Category Archives: The Homestead

This week, I’ve been pondering something I’m very thankful for.

You, our customers!

As I was putting together this collage for our About Homestead Emporium page, I reflected on how blessed we are to have such great customers.

I’ve spoken with so many of you about so much more then just the business, more then the pads, about more then our other products.

I speak to so many of you quite regularly, whether it be via email, facebook, or even twitter. We have great discussions, we have some fun, and we all get to know one another better.

Homestead Emporium customers are like a very large extended family.

And today, for THAT, I am thankful! VERY thankful indeed!

*Sunday -What are YOU thankful for today?
If you’d like to play alone, post seven things on  your blog then share your link here so we can come visit you. Or, simply share here in our comments!

We’re trying our best here on the homestead to remember “thankfulness” lately.

For example, we are THANKFUL that we have a house showing tomorrow even though I have a million and one things that I needed to get done today, before we ever got a call for a showing in 24 hours, and was already feeling overwhelmed, I am THANKFUL at the possible opportunity to show this place off once again and MAYBE find a buyer.

I am THANKFUL that I have a home to clean.

I am THANKFUL someone wants to see it.

What I want to do is grumble and complain and maybe even stomp my feet a little, that I do NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS! But I won’t. I’ll be THANKFUL instead.

What could be sexier then a man, with fabric, helping his wife!?!

It’s actually my husband’s doing. I’m going to blame him for this.

He was chatting with someone about their inlaws, a couple we both greatly admire and respect. They were discussing how this father in law is such a great person. The someone my husband was talking to, the son in law, was saying how his father in law is ALWAYS thankful. If he gets a flat tire, he’s thankful for the three that are NOT flat. That kind of thankful. THAT is having a thankful heart.

And you know what? It shows. It REALLY shows in his and his wife’s life. It shows in their marriage.

We want to be like that.

So today, as much as I’m feeling overwhelmed at having to get things ready for a showing on my busiest work day of the week, I’m going to be thankful, and mean it.

I’m also thankful that I can go work in the studio and know that the three younger kids, and Graydon, are taking care of the house and doing as much as they can to prepare for the showing tomorrow. I’m thankful Graydon is going to make dinner tonight.

I’ve really got LOTS to be thankful for.

We’re back to square one when looking for our ‘dream’ property.

We found out some things about the former property we were interested in, the almost 700 acre property.

I won’t bother going into a bunch of details about everything, but suffice to say, we’re back to square one with our search!

At first when things like this happen, it’s disheartening and frustrating. But then when you realize you could have been stuck with a ‘mistake’, you breathe a sigh of relief and carry on.

We have to trust that when the timing is right, everything will fall into place, and we WILL indeed find our ‘dream’ home/property!

As for today, the animals are fed, homemade chicken & wild rice soup made with home grown chicken stock is in the crock pot, the girls and I are about to do some fabric dyeing, later we’ll be shipping packages, and all is still fine in our world.

One day at a time.

And some days, one small step at a time.

It’s Sunday , a day to reflect, be thankful, and ponder the blessings of the week.

This weekend our four girls have been away. Yesterday our son had to work, so dear hubby and I decided to take the rare opportunity to head out on the quad/atv for the afternoon.

We headed out on the nearby logging roads. It’s GORGEOUS up there.

We made a few scenic stops along the way.

First, Rhododendron Lake.

The lake has tons of Rhodo’s but they were not quite in bloom yet. We need to go back in a couple of weeks though, when they are actually in bloom. I’m sure it’s quite colorful at that time!

It was still very pretty.

We’d been trying to get to this lake for a couple of years (not often mind you, we don’t get out enough!) but the last time the trail was washed out and we had to go back. I was glad we made it this time!

It was so quiet, I had to get a video.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhHuriOJmM4?rel=0]

Next stop was Englishman River, this is a spot we’ve been to before.

It was a gorgeous day to just sit and enjoy the views.

We headed back out and found a new path to another part of Englishman River, under a bridge we’ve ridden over many times.

It was very pretty under there, and the water was fast.

Then it was time to head home after a gorgeous day out!

I’m so thankful we had the chance to enjoy our time out. It was like a mini vacation.

What are you thankful for this week?

It’s Silly Saturday and I as I browsed some of my children’s photos from 2009, I found some VIDEOS they had done!

Now that’s real entertainment! ha ha! I thought I’d share a couple, just for fun. It is silly Saturday!.

Here’s a typical gathering of the tribe. One on horse back, the others watching, a bee joins in on the fun off camera.

Don’t have your volume too high, there’s squeals and shrieks involved. hee hee. They are GIRLS after all!

[flickr video=3462653459 secret=760ab8e9e0 w=640 h=480]

The girls are all away, dear hubby took our son to work this morning, so it’s after noon my time and I’m sitting at my desk answering emails, checking on things, making announcements on facebook and having my SECOND cup of coffee.

