This Egg Washing Business

 This past summer I've had so much fun watching Rosetta go through her little routine of washing eggs.  It's one of those little moments I've wanted to capture and remember forever because it's so precious.  

 

 As part of the girls' daily chores... wait, scratch that... as part of the girls' daily chores when we aren't really busy and we actually stick to our daily chore list, the girls help take care of the chickens.  Jillian is old enough now to fill the water and feed troughs, and Rosetta gathers the eggs and washes them.  She has a routine she always follows of setting up a little assembly station, which consists of her egg basket, a bowl full of soapy water, and a towel that she organizes outside.

 

 

 With hands full of soapy water, I don't really think they consider this a "chore".  ;-)  But we take this egg washing business serious here! 

Ever inquisitive, the chickens always come over to see what we are up to. 

 

 I've actually been on the hunt for a cute egg basket for ages now.  We've been using an old basket I picked up somewhere for $1 in the meantime.  At Wal-Mart (who knew?) recently though, I found the perfect egg basket for under $5.  This wire basket was in the craft section and was originally brown, which wasn't a problem for me...  I just came home and spray painted it white.  I love it so much, I might go back and buy a few more because it's the perfect size to store so many things in the house.  :-)

 I've been hanging onto those last days of summer, but Fall has arrived and soon we'll be walking on crunchy leaves in the cool air.  Eating pumpkin muffins with warm drinks.  Soup for dinner, and maybe lunch too.  Taking advantage of the sun in the afternoon.  Searching for the perfect pumpkins and decorating the porch with mums.  Savoring new fall memories. 

 Happy Fall! 

Kitchen Scenes

 This week when I should have been packing, doing laundry, or any of the many more important things on my to-do list, you could find me in my kitchen... organizing shelves and cabinets.  I called Justus at work and asked if there was something wrong with me, that every time I know I have to leave our home for a few days, I go into nesting mode.  It's not that I don't enjoy going away for a few days, because I do, but there's nothing quite like home, is there? 

 

Our home is so imperfect on so many levels.  There are what seems like a never-ending list of things that need to be done to improve this little place of ours, and there are days I wouldn't mind moving to a brand new house where I didn't have to think about painting, or tearing down wallpaper (and to think those are just the easy things on the list) .  And yet... I love this old house.  And whenever I need a little grounding, I just come into my kitchen, the heart of our home, where the light floods the room in abundance.  I wash dishes, I cook, I organize a shelf or two, and I realize I have so, so much to be thankful for.  It doesn't take long for everything to be put into perspective once again.  

 

 I think one of the best things about having a small kitchen it that it has forced me to only keep those items that are most useful and most loved.  I never come home with anything for my kitchen that I haven't already thought through in my head where its home will be.  My house truly isn't the most organized, but I do like to keep the kitchen very tidy, and have a particular place for every item.  This helps so much when it comes to putting meals on each day, from food prep to grocery shopping to doing the dishes.   

 We have a little hidden storage, which I use for those items I don't find as pretty to display, like pots, pans, storage containers, small appliances, and food items.  What I've discovered in the time that I've had open shelving, is that it is best to display items there that you use very frequently, otherwise they will get dusty and dirty.  Sometime I can show you how I store everything if you'd like, but the pictures may not be very pretty.  ;-)

 

I'm thankful for moments when I realize how lucky I am to have a refrigerator where sweet drawings are proudly displayed, and that I have a beautiful, perfectly imperfect kitchen where I can cook meals for my family. Don't you agree that the most beautiful homes are those that are well loved and well lived in?  Oh yes, much to be thankful for...

Visiting Stone Mountain

 I hope you had a great Labor Day weekend!  For the holiday, we went with our good friends to stay at Stone Mountain, GA.  It's a beautiful park (although some parts are very touristy) with a lot of family activities.  We arrived one afternoon and after lunch, we visited the Antebellum Plantation, which is actually a collection of older buildings from the state of GA.  This is the one time there I lugged my big camera around.  I thought you might enjoy seeing a few of the pictures I took while there... I know you love old houses and buildings like this as much as I do.  ;-)   

The above home was my favorite.  It's named the Kingston House, circa 1845, of the late Federal period.  The top floor consisted of living, dining, and bedrooms and the bottom floor the kitchen. 

