We Do What We Do

To carry on.

That's what we do~

It's the end of March.

Around here, it didn't come in roaring like it does some years.

It kinda came in the back door

then surprised us with mid-month snow.

So what do we usually do in March?

Well, in our house, we plan and we plant.

The weather is still a bit fickle

so we dance with it.

Inside, outside, inside, 2, 3, 4.

Outside, inside, outside, 6, 7, 8.

The birds and the breeze provide us with music

as we move about.

(It needs to get back to this orderly state:-))

My summer kitchen has served as a sorting area

for the oddball things left to go through after moving.

Still amazed by how much we collect over the years

and how long it takes to go through it all.

Item by item, it's all being dealt with.

In the interim though, it appears a bit disheveled.

It doesn't help that during the coldest months, 

I let things be as they happened 

so I could get back in where it was warm.

Oh what will I ever do with me?

I've begun straightening here and there as I have a few minutes.

It is getting better, but I still have a ways to go.

I got the last of the lavender cleaned which was a task,

a lovely scented task, but a task nonetheless.

I've finally been hanging laundry back out here

rather then the clothes trees in the house.

That helps the house to seem cleaner.

I know that sounds odd,

but racks of drying clothes appear as clutter in a small home.

It's that time of year when not only can we hang our laundry out to dry,

but we can open our windows and doors

here and there even for a few minutes.

That fresh air is as good for our soul as it is for our system.

It's important that we find our center.

That's a dancing term for our springtime dance we are doing.

I think a good portion of my fine readers have faith.

It's remarkable that in the mignst of chaos,

we can hold our centers,

keep our homes,

comfort our kin,

and carry on.

Faith is the opposite of fear.

So it's reasonable that if we have faith,

we are without fear.

What?

We all have fear, you say?

Perhaps, just perhaps, those are the areas 

in which we need to find our faith.

It sure is a relief to know that we have the most powerful weapon

for combating those fears.

So we can continue to do as we do

and dance as we do with Mother Nature 

while the weather if fickle.

The birds and the breeze still sing.

Let's plan and plant, shall we?

2, 3, 4.

6, 7, 8.

The Summer Kitchen

 One of the unexpected perks we discovered once I finally got to see our “new” home was the way the original garage and the newer garage were joined.  The wall between the two structures was not removed.  The newer larger garage would obviously be used for its intended purpose, and will house Vern, our 1948 Ford 8N tractor (more on him another time.) 

The small original garage then became an easy choice for the summer kitchen.  I had a makeshift set-up in the shop at the old place, but did a lot of going back and forth between the house and shop.  This gets to be the real deal!  I do a tremendous amount of food preservation, soap making, and candle dipping, as well as daily cooking.  The old saying (since we are in the vintage era here) “Make hay while the sun shines,” holds true for people food as well as hay for stock. Canning season is typically during the hottest months of the year.  It is so nice to be able to have the stove going and not heat up the house.  Or dehydrators going.  Or the mess corn makes.  Or…

(The "before" shot)

In case you aren’t picking up on it, I am over the moon excited!

Here, let me show you~

It has two windows both of which are broken.  The one over the sink was missing a large shard and had a scrap of cardboard propped over it, not even secured, just kinda sitting there - Classy I know.  MrLB was walking out behind the building to check the roof (which leaked but is now fixed) and noticed the shard on the ground.  Without saying anything, he got gasket maker and applied it to the edges of the shard and put it back in place.  I was cleaning inside when he came in and took the cardboard from the window and said, “There.”  I was amazed.  He’s just so sweet.

I still have my old pantry shelves which now house canning pots and empty jars.  I might change things up a bit as I use it and get the space figured out, but am just smitten with it all at the moment.  

I have the igloo set up by the sink for water since there’s no water to the building.  There is a large bucket under the drain of the old concrete sink to catch the water which will work well so I can water plants with it.  

Next is the hutch I recently acquired and cleaned up.  It will house pretty much what it did in the mountain house other than my herbs and spices.  My bowls aren’t out here yet as there was a bit of a mouse problem so we had to get that under control before I store things like that out here.
I haven't seen any "evidence" of the little rascals for nearly a month now.
I'm sure it will be on-going, but at least now maybe we can have a bit better control over the situation. 

Next is the harvest table.  I had this at the old place too, but honestly, it was usually covered with junk.  It’s an old library table about 7 feet long, and I love it!  It is a perfect height for me.  I am rather vertically challenged :-)  Standard kitchen counters are high for me and when working at them all day, my neck and shoulders get tired/sore.  It’s right next to the stove so I can move heavy canning pots to and from or have a handy work surface when dipping candles, etc. The cauldron fits under it which makes use of that space as well.

