A Full Day of Work Even With the Snow and Mud and Inspiration from the March for Our Lives

What a wonderful work day we had yesterday.  Despite the snow cover and the mud, we were able to get so much accomplished.  I am so thankful for our health and the ability to use our bodies to work.

*The goat stalls cleaned out

*More sap collected and over 20 gallons boiled down.  We made about 1/2 gallon of syrup yesterday.

*Some window trim replaced and some painted (that was directly in the sun.)

*Hay picked up from a nearby barn where Mike and Isaac had to use a sled to bring the bales from the barn to the car but we are thankful for a nearby source of hay

*Because of all of the snow I am not sure when I will get the lettuce seedlings starts planted so I separated some to see if that will help them to continue to grow while inside

*Oh, and I spotted a little woolly caterpillar - spring must be coming soon.

On another note, I haven't been going on twitter or facebook lately so I wasn't aware of the scope of the March for Our Lives.  At lunch as Mike and I were checking on things online, we noticed that there was live coverage of the DC march and we watched some of the young people speak as we ate.  Later that evening, we watched a few more. 

So many sad stories - so much needless violence and death.  What I found so encouraging and hopeful was how the men in the video I link to below, were sent to Parkland shortly after the shooting to help them cope with the aftermath of gun violence - it opened the Parkland students' eyes to the fact that so many young people in the cities of our country, are living with this same trauma every day of their lives.  And the Parkland students realized their privilege of being heard and being able to utilize financial resources to make themselves heard,  and they realized that so many others do not have this privilege.  Together, young people from all walks of life, from all different backgrounds, are coming together.  Such brave and heroic people with the bottom line being that we do have the power to make change.  It is called voting and being in contact with your elected officials.  It is called standing together such as so many did yesterday.  Our country has an amazing foundation - the constitution  - which makes change possible.  I want to share the video of two young men that we found particularly moving - especially the second speaker in this video. 

Warm wishes,

Tonya

A Day in Our Life

Most days we meet at the table at 9:00 and talk, work, read aloud until about 11:00 when I prepare lunch.

As we learn and read, we try to find countries on the globe.

 This day Emily began to cut up some straws which we later strung to make necklaces.

While I am making lunch, Emmy asks me to put her hair in a ballerina bun, she puts on her Elsa dress and dances.

 

After lunch, I get outside to work around the homestead for a couple of hours - right now my work is preparing the garden.  By late afternoon, I generally spend a couple of hours on the business doing computer work, wood burning, and packaging.

During my work time, Mike usually works on some building projects and most everyone else is outside with him.

He just finished a little shelter for our Nigerian Dwarf buck and will start a fenced in area for him today so we can keep him separate from the girls for most of the year. 

Certain days of the week we have some other activities, such as an art/music class on Monday afternoon for Abraham and Sarah and homeschool gym time on Friday afternoons.  We try to not have to leave the house on Tuesday and Thursdays to minimize driving and to be more productive.

Warm wishes,

Tonya

Returning

I am back in this space after not getting the hang of squarespace.  I like the feel here and also it really contains so much of our family's journey.  Looking back at how our dreams have been realized one step at a time, but of course not without occasional interruptions and challenges.

We are mostly settled on our new homestead in the midcoast Maine area.  The house is an antique Cape, although, it has been "cheapified" over the years and I hope to add some rustic charm and character over the coming years.  It is smallish, 3 bedrooms (the girls' bedroom is quite large, though) but it has a nice open living space with a large kitchen.   The land, at 7 1/2 acres, is what is most exciting.  We have lots of maples to tap next spring, plenty of firewood available to cut, gardening space, an overgrown field that can be reclaimed for growing or pasture and much more.  

Being in a new area, however, no matter how beautiful and no matter how much more it has to offer our family in terms of homeschool groups, classes, a bit more of a diversified population (not really diversified but at least in terms of age and vocations, etc..), it has still been harder than I thought it would be.

As spring has returned, though, our eyes are on the long days of work ahead.  Firewood and fencing the garden are our first priorities.  We also plan to plant blueberry bushes, rhubarb, and asparagus.

Thank you for reading and I hope you will find your way here from time to time as I share bits and pieces of our life with five children still at home, 5 goats (at the moment), 12 chickens, 1 duck, 1 dog, 1 kitten, and 2 pet bunnies, as well as what it is like to learn and work together on our home based business which supports our family's simple lifestyle.

What We Are Up To....

Knitting ... Boothbay from Hannah Fettig's new book, Home and Away

The patterns in this book are wonderfully simple but timeless and the images are beautiful.

Painting ... Last week I began the project of painting our entire bedroom - something that has been needed since we bought our home six years ago.  So with lots of caulking to fill in the cracks, holes, etc and then a couple of coats of paint - I have painted the ceiling, walls, floors, and am finishing up the trim.

