by Krista | Feb 13, 2015 | Summer
It’s a wildly blustery morning with a hint of Autumn in the air. I love waking up early and needing a blanket with my morning cuppa, then switching to sundresses and sandals for the rest of the day.
I’ve missed writing here over the last week, hampered first by computer issues, then by illness. But I’m back now and it feels good.
Our exciting news on the farm is the arrival of 12 Muscovy ducklings who are so darn cute they make us smile every day.
I can see their pen from the kitchen window and love hearing their little peeps while I do dishes and make meals. They’re especially sweet when they’re first born, still damp from their shells, laying in the sunshine to warm up and dry off.
They were so tiny at first, timid and easily spooked, but now they’re brave as can be, exploring their pen, splashing in the water, and devouring as much mash as they can handle.
Several times a day I open the lid to their pen just to watch them, grinning at their darling little faces as they crane their necks up to inspect the giant human looming above them.
They bring my focus back from the whirl of deadlines and responsibilities and help me linger in the moment enjoying sunshine on my shoulders, the softness of downy feathers, and the amazing gift of being alive.
There are other good things to be thankful for this week: time to wood-burn new items for my shoppe and a new market next month, being interviewed for my book launch which is being held on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Freestone Memorial Hall, and time to think through my life and goals and talents and figure out my next step.
Now it’s time to step out into the wind and start planting more seeds for my winter garden, check on Bear’s progress in building frames for our beehives, and say hello to the ducklings
What are you looking forward to doing today? xo
by Krista | Feb 3, 2015 | Summer
Rain is misting lightly outside, cooling things down after a gorgeous weekend spent with my friend Corrie. Neither of us were feeling good, so instead of jaunts here and there, we planned a thoroughly relaxing couple of days filled with eating good food, afternoon naps, and long talks while curled up in comfy chairs.
One of my favorite memories is from Saturday night. After trekking through the bush and spotting a couple of wallabies, we returned home and set up for an evening around the campfire. Bear helped me arrange the fire pit, haul chairs over, and collect firewood.
While Corrie had a good, long talk with her hubby back in Colorado, I sank into my chair with a cold drink and soaked up the stunning light shimmering through leaves and blades of grass.
I never tire of this time of day on our farm. We might be exhausted from wrangling goats or digging gardens, but once sunset begins, stress melts away and you can’t help but be happy to be alive.
As the sun sank lower we opened wine to breathe and brought out ice cold beers. Bear built and lit the fire and I brought out fixings for dinner: lamb sausages made with pepper and sun-dried tomatoes.
As the sausages popped and sizzled we settled back with our drinks, munching on potato chips and sharing stories. It felt so good to laugh hard and chat about our day, thoroughly relaxed and comfy with all the chores done and a free night ahead of us. 
While we chatted and the fire crackled, Bear collected more firewood, fallen branches and bits of gum tree bark to keep the fire going late into the night.
At last the sausages were ready, charred on the outside, cooked on the inside, ready to be dressed with Dijon mustard and homemade chili jam.
Soon the sun was gone and we sat under a star-filled sky wrapped in flannel shirts and blankets, talking about life and work and hopes and plans. Corrie is a writer too, so very, very talented, and it was great to talk shop with her, sharing plans and book ideas.
Following in that vein, I’m delighted to announce that PDF versions of my books are now available for only $14.99 AUS ($12.57 US). With no shipping or printing costs to worry about, they are a great option for anyone who’d like a copy to store on their computer and have inspiring images of Italy and old European doors only a mouse click away.
To purchase a copy or for more information, visit my book shoppe by clicking here.
The rain has stopped, but the clouds and wind are keeping us cool as we reflect on happy memories with a dear friend.
What is your favorite memory from this weekend? xo
by Krista | Jan 27, 2015 | Summer
“Life is just a lot of everyday adventures.” Carol Ryrie Brink
Yesterday Bear and I saw storm clouds building and went outside to get the goats into their pen before the rain came. Unfortunately, the goats also sensed the storm coming and decided the best thing to do would be to hide under our house. All thirty of them. So under I went, hobbling along ridiculously like a crab wearing rubber boots, trying neither to fall over laughing or klonk my head on the floor beams. I shooed and waved my whip most awkwardly while Bear stood outside and hollered encouragement and finally, finally the goats moved on out. We got them to their pen in time for them to beat the storm, but not us. Within seconds we were thoroughly, utterly drenched. We laughed and shook our heads and sloshed our way back to the house where we dried off and Bear made us cuppas.
