Mr. Rodgers: Garden of Your Mind

Of course I grew up watching Mr. Rodgers. I loved pretending and imagining as a child. I am not sure exactly how our children are losing that but they are. I for one hope my children will "grow things in the garden of their mind". 
I am falling in love with Janet Lansbury's blog. I have found it to be a truly great go to resource for issues with Wade and it is completely changing how I want to interact with Ethan and encourage him to play. Honestly, I wish I had found it sooner. Of course I may or may not utilize everything taught there. No one has to camp out with just one way of doing things, but I found a particular article from this week regarding how our children are loosing play to be scary. I feel strongly about play and imagination. It was my favorite part of childhood. I want Wade to experience that in its fullest. He will have a lifetime of being "grown up". No need to rush things now. 
If you are interested in reading about how preschoolers are loosing play please read this article: Don't Let Your Preschoolers Forget How to Play

Enjoy growing things in the garden of your mind.

Weekend Highlight: First Farmer's Market

It is hard to imagine that just a couple years ago I was only learning about mirco-farming, hobby farming, and the very concepts of urban farming. Doors were opened and I actually thought I could and would enjoy farming in a suburban/urban setting. However, as much as I thought I wanted to farm the whole process of where to start and "getting" there was overwhelming. I had a house, husband, little babies to take care of. 

Then we meet Steve and Alyssa at Roots of Change Farm and found kindred spirits. Gary and I could relate to them on so many levels and brought some of our own unique experiences to the table. What impressed us was that Steve and Alyssa were farming. Normal, great people like us were doing it and now Gary and I realize we can do it too. Years of reading, practicing, failing, and building are paying off. We will sell some of the fruits of our labors this year with Steve and Alyssa at the Kamm's Corner Farmers Market. Talk about a big step forward. 

Our humble set up. Of course I was running late because getting Ethan, Wade, Gary and myself out of the house in the a.m. only happens on Sundays for church. Often we go on Saturdays to avoid having to get the kids up and in the car "early". I provided the tent, table cloth, baskets, table, chairs, and a cooler with eggs. Gary brought his bird houses to sell but we didn't sell any although we had admirers. Definitely learned from that experience and will set up the bird houses differently. I truly believe customers thought they were decoration or didn't even notice them. We for sure need a sign, another table, and more produce next week. 

Here is an early customer transaction. We sold out of almost everything by 11:45 a.m. The market officially opened at 10 a.m.! This is a great market to be a part of. Good location and only two other produce vendors to compete with. 

Of course I had Ethan. He took one brief twenty minute nap in the early heat and then I had to hold him the remainder of the time. Great for building upper arm strength!!

He woke up happy from that nap though. 

It was hot! Alyssa with her adorable youngest daughter. 

By 11:45 a.m. all we had left was oregano (this needs to be a value added product), onions, and Swiss Chard. By 1:00 p.m. we had sold out of everything and had to wait until 2:00 p.m. in the heat to pack up. All went well except I broke the tent taking it down. Lesson learned: come prepared knowing how all your equipment (tent) works. **Sigh**

Overall a great day. Gary and I are having a lot of discussions about what the future holds. Stay tuned. 

Weekend Highlight: Enjoying the Weather

A dear friend came over for a visit on Saturday and she brought with her a CD of fabulous pictures her husband took of Ethan (at three weeks) and Wade. I am just thrilled! I strongly think he should start his own photography business and I just had to share a few of the pictures here. Aren't they wonderful!?!

The rest of our weekend was busy as normal but we took a moment to enjoy the outside weather. I wanted to eat dinner outside after grilling some deer chops on our charcoal grill for the first time this summer. Our outside tables were either full of stuff in the garage or entertaining free roaming chickens so we improvised. Got to love the cloths line in the background. I was laughing at our happy, silliness.

See our new FREE swing set in the background. Wade is still learning to play on it by himself. It also needs a bit of TLC but it will get there. 

Kissy!

Ethan at two months!

Wade's favorite outside toy! He can really use that toy wheelbarrow and often insists daddy use his too.

Happy sunning chickens enjoying the yard.

