Country Charm

I just love how this heart-shaped pocket looks on Trinni's new skirt! When she wears her new skirt that I invented for her, she looks like she came straight out of Laura Ingall's "Little House on The Prairie." It wasn't a major feat to make this skirt, but it brought Trinni a little bit of joy and a feeling that she is Mommy's 'special girl,' and that is what is most important.

The pattern came straight from a wonderful book called "Sew What Skirts." This book is such a confidence booster for the beginning seamstress. It helps you to discover your own flare for sewing through the making of skirts. It doesn't matter what your shape or size, you can design your own fine frock using the basic formulas contained therein. It is a must read for anyone wishing to add a little bit of flare to their wardrobe, which according to my mother-in-law, is what I posess :)

The Reading Train

I really was engrossed in my book when the girls came over and piled on the reading train. Very cute. It had to be Trinity's idea, don't you think? Look at that laughter...you can almost see it coming out of her mouth!

I finally have all of my photo archives on my computer, so I was able to share this one with...my blog and whomever it may come accross....

This is a pic of Trinity & I at Hicks Orchard in Granville, New York. As a child this is the orchard that my parents would bring my brother & I. We loved it so much that the tradition lives on. Although I have to say, we are beginning to equally enjoy McWhorter's Orchards which are about 3 minutes down the road from our house. They offer a wagon ride into the orchards back and forth every 30 minutes on weekends, throughout the whole season, and they charge only $11/half bushel, which is a steal! We ended up picking a whole bushel basket in about 10 minutes flat. The trees are loaded with juicy red MacIntosh apples. Tis the season!

Melissa, Trinity & Jessica at The Clark Art Institute.

This was quite the day for our family...we spent some time at the Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute. We haven't been there for quite some time now, but it is always an adventure to travel to another state and find yourself reveling in the beauty of paintings by the great masters of art.

They even have an original J.M.W. Turner painting there, which is where we got the name for our son, Turner. It is well worth the drive out and the time spent by yourself or with your loved ones. In fact, I think I'm currently talking myself into a visit back to the Clark.

www.clarkart.edu

My Little Girl

This is an oldie, but goody. Trinity & I on the porch at 139 Spring St. The house has since been purchased, painted, the fences came down, and the accoutrements are completely different, but the soul of the house lives on.

Trinity & I lived here for a couple of years, walked the sidewalks of Saratoga, perused the shops, worked for people in town teaching private piano lessons & attended the Beagle School. There are so many memories...too many to remember, I guess.

The other day, I sat on our old street and cried a few tears as I sat outside of the deli, and across the street from our old house thinking of the "old days." I guess you could say we sometimes get wrapped up in nostalgia, and forget to appreciate what IS, in the moment of now. I need to appreciate the now more...

and I have to say it....

'live in the NOW,'

(as I now sit here with a smile on my face. Apparantly I am just too funny for my own good...)

This photo was taken on Trinni's first day of Beagle School. We were so proud of her. Isn't she just the cutest doll you have ever seen? I guess I am bias, as her mother.

September 16, 2009

General Ulysses S. Grant speaking with Elizabeth Grant, Julia Grant,Ulysses S. Grant III & Ida Grant/widow of deceased U.S. Civil War Soldier.

This is one of the most beautiful moments ever captured of our family. It was such a privilage to be able to participate in the wake & funeral of a young civil war soldier.

I was proud to be able to represent his widow and recieve the sword in his family's stead.

My children, Trinity & Turner, will remember this week forever as well. It is not very often that one gets to participate in a living, breathing lesson of history and how it applies to our day to day lives. As a homeschool family, I think we have truely been able to drive home what history is all about...honour, courage, love, sacrifice, bravery, chivalry, respect, and all of the good qualities that are the threads in a beautiful tapestry of life.

This moment went beyond moaning and groaning about schedules, how tight my corset was squeezing, and whose call was missed on a cell phone or an iPhone, or whatever your codependent contact machine of choice is...the daily grind is mundane...that's why I gave up my cell phone. No offense to anyone who relies on their cell phone for important communication...very sorry.....

Depending on whether or not you can talk on the phone at any given moment is not what life pivots around. It is a composition of sorts...with harmonious memories interweaving to ring out something quite beautiful and memorable. Sometimes these compositions are virtuous and inspiring, and really remind us of how people can pull together for a cause that is above and beyond what they normally choose to care about during the day. This is what this ceremony was to me. Not the buttons or the bones, but the person who fought a war that changed history. A history that I do not understand too well...thanks to boring textbooks and uninteresting highschool presentations of its makeup, but I did understand what happened on this day.

