bellevett

tour of the grounds.

daily tour of the grounds begin like this:

wanna join us?

first stop, watering pail.

beets:

kale, still growing strong:

looking up:

looking down:

and we're off:

 

 

Friday was a beautiful sunny day.

by the time crosby and i got home, it was a bit overcast. 

that didn't stop us from our daily tour of the grounds.

crosby has gone from laying on a blanket outside.....

to sitting up attempting to reach the nearest sticks and rocks......

to scooting to get a stick........

to crawling to find the biggest stick and most dirt......

to speed crawling around our house for his daily tour of the grounds.

his daily adventures happen in the cold and the sun and the warm. 

in the beginning, i thought i would be taking crosby for a local hike at least daily.

i have learned that it doesnt matter if it is the top of the mountain or the patches of grass and garden around our house, adventure is adventure.  when your 11 months old, if you're outside, the awesome factor is pretty high.

*************

i was actually kind of getting depressed that we don't seem to be getting a decent winter. 

i am the type of person who enjoys a lazy day on the couch with some knitting and a fire in the woodstove.

but, big news.  i have moved on.

i am tired of waiting, so  i am accepting our non- winter winter, and i am now moving forward.

bring on spring!

and my fresh vegetables.

**************

i have been watching my frozen and canned veggie stash dwindle away slowly. 

i used the last of our frozen blueberries the other day. 

i am ready to start again, and every year, my garden and preserving plans get bigger and bigger.

i am hoping this is leading me up to finding a super awesome and cheap piece of land in the near future.

one can hope. and dream.

pretty sure my sourdough starter would for real be better on some land.  on a farm.  yes indeed.

 

ohhhhh, forgot to mention, i have moved my 365 project pics over here:

http://bellevett.typepad.com/threehundredsixtyfive/

add it to your reader and visit. 

out of doors: day 5 of project 365.

 

 

small note:

 

hillary had a post today that rings oh so true to me right now, as well as kyrie and this post from buttons magee.

 

jan 4

last night:

 

one finished turkish bed sock. 

 

sometimes things just are

and they are hard.

and there really isn't a win win situation-

or at least there isnt an instant win win situation.

and you just have to do. and continue doing.

until things just aren't anymore.

and then they are just what they are, and you look back and it all didn't really seem so hard after all.

and everyone is happy.

and it all just becomes a small and good memory.

************

i am going to enjoy the journey for a bit, even though it doesn't feel quite right.

lets see what happens. 

************

i am a lucky girl:

to have good friends to drink the above beverage with after such days......

and a good, patient, and angelic husband who never comments on the dirty kitchen or tired baby or giant bag of dirty cloth diapers i leave him with when we all know that the above situation takes at least two (on a good day) to tackle......

and a nice sock.

and an almost second sock.

and also, sometimes, it feels good to just sit, and listen.

**********************

in retrospect, not a bad day after all.

 

the spice of life.

a light snow fell last night.

i went to sleep hoping i was going to wake to a winter wonderland, but alas, just an inch.

i had big plans for us take a cold and snowy hike this morning, but by the time we ate breakfast and were ready to get out the door (that takes a while you know) most of the snow had melted. 

after some brief errands, i settled back in with my new favorite beverage: a frothy hot milk with vanilla bean paste mixed in.  surely the most heavenly drink on the planet.... and got a wild hair to start some a sourdough starter. 

i took some inspiration and knowledge from the river cottage bread book and set to beginning my journey of master sourdough bread making and i am not going to lie, i did envision my rye sourdough starter becoming so flavorful and delicious that i would keep that same starter for 20+ years, and people would request a small dip of my special starter for christmas and birthday presents. 

meanwhile, while i was knee deep in a very fruitful daydream, crosby was knee deep in the spice cabinet.  the spice cabinet and the dishwasher are his current favorite hangouts, and i pretty much encourage any and all shenanigans that occur in the kitchen. this was an especially shenanigan-full day as crosby was concocting his own little mixture of deliciousness.

baking soda is never to be forgotten amongst the list of delicious items to eat and flavor dishes with. 

toothpicks top the list as best rattle.

if the dishwasher gets opened when you have just about gotten the curry powder opened and you can get a fork to help with the rest of the way, you have really hit the jackpot.

after a bit more exploring and tasting, we headed out of doors for a little fresh (cold) air.

at the end of the day, my spice cabinet is newly organized and clean.

our woodstove is maxing out.

my camera is full of images of life: snow. stick eating. spice cabinet ridiculousness. my new sourdough starter. cats hogging the heat.

