Too many (not enough) words

They grow up so quickly!

This is Belle, the beauty of our new angora kits.  We also have another doe, Bête, and a buck, Toro.  Pika is due to have another litter in just over a week.

I've been busy working full time at an orchard/farmstand, translating, and neglecting the garden.  There is yarn to skein, fiber to spin, angora fluff to pluck...so many things to do and so little time to get them all done.

I am taking a break from ebay and have started listing in my etsy store again.  I'm planning on taking a break from selling at farmers markets until the winter market.

I am thankful for all the work that I have to do and for how green everything is once again.

Jon's sweater!

I am almost done with Jon's sweater.  Aghh!!!!  I have been working on this project for over a year, on and off, and the moment finally came when the sleeves were ready to connect to the body.

So close!  So many cables!

I'm also working on a massive translation project.  And I'm planning on making Ginger Monkey Bread later, which is a favorite!

And I might as well throw in another day of food:

Breakfast:

Anadama bread with black and blueberry jam
Scottish breakfast tea with raw milk

Snack:

Cape Cod potato chips.

Lunch:

Anadama bread pb+j
Leftover home fries (organic potatoes from Co-op)

Dinner:
Whole wheat pizza with homemade mozzarella, tomato sauce, and organic sausage from the Co-op
Ginger Monkey Bread =)

Today's food isn't the most healthy, but I'm busy translating.  Which reminds, me I need to get that yeast proofing and get back to work!

Translating spree and emptying the pantry.

Yesterday, I got a large document to translate.  It is technical, complicated, long...and I often wander away to do other things.  Not packing, though.  I've decided that I cannot pack any more until this document gets done.  This may not be the best plan.

I am finding a few things to go to Goodwill in the meantime, though.  If I haven't worn it in a year, my mother did not make it, and it is not formal, it goes in the box.  I get most of my clothes from second hand stores, hand-me-downs, gifts, or I make them.  Besides wedding-related clothes, I went shopping online three times last year for new things- a dress for a wedding, a blazer, and a few clearance items.  I did get some new shoes, though =)  You can never have too many shoes!

We are also slowly eating down our food supply.  This is extremely difficult.  I keep thinking that I need more, we are going to run out!  What will I bake and cook with?!  I have enough to make bread once more, make a giant black bean veggie stew with a ham bone, and maybe if I'm desperate, brown rice with greens.  I am going to have to get pretty creative to only use what I already have.  This reminds me of an episode of Chopped.  Limitations: good enough for Jon to like it, quick enough to finish this document and pack and sleep.  Lunch time grows near...

I am just incredibly excited about this move.  5 days to go!  It will be stressful, and then calm and I can unpack at my own pace.  I have no idea how often Jon will need to commute back to finish up work, or what he will end up doing when he can't go to his old studio and needs to find more jobs.  We will be without internet until I receive our new Virgin Mobile mifi modem (wireless internet anywhere!).  I might just find some started plants and spend all day in the garden.  There is a huge garden area all ready to go, right next to the house!  My father has also offered a garden space at the farm, and I'm thinking of using that for less needy plants/experimentation...sugar beets?  Oats?  Wheat?  Will I be able to get a Level 1 Homestead License to sell baked goods and jam/jelly?  Will I have enough time to devote to all this, go to a farmers' market, keep house, translate, and spend time with Jon?  I am bursting with excitement about the possibilities...

(Area to the right will be my garden at the farm)

The document is calling, and I shouldn't procrastinate any longer.  Dreams of fresh greens, sunshine, and UNpacking are distracting me.  One step at a time.

Translating

Yesterday morning, after channel surfing, I started to think...I hadn't got any translating work from the source that I always get work from in a while...So I made myself rewrite my resume, bid on as many jobs as I could find, and...I got a document!  All on my own!  The document took maybe 15 hours to do...and I did it in two days.  My mind is mush, but I can now relax for a moment and enjoy my trip to see a good friend this evening!  I'm hoping that I get much better at translating, but I am just so happy that I can get my own documents now =)  One step closer to translating full-time!

