anyone there?

Yeah, I know – you should’ve seen the cobwebs I had to drag down to get back in here. Wow, that was a lengthy absence. And I do have the feeling that I might be talking to myself in this echo-ey virtual box, but I’m going to give it a try anyway.

First and most important, a big hug and hello to my dear and dearly-missed friends in Holland. Heidi, ever generous and talented to a fault – if such a thing is possible – gifted me with this stunning WIP roll (which I fully intend to display year-round!). I know that Heidi struggles with some serious health issues, yet despite her own discomfort, she is always there for everyone else. She’s a true role model to me and when I find myself feeling snappish, I try to channel the grace and humor that she always embodies. Thank you for a lovely piece of yourself to treasure, Heidi!  And thanks to Rachael, I recently re-established contact with Annemarie and it was lovely to get an email from her. Back when we were all in Europe, we had the opportunity to all get together (with Harmien as well!). Although I haven’t mentioned Conny, I hope she knows how much I miss our cheery afternoons together.

from Heidi with love

I’ve made wonderful new friends, here, too. What’s that saying about friends of silver and gold? Recently Dawn was doing a clear-out and gifted me with some lovely stash. I am especially enamored of these wool squares – in my head, I’ve already made them into the most darling penny rug centerpiece. I’ve shown them on top of a pattern I recently purchased – need I say I’ve mentally stitched it up and picked the perfect frame and mat, and have it hung on my sampler wall?

Sadly, mental stitching is the only kind I’ve engaged in. There has been a great deal of stash-fondling however, as I begin packing for our move late this spring. If you have a horror of messes, turn away because the next photo shows the disaster that is our library and my stitching corner. Gasp!

chaos reigns!

When not stitching and making horrifying messes, I’ve been busy on the farm. Our buck bunnies somehow managed to make contact with the ladies despite being separated by cages and we have a dozen unplanned baby bunnies, including four absolute beauties from Mary Margaret and Arthur.

sleeping darlings

it’s bunny love

We had seven baby goats born on the farm this winter – six of them within a 24 hour period! – which kept us busy for a long time. All of the ones intended for sale have now gone to their forever homes, and I’ve met some wonderful new goat people. The day the last baby goats left, the chicks began hatching. Fingers and toes crossed for a successful hatching season this year. The first five Icelandic chicks have already been picked up and taken to their new homes. Two of the Muscovy ducklings that Mrs M surprised us with as winter set in also went to their happy new home today.

Muscovy love

Our barn family now consists of two Silver Fox bucks and two Silver Fox does for outdoor rabbits (plus two lovely foster bunnies we’re taking care of for the rabbit shelter in Lamoine); Muscovy and Pekin ducks (with a couple of ladies who are neither but are part of the family); the Pilgrim geese; about 8 breeds of rare or heritage chickens; 3 buck goats (Nigerian Dwarf, Myotonic, and Spanish/Cashgora) and 8 doe goats (3 Nigerian Dwarf, 3 Myotonic, 1 Nubian, and 1 Nigerian/Spanish-Cashgora). I hope to pick up a couple of lambs and I have bought myself a birthday gift of a mini llama (yes, Niek knows, LOL!). The llama will not join the family until after our move to prevent undue stress (for all of us, not just him!) Here’s a bit of a family portrait, though many are missing from this lineup:

barn family

Don’t think less of me for mentioning the animals before the human children, okay? The non-feathered/furred kids are doing great and boy are they busy! Some days, I have no idea how we keep up with it. Niek made the joke to a fellow baseball parent that he’d turned into a soccer mom, which I found screamingly funny but the other parent was utterly bewildered. We enjoyed a cold but exciting Easter with plenty of eggs thanks to that aforementioned barn family, and the kids also set up a number of hunts and activities for Niek & I to enjoy. It was a weekend that I wished could go on for much longer – we all lamented the fact that the USA does not have a “tweede paasdag” like Holland does. You’ll notice that Arden is not as eager to pose for pictures – our littlest boy is growing up! He’s as jolly as ever, with an extra does of mischievousness now. LOL.

the most beautiful eggs – and girl – to be found

egg hunt!

hero of the falls!

