Friday, May 27, 2011

Totally Hilarious!!!

Hi.  My name is Alayne.  And, I'm a geek...

There is this website with truly funny comics for the geeky person called xkcd.  Some of them are over my head, but some of them make me howl with laughter.  Nick forwarded me this particular comic today.  Ohmigosh!!!  I nearly fell out of my chair laughing.  It totally made my entire day (not that it was a particularly bad one, mind you).  I just want to share it with everyone I know.

Hope you enjoy it!  Happy Friday everyone!  And, have a wonderful weekend.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Cinnamon-Apple Fairy

She loves apples with cinnamon sprinkled on top.



She loves to dress up in her sister's old dance costumes.


I love her little fairy feet.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Inside Out

Hi everyone!!  It has been a long time.  We've been up to our ears in stuff to do, and blogging has been the last thing on my seemingly endless things to do.  But, today, I thought I'd pop in to say hi.

Every year, I love to bring all my house plants out onto the back porch.  I finally did that on Monday.  They seem so much happier out there in the fresh air. 


When we finally get our new old farmhouse in livable condition, I'm going to miss this porch.  It's probably the thing about this house I will miss the most.  It's wide enough for a table.  Our farmhouse has 2 porches - a back porch that wraps around a bit, and a front porch.  Neither porch is wide enough to accommodate our table.  But, since I'm thrilled with the rest of the house and the property, we will happily figure out some alternative.

In addition to bringing the inside plants out, I like to plant some annuals in pots for splashes of color.


Here is where I enjoy taking my tea (or coffee depending on what the day has brought me).


Notice my bay tree in the dark green pot.  I just up potted that into a pot more than twice the size of the original!!!  Boy does it look MUCH happier in it's new home.  (Although a bit crooked, it seems...  Note to self:  take care of the crooked tree.)


And, a view from the swing into the back yard.


In the way back, by the fence, you can spot our compost bins.  We found some galvanized burn cans with predrilled holes in them at our local hardware store.  They are perfect for neighborhood dwellings since they keep out the animals.  Guess what is hiding in the bush right off the porch!?!?!?!?!


Yup!  You guessed it - baby cardinals.  How cute they are!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Rambling Organization

There are thousands of things keeping us busy these last few weeks.  First, and most importantly, was the purchase of our new old farmhouse.  Now making it livable will keep us busy for months to come.  Yay!

It's finally stopped raining enough for the ground to dry up.  Bright sunny days mean lots of catch-up work outside.  There's laundry to be hung (waiting so patiently in piles and piles and piles upstairs), potting soil to be made and tomatoes to be up potted, porches to be cleaned off, garden work, seed planting, grass mowing, ...  It's easy to get overwhelmed to the point where you are just standing in the kitchen with your hands on your head, shaking.

But, I've made a list.  It's miles long, but it's a list.  Each day I put the things I think can be accomplished in between the regular schoolwork, meal making, and housekeeping.  Today, I'm making soil, soil blocks, and up potting the tomatoes.  They are pretty much screaming to get out of their little 1/2 inch blocks.  Ok, ok, ... they've been screaming for about 2 weeks now.  Tonight we will have some friends over for a music night - fondly referred to as Guitar Night here. 

Tomorrow - garden work.  It will be so very nice when we can move into our new home and have the garden right there with us!  As it is now, I have to pack us all up for the day and head over to our garden. 

Slowly, we are getting our spring selves into gear.  Soaking up the sunshine and wonderful air.  Shedding the winter blues.  Wiping away the winter grime.  Planting seeds of all sorts.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Our Farm

We bought the farm!!  No, not the proverbial farm.  The farm we have been looking for for 15 years.  Our farm.  Land.  With an old farmhouse on it!  We are very excited this is finally coming together for us.  Very excited!

The house we are living in was supposed to be a temporary house.  Five years at the most.  It's been nearly 14.

There are some things we need to do in our new house before we can move in.  Luxuries like plumbing, electricity, and heating.  We plan to knock down a couple walls to make the space more usable for our family.  It's going to take a while, but we are excited for our new journey.

Plans are being thought up for what we'd like to do with our spaces.  Chickens, honeybees, fruit trees and bushes are all popping through our minds. 

As is our way, we are going to do the remodel as environmentally friendly as possible.  We've begun scouring for reclaimed fixtures and such, recycled materials, and natural things to make our home.  Hopefully, I will be able to post some ideas for you in the months to come. 

Right now, we are basking in the fact that it has finally happened!

Have a great weekend.