Cupcake

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This girl.
She's funny, talkative, curious, wild, always on the move, quite independent, loves pink and thinks it is important that everyone knows whatever is on her mind.  Ahem.
She doesn't like to be told no, doesn't want to take her nap, doesn't want to eat dinner tonight because it is whatever, but remembers dessert and dives in because she loves her desserts.
She's a little princess with big brothers.  So she loves pink and dress up and would live outside in the dirt if she could.  She plays Legos and chews her food into the shape of squirt guns. 
One day a neighbor stopped in (yes, unannounced) and he commented on how pretty she was.  I told him that's why Daddy has a shotgun.  She announced that, "And I have a fart gun."  And let me tell you, she's not afraid to use it.  Luckily, I have a forcefield.
She's hilarious, gets jokes, makes up her own, can't sit still for two seconds together.
She's a natural with our Chinese language lessons and nails those tones perfectly. 
She's memorizing all the Bible verses with the boys and I and I'm sure she'll remember them long after my addled brain loses them in the fog.
She loves the chickens and bunnies and kinda wants to see the bear in the yard.
She makes a beautiful tea party on the Grandpa table and carries her dolls around like a loving Mommy.  Until something else catches her eye ("Squirrel!") and she drops the doll and runs.
She reminds me a bit of Olivia.  And yes, she wears me out.
But my heart is simply filled with love for her and I wonder what God will do with her beautiful wild life.
She sings "Amazing Grace" and all is well in the world.

Pictures from the End of Summer

Waiting happily for my friend to arrive for Bible Study.

I love to say it usually doesn't look like this, but it does.  There is always a project, or twenty, going on.  I was going to do a nice post, and I still plan to, on my kitchen remodel, but this is simply the everyday picture of reality.  The pot on the stove is full of wild plums cooking so I can skim the pits out and make fruit leathers.  The crock-pot is full of oil and herbs for a new batch of Healing Balm.  The big baskets on the counter are full of windfall pears, a neighbor's tomatoes, and some early apples.  All the stuff on the island is what I'm working on for gift baskets to sell.  The four pumpkins are ones that were ripe already in the garden.  Two are now on the porch for decoration, one became dinner and some desserts and one is still sitting here next to me.  Between my Seasons~Autumn Board and my Farmhouse Kitchen Cooking Board, I've got lots of uses for the thirty or so pumpkins I've got growing!
Actually, I just looked around and noticed everything is done and the counters are really pretty clean!  Well, there is still a pile of new baskets I washed drying on the counter behind me.  I'm planning on using my late afternoons and evenings to really get cracking on making all my stuff for the sales.

All the kids love to watch and play with the chickens.  Cupcake is a bit to small still to just roam with them, but she's loves to feed them with me.  She and Pumpkin were watching these guys.

The chicks sure have grown!  We're down to four, but they seem to be going strong.

I love tea.  Have I mentioned that before?

Cupcake loves olives, so he sure enjoyed these guys. I was inspired by this pin.

Sometimes we all play with our food.

Even Pumpkin liked the penguins although he doesn't like olives to eat, they were fun to play with.

My zinnias have been a source of delight this summer.  Definitely something to grow every year.

Just a little pretty I've had for years.

After redoing the kitchen, I moved my odds and ends out of the dining room built in, put down vintage shelf paper I bought years ago, and filled the cupboard with my canning and my dried herbs in jars.  I like it.

Now, the cool mornings and lessons make me feel that Autumn has arrived.
It's the best time of year to me.

I took these pictures over the last couple of weeks and just decided to throw together this post while the kiddos are doing chores.  Time to go and get back to the other lessons!

