Sunflower Wreath

After the petals fell from our cut sunflower, I noticed how beautiful the remaining sunflower still is and wired it to our grapevine wreath.  When it dries out, it will become a treat for the chickens.

Knitting and Homesteading

I am still working on the Boneyard Shawl - just loving the simplicity.  Now I am wondering when to stop?  How large do I want it?  I am going to keep this one for myself but I would like to start another for someone special for a Christmas gift.

Also, so not to get too bored, after cleaning out a yarn drawer, I found myself with many little left over balls of Peace Fleece and started knitting another Plain Vest in stripes.

As far as reading, I took a book off of our bookshelves to re-read, How to Live on Almost Nothing and Have Plenty by Janet Chadwick (1979) and am really enjoying it this time.  It is neat when you pick up a book you haven't looked at for a couple of years and find all kinds of ideas and tidbits that would work for where you are in life now, but probably didn't when you last read it.  Does that make sense?

Our family has something exciting going on - some plans for the future - and much of the plans involve getting more immersed in the homesteading lifestyle - and to share our skills with others.  I will be sharing our new dreams in the coming months here.

Joining in with Ginny today for the Yarn Along.

Healthier Zucchini Bread

As I work toward eliminated white and brown sugars from my diet and using less for the rest of the family, I did a google search to look for a zucchini bread using maple syrup as an alternative.

I found this one.

I doubled the recipe, and added walnuts to one of the loaves.  

Delicious!  - even husband and child approved.

Outside My Kitchen Windows

Each Monday I thought I would share two photos - one from each of our kitchen windows - of a scene I captured while going about my daily work of baking, cooking, and cleaning in the kitchen.

I thought it would be fun to pay attention, to observe the changes of the seasons, and to appreciate the small bits of beauty that surround us.

If you would like to join in, please leave a link in your comment.

Warm wishes,

Tonya

More Pictures of the Chicken Coop

A reader asked me for more complete pictures of our coop addition.

This is the front view.  Mike built it coming straight off the side wall, using hemlock logs as the frame from our property.

The "barn" structure was here when we moved in - a bit of a ramshackle mess - filled with trash, leaning a bit.  But we have done what we could within our budget and work on balancing what we really "need" versus what we want.  

I am sure many people would have burned it or torn it down but it works for us.

The barn keeps the elements out, the goats in at night, stores our hay and garden tools - we are grateful it was here.

This is the view from the side.  We are using the back portion to store bicycles.

For the windows we bought heavy duty window screen by the yard and then when it get colds, we will be ordering plexi-glass to screw over the screening for the winter.

Warm wishes,

Tonya

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