Christmas at the Clarks

Three American Girl Doll beds greeted my girls under the Christmas tree this year. Santa's freelance elf made them all by herself.

See? Here's proof by way of a few process shots.

I wouldn't know, of course, but rumor has it they were made from these plans from Ana White, and that they were pretty simple to build. They had to be for Santa's elf to manage them by herself. Painting them was no doubt the hardest part.

These beds gave us a lot of bang for our buck—in otherwords, we didn't have to break the piggy bank to give them something that felt substantial. Which was good, because...

...we sort of spent our Christmas wad on a little friend that joined in the festivities Christmas morning.

This is Benton, our new Golden Retriever puppy. The girls were pretty disappointed when Dexter the free dog had to go back home because he wasn't very nice to an important person in our lives. This is how we made it up to them. Not exactly free, but, well, we have always LOVED this breed and decided to splurge on what we really wanted.

More about Benton later.

Christmas at home in our pajamas is always a treat.

Grandma bought new boots for the girls and they were a huge hit.

Later Christmas day we migrated to my parents house where we joined up with more family and enjoyed a yummy prime rib dinner and a leisurely afternoon of game playing. We especially enjoyed the company of my little nephew elf.

We are truly blessed to enjoy a perfect Christmas. After Tom puts in a couple of good days work on my parents apartment project we are hoping to spend a few days with his family. If all goes well. At this point we are nursing a sick little Eva back to health and crossing our fingers that it doesn't spread. And adjusting to life with a puppy. (What did I get myself into?)

Lots more to share- back soon!

Living room changes

 I have promised you photos of our living room changes, and I admit it feels like a chore to get these all uploaded. I should be cleaning my house today in preparation for my in-laws coming. And then when I downloaded the photos I took I was really disappointed. It was a really bright day, and without any window treatments on the windows, I couldn't control the light. The photos are washed out and too bright. Alas, they will have to do for now. The photos may not do the room justice, but I'm telling you—I absolutely love how it turned out and I love to spend time in there. 

I also should have labeled the photos "before" and "after", but hopefully you don't find it too hard to tell them apart! Ha! :) 

Here we go. This is the view you see when you enter our house and look into the living room. Before:

And after!

You can see a lot of the changes right here. New light fixtures, no more popcorn ceiling, new trim, fresh paint on the walls, and of course, new wood floors.

A little about the wood we chose: It is a pre finished, solid wood (Hickory) and wide plank (about 8"). It has some hand scraping and saw marks, and is finished in a color that is not too dark and not too light. I wanted something that wouldn't show every speck of dust. It was an in-stock deal and we got it for less than a third of retail price. Good thing—we have a ton of square footage.

When you look further into the living room, this is the view you see. This is before we moved in:

Before we moved in my dad had the heat system replaced and all the baseboard registers were removed. It left some unsightly holes in the flooring and wallpaper, but we just lived with that for a long time. Next photo is with our own furniture:

And now, after:

I had removed the wallpaper on the back wall quite a while ago in order to paint and install the wall unit that is there now. So I knew what I was getting myself into when it came to removing the rest. It was nice to have one less wall to do when we tackled it this time!

I still need to get window treatments and am going to opt for a woven solar blind that fits inside the frame for a clean look. I am waiting for a sale.

Above the window, my dad built a new light bar out of oak, and I stained and finished it. We added one more light. I just spray painted the old simple ceramic fixtures and added matching bulbs. My intention was to get a fixture like this:

from Schoolhouse Electric

...or even just the cages, but after buying 5 of them it would be pricey. And I actually think the cheap option looks just fine.

Under the valance/cornice we removed, the old light bar looked like this:

The box was made out of sheetrock and was cracked in several places. The lights weren't spaced evenly. The box was necessary to hide the wiring, because there is a header beam above the window. I love how the new wood bar looks.

On the other side of the room, there used to be a shelf unit that jutted out into the room and hid the passage into the hallway. While I was growing up, my Grandma had a fish tank on this shelf.

We removed the shelf right away, which left an interesting hole in the wallpaper and trim. It is hard to tell in this photo, but the wall was pretty shabby looking. The light fixtures and wallpaper don't really match the 70's era of the house, and they were added later (80's or 90's?) when my Grandma was apparently in the mood for more Victorian decor. It was the era of pastel colors and lace curtains.

Now this view looks like this:

Clearly I need some art on this big blank wall! I'll work on that. I replaced the light fixture in the hall with one I found at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore for $6. At some point we hope to replace all the upstairs doors to match the basement doors (white.)

Light fixtures are always the subject of huge debate for some reason, and the living room was no exception. We were thrilled when we came across these from Restoration Hardware. They were reasonably priced to start and there was a 20% off deal. When all four of us liked it (Tom, myself, and my parents- which almost never happens), we jumped on them. I really like how the brass accents tie into the fireplace. They are made to use with Edison bulbs—and look fantastic with them—but unfortunately don't put out a ton of light. We might try them with different bulbs eventually, or just invest in a few lamps.

Another light on my wish list is a light for my piano. I had planned to look for a floor lamp that arches over, but I don't love them. Then I found this option (also from Restoration Hardware) which would mount to the wall and swing over the piano:

I haven't gotten it yet. Need to save my pennies. Another view of the big blank wall:

I chose to paint the one wall an accent color—Behr Dusty Mountain. It is a dark gray with green undertones and ties into the fireplace really well. The rest of the paint is the same I've used all over the house: Behr Sandstone Cliff (walls) and Behr Powdered Snow (trim and ceiling). I like to use a common theme to tie the entire house together, and then use accent colors that play well with the base colors.

And the sitting area:

I need to get a rug. The cowhide will stay also—its a big room. I need a 9 x 12 and would love a nice thick wool pile. That is going to cost $$$, so while I save for the perfect rug, I plan to shampoo a chunk of the carpet we removed and get it bound. It is hard to put something old back in the new room, but we desperately need a rug to anchor the furniture and keep it from sliding everywhere. A rug will also help with sound absorption, however I haven't felt it has been overly echo-y or anything.

