Sunday Happy

How has your week been? Besides being sad and stressed about all the crazy shit that it going on in the world, (what the fuck world, what the fuck?) my week has been pretty good. Got the snow tires on the car, picked up the first winter farm share which was all sorts of fantastic, and broke my favorite ceramic knife cutting into a frozen hunk of spinach.(it wasn't all great)  Miley and Judah reminded us that all you need is a hill and the know how on how to roll down it to have fun and we bought a washer and dryer!!! I almost forgot about that because  they haven't been deceived yet. I can't freaking wait because the laundry situation is getting pretty freaking ridiculous. Just a few more days (Thursday will be a magical laundry day).And best of all, the downstairs bathroom is finally done! (besides a little touch up paint and a light fixture and mirror, but that is all easy peasy) Now there really isn't any big house projects left which is kind of unbelievable and fantastic and I am just so glad that we don't have to live with the air compressor in the middle of the dinning room anymore. And now that there is not any more big projects, maybe I can actually start to arrange rooms and furniture and hang more art and do all the things people do when they first move into a house.

 We were lucky to get out for a hike earlier this week before the deep freeze set in. But really, I am kind of loving the cold weather, maybe not the inch of frost that took 15 minutes to scrap from my car, but just the way the world is feeling. Most people hate November, but me, I really like it. I don't even mind it getting dark earlier. Honestly, I like being outside in the cold, its  refreshing. Plus with it being so cold, I can catch up a little on the TV. I finally watched Stranger Things and whoa. I  know I am late to the game, but forgive me, I haven't been watching much tv lately. Anyway, So GOOD! So good in fact that I watched the entire series last week. And now I have all of season 2 to watch, but I think I might take my time with it, savor the goodness. OR watch it all today, we will see what happens. 

I made the cinnamon star bread that was on my list of things that I wanted to do, and it came out oh so lovely. I am really appreciating the kitchen right now since this time last year we still didn't have a kitchen here. All I want to do now is bake, I just need people to come over to eat the stuff. (I had Megan and So come over to help eat at  the bread this time). While they were here So found my hoard of butternut squash in the pantry and spent the afternoon playing house with all her squash babies. She did the same thing that next day while I was babysitting. That little, she has the best imagination. She was telling me all about how she is going to have babies when she grows up and how babies are made. I guess all I have to do is let my stomach get really really big and then one day a baby will POP right out of my stomach. Good to know right. 

That was the week and for todayI think that this afternoon I am going to try to clean the back porch, hang some pine cones and the new fern prints the mr and I found at the thrift store, and maybe brush my hair. I am also starting to think about Thanksgiving and birthdays and all the holiday stuff.I got to get on it before it all gets on me. 

The internet that I looked at this week

-We all know we feel like crap when we don't sleep. This just proves it further. All the more reason to get your shuteye. Sleepless Night Leaves Some Brain Cells As Sluggish As You Feel

- Polar Winter Winter Flavors!! The tart cherry lime and cranberry cider are the best. 

-Sometime that plans you make seem better when made then when it's come time to actually pursue those plans. Why Canceling Plans Is So Satisfying

-Take A Look at the World's Coolest Library So many books!

-What Would It Look Like If Vermont Seceded?

 -THE 2018 FARM BILL COULD ELIMINATE FUNDING FOR FARMER'S MARKETS. This would be really bad, really really bad. 

-Scientists Start To Tease Out The Subtler Ways Racism Hurts Health Yeah, no shit.

-The house might be done, but I need to start thinking about building a green house out back. 6 Proven Strategies for Year-Round Harvests

-Do Prepackaged Salad Greens Lose Their Nutrients?. As long as you are eating them and not letting them go to waste, it's better then nothing.

Pictures from the week.

Have a great week.

-C

Sunday Happy

This week has been pretty fantastic. The weather here could stay like this forever and I would be happy. Warm days, cold night, sunshine. We have fully embraced it all. The mr finally fixed his brakes on his bike so we have been riding our bikes everywhere, for work and play. I don't mind doing chores when you get to bike around to do them. We have gone to a few rivers for fishing/ reading time. We even took a long ass drive out to the Kingdom to see our friend Jess's new farm (we got to see it but not her. It's ok thought because we plan on going up again really soon with our overalls and shovels and upper arm strength) Spending time outside really makes this lady here feel all sorts of good.

