Our ladies have had a great egg laying month!! Last month we averaged about a dozen a day (from 22 chickens), and the numbers just keep increasing. I’ve put a fence around the garden so that I can let the chickens out of their gated area to free range in the afternoons without them getting to the seedlings. They are loving it!!
So, with all these eggs, we’ve officially started selling them. I spent a good part of today designing the cartons 🙂
Aren’t they cute?!
Let’s start our morning with some daredevil antics!
Don’t see anything wrong with this?
Let’s look again:
Then off to a sweet farm tour where we enjoyed some fabulous home made jellies and ice cream, and I scored an angora fleece from this guy:
Then we spent the rest of our day enjoying the beautiful spring weather:
(You didn’t know chickens can read, did you? Well, our chickens can!)
What I didn’t get was pictures of the fabulous sand creation that we created! We got a bucket full of sand from the pile in our back yard and Kaia put all kinds of stuff in there. Then we all went dinosaur fossil hunting.  Even Leif was getting into it. At one point, Kaia pulled her hands out of the sand and said, “Hey mom! Coprolites!” I was thrilled that she remembered the word for fossilized dinosaur poop. Then, I looked at what she was holding in her hand and realized that it really was poop!! Turns out the neighbor cat has been using our sand pile as a littler box!! Needless to say, we all stopped playing archaeologists and went inside to scrub off!!! 🙂
Still, it was a fabulous day!
YAY!! I’m so excited!! I can’t wait to have fresh food from the garden. This past weekend, we set up a straw bale cold frame to start our seeds in and seeded kale, lettuce, cabbage, and parsley!  We are using a pane from a glass door as the top.  The greenhouse in our window that we did last year got things sprouted fantastic, but after that, they got tall and scraggly. So, we’ll see how the cold frame does this year.
Kaia has been waiting, and waiting, for this project to happen. She picked out her fabric last month, but we had trouble getting the fins. They finally arrived today, so I had to get right on it!
Behold – Mermaid Kaia!
This was a fairly simple project to do. We got the swim fins from Metro Swim Shop (yes, you read correctly, I said ‘fins’. I got this fin for myself and will make my own tail as soon as I get the fabric. The description says it’s for kids, but it fits up to a women’s size 8 shoe)
First, I had Kaia put on her fin and traced her lower half (from waist down) on a large piece of paper. This gave me the basic shape of her body. When I was tracing the fin part, I had her sit up for that the fin was flat on the floor. The tracing is not the proper measurement of the pattern, it simply give me a shape to go by as I mark in the proper measurements.
Then, I measured Kaia around her waist, hips, thighs, knees, shins, and ankles. I took each of these measurements and divided in two, since you will have 2 sides to your fin. Ex: her waist was 21 so half that is 10.5
On the paper, along the tracing of her body, I marked the measurements in the proper places. Ex: at the waist of the tracing, I measured out 10.5 inches, marking on either side of the tracing, so that the center of the tracing is also the center of the measurements. Do this with all your measurements and then connect the markings. The markings will probably be an inch or two out from the original tracing. Use the tracing as a guide of how to shape the pattern. Does this make sense??
Then, cut your pattern out.
Take your chosen fabric and fold it in half. This way you will cut out both sides at one time.
Lay the pattern on the fabric and pin it down well through both layers of fabric. Make sure there are no wrinkles.
Cut out your fabric.
Take the pattern off and, if they aren’t already, put the right sides together (meaning the sides that will be showing once you are done should now face each other). Pin the fabric together really well so that it doesn’t slip or bunch when you sew it up.
Then sew along the sides leaving the waist open, and one side of the fin open (see finished picture below) I left 1/4 inch seam allowance on the first run and had her try it on. Then Iwent back over the edge with a zig zag stitch to finish it off.
To get the mono fin into the tail, you will need a hole big enough to slip it through. The adult monofins are a little more flexible and might fit through the waist hole and be worked down to the tail. Kaia’s fin is pretty stiff, so we left a hole in the bottom of the tail for the monofin to slide into and then put 4 pearl snaps to close it off. I zigzagged the open edges to prevent any fraying.