Our living room furniture was new when we bought our house in Utah. It wasn't expensive and definitely isn't my dream sofa, but it has held up well and serves the purpose. Down the road when we are well past all of our renovations, then maybe I'll allow myself to think about saving for a dream sofa.

Looking toward the dining room, this is what it looked like before we moved in:

Before, with our own furniture:

And after:

In this picture you can see better the difference in the brass finish on the fireplace. For awhile there was a lovely line on the ceiling where the popcorn ended (scraped in the dining room and not in the kitchen). I love having it look clean and seamless now! You can also see my dining room curtains. I don't think I've shown those to you yet. I promise better photos when I take kitchen after photos.

You will ask about the sign on the fireplace. It was hanging in our shop, and at the recommendation of a design-savvy friend, I decided to bring it in and clean the bird poop off of it. (I know, gross!) I think my artistic uncle must have made it. It is carved out of plywood and looks a bit kitsch, but I think its great. (We no longer have cattle on the ranch, but my Grandpa ran them for a number of years.) I kind of like the casualness of propping it up on the fireplace, but people are always asking where I'm going to hang it. I suppose it looks unfinished there? I'm not sure I want it as the focal point on the big wall. I was planning a gallery of family photos there. What do you think?

So there it is! Now the balance of our upstairs is swinging to the "mostly done" side, and it really feels like us! I hope you enjoyed the tour.

Holiday(s)

I'm not doing very well with catching up, am I? It has been a busy week. Abby started basketball practice every night, and we have been attending the Montana Grain Growers conference. On top of that, I've been a little under the weather. I did take some living room photos that I need to upload and hopefully have ready for you on Monday. Until then, these were my little ghouls this year:

Halloween in December. Awesome! I'm just trying to be fashionably late, that's all. We made Abby's costume with felt and foam. Sarah's was an old costume we had that we gussied up a bit with tulle. Eva's was a last-minute (as in 15 minutes before we went trick-or-treating) trip to the dress-up closet. I have to admit I'm a bit of a Halloween grinch and usually find it to be a lot of unnecessary effort, but the kids love it and it is fun to see them all dressed up. 

Now we are 18 days away from Christmas. Or let's just not go there. DENIAL! DENIAL! The girls wanted to decorate and I just wasn't feeling it. So I hauled the boxes and tree out and let them do all the decorating. It was easy for me and they had fun. Win win! We asked the girls what they wanted for Christmas and so far we are about 0 for 4. Either we can't find what they want or they are out-of-stock. Turns out waiting to shop in December can fail big time.

We are tempted to forgo gifts and buy the girls a puppy instead. If you follow me on twitter or Facebook you might have seen me introduce Dexter, a pretty 2-year old Retriever/German shorthair mix we found on Craig's List. He was energetic and sweet and the girls quickly fell in love with him. It seemed like it was going to be a match made in heaven... until he decided he didn't like my dad. He barked and growled at him mostly, but one night when my dad went into "his" garage, he actually tried to bite. Not good. So he went back to his old home. 

That seems like more than enough random chatter for one day, so I'll sign off and wish you all a happy weekend!

Fireplace makeover

Sometimes when we show people the changes we are making in our house we get the question "So what are you going to do with the fireplace?" As though since we are updating everything, why wouldn't we update one of the most obviously dated features in the house? However, as this fireplace is a huge focal point and architectural element in our home, removing it would not only be a major project, it would be disloyal to the original intent and integrity of the home. So it will stay.

And we actually really love it. The slate is from a Montana quarry and is called Montana picture rock. The colors are gorgeous (I have always been a fan of greens in decor) and many of the rocks feature leaf fossil patterns. It is a work of art. So one of my goals has been to make the fireplace feel like it fits in with the rest of the decor, while still transitioning it to the modern environment I'm aiming for. 

The photo above is an old one, before we started any renovations. I think the changes we have made have enhanced the fireplace—but those photos will come later!

Today I want to tell you about those fireplace doors. What to do?

Remove the doors? Unsafe for kids. Put in an insert? Actually, it would be two- one on each side. Expensive.

In a previous post I discussed my intent to spray paint the brass bits black. This is still a valid option, but someone left a comment and suggested I try darkening the brass. I decided it was worth a try.

The lacquered brass doesn't polish up well. Lacquer becomes scratched and mucky over time. In order to age the brass you have to remove the lacquer. It actually comes off pretty easily! One recommendation is using ammonia. I didn't try this but opted instead for something I had in my cupboard: fingernail polish remover.

(Note: in the photo above you can see the valve that turns on the propane for the fireplace. Unfortunately, this valve has leaked for a long time and the fireplace has gone unused. We recently drilled through the mortar to try to fix the valve, but our attempt failed. At this point I'm not sure what we are going to do—maybe hire a pro to fix the valve?) 

While most of the laquer came off easily, some was more stubborn and would find (after I started darkening) that I had missed spots. I used a toothbrush and scrubbed vigorously to remove as much as I could. 

To tarnish the brass, I purchased this brass darkening solution. Some methods recommend using liver of sulfur, but after reading that when heated liver of sulfur produces a poisonous gas, I decided that was NOT the product to use on a fireplace. Ha. This product did the trick easily. 

Here is the fireplace with half of it done:

The directions actually say to immerse the metal into a bath of solution to soak, but I simply used a cotton swab and continuously rubbed it over an area for a minute or so until I saw it begin to darken. 

All done! I know brass isn't everyone's favorite thing, but I like the tarnished brass much better than the lacquered brass. It blends into the rock better where the polished lacquered brass stood out. The purple/coppery tones of the tarnish are beautiful, and having it all shined up doesn't hurt either!

I promise living room photos soon—must clean and take photos first!

Thanksgiving recap and catching up

It's probably time for me to do something about this blog neglect situation. I didn't intend to leave you hanging for—what, nearly two months (gulp!) but I guess life has gotten away from me and I have found it difficult to take the time to write about it. 

