What We're Doing

Every day I think of about 3 things I would like to write a post about, but I only sit down to actually write about once a week.  The past week has been filled with all sorts of things I would like to write about, more than usual really, but since life goes on and new things happen every day I thought I would just hit the highlights in one long and rambling post.  

We went to Watertown on Saturday for the Mile Long Yard Sale and to deliver our old chicken tractor and some chicks to my friend Addie.  I had high hopes for finding some treasures at the yard sales, but we ended up spending most of our time at my stepdad's house where my brother and sister-in-law were selling.  Lincoln had t-ball practice in the morning, so we didn't make it to Kenneth's house (on the outskirts of town) until nearly noon.  When we finally headed to town the train was still there and it was pretty crazy, so we just did a slow lap around the square and called it quits.  We did manage to eat some delicious homemade ice cream and some sort of barbecue-nacho concoction, and I found a few clothes in a free box outside a consignment store.  Everything else we saw was the typical flea market fare of overpriced "antiques" and knock-offs.  It was fun nevertheless, but the real finds of the Mile Long are at the individual yard sales.  Next time, maybe.  

We did score a few gems from my brother and his family, including a stack of workbooks for preschoolers.  Lincoln really loves this kind of thing right now, and these books have been occupying him for literally hours everyday since we brought them home.  He is cutting and gluing (his two favorite activities), learning to write numbers, and learning to read a few short words.  These books alone were worth the trip (thanks, Veronica!!!).  We also brought home a small jungle of house plants from my stepdad, breaking my rule of "if we can't eat it we don't want it."  Really, though, I am happy to have them and I think they make the place a little more homey.  

After we left the square we went to Addie's to deliver her new pets.  She lives in downtown Alexandria and has started a small scale chicken operation with a neighbor friend.  They now have a combined 5 chicks that will soon be living in our old chicken tractor.  Her two kids are now the proud caretakers of a New Hampshire Red, a Leghorn, and a Plymouth Barred Rock.  All hens.  Hopefully.

The rest of the past week's excitement has been close to home.  Practically everything is in bloom or budding, our hen is broody again (not the last you will hear about this), and Audrey has figured out scissors (read: tiny bits of paper EVERYWHERE).  I also made some amazingly good bread a few days ago.  I think my next post will be that recipe.  Oh, and my Vitamix broke.  Seriously.  It is boxed up for Wes to give to UPS tomorrow.  As far as appliances go, I love that thing more than even my Kitchen Aid (if you have a Kitchen Aid you know how serious that statement is).  Hopefully it will be fixed and back in my kitchen soon.  

Broody Hen sitting on 12 eggs!

Wild onions, weeds, and black plastic aside, I think it looks pretty nice.

We are reading some great books around here, too.  The kids and I are reading Wizard of Oz, thanks to a recommendation by my sister-in-law, and I must say it has exceeded all of my expectations.  Did you know that there is a whole series of those books?!  Fourteen, I think.  Truly, I like the book more than the movie.  Lincoln and even Audrey are both really enjoying it, too.  I am reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, and it too is amazing.  A while ago I read In Defense of Food and thought it was great, but The Omnivore's Dilemma is even more in depth and thought provoking.  I appreciate that he seems to write with no particular bias, just from the position of a person who likes food and has an interest in where his food comes from.  Of all the food books I have read, and the list is extensive, this is the one that I think everyone who eats should read.  

The garden is a mess, but the berries are doing great and I expect to be harvesting our first blueberries in a few weeks, followed shortly by raspberries and blackberries.  Plums should be here before we know it, too.  The seeds we started in egg cartons and paper rolls are sprouting, so hopefully they will be the saving grace of the vegetable garden.  If not, there is always the farmer's market.  

Kale sprouting in the garden.  In addition to about 3 pea sprouts, this is all I have managed to grow out there so far.

Blossoms and a big bumblebee on a Patriot highbush blueberry.

Tiny berries forming on a lowbush-type Sunshine Blue blueberry.

Blackberries

Lincoln's first t-ball game is Saturday morning.  I promise I will take pictures.  In the meantime, here are a few precious ones of the kiddos.

(All pictures in this post were taken with an iPhone.)

Weeds

We have been working outside a little every day for the past week or so, and I must admit to a little discouragement.  On Sunday we took a family walk out to the garden.  When I pulled back the row covers to check the progress of my little seeds I saw this:

All that green is not the lettuce, onions, and carrots I planted.  

I shouldn't be surprised.  We broke new ground, it is spring, the ground is fertile, etc.  I am keeping perspective about it, remembering that we are new to this and that we will learn and improve with time.  Still, I was really hoping to find a few more seedlings and a few less weeds.  

The weeds are not restricted to the garden.  Right now our yard is more dandelion than grass, and the chickweed is making its comeback, too.  

Admiring a honey bee hard at work on a dandelion blossom. 

On the brighter side, I do love all the flowers - weed, wildflower, and intentional blooms are all equally beautiful and welcome signs of Spring.  

How about you?  How is your garden growing?

Goodness

Here are some of the things that are making me happy lately:

Homemade kettle corn.  I made this for a snack and almost wouldn't let the kids have any.  It was that good.  

Little eggs from our youngest hens.

Seed starting.

The curl in the middle of this little girl's forehead.  The rest of the rhyme holds true.  

My rainy day sewing project.

Spring buds and blooms.

The white water in the creek after a day-long gully washer.

Kiddos and an umbrella.  And kid legs in shorts.

This amazing meal.

My t-ball player.

I hope you have lots of things making you happy right now, too!

Progress

The quilt is finished and was handed off to my niece as soon as the last stitch was tied.  It went into use immediately.   

