a january groove

We took two whole glorious weeks off of homeschooling for the Christmas and New Year holidays. Originally, I had only planned on taking the week of Christmas off, but at the end of that week, I knew that we would all benefit from one more relaxed week. (Honestly, I think I felt the need more than anyone else.)

So last Monday ended up being our first day back to "normal." My first inclination was to go back into our lessons with full gumption and eagerness. However, when I woke up very, very tired on Monday morning, I felt like the Lord was just speaking to my spirit that it would be a good idea to just ease back into our routine.

And it was an excellent idea.

We did our regular math and grammar lessons, but the rest of our school day was spent reading together. My kids (even my sixth grader) love when I read aloud to them. I mostly use the Sonlight reading list as well as several resource books I have on our bookshelf when I choose read-alouds. Monday's read was the beginning of From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, a book we are reading for writing/book club. From reading just that book, we ended up branching off into studying Michelangelo and the Italian Renaissance. 

We finished From the Mixed Up Files today and the kids started writing book reports for it, but we will continue with the Renaissance studies for another week or two (or longer depending on how long interest remains.) This is my favorite way to teach my kids. I love spontaneous learning. I love when one thing leads to another and so forth. We always seem to do our best learning in this fashion. And I have found that the kids (and I) remember more information when our learning is interest-led and more informal. 

Another area that I'm getting back on track in is our eating habits. December was filled with lots of treats and extra portions of yummy food. However, by the end of the month we were all feeling fatigued and just blah. I even noticed that the kids were having frequent headaches and were acting a bit more moody than what is usual. I really do think it was all of the extra sugar they consumed. 

So this month, I've been back in the groove with cooking well-balanced meals full of wonderful vegetables and lean meats. We have cut sugar out besides some occasional honey, maple syrup, and stevia. Snacks have been wholesome and natural. I have noticed a HUGE difference in the kids' behavior. They are not complaining of headaches, they are more energetic, and even their moods seem to have balanced out. I know that I feel fantastic now that I've switched back to all clean eating. 

Lily turns ten in a month. Her birthday always means that I have to kick into high gear with making handmade gifts. That girl of mine (who is so much like her mama) loves to receive a handmade gift, so I've made it a tradition to give her at least one handmade for her birthday. This year she will be receiving a linen stitch hand-crocheted afghan (of many, many different colors that she will absolutely love) as well as a handmade Miss Dandelion Doe. I made her Miss Maggie Rabbit last year, and she's been hinting around all year that Maggie needs a friend. Well noted. (Both kits are by Alicia Paulson; her kits are awesome.) 

I'm also crocheting a big chunky afghan. I recently made one for a customer and loved it so much that I'm making one for our home. In addition to that, I'm getting ready to cast on my fifth Christopher hat since last October. I LOVE this pattern, mostly because it's easy to follow and the finished product is unbelievably toasty warm. Everyone who has received one of these hats from me cannot believe how warm it keeps their head. Now that we seem to finally be getting proper winter temperatures here in Pennsylvania, I suspect these hats will be even more worn and appreciated. 

Our calendar seems to be filling up quickly, mostly with homeschooling activities which are always nice. I've learned that it is absolutely essential for the kids and me to get out and about, especially during the winter. Our fall was strange this year in that we didn't really do much out of our home, and that just about drove me crazy. I'm a homebody, but I have learned that I am most mentally healthy when I have out-of-home social interaction sprinkled throughout my week. I've also noticed that my kids are the same way. And it's also wonderful to get out there and take advantage of the classes and opportunities that are available to homeschoolers. Homeschooling has really bloomed, and there are so many good things available for us now. 

Cheers to a January full of cozy, warm days snuggled up together and evenings filled with candles, board games, and warm bowls of soup!

finished things...

We quite successfully survived the week of Bible school, and I am on the other side of that darned cold that plagued me all last week. Just a few more days, and I think I'll be top notch again.

With the end of Bible school, homeschooling, and planting, I'm really looking forward to doing some domestic things in the house. Our house has definitely been neglected in the midst of all of our busyness.

A big part of the problem is that everyone has gotten into the habit of not putting things away when they are finished with them. The youngest little creative spirit is the worst at this. She sprinkles her little messes wherever she goes, and if I don't nag her to put them away, there they remain. But, honestly, we're all guilty of it. And as the mother, I'm learning that I need to train my kids to be neat. It's not necessarily something that comes naturally to everyone. Brad declared a 45 minute clutter-clean-up session after church yesterday. After about 30 minutes of everyone working together, our house looked amazingly tidy, and I felt like I could breath a bit easier.

So I intend to do some more domestic fluffing this week. Cleaning. Laundry. And I really hope to do a little baking. We have a tree-full of sour cherries, and I'm really feeling the urge to bake a rustic cherry pie (making a gluten free crust, of course, so I can indulge in it too!)

So onto the finished projects...

We've had Candy and Licorice (our Nubian goats) for a week now. After about three days, I finally got the hang of milking and felt confident enough in my skills to start keeping the milk for our family to consume. Brad and the kids are enjoying the milk (I'm not able to drink much because of the lactose), and I have plans to make some cheese very, very soon (my fridge is filled with quarts of milk!).

I have been milking right on the ground, and besides this hurting my back immensely, I felt like it was more difficult to keep things sanitary. I knew that I wanted a milking stand, but I didn't want to add another task to Brad's growing to-do list.

