by Krista | Jun 28, 2014 | Winter
It may be Winter here on our Queensland farm, but there is so much life and growth that in spite of the cold, it feels like Spring!
The gardens are now producing food that we can actually eat instead of just exclaim excitedly over: chicory, kale, alpine strawberries, and fresh herbs.
My kitchen garden is a sea of green seedlings as broad beans, celeriac, Hungarian peas, and Spanish onions push their way up through the soil.
After looking rather sad and parched during the Summer, the alyssum is flourishing and fragrant.
Late radishes are popping up and snow peas, purple-podded Dutch peas, and sugar snap peas are getting taller by the day. I think I may have gone a bit overboard in the pea department, but really, can you honestly ever have too many fresh peas?
The nasturtiums struggled through the summer too, but now their leaves are so big and hardy they look like lily pads!
And the hollyhocks continue to make me smile and remember my childhood in Canada. Aren’t they beauties?
Our most exciting additions started arriving yesterday: KIDS!!!
Mother McCree delivered twin girls yesterday and they’re achingly cute. This little one is the bravest so far, tottering about to inspect leaves and tree trunks and the neighboring geese.
Her big sister is happiest snoozing in a warm corner, occasionally getting up for a yawn and a feed.
And this sturdy little chap arrived this morning in a tangle of long legs with a white stripe on his tummy.
We are utterly smitten and keep looking for reasons to wander down and watch and cuddle them as they eat, sneeze, and totter around like jerky little puppets.
What happy things are in your life right now? xo
by Krista | Jun 26, 2014 | Winter
After living in Australia for 2 years and 8 months, I have heard more hilarious and bizarre sayings than I ever thought possible.
Examples:
After I’d rattled off some ideas I’d been pondering, an Aussie looked at me and said: “You’re crazier than a fart in a bottle!”
When I asked an Aussie to add one more package to the armload they were already carrying they replied, “Why don’t you stick a broom up me arse and I’ll sweep the steps on my way down!”
Once an Aussie was carrying a grocery bag for me that fell apart and they called back over their shoulder, ““babe, your bag is split from asshole to breakfast!”
I don’t know where in tarnation they come up with these sayings, but they sure make me laugh.
Of all the sayings I’ve heard, I think my favorite has to be, “Wouldn’t be dead for quids, mate.”
It’s something I hear most often on gorgeous days when I run into good male friends. After hugs and kisses I’ll ask, “How are you?” And they lean back, hands in pockets and say, “Ahhh, wouldn’t be dead for quids, mate.” I’ve never heard a female reply this way, so it must be a distinctly bloke-ish response.
I love it. It gives me a warm, life-IS-rather-good-isn’t-it feeling.
Yesterday was a Wouldn’t Be Dead for Quids day.
Bear and I have been going through some rough times lately dealing with scary health issues that are stressful and send life topsy-turvy. We’ve been trying to be brave and strong for ourselves and each other and that is always exhausting. We were in dire need of a break so we set Wednesday aside as a Fun Day.
I woke up waaaay before the sun to feed and water all the animals by flashlight so we didn’t need to worry about getting home early. It was wicked cold out here, but worth it for the peace of mind. When I was done, Bear had a cuppa waiting to warm me up and then we were off to town.
We started with breakfast where we ran into dear friends and had a good ol’ chat before they had to dash off to work. We found a warm, sunny table and lingered over coffees and hashbrowns and flapjacks. Mmm. On Fun Days you really need to eat comfort food.
Thus fortified we started our adventures. Everywhere we went was positively brimming with treasures!
The markets had tomatoes, apples, lemons and limes for only a few dollars a box. I’m dreaming of homemade ketchup, apple cider, and limoncello. The grocery store had wonderful copper pots on sale to replace my battered and ancient thin-bottomed stainless steel ones. Hooray!!! Also on sale were polka-dotted gumboots (yippee!!) and an oh-so-cozy winter coat. I’m all set for winter on the farm.
We went to the Pig and Calf sale – a fabulous country auction that has the best people-watching around. There we ran into more dear friends and we chatted happily, checked out their new sheep, and made plans for home-brewing out at our place. Bear and I picked out the auction items we wanted and took turns bidding against canny farmers from miles around. It was wicked fun and we scored great deals. Then we were off to the Dump Shop where we found even more treasures! Our trailer was filled to bursting by the time we were done, and Bear and I were beaming from all the fun of the hunt.
