Banishedsanni - Poppyglade

[banishedsanni]

Prolog

What I particularly like about the Village blogs in this forum is that the villages and bannies presented have a background story and thus appear much more lively. It also allows you to track the development of a village. This is my attempt at a Village blog. We'll see how that develops.

English is not my first language. So if you see any mistakes, please feel free to correct me.

Map



# 57 90 81 55 3
plains without lake,
medium size,
perfect climate,
disasters off,
jack and jill (2 bannies, no food, no tools, no clothing, nothing)

Mods - in load order

Kid's Workshop - Awning Cover, Kid's Workshop - Bushes, Kid's Workshop - Deco 01, Kid's Workshop - Groundcover, Kid's Workshop - Playground, Moroccan Housing, Kid's Workshop - Dung & Hay, Kid - House Boat, Jinxie - Natural Decorations, Jinxie - Bitty Walls And Fences, EB Large Village Beach Resort, EB Resort Deco Addon, Jinxie - Bitty Pasta, Mushroom Fix, Kid - Bakery & Garden Alt - EB Orcard Ever Living Trees Override, Jinxie - Festival Park, Kid - Portable Mine, Kid's Workshop - Happy Square, Decorative plants everything seasonal, South African Miscellaneous, DS Oil Mill, Iron is Iron, BL no Smoke, MegaMod 8.01 Part 1 2 3, quiet CC, Busy Pastures, Months, Settlers Deco, NoWind, SeasonalFX, one year is one year 10.7

Banishedsanni presents:
Poppyglade

Introduction

My name is Kamilan and i grew up in the little village of Glaster, at the west coast of Greyland. My father is a trader, he owns the small trading post in the likewise small port of Glaster. The village is nothing special, but it is big enough for its own port. As insignificant as it may be. There are not many ships moored here and most are only on a short passage. But my family can live well on my father's income. My father's best friend owns the tavern and i am promised to his son Maric, since i can remember.

It was Maric himself who dragged me to his father's tavern on a mild spring evening, where a young man, Norwoodie, who arrived here on one of the last ships, delighted the whole village with his singing and his guitar. It was love at first sight, for both of us. The exchange of tenderness between me and Norwoodie met with displeasure from my and Maric's father. After all, I was going to be 16 soon and thus marriageable. And since I was promised to Maric ...

Three days before my 16th birthday my father tried to talk to me. All of this would not only be about the friendship between my and Maric's family, but also about the fusion of two families that may be insignificant in Greyland, but quite influential within the region of Glaster. Since I was completely stubborn, my father gave me house arrest and threatened to drag me to the registry office if necessary. No word, no message from Norwoodie in the following days. With each passing day my mood got darker and I lost more and more hope to see Norwoodie ever again. The nature seemed to sympathise with my mood, because the sky grew darker with each passing day. A storm seemed to be gathering. 

And then, the night before my wedding with Maric, there was a soft knock on my window. Norwoodie! He had climbed the house wall unnoticed and I opened the window to let him in. He put a bag in my hand and asked me to quickly pack the essentials so that we could escape together. We actually made it climbing down the wall of the house unnoticed. Norwoodie took my hand and hurriedly pulled me into the darkness of the forest. I didn't care where we went as long as I was with him. After what felt like an eternity that we had spurted through the forest, we stumbled out of the forest directly onto the shore of the sea. A small boat with two paddles lay here in the sand. Norwoodie saw my doubtful look. With a nutshell over the sea? But he assured me that we would always stay close to the shore. He would rather have ridden away on horseback with me, but my father would have made sure that Norwoodie could only leave by ship.

So we let the boat out. I sat on one side, our two bags clinging to me, while Norwoodie sat on the other side of the nutshell and paddled. It seemed to work quite well for a while, but soon the wind picked up, it got stormy and Norwoodie had his hands full to keep us close to the shore. Just when we decided to give up the boat and rather walk, the current caught us with all its might and drove us out to the open sea. The storm soon became so violent that the paddles were completely useless and we had no choice but to cling to each other and the boat. Then a huge wave caught us and plunged everything into the dark.

[banishedsanni]

First entry in the first March

We woke up when the boat crashed into some sharp rocks on the bank and the bow broke. As a result of the impact, the boat was wedged into the rocks and no longer drifted with the current. Coughing and snorting, we took the opportunity to stumble ashore. I was hungry, soaked, and exhausted. As we caught our breath, we looked around. Somehow the storm blew us away from the open sea into a river, on whoms the banks of we in the end ran aground. Dense wild forest dominated both sides of the river. Norwoodie and I found ourselves in a small glade overgrown with blue poppies. I looked at the bag in my right hand. It was norwoodies. I must have lost my own bag during the storm. Norwoodie's pocket was empty except for a drenched book, a pen and a pocket tinderbox with firesteel and flint. The rest of the contents fell victim to the storm. And that was all we had with us.

After we calmed down a bit in view of the terrible situation in which we found ourselves, I hung the book to dry over a branch in the sun and together we went looking for something edible. Fortunately, the local vegetation was similar to that of my home and we quickly had some berries and mushrooms together. Since the tinderbox fortunately was not lost, we quickly started a small fire to warm ourselves, dry our clothes and roast the mushrooms. Since we were too exhausted to take care of anything else and the night was slowly began, we snuggled up to each other and soon fell asleep.

