Thank you so much for all of the kind thoughts on my last post. I appreciate your condolences and your stories of connecting with friends and having fun. It truly means a lot to read your messages.

I’m not really sure what to write to follow that post. I confess my head is a bit all over the place this week, and projects at the farm are somewhat the same.

This post will likely reflect that as I share some odds and sods of what’s been happening lately.

Ellie turned 5 months old a week ago. I’ve been sharing a photo every month on Instagram of her with her tractor. For the first time, she was stable enough to actually sit on the tractor (with a bit of help from Daddy).

She’s rolling over all the time now. But only from back to front. She hasn’t figured out how to go the other way, and she doesn’t necessarily love laying on her tummy, so we spend a lot of time fixing the upside down baby–not a hardship during the day, but not so much fun in the middle of the night.

She’s still a gem, though, and takes it pretty easy on us usually.

Here’s some of what else has been going on:

• I had a first animal sighting for me last week: a fawn. Six years into farm living, and deer are still special to see. But I had never seen a fawn. This one was way in the distance following its mom across the back field, but it was still incredibly special to get a glimpse. Butterflies and herons are holding special significance for Matt and me this year, and we’ve seen more of them than ever. We’ve also had a skunk a few days in a row, five mice (in the house… yuck), turkey vultures (Baxter’s nemesis) and an infestation you’ll hear more about in a future post.

• A local farm went viral over the weekend. The farm where I buy our birdseed has fields and fields of sunflowers in bloom. They were allowing people to walk through the fields and take pictures (for a small fee). The response was surprising to me, but on Saturday it was unreal. An estimated 7,000 people showed up. I can’t imagine 7,000 people on our farm. The police were conducting traffic and the road that the farm is on had to be closed. I was caught in the jam and was blown away. When I got home, I found out that the police shut down the sunflower viewing for the season because of the overwhelming turnout. I’m happy for the family for what they achieved and disappointed that their season got cut short. I’m sure they could have made more income from sunflower walks than sunflower seeds. I am super proud to see a small, family business–and a farm–enjoying such success and hope they can come up with a solution for next year.

• I had another article published in the latest issue of The Canadian Organic Grower. (It’s a profile of potato growing at Calannire Organic Farms, and unfortunately isn’t available online yet.) I wrote this shortly after Ellie was born, and I still remember how good it felt to have this piece of my self–to be a writer for a few hours and not only Mama. Life is all about balance and finding what works for us.
• I was first introduced to Pete Souza’s work through a PBS documentary about presidential photographers. Next I started following him on Instagram and then I checked his book, Obama: An Intimate Portrait, out of the library. The documentary is very interesting, the book is lovely and his political commentary on Instagram is cutting. I’m interested to see his new book Shade.

From 2015: “We had just stopped by the annual Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park and we were already driving away underneath the stadium. The President asked the Secret Service to stop the motorcade when he spotted The Racing Presidents (they compete against each other in a running race during every game). My vehicle was 100 feet ahead so I jumped out and ran back in time to catch them in a group photo for posterity.” Next week, the All-Star game is at Nationals Park. Vote Benny! (@redsox fans will get this). Anybody have an extra ticket to the game? #votebenny

A post shared by Pete Souza (@petesouza) on Jul 10, 2018 at 2:25pm PDT

• I’m currently reading Endurance, an account of astronaut Scott Kelly’s year in space. It’s a neat glimpse behind the scenes of the space program and the effects of space on people’s bodies and minds. I did not realize how truly international the International Space Station is.
• I’ve been cooking mainly vegetarian for awhile now. Thug Kitchen has become one of my go-tos for tasty, easy recipes–and humour (as long as healthy vegan cooking with an abusive potty mouth appeals to you).
• On Friday, I got my first haircut since Ellie was born. I now have a short little bob. Byebye pixie. I love having short hair, and I’ll likely go back to the pixie in a little while. My hair had basically already grown out–the hard part–and my hairdresser and I thought it was a good opportunity to change things for a little while.

Thanks to all of you for reading my posts and following along with our adventures and caring about what’s happening with us. Choosing to share some of our life through this blog has connected us with a lot of different people, and I truly feel those connections. I appreciate that you take some time out of your week to drop by and read what’s happening with us.

What’s happening at your house? Anyone else trying out a new haircut? Any special animal sightings or books or recipes to recommend?

Today, I have another odds and sods post for you, where I bundle together some of the little things that are happening around the farm and some things that I’ve seen out on the worldwide web.

• I don’t shop at Rona a whole lot, but I ended up there last Friday, and they may become my favourite store because they allow dogs! I love stores that allow dogs–even though Baxter doesn’t quite have the energy for shopping.
• Before I tore my office completely apart, I managed to sew a skirt that’s been in my head for a looooong time. Flannel buffalo check laid on the bias (AKA diagonal). It’s a little bit country and a whole lot comfortable for the winter.
• We’re at an exciting time in our family. Nephew #1 has his driver’s license–so proud of him. Nephew #3 turned 3 a week ago. Nephew #5 should arrive in the next week or so–so extremely excited. Niece #1 arrives in a couple of months. Oh and Matt and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary yesterday and 19 years together this month. Craziness.
• Alexandra Franzen is a writer whose posts inspire me. This one for the “the hard worker, the un-complainer, the tenacious warrior, grinding and slogging and striving to create something beautiful in this world” was a particularly motivating way to start the year.
• Other words that are inspiring me right now: “No, we don’t do busy.“
• Thalita, who runs The Learned Observer, is someone I connected with online and then met in person a few years ago at Blog Podium. Now she’s a super busy Work At Home Mom of twin boys and is embarking on a new career as full-time blogger. The work that goes into making your dreams come true is significant, and I’m so impressed by what she’s been able to accomplish. I’m loving following her journey and cheering her on virtually.

