Day 2, taking a break from moving to accomplish some tasks.
These are what I am appreciating today:
1. A large, farm kitchen table on which to knead another batch of sourdough bread for 10 whole minutes.
2. A woman with the same name as my grandmother, who works at the Mercantile, who told me that some old ladies prefer to rip fabric as opposed to cut it. Ripping flannel is as therapeutic as kneading bread. And it's fast and fun! Thank you, Pauline.
3. The ability and the time to bake a good loaf of bread and make a nice flannel quilt, to nourish my family and bestow gifts on our dear friends.
4. The boys, again, who this afternoon were so anxious to go outside that they actually worked together and both got dressed, H-Bomb helping Sawed Off, all by themselves!
5. Little boys who truly believe that breaking open small egg-shaped rocks (one after another after another) will eventually lead to the hatching of a baby dinosaur.
Intrigued, I scrolled down to see what this "grace" thing was all about. And I found this link: "Grace in Small Things: A Challenge for All of Us." And I immediately identified (with discomfiture, I might add) with this blogger, this "Schmutzie" who wrote,
"I tend to bristle at the idea of imposing anything remotely pollyannaish on myself as a regular practice..."
I admit, I do try to be more positive than negative, and sometimes, it actually works. So perhaps the statement above is a bit, well, extreme, for me at least. Or at least it is extreme for the person I wish and try hard to be...now for the person I used to be, that is another story.
I, along with millions of you it seems, have found a great source of inspiration in Nie, but I must confess that I, personally, have lacked the initiative to implement her sense of joy and gratefulness on a daily basis, without some sort of extra push.
So anyway, I thought this would be a great idea, a daily reminder that there are many things for which one should be grateful. Just recognizing these things may bring more good things, and add to the positive energy and appreciation that is sometimes lacking in this cowgirl's life.
Schmutzie writes, "The world we live in is loud and harsh and bright and demanding, and it is easy to slide into a less than thoughtful survival mode in which we do what we have to do to make it through the day with the least amount of strife possible. This robs us of the time and energy to be mindful of ourselves and those we love and to recognize the grace that exists in small things.
It is with this thought that I am beginning one year of posts called "Grace In Small Things". Every day for 365 days, I will post a list of five things that have graced my life, either on that day or at any time in my life."
For me, with two young boys and a 70-mile round trip commute 5 days/week, I just can't commit to every single day. Thus, there may be some days with no "Grace" posts, but I will commit to 365 posts total. Eventually. I will get there.
And so it begins:
1. My boys: H-Bomb, who fried his very first breakfast egg this morning (basted it, no less), and Sawed Off, who just came in from outside and snuggled and fell asleep in my arms.
2. My husband, Number One, who just carved two horse head shelf brackets to hold H-Bomb's books in our temporary abode.
3. The bunkhouse itself, for being available and cozy and rustic, and encouraging us to downsize and purge and organize to fit our family within its walls.
4. A bedroom big enough to showcase our hand-carved king-size bed rather than confine and restrict it.
5. The sunshine today that, despite the cold temperatures, holds the promise of spring.
...A Bookshelf...Make That A Pile of Boards and Some Horseshoes...
My famous last words today: "I think I can move it."
I just wanted to move my cookbooks, and the shelf that they were on, over to the bunkhouse. By the time I got all the cookbooks off the shelf, I could tell it was shoddily constructed, just three heavy boards nailed/screwed to some horseshoes that had been welded together. In fact, I lifted it and the top shelf came loose on one end.
The shelf used to sit under the "bar" counter top in our kitchen, thereby making the bar obsolete and unusable, but making a fantastic and convenient storage spot for my cookbook collection. I really wanted this continuity during our temporary residence at the bunkhouse: to have my cookbooks in the exact same order and configuration. I'm used to it. It makes sense to me. It's comfortable.
So I reattached the top shelf, and drug the whole thing over to the front door. Since I am all alone on the ranch today, I knew that I would need something to assist me in hauling this monstrosity the 20 feet or so over to the bunkhouse. The boys' red wagon is already being used, so my thoughts fell next to the four wheeler. Of course.
I moved the van so I could pull the four wheeler right up to the front door. I drug the shelves out the front door, and balanced them precariously on the front end. They are about 87" long, so they were sticking out obscenely on either side of the four wheeler. I backed up a bit, determined that yes, I would miss the grill on my right. However, I was definitely going to snag the forlorn pile of Christmas lights on the table on my left.
I'm not sure exactly how what happened next happened at all. I was holding on to the shelves with my left hand, and had my right hand on the throttle. (is that what it's called, that little lever that you push with your thumb, that makes it go?) I was going to hop off and move the Christmas lights, when all of a sudden, my hip (my hip? some part of my body, I was driving while standing, after all) hit the throttle. The four wheeler lurched backward, making the shelves lurch forward, and I, still hanging on to the shelves and saying "Whoa!" also lurched forward, which in turn pushed the throttle even further and the four wheeler went backwards even faster.
The four wheeler came to a stop on top of a folding step stool AND our garbage can, climbing up the side of the house, I swear it was on just one front wheel, tipping precariously as I hopped off. The shelving, boards and horseshoes, was in a pile in the mud, not one piece attached to another.