Now I'll offer up my excuses. Since I last posted, we (among other things):

-celebrated several more birthdays, including Tom's and Abby's . . . associated sleepovers and cake baking.

-took a family trip to California.

-made Halloween costumes and did the typical Halloween festivities yada yada.

-hosted Thanksgiving at our house.

-and last but mostly to blame, worked on house projects.

What this means is this:

I have lots of material to blog about! :)  Now, if I can just sit down and get that first post written I will be on a roll. It might take a post a day until Christmas to get caught up. No commitments, though. 

Catching up seems daunting, so I will start with the most current events. Auntie Amy knitted new hats for each of the girls (above). Aren't they adorable? And here is Eva enjoying her baby cousin Brandon. She just loves babies.

My whole family was together for Thanksgiving weekend, and we hosted at our house. It was probably a crazy thing to do because we were finishing up projects, moving furniture, and cleaning house until 2:30 AM the night before. But ah, was it ever fun to cook Thanksgiving dinner in our new kitchen! And it is so good to have a deadline to work for, despite the craziness. 

Speaking of kitchens, I have been dying to finish up the last of the projects in ours so I can take some real photos and post before and after pictures of the project. But first I wanted to finish every. last. detail. And we did pretty good.

This is what we accomplished this month on the kitchen:

• Order a new pantry cabinet and install it (actually, this happened awhile ago, but I don't think I've posted about it.)
• Build the wood shelves (Dad) and stain and finish them (me). L-O-V-E them. 
• Caulk and paint all the window trim.
• Hang the curtains that I finished sewing ages ago.
• Install, caulk, and paint the crown moulding above the cabinets.
• Install soft-close hinges on our cupboard doors (we meant to order them this way, but some came without. Love this feature). 
• Install mug hooks on new shelves.
• Order and install a light fixture over the island (finally)! An issue of debate finally settled. 
• Make over the fireplace doors (more on this later).
• Paint the beam and other touchup.
• Replace outlets and switches.

Still to do:

• Tile an area above the window that didn't get done before because we ran out of the adhesive we used. Oops.
• Makeover firebox.
• Paint stool
• Fix the propane leak in the fireplace. We haven't been able to use our fireplace because the valve leaks. We drilled through the mortar to attempt to fix it, but it is still leaking. 
• Patch mortar
• Cut the kickbase off of the sideboard/buffet and add feet. (My dad is going to help build some strong feet to bear the weight of this heavy piece. Someday.)

I would like to get the first three things done before I post pictures. The rest might be a while.

We've been busy, right? There's more.

Here is our list for the hallway:

• Install new vertical windows
• Install new front door
• Install new side light windows (they arrive this week!) 
• Paint front door and side garage door. (I bought the paint.)
• Install trim (almost there)
• Caulk and paint trim.
• Buy new entry rugs that can handle all the ranch dirt that tracks in and out of here.
• Make shelf and bench for mudroom/coat hook area. 
• Stencil wall of coat hook area.
• Hang hooks in coat hook area.
• Hang artwork in hall.

Still more. Here is the list for the Living Room:

• Remove wallpaper.
• Remove those old dusty curtains.
• Remove carpet. (Yes, we did!)
• Scrape popcorn ceilings.
• Retexture ceilings.
• Paint ceilings.
• Spackle, sand, and smooth walls.
• Prime and paint walls.
• Install hardwood floors (Yes, we did that too! Grin!)
• Redo light bar (under old cornice/valance). Build, sand, stain, finish, and install. Paint light fixtures.
• Order and install new sconces.
• Install new hallway light.
• Retrim everything.
• Caulk and paint trim. (almost there)
• Replace outlets and switches. (almost there)
• Order new window treatments. Probably solar blinds.
• Get a light for piano. I'd like a floor lamp that arches over the piano.
• Get an area rug. We might bind some of the old carpet for now. Maybe. It's hard to put something old back into a new space.
• Build desk and cupboard for desk niche. 
• Stencil wall behind desk niche.
• Replace doors upstairs so they are all white and match the trim. Someday.

Whew. Tired yet? We certainly were after pushing to get all of this done before Thanksgiving. And I'm still trying to catch up on the laundry and house cleaning that gets neglected while I'm working on projects.

One big reason for pushing so hard (besides the fact we were hosting Thanksgiving) was because now we are going to take a break (on our house, anyway). My parents have helped us extensively on house projects, so now we are going to attempt to help them in return with one of their projects. They just purchased a 4-plex in town as an investment, and one unit is going to be gutted and redone. They would like to finish it before the new year. Yes, we are all glutton for punishment! :)

After that, if all goes well, I would like to work on our house again until spring farm work calls. Besides finishing the above list, with any luck we'll tackle the laundry room, guest bathroom, and girls rooms. I'll spare you those lists for now. Until then, I will have plenty to show you with the projects I mentioned above. 

And that's all I have for today. Ha :) It is good to be back.

(P.S. I have an issue with compound words. When I run spell check that is all it picks out. A string of incorrect compound words. Sorry, but I'm leaving them! Forgive me.)

Drive by shooting

With a camera that is.

On the way to the bus stop we encountered a skunk family. We see them nearly every day, though you probably can't spot it in my drive-by photo. Yesterday it was a fox high-tailing it across the road. Nearly every morning we also scatter a few antelope from the roadside. This is our typical 3-mile drive to the bus stop, complete with a beautiful sunrise.

Today it is cold, rainy, and muddy. A welcome releif!

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

I'm getting this up at the last possible minute, but wanted to wish Sarah an official online happy 7th birthday!

 

She asked for a cowgirl cake, and I obliged. It was fun to make.

Over the weekend we had all the first grade girls (yes, there are only 5!) for a sleep over. They decorated these little letters for a fun craft project.

