Community Supported Fiber (CSF) Farms

Hi Friends, and happy Sunday! I'm back in the saddle over at Design Sponge, returning after a two-week hiatus with my "Small Measures with Ashley" column. This week's topic focuses on "Community Supported Fiber" farms, more commonly referred to as C.S.F.'s. I find the topic immensely intriguing, and hope you will too, especially with the chilly months staring us in the face (my mom and grandmother, who live an hour north of here, were slated to get snow last night; I haven't yet chatted with them this morning, so I'm not sure what has transpired yet...).

We're all getting our groove back, Chez English (well, Huxley is establishing his groove...). For the most part, things are grand. I'm slowly healing, learning (not without a fight!) to take it waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay easy. I get winded pretty easily, so I take my time walking around the house, and let things slide a bit more than I usually would, house cleaning-wise. Hubs has been an absolute saint, cooking up delicious meals, taking care of our menagerie of animals (I haven't even made it out to the chicken coop in two weeks, but Glenn assures me that all is well and keeps me, ahem, abreast, of all the social goings-on out there), going to the fire department to ensure that the car seats are installed properly (would you believe we've had to purchase three-!!!-different models in search of one that fits our wee one???), and being generally awesome, per usual.

My mother-in-law stayed with us for 9 days and was an indispensable fount of assistance and advice. Huxley met his great-grandmother (my maternal grandmother), Ruby, this past Thursday. He also spent some quality time with his grandmother, Gigi (my mom), then and did so again yesterday while Hubs was at the Asheville Scrabble Club's annual tournament (I insisted that he go, which he somewhat reluctantly relented to, in an attempt at re-establishing normalcy around here, per the suggestion of our pediatricain).

Our tiny "pea pod" might not be so for too terribly much longer if he keeps up with the weight gain he managed this past week-at his weigh-in at the pediatrician's office on Tuesday, it was revealed that he'd gained 8 ounces in one week! Way to pack it up, pack it in, little Hux!

I'm learning the art and craft of breast-feeding every day. I have to admit, it's not as intuitive as I think most women are led to believe. Fortunately, the suggestions of my mother-in-law, coupled with the fantastic advice offered by the lactation consultants at the Western N.C. Breast-feeding Center found in Mission Hospital and the sage, seasoned words of Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Breastfeeding (big thanks to my sweet friend Jen for insightfully gifting us with this book at the Nugget Warming) are all aligning to get "peanut sauce" and myself on the right track.

Once I get a bit more sleep (one night this week, Huxley was up from 1:30 a.m.-4:15 a.m and then yesterday I mistakenly drank a full-strength latte-and enjoyed every drop of it, mind you-which kept him awake all day long; he's going through a growth spurt and is feeding like a tiny vampire!), a bit more recovery rest (I have to keep reminding myself that, a mere two weeks ago, the following happened: preeclampsia, induced labor, hemorrhage, and removal of a reproductive organ-sheesh!!!), and a bit more of an established sleep pattern down, I'll get busy with picture-taking and post some images here. I'm typically the sort of person who forgets to take photos anyways (at parties, on my honeymoon, almost all the time...), but I really do want to capture some images of him while he's still wee. That said, I'm cutting myself a HUGE wedge of slack, given all that's gone down recently.

Have a lovely week ahead, everyone!

* Image from here.