What A Busy April

It is too true.  While many people are talking about the slower pace of life during this time of quarantine, I am busier than I’ve ever been.

I stepped up my game in the garden and pushed the limits of my budget for food forest trees, shrubs, and plants.  My supply of seeds was eaten by rodents, so I needed to replenish (my own fault), and fortunately I got my seeds and plants ordered in the nick of time before things got too difficult.

One day after my seed order was filled, the company I ordered from was slammed with orders and was asking people to be patient while they tried to keep their employees safe during operations.  Another company I had an order with, stopped taking orders just days after I got my order in, so they could catch up.  I watched anxiously while their stock dwindled hoping my order would be filled (they’ve got the best yellow crookneck seeds).  And the nursery I ordered trees and bushes from were unable to fill all of my order.

Everyone was scrambling and I felt lucky to have ridden the crest of the wave.  I’ve got all my seeds, and have been planting for two months.  In fact, we started eating from the garden just a couple of days ago.

But it’s Spring and my laying flock has really stepped up production.  I’m getting between 2 and 3 dozen eggs per day.  That’s a bit of a challenge because I only have one egg customer.  Meanwhile, I’ve set up an outdoor, self service egg selling station so people can help themselves and leave their money in a coffee can bank.  But no takers.  Even with eggs so hard to find, people walk past my sign and look and then keep walking.

Fortunately for me I was able to get eggs to several family members who were missing them at the supermarket.  I unloaded 33 dozen - two weeks worth of eggs.  It’s a relief that they won’t be going to waste.  And the thing I’m finding out is that people are no longer taking things like eggs for granted anymore.

I remember a friend of mine saying that people wanted to trade eggs for massage.  As a licensed massage therapist and energy worker, she was talking about how eggs weren’t valuable enough to trade for massage, and I realized how things have changed so much in our world.  There was a time when the local midwife or herbalist or healer/doctor would take payment in food.  Food was prized and valued, because people had common knowledge about what went into the growing of food, the raising of food, the time it took and the labor involved.  Now people buy cheap food at a corporate supermarket and they are so far removed from that process that they have no real appreciation for real food.  They have no experience with what it really takes to produce food.

Anyway, my flock’s eggs were truly appreciated when they made the rounds among my family members.  My mom told me she felt rich!  And talked about all the things she would do with eggs.  Just last week she was hoarding the few eggs she had left, trying to make them last.

Another thing the layers are producing right now are chicks.  I’ve had four hens go broody this Spring.  I’m glad they are going in a cycle and not all at once.  It started with one, then a week later, another one, then a week after her, another one, and so on.  I have one mama with her chicks in the yard, and another one in her house hatching out chicks these last few days, and another one due to start hatching out in less than a week.  I’m running out of places to put everyone.  Tomorrow I will be building another brooder and putting up fencing for this next batch due.  It’s tonnes of work and while not all at once, it’s coming pretty steadily in waves.

Meanwhile I’ve been raising meat birds too.  So I was able to get my family set up with birds in their freezers for the next few weeks.  Meanwhile the next batch of chicks arrived by mail last week.  They will grow up and feed my family just when they’re needed.  It’s intense though.  The harvesting must be done daily within a two to three week period when they are at a certain age and weight.  Since it’s just me, I’ve about reached the limit of what I can provide.  I’ve committed to providing birds for four families, which includes us.  But it is worth it to me.  I’m driven to do this.  It’s the most impactful way I can connect with my family during this time of quarantine.  It makes me feel less isolated, to make sure that as long as I am producing good quality food, I can share it with them.

It’s a bit like a family cooperative.  In that they pay for the grain “their birds” eat and for the cost of each chick, and I take care of the birds, raise them, harvest them, and process them.

As for my immediate family right here, I dream of producing the majority of our food on this land.  And this time of quarantine is really putting that dream to the test.  I’m finding it difficult to get certain processed things, like flour and baking soda.  It makes me want to be more creative about how I make bread.  Without flour, I have to find new ways to make bread from materials that I can grow on my place.  Like grinding corn to make tortillas, or using potatoes, or legumes, or starchy vegetables to create a kind of bread.  Maybe not a sandwich loaf, maybe not traditional pasta, maybe not wheat cakes, but something bread like that comes from my garden.

So living in this way, fills up a lot of each day.  And meanwhile, I’m still binding books by hand for our family owned business, Pegana Press.

