First night in the yurt

Last night was Eden's and my first night sleeping in the yurt, made possible by the loft Joe built and the newly installed and functioning wood stove ( see photos below ). Joe has been sleeping in the yurt for a while, unheated because he's tough like that. Apparently he gets a better night's sleep alone in the freezing cold than he does sharing a little double bed with Eden and me. We've been looking forward to the larger bed out in the yurt, but I'm a pansy and wanted a little heat on these winter nights as well.

After what seemed like endless obstacles, we finally got all the parts and pieces necessary to get our cook stove installed, just in time for some visiting friends to be our first overnight guests. They were coming from balmy LA, but they're also seasoned world travelers, so they did just fine.

Anyway, my first night in the yurt was a somewhat sleepless temperature rollercoaster. We lit a fire in the stove a few hours before bedtime. There's still a lot to learn about how to efficiently operate the stove as well as how the yurt heats up as well. By the time we went to bed, I was guessing it was in the upper 50's in the yurt, though Joe was guessing 60's. For my comfort level I was happy to keep my socks on and burrow into the mounds of blankets Joe has been using out there. I was glad I'd put Eden in fleecy pjs. The windows and plexiglass dome were clouded with condensation, but I could still make out the stars just over my head. Somewhere in the night, I woke up in a puddle of sweat. Eden's pjs were also damp with sweat, so we kicked the blankets off. I remember thinking "yay, so it can get really warm in here". Due to the way I sleep on my side to be able to nurse Eden with minimal wakefulness, I always have one arm that is out from under the covers and often falls asleep. The next time I woke up during the night, that arm was a numb popsicle! I could tell that the fire had died out in the stove, though I have no idea for how long. So, back under the blankets we went.

Overall, I think it was an OK night's sleep, but I remember waking up a lot and being glad when it was time to get up, and very happy that Joe (who'd gotten up at 5:30 to meditate) had built a fire in the cabin so it was nice and warm when we came in. To add to the restless night was the fact that we'd watched the "Hatfields and McCoys" movie just before bed so my dres were full of shoot outs. I'm also a much lighter sleeper when sleeping with both Joe and Eden as I'm conscious about every twitch Eden makes so I can tend to her and minimize any disturbance for Joe. We'll get it all straightened out with time I'm sure.

Next step on the yurt project is putting a finish on the floors and then finishing out the kitchen!

Bath time!

The past few posts, and this as well, have been written and posted from my iPhone. Whereas the mobile version of this blog does not have my nice green background and peaceful mountain photo header, the rest of the formatting looks fine. However, I noticed on a real computer that the photos I'm posting are getting chopped off. FYI, you can click on the photo to see a larger, uncropped version.

As for posting from my phone, I can add photos easily but don't know if or how it's possible to position them where I want them in the text. Anyway, these photos are of the newest setup for giving Eden a bath. We had been using a large, round dishpan but it takes two people - one to keep her from falling out and one to bathe her. This setup worked quite well, especially since Joe wasn't around to help this time. The Bumbo seat did his job of holding her upright, and she had extra room for playing in the water. I did have to rearrange some furniture to make room, but all in all a success. As you can see, Eden approved and even offered her assistance with the set up.

More prunes, please!

Picture 1: And...ABRACADABRA!!! There will be ice cream in this bowl!
Picture 2: Haha! Had you fooled!

Learning curve

So, I'm learning that there is an app for everything. After struggling to write my previous post and thinking "there has to be an easier way!"..there is. This post is a test of the Blogger app I downloaded. Apparently I can upload pictures which I take via my phone's camera, so I'm going to add a puny photo of my Christmas decorations as a trial run.

Eden has had a rough day. She's dealing with a runny, stuffy nose and teething. We have been blessed with such an " easy" baby that I feel completely lost when she has inconsolable crying fits. When she is upset, she doesn't want to snuggle; she just wants it fixed. Unfortunately I don't always know how to do that. Thankfully, she is sleeping good tonight. We are headed to Va Bch in the morning and were thinking we might have to delay our trip a bit if she had another rough night. Speaking of which, I should be going to bed myself. I haven't gotten that part worked out yet. I always stay up later than I should to take advantage of "me" time.

First blog ever written AND posted from MY home.

This is a test of the backwoods blogging system. I'm typing this out with my thumbs (which I'm happy to find I'm pretty fast at) on my new iPhone while lying in bed listening to Eden struggle to breathe through her stuffed up nose. I'm so thrilled with having Internet connection  at our place!! I was hoping I could hook this phone and my computer together so I could do the typing work the fast, ten-fingered way and then just use the phone to do the uploading. I apparently have to have my head in the iCloud to do that though. I'm not complaining, though; this is great.

Well, I look forward to catching up a bit soon, but at the moment I should be focusing on sleep. Eden is experiencing her first real runny, stuffy nose today and it has made nursing and sleeping difficult. Given my lifelong allergies and stuffy sinuses, I long long ago gave up on using my nose for oxygen acquisition, but Eden is still a believer.

Okay, one last addition to the test. Can I post a picture?

Um...never mind.

I'm still here! Really, I am. I have written many blog posts in my head, but not a one of them has made it into the digital world. The combination of no internet at home and a 4-month old baby makes for zero blogging. Actually, I think that even if I had internet at home there would still only be one blog a month -- I'm not a very fast one handed typist. :)

At the moment, I'm at my boss' house, spending the night, because tomorrow morning Eden and I are heading with him and his family to spend a week at the beach!!! I'm so excited. Joe may or may not join us depending on how he feels midweek when his school work is done. He's been fighting what we assume is a case of Lyme's disease for almost a month now and is feeling pretty run down and fatigued. He's just started a 30-day round of treatments laid out for him by a naturopathic doctor. (The standard doctor he went to dismissed his concerns entirely after his blood test came back negative for Lyme's.) I'm really hoping he feels better soon.

Anyways, I have tons of photos to share, all on my personal computer back home, so so much for that.

Eden is growing and learning every day. I love seeing her discover the world! She's now an expert bubble blower and spitter (I never knew you could carry on whole conversations with bubbles and fart noises, but we do!!), makes lots of coos and word-like noises, grabs things and attempts to put them in her mouth, almost rolls over onto her side, and laughs!!! The laughing is brand new and we've only gotten one or two precious glimpses of it yet. It's my favorite development so far. I actually have caught it on video, so maybe you'll see it eventually.

Speaking of video, here's a link to Joe's most recent video montage of Eden.

"Happiest Girl"

My biggest accomplishment of late (besides growing a Cabbage Patch Kid, as Joe calls it, to make me feel better about my horribly weedy, bug infested, non productive garden) is that I managed to mow 1/4 of our lawn, only the 2nd time it's been mowed in more than a month.

Well, Eden has now been asleep for two hours, which means I better get to sleep as well or I'll be in that groggy position of only having slept for an hour or so when she wakes up for her midnight snack!