Capturing Contentment in the Everyday…

The camera battery died about a week ago and I haven’t been able to find the charger ever since I rearranged the bedroom two weeks back.  Oops.  Of course, it would help if I did an indepth search of the area, but it’s one of those things I keep forgetting to do.  Oops again.

Today I stood on the upper deck, knitting and pacing while keeping an eye on the children who were playing in the yard below.  It was a balmy day again, one of those deceptive Spring like days that probably means colds and chicken soup are around the corner.  Princess and Sunshine kept kicking off their shoes.  Dinosaur came out in a size-too-large winter coat (that he didn’t need) only to discard it on the lawn next to the coat he brought out yesterday and forgot to bring inside.  The sun was starting to set (it IS winter still, after all) and the shadows were starting to creep across the foresty area beyond our fence.  Not to mislead you–we can still see the houses on the other side of that swath of trees.  From late October through mid-March, at least.   It occurred to me that it has been only about a year now since we first saw this house.  This house that we looked at a number of times online, dismissing each time (“It’s a rancher–we want a Cape Cod right?  Oh my–that 70s paneling in the basement.”  ”Kitchen looks nice, though.” “But it’s a rancher–we want a Cape Cod.”  ”Hearth looks promising.” “But the PANELING!”), until as the offer fell through on what we thought was a dream home and the realtor says: “let’s look at this one.  I showed it to my daughter in December but she got a job and moved to [large city 2 hours away] instead.”

I think I fell in love with the kitchen first.

Haus Frau in the new kitchen. We've replaced faucet and dishwasher since the picture was taken. We also got to keep that window treatment. Huzzah!

After that, the ’70s paneling could be endured.  And as we know from the Basement Saga, I didn’t have to endure it for long at all.

But as this Thursday thingy has to do with Contentment, I had been musing on how it’s funny that in life you find yourself becoming content in places you’d never think you’d be.  During the six years we lived in the Old Haus, we dreamed big.  We planned to stay there until we could find a bit of acreage so we could indulge in backyard homesteading to our hearts’ content.  We were going to have backyard chickens.  Haus Meister and the boys had all but finished building a coop.  I had convinced myself that raising hens from cute fluffy chick stage would help me get over the fact that their beady little eyes freak me out.  We planned gardens worthy of a C.S.A. co-op.

And thus it came to pass when the time was right for us to move, there were no mini-farms, no plots of acreage within the required perimeters of our search.  We wanted to be near town for Trooper’s therapy (no moving an hour away into the real farm areas, in other words) and we wanted to be near enough to Haus Meister’s work for him to still be able to come home for lunch.  In our old area of town there were such properties that would have enabled us to fulfill our dreams as listed above, if they happened to be for sale.  They weren’t.  Figures.

Here we are, a year later.  No chickens — probably ever in this neighborhood (the coop was sold on Craigslist to a successful chicken farmer and his wife who were looking for another coop to use as a nursery for their chicks.  The man was a portly fellow in dungarees and a John Deere hat.  I think Dinosaur took to him right away).   Our yard is larger but no acreage, and I am not upset because I can still keep a reasonable track of everyone while they play.  Especially if I’m up knitting in the “crow’s nest” — a nice spot, this upper deck.  As for gardening?  Well, the yard proved too shady for our plans and I was too pregnant, hot, and lazy to keep watering last summer.  We’ll see how this year goes, particularly now that we know how little yard is in full sun!

When Haus Meister was on his most recent trip he stayed at a Bed & Breakfast that was a charming old house on a 110 acre organic farm.  There were horses and chickens, cross-country skiing, and wonderful food.  The host was putting up an old barn from a neighbor’s property and Haus Meister got to help him a bit with that, as well as pitching hay onto the hostess’ garden plots and other chores on his off-day, particularly as this couple was amazingly generous with his odd hours and even kept food out for him.  I had to admit some of the old farming dreams resurfaced a bit as he called to tell me of the place, but only for a moment.  It’s not time yet for those dreams, I’ve found.  Maybe someday.  Maybe we’ll retire to a little bit of acreage and spend our retirement indulging in backyard homesteading to our heart’s content.