When there’s no family fun,  mess-making, or animal husbandry going on, there is my new job. Not only am I learning so much that sometimes it seems my head must actually expand to fit it all in, but I also have the dubious pleasure of travelling – two days a week, I rack up over 200 miles each day. On the bright side, I’ve been to some lovely parts of Maine that I’d never before seen. And of course we must always look on the bright side, right?

small island off Fletcher’s Landing Twp

amazing trees in a pasture

harbor at Stonington

To make sure I don’t get bored, I’ll be starting grad school in June. My first set of classes includes statistics, which I always swore I would not take again. On the one hand, I’m terrified but on the other hand, at least it will be behind me after this summer. LOL!

There’s been a little bit of baking and cooking, including some totally new-to-me stuff like this in my free time:

roast lamb shoulder

And so dear friends, if you’re still out there, we’re still here and we are really & truly living life to the fullest. Wherever you are, I hope the same is true for you. Best wishes, and thank you so much for visiting despite my lengthy absence!

staying warm

 

Despite our best attempts at denial, it would seem that Winter is settling in anyway. This morning it was 19 when I got up, which is -7 for my friends who use a civilized measurement system. Brrr! Niek wasted little time getting a fire going, which I nearly put out again when I threw a log on that was a little big. (But it’s roaring again, and we’re staying pretty close to it!) We’ve continued with some sickness here in our midst – Max and I had been holding out, but he succumbed last night (though insisted on going to school today). Niek is sicker than he was and could probably do with a day in bed. Rowen and Nick seem to take one step forward and one step sideways in their recoveries. And Arden is home again today due to not being able to sleep well through the night, but judging by this face, he’s just about ready to go back to school.

 

My mom has also been ill. The nursing home called to say they were taking her to hospital for breathing trouble, so I’ll be driving down tomorrow to visit her. I’ll combine the trip with a friend who needs a ride to the Big City, so at least I won’t have to make the trip alone (which can be such a bummer). My dad meanwhile had an operation on his shoulder, which I’m glad to say seems to be healing well. Sending good-health vibes to everyone out there!

I’ve done a bit of reading – and for anyone who enjoys YA fiction, I can heartily recommend Wildwood. I’d recommend it just for the amazing illustrations, but the story is fabulous, too.

 

And there has been some baking. Most of which has been eaten. But here’s a chocolate-swirl bread I made for the kids, who have gently complained about the sameness of their bag lunches. We were all quite excited to see that the chocolate actually swirled, LOL.

 

And there has been stitching, though at a less heady pace this week. I’ve been picking away at Hope by Chartmakers, and here’s my progress on that.

I guess that’s really the bulk of it. Not the most tremendously exciting week, but certainly a fun one. We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration with good friends and have nearly reached the end of our turkey leftovers (always a sad moment for me, as I love turkey). I hope all is well with you and yours, and I thank you for stopping by!

 

i really miss my old photo editor

PicMonkey has a lot of the features of picnik but it doesn’t tie in with flickr for storage, it requires about a thousand more keystrokes, and it just isn’t as good. There, I’ve said it! And being unable to edit my photos in a timely fashion and have them come out looking good enough that they’re worth the effort has had disastrous effects on my already poor blogging habits. These pics are clickable for a larger image if you’re so inclined. And now, on to the point of this blog post…

We’ve had some fun this past month (where does the time go?) celebrating the ending of summer and the beginning of autumn. We made a trip over to Blue Hill for the agricultural fair there – it was our first time as a family, and we all loved it. Even though it rained the day we went, we had a blast and everyone is looking forward to going again next year.

 

We’ve taken a few other trips, like a day at a waterpark-amusement place that had go-carts and mini-golfing. Wow, that stuff is so exhausting for the adults, but so fun for the kids. I don’t think I could handle more than one trip a year, LOL! The kids have also had a great time amusing themselves with games they’ve created out of their awe-inspiring imaginations. And the weather this summer was beyond gorgeous – every day seemed even finer than the day before.

 

Grownups also got a little outing – Niek and I and best friends Tigger and Rachael went to the last show of The Last Summer On Earth Tour with Barenaked Ladies, Blues Traveller, Big Head Todd & the Monsters, and Cracker. LOVED it!!

I’ve been gardening, although my gardening companion has lately been pointing out that I haven’t been active enough. It’s a lot of work, but I’ve loved it. With grad school next summer, it’s unlikely I’ll be able to participate, but I’ve loved it this year.

 

Just this week, with the kids going back to school and the weather cooling off, I’ve begun to bake again. I was afraid I might’ve forgotten how, but the Chaos Crew assures me that I haven’t lost all of my skills. These are some sourdough pumpernickel baguettes I just pulled out of the oven.

