Empty. And full.

The countdown begins: Just 14 days until we say "Goodbye, West Virginia. Hello, Rhode Island." We are (still) packing. I have to confess that I have been packing for over a year now. I started packing books last summer between semesters because I was terrified that our eventual move would be sudden and I would be trying to manage a job, school, moving, selling the house, and packing all within a month or less. Well, our move has been anything but sudden. This spring and summer were an excruciating test in patience and understanding, slathered with fear and unknowing. There was a time (not that many weeks ago!) when we sat down and worked out the (very serious) possibility of the fact that I might have to move to New England alone while Aaron stayed here. I am so glad that doesn't have to happen. I can't even express how afraid I was of that happening.

So, we watched our plans to move slip from January, to April, to June, to now. Our house isn't sold and there is still fear, but at least we are finally moving forward. Sigh. It's happening. Our cupboards are emptying, the more necessary things are getting packed away, and we are so full of excitement for this new adventure.

Clematis on the front porch

Sigh. There are many things I will miss about this little house. My beautiful clematis is certainly one of them.

Rose in Bloom

I just had to take some pictures of our rose bushes, which are currently in full and beautiful bloom. When my mom was here the yellow rose bush in the front yard was just beginning to bud and she couldn't believe how big it was. You see, she got me this little rose bush a few years ago and it was no bigger than my two fists put together. I didn't even take very good care of it and here it is, just bursting with roses at least twice a year. I really want to transplant this bush and take it with me but I am also terrified to uproot it.



In other rose-related news, today Aaron built a couple of quick trellises for the backyard rose garden. Of course, we do not deserve to enjoy such things ourselves, we only do them when we are poised to move. The roses were literally falling into the pathway, thorns sticking into any skirt or petticoat that came near. I think that they will enjoy their new support and train up the trellises very nicely. Plus, it makes the yard look all the more Secret-Gardenish for perspective buyers, so $10 and a couple of hours seems worth it.

Delays

I meant to (finally) upload my pictures from our trip to Sweden and Finland yesterday but halfway through my computer decided to crash and I couldn't bring myself to start all over again. So I apologize for taking so long...thank you for the emailed requests...

We have been SO BUSY here. I got sick (probably caught something in Finland, actually) and then my mom came to visit just a few days after we got back from our trip, my summer semester started, and then we had someone interested in looking at the house so we had to rush to get things ready and in "showable" condition for that. Yes, we are trying to sell our house. We hope to move from WV as soon as Aaron hears word about a job prospect. I am really looking forward to being closer to family and friends. And perhaps more significantly, the place that I have learned to call home. When we moved here I was pretty tired of Boston and yuppie snobbery. However, good and bad, it is where I see myself most happy in the years to come. I am looking forward to being close to the water, near good restaurants, immersed in culture.

Morning

I found Matilda like this the other morning. Neither of us had covered her, which means she burrowed into and under the blankets on our bed on her own.

This is how Elf wakes us up almost every morning. Often, a wet nose will find its way under a sleeper's arm and gently nudge until breakfast is served.

Crazy Hippie Jelly

Aaron: How does it make you feel that, for your first time canning anything, you made crazy hippie jelly?


I feel great about it! Success! We had all of these violets growing in our yard and I had been wondering what I could do with them, if they were edible, etc, etc. And then I stumbled across this recipe and I knew that I should try it. I am sure my neighbors think I'm crazy. I was crawling around on our lawn for an hour and a half picking flowers while two little chickens followed closely behind.


One neighbor even stood out on his deck and asked if I'd been stung by a bee or something. Embarrassing. But it's good to use what grows around you and come winter, these little pots of sugared jewels will be a welcome reminder of spring.

This recipe was very easy, but the canning of it was a little high-stress. I kept wishing that I had a grandma there to show me how it's done. Not quite sure I mastered it. Are you supposed to put it into the jars while it's still boiling or take it off the heat to fill the jars? Help!

Anyway, I have 10 little jars of violet goodness in my pantry, so I guess I did something right!

4 Happinesses

1) Oregon

2) Donkey Baby

3) Nice Weather
4) Gardening

Christmas Tree 09

I am going to admit something terrible: we have two Christmas trees. We have an upstairs living room (when in romantic moods, I like to think of it as the Parlor) and a downstairs living room (... the Den) where we watch tv, etc. So it wasn't any fun to be in the Christmas spirit in one place and not the other. Last year we got a fake tree for the den. It's a nice, perfectly shaped tree with colored lights. So this year, for our real tree I wanted something that was perfectly misshaped, if you know what I mean. Something with a Scandinavian feel. Like we went out into the snowy countryside with a sled and a saw.

I decided also that because we have a nice tree downstairs just waiting for all of the beautiful ornaments of my childhood, I could continue on with the "theme" for the upstairs tree and use red/white/hearts/straw ornaments. I don't know why I am always drawn to heart-shaped ornaments, but I am. I also have tons of corn husk angels from Prague and various straw ornaments from other places...including Ikea, where I found the most gorgeous straw/hearts/red garland a couple years back.

I am so happy with how it turned out. It looks so great in real life. Why is it always so hard to shoot pictures of Christmas trees? I don't think I've ever taken a good one.

Chicken Love

Large Marge is LOUD. She starts squawking at around 6:30am before she even comes downstairs for breakfast. She squawks when she expects a mid-afternoon snack and outing in the yard. She squawks loudest at around 7:30-8am when Henny-Penny is upstairs laying an egg. Not sure if she's coaching her, singing an egg-laying song, warding off egg-snatching predators, or what.
I am not up on my chicken-logic.