I spent the next day collecting wood, edible, and anything else useful, while Norwoodie, hoping to find a settlement nearby, explored the area as widely as possible (despite my protest, because I didn't want to stay alone in the poppy glade). He came back just before nightfall. He hadn't been able to find any indication of a nearby settlement. It seemed like we were actually completely alone in the middle of a large, vast wilderness.

In addition to looking for food, we spent the next few days building usable tools from finds from the forest (bones, pointed stones, etc.) and a small shelter. If time allowed, I took the book and pen and wrote down my thoughts.

First April

About a month has passed since we were stranded in the poppy glade. During this time, we made our provisional shelter a bit more comfortable  (mainly by disassembling the remains of the boat), created a certain supply of firewood and improved our equipment. Again and again we take trips into the wilderness to maybe find signs of civilization. After I had insisted very strongly that Norwoodie would not leave me alone in the glade all day (he insisted that I be safe here and that he was afraid something might happen to me on the way), we are now going on these trips together.

Even if we have not yet found anything on our hikes that indicates the presence of other people, we were still able to find further locations of edible berries, mushrooms and other plants. Our surroundings also seem to be rich in animals, but since neither Norwoodie nor I had ever hunted and we didn't have any real hunting tools, we didn't bother. Fish was much easier to get anyway. The rocks on which our boat is battered are very jagged. Fish regularly get stuck in the narrow, pointed spaces and then you can simply remove them by hand. Quite paradisiacal conditions actually.

 

First May

We both agree that we are actually completely alone here. So we decided to build a raft or boat to go further down the river and encounter new areas and possibly other people. Since a trip across the river also means that we cannot always go looking for food, we have to take enough supplies with us. Since a trip across the river also means that we cannot always go looking for food, we have to take enough supplies with us. We plan about a month to build the raft and collect and prepare supplies.

First June

I'm pretty sure I'm pregnant. Although I assured Norwoodie that I can definitely take the raft trip (after all, there is no sign of a baby bump yet), he refuses to continue,  for fear that I might lose the child in the exertion. Instead, he is fervently concentrated on building a reasonable little hut as a substitute for our shelter. I do not know whether I should be happy or unhappy about the current developments.

[banishedsanni]

First July

Norwoodie is working like mad. But since he forbade me the smallest extent of "harder" physical work and and all that is left for me, is collect food and cook, he only progresses slowly. I can't decide whether to be touched or annoyed by his care and concern.

First August

Now that the hut has a full roof, we moved there from the shelter. There is still a lot to be done to complete the hut, but for now, Norwoodie is concentrating on building a real bed. For that I collect reeds that grow everywhere on the bank of the river.

 

First September

Since yesterday we have a functioning stove for cooking and heating in our hut. I'm really proud of Norwoodie. The stove makes my job a lot easier and that we can now heat properly makes me happy in view of the coming winter.

First October

I'm a little afraid of winter. So far, the environmental conditions have been almost paradisiacal. But what if the winter becomes unexpectedly hard and long? And if I calculated correctly, our child should be born in January, the deepest winter. What if we need help, what if ... something goes wrong? Despite all the disagreements and the argument, I really wish my mother was here now.

I will simply stock up as much as I can. Since this is all I can do, anyway.

First December

Contrary to my expectations, this winter seems to be ridiculously mild. That makes me confident. At the moment there is not much to do for me. Now in winter, however mild it may be, not much grows and because of my baby bump I can't move very well anyway, so we mainly live on our supplies.
Norwoodie doesn't have much to do either. It hasn't snowed so far, but it rained a lot. All the wood is wet and you can't work well with it. Therefore, he often plays the flute that he has built from reeds. We also don't have any clothing that is suitable for the current weather. We still don't have to wear more than what we were wearing on the day we were stranded. I think that on our exploration tours I came across flax, which can theoretically be used to make fibers for clothing. However, neither norwoodie nor I have any idea of such things. Should I come across flax again in the coming warm season, I should really take a closer look at it. Our clothes now look very ragged, offer little protection and our child will also need something to wear. Our child ... Its nearly time.

[angainor88]

I'm really enjoying the story so far! I'm looking forward to what's in store for Kamilan and Norwoodie

[banishedsanni]

I'm really enjoying the story so far! I'm looking forward to what's in store for Kamilan and Norwoodie

Thanks I have to admit that I underestimated the effort and time it takes. But it is also fun. And as long as someone enjoys it, I'm motivated to keep going.

[banishedsanni]

2. January

Our daughter was born a few hours ago. My two girls are exhausted, but well. Both are sleeping now. Rihann is in her mother's arms. A wonderful sight. - Norwoodie

2. February

Kamilan has recovered and our little one is developing well. At first I was worried that Kamilan would work too much too soon, but Rihann takes up most of her attention. She has no time to do other work. However, she is cooking again, which we are both very happy about, since I am indeed a very good musician, but a mediocre artisan and an even worse cook. - Norwoodie

2. March

We have keept some seeds and spores from the berries and mushrooms collected last year and I try to sow them in the small free area in front of our hut. - Norwoodie

2. April

We need more storage space. Now that I can take on more tasks again (I carry Rihann around with me in a small basket that I had woven from reeds last year), Norwoodie is working on building a small warehouse.

