Celebrating spring

We took a quick trip to the coast last weekend to celebrate Easter with my folks. Ole loves the Easter traditions (finding hidden stuff, candy and a basket of treats--what's not to love?), so even though we're not terribly religious, we do it up. My parents made a delicious Easter dinner with turkey on the grill, cheesy potatoes, homemade rolls, a yummy salad with mandarin oranges, grilled asparagus, and coconut macaroons.

Guess who had Easter candy for breakfast!

Seriously cute, right? This new bunny, Bouncer, was hand-knit with hand-dyed yarn by my talented mother.

 We hit the beach before dinner to get some exercise. It was sunny but cold and windy at the beach. That didn't stop Ole who would have played there all day if we hadn't lured him away.



"Look, Mom! I'm sleeping!"

 That driftwood made the long trip home with us. Back at the farm we took full advantage of the warming weather, pajamas and all.

Swinging, throwing, drawing, and shooting

Spring is in full swing, so let's play ball! Ole started T-ball last week. He's consistently reluctant to try new things, but admitted it was "pretty fun" after the first practice.



We played catch in the yard to practice his new skills, and after, Ole drew this picture of us. This one just got me right in the heart.

Drawing has become the new thing around here, much to our delight. I'm constantly sneaking peaks at Google images for reference in drawing cyborgs or bulldozers. Below is a still life of his oatmeal, drawn while he waits for it to cool.

Superman and Batman, obviously.

The other excitement in our lives this week is a new tire swing. The folks at Les Schwab were kind enough to find us the perfect (free!) tire for swinging. I fumbled with different knots and finally settled on "that'll do." So much fun!

 

I can't help but add a few more springy shots. I'm doing the happy dance this week as my new camera has arrived. I should probably crack open the directions to learn the details, but I'm thrilled to have a camera that takes decent shots right out of the box.

Make something

February crept by, as winter often does, slowed down further because it's our month without drinking alcohol. It's a month of re-focusing on health and catching up on sleep. There were successes: I flossed every day! And there were shortcomings: We grumbled loudly after long yard work days, "Geez, this tall glass of water just isn't cutting it--I want a beer. Wah!"

Another theme slowly emerged, though, and it became the month of crafts. Crafting is perfect for these cold and windy late winter days.

Ole helped me in the early stages of these strawberry stones. Aren't they adorable? I found the inspiration for them on pinterest, of course. They're just river stones from the yard. This summer I'll place them around our strawberry plants and hopefully they'll fool the birds who come to eat our sweet berries.

 

My friend David came over for an afternoon of linoleum printing. It's a craft I've long enjoyed, but haven't taken the time to try in years. We sipped tea as we cut linoleum and chatted. As I struggled over goat nostrils and weird goat eyes, David whipped out this great nighttime scene.

I also made another batch of goat milk soap. It's the only recipe I've ever tried, but I love it--no scent, simple ingredients, the final product is smooth with a nice lather.

Lining up the supplies: olive oil, lard, coconut oil, goat's milk and lye...that's it!

Safety first!



Frozen cubes of goat's milk are melted with lye.

The milk/lye mixture and the melted oils are emulsified.

It's poured into a mold to harden for 24 hours.

The cut bars cure for 4 weeks until they're ready for action.

I can't tell you how satisfying it is to make something we all use every day.
March promises to be a more exciting month, but February was not so bad. Cheers!