Making Yarn the Old Fashioned Way

This is how I've been spending my evenings this week. Washing a fleece, then carding the wool by hand, and spinning it into yarn using a drop spindle may not be the quickest way to make yarn, but I find it the perfect way to relax by the wood stove in the evening after my work is done. 

(This is alpaca fiber--one of my brothers sent me a large box of raw fleece from several different colored alpacas last winter. I am finally getting to washing and spinning the fiber.)

A Flower Garden Makeover

The little flower garden enclosed by a white picket fence in front of our house has been sorely neglected since we moved in 3 years ago. This spring I decided it needs a makeover. It has so much potential to be a sweet little cottage garden. You can follow along with its progress on Dandelion Haven's facebook page.

(The fence "before" any work was done.)

(Rocks and weeds cleared away and getting ready to strip, prime, and paint.)

Christmas, Remembered

I took down the Christmas tree yesterday and instead of tossing the rose hips and fox tail grass that decorated it, I made them into this wreath along with a few of the salted pine cones and some dried tansy.

The result is a wreath that, at least to me, looks more wintry than Christmas and so I can hang it on the living room wall until it is time to switch it out for something that says spring instead of winter.

Linked to Macro Monday.

The Kitchen Sink

We installed the vintage washboard sink last week. It isn't in quite as good condition as I had thought it was, but it is a huge improvement over what was there. Once we cleaned off the layers of paint and grime, there are some stains and pitting and it will need to eventually need to be refinished. But it is so much more practical and looks far better than the sink we took out (which really wasn't a bad sink--it was a standard double basin stainless steel sink). I must say, these double washboard sinks are the ultimate sinks for utility. It makes me wonder why no one has come up with a similar, but modern design. This is supposed to be a temporary installment. At some point we are going to put in more counter top and cabinets and the sink will be moved and permanently installed then.

We had another lovely sunset on January 2nd. This time of year we savor any bit of sunshine we can get since we don't see the sun that often.

The sky a few minutes after the sun set.

Antique sink

We found a Craig's List treasure today. A cast iron double basin washboard sink for only $100! It is really dirty, but otherwise appears to be in excellent condition, with no chips or scratches. Here is an example of the same sink in the same condition that sold for over $1,000. We had one in our previous home and I knew I wanted one for my new kitchen when we get around to remodeling.

Here are photos of the one we had in our previous home. Gosh, looking at the photos of the kitchen we left behind makes me want to get to work remodeling. The kitchen I have right now does not lend itself well to more than one person working in it at time.  But I am planning on saving up some more money before we start so we can pay cash for everything.

Of Apple Pie, Bad Odors, and Spider Webs....

For the past week my husband has been complaining that something smells bad in the kitchen. He swore it was coming from the fridge. Okay, so there was a decaying package of tofu in there (don't ask!). I removed and fed it to the chickens who went crazy with delight over it (you just never know what might tickle a chicken's taste buds). Apparently that didn't take care of the problem, though.

Terry continued to complain of the stench coming from the kitchen--and it was he was sure it was still coming from the fridge. He even went so far as going through every item in the fridge and throwing some things out, even though he kept telling me he couldn't find the one item that was causing the problem. I couldn't smell anything until yesterday evening. When I came in after being gone most of the day I was hit with this overwhelming foul odor as soon as I walked in the door. And it sure didn't seem like it was coming from the fridge. Of course I was too tired to do anything about it and even though Terry complained about it some more, he didn't seem motivated to do anything about it either. (He worked hard on fixing and cleaning my car all day so I'm not complaining--I'll take a clean car that runs any day over a clean house!)

This morning I got up and went off to work. On my way home I stopped a neighbor's house and we both agreed that we ought to get together more often. A spur of the moment decision was made to invite another neighbor that Terry and I hadn't met yet over to our house for pizza. She would bring the pizza and I would provide a clean house to hang out in (my house was a total mess when we made the arrangements, but I was planning to clean this weekend and what better motivation to clean the house the is there than to have people you've never met over?)

When I walked into the front door, that mysterious odor hit me stronger than ever. Oh, crap. I had totally forgot about it. If I hadn't forgot about it, I might not have been so quick to volunteer my house! Terry and I had a long discussion about possible sources. He still firmly believed it was the fridge. I was sure it was coming from the carpet and found a wet area on the carpet under the rug that we hadn't noticed before (both of us firmly deny any knowledge of how that area got wet!)  He declared the carpet didn't smell and I couldn't smell anything in the fridge.

