small triumphs

My little ones and I have been busy in the kitchen lately, but not cooking food, as one would think. We have been concocting every day products like rosemary hair rinse (to hopefully help my postpartum bald spots grow back faster), pumpkin yogurt face masks, body scrub, (all from Taproot magazine), turmeric oil pulling chews, laundry stain remover and my personal favorite - lotion. Goodness how I treasure that lotion recipe, especially here in the dry Idaho desert. It's the only thing that has worked to stop my skin from painfully cracking. One thing I change in the recipe, though, is to use an oil infused with chamomile, calendula, lavender, chickweed and plantain (seen pictured above). Those herbs are powerhouses when it comes to dry skin and thankfully, readily available in my garden. The next project on my list is tackling homemade soap. I think I can get past my fear of lye with the help of my friend Natalie.

You know me, I love creating and making anything I can (I have shared recipes in the past on here for things like toothpaste and deodorant) but what started this desire to make even more of our things than we already did was watching the documentary The Human Experiment. It has me even more inspired and determined to make all that I can myself. Check it out if you haven't already! Now don't get me wrong, I would love it if I could make every.single.thing we use/consume but I am being gentle on myself knowing that is not realistic in this season of life (with homeschooling and a new baby).

A person can make themselves crazy trying to do it all. Believe me, I have tried in the past! I know there are blogs out there written by people that seem to accomplish so much (and good for them!) but I realize they are just like me, sharing their small triumphs. I know doing it all is just not feasible for me...or really anyone. Who knows, perhaps someday I will magically find more time in my days but for now I shall just be content in my small victories and accomplishments.

P.S. - Baby photos totally unrelated but absolutely adorable.

small triumphs

Zealous

We had a clear view of Venus last night (the 21st), which left K completely awestruck. We may have a budding astronomer on our hands. Can you see it? I wish I had a better lens for distances like that. I honestly don't remember much about the constellations and planets from school so I feel like I am learning all over again right alongside K.  I am really enjoying that aspect of homeschooling, especially our sporadic lessons like the bits of astronomy we are now doing, the butterfly life cycles and Herb Fairies (which we are just starting now. It's only available once a year and seems like such a great homeschooling tool).

Speaking of butterfly life cycles, we moved our chrysalides into their new habitat and the butterflies should be emerging any day now. We can't wait! K's wax worm is still active and eating so not quite ready for his cocoon just yet.

Kevin was finally able to set up K's wind vane a couple of days ago. The ground was too frozen to even attempt it  back when K got it as a Christmas gift but now it's up and ready for her to observe our wind patterns here and learn about the Beauport scale.

And do you see those late evening woodworking photographs?! Kevin was able to make time after work last night to get our raised garden beds started. He had many eager helpers, including myself. For those of you that have raised beds, did you do anything to seal your wood? I know the chemicals leach into the soil (made that mistake with our first garden back in Virginia) so we were thinking of keeping them untreated but then I wondered about possibly using beeswax or if that wouldn't be worth the effort since the wood will be constantly getting wet. Any thoughts on this?

Oh and I finished starshower cowl. I was a bit zealous with my blocking, making the neck hole much larger than I intended. I actually think I rather like it this way though so it's all good. It's a nice light weight for spring or early fall. The color reminds me of the lush green lands of Oregon as well as it's cold ocean water. I love it.

p.s. - K has her First Holy Communion this Sunday (!), we would love it so much if you could keep her in your prayers.

Zealous

Just call me Grandma

Ack! Land Shark!!

Well, it's official. Our garden plot is just dirt. We have less than three years left here in Idaho so instead of amending the soil we decided to just go with raised beds. Unfortunately as soon as we came to that conclusion and got the supplies, Kevin's boss had him working twelve hour shifts along with weekend duty so we haven't made any progress. The snow has already melted off of Mount Bennett (a local informed me that is the day you can plant your sprouts outdoors) so my children and I are chomping at the bit to start planting. While we try to exercise our patience, we are experimenting with some very old seeds we found, seeing if they will grow or not.

C received her birthday present from Nana and Grandpa early this year because... well, it's alive! They sent her this butterfly garden. The caterpillar voucher that came with it said it would take 3-4 weeks for the caterpillars to arrive. I put the order in on the first and they arrived within one week. Oops. C is thrilled, though. She has ten caterpillars to watch over. They are actually forming into chrysalises now. This wonderful gift inspired some nature lessons and has C pouring over our Nature Anatomy book. Both her and K are very interested in butterfly life cycles and the difference between butterflies and moths. As if on cue, Kevin found a waxworm (greater wax moth) outside and now K is taking care of it so she and C can see how different a cocoon looks.

Speaking of C, she and I have been a bit obsessed with wild crafting and herbs lately. We started up some calendula and comfrey salve today (from Rosemary Gladstar's book) and are dying to make some fermented dandelion stems. We are two ingredients short and have to wait until this weekend to make the drive to Boise to pick them up. As for K, she has been learning about time in her math lessons the past week and part of that was making a human sundial. I think she loved the excuse to go outside every hour to measure her shadow. She had a fieldtrip to a bank today with a local homeschooling group. We all enjoyed ourselves and I have a feeling we will be seeking out this group more often in the future.

