A Few Things...

More posts here lately as a result of not feeling like doing much else. We're getting tired of videos, even, and are starting the Narnia audio series.

Update on sickness: my mother, after 16 days of fever, coughing, etc., and two rounds of antibiotics, is better, as of Thursday. YEA!!! There may be an end in sight. I'm on about day 11 or 12, now, and am further along than the others, except probably 4yo, who isn't as bad as the the girls and me, anyway (except for the bad ear infection of last week, and still having very poor hearing). Somehow, my father has escaped the whole thing, and Keith has just had the cough, and not as bad a cough as the rest of us. 11yo son has the cough and some congestion, but has had very little fever. He's busy taking care of the girls and me today, having warmed up for lunch the chicken-noodle soup Keith made yesterday for a shared (and very appropriate) Sabbath meal for us and the tent-dwellers. I find it difficult to talk, which is very frustrating with a 4yo who cannot hear well! Also, a cough this morning threw my back out. Thankfully, Keith was still here and immediately put massive amounts of pressure on the affected spot, thus making it possible for me to be vertical now!

Enough whining and on to some fun stuff!

11yo spent some time this morning going through the new Seed Savers catalog. Very exciting; he has already created a list of vegetables he wants to get. Tent-dweller is interested in a package from Baker Creek, too, that we may look into getting together, or some such. We've been reading a lot of garden books lately. I'm very much enjoying Jerome Lange's Remembering the Fish: The Seven Keys, obtainable from Rick Saenz at Cumberland Books.

Speaking of Rick Saenz, we are looking forward to seeing him and son Chris (and any others that may get to come!) in March, when they come to play at the Pick'n Parlor.

By the way, the beef we are enjoying from Ribeye is now "authentic" instead of "grass-fed." You can read why here.

Enough links, and on to some thank yous!

I want to thank all you Christian agrarian bloggers. I don't often get much computer time anymore, but when I do, you are a blessed and wonderful source of encouragement, information, and inspiration.

I also thank the brothers and sisters in our church family. I don't think I need to tell you what you mean to us. Never had we seen worship and fellowship so clearly defined and practiced until we met y'all and started worshipping with you. Soli Deo Gloria!

And I thank my sister, who is simply an awesome person, sister, friend, example--and is the epitome of an aunt.

Mary Susan

Prime Rib

The children and I sit here, sick, and starting the third part of "Lord of the Rings" (our not being much good for anything else at the present time).

I did, however, decide I could post a blog about our prime rib. After having a difficult time figuring out when to have it, when our parents and all of us could be here to enjoy it, we finally decided on the joint birthday celebration of our now-14yo daughter and my mother this past Saturday. This turned out to be extra nice, since my sister was also here, as well as Reformed Tentdweller and his family.

However, it was not nice, since both celebrators were not feeling well. My mother was bad enough that she ate canned chicken soup. (Wish I'd known she'd decided that; we could have at least made homemade!) I don't think she even tried the beef.

The rest of us, however, enjoyed it tremendously. Like all the cuts we've had from grass-fed Ribeye, it was tender, juicy, and tasty. I'm hoping we'll never have to buy beef again, and can continue having our own grass-fed beef!

Mary Susan

Whining

At the moment, five of the six of us are sick. My parents visited my brother and his family during Christmas, and my mother brought home a pretty wicked bronchial cold-type thing. Cold seems a bit too mild of a word, though. My mother has had it for two weeks, now (or more?), and is on her second round of antibiotics.

I've had it for quite a few days, but have kept it sort of in check with herbs, thanks to TNFarmgirl's medicinal herbs course. I had a low fever off and on for a few days, but seem to be over that. Still have some chest congestion, but seem to be able to control that with the herbs.

14yo has gotten pretty bad the last couple of days--nasal and chest congestion, fever, etc. She's gotten pretty bad the last day or so.

4yo's fever is quite bad: has constantly been well over 100 degrees the last two days; when it drops to less than 103, we're happy; it's been as high as 104.5, or maybe higher. Keith has taken these two to the doctor this afternoon.

11yo has been congested (sinus and chest) for a couple of days, but no fever until today. I've slowly started him on some herb tea. Thankfully, he's not felt bad enough that he couldn't deal with the livestock. And he's creating some lively banjo music as I compose this post, so he's apparently not feeling too bad!

16yo held out until today, when she came down with a low fever. Mighty workhorse, all the same. 4yo has wanted me beside him the last two days, so I've not been able to get anything done. Yes, he's worth it, and the house, laundry, etc. can wait. But it hasn't had to wait; 16yo has done four loads of laundry today, I believe it is; de-cluttered a good bit; fixed a good lunch; and has dinner ready to go. All this in the morning and with a fever (although I didn't know about the fever). She's a wonderful blessing! I need to get her started on some herb tea, but since chocolate probably doesn't mix too well with the herbs, she thus far has rejected the idea. And thanks to Reformed Tentdweller and family, we had a wonderful lunch and dinner yesterday.

