Art in the Farm House

I mentioned in my last post that I plan to keep home in a different way. Here's my plan.

I plan to choose things to fill my home that are natural, pretty, functional, and handmade when possible. I hope to make some of them myself, learn to use the sewing machine I got for Christmas two years ago. I hope to craft candles from beeswax. I hope Dearest makes furniture.

I looked around my current home today, at the walls. My walls are filled with department store art. Not a single family picture, no "wall of shame", mostly mass produced prints. Lovely, but not welcoming. My own art went to storgae durring staging because they lacked proper framing.

In our new home the walls will be filled slowly with art we make, art from artists we know personally, and photographs of our family that we take, not studio posed, but capturing the spirit of each of us. Welcome home.

Identity Crisis

A strange transformation is happening at Chez Podkayne. We are listening to farm reports, reading Hobby Farmer for ideas and getting excited about them instead of bitter, we are gearing up for winter in a way that is actually different than what we'd do in the city, we are collecting winter wear of a different grade (LOL Ha! I told you, Dearest, that we'd need all those gloves and hats that I've horded over the years!), and we are preparing for the move in more than just physical ways.

This is a blessing that we've hoped, planned, studied, and worked for over the last 10 years. This is it. I'll no longer be the Mistress of Hatton House, but a farmer and a farmer's wife. We'll have land to tell people, "Get off of." Sorry, that's the joke around here. We'll raise our kids as Southern Iowans, which is appearently different than just Iowan. There will be less diversity close to home, even less than now, and that worries be a bit.

The transformation is more than just rural to urban though. I'm rethinking how I'll keep home, what role I'll play on the farm (we've discussed that I would teach full time (possibly on campus) for our off farm income once the kids are older), we've discussed having more kids, we've grown closer to our family and continue to foster relationships in healthy ways, and we've discussed finding a church community.

This move is about so much more than putting down roots, it's about growing and thriving as a family, and lifting each other up.

Blog Layout and Linky Love

I am working on some basic layout things, updating bloglinks, favorites, etc. I'm only including those who I have read for a while, but I may miss some. Gah. It is tedious. I'll write a real post later.

*Update. Still adding links. May take a few days.

CAKE!

I know, I've been a bad blogger or rather a really busy mother! This week Lil'Bug turned FOUR! Yikes.

My sister has started a tradition of making her nieces' birthday cakes. This year she asked Lil'Bug what she wanted and the response was, "A pirate ship with my family as the pirates!" Ha ha, I thought. Bake that Aunt Bee.

Well, she did.

She is so cool.

Argh, Matey.
Captain Lil'Bug, pirate captain princess.

First mate, Blueberry.

Blowing out the cannons. Way to go Lil"Bug. Happy birthday my sweet love.