Tuesday, June 14, 2011

We have moved...

Well the site for Blackberry Cottage did not work out, hence the title of this blog becoming irrelevant. However that does not mean the end of all this blogging stuff. You can't get off that easy.
Just point your browsers to The Life and Times of People who want to Cob.
I have heard that this new blog is like this blog but on (truly natural, not pharmaceutical) steroids. It's a must read for those inclined. If not, we can amicably part ways now.

Monday, June 6, 2011

Posion Ivy Oak

We decided to stay in town this weekend, to see a hip-hop show in the PDX and catch up with some friends up in Hood River. I was torn between continuing clearing the land in McMinnie or staying in town, but we had too much fun to have made a wrong choice.
Jen is just finishing up her first semester back at school (she is studying to be a midwife), and her summer schedule at school is light so we will spending more and more time down there, so no biggie missing this weekend.

In the week we have been back from McMinnie, my allergies have flared up again after being non-existent while in McMinnie. There is something in the air that does not agree with me in Portland this time of the year. So it's a blessing that my allergies disappear when we are in McMinnie. You know, cause we are carving a house out of nature. It would be hard to work with nature if my allergies were flaring.
This allergy talk is really just a precursor to the Poison Oak story, or as I mistakenly call it Poison Ivy. I'm not from this neck of the woods, and obviously as you find out neither are my kids. I don't think I ever heard of Poison Oak before recently. I guess that's why I call it Poison Ivy.

They kids were warned about Poison Oak but they needed to find out for themselves. I didn't understand Poison Oak either, hence me writing this now. So when we got back home/Beaverton the kids we showing no signs of being in contact in Poison Oak. The thought never even crossed our minds. That was until the next morning when Maya woke up and she had a rash on her face and upper body. Our friend's son who was there in McMinnie with us had a similar experience.
As the week has gone on, Maya's rash has gotten worse and worse. She is a warrior though. She only has the occasional point of itchiness (pain?) where it seems too much for her.
We, well that's the Royal "We." What I mean is, Jen has tried several herbal/essential oil remedies. Not sure what the actual relief from those remedies bring, but at worst the intention of the remedies seem to work, and I guess that's all you can ask.
I am not really sure of the actual remedies Jen has tried. I believe she has tried Tea Tree Oil, Lavender Oil, Oatmeal baths and possibly Aloe Vera. I guess I have an idea.

This once beautiful girl is now a hideous mess. If you know me, then you know what I mean. I don't want to put any more disclaimers to that sentence. Her rash combined with her losing two teeth in the last week has her looking like an ugly relation to The Clampetts. Same thing applies here. It's all said with pure love. I guess it became disclaimer-ville. The pictures don't really do the hideous nature of the rash justice. Ok, that's probably enough talk about how my beautiful daughter currently looks hideous. I will now retire that thought.
Maya has now learnt the lesson about Poison Oak. She has said when we first went to McMinnie, Poison Oak was a small bush with little red markings but now they have blossomed into red-ish bushes with leaves of three. So didn't equate the two as the same. Now she does.

Nate only now, which is a week later has just began to show signs of a rash from the Poison Oak. His rash is currently only confined to his lower legs. Eli has showed no signs of a rash, but he did not explore the woods like his brother and sister did.

Another thing I want to touch on before I forget, and I might go more into this later is that I had several experiences with the Blackberry Bushes when I was clearing them. They were communicating with me via vibration, and at times it felt like "electrical shocks." There was the occasional "WOW" moments where I jumped backwards from the shocks. Interesting to say the least. Mother Nature is powerful(!), and something society as a whole does not understand.