Keith has escaped this illness so far, praise God.

How's that for a whining post?

Mary Susan

Update...

The fencing in the front pasture is complete, thanks to many willing hands. We still lack more fencing work in the back pasture, though.

All three calves born this year here at Allelon Farm are heifers, which pleases us, as the herd will be able to grow more quickly.

I'm wanting to start planning a garden, but seem to have other things pulling me in different directions too often.

14yo daughter began in November taking fiddle lessons from a great guy, as well as a great fiddle player (national champ, even, with good reason). Christian, too. She's been playing about a year, learning from a DVD, and simply having a good ear. But this opportunity came along, and we couldn't pass it up.

Come December, her teacher wanted to hear her 16yo sister play the mandolin (learned on DVD's over the last year, also). He cut us a deal to have them both take lessons. Added benefit: at the moment, the lessons are held at the Pick'n Parlor, so that gives us a double-reason to go there mid-week and pick up stuff we may need from there, or deal with anything there that we need to.

Another added benefit: the teacher is at the Pick'n Parlor almost every Friday evening, which is open-mic night. I love Friday nights there. The house band is great, and wonderful at encouraging others to get up and participate. And the teacher is, too. He gets his students to play (even some who are a bit reluctant or shy), and boy, can he play! I've never heard "Orange Blossom Special" like he played it last Friday! And it's so cool to see our kids and others playing with such incredible musicians of all ages.

Also, because he's there, he gets to see more of what our kids can do. I think his jaw may have hit the ground when he heard 14yo sing "Blue Moon of Kentucky" a couple of weeks ago. He had her sing it again last week. Also hit the ground when he saw 16yo playing along on mandolin with "Cripple Creek." As a result of seeing them sing and play together on-stage on Friday nights (small though the stage may be), he had an incredible lesson for them this week: some individual work; some together; and even some vocals, working on harmonies. It was exciting to be there to watch and listen.

The crowd at the Pick'n Parlor is great, too. We are really enjoying getting to know some of the regulars better.

And the food is good, thanks to Keith's restauranteur-brother. If you want home-cooking and some fun bluegrass, come join us. And if you're there on a Friday, take a turn at the microphone, or play along with other musicians. Or simply enjoy the show from your table.

Didn't really mean for this to be a bluegrass post, or a Pick'n Parlor post, but there you go!

Mary Susan

A not-so-agrarian venture

My brother and I have assumed the operation of a favorite restaurant of mine. The Pick'n Parlor has been successfully operated by the building owners for several years and they have done a fantastic job of cultivating an enjoyable, family-friendly environment in which to dine and listen to some of the finest local musicians and bands. As you may guess, operating a restaurant every weekend can be a rather consuming task with little or no opportunity for escape. So for the next year, at least, my family, my brother and some good friends will be in the restaurant business.

It is difficult to put into words the culture that pervades a given setting. It is something intangible but very real. We use words like warm or cool to try to capture the cultural environment. This is true of a party, a family gathering, a church and it is very true of this restaurant. The culture of this restaurant is something that my family and I love. For the most part, it is warm, casual, friendly, comfortable, inviting, and joyful. People come there because they love the music - primarily bluegrass music. For me, those same words describe bluegrass when it is being played as it should. I realize in the bluegrass world there are those who strive for perfection, who are uptight and stressed, who on the leading "edge" and are trying to market a product to a sex-crazed, newer, bigger, better world. To me, when you do that, you have lost the heart and soul of bluegrass.

This will likely adversely affect my agrarian aspirations this year. The farm will continue, but the pace of adding new productivity will be slowed. The "to-do" list will continue to grow and few big items will be tackled. I will, however, be engaging in this weekly adventure with my family. My dear wife and children have amazed me with their industry and cheerful disposition. I have gained a renewed respect for the depth of my brother's knowledge of the restaurant business. And friends have come along side to pitch in, eager to see us succeed. Blessings abound.

So, if you're in the area, drop in on us. Check out the menu. It is constantly under revision. I hope to greatly simplify the menu and all the preparation required to bring it together. So far we are swamped on Friday nights and we can't seat all that desire to come. Saturdays are a little slower, but still brisk. Folks typically come early and stay for the evening. From a standard restaurant perspective, no "turnover" is bad business. But it is part of the culture and you already know how I feel about that.
Keith

Interesting Observation

Yesterday, a number of families from church gathered at one home to help pack up the contents of that home, hopefully helping this family move this week. It's difficult to be the homeowners when others are helping, but these folks were wonderfully patient and a joy to be with. Our children observed that different members of the moving family pretty much had standard comments when asked, "What should we do with this?"

Dad: "Umm...ask the Mrs."

Mom: "You keep it if you want it."

Older son: "Chunk it."

Younger son: "Pack it."

Anyway, it was a good day of fellowship, and hopefully, we were some help, too.

Mary Susan