All Ready For Christmas

Our tree. Usually we go to a local tree farm Dad worked at when he was young, but the prices have gotten a bit steep for our budget, so we cheated and went with fresh from Menards. Surprisingly, this tree has lasted longer than either of our farm trees. We are slowly building up our homemade ornament collection, but in the meantime we make sure to use plenty of lights and tinsel (the downtown Salvation Army had tons of tinsel cheap!) so she sparkles. Try not to focus on the laundry and gifts in process on the counter behind the tree.

We tried a new setup for the kids' trees this year and all of us really like it, plus it makes the main living area feel even more festive. Each of their little (artificial) trees is put around the living room. They get to decorate their trees, and their gifts from us (Mom and Dad) are put under their own tree. I also decided to make new stockings for everyone, though only Lovely G has one of the new ones for this year (the green one in the middle). The previous ones I had made from felt, but was never happy with. These new are knitted and I love them, so far.

Here is Lovely G's tree and the Advent calendar. This year rather than put the surprise in the pocket for each day, just the bible verse is there, then after we've read it for the day the kids get to each have one candy cane from one of the trees. It has worked out really well. I also snagged a bunch of  99-cent poinsettias from Home Depot on Black Friday since it is right next to JoAnn's, where I was loading up on fabric for the year (which I didn't get nearly enough of-next year!). They are all over the house.
I am down to just a couple gifts left to make, most baked goods and one to buy after I decided I just didn't have enough time to sanely complete their handmade gift. I love this time of year, but have been busier than usual so changed things up a bit to relieve stress.

It's a State of Mind, A Way of Doing Things

Working with the idea posted here earlier about family work weekends, I wanted to give a glimpse of our set up. We have our share of friends and family who are also homesteading on acreages, and then we also have some who live in town and urban homestead. Due to limited space/light/laws we end up sharing our space with them, so they can expand on what they do there. In exchange they help us keep up with what we do. Recently we added a new goat, already in milk to our herd, a sweet Toggenberg named Ginger. We weren't really planning on doing any milking until next spring, but Ginger came from a family who needed to find a good home for many in their herd, and we were itching to be able to supply our own dairy products. This led to a scurry of gathering parts and pieces we were going to need, including (but certainly not limited to!) a milking stand. The home we adopted Ginger from had a wooden milking stand, which they had advised against, as they were having issues with mildew. After searching numerous pages of terribly-expensive-on-a-homesteader's-budget stands made of wood, pvc or metal, I decided that we would chance the wood. The cost of the stands available through catalogs and such were in the area of $175-$200 plus shipping which was generally around $65. The cost of materials for our homemade one: $30. No comparison.

This stand was also built by two terribly talented ladies, myself and one of my closest friends and partner in crime, er, homesteading (she's my urban counterpart, so to speak). It went together easily; we used the directions for a stand from Fias Co. Farm, which is also where we get our animal health products like the herbal wormer we use. I love Molly's site-she is very thorough in her explanations of how and why she does what she does with her goats. The stand works wonderfully, and has already served another purpose as I sheared our Border Cheviot sheep, Chrysanthemum yesterday. It is lightweight and sealed with oil. I wipe down with the same soapy solution I clean the milking dishes with each milking, and dry it to avoid any growth issues.
All of this is not to push Fias Co. farm's site (though I do love them!) or to brag or just chat about how I spend my weeknights, but rather to talk about how many resources (including this blog :)  ) are available to the simply, frugally, green minded individual out there that makes it easier for them to live the way they do. The internet has made it so easy to find others who have been through the same trenches we have been or are in. It is easy to order or follow the insight of the first site hits google brings up, but I find that there is great value in taking time to look at all your options and seek what fits you best. I respect the opinion of the fine farm family we bought Ginger from, and I agree they have an issue with the stand they use. I also know our situation and what we can make work. I took time (though I was on a deadline) and figured out what would fit our budget and time. That wouldn't have worked, though, without the help of our friends, either. I am not a craftsman when it comes to wood working, but by combining talents (every Thursday night, at that) we are able to achieve more, and work towards our goals for more self-sufficiency and frugality. And it was fun. I think too often we see work rather than opportunities for gathering. I actually enjoy working-I know it sounds crazy to some, but the feeling of accomplishing something is far more gratifying than the click of a button in ordering it from some distant company. All in the homesteader's day to day, and I wouldn't change any of it.

Christmas on the Farm-photos

Homemade Gift Giving

We have been progressing towards as close as possible to all homemade gifts for gift giving occasions (wow that was an awful sentence!). I know several of my friends have been shooting for this goal as well. We have done fairly well the last couple Christmas's and this year will serve as one of the first years that I am making birthdays very much homemade as well. In the past I would save up and order toys from natural toy companies like Nova and Magic Cabin. This year I found that much of what I wanted was sold out, and after looking at it a bit longer, that I could probably make what I wanted with just a little more effort on my part. I am thinking about Christmas at this point, and working like mad on Pony Gal's birthday stuff. Right now I am knitting a dress she chose the yarn for. That, along with getting her ears pierced (something I don't feel comfortable doing, so we'll just buy that one ;) )are her major gifts. I also found several small projects I really liked in Living Crafts magazine. I hadn't ever seen it until I was reading at SouleMama's blog and saw one of her contests for it. I switched my paper Mothering subscription to digital to save about $20 and put that toward a year of Living Crafts, which focuses on crafts to make for kids, mostly organic/naturally focused. I am also trying to make more of the kids' clothes. Some crazy things have happened lately, and some of the hand me downs we usually get may not be coming. That means I will focus a lot on clothes for gifts, as well. I have found some nice patterns for simple clothing that is made cute by the fabric choices. I, of course, am always on the hunt at garage sales, as well. I think we pick up too much clothing, so I am trying to keep it to one storage bin, and just make a point to watch and make sure there is a good selection. That's another post, though. So, Pony Gal's birthday thus far is the ear piercing, the knitted dress, a crocheted crown, a horse hood and tail belt that I have yet to make, but doesn't look too hard, crocheted reins, and if I have time (the crocheted stuff will all be fairly simple), some knitted fingerless mitts to use while riding her bike. Superboy's birthday isn't until October, with a few friends' birthdays and births in between, so I should be able to get a start on Christmas, soon. I know everyone is getting knitted socks, mittens and hat, but beyond that I am waiting to see. I liked picking up good condition plain tees, either on clearance or at g sales and thrift stores, and painting on them. There were a lot of those last year. I am also thinking of making little notebooks for the kids. They love to write and color, and Papa H left us with a lot of paper. That idea is stolen from Amy at the angry chicken blog. I must say, blogs serve as a huge inspiration. If someone is looking to start going homemade, for just about anything, not just gifts, get yourself a nice collection of blogs. Many post tutorials, many are just inspiration. Once you start, though, it is hard to go back. I love giving things I've made. I may not always get the thrilled expression that kids get when they get a fancy toy, but I love simplicity and necessity, and I can better facilitate that through giving what I've made. I also think those items mean so much more when the person is older looking back, or an adult who understands the time it takes to make an item. There are those who still don't, but I am finding more and more that I am surrounding myself with fewer and fewer of them. Not on purpose, we just don't have that much in common anymore. I will try to update with each individual project as I finish it. The picture above is me working on the dress at my mom's house. Thanks, Num, for stealing the camera and actually catching me doing something:)