June

It's incredibly hot out.  And humid.  It's rarely humid in the north, but this year we're into our fourth week of heat and humidity.

The garden is spotty and disappointing.  Given the heat it should be growing like crazy.  The greenhouses are doing well, but outside is slow growing.  The weeds of course, are growing like crazy.  We pull them for the birds every day- a fresh layer of weeds to cover the floor of the turkey shack every night.

We continue foraging for weeds and fiddleheads.  It's too hot for puffballs now.  I start a batch of dandelion wine.  I skimp on the sugar, so it won't be very strong.  Rhubarb is up, although not much appreciated without flour and a ton of sugar.  The boys much on an occasional stick.  I start a batch of rhubarb and dandelion wine.  I make a small batch of dandelion syrop, blending it with the birch syrop for sugar.

We dig dandelion roots and dry them for coffee.  Husband appreciates them more now, much stronger than my other tea weeds alone.  He even digs some himself when he's out and about.  We try to dig for roots farther away from the house, keeping the dandelions in the yard for greens.

We're cooking outside on the fire pit now.  We don't have to cut the branches as small, and are able to use a lot of twigs as well.  Cooking doesn't entail much.  We planted the remaining potatoes, carrots and beets for seed.  Meals are just a jar of canned meat and whatever weeds we foraged that day, mostly dandelion, occasionally lambs quarters.  We're all in the habit now of munching as we go as well, eating dandelions as we pick, and chewing on grass and clover.

The perennial bed comes to life, and I start cutting and drying chives, and some flowers and plants for medicine and tea.  I wonder if I can make tinctures with wine.  I make plantain/comfrey salves with tallow.  I plant calendula, bedstraw, bergamot, cicely and some other herbs.  I gather stinging nettle and make vegetable rennet.

We rotate the cows through the pasture every three days.  It's not enough to allow each section proper rest, but it helps.  The horses spend so little time in the pasture that we just leave them up at the barn.  They're usually in the side yard, or the garden yard, or at someone else's house.  They graze as they go.  The goats roam around loose, as always.  We never could keep them fenced in.  They never wander far though.

Sanya's horses were out behind the pasture one morning.  Brother and Sil chased them off.

We work on fencing the edge of our property, down the side of the logging trail to the creek.  Hopefully that will keep the horses out, and eventually we'll let the cows out to graze.  We cut thin poles and nail them to the trees, a crooked little fence.  We keep the tree tops and branches for firewood.  The Littles saw through the branches with the hand saw.  The basement fills slowly.

Brother and Sil take down their add a room tent and frame it in with logs.  They frame all the way around the trailer, putting the roof up over both.  They cut logs for the sides and chink it in with clay.  Poles for the roof are covered with the vinyl tent.  They soon have a solid little cabin with the drafts all sealed.  They build a bigger chicken coop beside the cabin, with a trap door/window between them.  They can heat the chicken coop with the woodstove next winter.

They fence in their growing yard and garden.  They need to protect their garden from their free ranging chickens, and the cows that will be grazing through soon.

Mom's roof leaked last winter, so we all work together to build her add a room and put a new roof on over the trailer.  She has enough lumber to frame in the walls, and press board to cover them.  The roof is covered with poles, then tin.  There's only enough tin to cover half of it.  We have to scrounge for more materials elsewhere.

We nearly fill Mom's woodshed with the tree tops and branches we cut for the roof.  We move the woodstove into the add a room.  We frame in the windows and build an archway in the trailer wall where the windows used to be.  It needs insulation and interior walls, but it'll give Mom more space and hopefully keep the roof dryer.

The first two banties to go broody both hatch their chicks, 18 little fluffballs between them.  We move them from the brooder boxes to the floor in one of the pens.  We pick weeds for them every day for two weeks, then let them out to free range.

Week after week, the other banties hatch their chicks, and we move them first to the floor, and then outside.  One of the missing hens from outside returns with a clutch of chicks as well.  Two are still missing.

Husband takes ten chicks to the farmer who gave us the calf.  He finds out the farmer couldn't drive his cows to Diego's.  They all scattered through the bush.  Most came home within a few days, but there are still a few loose.  He also caught a couple of horses that were roaming free.

We shoot a fox going after the chickens one afternoon.  I cut the meat into small pieces and put them into five gallon pails with holes in the bottom.  I hang the buckets from the fence surrounding the turkey pen.  The flies lay their eggs on the meat, then the maggots hatch and fall to the ground, providing the birds with a tasty treat.

Husband takes more parts off the tractor and delivers them to the fellow who builds cutters.  He stops and chats with the new neighbours on the way home.  Their names are Mel and Arlene, and the kids are Tommy and Ben.  They've built a small lean-to, set up a tent, put in a large garden, and have fenced off the area.  They've caught one of Sanya's horses that were in the garden before they fenced it.  They considered butchering it, but for now have it tied to a tree.  Husband offers them a dozen chicks if they'll continue working on the fenceline down that side of the property to the creek.

Lisa and Sally fence in their garden and a new chicken pen.  They dry and store weeds and grass for their chickens next winter.

Once all of the banties are out of the chicken coop, we clean it out and start drying and storing weeds and grass as well.  We clean out the hay lean to for grass storage.  We clean out the loft in the barn.

We accomplish much in the longer days, without screens and such to occupy our time.

May

Spring?  Most days are warmer now.  The deep snows are gone, with only a bit left in the shadows of the trees, along fence lines, and sides of buildings.  It's melting much quicker, turning the yard into a small lake. 

We frame in the water barrels in the pasture to keep the animals from dumping them.  They're against the chicken coop wall to collect rain water from the roof.  Emptying and cleaning will be more difficult, but dirty water is better than no water.  We fill the barrels daily with water from the puddles.  It'll save a bit of work later, when things start to dry up.

It's still too mucky and wet to use the horse cart on the trails.  The roads aren't much better.  We stay within walking distance of home.  We've adapted to walking though, and can cover a good deal of ground.

Construction begins on the greenhouses.  Then the handle snaps off the post hole digger.  Dad picks a thin birch tree and begins carving a new handle.

We tap the birch trees for sap.   We collect it every day.  We keep a pot on the wood stove boiling constantly.  It takes a lot of sap to make syrop.  I pressure can one jar at a time and store it in the cold room.

Grass starts to turn green.  I let the birds out to free range.  We start picking fresh 'greens'- weeds.

I plant my greenhouses with brassicas, carrots, beets, onions, radishes, swiss chard and lettuce.  It's still too early for tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers to transplant.  I start more seedlings in the house.  Sil, Lisa, and Nira start working up their garden space.  They all move their chicken pens over, and start working the areas the chickens fertilized through the winter.  Mom and Dad dig up their garden and plant cabbage.

It snows on Mother's Day.  Thanks for the gift, Mother Nature.  I hope that's the last of it.