Momentary Magic: A Story Excerpt from Hearth & Heart 2017 Winter

        I couldn't tell at first that it was snowing. It just looked like a ripple in the fabric of reality, and the tiny flakes were more like mist than snow.
        The fire in the hearth flared up and burned brighter, and within seconds the ripple had become a full swirling snow storm, driven by the North Wind.
        I bundled up in layers of wool and dug out my pruning shears, intending to cut some greenery for the approaching Midwinter holiday. Then stepping out of my door into the swirling snow, I headed to the forest along the back end of my property, where years ago I had planted a Holly tree.
        I threaded my way carefully through the field, not wanting to even leave a footprint to disturb this work of nature as the snow began to transform the landscape. And as I drew closer to the wooded area, a curious thing happened. The swirling snow seemed to go into slow motion, and the North Wind seemed to calm. The world became very still. The usual local sounds had ceased, and even my footsteps seemed almost completely silent.


Full story available in the 2017 Winter edition of Hearth & Heart at Pegana Press

Throwback Thursday: Winter Tales

In 2014 I found myself in the unique position of having the time to write.  My life had been busy and chaotic as I scrambled to learn the book binding trade and to make space in our small home to house Pegana Press, the Bindery, my energy medicine practice, and SoundChaser Productions.  As the living space became smaller and the space we needed to conduct business in our house grew larger, I found myself growing more overwhelmed and disorganized.  All the boundary lines between work and personal time became blurred.

But then something happened to change all of that.  I injured my shoulder and could do nothing.  The pain was intense, and I would sit in front of the fire for hours.  Those days spent in front of the fire allowed me to quiet my mind, and stories began to come through.

Mike ended up printing three of them in a letterpress chapbook titled Winter Tales.  Below is an interview conducted by Mike which contains two short readings...one from The Voice of Fire (at the beginning of the recording), and one from Cup of Cheer (10 minutes and 33 seconds into the recording).  During the rest of the interview we talk about the stories.

I share this interview here in the spirit of the coming winter season.  Thank you for listening.  Winter Tales letterpress chapbook available from Pegana Press. 

Eccentricity Rules!

I spend a lot of time binding books for our small family run press.  And yet it is only one of 4 jobs I work to earn money, not to mention the non money earning jobs I do, which are every bit as important.

I have a bit of a love hate relationship with my binding work.  The hate part comes from the friction caused by Mike and I working together under the same roof and never being able to separate business from personal.  (Word of advice...Don't try this without a net.)

But recently, Mike decided that I was done binding.  He had a call out to a local binder to see if we could afford to outsource our books.  He had the best reasons.

Mike can not help it, he micro manages everything in his life.  And I can't help it...I don't.

Two polar opposites.

It drives him crazy and he'd had enough.  We talked it through and I was finally convinced that there was no getting away from it.  It's just too stressful for Mike to work with someone as quirky as I am.  And his stress affects me, even when he tries valiantly to hide it.

I pointed out to him, that he might still be just as stressed working with a new binder.  To which he replied, "Yes, but I won't be living under the same roof with that person."

Soooo, I agreed to his plan.  But inside I was feeling like a jealous woman.  Here he was "leaving me for another binder.  After giving him the best years of my life!"  All the clichés fit the situation.

I kept telling myself I should be happy to be done with it.  I have way too much on my plate.  But I couldn't help it.  I very much identify with being the binder for Pegana Press and I feel good about the job I do.  Especially since I am self taught.

The phone call from the prospective binder came just after lunch.  And I found myself muttering under my breath as Mike stepped out to the porch to take the call in private.  "Fine! Go ahead and leave me...grumble, grumble."

"You're jealous!", I told myself.  "So what!", I retorted back.  But I suddenly knew, that she wouldn't take the job.  After all, she's a professional master binder.  She's not crazy!

When Mike got off the phone, he confirmed what I already knew to be true.  She wanted more than we could afford to pay.  (She would actually be making more than we would per book if we could somehow convince her to even take the job.)

She had also checked out our website, and she couldn't understand why we needed a binder.  She thought our work was well done, and after reading about my process, said that I was doing all the steps.

My inner voice said, "You tell him, my sister!" Mike also said that she sounded relieved when he told her we couldn't afford it for this current book.  Like I said--She's not crazy!

Hand binding is very detailed, labor intensive, plain ol' hard work!  I picked it up out of necessity and found that I liked doing it.

I know that by trying to find a binder, Mike was trying to give me a break (and give himself a break from the difficulty of having to trust that it will all get done on time, and look just fine).  But I feel like my personal stock just went up.  Because there is no way around it.  I am the book binder for Pegana Press.

He ended our conversation with, "I guess you're stuck with it.  A normal wife would have told me --there is no way I'm doing this!

I responded with, "Yes, but then a normal wife also wouldn't do her dishes outdoors using the wheel barrow as a sink, so that you can mix a tune for a client and not compete with that noise."

And if you think I'm kidding, here is proof.

I know, but eccentricity rules!

What A Difference!

What a difference three weeks can make!