Strangers pulled together to honor the fallen man who chose to fight for what he believed in. We need more of that in our society of the laissez-faire. People have to stand up for something and stand tall. This event made me stand a little taller.

Thank you to everyone who participated.

Thank you also to the Saratogian for taking this photo. Because I was not offered a model release form, I have taken it upon myself to borrow the photo for family, friends and other bloggers to see, but the photo does belong to the Saratogian of Saratoga Springs, NY.

Trinity & My Three Sons...sounds Italian doesn't it?

Trinity, Turner, Jacob hangin' out with baby-Caden

Caden crawling at 7 months in his fat cloth diaper :)

Jacob checking out the homeschool shelf

Turner and Caden having an affectionate moment for the camera.

Jacob admiring our new circus animals.

Our Berners

We had a new addition to our family this summer.

Meet Kayleigh & Sabra, our Bernese Mt. Dogs.

They are sisters, and the only way that we can tell them apart

is by putting different color collars on them.

They are the sweetest dog you could ever

know. We picked them up after a 3 1/2 hour journey to

Montgomery Center, Vermont. It was a good 2 weeks by the time we

had made the decision to get them, and we are so glad that we did.

We wrestled with the idea of Border Collies, because we like their (adult)

disposition. After researching them online and finding a very

informative border collie rescue's site, we decided that their high

energy would not be suitable in a home with 4 children and a lot of other

things going on...we looked at other breeds too, but decided that the

Berners calm, lazy, and large disposition was perfect for our family.

Who doesn't need a calming, lazy presence in their fast-paced lives, these days?

I am now totally obsessed with my dogs, and even find myself juicing my

watermelon rinds for them and mixing it into their gucci kibble chow.

My next goal is to be making organic/raw doggy treats for them for training treats.

I hope it leads to a long and healthy life for my girls.

so...if ever there was a great family dog to have, this is the one.

Male or Female they live up to their name....the gentle giants.

For more information on the Bernese Mt. Dog visit:
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/bernesemountain.htm

http://www.bmdca.org/

Summer Shine Beauty

I found a purpose for our grape vine wreath. It looks so quaint

and simply beautiful on our new gate! I'm especially enjoying

the fruits of our labor this year every time I look upon our perennial

gardens in the front yard. It took three years to make such a lovely garden.

I can only imagine what it would look like in another three years with

time & attention.

Jammin' Out at The Community Baa

This year we spent a lot of time in our local berry patches.

Not only did we support local farmers & local produce, but

we really enjoyed the intense flavor of honest to goodness

berries & cherries, and the jam that came from them!

It is our first year making jam, and man it was good.

We bought our own waterbath canner and went straight

to work, and it was well worth the time and energy.

You cannot buy that taste from the store shelves!

http://www.themermaidsbraid.etsy.com/

Check out our jam for sale at our etsy shop!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=30001678

The Community Baa's Bath Baambs

Intricately Made

I found these vintage animals at www.recycledwares.etsy.com.

I just love the way that they look on my sideboard!

Up In Smoke

This project was such a pleasure to prepare, and such a disaster in the end!

My children & I peeled our crayons and divided them into aluminum trays

so that we could melt the wax and then pour the melted crayon wax into molds to

form into fresh new crayons...well....it started out with good intentions, but ended

up in flames in my oven!

A word to the wise (that learn from others mistakes)...never,

I repeat

NEVER

set your oven to the broil setting to speed up crayon melting...

it will ignite the wax and blast it all over the inside of your oven.

I had to use the fire extinguisher to put that blaze out.

Luckily it worked, because our cable phone was not working at the time.

I had to evacuate the kids to the porch until the black smoke floated out the

windows, and the fire alarms were singing while I took my waxy mess out of my

blue oven.

What a lesson in safety that was....

maybe next time....

Art Recycled

Today my children practiced our family ritual of recycling through art!

We used egg cartons, the backside of used paper, glitter glue, and markers.

The boys were quite proud of their creation!

Fun Food at Snacktime

My children & I loved creating this fun finger food!

~1/2 loaf specialty bread sliced into pieces for (turtles legs)

~1/2 avacado (turtle shell)

~1 beautiful berry (turtle head)

This snack idea came from our little acorn learning program. If you are looking for a great homeschool/unschooly type preschool/K program, you may love Little Acorn Learning. http://www.littleacornlearning.com/ You can purchase their lesson plans/activites by the month. They also have "seasonal childcare menus" available with meal plans that include the grain color of the day and healthy ingredient choices for each meal & snack.

Enjoy!

Celebrate a Handmade Revolution

There is nothing more beautiful than a handmade toy, piece of clothing, homemade cupcake, or piece of furniture. The creator puts their own special twist into what they are doing, and makes it uniquely their own.

