Creative Homestead

After writing that I was almost out of toothpaste and going to have to start making my own very soon I found just one more tube of Tom's in the cupboard.

Then my parents visited last week and stole it when they left. Actually they didn't steal it, they mistook it for their own and went home with one extra. No matter, I was happy to give them a tube of their favorite paste.

That was just the push I needed to start concocting my own. And I don't use that word concocting lightly.

Based on everything you've all shared with me and my own research I'm mixing essential oils, coconut oil, baking soda, green mash and vodka. Coming up with... you don't want to know.

It's a process and when I stumble upon a recipe that works for us I'll share it with you. But right now I'm using my family as toothpaste guinea pigs. And what a wonderful family they are to put up with me. Even though Celine said earlier this week between top and bottom brushing, "Tis my fate to live with a mother who makes herbal toothpaste."

After a whirlwind month of finding new tenants (not planned), being sick (not planned), winter camping and family visiting (planned) and Laurent's birthday (anticipated but not so much planned) I feel, having turned the corner into March, I can finally breathe deep again. And return, if only for a couple weeks till the next set of family arrives for a visit, to my normal at-home schedule.

But my routine isn't just going back to the way it was, it's changing and moving forward.

I don't usually pick words or themes for my months, creatively or otherwise, but I definitely have a word for this month.

Re-evaluate.

Funny thing is, I had a word for last March also that I arrived at after an equally difficult February (what is it with out-of-control Februaries anyway?). The word for March 2009 was re-group.

This year I'm not just pulling things back together though, I'm re-thinking and making adjustments based on new creative directions we're moving as family.

One of our big projects is the integration of ADVENTUREinPROGRESS and FIMBY. This is an exciting undertaking with far reaching potential if we're able to carry it through to what we've dreamed.

You need not worry about content changing here. I love this little space and love the freedom to share whatever I want about my life, the Fun In My Back Yard. What I'm sharing here won't change but hopefully the audience for this blog will grow and with it the potential for my writing to support our family's endeavors.

In light of this creative undertaking and other goals we hope to accomplish I find myself in a season of re-evaluating. Although this is my word for March I'm sure this process will continue through spring and beyond.

Change takes time.

Specifically here a few things I'm re-evaluating in my life:

• On-line "commitments".

I am encouraged by other mommy bloggers who are also thinking about the hours they spend on-line and re-evaluating how to better spend their precious time.

This is a difficult line to walk, especially if you are trying to build a name for yourself as a writer, crafter, photographer - whatever. My own purposes in blogging have moved beyond creative expression, though that remains a large part of it. I have professional goals and using the computer as a tool and connecting with an on-line network of people is an important part of this picture.

• Our stuff.

For years we've been trying simplify our lives and our belongings but now we want to take it a little further. Last month we tackled our dishes but we still have more to do in our kitchen. Q: If you only use an electric coffee maker (I use a small french press for myself) once every 6 months do you really need to own one?





But the big project for this month is to re-evaluate children's stuff. Clearing out the girl's room so my dad could paint in there was a real eye opener. Right now the goal is to get everyone (ahem Brienne) on board. Then we purge and put back together the room with hopefully a lot less clutter under the bed and in the closet.

• The garden.

With all the other creative work going on in my life right now I've had no desire to plan the garden; whereas I usually have spreadsheets and diagrams started by this time. I'm re-evaluating my gardening goals for this summer and deciding that this will be the year of mostly pretty perennials and I'll rely on our farm share and farmer's markets for our summer produce.

As it was, my harvest from last year was so pitiful I have no strong desire to repeat that failed endeavor. I'll still plant some easy crops like spring peas and summer must-haves like tomatoes but I'm going to mostly enjoy the perennials beds I've built in years past and spend time maintaining instead of building. Building gardens takes a lot of creative energy that I don't have to give this time 'round.

So that's where it's at. After a month of just trying to keep home and hearth together I'm ready this month to move forward in changes; mentally, creatively and spatially.

What changes are you making these days?

We celebrated Laurent's birthday last Friday in a cozy, family-focused, take the day easy kind of way. Much needed after the busy pace of the last week and month. Waffles for breakfast, some time spent with Nana & Papa (on the last day of their visit), a few gifts, pizza and card games and cakes baked by Nana.

Laurent is a real social kid and when we asked him if we could host another pizza and beer night on the day of his birthday he loved the idea. Laurent loves people. Period. Their age is irrelevant to him. So we hosted Damien's co-workers (which include some family friends), my parents and of course our own crew of five. The kids drank too much soda, ate too much cake and stayed up far too late finally hitting their pillows at 11 pm. What's a birthday without a bit of excess?

There is a story behind this waffle maker. Waffles are our kid's birthday breakfast tradition. In choosing their special foods for the day they always ask for waffles topped with whipped cream, berry sauce and maple syrup for breakfast. (Remember, birthday's are definitely not vegan around here, we consider these treat days in our normally plant based diet).

Problem with waffles for breakfast is that we don't own a waffle maker, and I don't intend to buy one. Instead we borrow one from various folks as necessary. I like borrowing tools. I like sharing tools. I firmly believe that we don't all need to own lawnmowers, waffle irons and clothes dryers. We just need to be willing to share what we do have and be willing to ask for what we need.

So we borrow a waffle iron three times a year for kiddo's birthday breakfasts. This time around I got an appliance that is probably fifty years old, and is still going strong. The buzzing sound it made as the element heated up gave me a little scare and the first 2 waffles I scraped out had me muttering under my breath but after that it worked like a charm. Many thanks to one of Damien's co-workers for lending it to us.

One of the sweetest gifts Laurent received was a doggy care set made by Celine. The day before she was designing and stitching; locked away in our sewing/guest room and then up till 10pm the night before busy on the sewing machine. She created a dog bed, collar, leash and food bowl all out of scraps from our fabric and notion supply. The little sweater you see on the dog was sewn by Laurent for his special dog, Gray Fur.

Overall it was a very sweet day. Both literally and figuratively. Happy 9th Birthday to my sunshine boy.