On Saturday night we had a family party at Grandpa and Grandma's. Today she shared her favorite cookies at school and we had her favorite dish for dinner (meatballs). Aren't birthdays great . . . when you are a kid and can drag out the celebrations for several days?

Happy Birthday, Sarah! We love your smile and your spirit.

new wood floors

Even though our fall farm work isn't done (we haven't even started seeding yet—waiting for rain), I've been getting the itch to start some house projects again. On a whim Mom and I decided to stop at a flooring store the other day. I've been dying to ditch the old blue carpet in the girl's bedrooms and my mom has been dreaming of new wood floors for her living room. And of course, I'm always keeping an eye out for wood for my own living room floors, though I wasn't sure we would get around to tackling that this year.

Nevertheless, it was the latter that presented itself. Right inside the door of the flooring store was an in-stock (less than a 1/3 of retail price) deal on some solid, 8" wide plank solid wood that we both loved. The wood is a rustic hickory. I like things clean and modern and I love very dark wood floors, but I also wanted a floor that wouldn't show every little scratch and spec of dust. This color seemed just right. 

We brought home a sample and it passed my dad's scrutiny (the ultimate test). My mom ruled it out for her house though because the planks felt too wide for her smaller space, but it looked great in our living room against the fireplace. On top of that, we recently received insurance payments for the hail damage on our roof and gutters. The guys opted to do those repairs themselves, so we have that money to spend on flooring instead and, well, the deal was just too good to pass up.

So, its a bit surreal and I'm quite giddy to be getting new living room floors soon!

Over 900 square feet arrived at the store this afternoon and is ready for us to pick up. It is enough for our living room, den, and master bedroom. It will likely sit around for quite a while before we have time to lay it. It will be even longer before we can move a couple of walls in our master area and lay that section of flooring—maybe even another full year—but we wanted to purchase the flooring all in one batch so it would match. 

Before we can lay the floor we need to strip the wallpaper, scrape the popcorn cielings, retexture the ceilings, and paint. I plan to save a section of the old wool floral carpet and have it bound into an area rug to use in one of the girl's rooms. (It has sentimental value, and it's in great shape for being over 40 years old!)

The white wood sample (above right) was an option I was considering for the girl's bedrooms, though I am still looking for a less expensive alternative.

I've had my heart set on white wood floors in those bedrooms (I would of course put down nice area rugs for softness). Eva's room is north facing and a little short on light, and I know white floors would brighten the space so much. My ideal option is prefinished white-stained oak. However, for cost effectiveness I would settle for unfinished oak and stain it myself. Even less expensive would be unfinished pine, painted white. (White stained pine would probably yellow too much). I like this option but my dad does not. Tom just thinks we should do carpet, but I want a light color. Light carpet is not a good idea at my house. I've even considered Pergo laminate floors.

What would you do?

On another note, I've been considering what to do with our living room fireplace. The rock on the fireplace surround is absolutely staying. It's a huge fireplace, and we really love the green and rust colors of the slate. It is called "Montana Picture Rock" and was quarried from the nearby Rocky Mountains. Some of the rocks have leaf fossil prints in them. 

It is the actual fireplace portion I'm concerned about. Our long term plan has been to have gas inserts installed. However, it is double-sided, so insert(s) would be spendy. Lately I have been reconsidering. We don't need the fireplace for heat (unless the power goes out). We mainly want it for ambiance. It currently has gas log inside, but we haven't been able to use it because the propane valve (outside the fireplace) has a leak. That needs to be fixed anyway, so I'm thinking we should get that working and just use the gas log, leaving the current doors in place.

While I don't hate the brass trimmed doors, they certainly aren't pristine. Nor are they modern. I think brass is starting to come back into trend, though. My question is, should I paint the brass parts black? Or leave them?

mechanics

Today I was feeling like I had nothing interesting to post about. It has just been ordinary daily life around here. But then I remembered that most people have no idea what "ordinary daily life" is on the farm, especially in between seeding and harvesting. And I remembered my pledge to write more about the everyday moments.

Since school started our weekly routine has included soccer practice twice a week and games every weekend. This last Saturday Tom was unable to come to the games with us because he had someone coming to pick up hay. (Speaking of hay, we are sharing a little more about that part of our operation over on His Tales today.) 

I pulled up to the soccer field, parked, and was getting ready to get out of the car when a policeman knocked on my window. 

"Did you know you had a brake light out?"

"Good to know!", I said. Well, I did already know that, actually. We had discovered it a while ago and tried to replace the bulb, but realized it was a wiring issue and not an easy fix. I was operating on 2 other functioning brake lights and didn't think too much about it. 

I thought he was just being courteous and letting me know, but how naive of me. He then said "Can I see your license and registration?" I knew I was going to be there for awhile and became shamefully aware of the fact that he was parked conspicuously behind me in the parking lot while everyone walked by to the fields. Woot.

I sent Sarah off to her game and then waited for an eternity while the cop issued me a warning and told me I had 3 days to get it fixed.  

This morning we prepared to call our local mechanic, but Tom decided first to pull the car into the shop to see if he could figure out the problem on his own. Now this is where those of you who know my husband will perk up and say "that doesn't sound like Tom!"  Tom isn't naturally mechanically inclined. He is usually the type of person who would rather focus on what he knows and pay someone else to take care of the rest. But on the farm, time, money, and convenience factor into the equation and in this case paying $x to fix the car wasn't very enticing.

And you know what? He fixed it! I don't tell you this to embarrass him or make a big deal out of a (perhaps simple to some of you) brake light wiring issue. The point is, being a mechanic often doesn't mean knowing everything about cars. Or trucks. Or tractors. It's having the courage, patience and tenacity to dig in and figure out what you don't know. The knowledge and experience comes over a long time of doing this very thing. In any case, I was proud of my husband this morning, and proud that over the last 2 years on the farm he has had a number of successes like this.

The next day we were driving home and stopped to pick up and move a truck. I was driving ahead of Tom when I looked in the rear view mirror and saw that I had a headlight out too. Its a good thing the cop pulled me over in the daylight or he would have had a hay day with me.