2. May

It seems that the sowing was successful. We'll actually be able to harvest in a few weeks. It remains to be seen how much.

2. June

People! Real people! Yesterday Miliss and Wintonewall stumbled into our glade and were at least as suprised to see other people as we were. Both looked completely exhausted and emaciated. Their clothes, which once seemed to be of high quality and expensive, are completely worn out and dirty. The two are a few years older than us and have been married for a few years. Wintonewall is the son of a wealthy owner of a textile factory and Miliss comes from a rich family of merchants. The pair were on their way to an old merchant friend of Miliss's father to negotiate contracts to purchase textiles from Wintonewall's mother's factory when a violent storm hit the ship and the two went overboard. The both were clinging to a piece of driftwood, as the storm finally washed them up into this area. They had been out for about two weeks and had almost given up hope of survival. After they ate something and listened to our story, Miliss and Wintonewall quickly fell asleep on the improvised bed of reeds and moss, which we spontaneously set up in a corner of our little hut.

At breakfast the next morning, Wintonewall suggested continuing Norwoodies and my actual plan and using a raft and some supplies along the river to search for a larger area for signs of civilization. But since we have just enough supplies for three people and it will hardly be possible to increase the supplies for five people until the end of the warm season (Wintonewall could hardly plan to travel across the river in the harsh seasons of autumn and winter), we all had to realize in the end that the two had to stay here for the time being.
I have to admit that I'm really happy for the companionship. Of course I love Norwoodie, but it's nice to talk to other people too.
On the same day, the two men set about building a hut for Miliss and Wintonewall. The actually planned small warehouse will probably have to wait; or converted into a home. Since they work together on the construction, the hut should be built quickly. At least I hope so. Our home is not built for four adults and one baby. As happy as I am about the new companionship, the current situation forces us to be closer to each other than everyone would like to.
Meanwhile, Miliss helps me with food gathering, gardening in front of the house and with housework.

2. July

June was a very busy month full of work. Miliss and Wintonewall have been living in their own hut for a few days and I finally have my beloved man and daughter all to myself again.
This morning, Miliss and I had spent tying up most of the freshly harvested mushrooms on willow bark strings (like many small mushroom garlands) and hanging them to dry. Our berries were also ready for harvest. The berries, that we did not immediately fill our belly with, ended up in our baskets. Later we wanted to prepare them for drying. However, since it is always too hot to work at noontime at this time of the year, we put the berries in the shade of the canopy of our hut and in the protection of the forest we looked for other edible or otherwise usable things.
We stopped at a small stream. While Miliss was washing her face with the cool clear water, I placed the basket, in which Rihann slept peacefully, into the soft grass and sat next to it. Miliss took a seat on the other side of the stream and for a pleasant while nobody said a thing. We just enjoyed.
When I let my gaze wander over the beautiful scenery, I noticed a plant a little further back that I had seen here in the forest many times and with which I actually wanted to have been busy for a long time. Flax. And then I thought that maybe Wintonewall, as son of a textile manufacturer, might know how to make fibers respectively clothing from it. When I asked Miliss she meant, the production of fibers in a factory was different from the primitive methods and means that are available to us. She wasn't sure if his knowledge was applicable here. Full of Hope I took some Flax with me nonetheless.

In fact, at dinner it turned out that Winstonewall would be able to make fibers from the collected flax. To do this, however, some tools and objects would still have to be manufactured. However, the construction of our warehouse was more important at the moment. Since the flax would have to lay in the dew for a few weeks anyway, there would still be time anyway. So in the following days Miliss and I collected as much flax as we could find, tied it up in bundles and set it aside for some time.

     

[banishedsanni]

2. September

The warehouse is finally finished and we can make some space in our huts. While the men are building everything we need for the production of flax fibers in the next few days, Miliss and I are preparing our stored flax for further processing, by what we carefully roast it over fire, according to Winstonewall's instructions.
Miliss is pregnant. As she is already in the 4th month according to her calculations and nothing happened between the two during the strenuous journey after the ship accident up to the arrival at our poppy glade, it must still have happened on the ship.
Winstonewall is as happy as unhappy. The two had been trying to have children for a while. And now of all times, in this situation ... To Miliss displeasure, her husband still wants to explore the area with the raft. Winstonewall promised to wait until the child was born and assure himself that she and the child will be well, before leaving. He was sure that Miliss was in good, safe hands with us and he was planning to return as soon as he could.

2. October

There are certainly nicer pieces, but I still enjoy the feeling of new clothes. Winstonewall and Miless, who are actually used to high luxury, also seem happy to finally be rid of their worn clothes. For me, not only is the new clothing a blessing, but also the newly gained access to diapers ... Since Winstonewall is still planning to explore the area with a raft across the river, I let him explain every single step of textile production from flax to me.
October was a very rainy and stormy month and so the men didn't really get on well with building the raft. Rihann can already sit upright by herself and puts everything in her mouth that she can grasp. On the wet, stormy days, when we didn't leave our hut anyway, Norwoodie carved a toy for Rihann to chew on. It is a small boat with two people sitting in it who remind me a lot of Norwoodie and me. On the more pleasant days, the men continue to build the raft, while Miliss (as best she can) and I prepare everything behind the huts for a larger field for growing berries and mushrooms in the comming year.

