Twaddle Free Book Challenge

I have set myself a challenge when it comes to my reading material. I have a beautiful library full of books, some of which I have never read. Most of those that haven't been read are considered classics or as Charlotte Mason would say...twaddle free. Some of them I haven't read because I have seen a movie based on the book or know the general story line and don't really think that it will be interesting. Some I haven't read because the author was very heavy into the darkside of mankind (Joseph Conrad) and well I don't generally like anything that heavy for entertainment. However, I don't like having unread books in my library either. So my challenge to myself is that for every general entertainment (twaddle) book that I read (lately has been the Mitford series) I must read one of the classics in my library. So right now I am reading The Time Machine by Jules Verne. This is one that I thought I knew the general story and so wasn't interested in really reading it. Boy was I wrong! This is a great book and I didn't know the story at all. I highly recommend it. So, I am going to challenge my readers to broaden their horizons in good solid twaddle free literature. What are you reading this month? Blessings from the pond, Kat

Rainy Day at Willow Pond

Today was a rainy day since a tropical storm was moving in. Rainy days are good for getting little inside projects completed and we had plenty of those since moving in. There are still pictures not hung on the wall, the master bathroom shower needed new caulk and a variety of other little things that we knew would need to be done to the house when we bought it. We have been so busy over the past 8 weeks just getting everything here and getting the animals here that little things have been left undone. Rainy days are also good for getting to know how your property handles loads of water dumped on you in one day. Ours does pretty well. We knew we would have issues in the barn area and we do....all around the barn. So we are moving that up on the priority list to take care of. There is just so much and so many things seem to be a priority. Well, we do what we can do in the time we have to work. Moving a farm is so hard. We did what need to be done to get the animals here, but they are not ideally housed. The goats have a pasture and had a temporary shelter that they tore down this past week. I haven't had time to replace it so on this very rainy day they have had.....a tree. Again, I can only do so much. Ideally we would have liked to have had everything in place and everything done like we wanted to start off with, but that just didn't happen in reality. Reality says this is a long project that will take time and we can't pay for two places for all that time. So we do what we can as we can. The rainy days like today give us a chance to take a break from the big projects and enjoy our little projects... the little things that make a house a home. Tonight is even a clean out the refrigerator for supper night, so another good thing about rainy days. Nobody worked hard enough to work up an appetite so a light meal is just fine. Next time you have a rainy day, think about the joy you can find. Blessings, Kat

Father's Day and Husbands

Yesterday was Father's Day and it was a particularly hard one for my husband because he lost his dad this past month. The girls and I worked hard to make it a special day for him to try and ease his pain while letting him know how special he is to us. I think he had a good afternoon and evening and he was thrilled that both of his daughters were here to spend the day with him. I got my husband a small remote control boat to play with in the pond (yes even grown men need fun toys to play with). He loves it and the girls loved it too. They had a lot of laughs and giggles watching Daddy learn how to operate his new boat. It is so important that we honor our husbands and fathers every chance we get, but especially on Father's Day. Take that chance to really make them feel special. So many times we take them for granted in all that they do. I am just as guilty of this as anyone out there. Lately I was complaining about how hard this move had been and how tired and worn down I feel. Then my darling husband reminded me very gently that he was tired too. That is when I realized that over the past month he has worked a full time job and overtime, moved his family into a new house, started a new farm from scratch and buried his father. He is exhausted and yet he just keeps going and never complains. I felt awful. So my goal the rest of this month is to make him feel as special as I can make him feel. I think the girls and I got a good start yesterday. He was the center of our attention and we took him out to dinner so he could have his favorite seafood. I should honor him more everyday and make sure that I am his best cheerleader. I know that I fall into the rut of everyday life and forget at times that he needs my encouragement and my thankfulness to keep him going on the task at hand of providing for his family, loving us completely, and keeping us safe. He is our knight in shining armor and we let him know that he is our champion. Blessings to you all, Kat

Welcome to Willow Pond

I would like to welcome all old readers from Homesteading and Homekeeping at Whisper Wind Farm to join us on our new journey here at Willow Pond. And then, I would like to welcome any new readers to join us here as well and to take a peak at where we have been. Feel free to take a look at the "About" pages, I hope you all enjoy this new adventure with us. Blessings, Kat