The garbage can is fine, but the step stool doesn't fold or stand, and I had to extricate it from the four wheeler's undercarriage. I cannot find a screw or horseshoe nail that formerly held the shelving together. Well, I take that back, I found ONE horseshoe nail sticking in my shoe.
I can't help but laugh at the stupid chain of events. I briefly thought of putting the whole thing back together, but decided against it. I will simply sacrifice some pantry space in order to have my books in the kitchen. Number One wasn't excited about putting that darn bookshelf in the short hallway over there anyway.
I think/hope the four wheeler is okay. Please don't tell CG...
On Friday, we got some amazing news, which is sorely needed in light of recent events: ABEG said that they were ready to move ahead and complete our addition, starting in February! This is the news we have been waiting for, it seems like forever! Since completing the addition involves tearing out two former exterior walls, one interior wall, installing beams in the ceiling and removing the entire old kitchen, we really won't be able to live here.
Luckily, we have the bunkhouse. It is unoccupied at present, and right next door to our house, so we will just transfer the necessities over there for as long as it takes. I have no idea what the time frame for the interior of our addition will be, but I'm really hoping to be back in our house, with a brand new kitchen and master suite, by Thanksgiving. I feel like that is more than enough time to get everything done, don't you? (I'm so excited I want to start planning the Housewarming Party!)
I knew you'd like to see where we'll be, so here's a little tour. We spent most of today cleaning, removing old dishes and things that previous tenants have left, and cleaning some more. I moved in some kitchen things (not many yet), and we will continue moving things in the days to come. Although the bunkhouse is technically smaller than our current space, and has only three rooms (plus a small bathroom, no tub), it feels larger than our current space because those three rooms are BIG. I'd be curious to compare square footage for reals. But, I don't feel like doing any math or measuring, and I really believe the bunkhouse IS smaller, just feels bigger.
So for now, here it is. This is a view of the kitchen, looking toward one end of the house.
Below is the other end of the kitchen. Our portable dishwasher will take up residence next to the stove there. Unfortunately our refrigerator is stuck in the house until the sliding door comes out (we had to tear up some wood floor to get the darn thing IN the house in the first place--not pretty!)
And yet another view of the kitchen, looking down the hallway (and yes, that is another door to the outside, technically the "front" door).
This is a view of the middle bedroom, through which you have to walk to get to the back bedroom. This is where we'll put H-Bomb's bed (the lower bunk only) as well as our couch(es) (space permitting) and perhaps a television. We'll see. On the right, the ONLY closet in the entire bunkhouse.
And below is the bedroom, on the opposite end of the house from the kitchen. There are doors to the outside from each room, so many that this house has about four doors. (there are two doors in the kitchen). I'm not sure about the logic of this, that's just the way it is.
And this is a view of the back bedroom (which will be the master bedroom), from the door to the outside. The other bedroom/living room is directly through the door you see in the picture. The rooms are huge, which you'll be able to tell when I post a picture of our king size bed, which will actually FIT in this room, with plenty of room to spare! Can't wait for that.
As you can see, it is a very cozy space, that seems pretty big. We'll see after we get our furniture in there, and I will let you see the "after" shots as well. We love the rustic look, all the wood, even though the walls are rough and the floors need refinishing...we may talk to our contractor about leaving exposed trusses in the addition, instead of a nine-foot ceiling. So much to consider.
I guess I forgot to take a picture of the bathroom, which is also outfitted for a washer/dryer. We aren't doing anything to our laundry room in the remodel, so we're leaving our washer and dryer where they are, I'll just have to lug laundry back and forth. Luckily the bunkhouse is about 10 feet away from our house. Okay, maybe 15 feet. Someday I'll measure. And maybe someday I'll take a picture of the bunkhouse bathroom. We'll see.
The thing I like about winter around the ranch, is that Number One doesn't have to work so hard. Once all the cattle are in their various winter ranges where they belong, and once they finally decide they ought to stay in their various winter ranges, the work slows down and we're free to work on other projects. It also gives us more family time, and the boys and I love having their dad around more!
For me, I still have to take H-Bomb to school, but I do get some relief since Number One is able to keep Sawed Off home with him sometimes, or takes both boys to school and I get to stay home sometimes. So I get to catch up on projects too!
I thought it would be fun to show you what we're all working on. I always have a list of projects that I'm "working" on, but this winter I have actually made some progress!
Back in June, our dear friends in Wyoming had their first baby, a sweet little girl. I decided to make a quilt for her, among other things. Once I sat down to it, I got the quilt top finished:
I will show you a picture when the entire quilt is completed, which should be this week. If I buckle down. When it's done, it will be the same style as this quilt I made last spring, but more girly, of course! It's hard to see in the picture, but the floral squares have gorgeous sage green leaves, so the back and the yarn will be a matching sage green. It is going to be very sweet. I have to check and see if I really bought the batting and yarn already, since last time I was at the store they were OUT of crib batting. I hope I already have some, it would make things much more convenient.
