Lazy E Life

It’s Tick Check Season!

/ eileenbjennings / Leave a comment

I’m a little late to the game for summertime posts.  Guess what that means?  I’ve actually been enjoying summer!

Summer at the Lazy E (our patch of dirt here in Arkansas) is a fun time.  There is this magical time in March where pops of color start appearing through the neutral drabs and the grass isn’t growing yet and the ticks and chiggers seem to still be asleep (I don’t think they hibernate, but I feel like they NEVER EVER die) and we walk around the farmette feeling pretty proud of ourselves and thinking that maybe being full-time corporate folks and part-time homesteaders is not that hard…. Then everything starts growing!

This year I actually got a jump on things.  Let me be honest, my new helper and I got a jump on things.  The Lazy E has a farm hand and he is great!  He’s a nice, well-mannered junior high kid that has a great work ethic…shocking, huh?  With Christopher’s help, we got the garden into shape and all the planting beds ready for April.  He spent countless hours hacking back weeds and hauling brush to the burn pile.  With his help we’ve stayed on top of the jungle.  We also hosted a couple of house/garden parties, so that was a good motivator (strangers coming to the house will do that).

Now the Lazy E is in full swing and we are into the harvest period.  I make it sound like I pulled the combine out of the barn or am sending steers to market…um, no.  Yesterday I harvested a basket of tomatoes, a handful of strawberries and a gallon bag of green beans.  I love my garden.  It is great therapy and I get to eat things I’ve grown.  If I had to only rely on my garden to feed the family, I’d be very stressed out, but thankfully, I can just stop by the store and pick up dinner if locusts eat all my corn (not sure if locusts even like corn).

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and staying away from the ticks!

Harvest from the Lazy E

Harvest from the Lazy E

Advertisement

Grandma’s Bunnies

/ eileenbjennings / 1 Comment

It’s been a while.  Work is busy.  Family is busy.  Ok, who am I kidding?  I’ve been binge watching Kimmy Schmidt and Poirot (don’t judge).

I’ve been doing some of my favorite sewing over the last week.  A friend asked me to turn some of her late grandmother’s night gowns into something for her two boys and two nieces.  She chose bunnies and since we are so close to Easter, it couldn’t get any cuter.

Making new things out of old things can be a bit of a challenge, but those things are easily resolved with a little patience and planning.  I had to piece together the fabric since the pattern I use has you only cutting out four pieces.  No worries, that’s easy enough.  I monogrammed patches for the bunnies and embroidered the grandmother’s name on one of the ears.  

All in all, a sweet addition to anyone’s Easter basket.





Everyone enjoy the first week of Spring!  My next posts will be about our family adventure.

A Valentine Tea Party

/ eileenbjennings / 3 Comments

I love a good tea party.

The kiddo and I hosted a Valentine tea party.  We sent out invitations in true Emily Post fashion…Facebook baby!  The little girls that could attend received white gloves in the mail and Scout and I started making plans.  We also wanted it to be a craft party, so we went through our stash and pulled out all kinds of supplies.  I made a run to the local tea store, Savoy Tea Co. (conveniently 200 yards from my office), to pick up Queen’s Garden, Paris Morning and Caramel Apple Almond loose tea.  Fancy dress was encouraged, although not required.

Everyone arrived, looking very festive and ready for the party.  Given that we were experiencing unseasonable warm weather for February, the kids jumped on the trampoline and ran around the yard first before coming inside.  The tea table was decorated and filled with fruit, sweet and savory goodies and lavender sugar.

There was crafting, tea, sugar consumption and fun!!  The kids and moms made valentines for themselves and also to donate to one of the local retirement homes.

Happy Valentine’s Day!!

_DSC0059

_DSC0060

_DSC0064

_DSC0065

_DSC0095

#nomamadrama, NYE Style

/ eileenbjennings / Leave a comment

A movement has begun.

Not really. More like a hashtag. But, every good movement these days needs its own hashtag.

Introducing, #nomamadrama.

