G r a t i t u d e * S u n d a y

G r a t i t u d e  *  S u n d a y

{Sunday's heartfelt tradition. A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful. A list of gratitudes.} 

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If you would like to join us, see below. 

Our gratefulness feeds one another. 

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Throughout the week I've felt grateful for: 

-Watching blueberry buds turning to little green blueberries (since a few weeks ago when I took these pictures.)
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-Jeff making three delicious, gourmet meals on Mother's Day.
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-Bracken pounding the sauerkraut. Perfect activity for two year olds who love to help and have a lot of energy!
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-Strawberries planted. Cabbage planted. Cauliflower. Beets. More lettuce, cilantro, and broccoli. Yay!
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-A good, grounded home day with a blend of relaxation, productivity, and a little outside time too.
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-Bracken napping on me. When he grows and no longer does that, I'll surely miss it.
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-Being further inspired (by illness) to learn more about how the body works so I can help support our family's health.
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-Homemade chicken soup and Bracken getting his appetite back that night.
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-My mom calling and making me laugh and lighten up when I was too serious and worrisome.
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-Finding little things to be grateful for on rough days when I need the reminder.
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-Watching the finale of The Office on Hulu. It was bittersweet, since I'm sad the show is over (it's my favorite show of all time), but it was a wonderful ending.
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-Bracken having a picnic on the living room floor. He packed his basket with food and a drink and rode it over on his trike. I set up a little blanket for him and he was all set.
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-Seeing the fish swimming around the pond Jeff built years ago. (With no care from us they continue to thrive.) The water creates such a magical spot in the front yard.
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-Waking up to spring noises. Singing birds and frogs.
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-Garlic. My body has been asking for it!
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-My mom singing this song to Bracken when he wasn't feeling well. The same song she likes to sing to me. (I love it so much and it makes me tear up.)
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-Sleep. I was so tired last night I lasted about a minute after I got Bracken to sleep and even fell asleep with clean laundry at the end of our bed, waiting to be put away!

You can read more about the inspiration for Gratitude Sunday here. 

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Like to Join Us in Gratitude Sunday?

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If you are a blogger, there is a link list below to add your link.

When adding your link...

Link the URL to your blog post and not to your main blog URL.
In your blog post, include a link back here, to this current post, so others who would like to join can find us.

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What have you felt grateful for throughout your week?

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Giveaway: Stainless Steel Cheese Press!

Have you been wanting a good quality cheese press for your kitchen?
If so, then today might be your lucky day!
Years ago, my mom gave this stainless steel cheese press to Jeff and I for a gift (I think it was Christmas? Or maybe my birthday?) We were so excited! It had been on our wish list for a long time and we really wanted it. We were milking goats and making kefir and soft cheese (we dabbled in buttermilk and yogurt, but kefir and cheese were our favorites.) We flavored our soft cheese with garden herbs and let me just say it was good. Make that incredible. We were hooked on cheese making. Jeff was anxious to delve into the world of hard cheeses and more particularly, aged cheeses. When we got the above cheese press, Jeff made a round of hard aged goat cheddar. If I remember correctly, he made it before Bracken was born. Then it hung in our pantry for a long time (until last July. To give you an idea of time, Bracken turned two last October.) Jeff decided it was time to open it up and check it out. I took pictures of it all and hadn't gotten around to posting them on my blog, until now that is.

 It was covered in wax (a kind we bought specifically for aged cheeses.)

 Jeff holding it and admiring what was underneath.

 Beautiful, aged raw cheddar goat cheese.

 And now, prepare yourself for some incredibly hilarious pictures of Jeff (and bless him for allowing me to post them, he's awesome like that.) Since it was such a momentous event, unveiling his round of cheese and all, we decided to photograph his first bite.

 Smelling it.......

 ....About to take his first bite....

 Can you tell he liked it?

 We only ended up using that wonderful cheese press one time! And as I wrote about before, our family stopped eating dairy. So the cheese press has been sitting in our kitchen cupboard. I don't like to see anything around here not being used. I like to keep our space as simple and clean and organized as possible (we still have a long ways to go around here, but we are surely making progress.) Recently this cheese press popped into my head and I thought what a waste it was to have it not being used. And then... I had an idea! Why not have a giveaway here and pass it along to someone else who could use it? I know it's going to make someone out there really happy and that makes us happy.

Okay, and now, the giveaway part. 

The stainless steel cheese press is from the Hoegger Goat Supply Company. 

I didn't find it on the site, but I think the press cost at least $100 dollars. 

Used once and good quality!

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At first I was going to keep this giveaway to entries in the United States only because of the cost of shipping (this thing is heavy), but I want to let everyone have an opportunity to enter. So, international entries are welcome, but if you live outside the U.S. and you happen to win, I ask that you split the cost of shipping with us, thanks!

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To enter the giveaway, use the rafflecoptor widget below. It's really easy and you can earn up to 20 entries.
Giveaway will end on Thursday at midnight and winner announced within this post on Friday.

Have you dabbled in cheese making? Been wanting to give it a go? Been doing it for years? 
Do share!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

{this moment}

...Joining Amanda at SouleMama for {this moment}...

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. 

A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

afternoon light in the coop (cute chick pictures)

 On Tuesday I brought the camera along with us when Bracken and I went for one of our visits to the chicken coop. The afternoon sun was shining in the windows and it was so fun to watch the chicks doing acrobatics all over their newly expanded space. They were using the roost Jeff made, which he was glad to hear. We were surprised they were ready for one already. They were stretching their wings out and practicing flying. They are growing so fast. I appreciate that those busy chicks let me take quite a few close ups of them.

