Summer, Paint and Rest

Well hello there.  Has it really been a month since we last chatted?  My, my.  Besides sleeping, eating, feeling nauseous, and sleeping some more, here's what's happened in our neck of the woods since we last spoke:

Summer.

Honestly, I am only a fan when I have a vegetable garden, something missing from our lives this year.  I feel it's absence oh so much.  Around here, August is the hottest month of the year.  We're talkin' many, many triple-digit days.  I am most certainly not a hot weather person.  It's a dry heat, mind you.  But it's difficult to console one's self when you see so many digits in the daily forecast.  So we visited our local mountain top.  There was lots of glorious snow.  Even a frozen lake with brilliant blue tones.

Oh, how it felt good to feel the cold, icy ground this time of year!  I decided we need to live there every July and August until I get my veggie garden.

As the summer ended (at least the vacation part; the air is hotter than ever), I joined my fellow homeschooling mamas, endulged in curriculum resource websites, and chizled out our school year from the myriad of choices.  More on that later, but I had to share a new favorite schooltime motto discovered on Pinterest (also a great recourse for fun homeschool ideas):

An update on the home front:  Our little blue cabin, not painted since 1960, has been transformed into what we are endearingly calling the Christmas Cabin, thanks to Jeremy's hard, sweaty work.  The barns are next, which will be painted the color of the shutters (appropriately called "barn red").  Then we will be all sealed and painted, ready for the much-anticipated rainy season.

And me?  Well, when I'm not making snow angels in August, building a school year for three grades, sleeping, sleeping, and sleeping some more, I work hard on my physique.  No, I'm not 28 weeks pregnant.  I was 11 weeks when I took this (note to self: when taking a self-portrait using a mirror, look at the phone/camera, not my eyes, unless I want to go for the distant, what-is-she-staring-at look).  Folks. This is real life baby number five.  Your body is all too familiar with the process and allows you to enjoy the baby bump pretty much from day one.  There will most likely not be any 40 week belly shots shared.  I don't want to traumatize the children with my orca likeness.

Have a lovely week, folks.  The second trimester is just around the corner and I look forward to being more blog-concistent.  Also, there is an herbal giveaway coming ASAP.  It's going to be a good one, I tell you!

Getting Outside

Inside is comfy, cozy, safe.

Books are read, hair is brushed and put up in "pretties," breakfast is enjoyed.  

But oh, to step outside this trailer door...

(I just had to make that capture look as backwoods as possible.  We live in a trailer on a mountain, after all.)

{Find out why here.}

Right outside the door are happy sunflowers, some thinking about opening up for the world to enjoy,

others in full bloom.

And there are squeals of delight and shouts of triumph when someone gets "jumped" and lands on his feet.

And yes, we live in a trailer and have a giant trampoline set up next to it.  If you're looking for words to describe us, just call us originals.  Or The Redneck Riddles.  It's been said before.  We don't mind.  Really.  Because I hang the wash on the line right behind our trailer home.  I love my clothesline.

~Read the archives of our journey here.~

Everyday Today

Sometimes, no most of the time, everyday things delight my simple little heart.  Like today.

When I opened the trailer door for some fresh morning air, I was greeted by the first sunflower in bloom.  It is orange-ish brown.  I have never had an orange-ish brown sunflower.  It is my favorite ever.

I walked up to the garden to find the pole beans really are growing up the stalks of corn, just as I hoped they would when I planted the Three Sisters.

Then we drove to the dairy to fill our gallon jar with fresh raw milk because we live in California where raw milk is legal which makes California the best state in the world.  Or Country.  And the cost?  $5

Did I mention I paid $5 for one gallon of raw milk?

And the cows are grass-fed and not treated with hormones or antibiotics.  Glory.

Today, everyday was quite special to my garden-and-raw-loving self.

Thanks for the fun assignment, You Capture.

For the Love of Berries

Why do we love gathering wild blackberries so much?

Because we get to watch train tracks being repaired.

Because she was happy just playing with rocks and eating one third of the berries I picked.

Because the boys catapulted old train track parts with sicks and rocks,

stole my phone,

and took berry-stained pictures of each other.

Because the hike was magical.

Because we were reminded we live in gold country, and that is just plain rad.

Because getting as many fresh, organic, locally grown berries as we want  for free is exhilarating.

And because helping my oldest and her friends make blackberry pie, crust and all (they did most of the work) makes my heart happy.

That's why.

This is a contributing post on Simple Lives Thursday

You Capture ~ Summer

This summer was filled with Nana & Papa cuddles,

raiding their bountiful garden,

celebration,

discovering wild matilija poppies on the lakebed my husband and I rode horses and mountain bikes on as children,

 keeping warm at the Pacific ocean, 

sharing shakes on the pier,

sleepy endings,

and then, driving home.

Staying at my folks' for the summer was indescribably wonderful.  Five weeks of Nana and Papa and all the love that comes with being together.  Everyone soaked it up like a sponge.  Yesterday was an interesting homecoming.  While we are smiling ear-to-ear to be back where we belong, we're not really going back home, we're going back... camping (read why here).  Camping with a sweet little garden that was watered by the world's best neighbors (my sunflowers and tomatoes waited for me!).

  Although, I've got to say, once we all stepped inside our tiny temporary dwelling, we all felt pretty content.  So much peace happens just by being together.  So I guess we can call it home for now.  Our little camping home.
~Read the archives of this journey here.~

Summertime Finds

In some parts of the world, people stay indoors during the extreme weather that comes with the winter chill.  Folks around here cloister away inside during the triple-digit summertime heat.  Like today.  It's currently a balmy 105 degrees where we live.  We've escaped five of those degrees while our visit with my parents continues.  You know it's hot when you're jumping into an unheated pool at 8:30 in the morning and it feels good.  Ah, summer...