I have some really great girlfriends. Some I have known since we were eating paste (look it up kids) together and some I have only known a short while. As we have become mothers, I have appreciated all of the support and kindness they have bestowed upon our family. Genuine, authentic support. No drama.
We all have different styles, priorities, goals, influences, etc., but those don’t come with judgement for the other.
Thus, the No Mama Drama Club, #nomamadrama.
(There will be more about this in future posts)

The latest gathering of the #nomamadrama club was this NYE. Plans were solidified about six hours before the event. Laundry did not get folded. Random leftover Christmas crap got shoved in the bedroom behind a closed door. High-traffic surfaces got wiped down with Clorox wipes (it is flu season). That’s was about the extent of the prep. Scout and I did turn the laundry room into a makeshift photo booth, using a shower curtain, Christmas lights and a bunch of random fabric from my stash (nothing like taking a photo next to a pile of clean socks and underwear…just crop it). We had a huge pot of spaghetti, meatballs (pre-made, store-bought), and sausages and potlucked the sides. The kids ran around and when tensions rose between them (future posts about that dynamic as well), what has become to be known as our standard line prevailed, “be kind to each other and work it out.” The mommies have wine to drink and feet to be put up.
It was fun. Laughs were had, bellies were filled and everyone was out of the house by 10:00. Success!

IMG_4937-0.JPG
The Executive Board of the No Drama Mama Club:

IMG_4881.JPG
Applications go online in the coming weeks….

Check out Musings of Motherhood for some more #nomamadrama fun!

Let’s Be Neighborly

/ eileenbjennings / Leave a comment

We live in the sticks. Not as deep as when I was a kid, but we still live down a narrow dirt road and don’t just run to the store for milk at a moment’s notice. We have great neighbors that I wish I got around to see more often, but alas, I’ll take the social time when I can get it.
I was in a rather domestic mood the week before Christmas and decided to put together some goodie baskets for the neighbors. Butternut squash soup, sausage balls, ginger bread with lemon/ orange honey butter and assorted pickles.
IMG_4787.JPG

IMG_4789.JPG
The kiddo and I had a good time dropping in on the neighbors and wishing them Merry Christmas.

Teachers Love Caffeine

/ eileenbjennings / Leave a comment

I almost dropped the ball with the teacher gift, but I got it together and whipped something up the day before the party. I was pretty proud of myself until the morning of the party when I forgot the aide….argh.
IMG_4771.JPG

IMG_4773.JPG

IMG_4772.JPG
I had a couple of reusable ceramic coffee cups in my stash, so I fashioned a personalized quilted cup cover and added a monogrammed zipper bag. When I bought my embroidery machine, I had grand ideas of uber-artsy embroidered designs rendered from more uber-artsy photography and graphic design…. Nope, I just monogram stuff. Oh well, if it earns the kid an “A”, then I guess it was worth it.

Tea Time

/ eileenbjennings / Leave a comment

My office is on a downtown square and over the last five years, some great little shops have opened. One of them is Savoy Tea Company. They have an amazing selection of teas and accouterments and are some of the nicest folks. With their help I was able to accessorize this fun travel tea portfolio I made for a friend’s birthday.
IMG_4598.JPG

IMG_4596.JPG

IMG_4594.JPG

IMG_4595.JPG
The portfolio has a zipper pocket to hold all the loose teas, pockets for the spoon and diffuser, monogrammed leather coaster and personalized linen napkin. This was a fun project and one I think I will be repeating!

The Maker Movement

/ eileenbjennings / Leave a comment

I recently visited with two different people involved in education and they both referred to “the maker’s movement.” I guess kids these days don’t know how to make things, so we need to set up maker spaces and give special instruction, etc. In my day, we called them home economics and vocational classes….guess that isn’t cool anymore.

I like to think The Lazy E (our home) is a giant maker space.
Want to dig a hole? Grab a shovel. Want to carve a spoon from a fallen tree? Grab a saw and a knife.
Want to whip up a new outfit? Head up to the sewing loft and plug in the machines. This is how I grew up and this is how we are raising the kiddo. It makes me sad to think of kids not having the chance to create and succeed and fail.

The kiddo turns six in a couple of days and a special gift came in the mail this week…her own sewing machine (thank you Aunt Gloria). She saw someone wearing a sweater poncho and was determined to have one for her own. Let’s “make” one!
IMG_4673.JPG
She did a good job with the project and, although the seams weren’t straight and things weren’t perfect, she made it and she loved it.
I can’t wait to see what the kid comes up with next!