Breakfast Salads

We've got an abundance of wonderful lettuce right now.  We're having it at every meal, including breakfast.  Everyone just gobbles it up! 
The herbs are starting to take off as well.  We've had tarragon and chives for awhile now and they've gone into all sorts of dishes.  I add them to eggs in the morning and our salad dressings and sprinkle them all over chicken, or whatever else it sounds good on.  Now I am adding cilantro to the guacamole, or "yuckamole" as Dumpling christened it.  That's fine as it means more for Sweetheart and I. 
I am excited that I'll have fresh savory ready to go by the end of the week.  Basil keeps germinating and dying and I keep reseeding.  Maybe now that it's warmed up, it'll be okay.  I've got parsley and thyme, but I keep forgetting to use them because they are in the old garden areas.  I tried transplanting several times, but to no avail.  I'll give it one more go soon.
The mints are doing well.  We enjoy sprigs in our water bottles and I've even been adding sprigs of lavender to mine as well.  It's so refreshing on these sweltering days.
So, from breakfast through dinnertime, our garden is adding fresh flavors and extra goodness to our meals.  What a blessing.

Good Morning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the day the LORD has made.  We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Even on the days when rejoicing is harder.
(Nothing's wrong this morning.  Just a thought.)

Projects

Living in a 92 year old farmhouse means a life of projects to tackle.  Most of the work falls onto Sweetheart.  That's a lot of work for one person.  He had some help recently finishing the attic.  After he framed and hung drywall on some of the crookedest beams ever (the original wood not his framing), a neighbor helped him with taping, mudding and texturing it.  He was able to teach Sweetheart what to do and Sweetheart did it.
And so the attic is "finished".  That means it is finished enough to move it even if there are still more things to do to it.  So, nearly three years after I began packing up our old house to sell it, I finally have a space to create.  I love it.
I unpacked tub after tub of art and craft supplies and have enjoyed finding places to put it all.  I still have one laundry basket of stuff to deal with, but I moved in enough.  We were able to spread out and make some Valentines for people, even if some didn't get mailed out until Valentines Day. 
It's so nice to have a place to sit and think and spread out papers and paints and not have to clean it all up for the next meal!  I've gone up early a few mornings armed with my thermos of tea and or coffee.  I can sit up there and do devotions and even do some sketching and watercolouring. Joanne is my inspiration for that.
I've got several books on living creatively that I have been reading through as well and trying out some ideas and teaching myself a lot.  The Creative Call is one book I bought in January that I am really enjoying.  I bought Taking Flight shortly after Dumpling was born and am just now getting around to reading it again.  And The Creative License:  Giving Yourself Permission to Be the Artist You Really Are is the final one.  Now, all I have to do it get going on it all.
I am not one to consider myself An Artist.  I always think of my Aunt as such.  But, as I grow older I am learning to live more creatively and feel freer thinking of myself as one.  I enjoy creating beauty whether it is in writing, taking pictures, reading stories, gardening, or making cards.  I am learning that my life is my art.  I may never sell a thing, or be published, or whatever, but that's ok.  I am happier whenever I can be creating beauty in whatever form it takes.  We'll just see where it takes me.
Well, it's time to create some beauty in the kitchen and while I wish that was to be in the form of making some scones, it more just needs to be in doing the dishes I've left in the sink.  Since breakfast.
In all fairness to myself, I've been battling a cold since Saturday and have spent more time just trying to rest and get better than I have cleaning.  Which would explain the laundry pile threatening to overtake the downstairs washroom...I have been able to read though.  Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice are complete and I am in the middle of Mansfield Park.  Not bad for a few days reading!
Hmm...maybe I should whip up the scones and do the dishes while they bake...  ;)  I think I like that idea.  Having discovered how much a simple vanilla glaze can do for my scones has been a dangerous thing.  It's elevated an easy treat into something amazing. 

Today's Project

I love how the trees here dapple the light. It is so lovely.

This idea for a large bulletin board is just what I've been looking for! I love google. I had been looking on craigslist for a used one, but they were still too expensive or too far away. The camouflage fabric is so not us, but we'll head to the fabric store and find something.

I wasn't really planning to start more directed learning with Pumpkin until the baby arrives and we settle into life with that, but he is more than ready RIGHT NOW and wants to learn everything TODAY. :) I'll post pictures when I get it all together. (Ok, when will that happen? Luckily, I am just talking about the bulletin board.)