 

Everyone is growing up and getting older and I guess that includes Niek, who just celebrated a birthday. Each year, I seem to go wrong in my selection of a gift, so this year I decided to just have fun and go extremely “wrong” in my choices and the kids followed suit. Two stellar gifts, IMHO, were a DIY worm farm (a baggie full of live worms) and a package full of wood shavings from Rowen’s hamster that we are pretty sure had not already been used.

 

In between it all, I occasionally manage to put needle to linen. Right now I’m working on an Easter table runner with some Danish designs. It doesn’t look like much now but it will … someday.

And I’ve received some stitchy goodies in the mail, too. I bought a few small things on Ebay and Cathy surprised me with a lovely Maine chart – thank you so much, Cathy! Lots of stitching plans in my head … now to eke out a bit of time in the slower-paced (ha ha ha!!) winter months.

 

I’ll disappear back into Chateau Chaos now. Lots of plans for the day, including some time in the garden, some stitching, and perhaps a little more baking. Take care and thanks so much for visiting with me today!

just pretend I did this last weekend

(Please note that all pictures are clickable for a larger view.)

I was all set to do a blog update last weekend, following the arrival of a big bunch of fabulous fibers from Jenna of One Star’s Light. Jenna included a packet of GAST Loose Threads (not pictured) and the delightful “Pinto Bean” GAST for our goat of the same name.  Thank you Jenna – your ONS will be missed, but your energy in a new direction is such an exciting thing that we can all simply be happy for you. Look out, world – Jenna’s coming your way!

As you can see by the photo, there has also been a little additional stashing going on. I picked up a few charts from eBay at surprisingly reasonable prices and I finally ordered the wad of Fremme Danish flower threads I need for several of my Fremme patterns (the DMC conversion just doesn’t do it for me). Scandinavian Stitches was having a sale, so I also got a piece of border (the two-tone piece) to make a cafe curtain for the kitchen and a hem-stitched table runner. There’s also a little glimpse of my BBD Loose Feathers progress on Hedgerow Birds. Here’s a larger view:

We’ve been enjoying our new farm activities – well, most of the time we enjoy them – and we’re all so proud of Eve for not only producing these two gorgeous girls, but for providing us with about two cups of milk every day.

Although the summer is flying by at an alarming pace, we eke out some time every week for an adventure of some sort. Most recently, we hiked for a day at Shackford Park in Eastport, but I forgot my camera. It was stunning – that wild, rugged landscape that’s the “real”  Maine. The kids and I went up to St Andrews By The Sea in New Brunswick Canada the week before that and we all want to go back again before the season ends. The kids had to have some silly animal hats, and I have to admit that they’ve been a lot of fun (the hats, as well as the kids, LOL).

The week before that, we visited with my Dad and made a detour over to Fort Knox on the way home. Not “the” Fort Knox with all the money, but another fort (same designer, apparently, though). We had a lot of fun wandering the spooky underground passages and the kids thought the cannons were the most amazing giant toys. I’m surprised they haven’t been asking for one for the living room.

When we aren’t tending the farm or off having adventures, we still enjoy cooking together. Our garden has been very generous in supplying us with green leafy things and we’ve become rather creative at using the bounty – like spring rolls with nasturtium blossoms and leaves!

When I came home from Boston the other day with our world-traveler, Max, in tow, Nick and Rowen decided to make a surprise breakfast for the entire family. Arden would like me to point out that he cleaned the hallway all by himself while Nick and Ro were cooking and setting the table.

 

We’re all glad that school doesn’t begin until after Labor Day this year, but I think we’d all gladly leap at the chance to have another month having all this fun! I hope your summer (or winter, for our friends in the other hemisphere) has been as joy-filled.

a face only a mother could love, and other stuff

The entire week has consisted of days that were not longer than 15 minutes each. How is anyone supposed to get anything done under those circumstances? I’ve felt like I’ve done little but race madly from one thing to the next without actually accomplishing anything. So today, I’m taking it a little slower (although there are still a million things to do!) and tomorrow I may take a road trip to meet some other farming-types who live in central Maine.

I don’t really know where to begin, so maybe I’ll just start chronologically and see where I wander from there. We had a gorgeously sunny day last Saturday. Although it was very cold, Rowen and Arden got the idea into their heads that we needed to go on an Exploration and have a picnic. So … we did. Brrr. Here are Rowen and Arden fearlessly perched atop the broken branch of a gigantic tree – especially when viewed from the perspective of an uncertain four-year old.

