A Distinctly Different Homestead

You just haven’t lived until you’ve put a supply of fresh food by for your family. The feeling is exquisite. I’ve been freezing tomatoes and peppers for pasta-sauce, planning on doing the cooking and canning on one of those chilly fall days. I’ve done salsa and some fridge-style dills (they are sooo good) and canned 5 qrts of dill spears. But yesterday (after a loooong but over-all good day at the doctor and running errands) I tackled bread & butter pickles. I was really looking forward to this as B&Bs stand out in my memory above all the things my mom ever canned or preserved. I suppose because nothing else smelled so strong. (They say the sense of smell triggers memories quicker than anything else.) Now the smell of boiling vinegar and spices will be burned in my own childrens’ nostrils  memories forever. Ahhh... yesterday it smelled just like home.  Farra came in from playing and said something to the effect of, "What is that nasty smell?"  Seth came in and said, "Mmm.  Smells like yummy pickles."

I’m totally hooked on seed saving. We let one of the cukes grow until it started to get soft... the thing was ridiculously huge, yellowish/greenish white. There’s more seeds in one cuke than I’ll need next year. I also saved some tomato seeds, which is easier than I thought it would be. The tomatoes only have to be good and ripe and once you get the seeds out you can still make use of the fruit, unlike the cuke (well, we tasted the fruit and it tasted kinda like watermelon rind - should have pickled it).

The method for both is the same. Put the seeds in a dish, cover with water. Let it sit for 1-3 days to ferment, which occurs faster in a warm room or in the sun. There’s a checmical in the gel-like sack surrounding each seed that keeps it from germinating in the fruit and the fermentation kills this chemical. If they set too long (when the stinky tomato goo forms mold across the entire top it’s done) they’ll actually begin to germinate in the dish. When it’s time, add a lot of water and stir vigorously. The good seeds settle on the bottom and you pour off the mold, bad seeds and other debris. Add water and pour it off a couple times to clean, then dump the seeds in a strainer to drain off as much water as possible. You can spread them on a plastic or glass/stone plate to dry (they stick too much to paper plates or towels). Spreading them on a coffee filter helps wick away moisture and they don’t stick to it at all.

Bell pepper seeds (I grew California Wonder) were even easier. Carefully scrape them out of a ripe pepper and onto a plate to dry. Bag and label.  Eat the pepper.

So little trouble to get a great start on next year’s garden. By growing open-pollinated or "heirloom" varieties (you can save and grow seeds from hybrids but it won’t result in the same kind of plant as the one you saved from - oh and in some cases it’s against the law as the seeds are actually patented by Big Ag) you not only save money, help preserve varieties that big seed companies are trying to stomp out (thus helping to ensure our future)... but when, year after year, you save seeds from your best plants, your plants are adapting to YOUR climate, YOUR backyard, YOUR gardening style. I think that’s fantastic.

I was rather nervous on the way to see the doc yesterday morning. My sister went with me and I took Blue along because it’s just no fun going anywhere without at least one of my kids. I was nervous thinking what I would say... do I put my foot down immediately and make sure she knows where I stand? Do I just go with the flow? Then I’d remember the idea was to let the Lord have HIS way and I’d relax and pray for humilty. My dear sister was so patient with my nervous jabbering the whole time.

It went worse than I expected and better at the same time. Sonja works directly for the hospital now and I was rather disappointed in the atmosphere. There was a TV on in every room, which didn’t help. I hate being asaulted by media.  The rooms were cold and bland with birth control advertisements (3 months, 3 years, permantent - I wanted to cry!) being the only other things to look at.  But here’s a happy sidetrack... My sister and I were digging in our purses looking for something to entertain Blue who was naturally drawn to the cartoons on the TV. I looked over at my sister at one point and saw her pulling out a wad of cash from her purse. I noticed some hundred dollar bills and wondered what on earth she was doing with that much cash and why she was flashing it so. Then I saw her face, her dropped jaw, saw the paper the money was folded up in... and I realized she had just found it in there. She looked at me, stuffed the money back in her purse and read the paper. It said, "For the baby, from Jesus and us" with some other encouraging words that gave no clue as to the giver. It was even printed from a computer, no handwriting. "Praise the Lord!" I said, having had similar things happen myself. "How much?" I pestered. She carefully pulled the money out and counted seven $100 bills. She almost cried. Maybe she did... I almost did. That was quite the highlight of the day. Not so much the money, though that helps, but that people have the heart to do that sort of thing. She had no idea who it could be or how long it had even been in there (not long, she’s only been pregnant a month).

Well, back to my appointment.... I’ve long since realized that an appointment at 10am means only that you should get in line around 10am and has no bearing at all on what time you might see the doctor. I think we went in at 10:45. I’ll spare you the details, it was a regular prenatal exam with pap smear and all that uncomfortable stuff I was hoping to avoid. I hugged Sonja when I saw her and tried to be friendly and it’s not that she was unfriendly... But it definitely confirmed that when I saw her before and felt like I had no time with her it was because of her, not because of the "rules" of the practice she was with. I really think it’s just a job to her, like a factory job. She cruised through my (easy) medical history, did the necessaries and was gone. I had questions... she never asked if I had questions.  I’d like to say it was because of our past... but that’s the way our past was! I think the reason I upset her before was because I made her aware that her patients are individuals, with individual needs, that require more of her than she is willing or able to give. I don’t want to make her sound inhuman... she’s a very nice person and just the fact that she’s willing to see me again after last time shows her heart (I keep saying that - am I trying to convince myself?)... but maybe she just has a hard time carrying these things over into her work. Hmmm.

Enough of that. I have an ultrasound on the 10th. She also scheduled me for a 1hr glucose screen that day. I guess that means she didn’t catch my specific request for care. I’ll refuse the screen on the grounds that I already know my BG is wacky and don’t want to send it sky-high with Poison-Cola when it’s unnecessary. Can’t wait to see how she takes that.

But, it wasn’t all bad. When the nurse, who was about my parents’ age, was drawing my blood she asked if this was my first baby. This type of question just gets more and more fun with each pregnancy. I wonder if my friends, who have 10, 11, and 12 kids, just bust up laughing when asked. I just grinned real big.
"No, this is my sixth."
"Oh.  Well, you should have just stayed at home and had this one," says she. What a pleasant surprise. Or was she joking?
"I plan to," says I. "I’ve had most of my others at home." Cool as a cucumber.
With utmost sincerity she says, "Well good for you!" Okay, color me tickled. She asked me about midwives and I explained the situation. We didn’t chat long, but it was delightful. I wish she were a midwife or a doctor... I wonder if I’ll get the chance to talk more with her? Will it go somewhere or was it just one of those encouraging moments? It’s strange to find such people in such places. "Natural" minded people in the medical field. A couple guys in my fellowship that are totally pro-homeschool teach at the local high school. What if some parent confided, "I’m thinking of pulling my son out of school and teaching him at home..." or "my daughter is really struggling with her studies... I wish there were another way," my brothers would be such an encouragment! I think it’s wonderful that some have the temperament/calling to do that. I’m too hard-headed (hearted?). Too judgemental. We’re working on that.