I finished up all my sewing of baby things and used up all my flannel. I made about 10 washcloths, 6 cloth diaper burp rags with flannel decor, and a bunch of all flannel burp cloths, and three blankets. LOVING the softness of it all. So does Dumpling. He's got a little square of the flannel he loves to rub on his cheek and play with. Of course, then Pumpkin wanted one. He's not as tactile as Dumpling so his square has become a car cover for the lego convertible he made.

Tomorrow night is my home visit with the midwives. I was hoping to have the nursery all set up, but it hasn't worked out. The crib I was going to borrow ended up not happening. Back to craigslist! I should be able to get most of the things I am planning to borrow when my Bunco group comes over next week. Crazy, I know, but I will keep it all realllly simple.

Plus, I may get company tomorrow as my Dad and Stepmom may be coming through town to see us. I hope so! I miss them.

And, I was able to make plans to meet up with Janna next Friday. We haven't been able to get together due to moves and babies. Her having a baby while I was moving and now her moving while I am having a baby just have complicated it all. I am looking forward to meeting her little Beth.

Pumpkin and Dumpling are finishing up breakfast as I type. Pumpkin asked for some Banana Dippers. I had to ask what he was talking about. He said, "Get some yogurt and honey and raisins and cut up some bananas and you dip it." No problem, we've got all that. So I mixed it all up for he and he is over there, "Mmm! That's good stuff!" Sounds good to me.

Now here is Dumpling wanting some. I love that they love good food. Reality check- Pumpkin ate his while wearing the Krispy Kreme hat he got yesterday from the donut store. It's not all perfect. ;)

A Good Day

I carried my camera around yesterday. These were some of the other things we saw in addition to the sunflowers. Clockwise from top left-Boys napping, old school house, the garin elevator here in town, silly boys, the farmhouse where we buy our buffalo meat, a neat old church, gladiolus I bought from a stand by the side of the road, beautiful farms with the foothills in the back.

New Things & Special Places

Well, I've wrapped up quite a few projects lately and am working on more! I've been busy reading and gleaning new ideas from all sorts of places. I thought I'd share a bunch of links to some places you all might enjoy as well. The boys are napping and I've got my cup of Earl Grey right beside me. My mind is racing with all sorts of things, but I'm not sure where to start.

I'm making a renewed effort to better order my days. I've loved going with the flow lately, just taking each day as it comes and doing new things with the boys. This is good to some extent, but also leaves me feeling like I'm floundering a bit and not accomplishing as much as I'd like. I'm looking for a good balance as I seem to run to extremes. Anyone else?

I'm working on some new routines for myself and the boys. I find as the seasons change, my routines need to as well. I'm working on a list that I'll type up in a few days and post in the kitchen to help keep me on track. Tentatively, I'm planning on having Mondays as at home days. Working on cleaning and laundry need to have a set time again, or they seem to get lost in the shuffle of life.

Tuesdays will be days out. By this, I'm planning on spending our mornings doing new and favorite things with the boys. Maybe a trip to the zoo, or to a garden. We may meet up with friends somewhere, or just go exploring by ourselves. Tuesday afternoon during nap will become the time to plan the meals for the next week, clean the fridge and write the grocery list.

Our grocery store offers all the ending sales as well as the new weeks' sales on Wednesday, so it makes sense to shop that day. Since we don't grocery shop every week this also leaves a more flexible day to do something else, or have a friend come over. Wednesday afternoons will be dedicated to prepping all the groceries as needed like washing and slicing produce, breaking up bulk meats into meals.

Thursdays will be spent at home as we've got a little one planning to come over that morning each week. This will be the day to bake the breads as well as we'll be home for a long stretch. It was too much to try to do with the Monday chores. I'd either forget a load of laundry or a loaf rising! Since I make all our bread products including sandwich bread, pitas, tortillas, crackers, etc., it makes sense to do it all at once. Most of the ingredients are the same so it saves time and effort in the end. This will be done throughout the day as needed. I usually make and freeze big batches of each thing so I don't have to make everything each week.

I've marked Thursday afternoons to do desk duties as well. Whether it's writing a card, or dealing with insurance paperwork, I need a time set apart to work on these things. By Thursday there are usually one or two loads of laundry that need attention as well, so I'll squeeze those in as well since we'll be home. I was trying to do those on Friday, but it was getting all messed up and forgotten if we left the house.