Both of them love to eat the tomatoes that burst in the garden. Besides cracked-corn and beetles, it's their favorite snack. Elf likes them, too, and it's really fun to watch him try to eat a cherry tomato. He gets a look of surprise when it bursts open in his mouth.



They love venturing out and catching the bugs that you rustle up when you walk. They follow us around the yard, eating whatever jumps in their line of sight.

They have really incredible vision. They are aware of what is below them and above them, and spot hawks and ravens in the sky before we do.

They are really expressive, if you can believe it. Obviously, vocally, but otherwise, too. You can tell when they're happy and sad and nervous and content.


I think that I'll always have chickens after this. Aside from the piercing, irritating 6:30 wake-ups, they're really easy and they're really a lot of fun. Plus, they totally pull their own weight. We're averaging 12-14 eggs a week. Elf and Matilda better start fetching slippers and morning coffee. Well, Matilda told us about a mouse in the house (!!!) a couple of weeks ago, so she's off the hook. Elf, I like my coffee with a splash of milk.

curtains

I spent a little time last weekend making these curtains for the window by our table in the kitchen. I had the fabric for some time, but hadn't had the chance to make them. They are about the easiest thing to sew up; the hardest part is ironing the seams. Now I just need to make sets for the other two windows in the kitchen.

I really like sewing, but machine sewing isn't the easiest thing to take up. Seems like having something else do the work would make things more simple, but let me tell you, that is one heck of a machine. I am trying to find simple projects that will help me practice. Straight, rectangle curtains were a good thing to accomplish right now. I might have to take a class if I want to venture into sewing clothing. But wouldn't it be fun?

Almost Instant Gratification

I spent this weekend finishing up the rows for the garden and getting everything in and planted. It was quite a process…I started before Easter. It feels good to get that huge task taken care of, and just as the hot weather is settling in, too. It's already doing better than last year. I'm really using what I learned last year to improve things and I can already see the changes. We’ve already been enjoying our first garden lettuce.



Planted Easter weekend and ready for the past week, we've been picking as needed, and it sure is lovely. Everything else has a long way to go, but it's nice to get something from the garden so soon. It makes all of the work worth it.

Lettuce is really easy...everyone could have lettuce growing, even in apartments. A window box of this or a pot on your porch would be such a nice summer treat. It's so soft and delicate. A bowl of this sprinkled with oil and vinegar and a glass of Riesling. Yes.

I have to say that the garden is pretty much solely my project this year. We've reached a silent agreement that Aaron would do most of the yard work and I would tend the garden. Which I think we're both okay with. Aaron hates weeding. I hate the noise of the mower. Last year, we had a reel mower. We really tried with that thing. But our lawn is just to big for that much work. Dang. We were killing ourselves. So now we're guiltily using a regular push mower we found on Craigslist and composting the clippings or using them as mulch. Oh well. We can't do everything. But for now, we'll eat our lettuce and be happy that our energy is now going into growing, rather than cutting the lawn.

Signs of Spring

I took some time to wander around the yard a little to see how spring was coming along.

Tons of crocuses are out. I feel like I didn't even notice them last year.

This one is growing where he shouldn't (in the herb garden bed). I wonder how he got there.

We have several forsythia bushes in our yard. Some are in full bloom, others are waiting.

Folk Craft at the Double A Ranch

We've been keeping busy lately. Aaron finally finished his first woodworking project, and it's beautiful. Bookshelves are in high demand, so it was a good project to start with.

Our downstairs library is finally becoming more library-ish and less boxes-piled-up-along-the-walls-ish.

I've been working on some small projects, myself. I've been having fun making these dolls (template here):

I sent the boy doll off to a new boy, even though he wasn't perfect. I was kind of torn about sending it...it's weird when something doesn't turn out just right...do you give it anyway, or decide to scrap it, even though it took you most of a Saturday to make? Working with velvet is tricky...any tips?

I also spent the later part of December teaching myself how to embroider, which is so much fun.

I think the windows need window boxes, so this isn't quite done.

Chickens and Peppermint Ribbons

Aaron and I recently re-wallpapered the kitchen. The old people that lived here before us had really boring taste (as you can tell from the living room drapes that we still haven't taken down that are featured in many pictures). Here is the before picture of the kitchen wallpaper:

Blah. Totally not me. I always wanted a red kitchen. Red and white. I didn't have a picture in my mind of what I wanted or how exactly it would come together, but I've been slowly accumulating red items for about 10 years (I was the 16 year old that used her Christmas money to buy a red kitchen clock instead of whatever 16 year olds buy). And so, after years of apartment leases that didn't allow painting, when we bought the house I was going to finally do things my way. And I wanted my red kitchen!

As I was trying to decide on how we should do it, I kept thinking Candy Store. Something fun and juicy. We were only re-papering one wall, the others are painted a flat white, so I could go a little wild without creating a monster.

I think Aaron and I turned into monsters trying to hang the wallpaper, though. It sucked big time. We both agreed that we will never do it again. Trying to time everything just right and align everything was frustrating and by the end we weren't speaking to each other. But now it's up, it's cheery, we're happy.

It looks kind of Christmasy. It's like pretty wrapping paper.

We got some beautiful ribbon candy in the mail -- it's so nice looking that I don't want to eat it. I just like putting it in the chicken by the polka dots, and lifting the lid.