Days get warmer.   Grass gets greener.

May 15th.  Wildflowers start poking up.  Mom and Dad go flower picking.  Dad gets a pain in his belly.  He lays down.  He takes tylenol.  The pain gets worse.  There's nothing we can do for him, except to make him comfortable and hope it passes.  No doctors, no medicine.  Dad dies early the next morning.  He was 66.  We are lost without him.

Days pass.  We cry.  We dig a grave.  We cry.  We bury him.  We cry.  We wait to wake up from this horrible nightmare.  We cry.

I cry all the time.  I go to the garden to plant or pull weeds.  I cry.  I stack firewood in the basement.  I cry.  I go to bed.  I cry.  I try to keep it together around the boys, but when I'm alone, I cry.

I plant the rest of Mom's garden.  She doesn't care.  It was Dad's garden.

#2 finishes carving the birch pole and fixes the post hole digger.  The men finish the greenhouse frames and cover the roofs with plastic.  There's not much left of the roll, so everyone is on their own to cover the sides.  Brother and Sil cut poles to cover the bottom two feet, and fill the chinks with clay.  Lisa does the same, except she goes up the full north side.  Diego and Nira find some tin in one of the sheds at northern neighbour's house, and use it for walls all the way around.

We are out of hay.  The pasture is still short.  We reinforce the fences.  We add another fence line to keep the critters in one spot and let the grass grow on the other side.  We move the cows and horses over.  We add another fence line.  We keep adding fence until the pasture is divided into 12 sections.  We'll have to keep rotating the animals all summer.

Sanya lets her horses loose.  Her paddocks are too small to feed them.  We find them in our yard one morning.  We shoo them away.  Husband goes to talk to her.  She figures they can roam free for the summer, and eat what they like, and she'll worry about hay next winter.  Husband tells her they can't roam free on our land, and we will protect our property.

We build gates for the end of the trails.  They won't stop the horses from entering through the trees, but they will slow them down a bit, cutting off the easy access.

It finally gets warm enough to plant the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers in the greenhouse.  We plant more brassicas, beats and mangels in the garden.  The beans, corn and potatoes go in.  I decide not to plant melons, since spring was so late.  I plant a few pumpkins and squash, but save most of my seed for next year.  We fill the rest of the garden with wheat, barley and oats.  It's less than half the seed, but we'll see what grows best in our short season, and save the seed to plant a full crop next spring.

We move the birds to the turkey pen.  We let them out to free range for a couple of hours every day, then pen them back up.  Two of the banties go broody, so I take them back to the new chicken coop and put them in the brooder boxes.  I let them set their own eggs for a few days, then sneak in at night and steal all of the eggs from one hen and replace them with eggs from the larger birds.  I add the stolen eggs to the other hen's nest.  This will keep the timing together so they should all hatch at the same time.

As the other banties go broody I move them to the new coop, into the brooder boxes, until all six have a broody banty nesting.  The rest of the banties are on their own to raise what they like outside.  Three go missing, nesting I hope.  One continues to hang around the other birds.  I add the days eggs from the other birds to the banty's nest when I move her.  Banties are great, but there's more meat on the larger birds.

The trails dry up enough that the men can get back to the lake in the horse cart.  They go fishing in groups of two or three, forage for puffballs and fiddleheads, and cut more wood.  They travel down different trails each time, looking for more lakes, different trees, raspberry patches.  We draw a map on the wall and make note of everything they find.


Nelly calves, but the calf is still born.  Husband, #1 and Diego go looking for a replacement calf.  At one of the neighbour's they find a farmer whose cow had twins.  One is not doing so well, so he lets them take it in exchange for 10 chicks when they hatch.  He doesn't have enough pasture to keep all of his cows either, so Diego makes a deal to let some of them graze at northern neighbour's, and keep one for beef in the fall.  The farmer will try to walk them over. 

Sanya's horses are running up the fence line at our house when they return, irritating our horses.  Husband goes out to shoo them off, but Diego stops him.  If they're running free, they're free for the taking, right?  They manage to catch three of them and Diego walks them home.

Nelly is very disagreeable with the calf, kicking it every time it tries to nurse.  We end up bottle feeding it with Mildred's milk.  After several days the calf, Murphy, figures out that Mildred is more agreeable, and starts nursing off of her.  We let Nelly back in the pasture with the other cows.  I am amazed that Mildred is able to feed all three of them. We keep Mildred and the calves in the side yard.

Our milk supply drops again, but that's okay.  We milk just enough for tea, breakfast, and a bit of butter, and let the calves take the rest.  Since we can't store the butter long, I just take the cream off the milk after a couple of hours in the cold room, put it in a small container and shake it up.  It's more of a chunky cream as we use it than real butter.

Mom is upset that her grass is getting so long, which makes the bugs worse at her place.  We aren't about to go wasting gas (if the lawn mower even works) and 'hay', so we offer to bring Mildred and the calves over to eat it.  Then Mom gets upset about the poop on the lawn.  Then Mildred walks through the garden, and Mom gets real upset.  We dig out the old solar electric fence charger, and are surprised to find that it still sort of works.  It's not a very strong shock, but it seems to do the trick for Mildred, so we fence in her yard.

We take the horses back to the creek pasture to 'mow' the lawn around Lisa's place.  Brother and Sil's place gets mowed when we're there with the horses.


Everyone is busy, foraging all the time, drying weeds for winter, planting, digging, weeding.  Everyone comes to visit and borrows the wheel barrow, helping to clean out the barn as they take home manure for their gardens.

Husband takes apart some old bicycles, wheel barrows, and a wagon, and builds a water cart, a manure cart, a tool cart and a horse hitch.  The hitch can be moved from one 'implement' to the next without unhitching the horse.  It seats one.  He takes the side cutter off the old tractor and loads it on the horse cart, along with some bits of scrap metal, and takes it up the road to the fellow who builds cutters.  The sound of the generator is deafening after silence for so long.

The fellow who builds cutters will get started on ours in a couple of weeks.  He needs more parts and gives Husband a list.  He wants beef in the fall for trade.  I worry about how we're going to keep producing beef of our own if we keep trading off all of our calves.

Spring is short lived and soon it's hot and dry.  Summer seems to have arrived.  We haul water from the creek several times a day.  We do laundry at Lisa's, hanging it on the clothesline at home.

The townsfolk are moving out into the fields and bush, staking claim to land outside of town, digging gardens, setting up camps where they will spend the summer.  Three families choose our road for their base, one is actually on Mom's land on the far side of the ravine.  They're a young couple with two young children.  They seem harmless enough for now, and self sufficient, so we let them be.

