Kaya Juniper Slakey

Alright, so here's the news!  Kaya was born May 25, 2012 at 1:12am.  She surprised the heck out of us when she was born because we were both so sure she was going to be a boy!  So much for gut feeling, eh?  She was 8.5 pounds, 20 inches long.  Eight weeks have already gone by, yet I feel like it's been so much longer.

It can be so emotional being a parent.  I cry all the time just from knowing she's my kid.  I can't believe she's my daughter!  She's amazing and beautiful!  I cry when she's hurting or when I feel I can't help her, or when I'm happy just to see her and study her.  I cry when she calms in my arms, or when I'm overwhelmed by the loads of work to do around the house in addition to tending to her needs.

In all these moments, no matter how hard or easy, I have no regrets.  Sometimes I wish I could go back to where it was just Matt and me, because I miss what it feels like to do whatever we want, whenever we want, but then I think about Kaya and how much she means to me and I don't really want to go back.  I enjoy having her in our lives so much and I think, soon, Matt and I will be able to be just the two of us again, here and there.  Date night!  Yet, I also look forward to nights where the three of us go out together and play; kick the soccer ball around at a park, fly a kite, walk to the dog park, bike around to feel the delta breeze.  It's all so exciting!!!

Anyway, I'm cutting this blog short.  I am prepping to go to New York tomorrow with Matt and Kaya for Virginia and David's wedding! We will share the same anniversary date as them, which I think is awesome and unique.  We will never forget to say happy anniversary to them, since it will be the same date as ours.  ;)  Ta for now, Followers!

PS -  apologize for the sappiness.  I have always felt free to express myself sappily since I don't mind the potential embarrassment...  

Mr. Stork?

I don't think we've blogged about this in the past so allow me to share the news.  We're having a kid!!! We've known for more than enough time.  I'm (Kareena) almost 39 weeks along (not Matt - that'd be weird) so the kid will arrive very soon.  Well, in case you're wondering, this is a planned joy that has already changed our lives forever.

We're currently awaiting Mr. Stork with great anticipation. I look forward to meeting our child at the perfect moment whenever that moment be.  I am writing to share the emotions that I feel should be expressed during a parent's "waiting period."  For me, the waiting period began as soon as we knew we were going to have a kid.  This is the time that is exciting and unknown and filled with memories that last a lifetime.

I remember the adrenaline rush I had telling Matt we were expecting and his reaction to the news.  It's somewhat comical that even though couples plan to have children, the minute they find out it's real, it still seems unbelievable and surprising.  It took a long time to adjust to the knowledge of our inevitable change even though we certainly knew well in advance that this would be life-changing.

I vividly remember the first time Matt was able to feel the baby move.  I had been able to feel the baby for weeks but had not been able to get Matt to feel the "bumps" at the right moment.  When he was finally able to feel the baby move, I laughed excitedly and nervously.  I was so happy that he got to feel the "proof" of what I had been feeling.  Now, the baby moves all the time and Matt is sure to experience our kid's movements at any given day.  Another memorable moment was when Matt had his hand resting on the baby and it rolled a knee or foot so strongly against his hand that he exclaimed "Jesus! Was that the baby?"  I laughed loudly as I responded "Well, that certainly wasn't me."

The general feeling over these last nine months has been that of pure elation.  We hear a lot of warnings and advice from friends about the trials of parenthood, which is expected, but we like to keep in mind that our upcoming challenges will be viewed as a long string of adventures, guaranteed to push us to the limit as well as create the greatest sense of accomplishment.  We trust that we will be loving, patient, and empathetic parents, learning many lessons along the way.  So bring it on, Mr. Stork!  We're willing and ready!

farm plans

I have com up with a plan for the garden for next year. My goal is to have a no-till, no chemicals, low water use, and economical garden.

No-till can be difficult with lot of Bermuda Grass and other inedible weedy plants. I am going to lay down carpet and burlap for 6-8 weeks as a weed killer. I chose carpet and burlap after talking with a farmer, Les, of Offerings From the Land Farm. He has found it to be a barrier that kills the weeds and weed seeds but not the beneficial organisms in the soil unlike plastic sheeting which kills everything. After those 6-8 weeks I plan on checking the progress. If the weeds seem to be gone, I'll spread the accumulated kitchen compost and lay down a bunch of mulch ( I figure I'll need about 20 yards) and cover it up again for another few weeks. I plan to get the mulch from SMUD's free mulch program as well as neighbors' yard waste piles. I'll start the cover-up after I harvest the winter squash, if there are any!

