New Home

I have a really great new internet home! 

You can find me here.

Please come visit and say hello!

Much love,

Dawn

Passing off the Make & Listen Along & other bits...

Just popping in here today to share a few things. 

First of all, I wanted to thank you for all of your sweet comments here, and on other social media, in regard to my last post. It feels great to be supported in all of these neat and amazing endeavors! 

Second, I have some fun news about the Make and Listen Along! Jen, over at iHappy is going to jump in to take over the Make and Listen Along for a while. She, like many of you have expressed, found it fun to see what others have been making and got a bit of making motivation from the weekly updates. If you would like to join up please post and link up over at iHappy on Thursday! Thanks, Jen!

And lastly, the photos above are totally random and have nothing to do with this post, but those of you who know me well, know I can't post without photos... so enjoy! 

Oh, and that last spruce tip photo reminds me that we are going to have a ton of spruce tips ready to harvest for something in the next week or so... do you have any favorite spruce tip recipes? 

Things: big and small

Life has been very full around these parts lately. We are still trying to strike a balance between time out in the world and time spent here at home. It can be a tightrope walk for sure and I have to keep reminding myself that we did just make a big move. Coming back to a place can fool you into thinking you never left and well, that things should be running smoother. But the fact is there are still adjustments being made and life has not quite returned to "normal" just yet. 

I am finding it harder and harder to split my time between multiple spaces here on the internet. I love to share in this space, but much of my computer time is devoted to other endeavors that I can't always share. This is very new for me. While these projects are beyond fun and exciting, it can also be a wee bit frustrating to have to hold back and squirrel away photos, ideas, and projects to share in the future. 

I am realizing more and more that I have also entered into the realm of "working homeschool mom" and it brings with it some interesting territory to navigate. I am still sorting through how to make it all happen so that everyones needs are met in the best way possible. 

Wow... Guess I just needed to share a bit of what's  been going on around here and in my head. So many good things, so many positive things, but also new turf and things to work through. 

With all of this in mind I am going to take a break from the pressure of regularly posting on Thursday's for the Make and Listen Along. For now I am just going to take a break from anything set in stone here and see what happens in the fall. 

Hope this finds you all well!

Happy weekend!

Make & Listen Along: Backyard Version

  Make & Listen Along

~ On Thursdays I will post what I have been making and listening to as creations grow. 

If so inclined post, on your blog or flickr, about what you have been making (on your own or with little hands by your side) and listening to while you create. It can be new music, flash backs, a song or a whole album... whatever you like. You can be stitching with needle & thread, yarn, paper crafting, painting, cooking... and beyond. Share what you are making and the tunes that are fueling your creativity. Then come back to my Thursday Make & Listen Along post and leave a link in the comments so we can be inspired right along with you! ~

Today is Thursday, right? Yep! I made it on time!

This week most of the making has been outside. We I have been working in the garden. (The little man has been helping with the rocks a bit, but mostly keeping me entertained with stories of lego creation design plans! While big sister has been catching salamanders & dragonfly nymphs like it is her job.)

And oh, goodness the rocks! They range from small boulders to pea gravel. I almost went in to get the strainer yesterday when I hit a patch of gravel.

I have one bed pretty well combed over. I am going to hit it again so I can get it really clear for planting carrots and such. We don't want any more sexy carrots now do we! For the other beds I am going to use the lasagna garden technique to get them up and running without all of the digging. I will just have to plant shallow rooted plants in those this season. I am thinking all kinds of lettuce but I need some ideas for cold hardy shallow rooted veggies. Any thoughts?

Here is what it looks like at the moment, with my one rocky-less bed there between the wooden stakes.

Wes has been working on building a fire pit. It is coming along really well. Can't wait for the first fire! 

To help Wes with the fire pit the kids and I have been gathering rocks from up in what has become known as the "rock quarry" up on the hill behind the house. There is actually a mini wetland between where I was standing for the photo below and those large boulders (which the kids call the rock gym, and play on them as such). We are planning on putting some boards down to create paths to minimize damage. There are cranberries growing out there too! Yay!

Below is a little perspective: Garden, fire pit, rock gym. Next to the garden is a strip of forest then the neighbors house, on the right is our house, and that pole there beyond the fire pit is for my clothes line (in need of repair!). From where I was standing when I took this photo we can see the bay as well. It is a pretty great yard and we have all kinds of fun plans for it!

As for listening... It has been pretty quite. In fact, I don't think the music has gone on even once this week. The birds have been keeping us entertained. Listening to them is always a treat.

I almost forgot! We are growing microgreens too! I shared about that over on Mud Puddles to Meteors! 

Your turn.

Please share what you have been making and the tunes on your playlist. And don't forget to leave a link to your post if you played along so others can visit your Make and Listen posts. 

I have been trying to get around to visit your posts each week (sometimes it takes me a few days) and they are wonderful! Thanks, to all of you who are joining in and linking up!

Photo Play & checking in...