At this point I checked to be sure the monofin fit into the opening and had Kaia try it on to be sure it fit well, and figured out where she wanted the waist level to be. It was a little loose in the waist, so I took it in a bit. You could make an elastic waist band, but the fabric Kaia chose hugged her body well once I took it in, and didn’t need any elastic.
With the right sides still facing, fold the waist band down (wrong sides together) to where you want it to be on your body (below the navel, at the navel… etc.) and finish the seam. I did two lines of a wavy stitch to make it look like scales.
Kaia’s really happy with how it turned out and wore it to bed the first night (fins and all). You can see in this picture on the bottom left of her tail, where there are snaps that open up the tail to let the monofin in. You can even see a little of the pink fin sticking out. I want to fix that but Kaia said “no”.
I’ll post pictures once mine is done!
We’ve finally got it all figured out and are happy to announce that we have some of our land for sale! We would love to have some other families out here with us!!
Here’s the schpiel:
10+ wooded acres for sale! We are a homeschooling family of four (6 year old daughter, 1 year old son) attempting to live as sustainably as possible. We have a small homestead with chickens, bees, and a nice big garden. We own 25 acres and would like to sell 10+ (due to county regulations, it can not be any less than 10 acres). The land for sale is rolling to steep, completely wooded and mostly north facing. Don’t let that discourage you, though! There are some beautiful homesites, as well as solar and garden possibilities. We are in Leicester, only 10 miles from downtown Asheville, but it feels very private. It is $7,500 per acre (firm). Let me know if you have any questions.
Blessings!
Mmmmmm, the smell of warm beeswax is so yummy!!
Leif’s view of his new mobile in the warm afternoon sunshine
Here it is! My first official sewing project from my lessons! I’m calling her the “You are a Sassy, Sexy Housewife-Mama, and you Know It!” apron.
And Look! It’s reversible!
Isn’t it cute??!! If you want your own, you can get the pattern from Pretty-Ditty.
While I wasn’t working on the apron, I made some big boy bibs for Leif and a blanket and bibs for a friends new little boy.
I’m having so much fun with this!!
And if you are still interested in an herb trade for sewing supplies, there are lots of herbs left. Just let me know!
Here’s a look at some of the lovely fabric goodness I’ve gotten so far! Do you like my fabric and color-coded piles??
Well, I think the internet might be back up… maybe… it’s slow and keeps going up and down, but maybe they are fixing it.
We’ve been snowed in, without phone and internet since the last snow 5 days ago. Let me tell you… After all the snow and indoor time in the past month, I’m getting to be one cabin fevery chick!!! OY!!!
Well, I did finish a pair for pants for Leif, finally. I started this outfit this past fall, but just got around to the pants. And they are SOOOOO cute!!!
Can you tell he likes them?
I put two little pockets on them, one red and one green, with a little owl on it.
