Halloween!

Treat or Treat countdown is on! The kids are all ready and had a chance to try out the costumes for the homeschoolers Halloween Party.



Sophia wanted to be a 50s Girl and I found a pattern in the Fabricland discount bin for $1. I pulled the fabric from my stash and only had to buy rick-rack for the dog leash and a $1 zipper. It's probably one of the most inexpensive costumes I have made.




Caleb wanted to be a Zombie from his favourite computer game, Plants Vs Zombies. We took some nearly outgrown pants with holes in the knees and cuts them to shreds. And found a stained white shirt as well. We added a little face paint, hair gel and spray on colour. And voila! Instant Zombie!



After they were all dressed and I was taking pictures in the front yard, I realized I have my own Thriller video.




My husband went to work today as the Pied Piper of Hamelin. We sewed plastic rats to his dress shirt and bought a cheap cowboy-type hat and stuck some rats on. We also put a little piece of paper beside on of the rats that said, HAMELIN OR BUST. It's cute and he can still move around and do his work.

I love Halloween!

Age before Beauty

Today is my birthday and I turn 30. It's always interesting when my birthday rolls around. I don't feel 30, at least not in the typical sense. My life is established far beyond that of a typical 30 year old. I have two kids ages 10 and 7. My husband and I have been together for 14 years, that's nearly half my life. As a young family, we've had a crazy life changing crisis and many more mini life altering circumstances since. It's been a wild ride and I'm still looked at as a young 'un, still wet behind the ears.




Many people still treat me like I am a new mom or new wife. Last year when I told a group of moms my age they laughed. "Oh yeah, I'm 29 too," one said as if she didn't believe me. She acted as if I was pretending to be 29, like women do when they don't want to admit their real age. I have never lied about my age. I don't worry about getting older. I embrace it. I find grey hairs, have for a long time. No big deal.

I recently watched a movie called The Countess, a German film about the infamous Elizabeth Bathory who reportedly killed young virgin girls and bathed in their blood. It was in an effort to sustain her youthful beauty. Traumatized by the apparent desertion of her lover for a younger woman, Elizabeth became obsessed with looking young and would do anything to achieve the life long appearance of youth. She was said to have killed up to 600 girls but was only called up on charges for 80 of them. She is an extreme example of the female obsession with youth and beauty, a phenomenon that still continues in this modern age.



Today women go to great lengths to preserve their youthful look. Plastic surgery, Botox and lypo-suction are some of the greater extremes women of the modern age will go to to achieve long lasting youth. As a western culture we are obsessed with the numbers of our age, the laugh lines on our face and the number of grey hairs we have. We obsess over the numbers on the scale, the numbers that indicate the size of our pants and the number of friends on our Facebook account. These obsessions only serve to distract us from our lives, never allowing us to truly live it. We are so obsessed with growing old, we fail to see how truly youthful we are.

I hope I never become so preoccupied with growing old that I forget to live. I hope that the youthful acceptance I have today will remain with me for the rest of my days. As each year passes, may I always see the blessing that new age presents. May I always see the real beauty in being young at heart.

Chocolate Skeleton Cookies

These were a hit last week at our homeschool Halloween Party, although I think a few people shied away from them because they look like gingerbread. Let's face it, most kids don't like gingerbread when there's chocolate to be had. That just means more for me! These cookies, that I found at Taste of Home, are easy-peasy and oh-so-good!




Chocolate Skeleton Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup of cocoa
1 tsp baking soda


Cream Butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. In another bowl combine flour, cocoa and baking soda. Add to butter mixture.

Refrigerate for about an hour (or more) to make it easier to work with.

Roll out and use a gingerbread boy cookie cutter to cut out shapes.

Bake at 375 degrees for 7 to 8 minutes. Cool on wire racks. Once completely cooled, use icing sugar and a piping bag to pipe on skeleton bones.

If you can draw a stick person, you can make these cookies!

This recipe was found at the Taste Of Home website.