Oh and Land Shark! Doesn't it drive you crazy when you are trying to craft a bed for your bunny and out of nowhere a shark pops up?!

...and then on a rather comical note:



C, Little L and I were playing at a local park while K was in her RE class. I took a knitting break after the three of us discovered an edible herb - shepherd's purse (although we didn't dare eat it knowing that the park was probably sprayed). A little girl maybe seven or so walked up to me and said, "Hey I know that girl (pointing to C). Is she yours? Are you her Mom or Grandma?" I smiled and said, "Her Mama." I laughed to myself and thought, it must be the knitting or my frumpy clothes (note to self - put a much overdue shopping trip higher up on the priority list). Maybe my laugh lines? Eh, I accept them as proof of a life lived well.

Kevin laughed when I told him about it. I asked him to take a picture of me but he flat out refused. Rascal. So I tried my hand at a selfie as a gentle reminder to myself that I don't look like I am old enough to be a Grandma yet. But I can not master that art, at least not in a flattering way! He,he. Oh well.

Maybe I should be slathering on my butterbean on a daily basis, just in case.

Just call me Grandma

Embracing who we are

Thank you kindly for all of your comments and perceptive input on my last post. I think I tend to forget (perhaps I unconsciously do it on purpose) just how far from the mainstream we are so it tends to come as a relative shock when I rediscover our differences. We may never fit the mold, but that's okay. I embrace our simple lifestyle and our homesteading dreams - they are part of who we are.

We carried on with our typical old fashioned ways over the weekend -  I finished up sewing C's birthday dresses (I couldn't resist making two this time), we made some almond yogurt (the kids enjoyed it, I wasn't too impressed honestly), I read and read books to help with our garden (as well as books to dream of our someday homestead) and we crafted some dandelion moisturizer from the dandelions growing in our backyard. We are already looking forward to making more dandelion moisturizer this summer. Although I did feel the need to add some lavender essential oil to it to help cover up the dandelion smell just a bit. They are quite pungent after steeping in coconut oil for a couple of hours.

When we gathered our dandelions I noticed that my children seem to have really caught on to our rule of leave two flowers for every one you pick. Usually that rule tends to be ignored. I think it's sticking now thanks to them understanding more about the current state of the honeybees. Especially since they know that every inch of the place where we are currently living is sprayed with toxic chemicals that hurt our earth and our pollinators except for our backyard. They are starting to see it almost as a duty to provide safe, clean flowers to any creature that may come by. I am hopeful our garden this year will help them carry out that duty.

Embracing who we are

A day full of light

Our little Bubba guy turned four last week and we had quite a magical day. We started the day bright and early in the morning. Somehow it has become tradition to wake at the crack of dawn and open presents first thing. After he opened the presents that were on the birthday table (including his whale shark) his sisters led him down the hall to their room to give him another present - a firefighter costume. K had used some of her own Christmas money to buy it for him. They got him dressed in it and then Daddy threw a rope down the hall to Little L. He told him to pull it. At the end of the rope was a Little L sized fire truck made by his sisters and Daddy. I wish I caught the expression on his face when he saw it. He couldn't believe his eyes! Making the fire truck was K's idea, and boy does she know her little brother well (not to mention an old cardboard box turned into a vehicle is a very budget friendly gift!). K, C and Kevin lost a lot of sleep finishing that fire truck up late into the night on his birthday eve, but I think his excitement and hearing him say it was "his most favorite birthday present" made it all worthwhile.

We had his birthday cake after lunch, complete with marzipan hammerhead sharks made by the children. He originally requested a shark cake like last year's but with a hammerhead shark instead but when he saw these dairy-free key lime cheesecake bars he changed his mind and wanted them. Oh my goodness, I am so glad he decided on them instead, as the sugar factor alone is a reason to be happy, but they were rich and incredibly delicious. I know what I am requesting for my next birthday!

We spent most of the day outside enjoying the warm weather and bright sunshine. A lot of that time was spent playing firefighters but there was also some bow and arrow play, too, thanks to Nana and Grandpa. He wore his shark quiver for all of two minutes but hopefully he'll get some more use out of it in the future. On a side note: I ended up going with a no-sew version and replaced the pringles can called for in the tutorial with a poster tube. He also played for hours with his gifts (a conveyor belt and marble run) from Grandma that arrived that very day. I don't have any photos of those yet, though.

Little L really wanted us to grill out for his birthday dinner. Thankfully the weather was beautiful so we were able to oblige. We grilled some soy-free veggie dogs and all the veggies he desired (which included pickles). While Kevin and I prepared the food, Little L and his sisters had a special birthday video chat with some of our dearest friends back in Oregon. That was a gift in itself.

After dinner we made s'mores over the fire while discussing scalloped hammerheads at great length. Little L finished out his day with a family slumber party that included him sleeping in his special fire truck.

The day was full of warmth and light, much like my little boy (who's name happens to mean light). I don't think we could have asked for anything more. Happy fourth birthday my amazing little man. I love you so!

A day full of light