In this season of thanksgiving (by the way, is anyone else totally blown away by how this year has flown by? I think my brain is still in early September!), I have noticed several things around Cockamamy in the last few days that make me smile, and for which I am oh-so-thankful. I thought it might be nice to share a few of those with you wonderful folks! And, this gives me a chance to share the smaller updates and items that we regularly post on Facebook (Do you like Cockamamay Farmer?) and Instagram (Do you follow @cockamamyfarmer?) that aren’t really big enough for a full blog post. If you aren’t following us in one place or the other, you’re really missing out on fun photos and lots of hashtags!

So, here are my top ten happies…

1. Our chalkboard wall. The wall itself is super fun and changes almost daily. But what is written on it right now is the real deal. Ben and I are celebrating four years of actual, for-real coupledom. What a thrill to have such a heart-ful calendar and many opportunities, including a friend’s wedding, to toast the love in our lives.

2. Adding new design elements. This recent Roman shade addition makes my day over and over again! My very talented friend Sonya was kind enough to work us in to her very, very full sewing calendar. Her handiwork on creating Roman shades for a few of our windows from the extra drapery panels I purchased (with this project in mind) is beautiful! And the added softness makes the still-under-construction spots feel a little more like a home.

 

3. Thoughtful birthday gifts. My sister ordered this awesome customized stamp (staaaaay-yump if you are a British person impersonating a tourist with a Southern accent…want to know more? Check out the blog Kerri and I kept during our adventures at the London 2012 Summer Olympics) and some half-dozen egg cartons for my birthday (back in September where my brain still resides). Such an amazingly thoughtful and perfect gift!

 

4. Friends named Phil wearing aprons. Another awesome birthday gift was from my mom. This egg-collecting apron has 10 little pockets across the front so your eggs stay safe and don’t fall out of your full hands while you are trying to open the back door or crack against each other in your sweatshirt pocket (it’s a problem, trust me). And our friend Phil wearing the apron on his very first egg collecting adventure is even better than wearing it myself!

 

5. Fall garden fruits. Eggplant. Gorgeous, delicious, and fun. And all that after we thought they died early in the season!

 

6. Squash! Roasted butternuts (seen here), acorns, and Tennessee Sweet Potato (a very large, white, bulb-shaped squash with flesh that is very neutral in flavor and can be a fabulous savory substitute for mashed potatoes or rice, or made sweet with cinnamon and brown sugar and baked on its own or in bread, etc) are filling our kitchen and freezer. Yay!

 

7. The new chicken door. Ben made this just yesterday. It works like a dog door, but the flap opens down and out, creating the little ladder. This way, larger animals can’t get into the house (Okra likes to eat eggs) and it helps hold some heat in (winter is coming!). Ben installed the new door yesterday and last night all the chickens put themselves to bed without fuss…they totally figured it out without any help! Pretty smart chickens.

 

8. Greenhouse 3.0. Another of Ben’s recent projects…an updated greenhouse. He cleaned up our mess from summer seed starts—the shelving, the supplies, the leftovers—and created raised beds with a center aisle. Can you see that our winter lettuce crop is already sprouting? See below…

 

9. Winter lettuce. Can you see it now? That’s my future dinner growing there!

 

10. These two lunatics. And the gorgeous, handcrafted-by-Ben cottonwood floor they are laying on. The puppies continue to be crazy and playful and hilarious and naughty and fun. And growing at an unbelievable rate. The floor continues to march across the living room/kitchen in long runs and is just gorgeous! Really, so so pretty and an amazing amount of work on Ben’s part.

 

So, there you go! My top ten of recent farm, garden, renovation developments and a few things for which I am thankful today. Of course there are many, many more! Please comment with your thanksgivings below! I’d love to hear from you!