WARNING: I'm 2 glasses of wine in to the evening. Which could mean this is a really GOOD post. Or, it could mean it's an unfocused rant. I DARE you to read on and find out.

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Bill has farm duty this weekend so he won't be home. Earlier today, I was ready to call "uncle". Seriously, ready to call the whole freakin' thing off and tell Bill I can't do this anymore and he has to come home. The morning was pretty good, actually. I got blood drawn for my annual physical. Got my hair cut. Had a massage. One would think that things couldn't go wrong from there, huh? Last stop was the grocery so before I went, I called home (the kids were out of school today) to see if they wanted me to bring home pizza for lunch. I asked them to get their housework done, please. 2 hours later I showed up and nothing was done. AND one of the kids thought it'd be fun to catch a tea bag on fire while I was gone.

I think it was exacerbated by the fact that earlier in the week, I had a really long day and when I returned, there were sticky notes pointing out all the places that the dogs had peed. Apparently rather than letting the dogs out, it was more fun to just watch them pee in the floor and make snarky notes so that I could clean it up when I got home at 8pm.

I know that my kids are 13 and that the whole idea of what it takes to run a household is lost on them. But I feel like I'm raising selfish parasites who not only can't pick up after themselves, they can't do anything meaningful to contribute to the running of the house. I can't even go run errands, much less do anything for myself without worrying that they are burning the house down. And these are the same kids who want to talk to me and in front of my like they are grown. Want/expect me to drive them wherever they want to go. Provide "entertainment" for them when they're bored. This is my most UNFAVORITE part of raising children. I've been parenting hands-on, full time for 27 years and I'm tired. When I was a kid, I had a friend who was a "menopause baby". By the time she came along, her parents were old and tired. She got away with all kinds of crap that her 3 older sisters wouldn't have ever dreamed of doing. Her parents just said "whatever" and went to bed. That's about where I am.

Chances are that when we move, wherever we live will be 1/3 the size of where we live now. I'm seriously concerned about how we'll not kill each other, especially during the winter when no one will go outside (except for Bill). 2 adults, 2 teenagers, 2 70# dogs and 4 old, crochety cats.

Meanwhile, back on the farm.......

- I finally found eggplant seeds! 2 different kinds, in fact. Technically, it's spring but Mother Nature hasn't gotten the memo. Today there was sleet & rain.

- I found the book "Wild Fermentation" at Crazy WIsdom today. It has lots of info on bread, cheese, yogurt, miso, etc.....all the great fermented things.

- Rebrined the sauerkraut & kimchi today. Sauerkraut is getting there. I'd say two more weeks on the counter and I'll be ready to put it in the fridge.

- I've got 10# of tallow for soap, but I can't find the stinkin' lye! I was excited today when the chick at Lowe's told me it was on Aisle 4 but when I got there, it was Lime. I bought a few essential oils and some molds. Just lye and I'll be ready to make-a da soap.

- Tomorrow, I'm going to a class on Shiitake mushrooms. Last year, I did Oysters and they turned out great. If I have 2 kinds of mushrooms going this year, I'll be in heaven.....Fungus fan that I am


Dee