wayfaringwordhack: (Junebug Diggin' Life)
In this post about my birthday, I mentioned that I would come back to that lovely table which was holding our new pottery.

Consider me back. :P

While at Guédelon, we watched many artisans at work, including the carpenters. Farmer Boy declared that when we got home (insisted, in fact, that AS SOON AS WE GOT HOME, irregardless of that being 10 p.m.) J would help him make a stool. However, on the road, the idea morphed into making a replica of this table we saw at Guédelon:


Much to Farmer Boy's chagrin, the table-making did not start that night but the next morning:

 


He and J worked hard, assembling and shaping all the pieces:

 
 

Understanding how to go from a cylinder to a properly centered cone. Hint, you have to start from a square:


 


And not to be outdone, Ti'Loup got to work on his own piece of wood, making lots of wood dust on the way:

 


The finished keepsake:
 
IMG_6110.jpg

Well done, guys!
wayfaringwordhack: (Art: Thibault Prugne - Bee Rider)

*That would be "bread" in French, nothing to do with suffering.

Thanks to a fried who lives an hour away, we found out about a local-to-us festival happening this weekend. I really should pay more attention to goings-on, shouldn't I?

Anyhow, yesterday I helped BB and his family harvest the last of their honey** for this season, so that left only today for the fête. It took place at a lovely pond located just 15-20 minutes from us. We'll have to go back once the place finds its habitual look and function because it looks to be one of the most charming public water spots we've found near us.

There were lots of activities like a tent set up with more modern toys and boardgames and older wooden games. There was a zip-line, a rock climbing wall, pony rides, kayaking, even archery. And I hit the target with all three arrows accorded me for my turn. Let's us all observe a moment of silent amazement in tribute to this astounding feat. :P I think both Sprout and Farmer Boy could get good at the archery, for Sprout improved with each of her arrows, and FB, who was technically too young, shot a well-placed arrow, too, and earned the stand-keeper's admiration enough to be offered a second try. Sadly the bowstring snapped him a bit on the cheek and he didn't want to have another go. 

The kids enjoyed a fishing game, though, where they got prizes.
 


There was also folk dancing and music, as well as bands doing covers, who were quite nice to listen to. The dance group also works with a "living museum" where they show how to use tools from the past (frex, how to card and spin fiber, how to carve wooden clogs, and make rope from hemp...)
 


And there was much more to see and do, including the old bread oven, which is like a stone cabin built by the pond, where they bake bread to sell at their titular festival. Alas, I could not get more or better pictures because my phone battery died, and we forgot the DSL at the house.

But! But! My absolute favorite part was an art expo by an artist/illustrator who lives in the next department over, whose work actually moved me to tears. I shall write another post about that. 

In the meantime, my new icon is from a photo I took of one of his illustrations, which explains the poor quality and reflections from the frame that should not have been in the original.

_______
** I am becoming quite a hand at uncapping honey!

20190803_161518.jpg

wayfaringwordhack: (Junebug Diggin' Life)
 I am one of the first to grumble about insurance policies, about the idea that you always pay but it isn't so easy to get the insurance company to come through on their end; however, let me tell you, when it comes to the insurance policy on Farmer Boy's glasses, Ho Boy! has it ever paid off.

We have had to have them (seeing glasses and prescription sunglasses) repaired at least 10 times in the last two years with no cost to us. I kind of think the optician might regret having sold us that particular policy. :P (Seriously though, the staff there have always been gracious and understanding whenever we take the glasses in.)

So, yeah, if you are considering insuring your kid's glasses, go for it. :P


That is Farmer Boy, aka Junebug, in the icon, also. My how they grow.

wayfaringwordhack: (Default)
I am a little weary of starting all my posts feeling like I only come around after things have passed, after I have moved past or through something; but in the thick of it, I don't have the time or the energy. Still, I feel a need to record things for myself, for those who come after.

I have gone through a rough patch physically and emotionally of late. It began with me sleeping poorly. I injured my knee, and that led to many nights of poor sleep. Then of course, I caught a nasty chest thing, meaning more lost sleep. Then at the end of May, my family was finally ready to do a memorial for my mom, who died last March, and asked me to take care of the video, which, while it didn't really cut into my sleep, it did put me in a raw place, feelings-wise.  

