Getting There

Goodbye, dear friends.

Well, what can I say?

I started this blog almost two years ago now, in order to chronicle my journey towards a more simple and beautiful life. And it's been so enjoyable for me to share my triumphs and failures in my posts, and to read the lovely comments by all my wonderful readers.

I feel that in this space of time, I have gotten somewhere...maybe not the place I thought I was going. We do not yet live on a homestead where chickens wander through the garden...rather, we are still living in a decidedly urban environment, in a house so ugly I am embarassed to let you see photos of it. I am not sure when we will make it to the country home we have been dreaming of. I hope it won't be too long. But in the meantime, I have grown and changed in so many good ways that I do not feel disappointed.

In the last two years, I've completed a handful of sewing projects (and started a few that have not yet been completed!). This is a big deal for someone who for years was terrified of sewing machines. I've learned to can homemade jam and applesauce. I've learned a bit about gardening (mostly, what not to do), and tinkered with homemade herbal medicine and healing balms. I've improved my cooking skills, and learned to make a loaf of bread which is actually rather palatable.

Aside from all skills though, I have learned something more important - to slow down more, to step away from the screen more, to be more present in my children's lives. Many times I have experimented with turning off the computer, and every single time I have been pleasantly surprised how much I could get accomplished when this darn thing wasn't dragging me in. I have discovered that real life is where it's at.

Therefore, I have decided it would be best for me to stop blogging alogether. Yes, I know I could continue posting only every once in while (as I have been doing) but I feel that if I can't really put a good effort into this blog, I don't want to do it at all.

There is another thing. It feels wrong to me to keep posting here when I keep coming to the same conclusion over and over - that we would all benefit from less time talking about life on the computer, and more time actually living life. So maybe this sounds strange, but I feel that I am doing my readers a service by giving them one less blog to read every week.

Thank you so much for joining me on my journey. I love you all. :)

Please note that since Typepad is a paid service, and I have only paid up till the end of March, after that time this blog will revert to a Typepad "microblog." I have been told that my posts will still exist - but they may be difficult to navigate. And the banner and all the sidebar stuff will disappear.

Illness.

I did mean to make a few posts in the last while, dear readers...but I have been knocked off my feet by illness. I've been sick for almost two weeks now. My fever just won't go away, and the cough keeps getting worse. I hear crackling sounds coming from my chest that kind of freak me out. My doctor says it's bronchitis, and gave me some antibiotics today, so I am hoping there is an end in sight. It really wears a person down, being sick day after day without any change.  I am trying to take care of myself the best I can, relaxing when possible and drinking a lot of fluids.

If I am able to, I will be back before Valentine's Day with my recipe for the best chocolate cupcakes in the world...but now, I'm going to go have a nap. Take care, everyone.

January Reading.

I have come to love January. It's such a quiet, contemplative time, after the rush and busyness of the holidays. It also feels like the perfect month to spend some extra time on the couch reading. I particularly love to make myself a nice hot tea after dinner (Chris bought me an expensive Thermos mug so my tea can always be hot like I like it) and sit a spell with a good book.

Can I share my current reads?

With Owen I'm reading Little House in the Big Woods at bedtime. Although most of the time he reads it to me. I think I must have read this book at least 6 ot 7 times by now in my life, but it never tires me. The details of the Ingalls's pioneer life in the Wisconsin woods are so fascinating, and often quite entertaining, too. We just finished reading the chapter where in the dark, Ma thinks the bear in their corral is their cow, and gives it a good smack! And meanwhile Pa, who is making his way home through the dark woods, thinks a dead tree is a bear, and gives it a good smack! Ha ha.

We have also been reading a book we got through interlibrary loan - Ingri D'Aulaire's 1946 picture book Pochantas. It's lovely, much better than the overly sentimental and romantic Disney version of the story.

For fun, light reading for myself, I've picked up The Story Girl by LM Montgomery, the author of Anne of Green Gables. I have read virtually all of her books. Although sometimes I cringe at the sheer cheesiness of her writing (she often described it herself as "purple prose"), I love it all the same. I really enjoy the trip to a simpler time and a beautiful place - rural Prince Edward Island in the early 1900s.

I'm also slowly moving through my new cookbook, The Art of Simple Food. This is a wonderful book. The first part has easy to read lessons on every aspect of cooking good, simple food - making your own salad dressing and sauces, roasting meat, baking bread, etc. The second part is recipes. All through the book Ms. Walker gives the simplest possible recipe, then afterward a list of possible variations you could do. She encourages creativity in the kitchen, which is an approach I like. I know this is a cook book I will refer to many times over the years.