I finally did it! I’m taking sewing lessons! I’ve been wanting to learn how to sew for a long time now. I can do a little on the sewing machine, but I’ve wanted to learn from a professional. Well, as luck would have it, I won a raffle for 7 sewing lessons from a professional seamstress!! I’ve taken two lessons so far and I’m having a blast! I won’t tell you what I’m making yet…. I’ll show you when it’s done!!! Anyway, I’m already planning all the things that will be made… a skirt for Kaia, pants and bibs for Leif, a skirt for me… I love the idea of making clothing for my family. Knitting them is certainly one way to do it, but knitting an outfit take ages. Sewing is instant gratification! So, here’s where the Great Herb Trade comes in. I have over 150 dried herbs in my apothecary… culinary, medicinal, spiritual, you name it (see list below)! But, right now I’m only seeing a few clients and spending most of my days with the kids. I have all these herbs and they are just sitting around. However, I don’t have any sewing goods. I have a sewing machine, and that’s it! So, here’s my proposal: You tell me what herbs you would like and how much and I’ll send them to you! In trade, you send me any fabric, notions, and sewing goodies that you want. You get to build/stock your herbal pantry, maybe even experiment with some that are new to you, and I get to build up my sewing supplies! Nothing wasted, lots gained! How’s that sound? Here is a list of the herbs that I currently have in stock. If you are interested, leave me a comment (and make sure I have your email) and let me know what you’d like!! Yay!! This is going to be fun!!! (oh, and ‘c/s’ means ‘cut and sifted’)
addendum – List edited 2/23/10 to reflect the herbs that are still available-
| Alfalfa c/s |
| alfalfa powder |
| Amalaki powder |
| Angelica root c/s |
| anise seed |
| Artichoke leaf c/s |
| artichoke powder |
| Ashwaganda Powder |
| Astragalus root c/s |
| Beet Leaf Powder |
| Bilberries whole |
| Black Cohosh root c/s |
| Black walnut hull powder |
| Bladderwrack c/s |
| Blue Cohosh root c/s |
| Blue Violet leaf c/s |
| Boneset herb c/s |
| Burdock root c/s |
| Calendula flowers – whole |
| California Poppy leaf c/s |
| Catnip leaf and flower c/s |
| Cayenne powder |
| Chamomile Flowers |
| Chicory rot – roasted |
| Cloves – whole |
| Comfrey Leaf |
| Coleus Forskholii c/s |
| Coltsfoot c/s |
| Copal Resin |
| Cornsilk c/s |
| Cramp bark c/s |
| Damiana leaf c/s |
| Dandelion leaf c/s |
| Dandelion Root c/s |
| Dong Quai c/s |
| Echinacea Purperea root c/s |
| Echinacea purperea root powder |
| Elder berries |
| Elder Flower |
| Elecampane root c/s |
| Eleuthero root c/s |
| Eyebright herb c/s |
| Fenugreek seed – whole |
| Feverfew herb c/s |
| Frankincense tears |
| Ginkgo Leaf |
| Goldenseal root c/s |
| Holy Basil |
| Honeysuckle flower |
| Hops strobiles |
| Horehound herb c/s |
| Horse Chestnut c/s |
| Horsetail herb c/s |
| Hyssop herb c/s |
| Jasmine flowers |
| Juniper berries |
| Ladies Mantle c/s |
| Lavender flower –whole |
| Lemon Balm herb c/s |
| Lemon peel c/s |
| Lemongrass leaf c/s |
| Licorice root c/s |
| Licorice root powder |
| Lobelia herb c/s |
| Maca Powder |
| Malva (Mallow) flowers |
| Marshmallow root c/s |
| Marshmallow root powder |
| Meadowsweet herb c/s |
| Milk Thistle |
| Milky Oat tops |
| Mugwort leaf c/s |
| Mullein leaf c/s |
| Mustard powder |
| Nettle leaf c/s |
| Nettle root c/s |
| Nettle seed |
| Oatstraw c/s |
| Oregon Grape root c/s |
| Oregon Grape root powder |
| Osha root powder |
| Partridgeberry herb c/s |
| Passionflower leaf c/s |
| Paw d’Arco root c/s |
| Peach Leaf c/s |
| Pepper – Black Malabar |
| Peppermint leaf c/s |
| Plantain leaf c/s |
| Prickly Ash bark c/s |
| Queen of the Meadow (Joe Pie) root c/s |
| Red Raspberry leaf c/s |
| Red Root c/s |
| Reishi Mushroom powder |
| Reishi Mushrooms |
| Rose hips seedless c/s |
| Rosemary leaves |
| Roses – petals |
| Rue c/s |
| Sage – ceremonial whole pieces |
| Sage c/s |
| Sarsaparilla (Jamaican) root c/s |
| Sassafras root c/s |
| Saw Palmetto powder |
| Shatavari powder |
| Shatavari root |
| Sheapherds Purse c’s |
| Slippery Elm bark c/s |
| Soapwart c/s |
| Solomon’s Plume root c/s |
| Solomon’s Seal root c/s |
| Spearmint leaf c/s |
| St. Johns Wort flowering tops |
| Stevia powder |
| Stoneroot c/s |
| Sumac berries |
| Thyme leaf c/s |
| Triphala powder |
| Tylophora indica c/s |
| Usnea lichen |
| Uva Ursi leaf |
| Valerian |
| Vitex berries |
| White Willow bark c/s |
| Wild Cherry Bark c/s |
| Wild Hydrangea root c/s |
| Wild Yam root c/s |
| Witch Hazel Bark c/s |
| Wormwood herb c/s |
| Yarrow leaf and flower c/s |
| Yellow Root c/s |
| Yellowdock root c/s |
Finally, it’s gotten above 35 degrees!! The snow has been on the ground for a month and it seems like every morning I’ll wake up to a little more! The past few days it’s gotten up into the 50’s and it’s been wonderful! The chickens are having a field day taking dirt baths and stretching out in the sun.