My poor car—the "ranch limo"—we have put over 30,000 miles on it in the last year. I am hopeful that we will have it payed off before we have to trade it, but at this rate we might hit the 200,000 mile mark first! I have had to have 2 flats repaired in the last month, and on my most recent visit to the tire shop they told me my barely-a-year-old tires are looking awfully gravel chewed and will need replaced soon. Country life is just rough on cars. You'll see in the photo above that it is muddy and bug splattered. I do wash my car occasionally, but the shine lasts no longer than one trip back down my gravel driveway. What should I get next? A Mercedes? Ha ha. Luxury cars will not be for me. 

See the shop my car is parked in? We are hoping to spend some time giving it a major organizational overhall. Believe me, it will be no small job. I wouldn't dare show you any before pictures before we have some really nice after photos to redeem ourselves. We also have a new giant shop door to install so the guys will have a second mechanic bay. In the meantime, I'm just trying to get our garage cleaned out and under control. Baby steps, now. Baby steps.

I hope you've enjoyed this installment of everyday life on the farm. Riveting entertainment to be sure! 

Colter Wayne

I recently had the privilege of practicing my photo "skillz" (ha) on my newest, most adorable neighbor. This is Colter Wayne, my cousin's new baby boy. And boy is is he irresistible. All these new baby boys might be making me want my own little boy a teensy weensy bit . . .  Nah, just kidding. I'm quite happy to give them lots of cuddles and then hand them back to their mommies.

There is no doubt this little guy is going to be raised all country, is there? :)

lounge chair update

Remember this guy?

Sorry, no after pictures in this post.

Since I posted about this nearly 2 months ago it has mostly sat untouched. But not entirely. I managed to disassemble it:

I have the wood pieces laid out in the garage. They are stripped and partially sanded, almost ready for staining.

Mom and I separated the cording from the upholstery pieces and laid them out to be cut.

We have the pieces cut for the ottoman and will make sure the vinyl we have is going to work before cutting the rest. Hopefully, now that harvest is behind us, we can dust this project off and make some more progress.

Abby's quilt

Along with her horse events, Abby completed another 4-H project to enter in the fair. She had purchased some fabric for a 4-H class when at the last minute it was cancelled. So instead we found a tutorial online and completed it at home.

This process, called "faux chenille" was really fun. In brief, you sew narrow rows on the bias through 4 layers of fabric, 3 of those layers being flannel. You then cut through the flannel layers in each stitched channel. After the quilt is washed, those cut rows of flannel fray and create the fake chenille.

This was Abby's first time on a sewing machine, and it was a good way to practice threading and using the presser foot evenly. It was also a great lesson of persistence and patience because it was quite repetitive at certain stages.

But it was all worthwhile when we wandered through the 4-H building and discovered she had won best-in-show in the sewing class. You can see the back side of the quilt and the frayed rows of chenille below.

I helped her cut and sew the bias tape binding from some fabric instead of purchasing bias tape, which added an extra element of difficulty. Sewing the binding on evenly is the part that challenged her the most. I would recommend buying pre made bias tape for a beginner.

Or even if you aren't a beginner. I thought the process was so much fun that I decided to buy some fabric and make one for my new nephew Brandon. His nursery is Winnie the Pooh.

I found a denim bias tape to use for the binding and it was much easier to sew evenly.

Overall we found this project to be really fun and relatively quick and easy. Here is a link again to the tutorial we used if you would like to try this for yourself!

4-H

The weekend before school started was our county fair. Abby participated by showing her horse for 4-H.

No, we don't have horses here on the farm, but Tom's family has enough to go around. Abby was able to participate in this level of 4-H because she was able to spend a few weekends this summer on Tom's parent's ranch helping with the horses, feeding, cleaning stalls, and riding.

With Tom being tied up with harvest and me knowing nothing about horses, Aunt Tawnya and Nanna stepped in to save the day. They brought the horse up to the fairgrounds and stayed with Abby during the fair.

This is Double-Dot. He was Tom's horse when he rode in high school.

Tawnya gives Abby some last minute pointers before the show.

Abby did very well, placing first in her Novice Horsemanship class.

This is her friend Madison, who competed in her same classes. Cuties.

Abby with her cousins, and their newest "cousin" Chesterfeild.

Relaxed and relieved after the events are through. Isn't she a pretty girl?

Two pretty girls. I love this picture of them together.

And I love these boys.

They look just like brothers and sisters.

This little munchkin was along for the day also. Just not old enough to perch on the fence with her cousins.

And for good measure, one more funny picture that must be saved for future blackmailing. Recently lost teeth make Sarah look like she is sporting fangs. Paired with a wide-mouthed crazy smile, and crossed eyes its a great look.

My new favorite flowers

Last spring, Sarah's Kindergarten class made Mother's Days cards and included a packet of seeds. I threw those seeds in a pot along with some other class plantings and didn't think much about it.

I was pleasantly surprised when these Zinnea seeds bloomed, and I've dubbed them my new favorite flower.

1. They grow really tall—over a foot—and fill a pot nicely.

2. The blooms are large, artistic, and stunning.

3. The colors are bright and happy.

4. And very best of all (maybe because I planted them from seed in late spring?) they bloomed in August, when the grass and fields and other blooms are turning brown.

I will definitely be looking for Zinnea seeds every year!

Meeting Brandon

Would anyone like to meet my new nephew?

Introducing Brandon Wil, cutest cowboy in the west.

His sweet Momma had a shower in her home town and we got to join in. Brandon was already a month old when I got to see him for the first time. 

It's hard to think about how much he will have changed before we see him again. We are already seeing some stinkin' cute smiles show up on Facebook since we've last seen him.

Thank goodness for cyberspace, right? We would miss out on so much without it.

Harvest happenings

Before harvest time fades too far from our memory I thought I'd share a few more moments from this year. 