Because right now I’m knitting and writing and canning and sewing and schooling our children in a rancher house formerly endowed with ’70s paneling.  I’m on the other side of the valley from where I thought we’d live.  Our life took a completely different direction from what I dreamed (although the beady eyes of full-grown chickens still freak me out a little).

And we’re content.

Then today Haus Meister returned from an extended business trip to someplace in the Frozen North with another birthday present in tow–eleven skeins of lovely yarn and a gorgeous pattern for a shawl.  And another skein in another color to make him a hat.  There was a yarn shoppe in the area; something we rarely see in this region because, well… its 60 degrees down here and we have daffodils blooming right now (no joke).

I guess that makes knitting the silliest hobby I could have right now.  Then again, it makes me happy and content.   And although my yarn stash threatens to invade similar to my fabric stash, it may not be such a bad thing after all.

Capturing Contentment in the Everyday…

Pretty

One of our number got to see some snow recently.  The rest of us who are cognizant of snow’s existence are jealous.

Happy

I finished the haybales in time for the birthday celebrations!   I got the pattern out of this book.

Unfortunately I didn’t have any size 15 needles at the time so I did the best I could with size 11, the largest I had on hand.  It turned out perfect to create the haybales for the barn, and it turned out, a new John Deere.

Funny 

I reprised the Gator Cake. Haunted by the melting icing in our previous experience, I made some from a box and of course, ran out of icing.   My sister, present for the occasion, called my mom who was already at the store picking up the trash bags that I had forgotten earlier.  And on the subject of being forgetful, I forgot that there are only four wheels on a standard John Deere gator.  This must be an extended edition or something.  Oh, and who turned 3 or 1?  No one–put the two numbers together and you’ll see that my birthday recently came and went!  The gator cake was the cake for the big birthday bash for me and the darlings who both came so close to sharing the day with me.  I threw some people for a momentary loop by putting the numeral candles for Dino and Sunshine on the back–they kept asking who was turning 52.

Real

I wanted Sunshine to have a paddock/corral/stable thingy for her Schleich horses (dominating the barn).  I decided to be frugal and use the a “Melissa & Doug” wooden crate that used to hold play food until we started storing all that in one basket.  Then I took the side off a box of clementines and, turning it over, made the roof.  I also had some leftover Nativity scene “grass” for the flooring.  As I’m not very handy with wood, I enlisted my father-in-law’s help to make it look presentable (Haus Meister being swamped with work last week).  He did an amazing job–better than I ever could have with wood glue and spray paint!

(sorry about the bright light there)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jennifer-fulwiler/moms-of-young-children-the-time-to-thrive-is-now

Capturing Contentment in the Everyday…

Pretty/Handsome, Funny & Real

Five years ago today, a baby boy came into our lives.  The Dinosaur had arrived and with his coming we knew we were officially outnumbered, shorthanded, outmaneuvered, and overjoyed that it was so.

He was our largest baby to date at 8lbs 10oz.

My favorite picture of my guys, even now.

In the past five years, Dinosaur has helped introduce and yea, even cement “John Deere” as a family name.  If this boy doesn’t own a tractor someday, I’ll eat my figurative hat.  Of course, our ideal is that he owns a working farm and lets us live in a cabin on the back 40 during our retirement years, but he doesn’t know that yet.   Oh, did I say cabin?  I meant cottage, son.  Preferably with indoor plumbing.  I just thought I’d get that straight.  Anyway….

Incidentally, he received one of his gifts last night.  It was time to change the sheets anyway, and I figured why put on something tonight only to have to switch it tomorrow?  Call it laziness or genius, if you choose.  In any case, I have never in my life seen anyone so excited about sheets.