Speaking of chickens… have you ever heard of longcrowers? Check this rooster out! If you have crappy neighbors, you need to get you one of these babies!!!
Kaia and I had a great week of school! She always starts with math. She loves using the abacus. Most of what we are doing is review as we try to get caught up to her skill level in her new math program. She’s really enjoying so much hands on and not a lot of workbook pages. Leif really likes the abacus too… I’m going to need to get him one of his own 🙂
She’s also enjoying spelling, and usually does more than one lesson a day. There is a chart that comes with the program that you mark off each lesson you complete. She’s on a mission to put stickers on the chart as fast as she can. It really is amazing how fast she is progressing, though. She’s soaking it all up. It’s not that they didn’t teach it at her old school, but the kids had the choice to spend their day how they wanted and she always wanted to color. Me… I’m a task master. I think it’s important for her to start learning this stuff, so if I present it to her in a way that she enjoys, then we both win. All About Spelling has lots of hands on too… she’s all about that! Her reading skills are really blossoming! She’s feeling so much more confident and she’s started reading to Leif, writing letters to friends…
This week we also continued with Prehistory and the Precambrian period. We’ve started making a time line similar to this one. It’s fun to see the way her mind works with stuff like this. As she is filling in the pages, everything she pastes on the page goes in perfect alignment with the last piece. It’s all square and in order. Funny how some things must be in their proper place while other things (like her room) can be chaos! We focused on volcanoes this week and she made one out of model clay. We were supposed to create an eruption (with baking soda and vinegar) but she wanted to make a volcano just like Mako Island (from the show H2O: Just add Water, the Australian show about kids that are mermaids). So, she didn’t want to make it erupt.
Here are her little hands hard at work. You can see the secret entrance to the magic cave where the girls turn into mermaids.
She pulled the top of the volcano off so that she could paint the magic pool of water inside!
And here it is… Mako Island in all it’s glory! I think she should call it Phallic Island 🙂
Leif is keeping me on my toes, too. He finds all kinds of stuff to keep himself busy while I’m occupied with Kaia… like boxes full of shredded paper:
Even with his hands in the box, he can still give you a great “Who Me??? What did I do??” look!
While we aren’t busy doing fun learny-type stuff, I’ve begun planning this years garden. My cucumber, peas, greens, and beans did fabulous last year, but the squashes (winter, summer, and pumpkins) got hit hard by borers, and the tomatoes and melons just crapped out. So, I’m going to fill each bed with a good helping of chicken poop compost to see if that helps the soil. I’m also rotating what goes into each bed so that the heavy feeders aren’t draining the soil in the same place. I think the only thing I’m going to drop from my list is melons. I’ve never had good luck with them… you can’t can them up and save them for the winter, and for the space they take, you get so little return. I’ll just buy them at the markets when they are in season and use that space for other goodies. I’ve never had luck with Eggplant either, but it’s supposed to be so easy to grow. I think I’m going to try the good-old standard eggplant this year instead of trying to grow the skinny kinds.  How do you grow your eggplant?