A huge step this week. We finally replaced the glass in the front door!!!! It's been about a year since I smashed it out with a 2x4. We went a long time without fixing because I would have probably just smashed it again anyway. But we are finally done with the outside of the house and hopefully with any more 2x4's and the door was the last step. And holy moly all the light. It's like the door is wide open. The mr made the comment that the new glass makes him feel like an adult now. I totally agree. No more plywood front door. Glass is class!

More little things are happening around the house and we are starting to get things ready for fall/winter here and at he other houses. It's the in between time where we could not do anything for a little while and then in two months get slammed with snow or something and all those little things that we should have done now are now big things that are going to suck ass doing then. You get what I mean?  So we are thinking about all those things and probably going to start doing them.

The week was also the start of school for all the littles so we tried to see everyone one last time before school starts and it's all homework and sports and friends. We had dinners, played in the sand, and worked on our pasta sauce faces.. All the good stuff for the last days of summer. We also moved the bees from the house to the loft for the winter (see, winter stuff has begun). The mr has plans of indoor hives and I am just going to let him do his thing just as long as the bees are not flying around inside the house. And on that note, Jeff (my dad) is coming to town this week and I gots to clean the shit out of the loft and weed wack and bring over some toilet paper and towels and make it habitable for people again. I have been slacking over there lately. My pottery wheel is in the middle if the room and there is a nice layer of dust on on the clean dishes. Dust, clay, and bees. He is going to have a blast.

I am really embracing the cold wet day we are suppose to have. I am going to do a few chores that I have been avoiding like cleaning out the spare closet (it's full of sewing stuff, glitter, and who knows what else) maybe finally unpack my clothes and hang those up, maybe start knitting a hat? Whatever I do, I am looking forward to just kind of having a home day with my socks, cozy sweater, and never ending supply of coffee.

What I saw on the internet this week.

-After Harvey, Are Epic Rains the New Normal? There are more and more large scale natural disasters happening every year and we need to figure out how to deal with it now.

-The Rise Of Mock Meat: How Its Story Reflects America's Ever-Changing Values.   I am not a fan of store bought mock meat, it ishighly processed. Beans for me please.

-The Color Factory is on my list of places to go the next time I am in CA. BALLOON BATH BY GERONIMO BALLOONS AT COLOR FACTORY

-I think most of us can relate. Stress = zit. The Science of How Your Feelings Affect Your Face

-Drink Seltzer, Live Forever. Social media is not your soul, don't forget that.

-THIS MAP REVEALS THE BEST PLACES TO WATCH THE LEAVES CHANGE THIS FALL. Lucky me I just have to wait a few more weeks.

-I love bird photography.  Winners and Honorable Mentions of the 2017 Bird Photographer of the Year

-What happens when you play with your food. Tiny Toast Art.

-Amazon Prime Will Now Deliver Wine to Your Door in One Hour. Amazon is taking over the world. But an hour for wine is not bad.

A few pictures from the week

Have a great long weekend!

Sunday Happy

The other day I went into my closet and spent a few minutes refreshing my mind on all of my sweaters and socks, just so I know what I still have going on for warmth. I have even been wearing a few of those sweaters and socks in the mornings. I grab a sweater, a throw blanket, a book, and go sit on the front porch, with coffee of course, and watch the sun come up. I know it's still summer and all and we always get a hot week or two come September but this cool weather has been just the shit and I am loving every minute of it.

This week has been pretty mellow. My gym closed for the week so my daily routines have been all kinds of fucked up. If you know me well enough you know that if I don't go to the gym or get a really good bought of exercise in my day, I am kind of a crazy ball of crazy. So that has thrown me off a bit but bike rides, kayaking, internet yoga, and just running around has kept me from going completely nuts. Then there was eclipses day. The mr and I spent the afternoon playing by the river, him fishing, me picking up rocks and just soaking up all the crazy vibes coming down on us and casting weird shadows. Very cool and now I am very excited for 2024 (total eclipses right here in VT) We had the little's for a day and we (more me) decided we needed to have a fire in the yard so we could roast marshmallows. I didn't have graham crackers for s'mores but give a kid a bowl of chocolate chips and sprinkles for dipping gooey marshmallows and they are all good. The garden and farm, if you didn't read my previous post, are giving out whatever they got, which is a hole heck of a lot. The goldenrod is in it's prime, and the mosquitoes are only really out at night. Ah, all the good and it's really really good.

