Warm, cozy, crafty….Peace!
Last Night’s Views
Life
When Did She Grow So Big?
My first daughter is quickly turning into a young lady. She just celebrated birthday 7…7 years already!! I will post pictures from that day and her joint party with her cousin, Chai (who is visting all the way from Australia…we are so happy they are here!) soon. But I just received this photo from this year’s soccer pics…who is that girl?! When did my little baby turn into a real kid and how do I slow this down?
Life is speeding by way too fast. I wish I could find someway to slow down time. I blink and they are bigger…I’m trying to savor every moment. These girls are all light and love to us…I have to say I do laugh with them everyday and feel so amazingly grateful to have this time, no matter how fast it goes.
Hope your day is slow and easy. Peace!
Just Breath
Heather over at Shivaya Naturals had a great post today that included this picture:
(Photo courtesy of Sarah of Bella Luna Toys)
We have been doing alot of mixing things up around here. Our natural rhythms were being pushed aside to make room for the business of life. We were not forgetting what is important, but just going too fast to really stop and breath in the moments with our kids. So we are taking some steps backwards and starting anew.
We have very basic needs for our life as a family, and to be happy is at the top of the list. Just like most families these days, we feel the crunch of the economy. We spent last year with J out of a job and literally making just enough to keep the house and lights on (most of the time it was literally down to the last day and last penny). It was extremely hard, extremely scary, and extremely humbling. During these darker days, some light did creep in though. We found out just what we are all made of and we found we are strong. We became more creative in our endeavors to bring joy into our home. I found my green thumb in the garden and my knitting hands became calloused with the hours spent learning new techniques. The girls found that more didn’t necessarily make them happy and that the things they received made from mama and daddy’s hands were better than any store bought gift. We learned to simplify and to really be happy with what we have. This isn’t to say we were hoping J stayed out of work forever, not at all…but rather these were lessons we learned inside each of us, even when we didn’t realize we were learning them. There were many dark days…depressing days to be honest…but now that J is working again we are realizing how easy it is to get away from the good parts of our time in the dark. We are by no means sleeping on 100 dollar bills, but at least we know we can pay our bills on time, and treat ourselves to dinner out once in awhile. Still, having been so poor that we honestly didn’t know where the extra money we’d need was coming from each month (thank the gods for my childcare work here at home though….that job kept our lights on), it was easy to start feeling “rich” once a steady paycheck was flowing in. We got cable again, splurged a little more on things and just got busier for some reason…
Well, we are taking a few steps back now and just breathing. We are happy…I am so incredibly grateful to have the man I do and to have found a way to contribute to our income and still be home with our girls. He has never pressured me to do anything other than be happy. We support each other emotionally and completely. We need to just slow down a little and start just being again. Our children are really our world. They are amazing kids, all of them. They have taught us so much about what is truly important in life. When we stop and just let them be, our world is so much richer.
So with all that hot air now blown, this post is really boiling down to a very simple conclusion. It’s time to just stop and breath, laugh, hug, play and love. Thank you Heather for reminding us that we really are happier when we make that time to truly be with our children. To listen to their cues and to admire their tenacity. Heather has asked for other ideas on how to create a joyful existence with our kids, so I encourage you all to go read her post and comment. I challenge you all to let go of the stresses of everyday life, the to do lists, schedules, worries and take a moment to breath deep and just smile. Enjoy every moment that you can because life flies by and pretty soon, those babes are grown up and on their own. You don’t get this time back…enjoy it while you have it.
Thanks for listening to this long winded post. Hope you all find your zen space, I’m rediscovering mine for sure! Peace!
Catching Up…Or, The Many Sites of AmLo Farms
Yes, it’s been eons and I do apologize…but I have a good excuse – life! Yes folks, the holidays are upon us and life is taking on a whole new meaning around the farm. So many preparations and events. The girls are giddy with holiday surprises and plans. We got to go to our first company Holiday party with J’s work. That was great fun! He even won a Wii for the family which was just what our oldest farmgirl had been wanting….haha! I’m not a huge fan of video games, but this one is actually alot of fun and promotes cooperation and togetherness – usually unheard of in video games. We only have the Wii Sports and will most likely keep it to that for quite some time. As a family we are bowling, playing tennis and golfing (this one elicites squeels of laughter whenever mommy’s turn comes up – no folks, I am not a golfer). We had a great dinner and yummy desserts as well. The company gives all the kids presents, face painting and horse-drawn carriage rides to see the lights of the town of New Braunfels. We all had such a great time!