A couple other tidbits are the old yellow table and chairs so we can sit to shell peas or string beans or whatever the task at hand is (a cup of tea?)  The cushions actually go to our outdoor furniture, but rather than figuring out just where to store them for winter, I just put them on the chairs. 

And at the moment, I have the clothes line set up in here though it's easy to move outside if I want to.  We get more wind here which sounds like it would be great for drying clothes, but it's often dusty as well so this works out well.
  I've just brought the clothes trees out and will cover them, but
that would be unsightly for the photo.
The shelves will go in the house eventually, but for now they are just sitting there reminding me that I have more to do.

And in this corner which is actually a bit embarrassing at the moment, is where I will put my potting/gardening bench - against the same wall as the freezers.

The fabric on the hutch.

Last but not least, is the guard bunny.  Hucklebunny Hideaway is right out the door so she can be sure to help “recycle” any veggie leaves or goodies that become available.

The funny thing about all this is that when we figured out this space would be the summer kitchen, I hopped online for ideas on how to set it up.  If you do a search for “Summer Kitchen,” you will either see the Hollywood pool-party version or a fireplace in a historical cabin - no happy in between for practical use.  I do realize we are not exactly main stream in our ways, but I would have thought there would be a few.  I realize it looks rather rudimentary, but I assure you it all gets scrubbed before food is processed.  I would love to know if any of you have a summer kitchen or if you set up a temporary one for canning 
(or other specific tasks.)  
I've been busy amending soil that doesn't appear to have seen a spade
 for a decade or more.
Nearly everything is planted.  There are a few more things to get in the ground tomorrow then it will just be whatever progressive planting I decide upon.
I pulled out first radishes today so it won't be long, and I will be putting this space through a real workout.

Hope you are enjoying spring.

Finding Home

I've been thinking of Christmas lately.  
I know, weird.  

But do you remember the feeling of Christmas, being home, 
and that feeling that was just as present as another being.  
A comfort of sorts - in the smell of the cookies baking, or the sugary frosting, or the lights playing peek-a-boo from behind the boughs of the tree, 
or the simple prospect of a hug from a loved one.  
That feeling void of global turmoil, political correctness, or weight of expectations. 
 I've been craving that feeling like one craves a specific flavor.  
It's a certain kind of peace - not naivety or ignorance, but a knowledge that "it is well."  Whatever "it" is, there is peace in its wellness.  
So I've been trying to figure out how to satisfy that craving, and it's proving a challenging feat, but that's my quest at the moment.

Each of us has our own level of comfort and what we can handle before we go crazy.  
One of the things for me is having some form of order in our home.  
I'm not sure how, but paper clutter has been breeding like crazy.  
I have stacks to sort through.  
It's also canning season.  

I canned the first batch of green beans last week and just picked our first ripe tomato.  
I have set up a makeshift "summer kitchen" out in our shop so we don't heat up the house.  We've had a few weeks of triple-digit weather 
and aren't expecting a break until the middle of next week.  
That has created more shuffling of items and more 'stuff' to go through.  
I thought I'd gone through it all, but alas I was wrong.  
I've found two  more years of taxes that can be burned (when it cools down,) 
even more papers to go through - sort, file, pitch, 
and various things that are just the result of living in one place for nearly 20 years. 

My goal is functionality. 
 I think I've always been a function over fashion sort of person.  
How our home needs to function in order to meet our lifestyle changes over time 
so it needs to be altered or adapted to how we live.  

I used to can some jellies here and there but baked quite a bit.  
Now, I can a significant portion of our veggies and we eat very few grains/sweets.  
The equipment and supplies used for each is different.  
The kitchen still seems geared towards baking but there is a shift so in reality, 
it's not really convenient for baking or canning - go figure. 
 It's getting a going-through.  
Soap making supplies can go out to the summer kitchen 
as well as fiber dying materials and supplies.  

It's really a big rearranging of stuff.  
Buuuuuutt.... all of this rearranging kinda creates a chaotic scene 
which makes me walk with a bit of a twitch.
Our fruit trees, berry bushes and garden are loaded, 
and that produce needs tending or soon will.
With a full time job, a 'spare' job, and tending to our winter's food supply,
I feel like I'm running in mud.

With that, I've decided to take a couple months off from the blog and Etsy shoppe.  
I will still be 'here,' but it's such a busy time,  
I need to focus on home and family and try to make our home function 
for us rather than against us.  

I hope you will understand. 
 I will return the beginning of October as the leaves begin to fall ~ a beautiful time. 
I'm hoping to take this opportunity to update and clean up a few things
on the blog and in the shoppe as well as our home. 
I want to thank each of you reading this.  
I appreciate your time and your comments, and hope you have a superb summer.

I also hope you are able to find a relaxing spot to enjoy a cup of something cold
and appreciate the season we are in.

PS~ These pictures are just some of the produce growing in our yard/garden as of this morning.