News from the south isn't great.  It seems in some areas whoever has the biggest guns gets to be the boss.  It's sad really, in a time like this when we all need to work together for the future.  People are still leaving the cities, moving into the country, squatting on any open space.  Unlike here, where the trees and forage are plentiful, there the concrete is plentiful, and absolutely useless in these trying times.  People are being killed all the time, just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  There is news that the working windmills in one area have been taken hostage by a group of thugs.  They figured they deserved the power for themselves.  No one knows what happened to the guy who was fixing them.

February

It takes several more days of butchering and delivering beef before we are done 'paying' for our hay.  It's all been carted back to our place though, so we should be set until spring.

Delivering beef to folks in the area turned out to be extremely rewarding.  We now know all of the neighbours, who has what types of supplies, and things they'd be willing to trade.  Everyone is looking forward to spring and gardening, and fresh veggies.  There's talk of another seed exchange for those who missed the first one.

We met people with all sorts of poultry.  I manage to make several trades, and have increased my flock to 30 chickens, 7 turkeys, and 10 ducks.  10 of the chickens are banties, so I have hope they'll hatch eggs for me in the spring.

We got lucky and met some people with a small dairy.  They've been trading and butchering their herd.  We arrange to trade them one of our beef cows for one of their jerseys.  Driving Mindy to their house takes four people and a full day.  She's not halter broke and doesn't like being cut out of the herd.  We manage to get her there by blocking the crossroads and walking behind her with a whip.  The trip home with Mildred goes much smoother.  She is halter broke, and walks behind the sleigh quite agreeably.

The new birds bring new concerns.  The coop is not big enough for all of them, and it's not safe to let the banties 'free range' to nest.  We decide to turn the add a room into a new chicken coop.  We have enough lumber left to frame it in, and we take wire off the hay lean-to to separate pens.

The men take turns going ice fishing and cutting firewood every other day.  They've made a trail back to one of the lakes in the bush where the fishing is better, bringing home at least three a day.  The fish are essential for chicken feed.  I boil all of the skins, bones and guts in the doggy stew pot, along with a potato, any table scraps, and a few leaves of assorted dried weeds.  The pot feeds the dogs, cat, and birds.

The wood shed is filling slowly.  The fishermen cut down a few trees each day with the axe, bringing them home in lengths in the sleigh.  We're trying to conserve fuel, so they're using hand saws to cut the wood into pieces.  They alternate cutting firewood for each of our 'houses', building everyone's wood supply.

We continue to eat simple stews, and soups, and are lucky to have eggs each day for breakfast.

I keep busy through the long, cold days, patching clothing, blankets, and sewing new underwear.  Sil has become proficient at knitting socks.  We are on the lookout for old wool sweaters when we got to town.  Lisa and Nira also sew and knit.  Sometimes we stay home alone to work, sometimes we gather at one another's houses.  Mom joins to visit, and knits a bit.  We keep busy, and wait for spring.

Day 100- Ice Fishing and News

The weather has warmed considerably.  Nights are still cold, in the -30°C range, but the days are barely hitting -10°C now.  Of course that shift in temperature brings fresh snow, and freezing rain. 

Niece1 and Niece2 took the Littles, the kids and Sally back to 'school' when the weather broke, while Husband, Brother, Dad, Diego and the Bigs went ice fishing.  It didn't go well. 

The snow is too deep to make it back to the good lakes, so a lot of people are out on the lakes by the highway.  They were lucky enough to find several previously drilled holes to fish in, that only needed the fresh ice cut, but the lakes are really being over fished right now.  Dad managed to catch one small pike, Diego got a larger one, but the others have no luck.

Chatting with others in the area they learn that there is mail in town!  There's no organized 'postal service', but people have started taking pen to paper, passing letters on to whomever happens to be going the right direction.  A few people in town have heard from relatives from the south, and one got a letter from Manitoba.    The news in general is that there is no government, no corporations, no military coming to the rescue.  There are self appointed local sheriffs in some towns, and maybe even a mayor, but mostly just people trying to get by. 

Home alone for the day, I walk to Sil's for a visit.  She's been busy knitting and making rugs through the cold spell.  She's nearly out of material for rugs and completely out of yarn.  She has their floor completely covered, with more rugs of various sizes covering furniture and walls.  She may be able to trade some of them at the store.  Their food stores are running low, since it's been too cold to hunt.  I tell her I'll send over some beef when the men return.  We decide to walk to Mom's together.

We take the back trail and stop in at the cabin by the creek to see Lisa.  She's happy for the company.  She's been keeping busy whittling and has started to develop some skill.  She's made a few wooden spoons and is working on a ladle.  She and Sally have dug out a root cellar under her bed, giving them more room for storage and more clay to fill the chinks.  Today she's busy cutting firewood to replenish her pile. 

We find Mom outside in her garden shed.  She doesn't usually start her own seeds in pots, but has started getting things organized for this year.  Dad plans to put a small woodstove in the greenhouse and start tomatoes and cucumbers from seed.  I tell her I've finished sorting and organizing my seeds, and have tomatoes and peppers started already.  She gets out her seed stash and starts sorting while we're there. 

Mom and Dad's garden has always been pretty simple- tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, peas, onions, turnip and lettuce.  They grew potatoes last year, and hopes they left enough in the ground to bring up another crop this year.  They want to try a few cabbages and some carrots this year, but otherwise don't plan to try much new.  I'm sure I have enough seed for that.

Walking home I stop and stare at the back field.  I want a new greenhouse put up in the spring, to keep the squash and pumpkins separated.  In truth, it probably isn't far enough apart for proper seed saving, but for now it's the best that I can do.  We'll need to fence off the clearing too, to keep as much of the wildlife out as possible.

When the others return and share the news, I send Brother and Sally home with a couple of roasts and some stew meat.  Hearing that mail is moving gives me a bit of a thrill.  This one small service could be the beginning of a return to civilization. 

The Littles had a good day at the community center.  They played outside most of the day.  It seems all of the children had too much pent up energy from being cooped up the past week or so to sit still and do any work.  I laugh as they tell me all of their stories.  It's nice to see them getting along for a change.

After another meal of stew- the pot is never ending, always on the woodstove now- we all head off to bed and read.

Day 61- Let There be Honey

Husband and I set off for the Hutterite Village right after breakfast.  The boys do chores, then work on building toys.

Things are not as quiet this trip as they have been in the past.  People come out of their houses and ask us to stop.  It seems we've traded half of our goods before we even get to Littletown.  Everyone wants to trade and chat.  Some things I agree to trade just because the people are so obviously bored.  One man traded a knife for a bow, and then traded the bow back for a pot that I got from his neighbour.

It's a fun ride, and we're obviously not the first people this has happened with.  People in Littletown come running out of their houses with pots, dishes, blankets, baskets, knicknacks and tools.  Everyone wants to trade something, and no one seems to care terribly much what they trade or what they get in return.  They trade with us, they trade with each, they trade back again.  Everyone is laughing and talking.  It feels like a party.  They tell us there were a couple of people with carts that would come every other week before the snow got so deep.  We trade in our box of books at their library, taking a large assortment of books in return.