Well, my intention was to knit myself a new hat… one that completely covers my ears, because I can’t seem to get one that keeps my head and ears nice and warm. I found a great pattern and saw the finished hat in my local yarn store. But the pattern didn’t have a gauge (how many stitches per inch, etc.). I actually wanted to make it just like the hat in the store, so I bought the same yarn that they used and everything. Still, the pattern made a hat that fit Leif and not me. So, now Leif has a new hat. Still, I really liked the hat, so I adjusted the pattern and made one to fit my head too. You like?
Kaia and I crafted felt doughnuts, stuffed with polyfill and catnip, for some of our favorite feline friends! There are all different icing and sprinkle types, for your cat’s specific tastes. We gave the first one, a raspberry icing with chocolate sprinkles, to our cats as an early gift. As you can see, they are definite doughnut fans!
“It’s MINE! All MINE!!”
The Standoff!
The Smackdown!
The victor (note: Max, the tabby is at least 12 pounds… Isabella barely tips the scales at 6 pounds!)
“It’s still mine and you can’t have it back!”
“Oh NO!! Look out for the Giant Doughnut Stealer!!”
What’s your favorite flavor??
I’ve put up my pattern for Leif’s Mossy Mittens
And if you are looking for a fast gift, here is my pattern for Paper Clip Ice Skates
We have had such a wonderful last few days. Being snowed in has been a great adventure for all of us. The power was out for 24 hours, but we enjoyed the peace it brought and we kept ourselves fully entertained! There was tent building:
There was lots of snow play (sledding, snow men, snow ball fights)!
We’ve perfected our snow cream recipe and began experimenting with flavors!!
Snow Cream – basic recipe:
Mix well, and then add enough fresh snow to thicken like ice cream. Then enjoy!
Variations:
Mint-Chocolate Snow Cream:
To the above add:Â 2 Tbsp cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp. mint extract
Eggnog Snow Cream:
To the basic recipe add:Â 1 tsp. nutmeg and 1/2 tsp cinnamon
We all enjoyed opening our gifts this morning! I’m happy to say that Kaia considered her new skirt her best gift! (Take that Santa!) She’s worn it all day and we had to order her to take it off before she went to bed. When she loves something, she can wear it until it’s worn out very fast!
Toby’s gloves fit him perfectly and Leif likes his new stuffed, felt toys:
Leif also seems to like his new mittens (I’ll post the pattern soon. It’s really simple!)
I knitted myself a new hat:
And Toby made me a oriental style shelf/unit to put above my computer!! (pictures to come once it’s installed)
This evening, we ended with a lovely meal and a yule log bread (smothered and stuffed with chocolate!)
Have a beautiful winter!!! Hurray for the return of longer days!!
Well, it looks like we will be hanging out on our land for a few days, possibly weeks :-) We are getting more snow that I’ve seen in 16 years! It’s a beautiful winter wonderland here, and Kaia is having the time of her life! She’s been in and out all day, coming in just long enough to let her clothes dry by the fire and then she’s back outside.
I’ve been fighting a cold, along with a nasty fever, so I stayed by the fire and knit all day! I’m working on Leif’s first pair of mittens. It brought back wonderful memories of my great-aunt Pearl. She lived in NH, and though my sister and I grew up in Miami, great-aunt Pearl knit us a new pair of mittens every year. We always looked forward to them! Maybe I’ll carry on that tradition and knit a new pair of mittens and a hat for Kaia and Leif each year!
While I was knitting, Leif was kind enough to entertain himself with a ball of yarn and the phone (if we prank called you today, sorry!)
I took him outside for a bit, but he really wasn’t sure what to make of it all…
My garden is in there somewhere…
Measuring the snow… So far we have 13 inches!
Yes, that is our lawn chair they are sitting in!
We just happened to go to the library earlier this week and got lots of books about snow and winter. One we picked up was absolutely perfect for a day like today.