I have been plowing through the work around here.  My Kitchen has never been so clean.  I've lived in this house for 15 years, and I've never had much clear counter space.  It's mostly been covered by dirty dishes, bottles and jars waiting to be washed before going out to the recycling, and various works in progress.  A chaotic jumble about sizes the whole situation up.

But in the first two weeks of 2016, I managed to turn that trend around.  When I came home from the food co-op last week, I actually had a space to set all my groceries, when I brought them in.  The living room and dining room have also been decluttered, as well as The Bindery, which was starting to look a little chaotic.

Three weeks into 2016, and my house is starting to resemble a real home and not just a busy work space.

The Peepers are growing like crazy.  They're 10 weeks old now!!  I'm really excited that 4 of the 5 are pullets and only one is a cockerel.  Of course that still leaves me with a dilemma.  What to do with the excess male bird.  And he is at the moment far more lovable than his pop.

Rocky and I have a tenuous truce, which neither one of us is anxious to put to the test.  It makes cleaning the chicken house and working in that part of the yard difficult though, and if a fence comes down, it becomes a real adrenaline rush to get it repaired.  The secret to my success is that FOOD is the great moderator.

Sparky (Mike named the new one) is my friend.  I'm not sure if he knows the score or not, but he's doing his best to get on my good side, and so far, he's my pal.

Ruby (mom) is finally after 10 weeks, starting to peck at them.  Again, it's that whole FOOD thing.  I introduced her back into the hen yard with Rocky.  I won't say there was a tender reunion, because that's just not Rocky's style, but he was glad to see her.  (I might get more chicks out of that interaction).

She didn't stay put.  She was upset to be separated from the chicks, and wanted me to let them in too.  I decided to let her out instead, and she was OK with that.  Today we tried it again, though.  I guess for the next few days, I'll keep letting her into the hen yard until they remember who she is.  Ten weeks ago she was top hen in the flock.  Now she's at the bottom of the pecking order.  They won't let her near the food, and Rocky wasn't all that thrilled that I fed her a bit away from them.  He wanted to dominate both food supplies.  (Sort of reminded me of Monsanto.)  I had to lure him back to his own food.

I guess I'll just observe how it works out, and if I can bring her and the chicks into the flock--great.  If not, than I'll have two flocks.  I would rather have them all together though, but I'll have to see how Rocky and Sparky will get along.

I'll be glad to get the Peepers out of the back yard.  It was okay when they were still tiny, but now, my back porch and patio resemble a barn yard.  Every evening I have to shovel it off and sluice it down.  (I know, too much information.)

Never the less, I do love them and they always make me laugh.  And they all seem to like being held.

Enough about chickens.

My resolve to move toward zero waste, is coming along.  Last week we generated about a gallon of trash.  (I don't remember what we threw in the trash to even get that much...it must have been some kind of plastic that I ran across when I was cleaning out the kitchen.  I keep finding old plastic squirreled away (I guess I was hoping I would eventually find a use for some of it.)  But as far as the trash goes, typically, I generate about 3 yogurt cups full of plastic trash a week now.  It's getting easier to compost and recycle almost everything else, as long as I pay really close attention to what I am bringing home.  (We haven't bought bacon since the new year--sigh--I do miss it, and I just need to find time to drive over to the meat market, where I can hopefully get some uncured bacon wrapped in non plasticized paper.  #jumping through hoops!)

And finally, I wanted to share that someone who bought Winter Tales through Pegana Press, liked it enough to also buy a copy of Hearth & Heart Summer edition.  He also hinted broadly that he would buy Hearth & Heart Autumn (Coming Soon).  I got a chuckle out of that, until I realized that I had 3 zines partially finished and that I needed to get my butt in gear and get them out.  All the stories have been finished for months, I just need to put them in zine format, which is mostly finished.

But for now, I'm still binding another two batches of books and working on profit and loss for 2015 tax return.  Definitely trying to make sure I stay up with book keeping this year, so it's not so hard later.  The shoe box method, isn't working anymore.  I went in to see if I qualified for a reduced rate in my power bill last year, and the woman said to me.  If you're self employed you should have all your totals already.  I got a hardy laugh out of that, and resisted the temptation to respond with...You've never owned a business before where you did everything yourself, have you?  I have another friend who runs multiple business out of her home too, and it's just her and her partner, just like with me and Mike.  They do everything on their own, just like we do and they work 12 hours or more a day - every day, just like we do.  Tell me, where do people like us find time to make sure their book keeping is up to date?

But now that is on the list for 2016.  Wish me luck.