 

ps. before you tell me i am crazy, neglectful, insane, unfit to be a mother: as a former montessori teacher, i seem to always allow Crosby to explore his environment (which i have semi childproofed) and i pretty much consider any destruction or craziness a practical life experience.  and i like it that way. 

oh, and i'll let you know how the starter goes. and my future sourdough starter business.

new normal.

a small pocket of silence.

just some knitting. 

my new journal/planner.

a pen. 

fresh coffee.

sleeping babes all around.

today was the first day of a new normal.

a 3 day a week commitment to my baby niece and nephew and of course Crosby.

other new normals:

looking at life through a new lens.  literally and figuratively.

knitting socks.  something i vowed i would never start.

happy monday friends!

 

365

*************************************2011****************************************

the last of 2011 looked like this:

**************************************2012****************************************

 

after starting the first loaf of bread and placing it in the oven to rise....

after pouring the first cup of french press coffee.....

as decorations came down.

as the tree came down, ornaments off.

a gallon of water was spilled on the floor, courtesy of the faulty tree stand.

a major sudden and unpredicted rain storm came through and rained on all of our uncovered seasoned fire wood.

since i had checked my negativity at the door of 2011, i brought out the new perspective. 

i forgot about the messy house that i vowed would be cleaned by the first stroke of midnight.

i cleaned up the million pine needles.

we wiped up the water.

we covered up the wood pile.

i packed away all of the ornaments and remnants of the holiday season.

i thought of just 30 days earlier when we had gotten out every last bit of holiday garb, and we watched national lampoons christmas vacation, drank some homebrews and i opened the boxes of ornaments and lights that had been packed away last year 2010- on a wet cold day in the last month of my pregnancy.

today, i wondered about what all would change between now and next thanksgiving when i get out all of the christmas stuff again, for another holiday season.  what will crosby's voice sound like then?  how much life will we really live between now and then, and most importantly how did we make the most of 2012? 

i always think that when you wake up January 1, there will be visible magic that will inspire and delight you into the new year. but i guess the truth is, you kinda just have to make your own magic. 

and then sometimes, things just fall into place, courtesy of the universe.

so, right now, it is super sunny.  and windy. and the light is literally spilling through the windows.

i'm off with my camera to document the first day of 2012.

ps. today is day 1 of my 365 project. am i crazy for attempting this? i think so not.

 

bottling it up.

has anyone found a way to bottle up feelings yet?

this week has so far been so pleasant. i am in the process of figuring out just how to bottle up the feeling of such pleasant, relaxing, and happy times.

the slow pace of enjoying the company of others, still buzzing from the christmas/solstice holidays and getting ready to celebrate the reviving/clensing feelings of bringing on a new year, has been good for the soul.

 

if you figure it out, let me know.  hope you are enjoying your days.

 

ps. above.  mixture of hot earl grey tea and hot egg nog from a local dairy.  literally my breakfast lunch and dinner at this point. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

what a great weekend we have had, enjoying family and the season.

hope you all enjoyed your holiday.

i am off to enjoy this week with my family.  hiking, relaxing, and photo taking with my new camera!?!?!, see you guys in the new year!

 

yule tide greetings.

last night we burned our annual yule log.

toasted our good fortune with home brews.

and burned some wishes.

 

ironically, one of our good fortunes this past year has been our good health, and the health of such a stunningly handsome little man, and it stands to be said that said little man is currently sick for his very first holiday season. 

 

before you feel sorry for me, and for him, let me say that the last two days, we have been snuggled under a quilt on the couch, drinking warm elderberry lemon water, reading books, and watching bad christmas movies. 

so, my idea of homemade egg nog and fine finger foods was traded for some homemade chicken noodle soup and some homebrews.  (our IPA is finally ready, and it is so delicious.)

and my ideas of having an awesome gourmet dinner with my parents here at our house on christmas night is being traded for homemade pizza and some board games with my parents here at our mediocre-ly clean house on christmas night. 

my plan of bringing a fabulous dessert to dinner on christmas eve is being traded for having my mom's cookies for dessert on christmas eve.

and lastly, my plan of knitting 700 more things between now and christmas for various people, is well, just not happening.

actually, i think my trade-offs might end up being better than my possibly ridiculous original plans.

enjoy your celebrations my dear friends!

happy solstice! 10 months old. shoes optional.

december 14, 2011.

so, here in my neck of the woods, its pretty much early fall, or late spring. 

we still have kale, carrots, beets, and spinach growing strong.

we are most hangin outside without shoes on most days. 

60 degrees.  in the winter.  days before christmas.

(we simply must move north. if for nothing more than for the hope of a white christmas.)

 

at any rate, today is winter solstice.

we will enjoy the shortest day of the year.

outside.

with simple foods.

and plan for our early spring garden.

and with that, there is the hope that spring will be here soon.

fresh vegetables are in sight..... distant sight.

 

we might get some snow between winter solstice and our first spring seeds are in the ground, but until the snow comes, we might just be outside barefoot.

i think this boy approves.