Fridays are fun days. We'll play these by ear. I'm looking forward to it! Friday afternoons are set aside to touch up the house so it's fresh and clean for the weekend to enjoy.

This leaves my weekends open to enjoy. We'll see how it all goes!

Somewhere in the midst of the set things I'm trying to figure out things like making soaps and lotions and balms. I also want to make sure I'm keeping up with my sewing and crafting. These renew me and help keep me--me. Also gardening takes up more time this time of year as well.

I'm also revamping my daily routines. That's a whole other post I think!

**
I've been working on new routines for the boys, too. Pumpkin is three and a half now and wanting to learn everything. I found a really neat site that I'm looking forward to exploring more and using some of the ideas immediately! She's got some great ideas for teaching the little guys that look like they'd be perfect for Pumpkin and Dumpling.
**
This site is where I found the directions for an amazing new skin product. I had read the list of ingredients on the back of a Burt's Bees balm and noticed I had most of the ingredients on hand. I was looking for something to help with all the little bumps and scratches we get this time of year. Brambleberries' directions brought it all together.

The boys and I were out in Boulder to see the tulips a few weeks ago. As I was looking for a place to park we passed Rebecca's Apothecary. We went in immediately! I'd been wanting to find comfrey and calendula for a couple of recipes I wanted to try, including the balm. I found that and more! It was so nice to find a source for herbs and such without it being a really freaky place I don't want to walk in much less support. Ahem. Know what I mean?

I'm looking forward to going back soon and trying some new things. They even carried press-and-seal tea bags and sachets. I'd been looking for some for quite awhile. Perfect! They do nature hikes and show you the wild plants and herbs growing around here that you can use for all sorts of things. I'd like to go on one this summer.

When the boys napped, I filled a jar with the calendula, comfrey and a few handfuls of lavender filling the jar with olive oil. I let it steep in the sun for two weeks and then strained it. I added rosemary and eucalyptus essential oils to the olive oil then as well. Just a few drops of each, but I think I'll add more next time. Blending the oil with beeswax took hardly anytime and I filled several jars with my new concoction.

I LOVE it! I'll be making more and more. Maybe I'll even get my own etsy shoppe. :) This stuff is soooo wonderful. Seriously, the boys love it, too. It smells so clean and fresh and isn't at all sticky like others balms with beeswax that I've tried. I've even got a little jar in my purse. It is so soothing.

***
Let's see...Since I'm rambling on, I'll mention a few other things I've been putting together. I've been blending our laundry detergent for awhile now and just storing it in a bucket. It works great, but I've noticed it drying out at times and not staying quite as well gelled. Yesterday as I was doing laundry I ran out of detergent, so I just blended the dry ingredients and dumped some in the wash. I figured I'd make it gel later, but wanted to keep the laundry going. Directions are here.

Anyway, I was about to clean up and wash the grater when I realized I should just grate all the bars of soap I had left. This is my least favorite part and I'd rather just have it over with for a few months. That being done, I decided I'd like to get rid of the rest of the box of borax as well. So, I just added the correct ratios of soap, borax and washing soda. I dumped it all in a glass jar and stuck a ladle in for a scoop. (About two tablespoons powder is the same as the 1/2 cup gel.) I wasn't sure how well a powdered detergent would do as the ones I used to buy didn't seem to dissolve well in our water. It worked great!

I'll probably mix some with water to keep on hand since that's what I've been using for stain remover as well. Here's an amazing post listing all sorts of ideas for natural stain removers as well. I'm sure I'll be trying them soon, too! I've also begun to add the vinegar in the rinse cycle again. I think it helps. I'd just stopped because I kept forgetting to add it at the right time! Setting a timer really helps me a lot, so it was beeping all day yesterday.

Well, I just heard Dumpling wake up, so I need to sign off. I hope you're having a wonderful day wherever you are. It's been raining here steady since midnight. I think we've had more rain since March than we usually get all year. Thanks for stopping by!