On our way home we stopped at the home of our Hungarian friends for a cuppa and a chat, soaking up the last lusciously warming rays of sun before the icy winds started. It was so good to get caught up, laugh hard at our latest shenanigans, and share slices of fresh-out-of-the-oven bread slathered with butter. Oma gave me 6 fertile duck eggs to put in our incubator and I’m so excited about the possibility of ducklings next month.
We finally got home as the sun was setting: cold, tired, but happy.
What is the best day you’ve had recently? xo
by Krista | Jun 23, 2014 | Winter
**This giveaway is now CLOSED. The winner is Mlle Paradis. 🙂 Thank you all for participating!!**
I don’t often host giveaways here, but when JORD contacted me with the offer of a beautifully original wooden watch for me AND one for one of you, I was delighted.
Jord is Swedish for earth, soil, land, and reflects the company’s desire to take their customers back to nature and away from synthetic materials. Every watch is hand-crafted from diverse, sustainable woods from around the world, each wood with its own distinctive color and grain.
As you know from seeing the wood-burned items I make, I really love wood: wood furniture, wooden utensils, and now, wooden watches. I’d never seen a wooden watch before, so I was intrigued to see the design of the Fieldcrest Maple watch I’d chosen. (In medieval times maple was used for spiritual healing, and that makes me smile. :-))
It is lovely, exquisitely made with the gentle grain of the maple wood showing through. I like how lightweight and loose fitting it is (I admit I get rather claustrophobic with tight-fitting jewelry). By turning the face of the watch inwards, it looks every bit like a bracelet.
If you would like a chance to win one of JORD’s beautiful watches, please leave a comment here or on Facebook and let me know what time of day you look forward to most. This giveaway ends June 27, 2014 and I will announce the winner then. XO
Disclosure: the Fieldcrest Maple watch was given to me free of charge by Jord. All views of this product are my own.
by Krista | Jun 20, 2014 | Winter
“I’d choose truth over cake
but I’d try to find a way to get both to be honest.”
Craig Benzine
Storm clouds rolled in yesterday, instantly turning our day cozy. So we had to take time between projects for reading on the veranda, long distance chats with dear old friends, and roast chicken stuffed with sage and lemon.
Bear and I have been working on all sorts of farm projects this week, and have the cuts, bruises, and aching muscles to prove it. It’s worth it though, for we have newly built chook pens, freshly dug garden plots, and fences that keep in even the most determined goat escape artist.
We decided that our chook pens needed some climbing plants to protect our new White Sussex and Australorps from the fierce Aussie sun, so we bundled up and headed to our favorite nursery – Gardens Galore – to see what we could find.
I love the nursery in winter. It is quiet and peaceful, the russets and golds of winter replacing the riot of color that spring and summer bring.
We loaded up our ute with buckets of jasmine for year round shade, and a couple of new vines I’d never heard of. Apparently they are quite marvelous for they grow quickly and create a hanging curtain of leaves that turn varying shades of vivid red. Can’t wait to see that! Especially in the glow of the setting sun.
Red leaves make me happy. Always.
And I might’ve fallen in love with this orange table and chair set. So darn cheery!
Then Bear surprised me with an impromptu date in the Gardens Galore cafe. Love that man.
I tried my very first “Dutch” – a caramel latte topped with whipped cream and cinnamon. Oh my. It’s like a hug in a cup.
And we could not say no to pieces of Banana Cream Cake. So moist, tender, with just a hint of spice. I think that from now on any time storm clouds roll in I will crave this cake.
Such a great way to end a busy day.
What is your favorite cake on a rainy day? xo
by Krista | Jun 17, 2014 | Winter
“Like a wild animal, the soul is tough, resilient, resourceful, savvy, and self-sufficient:
it knows how to survive in hard places.
I learned about these qualities during my bouts with depression.
In that deadly darkness, the faculties I had always depended on collapsed.
My intellect was useless; my emotions were dead; my will was impotent; my ego was shattered.
But from time to time, deep in the thickets of my inner wilderness,
I could sense the presence of something that knew how to stay alive even when the rest of me wanted to die.
That something was my tough and tenacious soul.”
Parker Palmer
A dear friend sent me this today, saying it reminded her of me. I read it and got teary and smiled. Knowing that someone who has seen me in my very darkest moments thinks of me as tough and tenacious, is truly wondrous. It was like a big, squeezy hug for my soul.
