slowing down . . .
It's the end of the summer here in Vermont. Our neighbors' kids are back to school, and I swear I can see a slight change in the color of the leaves if not a change in the feeling of the air around us. For us, it's a time for reflection, re-setting, and winding down a little (OK, a lot).
A great season of fairs and shows followed a great third firing of our kiln which followed the completion of our beautiful new studio.
With all that behind us, I can't help but look back at where we were a year ago, after the fair, looking ahead to the huge task of building this dream studio - in fact, I wrote this 'dreamy' post. It's sort of amazing to see what it foreshadowed - and how much more we did than I could have ever imagined . . . the roof is actually insulated!!
And just this morning, I walked across the lawn with my warm tea mug in hand to my studio space. A dream come true.
It's been so nice to shift our time and attention to our homestead for a change. Our chickens, for one, are glad for this shift : we tractor-ed their coop to a new spot with loads of fresh grass.
Now that the heat has subsided, the ladies are laying up a storm. And just in time for some summer baking - chocolate zucchini and green tomato cakes (Both are seriously good, favorite recipes of mine. And both work well with gluten-free flours. Yum.)
The garden got a little love, too. (And it needed it!) This year, our main crops (read: only - besides pottery!) were garlic and corn and a little firewood on the side - the first and latter of which have been drying nicely, and as for the corn, it is still ripening. (Here's hoping we know it's ready before the racoons do! You can just make it out amongst the tall grass in our field.) After pottery, there wasn't a whole lot of left over time and energy for gardening this year - thankfully we live in an epicenter of local food and agriculture that is Vermont. :)
There's been other shifting and organizing going on here, too. The lovely upper level of our studio saw part of its intended future use realized a bit sooner than expected: we're so happy to have finally moved our offices out of the living room in our not-so-big farmhouse and into the new building. (And the bubble wrap, packing peanuts, and boxes from the upstairs bedroom, the shipping counter out of our mudroom - you get the idea. :) )
Like the studio spaces below, it's light and bright and while somewhat unfinished, has made the whole "going to work" thing a lot more deliberate.
Now the house is for living - and reading and knitting and cooking and just being together without the distraction of desks and computers.
And just in time . . . as our house is about to become a home for a 'project' of an entirely different nature . . .
Our first baby is due to arrive the first of October, and we are so happy to be making space for our growing family. This new 'project' promises to be a much softer and more cuddly one than the concrete work we were doing last year at this time . . . although it will likely come with a lot less sleep. :)
So, yes, perhaps this provides more explanation for the aforementioned 'slowing down' (and all the incredible help we received from friends and family over the past few months while finishing this studio, moving into it, firing the kiln . . . )
We've basically been tackling major building projects since we got married four years ago (actually, we started before the wedding!), and we're finally taking some of these last pre-baby weeks to just be at home, enjoying summer, resting, and preparing for a big life change together.
Life is good . . .
~Becca