Wednesday, January 27, 2016

A New Year


A new start, a new leaf... 

Sometimes it's the little things that can really inspire a girl.
Like a brand new shower curtain and a curved curtain rod made by her hubby.


A brand new tablet for Christmas!

And sometimes just thinking about having a little joy in your life again will stoke an ember of creativity.

I made an outdoor

"Moonshine Candlelier"




This is something that I have wanted to make for several years.
Ever since I saw it in a book I picked up, way back when...



My 
"Moonshine Candelier"
may not be an original idea, but it won't really matter if it gives me even more reason to hang out here by the pond.



On the second day of this New Year which just happened to be my birthday...
I  made this awesome

Pineapple and Turmeric Smoothie 
Anti-Inflammatory Smoothie

1 cup diced pineapple
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbs chia seeds
1 tbs shredded coconut 
half a lime, peeled
A dash of black pepper

I won't tell you how long ago I bought those chia seeds before actually using them.

But better late than NEVER!

Who knew making healthier choices would feel so good!
And it doesn't taste half bad either.

Last Fall/Winter 
we had 2 fox dens within a stones throw of our house
and they WERE literally that close.

Needless to say we lost almost all our hens.
However 4 of the girls did survive but they stopped laying eggs, even though the attacks stopped.
Not sure how those foxes got relocated but they no longer reside in the neighborhood.
And I am not sad that they are gone!

It has been almost a year since any of our girls produced any eggs, so I broke down and bought our first grocery eggs a couple months ago.
Ugh....
it physically pained me.
But from pain comes growth, right?

I sweet talked Bill into allowing me to get some new girls.
I wanted new chickens so badly I was ready to get a type that wasn't what I wanted.
But guess what?
Where I get my chicks, they only had one kind hatching in a few days and the rest...
not until
May.

So...
 HAPPY NEW YEAR
and Happy Birthday
to me!
I have new baby chicks.
A dozen Dominique
(plus 6 for the barn)






Like so often with me,
most of my projects originate from necessity.

After all the 70 degree days of winter...
when my babies are ready to ship
we are slapped with actual "Winter" temperatures.

The shop will be too cold for these gals.
So, I need to make room in the "studio"
And before I can do that I have to do some organizing.

FABRIC FOLDED

These are just some of the sewing/mending projects that I had to move out to the living room to make space for the chick brooder.
Idge-midge the cat
doesn't seem to mind though.

Hopefully being out in the living-room will motivate me a little more than being "out of sight-out of mind"

The chicks have been here 6 days
but I haven't gotten too motivated yet...
But I think that may be because of all the time I am spending in the studio.
And not because I am being crafty.
First because I just couldn't stop watching those cute babies.
But unfortunately, I have one little girl that is starting to struggle.
I got her drinking again, but not eating.
I don't know if she is going to make it.
However, I am hoping for the best.


Believe it or not...
this is a little neater than it was.


Now, check these ladies out!
My 4 remaining hens. 
They must have sensed that there was some new blood in town because the day the chicks arrived, we found 3 eggs, and since then a mini,  then 2  and today...

Three More Eggs


One more thing I have been treating myself to this New Year,
at least once or twice a week...

KOMBUCHA

Let me tell you something about my dear husband, Bill... 
he 
HATES 
to spend money.
I can't say as I blame him, since these days we don't have much of it to spend.  
One of these store bought babies cost almost 
$4 a pop.
He was grumbling just a little bit about this.

This Pickle Jar 

has been collecting dust on my kitchen shelf for quite some time now.
Can you see the green tea in there too?

My sister-in-law, Celeste sent me home with this jar 3 Christmas ago with the intention of starting to make my own.

As with so many of my good intentions to put my health and well-being at the top of the priority list ...
like that pickle jar 
they have sat collecting dust over the last few years.

I am hopeful for the first time in a long time.
I have to-do lists again.
I am finding my Joy in the things I once loved.
I am looking forward to what tomorrow may bring.



I am hoping that the kombucha I bought today might be some of the last store bought kombucha I will have to buy.
Yesterday I ordered an organic mother scoby to start making my own.

Bill is even on board, he is actually considering trading in his much loved 
Coke-Cola for this healthy pro biotic alternative to soda.

Things are beginning to look a bit brighter at the Marchitelli Home.


I look forward to sharing more as I turn this corner of my journey.