We finally get to the Hutterite Village.  The store has only root vegetables available- potatoes, carrots, parsnips, turnips, beets, onions, garlic, and sugar beets.  The men come out to look at our sleigh full of goodies.  They're impressed with Diego's bows, and trade us one bow for enough supplies to build at least a dozen more, and two more for a selection of veggies.  They trade the fox skins for more veggies, and my candles for three large jars of honey.  Most of the other things we had left home with are already gone, and I honestly don't know what to offer them, or what else to take.

We ask the men if there's anything else they're interested in.  They continue to eyeball the sleigh.  Finally one asks what we want.  I ask for seeds, more honey, size ten shoes, sheets and blankets, hankies.  They pick out a few odds and ends, some things I don't even recognize.  They give us a bag of assorted seeds, another jar of honey, and three sheets.  They tell me to come back in a month with two bows and they'll have a pair of size 10 shoes.

We take a detour on the way home.  Most cars on the highway had their tanks punctured, but we find a car on one of the back roads that's still got enough fuel to fill our jerry cans.  We pick up the pace from there, waving at people who come out wanting to chat and trade again.  If we don't hurry home we won't make it before dark.

Diego and Nira are happy with a third of the veggies, a jar of honey, a few odds and ends, and the supplies to build more bows.  They didn't expect to get that much.  I give them all of the toys that were traded, and a stack of books.  I tell Diego that I need two bows to trade for shoes in a month.  He doesn't know what he wants to trade them for, but he'll think about it.

Brother and Sil are at Mom and Dad's when we get there.  I keep a few veggies for us, but give them the rest to split between them.  We're still doing ok, but I keep the sugar beets to plant for seed in the spring.  Dad takes a couple of hand tools.  Sil takes a sheet.  I give them a jar of honey, and mom pours some in another container.  They all pick out a few books.

Lisa and Sally are waiting at our house.  Lisa cooked again, and helped the Bigs build toys.  The Littles kept Sally busy and wouldn't let her in the garage.  All of the dishes, pots and cutlery that are left in the sleigh can go to the cabin for them.  I give Lisa a few veggies, some clothes that will fit her and Sally, and I pour a bit of honey in a smaller jar for them.  There's an odd assortment of baskets, bins, craft supplies, and knicknacks left.  I keep a few baskets, then Husband takes the rest to the cabin.

It's dark out when the horses are finally put away for the night, and I'm exhausted, so I head off to bed.

Day 60

Two months without power.  Without cars.  Without t.v.  Without 'government'.  Without even a radio.  If it wasn't for the meal planner I made a while ago, I probably wouldn't even know what day it is.  One day blends into the next.  Monday is just the same as Friday.  We do what needs to be done- fires and water and cooking.  Then we look for ways to keep ourselves occupied.  Some project to do that might use up a day or two.

Everyone is feeling better now, it seems.  Maybe a little dragged out, and I guess a few sniffles yet, but the headaches, sore throats, and chest congestions all seem to have subsided.  I am so sick of washing hankies.  That could possibly be the downfall of civilization- mama goes postal for lack of kleenex.  Ok, ok, it's not that bad.  Still, there are certainly more pleasant jobs.  I'll be on the lookout for more sheets at the flea market.  I started storing the hankies in old coffee cans, but they may still need a new home.  We use coffee cans for feed scoops, clothespin buckets, and other assorted odds and ends.  It's strange that I now worry about where we're going to get more of something that most people consider to be garbage.

Husband and the Bigs built miniature rocket heaters for everyone's outhouses.  Ours isn't installed yet, because if someone comes over and sees it, it'll ruin the surprise for Christmas, so we're still freezing our butts off, but thankfully only for a few more days.

The weather's been holding steady at about -10°C overnight, and just below freezing through the day.  We've had some light flurries but no real big snow storms.  The snow on the ground is holding at just about a foot deep- perfect for the sleigh.  Husband and the Bigs have had it out a couple of times, just practicing, down our road.  Husband thinks we're ready to try the trip to the Hutterite village.

Today we check in with Mom and Dad, Brother and Sil, and Diego and Nira, and let them all know our plans.  The sleigh is only big enough for two people, and Husband figures it should be safe enough for me to go.  Everyone else will have to stay home.  If they have things they want to trade though, we'll take them along and do our best.  The Bigs wanted to ride along on the trip, but Husband says they'll have to stay at the house with the Littles.

Everyone has empty jerry cans and hopes for fuel.  We can only take 1 jerry can for each of them.  Sil has knitted mittens and slippers, and Brother has the fox skins.  He's gotten a few more since the last time we were there.  They have a box of books to trade in as well.

Mom has some meat to part with.  Dad got a moose.  Dad's made some knives for trading.  They're crude, but sharp.  They have some books.

Diego has 12 bows, but only one arrow for each.  If we can get him some more pipe, thinner pipe, and dowel he can keep making more.  Nira has some clothes that are too small for their youngest, and extra mittens that she sewed.  Nira's hoping for more children's books, and maybe some toys for Christmas.

I have candles to trade, books, a couple of roasts, a dozen eggs, and Husband has been cleaning and fixing things in the garage.  He adds a box of assorted odds and ends to the sleigh.  It's hard to know what to trade, when we don't know how long we'll be in this predicament, or when we'll be able to get more supplies.  What seems unnecessary now might become valuable in the future.

Everyone's priorities seem to have shifted.  Veggies are still high on the want list, but mostly everyone wants something to combat the boredom.  I have a bunch of board games for the kids, and several decks of cards.  We can lend them out amongst our group, but I think I could make copies to trade as well.  They won't be ready for this trip, but maybe next time.  I look through the cupboard and decide to take along an extra chessboard and a nature trivia game that the kids have gotten bored with.  They might be worth something.

After loading the sleigh with everything but the food, we decide to go and see the people we got our chickens from.  The roads are quiet on the way there.  We find a car with enough fuel to fill one jerry can.

They're happy to visit with us- it's been some time since they've seen anyone.  They still have a few more chickens than they'll be able to feed through the winter.  We show them what we have available to trade, and they take some metal thing from Husband's box, a pair of mittens, and the chess board for eight hens and a five gallon pail of goat's milk.

We talk for awhile about different wants and needs.  They figure they've still got enough of everything they need, except vegetables- mostly it's just boring out there all alone.  They miss their car.  They thought about trying to trade a cow for a horse, but neither one of them knows how to ride.  They joke that they'd be happy for a bicycle at this point.  We have a number of bicycles at our house.  I buy them at yard sales, because it seems one of the boys is always needing a new tire, or a different seat, or a gear.  The Bigs rip pieces off of one and put them on another all the time.  I wonder if they could put a few of them together to trade in the spring.