Also in the instructional sphere, I'm leafing through a book which is reissued from wartime Britain - Keeping Poultry and Rabbits on Scraps. A lot of the information is outdated, but it's entertaining if nothing else, and I can tell there is some good common sense advice in there as well, since when it was written (in 1941) people were very concerned with not wasting anything, and doing the best you could with what you had. Which is always good.

I'm happy to say that I'm starting to feel more up to extra activities where homeschooling is concerned. For a long time I was pregnant or caring for a newborn, and I just didn't have the energy. But lately I have been able to organize some of the "other" activities that make homeschooling fun - frequent art projects and regular nature walks, to name two. To give me inspiration for our nature study, I have been leafing through The Handbook of Nature Study, which is a classic often used by homeschoolers, originally published in 1911. I also have been reading Discover Nature in Winter, which has lots of wonderful ideas, and Your Backyard Wildlife Year, which is full of ideas for attracting wild creatures to your back yard.

Is anyone else have some interesting reads going right now? Please share! :)

 

Not my brightest moment.

Last Saturday, I spent the afternoon driving around to all the different grocery stores in our area, stocking up on all the sale items at each store. I do this every week in an effort to stretch our grocery dollars as far as possible. The roads were wet and sloppy that day. One turn in the road before our driveway, our van slid to the side in the wet snow, and smashed quite hard into the curb. The wheel rim was pretty damaged - a big crack and dent.

My husband, I must say, was very nice about it. He didn't even frown. But I felt so foolish!

At first we thought maybe it wouldn't matter - but as the week progressed, the crack grew and Chris had to leave work early yesterday to visit the junkyard for a new rim. It cost $125.

Ironic, isn't it? Here I was trying to hard to save every penny, and instead I ended up costing us over a hundred. I was so ticked at myself. We are supposed to be saving everything we can right now for a downpayment, not plunking down money for car repairs. 

Oh well. These things happen. Let's hope I can manage the rest of the winter without any more mishaps...

A dreary day, saved by Samuel Whiskers.

This winter that is not continues. It rained cats and dogs all night last night - and I live in Canada! Amy is sick with the flu (again!) and was up fussing. Maybe the sound of the storm bothered her, too. I hardly got any sleep. This morning it was still dark, rainy and incredibly dreary.

I naturally slept in too late and was behind schedule. I somewhat grumpily rushed through breakfast and had just enough time to get a quick shower before we started our homeschool lessons (I try to start at the same time each morning). But just I was sprinting for the shower, hoping that this was not going to be One of Those mornings, Jasper tugged on my sleeve and showed me a book he had picked out: The Tale of Samuel Whiskers, by Beatrix Potter. "Can you please read this book to me, Mom?" he asked politely with a smile. My heart flooded with warmth and happiness. How could I refuse? Sometimes it's better to forget about the schedule.

As he often does, this little guy reminded me to slow down and enjoy the moment, and not be so serious! He listened intently to the whole story - he has an amazing attention span for a 3 year old. It's a funny story. After it was done I carried on the rest of the day's activities with a different attitude. And you know what? I notice that when I make an effort to slow down more, and concentrate on each task before me, instead of trying to do many things at once, I actually get more done.

The rain continued all day. The common behind our house is entirely flooded. Really not a good day to play outside. The children weren't quite as chipper as usual, being cooped up inside. So I decided that after lunch, it was necessary to make chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles. That makes sense, right?

I had a helper in the kitchen, as usual...

I am happy to say these cupcakes (topped with ganache rather than icing) were ridiculously good. Maybe some time I'll share the recipe!

There was still a few meltdowns and tense moments today, and naps were taken...but all in all I think this day was much better than it could have been. :)

A zippered pouch.

A little while ago, my husband bought Jasper a collection of little plastic horses from the dollar store. He loves those horses! But they have been scattered all over the house for weeks now. I decided to do something about it. I had a bit of fabric (that was generously given to me) with cowboys and horses on it, and I had seen this tutorial a while ago - so I gave it a go.

I was a little bit nervous when I read in the tutorial that I needed to use a zipper foot - because I had never done that before, and in fact had no idea what my machine's zipper foot looked like. I figured it out though! And this little bag was quite easy and quick to sew up. Of course, if you look closely you will see that none of the seams are quite straight and the lining is all bunchy...no problem though. I'm pleased with myself, since it's the first time I sewed a zipper into anything.

Jasper was quite thrilled with it, which warmed my heart! I love making things for children.

Looking back, looking forward.

2011 was a great year for our family. We welcomed a new member of our family (who, I might add, is growing cuter and sweeter every day) and Chris was blessed with a good job (as an industrial machine builder) that he enjoys. 

And how did I do in my journey towards a simpler life? Despite our tiny, shaded, soggy backyard, I did manage to grow some herbs and make some healing salve, as well as dry some herbs for use in the kitchen. (Interestingly though, I found that even the rosemary and sage were weak on flavour - I am guessing this is a direct result of not getting enough sun.)

