This Moment

Joining Soulemama in This Moment:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

 

Happy Friday!

I made a shirt that I want to love...

Here it is.  My favorite fabric of the year, in a shirt that I can't love.

I thought an over-sized long drapey tee would be just the ticket for this fabric.  So, I whipped it up humming with happy thoughts about dramatically flitting around town, looking french and sipping coffee,  getting so many compliments about how cute my shirt was, where did I get that?  Oh, I made it.

When I put it on and looked in the mirror, I only half inflated for a tiny moment, and then I adjusted, and then I fully deflated.

There are a few things going on with this shirt that do not have me psyched.  First, the neckline.  Ahem.  The horizontal zigzags along with the oversized-ness is not flattering my upper half.  It is gramma-fying it, right?  Also, because of the pattern printed on the fabric, I really should have left it sleeveless, or figured out how to miter (line up) the zig-zags.  In other words, the flow is all jacked up.  Also, I like the length, but I think it should flow freely at the bottom without the cuff bringing it in sweatshirt style.  It needs a little more flounce and drape and less tapering.

My next idea for this fabric, because I assure you, I am not done with it, is a poncho style shirt.  I think it would be amazing.  Please dissuade me if you think I am delusional.  Any thoughts kind people?  It would also make an amazing dress.  Hmmmm?  Also, I might mention, this fabric is NOT cheap.  Still, it is cheaper than buying a new shirt, so as long as I don't make any more duds, like this one, I should still be saving money, right?

Happy and healthy Thursday!

Under the weather...

We are feeling a bit, well, bitten by a bug around here.  Stinging throats, running noses, feverish foreheads.  Eating soup, drinking tea, eating apples, sucking on lozenges, sipping elderberry syrup
and rest seems to be helping.  Healthy Wednesday to you!

Sometimes, this is it...

I really really wish my camera could capture more of what was happening in these scenes.  Because it was so beautiful that I took the same picture fourteen times.  Sorry for the repetitive and possibly boring pictures, but during this five minute interval, the wind picked up and the sun poked out on this brilliantly yellow tree.  It was raining golden sunshine in the form of leaves.  But, it is hard to see the leaves falling in this picture.  My camera isn't anything special, so I'll just have to commit that moment to memory.

 

Sometimes the pictures of small moments that are beautiful, are all I have to report for the day, because nothing else is as interesting.  So, there you have it.  Have a lovely Tuesday. xo

Going to Sleep

We are getting the garden ready to go to sleep.  It is very satisfying to rip plants out of the ground.  We are cleaning up to start over next spring.  Feels like a step in the right direction.  These fall days are so full of home-y feelings.  My goal this year is to slow down enough to take it all in.  To notice every nuance, and variation of leaf changing from alive to dead.  To take in every smell of the season, which right now happens to be drenched with apple.

Walking into the Moon Cabin, where we store our apples, takes me back to being four years old walking down the stone steps of my grandparents root cellar.  We were always warned about the danger of those steep hard steps,  and of the sandman that lived in the big pile of sand in the corner of the cellar.  It was dark, damp, and smelled like apples.

 

The deer are unabashedly eating whatever they can these days.  There are consistently six to eight of them cruising the orchard looking for apples.  They eat up all of the pulpy remains after we press the apples into cider as well.  They are well fed.  And, very comfortable. 

 

This is the old farmhouse (and outhouse) the homesteaders built.  It still has a lot of their old things in it, some broken down furniture, many different kinds of jars, coats, and I'm sure plenty of critters.  The kids think it is haunted.  I do too.  In a good way. 

I'm sure it wasn't fun walking to the outhouse in the middle of a cold wintry night.  How lucky we are to have indoor plumbing.  

As we head towards November and it's lovely feast of Thanksgiving, I am feeling very thankful to live in such a beautiful place.  Thanks Montana, thanks homesteaders, thanks Missoula.  

Happy Monday!

This Moment

Joining Soulemama in This Moment:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

 

A beautiful foggy frosty morning.  Mist hiding ghostly homesteaders of yesteryear.  Or so I like to tell myself.  Such an enchanting time of year.

Indoors to outdoors

Making the shift from outdoors to in.  Trying to figure out what winter gear is needed first, and where it all is.  So many pairs of mittens will be gone through.  Layers of wool underneath clothes are needed.  I have been drooling over these.  I feel like we need to prepare for long hours outdoors even on the coldest days, if we are going to stay sane this winter.  And, I plan to stay sane.

Making tea is a constant around here these days.  We have been making the Chai Tea recipe out of Cynthia Lair's cookbook, Feeding the Whole Family.  It is nice and spicy-sweet, and is made without caffeine if you are sharing with kids.  You can add a tea bag if you want the caffeine, which I do often.  But I'd like some more tea recipes.  Any ideas out there?  I'd love to hear what your favorites are.

 Happy Thursday out there!