by Krista | Aug 31, 2016 | Winter
The sun has edged over the horizon, pale and diffused through hazy clouds. Bear is out with the goats, keeping watch on them from his motorbike as they feast on tender green shoots that burst through the undergrowth after massive rains. I’m in bed, keeping warm as I rest and recover from a venomous bite that has left me exhausted, nauseous, and aching. I love Australia dearly, but some of her critters are decidedly inhospitable.
My friend Sarah tells me that when a spider bites, it’s a sign that I’m supposed to start writing again. That made me smile, so I’ve made a cozy little flannel-lined nest for myself where I can rest and sleep and write, with two windows so I can watch birds and sheep and goats and husband as they go about their work.
Until the bite happened, Bear and I were thoroughly enjoying a time of building on our farm. We’ve both been through so much the past couple of years, and it was wonderful to get our zest for life back, to sit and talk for hours about dreams and plans for our little world here. It was especially good to start putting those hopes into action.
We’ve been working really hard, trimming tree branches to make shady work areas under a leafy canopy, building new pens for turkeys and ducks, and planting all sorts of trees from hazelnuts and avocados to beautiful natives like grevillea and banksia.
We’ve been clearing out detritus from old projects and it feels marvellous to see cluttered areas clean and usable again.
We have remodelling plans underway, collecting the wood and equipment we need to put in much-needed storage. We love our tiny house but at the moment it’s not suitable for the creative people that we are. We need space for my wood-burning and Bear’s chain maille projects, his leatherwork and my woodwork, our sewing projects and bee-keeping stuff and wine-making equipment, not to mention a better way to store our beloved but space-consuming medieval gear.
We have a long ways to go, but we’ve made a good start and it feels amazing.
In between work projects I’ve continued to do farm-y and garden-y things. August was all about cheese-making – halloumi, feta, mascarpone, ricotta, and cottage. It makes me smile to open our fridge and pull out my very own feta for salads and soups.
I’ve been blanching and freezing broccoli, so much broccoli, juicing jaboticaba to make liqueur, and feasting on fresh asparagus and sugar snap peas and blueberries from my gardens.
I’m glad we got so much work done, for now it’s time to rest, really rest, and let my body heal. I had a bit of a woe-is-me moment this morning, but a good cry and chat with Bear put me to rights. It is what it is. Of course I’d much rather be outside planting things and doing projects with Bear, but that will come later. For now I will rest and make the most of this time to read good things and take naps and watch movies and dream dreams.
The time for building will return soon enough.
Now it’s nap time. Wishing you a beautiful week whether you’re building or resting. xo
by Krista | Aug 3, 2016 | Winter
My clothes smell of hay and sawdust and wood smoke these days, lovely scents that make me smile and feel connected to the places and people I love.
The late afternoon sun is shimmering through the trees, glistening on the sprawling pile of hay the goats and lambs have been feasting on. A wild wind has picked up, cold and bitey, and I’m glad to be wrapped in a blanket on the veranda, hanging out with Bear for a bit of a chat before he heads inside to make us cuppas.
* * *
It’s a day later and I’m back on the veranda, this time bundled to the hilt against fearsomely cold winds, surveying a farm utterly drenched by pelting rains.
I just finished making a big batch of kumquat beer and the house smells marvelous as the beer cools down in preparation for bottling. Chicken is roasting in the oven and all is ready for a cozy day of pottering and keeping warm against the elements.
I read an article by Jess Zimmerman last week, and love how she describes a healthy relationship as two people:
“in cahoots to make each others lives easier and better.”
Isn’t that beautiful?
I’ve been thinking of it every day.
I grew up in a world where we were compelled to make life harder for each other. We were instructed to be each others conscience, to point out flaws, police behaviors, watch and listen and make sure that we were all doing “the right thing.”
It nauseates me to think of it now. What an appalling way to live and relate and interact. No wonder so many of us from that world struggle to be ourselves. We kept “us” hidden for so long just to keep out of trouble, to avoid beatings, solitary confinement, communal shunning, and public shaming.
I’m so glad to be in my new world, this beautiful life where I am safe to be me with all my quirks and gifts and foibles, where I can live each day striving to make things easier and better for others. It is an incredible gift.
