Bartering

I love to barter.

This time of the year especially, it is a wonderful way to get new things for family members without exchanging  money.

I recently had a wonderful trade with Funny Farm Toy Barn and received these great hand crafted catapults to give to Abraham for Christmas and some handmade soaps.

Do you enjoy bartering either with your local economy or online?

Knitting and Reading

Last night after a very busy day, I sat down and cast on a hat - the pattern was in the new issue of Taproot which arrived the day before.  Of course, I converted the pattern to use straight needles which will mean sewing up the back, but that is ok.  The yarn is really soft, some I found at a Habitat Humanity Restore for 25 cents.

After reading about Renee referring to this book many times, I finally purchased a copy.  There is much to think about and it will take time for me to go through it again and again, discuss it with Mike, and put some of the suggestions into action.  It is about not being on the conveyor belt but instead raising children who have the ability to be leaders no matter what they do with their life.  It is not about trying to achieve status either that is not the focus.  I hope to share more.

For the younger years, the authors suggest it is most important for us as parents, to be learning all the time and to share the excitement with our children.  This will in turn spread the joy of learning to them.  This seems like common sense, but I know I can do better at talking to my children about what excites me.

Joining in with Ginny today.

A Branch for Hanging Stockings

Over the last several years I have downsized our Christmas decorations to just a few - one tote is all - and mostly all that it contains are our ornaments, lights and stockings.  Then we add some new things we may create during the season and some bits from outside brought in - real simple.

Nine stockings, if they are all to be displayed, do take up a lot of space.  This year I have hung them on a birch branch suspended by two branch hooks.

While We Work

There is so much making and packaging to do over the next two weeks.

During this time we ask more of our children.

More help with the cooking and cleaning.  (Isaac is making everyone french toast for lunch as I type)

More patience as my time and focus is spread thin.

I think, though, that they get it - that this is our business - this is how we make our living.

At least I hope they do.

I know that it is important for me to stay positive and cheerful because I want them

to see the many good parts of having one's own business. 

Compromises

This morning it was -4 degrees here.  So cold that even while out to do the morning animal chores the tips of my fingers were uncomfortable for a time.    When I jumped on the back of the rubber bucket to break the ice and water splashed on my boots, ice immediately formed on my shoelaces and then trying to undo them with aching fingers after coming inside was nearly impossible. 

The wonderful part about the cold is the skating.   Friends are over.

 In between preparing lunch and snacks for everyone, tightening skates, putting wood in the wood stove, Mike and I continue to work on our business.  I wood burn and package.  Mike heads down the basement to get some hooks done.  

This life of ours is a series of compromises.  With seven children (which yes we did choose to have a large family) we need a certain level of income to support the basics - our mortgage, keep our old Suburban running, some clothing - specifically shoes as the rest I can usually find at thrift shops, and some other random bills.  But the biggest expense for us is food.  This is a topic I am passionate about - about working towards growing and raising our own and what we cannot (which is the majority but we do a little more each year) we try to buy locally and then finally organic if I can make it work financially.  

 But, I make compromises constantly.  

Keeping up with every one's needs and the needs of our business, time is sometimes at a premium.  So for example, today we had homemade chocolate cake with frosting made of local organic cream (yum!) but the hot cocoa, boxed from the general store.  I know how to make cocoa from scratch.  But I have not had the time to source and purchase the organic powdered milk, organic cocoa, etc.... 

During this holiday season when our business is busy, I will continue to make compromises because for this season snatching moments of time with each other will be more important than being caught up in making every meal from scratch or making every gift by hand.

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.

Busy but Full

I haven't been here for nearly a week because my life has been pretty much looking like the above - busy.

I have a hard time sometimes looking at why I should be so thankful for the business instead of feeling guilty for not being the perfect mom....  I am really working hard on changing that.

A wonderful thing happened yesterday - the children ice skated on our pond - in November! So neat. 

Earlier in the fall, as I was reading through Tasha Tudor's book Through the Year, I though it odd that she had a picture of children skating for one of the November pictures...  perhaps years ago Novembers were  cold enough to skate.

I am so very thankful for this pond of ours and thankful for the gift of healthy activity for the children at a time when I am not as available as I would like to be.