 

2. November

Rain, rain, rain ... Another very mild winter seems to await us. Norwoodie believes its the mountains surrounding us, that protect us from harsh weather and what makes this place (whereever we are) so paradisical.

2. December

Norwoodie almost dropped the spoon he was feeding Rihann with when I told him, that I was expecting another child. It wasn't until Rihann started whining and grouching, that he moved the spoon towards her again. Then he smiled and tenderly stroked my still flat belly, forgetting Rihann once more until she whined again and tried to grasp the spoon with her little hands.

3. February

Miliss gave birth to a boy, Dandro. Both are fine and Winstonewall is overjoyed. I think Norwoodie is very happy that he didn't have to help with this birth. Rihann's birth in the deepest winter and without either of us having any idea what to do (having children is much easier and more fun) was a minor trauma, especially for Norwoodie. Presumably, women are inherently better at dealing with it ... or better displacing it.

3. March

While I get more and more rounded in the coming weeks and months and therefore less mobile, Rihann seems to be slowly find out, how to walk on two legs. She is discovering a whole new world for herself and I have to be careful that my daughter does not get lost in the woods.
Since the men were very hardworking last year, so hardworking that they didn't just build a raft, but actually built a small boat, and Miliss and Dandro are doing well, Winstonewall plans to leave us in April when the weather is warm enough. I know from Miliss that she is not particularly happy about it and still hopes that he would change his mind.
Otherwise, the only obstacle to his departure is the weather. The boat and supplies are prepared. While we wait for better weather, the men till the field that Miliss and I prepared in October while taking care of the household and children. I also try to weave new clothes for Rihann, but my darling is growing almost faster than I can weave.

 

   

3. April

Yesterday Winstonewall actually left by boat. You could see that for a moment he had considerable doubts about his plans when he said goodbye to wife and child. Miliss stood on the shore for a while, watching the boat get smaller and smaller in the distance. I took the basket, in which Dandro slept peacefully, from her hand and went back to the hut with my family to give her a little moment on her own.

We all hope it was no the last time we saw him.

 

[banishedsanni]

3. May

It arrives in three days, it stays three days and disappears in three days. My mother called this the nine-day-rule of colds. I also know from her that there is not much you can do about a cold. There are some simple ways to relieve the cough, but otherwise only bed rest and plenty of drinking tea and water helps. When I was in bed with a cold and cough as a child, my mom always gave me a cough syrup that she made from honey and ribwort tea.
I loved this syrup. It tasted very good and it helped very well. And I liked the intense attention that my mom always gave me during these times. I really miss her.

Anyway. Norwoodie had caught a cold last week. For Rihanns and my protection (I would give birth in less than a month), he and Miliss insisted that I would sleep with our daughter in Miliss' hut until Norwoodie's recovery. I supplied Norwoodie with ribwort tea to relieve his cough. It helped, but only a little. I suspect that the honey in my mother's syrup wasn't just for making that medicine tasty to me as a child. There is probably something in honey that, like ribwort, helps relieving cough. But unfortunately we don't have honey. My Norwoodie is strong and he will survive a mild cold, I am sure of that. I would like to give him more care, but he won't let me. My sweetheart is very protective when it comes to his family.
However, I'm worried. What if our Rihan or our second child get sick in the future? Of course we have some plants and herbs in stock. But just because Norwoodie, an adult healthy man, will get through this cold and cough well, doesn't mean that our kids do it that easily. Getting honey is not going to be easy, but we should really try. When Norwoodie recovered and we finally had normal sleep conditions again, I suggested my idea. Norwoodie basically agreed with me, but also indicated that you couldn't just open a beehive like that.

When Norwoodie recovered and we finally had normal sleep conditions again, I suggested my idea. Norwoodie agreed and suggested that Miliss and I should make some kind of protective clothing for him that was thick enough to protect him from bee stings. So he could chase away the bees with smoke and try to take out some honey. Miliss noted that honey must be spin before use. So a honey extractor also had to be built. Since it will take some time to manufacture protective clothing and a honey extractor, we will not be able to get honey before our second child is born. Nor would Norwoodie want to leave me alone so early after giving birth to take on such a dangerous task. So I will have to be patient some more.

3. June

Our son was born last night. We named him Since. When it became clear that the birth would take place that night, I took our little Ri over to Miliss so I could take care of my love. Since this was not Kamilan's first birth, since I have helped with the last one and since  I knew that I could also ask Miliss for help in an emergency, this birth was much easier for both of us. Everyone is fine and I am very happy. - Norwoodie

3. July

Kamilan has recovered well and since is doing well too. I don't think Rihann really understood that we have a new roommate, what that little bundle in her mother's arms is. But I'm sure she'll be a great big sister.
The women finished my protective clothing at the end of this month. While Kamilan was recovering from childbirth, Miliss was working obsessively on my protective clothing. I think she misses Winstonewall a lot. He hasn't returned for the fourth month now and she tries to stifle her worry, her fear, her loneliness at work. With each additional day our hope fades that he will return alive. I'm sorry for her.

