Spring is icumen in

Signs of spring are arriving. Behold our dirt patch:

 And the buds on the trees:

 And behold the temperature: (in the shade!)

Dave has left me again, for 4 days, taking his high schoolers to an Academic Decathlon in a nearby village. Right before he left, Julia came down with a fever. This is the first real fever she's had. She wavered between 101 and 102 for 2 days, but didn't have other symptoms like diarrhea or throwing up, thankfully. She was pretty quiet and clingy and refused to eat solid food but nursed a ton, bumping up my milk supply so now I'm a bit engorged. She's better now, and back to her usual cheerful self. Unfortunately she's due for vaccinations tomorrow. Today we both got a TB test. A elderly man in the village has been diagnosed with TB and so health aids are here to test everyone. They will test everyone again in two months. TB is a contagious bacterial infection that can cause some unfortunate symptoms like coughing up blood and can cause permanent lung damage if untreated. It is spread by inhaling droplets from a coughing carrier. (Gross thought, I know) but that is good news, as we haven't had contact with the man who is infected. Even though it involves a small needle, Julia was a trooper for her test and didn't cry!

 My latest crafty project is sewing crinkle cloths for babies:

To make one, take a piece of crinkly-sounding plastic and cut a rectangle. I used a bag from a box of cereal. Trace a piece of fabric around it, leaving about an extra 1/2 inch for a seam allowance. Fold the cloth in half, right sides together and sew 2 1/2 sides, leaving a half side open. Turn the pouch inside out, and iron flat, folding in the remaining seam so that it is easy to finish. Through the opening, slide in the folded plastic and finish the open seam, ending in a corner. I slid a small loop of cotton tape in the final seam to make a hanging point. Turn the fabric to a diagonal and sew a line from corner to corner to secure the plastic in place. If you like, embellish further with more cotton tape or decorative stitching, but make sure that any decorations are VERY secure. This is machine washable, but you should let it air dry. Julia liked the one I made for her a lot when she was 3-6 months old. 

Since we are moving soon, we are trying to eat down the cupboards and to avoid buying food. Some things are necessities though, like eggs, and so I am doing a little shopping locally. Up until now, we bought the vast majority of our food in Anchorage, whenever one of us was passing through. We fill up big plastic totes with everything we think we'll need for a couple months and pay extra baggage fees or send them by mail. There is a little store here, and while the prices are quite reasonable compared to other village stores, they are still high enough to give you chest pains. 

This is the store. It doesn't extend left or right out of the frame more than 5 feet.
3 shelves, 1 fridge, 2 freezers and lots of stacks of soda!

Julia, modeling another Grandmomma Dawn dress.
This was one that I wore as a girl, and it is vintage Marimekko fabric.
Unfortunately it's getting to be a tad fragile in it's old age, so I'm not sure how much I should let her wear it.