I’ve been tallying up an In Cahoots List. Names of people I love who make my life as easy and better as they can. It’s made me quite emotional to picture each treasured face, to write down their names and think of one situation after another where they lightened my burden and brightened my world. It’s also strengthened my resolve to be that sort of person, an In Cahoots person, partnering up with my loves to make our journey on earth as soul-nourishing as we can.
This world can be so scary sometimes, lonely and painful and sad, and it comforts me no end to picture my In Cahoots people, arms entwined like tree branches, taking turns propping each other up, providing inestimable courage and hope, so much stronger together than by ourselves.
I’m celebrating them today.
Who are your In Cahoots people? xo
by Krista | Jul 26, 2016 | Winter
Bear and I love campfires. We like sitting around them at home with good friends, visiting and grilling sausages, setting marshmallows aflame as the sun sinks down through the trees and kookaburras cackle overhead. There’s nothing quite like the dance of flames and shower of sparks against the night sky to make everything feel cozy and peaceful.
With such a love for fires, there was only one possible answer when our friends Sue and Vincent invited us to attend the annual Killarney Bonfire Night. A resounding YES!!
We bundled up against the winter chill, grabbed a large flask of “coffee” – aka Sue’s Famous Spiced Wine – and headed out for a night of fires, artistry, and food.
It was marvelously fun! We jostled along merrily with the crowds, delighted to find an open table where we could tuck into dinner while listening to live music and watching the firefighters build a humdinger of a bonfire. The blokes ate steak sandwiches with fried onions, while Sue and I indulged in nachos piled high with all the fixings, and we all shared hot chips and glasses of spiced wine.
Thus fortified against the cold, we wandered off to see what we could see.
The Killarney Bonfire Night features a myriad of 44 gallon drums that have been cut, welded, sliced, and punched to create brilliant works of art that are lit from within by cheerily blazing fires. They perform double duty by keeping all the onlookers toasty warm.
There were flaming rocket ships and glowing insects, homages to trucks and engines, and a marvelous fire-breathing dragon.
We saw tractors and VW Kombis and a drum that looked like a glittering night sky with tiny holes punched through all the sides.
They were all clever and fun, showcasing the passions and skills of their makers.
There was also plenty of people watching and a dazzling fire show of twirling fiery batons.
After looking at everything, Bear and I found a comfortable perch to rest our bones and watch the festivities as we chatted, ate chocolate, and sipped hot mulled wine.
It was truly a fabulous night and we look forward to a repeat performance next year.
Where is your favorite place to sit by the fire? xo
by Krista | Jul 23, 2016 | Winter
One of the things I look forward to most every Abbey Medieval Festival is ambling through the Viking encampment.
I love the Viking food displays, the wonderful Viking tents, and, most of all, my talented and lovely Viking friends.
I’m always intrigued by children’s toys down through history, and this tiny handmade doll is delightful. Perfect for a little Viking girl to carry around.
I like learning how food was made during medieval times, and this beautiful stone grinder is such a clever way to get flour from dried grains of wheat and rye.
One day I’m determined to learn how to play this Viking game. My friend’s children always look like they’re having such fun as they plot moves under the trees.
This is my lovely friend, Karen – she gives the best hugs – showing off the fantastic Viking grill made by her seriously talented husband, Ray. I want one to use at home and can envision it loaded with meats for roasting or sausages for smoking.
This is my friend Zeta’s stall, laden with fresh herbs, spices, and cabbages that she uses to make fermented cabbage.
I love homemade sauerkraut, especially made the way Zeta makes it, with peppercorns and caraway seeds. It smells absolutely marvelous and tastes divine piled high alongside boiled potatoes and sizzling homemade sausages.
jkl
by Krista | Jul 21, 2016 | Winter
My favorite time of day at medieval camps is early morning, especially at Abbey Medieval Festival. The sun casting shadows through the towering trees is sheer magic and never fails to stop me in my tracks and make me so happy to be alive to see such things.
