Days go by...

It's been a busy few weeks. It started out with a fantastic May day/ Beltaine party hosted by Trevor and me, and has progressed from there. Last week, I built a dining room table for my mother out of reclaimed birch and spruce; I worked with a group of friends to dig 400' of trenches around the cabin site; I helped my mother move into her new house; and, of course, I did another billion things I've forgotten. Can anyone say, "overscheduled?" I have this problem with saying no, you see...

However, things aren't as hectic this week. I'm standing in the kitchen, breathing in the scents of lemon and lime on the stovetop. I'm making marmalade for my first time ever, and I'm very excited to see how it turns out. Trevor is cooking Persian rice, and later, he's going to bake a strawberry rhubarb pie (rhubarb from our backyard!). I'm also going to attempt dandelion wine, but I'm hesitant, because last time I tried, there was a nasty smell coming from the jar a couple weeks into the project. Yuck. We'll see. At least I know I can make a mean hard cider.

The cabin is coming along beautifully. We're looking to start framing the walls next week -- the platform has been leveled, the water nearly drained, and the wood from the lumber store has arrived -- so we're two weeks ahead of schedule! Woot! We're going to be hosting a 'house raising' party in early June, and we'd love for many people to show up. Walls go up so quickly with lots of hands, so we may be ready for roofing by mid to late June. We're making progress!

So, without further babbling, let's get to the good stuff (check out my facebook page for more pictures):Will tossing a caber for our May day party; we had different sizes and shapes for various skill levels. This one was the biggest. Let me tell you -- this is fun. You get points on whether it flipped over, and what direction it's pointing when it lands. Truly -- it's more fun that you might think.Drumroll for the crowning of the May Queen (Edwin, this year). Other nobles include May King Joy, Chancellor Will, and High Priestess Chrissy. Long live the Queen!~

Joy tying ribbons on the May pole, after we all danced around it. For the uninitiated, everyone who is dancing takes hold of a ribbon attached to the top, and then weaves in and out of the other dancers to create this pattern. We've still got it up in our yard.

Trevor looking like a Greek statue (isn't he handsome?) while Jamie prepares to toss a caber.

Will playing with big digging toys. This one is called a 'dingo', and has a huge chainsaw-like bar attached to the front to dig ditches.


After loosening up the soil with the dingo, we hand dug about 300' of trenches in one day. Nice, eh? Here's Edwin and Allison in the background, shoveling away.

This is the dining room table in progress. It's done now (mostly), and currently being coated with linseed oil. I hope it will look good in my mother's new house. It has a distinct "farmhouse" type style.

Stay tuned,
Peace out, crazy cats.