Such was one of our everyday adventures on the farm.
We never know what’s going to happen each day. Our goals are loosey-goosey at best, for just as soon as we make plans, animals or weather toss a monkey wrench into them while cackling gleefully.
I grin as I look back at my rose-colored views of farm life when I arrived here three years ago. I envisioned a cute, tidy house set in a pristine farm yard where darling animals fed happily and gardens and orchards grew lavishly.
Sometimes those things actually happen. And when they do we look at each other in wonder and amazement.
Because most of the time it’s a mix of beauty and mayhem.
Amidst the flower-filled meadow are old cars we keep meaning to haul to the dump, but never seem to get around to. Our cute little house is cute and little, but it’s also a bit of a disaster during those times when you have to dash into the house with muddy boots on, or stack projects up in tottering piles because your “free afternoon” has suddenly turned into “get the goats out of the neighbors yard before they eat anything!” or “quick, make a newborn duck pen because two mums’ eggs just hatched and we have eighteen babies to look after!” While the animals are adorable, they’re also a pain in the neck! It’s rather like having a farm full of furry toddlers who get into absolutely everything and have no concept of why you’re perturbed with them. And the gardens and orchards are wonderful when they aren’t withered by drought, drowned by floods, or eaten by goats, mice, possums, kangaroos, or all of the above.
I wouldn’t trade this madcap life for anything, but it isn’t easy, and anyone who says it is, is clearly trying to sell you a farm.
I do love it, though. Yep, even when I have to replant my garden for the fifth time in 12 months, when we grieve the loss of animals who die for no apparent reason, and when my dreams of a tidy home aren’t anywhere near coming to fruition.
I love it because it’s ours. Because everywhere we look is something we’ve done, something we dreamed about, worked towards, and made happen through our own toil, ingenuity, and careful saving. I’ve learned a lot about patience living here, about celebrating every little thing because the big things take so long to come to pass. I’ve made peace with the unfinishedness, the undoneness, the may-never-be-completedness, and I can even look at the old cars with love.
So today I celebrate our everyday adventures: laughing in the rain with my sodden hubby, a mama goat about to give birth any minute, a tidy (for at least the next five minutes) house.
What everyday adventure are you celebrating today? xo
by Krista | Jan 22, 2015 | Summer
“I drink cup of sunlight every morning to brighten myself.” Debasish Mridha
I love the first rays of sunlight coming up over the fields, filtering through the kitchen window splattered from enthusiastic bathing by ducks in the water tank below, settling seedlings aglow, making the world seem softer, brighter, more hopeful.
It seeps across the kitchen floor turning old floorboards warm and golden before it slips back out the window and clambers up onto the roof.
It’s such a beautiful time of day, the one I look forward to most as I finish up the dishes, brew cuppas, and work out my to-do list. Today my list includes the following:
- plant seedlings in newly cleared garden
- bake bread for article on soup and bread
- do research for writing assignment
- harvest beetroot and purple carrots
- pay bills
- remember to hang the laundry
- eat banana muffins with butter
- mend sundress
- un-decorate Christmas tree
- taste first elderberry
And now the luscious morning sun has disappeared behind a wonderfully cooling haze of clouds. Just the sort of weather I was hoping for as I head out to the gardens.
What are you most looking forward to accomplishing on your to-do list today? xo
by Krista | Jan 20, 2015 | Summer
“Home is the nicest word there is.” Laura Ingalls Wilder
Yesterday Bear and I went to the Post Office and received a large envelope with my name on it. Inside was approval for my Permanent Residency in Australia. I could hardly believe it and promptly burst into tears. I didn’t realize how I’d been emotionally holding my breath, hoping that Australia would want me to stay, hoping that I’d be allowed to remain with my Bear. After my cry we laughed and whooped and hollered with joy. It’s been a long, long road but we’re finally here and it feels amazing.
I belong here now. I’m allowed to stay. I’m truly allowed to call this place home.
