viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

After a very long hiatus....I'm back! It's been a really crazy ride around here. So crazy that a friend decided that I needed a mug to express the vibe. It has become my "garden mug". You know, the one that goes outside to keep me company weeding, harvesting, mowing, sowing, hauling rocks....you get the picture. It makes me smile, and give thanks for friends who see, who care, and who have a good (clean) sense of humor.

#viata frumoasa #gardens #sense of humor #friendswhocare #gardenmug #making a comeback #some days are harder than others #giving thanks for good friends #some days I just want to run away

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

Note to self and all other German Shepherd dog owners....the x-tra tuff Nerf frisbee is NOT enough. Nope, not at all. This, my friends, is after only 5-10 minutes of play and 4 throws. Nope, nope, nope. Bear girl didn't even try that hard to "kill" it! Just a few chomps and shakes on her way back for more throwing fun, and one very short chewing session before mom could get to her. On the flip side, we've found the Kong brand frisbees are "Bear proof". And let me tell ya, she's tried to "kill" that thing for many minutes at a time! Worth the money for sure.

Thankfully little girl doesn't make a habit of swallowing the chips and shards she chews off of whatever she is currently enjoying as a chew toy. But ya know, I don't really want to find out the hard way that she forgot she was chewing and not eating!

#Viata Frumoasa #gsdlife #love my german shepherd #play time is chew time #how fast can your dog destroy the toy? #mom that was yummy! #dog mom #Kong not Nerf #she loves to play #small farm life #small farm fun #dogs are the best

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

Memories. Golden sunlight streaming through golden leaves. Vibrant orange and gold berries clinging tenuously to other leaf-bereft branches. Squirrels scampering cheerfully across sidewalks, carrying their winter's food to random and often forgotten larders...mom walking carefully and slowly, but drinking in the sights and smells of the great outdoors before she would deem it too cold to venture more than a nose and maybe two feet outside the front door. Memories. Ephemeral things we will treasure when they are all we have. Memories.

#Viata Frumoasa #fall reflections #golden leaves #golden sun #memories #navigating dementia #good times #good days #keeping the good stuff alive #I want more days like this #sunny afternoons

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

Sometimes you find a pattern that just makes you happy. While I did discover some errata in the pattern (too late to change, thanks to a Christmas deadline!), I still think it turned out pretty good! In this photo there are still 1.25 rounds left to crochet. Then the blanket needed blocking, as is the case with most large projects. I'd honestly recommend the Pandemic CAL, even with the errata. It's not much, simply a wrong number of stitches in, I believe, the first round after the third loop single crochet section.

When you look it up, the original pattern is shown using two different colorways of yarn, one a Mandala cake, one a solid black. This blanket was made using 4 skeins of Red Heart Ombre in washed jeans. (the recipient needs it to be easily laundered. Elsewise I'd have been tempted to go with some awesome wools from KnitPicks.)

#Viata Frumoasa #using old skills #taught by grandma #farm core #farm fun #crocheting #crochet gifts #handmade #handmade gifts #made with love #it's just a blanket but it represents love #handmade is best #old school #disappearing arts #passing on memories #blues #blue #Pandemic CAL

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

Mmmmmm! This week we've been enjoying the fruits of the garden--just in different form. All the stuff you see here ended up either eaten, canned, or frozen. I think we've probably used the equivalent of all 2.5 bushels of tomatoes pictured here just this week! There's just something so satisfying in eating from what you've grown, knowing exactly where the majority of your calories have come from. That the veggies and fruits have been grown in the best possible conditions, preserved in the most sanitary and careful ways, and with the most love possible. It just makes stuff taste GOOD.

#Viata Frumoasa #good food #good for the soul #feels good to eat good #almost lost arts #farm life #small farm life #farm aesthetic #farm core #simple life #simplicity #slow living #hard work big yields #taking care of my family #know where your food comes from #organic growing #feel good food

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

Yesterday you saw the pile of acorns in the car. These are the 120 or so that we spray painted first. It's a learning curve. I'm beginning to think that maybe just laying these guys out on a piece of cardboard to spray would be just as good as utilizing the fancy dance-y dimensional lumber and duct tape method. But ya know. Live and learn. Sometimes simpler truly is better! So far we've got brown, green, blue, red, and white for bases. I'll confess the brown almost look like truffles currently! Hubby likes the red, white, and blue theme, and has ideas for a bigger scale project--like a flag, or dress (!), or...or...yeah. He's the truly creative one, lol.