Two days after the memorial, my aunt (only 14 years older than I) was found dead in her bed. She hadn't gone to the service, and because my family is often at odds with one another, no one really worried about it. I still don't know why or how she died. If anyone knows more, they have yet to tell me. Death is never nice, but the bitterness, ugliness, and accusations that spewed forth at my aunt's passing were shocking and not at all what I expected when I called to comfort my family.

So my over-tired self was hit with a lot of emotional turmoil, and while on the road, coming home from church (an hour's drive) I ended up having a migraine with scary neurological side-effects that had J calling for help and me getting driven off in an ambulance. Doctor's orders have been take magnesium and rest, so that is what I have been trying to do between the gardening, parenting, and general homesteading. Thankfully J was around during the worst of it. Today, he has taken the kids to spend a week with his mom, giving me a much-needed break. Now if only I didn't have to contend with the allergies that the season has brought me. Have I said that I am one tired chica? Let it be said then: I am one tired chica.

My plan this week is to get lots of downtime, do some reading, do some cleaning (now, don't chide: I really need to take care of some stuff to feel well in head and body), watch a movie or two, potter in the garden, maybe draw (I don't know that I have writing in me right now), and not do any more than I have to.

In other news, one of our May-born pullets disappeared without a trace, but on the same day, we had six new chicks hatch. I have given a momma duck some chick eggs to hatch (last chance for her to be a surrogate mom if it doesn't go well this time) because I felt so rotten at having made her abandon her own clutch last month.  Also, the momma hen that hatched out our first chicks of the season has gone broody again.  Maybe we will have more luck than last year.

Kids and first chicks:


Ti'Loup doesn't quite have the hang of holding chicks yet:



Doesn't Farmer Boy have the perfect farm hands? :P
 


Gardening photos and other news to follow. I hope.
wayfaringwordhack: (Junebug Diggin' Life)
 
It is funny to note that all three of my kids have begun counting this way, only in French: un, deux, trois, cinq, huit... They have all felt that 4, 6, and 7 were somehow not that important, at least not at first. After neuf and dix have been tack on, 6 is usually the next one to be accepted in the ranks, and 7 the last. :P

Sprout's favorite adjective of the moment is "mega" with especially special things being "super mega."

Being out of touch with anglophone slang (and francophone, for that matter), I ask you is this perhaps the current equivalent of "rad" / "awesome" / "wicked"?

(also on LJ, comment where you like)
wayfaringwordhack: (Default)
(copied from LJ)

 As trite and cliché as it may sound, clouds do have silver their silver linings.

J got three days off work for his grandmother's death, so he was able to come home after the funeral. The little break was a welcome one because otherwise he would have been gone from us for a full month. He still won't be back until April 5th, but the break made the long stretch a little more bearable. I really pray he gets his transfer this summer.

A package arrived the day before he got back:

And thanks to frigg, you get to see a step-by-almost-step of the set-up of what is inside.
many pics this way )

Kids and dog approve. Let the growing begin.

Sorry for the different photo sizes.  No idea what is up with it and not wasting my time figuring it out.

Keep your eye on that "pond." Fixing that will be one of the big projects this spring/summer.

Grieving

13 Mar 2018 12:33 am
wayfaringwordhack: (pondering)
 My mother passed away one week ago. She had cancer and was in a bad state with an inoperable tumor blocking her esophagus, but the flu is what killed her.

Death is often complicated, and for various reasons, my mother's passing was no different.  J was with me until yesterday, and his presence, along with a bout of truly lovely weather that kept us outside working, fully immersed in the moment, insured that I was too occupied and tired to think too much about my loss.  

But today I am alone and grieving the passing of two women in my life because J's grandmother died this morning. She would have turned 98 next month.

I wanted to make a post today about my mom, but I wasn't counting on J's grandma passing, too, and now I don't have the strength for it.

I'll regroup and talk a bit more about her another time perhaps.