I never drink two cups of coffee anymore. I’m trying to make it feel like a holiday even though I have to work. hee hee.

Mind you, when I say I only drink one cup of coffee a day, you should probably know my cups of coffee.

Years ago I got hooked on drinking coffee only from glass mugs. I would host these Princess House Crystal parties in my home, and collected a nice stash of crystal ware, including crystal mugs.

However, over the years (we’re talking almost 20 years ago I had these parties ha ha!) all but one crystal mug was broken and I switched over to something larger since I always had two cups every morning anyways and didn’t like the second cup sitting in the coffee pot stewing. So I discovered beer steins.

Yep. That’s my coffee cup of choice. Beer steins.

We don’t even drink beer. That’s the funniest part.

So the plan was for me to sleep in this morning. The night before I had 4.5 hours of sleep. I had worked late, and then could NOT get to sleep, and the next morning it was my turn to drive the eldest to work. Late nights of ME working + early shifts for kids = lack of sleep. BIG.TIME.

It doesn’t mix very well.

And you know what they say about “the best laid plans…”

I did NOT get to sleep in this morning. My husband texted our son 30 minutes before they had to go, and rather then reply to him, he replied to MY phone. I owe him for that one.

Then when they drove off to work and dear hubby came back, the two big dogs barked up a storm as he came back in the driveway.

I love these dogs, but some times…

Then the phone range about 30 minutes after that. I can’t even say I love the phone…

So my morning was spent, not sleeping, but instead I was in and out of consciousness after another 4.5 hour night, mixed with periods of being wide awake, and then falling asleep and having vivid dreams.

And that’s why it’s time for another beer stein of coffee at noon.

Maybe tomorrow I’ll REALLY get to sleep in!

 

 

I wanted to snap some after shots of our back porch this morning, before it became too cluttered with shoes and rubber boots from seven people, and the rest of the clutter I know will end up on there.

So I grabbed my camera and headed out the door.

Graydon (hubby) also built a bin for our garbage cans.

When building the steps he kept our good friend with MS in mind and made them extra sturdy with good rails. Now anyone who visits will be able to get in and out the porch with no problems. The steps that were already here, were not so great.

I think it all looks SO pretty back there now. It looks charming!

Graydon used large pieces of glass that he had salvaged from a previous job. Can you imagine these large pieces of glass simply being thrown away?

It`s the same glass he  used when creating our new front deck a few years ago.

Recycling at it`s best.

Speaking of recycling, as I went around the house to get photos from the other side, I noticed the old back steps are doing very well as our new garden beds.

I have no doubt they are going to get overcrowded quite quickly. They`ve already doubled in size in just one week. I keep telling myself I`ll figure it out later. Ha ha.

I also noticed that new pots are doing well. I have TWO Calla Lilies in one pot now!

And what I love about having everything in containers this  year, is if we do move, we could move everything with us if we have the space.

In our city home, I had planted well over 100 bulbs in the three years we had lived there. Mostly tulips, dahlias and gladiolas. All favorites of mine. Every time I passed by a yard sale that had bulbs, I`d buy some and plant them in my garden. I was SOOOOO sad to leave them when we sold that property.

Our sunflowers are also doing quite nicely.

So are the tomatoes.

One year we purchased two rhododendrons. This one has done well, it doesn`t really grow much, but it`s blooming very nicely.

Yet we had to finally give up on it`s twin, and pull it this year. It was a brittle stalk of nothingness. We`re not sure why. Possibly it was the two larger dogs favorite spot? We`re just not sure.

This post is so `me`. I get distracted easily. I AM able to get back on track though, thankfully for my customers. hee hee.

But while being distracted on my trip around the house to get photos of the other side of the porch, lookie what we found on the deck this morning.

I have to say, isn`t it gorgeously disgusting?! Or is it disgustingly gorgeous?

In either case, creation is magnificent. Nature is a marvel.

As the girls `pet` the magnificently gross moth, I realized I`ve taught this to my girls VERY well. Hee hee.

Lookie what else I found this morning. My first Fuschia!

While wandering around the house, I also spotted some sexy guy near the fire pit. shh….. This is where you may insert eye rolling from anyone of our five children, and possibly an exasperated `MOMMY!` from Elsa…  actually, except Julia. She`s a romantic. She loves it when her mama and daddy are flirty or smoochy with one another.
I think it`s great that after almost 21 years of marriage, after being with the same man for OVER 21 years, I still think he`s the sexiest man alive. 😉
We`ve worked darn hard to get this far!  

See the new bench that sexy man gave me for Mother`s Day?

It has horses on it.

I`m not the type of person who loves everything `horse` but some things are tastefully done, and those things are the ones I love.

I love this bench.

And finally, I made it to back to the porch once again.

Time to get on with my day.

Made some smoothies, washed some dishes, and now it`s coffee time.