Protected by my special clothes and armed with some utensils to generate as much smoke as possible, yesterday I made my way to a beehive that I had discovered during one of my explorations in the past few days. It was in a tree hole of an old, overturned tree. So not too high. In the end everything went well. Only two bees got me through the protective clothing. I made sure not to take too much honey out, so that we might be able to harvest some next year again. In any case, we can now produce ribwort honey syrup. And maybe eat something else for breakfast. - Norwoodie

 

[banishedsanni]

3. August

It was a pleasantly warm day. Lunch was ready and Miliss and I unhurried set the table. Since lay in his basket and cheerfully kicked his little feet. Rihann was sitting next to him in the grass, her head resting on the edge of the basket and chatting blithesome on her brother. Norwoodie was behind the warehouse, trying to build a wooden beehive that was as inviting as possible. With luck, we would have our own bee colony next year.
Suddenly we heard Norwoodie calling out and then ... another male voice. While I was frowning in wonder, Miliss had already run screaming behind the warehouse. Dandro, who in his basket had quietly sucked on his puppet that his mother had made for him, was so startled by his mother's cry that he started to whimper. Rihann looked at Miliss, startled, and then looked at me. Since stopped kicking his feet. All four, we listened to the distant voices. When Dandro's whimpering turned to crying, I took him out of his basket into my arms and talked comfortingly to all the children. I took Since's basket in my other hand and Rihann lumbered excitedly after me.

Behind the warehouse was a pretty exhausted and hurt-looking Winstonewall, hugged and kissed by his crying wife. Noorwoodie came up to me excitedly and smiling and took the basket in which our son lay from my hand. Winstonewall, who seemed to be at his wifes mercy, tried to push her a little away from him. He took her head in his hands, kissed her and asked about Dandro. She turned around, startled, when she realized that she had run away without thinking about her son. I smiled understandingly at her and gestured to the child in my arms. Winstonewall started to take Dandro from me, but I suggested that he wash himself first and let Miliss treat him. He looked really bad. I could understand that after so long he wanted to hold his son in his arms. He looked disappointed, but he understood.

   

About two hours later we sat together for a late lunch. The children had been given food beforehand and lay in our hut for their midday sleep. Winstonewall still looked battered, but not as dirty. While he greedily ate everything he could get hold of, he told us about his trip. After about a day of boating along the river (wind and current drove him fairly quickly) during which Winstonewall found nothing but wilderness, he steered the boat ashore. There he explored the area more closely for about two days, but found nothing. So the next few weeks went on. Winstonewall spent two days on the water, two days on land, two days on water and so on ...

His trip ended after a few weeks when the river between the mountains emptied into the sea. Winstonewall brought the boat ashore and climbed one of the mountains to get an overview of the region from an elevated position. It took almost a whole day to reach the summit. But it was worth it, because from here you could really see the entire region. According to Winstonewall, we are in a huge valley surrounded by mountains in the middle of the sea and apart from our small settlement, there are no additional signs of other people. With this knowledge, Winstonewall wanted to go back to us. Since he could not go upriver with the boat due to the strong current, he left the boat and walked back along the shore. On a rainy day, when he was halfway there, he slipped on that wet surface and fell unhappily. He lost some supplies and injured his leg. In this condition, it took him almost a month and a half to get back to us.

So we have to finally come to terms with the fact that we are completely on our own here. A hard blow for all of us. I think we have to make the best of this situation. After all, we are here in the company of our loved ones and we have achieved a lot in the past three years!

And with a little luck, more storms or other strange circumstances may bring even more people here. I firmly believe in it.

* I guess this slows down the game till i found another way to make people appear in poppyglade without the need of a storm. I mean ... I can't let appear everyone by a Storm.
But I already have a vague idea ...

[banishedsanni]

3. September

We brought in the harvest in August. Since Winstonewall can now help again, work goes better. He spends every free minute with Dandro as if he wants to make up for the time he wasn't there. Miliss finally smiles again.
Since we will stay here permanently, the men decided that our huts should give way to real houses in the long run. (What a pleasant thought!) But for that we would first need sensible tools. Therefore, the men first plan to build a furnace that can become hot enough to produce iron or iron tools. Some time ago Norwoodie had found a larger iron deposit near our clearing. As every year, while our men were busy with the hard physical work, we women take care of preserving the collected and harvested food, clothing, the household, the children.

3. Oktober

After many attempts at the right construction, the men have finally been able to build a blast furnace and are now working on the right technology for producing iron.
Since the book with which Norwoodie and I were stranded back then has only a few pages left and I would like to continue my reports, Miliss and I have been working on the production of paper for a while. Winstonewall had once said that his family sold remnants and wastage to a large paper manufacturer. As a young man he had once visited the owner of this factory, a long-standing trading partner of his family, with his father. Unfortunately, the insight he gained in paper production on this visit is only slight. However, at the end of the month, Miliss and I succeeded in producing a first rough paper based on Winstonewalls experience. This is not yet suitable for writing my reports, but a good place to start.

Else the autumn of the third year was pleasantly warm and mild. There were many evenings where we sat, ate, talked and made music at the table in front of our hut until late at night. In short, we enjoyed life.

 

4. February

Winter, like the last few years, was very mild. Since the children are getting bigger and the completion of the houses will certainly take some time, we have moved the majority of our kitchens from the huts to the outdoors. Since our two families take almost every meal together anyway and Miliss and I almost always cook together, we now have a covered communal kitchen. This finally gives Rihann and Since their own beds.

