Monthly Archives: December 2012

Getting organized

Posted on December 22, 2012 by | Comments Off on Getting organized

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I’m building up quite an assortment of essential and fragrance oils. I decided it was high time I alphabetized them both to make things easier to find and to prevent ordering something I already have.

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The Return of the Light

Posted on December 21, 2012 by | Comments Off on The Return of the Light

Another solstice upon us.  The days will start getting longer again with the promise of spring and renewal.  I don’t know why we don’t celebrate this any longer as a culture or society.  Perhaps the ease with which we light and warm our homes means we don’t need to rely so much on the sun’s light anymore and we are just that much less grateful to it.  I don’t think so, though.  So many people I know struggle through the darker days and eagerly await the their lengthening again.  Perhaps we simply lack the tradition of recognizing and celebrating this yearly right of passage?

Either way it is one of my favorite days of the year, because although I love fall and winter and enjoy the colder weather, the early darkness every day takes it toll on me.

Tonight we’ll celebrate by having a fire, enjoying each other’s company (the adults will partake of some Jameson’s and gingerale, my favorite winter drink) and work on whatever crafts we want to finish for gifting.

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We welcomed three geese to our little farm today as well.  You may remember them from Juniper Moon Farm.  You may also recall that Susan (and all the animals, if we are being honest) never really cared for these pesky critters.  Geese aren’t the friendliest birds.  But as geese go, these ones aren’t really mean.  I am keeping them around for snake control.

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We’re calling them Abigail, Amelia, and Uncle Waldo.  You’ve seen The Aristocats, right?

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Wren and Piper have been giving me sweet little lamby kisses.

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Being nuzzled by those soft little noses can cure just about any ill.

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Happy Solstice, all.


Tagged: Farm, Pets, Seasons

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Probably something you would like…

Posted on December 21, 2012 by | Comments Off on Probably something you would like…

I have four words for you. Downton. Abbey. Gingerbread. House.

 

 

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Weekend Reading

Posted on December 21, 2012 by | Comments Off on Weekend Reading

America’s Most Cutthroat Christmas Tree Market? Gotta Be Manhattan from the Atlantic Cities. Don’t know why but this article tickled me to bits.

The Deadly Fun ‘Sport’ of Russian Train Surfing from the Atlantic Cities. Don’t try this at home anywhere.

Do Armed Civilians Stop Mass Shooters? Actually, No. From Mother Jones.

Do Armed Citizens Stop Mass Shootings? A history of intervention attempts. From Slate. [Not editorializing here; just sharing what I've read this week.]

Spider That Builds Its Own Spider Decoys Discovered from Wired. Amy and Maddie’s worst nightmare.

Commenting on a Death Gets a Puppet in Trouble from The New York Times. I’ll be honest; I haven’t even read this! But the headline made me giggle for days.

Good Name Is Restored in Terrain Known for Tea from The NY Times. This is brilliant!

Ancient Bones That Tell a Story of Compassion from The NY Times. Very interesting.

Prison Could Be Productive from The NY Times Room for Debate section. I really like these features that give all sides of an issue.

Holidays Without God from The NY Times Room for Debate section.

The Human Cost of Cheap Clothing from The NY Times Room for Debate section.

Snow Fall:The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek from The NY Times (via my friend Bill)

Facebook Responds to Anger Over Proposed Instagram Changes from The NY Times. Way to complain, y’all! It looks like it may have worked.

NOTES ON DISTRACTION from The New Yorker. I am totally guilty of this.

The Best Astronomy Images of 2012 from Slate. Not reading, strictly speaking, but you must see these.

26 Moments That Restored Our Faith in Humanity This Year from GOOD. Don’t know about you, but I needed this this week.

‘Zooborns’ Baby Animal Photos Are Adorable ‘By The Numbers’ from The Huffington Post

Why Has it Been 26 Years Since Time Magazine Named a Woman as Person of the Year? from GOOD. Um, yeah Time Magazine. Why IS that?!?

Alex Moulton, Creator of Quirky Small-Wheeled Bike, Dies at 92 from The NY Times.

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A Solstice Party …

Posted on December 21, 2012 by | Comments Off on A Solstice Party …

In 2008 I went to my first, and only, solstice party.

It was at a friends in NY and as you can see it was a lovely day…. not.