Yesterday after church it began to rain and storm and continued to do so all day so Brad and Ian found their way out to the garage to do some woodworking. What they were really making was a goat milking stand for me. They finished it by evening, and now I have a really nice stand to use when milking.

I tried it out last night (in between storms and rain), and it worked great. This morning was another story. The goats were in a mood (as was I) and both goats ended up putting their hooves in the milk. Grrr. That might have made me just a bit grouchy, but the chickens and Midi were happy at their gain of a bowl full of fresh milk.

So I guess we're still figuring this whole goat-milking business out. I have found experimentation to be the most beneficial way for me to learn in the area of homesteading endeavors. And so I will go back to the drawing board and do some more research in order to find a way to make milking even more enjoyable and easier. But maybe we'll just have those ornery days (both the goats and myself) when we just want to stomp our hooves in the bowl of milk.

My finished project is my crocheted linen stitch scarf. I was going to originally do this in a knit linen stitch, but I found myself wanting a quicker project and crocheting is definitely faster than knitting for me. I love the look and the great thing about it is that the crochet linen stitch is reversible whereas the knit one is not. This yarn was dreamy to work with; one I'd definitely use again.

For now, this scarf is getting tucked away with all of my other handmade warm things. As much as I'm looking forward to wearing this one, I'm more than content to enjoy this scarf-less weather.

planning

Planning. That's what we've been doing a lot of here so far this month.

Planning the gardens. Planning my yarn projects. Planning some shop updates. Planning Vacation Bible School. Planning meals. Planning school.

Lots of planning.

There's something quite wonderful and dreamy about the whole planning process. It holds so much hope and such high expectations, some of which do eventually fizzle. But it's still nice to add a little dreaming to the practical.

This year, I've decided that we're going to just stick with the veggies that I know work in our soil conditions. Last year, I tried to grow okra. Not because I have any particular affinity for okra. I've only had it one time in my life (a true northern girl I am.) But I often find excitement in growing new and different things, things we haven't grown before. This year, however, I decided that I need every single square inch of my gardens to grow that which I know our family will eat. This comes from us running out of all of our preserved and frozen veggies well before the new planting season. Save some potatoes (which are looking rather sorry at this point), our freezer and cellar has been emptied of all the broccoli, green beans, carrots, squash, and corn that I had put away. Bah humbug. I don't like having to buy my veggies at the grocery store. And that is why I'm planning more wisely this year.

I'm also planning some new shop updates. Items that are more suitable to warmer weather. I've been sketching some ideas, working on some prototypes, doing a little research. Oh, if only I had more hours in my day!

The sun is out today. My raised beds are actually visible after months of being buried beneath the snow. The smell of spring is in the air. The birds are chirping. My alpacas are actually venturing out into the pasture. And I'm just soaking in all of this renewal. I do love spring. The time of birth. The time of new things. The time of life.

keeping warm (or trying to)

I complained about winter for the first time yesterday afternoon. It was beyond frigid, so cold that my toes were aching even though I had my severe-cold weather Keen boots on (that's never happened in the three years that I've had those boots.) The locks and latches on all of the animal buildings were frozen and stuck in place. The "heated" waterers for the chickens and the rabbits were frozen, requiring extra work to thaw and get into proper working order. And, my poor little Majestico (an alpaca) was so cold he was shivering, which required me to put together a make-shift coat for him out of one of Brad's old quilted flannel barn coats. (He looked quite handsome, I must say.)

But all was well in the end. And, having to be at a very early appointment with my psychiatrist at 7:00 a.m. this morning, I was greeted by a lovely -17 degrees. Brad literally laughed at me as I gathered up extra gloves and boots as I made my way out the door. "I must be prepared in case I break down or get stuck in a ditch," I told him matter-of-factually. A wise woman is always prepared. 

And of course I had to explain the following to my doctor upon weigh-in time ~ "You see, Dr. ____, vanity tempted me to wear light-weight clothing because I knew that I would be weighed at this visit, but my practical side won out and I have exactly three layers on my entire body, plus extra heavy socks and a scarf. Surprisingly (and quite pleasantly) I weighed even less at this visit than I did at my visit back in the fall.

And I was very thankful for those extra layers as my car never even got warm during the entire trip to and from the doctor's office. 

After arriving home, and defrosting all of the animals' waterers (again) and making sure they were properly cared for and more hay was spread for warmth, I gladly entered our toasty warm house and filled my coffee cup up to the brim (twice, this morning.)

And I did refrain from complaining again. I did bite my tongue and reprimand my mind when I was tempted to let those negative words escape across my lips. After all, this is one of God's seasons. And it is a good one. And spring will surely warm the icy grounds in its due time.


I'm having fun searching for the perfect yarn to start this new afghan. I've had this one in my Ravelry queue for quite awhile. I finally broke down and purchased it yesterday. All of this icy weather is inspiring me to make another afghan. There's nothing better than a warm pile of pretty wool on your lap when the snow is blowing outside.

I found this tasty homemade taco seasoning recipe earlier this week. We tested it out in our taco meat on Wednesday, and it was definitely a winner. I bought the ingredients to make it in bulk it was so good. And we eat Mexican food here at least once a week. It's one of our favorites!

Working on some more chunky "Allie" scarves for my Etsy shop. Winter isn't over yet, and these scarves definitely take off the chill!