Lincoln's tie was finished in time for our family Easter celebration and I have cast on his sweater.  I am working on it a little bit each day, happy in the knowledge that I have all summer to finish it.  

Saturday we planted our first seeds (broccoli, carrots, green onions, peas, kale, lettuces).  We are a bit behind schedule for the cool weather crops, but even a small harvest will be welcome.  

Sunday we killed and butchered our last two roosters (the hens were thankful!), and stacked wood and cleaned up the backyard.  We also dyed Easter eggs.  

Monday was the most beautiful day of the year so far.  We were able to hang laundry on the line and play outside barefoot.  I made it out to the berry patch to admire all the swollen buds on the blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry bushes.   

Today we planted potatoes and chucked rocks out of the garden.  We didn't even begin to make a dent in the rock population.    

We have been wonderfully busy, and I am so very looking forward to more of these days.

Crafting

With the beginning of Spring currently bringing only snow, I have had to put all of my warm weather excitement on hold.  I have been passing the time crafting; with the kids mostly, but also on my own when I can manage it.  

We love to get craft books from the library, and last week we got an especially good one.  Lincoln and Audrey have been pouring over it, so much so that I have only caught glimpses of the crafts while Audrey "reads" it to me.  The first inspired project was the flower garden in the 2nd picture above; I drew the flowers, Lincoln cut, and Audrey glued.  We cut down the snow storm in the play room, then hung the garden to welcome Spring.  

The next day we switched to paint.  We intended to draw butterflies, but decided that it would be better just to paint and cut out butterflies from the painted paper later.  That suited my little artists just fine, and now we have yards of beautiful, pastel colored paper to cut and paste.

When the kids are sleeping or otherwise occupied I have managed to slip in a little crafting of my own.  I decided a few months ago that I wanted to make a quilt.  I really had no idea what that meant other than some sewing and pretty fabric, so I consulted Wes's Granny, a quilt-making expert.  She gave me a few priceless tips and even gifted me with a quilt frame, which doubles as a jungle gym when not in use.  (Granny and her daughter, Wes's Aunt Alice, are my crafting Fairy Godmothers.  They have gifted me with enough fabric, yarn, needles, and the like to keep me busy for years.  I couldn't be more grateful to them!)

Right around the time I decided to make a quilt, my sister-in-law mentioned that she could not find a comforter for my niece in her favorite colors - yellow and orange.  That was the spark.  The next thing I knew I was picking out fabrics and Presley's quilt was in the works.  It is nothing too fancy, just squares (and uneven ones at that), but I have had fun and learned so much while working on it.  It will not be my last quilt.  

 

I have also been knitting.  I love to knit.  Above is the second take on a seed stitch tie for Lincoln.  It is a quick knit, but I am still a novice knitter and not terribly fast.  I plan to have it finished in time for him to wear it on Easter.  After that comes off the needles I am going to start the sweater I promised Lincoln months ago, and then a sweater for me.  Not to mention all the sewing I have planned.  Yes, I have plenty to do while I wait out the weather. 

Springing Forward

Happy Spring!!  It is finally here!  I start to anticipate the coming of this day on about January 3rd every year; when winter finally sets in and the holiday buzz has worn off.  I have been so excited for so long that I don't know where to start now that the day is finally here.  There are so many things to do right now that will determine the success of our growing season - seed starting, preparing the garden bed, staking, trellising, pruning...  It is easy to let myself get overwhelmed.  

I have other reasons to be excited, though.  Warm days mean going outside without jackets, shoes, even pants if you are Lincoln or Audrey!  Walks in the woods, playing in the creek, picnics and suppers outside - all good reasons to welcome the warm weather. 

Here are a few favorites from last year:

Despite my being overwhelmed, things are starting to happen around here.  The kiddos and I planted patches of asparagus and strawberries last week, Wes has started working on getting the big garden bed ready to plant, and a wheelbarrow load of finished compost has been put aside to use on seedlings.  We also made a makeshift seed starting area since my cold frame hasn't managed to build itself.  I am actually pretty proud of our idea, and will be even more so if it actually works well.  We took a big plastic storage shelf that was on the porch and moved it out to a sunny spot in the yard, up against a wall for support.  Once I get some seeds planted we will pile them in and cover the whole thing with clear plastic. I also plan to put a thermometer in it so I will know if it needs to be vented.  Now all I need to do is actually plant the seeds...

Lincoln

When my little fella wakes up on Sunday morning he will be four years old.  I can hardly believe it.  I know it's cliche, but it really seems like it was just last week that I was pregnant, and about 5 minutes ago he was my chubby, bald, big headed baby boy.  This little man that he is turning into, though, is more than I could have ever wished for.  He constantly keeps me on my toes, asking me questions that  are sometimes so simple I don't know how to answer them, other times so complex I don't know how to begin.  He is a dancing fool, can climb like a monkey, and can run faster than a cheetah (ask him to show you next time you see him!).  Lincoln is intelligent, curious, funny, creative, clever, strong, and well mannered; he even eats his vegetables.  I could not be more proud to be his mama.

7 months old

He wants to be a cowboy when he grows up.

He is the best big brother.

We have been celebrating Prince Week since Monday, and will conclude with a small party at home on Sunday, his actual birthday.  He has requested a choo-choo train carrot cake, and what the Prince wants, the Prince gets.  I plan to make this one, which looks nothing short of amazingly delicious, minus the nuts and raisins.  He is even going to help me make it tomorrow, that sweet little guy of mine.  

As if turning four isn't enough excitement for this weekend, tomorrow Lincoln is going to his first T-ball practice.  It is actually just try-outs for the teams, but it will be his first time on the field and the first time to see his peers.  I fully expect him to be a little nervous and shy about it, but I am so excited for him; I am confident that once he gets over his nerves he will shine.  He is something special.