Happy Fall!

The Asters are in full bloom! It is fall. I am feeling pretty good about the progress that I have made to get ready for winter.

The pantry is full. I canned two kinds of pickles, and dilly beans. Dean made his amazing salsa, some hot, some mild. I froze lots and lots of wax and green beans. I froze zucchini and summer squash. We have home grown chickens and natural grass fed beef in the freezer.

My girls are now laying. Yeaaaa! Now we have a mixture of brown and blue eggs. So pretty! Sorry for the blurry picture. They just wouldn't stop moving among the greens.

There is still much to be done in the garden. Raspberries are coming again, eggplant, beets, and kale. Oh, those beans, they just keep on coming. Not to mention I am still getting some tomatoes and peppers and cukes! What a year it has been. I don't feel as rushed now to get it all picked and processed. I figure now that the larders are full, I can go at a more leisurely pace and not stress over it. I also need to plant some spinach and lettuce and I will try broccoli in the green house. Hmm, the more I list the more my stress level rises. No, really I am feeling pretty good about what stage I am with the garden.

It was a busy, busy weekend at the Common Ground Fair and now I am really feeling my thoughts are moving to the next season. There is home school Co-op, music lessons, and pies and applesauce to make. I love this time of year. It is such a mixture of inside and outside things going on.

New Place for the Ladies

Thank you Dean and Aaron! The chickens now are safe (we hope) from the fox and anything else that may try to get at my wonderful ladies. They are getting so close to laying now. One just started! We know it is just one because it is a little blue one and we only have two Americana chickens.

It has a top and Dean put chicken wire all the way down into the dirt and covered it.

They have two roosts that they found right away.

The ladies are very happy. Me included. I am so glad to have this area for them. Bring on the eggs!!

Structure and Routines for Me

I have been trying so hard to get into some sort of a routine. I am definitely not a routine person. I think I want to be. I say think, because I sort of feel that if someone wants something bad enough they will make it happen. I have tried to have more routine and structure to my days. Eventually it all goes out the window.

There are many reasons or excuses I can think of that make a routine hard to follow. I have 5 to 7 people in the house at times. Trying to allow other people freedom to live their lives the way they choose can at times make it so I cannot.

Many times I have thought, "How can I make and keep a routine?" Start with little things? Do something for 3 weeks to make it a habit? How do some people stick with a habit or routine even through times of trouble or stress? How does one keep a routine when other people's needs always come first? For example, I may have a desire to get into my sewing room every night after the girls go to bed. Sounds simple right? It isn't, for me. Bedtimes in this house are not routine. The kids go to bed, but never at the same time. Dinner maybe got started late. We may have had a concert to go to. Someone needed a ride into town. There were meteors in the sky and we went out to watch them. It goes on and on. Sometimes I can't get into my sewing room until 10 PM and then that messes up my other desired routine of getting into bed at a decent hour so then I can get up early and get things done and, and, ..... For me, it seems, to have any type of routine I have to have the whole household whipped into shape and that isn't what I want to do.

One thing that I have stuck to over all is a daily walk. There have been times that I didn't do it for a while, like during this summer. I felt the time in the garden was my 'walk'.

For me, my daily walk or alone time in the garden is like meditation. Most of the time I do it alone. There are the times that Dean or the kids want to walk with me and that is fine, but sometimes I say no, I would rather go alone. I can think, enjoy the bird song, feel the breeze on my face and just enjoy the quiet and calm.

When I step off my driveway I can go left or right. I have walked this same walk for over ten years. Yes I will admit to thinking I wish I had a different walk. Same trees, same fields, same annoying barking dog, same houses. On the other hand there is something comforting about walking that same walk daily. Peaceful.

Maybe creating a routine for me has been about all or nothing. A change in perspective is what I need perhaps. A walk is good anytime. Day or even late at night. Maybe sewing once a day is my routine instead of sewing every night after the girls go to bed. Maybe it isn't about what time of day but that it just happens. If it doesn't happen one day, that doesn't mean it won't happen again. I tend to throw out a routine or any structure because it doesn't or can't happen every day.

So for now, for me, I will have my daily walk and my daily sew or knit or stitch. That will be enough to get started.

With My Hands

I am probably no different than most people in that I am working on many projects at a time. Four at the moment. Soon I may be joining my first block hop. That will be pressure. I don't usually finish things in a timely manner.

I am working on a second knitted poncho for one of my daughters. I have finished the first. It came out ok. I am a new knitter. I only learned last year. I don't like the fringe, but she says she does, so I guess they will stay.

I have an embroidery project in a basket that I work on. I am slowly sewing together nine patch blocks for a queen sized quilt for my bed and I just started my second fabric box.

I love creating things. Love the feel of fabric and yarn and floss. Love the way it all looks when it comes together. Very calming for me.

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A Day on the Road

I had the chance to go on the road with my husband! Of course the girls came too. It was a lovely day. It was so relaxing not to have to drive. ( I hate driving ) I was able to look out the window and think.

The girls and I were dropped off at the beach. We went to a little area in Maine not known to a lot of 'tourists'. It was quiet, and beautiful. We walked the beach, swam in the lagoon, and my oldest daughter found her first ever whole sand dollar. She was so excited. I remember finding sand dollars in the sand. Wonderful.

It was such a relaxing day. We painted on the beach for a bit. Saw a para sail. Watched people, (it is not staring) and just spent some lovely time together.

I do realize it is September but for some reason, this year, I can't get it through my head. I'm not feeling it. Tomorrow we are off to see friends and do some swimming! Summer goes on......