We have a nice, but short visit.  The days are so short now that we can't really risk being out much past two.  On the way home we stop at Diego and Nira's and drop off four hens.  We didn't give them any from the first batch, and I'm really bad about delivering eggs.  Neighbour's had a hen house on the side of their barn that's still solid and secure, so they don't really need to build anything for them, just find them feed.

Diego looks the sleigh over for a bit.  He wants to try putting skis on their little cart for the ponies.

Nira gets a pitcher and I give her some of the goat's milk.  She sees the nature trivia game in the wagon and wants it for the kids for Christmas.  I tell her I had planned to loan her some games, that I wanted to trade this one that the boys don't care for.  She is adamant that she wants it.  I ask her what she'd be willing to trade for it.  She starts getting mad because I won't let her take it for the kids.  I tell her my kids won't have presents this year either.  Husband and Diego come over to see what the fuss is about.

Husband asks Diego, "Do you want to trade the game for a couple of the bows?"

Diego asks, "Do you want them for the boys for Christmas?"

Husband says "Yes".

"Then take four.  You could have just asked".

Husband explains that we didn't feel comfortable taking their trade items just for presents.  We figured we'd find something they wanted to trade for before we asked.  Diego doesn't seem to care.  Nira's happy to have a present to wrap.  It doesn't seem like a fair trade to me, but I guess having something under the tree is more important to them than it is to me.

During supper I ask the boys if we still have that wood toy building set in the garage somewhere.  The wood pieces that came with it were really hard to work with, but the plans are in it to build cars, trucks, planes and boats.  I ask them if they think they could build some toys for the kids and Sally.  They decide to try and find it in the morning.

I look at the calendar again.  I'll have to make my own for next year.  Calendars would make good presents for the grown ups. I guess the whole present thing is easier than I thought it would be.

Day 44- Settling In

Lisa and Sally come up for breakfast this morning.  Lisa returns the hatchet and trades it for an axe.  She has most of the stubs flattened off now, and needs an axe to spit kindling.  She'll need to keep working on firewood as well, since there's not enough back there cut to last the winter.  She helps the boys with chores, and me with the dishes.  She's never been afraid of hard work, and it's good to have her around.

The girls come to get the Littles and the wagon to go to school.  Sally asks if she can go too.  Lisa is a little concerned about them being separated, but I assure her Sally will be safe.  #1 goes with them and takes the .22.  He'll go hunting while they're at school.

#2 gets the smaller cart ready with Tori, and helps me load laundry.  I take one of my big stock pots as well, since it's too cold to use water from the creek.  We put four of the chickens in a cage and take them and a bale of hay with us as well.

I take the water filter off the tub at the creek.  It's frozen solid, and they'll need it in the cabin.  I use some baler twine to tie it to the wall inside, and set the stock pot below.  Once we've filtered enough water through, it goes on the stove top to heat.  I empty the oldest of the lye water buckets into the tub, dump the ashes, and refill it with ashes from the stove.  Lisa scooped them out with her hands this morning, but she'll need a shovel and a metal bucket for future use.

#2 sets up a little chicken pen with another log cabin coop for the birds.  The thin layer of snow keeps them from being able to feed well, but I notice a piece of rotting firewood that's full of trails at the end.  Lisa splits it open, and we toss it in to the pen.  Full of ants, it'll feed the chickens well for today.  We cut a pine branch for them, and toss in a flake of hay.  They should be ok for a few days.  I tell Lisa that they're hers now, so she'll have to forage feed for them every day.

#2 takes the cart and goes back to the house.  He and Husband are going to see Diego and Nira.

When the water has boiled, I pour a bit into one of the laundry buckets, fill the coffee pot, and take the rest out to the tub.  Lisa washes the bucket with a bit of lye water, and rinses it out.  That'll be their drinking water storage.  She takes in another bucket of water from the creek to filter and boil.  She puts a pine needle branch in the coffee pot on the stove to steep.

I'm almost done my laundry when she comes outside to the tub.  It's too cold to be too picky about how clean the laundry is, and we seem to change clothes less and less frequently these days, so there's not a lot to do, mostly just socks and underwear.  We add more lye water to the tub and start on Lisa's things.  Sil arrives with a basket of laundry to wash as well.  I think they've met before, but I introduce them anyway.  Lisa hangs her things on the line, while Sil and I leave ours in baskets to go home.

The second pot of water has boiled, the bucket to drink is filled, and a third bucket is filtered and put on the stove to boil.  I bring in another stump to sit on, and we drink our pine needle tea and chat.

The drafts in the cabin are really bad.  The bucket of clay is warm and gooey, so we fill chinks in the walls.  Once it's empty, we refill the bucket and take it in to defrost.  We wash up in the bath tub, then drain the water out.

Husband and #2 arrive.  Diego has started a little hobby, making bows and arrows from a pile of PVC pipe he found in one of the sheds.  Husband has brought one with him, a gift.  Diego thinks they'll make good trade items.  I think it's great, and perfect timing, too.  We leave the bow with Lisa.  It's the only weapon she has.  She shouldn't need it for protection, no one is likely to be wandering that far back in the woods, but if she practices and becomes a decent shot she might be able to get a few birds or a fox with it.  I'd like at least three more for the Bigs and I.  It would save ammunition for hunting.  I'll have to think about something to trade with them.

We load the laundry and go to Brother and Sil's.  Brother has been busy hunting, and has two fox skins nailed to the side of the cabin.  He's feeding the meat to their chickens.  I think that's great.  That'll help with the predator situation, as well as the chicken feed.  He's gotten some partridge and a couple of rabbits.  He's also built shelves in front of the window.  Sil wants to plant something in the window.  She's got a bucket of dirt that she dug up before the freeze, but needs some pots and seeds.

We go back to our place.  Sil hangs my laundry for me.  I get a bunch of pots from the garden shed.  I had wanted to start some kale in the house, but hadn't been motivated enough to get it done. No time like the present.

I sort through my stash of seeds and pick out kale, swiss chard and lettuce.  We each plant a pot full of each.  Then I plant an extra set for Diego and Nira.  Hopefully they'll provide enough fresh greens to keep us all through the winter.  We take Sil home, then Lisa and I go back to the cabin to put up some shelves in front of the window. 

Everyone returns from school.  Sally had a fun day.  It's the first time she's been out with other kids since the blackout started.  #1 got two partridge on his hunting trip.  He saw a couple of friends from school, and they made plans to go ice fishing together as soon as the lakes freeze.

Lisa and Sally stay for supper with us again, then walk back to the cabin.  I am really tired, considering I didn't really do that much today.  I have a bit of a chill, but it's probably from the laundry.  I go to bed early.

Day 35- Winter?

