just a few pics....

these pics are from about a week ago but.....we have window (holes). they are in the process of putting in the actual windows but this little building is beginning to take on the shape of a home...our home.

 we also have framing up inside. it is so nice to "feel" the size of the rooms and not just tape it off or walk the size of the room to picture it.

 my husband brought his friend from california to help with electrical. he has learned a lot and it was wonderful to have our friend here for two whole weeks!

 ahhh...my husband is the cute one on the right!

barn to home

we are in the thick of it, here in durango. we are renovating this out building/barn into a home.  it is about 1700 square feet, so it will be a good size, but i am terrible about making choices and have many decisions to make to turn this baby into a home that functions for our family and we love to live in. we have been on the move for over 1 1/2 years and can't wait to settle in and stop packing and moving. we have great hopes for this home of ours....the photo below is an excavator digging up rock under the slap to lay plumbing. my hubby quit a temp job he had here to jump in and renovate and is saving us a ton of money already by doing so much of the work himself and with a contractor to help. he knocked down a few random interior walls, cut the concrete, laid the plumbing and they excavated out rock to lay the plumbing here...

they are doing all this work in below 30 degree weather...

(the photo below is the same view, just taken in august!)

my son river is quite impressed with his papa, and i am as well. i can't believe all that he has done with this place. he has laid radiant floor throughout our home, ran water to our home, and is now running all the electric with our friend we brought our from california. he continues to amaze me.

we got our concrete slab poured for our garage and had to do handprints...even in 15 degree weather and in the snow!

more pictures to come!

lopi leyden or jotul?

beginning renovations and planning for our barn conversion into a home. i am trying to figure out what wood burning stove will work best for us. love the look of double door stoves and the cast iron. it seems to me the jotul f600 is much more expensive than the lopi leyden. the lopi has a top loading feature which is cool. other than that, they warm the home about the same...anyone have any advice?

 above is the lopi leyden

above is the jotul

nature bracelet activity

nature bracelets

this is a wonderful project. i have done this activity with kids from 3 years old all the way up to 6th graders and they all enjoy it.

first thing is first. go on a nauture walk and collect items from nature that you can use in your bracelet. this is a fun seasonaly activity as well because there can be a lot more flower petals in the spring, and the items even change depending on where you are making your bracelet.

next, cut some strips of contact paper. they need to be just long enough to fit loose on your child's wrist, and as wide as you want it. it can be a bracelet, an anklet, around the upper arm...endless ideas!

peel off the back and put the sticky side of the contact paper up. let your little one begin to decorate with their nature pieces.

once they are finished, tear a piece of packing tape off. this piece needs to be longer than the contact paper, on both sides by about 1 inch.

last step, wrap the bracelet around the wrist. it is best to make it large enough for your child to get it on and off by slipping it over their wrist so that it doesn't have to be cut to remove it.

                  

enjoy!

home

home

this word has taken on an entire new meaning, a new feeling, a new dream.

we just closed on this property. our dream...literally.

we left santa barbara, wishing for 15 or so acres, close to a town we love. even with a possible income property...why not if you are wishing, right?

that is what we found. we are converting an out building into a home.

with all the stress of buying, the roller coaster, and now building in front of us...

what will this land be like in 1 year, 5 years, 20?

for the first time, both of us afraid to commit to roots for more than a few years...

we are talking decades here.

a place to grow, and place to grow food, learn, raise our babies and baby animals.

hopefully make a living.

live a life less constricted and more independent.

let go a little and hold on more.

this is our present and our future.

i couldn't do it with a better man.

it's been a while...

it just seems that life keeps throwing curve balls at us. we are adding to the craziness with our move, search for a home, looking for new jobs, etc. but my hubby's grandma's health is taking a toll on his heart, and his energy. life is a bit exhausting here with two little ones, but i am so in love with them.

river did begin preschool about 2 weeks ago and he is loving it....i on the other hand am missing him tons, and yet enjoying time to go grocery shopping, errands and park picnics with just ila. here is a pic from river's first day of school.

i have to say, i expected to be really emotional, but i wasn't, not on his first day. i showed the rest of the preschool to my husband once river was in class and happily playing. we passed the baby room and heard a few hysterical babies and it made me so grateful that we could wait to put river into school until he was ready, he wanted to go, and we had found a good fit. thanks to my mom and her help over the last few years. now i have the same hopes for ila, who is already 4.5 months old.

we have also been searching for the right property for us here in durango, co. we really want some land to feed ourselves, have some privacy, definitely have chickens and i am pining for some sheep so that i can use their wool and allow my kids to grown up with some real life and farm experiences. we are in escrow right now, but it is far from over. to put it mildly, it is a very complicated piece of property, so fingers crossed. it is so so beautiful though.

there is an out-building (shown below) that we have plans to convert into a home, adding a garage and covered porch as well.

i have found the time to knit a row here and there too. knitting is so much about "me" time. river loves his new sweater and i have so many other projects to create, including 4 hats, 1 black sweater for river and at least one warm dog sweater for our wa-wa!

the pattern is from pickles and more info here on my ravelry page!

happy september to you...can't believe its almost fall.

this last week we...

....have caught up on some sleep....

...gone swimming a lot with family and friends...

 ...played with our new dog "wawa" for chiwawa that we acquired about 5 weeks ago and have been too busy to blog about...

 ...picked many-a-flower for each other...

 ...gone fishing and played in the river...

...have found a few moments for my knitting...

...introduced river to poppers for the 4th of july...

hope your next week is filled with love and laughter...