I just finished designing a pattern for a skirt that my daughter Trinity will wear. I can't wait to show you a picture, because I am so proud of the way it turned out.

Making something yourself to give to another is the ideal expression of love. You are putting yourself 100% into a project, and then just simply giving it away. That is selflesness, isn't it. I have been very inspired by the last issue of Mothering magazine. Contained in its pages are 5 daring women, that choose a lifestyle of making everything (or close to everything) for their home/family, by hand. I highly recommend reading that issue, and also checking out some of these women on their blogs or websites.

For my sons birthday, I have already purchased his gifts from http://www.etsy.com/. He will be getting some hand-dyed waldorf silks http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=26486669, a naturally dyed silk ribbons streamer stick (http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vt_related_1&listing_id=29669028) ...both from http://www.syrendell.etsy.com/. The family that offers these gems is the sweetest family, and recieve my top notch rating for customer service. I would gladly purchase from them any day of the week, over going to Target or some other box store.

Turner will also recieve 2 nirdles from http://www.animalquackers.etsy.com/. This is the description of the nirdle: "The Nirdle is an adorable little creature. He is a strict vegetarian, and is very social! This medium sized red Nirdle is made with much care from wool blend felt and embroidery floss, then he is stuffed DENSELY with polyfiberfill. He would love to come see your house, he loves children of all ages, and is a wonderful decoration or toy! " See a picture of him @ http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=18712991. This shop is selling out all inventory at a great price with free shipping. Get gifts while the getting is good!!

Another wonderful handmade inspiration is http://www.smallmagazine.net/issue.asp. Small magazine features original artwork, clothing & toy designs for children. Many of the featured artists also have etsy shops.

If you would like to check out my shop, where everything is handmade by my husband or I, go to: http://www.themermaidsbraid.etsy.com/.

Now go make something!!

God's Blessings

My camera is down, so I wasn't able to capture the sunny-ness of todays splendor...it was so inspiring to be outside hanging clothes on the line, sprinkling chicken scratch out to the girls, and spreading rotten hay on my perennial flower beds.

I think of the many things that God has given us to sustain this silly little farm, and it inspires me. There is no way that we could do this all by ourselves, without the help of the Creator. We have set a plan before ourselves, and He picked us up and carried us down the path.

Service

Just today I recieved an email from the President himself! I'm sure everyone did, of course, but I was actually very impressed with the content. They have just launched a union-wide project called United We Serve which can be found at: http://www.service.gov/. You can find ways to practice volunteerism, or to have others volunteer on behalf of your self-initiated cause, anywhere in the US! Please check out this wonderful concept, and participate. The world needs more loving service, and it truely is one of the greatest things you can do for another.

mentalism

I think there should be more environ and less mental in the environmental movement. Seriously...more people would listen to the issues if there was more loving concern for the world and less hatred towards people who do not share the same views. I know people on both sides of the issues that focus more on stomping each other out, than finding a middle ground together. So next time you are thinking about going mental on someone over a hot global topic, get environ-tagious instead. You might just share some ideas that could change the world.

Caden Elijah

Rolling Baby

Caden is now 4 months old, and rolling around the countryside!!! Before you know it he'll be crawling too. Time flies....

I just joined the etsy bloggers group!!!

My New Logo

My husband designed this for me tonight...isn't it great! Thank you honey!

http://www.themermaidsbraid.etsy.com/

Bath Bombs

Today while we were waiting for our van to be worked on, we took a nice long walk to "the Better Bee" in Greenwich, and I bought a book about "Bath Bombs." I worked on making 2 large batches of bath bombs to sell in my etsy shop, http://www.themermaidsbraid.etsy.com/ while my father-in-law and my husband cleaned up our surprise dinner.

Chicken Hawk

A chicken hawk swooped into our backyard and killed one of our free-range, egg producing hens. For all of you readers that are vegetarians...read no further...
It's interesting, because I just ordered a huge co-op order trying to stock up on some organic, etc. etc, goodies...but this cut into our weekly food budget. Tonight we were going to do a staple meal to save money, but when we got home from our errands and found the chicken, it made perfect sense. From my perspective of faith, I could say that the Lord provided our meal. My father-in-law came over and cleaned up the bird, and we are having a nice fresh chicken stew. After watching an online video on the scary truths, behind the scene of supermarket chicken, I am at peace about this meal, and very grateful indeed.