 Right now the Americaunas are the most lively of the bunch and do the most flying too.

 This little Plymouth Barred Rock is pretty social with us and one of Bracken's favorites to hold.

 This Golden Sex Link (thanks to you readers for teaching me about their name) is the smallest chick in our flock right now. And also one of Bracken's favorites to hold. (Oh yeah, for those of you, like me, who didn't know the story behind their name: they are able to tell the sex of the chick by their color right off the bat.)

 The Speckled Sussex has been more shy. She's so pretty.

 The little Golden Sex Link and an Americauna snuggling together.

 Another view of the Speckled Sussex. You can see her "eyeshadow" more here.

 One of the Buff Orpingtons giving us a quizzical look.

 I love the fuzzy cheeks that the Americaunas have. And I think their coloring is so pretty.

 Bracken and I have been bringing them fresh grass and greens and they eat up every speck. We've brought them insects and slugs and they gobbled those up too. Our garden is going to be very happy to have less slugs around here!

Fluffy Buff Orpington.

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On Saturday, we'll be picking up 5 Wellsummers (hopefully, this time.) That will bring us up to 18 chicks, which is honestly more than we'd like to have. We were planning on 15 this year. But what we've learned from years past is that it's a good idea to have a little more because you might lose some, which is a part of keeping chickens.

We won't be going to Saturday Market this weekend. But since we'll be picking up our chicks in Eugene, we're going to swing by the farmer's market. Last weekend we could only fit so many cabbages in our car, since it was packed with market stuff. This weekend we'll be stocking up on more cabbages to make another batch of kraut. It's a staple in our home and we've been out for a little while now, which feels like forever for us.

yarnalong: locally grown & expanding blue

...Joining Ginny's YarnAlong, sharing what I'm knitting and reading....

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...Knitting...

I took my YarnAlong picture yesterday, when it was nice and sunny. Now it's raining out and I'm so glad I did that. As you can see, I had my little photography assistant by my side. The picture taking soon came to an end when he started unraveling my ball of yarn. I'm still knitting that bag and am still on the first skein. It's growing! I worked on it on our drive to and from market on Saturday. I love having a knitting project that's so easy, that I can bring along to work on.

...Reading...

My reading material is the newly released Locally Grown guide. I picked it up at the farmer's market on Saturday. I've been waiting for it to come out, I even checked their website awhile back to see when it would be ready. I look forward to this guide coming out every year. A lot. I always read it from front to back and refer back to it throughout the season. I even have an extra copy of last year's edition stashed in our car! It lists local farms in our area, along with what they offer and their growing methods. It includes CSAs that are available and lists local businesses and restaurants that sell local food. Our family usually does a lot of u-pick each year and it lists which foods are available at which farms. Basically, it's just awesome and I love it. 

(I wrote about it before here and here.)

How about you? What are you knitting and reading?

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P.S. Bracken slept well last night and is on the mend. Thanks for all your sweet comments.

extra snuggles & calendula smiles

 On Sunday we opened up the chicken coop, letting the chicks have the full run of the place rather than a sectioned off corner of it. They were so ready and immediately started half-flying all over the place. Jeff built them a mini roost too. We had a good, productive home day. Jeff and I both noticed that Bracken seemed a little off though. Then on Monday he felt warm to me. Yep, he had a temperature. It was a rainy day and Jeff started a fire in the woodstove to keep things cozy. Bracken and I wore our pajamas all day. There were lots of extra snuggles. More quiet. Less activity. More nursing than usual. He got a runny nose, a cough, and started sneezing. Last night was long for all of us. Every time I finally got Bracken to sleep, he woke right back up again. It's so hard for Jeff and I to see Bracken feeling miserable (this is definitely the most miserable he's ever been) and we're really grateful he hasn't been sick very often.

Today we all woke up from a restless night and the sun was shining. It was gorgeous out. Jeff needed to get some groceries and run some errands. I had planned on doing that today, but we decided not to go to our weekly group at the Waldorf School. I knew the only way I'd get breakfast made this morning was if I put Bracken in the Ergo carrier. I hardly ever use it at home anymore, he'd rather be running around free. But I still use it at the grocery store and on and off at the Saturday Market. People always make comments about how big he is and that they can't believe I'm still carrying him around in there. I guess they aren't used to seeing two year olds in carriers, but it seems really natural to me. And it's wonderful at times like today when he wants to be held nonstop, but I still have things to get done. I did get breakfast made. Bracken fell asleep on me on the couch and it almost burned. So I've gotten very little done around here today, but am doing the most important thing there is- caring for Bracken. He is congested and has a hard time sleeping while he's laying down. He's been falling asleep on me all day and I've been keeping him propped up so he can rest longer. 

We went out in the garden to soak up a little sunshine. Yesterday it felt right to be indoors, warm and snug, and today it felt right to be outside in the fresh air a bit. Last week Bracken spotted the very first calendula flowers blooming in the garden. He always seems to be the one to spot the first flowers. He was so excited. (And the way he says the word 'calendula' is so incredibly cute.) Today he saw two more and his whole face lit up. It was so wonderful to see him smile in the midst of being sick. He picked them and then set them on the ground. I held them for a moment, took a few pictures, and set them back down. Then he held them up to the sky and decided to give one to mama and one to dada. He insisted on a vase of water and we put one in the kitchen window. The other was tucked behind Jeff's ear, just where Bracken wanted it.