The day after the company party, we went into Gruene, Texas. What a great little town! We got there just as they were opening up their seasonal market days so the Heritage Riders were there re-enacting the jobs of the Pony Express. They brought a proclamation from the Governor officially opening the markets days in Gruene. There are quite a few artists in the area, so the open air market had so much to see. It was a cold day, so hot cocoa was in order from the local coffee house. We explored the market and then ate sandwiches at the Gristmill. It is an old cotton mill turned into restaurant and it was good! There are probably at least 10 dining rooms, not to mention all the outside patios. We sat near a roaring fire in one of the several fireplaces in the building and treated ourselves. Not really having money to spend on things like this, it is extra special when we can.
After Gruene we came back to our town and saw Santa at the library. Xi was quite shy, but Lola explained how we saw a Santa in Gruene who had a cowboy hat on and how he must be an imposter. Our library Santa gently explained that he has many helpers and no one is trying to fool the kids on purpose..haha! That made both of them much happier.
We returned home to garden sadness though. The night before had been our first hard freeze and we covered all that we felt needed it. The rest were on their own and were just going to have to go through the seasonal changes. My father in law explained to me to just leave all the plants looking like they do and not cut anything except the annuals. From what I’ve learned, the frozen bits on the plants act like insulation for the rest of the plant and keeps the inside protected until Spring. Right after the last frost of the year is when we will prune everything and hopefully Spring will see an explosion of most of it returning. We need to mulch, mulch, mulch, which we are in the middle of doing. Today is warm, above 70! Wierd weather. Some things made it through just fine of course, so there still is quite a bit of green going on.
Ranunculus are coming up and hopefully growing strong.
Larkspur sprouts
Brocolli going strong as well!
The days are spent preparing for my favorite time of year. I love the Winter festivals so much. The girls put their slippers out for St. Nick on the 5th and woke up to fresh oranges, new Nutcrackers and bendy doll winter sprites. They were thrilled.
We make all our gifts not only because of financial necessity, but mainly because I do believe these are the best gifts to give. I love creating things for family and friends, putting love into each stitch or stroke of the paintbrush. This year the girls are getting their annual sweaters as well as some homemade toys and dolls. One neighbor gave me a scroll saw and another gave me some really nice wood scraps, so I am going to try my hand at toy making today..yay! I love the wooden figures from Germany, but cannot afford them. This way I can make the girls and William some heirloom toys that they can pass down. We are all decorated, ready to bake, continuing our projects and preparations for Christmas. We are all having fun doing it all too!
Instead of a nature table, we have a nature wall.
This little painting hung in J’s grandparents house and was painted by one of his great aunts or uncles.
Shh..it’s a surprise.
What are you doing to prepare? Peace to everyone!!! XOXO
Busy Times
It’s been a whirlwind 2 weeks to say the least. With the party last week and then commitments this week, I don’t know if I’ve even had time to breath! Hah! The girls are doing great though and have been enjoying alot of fun with cousins (my sister was in town), friends and summertime fun. They got to go horseback riding on Weds. and I swear Xiola is obsessed now. She was such a natural on the horse too, no fear at all! My friend said she can come out anytime and ride. T will take care of her and teach her all the proper ways to do it. Lola really loved it too but was more interested in exploring the property with her friend..hah. Xi just didn’t want to leave the horse.
After the morning of riding, I took the girls and their other friend to the Hoppin’ House, which is an indoor jumpy house playground. They jumped for over 2 hours and were exhausted by the time it was all said and done. Both crashed right after dinner and didn’t move until the next morning. It was hard to capture pictures of them there as they were running all over. Lola immediately found friends of course and was buried so deep in the jumpy houses that all I got were a few of her back..haha!
My nephew has been hanging out with us this weekend. He’s 15 and so very sweet. He just moved here to live with my brother full time. His mom is in New Orleans. We are so excited to have him close again. He’s been helping J do maintenance on the skate ramp and will help him resurface it as well. He’s also great with the girls and helps me around here. I might just keep him..shhh! And J decided to cut his hair! It was past his shoulder blades when wet, now it’s up to his neck. He looks good!
The chickens decided it was time to thin the pumpkins…you can insert a growl from me here. I had to clean up the bed and then work on the stronger ones that are still hanging on. I am battling borers and am hoping they don’t win. I was able to get alot of the stems covered with good dirt and then fertilized with Rocket Fuel. The cantaloupe vine is doing well as are the pepper plants, nothing is setting though as the temps are just too high. I’m trying to keep everything alive until the Fall in hopes that they start pumping out fruit..so we’ll see. My tomatoes are doing just okay. The plants themselves are healthy and I’ve been pruning for Fall. My bush tomato is pumping out fruit but it’s so hot that it’s taking forever to ripen. We did manage to get 3 good size tomatoes that we just finished eating today however..yum! Jalapenos are growing beautifully, but no flowers. The plants are very pretty however.
