16 to 2016

2016 in 16 pictures 

 We added One, Matchy & Baby Duck to the flock.

 Pop Hebrank blew out the candles on his 90th Birthday!

 We took in all we could from Foo Fa's stories and wisdom.

 For the 1st time in 5 years the whole Vaughan family made it home for a weekend of fun!

 We dedicated our Leila Beth to a life of faith and good deeds.

 I was presented woth a Vazzzz in celebration of 10 years of teaching.

 A weekly lunch date means 52 weeks of lunches with their Great Grandparents including helping Da Da blow out his 80th cake.

 4 beautiful, adventurous years as Mr. & Mrs.

 We raised and released monarchs.

 Ruth was stunning as a flower girl!

 Bees celebrated her 1st Happy to You!

 We continued to perfect our self sufficiency canning lots.

 I found yoga and for that the world is thankful because I'm just better because of it!

My ladies grew in wonder and love and adventure.

We embraced baby wearing and LOVED it! While touring 3 National Parks!

We'll end the year with an injured chicken living in the kitchen, woodstove warmth, canned peaches in a jar, and a stack of seed catalogs that are a reminder of Gods promise and to "pray for a good harvest but continue to hoe."

2016 was a good to 2950 and we look forward to more adventures down the Road to ROLAND.

Yours in love, light, and new beginning.
♡AVR

A Cool Yule

Here at 2950 we have long standing traditions for Summer Solstice. Over 50 years ago my grandparents started hosting a neighborhood picnic (feast) to celebrate the longest day of the year June 21st. We join with our neighbors on the closest Saturday to the Solstice  for the evening with wish lanterns, bottle rockets, and good food.
Growing up on a farm it also became a tradition with my dad to try and find a BIG buck. Legend was if Hern the half man half deer showed himself on the solstice it will be a good crop year. We always liked to increase our odds and would scour the woods and countryside for a glimpse and always have accepted the sightings of any deer as adequate.

Yet somehow the Winter Solstice hasn't been a celebration here... until today. Today December 21 is the shortest day of the year. There is more darkness today than any other day of the year.

The ladies and I ventured out with flashlights to gather materials for a Yule log. We hit up the lavander, some evergreens, and grabbed some hydrangea heads from my Grandma Vaughan's bush I brought to 2950 when I moved here.

Lore says that your Yule log must be from the property you live. These logs were cut from the hedgerow last spring and are in our woodpile. With the help of the ladies we added bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, limes, pine boughs and a few star stickers for good measure.

We turned out the lights and lit up the house with lanterns and candles. The idea of the winter solstice celebration is to bring back the light.

 We feasted... wine for mommy, dates, apples, bananas, oranges, and walnuts.

 We danced to celtic tunes.

 And we lured the sun back with a replica made of oranges, cloves, and straight pins.

 We then put our sun  where the real sun could see it and know that we want it to come back.

I grabbed my harvest basket and loaded up the Yule log. 

After LBR headed to bed RKR and I made a fire with coals from the woodstove and set our log ablaze. She's 3 so explaining the significance of this to her was tricky. I told her today was the shortest day with not much sun. We want the sun to come back because we like sunshine. She responded telling me "Oh Mommy we do this so the sun comes back and brings Summer Olaf will be so happy!" So I think she got the idea lol...

So when the sun comes back you're welcome... we did our part!

Yours in love and light!

♡AVR

The Teddy Roosevelt of Seasons...

Winter arrived at 2950 this week. To me winter is the Teddy Roosevelt of the seasons. It speaks softly and carries a big stick! 

 In 2013 I learned winters full power. A new momma to a 4 month old baby without power or water for 4 days! It became evident 1 day into this event that our 87 year old neighbor was also in danger with limited food, an electric stove, no power and no water. So as is our family way we always make room for one more and we ended up taking  him home with us for the duration of the storm.

So that year I learned the power of preparation and have made it a point each winter to take a day and prep.

Fresh flashlights and batteries go in hidden places throughout the house because RKR is quite a fan of flashlights. 

 A tub with batteries, lights, candles, batteries, and matches gets prepped.

The fridge is a central location where everyone knows the supplies are so the box gets stowed away.

We also jug up water. We have 10 gallons in the bathroom, and 10 galllons of drinking water on tap.

 The generator moves up to the porch and the firewood will begin to fill the porch and we'll continue
To keep the yard piled high.

What are you doing to prep for winter?

Yours in love, light, and woodstove warmth!
♡AVR♡

30 Days Clean

 I loathe laundry! At the beginning of November between 2 loads our dryer up and bit the dust. We've limped it along for 11 years and it was just time to let it go!
We have a 30 day rule with appliances. If they die we have to do without it for 30 days. If we simply can't live without it we replace it otherwise bon voyage.

A few years back when the washer died I tried 30 days of handwashing clothes. It is my least favorite homestead memory and on day 30 I called the repair man and if he had asked for my 1st born child I would have been open to negotiations.

Not having a dryer requires planning. You have to plan out your wardrobe, and stalk the weather. It didn't get above freezing the past 4 days so drying laundry outside was a no go.

You also HAVE to do laundry EVERY day or else the mass of it will consume every livable space in your home. The day Jesus comes back I'll be doing laundry, but hey maybe he'll fold!

 Also you need 2 sets of sheets because sometimes even if you hang it in the morning it won't be completely dry by bed. And when the sacred "blankie" needs a tubby you stoke the fire and make sure he dries ASAP!