 When I first walked in, I turned to Justus and said, "This is why I live in an old house!"  Sometimes I find it easy to get bogged down by the never-ending projects and the imperfections, instead of embracing the sweet character of an old home.  It felt good to be reminded of the reasons I love our old house.

White and wood, I will never tire of you...

 I loved the logs on this Doctor's Cabin.  We read that the logs are locked into place, making the corners of the cabin strong enough to withstand tornadoes! 

 This is the Dickey House, circa 1840, of neoclassical architecture, which was fascinating to tour.  It has 14 rooms with 6250 square feet and was lived in by descendants of the family until the 1960s!   I think we read that it traveled to this location in four different pieces! 

 An arched hallway, so beautiful. 

 The fabric in this master bedroom was gorgeous. This wool coverlet was woven in 1836!

 Probably my favorite place to visit here was this dahlia garden!  Dahlias are my favorite flower and I could hardly take in how plentiful and large these plants were... I was completely envious, since my mom and I grow dahlias in our own flower garden and our plants aren't anywhere as tall as these!  ;-) 

 I wanted to climb into this garden and pick every one of these beauties! 

 This was the plantation office, although it looks like a building I would gladly make my home!

The favorite building of our girls was the one room schoolhouse (circa 1875) and they had a lot of fun playing here and pretending they were the teacher.  Despite the heat, I think they could have played here for hours!  

I think some of the same things that fascinate my girls about an earlier time period are the same things that fascinate me.  Imagining what life must have been like and the people that would have walked and lived in these same rooms.  Right now we're reading the Little House books, and it makes me laugh because I love reading those old stories just as much as my girls do! 

I took this picture of the three girls together in the formal garden.  What a fun weekend we had... we packed in quite a bit, visiting many of the attractions at Stone Mountain. 

I took this picture on my cell phone, so it's not the best quality, but you can see the Confederate Memorial carving in the mountain.   

 Here we are on the top of the mountain, after riding up on the sky-ride.  You can just about see all the way to Atlanta from here!  Some of the other highlights were a train ride, and the laser and fireworks show one night, but I think more than anything, we just enjoying spending time together.  Still, as fun as vacations are, I don't think there is anything quite like home, sweet home. :-)     

Hammock Days

On Mother's Day this year, a hammock was hung from my favorite tree in our yard. 

 It's been our favorite place this summer.  While the girls play on their play set outside after supper, Justus and I usually make a run for it and lay here watching the girls, talking about the day while enjoying the evening as the weather cools down.  Inevitably, the girls will also run over after a while and join us for some giggles and swinging. 

 The most perfect Mother's Day gift - I love it even more because it's something we can all enjoy.  Justus did say he picked out the hammock that most looked like something I would like (simple...and white ;-) ).  Jillian even painted the post one afternoon for me.

 As I lay here and stare up at the sky, I sometimes feel like I'm swinging under the largest tree there ever was.  The girls and I often find ourselves out here in the afternoon, enjoying a spot of shade and relaxing as the sounds of summer pass us by.

 Our chickens are all doing well; actually, I think they may be the most spoiled chickens in the state!  I refer to them as the neighborhood chickens, as our neighbor throws out "treats" for them and they wander from neighbor to neighbor, but always end up back here to be shut into their coop at night. ;-)

 The chickens are now over two years old and so is Huck.  He's turned out to be the most amazing dog (when he listens - ha) and I love him to pieces.  The girls and I are glad we have somebody in the house we can baby talk to!  He has his haircut scheduled for Friday - it's always time when his curls start to cover his eyes.  :-)

Fall is on the horizon, but we're still soaking in the last of these warm summer days and I'm storing these perfect summer memories away.  

I hope your week has been wonderful!  Thank you for your warm welcome back!