a little obsessed with watching the weather forecast, even more so during all the rain of late, watching and hoping for patches of sun. Right now the forecast looks impossibly good for the next five days or so. There’s a whole lot of “mostly sunny!” We still haven’t planted tomatoes, or basil. (Or cucumbers, marigolds, and sunflowers.) I know what I’m doing this week!
p.s. I am going to be writing occasionally for Blessed is She, an online community of Catholic women. If you are interested in reading it, my devotion is up on the site today, and you can find it here.
your chest looks beautiful! and a lovely devotional on the other site, well done! I bet you are getting exciting for another girl in that big ole sea of MEN.
I absolutely love your guest post — spoke to my heart <3
We love kombucha around here. Last summer, we went to a restaurant and when they asked my then-three-year-old what he’d like to drink, he said, “Got any booch?” Slightly embarrassing. I have to go check on my scoby- I think I may have murdered it by letting it sit in the garage fridge for a bit too long. :/ But we love the stuff, especially as a refreshing drink in the summer!
this rain is leaving this momma a mess… I have 5 boys that need outside time…. the girls could careless if they go out or not. finally got my new sidewalk project done…. nice to walk on that and not muddy, rocky mess…. your colors are really pretty. can’t wait to see what you make with them… a sleeping baby is a happy baby I always say… they are refreshed and ready to take the world on again. hopefully some sunny days are a coming
You must have sent your rain out way. The next several days show nothing but rain and storms. Which I love in small doses, but not for days on end. Plus we are getting ready to move and trying to wrap up several projects. Sigh. I guess I need to embrace it. It will help the plants (mostly) and keep everything this rich green longer. 🙂
What a lovely color choice for that dresser. I cringe when I hear folks are going to paint over beautiful wood – yes, I am a wood purest – but that is lovely and well done. Perfect for a littel one. And those colors are top “dye” for! Wink, wink. Enjoy the sunshine today!
Good morning Jinny, I hope you are feeling better! I’m here in Denver and an average knitter. I love your yarns! Your writting so fun to read and also your beautiful pictures. Are these yarns forsale? I have one more question about the drink and what are scoobie? Thank you for this blog.
Becky Barry
sorry I mis-spelled your name Ginny.
Hope you feel better soon, and hope you have more sunshine soon! Your Blessed is She post is lovely; the subject is something I try to keep reminding myself of. We used to have ducks, they were super egg layers and efficient slug/insect patrol, but incredibly dirty and very flighty despite all our early attempts to socialize them. Ours were Khaki Campbells, I think some breeds such as Anconas may be more friendly.
Hello Ginny, I think you do so much with being pregnant and writing on this blog and taking care of your family! I loved your Blessed is She post. It was simple and meaningful and true and brought back many memories for me of times that I wished I had been more patient, and times that I finally was more patient. Thank you for your beautiful words and I send you much love.
I love your BIS post. One of my sons smashed a lamp recently and my reaction was….tears. The guilty son felt so bad he kept offering up all the money he had been saving for a model rocket to buy a new one which in turn made me feel even worse for reacting so poorly. It’s so hard, but of course you’re right, relationships are more important than things.
Hooray for 8months, boo for being sick! I live down South in NC, and we have all had a killer upper respiratory. It has been harder on the the adults than the kids. I am praying yours moves out asap.
The yarn is amazing. I love watching the colors you get.
Today should be better weather, right? Get that yarn, & the guineas, & the kids outside!
Blessings,
Al
I’ve been reading your blog for ages, and I just wanted to say that I simply love the way you manage to capture the simple poetry of everyday life. It is truly amazing and so very beautiful. Thank you ever so much for sharing your life with all that’s in it. Hope you will all feel better soon:) Sending lots of loving thoughts your way!