The rest of my day will be spent in the studio for the most part.

What are you up to on this first day of June? Leave a comment and share!

This, is my horse Raiah.

When I first heard about Raiah, I had been sent a message about a `paint` mare at the horse rescue. Our son had already purchased a young quarterhorse colt through this rescue, and they were keeping him (Bandit) there until we moved onto our new small hobby farm at which time he`d be able to come home.

I`ve always loved paints. There is something just so dramatic about the coloring. Not just any paint though. I`ve seen many that I`ve not been real keen on, only certain paints really caught my eye. When I heard about this mare, I had to go take a look. Even more so because I was told that she had become Bandit`s (our son`s little colt) side kick and wasn`t allowing anyone else near him. Horse or human.

I was also told she was kind of nasty and didn`t raelly like ANY one.

Hmmm… I`d have to see about that.

I messaged back that I`d like to come see this paint mare right away. I was told no one would be around that evening but since we had been doing some work at the rescue (volunteer) I was welcome to stop by on my own and go take a look BUT, to be very careful since she could be quite nasty and again I was warned that she didn`t like anyone.

I was actually really glad to go see her all by myself, with no interference from anyone else. I wanted to see what she`d be like with me, just me, and not someone else she was already familiar with.

When I arrived at the rescue the sun was setting. I glanced around the paddocks to see if I could spot the paint mare.

Sure enough, there she was off in one paddock with no other horse around, but little Bandit.

We had met up with Bandit countless times, so he was fairly nonchalant and didn`t pay much attention to whether we came or went. Raiah on the other hand, as soon as she saw me walking towards them, she confidently walked right up to me to let me know she was there. I just as confidently walked right up to her to let her know that I knew darn well she was there, and I was letting her know I was there too, and just what did she think about that?

She gave me a sniff, and then let me pet her.

I was amazed. Surely this wasn`t the nasty mare they all said she was. It was `love`at first sight.

I`ve had Raiah now for almost six years and occasionally she likes to remind me that she truly is that psycho nag.

For the most part, she is a really great mare.

However, she`s got a REAL moody side to her. She`s also a bit of a SPAZ.

Just a bit…

The other night, morning actually, Sunday morning at 2am, I heard SCREAMING outside. And loud bangs.

I stopped and listened hard, trying to decipher what it was my brain was hearing.

It happened again, more screams, more bangs.

I stepped outside onto the bedroom balcony in my flimsy nightgown, listening, waiting, trying to see what might be going on at the barn.

Nothing.

As I stepped back into the house, I heard it again. Another scream. This time I knew it was the horses.

I quickly pulled on some yoga pants, threw on a sweater, and told Graydon there was something going on with the horses. I threw on my shoes and ran out the door, pondering whether or not to grab the baseball bat and wondering why it was that I can never find a good flashlight when this happens.

It hadn`t been the first time…

So I get out there, sure I might find a cougar in the paddock or some other such thing.

Nope. Nothing. Nikki seemed a little spooked when she first saw me coming, but it was dark, so that wasn`t too odd.

Each of the horses came over to see me. Everyone seemed fine.

Then as I was standing there, petting Raiah, Bandit came over behind her and she let out a little scream, and a little buck at him, and I realized that once again my moody mare, my psycho nag, had gotten the better of me and it was time to put my heart back in my chest and realize it was simply yet another mood swing.

None of our other horses have such mood swings. Not like hers anyways.

She`s also not real fond of dogs. We have four.

She does however, absolutely LOVE babies (of the horse variety that is) but was VERY perturbed that Mina got to have a baby, and not her! When she first met Lacey,  Mina`s filly, she was so excited she could barely stand it.

Unfortunately she seemed to be as upset by the filly being  MINA`s and not HERS, as she was about her excitement about a baby being around.

 

We had long since realized the reason she had been so stuck on Bandit was because he was a `baby`. She has a real motherly instinct about her.

 

Unfortunately for Raiah, she never got to have that motherly bond with Lacey, Mina`s filly.

 

However, she has been a great mare for the most part. While Mina was pregnant and nursing, Alesia rode Raiah.

A lot.

 

 

Me however, not so much.

The last two times I rode Raiah (too long ago for me to even mention, it`s that embarrassing!) I didn`t have great experiences with her.

The one time she took off at a full gallop, with me on her.

Then the next time, she spazed because of a great big empty cube truck that drove by us, rattling and banging VERY loudly down the road.

She reared up, with me on her.

However, both times I managed to stay on, stay calm, and round her up properly, so really, I should feel more empowered by those last two experiences, not scared.

I tell myself that I don`t get back on her because if I can`t sew, if I should happen fall and break an arm, our family will be screwed… My business would be a mess.

And it IS true.

But I think it`s also become a really handy excuse.

 

I really need to get over myself, stop putting it off, and just get back in the saddle.

I need to stop being as moody as my psycho nag.