back at it

Well, hello there. A few weeks go by and, what do you know, it looks like the holidays are upon us!



We've been enjoying plenty of holiday celebrations these days, with parties and holiday faires all around. The winter festival at the farm is perhaps my most favorite of all... warm meals cooked in the farmhouse, woodsmoke in the air, Father Christmas at the cabin. This year's celebration was even more enjoyable as the kids and I were invited to join in the fun -- authentic period costumes and all.

Daniel's post was at the wood workshop in the upper barn, helping demonstrate the old fashioned toys made by a talented woodworker at the farm.




Sophia and I were in the farmhouse, where the kitchen was full of busy hands making a traditional Christmas dinner. In the parlor, carols were being played on a pump organ (Sophia and Daniel even played a few) and the tree was being decorated with ornaments and strings of popcorn garland.




When the work was done and the visitors gone, we all settled in to share the warmth of the farmhouse and the results of all that busyness in the kitchen. Really, it was the culmination of a good year in many ways. Among the dishes served were leeks fresh from the farm garden, pork roast from the autumn's butchering, apple cider pressed from the apples we picked together on a cold, rainy fall day. Around all that was the comfort of the friendships that have grown in this place.



This season is full of so many reasons for celebration and reminders of gratitude. I'm looking forward to sharing more of them with you here in the coming weeks!