Gutting ... The two upstairs bedrooms and putting on a new roof over those bedrooms (it is about 1/3 of the house).  Because of water damage the walls have mold in them and need to be completely gutted, insulated, and sheetrocked.  The roof we will be stripping (2 layers of shingles and 1 layer of metal) and then shingling.  Since we are doing it ourselves, we should be good and tired for the next three weeks - but it is all good.

Coloring ... The children are enjoying color-by-numbers right now, simple ones for the younger ones to really detailed books for Sarah.

Enjoy this day!

Warm wishes,

Tonya

I Have Missed Being Here

 Nolan surprised Mike for Father's Day by rebuilding the trailer that had pretty much rotted out.

When Emmy saw it, she couldn't stop asking for a hay ride and Mike obliged the other day when we had to go buy more hay from a neighbor.

 Emmy has made it obvious that she is our next performer, taking after her oldest brother.

She walks around the house signing loudly and dancing  - usually a song from Annie or Frozen.

Looking forward to being back to share bits and pieces of our family's very simple life - which although simple, is not easy.

Looking forward to connecting again with you.

Warm wishes,

Tonya

A New Birch Fence Around the Wood Stove

Our previous fence had been made of upcycled room dividers and they were beginning to show their five years of use.

Using birch gathered from the edge of fields and some screws we had on hand, Mike made this the other afternoon.

Garlic

Two years ago we harvested our first crop of 50 heads.

This past first of August it was about 60.

This past week, 105 cloves were planted, all coming from our own garlic harvest.

I am finding garlic to be one of the easiest and most rewarding crops to grow and store and plan to do more each year until we have more than enough for ourselves, neighbors and friends, gifts and to sell.

(Side note:  Here is an interesting article - what do you think?)

My Favorite Zucchini Bread Recipe

1 1/2 c. grated zucchini

1/2 c. maple syrup

1/2 c. melted butter

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

1/2 c. chopped nuts

I just combine all of the ingredients and pour into a greased bread pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 45 - 55 minutes.

Canning Tomatoes

Tomatoes are the only vegetable I can each summer.  I don't like to use the energy that is needed to can - specifically heating water for the canning pot, it seems to take so long to get the quantity of water needed to a boiling point.

I keep it really simple - just chop, simmer for about an hour, fill the jars, and put in the hot water bath for 5 - 10 minutes.   Then as I want to use them over the winter, I can either make tomato sauce or use them in various dishes.

These Days

I will say it again - that I just love these days between Christmas and New Years.  A time to regroup and lay low.   It is even easier to do with a virus keeping me quiet for a day or two at least. 

The goats are enjoying the Christmas tree.

We've been blessed with another bounty of birch.  The ice storm left birch trees hanging in the road so the road crews cut them down and left them on the sides.

The temperatures have dropped dramatically today so that the windows are icing over.  But the pond, after 40 degree weather yesterday and some rain, is perfect!

I was able to get a sweater off to a now-not-so-new cousin.

And I am finally catching up with letter writing and some holiday cheer using handmade note cards stamped with a stamp I made at a class this past summer.

I am thinking lots over these last few days if there is such a thing as too simple.  I mean we can go days without leaving our home except to do mailings.   Is it ok to miss out on all the world has to offer?  Or is fulfillment more a state of mind.  So many people I know (and I used to be like this) think that the grass is always greener.  Not that living out one's dreams isn't admirable and truly what I think we are supposed to do during this one life we have.  But, what if your dreams are small now and maybe all the little things really are big things - I guess it just depends upon how you look at it.

Home for Thanksgiving

The weather kept us home for Thanksgiving.  With no central heat (the woodstove is our heat source) and very cold temperatures (the animals' water would need refreshing because of freezing), and to top it all of we woke up to 6" of fallen snow Thanksgiving morning - a trip three hour day trip to my aunt's in New Hampshire was not to be.  

Not planning on being home, we resorted to plan B - eggnog, apple pie, sorbet with gingerale, and lasagna - with just the 8 of us.

The outdoors became our playground.  

Isaac worked on my antique sewing machine and made a belt for it with duct tape - it worked!

We played games.

Drank out of wine glasses.

and 

Gave thanks.

Easy Isn't the Answer

(Photographs courtesy of Isaac Gunn)

When things get so busy on our little homestead, I need to remind myself of why our family has chosen the life we lead.  I need to remember that freedom from being tied down, freedom from the rat race, and free to make our days as we choose are invaluable.  Sometimes I think that my life would be so much easier if Mike got a regular job and I didn't have to figure out how to juggle children, housework, cooking, a very busy business, homestead, and husband - oh and maybe, just maybe a little creative time thrown in for myself.  But then I just reflect back on all of the steps we have taken to get where we are now and why we chose this life.  It may very well be easier if Mike did get a "regular" job.  But you know what?  Easier is seldom ever better.  Easy rarely accomplishes goals.  Easy seldom equates living ones values.  It's hard work.