Love, Belonging, Shame & Fear

Found this posted on Eat At Dixie's blog and thought I would share.

Raspberry Muffins

So just what do I do with all the fruit I freeze in summer? Well, aside from making smoothies and frozen popsicle treats, I make muffins. This morning I whipped up a batch of raspberry muffins and they are Mmmm-Mmmm good!




Raspberry Muffins


1 cup of butter or margarine
1 1/4 cup of sugar

Cream together in large bowl.

2 eggs

Add one at a time and mix well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, mix:

2 cups of flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt

Add flour mix to large bowl of butter, sugar and egg mixture. Add:

1/4 cup of milk
2 1/2 cups of raspberries

Fold



Spoon into greased or paper-lined muffin tins. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 18 muffins or 24 small muffins.

Chicks in the City

I decided to contact the local townships to see what was permissable on certain land with specific zoning. We have been looking at properties in four different townships, all with various sizes from 3/4 of an acre to 33 acres. Obviously the size of our plot with determine the operations we can undertake. Laws seem to vary from township to township without much rhyme or reason.



In one township I was told chickens, even just three or four, are only permissable on land zoned agricultural. Agricultural land around here is hard to find for under $1 million, and that's just slightly out of our price range... okay fine, that's TOTALLY out of our price range! I asked about clothes lines as well, just double checking what I already thought to be law, that townships in Ontario could not regulate whether certain neighbourhoods have clotheslines, apparently I was wrong.

After laughing at me (literally) over my chicken request, the lady on the phone said "clotheslines are a concern for health and safety."

What?!

"The township has valid fears about decapitations."

Excuse me? What did she just say?

"It can happen. That's where the term 'clothes lined' comes from."

You have got to be kidding me!

On to the next, hopefully more sane, township. This township will allow chickens and other agricultural uses on rurally zoned properties over 5 acres or more. Good. Now I am getting some where. How hard can it be to find 5 acres with a house that isn't falling down and/or needing $1 million in renovations?...hard, apparently, really, really hard.

Methinks I shall be getting acquainted with local authorities, and short of begging on hands and knees, I shall have to make them see things my way. Chickens are a wonderful addition to organic gardens by keeping down pests and raising the nutrients in the soil. Not to mention the added bonus of eggs from happy chickens. Lordy, lordy, I really hope I don't have a big fight on my hands because man if I get ticked, feathers are gonna fly!

Thanksgiving

It was Thanksgiving this passed weekend. If anything I am so thankful for a couple days of rest. We have been going full tilt lately looking for a house and spent Saturday viewing seven more. All in all we have seen 20 houses so far. I am trying not to think about it but the process seems all in compassing. It's a very stressful time and this process has consumed me.

Photo from a Harvest Festival at St. Marie Among The Hurons, Midland

My house seems almost void of celebration. I have done minimal decorations and despite my best efforts, botched a pair of pumpkin pies. We did enjoy a good, relaxed meal with the standard fare. We went for a rather lovely walk in the woods, in which Daniel and I spoke nearly nonstop about possible homesteads. I am grateful that this time is here. It has been a long time coming. We are in the final stages of moving into our very own home but at the same time I will be even more grateful when it is all over. This process is maddening, necessary but maddening.


I apologize for not being more 'present' with this blog for the time being. Once this is all done, I will have tonnes of lovely things to blog about but for now, finding the right homestead is all I can think about.

At Home

I have been enjoying my home the last few days. When not going to see houses for sale, the kids and I have been enjoying lots of down time at home. Aside from school work, we bake, I clean, we read (sometimes together), we walk and talk and enjoying just being here on earth and in each others lives.




It's a great feeling. Fall is such a great time of year with crisp autumn leaves, invigoratingly cool breezes and lush cleansing rains. Apple pie is a fall treat I adore. I'd still like to learn how to make pumpkin pie one day. Maybe this weekend I will give it ago, since it is Thanksgiving.

K.I.S.S. Me!

