New Spaces Inside

With the long dark days upon us (not to mention cold), I changed around all of our living spaces yesterday.

Of course, there were probably more important things that could have taken precedence but when I set my mind on something I am usually full steam ahead for better or worse.

Our house is very rustic (some people have even suggested that we may want to tear it down and 

build new - not that that is even an option for our budget.)

We like it, though, and are not caught up in making everything new and improved when for the most part it works just fine as it is.  Yes, there are some things that will need to be done such as resurfacing the very splintery wood floors and replacing some terribly inefficient windows.

I do find it fun, though, to change things up from time to time.

Our main living area is very open but is made up of four areas - the entry, kitchen, dining, and living.  

The living area became the dining area so that we could now get cozy by the woodstove and watch our Little House on the Prairie episodes from netflix.

The dining area is now by the windows to keep it lighter for projects.

Even though I think we have very little "stuff", I find myself overwhelmed with what little we do have when I go through this process. Makes me rethink what is important and what isn't.  I have even started to consider utilizing netbooks/readers to help minimize all of the paper as books and magazines are what we seem to have the most of.

I like observing how everyone in the family is utilizing our new spaces and being creative with newly found toys and books.

Reading and Knitting

Excited to be joining in with Ginny today.  She had a beautiful baby boy recently.

I am still on the knitting Plain vests run.

I just love the simplicity of the pattern and how practical they are and the newest one I started is going to be striped, using up bit of yarn.

I am reading a book that I found at our little library, Happy Hollow Farm by William R. Lighton.

Here is an excerpt from the beginning -

     "Suppose you had wanted some big thing with all your heart for all your life; and suppose you knew your wife had always wanted just the same thing in just the same way.  Suppose that in the fullness of time, when you were in the very prime of your years, with the joy of life at its strongest, this fond dream should become reality; and suppose that after half a dozen years of actual experience you should find the reality better beyond compare than the dream ever dared be.  Suppose all this, and how do you suppose you'd feel?

     Well, that's the story of Happy Hollow Farm.

     Maybe I'd better say right at the beginning, and have it over with, that ours is different from the general run of back-to-the-land stories.  There was no harsh or bitter fact in our lives that drove us to farming as a last hope.  I hadn't lost my job in town.  I wasn't facing a nervous breakdown after long years of faithful service of an inhuman employer......"

This was written in 1914.  I thought it was neat because those same words could have been written today.  

Lately

Life has been so very full that I haven't taken the time to be online over the last several days except checking on our business.

Nothing all that exciting but just the regular kind of things that make up our daily living.

One small homesteading related thing I did was  when I cleaned the chicken coop the other day, I started a compost pile with the litter inside the chicken's fenced in area.  I got the idea after listening/watching this great talk by Mark Shephard.  He is the author of a new book, Restoration Agriculture, and he has some real neat ideas.  I love learning of something new that makes life easier while at the same time makes better use of resources.  Now with our compost pile with the chickens, they will turn it over and benefit from the insects and worms.

Business is getting busier as the holidays approach.  I am working hard on keeping focused on the task that is right before me and trying not to get overwhelmed.

Appreciative that said business made it possible to take time out to be useful to a family that needed help.

Emmy is going through a very needy time and if I don't pay close enough attention she might have all the toy baskets dumped out within a few seconds.   Working on figuring out what she is really needing.

The weather has changed dramatically here.  Today it is in the 20s  with a real fierce wind and snow.  Abraham keeps telling me it is winter and although I want to correct him that the winter solstice is still over a month away, I don't.  He is probably right that winter has arrived.

Warm wishes,

Tonya

Polly is Paul

We heard the crowing yesterday - loud and clear.  Not once but three times during the day.

Still not sure how we are going to navigate having a pet meat bird that gets

beat up by the hens.

One day at a time I guess.

A Beautiful Afternoon

Yesterday was a gift.

Well, everyday is really.  

But the sunshine and warmth on November 6, I call extra special.

A perfect day to clean the chicken coop - not a beautiful job, but satisfying when done.

These are pictures of our four ducks.  They are bantam mallards (I think...).  

 Glad to have two pairs and really hoping for babies next spring.

Wishing you a beautiful day,

Tonya

(P.S.  Several people asked me yesterday about the Lego magazine.  It is free from here.)

Learning Naturally

Just this morning...

Abraham made a Lego creation following instructions from the magazine that arrived yesterday.

Sarah read aloud about how our paper money is made after asking me to print out the information for her while I was at the library yesterday.

Abby made a recipe she found online yesterday at the library.  She had to look up some conversions such as grams to cups.

I am working harder at being a better observer of my children.  Making notes of what they are learning each day.  Working my way one step at a time toward what my heart tells me, that unschooling is right for our family.

Making Pizza

Isaac offered to make pizza for dinner last night. 

His first time making dough on his own.

He made the dough from scratch, used canned sauce and shredded the cheese.

He kept asking me if we really eat so much flour, not quite believing how few ingredients there are in dough. 

(Even though I make bread nearly everyday but usually at 7:00 am when he is still in bed.)

In no rush at all and so in tune with what he was doing (where I sometimes think of it as another task that needs to get completed), enjoying the process.  The kneading, the rolling and the spreading.

So now he has two things he can make mostly from scratch - pizza and apple pie.