#Viata Frumoasa #painting acorns #acorns #silly crafts #fun crafts #learning something new #simpler really is easier #red white and blue #green #brown #spray paint base coat #mid winter fun #doing something different #small farm fun #sometimes we're “crazy”

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

A few months ago a friend and I decided to be crazy and picked up a LOT of acorns. We were inspired by Pinterest, of course, and all the cool acorn crafts and paintings that we saw...fast forward to now. It's the middle of winter, I'm beginning to eyeball the garden shed and starting plants, but don't want to let our hard work scavenging acorns go to waste! This means that last week we sorted, cleaned, and spray painted acorns (well, a few. Not that many. Probably around 120 of them...). Oh, and baked a few more trays of acorns that had been sitting (sadly) in ice cream pails in the garage. The bag of acorns? Well, we haven't quite gotten that far, even if Earl the mouse has...Yes, I named the mouse Earl. No, he's not going to be living in our garage for much longer. And no, you probably don't want to know how I know. Suffice it to say we have two felines that are VERY interested in spending some quality time lurking around boxes and bins of stuff, and crawling under and over the tractor and car... But I digress. This week we are hoping to get some "finishing" done on the spray painted acorns. And maybe husk some for making into flour. We shall see.

#Viata Frumoasa #try something new #keeping my brain young #learning something new #crafting #crafting fun #making something from nothing #enjoying nature's bounty #acorns #nature #fun times with friends #why not? #brown #the beginning of a project

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

When you try to be more ecological, reduce the waste you produce, and conserve finances, there are some very simple steps that make a HUGE difference, but aren't that hard to achieve. One of those is paperless towels.

These gorgeous double-layer flannel towels are easy to use, and then all you gotta do is throw them in the washer, dryer, and re-use. Yes, they will stain...and shrink a bit...but that shrinkage just makes them thicker and fluffier and able to absorb more. Yay! Even better, paperless towels can double as napkins, wash cloths, and all-purpose wipes. I've washed windows with them, too. But honestly, the ones that are cotton/poly fabric on one side and microfibre on the other are better for that purpose. haha.

#Viata Frumoasa #reduce reuse recycle #green living #small farm life #a penny saved is a penny earned #simple life #ecofriendly #eco living #save the bees #pretty and functional #flannel #small business #home based business #doing what I can

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

Today's breakfast menu: Toast with plum sauce, hot chocolate or coffee, and poached eggs. Early fall we were blessed with 6 bushels of damson plums at an AMAZING price. After washing the plums, we pitted them, cooked them down, and then used a sweet little machine called a Victorio Strainer to turn those yummy cooked plums into plum "sauce"...and THEN we cooked it down some more. The end result is a sweet, rich, absolutely amazing spread that is 100% natural and has no added sugar. A wonderful taste of Europe for a fraction of the cost. :)

#Viata Frumoasa #Old World skills #natural eating #local eating #plums #plum sauce #European food #the family secret recipe is now yours #food tastes better when you've made it #fall harvest #eating good #small farm life #eating right #simple food #less is more #it tastes so good #do you know how fast plums ripen??? #small farm fun #sharing the basics

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

Our sweet Fuzzy is starting to show a little age in his facial structure, but not really in any other ways. He's a sweet boy with a fondness of salmon, trout, tuna, and whitefish. Please, don't bother with chicken, turkey, or beef. The most beautiful cat I think we've ever owned, he's also got one of the best personalities. Slightly demanding when tired, he will try to convince you to take a nap with him. Complete with "leading" you to the bedroom and the bed!

#Viata Frumoasa #beautiful old cat #some cats are friendly #he's a good boy #cat vibes #sleepy cat #he's a family institution #gray tabby #tabby cat #just a northern farm cat #spoiled farm cat #cottage core #farm aesthetic #just a cat living his best life

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

I've been trying something new recently--wall hangings. These two in-process beauties each measure close to 9"x12", not counting fringe. It's been a fun experiment, complete with learning how to make "bulky" yarn out of worsted weight yarn. Stay posted for "finished" photos.

#Viata Frumoasa #Using up leftover yarn #waste not want not #green #purple #sunflowers #moonlit mountains #crochet decor #trying something new #cottage core #handmade #home based business #never bored

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

There is a botanical garden near us that has a yearly festival of lights. This year some extremely sweet friends invited us to be their guests, enjoying the mild weather before Christmas and the gorgeous lights. Even the fires dotting the garden were festive with colorful flames!

#Viata Frumoasa #Friends make life better #Christmas Afterglow #Colorful Flames #Turtle Pond Reflections #Enjoying the season #Christmas aesthetic #Local Beauty

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

Owl you doing today? I loved doing this custom order. A beautiful fall theme with heavy emphasis on owls. :) So much fun! Applique is my adaptation of a pattern found online. Set consists of 12 18x18" napkins, 12 placemats, 2 pot holders, 1 bread cloth, and a hanging kitchen towel.

