{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Amanda Soule

On Our [suburban] Homestead

Two front yard apple trees in blossom.

Newly planted strawberry patch.

Shelling peas finally starting to grow

Last year's kale made it through the cold winter

Recently transplanted berry patch likes its sunnier spot much better

Red romaine babies

New planted sunflower house taking hold

It has been a slow start this year but things are finally starting to happen in the garden.   I have lots of projects going on outside (my husband calls it crazy, I call it ambitious), but I simply can not contain my sheer joy at being outside on our little plot of land, laying down more roots.  There is something so soul-satisfying, so good and so right, about digging in the dirt.  After a day of working and playing in the garden, my back hurts, my arms hang nearly limp at my side, more dirt has worked itself into its permanent summer home under my nails, and my heart and my head are at peace and at rest.  Oh the good, good earth.

Yarn Along: 27 April

Joining Ginny again for the Yarn Along...

Oh my friends, it is finished!  The B.O.B. is done just in time for tank tops and shorts here in the Northeast (pictures coming soon as I am switching the buttons on it).  Never mind, though, I am pretty happy with this snugglely little package.  The blocking worked... a little too well.  It is quite large but I never wanted it to be form fitting.  A sweater of my own, I say, a sweater of my own.

While the sweater was blocking, I knit up some little chickens from Knitted Animals for three Easter baskets.  These look very homemade; I find them endearing, my kids do not. 

And on the reading front,  I have been bouncing from book to book, unable to contain my burgeoning interests in so many different things.  A few titles that are on my bed stand right now: The New Complete Guide to Beekeeping, Knitter's Almanac, A Charlotte Mason Education, and Pocketful of Pinecones.

Corner of My Home: Entryway

I have been meaning to post a Corner of My Home, and this post last week inspired me to finally do it.  

We moved into our current home in March of last year, having already done some (badly needed) work on the house and with a lot more to go.  While it will always be a work in progress over here, the bulk of it (removing the pool, redoing the kitchen, the floors) has been done.  Once the dust settled from the renovations, we were left with an only somewhat finished house and a lot (for us) of space to fill up.  

We had neither the budget nor the will to purchase furniture, hang up pictures, put down rugs, or do any of the other things that make a house feel like a home.  Slowly but surely over the course of the year, pictures are going up, rugs are going down, and vitality is seeping into our space.

The entryway, like most entryways, is a loading and unloading station.  We put on, we take off in this rectangular space.  The puzzle (for me) with the space was/ is that there is room for a little more, but not much.  My husband, who is better able to "see" a space, immediately envisioned a mini-work station for us: a place to store mail, keep our laptop, etc...: a pretty and practical place.

For many (many) months, the little bit was just in transition.  Our phone rested on the floor, along with our coats, our computer and lots of dust while I searched for the perfect bench for the spot.  Then, I gave in and boy am I glad that I did.  I do not spend much time actually sitting at the desk, but when I do, I love it.  

A Barbara Garrison print, my Nikki McClure calendar, my favorite photo from our wedding, my knitting needles, and other little bits and pieces make this a happy and harmonious little nook within our little house.

Nature Study Monday: Magnolia Tree

The later part of my childhood was spent in Texas, a perfect place for the Large Flowered Magnolia Tree, yet I do not remember them.  I am not sure how one can forget, or simply not notice, this exotically blossomed and stately tree, but somehow I managed.

Our magnolia trees are in blossom right now here in Northern New Jersey and they are a breathtaking sight.  For some reason, though, my heart nearly quickens when I come upon one; their blossoms are so fleeting and the very sight of them reminds me that they will be gone.

The history of the tree is an interesting one.  I assumed that they were all indigenous to Asia, but this is not the case.  Some of them come from the southern part of North America. Interestingly, they evolved to be pollinated heavily by beetles.

Magnolia trees do not blossom for very long here (a week or two?), but their petals look almost as lovely on the ground around the tree.  I simply love them.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Amanda Soule

They Arrived!

Meet Chickie, Monster, Doo, and Rocker, named by (respectively) our 5 year old daughter, our four year old son, our 21 month old, and my husband.

We are head over heels for our new friends.  They arrived in a cheeping box on Tuesday and we have been enamoured ever since.  Given our very young (and somewhat clumsy) hands, I am not as sure that they are as glad to meet us, though!

They are warming under a (very bright) heat lamp and cheeping away in my husband's basement office.  I did order a dark red light/heat bulb to replace the one we have because it seems entirely too bright.  I read that chicks may peck at each other less and sleep better with this type of light.  We will see...

Right now, we are just happy that we have four healthy new additions to our house.  I can barely contain my excitement about our adventures to come with dear Chickie, Monster, Doo and Rocker.