The Misfits

Just like the Island of Misfit Toys, this post is piled high with the photos of 2022 that might be a bit disheveled, a little bit quirky... and don't really have a nice home to go to.  

But deserving of a place, nonetheless.

In no particular order (because who has time for that on the last day to get caught up on the blog?!)...

The message rock had a visitor one day

This is Matt's and my tree.  It is an apt representation of us.
He, the strong stalwart one and me draping myself all over him.

Oh how I miss those eyes.  

Learning to sing parts and harmonize at church

The state of Andrew's boots when mowing season was over.  

A real live Ransom can fit into a doll baby stroller!

From the angle, I suspect a Miss Ineke took this picture of Papa, home from work

A shocking comparison...

As Judah is only twelve.

It is possible I may have blogged this one, but even if I did, I include it now.  Because= FLOWERS!

Another project: 

Resurrecting the old sidewalk to make a new walkway.  You can see where old stones are buried by the dead spots in the grass. 

Not only is the end result elegant, but it should help with the mud situation in spring. 

BONUS!  The leftover sand was made into a BEACH!

Els and Falko!  A very special visit from very special people, come all the way from England!

A hearty wave to you folks again, Els!  Ineke was remembering your visit and said "I love her smile.  It is hard not to be happy when she smiles."  It's true.  She also said of Falko "He was such a kind man!"  So you both have a fan (or several!) in PA.

Matt's famous!  The boys spy him on the wall at his work.

There's a bit of redneck in this boy

Lookie here!  I found another handmade from last year!  A thunderstorm satchel for a niece who is terrified of thunderstorms and hides out when the sky even hints at a storm.

Apple Day: 

In the fall, I have access to cheap bulk "seconds" of apples.  Usually they are beautiful.  This year they were half mangled and bruised but they had already been shipped locally so I was committed.

 I spent a day turning 7 bushels of them into deliciousness.  Poof!  Edible once again!

As they say, many hands make light work.  (I am so thankful for my helpers!)

The cows enjoyed apple day!

In addition to this apple sauce and apple butter, we made 3ish gallons of apple cider and a dehydrator full of apple slices.  All in a day's work!

A wedding present Corynn made for a friend.  Wish she had been my friend when I was married! ;-)

Just hours before Corynn cut her hair off...
  She loves it short.  Short hair suits her.
But I wish I had been able to attach that extra hair to my own head.  Just saying.

Uncle Nate, a ladies man

Our bedroom is ugly.  I hate it.  I hide it.  Through the years, when we have worked on the house, we have worked on the spaces that other people see.  Then we worked on the childrens' rooms, because they were a bigger priority.  Everything is a bigger priority than this one. 

It is shameful- there are water stains running down an entire wall.  The ceiling is flaking.  The wallpaper is rubbed and faded.  There is a hole in the wall.  And because of this, I have never made any effort to make it anything more lovable.

I decided last year to do something to make it a little bit nicer, even though we can't really tackle fixing up this big of a project right now.  

For Christmas several years ago, Corynn made me a beautiful drawing of her and I when she was little.  I got the idea that I needed to put it on the wall.   And then I wondered why not add to the wall by my bed a picture of me with each of my treasures?  So I stopped by the dollar store and bought a stack of frames and found a favorite picture of everyone.

It instantly made me so, so happy!  

So happy, in fact, I didn't stop there.  Rather than have nightstands full of piles of books, I asked Matt if he would make me a shelf to line the top of the wall over our bed.  He being the kind husband he is, he did.  And he did it just exactly how I had envisioned it.

Ignore the water stains, wallpaper, holes and flakes and ADMIRE THE BOOKSHELVES!  And the PICTURE FRAMES!  (And the tiger on my bed...)

It's amazing what just a TINY effort can do for a perspective.

Although: Full Disclosure: our nightstands have new stacks of books.

Speaking of our bedroom:  One night, hours after I had tucked this Little Mister into his own bed in his own room, I went to bed to find that he had snuck into our bed and had read himself to sleep.  What a cherub.

What a naughty little cherub!

PHEW!  I did it!  Not a single old photo left to blog. Welcome February!  I am ready for you.