Busy Kitchen

Ok, so I've decided I need to get back to some regular posts here. I confess that it has been hard to write much lately. This has been an incredibly difficult time for our family this last year and I don't want to just mope and complain. I do want to be honest though, and not one of those perky, perfect bloggers who seem way too together for me to relate to.

I also know that many of you do pray, and I seek that out as a community of faith. Some of you have become true friends, some I see in real life, some through personal emails and writings. Thank you all for being so loving and supportive.

So, life continues on around here. It has rained/snowed/hailed seven out of the last eight weekends, making our dreams of finishing our yard seem a distant reality. We even had a tornado warning on Sunday afternoon. I've got a skid steer tractor stuck in my backyard from Sweetheart trenching for sprinklers. It's too muddy to move! Plus the 16" deep trenches have about 14" of standing water in them. Again. We thought we'd have the garden in and lay sod this weekend. Not going to happen. *sigh*

Seriously, our weather is absolutely gorgeous during the week and abysmal on the weekends--the only time Sweetheart can really work. Of course, we've still been out there working in the rain and Sweetheart does as much as he can in the rain and the dark. Not always too successful as we now need to replace a fencepost on our fence because it got in the way. Oops!

As for inside things, I finally completed a projected I've been working on forever and my sister will finally get her birthday present next weekend. Her birthday was in January. Yep. Sewing is new to me and I'd been trying to sew a purse for here out of some fabric I had she liked. First it was put off because I couldn't work the sewing machine with my bum ankle, then we had Pumpkin's stuff. I've been a bit addled myself and not too good on finishing projects. I've had to switch patterns because apparently pattern writing is a second language and not one I'm fluent in. But it is done. Finally.

I was so excited to finally finish, and was on such a roll sewing that I whipped up some new valances for the family room. I took down the velvet drapes and sheers when I washed everything for spring cleaning. When I was done, I hung back up the sheers and loved it not wanting to rehang the heavy drapes. It looked unfinished though. I had some fabric I'd picked up at a fabric sale in November. So far I'd made it into a table runner, but still had a few yards left. So, I quickly rolled out the fabric making sure it was wide enough and cut it into four equal lengths. I then hemmed all the edges and made a pocket thingy for the rod. Done!

(Look closely~you can see the skid steer through the sheers!)

Moving the sewing machine to the kitchen counter has made it easy to work on things and not have to wait until the boys are sleeping. I've also been whipping up some easy drawstrings bags for all sorts of things. I made fleece bags for Sweetheart's sunglasses collection which of course meant the boys needed bags for their shades as well. I made a bunch of light-weight bags for all my bulk foods and produce. I've used them a few times already and I love them!

Today I'm making salves, body butters and more lip balms. I'll do a separate post on the salve later. I've got little bottles and tubes all over and lots of things cooling on the window sill. The house smells great~like beeswax and lavender mostly.

So, picture my kitchen. I've got all my body product ingredients out, the sewing machine on the counter, and two flat of seedlings I'm trying to keep alive until they can be planted. It looks awful, but necessary. The boys are happily reading and playing with trains as I type. We can hear the birds outside chirping and there is a gentle breeze stirring the lace curtains at the kitchen window.

I'll sign off for now. I need to check on the body butter, and get lunch going for the boys. Hope you all are having a lovely day as well.

Busy Days

Our weather here in Colorado in Spring is ever changing. Three days of rain and snow are followed by three days of sunshine and seventy degrees. I've been taking the boys all sorts of places to enjoy the sunny days. We've been to the Denver Zoo, Littleton Museum, the Hudson Gardens, and the park nearby several times.


I've also started Spring Cleaning. I'm trying to do one room a day, except the Kitchen which I'm planning several days for. For me, this means cleaning everything from the ceiling fans to the curtains, blinds, furniture, drawers, cabinets and everything down to the baseboards and floors. So far I've completed the Living Room, Dining Room, Family Room and some of the Kitchen. That leaves the rest of the Kitchen for this weekend and the Laundry Room & Hall Closet for Monday. Then the main floor will be done.