In any case, we had two hours to get rid of the obnoxious smell before any arrived. I opened all the windows to let in some fresh air and  started cleaning out the fridge and Terry response, "What are you doing that for? I thought you said the carpet smells, not the fridge!"

"Well, you seem convinced it is the fridge, so I'm scrubbing it out!"

In the meantime he set about cleaning the large wet spot on the carpet, even though he still wasn't convinced it was the problem.

An hour later we had a sparkling clean deodorized fridge and still damp, but fresh smelling carpet. And just in case there was any remnants of odor left, I threw together an apple pie and put it in the oven to bake--while I quickly straightened up the rest of the house. My entire motivation for making the pie was its air freshening, odor masking effects. (It smells way better than artificial scents from a can and people don't wonder what it is that you are trying to cover up!). Plus, a homemade, from scratch pie always seems to be an effective way to impress upon  people that you are an amazing home maker (while in reality, right now in my life, it seems like nothing could be farther from the truth!)

Anyway, they loved the pie and the kitchen no longer seems to stink, so life is good. :) Now if only I could have enough energy to keep the place clean longer than a few days...

I will leave you with a lovely spiderweb I photographed a few days ago...maybe spiders have the right idea--make a home that lasts a day and make a new sparkling clean one each night, then at least you would never, ever have to vacumn....

February Tablescape

Guest bathroom

The upstairs bathroom was remodeled shortly before we bought the house. I love the sink and tile countertop.
The glass block window-wall behind the bathtub lets in plenty of natural light and and provides privacy at the same time.

In the summer vines grown up around the glass wall outside. You almost have the feeling that you are bathing in a luxurious outdoor garden.

Upstairs Kitchen

Two views from the living room:


And then looking into the living room:

It is stocked with dishes and cookware and ready for use. :)

Before and after--guest bedroom

Our first project in our new home has been turning one of the bedrooms into a guest bedroom.

This room must have been a nursery at one time. I ripped out the ugly carpet, painted the battered up trim, and painted over the ocean scene on the walls.


Terry found just the right amount of maple wood flooring on Craig's list for pennies compared to what it would cost if we went and bought it at a home improvement store.

A free brass bed (also from Craig's List) and a quilt from the thrift shop complete the room.


The Before Pictures:


We would love to have you come and stay for a night or two. Our guests have lots of space and privacy, since Terry and I live downstairs and hardly every go upstairs, except for my treadmill and to do laundry. Coming in the next day or two will be photos of the guest bathroom, your private kitchen, lovely dining room and spacious living room. (Of course you still have the option of staying in the tree house, if you prefer. It is heated and is toasty warm. And was used this weekend by one of my brothers and pronounced very satisfactory.)

Then shall all the trees of the forest rejoice...

I know I may be prejudiced, but it is my firm belief that this is the prettiest Christmas tree I have ever had. It certainly was the easiest to bring home. It was growing in our vegetable garden area and this summer I knew it would be our Christmas tree. It certainly was a luxury to be able to harvest a tree from our own property. A few steps outside the back door, and half an our later the tree was set up and ready to be decorated. It couldn't possibly be easier.

Decorated simply with cookie stars, apples, candy canes, and grapevine, the tree was ready to celebrate the Lord's birth with us.

I have plans to plant more spruce and fir seedlings so we will always have a supply of Christmas trees in our own backyard.

Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;

let the sea and what fills it resound;

let the fields be joyful and all that is in them.

Then shall all the trees of the forest rejoice,

before the Lord for he comes, for he comes to rule the earth,

He will rule the world with justice and the peoples with faithfulness. (Ps. 96)

The Christmas Season is just beginning...

Dandelion and Mikey--the haflingers who gave wagon rides at our Christmas party.

Growing up we followed the Catholic tradition of the Christmas Season beginning on Christmas Eve and ending on the Three Kings Day on January 6th. The Christmas Season was a very big deal in our houseful of children. It meant lots of good food, time off from working on the homestead, time to do fun projects, have people over and go visiting. Christmas wasn't at all about presents (with 12 children and no money, lots of presents simply aren't part of the picture!) We spend Christmas Eve decorating, then would kick off the Christmas season by acting out the birth of Jesus, then sitting around the Christmas tree lit with candles and singing Christmas carols.