We enjoyed a couple of beautiful spring like days again, though I was worried that the freezers wouldn't keep, before waking this morning to three inches of snow.  The temperature dropped overnight and the wind is howling.  I have both fires burning trying to take the chill off.  Three inches of snow doesn't provide much insulation against the wind, and with no blower on the furnace it takes a lot for the heat to spread.  We may need to move the boys beds downstairs and seal off the upstairs.  We've had a pretty mild fall so far, but winter may finally be here.  At least with the snow I won't have to wait all day for water.  I'm really behind on the dishes and laundry again.

Husband and the boys tested the new hay wagon/school bus out by going back in the woods for firewood.  The basement is full, and the woodshed just one row shy.  Samson managed the wagon on his own on the way out, but was really struggling with it loaded.  They hitched Knightmare up to team with him, and she did ok.  She tried to break away a few times, but the weight of the wagon prevented her.  They still wouldn't trust her on the small cart on her own, but she'll learn.

I made my last potato packet with lemon pepper last night.  The jar is empty.  I do have a fair bit of the spices I use all the time stored, but I think I had best start an indoor herb garden and experiment with what I can grow before I run out of everything.  I'm glad I dug out the thyme, marjoram, oregano, and lady's mantle from the perennial bed in September.  That'll give me a bit of a head start.  I think a large planter of kale might be a nice addition for winter too.

I'm starting to worry about yeast.  It looks like my flour supply is going to outlast my yeast supply, and the yeast I have is a bit aged, so I'm having to use a bit more of it to get the same effect.  I was sure I had another vacuum sealed package, but I've triple checked the cupboards and can't find it.  I started some sourdough experiments, but I've never had good luck with them before.  I hope I'm not just wasting flour and potatoes.  I've opened another bag of flour now, leaving 5 bags in the basement.  That's about 1 bag a month, so we should be ok until spring. 

Honey is getting low again.  Husband wants to wait for a bit more snow so he can take the sleigh to the Hutterite village, or a melt to take the horse cart.  The cart would be ok right here, right now, but we'd run the risk of hitting deeper snow or none at all within a few miles.  And you never know when a winter storm is going to dump a foot or two on top of you.  For now we'll stay put, and go without, since it's just not worth the risk of getting stranded.

Dad and Brother  spent the nice days fishing and hunting, doing well with both.  They got a dozen fish in one afternoon, several partridge, and a moose calf.  The smoker is down at Brother's camp so Sil can keep an eye on it.  They're making jerky.  Sil has the moose fat rendering on their woodstove, though there wasn't a lot of it.  Sil and the girls have collected a lot of cattails and weeds, boosting their winter stores as well. 

Niece1 has taken to driving the horse cart pretty well.  Niece2 seems to think they're going to crash.  I'm not sure if she's afraid of horses or her sister's driving.

Diego and Nira have asked for more potatoes.  I really don't want to part with them, even though I said we'd share when we brought them home.  They just seem to have gone through the first bag awfully fast.  They didn't even offer to trade any of the jars of pickles that they don't like.  I guess they've decided to eat them after all.  I know Diego helped dig them, but it was our meat that we traded for them, and more of our people that did the digging.  We'll stop and see the potato man again, but I don't think the odds are in our favour.

I spend the afternoon making more tallow candles.  I don't know if they'll make a good trade for honey, since the apiary would have beeswax, but maybe that won't matter at the village.  The demand for candles must be pretty high by now.  Although we find we're burning fewer candles by just going to bed earlier.  It means we're up before the sun, but everyone gathers in the kitchen in the mornings, so one candle is plenty.

I'll need to gather more jars to make more candles.  #2 is having a shoe problem.  He has the biggest feet, size ten, and no spares.  He'll be ok for winter, with his boots, and his rubber boots and steal toes are ok, but we'll have to keep our eyes open for shoes for him for next spring.  I could make slippers from the cow hides, but I don't think they'd hold up real well without soles.  Maybe we'll get lucky.  Thankfully everyone else has at least two pairs of spares, so they'll be ok for awhile.

Roast beef for dinner, soup for lunch, and pancakes for breakfast.  We're still doing well with food.

Day 31- Village and Rivertown

We're going to town today.  First our village, then Rivertown.  We're hoping we can make some kind of deal with our old hay man.  It's a bit of a jaunt, but we can use the horses to haul the hay back to the house.

Pancakes for breakfast, stew on the stove for lunch.

We stop at Mom and Dad's and drop off bread.  We take their empty jerry cans, along with our own. 

We stop at Diego and Nira's to see how they're doing.  The injured pony is all healed up, so they decide to join us.  The boys stay there with the kids.

In our village we go to the library to exchange books.  I pick through the selection and fill a box with books I've already read.  I look up at the wall and see someone has added to my weed list.  More than one person, there's three different sets of handwriting.  I read over it quickly.  I'll have to bring a pencil and paper with me next time so I can copy these new finds.

We go to the store, mostly just to chat.  There isn't much news.  Someone made the trip to Southern City and back.  Supplies are running low everywhere.  More people have left and headed south.  They think there will be some kind of government relief closer to the cities.  Someone brought back potatoes from the potato man.  Most of the fields have been dug now.  Others brought a load of wheat and a load of turnips from another farmer.  There are more pumpkins lined on the shelves as well.

The community center has been opened up and left open.  There's a collection of library books there, some board games and cards, and toys for the kids.  They're using the community kitchen to feed the townsfolk who can't feed themselves.  Everyone has to bring in something to add to the pot, but everyone gets fed and boredom gets alleviated.  Some of the parents are teaching classes there as well.

We go to check out the community center.  There are kids of all ages playing, reading, doing school work.  A lady greets us and gives us a tour.  Nira would like to send the kids to school, but she's not sure how she'd get them there everyday.  The lady says to just bring them whenever they can.  It's all very informal.

We find a few cars with fuel on the way to Rivertown.  We go into the library, where the librarian is actually working.  She says she doesn't have much else to do anyway.  I trade the box of books for a new selection.  She gets me a second box full as well.  Rivertown used to run our village library, but it was closed due to budget cuts.  They still have boxes of books in the basement that were never sorted or put away. 

We go downtown, and see people milling about everywhere.  The grocery store and hardware store are both open, running bartering type business.  The grocery store shelves are nearly empty of non-perishables, though there is one shelf filled with mostly home canned goods and the meat cooler is filled with assorted home butchered meats.  Like the store in our village, the shelves have filled with pots, utensils, clothing, furnishings and such.

At the hardware store we see more of the same.  That's the real reason everyone should shop local.  I doubt Walmart's store managers are even showing up, let alone running a barter business to help people survive.

The school is open in town, all ages, all religions, bilingual.  There are parents teaching classes, as well as two of the actual teachers who live in town. 

The hospital is open, though the doctors are gone.  The nurses who live in town are taking turns treating patients. 

