Simple Pleasures

It's a cloudy, grey morning (yesterday)...
and Jack gave me the morning off from barn chores.
After a very short night of sleep ... after arriving home from Pittsburgh at 
an exceptionally late hour... I awoke having succumbed to chest congestion
that had been brewing for a couple days.


I spent my morning, indoors, vacuuming, doing dishes and laundry.
So when it was time to go out and bring the donkeys in from their morning's grazing time,
I jumped at the chance to go out and visit everyone.

I went from pasture to pasture just to see how everyone was occupied,
and this is what I found:


At one moment in time,
the donkeys were busy grazing...


as were the pigs...


the sheep were resting - who knew that chewing your cud could be so exhausting!


Annie and Chester stood watch.


The horses were busily munching, 


through their grazing muzzles,


in two of the upper pastures...


while Dr. Becky's Sid and Shirley were in the third pasture.



They all seem to enjoy having neighbors with whom to chat!


The ducks and guineas were busily patrolling


the fourth pasture,


while the goats and the chickens looked on...


Our one lone rooster, who has recently figured out his duties,


was trying his best to woo (any of) the ladies.


No takers, apparently.


As I moved from pasture to pasture, Sam followed along behind me...
hoping that an adventure might be next on the list.


We brought the donkeys back into the dry lot and gave them their morning chow.
Secure in the knowledge that all was well with our world,
we headed back home...
to work on a few projects.

I am knitting some mittens.


and finishing some works in progress in the sewing room.
Waxed cotton rain hats have been a popular item, so more of them were started.


I had a brainstorm that perhaps I could use my own leftover beeswax,
(from our last hives a couple years ago)
to make my own waxed canvas.

In an attempt at being more sustainable, I have stopped buying plastic wrap
and have tried several alternatives...
one of them being beeswax fabric like this....


but I was not terribly happy with its performance when covering a casserole,
in that it wouldn't stay shaped well around the edge of a bowl without a rubberband.

I had also tried silicone lids, and they work well, but are not made
large enough to stay secured to a bigger dish, like a casserole.

So... I had a brainstorm... what if I made a beeswax cover circular and edged it with elastic?
Eureka!!


It worked.

I am thinking of making these in three sizes as a set,
but first I need to iron out just a couple bugs. (not real bugs!!  Ewwwww!)


I love quiet, grey days and the satisfaction of knowing that
everyone is happy and healthy and busy doing what they most enjoy.
Simple pleasures are the best!
The older I get, the more I realize that these simple pleasures
are all I need to be happy!

Comments

colleen said…
Brilliant idea with the bowl covers. Love seeing all your projects... and the animals too.
Take care of that congestion. xxxxx
Anonymous said…
Take care hope you feel better each day!
daisy g said…
Hope you are feeling stronger every day.

Put me on the list for the bowl covers!

Enjoying rain here today.
littlemancat said…
I like the quietness of November, too. Something peaceful about it. Your animal friends seem to feel it as well.
I saw some beeswaxed covers at a bazaar this weekend. How do you clean them? I should've asked the craftslady who made them, I know. The elastic makes all the difference as the ones I saw didn't seem to fit securely around the bowls. Good idea!
Mary
This N That said…
As I have gotten older and acquired the limitations that go with aging, I have learned to be happy with the simple pleasures...It works if not annoying at times...Are the beeswax covers washable??
Kelley G. said…
Love the oversized waxed dish covers. The silicone ones I have are great for covering cans, but not anything large or irregularly shaped.
Maybe you can figure out how to cover something like a pie that won’t smash the top if it’s rounded or has a meringue topping? Or crush the crust edge? Amazing what you can do!
Hope you’re feeling better soon.