IS FARMING DEAD? SEND TO YOUR LOCAL SENATOR OR TO KIRSTIN GILLIBRAND IMMEDIATELY!!!

to: kirsten_gillibrand@gillibrand.senate.gov
from: jtrombley@live.com
Mrs. Gillibrand,

Please reject the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 (HR 875). This is an outrageous & dangerous proposal and must not be put into law. It goes against our democratic freedoms, and it is societal control disguised as "protection of our safety. "Our founding fathers would turn in their graves. We must not be dependant on Monsanto and their genetically modified seeds. Taking away our right to have a garden or support local economy at the farmers market by supporting organic OR non-organic farmers is insanity! Please do everything in your power to preserve our freedom to choose, buy, and grow organic produce. We trust that you will honor the voices of concerned citizens that cherish the freedom & pride of New York & America.

Thank you,
Jessica Trombley,
Piano Teacher, Concerned Mother of 4, Granddaughter of a hardworking farmer

Matt Trombley, Creative Designer

Lightning

Just out from The Community Baa Farm....Rainy our 1 year old ewe, just gave birth last night in the middle of a thunder, lightning & rain storm in our little farm in our backyard. The ram lamb came one month earlier than planned. My husband came up to the house after working on building a chicken coop THE WHOLE DAY, and said "hey Jess, I think Rainy is lambing." (So that's what that funny sound was coming from the barn an hour ago.) I was standing on our back deck watching my husband work, and conjecturing what that funny sounding baa was, coming from one of the sheep. Maybe a chicken flew over the fence and was freaking them out in the barn.

Note to self....

check on the sheep IMMEDIATELY, when you hear funny baa noises coming from the barn.

So, Matt & I ended up helping Rainy lamb. It was quite the adventure. I have graduated to "doula" status on this little farm of ours, and I'm not going to live it down easy. My husband officially considers me a "domestic goddess," and I think I earned that title last night. If it weren't for me, I think Rainy might not have nursed her baby and we would have been bottle feeding him every 3-5 hours for the next 3 months. Tell me THAT wouldn't be a nightmare!

Cooking dinner and taking care of Mt. Vesuveus laundry piles is nothing compared to lambing a sheep. Lambing a sheep is just like birthing a real baby. Getting a ewe to nurse is more difficult than getting a woman to nurse her offspring, because the ewe does not listen to you! Although I must say...sheep are not as stupid as many accuse them to be. Rainy listened to me every time she started to stray and I told her to "clean her baby." She went right back to licking off the afterbirth. We also had the pleasure of pulling the lamb out of Rainy's womb, and cutting the umbilical cord. We were covered in blood and gore from head to toe. How embarassing. 2:30am pillow time came just at the right time. We were exhausted!

So, from the community baa to you..."what doesn't kill you, gives you a kick-butt story to tell."

ps. 'Lightning' is a beautiful baby boy with a long white-tipped, black tail. How sweet it is!

All Cooped Up

Matt & Turner building an up-cycled chicken coop for 18 new chickens! We used all recycled materials for this puppy. Isn't it beautiful? The red lumber is from our rotten, burn -it - down picnic table...and the rest of the lumber came from another shed on our property. Not only did it feel good to use wood that would have otherwise been wasted, but it was also great stewardship!

Maple Tree Troll

Maple Sugar Weekend

This was our big day out last weekend. Maple Weekend 2009! We opened our farm, hoping to pick up some traffic from the maple weekend. Noone stopped..... so we got the heck out of dodge, and went up the road to visit a local maple sugar shack. Here's the fam enjoying the sunshine.

Llamas & Chickens & Sheep, Oh My!

Here is the great introduction of our new starter flock of 4 llamas to our alpacas. You can see Zak and Sandy are very curious. Big Brown is the llama in charge in this photo. Trinity is helping to close the fence. We would not want those babies getting loose...they're freakin' huge (roll the 'r' in freakin' for effect.)

The Mermaid's Braid

My fabulous new yarn!

www.themermaidsbraid.etsy.com

Set the Twist

One of my unfinished projects as of late was to set the twist on 6 skeins of my handspun yarn. My mother gave me a brand new 5 gallon stock pot the other day just in the nick of time. It turned out to be so helpful!

English Muffin Pizza

Thank God for BOGO English Mufins, sauce and cheese. I love making English Muffin Pizzas, and my 2 year old digs them too.

Laundry Blues

Sometimes it hits you all at once...the laundry blues. I've got 'em. We have 6 people in our family. We cloth diaper our infant and our toddler (and thank God for our preschooler who just potty trained)...we've had the stomach bug go through our house, and the laundry is literally mountaneous.

This photo does not show Mt. Vesuveus on our bed, waiting to be folded, or the other 3 hampers full of laundry. I pray for strength to finish my chores....