4. March

Since the winter has always been mild and we have been very busy, our warehouse is overflowing. We therefore decided to build another one. Even before the harvest, we already have enough supplies to easily get through the coming winter. That is why we decided to only add the most necessary this year to put more time and energy into other projects, such as building the houses.

   

4. April

Bees have actually settled in the beehive built by Norwoodie aside the warehouse!

4. May

Miliss and I made the first paper that was suitable for writing my reports. Just in time, because the book has only a few blank pages.

[banishedsanni]

4. June

Yesterday Norwoodie burned his hand while working on the blast furnace. The injury is half as bad and will only hinder him from working for about a week. I remember my mother always rubbing lavender oil on the affected areas when I burned myself at the stove again. This happened quite often, because I always wanted to help her with zeal in the kitchen as a child. But does lavender grow here at all? I haven't seen one yet, but I haven't really paid attention to it. I will keep my eyes open for the next few days.

4. July

Despite numerous trips to the surrounding forests, it took me almost a month to find a very small amount of lavender. I only took off a few small shoots and will try to grow new plants from these seedlings.
This month we harvested our own honey for the first time.

4. August

The lavender seedlings actually seem to have taken root. With luck, we will have a sufficient amount of lavender next year. However, that would pose new challenges for us. We lack the knowledge to produce high-quality lavender oil via steam distillation. However, the ingredients of lavender can also be produced by extracting them in oil. For that, we would first have to produce oil. Flax would be suitable for this. But in order to produce oil from flax, a small oil press would first have to be built.
When I shared my considerations over dinner, I was sure that I would not be met with much enthusiasm because building an oil press would delay building our houses.
However, the men had recently burned themselves more often while working on the furnance and were therefore very willing to put time and effort into alleviating their symptoms.
I think we should also start growing flax ourselves instead of collecting it, as our need for textiles increases even without oil production.

4. October

The oil press is ready and is just waiting to be used next year.
The harvest is over and the stores are full. The men use the last really warm days of the year to dig clay and saw boards for the construction of the houses. Miliss and I try to shape and burn clay. The first attempts were a bit miserable, but we're getting better.

5. Januar

Autumn and winter were terribly wet and stormy. Once, the storm was so bad that I feared it would tear down our hut. Thats why most of our work came to stand still. The first thing the men wanted to build in spring was a roof for the saw pit so that they could continue to work at least when it was raining. At the current wind speeds, however, the boards would be torn out of their hands by the storm despite the roof.

5. Februar

The weather finally seems to have calmed down. This month, and probably the next, we'll have our hands full repairing the damage to the storm.

5. March

The repair work is almost complete and it is time to order the fields. In addition to berries and mushrooms, we are also growing oats and flax this year. Fortunately, last year I planted the cuttings of the lavender in a small wooden box filled with soil and took them into our hut over the winter. This enabled me to plant them outdoors undamaged.

5. May

Miliss is pregnant again. According to her calculations, the birth should take place in October.

5. June

We started harvesting the flax and will initially concentrate on the production of linseed oil, because the lavender will be ready next month. We fill the linseed oil into clay bottles, which we burned before the storms last October.

5. July

A rich lavender harvest! We filled about three clay bottles with plenty of lavender and then poured oil over them. Then we sealed the lids with beeswax. Now it's time to wait. The remains of oil and lavender can be used wonderfully in the kitchen.

5. October

This morning Miliss and Winstonewall became the proud parents of a little healthy girl. Her name is Lessandria.

     

[banishedsanni]

5. November

Yesterday Rihann burned his hand on the stove. The burn is not bad, this experience is part of life and in a few days the pain will be forgotten. Since our lavender had been in the oil for a few months, I wanted to open one of the clay bottles and rub Rihann's injury with it to give my darling some relief. Unfortunately, I found that the content was completely rancid. So I also opened the other two bottles. Rancid. Norwoodie believes it was the fresh lavender that made the oil go rancid and suggests that the lavender be dried next year before we put it in. I have to admit that I'm a little disappointed and frustrated. The whole thing had cost us time and effort and was also a reason why the houses weren't finished this year. And now everything was in vain!
Well. New Year New luck!

6. February

It will soon be warmer again. This year will be a strenous one. The houses will definitely be finished this year. Then all of our belongings have to be transported from the huts to our new home. I would like to create an area for herbs and medicinal plants in our garden and Miliss would like an area for eating and partying together. At the same time, of course, the fields have to be ordered, the linseed oil pressed and the household done. And just because the houses are basically finished, the work is not yet completely finished and with the new tools and materials, better furniture can be made ... A lot of work is waiting for us!

6. April

We finally moved yesterday. Each family has its own living area, but instead of two kitchens, we have set up a large kitchen that connects the two houses. We also plan to keep our outdoor kitchen but move it to the new garden.

 

6. May

I am pregnant again! It's a good thing that we now have more than enough space for another child.

6. July

The men have built a large shed for tools and equipment in the garden next to the clotheslines and behind the outdoor kitchen. My herb garden is finally finished and blooming in all its glory. This year we hung the fresh lavender to dry after the harvest.

 

6. August

Now that the lavender has dried sufficiently, we have prepared new lavender oil today. I'm really curious for the result!

