Finally, bedrooms for the kids

When we moved into the house over three years ago there was a lot left unfinished. We did not complete the planned bedrooms for the kids at that time because they were so young that they didn't really need their own rooms and we just wanted to be done and moved in so we said we'd get the rooms done "someday." Well, that someday came this winter after Chris' injury. The kids were ready for some personal space and in the light of Chris' disability we also needed to create an office/spare room where we could potentially put an intern to help us out on the farm.

After the injury we received an outpouring of offers of help as well as some financial gifts from family members too far away to help in person. We took those offers and decided to go ahead with the room construction. The first thing we had to do was clean out the entire West half of the house, otherwise known as the playroom. My mom spent several days down here with me helping to sort through all the mess and put everything in boxes. Here is the "before" photo after clearing stuff out.


Our friend Aaron is a talented carpenter and in just two days he had the majority of the three rooms framed. This was a difficult job because of the earthen-plastered walls and floor which are inevitably NOT square, but Aaron figured out how to deal with it.



After the framing was done, my Mom's friend Paul and his wife came down to spend a day on the project. They even brought a helper and lunch for everyone!

We got much of the rock on that day and I even ventured up into the attic to work on the wiring. It was an enormous boost for us and it was so much appreciated.

The following weekend my brother, his wife, and my niece Aris volunteered several hours to painting.


Here's the view of the rooms from the outside.


The kids enthusiastically helped with the painting. Fortunately the paint was clay based so it washed off the floors easily.


Scotty demonstrates the use of Eliza's little climbing wall on her bunk bed.


More photos of the finished rooms coming soon!

A massive erection

No, it's not what you think. It's a big ol' greenhouse!

I'm finally getting around to posting about the greenhouse film installation which we did just days before Chris' hospital stay in February. This was something that we really wanted to get done and as I think back about that time now I can't believe we actually did it. I'm sure glad we did though because we have enjoyed fresh greens for the last month or so now and we've even sold some at the market--all possible because of the greenhouse.

Even though Chris was in terrible pain he crutched out there to coordinate the project. The kids were on hand to help, along with our friend Crystal and our helper Jason. The first step was to roll out the film. Note the chicken in Eliza's arms.


We used baseballs and rope to tie the film in three places before pulling it up and over the frame. Basically you bunch some of the film around a baseball and then tie a rope around the ball. This prevents tearing and works really well. Jason, Crystal, and Scotty each took a rope while I ran around making sure the film unfolded properly and didn't get caught on anything. Chris had camera duty. Click on the photo to see Scotty at his post at the back. He was a great help that day!Of course once we got the film up and over the wind started to kick up. The film had to be held down at the back until we got it clipped into place, which was a perfect job for Chris and the kids.


We almost lost it a couple of times but we got the clips in place. Chris designed a rainwater catchment system on this greenhouse complete with gutters so the film got clipped in just above the gutters. Underneath the gutters the film rolls up to provide cross ventilation.

The greenhouse measures 24' x 60' and is almost as big as the house! Before the day's end we had to cover the front with film because at this point it was just a giant wind sock sitting in the field. The piece of film was fastened from the bottom up with furring strips.


In order to fasten the film, Jason needed Crystal, Scotty and me to hold it up for him from underneath. We took the opportunity to toss the camera back and forth for some fun pictures.


A harrowing but ultimately successful day.

Solar lamb warmer

This is from before Chris' injury but I just had to share this great idea we had back in early January. We had a lamb born to a skittish and reluctant mom and we found it in the morning, chilled and lethargic. Lambs like this need to be warmed quickly so after a warm water bath we set him up in the kitchen with the reflectors from one of our solar cookers, a sleeping bag, and a towel which we used to cover his eyes. It worked wonderfully and the little guy perked up pretty quickly.

CHRIS WALKED WITHOUT HIS CRUTCHES!!

He made it about 20 paces to the kitchen and back. That's a pretty major accomplishment for someone who hasn't walked in 3 months.

I'm getting ready to upload some photos and get the blog updated. Stay tuned!

