Amazing House Blog

Blog, sweet blog!  I hope you know that I think of you as one of those steady friends who will always be there even if we don’t speak for a while.  That we can pick up right where we left off.  A long-term friend.  And I hope you feel the same about me.  ‘Cause I’ve been so busy this past month that I just haven’t had the time to pick up the phone keyboard and say ‘HI’.  But, I’m here now, and that’s what counts!!

Since we last spoke, we have:

Built a closet and door way to Leif’s room, built a new wall in the center room and created book shelves to house the home school stuff, painted the screen doors, sewn up many curtains, joined the gym and lost 5+ pounds, weaned Leif , gone to my first writer’s conference (can we say ‘Holy Cow, Overwhelming!’), written two early-reader books, planted peas and 50+ strawberry plants, started spring session of the home school co-op, started driving Kaia to girl scouts, piano lessons, and swimming lessons, and helped Kaia build a car for the pine car derby races, read Princess for Hire (fabulous!!), read Growing Wings (loved it!), took that long awaited trip to Mars, saved 14 kittens stuck in high trees, and climbed Mt. Everest … backwards …  twice.  Yes, you may call me SHE-RA!!

So you see, Blog, it’s not that I was trying to ignore you.  I just didn’t get a chance to drop in.  Please forgive me.  I hope to be around more often … soon.

• 365 eggs
• plums
• peaches
• tomatoes
• green beans
• eggplant
• cucumber
• squash (yellow and zucchini)
• mint
• black berries
• red raspberries
• blue berries

And I put up 5 quarts of ‘mock’ apple pie filling, 5 pints of cucumber relish and 4 quarts of green beans.  My counter tops are covered with squash and cukes!  I need to do more processing!!  We are eating squash burgers, squash casserole, squash waffles, and squash muffins!  Got any good squash and cuke recipes???

Also, sorry posts have been so sporadic.  I’m trying not to spend so much time at the computer!  We are cleaning house, cleaning the yard, getting rid of things that aren’t needed, trying to simplify.  See, Toby recently left his job and has been looking for work (work that would also include benefits and a good salary and possibly working with others!)  But, for the last 2 months, we thought that meant we were going to have to move!   AND I’ve moved 14 times in the last 18 years!!  I am SOOOOO ready to be settled.  So of course, at first, we were not excited about the idea of moving.  Yet, I’ve thought this was my dream life for so long, and now that I have it, I’m resenting it.  I look at my friends who get to play on the weekends or relax when they are done work and I just wish I could have some time off.  We are always tending to something here… animals, buildings, land, gardens… People are always saying to me “I have no idea how you do everything that you do.”  I guess that should be my first clue that I’m doing too much.  Now we need to look at all we do and figure out what truly brings us joy and drop the rest of it.  Really, when we built our homestead, we went about it wrong.  We built so many structures and have half-assed our landscaping.  Now it all needs to be tended and that’s not what I want to do.  I realize that, as we settle in here and the kids get older, the stress load on us will lighten.  But the idea of moving almost seemed like an ‘out’.  We could start over and try to do it better.

BUT!  Don’t worry folks!  In the midst of interviews as close as Raleigh (3 hours away) and as far away as Hawaii, Toby was approached by a friend who may (prospects are good!!) have an opening for Toby that would have benefits, a good salary, let him work with his friend, and allow us to stay where we are!  I have to say, even though we were getting excited about getting a place in the city with no yard, we are relieved now that we won’t be moving!  But all of this has started us seriously paring down what is not needed in our lives, fixing up the yard and house to make it closer to what we want and require less tending…. and it feels good!!!  Today we moved a pile of wood and another pile of rocks, started planning out our patio and retaining wall, cleaned out closets, the fridge, and my apothecary, rearranged dining and living room furniture… Tomorrow we will tackle Kaia’s room!!  (That may take all day

We’ve had a great spring here on our land.  Things have felt really productive.  But, I have to tell you, we are beat!  I wake up in the morning, jump out of bed and get going.  Laundry, taking care of the animals, garden care, kitchen clean up, etc. all comes before breakfast.  Most nights I spend preparing for Kaia’s schooling, sewing, cleaning, or researching one thing or another on the internet.  Weekends we do chores around the land (and we usually don’t get done with our list of ‘to do’s).  I’m not complaining.  I’m simply stating how things are right now.  But I’m starting to feel resentful that we have very little down time, fun time, or time to play with the kids.  We have been working towards this life and lifestyle for years.  We now have our own land (25 acres!), our own house (built with our own hands and very earth friendly), we have chickens and gardens and orchards and bees and cottages.  And each of those things requires upkeep.  Well… we are tired!  We are re-evaluating this life style.  We want to live more gently, but this is definitely not more simple.  We don’t have time or energy for those bonfires and potlucks with friends that we wanted.  We have little time for travel and very little time to relax and read.  Having Heidi here helps tremendously, but she has been gone for much of 2010, and we won’t always have her here.  So, we are taking a look at our life and trying to decide what things we truly desire in it, and trying to figure out how to have those things and keep a simple and earth friendly life.  There may be some changes in store…. we’ll see.