This is what dinner in the field looks like these days:

A simple production. Mom says "Where did everyone go? Doesn't anyone want to relax and enjoy their dinner awhile?" No, everyone is off for one last ride on the combines.

It isn't the easiest thing to drive with a kid on your lap. Especially one that defiantly says "I do it" and takes over the steering. Grandpa is very patient.

And this straight edge on the field wasn't so straight after Eva finished with it.

Beautiful Montana sunsets:

One night we had a storm roll in so we went out around midnight to move vehicles off the field (so they wouldn't get left in the mud.) Tom pulled out ahead of me with a loaded truck and I could see grain pouring out the back. He made it up onto the road a ways before I could get his attention to stop the truck. By then there was a pretty good trail of wheat behind him, and more piling up on the road behind the truck. For some reason the back door (which is is usually never used) had come unlatched. The weight of the load prevented us from closing it, so left the truck in the road, ran back to the house for a crowbar, then back to the truck to pry the door closed. (Good thing it was a remote country road in the middle of the night). By then the rain was pouring hard. The photo below shows Dad and Tom saving the last of what they could after already shoveling a substantial pile back into the truck.

Harvesting canola:

Early that same rainy night we had strong winds that shattered many of the canola pods before we could get them cut. So many weather events that can wreck havoc on our success. First lack of snow, then hail, then wind. Sometimes the odds are hard to beat.

The night of the storm we happened to have some great old friends for company—this sweet Minnesota family stopping on their way through. (Hard to believe we are on the way to anywhere, seems like the end of the earth sometimes, but we are on the way to Canada!) We treated them with a true campout... due to the power outage that resulted from the winds. We told them Montana is still so remote we don't even have electricity up here. Ha.

The blackout didn't prevent us from taking a few combine rides, though, which suited this big boy in front just fine. 

A few days later we had more company, my brothers and their families, including my very new nephew, Brandon. (That is material for another post). With Ash to help dad in the field, we took advantage and headed out Saturday evening to Holter Lake to join Tom's family in celebrating Papa's birthday number 6-0. The girls were able to spend a few extra days camping there, but Tom and I were just lucky to sneak away for one quick overnight stay. 

Nothing like eating cake in the dark around a campfire.

Except maybe getting up the next morning to go fishing.

The fish knew it was Papa's birthday too and bit his line 5 times, completely ignoring everyone else in the boat with a rod. Birthday luck.

The best part was that the kids did the dirty job of cleaning the fish.

Sometimes it feels like we miss out on a good portion of summer when we spend well over a month of it harvesting. But it just makes us appreciate the priviliages we do have all the more. 

summer's end

Hello friends! Sorry to be such a stranger. I'm sad and relieved at the same time to find ourselves at the end of our summer. The start of school puts an abrupt end to our summer schedule but it also launches us into routine and normalcy.

The girls are happy to be going back also. Its a long summer for these country girls when you don't get to see your friends everyday.

Sarah is starting first grade and Abby is in 4th. Both are excited about their new teachers.

Does anyone else's house look like this after school shopping?

The first day of school was also our 15th Anniversary. We got married 3 days before my parents celebrated their 25th. That means they are celebrating their 40th this year! I wish I had a picture of Tom's parents together also because they too celebrated their 40th this summer.

Since our anniversary fell on the first day of school and the last day of harvest, we didn't celebrate until the following day. Mom offered to babysit and Tom and I escaped to town for a little shopping, movie, and dinner.

There should be lots of posts coming your way as I catch up with our busy August happenings. Back soon!

Thoughts on being a stay-at-home mom

I recently had a friend make the decision to leave her lucrative career to stay at home with her kids. She was excited about the change but nervous at the same time. Nervous about how she was going to fill her time, stay motivated, and most of all, fulfilled. She asked me if I had any advice. 

I'm no expert, but I have now lived on both sides of the fence. And I'm here to dispel the notion that staying at home is the easy choice. I know for some women the choice isn't really a choice at all. Some are forced to work to pay the bills. Others stay home because it doesn't make any financial sense to work after they pay the daycare bill for "x number of" kids. For me, the choice was easy to start with. When I graduated college I planned to work at least until my loans were paid off. It just made sense. When Abby came along three years later, however, I didn't have those loans paid off and we had car payments and a house payment. We were adjusted to a certain way of life that we liked. My career had already accelerated by that point, and I contributed to at least half of our household income. So I kept working. While I definitely had moments where I wished I could spend more time with my kids, most of the time I didn't feel like it was a huge sacrifice to be a working mom. I felt like my kids benefited from being around other people, educational opportunities at daycare, and most of all, structure.

There were other benefits to working full time. There was a distinct definition between work and home. When we weren't at work, our time was all ours and we could spend it how we wanted to. We could afford to take family vacations. At some point we hired a housekeeper to come every other week, frequent enough because we weren't home much to mess the house up. We hired other things done also; our car repairs, building our house, landscaping our yard. We had a small yard to care for, and if we didn't have time to do that we could usually find a neighbor boy to mow the lawn. You get the picture. I also had help from Tom. Because we both worked full time, we shared the housework. Tom was mostly in charge of the laundry and he cooked, cleaned, and payed the bills.  

My decision to stay at home was attached to our decision to move to the farm. By the time I pay for gas to get to town and childcare, and work at one of the low-paying jobs a small community offers, it isn't very practical for me to work. Plus, I'm more valuable at home. Keeping the household going takes time, and Tom can't help. He doesn't get off at 5 (or 6 or 7) like he used to. We have fallen into more traditional gender roles here on the farm just by necessity.

The truth is, the idea of staying at home was a big part of the allure of this lifestyle and the decision to move to the farm. I knew what I was getting myself into, but I didn't know, if you know what I mean. I am definitely much more busy with all things domestic than I expected to be. 

