The Blissful Place

There wasn't an exact moment I could tell you when it happened. Sometime in between having Justin's dad over for dinner back in September and sharing Thanksgiving with good friends this little farmhouse became a home. We've slowly hung more pictures and salvaged old furniture, brought in and warmed the house with an old wood stove, baked delicious pies and burned Thanksgiving stuffing. Schöne Vida has become a comfortable place for friends and, soon, family to gather. This is a place where we eat dinner at the table together every night, something I realized I took for granted growing up, but completely enjoy now. The plates and glasses don't match and we don't have a couch yet, but that fact seems to make it bit more special. Schöne Vida does not judge where you came from or what you're wearing (although it will likely smear some dirt on your shoes or jeans as a parting gift) and it is not pretentious. Moreover, the door is always open to loved ones who want to drop in; it's a true country home. Being here makes me excited about the year to come. Hopefully we can make more traditions and enjoy more wonderful food with the ones we love. Happy Holidays!

Tahoe and Fences

This morning when I went out to do the morning chores my gaze was met by more than just Charlotte and Buttercup. Before me stood, along side my goats, my neighbors 4 goats and Tahoe, the giant horse. Oh no...we forgot to close the pasture gate last night! Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but with heavy rain systems passing over Shone Vida, our garden and farm yard areas have been turned into giant mud pits. Little 45 lb Charlotte and Buttercup can't do much damage to the soil, but 1000 lb Tahoe makes the garden soil look like the surface of the moon--cratered. Great...

The shenanigans that followed while I sleepily tried to herd the horse and 4 goats out whilst keeping my goats in were quite comical. Tahoe stood there resolutely non-plussed by my efforts to pull him out and Buttercup ran out into the pasture crying for Charlotte and evading my efforts to coax her back into our farm-yard (she's still a little shy of us, but loves Charlotte). Finally, I got all my neighbors animals out into the communal pasture and my goats locked in our farm-yard. Now onto the morning chores. The girls were happy that they didn't have to share their hay breakfast with Tahoe and company. The chickens were more at ease. Now everything is back to normal, except the garden soil. Justin is going to be driving T-posts into the line that will delineate the garden and the farm-yard today and on Monday we will string the fencing; something we've been wanting to get done for a long time. Then we will have a legitimate garden!

Our lesson for today: always close the pasture gate at night.

These Rainy Mornings

Tonight is Cornish Christmas in Grass Valley, the town where I work my day job, so my bosses don't need me in until noon. Granted I'll be working until 9pm tonight, but the work will be fun since we'll be too busy to be bored.

This morning after being not-so-gently coaxed out of my warm bed and into the rain by Charlotte's loud bleating. I took hay to her and Buttercup, let the chickens out, and ran back inside for some much needed coffee. Right now Justin's slowly getting the fire going, due to some wet wood, and soon we'll head back out in the rain to clean out the barn and lay down fresh straw. Since I have extra time this morning Justin and I agreed we'd work on cutting and splitting some fallen oaks around the property. Our little wood stove demands more fuel and I demand a warm house! We bought a nice maul (wood splitter) from our local hardware store a couple weeks ago and have put it to good use. Justin taught me how to split wood properly and I must say that I feel a little more hardcore every time. After I've worked up a good sweat and can hardly catch my breath Justin takes over and makes my measly splitting look like child's play with a leap and a sharp swing of the maul. He can take a giant round of oak and turn it into 8 or more perfectly even wedges with 2-4 whacks. Show-off.

I'm very thankful to have Justin here to teach me the more manly side of homesteading. He has learned a lot of useful winter skills like splitting and stacking wood. It may not sound like a whole lot, but this guy gets the work done with gusto and he's an excellent teacher. If you'd have asked me as a child in Pasadena if I'd be living in the country splitting wood to keep my house warm I would have said "No, that's why we have gas and Poppy to bring the wood in". Yikes right? Nevertheless, I'm better for it. My weakling arms are getting stronger and I feel more and more confident in my "roughing-it" skills.

Ok, coffee's done and the rain is lightening up...