I try to live a life of love and joy. It isn’t always easy. All of us have things in our lives that are difficult. That makes it even more important that we work for love and joy.
This holiday season, I wish you love and joy.
I will be back in 2025.
I’m trying to think about what to say to wrap up this year. I write often about choosing to live a life of love and joy. That doesn’t mean that life is always easy, and this year represents that for me.
Matt’s Mom’s illness and death is an example of great love. It’s also an example of joy, as odd as that may seem. We put as much joy as possible into our time together, even while she was in the hospital. And now we try to carry on that love and joy by talking about her and including her in what we’re doing. How much she would have enjoyed the castle where we were in Ireland. How Grandma would be the best person to find Christmas pants (a critical wardrobe gap that caused much distress last week).
My teaching job this fall has been a lot of fun–and a lot of work. The feeling when I hook the students and get them arguing, discussing and thinking is awesome. I walk out of my classes energized. But there have been a lot of late nights to pull lessons together, finish marking and communicate with students. Nonetheless, I’m looking forward to next term.
As I’m writing this, Ellie is Christmas shopping with my Mom. This sums up love and joy for me–yet it’s not easy. Ellie is an incredibly giving little girl and fills Christmas with so much fun. That my Mom is giving her the experience of Christmas shopping and ensuring that I have some gifts is huge act of love. But it’s hard that Ellie doesn’t get to do this with her Daddy.
At the start of this year, I wrote about how important it is for me to choose. Choose my attitude, how I feel, how I react, how I spend my time. And choose to build my life around what is most important to me.
Life is not always easy, but choosing love and joy helps me to see more good than bad.
For Christmas, I wish you as much love and joy as possible. I will be back in 2024 with more projects, more country living and more love and joy. Merry Christmas.
The holiday puzzle is spread out. The halls are decked. The tree is trimmed. The stockings are hung.
We’re in full Christmas mode here, so I’m putting the blog on holiday too.
I’ll be back in the New Year with more updates from the farm (and big plans).
Thank you for following along with us and celebrating the big, the small and everything in between. I hope that you have a wonderful holiday, however you celebrate.
Merry Christmas.
Yesterday, Ellie and I went for a hike at the back of the property. It was a nice way to enjoy the farm on a sunny snowy day. Together in this special place.
Due to the pandemic, Christmas may once again not happen the way we want. Life sometimes does not happen the way we want.
But like a sunny snowy day in a special place with a special person, there is love and there is joy.
Whatever form your Christmas takes, I hope that you find peace, togetherness (in some fashion), health, love and joy.
Thank you for reading over the past year.
I wish you and your family well this holiday season.
After we’d set up the tree, after we’d strung the lights and hung all the ornaments, Ellie asked, “Where’s the cape?”
The “cape,” or the tree skirt, was the final touch to hide the stand and, most important, provide a spot to rest all of the presents.
These days, there are lots of options for the base of your Christmas tree. However, I still like our simple skirt. And simple is the best word for this DIY.
I made our tree skirt from a Christmas tablecloth.
Find a round tablecloth in a pattern you like. Ours is about 6 feet in diameter.
Slit the tablecloth along the radius. (In other words, cut halfway across your table cloth from the edge to the centre. You can find the centre by folding the tablecloth in half and then in quarters. You’ll have a generous slice of pie. The point of the pie is the centre of your tablecloth.)
Cut a 6 inch diameter circle out of the middle of your tablecloth. This will be where the tree trunk goes. Use a plate or another round object as your pattern.
Sew a zigzag stitch around the edge of the trunk cutout and the slit to prevent your fabric from fraying.
Attach velcro along either side of the slit.
Drape your tablecloth around the bottom of the tree. Use the velcro to close the skirt. Put the velcro at the back of the tree so it isn’t visible.
And voila. Your Christmas tree now has a beautiful cape.
This has been a year of love and joy. Of challenges too, absolutely. But love and joy have prevailed.
We are going to be soaking in all of the love and joy–and working through more challenges, I’m sure–for the rest of this month. I will be back with more posts in the new year.
I wish you love, joy and peace this holiday.
Merry Christmas from the happiest little farmer and all of the rest of us on this 129 acres.
We hope that your holidays are filled with joy, peace and love.
Thank you for reading along with all of our adventures. We’ll be back with more in the new year.
In the 1970s, my Dad got into latch hooking (or rug hooking, as he called it). He made a big wall hanging, a Christmas wreath and, when I was born, my Christmas stocking. He went on to make stockings for each of my sisters and my brother as well.
When Matt and I moved into our first house, I brought my stocking with me. Matt did the same. They don’t match. They’re not large. They are certainly not trendy. But they are full of meaning and memories for us.
When I realized Ellie needed a Christmas stocking, I wanted hers to have the same meaning. As she grows, it will take on more memories. But I wanted it to be special right from the start.
I’ve written before about how we’re trying to keep my Dad alive for her, so I decided that I would latch hook a stocking for her. I found a company online that had lots of kits, and Matt picked out the pattern–a puppy, of course.
It arrived at the start of December and I worked diligently (sometimes feverishly) every day to finish it by Christmas. Every time I sat down with the yarn and the hook and the mesh, I felt connected to my Dad. It feels so special to know she’ll have this stocking, chosen by her Daddy, inspired by her Grandpa and made by her Mama.
For the first time, we have three stockings hanging above the fireplace. It’s so special to mark this first Christmas with our new little family and add to our memories together.
I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday, filled with memories and family.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Whatever you celebrate, I hope that you have a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends.
2017 has been a year of change and ups and downs for us. Thank you for following our adventures and supporting us.
I will be back in the New Year with more stories from our 129 acres.
Whew. I feel like I could have slept all weekend. Of course, that was not what happened, but I did spend Sunday afternoon curled on the couch with Baxter. The fire was going, I was wrapped in a cozy sweater. It was a perfect low key few hours before we head into the final stretch of Christmas busyness.
Since I’m still feeling lazy, I’m starting this week simply, sharing a few tidbits of what we’ve been up to recently. And because I’m apparently feeling random, I’m throwing in a couple of favourite recipes. Also, dog pictures just because they’re cute.
Peanut butter balls
2 cups icing sugar
2 cups shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
(My grandmother’s recipe calls for equal parts PB, sugar and coconut, but I’ve been finding them way too sticky, so I’ve been cutting back the PB over the years. I fudged the quantities above a bit, as I make a much bigger batch. This year’s was 5 cups of icing sugar, 5 cups of coconut and 4 cups of PB, which resulted in approximately 140 balls.)
Mix sugar, coconut and peanut butter together. Roll into small balls (sticking the “dough” in the fridge for a few minutes helps to firm it up so it’s easier to roll). In a double boiler, melt chocolate chips with a bit of evaporated milk. Roll balls in chocolate and put on a tray to set.
I store mine in the fridge to keep them nice and firm.
Sweet Cream Cheese Dip with Green Apples
1 block of cream cheese
1 cup of brown sugar
Crushed Skor bars
Dulce de Leche (or caramel sauce)
Mix cream cheese and brown sugar together and spread on a large plate or platter. Sprinkle with Skor bits and drizzle with dulce de leche. Chop green apples into wedges. Scoop dip with apples and feel healthy ’cause you’re eating fruit.
And more dog pictures.
Our trainer giving instructions before we hike. (Don’t let Baxter fool you. He’s not actually listening. He just wants attention too.)
All the sniffs.
When you show up at the holiday party wearing the same outfit as someone else (although the little guy also had on pants and socks).
The afternoon after a hike.
Home on 129 Acres 