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Showing posts from October, 2013

Pollyanna Point of View

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Yesterday, my oven sat stone cold.  The baking element needs to be replaced.  I was ready to throw in the towel and have a good little fit about it because I had been baking our bread regularly and planned out a week of meals, many of which need an oven.  I didn't know the oven was broken until AFTER I went grocery shopping, so I had no store-bought bread and plenty of ingredients for oven meals. But, I decided to try to play Pollyanna about it.  I came up with: 1. I get to experiment with baking bread on the stove top. 2. I have an excuse to clean behind, around and under the stove when we pull it out. 3. Hubby has an excuse to patch up the mouse hole behind the stove.  Yes, we literally have a real mouse hole in the wall like in the cartoons...not so arched, but close enough!

Maple Farm Dreaming

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Tasha Tudor There is a maple syrup farm for sale the next state over and it has me dreaming.  We go through a LOT of maple syrup every year and to be able to make our own, and sell it, would be very nice.  Unfortunately, it seems dreaming is as far as I can get with this maple farm.  It would take a miracle.....

Baking Season

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Maple Cinnamon Bread

Good Neighbors

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While a larger house and some more land (preferably an entire farm) is our hope for the future, we would not be heartbroken if we stayed here in Taigh Beag.  One reason is our good neighbors.  The other day, our neighbor who owns the farm next door dropped off these beautiful pumpkins for us.  We are so thankful!  Really, we've been blessed so much, lately, I need to start writing thank you cards!

Something Soft and Kitten Gray

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My recent trip to Goodwill brought me home a bagful of garments in a brown, white, black and whisper pink palate.  I've begun to ponder what other colors and hues are lacking in my Autumn/Winter wardrobe? I would like something soft and kitten gray. A scarf, perhaps.  Or a light sweater in merino wool, cashmere or angora.  A skirt, maybe?  A silk blouse.  Gloves.  Socks! Or a kitten. I can only dream of a kitten.  My beloved does not share my fondness of cats and my children certainly wouldn't give the poor creature a moment's rest.  Although, we could use a good mouser!

Dreading Winter No More

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Image: www.panoramio.com All summer I dreaded the coming of winter.  How, I anxiously wondered, will I ever manage another winter cooped up in this little cottage?  The walls already felt like they were closing in on me.  Could I manage juggling 4 small children with cabin fever? I didn't want to bear the cold. I didn't want to bear the winter coats and gloves and mittens and hats and scarves and boots. I didn't want to see trees naked of their leaves, or a bleak winter landscape.  I didn't want to feel cold or worry about driving anywhere or hubby working out in sub zero temperatures all day. I didn't want to say good-bye to sunlit evenings and face darkness before dinnertime. I was actually stressed out about winter coming. But, whether or not I want it to, winter is coming. Just an hour's drive north of me, snow fell the other morning.  And I was happy to see pictures of it on facebook! What changed? Grim accepta

Corgiville's namesake

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My daughter loves that one of the Corgis in Corgiville bears her name.

Black and Brown

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While fashion dictates that you must not wear brown shoes with a black suit, I love black and brown together.  It is classic, like a pair of equestrian hunting boots.  

She Reads

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The other day, my daughter told me that she wants to learn how to read.  I heard somewhere that once a child starts putting bodies on their drawings of people (as opposed to just drawing legs off the head), they are ready to read.  Sure enough, she has been drawing bodies and when I tested her on phonics sounds through the alphabet, she got most of them.  Out came our beloved Bob Books and she quickly picked up books 1 and 2.  Now, she's like Helen Keller when she made the connection at the water.  She is constantly pointing out words to me and asking what they are.  Sometimes I tell her.  Sometimes I have her sound them out. I expect she'll catch on quickly to reading and we can start first grade next year with her reading already.  Her older brother has difficulties reading and possibly some mild dyslexia and even though he is in 2nd grade, I still have to read many things out to him.  We started a reading chart and he has been willingly reading more and more books.  He