Checking in

It's been awhile since I posted, sorry. The weather has been beautiful the last week or so and I've been outside non-stop. Usually I get really depressed during the winter but I thought I had done a good job of not getting depressed this year. However, when it got warm a week ago, I felt like I was waking up from a stupor. I have energy again. I started my onions and lettuce this weekend and have been spending untold hours at the park with Logan. It is getting cold again and I REALLY don't want it to. I'm beyond ready for spring!

I've also been doing a lot of sewing. Since my last post I've made 2 tote bags, a pair of shorts and most of a T shirt. I'm having collar issues with the T shirt and am having to get creative with the solution. I'll post pictures of everything once I finish the shirt. I have lots of scrap fabric from all this sewing that I'm going to use to make a nature quilt for Logan. I started the quilt 4 or 5 months ago and it was going to be a leaf quilt. However, all the sewing I've done has been with nature themed fabrics, so I think I will expand it to a nature quilt. It will go quicker this way and have more variety in it. I've been wanting to try a chicken square I saw but I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it when it was done. Now it can go in the nature quilt. I think it may be a summer quilt so I don't have to mess with batting.

More sewing

I learned to make shirts Thursday night and was able to complete a whole shirt for Logan in 1 night! He picked out the fabric and loves the shirt!!!

Yes, he is wearing it with the pants I made him and no they don't match at all! However, he did receive a compliment when we were out yesterday on his cool outfit.

Now on to making shorts and T shirts for the warm weather which is just around the corner darn it! And I'm making Logan a tote bag to carry his karate uniform in. He got his yellow stripe Thursday so he will be ready to test for his yellow belt soon. It will be his first test and we are both a little nervous about it!

Learning to sew

I've been taking a sewing class the last 2 weeks and have learned to make pants. It is really fun to pick out fabrics and know you are making something with your own hands. The first pair I made was for me. The second pair was for Logan, he picked out the fabric. He has picked out 5 fabrics now for shirts, shorts and pants. I'm going to learn to make shirts tonight so that will be useful. All Logan wears is pajama pants and T shirts so after tonight I can make all his clothes. He is very excited by the prospect and so am I!

Ice Storm

Last week we had a large ice storm. We lost electricity at 6 pm and didn't get it back until 6am the next day. It was kind of fun not having electricity, I was in the middle of cooking dinner so we had to figure out how to finish cooking it without the stove. We lite candles and oil lanterns and actually had a conversation about peak oil and how we would do things if it happens. DH usually won't talk about it, he doesn't believe it is going to happen. But sitting with no electricity seemed to make the topic easier to talk about. It got a bit cold in the house that night, we have no fireplace or gas heaters of any type so we just put on lots of clothes and cuddled up under the blankets. The only hard part was getting out of bed to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. Darn small bladder!



The birds were understandably panicked when everything got covered in ice. They spent the day swarming the feeders and quickly emptied them all. I went out to try to fill them but the gate was frozen to the ground. So, I poured a bunch of seed on the ground inside our fence so that I could see the birds easily and get pictures of them. I got a ton of good pictures! I even put some seed on the deck so they came right up to the house.

I'm a 1

I love personality tests, I'm not sure why. Here is one that consists of just 2 questions but gave me a pretty accurate result.

http://www.okcupid.com/tests/take?testid=6711512663497470889

1- the Perfectionist

you chose CZ - your Enneagram type is ONE (aka "The Reformer").

"I do everything the right way"

Perfectionists are realistic, conscientious, and principled. They strive to live up to their high ideals.

How to Get Along with Me
Take your share of the responsibility so I don't end up with all the work.
Acknowledge my achievements.
I'm hard on myself. Reassure me that I'm fine the way I am.
Tell me that you value my advice.
Be fair and considerate, as I am.
Apologize if you have been unthoughtful. It will help me to forgive.
Gently encourage me to lighten up and to laugh at myself when I get uptight, but hear my worries first.

What I Like About Being a One
being self-disciplined and able to accomplish a great deal
working hard to make the world a better place
having high standards and ethics; not compromising myself
being reasonable, responsible, and dedicated in everything I do
being able to put facts together, coming to good understandings, and figuring out wise solutions
being the best I can be and bringing out the best in other people

What's Hard About Being a One
being disappointed with myself or others when my expectations are not met
feeling burdened by too much responsibility
thinking that what I do is never good enough
not being appreciated for what I do for people
being upset because others aren't trying as hard as I am
obsessing about what I did or what I should do
being tense, anxious, and taking things too seriously

Ones as Children Often
criticize themselves in anticipation of criticism from others
refrain from doing things that they think might not come out perfect
focus on living up to the expectations of their parents and teachers
are very responsible; may assume the role of parent
hold back negative emotions ("good children aren't angry")

Ones as Parents
teach their children responsibility and strong moral values
are consistent and fair
discipline firmly

Vision Board

Logan and I decided to make a vision board of our farm. We thought a lot about what we want on the farm and found pictures to symbolize those things. We had a ton of fun arranging the pictures on the board. Many of these pictures should look familiar to Danielle http://touchtheearthfarm.blogspot.com/

On the top half of the board we have pictures of a butterfly garden, a pond with ducks, goats, a beautiful barn, lots of chickens and eggs. The picture of the woman holding the chicken was important to Logan because he wants to be able to hold our chickens. I wanted to make sure we got a picture of a pond in there because I really want a pond on our property and I'd love to have ducks living there.

The bottom half of the board has a picture of the whole family since we want all of us to be there, we are sitting in rocking chairs on a porch because that is something we'd really like the house to have. We also have a picture of the cats. The house is our dream house and I put solar panels on top of it. We also have an apple tree to represent our small orchard and Logan picking berries to represent the berries we want to grow, as well as Logan enjoying his time on the farm. We have woods because we would like part of the property to be wooded. We have Logan in a tree because he wants a good climbing tree on the property as well as Logan on a trampoline because that is something he really wants. I then have fields of vegetables and a greenhouse to represent the vegetables we'll grow. And I'd love to have a greenhouse someday.

I think that about sums it up. Am I missing anything that would be important to have on our farm when we get it? Many of the things on the vision board I can add to any property we get but a few of the things need to already be there. What else should I be looking for when we start looking?

Seed order

OK, OK, I know I'm really behind everyone else but better late than never right? I decided to order everything from Seed Savers since at the quantity I'm ordering they were pretty much the same price as all the other companies and I like that they are preserving heritage seeds. So here it is, my seed order:

Royal Purple Pod beans
Lettuce mixture
Tom Thumb peas
All Blue potatoes
Thai hot peppers
Martino's Roma tomatoes
Purple Passion tomatoes
Thai Basil
Cilantro
Butterflyweed
Purple Coneflower
Red Milkweed

Hmmm....It sured seemed like more when I was ordering it. Since I'm doing it all in containers this year I tried to keep it under control. Hopefully next year, I can order more and grow it in the ground at my new farm.