To Everything There Is A Season

July 12, Morning

Quick disclaimer here. The chestnuts Sang uses to make her laundry soap are toxic when eaten. As with all soaps natural or otherwise do not eat. I have not tried this method of cleaning clothes but it is one that has a long history in Europe. The resulting liquid cleaner can also be used on bodies and floors, hair appears iffy as hair is more sensitive to pH changes.

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I woke slowly the next morning. I was starting to like going to bed feeling tired but not exhausted. I stretched and rolled out of bed. I pulled on the same clothes as the day before. My hair would be fine until I could brush it out and pin it back up after breakfast.

            I headed downstairs to get a start on my day. Only to find Luke at the stove already making coffee and North walking in the door with an arm load of wood. It looked like I wasn't going to be doing morning chores alone. I greeted the two men and started getting my work shoes on.

            "Cupcake, Nate is out in the barn already I think he's waiting for you." Luke told me. I wasn't expecting any help this morning I knew they were still up when I went to bed and just assumed that they would all take advantage of not having to do chores to sleep in. Apparently, I was wrong.

            "Thank you for letting me know I'll head out and help." I smiled at both Luke and North before walking out the door. I took in the quiet that was early morning on the farm. The sleepy clucking of the chickens, the occasion snort or soft lowing of one of the calves looking for breakfast, birds in the trees just starting to greet the day all the sounds that brought my soul peace before I needed to face the day. Before, with Jed and early while I was still at home, this was my time the one time in the day I was totally free, now I was starting to feel like that freedom was becoming an all the time feeling. If the men would just stay life might actually always feel like this.

            I found not just Nathan but Kota and Victor in the barn. Nathan and Victor were both attempting to milk an animal while Kota was setting out feed. I smiled as I wished all three a good morning. I checked on my new milkers before heading out to collect eggs. I decided to follow my normal routine as much as possible. After the eggs had been taken in, I went back out to finish milking and checking the mothers and babies. I had intended to use the bull calf for rennet resupply but changed my mind after seeing how robust he was in comparison to one of the little girls. Instead I decided that he was doing so well I would keep him for a while longer and let him get bigger while the calf that was struggling to gain weight would be the better option. I'd let Mr. Owen know about the switch later.

            I grabbed the new jug of yogurt from the well and carried it in while I left the milk jugs to the men to carry. Today's milk would be separated and made into butter and hopefully consumed during meals and possibly with more baking. Fortunately, I'd used up about a week's worth of goat's milk yesterday, so I was back down to just under a gallon from this mornings milking. The cow's milk on the other hand I could not use fast enough three cows at two gallons a cow per day was a lot of milk a day. Knowing I had nearly eighteen gallons to make into cheese today was daunting fortunately Luke had volunteered to help so I wouldn't be alone.

            Arriving back in the kitchen I found breakfast was well underway and the two men cooking didn't need my help. I went to finish getting ready for the day. If I was going to have extra help, then I was going to make the most of it and get some other tasks done that I'd been putting off. Top of that list was laundry. I also needed to do my monthly deep clean of the house. I gathered up my laundry and stripped the sheets from my bed. I dropped my pile in the hallway and went to the first open doorway. This room smelled of spice and ginger tea. It must be the room Kota and Dr. Sean were sharing. I stripped the twin beds quickly and looked around to see if I could easily identify their dirty clothes. I couldn't. I would have to ask them to bring their dirty items down later. I went into the next room. This one smelled like warm leather and early fall, Nathan and Victor must share it. I repeated the same actions as I did in the previous room. I continued down the hall and around the upper landing. Each room had its beds stripped and quickly searched for dirty clothes. By the time I'd finished the circuit I had all the bedding piled at the top of the stairs ready to be carried downstairs.