I absolutely adore what you have done with the baby’s dresser!!! I have been waiting in anticipation for photos (insert chuckle here)… your yarn is stunning as usual and if i were just a little closer i would be your best customer and rob would divorce me! if you would like – you can send us some of your rain. we are in drought and could certainly share a few drops with you! love from s. africa xxx
I think it was the year before last you said you were going to try planting your strawberry plants in gutters. Did that end up working? Hope you all feel better soon! My little ones are sneezing a lot – I think it’s from pollen.
I’ve been wanting to make kombucha for a while – maybe your post will get me motivated! Where did you get your scoby? Also, do the squirrels eat your strawberries? My kids are devastated as this is the second year we’ve planted strawberries in this house and the squirrels get every single one beiges they even ripen! We’ve had horrible luck in this house with anything. Last year the squirrels also ate all our tomsto plants before they even began to do anything! It was incredibly frustrating and so disappointing! And we’re right there with you on the rain – I’m so ready for the next few days of sunshine! 🙂
Tonight was yet another hot evening while making dinner. My thermometer and humidistat has been flickering and not working lately. I think that might be a good thing. Just as I was wiping the last counter and headed out of the kitchen it came on. 91.8 degrees. Oh, maybe that is why I’m feeling so hot. So, when I read about your rainy spring weather, it makes me long for the north. Oh, enjoy it. Way to hot here in Puerto Rico.
So lovely! Do you recall where you got that jar you’re keeping the kombucha in, with the tap? 🙂
The dresser is lovely! We have had incessant rain here in SC, too. The last few days the sun has been glorious and we have been living outside.
Lung Healing from hopewelloils.com is a miracle worker for the respiratory illness you all have. Just breathe it from the bottle or put it on cotton balls on night tables. Diffusing it is overkill. I have had people come to my house and try to buy my half used bottle after I have shared some sniffs of it! I hope you all feel better soon!
Ginny, I’m so sorry to hear that you and your family are under the weather (literally!). I hope the sun shines tomorrow and brightens your health and garden too!
Isn’t it fun making kombucha? I have been thinking of flavoring it like the stuff you can buy in the store but am not sure how. I have so many scoobies (I like to call them “kombucha babies”!). Our kids are grown and my husband doesn’t drink it. It’s hard to sell because technically it has an alcoholic content.
Anyway, in CT it’s hard to sell any food unless you have a certified kitchen. It’s a dilemma!
Anyway, did you just puree the strawberries and add them to the kombucha? Then your kids probably drank it up so you son’t have to worry about it sitting around. Love to know what you did.
How, oh how, do you do all these projects.
Yes, I pureed them in the blender with some of the kombucha and then added some to each bottle. And you’re right, it doesn’t sit around here! My kids LOVE it.
Oh, you are so lucky. I make all this kombucha and I’m the only one who drinks it. But my girls, in their twenties, will be home this week and maybe they will help me drink it up. I have gallons of it!
I love your dresser! Did you use Annie’s Chalk Paint on it, and if so, what color. Your yarns have turned out gorgeous as well. Looks like you will be ready for the baby soon.
I used General Finishes milk paint in the basil color. I’ll write more about it later this week!
Oh, the coughing while very pregnant. So hard, you’re already not getting the best sleep! Sheesh.
The yarn looks lovely, I love the jewel tones.
Peace!
it’s hard to have rain! and sickness too! so sorry! beautiful that you can continue to make beauty and more, even while it is raining, etc. Will pray for sun, drying for strawberries and peace for you in the midst!
Your yarn is beautiful, Ginny! I’m glad to hear that we aren’t the only ones getting so much rain. Pennsylvania (especially Western PA) is notorious for its lack of sun, and I have felt the urge to high tail it out of here this spring more than any other time. I NEED SUN! It was beautiful and sunny here all morning, so I just steamed my handspun yarn and hung it outside. No kidding, ten minutes later, storm clouds rolled in and now it’s pouring rain. Oh.my.goodness.
I moved my drying skeins outside this a.m. and am watching the sky now as clouds roll in. P.M. Thunderstorms headed our way, so I guess it’s time to move them back in!