The community center is open.  A community kitchen is set up, with the same rules of everyone contributing getting fed.  Tables set up with board games, puzzles and cards.  There's a sign on the door advertising a dance for Saturday night.  That would be fun, but it's a long way to travel in the night.

We go to see the hay man.  He would be willing to trade hay for diesel.  Right now he has no way to load the hay and has had to fence his cattle in around it to feed them.  We'll have to look for transports that still have diesel in them.

On the way back we stop at a house that used to have refurbished horse pulled equipment for sale.  The man there already has enough orders for hay cutters to keep him busy until spring.  He doesn't have enough parts to build everything people are asking for, but if we can take the side cutter off the tractor, the seat, find some decent wheels and lumber, he might be able to make it work- for half a cow.

When we leave there we decide we'll take a trip to see the Hutterites before we make a decision on that.

Back in our village we unload the books at the library, then go back to the community center.  I tell the lady who gave us the tour about the dance in Rivertown.  She writes up a sign and puts it on the door.  I ask her to put up another sign, asking local musicians if they'd be interested in playing at a dance here.  She thinks that's a great idea.

We leave Diego and Nira at their place, pick up the boys and leave.  We drop fuel off to Mom and Dad.  Brother, Sil, and the girls are there.  We share the news from town with them. 

The girls are interested in going to school- not as students, but as teachers.  We'd need to build another horse cart and teach them how to drive, but they could pick up the Littles and all the kids and take them all to school everyday.

Everyone is interested in the dance.  It would give us all a chance to get out and do something.  I hope people volunteer to play in our village.  It would be so much easier!

Back at home the boys put Samson and the cart away and do chores.  It's well past lunch already, so we decide to eat the stew for supper and call it a day.  We play monopoly until bedtime.

Day 27-

My cold is somewhat better this morning, but I enjoy my tea with goat's milk and rosehip syrop anyway.  I give the boys theirs the same way.

When I got dressed this morning I realized I forgot about the laundry.  Oops.  Need to get some underthings washed.  The boys probably have a ton of stuff that needs wahing in their rooms as well.

Last night in bed I decided to skip the menu for today, and make balogna rolls for supper tonight.  I wasn't thinking about milk when I made the menu plan, so I had best take advantage of the opportunity.  I get the balogna, cheese and yellow beans out of the freezer.

I clean the bear fat out of the bowl and put it in the coffee pot to melt.  I drain the fat from the pot into the bowl and take it back to the fridge.  I've got 10 quarts of 'lard' from the two bears so far.  The doggy stew gets more cracklings added.

Banana bread for breakfast, bear stew for lunch, no need to make bread.  I only need to worry about getting supper on today.

Husband wants to go and see how Diego and Nira are doing today, and go into town to the library.  I want to stop at the flea market and see if they have any little glasses I can use to make candles.  We decide to give the horses the day off, and take them all back to the creek to graze while we do laundry.

Husband and the Bigs get Samson hitched and everyone loads their laundry onto the cart.  The boys walk with the other horses and let them all loose in the pen.

The water is frigid in the creek and we're all half drenched by the time the laundry is washed.  We hitch Samson back to the cart and take the laundry to the clothesline at the house.  We get it all hung up and then settle in by the fire to warm up.  We change into dry clothes and eat lunch.

The boys help me roll balogna rolls.  I put them in a roasting pan on the stove, rather than the usual glass pans.

We all go to Diego and Nira's together.  The boys can stay and visit with them while we go to town.  We take them a loaf of bread, a jar of bear lard, a dozen eggs, a bag of potatoes, and their sharpened knives.

Diego and Nira are happy to see us.  One of the ponies has injured his leg, so they haven't been able to go anywhere or do much the past few days.  He should be better in another day or two.  They have been working hard on firewood, and probably have enough cut for winter now, but it's all along the edge of the woods.

Nira's weed collection is doing well, and they're learning to like the variety of pickles.  She's not baking as often now, rationing some of the boxed mixes and supplies.  She never believed the blackout would last this long, but she's working on surviving the winter now.

Diego got really lucky and shot a deer a few days ago.  They butchered it and froze it, and even kept the bones and scraps for Tank.  He hung the hide on the side of the shed.  They saved the fat in a bucket outside, but aren't sure what to do with it.  Nira wants to try rendering it this time.

We take it in the house and she gets a big pot out to put it in.  I explain it's not hard, it just takes some time.  I explain the process to her.  I tell her to look for some cotton string to make candle wicks, and small jars or glasses to make them in.

We tell them about the people with the chickens and goat's milk.  They want to go with us next time.

Diego gets really quiet and serious.  He tells us he shot someone.  There was someone trying to steal the ponies in the night a few days ago, and even with Tank barking and Diego yelling, they wouldn't leave.  Diego took his cross bow out to scare the man off, but the man had a gun.  Diego shot him straight through the heart before the man had a chance to fire.  The pony spooked and that's when it hurt it's leg.  They buried the man by the woods.

Everything has been so peaceful and civilized up to this point, it's hard to believe people are getting desperate now, especially with all of the meat available at the flea market.  I think they must have wanted the ponies for travel, not food.

We take their library books, a few jars of pickles, and head to town.  They'd like a different veggie if there's anything available.

Town is pretty quiet, except at the store where a few people are chatting outside.  We go to the library first.  I hang one of my weed lists on the wall, so everyone can see it.  I exchange all of our books.  There's a much better selection today.  Either people are done with them, or are feeling more generous.  Either way, the library is growing with books filling several shelves.

At the store we learn that some people have gotten boxes of books from the bigger library in Rivertown.  They've started their own book exchange, and anyone who plans to travel to any of the other towns is being asked to take a box of books to exchange with them.  We have no plans to travel that far right now, but we'll keep it in mind in the future.

There are a couple of pumpkins available, some potatoes, and a jar of mustard.  That strikes me as funny for some reason, but I'm not sure why.  There's lots of meet available, hanging in the old beer cooler.  That also strikes me as funny.  I trade two jars of pickles for a pumpkin.  It seems a little steep, but I can only imagine things are likely to get more expensive.

We go to the flea market and I trade one candle and one jar of pickles for a box of small glasses.  I know Marsha gave me a deal, but she can see future candles in the works. 

We drop the pumpkin, a few glasses, and some books off at Diego and Nira's and pick up the boys. 

Back at home it's time for chores, supper, and some reading before bed.

Day 11- Construction

I am a big sleepy head this morning.  I wake to the sound of what seems like a million people in the kitchen.  I don't want to go out there.  Smitty stretches beside me.  He's going to need out right away.  Puppy bladder.  I grab my housecoat and jump out of bed.  When I open the door he's right beside me, growling.  I look at the mob.  Everyone is eating pancakes.  I squeeze through a bunch of kids, wave at everyone, and make my way to the door.  I go straight outside with Smitty.