(also posted on LJ)
wayfaringwordhack: (Christmas Machu Picchu)
 Trying to copy-paste this entry from LJ. For me, the images are working; can you please let me know if it is the same for you, dear friends.

Happy Holidays, everyone.  I guess I'm posting too late to legitmately wish you all a Merry Christmas, so general holiday greetings it is.

In this season, I gifted myself with grace.

Instead of making sure that supper was ready exactly on time, I took a moment to admire this chaffinch  bullfinch (thanks nipernaadiagain) at sunset:


and walk to the top of the pasture to photograph this cloud that was doing its best to make a local volcano look like the scientists are wrong in saying it is extinct:



Instead of worrying about mess, I let the kids do their own thing and prepare Sprout's created recipe for "rollashines."*


Instead of baking another batch of cookies, I took a walk with the family in the Christmas Eve fog:





I hope you are all being gracious and kind to yourselves this holiday season.  See you next year, if not sooner.

____________________________
* Sprout invented rollashines (kind of a stovetop cookies with wildly variable ingredients and amounts, or shall we say "highly personalizable) when she was two or three. I still have the paper where she drew the many shapes a rollashine can be take, even what she calls "Chinese rollashines" for some reason. :P Junebug, now to be known as Farmer Boy, at his request, loves making them, too.

Done Deal

13 May 2017 03:06 pm
wayfaringwordhack: (art - guitton housework)
As of yesterday, we are homeowners. For Real. First time in ... 11 years. I'm excited in more ways than I am going to take the time to express. :P

A guy from the moving company came by this morning to estimate how much stuff we want to ship back to France. His estimate: 12-13 cubic meters. J's and my estimate: 4-5 cubic meters.

Comment and say who you think is closer to the truth. :P In any case, we pay on the real cubage, not any estimates. I. just.want. my. boxes.  Ms Antsy? That's me.

As soon as he left, I got online and booked a moving van to haul all our stuff that is in storage at my mil's up to our new abode. Hoarders Extraordinaire? That's us.

Seriously though, we have all sorts of stuff that we always knew we would need once we settled down again.

So our coming weeks look like this:

This week - Get boxes and start packing
May 20th - Celebrate Ti'Loup's 1st Birthday!!!
More weeks - pack some more
July 4th - Finally "Bye Bye, Egypt" for four of the Faures
July 8th - move into new home
unpack moving van stuff and wait for maritime shipment to arrive, probably mid-August - September.

Which means we have to be super careful how we pack from here. Cast iron skillets weigh a lot, but I will have put mine in my suitcase. Can't live without them for months. :P
wayfaringwordhack: (wayfaring wordhack)
So, things:

Got my laptop back from the shop.  It works. Not perfectly, but certainly functional and probably for many years. No thanks to Apple.

I have some crud that really resembles strep throat.* I am self-medicating with homemade remedies and feeling better. J seems to have something similar (he has congestion; I had none. My fever lasted 2 days; his is going on four...), but the doc said J probably has something viral. A pediatrician came to the house today and said the three kids have strep. Didn't do a swab test or send anything to the lab, though.

I am not going to miss Egypt, but here are a few things that I will be sad to have no more of:

- Access to Egypt's mad love affair with all things DELIVERY! Seriously awesome when you are sick and can't muster the energy to cook for the sick family.

- Awesomely exotic blooming trees. (Note to self: take some pics when you feel better)

- The smell of citrus trees in bloom. Heady.

- The network of lovely people we've met here


And now time for bed.  Oh, I'm going to miss that, too. Our mattress here is terrific. Not so the one waiting on us back in France. :P

____________
* I spent almost all day yesterday lying in bed, watching this guy paint with his baby in his arms:


So relaxing. :D
wayfaringwordhack: (art: shroom sweet shroom)
Hello and Happy New Year.

2016 was a busy year, full of good and bad. Too much to sum up, even. A few things in no particular order because how can one classify things like this:

We gave birth to Ti'Loup, who is now 7.5 months old.
My mother was diagnosed with esphogal cancer.
My grandmother died.
I wrote a Middle Grade fantasy novel.
We found a house to buy in France (our offer was accepted on New Year's Eve; we have yet to sign the papers).

