oh honey!

Sweetest honeybee I ever did see. Elsie put on her honey bee costume after we spent the morning with Adam, the friend who has mentored us along on our bee keeping adventure. You might remember that we ended up losing both of our hives, one collapsed late last fall and the other didn't survive the winter. If we're completely honest, I was really disheartened by the loss of both hives. I worked hard last summer, felt like I was doing everything right, and even then I lost both of the hives. Bee keeping is quite a bit of work. And when it came time to try it again this spring, I didn't have it in me to start from scratch.

Rory took over, and I was so grateful. He has written about his bee keeping at length at The Grovestead Blog. The thing about beekeeping is that it takes two years to get a hive to produce enough honey for you to eat. The entire first year is spent building and strengthening the hive and ensuring the bees will have enough honey to live on all winter long. It is only in the second summer that you get to add honey supers (the smaller boxes with shallow frames) to the top of your stack, and it is only out of those supers that you can harvest your honey.

But because both of our hives died, we ended up with frames full of honey. Some of those frames Rory actually gave to the new bees this year to help get them started and up and running. Some of those frames I have stuck my own finger into and eaten straight out of the comb (the best!). And Some of those frames we recently brought to Adam's house so they could be spun and we could have our first honey. We'd rather have living bees from last year, but second best would be some of our own honey.

Adam used a hot knife to cut the wax off of the comb, and then a fork to break up any comb he didn't uncap. And then he set each frame into the extractor that then spins the honey to the sides, down the bottom and out the tap. It was pretty awesome to watch, and delicious to sample. In a crazy twist, it was a very cool day in July, which is bad for spinning honey. You want that honey warm and flowing, but because it was so cool it was thicker than usual.

It was fun to watch and I was proud of our little contribution. Rory is doing an awesome job with our bees this year and we're hopeful that maybe next year, we'll have honey bees healthy and strong, on year two.

Until then, this 2-year-old honey bee will keep our life very sweet.

neighborhood potluck

It was just one week prior that Rory said to me, "Let's have the neighbors over. How about next Thursday?" And before we had left for Bible Camp he had sent out an email inviting everyone to our house for a potluck. I think that's a really important thing about Rory's event planning. He doesn't overthink it. I would have sent out a few dates to see what worked best. I would have scheduled it a month out to give everyone enough heads up. But Rory picked the date seven days from the idea, and as it turns out everyone but two families could make it. Which is a great turnout. And he just did it. He didn't wait to hear back from people...he just set the date, told the plan, and bam, he had planned a party.

We wrote in the email that we would provide pulled pork and beverages and then each neighbor "replied all" with what they were bringing. This was so awesome because they built the menu with no holes. Everything was accounted for: desserts, baked beans, salads, dinner rolls, fruit and ice cream sundaes complete with a rainbow of sprinkle choices. Patsy brought the sundaes, clearly with the heart of a grandma, because my kids were so thrilled with their sprinkles.

There was lots of time to enjoy the cats and kittens, but most exciting was giving the barn tour. Our neighbors have watched this thing go up with wide eyes, often stopping to hear of the progress, always wondering what our plan is. And at the potluck, they finally got to see the inside and hear more of our hopes and dreams for this space. It's such a blessing to live in community. I love the people we are surrounded by on this road and feel well cared for with their presence nearby.

Rory posted over at The Grovestead today, giving a bit more of a tour of the barn. Be sure to click over there to see a few more pictures. We passed our final inspection yesterday and next we'll have concrete poured in parts of the barn (not the stables). And THEN we will move in all of the bee keeping, tree tapping, chicken feed and other supplies that I am so thrilled to be moving out of my garage!

can't put my book down...

My mom has often lamented that she wished she would have read to us kids more when we were little. It's one of the guilts she harbors as a mom, which I find a bit hilarious because all three of her kids were honor students and all three of us got our masters degrees. Clearly we could read and write. And reading comprehension was always my best score on standardized tests. But for so long I dreaded reading. Hated it. And I absolutely know why: because for 25 years of my life, it was all assigned.

Assigned Reading! Gross!

I remember teachers making bookmarks with the reading schedule and what chapter we should be on by what date. And I was always behind. Always. And not because I was a slow reader. But because the book was assigned. It just never felt like a pleasure.

My best friend growing up used to read books under her sheets at night with a flashlight. I remember a few times she was grounded because her mom caught her reading so late at night. Ha! I couldn't even fathom what that would be like. (Mostly because at the same time I was army crawling into my parents bedroom at 10:30 each night to watch M.A.S.H. with them, without them knowing I was there.)

Anyway, this whole thing with me and books has sort of continued. Every so often I read a book I adore and it gets me excited, but I have trouble starting books.

This has all changed, however. I have read six books in the last six weeks, and I don't know what has gotten into me. I remember my own mom getting lost in books all during my childhood and knowing on family vacations that "we had lost her" while she read in the car. And I think I'm turning into my mom. Some of those books I read in two days. One week I read 2 1/2 book. I actually haven't read anything in the last seven days because I thought my family deserved a bit more eye contact from me. :)

A few things that have changed:
1) I used to read a lot of non-fiction memoir or topical books. But I'm onto fiction, and I love it.
2) I try to read the first 100 pages as fast as I can. And if I don't like the book by then, I return it to the library. This month I started two books this way and felt no guilt returning them, unfinished.
3) I am choosing to read books that come highly recommended. After basically a lifetime of not reading for pleasure, I feel I have many options! (I'm also trying to read through this list. So far not one book has let me down!)
4) We currently don't have a tv in our house. Which is obviously great motivation to read for entertainment!
5) I have found that reading outside is one of my favorite things. The combination is perfection. Add an icy drink, and life is really, really grand.