Chickens no longer sunning. They aren't sure about this little human and his wheelbarrow.

How was your weekend?

A Bathroom Redecorated...

I'd gotten tired of my first floor bathroom.  You know, the one that does double duty as a pretty guest bath as well as a convenient place to rinse off sandy children.  It was too dark (red, tan and brown) and just worn out.  After painting the kitchen (post soon to come!) I had a new fresh color to work with.  So with only the cost of a new shower curtain I pulled together a new look.

the new shower curtain

After raiding a friends dilapidated barn with only a single glove and a wonder bar (awesome), I scored this crate.  In its not so distant past it was a nest box in a chicken coop.  Needless to say I scrubbed this thing until my arms almost fell off.  Then after some sanding and a coat of stain, I had a nice clean box.  At first I was going to throw it in the corner and pile it with clean towels but I had been looking for a cabinet to hang on the wall.  Could I mount the crate to the wall?

Definitely.  It's rustic and old fashioned.  And no matter how hard I try or how much I want to avoid it, that is the direction this house will always take.  Use what you have...

The next project was something to fill the opposite wall.  I love browsing prints and frames at stores but can never convince myself to buy any.  I'm addicted to originals.  I built this frame using old fencing and staples.   (My first solo radial arm saw project.  I was scared to death!)

Some paint and some stain to distress it and I was happy.  I had seen bloggers framing sticks and thought I would give it a try with some of my grape vine trimmings.

Another hit.  Wow, could this room be coming together so fast with really nothing but time invested?

The soap dish?  The the base of a planter.  Painted and stained.

The curtain?  Ruffles?  Me?  Hmm... not so sure if I'll keep this one but I'm trying it.  Just muslin and literally scraps I ripped off an old table cloth in the basement.  The only thing I do like is the unfinished look.

Keeping with the "bird" theme (nest box, shower curtain, twigs... see it now?) two brass birds with a coat of white spray paint.  So pretty perched on my mirror ledge.  

Homemade milk glass with upcycled food jars... think vanilla extract, grinder spices and artichoke hearts.

I'm pretty sure that I took about one hundred photos of this tiny room. That's about 95 too many even by my standards.  But in my defense I have been suffering with this room for years. So just a few more if you please...

(Ok, a remodel  for the price of a shower curtain AND a stack of fluffy new hand towels...)

Overall, I like it.  So much brighter and clean.  For a couple days every time I walked past the room I had to stop, turn on the lights and sigh.

A finished project.

One room down...

Good Food Friday: Chocolate Apricot Bars

I love the idea of unprocessed food.  Real food.  Whole food.  Foods that heal.  That benefit my body.  I would say I eat this way about 80% of the time. The 20% of the time that I don't is normally for dessert.  But why?  Because healthy desserts have a nasty reputation for being boring, tasteless or just plain weird. As I have been reading more and more, learning about how individual ingredients function in a recipe it is getting so much easier to discover satisfying sweets that fit in the whole unprocessed category.  

Like this.  

Almost completely nuts and fruit this is just about the healthiest treat I can imagine.  And with the addition of dark chocolate chips, it tastes indulgent.  Almost like a granola bar I'm betting this will be great in the morning with a piece of fruit and mug of hot tea for breakfast!

Chocolate Apricot Bars (Gluten Free)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ground almonds (I did mine in a coffee grinder, but a food processor would work too)
• 3/4 cup rice flour
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots 
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 2 eggs, beaten
• a few tablespoons water
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 dark chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350*.  Lightly grease an 8X8 baking dish.  
• Combine dry ingredients besides chocolate.  
• Add beaten eggs and mix with a fork until ingredients are no longer dry.  If the dough is not sticking together, add water a tablespoon at a time. 
• Add chocolate chips.  
• Lightly press dough into the pan.  Bake for 25 minute.  Allow to cool or if you can't wait, go ahead and sneak a square.  They hold up well (if you eat gluten free and avoid synthetic binders you know what I mean) and are quite filling.

Inspired by Elana's Pantry


P.S. I was right... they do make an excellent breakfast!