No chemicals is kind of a grey area. No miracle-grow or "enhanced" potting soil is pretty easy. But there are undoubtedly chemicals in the carpet I plan to use from cleaning or just the material itself. Burlap, a carpet alternative, seems a better option and I've been saving the burlap scraps from work. (ACE sells burlap bags that get wrapped in....burlap!) But the wrappers and scraps are few. Carpet seems way easier to get and comes in big sizes. Another possible chemical source is the yard waste of neighbors and SMUD's mulch (which comes from the whole city). Since the mulch is free and I don't have the money to spend on 20 yards of untreated mulch, SMUD's mulch will have to do.

Low water use will mostly be solved by ollas. I plan to experiment and have them spaced every 3-6 feet about 100 total. Acquiring the ollas seems to be the biggest issue. I can either make or buy them. The cheapest I've found is $20, not good. The team at Global Buckets has come up with an automatic watering olla which involves terra cotta pots and silicon caulking. The caulking doesn't seem great (not chemical free), but I need to research the caulking or find a safer alternative. Making the ollas would be more time consuming but I might be able to recruit some help from my mom, an artist of all types. The other olla-like option I've contemplated is a clay pipe. This would be nice because it would reduce cost and increase plants. There would be less plumbing to maintain the water level and to pipe water out to the plants. The only problem is finding the right type of pipe (unglazed and porous). To get the ollas/pipe in the ground they say to dig to bury it. In order not to dig, I will probably just lay out the watering system between the first and second cover-ups, burring it in mulch, and let the organic matter break down around it.

As far as economics go, I plan to minimize the spending by starting with seeds and getting as much stuff for free as possible, like the mulch and the carpet, and keeping the water bill low. The main expenses will be the clay pots or pipe, the plumbing for the watering system, the seeds, and improving the fence to make human entry easier and dog entry harder.

What to plant is the next challenge.

The Latest

Howdy folks! I haven't posted a blog in a few days so I thought I would keep you updated on the stance of the living situation.

We still don't have electricity or running water. We could use the propane to have a working fridge, but we have an ice chest that has been serving purposefully just fine. The reason we still don't have electricity is because we're waiting for ONE stinkin' piece to set up the solar panels. Once we get the pole mount we can set it all up and watch our online shows, blog without paying for coffees/teas every time, and be more consistent with checking our email. We currently check email at coffee shops or in the car either using the car battery or while the engine is running (on the move, of course). We never drained the battery fully, thank goodness. That would be horrible - another stranded situation just like when the truck got stuck in the mud, really.

Running water continuously proves to be a challenge off-the-grid. We've gone through so many different ideas as to what our options are and I'm still unclear as to which option sounds best. We haven't acted on any of these plans. At this point, we might not even need to set up running water. We've made it almost a solid month without a hook-up and it doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore to try and get it. (The real life saver here is the fact that we have gym memberships and can shower regularly there). Dishes aren't too challenging without running water, especially when one limits themselves to only one bowl, plate, fork, knife and spoon to use. Dishes don't pile up here at The Lair. (Yay)! As for laundry - we can plug the tub, put the clothes in, add some water from our five gallon jugs we have, pour in a little borax and step all over the clothes to slosh it around and work it. =) Basically the same method for rinsing, minus the borax. Drying the clothes happens by hanging the clothes out on the line between the rent-a-fence panels. No electricity needed! We have yet to try this method.... I trust it should work mostly fine, though! I aim to try the method very soon as our laundry basket is near full.

The situation with the toilet is a little bit disheartening. We have to drain the tank which is approximately 25 gallons into a portable sewer tank and then haul it over to a KOA campground to rid of it. It's just not something we consider fun. This is my least favorite part about not having running water AND being off-grid.

The dogs love the property. They don't care about the ticks crawling on them, but we do. The last thing I did this morning before I left to walk to the truck was pull a female tick off of Axel's cheek. I screamed with disgust as I pulled it off and threw it on the ground. It's abdomen was so huge. We had tried to pull it off with tweezers last night but Axel wasn't having it. The tweezers kept slipping off the tick and we would only end up pulling Axel's skin really hard on accident. Poor guy. Thus, I used my bare hands this morning. Yuck!!!!

