Rain

   Before the rain had hit sometime about Tuesday, we had not seen much rain for quite some time.  The grass was dry, the woods were dry and being in NH, that is never a good thing; we have a lot of woods!  There had been weeks of high fire alert warnings up.  So, when it started to rain, it was great.  My husband was able to get the garden tilled right before to loosen the soil one more time, he was able to get tick killing seed on the ground to get worked in by the rain, flowers not yet planted were being quenched.  It's still raining now three days later and forecasted to for another three.

  While we appreciate the gift of rain, it's putting a bit of a damper on quite a few things around here.

• The kids are going stir crazy!

• My husband is not looking forward to having to cut the grass for the third time in two weeks!

• I have still not been able to plant my vegetable garden! (and can I just add it's supposed to be 40 one night next week!)

• My chicken coop.....my chickens will be a whole seperate post since this is our first time having chicks and has been a great learning experience, not to mention so much fun!  However, for many reasons (which I will delve into in the other post as well) we got a pre-fab coop.  I went out the other day to do a full clean-out and found the corner areas had leaked water into the coop and nesting box areas overnight during a huge thunderstorm!  Since then the coop and nesting box section have been covered with a tarp. 

Everyday certainly IS an adventure.....what have yours been this week?

Amy

       

A Mother's Day Hat

   This winter was a very long, cold and snowy winter here in NH.  In December I decided I was going to take up knitting and crocheting.  Since we moved from a townhouse to a house we knew we would be keeping the heat low as to not run through heating fuel. 

   I began with scarves; nice and easy I figured, so I made them for everyone for Christmas.   I conquered the basics, but I wanted to challenge myself with more.  Mother's Day was coming up and I thought a crocheted hat with the wool she gave me would be a unique gift.  I had no idea if I could pull it off, but I found an easy pattern and went to work.

1st Wool Hat

   It took less than a week and was super simple!  I personally think it could be a little shorter than the 36 cs (chain stitches) that it says because we had to roll it up a couple times.  Aside from that, it came out beautiful for my first try and it will keep her head nice and toasty in the winter!  Best of all I have plenty of wool and time to make one for my daughters, husband and myself.

Welcome to the S&B Farm

   I'm Amy; wife, mother, teacher and domestic engineer. I live in a tiny little country town in New Hampshire with my husband Al.  We have three children- our son Devin is 17 and our daughters Briana and Sophia are 13 & 4; both which we are homeschooling. 

On our little farm we have one dog; Lilly, a cat; Isabelle and three chickens; Anne, Diana and Lucy.

    My family moved back to the country a year ago after being in the city for seven long years. It was the best decision we've ever made.  My husband and I have always wanted to have a house in the country where we could have a big garden, farm animals, and get closer to nature. Ever since I was little I have always wanted a huge farm with horses- somewhere in Montana or Wyoming (maybe someday!)  My husband grew up on his grandparents farm in Illinois, so farming is in his blood. 

   Our goal was to do things more like they were done so many years ago.  Over the past five months I've been learning new skills and crafts such as breadmaking, knitting, crocheting, and raising chickens.  We're slowly getting closer to the land and using it for it's original use, raising chickens for their eggs and to learn many homestead skills to be as self-sufficient as we can.

   With so many new things to tackle it's definitely an adventure around here.  There are laughs, there are tears, there are triumphs and epic fails.  One thing is for sure- everyday is a whole new day to learn and share.

I hope you take time to explore the adventures with us,

Amy