It is Crazyland around here these days – but mostly in a good way. We are getting ready to build a better pantry for our homestead stores (and put up some more Pickled Carrot Spears – who knew they were going to be so popular! Yay!). The baker is back up and running and the breads are so lovely, the bagels are delicious, the crackers have some fun new flavors, and we finally have some eggs to sell. We’re playing with some new labelling (we don’t want to be too fancy – we are Rock Bottom, after all…).
It was a wonderful Solstice weekend – lots of family celebration together; we trade some small gifts and handmade goods (my child painted me the most wonderful Mamalisa painting with exotic animals and fancy new techniques), eat yummy treats (we make up a big bread board with our Fresh Ricotta, some various pickles, cheeses, roasted eggplant, fresh tomatoes/cucumbers, olives, Pesto – stuff like that which we’ve named ‘Harold’), and watch White Christmas with Bing, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen, singing all the songs together. We’ve been making treats for both us and customers – felt ornaments for us and a new feather/olive vine wreath, and some special surprises for our peeps. Duende was ecstatic this year when I bought matching pajamas for the whole family (especially the pets), and got her a yoga ball – such a funny kid. We loaded up on winter board games, too – we love family game night.
We get our tree from our back lot – I love the sweet airy sparseness of the white pine and since Josh hates them (as a tree, apparently – who could hate a tree? Though not as much as he hates the wild cherry – as it encourages tent caterpillars that decimate our apple trees) so that is the tree we choose as a Solstice tree. And over the years we’ve made many ornaments and have a few family treasures to decorate with – I made a tree skirt out of the old curtains that the seamstress who lived here before us left behind (a lovely gold brocade that was a bit much for me as a curtain but make a lovely tree skirt). When I finally get to do the tree to my liking, it will probably just be dried orange slices, maybe some stringed popcorn but until then, the child loves the rainbow and blinking lights, the salt-dough hearts, the paper origami stars, and felted gingerbread people ornaments we save from year to year.
We wish you a lovely season and wonderful holidays!
Rock Bottom Homestead 