I am more than ready for this weekend.

It’s been a bit of a tough week at the day job, with 26 meetings in the past four days and lots of extra hours to get at least a little bit of work done. I am grateful that I’m still on a four-day workweek schedule, so I’m willing to put in the extra time to get that balance.

However, I am looking forward to a few days of hiking, getting back to painting the furniture for my office, sleeping in, snacking and spending time with Matt at our farm.

What’s inspiring you this week? What have you been up to? What are your plans for the weekend?

Whew. I am glad it’s Friday–even if it is Friday the 13th. I feel like I’ve been playing catch-up all week.

It won’t be a quiet weekend for us, but it will be a good one.

We’re hosting our annual Christmas party for the extended family on Matt’s Mom’s side. It’s a little earlier than usual, but no one seems to mind. I’m glad that we’re all able to get together. It means a lot to us that Matt and I are able to keep this tradition going.

Here’s what else is happening in our lives these days:

• Thanks to our early Christmas party and my MIL’s help last weekend, our house is already partially decorated. (That’s our mantel up above.)
• The fall One Room Challenge came to an end this week. I did and I didn’t miss participating this time around. I’ve loved following along with many of the makeovers. Part of my weekend plans is to take some time to click through all of the amazing rooms from both the guest participants and the “official” bloggers.
• Ashley and Adam at Domestic Imperfection are building a new house. I feel like their plan is really unique–not cookie cutter at all–and they’re making really cool choices for their family.
• We’re on the hunt for a new freezer. My only criteria is I want an upright and as big as (reasonably) possible–ideally 20 or more cubic feet. Do you have any wisdom to share?

And that’s all I’ve got, folks. I think it’s time to call it a week.

How did your week go? What are your plans for the weekend?

It’s been a good vacation week here. I feel like I’ve found the balance between productivity and relaxation.

All of the gardens–flower and vegetable–are weeded. We’ve bought wood for the garden gate but not built it yet. We “fixed” the bathroom tap–when we couldn’t find a new cartridge that fit, we lubricated the old one and reinstalled it.

I’m 2 1/2 out of 3 on my vacation goals: I’ve had lots of long walks with Baxter, one with Matt and one with our hike group (and one more to come this morning). I spent a late afternoon on the couch with half a movie (as opposed to a lazy morning and a whole movie). I discovered that I can in fact still turn a cartwheel.

Here are some other things that have caught my eye recently:

• Some great art–including DIY options–from Brooklyn Limestone and The Makerista. I love the room that Gwen made for her son. The gallery wall is outstanding.
• I just discovered Love Grows Wild a few weeks ago, and now it seems to be popping up everywhere. Liz has been open about finding her style, and the spaces she’s making are beautiful. Plus she lives on a farm, so she’s totally someone I love to read.
• And speaking of open and honest, Jen at IHeart Organizing wrote a great post about the challenges of blogging for “the reveal.”
• Eat that frog totally helped me get ready at the day job for this vacation, and it’s helped with the small day job tasks that I’ve had to deal with during the vacation too.
• My Mom brought me a beautiful bouquet of gladiolas. Our flower gardens are pretty much done blooming. I need some plants that bloom past August. Perhaps gladiolas would work?
• I’m feeding my love of gardening with a new Sarah Addison Allen book. Now if only our garden had a magical apple tree…

How has your week been? Any suggestions for late summer flowers to add to my gardens? Have you read Sarah Addison Allen? Did anyone else try a cartwheel?

Some happenings from this week:

• This weekend marks the one year anniversary of #IceStorm2013. Parts of it were neat. Parts of it were really challenging. Moving out of my own house over Christmas was memorable, but something I’m hoping not to repeat.
• A friend at work sent me this meme last week. I probably found it funnier than it truly is, but I can see Baxter trying this logic on us if he ever finds himself in this situation. It’s been years since we’ve had a Christmas tree, and he definitely won’t get the chance this season.
• I discovered a new blog, Finding Home, last week. I love their story and their style.
• I’ve been able to work from home for a few days over the past two weeks. I rarely work from home–I like the discipline that comes from being in the office–but I have really enjoyed my days at the farm, and I’ve been pretty productive.
• A thoughtful post on the evolution of a blog and finding your niche.
• I donated blood this week. I was a regular donor for years and years, but then I fell out of the routine. I restarted donating earlier this year, and it feels good to be back. Are you a donor?

We have lots of family activities happening this weekend–a real kick-off to Christmas. Can you believe Christmas is here already? I have one more day of work left and one more blog post for you next week before I take a little break.

Now it’s your turn. Were there any exciting happenings for you this week? What are your plans for the weekend? Has Christmas (or whatever holiday you celebrate) “started” for you?