Spring, Snow, Fermentation and Knives

I haven't posted in a while, have I?

Not that I wouldn't love to give you a valid excuse, but I don't have one. The snow is pretty much gone, finally, so I've been doing more outside stuff than I did through the winter. But that isn't really my excuse. I suppose that I just wasn't thinking of anything good to post.

So I'll throw some random musings out there.

A young couple who is very dear to our hearts had their first baby on Good Friday. He's a whopping baby at almost nine pounds and a beautiful blessing. It's interesting to me how so many women, even old ones like me, can instantly bring to mind their own first days as a new momma: everything from the happy confusion of those days to that warm, clean, kind of earthy smell of a brand new baby. The way it feels to hold their little round head in one hand and the tiny bump of a rump in the other and gaze in wonder at this miracle of God and the possibilities ahead. Something pleasant grabs at my heart whenever I think about it. My own first baby's birthday is in two days. He'll be 29. I still remember how it felt to hold him in my arms the first time.

A few weeks ago, the turkeys around here were just bonkers. The toms and jakes strutted, displayed and gobbled constantly. Just like domestic turkeys, any time they heard a loud noise (such as sweet hubs' drill) they would gobble at it. They also chased the hens around, while the hens appeared to try to ignore them.

That all changed a few days ago. Now the hens are more skittish and secretive. They have dispersed into smaller groups or singles and more of the toms are just being macho instead of horny. Yes, I think our neighborhood girls have their nest sites picked out and will soon be brooding. Spring!

A giant shout out to my darlin' friend in Arizona, MM. She has been encouraging me to try kefir (cultured at home for maximum good stuff) for my gut issues.

Oh my holy smoking cookies! OK. Yeah. I hate it. Seriously. Every time I drink it, I feel like a rat has been sleeping in my mouth. I don't care for the taste, even though I do like yogurt and pickles and sauerkraut and such. But you know what? It works!

Kefir has made a dramatic improvement in the way my guts feel. It still makes me very gurgly for several hours after drinking it, but that seems to be going away over time. Mostly, the constant feeling of having a weight in my belly, like I'd swallowed a brick, is pretty much gone.

And the other day, I had a small salad!!! Did you hear me? Raw lettuce! And I didn't spend the rest of the evening in The Throne Room. Whoo hoo, wootie woot woot!

I'm still tentative and timid about what I can eat, but I may yet get to a point of not worrying about it. Imagine that. So all my love, admiration and thanks to my precious MM. She is ALL that and a bag of chips!

Sweet Hubs and I walked around, somewhat aimlessly, trying to decide where, exactly, we are going to put the garden. This is not our first rodeo, of course. What usually happens is: we talk for weeks and then Sweet Hubs wakes up one Saturday morning and puts the garden whereever the mood strikes him, regardless of what he had previously decided. That works for me. He does this while I'm still in my jammies, so clearly I have nothing to complain about.

What will we plant? No idea. I'm sure tomatoes, potatoes, green chilis and jalapenos. I am hoping for lots of kale, chard, beets, herbs and maybe beans and peas. Wait. What? Peas? I don't even like peas. Maybe they're better from the garden, just like everything else is.

Last. Knives.

Yes, I have reached a milestone in my life. I now have two scars to prove that I should not be chopping veggies without my glasses on.

The first time, I was cutting up oyster mushrooms for risotto, using my big chef's knife and I cut my middle finger because it was closer to the edge of the mushroom pile than I thought.

The second time, I was cutting up oyster mushrooms for risotto, using my big chef's knife and I cut my middle finger because it was closer to the edge of the mushroom pile than I thought.

I guess I'm going to have to get one of those old-lady-chains to hang my glasses from, so they can be on my person all day.


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