Just Another Day

As Uncle Rick would say, "Never a dull moment" out at the ranch. Just finished a post yesterday, but I have to write again today. My pick-up got stuck in the mud. I had been on my way out to pick up Matt from work in Davis when it happened. In the first place, on my way in to the ranch earlier in the day I came in on a road that has several dips and it was scary. The dips are such that you have to really slow down the vehicle when you go over them so you don't bottom out. In the rainy condition, however, it's very hard to maneuver them because you also have to give a little gas to get through them once you're in them. I made it through that part. The doom settled over me when I was on my way out to pick up Matt. I was taking a different route since I was afraid of the dips in the other route when my tires started to spin and I was getting nowhere. When I first realized I had been slowing down even though I hadn't released any pressure on the gas pedal, I kept repeating to myself in my head "Just keep going. Steady pedal. Don't stop. Come on! Come on! Come on!" I'm sure my face was wincing with my last threads of hope when the truck continuously slowed to a dreadful stop. Dead end.

My most immediate thought was to get out of the truck and see how stuck I was. I hopped out of the truck into the slop (in my new rain boots) to survey the situation. Not bad. Maybe if I give it a right good shove or two.... or five... I put the truck in neutral and solely tried to heave it forward but to no avail. The truck had rocked three inches forward as I pushed, yet rolled back those three inches when I stopped. I tried to use the rocking to my advantage and gave up after realizing all I was doing was possibly denting the tailgate.

My next stop - call Mom for moral support. She answered and I asked trying to keep a steady voice, "So, what do you do to get your car out of stuck mud?" She had plenty of experience getting stuck in the mud in her time and instructed me to find some wood and try to get some traction on the tires. She said to call Bob and Robyn for help, firstly. Her biggest concern was my safety and she requested that I stay in the truck (after attempting to get it unstuck) with the doors locked while I wait for help. After hanging up with my mom, embarrassed, I called Bob and Robyn. Robyn answered and told me she was having Sarah, Tim and Will over for dinner. I almost didn't tell her my situation because I didn't want to ruin her nice evening. Knowing I needed help, I proceeded by mumbling, "So, would now be an inconvenient time to tell you that I'm stuck in the mud?" Her answer was quick and calm. "No." Within a short minute, we had hung up and she was on her way to meet me and AAA over at the ranch while Bob would pick up Matt from work.

After several attempts to run the tires over some wood that I had retrieved from The Lair, I realized I wasn't going to get out of this mess alone. The tires were only making an awful sound rubbing the edge of the wood pieces because I couldn't get them under the tires enough. I tried rocking back and forth with wood in front of and behind the affected tire. I could rock, but that was it. I wasn't getting anywhere but deeper into the muck. Defeated, I ceased my fruitless attempts and sat in the safely-locked truck in self pity. The night before had been a rough one. We hadn't slept well because of the gusts of wind rocking the trailer. The weather had been so bad that we would be woken up from being rocked in our sleep. The Lair was being hit by the wind on the broadside and I had difficulty returning to a sound slumber after thinking we may well tip over. The following morning, we found that our truck bed liner which we had removed for camper shell purposes had been blown 44 paces into a rice check. A rent-a-fence had been shoved from a square shape into an inward-collapsed shape. Two of the panels had shifted maybe ten feet from where they were originally. Lastly, our worm bin lid had flown off into the rice checks as well even after we had placed our tire snow chains on top to weigh it down. Needless to say, my last 24 hours had been a bit rough and I was indeed feeling very sorry for myself as I sat in the truck flustered.

Robyn and my Mom were frequently in touch with me as I waited for help. AAA and Robyn soon arrived and my hopes rose. Robyn informed me that we were welcome to stay the night over at her's and Bob's place to decompress from the day and the weather should we want to. As she was on the phone with me, the AAA guy was letting Robyn know that he didn't have the right truck to get me out of the mud. He didn't have mud tires and he was certain his truck would get stuck in the mud as well. I chatted with the gentleman a few minutes and let him know I would be willing to leave the truck in the mud until the weather let up or until they had a better-equipped vehicle to help me.