"It's my combine 'harbestbister' pillow, Mommy!"

Happy Birthday to “The John Deere Green Baby Dinosaur” (one of his alter-egos).  We love you, our big 5 yr old son!

But wait, this day is not his alone!  Remember this post?

Yes, also on this day 2 years ago, a daughter arrived!

Sunshine was born!  And she still holds the champion birth weight of 9lbs 11oz.  It wouldn’t be a stretch to guess she weighs as much now as her birthday sharing brother, either.

She was born while I endured a rather nasty stomach flu that proceeded to go through the family.  She was born the day the huge earthquake rocked Haiti,  and baptized the day after a snowstorm shut down most of our town.

“She’s going to be Trouble,” quoth the relatives.

Chagrined at the aspersions cast against my innocent newborn daughter, I looked at the baby and thought to myself, paraphrasing Galadriel, “No, she’ll be a light to us in dark places, when all other lights go out.”

And you know what?

She’s both.

Happy 2nd Birthday, our super-sweet Sunshine.  We love you, too!

I’m in denial that the Christmas season officially ends tomorrow.

Capturing Contentment in the Everyday…

Pretty

This crucifix was a gift from my parents this past Christmas, quickly saved by my mother when their Catholic bookstore closed down.  It’s a sick call crucifix, one of those things handy to have but which–ack–you don’t like to think about having to use?  Anyway, I had been meaning to get one for years, but never found one I liked.  She happened upon the perfect one immediately.  Thanks Mom & Dad! (I hung it in the upstairs family room)

Happy (and Real)

My knitting buddy.  She holds the yarn.  She smiles appreciatively at my attempts and does not criticize or judge.  Of course, if she were more knowledgeable at this point she could have said something like: “Um, Mom?  That rolled-brim hat you’re knitting?  When you picked it back up again after two months, you started knitting back to front.  Didn’t you notice?”  I did notice.  I noticed as I switched to double-pointed needles.  I am probably going to redo the hat anyway, but not yet.  I need to hurry up and make some haybales for someone’s 2nd birthday next week.  We’re doing a barnyard party–but Ssh! More on that next week.

Funny

This week we set Miss Munchkin up in a booster seat every so often (padded on the side with blankets for support, not pictured).  This picture was taken on the first trial run.  Sunshine loves having Miss Munchkin so close, and comes to visit often as I’m loading the dishwasher or cooking (the usual reason I needed to have a place for Miss M.  The floor is not an option.  The Hobbit Dogs would lick her to pieces or Sunshine would pick her up and carry her off.).  Anyway, Sunshine likes to come hold baby sister’s hand, pat her on the head, and show her the toys that await her when she gains some motor control.  Here Sunshine is showing off one of her Schleich barn animals.

I was changing my sheets the other day and had the comforter and pillows all piled up on my bed. Someone decided to come bask in the winter sunshine.  She’s pretending (quite unconvincingly) to be asleep.

Oh, and where would we be without more LEGO pictures?  This crew showed up this past week.

Officer McReady goes medieval on a…sleigh?  With a cat?  And a one-armed scuba-diving partner?

]]> http://teasready.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/pretty-happy-funny-real-36/feed/ 6 teasready Pretty Happy Funny Real Image Image Image Image SONY DSC http://teasready.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/twas-the-night-dino-style/ http://teasready.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/twas-the-night-dino-style/#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2012 03:38:29 +0000 Haus Frau http://teasready.wordpress.com/?p=2815 ]]> As we were getting the kids ready for bed one night, I noticed Dinosaur sitting on the edge of his, wearing a Santa hat and a pensive expression.

ME: Anything wrong, sweetie?

DINOSAUR: ‘I spwang from my bed,’ Mommy, ‘to see what’s the matter.’

“Twas the Night Before Christmas” was THE story for the children this Christmas, thanks a good deal to Grandma having given them a copy of the story that is a recorded book with her voice reading it.  Dinosaur has about half the story memorized, with a few addendums of his own.