Houndsley and Catina is a lovely book about the quiet and peace two friends find in the first snow of winter.
Sleep tight!
We’ve had the crafting spirit in our home lately! This weekend Kaia and I made some santa ornaments after seeing them at Write-It-Down. We just happened to have everything we needed and couldn’t resist the cute little guys.
Then we had a few friends over for more crafting. We made beeswax ornaments with beeswax from a local beekeeper! I got 5 pounds of it!! Mmmmm, the kitchen smelled yummy!
I had some lollipop molds, so I used a dab of play dough to block where the stick would go so that the beeswax didn’t flow into that part of the mold. I also put some sparkles in the bottom of the molds. (You could put some on top too, right after pouring the beeswax in, if you want sparkles on both sides.)
When the beeswax was cooling, but still soft, I poked holes for the ribbons.
Then there were the glittered pine cones:
And the pipe cleaner trees (Kaia’s is looking a bit like Charlie Brown’s tree… she said she will be putting more ornaments on later 🙂
And once our friends went home, and Leif finally fell asleep, Kaia and I just kept going and made Cinnamon-Applesauce ornaments with the recipe that we found over at 5OrangePotatoes. I love these!! I will definitely be doing them again!! And the cool thing is that you can use any cookie cutters you want and hang them around your house all year long!! They don’t have to be holiday ornaments.
We used some of the dough that was left over and made them into beads!! Just roll them into a little ball and poke a tooth pick through it for the hole.
We stamped a sweet little fairy print into most of the ornaments.
The house smells delicious!!
OK, I’ve been hearing about this board game for a while now and, I have to admit, I have been very resistant to it! I’m not totally sure why, but I think it has to do with the feeling that if I’m a good herbalist, I shouldn’t need the aid of a board game to be able to teach my kids about herbs. (I know, that is stupid… if it’s fun, who cares, right.) Still, when the game went on sale (1/2 off!) last week, I decided to give it a try. I really didn’t think Kaia was going to go for it. It doesn’t have anything to do with mermaids, castles, or the like. But, when the mail was delivered and Kaia saw the game, she flipped out! She was so excited to play, that we had to schedule an emergency “family play night” that night! 🙂
So, did I like it? I have to say, I am thoroughly impressed! It was SO flippin’ cute and fun! Kaia loved it and for once wasn’t all competitive about who won! (No one wins, it’s all about cooperation.) We all liked the story that went along with it… collecting herbs to help with our ailments…. picking huckleberries…. It is just fun! I even learned some new herbs!
Here’s how the story starts:
Grandma needs huckleberries to bake a pie. You and your cousins embark on an adventure up the mountain to collect berries as well as herbs she uses.
Will you all harvest the right plants to help with the trouble you run into along the way?
Will you make it back before nightfall?
The only way to win is by helping each other out.
Wildcraft! teaches you 25 important edible and medicinal plants and their uses in mostly first aid situations. (Wildcrafting is the harvesting of wild plants)
It also teaches team work, for you will rely on each other’s knowledge of plants and good fortune to make it to the Huckleberry Patch and safely back to Grandma’s.
You should definitely check it out! You may still be able to win a free one here. I don’t know if the contest ended yesterday or if it’s still going…
Creating our holiday cards…
Here it is! Kaia’s Flower Fairy/Pearly Mermaid/ Blingy Princess skirt! It is a holiday gift for her and I can’t wait to give it to her!
I’ve published the pattern, for free (yay!) in the links at the top of my blog! Enjoy!!
Tracing the image with a charcoal pencil
Pressing the image onto the rubber block
retracing the image with ink, in case the charcoal smears
Cutting out the image
The final stamp.... isn't she cute!
Some of our other creations
I have great memories of my elementary school art class. The room was dark and and crowded, but our teacher always had the greatest projects for us. One of my favorites was linoleum print making. You trace a picture onto a linoleum block, carve it out, roll paint onto it and press it onto paper, or a t-shirt…. I loved the detailed process and the “cooooool” moment when you get to see the final picture.