I have also been working on a pet project, just for me. The thrift store in town receives TONS of blue jeans, and many of those are not fit for wearing, in the store owner's opinion. So she collects the castoffs in garbage bags, then gives them away for FREE. I have gotten several bags from her, and have also been saving all Number One's raggedy old jeans, with the plan to someday make a denim rag rug.
But in the meantime, I sorted the thrift store bags out in various shades of denim. (I also found several pairs for me and the boys to wear...on a ranch, it takes a lot of damage before jeans are considered "not fit for wearing.")
For this project, I chose the lightest jeans, and cut them into squares. I used pockets, seams, belt loops, etc. I found a sweet little floral fabric by Moda, and alternated it with the jean squares. I decided that even if the belt loops overlapped onto the floral, I would just leave them on and tack them down, to make it unique (and kind of quirky). After several sewing machine needles, I finally have the quilt top for this completed. (the picture below shows a few more rows that aren't attached, but trust me, it's all together now!)
Below is a detail of one of the functioning pockets, and an overlapping belt loop!
There are many pockets, from the backs and fronts of jeans, skirts, shorts, etc. The seams and detailing (rivets, stitching, etc) add so much interest. I am in love! I am going to back it with a cozy red flannel, and I cannot wait to snuggle up in this cute quilt! I think it will even be large enough for our double bed in town, if I choose to use it there.
I can't wait to work on more of these jean quilts, with different fabrics, but I think I will stay with the quirky pockets and belt loops style! I think this style would even be cute for a crib blanket, don't you?
I am also on an organizing mission this New Year. There are rumors of work on our addition, in which case we'll have to Move and Downsize to fit into the bunkhouse for an unknown length of time.
I got so tired of hunting down cords and chargers for this phone or that camera, sometimes having no idea where they were and no idea where else to look. I finally got this shoe organizer, and hung it on the back of the laundry room door. I can't remember where I saw this idea, probably Real Simple Magazine or somewhere, but it is a good one that stuck with me!
I sorted everything out, and labeled each pocket that has something in it. I do need to come up with a nicer and more permanent, more attractive, yet still flexible labeling system, but for now the paper-clipped sticky notes are doing just fine. And there are plenty more pockets to be filled! I'm very happy with this strategy. I just wish other things were so easily organized!
Do you have any ingenious organizing systems that are inexpensive, that have worked for you? Please share!
Also, I decided I will elaborate on the cool projects Number One is working on, in between fixing our water situation every day, and also Ranch Hand's projects in another upcoming post.
The alternate title for this post: We Do Things Differently Around Here.
As we continue on our winter's adventure on the ranch, I thought I would share a few things that make our daily life somewhat...different.
Nearly every morning, we wake up to no water in our house. Not a drop. We make a pot of coffee using water from a gallon jug we stash every night. Then Number One goes out to the well and turns on the heater to thaw the frozen water pipes and/or jostle the water pressure switch. Anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour after that, we can resume our usual watery activities like flushing the toilet and doing dishes.
Every day, sometimes more than once, I am tasked with feeding the lizard. The lizard has a fancy wooden cage/home that RanchHand and Number One made, complete with a big rock and sunlamp, a large branch for climbing, and his own water dish. This, however, is a wild lizard, and a very particular one. He only eats live food, and his food of choice is grasshoppers. There is a shortage of live grasshoppers in these snowy and frozen parts, and the occasional live cricket we find isn't enough to sustain the lizard. We have a remote-controlled feeding dish that would theoretically make the freeze-dried insects "jump" but it doesn't fit in the lizard's home. So I had to come up with a way to feed the poor creature.
Every day, I loop a strand of nylon thread around the head of a freeze-dried cricket. (the dried grasshoppers needed to be refrigerated--who knew?--and I had to throw them away). I dangle the cricket into the cage, and make it jump, crawl and hop around to attract the lizard's attention. Sometimes I just dangle it in the cage and he comes and grabs it. (Today he ate three in a row this way). Sometimes he's just not interested, and I suspend it so it hangs through the wire screen of the cage, and later I come back to find he's eaten it while I wasn't looking. Thank goodness. Sometimes I worry about that poor guy's eating habits.
Our oven no longer just "turns on." We can't just turn the knob, set the temperature, and start baking. There is something wrong with it (thank god it happened after our Thanksgiving feast!). Now, every time I want to bake something, I turn on the knob, and nothing happens. Number One has to come in with some sort of flame and light the oven burner thingie. I don't know exactly, but sometimes there is banging and cursing involved that seems to help with the process. And then the oven heats up and I can commence with my muffins or what-have-you.
We have been looking at these ovens...but are a bit frightened that prices aren't listed on the website! Perhaps someday I'll have you all help me choose a color...we'll start saving our pennies.
Taking care of Woody and Jessie used to be on our list of daily chores. Sadly, they are no longer on our list. It pains me to throw away banana peels (their favorite), crackers and miscellaneous vegetable scraps. It feels wasteful. As does the brand-new stake they received for Christmas.
It feels like there are more weird daily chores around here. When they come to mind, I'll add them. Until then, I've got to go find Number One so I can make some more muffins.
or somewhere, but it is a good one that stuck with me!
