Let's review the last week, shall we?
Monday - Rachel worked 12 hours shepherding 86 Japanese exchangees from the airport to a hotel in two batches. Alex and Lil ran errands and maintained the home front.
Tuesday - Rachel worked another 12 hours orienting said exchangees to the ways of American life. Alex and Lil visited to meet the college student, Yukari, who would be staying with us after Alex teleworked a full day from home.
Wednesday - Rachel spent 8 hours getting Japanese students on their way to host families around the state. Meanwhile, our friend Uncle Leonard and his partner Gina arrived and began construction on a new mud room with Alex. In the afternoon, Rachel and Yukari came home, relieved the house of the 'Mess When Mom's Not Home', went to the grocery store, and made a from-the-garden from-scratch dinner.
Thursday - Alex and Len continued work on the porch all day while Alex simultaneously smoked pork shoulder and bacon. Rachel seeded fall vegetables and fed the crowd lunch and dinner from scratch. Later, she and Yukari went to a budget meeting with staff of the School For Young Children (SYC). On the way home, they picked up Jeni's Ice Cream for a pre-birthday celebration.
Friday - Alex's working birthday! Rachel, Lil, and Yukari toured SYC in the morning while Alex and Len worked madly to finish the roof of the mud room before expected rains Friday night and Saturday. When Rachel and the girls returned home, they cooked lunch and then mac and cheese and shredded cabbage for the following day. In the late afternoon, Rachel, Yukari, Lil, and Gina caravanned with Rachel's sisters to Legend Hills Orchard for some peach and apple picking on the way to help their cousin move. They returned home at 9:30 after moving and eating dinner with extended family.
Saturday - Rachel sold magnificent mushrooms (locally foraged chanterelles, people!) for Swainway Urban Farm while it rained for hours. Meanwhile, Alex baked 72 buns from Dave's perfect bun recipe. When Rachel returned, they braved drizzles to clean up the construction debris. Rachel's parents arrived as the rain stopped to set up tents, chairs, and tables. Rachel finished cooking, showered, and then the family welcomed 70 friends and family to a summer shindig with a local and from-scratch meal of pulled pork sandwiches, homemade bbq sauce, home-grown coleslaw, homemade macaroni and cheese, creamy cheese tarts with Berryfield blueberries, house whiskey punch, and homebrew.
Sunday - Everyone slept in. Along with the rest of central Ohio, Rachel, Alex, Lil, and Yukari went to the state fair for Ohio 4-H International day. They left in time to eat dinner at Alex's parents.
Monday - Rachel squashed squash bug eggs, pulled weeds, and harvested ten pounds of split tomatoes for stewing. Yukari and Rachel began preparing peaches for peach jam. Alex and Len installed the last windows, walls, and a door to the mud room. In the afternoon, the ladies completed an epic souvenir shopping trip. After a dinner of backyard chicken, mashed potatoes, and salad, Yukari and Rachel went to City Folk's Farm Shop for the Home Ec potluck.
Chaos Is Our Way Of Life
In these heady days of summer when fruit is ripe, weeds are prolific, and projects beg for completion before cooler weather, our day-to-day feels like a string of never-ending madness. There's fun mixed in with the chores, though, and garden-fresh flavors reward our work. Our muscles are sore, minds racing with new ideas, and hearts full of love for the land and people we interact with.
We cradle the chaos. Like a tiny newborn who grows so quickly, we recognize that this busy season will draw to a close soon enough. We can rest later. Until then, we'll let produce and projects full the long sunny days.