Stamp making is almost the exact same process. I’d not done it in a long, long time, but I was inspired when I visited winemakerssister’s fantastic etsy store and fell in love with her stamps!! I totally stole some of her ideas! But, I’m going to have to go back for this mug! (Hahah!! All you knitters out there get it!)
Kaia loves stamp making, too. Today she carved me an adorable flower!
I see some stamped holiday cards in the near future!!
That’s the only way I can describe the way I felt this weekend at my first fiber festival, the Southeastern Animal and Fiber Festival It was sensory overload as I walked through the huge arena full of rainbows of yarn, roving, fleece, and knitted garments. I had to touch everything and heard others moan and groan just like I did as I rubbed the fiber on my face.I wish I could have spent all day there!! I went Friday morning and took a quick look around at all the vendors. Then, I took Kaia back with me on Sat. eve and we got to see a spinning and a weaving demo, visit with the angora bunnies, pet sheep and goats, and watch the llama games! I will definitely be going back next year!
Llama Limbo!
Beautiful Animals!
Sweetest little sheepy ever!
I’m writing over at Homemakers Who Work today! Stop by and see me there! You’ll find out what makes a sweet boy smile…
When I found out I was pregnant with Leif, I had a blast creating a basket full of hand made toys for him.  They are so fun and squishy! And something he can pass on to his children if he wants!!
Garden Mama is interviewing Down in the Meadow about her hand made toys and having a contest to win some!! Check it out!
Things have mostly stopped producing in the garden now. I still have kale, chard, snap peas, a little bit of tromboncino squash, and some arugula that reseeded itself. But, I’m not doing much harvesting. I’m so over the kale and chard. I haven’t felt like eating it in months! My plans for any type of winter garden have ended. I need a break. I want to put the garden to bed and not think about it for a while. I’m sure there’s something I’m supposed to be doing to it right now… adding compost or cover crops or something, but I just don’t want to be out in the garden. I hope this will pass next year and that it’s just related to having a new baby. I feel like my time is so stretched thin. If I have a moment to myself, I want to do something for myself, not be out weeding.
So, the harvest is a little light this months:
It was a very rainy month!! – 8.25 inches The chickens were not happy and have been ill on and off because of all the yeast and molds.
To end on a happy note… here is Leif in one of his favorite positions (that smile looks kind of crazy upside down, doesn’t it?):
Fairy self portrait in the zucchini?
Moonflower
Potato art
Leeks
Just took 7 quarts of potato leek soup out of the canner!! Mmmm, Mmmmm, Gooood!
I’m a creature of habit. I like things organized. I like routine. Yet, my life has little of this.  So, with Kaia starting the first grade and homeschooling part time, I thought it might be nice to create a basic rhythm that we can count on. Even if things get adjusted here and there, we know we can jump back in the next day.
In the morning, I tend to get up before the rest of the crew. This is a time that I like to read through my emails, catch up on blogs, and get breakfast started. Once the kids get up, we have our breakfast and take care of feeding the animals (cats, dog, and chickens). If Kaia is able to get up a little earlier, I’d love to make time before breakfast to read to her. If she has the choice, though, she is a late sleeper.
After breakfast, we will take a few hours for our more ‘formal’ schooling….. working on math (she has a math book from school that we work with), language arts (I’m looking into curriculum that might stimulate her to try reading on her own more, we’ll see… I want it to be self-directed as much as possible. She does much better with learning if I’m not too encouraging. She likes it to be her own decision.)
We’ll make lunch, do some clean up in the kitchen and then clean one room in the house (we rotate like this so that cleaning never seems to overwhelming. The whole house is cleaned by weeks end).
After clean up, if we have errands to run, we will head out. If not, we may do some baking, gardening, laundry, play with friends. This time is left more open and flexible.
Then it’s time to make dinner, harvest the eggs, feed the animals again.
After dinner, the kids may have a bath. We try to read everynight, but sometimes the days get away from us and it’s time to get the kids to bed.
