Summer Fun

This summer my plan for our family was to have fun when possible.  Summer is just so short that we have all the other months to work more.  Of course, our business requires at least 40 plus hours a week but we are afforded flexibility to choose when we work those hours.  We have a very modest unpredictable income but there really are so many possibilities that don't require a lot of money.

Like so many other places around the county, this summer has been extra hot here in midcoast Maine. 

We feel have been swimming at a state park just 7 miles from us nearly every very hot late afternoon.  We like to go after the crowds have left and the sun isn't as likely to burn.  These visits to the lake have resulted in meeting two homechool families that live in a nearby town and already Sarah has connected with one of the girls.  Truly an answer to prayer.

We enjoyed a family gathering at my Mom's in Connecticut.  My mother and aunt surprised Mike and I and our children still at home, by flying Nolan and his wife up for the weekend.  They live in Virginia and it had been nearly a year since we had seen them.  What an amazing surprise.  The last picture was taken at that gathering of us with our seven children and two spouses.  (There was a tropical theme for the get together.)

So this past week, we went to a state park in New Hampshire and stayed two nights in one of their cabins.  Part of the trip's purpose was to meet my mother on our last day so that Abby could spend a week with her in Connecticut.  The state park was a good midway point.  The park was just wonderful!  The lake was beautiful and the walking and hiking excellent.  

Not to mention the weather - oh the weather this summer.

Castine, Maine

Even though we have a  long to-do list on our new homestead, we left it behind and headed out on a spectacular day last Saturday to explore our new beautiful state.

Just Here

Just a simple weekend mostly at home:

planting, splitting, stacking, replacing brake pads, playing, preparing meals, cleaning, making, loving, crying and laughing.

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

Knitting and Reading

Yeah!! I am here joining Ginny with what I am knitting and reading.

Well, we are working to getting back to our principles of not spending/consuming unless necessary or for a well thought out purpose (such as a trip to visit family).    So, part of that goal means using up and making do.  As we rely on our home based business for nearly 100% of our family's income, we never really know what each week will bring in terms of our income.  So when business is busy, we have had a tendency to spend (give too) but really spend probably too easily.   When business is slow, as it had been prior to the last couple of weeks, we pray, pinch pennies, and wonder if God really wants us to be doing what we are doing.  It is so funny, but, right when Mike starts inquiring about some side work, the business starts booming, as it did recently.  So our prayers were answered and our needs were always met.

Anyway, back to the knit along.  Well, I have lots of yarn.  Of course, I often find that I don't  have what would be my first choice for a particular pattern.

So, I just love the new Moonlight Garden Shawl Pattern by Mandarines.  She is offering 15% off the pattern through April 30th using the code mandarinesmaykal.    Melody, of Mandarines, is also having a Shawl Knit Along for the month of May.  She has several beautiful shawl patterns to choose from.  

So, although I would have loved to order some beautiful O'Wool Local yarn - which is a blend of alpaca/fine wool for my Moonlight Garden Shawl, I resisted and am instead using up what I have which is the only DK weight yarn in enough yardage from my stash.  It is from Peace Fleece in the colorway Distant Maple which is shades of green and purple with specks of blue.  If I could, I would have chosen, a soft brown color in an alpaca blend to create a nice drape.  But this will work and I can see myself using it just as the name suggests - wrapping it around myself in the evening as I walk around our homestead checking on the garden and animals or pushing one of the children on their swing.  

I am also crocheting a pillow cover - actually I plan to make two to add a little refreshment to our couch and to go along with the lap blanket I recently finished.

So glad to be reading a good fiction book - a classic - My Antonio, by Willa Cather.  

What are you working on and reading?

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.