Update

Chris began an 8 day hospital stay on Feb 10 and
returned home two days ago. The treatment in the hospital was very
difficult and I felt that he needed someone by his side 24/7 for the
first five days or so because he was so heavily sedated and basically
helpless, but still had moments where he would come out of it a bit and
be unable to find the call button for the nurses (who were generally
wonderful but understaffed). Several of you came to the hospital to
visit or take shifts with him, and I can't thank you enough for that.
It meant so much to him and it was a great comfort to me knowing that
you were there while I was dealing with my other responsibilities, not
the least of which was spending time with the kids, who are
understandably a little freaked out by all this. Many of you also took
the kids for certain periods during the hospital stay so that I could be
with Chris, and that was just as valuable to us. Many, many thanks.

We had hoped to see great improvement after the treatment but it appears
that at best we have only slowed down the progression of the disease
(CRPS II). This does not mean that he won't improve over the coming
weeks and months, but it has been a disappointment for us that the pain
has not subsided much. He is currently on an intense cocktail of
medications designed to reduce pain, inflammation, anxiety, muscle
cramping, etc. These are serious meds that currently leave him somewhat
"altered" and give him trouble with memory, motor function, and so on.
Basically he is pretty loopy. Between the pain and the meds he is
unable to care for the kids on his own at this point, so I am in need of
backup kid care on occasion.

He has had good moments and bad moments since coming home. He is trying
very hard to remain optimistic, but he slides back every so often,
especially at night. We both slept well last night though, which has
helped us to start this morning with some energy and hope. We are
waiting for the medication regime to settle in with his body and we
expect that he will get more used to it and that it will become more
effective. We are pursuing physical therapy and other healing
modalities that we hope will help him. And of course we are counting on
the "tincture of time" to be a great source of healing. In the short
term, we are developing coping strategies for each of us that are
designed to minimize stress, which exacerbates his pain.

So that's where we stand today. As for the farm, we are going to take a
look at our plans for this season and we will obviously have to
streamline our activities. But the reality is that the farm must be a
source of income for us this year and the show must go on! The season
is beginning now and there are even some things to start planting over
the next few weeks.

One thing we are going to do right away is build the bedrooms on the
West side of the house. The kids are past being ready for their own
rooms, and we have decided to build a third room that will provide
housing for a live-in farm intern. This week my mom and I are working
on clearing out all the toys and clutter from that side of the house so
that we can begin construction ASAP.

Struggling

Ah, it's sure been a while. I was alerted to this fact by my dear friend Crystal, who has my blog listed in her sidebar along with how long it's been since I've posted here. Yikes. 5 weeks.

So I uploaded the photos from my camera, which dated from just before Christmas, so I could do a few blog posts. Problem is, I can't do it yet. There are photos from New Year's Day where we blew the steam whistle in our annual tradition for good luck, but those are too hard for me to look at right now because things took a turn for us just a week later.

Here is the last photo that I took "before."


It was a delicious dinner that I made especially for Chris from our own chicken and potatoes. Yummy hot wings. We had a great night that night--we felt so hopeful and optimistic for this year because Chris was finally going to leave his stressful job and we were going to become full time farmers.

Unfortunately, two days later he was injured in a farm accident. He should have healed within a week or two--or at least been able to move around and so on--but the injury has caused a horrible side effect called CRPS, or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, also known as causalgia. It's a nasty nerve disease where he suffers from unbearable pain in his foot and lower leg (the injury was to his upper leg) because of nerve damage. Look it up--it really sucks. It's now over a month later and he has been severely disabled ever since then. It is getting worse every day.

Tuesday he goes into the hospital for several days for an aggressive treatment designed to stop or slow down the progression of the disease. All we can do is hope that it helps at least enough to let him walk without crutches.

I really want to get back into posting here soon. We have actually been getting a few things done, even so far as installing the greenhouse film! We are not letting this stop us, but I must admit that life is definitely challenging at the moment. Hopefully we'll see some improvement in his pain and mobility by this time next week and I'll be able to catch up with the blog.

For now, please send healing thoughts our way, or pray if you are so inclined. We are strengthened by everyone's support, even from far away!

The wind is not our friend right now

A dear person in my life used to always say "the wind is your friend" but he was referring to bicycle racing, not solar panels.