Sad

Rest in Peace, my sweet Henny Penny.

gnome home

I made this Gnome Home mushroom puzzle and little gnomey recently. I used a couple of pieces of scrap wood that Aaron had laying around the wood shop. Poplar and mahogany. It turned out pretty good but the door piece got away from me and the base is like half an inch thick. Oh well, it still looks great! I am not sure if it's better to start cutting something like this from the smallest to the largest or the other way around. I think I did this one largest to smallest, which might have been a mistake. I'll just have to make another and try it the opposite way to see what works.

We are off on a wild road trip to Cabela's tomorrow for farm gear, but not before a stop at the farmers market and Southern States for the week's veg. Going to Cabela's seems to be a oft-taken pilgrimage around here. People get excited and plan a whole weekend around it. I must admit, I am a little giddy about it, myself. Who knows what kind of treasures we'll find!

On the Needles, on the Nightstand

Knitting: Wedding Washcloths from the Purl Bee
Reading: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
and Harry Potter and the Camber of Secrets (#2) by J.K. Rowling

I just finished Devil in the White City recently and all I can say is "wow." It blew me away. I had a really hard time putting this book down, however, because half of it is about America's first (documented) serial killer, it was so scary that I only let myself read it when Aaron was home. The other half, about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, was just as fascinating. So much was happening at that time in America. We think of this as a time when technology changes rapidly, but the amount of things that were changing at that time really shows that this is nothing new.

When I wasn't letting myself read Devil, I was reading the second Harry Potter book. I don't know why. I guess the combination of being in school and it being summer made me want something light. Also, I am trying to read books that I won't necessarily have to keep when we move, so this was a candidate. I don't know what it is about the Harry Potter books, but I find them incredibly boring and slow and I am really not interested in any of the characters whatsoever (perhaps Ron is okay, though). I suppose this might be good to read in line at the bank or waiting in the dentist's office, but I just don't know. I'll finish it, but it didn't compel me to read the rest any more than the first one did. Definitely glad I won't be lugging it to RI.

Knitting more washcloths, as always. I love how fast they are. I can finish one in just a couple of days. I love the seed stitch ones in the above link.

Farm Crate

Aaron and I finished my bicycle crate this week! We took turns burning the farm logo into the wood. He used some kind of pine that was impossible to burn, so it took forever and we decided against the shading we had originally planned. Anyway, it turned out so awesome. And it's a perfect Matilda-sized box.


Someday, right? Dream it up and then make it happen.

We practiced on scrap wood several times before burning the actual box. Too bad our practice wood was different than the box wood, because the practice was a breeze. More pics to come once it's mounted on the bike.

Matilda got a haircut!

Today

Today, I am...

...Cleaning the house
...Reading Possession
...Watching Songcatcher
...Eating homemade food cooked for (not by) me
...Saying goodbye to my MIL who has been here since Thursday
...Thinking about Farm School
...Loving my little bald kitty
...Folding laundry
...Packaging the mint I dried for winter teas
...Knitting Christmas presents
...Basking in the fact that my semester is over

Brittany

I love my bike! Aaron and I have been really trying to take advantage of the fact that we live so close to a very nice bike trail right now (and not dwell too much on the fact that we were supposed to move already).

We've been trying to take different routes and trails often to keep it interesting. Aaron got me this bike when we still lived in Somerville. It is the perfect bike for me! Small, fast, and cute. Plus, it has a basket. I've named her Brittany, because that's the kind of bike she is (a Brittany Free Spirit).

Me and Brittany on Nantucket

Aaron got me some really cool bike gear for my birthday this year because we've been biking so much. He got me some awesome rainbow streamers, which look so great as I'm zipping along the trail! Also, he made me a proper farm produce box to go on the back. I plan to use my new wood burning kit to decorate it with "our" farm logo.