Jun 22, 2017 | Family |
So. It’s been a while.
We’ve been here for three months now. It doesn’t feel like we’ve been here for that long. Well, maybe it does. I’m not sure. We’ve been so busy. We are settled into the rental home as much as we can be. We don’t plan on being here for very long, maybe just another 18 months so or, so I have made a point not to do anything to this home, decor wise. We live amongst boxes, our furniture is sparse (the new owners of the farm decided to buy most of our furniture) and we have farm equipment strewn about our backyard covered in tarps.
It doesn’t feel like a home, to say the least.
We chose an architect and we are hoping to have the final building plans complete within the next three months. Then it’s just a matter of choosing a builder that is reputable but doesn’t break our budget (which may be difficult to find). The kids are enrolled in swimming lessons and sports. We attend story hour at the library and we’ve even met a few neighbors that have kids around the same age and so we do weekly playdates as well.
I’m making it sound like life is more chaotic than it really is. We have a pretty decent routine, at least for now. I’m a few months pregnant with our fourth and final child, which is exciting, scary, and oddly enough, a relief all at the same time. Exciting because, well, a new baby! Scary because who in their right mind has four children age five and under!? A relief because there is a light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. I’m kind of glad that we’ll be done with bottles, breastfeeding, diapers and midnight feedings. I want to burn my maternity clothing. Or at least give it away to someone who would want it.
Lately I find that I’ve been really homesick for Washington and my farm. I don’t miss the smallness of the house and the feeling that comes along with it or Gabe working 15 hour days. But I miss my land. I miss the trees and deer in my orchard. I miss knitting on my couch and watching the rain fall. I miss my friends. I haven’t felt any inspiration to knit since we arrived here. It’s hot and living in a subdivision surrounded by boxes just isn’t very inspiring. In fact, it’s a little depressing. I know I shouldn’t complain because I still think moving was the best decision for our family. But I hate this in-limbo feeling. I want my craft space back. My raised beds. My orchards. I know I’ll have all those things back eventually. We won’t have the sheep that we dreamed of having, but we’ll have a garden and a nicely sized orchard. Gabe is hoping to restart his bee hives and I am excited for him to be able to continue his hobby. But sometimes it all just seems so far away…and I wonder what to do with myself in the meantime? I bought some books on natural dying and I am planning on attempting my first batch this month. I think I may design a sock pattern because, well, what else do you knit in this heat? Certainly not a sweater. Then there is the new baby to consider. So I suppose I do have a creative spark left in me. I think it’s just a matter of putting the effort into fostering it.
I’m not sure how much time I will spend on this little space of mine. I need to think about it a little more and decide if I want to periodically drop by or if I should just take a break until we finally move into our new home. I just don’t know yet. Regardless of what I decide, it did feel good to get out some of my thoughts that I’ve been keeping to myself for the past few weeks. It’s one of the best things about this blog. Throwing my thoughts out there and seeing the responses from some of the readers. The connection is what makes it all worthwhile, really.
Happy Thursday, friends.
Mar 8, 2017 | DIY, Family, Knitting, Yarn Along |
Joining Ginny and Nicole.
This past week has been a whirlwind. I’ve been spending most of my time on the computer researching our new neighborhood and very little time knitting, which is sad, because I purchased some lovely yarn a few weekends ago and I am just itching to cast on ten different project all at once!
Initially I wanted to enroll Sam in another Montessori pre-school so that he could meet some kids his own age but every single school I contacted charged almost three times the amount we currently pay, which just isn’t feasible for us. I’d rather enroll the kids in extracurricular activities, like swimming and gymnastics. The local library hosts a lot of preschool events, and I’m hoping we can meet other families that way.
Speckled yarn seems to be all the rage right now, and I decided to use a skein of two-ply sock yarn that I purchased in Dallas this summer to knit up a pair of short socks to wear with my booties. I figure I won’t be wearing tall boots much after we move to Austin so I might as well knit up a few pairs that I’ll actually wear. I am really loving how it looks knit up; it’s a nice splash of color but it doesn’t feel as busy as I thought it would. The pattern calls for a pom pom on the heel but I feel a bit silly with pom poms on my socks so I’m going to omit that part of the pattern. Are you allowed to wear pom poms if you’re over 30?
We leave in less than two weeks. Can you believe it? Gabe will leave a few days before the rest of us so he can drive the van with a small trailer filled with the items that we didn’t want packed with the rest of our belongings. The kids, along with my mother and I will fly in early the next week. We thought about driving together but after completing a six hour road trip with our children this fall that felt like eternity, I promptly refused to embark on a three to four day road trip with any children under the age of ten. So fly we will.
What are you working on, my friends? Any new spring knits on the needles?
Happy Wednesday.
Mar 1, 2017 | DIY, Family, Farm, Knitting, Yarn Along |
Joining Ginny and Nicole.
A few weeks ago we put an offer in for two acres of undeveloped land just outside of Austin. The owners accepted it and we expect to close sometime in the next week or so. Everything is so different from what I’m used to, topographically speaking. The trees are shorter and bushier, and the grass is higher. The ground is dry and packed tightly with crushed limestone that glitters in the sun. It’s so different from the soft, damp grass-covered earth in Washington. The plot is in a small subdivision that consists of small acreage plots. While I can see my neighbors in front of us, (not something I am used to) the homes behind us are hidden by trees and the plot next to us is undeveloped. Austin is only twenty or thirty minutes away depending on traffic. It’s a nice compromise between homesteading and city living. We also have a bit of a view of Lake Travis, although as you can see, it’s only visible between two houses that are located in front of our property. I’m hoping we can obtain a more unobstructed view once we build a house with a second story.
It’s exciting to have an answer to at least one of the many questions we’ve been facing over the past few months, specifically “Where are we going to live?” We secured a rental ten minutes away from the property so we’ll be able to monitor the building process, whenever that begins. I have to confess I am a little apprehensive about our temporary living arrangements. The house is lovely and spacious (it has closets!) but we will be living in a subdivision with homes that are what I would call one step away from being sardine-packed against one another. We anticipate the build taking anywhere from 12-18 months so it won’t be forever, but it feels odd moving into a neighborhood where I can see my neighbors, hear my neighbors and well, not be able to escape my neighbors. It makes me sound so unsocial and ungrateful just thinking that way. I generally enjoy people and have been called a social butterfly a time or two, but I have always appreciated the escape route living in an isolated area has provided. It’s nice knowing that you don’t have to see people if you’re not in the mood. Gabe did point out that living in close proximity to other people will also make it much easer to actually meet them, which might come in handy after moving to a city where we don’t know anyone, so I think I am going to focus on that aspect of our temporary neighborhood.
Eddie asked me for a new hat a few weeks ago, so I chose some leftover Misti Alpaca Chunky yarn and knit her up a beanie with a hole for her top bun. I made up the pattern as I went along and I think it turned out pretty well. She was very eager to pose for her photos, as you can see. Someone loves her accessories as much as her mama. Sam decided to make an appearance at the end of the photo shoot and it always gets me that he hates posing for photos when I ask him to but once I start photographing someone or something else, he’s suddenly unable to stay away from the camera.
Happy Wednesday, friends.