2017 is the year we leave Egypt and come home, the year we have to declare that we are unschooling Sprout, the year I need to get my picture book finished...

__________
We're in France now, and everyone is sick, so I don't have much energy. I looked back through LJ, but I don't have the energy to comment on everything. Sending good vibes and get well wishes to those of you who need them.
wayfaringwordhack: (art - pondering)
Or shall we just call it, "The State of Things." Forgive me, LJ, for it has been awhile since my last post.

_________
I've never tried to put a cut under a cut, so be warned that when I say something vile happened, there should be an additional cut there to keep it out of public view unless you want to read it. If there is not a cut, don't read on, there's nothing more to see. :)
________

In which you can read about the State of Things )Vile Thing )

Anyhow. Did not mean to end on a tirade.SaveSaveSaveSave
wayfaringwordhack: (Egypt: Sphinx)
*cue Europe's song* (Oh 80's, what hilarious fashion you witnessed!)

In one year, we will be returning to Europe. This time, excepting any strange and totally unpredictable happening, we'll really be going back to France on 31 July 2017, give or take a day.

This coming year is going to zoom by. O.O

And these wee ones won't be so wee in another year's time.


Ti'Loup will probably even be walking by then, or swimming :P
wayfaringwordhack: (Sprout: my loves)
Both Junebug and Sprout are pleased with their brother, wanting to hold and caress him at every opportunity. They are both really gentle with him.

And snuggled around the cute babyness, you can see the blanket I made. I'll try to get around to taking a photo of it laid flat.

Baby pics )
I don't know if anyone remembers, but before Sprout was born, we referred to her as "Little Bean." Since "coquille" implies the outer shell to hold something, now that our little one has emerged, I'm going to start calling him Ti'Loup* here, which means "Little Wolf." Just because.

___________
* "Ti" as in petit, pronounced "tee", and the P in loup is silent: tee-lou. If we would have gone with a different first name, we were considering Loup for a middle name.
wayfaringwordhack: (Junebug: Diggin' life)

I guess I can close the link on what to do if birthing one's baby happens unexpectedly at home or in the car. :P

I started having contractions on Thursday afternoon, after a busy couple of hours on my feet. But they were nothing to call the doctor about, coming, as they were, at least 30 min apart and very manageable on the pain level. At two minutes to midnight, a more serious bout of them woke me, keeping me from from dozing off until 6 a.m., after which point they went back to every 30 minutes or so, allowing me to sleep 20 min at a time until 9 a.m.

At a little past 2 p.m., the contractions started coming quicker, if not harder, so my doc suggested going to the hospital to be checked out by the doctor on-call. We arrived at there at 4, with Sprout in tow, leaving Junebug in the care of our housekeeper.

Two hours later, after another swift and hard dilation,* I barely made it into the pool, as my doctor barely made it back from Alexandria to assist in the birth, in time to deliver our son. Sprout was so proud to be part of it and see her new baby brother come into the world.

So Boaz Kaelig** Faure, came to us as befits his name (Boaz = quickness, swiftness; Kaelig = Generous lord). He weighed 3.485 kgs (7.68 lbs) and measured 52cm (20 inches).

I was released from the hospital at midnight and should be in bed, but the adrenline is stll running high. Still, better try to sleep some more. I need it. :P

____________

* Similar to Sprout's arrival in the world, only with much less vomiting.
** Briton/Celtic name prounced "Kay-lig", "lig" rhyming with fig. I wonder, since part of the name is French and Boaz is easy to pronounce, if my mother-in-law will approve. Or will she declare that we gave this baby a "weird name," which is her verdict for her other two grandchildren. :P

wayfaringwordhack: (Default)
[livejournal.com profile] asakiyume has some lovely painted cookies, and she shared the recipe with me in the comments of this post (do click through, even if you don't plan on making any cookies, to admire more angels).  I made a batch to take to a Christmas party today* (um, many cookies did not make it because we had to, um, well, eat them.  For research purposes, you understand. Oh, and I gave a few to my housekeeper in her Christmas gift bag).