#Viata Frumoasa #home based business #handmade #custom order #owls #fall vibes #fall aesthetic #orange #red #brown #cream #piece work #kitchen linens

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

We love good food. And one of the best ways to have good food is to have good flavoring. We grow a lot of herbs...and the preferred way of preserving them is dehydrating, simply because it's fast and easy. Well, relatively. It's still slow...but that's the washing and picking off the leaves part. This year we've dehydrated over 1/2 gallon of parsley (after dehydration), a gallon or more of mint, 1/2 gallon of basil...you get the picture.

We've found the best way to keep our dried herbs dry all winter is to re-use pasta sauce, pickle, olive, or whatever bottles. We save them year 'round. Wash well, store with the lids off so they don't still smell like their original contents, and you're ready for storage!

#Viata Frumoasa #cottage core #cottage aesthetic #as sustainable as possible #reduce reuse recycle #living simply #small farm aesthetic #small farm core #getting ready for winter #preserving takes all summer

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

Buddies. These two are definitely buddies. Well, that might be stretching it a bit, but they are friends! Fuzz is around 13 years old, and Bear girl is probably headed towards 3. Even though they are at opposite ends of the critter age spectrum, they both enjoy hunting down small vermin outside, and I swear they tag team to deplete the mouse population! Outside, Bear, being a herding animal will race across the yard, screeching to a halt just before running over Fuzz, who deigns to grace her with his "Great. This again??" look, turning tail and sauntering away, daring Bear to try all the normal herding maneuvers (that REALLY don't work on a cat that was raised with dogs, lol). Bear, meanwhile, will grin, sniff Fuzz from tip to tail, occasionally become overwhelmed with playfulness and pin Fuzz with one over-eager paw until a wail of protest arises...then release kitty with a very chagrined and embarrassed expression and move on with life...Until the next time Fuzz forgets and runs across the yard instead of sauntering slowly. Inside, they are likely to be found in reasonably close proximity to each other, napping with tails touching, or at least on the same piece of furniture, and vying for our attention with equal enthusiasm. So yeah, buddies. Or friends. Or whatever the heck dogs and cats who like each other are. I think I'll stick with buddies.

#Viata Frumoasa #small farm core #small farm fun #buddies #animal buddies #animal friends #can we play please #who said cats and dogs aren't friends? #hunting partners #old cat young dog

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

Another flower Friday! The youth fair had a LOT of gorgeous flowers, but I think the dinner plate (or larger!) dahlias and the miniature potted arrangements were my favorites this year. That lemon yellow dahlia was so incredibly bright it was glowing. And the purple dahlia was over 12" across. Absolutely tremendous in size and delicacy.

Then there were the miniature arrangements. I have NO idea where the young person found this mini Ferris wheel, whether they made it from scratch, found it, or put it together from various and sundry found items, but it was adorable. Complete with fairy lights, and the perfect combination of succulents to make it whimsical. Mom enjoyed the more traditional bouquets, and we both found Mr. Bee a sweet natural addition to a stunning sunflower. It was another good day, full of warmth, laughter, and making good memories.

#Viata Frumoasa #local entertainment #it was a good day #navigating dementia #flower friday #youth fair #summer memories #one day at a time #finding peace #enjoying time with mom

[viatafrumoasa-lifebeautiful]

We were thrilled this year to find a couple baby turtles in our yard! This little guy was in grave danger of getting run over, so got relocated to a safe place. A little back story: we like turtles. It all started with our "little" guy who, when he was a wee sprout, had a blast taking a big box, cutting out holes, and creating a turtle shell for himself. He was really good at pulling in all his legs and head into his "shell". You know how it goes, watching the kiddos grow, explore, and be creative. Well, "toy-tal" (spelled phonetically there) was a long-term visitor in our home. And thus was born our love of turtles. Anyway. When we moved back to the land of "wild" turtles, we found there were a few that lived on our property. Each year we would carefully watch to make sure we wouldn't accidently mow over our local residents, and spent time carefully marking their shells each year with nail polish, keeping track of who showed back up and who disappeared for a season, only to return the next year. Three years ago we discovered one of our sweet little turtles laying eggs in a parking area on our property. We carefully marked the area, protected it with a wire cage, and hoped and prayed the eggs would hatch. Sadly, they didn't. We now know more about why, but that's another story. Back to last year. A young friend came to visit and eagerly ran up holding this sweet little turtle. Woohoo! Yes, he got a free ride across the yard to a safe space, but between his/her discovery and release we managed to get a couple photos and ooh-ed and ahhh-ed at his cuteness. Here's hoping he shows up again this year!

#Viata Frumoasa #turtles #baby turtles #fun memories #remembering when they were little #taking care of our world #trying to be responsible #enjoying the little things #small farm aesthetic #small farm core #small farm fun