Chef at work...

We finally have our kitchen together enough for J to come and cook us dinner.  The wait was definitely worth it.

He did have some help!

But mostly he just had company and admirers and supervisors!!

 

Including Sarah cat.  I absolutely love this Monet-inspired table cloth...it is so happy and spring-y.

Curried lentil soup and salad, then herb-encrusted lamb and mushroom risotto and then a cheese plate afterwards...it was all soooo good.  Thanks J!!

This is our new kitchen chandelier.  We found it at the thrift store for only $15, and then spray painted over the brass and the electrician wired it in just the other day.  It looks beautiful when lit.

We have been looking for a big harvest table made with reclaimed lumber, and were hoping for one large enough to seat about 8-10 people.  While at the antique store recently, the woman there said she knew of one for sale, but it was for seating 12-14!!!  We are actually going to go have a look at it!  The Lord is really changing our hearts and preparing them to receive people into our home.  Hospitality has never been one of my gifts.  In fact, it has always stressed me out a little because I am so not good at it.
But we are so sure that this house is a gift and we are SURE that it is way too big for us, and we keep getting pictures in our mind of it full of people.  A place of sanctuary and peace and restoration.  We continue to look with anticipation to what God will work in and through it.

When I in awesome wonder...

"Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder...."

Consider all the world thy hands have made...

...thy power throughout the universe displayed...

Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to thee...

How great thou art...how great thou art!!"

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing
Sent him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away my sin.

G. K. Chesterton said that, "Our world is not lacking in wonders, but it is lacking in a sense of wonder."

Our message in church today was all about making time to cultivate a sense of wonder.  I did that today.  I hope you did also.

Kitchen coming together...

If there is one thing that we are learning from the adventure with this house, it is that one thing builds upon another, and that patience is the order of the day.  It is a lesson in foundations.  Step five can not be done before step one and that is just the way it is.  When we get overwhelmed, we remind ourselves of this, and that we just take the step before us, one at a time.  It is a lesson applicable to many areas of life and one that I am finally learning to walk out in peace.

The kitchen is coming together.  Nothing could really be done until the floors were done.  But once that was all completed, progress was rapid.

We sanded the top of the "island", painted it, added new hardware and then moved it out to enlarge the kitchen space a little and now it is functional.  We need a few more stools!  Because the room is so large and bright, it really needed something to anchor it...so the bold wallpaper on the one wall helps to do just that.  The window frames still need painting, the dishwasher still needs to be installed, there is one set of cabinets still to paint, the electrician still has to install the lighting....but it is coming together.

This houses my Crazy Daisy pyrex!

When I start setting up little corners and canning salsa, I know that I am settling in.

Today is a day of rest.  I need to remember to take them.  Balance.  Today, "my girls" are coming over for tea and to share with each other our lives and what God has been teaching us.  It is a time of encouragement and community.  It is one of the many blessings in my life for which I am thankful.

Sharing our home...

Easter weekend!!  Two blessed mornings at church, being reminded of Jesus' awe-some gift to us!!

Two beautiful sunny days!  Family and friends to share our new home!!

Kordan and Lizzie came to stay for the weekend and it was great to catch up on their lives and to spend some concentrated time with them. 

Kordan's buddy Kyle dropped by and, along with Neil, went for a long bike ride around the escarpment.  While they were cycling, we went to a few local antique stores and found the cabinet/dresser that will be changed into our bathroom vanity.

Jarin and her good friend, Katie, enjoying a cuppa!

Lizzie on the tire swing!

Sitting around the campfire both nights!

Visitors who dropped by that we weren't quick enough to get a photo of were Barney and Cheryl, Jenny, Ty, and Dave.
We burned a whole lot of debris from the house renos and from the garden/yard over the weekend.  It was nice to get some things cleaned up.

This is our blackboard wall and this is the precise reason that we wanted one in the kitchen...so that people could play.

We are very thankful, once again, for the gift of this house and this land and were so very blessed to have had so many friends and family enjoy it too.

Alpaca moving day...

Our little herd of alpacas were moved this weekend to much, much greener pastures.  We met at 9 am, with a horse trailer and some additional hands to help.  The first group of five were the most difficult to move from the field to the trailer, mainly because no one really knew what they were doing.

These are the "girls" before they knew what was about to happen.  And this couple are their new owners...don't they look like great farmers?!
We let them eat and enjoy the peace, while the "engineers" figured out the whole trailer scenario and how to get it as close to the gate as possible, so that we would not have a herd of alpacas roaming down the middle of the local road.

The best strategy, in the end, was to hold a rope between a few of us, and herd just 4 or so alpacas down the field toward the trailer.

Then they kind of freaked out a little, and in the end it was just men and women lifting alpacas.

But, after three trips from our place to their new home, we got them all there safely.

As you can see, they really are in greener pastures, and seem to be enjoying their new "digs".

Their pen area at our place will stay fenced, and over the summer we will till it and add mulch and garden waste and try to condition the soil so that next year we can plant a vegetable garden there.

A good day!