I'm sure I will always feel that Christmas lasts until January 6th. This year for sure I am going to celebrate the Christmas Season in all its glory. We started it off with a Midnight Mass in our beautifully decorated little country Church.

Then it was home to scrub the house and cook and bake to get ready for a Christmas party for my husband's side of the family/Open House. This was my first party that I have hosted with more then a few guests (who weren't my own brothers and sisters!) and I will confess I was pretty nervous about it. But it went off well and the 50 or so friends and family who came all had fun. It was complete with a big bonfire and horse and wagon rides provided by a local farmer.

Now that the house is clean and decorated and the fridges are filled with lots of yummy left over food, I can sit back and relax and enjoy my pretty little house as we wait for a bunch of my siblings to descend on us later this week.

We finally have the upstairs set up with some furniture and the little guest bedroom has a new wood floor and fresh paint. Be on the look out for some new photos of our home in the next couple of days. I finally feel like I am mostly moved in and no longer living out boxes, even though there are still plenty of things to unpack and lots of work to do on the house.

Merry Christmas Season to all my blogger friends!

O Come Let us Adore Him...

House and Hill

"No house should be on a hill or on anything. It should be of the hill, belonging to it, so the hill and and house could live together each happier for the other." So says Frank Lloyd Wright.

While not a Frank Lloyd Wright home by any stretch of the imagination, this quote does fit our little house very well. How the house and land go together, was one of the things that attracted me to this house and property. The house blends in with the nature that surrounds it.

Home Sweet Home

It is good to wake up in the morning and be HOME. I never felt at home during those 9 years I lived in town. When we closed on our new land back in July, it wasn't excitement I felt. It was a sense of deep peace and relief. I finally had a HOME. Not that the home we had in Ann Arbor wasn't nice place to live. We had a nice little house with a big beautiful kitchen and a half acre lot that I turned into flower and vegetable gardens. It was a place that a lot of people would have loved to live. And I did truly appreciate that we lived in a quiet place in town and had a big lot and was able to grow a big garden and raise my little flock of (illegal) hens. If you had to live in town, Ann Arbor was certainly the town to live in. But my heart was not at home there, and I knew it would never be home there. I felt crowded in and claustrophobic and as if I could barely breathe. My heart ached for space and sky, woods and stars. And hills. My heart is at home here, though I know a part of me will always be ache for the hills of upstate New York. But at least I have a few little hills on my 13 acres!

Wood smoke from the chimney on a chilly November morning.


The tree house woods.

The gate to the garden meadow.


My kitchen. This is going to get some major remodeling, hopefully sooner then later. The house has two kitchens. We are living downstairs (it is actually a walkout basement). The downstairs has the nicer bedroom and view, this tiny kitchen, and a tiny bathroom. It also has the woodstove, which was the detemining factor in which level we wanted to live in at least for this winter. (Well that and the fact that the bedroom was a lot nicer then the two bedrooms upstairs!). The kitchen upstairs is bigger and actually nicer, but is very dark and narrow and would be much harder to remodel because of the way the house is laid out. This one at least has a sense of coziness, and should be quite nice when we are done with it.

The pantry. I'm still working on getting it organized.


Because it is a bi-level, the house has some identity issues. This is really the front of the house, and if we were living in the upstairs this, this would be the front door.

But since we are living in the in the walk out basement, the back of the house is the front of the house for us. This can get really confusing when Terry and I are trying to talk to each other about the front yard and the back yard!

We still haven't given our little home and farm a name. I will probably have to live through all the seasons here before I come up with the right name, but I am open to suggestions!

Simplicity

I went for a walk today to gather grasses for a fall wreath and ended up coming across a patch of purple lamb's quarters seed heads and decided to use those instead. Maybe the wreath doesn't quite say fall, but I love the purple against the green siding of our house.

Shredded Paper Mountain

This is what my dining room currently looks like. This is six months worth of paper that I had been saving up to shred. I got most of it shredded just in time for a visit from Liam and Finn. Once they are done with it, it will be bagged up and used for chicken bedding throughout the winter. Once my chickens are done with it, it will be used as mulch in the garden to keep weeds down to encourage earthworms.