The moments that make up a Glorious Day...for me

It was a Glorious day in so many ways today.  So much happened today including work, laughter and good attitudes. I spent the morning cleaning a chicken coop (satisfying believe it or not), jumping on a trampoline, and visiting with a great friend. 


I cleaned Henry's wool that we sheared back in May. I thought that was kind of fun. 

That's me cutting out all the gnarled hair, straw bits and clumps.  This is only 1/3 of the hair we have. I figured I would do it in batches so I don't pull my own hair out. 

Oh..on the fridge beside me is our new chore chart. We are on week two and it was one of the best things I've done in a while. I'll blog about it later because it is just that awesome.  I stole the ideas from a bunch of people off Pinterest so don't be too impressed.

Here are my babies helping me wash the wool. We put it in a laundry bag, added a little soap to the baby pool and let it soak for 1/2 hour.  Again...Don't be impressed. You Tube taught me how to do this one.

Here is the water after 1/2 hour. We had to rinse and repeat 3 times and even then I don't think all the dirt is out.

All washed and in the sun.  I still had a bunch of straw to pick out. Now I know why the You Tube people used a blow dryer on the Alpaca to get the stuff out before shearing.

Ah... There we are. Drying in the evening sun alongside my onions and garlic. Other than the cars in the background I would say it is almost an 'Anne' moment wouldn't you?? No I'm not going to spin it. I think instead it will be stuffing for a pillow. Of course never say never! lol

Anyway, enough about Alpaca wool.  Here are a few other reasons why my day was great.  Above is what it looks like outside my computer window.  I am blessed with the most beautiful hydrangea bush/tree.  Again...don't hate. I had nothing to do with the pruning and care of this thing. It was here when we moved in.

Remember our new duck babies?? Those are them on the left (Ding and Dong). Ping and Pong on the right of the picture are their real parents (not the chicken).  Pong does not realize it and has become super mean to Dong. Anyone want a duck?

The view from my deck made me happy tonight. A trampoline that was well used today. So much fun on that thing. And yes that is a calf hut being used as a dog house :)

I even cooked a turnip today. I can honestly say that I have never cooked a turnip in my life. Let alone grown one. O.K I didn't grow this either. My mother in law did. What to do...what to do...

I had to come up with dinner anyway so I decided to take advantage of my kids amazing attitudes today and make it a cool first time turnip tasting experience.   and they bought it!!! suckers.

Mashed potatoes and turnip cooked in homemade chicken broth it was.  Along with fresh sweet corn, cucumbers, beans and tomatoes from the garden. Oh and our beef of course. Seriously. I'm pretty sure only our own home made ice cream (dairy cow to come in the future), could make this better.

Fresh cut flowers from our garden on the table....yep. It is the simple things that bring a smile to my face.

That seems to be the theme of the summer. Simple and fun. Like throwing a party for absolutely no reason other than to have a little fun.  Again....not my idea. I'm not that creative or energetic. It was the girls idea. I just drank coffee and watched.

Like bobbing for apples and popping balloons with their butts to get the candy out, and watching them entertain their friends.

Glorious day....Glorious summer.

A very Random Post...

I'm a LONG way from being Anne or a Mennonite.  I don't like to sew, and I'm quite lazy when it comes to weeding my garden. I also LOVE the Internet for its access to information. Maybe I should just stick to living in this 150year old house with its modern amenities, hang my laundry, raise my chickens and wear my aprons.

I suppose I COULD do it if I had to. After all, back then people helped each other with certain things. The women did not do it ALL on their own. They shared their resources and what they were good at. So maybe a modern colony IS what I need? 

A MUST for my colony???

Perennial Flowers that bloom from Early Spring until LATE Fall.  I just LOVE LOVE LOVE flowers but I'm cheap. Annuals seem like a waste of money. I'm all about watching different flowers come up at different times of the year.Lilac season has come and gone but now it is Peonie time!!  I'm lucky in that in the 4 years we have lived here I have managed to steal/sever a bunch of plants from the neighbors to enjoy on our own property. Why is it that when things are free they are sooo much more enjoyable??

That was the entire point of this post...To show you the peonies on the table and how they make me happy.  I suppose I could have just said that. I think I've had too much coffee. Anyway, off to feed chickens and smell the flowers.

