I love etsy. Etsy ROCKS.

I have been getting some amazing handmade clothing lately, from small companies that use organic and ecofriendly materials. I got this organic kimono wrap top from One Love Creations and have been wearing it more or less nonstop.and I have this super cute fairy belt from Indigo Inspired, which I love!
Anyway, my friend Sara is doing a giveaway of these amazing clothes on her blog, so, go check it out and enter yourself! and if you want to treat your self to some custom-made, affordable, durable and eco-friendly clothes, for sure check out these clothes, they are wonderful!

Snowed in. Knitting an afghan for my sister, she requested it for Christmas and picked out the yarn! i'm using 3 strands at a time, on size 17 needles.

So, news here. I got a bunny, thanks to my awesome friend Abby! We originally thought she was a girl and named her Anya. I know NOTHING about bunnies, so, it's all a huge learning curve. It soon became clear that 1) Duncan (the doberman) was utterly obsessed with her, and 2) the cats tooooootally ignored her. Duncan followed her around for about a week, obsessively staring at her. Not in an "I want to eat you" way, just in a "what are you and can I poke you with my nose?" kind of way. Fortunately for all of us, he's past that. Anya is an angora mix, and has lovely luscious fur that I will spin! She was pretty matted, and my awesome mom took 2 hours last week to help me groom her. And by help me, I mean, I held the bunny and she did all the work. (She has mad grooming skills, and brushed/cut/shaved all the mats out of Anya). However, this week, Anya started, well...showing affection for our foster kittens in a MOST inappropriate manner. OBSESSIVELY. And now I am pretty darn sure that Anya is actually Andy, and has an appointment to get neutered next Wednesday, so s/he can go back to being a calm and peaceful member of this crazy little family. (s/he is a housebunny, working on housetraining and learning NOT to eat electrical cords).

2nd big excitement. I got a CHEESE PRESS! Bartered for it, which is even awesomer. (is that a word?) I don't actually have any clue how to use it, but, I will figure it out. Now,time to get serious about cheesemaking. I have and endless supply of amazing farm fresh milk thanks to a generous wonderful friend, and our neighbors at Picket Fence Creamery, so....time to get making cheese!

I've been having more fun than you'd ever believe...taking a hula hoop class. Yep, you read that right. A hula hoop class. it is SO FUN. I thought this picture was pretty cute. my favorite hoop, strapped in the van, ready to go to class.

Have hoop, will travel....

BRILLIANT idea for next year's VMD's (Veggies of Mass Destruction...my pet name for those oversized crazy zucchini that always...appear.....)

Zucchini Candy.

Posted by my friend Abby, and as she says - I'm sure we could come up with something better than Kool-Aid to flavor the zucchini.

long time, no blog -sorry. Been busy!!! You know how it goes, right?

Last night I was gifted with these apples. (cat shown for scale.) Just after some friends told me how they wanted to learn to can stuff. So guess what - we're going to have a canning party! with apples! There are many lovely things to make with apples - applesauce, apple butter, apple pie jam, chutney, apple pie filling, and Miss Effie just posted this yummy recipe for cinnamon apple ice cream topping. I'm going to let the canning "class" decide what they want to make, but my vote would be for caramel apple butter, and apple sauce with berries. mmmmm!

In other news. IT SNOWED. Yep, October 10th, snow. Not a tiny bit of snow, but actual snow that fell and stuck and covered everything. Crazy, huh?? And tonight - 24 degrees predicted low temps. Which means, hard freeze, which means, gardens go bye-bye. :( I will be sad to see them go. I *am* a little tired of the 3-hour post-work canning sessions, which delay dinner until 9 or 10 and make for a slightly cranky Maggie the next day. But I AM grateful for shelves full of grape juice, apple pie filling, jams and jellies galore, salsa, tomatoes, soups and more. It's worth it.

Three is just too adorable :)