The Golden Key

The Golden Key by George MacDonald
with illustrations by Charles van Sandwyk
available from Pegana Press 2015

This is the latest book I've been binding for Pegana Press.  The Golden Key by George MacDonald with illustrations by Charles van Sandwyk.  This book has kept me really busy since early November.  It's a big enough responsibility to bind books for collectors who have pre-ordered the book sight unseen, but it's been an even bigger responsibility since our release coincides with the season when people are thinking about Christmas gifts, and some of our customers have ordered the book to give as gifts.  I can not help but be aware of what a great honor that is--that someone would trust us to help make their loved one's Christmas special. 

But I'm breathing a little easier now that I've filled almost all the preorders.  All of the books designated as gifts, should be shipped out in time to arrive before Christmas.

It really is a special book.  Typeset all by hand and letterpress printed on multicolored pages in Rose, Custard, Green, and Blue.  With 3 pen and ink illustrations and a hand signed watercolor frontispiece by Charles van Sandwyk.  Also each book is hand bound with cloth covered boards and inset letterpress title on the front of the book.

It is a wonderful fairy story and we wanted the book to reflect the tradition of books dating back 100 years.

You can see more images of the book at Pegana Press Books.

Here's a quote from The Golden Key

    ... And her great blue eyes looked down on the little Tangle, as if all the stars in the sky were melted in them to make their brightness.

     "Ah! but," said Tangle, "when people live long they grow old.  At least I always thought so."

     "I have not time to grow old," said the lady.  "I am too busy for that.  It is very idle to grow old..." 

Hmmm, I'll have to remember that.

Racing The Clock

I just made my to do list for tomorrow, and all I can say is--no wonder there is no time for writing.

The only thing that is going to make me feel better about it at this point is to post a picture I took today of Ruby and one of her chicks.

Ruby with chick

I often see a small face peeking out over the top of her wing.  Sometimes all I can see is a small beak.  They're getting big quickly.  And that means I'll have to make other arrangements to house them, soon.  

But no time to think about that this week.  This week I am in a book binding marathon, which includes 6 different titles.  I'm hoping to have time left over to work on a financial report due by Monday.  Give me strength!

It's all part of the seasonal deadline that comes when Christmas coincides with a book release.  No complaints.  And I should be caught up, and even a little ahead of the game soon.

I've already told Mike, I'm taking two weeks off from press related activities during the Christmas holiday.  Hoping to get some serious writing done then.  

Or even some rest.

Thanksgiving

Since we work out of our home, it's hard to take a day off.  Thanksgiving is no exception.  But rather than spend it in overwhelm, I chose to multitask under more pleasant conditions.

At noon, I decided to take my stack of books to be sewn in preparation for binding, outside and work in the sunshine so I could allow the cats outdoors to bask in the sun, while at the same time letting Ruby and her chicks out into the yard to scratch and forage.  Maintaining a human presence as a moderator between species made me feel more secure, although I'm sure Ruby could handle it on her own.  (The cats usually steer clear of her anyway).

The chicks are developing new skills on a daily basis.  Yesterday I noticed they were all taking short flights around the yard, and today, I saw one fly up to the porch.  They also began scratching for themselves today, rather than following Ruby around.  They also took their first dust bath today.

Now I'm indoors with a chicken in the oven (turkey is too big for just the two of us), and putting the final touches on a simple supper.

I'll be covering slip cases after supper and gluing spines, on the freshly sewn books.

I would have taken the day off, but with no company, and family too far away this year, I decided to take the opportunity to get more work done.  I'm racing the clock to get all the Christmas orders filled for Pegana Press customers.

I still feel disappointed over not getting my Autumn zine out.  It was so close to being finished.  It doesn't look like I'll have time to release the Winter edition either.

Hearth & Heart Autumn 2015 update

________________________
Hearth & Heart Autumn 2015
cover mock up

I was hoping to have this edition out by now, but things keep happening to delay.  I have almost the whole thing ready to go, but I needed to reproduce 4 major images and I'm not satisfied with the quality.  I guess I need to find another printer.

Zoë is another reason.  I have decided not to use that stupid over-sized cone on her, so that means that from time to time, I have to remind her not to start exploring her wound site, while it heals.  She's doing amazing.  I actually got some sleep last night.  I feel lucky that I work from home, because it allows me to be present with her.  One less thing to stress about.  And one thing I know from experience working in energy medicine with my own animals and with others, is that our human stress over our loved ones, slows down their healing process.  My analysis is that it causes an interference pattern in your psyche, which inhibits your ability to "see" your sick animal as healthy.  (Or to use the more familiar language of Abraham-Hicks, --You won't be a vibrational match with that outcome.)

I got some amazing insight into the physiology of a cat, while doing Zoë 's session last night.  It was so magical, that I might try and find a way to share it in story form.

I'm also doing some book binding work right now.  Pegana Press is releasing The Golden Key by George MacDonald with illustrations by Charles Van Sandwyk.  (hopefully by the end of September).  Visit the link to view photos of the book.

Well now it's off to work I go.