I wanna be a Mennonite??

It is hard to appreciate how much laundry is on this line. My clothesline is easily the size of a school bus and not only was it filled, I still had socks left in the basket.  The amazing part is this is all from ONE LOAD of laundry.
Done before peak Hydro rates with a front loading He Washer, with Eco Nuts detergent, and hung on the line to dry. 
Who said being cheap and environmental don't go together?  Yes it takes a little time to hang the clothes, but I've learned to only do one load a day in the summer and that sun dried smell is AMAZING. ( I've also learned not to hang laundry on poop spreading days).
This way I can have the entire load washed,folded and put away at the end of the day.

Easy peasy and sooo worth the effort and extra money in our pockets.

Most of you know how much I LOVE the 'Anne of Green Gables' lifestyle and it is similar to the Amish/Mennonite ways.  In fact, I watched an Amish documentary the other day and it reconfirmed some of  the reasons we hold our children a little closer to us than others.  I'm pretty sure I could become a Mennonite if I could dress is slightly prettier dresses and pluck the hair off my face.  However, there is one thing I could not live without. OK maybe several, but I do love my High efficiency washing machine. 

Maybe I could start my own 'Anne of Green Gables' colony with my own set of standards and rules??  Anyone wanna join me?

Chicken Broth Anne of Green Gable Style

I put chicken broth in EVERYTHING. Well not really, but I do use it to make soup (obviously), potatoes,noodles and rice. You could also thaw it to stir fry vegetables and really anytime you need to add a little liquid. Not muffins though. That would just be gross.  It is FULL of nutrients and all that honest to goodness good for you flu bug killer stuff.

It is EXTREMELY SIMPLE to make.  I thought I would share my secret recipe.

After roasting chicken (bone in skin on), I place all the bones in a pot. I add carrots, celery, dash of salt, broccoli stems ( I cut them and place them in a freezer bag to save for this purpose), garlic and chunks of onion.

Add Cold water and let sit for 20 minutes or so. ( I do all this as I'm cleaning up from our roast chicken supper).

Turn the stove onto medium high. As soon as it begins to bubble I turn it to low and let it simmer FOR HOURS. I put in on the lowest setting all night.

In the morning I strain it into another bowl and place in the fridge to cool.  After a few hours the fat will accumulate at the top. You can choose to skim it off but I leave it. The fat adds amazing flavor and overall it is not that much 'fat' in your dish. It also contains lots of good stuff.  Think about how much butter you add to mashed potatoes. This just saves you a step.

When cooled the broth should look like slightly underdone jello.  The jellyness of it is the marrow taken from the bones. This is the stuff  why 'Grandma's' chicken soup was the answer to the common cold.

I separate the broth and put it in used yogurt containers. I usually get 3 servings out of it.

That's it! It is really that simple.

Who Turned up the Heat??

The last two days have been SCORCHING hot! Where did THAT come from? Not that I'm complaining but the temperature difference is hard to adjust to so quickly.

You see we live in a 3 layer brick home. There is no insulation and no we do not have air conditioning. I'm pretty sure if we did we would shut down the entire power grid trying to cool this home down. 

Normally if we keep ALL 23 windows shut tightly and covered we have a 3 day window before the outside temperature equals the inside. 

Well it has been so hot and humid the last two days that our inside upstairs temperature was 80F last night, not including humidity..blech. I normally don't complain about weather but it was a little adjustment to the 60F we slept in two nights prior.

This is me DYING on our front porch attempting to hang laundry.  Did you know that if you put a porch into an L shape, line it with brick and face the direct afternoon sun you create and OVEN?  I'm not joking when I say the thermostat on the window behind me read 42C!!!  I'm pretty sure I did not sweat that much running my Half Marathon the other day ;)

Oh Anne of Green Gables would have been proud of me yesterday. After all...they did not EVER have air conditioning options.  Or my mothers fabulous Salt Water pool that we  tested out yesterday ;) 

Bring on Summer! Me and my straw hat can endure :)

Generations

This house was built in the 1860's for one of the original 5 brothers that came over from Scotland. The other homestead is 400meters down the road.


