controlling the chaos

Sometimes I just need to say things out loud.


It's been observed that condition of a person's home is a reflection of the condition of their soul. And if that's true (I'm pretty certain it is), then mine is full of good intentions and insanity. Sometimes I do really well at keeping the chaos in check... other days it just seems to have a will of it's own. It doesn't help that the house is daily subjected to a violent "toynado" that rips through with the intensity that only a 1 and 2 year old can achieve. It also doesn't help that all I really want to do right now is be outside - staring at little seedlings and dreaming of their potential, staring at little goatlings and dreaming of their potential, staring at the rabbits and thinking I really need to get them separated because of their >ahem< potential. It gets hard for me to focus on other things, mundane things like laundry and dishes and toys.. oh, the ever-present toys. Some would say not to sweat the mess, and just be happy with the things that make me happy - the seedlings, sprouts, and wee ones of all species, but the mess is making it harder to enjoy said small things. It's canning time, or nearly, but there's just no way I can tackle that job right now - the chaos makes it impossible. I'm itching to bake bread, to make things.. I've got a head full of things I want to get done, but the mess. Oh, the mess. It's days like these when I look at all our accumulated stuff, and I come very close to just chucking it all. One of these days I might actually just do it. I have a feeling that day will be both terrifying and glorious. Until then, I'm trying to work up the energy and focus to tackle the mess and bring it back under my thumb, for the tranquil, blissful 15 minutes that it lasts. Because after that, Maezie will unload her milk bottle on the carpet, Punkin will dump out a box of Cheerios, and Davey will decide that now that the house is clean, it's a great time to haul all the junk in from his car. And so it goes.

Wish me luck, friends, and a healthy dose of grace. I'm 'bout to rassle with the chaos.

Garden update

So much good stuff is growing now! We''ve got vines loaded with plump green tomatoes that should be ripening soon (I'm really curious to try our 'Indigo Rose' tomato - a truly purple variety!), and we've already harvested quite a few peppers, mostly banana and filius blue (a hot, delicious "ornamental"), and squash and zucchini. The peas are going strong after our early spring root maggot setback - I need to go out today and pick a basket of them (glory, hallelujah!), my onions and parsnips are doing great, and the corn is forming up very nicely. The first round will probably be ready to pick right about the time we leave for camp. Again. We planted a late round of corn this past weekend (popcorn and a colored sweet corn called 'Triple Play' that I'm really excited about), and I'll add more beans and squash to the hills as soon as it's up. I also did a small section of bush beans in 4 different varieties.. I'm curious to see what we think of them. I thinned out my carrots this week, and because I can't bear to throw all those baby carrot seedlings away (and only about half of my row of carrots came up), I decided to try my luck at transplanting carrots. I've read that they won't grow as straight, but crooked carrots don't scare me. I also gave up on my celery this week. The plants just never really took off, and the weeds did. I think I started it at the wrong time. It's ok, though. We try again next time and hopefully do better. Still, it hurt a little to watch Davey till them into the dirt. Ouch. But, in happier news, I finally got my herb garden planted - oregano, basil, horehound, dill, fennel, cilantro, thyme, sage, hyssop, borage, nasturtiums, summer and winter savory, pineapple sage, lavender and tarragon so far. I've got room for more, so I'm on the lookout for tansy and any other fun or interesting herbs.  I also started a little flower garden for the girls with zinnias, hollyhocks, sunflowers, cosmos and about a thousand other flower seeds I've had stashed for a while. Many of them might not come up, but they definitely won't if they're still in the package. I pretty much just dumped them all into an empty spot in the dirt. The girls will have fun picking whatever blooms. They love flowers.
And lastly, because I'm an eternal optimist, I started my potatoes. About 2 months too late. We'll see how that works out. OH! And I still need to get my sweet potatoes planted... I never get it all done in time...