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Her house  was in the woods, the cold and snowy setting seemed appropriate for the first day of winter

Some our little band of happy revelers trudged out to the bonfire…

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including my daughter Deb and her dog Chappy.

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Everyone had a great time.

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Happy solstice 2012.


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Winter Solstice 2012 …

Posted on December 21, 2012 by | Comments Off on Winter Solstice 2012 …

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Everything’s good on toast

Posted on December 21, 2012 by | Comments Off on Everything’s good on toast
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Some sort of bruschetta seems to be become a regular weeknight meal around here. It’s quick and easy and works well on busy days or days when I don’t want leftovers from dinner. This week it was avocado, goat cheese and roasted garlic topped with roasted cherry tomatoes. Delish!

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It’s Tradition, Damn It

Posted on December 20, 2012 by | Comments Off on It’s Tradition, Damn It

Is it just me or is the week before Christmas pretty much a throw away?  Everyone has checked out at this point.

Since we can’t seem to concentrate on work, school has nothing but been various crafts and some reading.

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The big craft day was spent making gingerbread houses.  This year I ordered the kits from King Arthur Flour, and I am pretty happy that I did.  Usually we just grab the kits from WalMart or Michael’s, but they honestly taste pretty bad.  Like dog – food bad.  We have fun assembling them, but then they sit there for a month until I finally throw them away.

This year’s kits were much tastier and came with better candy.

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In the evening afterwards we packed into the car – as our tradition dictates – and drove around looking at the christmas lights.

Doesn’t it sound idyllic and warm and cozy and sweet?

It wasn’t.

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It was more of an exercise in extreme parenting.  Oona was entertained for all of 20 minutes, and then she and Neve took turns hitting and pinching each other, crying, whining and complaining “But it’s HER fault!”

You want to know the other part?  This is how it is every year.  EVERY. DAMN. YEAR.

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Yet we do it anyway.  We even look forward to it, naively believing that this year will finally be better.

It’s a tradition, and darn it one day they will be thankful we suffered through it every year.  One year I brought hot cocoa and homemade white chocolate – mint popcorn for everyone but they ended up spilling the cocoa, needing to pee every 5 minutes and only 2 of us liked the popcorn.

We don’t do that anymore.

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I was seriously starting to get a good holiday cheer going – really getting into the spirit at first.

By the time we got home I just wanted everyone to go to bed so I could have a nice stiff drink.

You know what?  We’ll do it again next year.  Traditions are like that.  Sometimes in the moment they are painful, but the more you do it (and perhaps the further away you are from it in time) the rosier they seem and the more meaningful they become.  For us, the annual viewing of the lights means christmas is less than a week away.  Our holiday season would be incomplete without it , temper tantrums and all.

 


Tagged: food, Homeschooling, Seasons

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Happy Holidays from Juniper Moon Farm

Posted on December 20, 2012 by | Comments Off on Happy Holidays from Juniper Moon Farm

Back in November, I announced that I would be donating all of the money we earned through our Amazon affiliate links to Heifer International, one of my favorite charitable organizations. My heart is near bursting as I tell you that, through your support, we earned nearly $300, enough money to purchase two sheep and three flocks of chickens for families in need.

How you all inspire me! In fact, you’ve inspired me to commit to donating everything we make next year through Amazon’s affiliate program. Imagine the number of sheep we can give in a year!

Thank you. Thank you for all your support in what was an amazing year for the farm, and a very trying one for me personally. Thank you for joining our Yarn and Fiber CSA, and for your overwhelming support for our new project, The Shepherd and The Shearer. Thank you for helping us launch BY HAND Magazine. Thank you for making our commercial lines so successful, and for rewarding the local yarn shops who carry them with your business.

Thank you for your patience and all the kind words, the get well cards I’ve received in the mail, and all the “you can do it!” emails.

When people ask me how I get so much done, my answer is always the same. I have an ever-growing family of supporters who believe in me. You all make me believe I can do anything. 

Thank you for believing and for being a part of something that has become so much more than just a sheep farm.

 

 

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Little nippers

Posted on December 20, 2012 by | Comments Off on Little nippers

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I don’t generally do a huge amount of Christmas knitting but I made a couple of these nip nuggets for a friend. There’ll be a few more for my own girls pretty soon as they knit up very quickly and easily. I stuffed mine with a wad of wool with catnip in the center.

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