Toby's new shirt

garlic and onion harvest

veggie gardens

more veggie gardens

Kaia got some goggles for swimming… Leif stole them!

Yes, the goggles work more effectively if you stick your tongue out.

The 2 year old roof.

Spots are filling in pretty well.  I think I’ll give it one more year and then plant a few more things if needed.

I absolutely love all the color on the roof right now.  It’s like a patchwork quilt!

And the yard is coming along, too.  After 2 years of having huge piles of dirt and rubble in the yard, we finally had it leveled.  Now I have the perfect spot for my berry garden!!!  Yum Yummy!!

We also put up a bear fence for the beehives that are coming this week.  I finally painted the chicken coop… I just need to trim it in yellow and put some color on the windows… green or blue maybe?

I also made myself a Medicino sundress.  I love this pattern!  It’s so simple and such a cute dress!  Kaia wanted to pose in her dress with me.

Kaia has one more week of ‘official’ school left.  We will continue with math and reading through the summer, and add in whatever else she is interested in.  We are definitely going to do a few lessons on Greek Mythology!

The coop continues to be our main project around the homestead (although it would be a really good idea to get to winterizing the house!!)

Toby’s father came up last Friday and gave us a hand siding the coop.  We still have to put up the windows and doors and then put the roosts and boxes in, but hopefully, hopefully, it will be done this weekend!

What does Leif do while we are busy around the house?  He plays with his feet, he smiles, he makes crazy monster noises, and…

He eats seaweed!!  Yes, we have another seaweed fanatic in the house!

He just turned 8 months old… got his first top tooth… is trying to crawl… and makes me love him more each day!!

We have started on what I hope to be our last project this year… The Chicken Chalet (I was going to call it the chicken palace, but being in the country, it just seems more like a chalet   Toby and I have promised each other that we will have no more big projects until next spring.  We are both very ready for a break!!!  Let me say that again to make sure it sticks: We are both very ready for a break!!  Kaia has already requested family time by the fire, with hot chocolate, marshmallows, and knitting.  Let’s see if we can make that happen!!

Anyhoo, we now have around 30 chickens and desperately need a larger space for them.   Their new coop is 12 x 12 with a 6×6 corner of it walled off to be my garden shed.  So, they have an “L” shaped coop.  It should be ample space for them (and the baby pea chick that we are still hoping to get once the coop is done).

We had some wonderful help with Toby’s mom showing up with all of her tools, Heidi lending a hand, and Heidi’s man (who just happens to be a professional carpenter)… You can’t beat that!

We put on a couple of panels of clear roofing so that the chickens can have a little natural light.

And just to prove I was working too… This is what I was looking at all day!

We probably have another full weekend of work before it’s done.  But, then I get to kick my feet up and just enjoy the fall and winter, right???

YAY!  We are so excited to have our friend Heidi back home after 3 months overseas!  She was nannying for a family in Scotland and we missed her dearly here.  While she was gone, we had grand plans to transform her little cabin.  Well, we all know how our grand plans tend to take much longer than we think.  But, we were able to get a wood stove in her place (so she doesn’t have to freeze again this winter) and we were able to paint the exterior.  It looks so cute!  There are still a few finishing touches needed to the outside, but it’s mostly done.  Cute, eh??

Kaia and I have also decided to try our hand at needle felting.  Ever since we saw the insanely adorable stuff that The Magic Onions creates, we’ve wanted to learn how it’s done.  So, I got a book on needle felting pets and got to work.  We started with something simple, little bumble bees and lady bugs (and I poked myself a few times with the needle!  Yowza!).

Then, I got a little crazy and decided to make Kaia a mermaid!!  It was actually much simpler than I thought it would be and lots of fun.  But, man, my arm got tired from all the ‘poke, poke, poke’ of the needle!  As soon as I was done, Kaia said, “I bet if you started right now you could have her mermaid friend done by dinner time!”  Ha!