Husband comes outside after a few minutes.  "Are you okay?  Everyone thinks you're mad at them now."

"You know I don't talk when I first wake up.  There's too many people in there."  It's a nice day, surprisingly warm.


Sil hears me as she comes outside.  She laughs.  I think she's the only other person here who understands my need to be alone in my own head in the morning.  She hands me a cup of tea.

"Thanks", I say.

"No problem.  No honey though.  I didn't want to open it in front of all of them."

"Thanks."

I drink half my cup of tea before the kids start coming outside to play.  Once they're all outside I figure I can deal with the rest of the people in the house.  We go in and sit down.  Nira tries to hand me pancakes, but Husband takes them.  Food when I first wake up makes me want to puke.

Brother and Sil are anxious to get started on the truck.  I know they're anxious to head for Huntsville.  We're all hoping the girls have an uneventful trip.

The Bigs are going to go to the back with Diego and Nira to work on their cabin.  I tell them to get the bathtub out of the pasture and take it down with them, the one that the plug came out of and won't hold water now.  We have three old tubs that we use for water troughs.

Nira is excited.  "A bath!  Oh, I can't wait to have a bath!  I didn't think we'd be able to do that!"  I was thinking of laundry, but ok, I guess bathing's a good idea too.  She can do whatever she wants with it really.

The Bigs take my quad and trailer to load the tub.  They toss in a couple of buckets, some pop bottles, baler twine, chainsaw, and come back to the house.  They load the roll of plastic and a staple gun.  Nira and I go out to the trailer and pull out an old pot, a frying pan, some glasses, silverware, knives and a spatula.  We add it to the trailer.  I tell her to pack up their clothes and put them in too.

"We can't move down there yet!  There are no walls!", she looks like she's going to cry.

"You can do laundry down there though.  In the bathtub."  I don't have an extra plunger, so she'll have to find another way to agitate it.  I go back in the house and look at the box of laundry detergent.  There's not much left.  I decide to give her a bucket of ashes instead.  She might as well start out with lye water.  I take an ice cream bucket and poke holes in the bottom with a knife.  I fill it with ashes in the basement, then put it inside another ice cream bucket.  I take it out and add it to the load.  The trailer is full.  They're all ready to go.

Down at the camp the Bigs and Diego get to work cutting trees for the walls while Nira and the kids unload the trailer.  They can't lift the tub, so the Bigs do that for them.

Mom and Dad come over.  Dad, Husband and Brother start working on the truck.  Dad has to hot wire it, and fiddle with a few things, but he gets it running pretty quick.  They take it to Dad's to load the fuel tank.

Mom, Sil and I walk down to Diego and Nira's camp, picking weeds along the way.  They have a good pile of logs cut already.  I open the roll of plastic and spread it out.  It's 20' X 100', so it'll cover one side and the roof in one strip.  We all work together to get it up and over the top.  #1 staples it into place while Diego and #2 keep cutting trees.

We women walk down to the creek and scoop water.  The buckets are heavy and I wish the boys had dropped the bathtub closer.  I shove a plastic bag in the drain with a rock and hope that the tub will hold the water.  I take the ashes and pour water over them.  We pour the rest of the water in the tub and go back for more.  The water is holding when we get back, and the water has dripped through the ashes into the second bucket.  I explain to Nira that this is lye water.  It's what soap used to be made with.  It's stronger if it sits longer, but it should work for now.  I pour it in the tub, then pour more water over the ashes.

"Throw your laundry in and slosh it around."  Nira doesn't look impressed.  "Or you can keep wearing them until they stink bad enough to run around naked."  I take the baler twine and walk away.

I find a couple of trees that look like a good spot to hang laundry and tie the baler twine in place.  I tell #1 I need a laundry pole.  He finds me a small tree with a fork in it, cuts it down and trims the branches off.  It's about 8' high.  Perfect.  I stick it under the baler twine and use it to lift it up higher in the middle.

#2 shows Diego how to notch the logs to fit together.  They start on the back side of the cabin, with no windows.  I watch them put the first three logs in place.  Then I tell Diego to take the clay they've been digging up and smoosh it in between the logs.  That's actually a good job for the kids, and it'll give Nira more laundry to practice on.

#1, Sil and I cover the ends and remaining side of the cabin with plastic, then cut out the door and windows.

Mom, Sil and I walk back to the house to make lunch.  It's leftover beef soup today, with extra weeds and a few more potatoes.  Sil takes the dried weeds off the plant stands and stuffs them into old jars.  Then she spreads the fresh weeds out to dry.  Mom washes a bunch of dishes for me.  We leave the soup on the stove to simmer and walk over to Mom and Dad's.

The men have the fuel tank in the box of the truck and bolted into place.  They're debating whether to put the box on or not.  The box will hide it, and keep whoever's riding in the back warmer and dry, but it'll also block their view and might prevent them from being able to get a good shot if needed.  In the end they decide to put it on, out of sight, out of mind.

The truck is ready to go.  We walk back to our house for lunch.  Everyone else is already there.  They're waiting outside this time though.  We eat lunch together.  The Bigs are going back with Diego and Nira to finish the cabin after lunch.  Mom, Dad, Brother and Sil all decide to go back to their places.  I invite them all back for supper.

Husband and I decide to cut firewood for the afternoon.  The woodshed is filling slowly.  We cut from the lot across the road.  It's not our land, but it's close and convenient. Afterwards we decide to walk to the back and see how things are progressing.

The cabin looks pretty cozy when we get there.  The walls are all up and the kids look like they're having fun, running back and forth with their hands full of clay.  They've got one side done.  Diego has the windows installed.  The Bigs have built a door.  They're standing in the doorway wondering how to attach it without hinges.  We tell them it looks good.  The kids are excited.  They want to sleep in it tonight.  Of course for them, it's like camping in the woods.

We go inside and look it over.  It's only 12'X16', so every inch will have to be planned carefully.  We talk about a loft for the kids to sleep in, with a bed underneath for Diego and Nira.  They can both be built from logs.  The other end of the cabin will have to be the kitchen, and left empty for now, until we work out the stove situation.  I wonder if the cow hide would be strong enough to hold the door up.  Husband doesn't think so, but rubber would.  We have some old tires that can be cut up and nailed into place.

We all walk back to the house together, and cook up a stir fry with yesterday's partridge, lots of weeds, and a pot of rice.  Mom, Dad, Brother and Sil join us.  Everyone is full and happy.

Brother and Sil will go to town in the morning to call Friend and see if they made it.  I have a stack of books that I want to take into the library.  We decide to give Tori another work out and take the horse cart.  Nira wants to go too, so she can pick out some books and check the store for supplies.  She and I will ride, with the others in the cart.

I finish another book before drifting off to sleep.