In theory, we have the same amount of laundry as before. We have the same amount of space (roughly) as before. Okay, our lawn is gigantic now. The house is a little bigger. But the housework load seems like it should be about the same, right? Well, instead of cooking dinner every night, we cook (and clean up after) 3 meals a day. There is no fast food down the street. I do all the yard work. My house gets messy 3 times faster because we are IN it all day long. Every time I go to the grocery store, I spend 2 hours in the car. I spend another hour in the car on school days delivering and collecting the kids from the bus. Another hour if I have to get them to town for activities. And this business of keeping three kids busy and out of trouble all day is a full time job in itself. Especially with a toddler. You know what I'm saying.

In this new life of ours, we now have more time than money. We do more things ourselves. For example, our remodeling projects are almost all DIY. Another example—I need a baby gifts for my new niece and nephew. Before I could afford a really nice gift—like a stroller or name brand baby shoes for instance. Now I can't spend that much, so I am making a handmade gift in an effort to make it more special and meaningful. At the moment I am stressing about getting this gift made, dinner cooked tonight, my house cleaned for guests, and keeping my toddler entertained on top of it all. This job comes with a different kind of stress—one that is self-imposed but real none-the-less; pressure to be a good mom and be everything to everyone. I want to cook yummy and healthy meals. Have a clean, organized, and well-decorated home. Raise good kids. Lose this baby weight already. Be smart. Well informed. Be involved in the farm. The list goes on.

Then there is the quesiton of fullfillment. Before it was easy. Work, get paycheck. Work harder, get raise. Buy clothes. Buy stuff for house. Work some more. Buy more. (Ha.) But the work was attached to a tangible (key word) reward, and I felt like I was accomplishing something. Now, I don't contribute directly to the family income. Much of my work is never finished. I clean the house and do the dishes, just to do it all over again. I'm not saying it isn't worthwhile or rewarding, but the reward is much less tangible.

I know time makes you forget. I know I am forgetting the stress and overwhelming fatigue of our old schedule. It wasn't easy. Tom traveled a lot, for one. My lucrative career was such because I was in management, which added to the stress and emotional strain of my job. That stress was hard to cope with sometimes. A lot of times. Money doesn't buy happiness. It buys lots of stuff. That we don't need.

I suppose there are a few out there that get to stay at home with their kids and can still afford the housekeeper, nanny, or (heaven help me) cook. They exist in a different reality than mine. But somehow I'm pretty sure that instead of stressing about how to pay the car repair bill and getting dinner on the table, they are stressing about how to pay the pool boy and private school tuition and how they are going to manage to squeeze in that Botox appointment before the soccer game. What I'm trying to say is this: Our means dictate our priorities. And we are all pretty good at maxxing ourselves out.

So what's my point?

I'm happy. This lifestyle isn't always easy, but its what I want. The grass might look greener on the other side sometimes, but I truly believe we are happiest if we can bloom where we are planted. With change comes challenge, but I will work at perfecting this life until I get it right. That is just my nature. Instead of fighting for that next promotion I will fight for happy kids, a clean house, and efficiency.

Today I read a blog post about how to make the laundry chore easier by foregoing much of the sorting (what? really?) and just doing a little bit every day. It's strikes me as funny that I get jazzed about reading blogs about housework and organizing. It used to be we learned everything we knew about domestic things from our moms. Now there is no end to the inspiration and help we can get from moms of all walks of life. It occurred to me though; in the time it took me to read that blog about laundry efficiency I could have folded a whole basket of laundry. Ha. (As much as I feel guilty about my blog reading habit, I do value and appreciate the connection it gives me to life outside the farm. Its that adult interaction I miss by not working outside the home. The key is moderation, right?)

Recently I discovered our online library where I can download both e-books and audio books. I've enjoyed how listening to a story while doing housework really makes the mundane chores much more enticing. After I finish a book, though, I am usually happy to work in silence for awhile so that I am more in tune with what is going on around me and using my brain to meditate and think. (Think up ideas like this blog post. :) I just had to quit what I was doing so I could write this all down while it was in my head.)

So, what are your tips for staying motivated through the mundane? I'm all ears and I need all the help I can get!

(About these photos: I feel like I do a pretty good job of documenting major life events on camera. But sometimes I feel like I miss out on the best photo opportunities when I don't pick up my camera at home and capture what happens on any old boring day. I love to follow everyone's 365 photo projects for this reason. It forces you to take a photo every day. I'm not sure if I have the discipline for that, but maybe I should try? Here's to capturing the everyday!)

harvest time

I'm breaking the silence of an intended blog hiatus—unintended but unsurprising. Harvest has been in full swing for the past couple of weeks, which launches us into coping mode. Coping and keeping up with the busy days. If you are one who visits the blog simply for house projects and updates, well, there just isn't much (any) of that happening right now. Come back in a month or two. In the meantime, here is a smattering of goings-on around the farm.

Furrows and Fourwheelers

Last week started out with an event that took the wind out of our sails a bit. My cousin Rob, our main hired hand and harvest help the past several years, was injured badly in a four-wheeler accident and put out of commission for the rest of the season. Not to discount the severity of a broken shoulder and pelvis, but we are thankful it wasn't worse. It happened like this:

We finished up our harvest dinner and the guys headed back out to work. Rob's cousin, visiting from out of state, drove her uncle's four-wheeler over from the neighboring farm where they were having their own harvest dinner. Rob hopped on to show her around the farm before heading back to work. They were riding through a field, not on the usual path. They came over a hill, hit a rock pile, and were launched from the four-wheeler, narrowly missing some very large rocks. I was the first one they reached by cell phone (luckily they had service!) and hopped in the car to get them. We loaded them up and took them into the hospital to inspect the damage. His cousin suffered a concussion and broken thumb. The accident raises lots of concerns about farm liability and the wisdom of having four-wheelers on the farm. Even in this case. Not our four-wheeler, but on our farm. Not our guest, but our employee. Tom and I owned four-wheelers for recreating (always with helmets). Since Eva's arrival we no longer use them that way, but they are quite handy for moving easily around the farm between machinery. The trouble is, the guys quickly get out of the helmet habit. Kids who visit want to ride them for fun. Where do we draw the line? 