I can’t help but smile. A lot.
So Bear and I are celebrating. Much to our delight, on the same day my approval arrived, so did a box full of Christmas pressies from the US. So we’ve been having such fun watching new movies, reading through new issues of my favorite American magazine, and dreaming up the ideal recipes to utilize the three precious cans of mild green chilies our dear friend sent to us.
This afternoon we’re going to treat ourselves to a coffee and cake date, and this morning we celebrated with one of our favorite brekky’s: fried potatoes with onions and sausage.
Now I’m heading outside to start prepping my garden for winter veggies. After searing heat for days on end, last night a new front blew in and it is wonderfully fresh and cool. Can’t wait to get outside and dig and plant and plan.
How do you like to celebrate important things? xo
by Krista | Jan 11, 2015 | Summer
“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside…As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.” Anne Frank
My heart doesn’t know what to do with the onslaught of pain, grief, and fear that has inundated the news recently. I’m gutted for those who’ve lost loved ones in horrendous attacks. I ache for the families whose homes and neighborhoods have been destroyed by floods and fires and now have nowhere safe to go, no place of their own where they can rest and connect with those they love. I feel like throwing up after finding out an old friend has been horrifically abused by her husband for years and none of us knew, none of us could protect her.
I feel helpless and angry and afraid and sad. And I don’t know what to do.
So I cry and I grieve and I wish for healing and comfort for all those in pain. I look for ways to do good in my small part of the world. In the grand scheme of things they are insignificant, the sending of a card, or giving of a hug, but they’re things I can do that hopefully convey “you matter”, “you’re not a burden”, or “I’m so glad you’re in this world.”
For my own well-being I go outside.
I wander through our orchards, smiling at tiny fruits that have somehow survived in spite of drought, searing heat, torrential rains, and the ravages of wind storms and hungry creatures. They seem so brave and plucky.
I stroll through the remains of my garden that was recently ravaged by our goats when they broke through the fence and devoured everything they could find. Amidst the trampled plants and torn vines I find a few survivors: red and purple carrots, one cucumber, a handful of green beans. And I remember that even in destruction, you can find something worth salvaging if you look hard enough.
And I create good things for my people, tiny things that don’t end wars or heal broken hearts but somehow help make the painful things a little easier to bear.
This weekend I made a big batch of ginger beer, that delicious concoction of fizzy, zingy goodness that is so refreshing on a piping hot day. I loved seeing an unappetizing slurry of ginger root, molasses, raisins, and other things transform into something delectable and restorative.
Today I got to share it with Bear and our friends Ann, Neil, and Katy. It was so good to sit in front of the fan, sipping the cold, bubbly drink and talking for hours. The ginger beer didn’t fix or transform anything, but it brought us together in love and friendship, and that always makes a difference.
Yes, there is deep pain and cruel people in this world, but there is also much goodness and kind, loving people from every race, religion, and political affiliation who wake up every day looking for ways to build, protect, heal, and support. To you beloved life-enhancers I raise my glass today. Thank you for making the dark places brighter. xo
What helps you process the painful things?
Ginger Beer
Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup ginger, unpeeled, cut in chunks
2 cups raw or white sugar
1/4 tsp active dry yeast
juice from two lemons
1 Tbsp molasses
1/2 cup raisins
14 cups water
sterilized glass bottles
Directions:
In a blender pour 1 cup water and ginger. Blend until a slurry forms.
Pour into medium saucepan and add sugar. Place over medium high heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and allow mixture to steep for at least one hour.
Pour mixture through strainer into large stainless steel bowl or pot and add yeast, lemon juice, molasses, and water. Stir until molasses dissolves.
Pour liquid into sterilized bottles, add 2-3 raisins to each bottle and seal.
Set bottles in warm, dark place for 2-3 days. Every day VERY slowly undo the lids to allow gases to escape. (If you don’t do this, your bottles will explode!) Re-seal.
Ginger beer will be drinkable within 24 hours, but for more fizz wait 2-3 days before drinking. You will know it’s ready to drink when the raisins rise to the top.
When the ginger beer is ready to drink, remove lids to release gases one more time, then re-seal and refrigerate. This will slow down the fermentation process and your ginger beer will be out of danger of exploding.
Serve cold.