6. November

What an exhausting year. I hadn't even time for writing in the past few months. Winter is finally approaching, it is getting cold, rainy, windy and therefor we are forced to work less. While I cradle Reathalia in my arms (she was born in October), Norwoodie and Winstonewall play with Rihann, Since, Dandro and Lessandria on the floor with various wooden figures and dolls. Miliss is in the kitchen preparing tea for all of us. This way we all will enjoy winter in spite of the cold.

[banishedsanni]

7. January

Our little Rihann is already five years old. It's hard to believe how time flies! She is so curious and open-minded and whenever there is an opportunity, with greatest pleasure she want's to help me or the other adults . I always encourage Rihann to do this, because I think she learns a lot from it. I also want to start next year by slowly introducing them to the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic.

7. February

This year it was Dandro who burned his hand on the stove. So we took a look at the clay bottles with the lavender oil. In fact, fresh lavender seems to have been the reason why the oil went rancid last year. This time I was actually able to use the oil. An oil obtained by steam distillation would be much more effective, but our oil should also help.

7. March

Once again we are reaching the limits of our storage capacity. We have therefore decided to only grow a little this year and to use up older stocks first. We really have more than enough at the moment. We plan to generally restructure our settlement. For this we want to move the fields and the smithy and build a new warehouse.

7. May

Spring was unusually hot and dry. It hardly rained at all, which is not good for field cultivation at all. The night Miliss gave birth to her daughter Thomasa, it suddenly started to rain wildly. Since then it has been raining almost continuously.

7. September

We have not really made good progress. It rained all summer. I have never experienced so much rain in the warm season. As a result, the level of the river rose ominously and our harvest was more than pitiful. It's a good thing we have so many stocks! The new warehouse will probably be ready this month, but we are far behind what we actually wanted to have done.

 

7. December

It stayed rainy until the end of October, when the rain suddenly stopped and it hasn't rained since. This winter seems to be very dry and mild. A strange year.

8. January

Since I explained to Rihann a few weeks ago that we wanted to teach her to read, write and do arithmetic, she has been very excited and cannot wait. Yesterday it was finally time. For her 6th birthday we gave her a book with blank pages, which Miliss and I had specially made, and a special charcoal pencil, which the men made from a particularly good piece of charcoal and provided with a paper sleeve, so that Rihann would not get her fingers dirty when writing. My darling was so proud and happy that she was now the "big one". None of the other children let her touch her presents. Just looking at! Not least because of these gifts, Rihann wanted to learn to write first.

8. Februar

We are planning to build the new smithy somewhat away from our settlement to minimize the risk of fire. The proximity of the old smithy to our huts had always worried me a little.

8. April

Together with the children, we have created a small field next to the saw pit and want to grow sunflowers there. Winstonewall built a small tool shed and Norwoodie made a few small garden tools. Our small gardener team should largely take care of this field alone. We want to keep the children busy with this small project and hope that they will learn a lot from it.

8. Juli

The smithy is finished. But unfortunately we hardly have any iron left. The next iron deposits are very far from our glade, according to Norwoodie. Mining it would be costly, because we don't even have cattle that we could harness in front of a cart for easy transport. However, I fear that we will soon have no other choice unless we want to work with primitive tools again.

 

8. August

Today we all harvested the children's sunflowers together. We'll leave the seeds that the children and we didn't eat immediately (I love fresh sunflower seeds) for a while and then roast them with honey in the pan. This way they stay durable and tasty.

8. Oktober

Now that the harvest has been brought in and has been preserved, the men want to work on two light but sturdy handcarts over the winter so that they can actually leave us for a week or two next year to mine iron. I don't like it, but we really need the iron.

8. December

Cough, runny nose, hoarseness. It hit us this winter. Everyone except the children, who seem to be in excellent health. But I prefer it that way than if I have to worry about one of my Sweethearts. We take turns. Every few hours one of us four adults looks after the children while the others try to sleep themselfs healthy. As all four of us are affected, our ribwort honey will soon run out and we urgently need to make new one in the new year.

9. Januar

We have all recovered. Since and Dandro are now officially among the big ones and take part in the lessons.

9. Mai

We actually wanted to fence in the fields this year to protect them against wildlife. However, since we have so little iron as I said and this is needed for nails and fittings, we are postponing this work for the time being.
Instead, Miliss and I diligently collected elderflower with the children and processed it with honey into delicious syrup. For Norwoodie I also baked some flowers with flour in hot oil. He loves that.

9. Juni

We said goodbye to Norwoodie and Winstonewall this morning. With two handcarts, two tents and enough supplies for a whole month (although of course I hope they won't need that long), they left us.

   

English is not my first language. So if you see any mistakes or nonsense, please feel free to correct me.

[banishedsanni]

9. July

While the men where gone, Miliss and I moved the flax station near the smithy and prepared the oil press to be moved. I want to move the beehive too but we should wait for winter, when all the bees are peacefully inside their hive.
About one month had past, when we were on the fields together with the kids, harvesting blueberries. No one said anything for a while. Miliss and I enjoyed the sound of the wind blowing gently through the bushes and which felt pleasantly cool against the skin in this summer heat, as well as the quiet smacking of the children who ate the blueberries rather than harvesting them.
Suddenly all the children yelled almost simultaneously. When Miliss and I looked up, startled, the children were already running in the direction of the forest into the arms of their fathers.
After we greeted Norwoodie and Winstonewall happily, we examined their yield. Both carts were full of iron ore that should last us for 1-2 years. According to the men, the deposit has not yet been exhausted, but the carts were full and they no longer wanted to stay there but rather return to their families.

