Today I made three and a half pints of kim-chi, one half gallon of beet kvass, and as I type I can hear whey dripping out of the yogurt I have tied up in a cheese cloth. This in addition to the beans, rice with chicken stock, and slaw for dinner. The kids didn't really help. They were busy all day reading and playing games. But I am learning how to do all of this in preparation for our eventual garden bounty. And so I can teach the children how to save and preserve food, an important facet of permaculture. Not to mention good practice and confidence building for the day we start processing our own milk into butter, sour cream, yogurt, and cheese. So the children were steeped in life rhythm. And we all did our thing while listening Brazilian music, which kept me moving.

Tonight, we rush out for our first 4-H meeting. We are discussing the coming Jr. Livestock Show this spring. Cowgirl Ry will be leading Raspberry to the Spring Heifer Beef Class blue ribbon!

We believe in positive thinking, around here...

Hold the phone! We went to the meeting. Which was one whole experience in and of itself. We entered a government building, threaded through labyrinthine white tiled halls, sat under a flag, a government issue clock, and a big screen. We introduced ourselves, held still, listened carefully, were attentive for a whole hour, and asked pertinent questions. (Surely, this qualifies as socialisation indoctrination equal to 4 credit hours of government school?)

But more importantly, we learned that we can order two baby lambs. We can stable them on our property from now till April 15th. In that time, the children will halter break them and care for them every day. On the 15th, the children will show the lambs in competition, sell them, and submit their records of the whole project for review. Its a 4-H project. We'll have to invest in some fencing. But we need that for our garden any way. So, yes, we are going to get some lambies! Just goes to show, once again, you never know what a day might hold.