Upstairs I have the Bedrooms and Bathrooms and the Loft. Luckily, I gutted the loft a few weeks ago, so it's not too bad. Doing the Bedrooms also means going through all the clothes for me and the boys. They are growing so fast! Dumpling mostly fits into what Pumpkin wore last year. My clothes are a disaster. I'm so in between sizes and seasons and all. It stinks. I'm tired of what actually fits and have tons of clothes that I'm still too big for. It's pathetic, so I'm kind of dreading it all.

Finally, I'll tackle the Basement. That's always so much fun. Hah. So, I'm cutting back time on the computer for a bit as I'm working on these things. I'll be back.

Exactly.

Good Morning Ladies!

I am assuming that you all are ladies. I think I've had two gentlemen leave comments--ever--and those were on specific posts that related to them. So, good morning ladies.

It is a beautiful, sunny Colorado morning here. We've been out of town visiting family for a few days. I unpacked most things yesterday when we arrived home, but will spend time today putting everything back to normal. The laundry's running and I need to make bread. The flour's milled, but I need to put it together to rise. The boys are happily eating breakfast as I type.

I think we'll head off to the market later this morning. Colorado peaches are on sale right now for a good price so I'm planning on getting a whole bunch to preserve. I think some canned peaches and some peach jam sound good, don't you? Hopefully, they'll gel better than my strawberry preserves! I'm planning on testing how it sets on the plate method since going purely by the temperature didn't work so well.

Oh, the kettle is whistling. Just a moment. There, it's steeping now. I love a fresh pot of hot tea, don't you? I've been drinking more iced tea lately, but I do so enjoy my little cup full of steaming Earl Grey. Speaking of tea, be sure to scroll down to the post before this one and enter to win my tea basket. You may enter until midnight Wednesday, the 13th, to win.

Well, the boys and the tea are both ready, so I'll sign off for now. I have quite a few pictures to share from our time away. The one at the top of the post in looking across my Stepmother's country garden out to the pasture and the mountains. This is where Sweetheart and I were married ten years ago last month. It's matured a lot and gets more beautiful with each passing year. Something I would have considered impossible since it was gorgeous the day we were wed.

Thoughts

I've opened the window to do a new post many times in the last week. I've kept a few ramblings as drafts, but more often than not I just end up closing the window for lack of time or cogent thoughts to write. I've been thinking about ever so many things, and writing about none. The few moments snatched here and there are so often cut short by other things. I don't want to say interruptions, as Pumpkin and Dumpling should not be considered such.

But there are always little ones to hold, feed, & help that writing seems about impossible. I was copying some Scriptures into one of my Everything Books this morning before the boys woke up. I stared an an empty page, but just turned it as I could not gather my own thoughts. No matter, "His ways are higher than our ways, His thoughts higher than our thoughts".

I sat a wondered when the last time I had even held, much less wrote in, one of my books. Too long. I know that it has been a few weeks. I've been quietly living close to home. We've had lovely visits from kind friends during the days and have just entertained ourselves the rest of the time complete with our naps in the afternoons.

It is not always easy to get the necessary things done from 10-12 each morning, which is about the only time we leave the house- coordinating life between naps. It has been an expensive week though, with some necessary purchases that could be put off no longer, grocery shopping, and a trip to Target today. I've been avoiding Target like the plague, but the boys did need those diaper things. (I stocked up so that I don't have to go again until next month, I hope.)

We've gone out at some point everyday this week and I am about done in. I am amazed at how much energy growing babies and raising babies seems to take out of me. I am resting in the afternoons most days just to make it through to bedtime. This requires that I do more chores in the evenings though, which is something I've tried to avoid.

As I snatch a few minutes here and there for little projects and chores, I am trying to focus on what it is I am doing at each moment. I am trying to live in the moment and be more aware of each little thing, not mentally racing on to the next thing, or doing a bunch of things at once. My ablity and desire to multitask is gone. And that's ok. It'll all get done that needs to and what isn't completed must not be too important.

Life is...

a gift

a journey

loving

laughing

playing

tickling

savoring.

It is not about...

racing around

accomplishments

acquiring

competing

perfection.

Life is good.

Now it's time to go rotate the laundry.