And here is Rowen with Flip in the same tree. Rowen has explained to me that the path we followed was one that Flip shared with Ro and Nick several days previously. I’d tell you where it is, but it’ a secret.

And here is Flip, showing that he is a fearless cat who possesses remarkable leadership qualities. Hey, do you think it’s too late to get him on the ballot?

Today is another brilliantly sunny day, and it is a lot warmer than last Saturday. So of course, no one is interested in being outside at all. Go figure!

Since I’m talking about our furbabies anyway, here’s the latest on Tom, who has been re-named by Rowen and now bears the weighty moniker of Major Tom Stubbs. He’s had his neutering surgery and is being introduced to the house. The other animals hate him, though, so it’s a slow process. His own behavior is still a little unpredictable – he’s generally an absolute love bug but sometimes he forgets that the hand that’s petting him is attached to the arm hovering in his vicinity and he bites and/or scratches the arm. The arm usually belongs to me, and I’ve been very glad we keep antibiotic salve and gauze pads on hand. It’s a face only a mother could love, and yet … we do love him and are glad to be able to offer him a comfortable spot for his golden years.(I’d like to point out that I obviously took these photos elsewhere because my own house is kept spotless and clutter-free at all times!)

Well, maybe some of us are less happy to welcome him than others. Flip is letting him know that this pool of sunshine will not be shared under any circumstances.

Also taking place in my clean and uncluttered kitchen is baking. Lots of baking. Baguettes by the bag full this week, and each more delicious than the last. Yesterday, the gray weather really got to me so I also began baking cookies (something I tend to avoid because I like my own cooking…).

Talking about the gray weather offers me a reasonable segue into the bizarre storm we had that dumped close to a foot of snow on us earlier this week. It’s still melting off. Here’s the barn, viewed from the back door of the house, the day it snowed.

Down in the barn, life has been busy. The geese continue to lay eggs and because I only have two small incubators, we’ve been eating some of the eggs. I made scrambled eggs the other day and when I saw how huge the goose egg yolks were compared to a regular chicken egg, I had to take a picture. Doesn’t it look like a face?

We have some new chicks down in the barn – 2 month old Barred Hollands. I love them! They look a lot like Barred Plymouth Rocks but they’re a much older (and rarer) breed that lays a white egg (rather than a brown one).

In the house, the little Miracle Marans are doing well, and the incubators are full-up. Hoping for some exciting hatching to start soon! While I wait, I occasionally find five or ten minutes for stitching. This is for an exchange, so I can just show a snippet.

I’d probably be able to get a whole lot more done if these impossibly adorable creatures didn’t keep distracting me.

Thanks for visiting! I hope your weekend is full of joy and good health!

it feels like it’s been ages

… since I last posted, but I guess it’s just that the days have been so very, very full. If anyone has any hours to spare, please deposit them directly to my time account … I need them!

I have finished Soft as a Bunny. Yesterday afternoon when I should have been typing the umpty-millionth version of my next class paper, I instead finished this design. I have to admit that I like the other ones from the series better – too many pastels in this one. And I goofed and stitched the ribbon in cameo pink instead of cherry wine – but as much frogging as went on with this seemingly simple design, I was not going to change it. Nicky hasn’t seen it yet, but hopefully it will meet with his approval.

And an arty, off-center perspective:

Valentine’s Day was a bust, though I did make a pretty awesome dinner. Dessert eclipsed it entirely though – fresh fruit over vanilla ice cream with homemade lemon syrup and fudge sauce. Mmmmm.

And that’s about all I can fit into this post-on-the-fly accounting of life at Chateau Chaos! Thanks so much for visiting!

keepin’ warm

Brrr!! Chilly today – but so bright and sunny! The dogs couldn’t figure out how to get warm, fast – Lola thought getting under the dog blanket might be better, but Rigby liked it better on top.

Arden slept somewhat better with the aid of a humidifier, but still isn’t sleeping through the night and is still plagued by the croupy cough. Ugh. Today makes four days of the cough, and it generally runs a course of 3 to 7 days. Needless to say, we are all hoping we’re nearing the end rather than just past the halfway point. My aunties surprised us with a visit and get-well basket for Arden. The basket was quite a bit fuller before I managed to get a picture of it (hmm, how did that happen?). Aunt Kathy remembered that Arden is wild for blueberries, so you might notice a blueberry theme.