I made herbal tinctures for the first time this year - dandelion and lemon balm - and have not used them. I found the alcohol was just too strong for me (I don't drink at all, not for moral reasons but just because I don't like it). I think in the future I will stick to herbal teas.

Our green bean harvest was decent, but our tomatoes were a stunning failure. And just to prove that our back yard is cursed - I planted several zucchini plants and only got a single zucchini! Who ever heard of such a thing...

I didn't do some of the things I had planned for 2011--I decided not to buy a pressure canner because I really don't have room to store it here. And I actually canned less fruit this summer than the last year, not more. No pickles either. But I have continued to learn the skills required to cook from scratch, and improve my homemaking in general. I now make all of our bread by hand, which is a big step I suppose.

My sewing machine has not been very busy. I've sewn nothing of note all year (just a few baby bibs, a hat, some napkins, and I upcycled an old shirt into preschooler pajamas), even though I wanted to sew some long skirts for myself after the baby was born. Of course, it's probably not realistic to be planning new projects with a newborn babe around...

The first part of the year we were living only off our Etsy business, which hasn't really been bumping in 2011. This meant we were not able to save up very much towards our future home in the country. But that's okay, because now that Chris has a good job, with the chance to work overtime, and we feel confident that by the end of 2012 we will be able to purchase a place of our own--nothing fancy, but some place outside the city limits with a nice big yard so we can have chickens, lots of gardens, and of course, a tree house for lazy summer afternoons.

Perhaps most importantly in 2011, I learned to step away from the screen more often, slow down, relax and enjoy life. Our family started having Unplugged Sundays - no computer, video games, or tv all day every Sunday -  which is a tradition I have come to love. I started writing paper letters to friends, instead of emails, which has been enjoyable as well.

So for 2012, our main goal is to save up a down payment for a house. And for a personal resolution, I am going to try much harder than I have been to exercise. In past years, I have not been taking care of myself and it's starting to show. I have realized I can't properly take care of my family if I don't take care of myself, too.

For his part, Chris is quitting smoking this month. Good vibes are appreciated! :)

Since it is possible we will be moving this year, I think I am going to give up trying to coax a productive garden out of the yard here. But I will continue sewing when I get the chance, and I will be trying to improve my ability to feed my family on a strict budget.

I'm really looking forward to 2012 and all it will bring for us.

Does anyone else have any plans for the coming year they want to share?

 

A lesson learned.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas. I'm happy to report that although it's been warm and rainy all week here in Southern Ontario, it is actually snowing this morning! We'll see how long it lasts.

Our Christmas was nice, although unfortunately we all had a light touch of the stomach flu all week, which meant we couldn't visit with family, which was disappointing.

We had another disappointment, one which taught us a lesson. Regular readers of this blog will know that we love handmade gifts. We try to make them, we try to buy them. And we sell our handmade toys on Etsy. Handmade gifts are, in my opinion, better quality and almost always more special.

However, there are times when it seems that a store-bought gift would fit the bill. This Christmas, for example, we bought a remote control monster truck for Owen. Now, we normally don't buy toys like this, especially ones that require constantly buying new batteries. But our son had been asking for one of these for quite some time now. So we decided to buy it, and felt pleased when we imagined how happy he would be on Christmas morning.

We should have known better, of course. I thought that spending $60 on a toy would mean it would be decent quality...but this thing was total junk. It broke literally within minutes of being taken out of the box--it would go forward but would no longer steer side to side. It's going back to Sears; Owen is understandably upset. All the more so because last year the small remote control truck my sister bought him also broke on Christmas day--it literally fell apart, the wheels fell off and everything. That one was much cheaper though, so I thought we would be safe this time.

We are really disgusted that even a $60 toy can't last a single day, even a single hour without breaking. But lesson learned. We are going to be much more careful about what goes under the tree next year. Every Christmas, we try to squeak through just one or two toys mass-produced in a factory overseas, and every time the item has ended up breaking within a week. (The only exception we have found are the metal Thomas trains, which actually hold up well to extended play. But the important thing to note is they are not plastic.)

It's really sad, because I can imagine how many little children across North America are heartbroken already because their new Christmas toys broke immediately. And all of those broken toys will end up in a landfill, after having served no purpose but to disappoint a child (and to make profit for someone somewhere.) Chris and I both agree that it seems unfair to the children of today. When we were growing up back in the 1980s, toys were much better quality and our Christmas presents could be expected to last.

I don't want to be too negative--we had a lovely Christmas, we ate a lot of good food and laughed a great deal too. I just wanted to share this lesson about consumer goods that we apparently needed to learn one more time!