For the past 2.5 years I’ve struggled every day with Depression. It terrified me for I felt both guilty (if only I were strong enough this wouldn’t be happening) and powerless. I couldn’t summon up willpower to overcome it or make myself busy enough to ignore it or talk myself out of it or think on enough happy things to dissipate it.
I had to go through it.
And try to love myself in it.
It is desperately hard to see any value in yourself, let alone love yourself, when it feels like you are the very worst version of yourself that has ever existed.
I felt both wildly out of control and sluggish in mind and spirit. As if an outside force was behaving for me and I was stumbling along behind thinking, “What just happened there?”
Every act took supreme effort, from getting out of bed and asking my husband about his day to feeding animals and remembering, well, anything.
I tried all I could to go through it with grace, without poisoning everything I came in contact with. Sometimes I managed it, other times I failed miserably.
I ate healthy.
I dragged myself out of the house to connect with nature and breathe fresh air.
I reached out to people even though every interaction was fraught with anxiety, panic attacks, and absolute assurance that it was all going to go horribly wrong.
I stuck to a routine that helped me keep life on a functioning level: get up, make breakfast, write article, feed animals, make lunch, etc.
I went to counseling.
I got to a place where I couldn’t do it alone anymore. I needed help. So my doctor put me on a trial run of anti-depressants. What a gift. It was like I’d been imprisoned in a dark cave and suddenly a door opened and I was lead out to a light-filled meadow, lush, green, full of life.
I couldn’t believe it. Those lovely little pills reminded me what Real Life was like, what it felt like to be awake and alert and aware. How unutterably glorious it was to feel connected to people, and myself, and the world again, to not be in constant fear and anxiety, to actually be at peace.
They gave me hope. And much courage.
So I pressed on. The changes were small at first: sleep better, pain diminished, thoughts clearer. And then the healing continued in earnest.
I was finally able to do all the self-care I’d heard about but never had the strength to do. And what a difference it made. I began to see myself with eyes of love and patience and compassion instead of judgment and condemnation. I could forgive myself and cheer myself on in all good things. I could love my husband without fear of failure or rejection. He is so happy to be getting his wife back.
This month I was able to get off anti-depressants completely, and I’ve been celebrating in my heart every single day.
I’ve also been quite emotional this week, not with grief or sadness, but with unabashed gratitude for healing, for life, for hope. I have to keep hugging Bear – much to his amusement – because I see now just how much he has endured over these past couple of years.
He has shown me true unconditional love, love that keeps hoping, keeps believing, keeps caring even in the darkest moments. I’m so glad he believed that I would come back to life, and that he waited for me.
This morning I took the goats out to the mist-shrouded woods.
At first the world seemed dark and indistinct with fog blanketing everything. But when I looked closely, there were exquisite vignettes of beauty, even in the darkness. Dew bejeweled cobwebs, feathery lichen, drenched foxtails looking like starbursts.
As I thought about my own Great Darkness, I saw moments of wondrous beauty there too. Moments of illumination, assurance, healing, and growth. I never, ever want to be roomies with Depression again, but I will forever treasure the things I learned from her: compassion, patience, gentleness, love. She has made the Light very precious indeed.
Wishing you a beautiful week, and light in your darkness. XO
The gardens are now producing food that we can actually eat instead of just exclaim excitedly over: chicory, kale, alpine strawberries, and fresh herbs.
My kitchen garden is a sea of green seedlings as broad beans, celeriac, Hungarian peas, and Spanish onions push their way up through the soil.
After looking rather sad and parched during the Summer, the alyssum is flourishing and fragrant.
Late radishes are popping up and snow peas, purple-podded Dutch peas, and sugar snap peas are getting taller by the day. I think I may have gone a bit overboard in the pea department, but really, can you honestly ever have too many fresh peas?
The nasturtiums struggled through the summer too, but now their leaves are so big and hardy they look like lily pads!
And the hollyhocks continue to make me smile and remember my childhood in Canada. Aren’t they beauties?
Our most exciting additions started arriving yesterday: KIDS!!!
Her big sister is happiest snoozing in a warm corner, occasionally getting up for a yawn and a feed.
And this sturdy little chap arrived this morning in a tangle of long legs with a white stripe on his tummy.
We are utterly smitten and keep looking for reasons to wander down and watch and cuddle them as they eat, sneeze, and totter around like jerky little puppets.