What a weekend! We viewed 7 houses and I was nearly in love a few times. But now I am back to square one. Each house has it's own pros and cons. Everything must be considered from the age of the furnace, to the type of flooring to the neighbours. Oh this is so daunting! And we've barely begun.



I think the process has helped solidify my needs and wants, dreams vs. reality. We looked at one hobby farm yesterday. It had 33 acres, with 6 acres cleared for house and pasture. There's a barn and fencing. I left after walking through the house twice and felt for sure we would put in an offer. Then at home reality set in. The house is huge but it needs work. It needs a new furnace, new windows and half a roof. The upstairs bathroom needs to be redone and the light fixtures need to be replaced in all rooms. Add this to the fact that the house was already stretching our limited budget.

Those cons aside, the 27 acres of bush is another bone of contention. The forest is protected from development (yea!) and we can remove as much as we would like for firewood (bonus!) but that means extra equipment, sweat equity on weekends and hard work for my husband who does not function well on his leg for three seasons out of the year. I fear if we bought the place the pasture and barn would sit empty for years and I would be in over my head as far as everything else goes.

The other houses we viewed were a mix and match of needs. One house had okay land and a decent house but the kids bedrooms were small with no closets. We could put in closets but that would reduce the bedroom sizes even more.

Another house had a unique layout with tonnes of potential inside, but almost no sun or clearing for a garden of any kind. I need a moderately sized garden, that is a deal breaker.

The house on the top of my list is the same floor plan as the farm house but on two acres in an estate subdivision...er...not my idea of country freedom. We have to check rule book at the Township Office. Hey, maybe they will allow chicken, who knows?

And it seemed all the houses were over priced for the market, according to our Real Estate Agent. She and I seem to be in agreement over that. I have seen numerous houses sit on the market all summer with nary a price reduction. Some people just refuse to admit that the money they could have made two years ago is not the case right now.

After viewing all the homes and going through slight heart break over the hobby farm, I have adopted a new motto when viewing houses.

Keep.It.Simple.Sweetie.

There is no point biting off more than I can chew. Feeling overwhelmed by my property and house is not my idea of simplicity. I can live simply without living on a hundred or even ten acres. This is my firm conclusion after looking at a few houses and trying to envision my life there. The search continues...

House Hunting!

It's time! The family and I are heading out tomorrow to look at some possible homesteads. It's both exciting and nerve racking. There are so many things to consider and so many possibilities for our future. After years of renting I am so chomping at the bit to get in to a home of our own.

In our area, property prices are fairly high. We need to find the right balance between house and land without breaking the budget. We want to be fiscally responsible and that may mean opting for less land in the end. I am not sure how I feel about that. I definitely see chickens in our future and bees as well. I want fruit trees and a large, large, large vegetable garden. These are all things that I think can be squeezed on to an acre but of course it depends how the house and environs are laid out.

The internet search engine, MLS, can be deceiving. What looks like tonnes of land is actually...er...not so much. However I don't want to get too much land that we can't keep up. My husband has physical limitations and I am often busy with the kids and my own school work.

In the end, I know we will find the right house for us. Something in the country, surrounded by nature and the very best part, it will be ours!

Everdale Organic Farm

Recently I arranged a field trip for our local homeschool group to visit Everdale Organic Farm. It was a Farmer For A Day program where kids harvested vegetables (some they have probably never tried before) for their own soup and salad.



We were a bit soggy but it was nothing a good warm wood stove couldn't cure.



They learned about sheep and wool, eggs and chickens and then had a chance to romp around the fields for a while. The most popular sport was chasing down a chicken to hold, without running or causing chaos of course.

It took some practice but in the end every child got a chicken.


I loved seeing the sheep. Sheep are one of my most favourite farm animals. I wish we could have sheep at our farm but at this point I am not sure. It was just nice to hang out, talk with some experienced farmers and get my feet wet!



This is also the farm where I took my bee keeping and soap making courses this summer. This place is all about sustainability with strawbale homes, solar power and biodiesel. I feel at home when I visit there and wish that one day I could have an Everdale of my own.