And bees. We got a new hive this week from one of the mr's friends. Not a large colony but looking healthy and happy here with us so now we have to get the new ladies ready for winter. 

Today the mr and I are looking to get a few more things done around the house. The mr is making furniture out back, I am attempting to fold an origami type lamp shade situation for the dinning room light fixture (it's the last light fixture we need in the house!) and probably going to spend a good chunk of time with garden and yard work. There are two very lovely little pine trees planted right in the middle of the yard and I have been doing some research and think I might be able to move them more to the back of the yard. So I might start that process today, we shall see

What I spent time looking at on the internet.

-Didn't get to see the eclipse or excited for more? Here is a list of eclipses and all the info you need to see them for the next twelve years.

-Harvesting Salt By Hand Is Making A Comeback In France. Pretty cool.

-A lot can be said in (or on) a cake. This Buttercream Kills Fascists

-To Get Calcium, Navajos Burn Juniper Branches To Eat The Ash. I take calcium supplements, maybe I should try this.

-There is still plenty of summer left. How to Make Ice Cream Without Dairy

-The mr wants a house boat. I could live in this house boat.    

-It's all about balance and enjoying life. How to Have Your Health Food and Love It, Too.

-See the Most Colorful Places on Earth. It's amazing to see so much color in nature.

-“Crown Shyness” Where Trees Avoid Touching

-This could be really good for a lot of people. A New Clinical Trial Shows Potential Long-Term Relief From Peanut Allergies

And pictures from the week.

Bye

-C

Sunday Happy

What, you don't have a large trough full of kittens?

Yup, that's right, the mr and I are currently foster parents to 4 little itty bitty kitties and oh hell are they cute and stinky and all sorts of crazy. But lets back it up here. The beginning of the week started off like any other. Did some work, picked a shitload of berries and all the cucumbers, had the kiddos over for brinner (breakfast for dinner), you know, the usual.  Then on Wednesday we went to Belvidere and spent some time with my family in the most magical place..We played in the waterfall, the mr went fishing, we found some cool rocks, just hung out with my people. Then it happened. Thursday, the mr and I were over at one of our apartment buildings where we have a barn that we keep all of scrap wood looking for well, wood. And there they were, a pile of freaking kittens, tiny as can be, living in the pile of wood in the barn. Long story short ,a few hours of super carefully moving wood, we managed to grab them all and get them in a box. And now they are living with us until they can find new homes. We have four crazy kitties that went from swatting and hissing to snuggles and love and now are the neediest little things ever.  Only is mad at us and doesn't want to come inside. I think he is jealous. We feel kinda bad so he got a can of tuna.

Barb came over Friday night to have a sleep over kitten party.  I had planned an epic night of Wayne's World watching (she hasn't seen them..Asphinctersayswhat?) before the morning trip to Ikea, but the evening turned into kitten time. And honestly, it's all turned into kitten time, but that's ok, we will Wayne's World party time, excellent soon.We did end up named them; Farro (the only boy) Quinoa, Tofu, and Jumper. Tofu because she is the runt and barb so tofu is the runt of the meat world. Jumper because she is constantly trying to jump out of the box, and Farro and Quinoa because we were talking dinner and that happened.

After finally settling down and getting a little sleep,  we woke up. played with kitties, the headed north of the border to Ikea where barb and the mr eat handfuls of hot dogs, we got a new kitchen faucet and some clothes hangers, then drove back through the craziest rainstorm any of us have ever seen. We all thought we were going to die. But we didn't because we needed to get back to the kittens..

Needless to say that today is probably going to a kitten heavy day. The mr made a little playpen for them to play in and I found that last night I ended up watching them for like an hour without even noticing.  Plus they all pooped last night next to the litter and managed to walk all in it so now all the kitten are covered in poop and I have to wash them all. So cute, so nasty....this is my new life for a little while.

Email me if you want a kitten. (seriously)

Stuff I saw on the internet that isn't about how to bath kittens.

-Gnawing Questions: Is Sugar From Fruit The Same As Sugar From Candy? Candy bar or bag of grapes.... Go with the grapes.

- How to Be Better at Stress. We could all be better.

-I have been on the seltzer wagon for a long time now. I drink Polar. Vanilla, grapefruit , and the new pineapple grapefruit are my favorites. Seltzer's Popularity Bubbles Up In The U.S.

