Emergency Room Art

Back around Thanksgiving, 

Mark had a high fever for several days 

so we eventually wound up in the emergency room 

after the urgent care closed for the day.  

In the waiting room were a grampa and several grandchildren

waiting while another family member got checked out.

A dear girl, 1st grade-ish, and the grampa 

struck up a conversation with us.

We passed a pleasant half an hour chatting, adults and kids.

She drew me some art which I share with you 

in her spirit of friendship and happiness.

I was struck by how friendly these kids were 

in what might have been a tense situation.

Grampa was mellow and doting and very proud.

The kids played with over-tired energy 

and yet remained responsive to his calming instructions.

They played with a face mask or two 

from the flu prevention supplies by the door 

and the receptionists never even glanced up.

They were welcome.

 I have experienced a significant cultural change 

in moving to the country. 

Different generations interact more.

Kids seem more connected, more welcome, more expected in the adult world. 

And conversely, adults are more welcome in the kid world.

And more art gets drawn for me in emergency rooms.

I think this is worth celebrating and 

I intend to blog more about my experiences.

I'm happy to report Mark made a full recovery,

 despite being accidentally and repeatedly poisoned by his mom 

who gave him corn syrup in the over-the-counter fever med.

The poor guy's allergic to corn syrup.

I'll read the labels from now on, promise.

 

 

Lakes River Buying Club

Yesterday, I participated in a little miracle of cooperation-

Lakes River Buying Club.

LRBC meets two Thursdays a month at the Lindstrom Community Center to distribute food orders.

Members pay a small annual fee (like $25) and a small percentage per order (like a percent or two) to gain access to a number of natural food vendors at wholesale prices.

Vendors include UNFI, Albert's Organics, Co-op Partners Warehouse, Beeler's, Country Life, Frontier, Crystal Ball Organic Dairy, Poplar Hills Goat Farm, local CSA Community Homestead, locally roasted coffee beans from Northwoods Roasterie, and local micro-greens from Morning Sun Farm. 

Plus every member household volunteers a minimum of four hours per month.

The volunteers unload pallets, weigh and distribute produce, split cases of grocery and frozen items, weigh and bag bulk items, bring their own harvests to sell, double check order sheets to actual food on the table in teams of two, sell extras, run an on-site accounting/tracking system, and man a cash register.

The group of about 50 families set up, run, and tear down the equivalent of a natural food co-op twice a month.

All for 40-80% less than retail.

And the amazing thing is that they are not amazed.

But I am.

And grateful.

Thanks so much, good people of LRBC for making our lives richer.

Tim's walking sticks

A year and a half ago, Tim cut down several small buckthorn trees and saved the trunks to allow them to dry.

This winter, he bought a whittling kit and gave them a very close shave.

He carved out the letters and then used a woodburning iron to make them noticeable. 

Once he'd finished two of the three, he and Mark used them for their reenactment of Robin Hood and Little Hood.

Here's Daffy with his 'buck-and-a-quarter quarter staff"

 

 Tim says it's his 'buckthorn-and-a-quarter quarter staff."

And here's Men in Tights with quarter staffs

 Enjoy!

Chickburns Delivers

With the lengthening days and the warmer temps, the chickens have started laying eggs- pink, green, and brown ones.

The ones with an X we leave in their 'nest' and the others we collect.

They have decided to start a community nest in the hay bales in the garage, just a few steps away from the kitchen.  

The slightly warmer garage keeps them from freezing quite as quickly and you can't beat it for convenience.

After trying so hard to collect eggs last winter 

only to find them all cracked from freezing,

I wasn't counting on a single egg until spring.

After trying with no success to track the hens to their well-hidden nests in the woods last summer,

I was pleasantly surprised to have them deliver!

Celebrating goodness in action

I received this letter in my mailbox today and was moved by William Sherk's generous response to tragedy.

This kind of genuine goodness in action requires celebrating and I immediately knew I had to scan it and post it for all of you.

How did we unintentionally wind up in a community like this without even thinking or trying?

Grace, my friends.  Pure undeserved kindness.  Beneficence.

As a newcomer, I am so grateful to have been received into this community by those who've labored faithfully for generations to make it such a good place to live. 
And I will do my best to join in the goodness.

First, celebrate.
Then, give.
Always, gratitude.
Pass it on.
 

Hello out there!

It's been a busy fall as demonstrated by my lack of posts in almost two months.

Needed to get over the hurdle of this first return post transition.

I'll be back, I promise.

--Amy

Hard Water Hair Fixes

Add to the seemingly unending list of "Things Amy Didn't Know about Country Life" that hard water minerals can build up and cause hair to darken, mat, tangle, feel stiff, brittle, and/or greasy.  

In a series of serendipitous interactions including a well-informed teenager, I learned that the same shampoo we had used after swimming to remove chlorine also works remarkably well to remove other hard water minerals. 

Holy smokes!  After a couple uses of the Malibu shampoo and conditioner, Anjali's hair lightened several shades and mine is the softest it's been in many, many years.  

Now, it's only Malibu for us.