Sunday, March 18, 2012

Here come the peas!



After a week of dancing with the IRS, Sunday mornings are for the homestead.  There is much to do, and a span of hours to get it all done.

During the week, my husband cares for the kids, animals, and house, so indoors, it is only the once weekly necessities that draw us in.  Bathrooms, ironing, vaccuuming - all tackled before 7 am.

Glad to have that behide me.

Once the kids, and the sun, was up, it was onwards and outdoors.  Cleaning chicken coops, hauling wagons full of composted hay to the garden, continuing the annual spring extravanga of raking gravel off of the front yard.  Oh, yeah.  That's the fun stuff.

And lets not forget about those guinea pigs - who need their giant condo of an adobe cleaned out every Sunday...  Not the fun stuff.  But, they are soft, and randomly cute as they beg for carrots everything single time I walk by them on the way to the fridge....

Wonder if that means I am walking by the fridge too often....

Today was also the day to rack the 4 half gallon containers of soon-to-be hard cider.

Or, at least, I hope they will be hard cider....

Really hope.

The seedlings started last weekend are popping up - broccoli, kale, onions.  Tomatoes, however...well, I don't know.  Hidden, they are.  But hidden, I hope they do not stay.  This is the first summer that our garden's bounty will be feeding more than our own family. 

Those tomatoes have a job to do.

And now it is 8am.  And I will probably continue the morning by begging my kids to get dressed, and heading back outside again.  High temps are in our future, and I was to get my share before it is back to the office this afternoon. 

'Cause, that's just how we roll ;)

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Wednesday again?

Holy goodness, it is Wednesday already.  Shocking, I know.  Or, maybe you already realized it...

Tax season is here with its gleeful array of documents and forms, so postings here lately are sparse...  So goes the days. 

But these are days made ever sweeter by the knowledge that every hour worked now is an additional hour home in the summer, with family, chickens, and wild expanse of garden.  I may be tired, but I am also very blessed and happy.

It is a good life.

And now, it is to bed I go.  Sleep well, friends :)

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Yarning along, with a throw back in time...



Hi everyone.  It is that time again - we are Yarning Along with Ginny and joining in with Tami's Amis' Work in Progress  and Ambassador Crochet !

As you can see from the picture, my scarf is growing.  It is being done in a spider web lace pattern, and the fiber is a Lions Brand wool. 

The new addition to the line up is a gift for a little one.  The fiber, Paton's Silk Bamboo blend is delightful - so incredibly soft.  The pattern is a bit of a granny stitch, reminiscent of by son's blanket, and is growing fast.

For reading, I have been going back to some old favorites.  The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon.  Love, love, love it!

Did I say love?

Favorite scene?  In Voyager, when Claire travels back in time to Jamie, entering his printshop, only to have him faint in shock from the sight of her.

Ah, love...

Jamie and Claire can make anything better.

Have you read this series?  What is your favorite scene?
  Head on over to Ginny's, Tami's, and Ambassador's Crochet other interesting ventures of fiber fun. 

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

A week gone by...

Well, the week got away from me.  I meant to post before now, I REALLY did!  But, I did not.  A blink, a wish, I don't know.  The week as gone by....

March is here.  The start of spring, or so I thought.  However, temps in the 40's have given way to the single digits, and our poor chickens are back to shivering in their coop.  I, however, think that I am adjusting to the temps - a thought made obvious by the fact that I continue, dispite efforts to the contrary, to leave my coat in the car.  Oh well. 

Last weekend, I racked my second batch of hard cider, and I wonder if it might be ready by the end of tax season.  I hope so - it would add to the celebration.  A celebration that is a bit odd, I am realizing.  See, my children have begun referring to the end of tax season as if it was a holiday to rival Christmas.  Easter is has gone by the wayside, and my coming birthday does not get a thought.  But, the end of tax season?  Oh yes - they are excited :) 

This coming weekend, I hope to start some seeds for the garden.  Onions, sweet peas, broccoli...delicious delights.  I ordered the seeds when grass could be seen in the dead of winter.  Now that spring is around the corner, and snow is here, I am not feeling enthused yet.  But, action will bring reaction, and the inside spurt of gardening will be a delightful rousing event. 

Can you tell I am looking forward to the warmer days?