I like getting up before everyone and brewing coffee, trying, yet never succeeding, to be quiet enough in our kitchen tent to keep from waking our friend Sue. Soon she’s up too, cute as a button in her elfin hat, spooning in mounds of freshly ground coffee, getting our cups ready “just so” – decaf for Bear, black for Sue and Vincent, white and one sugar for me – keeping water warm for Adam when he wakes up.
Soon enough the fire is blazing, water boiling, the blissful scent of wood smoke wafting through camp.
It is an exquisite way to start the day.
This year I did three demonstrations: medieval folk medicine, medieval Bedouin food, and medieval cheese-making.
Although I’ve made cheese at home plenty of times, I hadn’t done it over a fire yet, so made sure to practice before the crowds arrived to make sure I had the process down pat.
I hung thick yogurt to drain in cheesecloth and set milk on to heat for a simple fresh cheese just as the sun slipped through the tree branches and turned my cheese-making into a veritable fairyland of light and shadow.
I stirred the milk as it steamed into roiling billows of light, watching for telltale bubbles around the edges before drizzling in homemade cider vinegar, then a bit more. Then the magic happened. Whey separated from curds and I poured it into a cheesecloth-lined basket, letting it drain until nothing but lovely, creamy cheese was left.
I gleefully danced through the smoky sunbeams to Bear – “I made cheese!!!” He laughed and we cheered and I tasted and all was well.
While I’d been making cheese, Sue had made breakfast and we happily noshed on toast and eggs and sausages, topping up our coffees to warm our bones.
After washing up I went for a wander, delighting in the play of light and campfire smoke around the tents of our friends.
Sunlight streamed through the market stall of the Templars where our friend Farina would soon be selling her fragrant packets of spices and ripe oranges for mulled wine.
Sunbeams shimmered through the Viking loom near the camp where my friends Paula and Nikolaj were making breakfast. Paula is an amazing weaver, making gorgeous linen out of the finest of threads.
I love the Viking encampment with its forest atmosphere and the welcoming faces and hugs of so many good friends. I wandered from camp to camp, getting in quick talks between building of fires and stirring of pots as everyone got ready for the first day of Abbey.
With promises of pending visits to make me smile, I headed back to camp.
xo
by Krista | Jul 20, 2016 | Winter
This has been the craziest winter I’ve ever experienced. Last week we were bundled up in every layer we could find, huddled close to the heater, clasping cold fingers around hot drinks. Today I’m barefoot, in a sundress, hair up in a pony tail as I stroll through green grass and turn my face to glorious sunshine.
I’m not complaining one bit.
Today was a rest and potter sort of day. I’m learning to listen to my body when it says, “Whoa, Nelly!” and I’m much the better for it.
So after work this morning I got my journal, a stack of books and magazines, and settled in on the veranda where I could watch birds flitting about, listen to the wind sighing gently through the gum trees, and get my heart quiet and inspired.
It’s such a lovely sitting spot, shady and cool all year round with wonderful views stretching out across the farmyard and out to the treeline of our bush.
We ate simply today, taking time savor delectable things like a perfectly ripe pear, garden fresh greens sauteed with garlic, sultanas, and toasted pine nuts, and, perhaps my favorite, new season mandarins.
There are fruits more exotic than a mandarin orange, but as I sat on a sun-drenched log looking out over green pastures, listening to our lambs chewing grass a few feet away, there was nothing that could’ve pleased me more than my oh-so-fragrant mandarin.
I took a wander around the farm, smiling at the bees buzzing so loudly as they flew from Paulownia blossoms back to their hive, inhaling deeply of the heady poplar sap that fills the air when the sun warms the trees lining our driveway. I called out greetings to our dogs – Luna, Solar, Freja, and Apollo – and chatted with the lambs who followed me on my ramble.
I love days like this, warm, golden days with time to collect armfuls of greens from my gardens, get lost in the latest issue of Victoria magazine, have chats with Bear over cold glasses of homemade orange beer. With so much upheaval in the world, I’m deeply grateful for the peaceful cadence of our life here, a haven where we can grow and heal.
The sun is setting now, and my perch on the veranda has cooled right down. Time to head inside for wine and dinner and the first chapter of a new book.
Where is your favorite sitting place at home? xo