This picture was taken in 1924. The little girl standing on the wagon is my husbands Great Aunt. The little fella sitting on the wagon is her cousin who lived in this house and raised his family here.



This is us in 2008. Notice difference in the trees, cedar trees and hydrangea. The sunporch is the same minus the roof terrace,but it leaks like crazy.The backside of the house is changed. I'm pretty sure the first picture is showing the entrance to the root cellar that is no longer. Now there is a deck there and so that is why you can see the 'garage/summer kitchen' in the background.



This is our home now in 2011. Two of the giant Maple trees are hollow and the cedars need to be trimmed. That old garage will also come down at some point and we will do a wrap around porch. Of course the sun porch is brand new and usable

It is really cool to live in a home inhabited by 7 generations of my husbands family. Some things have changed but the solid foundation on which this home was built is standing strong. It is a reminder that what we do today makes a huge impact on the generations to follow. The choices we make really do determine how the next generation lives. I love being a part of it. O.K and I also love that if I close my eyes I can picture how they lived..Anne of Green Gables style, because the remnants of it are right at my doorstep.

Cold but Grateful

It is FREEZING here!! Like -24C freezing!!! That would not be so bad if our Outdoor Wood burning furnace didn't break two weeks ago. It also would not be so bad if the cost of heating our home with Oil wasn't 800$ a month.

As much as I am cranky about the 800$/month oil bill I can't help but be VERY grateful for heat.

This house is 150 years old and so it is not hard to imagine what the pioneers in 1860 did in this cold. I picture the outhouses, the chamber pots frozen with pee in the morning, the children gathered around the wood stove in the kitchen, the hot bricks placed in beds and by feet in horse drawn sleighs. Sounds kind of romantic until you picture heading to church in -30C temperatures!!

Maybe they just did not venture out in this cold. And the babies!!! My children are sleeping with 3 layers of pj's and us with 2 duvet covers. I can only imagine how many layers those babies were bundled in.
Seriously gives new meaning to mama in her kerchief and I in my cap....BRRRRRRRR. No wonder they had so many babies back then. I wouldn't want to get out of bed either!!! ;)

So my next thought is present day and just how spoiled we have all become. We have heated houses,heated cars and heated basements. I don't know of many people who wear 'long johns' anymore. When I stop for gas and stand there with all the other freezing people I can't help but realize just how inappropriately dressed we all are for the weather. (Don't even get me started on the teenagers).

When it is this cold we should ALL be wearing long johns, hats, mitts, scarves, toques,balaclavas, mukluks,parkas.....ski goggles.

I'm not sure my point anymore but now my thought have moved to Anne of Green Gables.

No really....I'm not sure why I brought all of this up. Oh yes...I'm freezing.

So when you complain about the weather and how much it is costing you to wear your t-shirt in your home picture the pioneers who founded this great white North of ours. And be grateful....very very grateful that you don't have to thaw your frozen pee by the wood stove in the morning.

Thrift Stores Solve Problems

I love thrift stores. I can do therapeutic shopping and not feeling guilty in the end. How can you be in a bad mood after buying next years winter jacket for 10$?

Shopping at these stores solves a few problems. It is the ultimate in budget (next to free), AND it is ENVIRONMENTAL! Need new bowls? check Goodwill first. I bought a set of 8 for 2$. The key is to pop in every once in a while. You have to be patient as well. Have an idea of what you are looking for or would like to find in the next year or so...when you find it, it is SO satisfying.

I have one rule...If I see it and automatically say OH I LOVE it...then I buy it. The items are unique so I HAVE to buy when I see it, and if I have to hym and haw then I'll get it home and regret my purchase.


This is how I find cute skirts like this one...
And when you pay only 1$ for a skirt it makes it easier to wear rubber boots with them and clean out a chicken coop. I could not imagine doing that with a 50$ dress.

I've been looking for material for Lara because she decided she would like to make a quilt. I thought I would be thrifty and find a bunch of retro sheets for her. Unfortunately I'm not finding enough variety and may have to go to the local fabric store and buy scrap fabric (really should have gone there first) instead of being cheap.

My time has not been wasted however as I found THIS! O.K so it is a Queen size bed Cover, but I REALLY love it on my table.

