Easter 2024

 

Patching

 Just wanted to tell a little story about this guy, right here.   He's sporting his new sweatshirt that he made above and the bottom picture his new hat (you can't see it super well). Both of these selections he wanted, but saw how much the  name brand articles of clothing were.  So, he shopped for the patches he wanted online and decided to put the patches he wanted on generic clothing.  He got what he wanted for a fraction of the price.  He makes his own money selling his art (his latest pictured below) and is a smart shopper with his earnings. Proud of him! 

Go Outside

 Just a little row of selfies from the last month for a little plug to GO OUTSIDE.  I have always, always, always made a point of going outside everyday. I drag my kids out too. I am a firm believer that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing.  In fact the worse the weather, the more peaceful it seems to me. Take the plunge, make it a part of your routine.  I cannot think of anything more therapeutic for my mind than an escape out of doors. I love the quote "Everyone should go outside for 20 minutes a day, unless you're too busy. Then you should spend an hour." Thankful for my husband who sends me out, knowing how much I love it. 

What a storm...

 We're fortunate enough to be on the other side of this storm, but many in this area are still without.  It was nearly 40 hours here without power.  Between the woodstove and standby generator, we were fine.  Small inconveniences:  warming water on the stove for dishes, only one strip of outlets works in the kitchen, lights don't work upstairs, etc. We were warm, well fed and had plenty to do (Audra in particular we hardly saw since she was content with handcrafts and an audiobook).  First some pretty snowman worthy snow came. Then the ice came fast and strong. There are a lot of trees down. It's one of those storms that the kids will say, "Remember when..." And yes, we'll remember. 

Many thanks to the snow/ice removal crew, Pete and Repeat below. 

Castle Hill on the Crane Estate, Ipswish, MA

 Get ready for photo overload.  We just fell in love with this place. 

Wood Duck House

 When I was a kid, my dad, brother and I planted thousands (not an exaggeration) of white pines.  Those pines grew and my dad harvested them a couple of years ago. My dad, Amish friends and my uncles milled those logs. A barn was built with most of it. One of my uncles made wood duck houses out of the slab wood. 

I wanted to put the wood duck house out when the water was frozen so I could put it in this certain spot I was eying.  This temps this year didn't cooperative, so it didn't happen.  My dad reminded me that if I didn't get it out soon, it wouldn't be useful this year. 

So we popped it up in not the most ideal place, but it's up.  Our tiny little neighbor will be the reporter.  She'll check it out daily and let us know when and if someone moves in. 

Our day

 We had a busy day pruning the orchard where we glean apples for the food pantry and our fellow homeschooling pals.  

Followed that with a little lunch outside...

And nature.  These freshwater snails are so neat.  They are quite big and the shells are brittle.  

We topped our day off with some shopping.  A great spring day indeed. 

Good eats

 

Yesterday we went out to eat and after Anna-Kate said, "Mama, that food was good, but your food is better." Just when my heart filled with love, it just about burst when all the others agreed.

I spend a lot of my life growing and making food for them, how lovely it is to be appreciated. Best compliment ever!

Good Reads

 We swung by a local used book shop, the one place my husband would prefer to avoid.  He said, "Here, Anna-Kate, come here and let's pretend to read. Your mom will think it's heart warming and take our picture."  And I did.  That's why she's laughing, because they are just posing.  Anyway, we left with a stack of books, obviously.  He didn't find one book in that whole store he wanted to take home. Pft.  I don't get it either.