     

9. August

Now that our iron stocks have been replenished for the time being, the men are preparing everything for fencing the fields, while we women and the children preserve the harvest for the winter.

9. December

In fact, most of the work stops in winter every year. But ... I met Norwoodie as a musician, but when we were stranded in the poppy glade at the time, his guitar was also lost. The year we ran aground here, Norwoodie had built a small flute out of reed. And in all those long warm summer nights outside in front of the huts or ,since recently, in the back garden, in which we were eating, drinking and laughing, he would sometimes play a few songs on it. To the great delight of the children, who all wanted to try playing the flute. So last month, Norwoodie had built six small flutes from the dried stems of the sunflowers. Which we should regret. For days it sounded shrill and loud through the houses, which cost us a lot of nerves. I dreamed to burn all the flutes... Ultimately, we all agreed that Norwoodie would give flute lessons for about two hours a day in winter and that the flutes should only be played at this time. Two hours a day that Miliss, Winstonewall and I wanted to be everywhere except in the house. So we looked for work outside and hoped that the children would soon learn to hit the notes correctly.

[banishedsanni]

10. March

It's time to start crop the fields again. The children also prepare everything for their sunflowers.

10. May

The day was too good to work. So after breakfast we all went down to the river to see if there was a fish lost among the rocks and to cast the fishing rods. Miliss and I sat down in the soft green grass, enjoying the warmth of the sun on our faces and listening to the rustling of the trees and bushes in the gentle wind, that was only drowned out by the excited chatter of the children, which would fish with their own rods for the first time, and their fathers, which just attached a worm as bait to each fishing rod. For a while we enjoyed this moment of bliss.

Thomasa was the first to discover it. She dropped her fishing rod, which luckily fell on the jetty and not in the water, and excitedly pointed into the distance at the river. I could hardly believe it. There was a boat in the water! A man was sitting in it, he wore a straw hat on his head and rowed in our direction. We drew attention to us by waving and yelling. When he noticed us, he seemed as surprised by our presence as we by his. He finally accelerated his rowing and landed on our jetty. Miliss and I collected all the fishing rods while the men helped our visitor, under the prying eyes of the children, to tie up the boat. As it was almost time for lunch anyway, we went back to our houses with our guest and listened to his story in the garden over lunch.

His name is Nettel. He comes from Wyndmoorcross. A big city known for its onions. My mother always preferred to buy Wyndmoorcross onions. Nettel's father was an adventurer as a young man. He grew up in the orphanage and kept himself afloat with small jobs and lived alone on a houseboat. Not because he hadn't find anything better, but because he enjoyed life in his own way - the freedom to be bound by nothing and nobody. He often sailed the open sea with his boat and enjoyed the wildness of nature. During one of these excursions, he found the island we are on. Somewhere, out in the sea, surrounded by huge mountains is this little paradise, which we now call our home. Nettel's father followed the river into the interior of the island and found the poppy glade. He kept his discovery to himself and soon returned to Wyndmoorcross, but returned at regular intervals to enjoy the pristine purity of nature here. When he met Nettel's mother, he came to the poppy glade less often, but each time he brought a few blue poppies with for his love. Nettel's mother dried the flowers to keep them forever and soon she had a large bouquet of poppies together. Then when their first child (Nettel) was on the way, his father abandoned his liberal lifestyle and married Nettle's mother. Love, children and work kept him in Wyndmoorcross and he had never returned to the poppy glade since. Meanwhile Nettle and his siblings have grown up, have their own houses, children of their own.
A few weeks ago, a fire broke out in Wyndmoorcross that spread to several houses. Nobody was seriously injured, but many of the houses, including that of his parents, burned down completely. His parents took it with composure and the new house is almost rebuilt. The loss of the dried bouquet of poppies however hit his parents hard. It was a symbol of their love. Since his father is now too old, Nettel decided to come here instead of his father and get poppies for a new dry bouquet. With a map, directions from his father and enough supplies, he set off a few weeks ago and, to his surprise, found people in what was actually untouched nature.

Then it was time to tell our story. Until late at night we sat together in the garden and talked. After breakfast the next day we all together collected poppies, especially the children did so with with greatest enthusiasm of course, until we had enough for a large bouquet. We were looking especially for those whose buds were barely open so that they were not withered by the time of Nettel's arrival and, gently hung, could be dried if they were in their full glory. Since Nettel would not return home until the next morning, we placed the flowers in a vase with fresh water in a cool, shady place in the house. Nettel promised to come back and provide us with goods that we urgently needed. So we made a list. The following morning we said goodbye to Nettel. We watched the boat for a long time as it slowly disappeared into the distance. The children out of curiosity and excitement. But Miliss, Winstonewall, Norwoodie and I spent a long time thinking about Nettel's offer to take us all with a larger ship to Wyndmoorcross first and then home. But ... wasn't this glade our home now? We will have to make a decision ...