As of now, the vehicle is still in the mud over at The Lair. We stayed the night at Bob and Robyn's. I slept very well being that I had a cozy, warm bed to stay in and a hard day behind me. Bob has offered to help me attach the vent cover to the trailer today as well as see me through with AAA. Amazing people, these Slakeys! We're even being chauffered around to get things taken care of. I was so glad to have had a phone to talk with people as I was feeling so down. I am so grateful for everyone who helped me out on every level. Off to The Lair!

Crazy For Feeling So Lonely!

So, sorry in advance for the tone of this blog. I can tell you right now this is getting old, yet I'm getting used to it... It's been quite an emotional ride since we've moved out to The Lair. All the little things are starting to wear on us. Ticks, dripping roof, dripping windows, lack of running water, lack of electricity, missing windows, POS parts to replace broken POS trailer parts. The only reason we keep going is because we know what this holds for us in the long term.

Maybe we haven't told you our goals yet. It's not easy to put into words why we're on this path, but when we bought the trailer I had never felt better about our decision to take the path less traveled (Thanks R. Frost). Since buying the trailer, my hopes have withered and I've doubted myself seriously. It's gotten to the point where the only thing I'm sure of in my life is my love for my family and friends and the choice I made as to who I would spend the rest of my life with. Everything else seems so uncertain.

Back on topic - why did we start this? We want freedom. We want a challenge - an adventure. In the long term, we want to be self-sustainable. We'd liked to have a home on our own decent-sized piece of land with a few dairy cows, goats, chickens, bees, and who knows what else. I often yearn for a simple life where I don't have "things" (AKA "stuff", "baggage") and remember that I have amazing love and companionship in my life. I've been so wrapped up in anger in my past that I have forgotten what it feels like to be innocent. It seems sometimes we get so tied up in the little things (i.e. details such as who ate the last cookie and who can we blame next for our pain and discomfort) that we forget to love ourselves and our friends. I am searching for the answer to true happiness. How better to find happiness than to strip yourself of all your possessions and fight for your life?

Crazy. Honestly, who WANTS to suffer? This, to me, is the ultimate test to find yourself and dig deep. We have to really push ourselves to be happy. We need to give ourselves reason to be proud and confident. I want to look back on this decision years down the road and say, "Wow - what a difference that made." Or maybe I'll say, "What a moron! That was intense and ridiculous and unnecessary!" Anyway - all joking aside - why this route? I don't know right now. It sure is something else. Hey, well at least we have something to write about, eh? Until the next CRAZY post, thanks for reading!

Burning Vehicle

Don't worry! It wasn't our vehicle on fire. We went to a movie in Natomas a couple nights ago. We were returning back to The Lair at around 10:30pm when Matt noticed a fire near the property. At first, from far away, we thought it was an old abandoned trailer right next to the property, but as we got closer, we saw it was something in the road burning. Kareena started to worry because she thought a car had exploded and there was possibly a burning body inside. Actually, worry would be an understatement there. She started to panic and mumbled certain words as she neared. (She has seen too many t.v. shows such as CSIs and Bones and expected the worst)...

There was a moving vehicle ahead of us when we got closer to the inflamed truck. The people ahead didn't want to pass. We didn't want to either because we were afraid the vehicle would explode spontaneously as we passed. Matt got out of the truck and surveyed from afar. He talked a few moments with the people stopped in the car ahead and came to the decision that one of us should contact police to alert them of the fire. The people in the car ahead agreed to call but within a few minutes they slowly inched past the burning truck. Not sure if they called the police, Matt dialed 911 with his phone to report the roadside fire. We soon drove past the scene and pulled into the ranch. Mind you, it was a day of lots of rain, so we had to park the truck at the ranch entrance and walk a good distance in the slop to The Lair.

As we walked to The Lair - within a short couple of minutes - we witnessed the firetrucks and police cars approach the scene. It was interesting because we got to see them spray down the vehicle. Funny thing is, they were gone in no time and left the truck there overnight. The next morning we took some pictures of the burned up truck. We'll post them on here later once we load them on the computer, but we're slow. =0)

Thanks for reading "The Adventures of Matt and Kareena!" We'll also post pics of The Lair and the ranch soon. Kareena keeps trying to get pics of the beavers... We'll see what happens there!