Needless to say, we are shorthanded now. I'm willing to pitch in if I need to, but as it happens we've had several visitors lately that have provided temporary help. God provides!

cotton ball clouds

Putting our farmhouse table through it's paces. On this night we had 17 to feed. Out came the paper plates on this occasion!Zinnias we planted from seed (a gift for Mother's Day from Sarah) are in full bloom. I love the bright colors!After dinner swing sessionSean cleans the combine windows. The Raineys are becoming annual harvest guests and we wish we could keep them longer. They know that visiting during harvest means work and they are so great about pitching in and helping out. Having friends like this around makes the work fun.

Beautiful Holly. I love this girl.Working into the sunset—and well beyond.

Unplugging a plugged-up header in the dark.We always take Sundays off, even during Harvest. So after church we decided to take the long way home through the mountains. We first hiked down to Lost Lake. (It truly is lost, an unmarked local attraction.)
Sweet IsabelIts a green a slimy lake. Not very inviting.The rock formations are the main attraction.We were in our Sunday clothes. Odd attire for a hike.

Up in the cooler air of the High wood Mountains for a picnic by the creek

Hugs goodbye.

I'll be back in a week or three. Happy Harvest everyone!

Feng Shui Friday—kitchen organization

To find out how you can join the Feng Shui Friday challenge, click here.

Happy Friday to you all. Today I have a little kitchen organizing tip to share. You know that drawer that holds all of your containers for leftovers? We all have one. My mom's cupboard is full of containers in a million different shapes and sizes. I used to give her a hard time about saving old cool whip and butter dishes. No offense, Mom :) Does you Mom/Grandma do this?

As for me, I can't stand the mish-mash, so I buy Gladware or Ziplock containers in uniform sizes that stack neatly. I also have a set of glass dishes for leftovers that need reheated. These nest nicely together. Still, the drawer would drive me nuts because of the various sizes of lids floating around. This is how I fixed the problem:

 

I used two inexpensive tension rods to hold my lids in place! These are only a few dollars a piece—and effective!

While we are on the subject of kitchen organization, I thought I would share a little bit more about the organization in my new kitchen. I realize not everyone has the benefit of designing their kitchen from scratch, and most of us must make the most of what we have. But since I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to create what I wanted, I put a LOT of thought into the storage and organization.

I designed my kitchen around "zones"; prep, baking, cooking, cleaning, etc. I weighed this even more heavily than the infamous work triangle. Then, before coming up with a cabinet plan, I listed every item in my kitchen according to which zone it should be stored in, and what kind of storage it would be best suited to.

What I ended up with was lots and lots of drawers:

Do you have any idea how great drawers are? My old kitchen (in Utah) had mostly cupboards in the lower half. When I moved here to the farm, this kitchen (even before) had lots of drawers. Eureka! I didn't know what I was missing before! No more crouching with my buried in the back of a cabinet to find what I need. If you ever design a kitchen, plan on putting in as many drawers as possible. Trust me.

Choosing wall ovens and a separate cooktop allowed me to locate two wide, deep drawers beneath the cooktop for storing my pots and pans. I absolutely love this.

I even keep my glass and metal bakeware in deep drawers. I do have a corner lazy susan cabinet, and this is where I store my taller items like my stock pot, slow cooker, and blender. Besides the sink cabinets, this is my only lower cabinet.

I utilized these great containers from Ikea to corral kid dishes and sippy cups. They keep moisture off the bottom of the drawers (plastic never seems to dry completely in the dishwasher). Storing the kid dishes in a drawer keeps them at their reach. The drawers are tall enough to store stacks of cups and bowls and sippy cups standing up.

The top drawers of course are much shallower, but wide, making them ideal for my utinsels. 

I was determined to keep as much off the counter as possible, so I purchased this in-drawer knife block. You can often buy these sorts of inserts directly from the cabinet companies, but they also charge up the wazoo for them, so I bought this after-market online for much less. This drawer is right next to my prep sink and super handy. I'm not a fan of pull-out wooden cutting boards. They seem unsanitary... just me?

Another after-market insert I purchased was a spice rack that we trimmed to fit this drawer perfectly. I already had the spice jars that I used in a rack in an upper cupboard previously. Isn't this pretty? The uniformity makes my heart sing! I do love those narrow vertical pull out spice racks, but in the end I didn't want to chop up the long run of drawers. 

Other organization trends I passed on:

A pull-out trash drawer. When I brought up this cabinet option to Tom he said "sounds like an expensive trash can to me". We opted for a stainless lidded trash can instead. I do think locating one next to my prep sink would have been awesome, but in the end I couldn't sacrifice the storage needed for other things.

Vertical cookie sheet/pan storage. These are pretty slick as well, but I have a small drawer below my double ovens that does the trick.

Still one of my favorite organization solutions in the kitchen is the backsplash behind the cooktop:

You can usually buy these to match your cooktop exactly from the range manufacturers, but we purchased ours (on sale) from Pottery Barn for less than half the price. The shelf holds oil cruets, salt, and pepper for easy access. I also LOVE the hook rail that keeps two sets of measuring cups and spoons within easy reach. I could stack them up for a cleaner look, but I love being able to grab just the size I need without having to disturb the rest of the stack. The backsplash is easy to wipe and is magnetic. It came with some cute clothespin clips that I use to hold the recipe I am working on.

I hope you found some useful suggestions for your own kitchen. Working in an organized kitchen is a pleasure—it even makes unloading the dishwasher fun. I'm not kidding! Where I'm not doing so well:

The pantry! But great news—we brought home my new pantry cabinet today! I am already working hard on ideas to make this rather small pantry space function like a dream. Hopefully I'll be back to share my progress soon.

Do you have any fabulous organization ideas of your own to share? What kitchen organization utilities do you feel are most worth splurging on? Is the pull-out trash we opted out of your favorite thing ever? Do tell.