Deer Park Farms: another day down

God, it's only 8 pm, and I'm aching and so tired!!!! BUT life is good! I'm currently sitting outside on our sofa that's in our covered patio area and thinking about how I am so lucky, blessed, loved, rewarded! The fall nights here in the Oregon countryside are so beautiful! All I hear is some bird screeching (in other situations it would be annoying, but tonight it's literally the only sound I hear). OH WAIT! There's our neighbors' burro (yes...HEEEEE HAW)...and a few dogs barking in the distance. The crickets are quiet, the frogs are hibernating (or something), and there's not even a breeze. It rained today, so the smell of fresh earth is permeating the air.

I'm texting my brother Colin about trying out the halfway finished firepit outside my bedroom...he says it's safe...hmmm...yeah, I think I'll go try that and come back to this...

TEN MINUTES LATER...

Ok, seriously, I think I just found a new addiction. A really amazing night just turned into an unforgettable one. I might be sitting on an unfinished brick wall, with unlaid tile strewn all around, but to me, THIS is why we moved here to Deer Park - quiet, calm, simple beauty. I'm so happy that Ellie Graye will grow up with such amazing opportunities everywhere...

Today was one of those days that's non-stop. It definitely started off a bit challenging - EG has been having night terrors, and dealing with that has been something outside of the scope of my experience as a nanny. I'm sleep-deprived (though not as badly as I was in my Madonna days), and have no tools to deal with a child who can't be woken, who can't register comfort, or even recognize her mommy. We slept late, and as we're rushing around, I discovered that my phone was plain ol' not working, and the "flat tire" light of the Prius was illuminated (I got out and checked, and had no idea what the problem was, so I kept driving)...We picked up Victor and Lorena and then headed off to Toddler Advanced Survival Swim class...

There's something about seeing Ellie Graye jump into the water and use her little arms and legs to propel herself up to the surface, grab a breath and then swim on over to the side of the pool that just makes me feel like I can conquer the world. When her little face pops out of the water with that huge, contagious smile of hers, it's as if someone just told me that I had super powers...it's so invigorating.

Anyway, I came back from the trek to SwimBabes and started chipping away at my long list of chores. Ellie was wiped out, so she took a good long nap, which I took full advantage of - heading out to the garden (Lorena was in the house, don't worry) to pick quince and get a move on with that "Membrillo" experiment.

our quince tree - fully loaded!

And, guess what, I did it. It took a hell of a lot longer than I would have wanted as our quince are organic and thus display quite the array of worms...I was still stirring the concoction when she woke, but she quite happily helped me out with her own little bowl and wooden spoon (which was actually a honey spoon thing-a-ma-bopper)...

I used this recipe from SimplyRecipes, and while I'm still waiting for it to "dry" - the semi-finished product is to die for! I read on many other sites to let the Membrillo dry for several days wrapped in muslin, and I'm trying to figure out how long I can let it stay out to dry without it going bad...

THE PROCESS....

Tomorrow? Sage Mustard. I cut the sage from our garden today, but just didn't have the motivation after spending the 3 hours on the Membrillo...I DID however skin the tomatoes that I need to freeze for future BBQ sauce use...it was all pretty convenient since I was already at the stove, stirring that damn quince forever and a day.

I didn't get to the everything on my to-do list - the weather kept me from riding, though I did make sure I got out to check on the horses who insist on standing in the pouring rain (thank GOD I got those new waterproof WeatherBeeta turnout blankets at Wilco for so cheap!).

Anyway, the fire is dying, and my energy is depleting. I have two "prompted awakenings" ahead of me tonight, so I should sleep while I can (I do hope the doctor's suggestion works...for both EG and for me!).

Here are some random photos from today: