Our 8th Anniversary

To my lovely Husband Happy Anniversary.

I wouldn't be who I am today without all the goodness you bestow upon me.

I love you

At the Lillyzoo today... a snow child and blue skies

We started a snow house while the baby was sleeping and when dad got home and before dinner they got straight to work finishing it.

An Arch

Time for dinner

In the girls room the peace cranes took on some color today.

This is my test patch to test the colors. Notice the ceiling was rounded by the sky paint

working on the girls room

This has been a long process that started with the solar hot water panels out in the yard. Anthony has heated the water with the sun, stored it in the basement and is now heating the girls new bedroom with the sun's stored warmth. Here Ant has removed the old oak plank and is shimming the floor which was 3 inches out of level. He ran radiant flooring and restored the old floor boards.

After restoring the floor and sanding it himself he is staining the floor a dark Walnut and then finished it.

Now for the walls and creating a nice smooth canvas for me to work on. Two layers of ancient wall paper came off rather easy. With a little compound and some primer and flat white, my giant canvas was ready to work on.

Blues skies shinin on me, nothin but blue skies do I see...

A few peace cranes to bless my girls and give them something to dream about.

I will follow soon with more pictures. After a full day of working on the room my arm is killin me, but it will be worth it. We have all been sleeping in the same room since last spring... almost a year. I was just telling Ant yesterday it will be nice to have our own space again.

LillyZoo Farm is a winter wonder land

As usual I am behind the camera...

Cabin fever... ramblings

We have been fending off the cabin fever pretty well so far. I still get out in the morning to handle all my girls feeding watering and picking eggs. The girls however are starting to get a little nutty.

Today we received a postcard from Z's summer Circus Camp and I have my seed catalogues. So we are dreaming of days in the heat and fruits of summer. This year I will be without child for the start and season of my gardening year and am contemplating the idea of sharing my garden with maybe a couple of other families in kind of a CSA project where we all contribute time and funds to the cause. We'll see. At this point I could handle a couple of other families and provide eggs and produce. Maybe even poultry if I am able to grow some babies for harvest. Maple syrup too if I had some help. Oooohhh and maybe some happy turkeys for harvest too... hmmm

I am reading Sharing the Harvest by Elizabeth Henderson. I would like to get together with some other gardeners and do a seed exchange this winter. I have already put an order in for apple trees will produce a few years out. Inventoried my saved seeds and ordered what I want to grow in 2010, mostly heirlooms. Three companies I am using are territorialseeds.com, kitchengardens.com and raintreenursery.com.

Merry Christmas!!!

Santi Claus brought the girls and I new ice skates!

Off to skate the pond out back...

Charlotte

Little Charlotte was named after a book called Brave Charlotte by Anu Stohner and Henrike Wilson we have been reading with the girls. She is a miniature babydoll southdown from Cuttaloosa Farm in New Hope, PA. She and Bessy come to live with us in the middle of November.

Chestnuts Galore

There are 5 chestnut trees out in the yard and have been picking up nuts for the past week. There is a race against the deer to see who gets the biggest stash. One day a crazy lady (me...) with a hoe came running across the back field screaming at a herd of deer who were enjoying an afternoon snack. hehe I would give anything to see that on video.

The beauties are giving me lots of exercise and some amazing foods. Below is so far our favorite.

CHESTNUT BISQUE

GLUTEN FREE
1 medium carrot, diced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 tbsp. butter or canola oil
1 lb fresh chestnuts, peeled
3 C chicken bouillon
1/4 C red wine
1/4 C fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 tsp thyme
nonfat sour cream or yogurt
(optional)



Delicious!!!Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add carrots, onion, and celery, and saute until soft, about 7 minutes. Add chestnuts and continue cooking 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add red wine, parsley,thyme and salt and pepper. Simmer 15 minutes.

Puree the soup in a blender. Return to saucepan and reheat. Adjust seasonings as needed. Serve with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.
(Serves 4)