It was a wildly busy day. The poor barn critters didn’t get their dinner till nearly full dark and they were making quite a ruckus. Thankfully, the guineas made their noise inside the fence – yesterday, I found 8 of them spread all over the property. Apologies to our wonderful and understanding neighbors. I loved how little Mr Doodles was warming up with the help of a big Delaware girl.

After taking care of our outdoor family, I could finally take care of the indoor members. We enjoyed a delicious and filling Spanish omelette. The recipe can be found over on the farm blog.

Further keeping me warm was the arrival of the order I placed with Violarium. Gosh, I was sad to hear that this wonderful ONS is going out of business. I stocked up on lots of specialty linens – gorgeous banding and two linen towels – as well as two patterns. I’ve had my eye on the bunny one for some time now, and the other just called out Arden’s name when I saw it.

And now, I think I may go curl up between some flannel sheets! Brrr! Stay warm, and thanks for visiting!

my new toy

The mailman made me very happy today by bringing lots of goodies that must’ve been building up in the postal system for awhile.  There were some Fine Lines magazines/reprints with gorgeous projects, a cut of BOAF Sparrow linen, and … this! It’s a Grip It and they aren’t made anymore, which is a mystery to me because it’s fabulous.

And that’s my newest project – a little something I’m putting together for one of the giveaways.

It was a bit of a challenge to get everyone going and get everything done on time today, but I think we pulled it off. Arden was his sweet & silly self:

And I even managed to pull together a pretty decent dinner.

day twenty – new beginnings

How this can be Arden’s fourth birthday is beyond me. The upcoming New Year’s Eve will be the tenth that Niek and I have celebrated under the same roof. Years, and even decades seem to fly by in the wink of an eye. It’s astonishing. Scary, too. But isn’t it an amazing reminder to treat each day as if it were the only one?  I know – that’s just not realistic with all the pressures we’re all under; and if it’s not a critical one-off event, the mundane stuff mires us down. But seizing something from each day and setting it apart will make a difference in keeping  each day unique – maybe it’s the crystal clarity of the moon at night, or a smile from a person you didn’t expect. Whatever it is, hold it fast and try to give these special moments to others, too.

We have a tradition that the birthday kid gets to choose dinner on the Big Day. I thought Arden would choose pizza but instead he asked for popcorn and cocoa. “I don’t know about that,” I said, trying to let him down gently. He took my hand and looked up at me and said, “It’ll be okay, Mom.” I nearly fell over laughing. After a slow stroll together through the supermarket, we came home with a heavenly kids’ feast that included pizza, meatballs, and crackers with “stuff” on top. And of course there was homemade chocolate fudge cake with “every colored sprinkles” at his request. Everything was washed down with cocoa – with extra marshmallows, of course. I think we’ll be eating raw greens and lean meat for the rest of week to make up for this indulgence!

During Arden’s few hours in school, I pulled out Primitive Bird for the neighbor’s intended Christmas gift and put in a little work on that. Tuesdays are usually busy with errands, so I didn’t get as much done as I’d have liked. So instead, I’m sneaking in a picture of a long overdue gift that is making its way (at long last) to its real home in Holland. This is one of The Sampler Girl’s designs, though I went with my own choice of colors. It’s filled with the most heavenly scented mixture of dried flowers that I’ve ever encountered, and shown on the fabric used for the backing. I hope my special friend will love it and not mind that it really should’ve been in her house more than half a year ago.

day thirteen – simple joy

Today I took a walk in the woods to help a friend find a Christmas tree for his sister. The moss was deep and springy, as if it had never been walked on. Fallen trees lay peacefully rotting while saplings grew randomly wherever they found light and nutrients. It was so quiet – my flailing around on the uneven ground was like a sneezing fit during a prayer in church. The air smelled so incredibly clean and crisp. The sunlight seemed to have a  substance, a weight, of its own.

I tried to keep that simple, natural joy with me for the rest of the day. When I began dinner – tonight was a SOLE (sustainable, organic, local, ethical) food night- I wanted the pureness of the food to really shine through. I loved the fact that whatever we didn’t use, the chickens and goats would turn into a new food source through the eggs or milk or meat they provide for us. I felt like a small but happy part in the Greater Scheme of Things. That’s a really nice feeling, in my humble opinion.

My thing of beauty today is the star inside one of our apples. I hope you find it as beautiful as I do.