Purple Tonails and Earings

When I was packing up my stuff to move to Covelo, someone lightheartedly asked me,

"Will you really need this purple fingernail polish where you're going?"

I went along with the joke, and laughed. "Probably not."

But now I am finding the opposite to be true. YES. Please don't take away my purple toenail polish, and let me wear my earnings.

Let me start off by explaining that I absolutely LOVE this country life, and I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom. But the idea of moms needing to dress up, look fabulous and be taken out on the town every once in awhile... well, I'm finding that to be true.

When I moved to this place, I noticed that people were far more natural than they are in Redding. Most ladies don't wear makeup, and people seem to live pretty simply. Which I can appreciate. Living in Africa, I seldom wore makeup compared to the typical US teenager. And I didn't mind hanging out in leather sandals and t-shirts most days. But now, after dressing up for work every day for the past 7 years, it's a little hard to go back.




So here I am, workin' a pair of Payless boots from 4 years ago- a hole in the top and mud stuck to the bottom, a flannel I got at Costco, my hair up in a ponytail and wide-rim glasses on... and I'm thinking,

"Boy, it would be great to do a girls' night out."

What I would give right now to pull on my tall, black, knee-high boots, my strappy dress, gussy up with some glamorous makeup, and hit the town like old times.

Back to reality. Too far from civilization to do that. So, I'll paint on a few coats of purple toenail polish, put on my neutral color eye shadow, and tote my baby over to the library to see if I can make some friends. Oh yes, and I'll indulge in a spritz of last Christmas's perfume. That should do the trick.

Well I'm pretty sure I just saw something crawl across the floor, so I should probably go now and attempt to kill whatever it was.

All in a Week's Work

I was e-mailing my old boss last week and she asked me what I've been up to lately. All I could think of was cooking, cleaning, and more cooking... which I realized was wonderful. I'm kind of in love with this stay-at-home mom gig. When I think about my old job and the (*awesome*) people I worked with, I think of how blessed I was to find such a fun place to work and develop my talents. And now that I'm in this completely new place in life, I can see that God has blessed me once again. I'm finding time to develop certain skills that I didn't have time to before- making good meals for my hubby, reading to and teaching my little girl about life, God and nature, keeping in touch with my mom. All that to say, that Anna C., you were right... I'm probably gonna stay at home, keep trying to make babies, and not go back to work for a long time. :) Shout out to my HHSA community relations peeps- I miss you guys!

What I've been up to this week:

1. Raking leaves

2. Making pot pie (from scratch)

3. Drying figs

4. Playing dress up with my little doll


And that's a week.

Preparing for Winter

It's starting to get cold here in Covelo, and for heat, we have a wood-burning stove. We went out and bought some wood and started stacking it behind our house this weekend (and by we, I mean Tim).



The trees are starting to change color, and it finally feels like fall. This is the view from our back door.



On an unrelated note, check out the picture below. Do you see anything creapy? Yes, this is the Wheaties box staring at me from the kitchen. Totally freaked me out last night when I was trying to relax...

Figs!

Among many other fruits and herbs, we have a fig tree at our new place. Ever eaten a fresh fig? Me neither. Well apparently, all you have to do is wait until they become purplish, cut the top off and feast! Here is Daphne trying one. She loves them now!



Looking skeptical...



The whole thing in her mouth. Go big or go home.

Settling In

I finally feel like we are settled into our new house.

I took some time to make it homey today: baked some pumpkin cookies, make a wreath and a floral arrangement.

Daphne and I even got outside to do some chalk art. ...It was probably more fun for me than it was for her, but she got her scribbles in. Oh, and this just in- we finally have internet at home. Ahhhh,hello again world.

Sunday Drive

So here it is: the Round Valley. Probably more cows than people, but this place is growing on me. We went on a Sunday drive today and saw the sites (for all you city folk, that's what people did before internet and TV). The highlights included, several ranches, the cemetary, and some old-school hippy houses (That's the raised building you see above). Signing off for now, your new country bumpkin, Elaine.

Stay-at-home mom

I'm loving this say-at-home mom thing. I wondered if I'd get antsy, but I'm staying pretty darn busy. I love having time to spend with Daphne AND get all of the house work done. What a concept. I've been able to cook alot (funny how cooking is way more fun when you have time), take morning walks with the neighbors, evening runs with Tim, and even get some yoga in every now and then (with a toddler sitting on my head and dinasours walking on my neck). I'm even going to try my hand at canning food soon. Just put an apron on me and call me Martha.

Here is another picture from the Indian Days Festival.

Indian Days

Fog covered the valley this morning. The weather here is a nice change. It has gotten down in the 40'S. That means cozy PJ's and hot drinks. Mm. Everything here is different than our home in Redding. But good. I can look out the window and see a family of quail in my back yard. Vultures circle the sky and cows graze nearby. This is country living.

This weekend is Indian Days Celebration. The town is located just minutes away from a reservation, and instead of celebrating Columbus Day, they recognize Native Americans. This photo was taken at Tim's school. Cultural dancing and Indian Fried Bread. Embracing a new culture and loving live.

So if you haven't heard, Tim got a teaching job in Covelo, CA and we've up and moved to the middle of nowhere. We couldn't find housing for the first couple of weeks, but some friends graciously let us use their RV. We're just now settling into the house we are renting, and Tim is adjusting well to his job. So far we've:
-Lived in an RV park
-Hit a deer
-Gone to the farmer's market... good music and the smell of pot in the air
God is being good to us. He has kept us safe and provided for all our needs. Let the adventure continue.