So as I sit here, enjoying my folks' air conditioning, I thought I'd share with you a few new fun finds.

Presently, there's a double-batch of sourdough English muffins proofing in the kitchen.  This would be the third double-batch I've made in two weeks.  This amazing recipe found on Gnowfglins is prefect to make in the summer because it's cooked on the stove top.  I get to keep my no-oven-use-in-the-summertime challenge and my family adores these whole-grain treats.  The healthiest part is, all the flour used has been lacto-fermented, making the bread easy for your body to digest.  Take a look at the English Muffin recipe here.  While you're at it, you might want to spend some time on that blog; my lacto-fermenting-loving heart finds great joy in it.

It's that time of year when I start thinking about Christmas.  You read right.  Christmas.  In late July.  Yep.  It's okay, I'm used to the odd expressions.  The frugal, artsy side gets so excited to play with materials, learn new things, and make special treasures to give loved ones at Christmastime.  A friend recently introduced me to this blog.  Be careful of it's potential life-consuming powers.  It's called Design Sponge and it will change your life.  Or at least make it an even prettier one.  And what better a thing to do than enjoy crafty time in the coolest place you can find, thinking of everything you love about the people you're making gifts for during the heat of the summer?  Happy.

Between these two sites and preparing to home school a 2, 4, 6, and 8-year-old, I can easily say there is plenty to do while I hide from the summer heat.  I can't say I mind it a bit.  And about homeschooling...  I have some news. Well, that's a whole other post that will have to wait until next time.  Until then, dear friends...

Summer Happenings & Family Thoughts

Hi, remember me?   5th-wheel-dweller?  Squatter on a beautiful mountain property with a musical husband and four home-schooling children? Lover of gardens and coffee and food?  Used-to-be avid blogger who disappeared for two years? Slight exaggerator because it's been more like three weeks?  Hello, my name is Katie.  It's good to be back.

I might have overwhelmed myself with all the thoughts, activities, and pictures I thought I needed to post over the past few weeks.  Instead of breaking everything up into cute little bite-sized pieces, I vacationed from beloved blogland in self-imposed exasperation.  Really, I'm only hoping to remember the art of forming complete sentences.

Do you want to see something Amish?  I knew you did.

and

and

Oh, and a little souvenir for myself:

But what I really wanted to take home was

and

That house up there?  That's where we stayed for the week.  You can rent it, too, if you want (click here). :)  We stayed there with Jer's brother and his sweet family, aka some of our best friends.  And that yarn? It was hand-woven and dyed right there in Lancaster, PA.  It's time for me to learn how to knit, I guess.

In case you didn't hear (you can if you want here), we were gifted six plane tickets to Lancaster County, PA to meet up with a lot of Riddles for a family reunion and to celebrate Jeremy's grandparents' 60th anniversary.  60 years or marriage, folks!  There's just too much to talk about when 43 Riddles gather, but I will tell you there were lots of stories shared, sweet moments, and 500 water balloons filled and deployed in less than an hour.  It was an unforgettable 5 days, and I am so thankful we were able to be apart of it.

Being in Amish country was an added treat.  We even had an Amish-served dinner one night.  It was eye-opening in two ways.  First, this old-order Amish family served us delicious food.  We tasted the best peanut butter we've ever experienced, and the woman of the house told us she added marshmallow cream and pancake syrup to make it so irresistible.  I was thankful for the tip, but I must admit the ingredients didn't seem very... Amishy.  And then,  on top of the apple pie... Plop, plop. Cool Whip.  I got a little woozy.  I must admit some personal assumptions of Amish eating were crushed.  But when Eli (who couldn't have been older than five) dragged a bench seat to the kitchen sink and started washing dishes,  my heart was refilled with sweet affection for this culture.  I also realized my kids have been holding out on me.

Family reunions and Amish families and (currently) visiting my amazing parents has got me thinking about, well, family.  Because I've just overwhelmed myself with what I've already written, I'm a'goin' bullet point my thoughts on family.

• I love it when families share life together.
• There's a lot to learn from the Amish about being interdependent on family and community.
• Working and playing together as a family just needs to happen more for us.

Also, I think I discovered a major mental block that has kept me from incorporating my children in more of my daily life: my goal is to impart to my kids what I've learned and not to get my to-do list completed as quickly as possible.  You know?  I could do all the daily chores as fast as I can and never have time to enjoy my kids (short-term thinking that I've been stuck in), or I could take extra time to teach and incorporate my kids in more daily chores so we can all get the work done and have time to play (happy, long-term thinking).  I'm taking this new concept to more than just chores.  It's finding it's way in our spiritual and educational growth as a family.

This is all so simple but so new.  All I have left to say is I'm excited about our future as a family.  New vision and good examples go a long way.  Thank you, Amish folks.  You've always been my heroes in so many aspects of life.

You Capture ~ Year in Review

What a year, what a year.  And what a fun assignment this week!  I could post so many pictures, as this year has been a pivital one in our life journey, but I'll try to refrain posting a 587 photos.  Last summer's family vacation with my folks to Shasta County was a fun highlight.  We visited one of my new favorite places in the world.  Burney Falls.

This hidden nook is other-worldy and the scent wafting from wild mint growing throughout the rock bottoms makes it like a fairytale.

Turtle bay Museum was a hit for the whole family.  My son loved the Lego exhibit.

And all my kids were terrified of the t-rex fossil because there was constant growling and roaring blaring through the speakers.

The butterfly exhibit was my daughter's favorite.

And my favorite?  Spending time with the most amazing people in the world and consuming some heavenly vittles.

~ See more Captures here! ~