I was surprised with a handmade gift I was not expecting - Chris made me a maple cutting board with a trough, for carving roast meat. I was so pleased! I have wanted one like this for some time, and this one is so thick and sturdy I imagine it will last forever.

I know I've said this before, but I'm so glad I have a husband who is a woodworker! :)

I also was blessed with two books which I enjoyed from the public library, and wanted to add to my own shelf: The Self Sufficient Gardener and The Art of Simple Food. I'm so happy about both of these books, which I love.

(Please, no one notice the crumbs on that chair...)

Today, it feels like Christmas is really over because Chris is back to work. I'm going to spend the day cleaning and putting things back to rights. Perhaps that doesn't sound like too much fun, but I'm looking forward to it!

Warm holiday wishes to all my readers around the globe...

The Perfect Christmas Cookie.

Only ten days to go until Christmas! I am just getting started on my baking - it has been a difficult few weeks for our family, as the flu really wiped us out for a good while. I think we are all past the worst of it now, though, and I am starting to get back in the mood for holiday things. (At least as well as I can being serverely sleep deprived. Amy has surely taken the prize for my Baby Who Sleeps Less Than I Would Have Thought Humanly Possible. What an accomplishment.)

The first thing I baked was these cookies. It is a recipe my mom made every year when I was growing up. I figured it was time for me to carry on the torch, so I gave them a try this year - and found that they turned out just perfectly! I guess it's hard to go wrong when they contain that much butter...

These cookies absolutely melt in your mouth and have such a delicious flavour. They look pretty, too, and are perfect for gift giving in a festive tin.

This recipe is fairly small - it only made 18 cookies for me, so you might want to double it!

The Perfect Christmas Cookie

1 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
candied cherries
1 cup icing sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract

Cream butter and sugar. (Since I used my homemade brown sugar with the larger organic crystals, it didn't dissolve, but it worked just fine.) Add yolks and vanilla and mix well. Mix in flour with a wooden spoon - it will look a bit crumbly.

Squish and roll bits of dough in your hands to make small balls. Place them on an ungreased cookie sheet, press them down a little bit and indent the centre of each cookie with your thumb.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool.

Place one candied cherry on the top of each cookie. Make icing: mix together icing sugar, almond extract, and enough water to make of drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cookies. Try to not eat them all today.

What is everyone else baking lately? Please share!

Hit by the flu.

I guess it's that time of year. A few weeks ago Kira came down with the flu. Then last week, Chris got sick...he got it the worst of all of us, and had to take a day off work to just sleep. Jasper was very sick last weekend too. A few days ago Owen started with the fever and cough and sore throat, and today I find my throat is sore and scratchy, and I feel weak and dizzy...humph. I thought I was going to fight it off, but I guess not. Perhaps it has something to do with getting only about 5 hours of (broken) sleep the last couple of nights.

Amazingly, Amy has not gotten sick...surprising considering the number of kisses she gets on a daily basis!

Last weekend when I was walking quickly into the grocery store an elderly gentlemen took one look at me, made a gesture moving his hands towards the ground and said (with a smile) "Slow down! Slow down!" I didn't respond; it sort of stunned me for a moment, but once I was in the store I got it and started giggling. I must have looked silly speed walking into the store so seriously. I resvoled anew to stop rushing around and start taking on my daily tasks at a gentler pace.

This sickness has certainly forced me to maintain that resolution. The way this flu bug has picked us off one at a time, and then lingered...we have had sickness in the house for weeks now and it's still going. We haven't gone anywhere (other than me to the grocery store and Chris to work), and our homeschool activities have been put on hold...we've all just been basically hibernating here, reading, relaxing, playing video games, making paper snowflakes...actually it's been rather nice, fevers and runny noses aside.

I put some winter and Christmas books into a thrifted basket...I rather like how it looks. (Once the holidays are over, these books will go away until next year.)

My Christmas shopping is done too, which helps me to feel relaxed--although I haven't made any headway on the quilt. I thought I would just try to do the top and give that to Jasper on Christmas morning, but alas! When I went to press the very first seam with the iron, the fabric wrinkled and melted. I guess some of the scraps I had received were polyester. I am not sure if it's a good idea, but I have decided to proceed, and just keep the iron on low...wish me luck. :)

Today we woke up to the very first snow fall--it's the first time the snow has stayed on the ground, anyway. As I was looking out of the window at the lovely snow-covered branches I saw two "V" formations of Canada geese flying due south. I guess winter is truly here...and like every year, now is the time to put on some slippers and spend some quiet, restful time in the house. I'm going to be shutting down our Etsy shop for a holiday break in a few days, too, and I'm looking forward to that.

I do hope though, that we'll be free of this flu bug before Christmas arrives! Has anyone else been hit by the flu?