busy few weeks

Its been a busy couple of weeks. A few highlights:
- Andrew is potty-trained. Hooray!!
- As a result, Eleanor is back in cloth diapers. Double Hooray! (I attempted two in cloth when Eleanor was newborn and just could not keep up with the laundry. Going disposable was the right decision for our family at the time, but now that we have only one in diapers, washing our own cloth is manageable and easy on the budget for sure.)
- I (finally!) found a church that I think I really like. After searching and trying many churches in the area, this one feels like the right fit. AND its only 4 miles from our house! I can't believe I didn't make it over there sooner.
- Andrew started preschool and LOVES it. (thanks, Nicole, you rock!) He and I made an alphabet book today that we will work on together through the year. His favorite part was the glue, I think. I also want to make him this and may enlist the help of a friend whose kids go to Waldorf School and is in tune with this type of thing... about which I am hoping to learn more!
- My sheep are fine and dandy, and the fabric for their new coats arrived and is waiting patiently on my sewing table. And I pretty much rocked the chicken business (sold out of the first 100 and working through the next 100 now). Things have been tough at the farm with a family member passing on, trouble with predators and a big fiber festival and sheep show coming up. Any prayers and good vibes for the Fosters and especially Carole would be welcome! We also had the shearer this past Saturday and 15 sheep were shorn. It was a lot of fun for me to observe and help skirt fleeces for the first time. I decided, with the advice of a few seasoned sheep ladies, that I will wait until January to have Ciaran shorn because a longer fleece will be more desirable to potential customers, and will also be worth more. So, I will be patient, as hard as it will be!
- Me and the kids had a nice visit with my friend, her beautiful baby-belly and her son. The boys had fun playing, Eleanor had fun trying to keep up, and it was great to be able to catch up after not seeing one another all summer.
- We are still harvesting like crazy from the garden. Tomatoes galore and peppers just keep on coming. The chickens seemed to have stopped laying, not sure if its moult, light or something else. I got them a nice new scratch blend to offer in addition to their regular food plus table scraps, so I am hoping that helps. I will also bring a light back into the coop soon now that autumn is upon us and the days are shorter. If you care to, read more about why I do this here. Its also possible that some of them need to be replaced with younger hens. I will be sad to see them go when that day comes but I am excited because of my plans to replace them with Blue Laced Red Wyandottes. They are so pretty (for chickens, anyway!).

We have been so busy I have hardly taken any photos, unfortunately. This is usually how it goes, though, life comes in spurts for me. I have been running, prepping for my "Turkey 10-10"; the Troy Turkey Trot 10k 2010. Anyone want to run with me??

I made some sinfully delicious and indulgent brownies last week, my modified version of the Cooks Illustrated Brownies complete with homemade semisweet chocolate ganache on top. Not healthy, or vegan, but sometimes a good brownie is just what you need to get you through, right? Tonight we had a yummy supper of red quinoa and couscous with toasted pine nuts and fresh parsley from my friend Betsy's garden. I served it with poached salmon which we all ate (including Eleanor - she eats almost everything now!) and a simple green salad. No photos since we were all super hungry. I have some good recipes and ideas on deck for the rest of the week so I will keep my camera handy. Now that it is getting pretty chilly at night, I have taken up my mint tea routine again and have been staying up WAY too late working on knitting projects.

Goodnight all, and stay tuned this week as I attempt to be a more faithful blogger and photographer!