I planted more Zinnia, Cosmos and Mexican Sunflowers from seed in the veggie bed yesterday. That bed will turn over into a new flower bed and then the veggies will be grown in the raised beds and the Back 40. I did manage to get the second raised bed built by myself. Let’s just say I’m not a carpenter and have never built anything from scratch alone, so it’s not the prettiest bed but will work just fine. I hesitate to put pictures up just yet though. Hah!
The front yard is looking great and so far the drip is working like a charm. We are going to tweak a couple things but nothing major. Everything is looking happy so far, better than when I was hand watering and I know we are using alot less water.
So that’s a bit of the news. This afternoon we are going to my brother’s and swimming with the kids. Making it an early night. I have one more week off from my child care work and so am going to find things for the kids to do this week. Then starting on the 10th it’s back with my extra kids and then the 24th its full time again. The summer is actually going by fast and I’m really looking forward to cooler Fall weather.
Hope you all are well! I want to send a huge hug to my sister Carol at Happy High Heels. Just letting her know I’m thinking of her today!
Peace!
Xi going down a HUGE slide at the Hoppin’ House. This one was her favorite. Notice her scared face, she loves to be scared. Hah!:
After Xi’s ride was over she didn’t want to get off the horse, so she stayed on her while the horse refreshed himself with food and water:
Xi and her new-found love. She eventually wanted the reins and actually rode with T just walking alongside and Xi controlling the horse:
Climbing up for the big ride alone:
At first she wanted T riding with her:
Lola and T’s daughter, R riding together:
Xi up on the horse for the first time:
Lola having fun:
Waiting her turn:
What do you do with all the leftover cups from a party? Make a tower of course! The girls spent one afternoon for hours just playing with these cups…makes you think about all the money that can be saved from buying toys..hah!:
My girls being happy:
And finally, J with his new shorter hair…he isn’t one for pictures so I don’t have any good ones of his face and him smiling..gotta love the man though!:
The Summer Garden and a Day Out With the Girls
So I thought I’d share what the front garden is looking like right now. I’ve been keeping things watered, but was concerned about wasting so much water from run-off, even without sprinkler use. My father-in-law has been guiding me on drip irrigation and how to set it up, and yesterday brought me 3 big bags full of supplies. The only thing I need is the starter kit with the main 1/2″ poly tubing and we’ll be set. Yay! That will be a project for the weekend and I know the garden will love it. Until then, it’s watering by hand but that’s okay if it keeps looking alright. I’ve lost a couple plants in this heat, 2 lavenders which I am kind of bummed about actually. I have no idea why they up and died…too much water, too much sun, I don’t know. But I’ll try again. The white rocket isn’t looking too happy either and I may be pulling that soon. The zinnia seeds are all sprouting away though and I think I’ll end up with a decent zinnia bed finally. It’s small, but I’ll expand it after the tomatoes are for sure done and I can pull the one plant that is in the middle of all those zinnias. The shade garden is looking good too and I’m hoping will fill in nicely with the coleus, periwinkles and yarrow in there. And I saw my first Swallowtail in the yard yesterday! There are caterpillars on the proper host plants out there too, so hopefully we’ll be seeing more.
Friday we took a day off and went into town. We decided to eat lunch at Uncle Billy’s Brew & Que. So much fun! They have great food, great beer and super laid back atmosphere. The girls took their scooter and bike so were able to play on the patio until their food came. The trike that Xi is riding has a story behind it, which I’ll share in a different post, however this was the first time it had been put to the test and we think it passed with flying colors.
After lunch we made a snap decision to go over to the Alamo Drafthouse and see Transformers 2. Yes, my girls love action flicks and the Transformers is one of their utmost favorites. And to get to see it at the Alamo with ice cream and treats, too much fun! The Alamo is such a cool theater, they have tables in front of the each row of seats and a full menu. You can literally have a gourmet meal, drinks and dessert all while watching the movie. It really is alot of fun!
After a long day of sun, fun and good food we headed home and milked Kubra for the first time. Much easier than June (our old goat), but I still need help so tonight I am going to get J to help me as her utters are full and I don’t want the poor dear to dry up or feel bad. I am sure that once she gets used to it she’ll be fine, I just need him to hold her steady and feed her flax seed chips while I milk. The excitement just continues around here.
Hope you all are fine, staying cool and not as bummed as I am about the storm completely missing us. Rain is much needed as we all know!
Peace!
