change

The kitchen is progressing. It's almost done. I think. There seem to be so many little things that need done. In my mind's eye, however, all that is left is some caulking, touch-up painting, and then the shelves need hung. But Brad can probably think of more little things that need to be finished before we can actually wrap the project up. He's a perfectionist like that.

This summer's home renovation project has translated into a sorely neglected garden and low motivation to even keep up with it and the preserving. Such a shame. I feel like I used to have so much more energy to do multiple things at one time.

School. UGH! It's coming. We won't officially start until after our vacation in September, but we've already logged some of our days with camps and field trips and impromptu learning sessions. My goal is to get all of the curriculum figured out this week and order everything. I want to have it all organized and ready to go before we leave for vacation so that we'll be able to get started as soon as we get home.

Change. There seems to be a lot of change for our family in the weeks and months ahead. I feel as if it could easily be our theme word for this year, if we were to have one. It's exciting and yet slightly anxiety-provoking all at once. I'm trying to look at it as an adventure in which to fully exercise faith in God. Yep. That's what I'm doing.

homegrown and handmade

  Some of my handspun. 

Very high tech fiber-drying apparatuses, huh?

 

I fought with the seeming frivolity of posting today. When I get really busy and consumed with projects or duties or just daily life, I often find pausing to take photos or write blogs tedious. I'm like, "Let's just get on with it! No time to pause for photos!" 

And many times, that is true and quite agreeable. I certainly find it harder to stay focused when I'm stopping to find my camera and snap photos. 

But yesterday, while swirling around in my busyness, I remembered why it is that I pause to take photos. I love to look back through our Shutterfly albums or read back through this blog and see all that we did as a family. I love to see our adventures, our journeys, our projects, our trips, our endeavors. 

So I paused long enough to grab my camera several times yesterday and this morning. And, admittedly, I hesitated. But, come one, these are the moments. 

So what has kept me so exceptionally busy?

Well, remember that interior door that I decided to paint? The one I mentioned back in this post? Yes, well that turned into painting all of our trim white. Then we decided to paint the walls. But first the ceilings, because nothing has been painted for eight years and you could tell. Then my mother-in-law gave us a very nice monetary gift to be used for a "home improvement" project! So then we decided we were going to replace our forest green counter top (yay!) and paint the cabinets. 

You know how home improvement projects escalate.

But also on top of all of that, I've been trying to wash as much as my alpaca fiber as possible, which is an all-day process. It's not an all-day project in the sense that I'm constantly consumed and attentive to it, but, rather, one that is drawn out and requires attention frequently. 

I've also been spinning and knitting and we've been picking and freezing cherries like crazy. And now my herbs? Well, they need picked and dried so we can enjoy them throughout the next year when we no longer have the fresh ones. 

Do I sound like I'm complaining? Oh, I'm not. All of these things are quite up my alley of interests. (Well, except painting ceilings.) And it has felt quite good to be so involved in the things that get my heart ticking. 

By the way, I'm joining in on the Yarn Along over at Ginny's blog, Small Things. 

up north and other things

We spontaneously threw all plans out the window on Sunday after coming out from church to absolutely stunning weather. Instead of raking and seeding our yard, we packed up a quick dinner, put on our hiking clothes, and headed an hour north to the mountains. After hiking for a couple of hours we enjoyed sausages, grilled potatoes and brussel sprouts, and fresh veggies and hummus beside the creek. I even snuck in a few rounds of knitting while waiting for the charcoal to heat up.

I was able to wash a small batch of alpaca fiber yesterday, and I plan on doing another one today. Then will come the most tedious part of combing the fiber into rolags. One day I really, really hope to save enough money to purchase a carder because that would make this so much faster. But until then, I focus on slowing my mind down enough that I can enjoy the process of combing it by hand. It is a wonderful process.

I am also really excited that we are nearing the end of our official school year. We should finish up mid-May which really isn't so far away. The kids are busy this week preparing their project fair boards for next week's event. We have evidences of their topics tucked away everywhere in our home right now. Sprouting onion bulbs, jars of plants plucked from the forest floor, rocks on EVERY flat surface of our home, and index cards and markers on the kitchen table, kitchen counter, and coffee table. My type A personality is trying to remain calm among all of these extra things laying around the house.

I finished my sweater and am currently blocking it. Sadly it grew a lot after I soaked it. Grrrr. But honestly, I wasn't too too surprised as I know these kind of sad affairs happen to most knitters from time to time. I threw it in the dryer (stop cringing) hoping to shrink it a bit, and it worked, but it still looks a bit big to me. I have it blocking right now, but I'm anxious for it to dry so I can try it on.

Have a wonderful, blessed day!