Kaia, Toby, and I also all take Tae Kwon Do. So, often one of us is out doing that in the evenings.
I think this will be nice for all of us to have a basic schedule that we can rely on. When Kaia is in her formal school (3 days a week) I will try to stick to the schedule and get some of my own schooling or work done in the mornings, and errands in the afternoons.
The weekends are kind of crazy. We have had so many projects to finish up since we started building on our land. Every weekend seems to be filled up well in advance. Toby and I have made a pact not to start any new projects (after the new chicken coop is built) so that we can try to relax on the weekends this winter! That would be very nice.
I would love to hear what your homeschool rhythms are like. How do you get it all accomplished each day?
Things are petering out in the garden…. well, I’m letting them peter out. The weeds have taken over, the tomatoes gave in to blight, the green beans are collapsing. The squashes have all succomb to mildew of some sort. The chard and kale are still going strong. There’s probably 10# of it out there, but we just don’t eat it much. I have to say, we are all kind of tired of food from the garden :-) I need to get more recipes, but when do I have time to cook with canning all day? And MAN, the cucumbers just won’t quit! I finally found a recipe for a hot cucumber soup, so I will probably be putting more of that up for the winter. So, here’s the august harvest:
It rained at least 5 1/2 inches last month, although I forgot to write it down a few times. Seems like it’s been raining every day!
My original intention was to make this post a photo montage of all the crazy things that we’ve been up to this summer that have kept me from blogging, but I didn’t have the time to do even that 🙂
The pressure canner is going almost non-stop. I get up early in the morning to start chopping and preparing the food, and the rest of the day is spent watching the pressure gauge. This picture (I had a bouncing baby in my hands, that’s why it’s blurry) is only part of the pantry, and the shelves go two to three jars deep!!
If I’m not canning, I’m harvesting, bouncing babies, playing with and homeschooling Kaia, at Tae Kwon Do, doing class work (an herb course I’ve been taking for the last few years), knitting, keeping house/homestead. It doesn’t really sound like much when I type it out, but some how, it keeps me busy from the time I get up until the time my head hits the pillow. Kaia starts back to school (she goes to a part time distance program) next Wed. but I don’t think that will give me any extra time. She is great at playing by herself and helping me out around the house. She’s also great with watching over Leif.
I had big plans for a winter garden. But, I’ve decided not to do it this year. It seems like Toby and I always have another project (or five) in the works and rarely take down time. So, this winter, I’m going to put cover crops on the beds, maybe have a bed of lettuce, and try to put my feet up more. Kaia is already planning our family time by the fire with hot chocolate and knitting (did I tell you she started knitting???!!) I can’t wait!
The other day when I went out to harvest the zuchinni, I found this:
I swear, no one carved this! Kaia’s explanation… Bartelby Barnes, the fairy of the garden, carved it to claim his zuchinni. I think he was just letting us know that he has been hanging out in the garden beds.
Of course, we’ll start with the cutest!!
Leif had a few bites of rice cereal yesterday, and he downed it!!!
“Hmmmmm, I think I might have a bite, thank you!”
“WOW! I LIKE! Give me that spoon!”
“Mine!! ALL MINE!”
“Yes, boys can too play with Barbies! They are very tastey!”
I finally got around to harvesting most of the chard. I blanched it and stuck it in the freezer. (There’s no more room in there now, with all the frozen greens and 3 gallons of blueberries!! A fourth gallon I made into Blueberry Jam and Brandied Blueberries!!)
I’ve been knitting up a little headband to keep my ears warm this winter. Kaia wants one for winter and one for summer! I might use some light weight yarn and make myself one for summer too!
We have MORE hens! A friend moved and couldn’t take her 11 chickens with her… so she gave them to us! That makes 35 chickens at our home! Some of the babies from the spring will turn out to be roosters and we’ll find them new homes. But, it looks like we will start selling eggs! And we need to get on the new coop!
And here is one of our regal Fezzik