So Long Since Posting
We had illness run through our household. The girls recovered very quickly, I however did not. I was sick for more than 2 weeks and just exhausted. It was more effort than I had energy for to even post anything. The garden started showing my neglect…the house..the laundry…you get the picture. It was enough for me to get up and just be, anything else pretty much brought back the chills, aches and pains, excruciating exhaustion, and tummy aches. My darling friend and doctor helped me lick it though and today I am functioning at about 85%…which is huge for me considering how I was feeling!
So my apologies for no posts or pictures. They are on their way however! We did major work in the gardens this weekend, and I am slowly making a dent in the laundry as well. We are excited in the evenings to talk about plan we have for the house and studio. The girls are doing fabulous, and life seems to be continuing. Baby goats are growing fast and will soon be looking for new homes. Mama goat is going to be milked starting this weekend, and the chickens are laying in abundance. And even though I neglected the poor things, my few veggies I did manage to get going are starting to show signs of producing…yay! This year, due to weather, my illness and time constraints, we are focusing on tomatoes (9 plants in the ground and 8 more to go in as well), peppers, cucumbers, pumpkins and squash. Our herbs are doing wonderfully with the oregano’s and thyme’s turning into huge bushes now. My front beds are lovely, flowering still and we are finally seeing some shape to our landscaping, with more ideas for gates, walls and lighting flying through our brains. So much fun to plan.
I hope everyone else is doing good! Stay healthy, stay cool in the summer heat if it’s hitting you now like it’s hitting us (thank the gods for the new a/c unit!), and as always, Peace!
Busy Times
The kids have been extra active lately so it’s not easy to update these days. But things are going okay. Jason is working hard on a couple projects, the girls are growing and learning daily, the animals are all healthy and happy – we are really hoping Kubra is with child(ren). We’ll know for sure in another couple weeks or so. Exciting!
The weather has been so strange. We’ll have a day of 36 degrees all day, then 75 the next. In light of it all, we’ve all suffered from colds and allergies as pollen is floating around that really shouldn’t be right now. Crazy!
I’ve been knitting and getting ready to plan our spring veggie garden. We are probably going to start seeds in a couple weeks for the early things. I can’t believe it’s getting to be that time again! Life just keeps moving forward.
I’ve also been getting excited about new music again. In a previous life I was heavily involved in the music scene and miss it terribly. So have been seeking out new sounds. As I discover more, I’ll try to remember to share here. For starters I suggest checking out The Limes. From their site:
“The Limes draw inspiration from foreign film directors, 70’s porn music, and the great musical couples of yester-year: Joao/Astrud, John/Exene, Paul/Linda (whose “Bluebird” is covered on the Limes’ eponymous debut), resulting in groovy, off-kilter pop tunes separated by the odd instrumental track. Lovers of early Pizzicato Five and all things Jobim, take note.”
If you like lounge music, check them out!
Here are some pics to keep you company. Peace!
Happy Birthday Jason!
Hope your day is as magical as you are darling. We love you!!
Winter
Yesterday, it was 75 degrees out. The girls were in their summer gear and outside all day. I couldn’t believe it was December.
Then, the wind picked up…the clouds rolled in…and the temperature dropped…and dropped…and dropped some more. By 9pm we were walking home from our neighbor’s across the street, X and I, and getting covered in sleet and snow. X was so excited, and I have to admit I was too. I love winter weather. I love howling winds, icy cold rain/sleet/snow. I love being bundled up warm in my house with a cup of hot chocolate and my girls snuggled close. I love getting into bed at night when the sheets are crisp and it taking my breath away with how cold it is. I love jackets, scarves, mittens and hats. I love seeing my breath when I’m outside and I love my new chiminea fire place that our darling neighbor down the street surprised us with. There is nothing more warming than the heat from a fire.
After tumbling into the house, X and I laughed at each other with all the ice and snow hanging from our hair and our jackets. We giggled at how exciting it is to have been a part of it. She watched from the doorway, laughing while I struggled to wrap up the lime tree out front – it’s a miniature tree. After hot showers and warm pj’s, she snuggled up against me and fell into a blissful sleep. She’s like me…she loves the cold.
J and L are much more alike. L loves winter, but would rather not be out in it. J can’t stand any semblance of snow, sleet, ice, or anything below 60 degrees. Haha! We make quite a pair. Good thing for him we don’t live in the north! I can dream though, can’t I?
So yes, this is our first “snow storm” of the year. Not much considering how deep in it some of you all are, but it’s mine and I love it!
Oh, and a side note, due to the fact that my tomatoes had finally decided to produce fruit right at the start of the cold weather, we now have a bowl full of green tomatoes and the goats are in heaven with the now fruitless plants. Silly tomatoes!
Peace!