It's so retro and happy. Adam thinks it is just AWFUL and GAWDY. What do you think? Tell me your real opinion. It won't hurt my feelings. I like it. I think it is one of those things you either love or hate. Kind of like when you go house hunting and you look at the decorations and think 'What ARE they THINKING??'

Anyway, take the poll on the sidebar for fun.

Oh! and speaking of domestic retro flowery type stuff....My Anne of GreenGables flowers are blooming!! Thanks Sara!!

Feeling the Country Today

Felt very country today. We received the 150 year old piano we nabbed from the In-laws and had fixed up. It fits into this old house so nicely and fits in with my Von Trapp Family idea that our kids will play the piano....and like it.

Also baked me up some homemade strawberry pie from scratch with berries outta grandma's garden.
ll I need is some homemade whip cream to go with it....but we won't go there.

AND... To top it all off, I found these six homemade, hand stitched ultra girly Anne of Green Gables like napkins for practically nothing at a thrift store.
(Is it just me, or does the above pic. make you dizzy?).....I digress.

Yes. It ALMOST makes me want to go outside and weed my garden tonight. Almost. But not quite. To be completely honest I'm not sure what is a weed and what is a plant at this point so I figured I would just let it all grow and see which wins out....or produces a vegetable. No I'm not kidding. And no you are not getting pictures...it is embarrassing.

FYI.... We now have 3 Calves, and the MEAT chicken's (as day old chicks) are coming tomorrow.
Yes I'll have pics for y'all soon.

Would Anne be proud?

Now that laundry hanging season is in full swing, I can be found looking like THIS most of the time.



Hmmmm. Practical I know, but not very Anne of Green Gables like is it? Perhaps I'll have to knit myself a little holder for these things and attach it to the laundry pole outside. I think Anne would be proud of THAT! no?

Once Again in my Happy Place

I am in my happy place again. Thanks to Carey who told me about an Anne of Green Gables website. Ah yes Anne...the girl/woman I long to be. Well, it is a toss up between her and Fern from Charlotte's Web.

I am reminded now of my white skirt flowing in the wind, and the fabulous play I saw this summer.
This site is doing a read and knit kind of thing. Where we all read the same book and knit something inspired from Anne. Hmmm I don't knit but I crochet, and I am not so hot at that....but you can bet I'll read along with them!!

Right now I'm on the last book in the series, Rilla of Ingelside. I found it for a buck at the Goodwill the other day. Yay for me!!

The Farm is alive with the sound of music....la la la la

Oh I am a happy country girl. I had such a fantastic weekend!
It began on Saturday when Adam and I saw the musical ANNE AND GILBERT!!!!!

Oh yes. That would be a play from the island of PEI about the best book series ever written!
It was magical. I laughed and I cried. I just wanted to run up on stage and join them. I restrained myself though....but it was hard.
and yes....I wore my beautiful frilly white skirt. For a moment in time I think I actualy WAS Anne of Green Gables, and now that I have some great songs in my head I can parade around the farm for at least another six weeks pretending to be Anne.
So much fun.

Yes we took the baby and yes he was strapped to me in his sling. We switched our fabulous seats for ones at the back near the exit. That way if and when he cried Adam could run out the door with him....and he did. Adam ended up taking him down the street to a local pub to watch sports. Somehow I don't think Adam minded :)

I don't care if I was standing by myself clapping and smilling like an idiot....I got to see my Anne come to life on stage.

The best character was Josie Pye. The actress who played her was perfect. I always thought Gilbert to be tall so when a short little guy came out I was not impressed...but that was the only fault I found in the show.

I'm so glad we saved for two months to go. I'm so glad we ( o.k I) did something for myself. It was worth every penny and the struggle of trying to keep Peyton happy in the theatre. It was so special. I equate it to how Adam would feel if the Red Sox came into town....we would just HAVE TO GO.

Alyson of Green Gables

O.K so I'm Alyson of 'The Cedars' and I don't have six children and a live in maid/nanny but that is what this picture reminds me of. Ever since falling in love with the Green Gables series I have always fantasized about 'being Anne' and living in the era when men were men and women were women. What that means I'm not really sure, but in my mind that involves the country, kids, a pot roast in the oven and frilly dresses. Today I felt the part and happily so. Weird I know, but it is my blog and I can write weird things.