This weekend we got started on the project we’ve been dreading for the last year… winterizing the house.  With a cordwood house, there is a lot of shrinking in the wood that goes on the first year.  So, after the first winter, you need to go back and seal the nooks and crannies that have opened up.  We weren’t looking forward to this large amount of detail work.

Well, I’m happy to say that it’s not nearly as bad as we thought it would be!

We purchased some Permachink (a sealant often used on log homes) from a dealer not too far from us.  It comes in huge tubes that you squeeze onto the wall.  Toby would squeeze the ‘caulk’ around each log end and I would go behind him and smooth it out.  The color is an exact match to the white of our walls… unfortunately, the lower part of the exterior walls has some red mud splash back from the rain… so the caulk really stands out here.  I figure I’ll get Kaia to go splash in puddles near the house next time it rains and that caulk should be nice and dirty in no time

spreading on the permachink

permachink on left, none on right

Smoothing it out

We were able to do almost 2 sections (out of eight) this past weekend (with many interruptions!) So, we will hopefully be able to finish this in a few weekends.  Then, it’s on to the chicken coop!

I know it’s been SOOOOO long since I posted here!  Sorry!  Most of my posts have been on my other blog

Since you’ve been following my blog because of the cordwood home we’ve built, I thought it might be of interest to you that there is a cordwood workshop coming up in Asheville the weekend of Oct 10th and 11th.  “This project will be the 18” cordwood infill of a post and beam framed greenhouse.  The workshop host is the editor of Backhome Magazine.  It should be a gorgeous time of year to learn the cordwood technique in a beautiful setting.”  You can find more details on www.daycreek.com, click on Cordwood Workshop near Asheville, NC.  The instructors, Richard and Becky Flato, have been doing cordwood workshops for over 20 years!

sdlkrnyiod!! ltionadfshlk!!! Did you understand that??? NO!! That’s because it is crazy language! I know, all you parents out there are saying “yeah, I know what you are going through”… But OH NO! She is driving me up the wall, out the window, and over the yellow brick road!! How can a 5 year old have such control over my emotions? I truly believe that at the exact moment of her birth, the stars aligned to create a mother-daughter relationship that would encourage me to bang my head on the wall… or the floor… or the door…

Example 1:
“MOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM! (said in a loud, whiny voice) YOU WOKE UP BEFORE ME!!” (I’m sitting in bed, not yet having opened up both eyelids!)

“MOOOOOOMMMMM! WHY DID YOU CHANGE LEIF’S DIAPER WITHOUT TELLING ME????!!!” (Oh, I didn’t know I had to inform you of my every movement!!)

“YOU CARRIED MY SIPPY OUT TO THE CAR, SO YOU HAVE TO CARRY IT BACK IN MOOOOMMMMM!!! (While I stand at the door with my hands completely full with groceries and a baby, and she carries nothing)

And as I try calmly to tell her why she needs to help carry things from the car, she puts her hand to her ear pretending to talk on the phone, holds the palm of her hand up to me, and turns the other way! OH no you didn’t just tell me to ‘talk to the hand’!!

Oh My God, child! Get over this phase fast, will you please!!!

OK, end of rant! Momentary sanity has returned…

In other news, we had our house featured in the New Life Journal again. It’s a great article and makes me feel very proud. Though we certainly didn’t build our house to get recognition, it’s certainly nice to get a pat on the back for it!

One of the bee hives survived the winter and one died… I think they starved. But, the hive that survived seems to be going strong. I went into them today to be sure they weren’t getting ready to swarm… but no signs of swarm cells. They were actually very calm and it was nice to work with them without feeling intimidated. This is the first time I’ve gone into the hive by myself.

Two of our hens have gone broody… our silkies. We built a little make shift broody nest for the first one, but now that two are broody, Toby is working on a little broody house for them. He should finish it tonight, so I’ll take pictures and post them.

Speaking of pictures, we spent Wed. afternoon getting family pictures taken. The man who took pictures of my earth belly offered to take family portraits in trade for my time posing for him. Of course we took him up on it. He is such a great photographer, but also a really nice guy! It was fun spending the afternoon with him. Here are some of the pictures… there are a bunch more, but he hasn’t posted them yet. I’m not a fan of the first picture, but that’s my own vanity finding fault with my double chin and squinty eyes… I love Leif’s smirk in the second picture, and Kaia and Leif’s twin stares in the third… and the fourth one just melts my heart!