Such a full week

There are many moments in my days where I breath out hard and heavy and just pray to God to give me patience, energy, and a loving heart to continue on through all of the hundreds of small details that make up both a mom's day and a small business owner's day.  But remembering all of the beautiful moments that make up our days helps me to keep perspective and to remember that there is so much joy and so much love that does go on each day despite my shortcomings.

With Abraham and Emmy needing a change of pace and with myself trying to do too many things at once, we all needed a change of pace the other morning.  I grabbed a basket, some graham crackers, a jug of water, some knitting and a blanket and said, "Let's go have a morning picnic snack on the other side of the pond."  We found some berries along the way.

Abby, Isaac and friends working on building a dock.

I smile whenever I find one of Abe's drawings.

She is now walking as she pushes the stroller!

The first canning of the season was completed this week - Carrots in Honey and Vinegar, Pungent Green Beans, and Pickles.

Sarah and Abraham love pickles and made quick work of finishing up the ones that were leftover after filling up the jars.

Sarah is now reading and we are having a hard time getting her to stop!  It has taken some patience, some diligence, and some faith that all of her small steps towards breaking the code would finally be victorious. 

Wishing you a beautiful day.

Warm Wishes,

Tonya

Knitting

Joining in again this week with Ginny as knitting and reading are two of my favorite pastimes.  

Inspired by this talented mama, I have been working on the Boneyard shawl.  I love this simple pattern - no counting or keeping track after the first few rows.  I chose a dk weight yarn from Peace Fleece and a larger needle - size 8 - to hopefully give a soft drape to the shawl.

Also, I have started working on this very simple knit doll from the winter edition of Living Crafts for a special someone's first birthday coming up next month.  I am using some beautiful plant dyed yarn from Vermont sheep.

Looking for some good reading suggestions this week.  I have been doing lots of homeschool planning and reading some more of Wendell Berry's essays (which are great!)  - but I am ready for something new and inspiring.

Warm wishes,

Tonya

New Chicken Coop

for many years we used this former children's play house that we found for free on the side of the road nearby where we lived in Massachusetts (that was 7 years ago)

Having to stoop over to clean it, put in the food and water and gather the eggs made it rather difficult and uncomfortable.

Mike built an attachment on to the small rustic barn that was here when we bought our property.  He used hemlock from our homestead and rough sawed lumber from a small mill down the road

They have a much larger fenced in area to romp.

But what I love most is that I can stand upright and walk around the inside coop!  

Who would have thought it would be exciting to be able to scrape the poop into a bucket with a hoe - - - gather the eggs with out banging my head - - - and the chickens have lots more space.

Lessons Learned Camping

Bring many extra changes of clothes because tent sites don't have grass - crawling 10 month olds get dirty fast!

Time goes slowly so you really get to savor the moments.  There is no need to rush anything.

Bring jugs of water from home so you don't have to buy drinking water.

If you don't like your assigned camp site, take a walk and request one that you works for your family.  After finding a tiny postage stamp set on a hill assigned to our family, Sarah and i quickly walked around the other sites and found a perfect one - set apart with a small field and all wood behind us.  

Research the campground as well as you possibly can.  We were under the impression from the website pictures that the campground was set right on a lake.  Unfortunately, we had to cross a very busy road to get to the small beach and you could hear said road all night.

Bring tarps to make covers over the tents and a waterproof canopy over your table and food preparation area.  If it rains, which it did, you have to pack it up and head home.  We were sorry that we only had one night instead of the three we had planned and our time was cut short to spend with my mom and step-father.   

During our short time, though, Abby and Isaac had a bike ride on a bike path with "Nana and Grumps", we went to a farmers' market, enjoyed ice cream and swimming and many other moments together.

Hope you also had a weekend filled with special moments.

Warm wishes,

Tonya

Moments from the Week

Preparing

Lots of dicing, cutting, blending, cooking and baking going on here. 

Lots of list making, packing, piling, and preparing going on here.

We are getting ready to go camping!

Knitting and Vintage Children's Books

Joining in with Ginny of Small Things today because knitting and reading are two of my favorite things to do as well!

I am still working on the child's vest and making up the pattern as I go along, using our hand dyed yarn.

These books are the ones I am reading to the younger children - a chapter of Peter Pan in the morning and a chapter of Copper-Toed Boots in the evening.  The copy of Peter Pan is one I have had since I was a child and I found the other book at a thrift shop.  

Copper-Toed Boots has been an enjoyable read about a boy and his life in the early nineteen hundreds I would say.  I love how so much of their life is a reflection of the seasons.

I have finished the Duggar book and am looking for something new to read in between the homeschool planning.

What are you reading and/or knitting?

Warm wishes,

Tonya