While in general I am pretty partial to processing photos as close to their natural state as possible. Maybe saturating the colors a bit to make them pop, or adjusting the sharpness and exposure, but not much beyond that. 

There are time though that I just want to play with a photo. It is often a photo that I like well enough but usually not the favorite of the bunch. 

And all of that can be kinda fun too!

Things here have been busy in a good way. It is feeling more and more like spring and the weekend was spent in workshops (gold panning for Wes and his dad, and edible landscaping for me, while grandma hung out with the kids) and in the yard building a fire pit, digging in the garden, and finding critters (the first drangonfly nymph was found by the little naturalist). It was all good!

Hope you are all well & have a great start to the week!

Make and Listen Along: Hanging Photos Version

 Make & Listen Along

~ On Thursdays I will post what I have been making and listening to as creations grow. 

If so inclined post, on your blog or flickr, about what you have been making (on your own or with little hands by your side) and listening to while you create. It can be new music, flash backs, a song or a whole album... whatever you like. You can be stitching with needle & thread, yarn, paper crafting, painting, cooking... and beyond. Share what you are making and the tunes that are fueling your creativity. Then come back to my Thursday Make & Listen Along post and leave a link in the comments so we can be inspired right along with you! ~

Alright. A day late here but well, life...

There has been plenty of making going on with the wizard of the house making up wizardly things (Thank you grandma for getting her started!), the Lego designer going full steam ahead and other projects here and there. The kitchen has still been somewhat busy with making goodness from this book and a few things from this book. But some of the biggest news around here is that we are finally moved in.
The photos are up!

Last weekend, after a whirlwind trip to Maine, we came home to do some work and "spring cleaning" of sorts on Sunday. Kinda funny to think about spring cleaning a house we have only been living in for a few months, but things like dusting photo frames and lamp shades were not my top priority when packing them up. (Okay, dusting is never my top priority, but especially when moving!)

After they were cleaned up, using a toothbrush to get between those really great little pieces of bamboo, they were hung up.

Now to get the photos updated!

The listening around here has been really quiet. Mostly listening for new bird sounds and finally identifying that really haunting sound coming from the forest, as the raven. And it was being dive-bombed by a crow as it flew overhead. (An exciting observation round these parts.)

Oh, and one more thing. I made an instagram account for Mud Puddles to Meteors where I am posting daily nature photos. I am still figuring it all out, and wondering about this cross posting with FB, twitter, and such, but so far having fun with it. If you are on instagram and want to follow along my account is: mudtometeors.

Your turn.

Please share what you have been making and the tunes on your playlist. And don't forget to leave a link to your post if you played along so others can visit your Make and Listen posts. 

I have been trying to get around to visit your posts each week (sometimes it takes me a few days) and they are wonderful! Thanks, to all of you who are joining in and linking up!

Make & Listen Along: Sick Days Version

 Make & Listen Along

~ On Thursdays I will post what I have been making and listening to as creations grow. 

If so inclined post, on your blog or flickr, about what you have been making (on your own or with little hands by your side) and listening to while you create. It can be new music, flash backs, a song or a whole album... whatever you like. You can be stitching with needle & thread, yarn, paper crafting, painting, cooking... and beyond. Share what you are making and the tunes that are fueling your creativity. Then come back to my Thursday Make & Listen Along post and leave a link in the comments so we can be inspired right along with you! ~

On Monday the he kiddos came down with the sickies for the first time in over a year. Thankfully, they did not have all they could have and I was met with managing only a set of fevers, soar throats, head aches, and running noses - as if that is not enough. (But of course it could have been worse, much worse.) I relied on my regular remedies and, now with the apothecary of EO's at my disposal, I used all kinds of essential oils to help out too. They are both recovering nicely (the little man has the nose faucet still going) but they are doing pretty well. Now knocking wood, crossing fingers, all other such measures so I don't get sick!

The week is a bit of a blurr but we did manage to make some sunrise bread (we made it GF) from Heather's 30 Day Vegan class. It was really super yummy and is on our make again list for today to take down to Maine for the weekend. Her new spring class starts on May 12th if you are interetested. We are by no means vegan but I learned a lot because Heather is just so knowledgable about food and wellbeing in general. (And now I must admit that when I went over to grab the link above I got lost on Heather's blog again... just so much goodness over there.)

The listening was pretty quiet overall. The kids did watch/listen to a Woodsmaster DVD at some point (they check them out from the library here). Always lots to learn about survival from the Woodsmaster.
And they listened to my very best voices when reading aloud the Bone series... all nine books, plus Rose, and now we are on to the Bone Handbook. Whew!

And the above photos have nothing to do with anything in this post other than the fact that I helped my camera make them while getting some fresh air in the rain. (I just love pussy willows and I am beyond happy they are here in our new yard! Yay!)

Your turn.

Please share what you have been making and the tunes on your playlist. And don't forget to leave a link to your post if you played along so others can visit your Make and Listen posts. 

I have been trying to get around to visit your posts each week (sometimes it takes me a few days) and they are wonderful! Thanks, to all of you who are joining in and linking up!