And you? Do you have a favorite fiction book you'd love to share?!! I'm all ears! (I'm about to start that book pictured above, just as soon as I put the kids into Quiet Play Time. Hooray!)

pregnancy pillows

I've been waking up between 3 and 4 each morning unable to sleep. I toss and turn and try and then give up and eventually end up downstairs wide awake. This has led to some productive moments, like Saturday when I ordered my blog in book form for the year 2011 and then packed our 4th of July picnic to be eaten later that day at the parade. It has also been informative, like this morning when in the midst of flashing lightening I saw the silhouettes of five enormous raccoons waddling towards the garden. And it has been beautiful as I've watched the sun rise over the grove and slowly the shapes of our outdoors become visible.

But mostly it has been frustrating. Because I know I need to be sleeping. I'll want to have been sleeping come 9 am. And that's the problem. So I've been using these wee hours (it's currently 3:57) for a bit of research. Today it was pregnancy pillows and a little google image search came up with the above photo spread. I remember blogging about these when I was pregnant with Ivar and wondering who in their right mind would order such a thing. Mostly my concern was where to store such a beast after the baby comes. Today I looked into a few of them, but then I remembered my other concern with these from five years ago. Do you notice anything missing in these pictures? Or anyone? Where is the husband? It seems to me that if you order a pregnancy pillow, which appears to be the size of two additional human bodies, there is no longer room in your bed for your spouse. Which might be problematic if your husband enjoys sleeping in his bed too.

So I've put together my own special set of pillows that seem to help, but mostly my problem isn't so much with the pillows, it's just that I'm wide awake. I am assuming 3 am will become a feeding time and all of this is simply preparation for what is to come.

Now I'm off to pick out pictures to print from the year 2014...

(and Rory has a new garden update up at The Grovestead!)

the pre-party panic attack

Thursday night we had our neighborhood over for a potluck. I love my neighbors, knew everyone coming and told myself all week long that I didn't need to fret over this gathering. It was casual, everyone was bringing something, I know these people, it would go fine. My folks came over the day before and helped get the yard ready and spiff up the place. They did so much! They weed whipped every tree and raised bed and around every building. They cut down dead branches and trimmed trees, planted and transplanted, pruned the raspberries and weeded the garden a bit. Mom even folded my laundry. It was incredible.

I woke up on Thursday morning certain that I could accomplish what needed to get done without stressing about the party. I went grocery shopping right away, put the pork in the crock pots, took the kids to get haircuts and fed everyone lunch. During quiet play time I swept and mopped my kitchen and cleaned off the counters (hooray!) and cleaned the bathroom and garage a bit. 

And then it was 3:00 and I saw that the big crock pot was actually set for Warm and not on 4 hour cook (ahh!) and I still had the following on my list: buy ice, set up tables and chairs, gather dishes and place settings, make lemonade and ice tea, shred the pork, make the salad, and shower and look presentable. And that was when the panic set in. I had two hours until everyone was to arrive at 5, and two kids who seemed to be just as needy as their mama. 

The irony of the whole day was that it was supposed to be a quiet day. The barn is completed and the builders had packed up the day before. But the inspector showed up first thing in the morning, found three things he wanted reinforced, so the builders came back by 10 and stayed all day to make the changes. And the water guy showed up and started digging the trench and tearing out trees to make way for the water line from the well house to the barn. And at one point our neighbor came by to chop the hay in our field (but was unable to get to the field because of the six foot trench running through our yard.

So much for spiffing up the place! Trees were falling and dirt was everywhere!

At 3:00 I didn't cry. I didn't yell. But on the inside I was freaking out. And I proceeded to freak out towards my husband anytime he showed his face. Which became less and less and the party drew near and I was getting more and more panicked. Funny how that works.

So it makes a girl wonder. Can a person host a large group gathering without having the pre-party panic attack? My guess is that it is probably possible. I bet I might even host a gathering at some point where everything goes smoothly and no water guys are ripping my land apart and I prepare with grace and a smile. But I decided last night that having people over is the goal. The goal is to build community. And if it is stressful, it is still worthwhile. The worst thing would be to throw in the towel and say, "we don't entertain." Because the party was awesome and I love our neighbors and it was worth every minute of work and panic to have everyone here.

It also made me think that when a man marries a woman he should know what he is signing up for. A fitting vow would be, "I promise to take you, Becca, even when you're a hot mess before company is coming over. I promise to act as a landing pad, no matter how unwarranted, for all of your anxiety, perfectionism and social stress that comes along with party planning. And I promise to forgive you of all of your pre-party intensity once the party is over and we both recognize it was a worthwhile success of a gathering."

And it was a worthwhile success of a gathering. We ate well, gave barn tours and got all caught up with the friends we wave to each day as they drive by. More pictures to come.