carving

this afternoon was filled with 

excited little voices 

as the pumpkins were carved!

each kiddo got to pick their own diagram,

scoop out the guts,

and daddy carved the design.

here is how they turned out:

moo-moo's tree

the boy-boy's googly face

the girly-girl's cat

the hubs' awesome cave

we love fall!

preserving

well, one of the things that has been 

happening around here

(between laundry, dishes, and kiddos)

is preserving!

my father-in-law shared 

a generous amount of fruit with us.

tons of apples, some plums,

 a good amount of tomatoes,

 and some rhubarb.

so here is some of what has come out:

from a small bowl of blackberries, 

picked by the kiddos and some friends, 

we made a jar of jam.

all of the tomatoes in the background were blanched 

and frozen to be used in place of canned tomatoes.

did you know that canned tomatoes 

are one of the seven most toxic foods?

some giant stalks of rhubarb became some delightful sauce.

 these plums were canned and dehydrated.  yum.

the apples will be tasty, chunky applesauce!

but now i must find a good, large hot water bath!

back from darkest peru

this school-year has started with a bang

and has definitely kept me on my toes.

i have managed to squeeze in 

quite a few delightful projects

(you'll have to come back for more on those),

but alas, my blogging has fallen to the wayside.

something had to...

today we had a lovely adventure 

to the local pumpkin farm.

here are some pictures of our fun afternoon.

i am so excited to share all of the 

fun projects in the works around here...

if only i have the time to come back

 and post them all!

rainy sunday

call me crazy,

but i actually love the rain.

the sound of it,

how it washes everything clean.

we've been known to don our boots and jackets

 and go for a stroll, just so we can "sing in the rain".

i think there is something very comforting about rain

 (you can tell i grew up in the northwest).

it makes you want to cozy up inside,

read a good book,

have some tea or hot soup.

image credit

**ahhhh**

i hope you are having a cozy, snuggly,

lovely, wonderful, and, hopefully, rainy sunday.

24 hour dog owners

lessons learned and reminders

1. dogs are a lot of work.

2. most 3-year-olds (even really sweet ones) are too much for a dog (even a really patient one).

3. every dog (and dog owner) deserves a fenced backyard.

4. recognizing when you are in over your head (and acting on this realization) is usually the best thing for everyone involved.

5. a dog is like another child.

6. taking on another child (or dog) should not be entered into lightly.

7. not every dog (even a really good one) is the right fit for every family (even a really nice one).

8. patience is a virtue and a process, waiting is an art.

9. oh yeah...KISS.

10. all the lessons that would be great for our kids to learn from having a dog, will still be great lessons when they're a little bit older!

Cesar has gone to a better place...

a family with four older kids and a big yard!

as for us, we had a few tears and we will miss the little guy,

but we'll try dog-ownership again in a few years...no rush!

dog

we are now the proud owners of a dog!

a cute brown & black spaniel mix named Cesar.

some friends of ours are moving across the country

and needed a new home for their little guy,

so here we are!

i have always wanted a dog,

but have never had one,

so i kind of feel like:

i have no idea what i'm doing!

it feels a little like the first day 

we brought the girly-girl home.

in theory i knew to feed her 

and take care of her poops and give her love and attention,

 but it wasn't until we really took care of her

 that we got the rhythm of it.

now i have LOTS of experience with human babies,

but it'll take a while to feel comfortable

 with our new "dog baby".

feel free to share any helpful dog tips...

grateful list

71. always had a roof over my head

72. never gone hungry

73. live in a free country

74. free to worship

75. free to speak

image credit