I wanted to experiment with natural dye and a red-and-white color scheme so used lingonberry (similiar to cranberries but smaller) juice. I think two things went "wrong."

First off, I perhaps made the icing a bit too thin. Not from a taste standpoint because, being made from powdered sugar, the icing was already sweet enough, but maybe the icing would have held up better to the juice? I dunno know.

The second problem, then, was the juice was too acidic and ate through the icing, making it hard for me to do detail. Instead of painting smoothly *on* the icing, I found that the colors pooled a bit under the surface. You can't tell in the photos, but looking across the cookies, you can see where the glossy surface of the icing has been disolved. Maybe beet juice next time?

Still they are pretty, I think, and I had a lot of fun doing them.


Sprout helped, but she ate all of her creations (except the unfrosted tree you can barely glimpse with the brightest red touches). My favorite was when she painted big swatches of red across a hedgehog, adopted a squeaky voice, and said, "Oh, I'm bleeding!" before she gobbled it up. :P

_________
*It isn't late for Christmas parties because here in Egypt we get the fun of having celebrations from the Western-assigned 25 December Christmas day until the Coptic Christmas on January 7.

Coquille

31 Dec 2015 12:05 pm
wayfaringwordhack: (Junebug: Diggin' life)
So before the old year is out, I guess I should tell you our old(ish) news.

We're 19 weeks pregnant and will welcome Baby Three, aka Coquille, into the world in May.

The four Faures will soon be five.

Thanks to Sprout for the tummy art. :D



wayfaringwordhack: (Sprout: Soëlie eating)

Can you guess which one?

I made a Thai-influenced soup for lunch:

Junebug took his spoon, dug in, and proclaimed, "Tasty!"*

Sprout looks in her bowl and without tasting it, wails, "I like shrimp, I like calamari, I like chicken; what a bad surprise this is, having them all together! And rice! I didn't want my rice mixed in!"

o.O


_________

* Yes, I made the soup, so I might be biased, but it was very tasty.

wayfaringwordhack: (critters: just ducky)
Last year, my mother-in-law started toying with the idea of getting a couple of egg-laying chickens. This summer, we helped her make that a reality.

First there was much cleaning of the site, a bit of land under some pine trees that was overrun by brambles, ivy, and pokeweed. The MIL and I were alone for this bit:



Look at those mounds of ivy runners. I had to use a weedwhacker to cut them because had we continued pulling, we would still be trying to get them all and would likely have uprooted the yard all the way to the house:



Future hen yard all cleaned up and staked out:



MIL and I then did a lot of research and planning and taking apart transport pallets. In the end, we didn't use the pallets. J's brother was able to get a lot of the wood for free.  We took the work-in-progress photos with his camera, so I don't have any of that to show.

Putting in a stone path in hopes of keeping MIL's boots more or less muck free when she goes to inside the hen yard. She can collect the eggs without entering the enclosure:



Remember those 4.5 tons of gravel I talked about shifting? We used the extra to try to keep the perimeter of the enclosure from being overrun again by ivy:



The two ladies, Lily and Cerise (Cherry), named by Sprout because "Lily has a pointy comb like a lily and Cerise's comb is round."




All the workers:



I can take most of the credit for the building design. J's bro did the plans, all fancy like on his computer, and then built the coop. :P  J did the fencing and gate (he went up the mountain and fetched wood for all the posts, etc, more money saved!).

Good practice for the Someday Farm...only our coop will be much bigger!
wayfaringwordhack: (wayfaring wordhack)
It is the final stretch of our summer in France. We leave Thursday, and as usual, there is a massive flurry of "must-get-done" stuff going on: visits, camping, loooooooong drives, yard work that includes cutting and prepping wood, stocking a cord of firewood, shifting 4.5 tons of gravel (still haven't finished that one), and putting finishing touches on the big project this year of building my MIL a chicken coop (photos to come soon)...and many other things I'm forgetting.

Tomorrow there will be lots and lots to do, so I probably won't check back in until this weekend, when we are once more settled in Cairo. And then the fun of looking for another apartment will begin.

How are all of you doing? News, please. :)

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