 My favorite gadget is this guy here. It's a bucket lid with holes with clothespins strung through. It's hooked to a carabiner and hangs. It's perfect for socks, undies, and dish rags. It holds a lot!

 I'm also embracing that just because you wore it doesn't mean it's dirty. Jeans and towels do a couple tours of duty before they hit the wash. They require a Loooonnngggg dry time so I like to make it worth it.

Laundry gets done in the evenings at bed time, hung up and dried during the day and then sorted and folded the following bedtime. Sometimes God has bigger plans. I was a total slacker with laundry it would pile up for a week or more. So perhaps this was divine intervention to center me. 

And to be honest.... I don't totally hate it anymore. It's become part of the daily routine and in small doses it's not half bad.

In Love, Light, and Laundry 

♡AVR 

Favorite Things Episode

I heard on the radio an advertistment that Oprah had just relased her yearly list of "favorite things." Since "O" and I live let's say a bit differently it caused me to pause and think what would be on my list?

Of course 1st I'd take the stage and proclaime it's "my favvvooorrrittteee things!" ( you know you just read that in Oprah's voice!

 Grown women would jump until they were winded... then they would weap for joy.. Finally with limited commercial interuptions I'd present my items!

1. Hats knitted by a Mom Mom.

 My Grandmother's are all resting peacefully in heaven, but every local craft fair I find the Mom Mom stand. You know the one with the Mom Mom with the adorable crochet everything. I usually just open my wallet, dump it on her table and say please fill my bag!
So handmade woooollll haaattssss everyone!

2. Diffuser Necklaces

 This cutie is from Kilnfired Diffusers. Check out their Etsy shop. This beauty allows me to diffuse my oils even when on the go. Which with a 1 and 3 year old is pretty much constantly!  So you get a diffuser and you get a diffuser everybody gets a diffuser!

3. A Chicken

 Ok so people might say they are only getting "a few" that translates to 8! I prefer a mixed flock for my own entertainment oh and let's get some ducks too! I mean if you can't be happy in a chicken pen, the we can't be friends. So bring out the chiiiiiickennnss!

4. Popcorn

 If you know my Vaughan lineage you know that popcorn is a major food group. We LOVE red popcorn best, but any ANY popcorn will do! So everyone is going home with Popcorn!!!!

5. Canning Jars

 Have I dug canning jars out of trash cans in strangers homes... yes... yes I have! Canning jars are essential in our life. Here's half of my $1 score from a local estate auction. So 12 canning jars for everyome!

6. A Milk Jug

 We drink raw milk at 2950. We have an ample supply courtesy of Foo Fa and his lovely dairy herd. (No raw milk debating with me folks. It's superb , I know the source, and I'd eat in that barn before I'd eat in some people's kitchens!)
So everyone's getting a gallon of raw milk in their own J-U-GGG

7. Bread Machine

 I don't like "one trick ponies" so an appliance has to be versitle. You can do SO much with a bread machine! I grabbed this guy $10 at the Gucci Goodwill (we gave a goodwill in an affluent area that has killer stuff)
So a bread machine is yours!

8. A Woodstove

 Our woodstove is our religion from October thru April. We worship it daily and spend our weekend cutting wood to stay in it's good grace. It dries our laundry, cooks our food, makes the coffee, and heats the house!  You're getting a WOODSTOVE!

9. Tomatoes

 If you have to can 1 thing that will change your life... can tomatoes!  You don't need a pressure canner and they are incredibly versatile for cooking! So everyone is getting 250lbs of canning tomatoes!

10. A Tula

A Tula! Where do I even begin! LBR is my snuggle bug. I love being close with my ladies and having them with me whether it's the Appalachian Trail, our garden, or the grocery store! Tula has a kinda cult following, but if you get one you'll drink the kool-aid!  So you get a Tula everyone gets a Tula!

I am a momma who is blessed beyond just the material! But... these things are my favorite things I would recommend to anyone who is considering a more simple and joy filled life!

And now back to your regularly scheduled program!

In love & light & woodstove warmth,

♡AVR 

The Greenhouse Volume 1

 Back in the early spring the Homestead Engineer set up a little greenhouse I found on sale at Harbor Freight for $200! We started a few little things, but since we got started late we didn't see much of an impact of having the house YET!

I've decided to give a fall garden a try in there. We are treating it like a big old cold frame. In the small pots we have a spattering of kale, salad greens, and spinach. The big feed tub I loaded up with compost ( my 1st year making compost and 1st time using it!!!) to aid in heating, and planted beets, turnips, and carrots.

It was a ton of fun to wade through the attic of our local hardware store to find seeds. So lesson learned I'll buy some extra next spring to put up for my fall garden.

I'm curious to find ways to help keep it warmer there. My dad once made a cold frame with beer bottles of water so I took that idea and went a step farther.

 At our local discount grocery they had salt 15 lbs for a dollar. Thanfully my friends and neighbors entertain me by collecting random crap when I put out an APB and these jugs were kindly brought over by a friend.

 I did some interwebbing and found 1/2 lb of salt per gallon of water should prevent my jugs from freezing and busting.

 With RKR'S help we painted the wall side black. What I read said to leave the inside clear for better heat transfer.

Then... we "installed" the jugs. Our temperature here was around 45 today tonight 4 hours after sundown the house was still in the 40s.

My ultimate greenhouse goal is fresh tomatoes on Christmas, but I'm loving the fact that even though we've had blustery days and even some snow I can seek refuge in 80 degrees in the greenhouse.

In love and light (because it heats me greenhouse)
~AVR