-100 Years in the Kitchen: A Century of Kitchen Color Trends. I am all about the70's colored appliances. My fridge is harvest gold with wood accents and it's the best. 100 Years in the Kitchen: A Century of Kitchen Color Trends

-I want one of these. I have a very real fear that me or the mr are going to lose some fingers. Despite Proven Technology, Attempts To Make Table Saws Safer Drag On

-A 100-YEAR-OLD, PERFECTLY PRESERVED FRUITCAKE WAS DISCOVERED IN ANTARCTICA. Eat up!

-My sister wore this shirt all throughout her tween and early teen years. This shirt and kissing Steven Tyler posters. She was scary.

-What Brands Are Actually Behind Trader Joe’s Snacks? I knew it!!!

-So much neon light. Ultraviolet Break of Day: A Midnight Walk Through the Neon-Hued Streets of Asian Cities

-Traffic Accident Leaves Arkansas Highway Covered in Frozen Pizzas

Have a great day!

-C

Sunday Happy

This is the golden time of the summer. Warm days, cooler nights. It's still summer but fall is so close that sometimes you can almost feel it, like in the morning when it's chilly enough for a sweater or see it when you notice a few tips of trees turning colors. It's the best and I am eating it all up.  Plus I am really excited for apple soon. Early macs should be on there way and I am craving me some apple stuff.

The week has been a little foggy very much productive. Foggy because my allergies have taken hold of my brain making me cranky and at some points unable to hold a single though. Productive because well we got so much done. See the porch(picture above) It's freaking amazing. The mr is so so good. (he did most of it)  And I am not the only one to think it. Every day that we are outside working on it, at least 5 old ladies have to stop and tell him how amazing he is. I think a few of them might have a little crush (hehe) So porch is built and painted and the sealant is drying out now, the rest of the house is painted, all the siding is finishes,  and it's pretty much done out there besides a few little things and landscaping. It's crazy, I didn't think it was ever going to happen. But it did and now on to the last big house project...The downstairs bathroom. Saving it for last because we have been using it as the dirty paint sink and litter box room (need to figure out a new spot for that) but now it's time and back to the fixations of a bathroom remodel.  I am on the hunt for a very specific, never to been seen in real life, cast iron corner shower base. I have seen a few pictures, but not many and I even had found one for sale but it was (was because they sold it) 4 hours away and we thought we could wait to buy it. Lesson learned on that one. We even took a trip to a few salvage yards and come up with nothing. So if you by chance have something like that, let me know. I need it to be happy.

Today is going to involve a bit of cleaning and organizing and bean picking? I have been slacking on my farm share pyo (it's beans and flowers right now) because the garden in the back yard has been keeping me plenty busy picking out there. The tomato plants alone are a freaking jungle with a thousand pounds of fruit that is going to need to be picked this week. I am going to have tomatoes all winter long. So yeah, go to farm, maybe library, clip my nails, just take it easy. You know, do the Sunday thing.

Internet reads from the wee.

-These Are the Foods Climate Change Will, Well, *Change*

-Don't just stare up at the sun, it will be bad. Planning To Watch The Eclipse? Here's What You Need To Protect Your Eyes

-Bring back the swing set so I can play on it. A Short-Lived Swing Set Makes a Splash in Burlington's South End

-It’s Officially Too Goddamn Early for Pumpkin Spice. I completely agree. Also to freaking early for all the Halloween candy on display at the grocery store. IT'S NOT EVEN FALL YET!

-I would like to think I would be fine with this but I am not so sure. I guess I need to try it to see .World’s longest suspension footbridge opens in Switzerland

-I would so buy it if I lived in Sweden, and had the money. This Gorgeous Greenhouse in Sweden is For Sale

-Why You Should Slurp, Not Sip, Your Soup. I am a slurper

-Why Newborn Babies Smell So Delicious. I hear it all the time from people around babies. What does it mean that I never find newborns to smell all that pleasant?

-Do you watch the GBBO? If yes, you gonna watch the new season? After seeing this, I am for sure. I mean, biscuits barfing up jam.... The New Great British Bake Off Trailer: Is It Saccharine? Creepy? A Surrealist Stop-motion Extravaganza?

-Vibrant Mushroom Arrangements

A few pictures from the week.

Bye

-C