DINOSAUR: “With a wittle old dwiver, so wivewy and quick, I knew in a moment, it must be Saint Nickawuss.”

I am so going to miss his little vocal idiosyncrasies as he gets older. On the other hand, I guess it wouldn’t sound as cute when he is seventeen.

I picture myself with a little cartoon character on each shoulder.  One is a gloomy Eeyore sort of thing–pessimism.  The other is a spritely pixie sort of thing–optimism.  Together they banter in my thoughts as I do attempt to reflect on the year.  Optimism wins in the end, because that’s me.  Sure there were many things I wanted to do this past year.  We had a lot of plans go awry–and many more go flop (that garden, for instance?).  We had a lot of plans shift and change and come out for the best.  We had to rethink things, revamp things, turn around and start from scratch.

And there were so so so many new beginnings.  New house, new parish church, new regular grocery store, new routes to remember, new places to go, new pets, and especially Miss Munchkin, whose bright brown eyes bring so much joy to our life.  This year we’ll be settling in even more.  My resolutions are to pray more, make more homemade food (including renewing my 2010 achieved goal of canning a year’s worth of applesauce), knit more, sew more.  That’s the summary.  I also told Haus Meister I wanted to see if he could brew a year’s worth of homebrew.  ((Hey, we have all this equipment in our garage!))  He said that was the best resolution he’d ever heard.  But basically we look forward to 2o12 with all the reckless optimism of yore.

“Why do we do this to ourselves?” I laughingly asked my sister back when we decided to adopt both the current Hobbit Dogs.

“Because you two are the Bingleys of the family,” she instantly responded.

I threw my head back and laughed heartily.  Then I stopped.  ”You know… you’re right.”

So, Happy New Year from the Bingleys.  See you in 2012.

"Country manners? I think they're charming."

Capturing Contentment in the Everyday…

Pretty, Happy, Funny, & Real

It was all of these things and more.  It was the sticker shock of LEGO buying subsiding in the realization that we’ve just provided years of imaginative creations for them–and watching it start to happen.  It was the happiness of a girl very satisfied with her ankle-length snowman nightgown.  It was the joy of driving around the neighborhood looking at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve.  It was the joy of waking up on Christmas morning, opening our stockings, going to our first-ever family Christmas morning Mass (usually we’ve gone the evening before), and then coming back to light the fire, eat the cranberry-orange bread, and open the presents.  It was the fun of having grandparents stay over and decorating their room before they came.  And the real that all this happened because HE came.

So here’s this year’s Nativity according to Trooper:

This year he guided my hand to the place where he wanted the stickers only about 60% of the time. This was the first year he actually allowed himself to touch the sticker, to hold it in his fingers. Amazing.

This lovely shot of the hearth.

This one from Christmas Eve, after the Christmas light drive.

Egg Nog and cookies! (except for Trooper, who is having mac & cheese)

Before Mass, the stockings!  The children race to the couch in anticipation.

Present opening after Mass provided Sunshine with an excuse to sneak Trooper’s iPad and get some playtime.

Trooper does about 85% of his school on the iPad. It has been amazingly beneficial for him academically. In this picture Sunshine is playing around with the BOB Books app. However, it's not all academics. The family favorite is still Angry Birds.

I don’t have pictures of the dinner that followed present opening.  My camera battery had died earlier in the holiday, and needed to be recharged.  Fortunately it’s up and running again.

"Robin Hood and Little John, walkin' through the forest, laughin' back and forth at what the other had to say...."

He got his "diny-saurs."

I got my mug. I wanted this pretty badly, I admit, hinting repeatedly to Haus Meister. Not only does it fit in with my British obsession, but with at least one resident Princess and a son who sometimes acts like a Rajah or something, I wanted a tangible reminder of my superior rank in this household.

and a smile to end the post.

 Merry Christmas to all.