Peaches, Vermont, and Unemployment

The good news.  Peaches are wonderfully fun to bake with.

 http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1810,143179-235207,00.html

Yugoslavian Peach Cookies,

filled with homemade peach jam.

 They look like peaches!!!

My attempt to beautifully plate my homemade vanilla pudding with peach sauce.

Another piece of good news:  We are thinking of moving to Vermont!  Cheap health care, maternity included (someday...!), cheaper housing, and hopefully stonework for Jon!  Also, it is Not living with our parents-in-law.

The bad news: I stopped working as a nanny for the kids.  Their mom left her job (very good reasons for this), so they don't need me anymore.  I miss them so much!  I knew it would end eventually, though.

Better news: I have been getting quite a lot of translating work recently.  I have pretty much had enough to make it my entire income.  This will really work out when we move, because I have no idea when or where in VT we are going!  Any suggestions out there for good places to live in VT with lots of stone walls?  Jon needs to be able to keep up his work.  I have also had more time to catch up on knitting and baking projects, hence the peach cookies that took me an entire day to make.  I usually go crazy stuck around the house all day, but I am trying to keep myself busy and productive!

Busy Summer

I haven't posted in quite a long time...So here's what's been happening:
-I quit my morning job.  My body just does not want to get up at 6 AND keep going until evening anyways.  I was also not really qualified to provide care for a special needs child.  I can change diapers, but only when I'm stronger than the child!
-I've been translating quite a bit.  This was also another reason to quit the other job.  I really need to keep up with vocabulary.  I'm hoping that I continue to receive a lot of work!
-The baby I nanny is now crawling at top speed and can pull up on things.  He also has object permanence and eats a TON.  He's only 6 months...The toddler's favorite word is 'no', and his favorite activity is to lie on the floor, talk to himself, and push a car back and forth.
-I'm getting extremely tired of living with my parents-in-law.  Rent may be low, but if I put something down, it gets moved by 1 of 3 people, we fight over tv's, the fridge is packed with leftovers no one eats/expired food, I 'get in trouble', I had to pack away almost all of my bridal shower and wedding presents 'cause there's no room for them...you get the idea.  We've only been there since the end of March!

Here are some more wedding pictures, with DIY ideas and projects:

We had the reception in a historic building, using their tables and chairs, with added padding.  

The tables had lilacs in mason jars, plastic silverware that was actually silver, plastic champagne flutes for sparkling apple cider, borrowed table clothes and runners...The place settings also had wedding mad libs, a sheet with information about the historic church we had the ceremony in, and a wildflower seed packet with our picture, names, and the date.

It was catered by the Celery Stick Cafe.  Great food, great prices.  And they are a co-op!

The church was old, and also very cheap to rent.

We rode in a family friend/distant cousin's antique truck.

With the help of several friends, I made this cake.  There are violets from my backyard on it.  There were also 9 small sheet cakes that we handed out to the tables for the guests.  It was delicious!  The cake mixes were only a dollar each at Walmart, and I made the frosting with some friends.  The piping came from tubes with decorative tips already on them.

Small guest book, basket for the wedding mad libs, and box for cards.  The ring bearer's pillow that my mom made from leftover wedding dress fabric is on top of the box.

Pictures were done for free by an old roommate's father and my cousin.  This one is taken in front of my favorite mountains!  Bridesmaids' dresses were bought on clearance from David's Bridal.

I made my dress, got the veil from Veilubridal.com, got the slip and underthings online, and my shoes were from Payless.  The flowers were extremely simple and cost a total of $330.

(I'm not that heavy!!!)

With a tiny bit of altering to make it fit properly (still ended up needing double sided tape and safety pins...), I used this pattern to make the dress.  It was easier than the prom dresses that I had made with boning and multiple layers.  I was able to have the wedding dress of my dreams, for a price that I could afford!  With all of the fabric and notions, this dress cost me a little over $100.

Yes, I finally did finish the shawl...a week after.  Thankfully, it was far to warm to even think about a shawl for the wedding day.  Its still beautiful and an heirloom to keep!

That's all for now.  I'll write again soon about my garden's progress!