"In Her Shoes" :A conversation with Stephanie of The Knitty Gritty Homestead

I first found out about Stephanie via SouleMama. She was one of the first people to start commenting when I joined in with Friday's {this moment}. When I visited her blog I knew right away she was going to have some really interesting things to say. So get your tea or latte, get comfy and welcome Stephanie of The Knitty Gritty Homestead to the desert!

The Knitty Gritty Homestead, sounds a bit messy but down to earth. Looking through your archives I’ve seen some really beautiful pictures of your home. How did you find the place? Can you walk us around the homestead a bit?

My husband and I were both raised in small towns (about 10 minutes apart!), and knew we wanted to raise our family in this setting. We bought our first home in a village with a population of 700, and weren’t really looking to move. Out of curiosity of what was out there, though, I checked the mls.ca website one morning while at my mom’s house. I saw this small farm that I’d seen for sale a few years before. What caught my eye in the photos on mls was a big sunny room with a spinning wheel in it.

On a whim, I called the realtor and we took a drive out. It was less than a twenty minute drive from my hometown, and about a fifteen minute drive to where I work. It was off the beaten track, on a road I’ve never been on before (and being a “local” that was rare!). As we turned up the laneway, my eyes took it all in: a turkey, chickens, sheep, a llama, all looking out at us from behind neat fences, and a homey white house on a rise. Chickens ranged freely, and there was a cat or two sleeping on the porch. Ducks swam on a good-sized pond, and the whole back perimeter of the property was surrounded by a small cedar bush.

A tour of the house revealed new windows (always a bonus in an old house!), refinished wood floors, a new wood stove and combination wood/oil furnace, a beautiful attic, a rustic summer kitchen…my mom and I completely failed at keeping our poker faces (my dad had advised us to conceal our excitement if we loved the place…we didn't want to seem too eager)! Outside, the 150 year old log barns were in good condition, with new wiring. A sweet little potting shed clinched the deal for me.

I see you raise chickens. I really would love to have chickens one day. What made you want to keep chickens initially? Do you have any advice for first timers? Any funny chicken stories? I’ve heard chickens are quiet interesting to watch.

We had all these barns, a chicken coop, a stable…but no animals! The previous owners were hobby farmers, but we were so busy with our jobs and small children that we just thought we’d wait awhile. Then a friend who had chickens needed a place for them; she’d been boarding them on a local intentional community (otherwise known as a commune), but they were getting into the gardens, so they had to go. She arrived with a flock of 23 hens, and the rest is history!

Advice? Clean water. Lots of clean straw in their nesting boxes. Room to roam. I’ve been fascinated by the natural behaviours of chickens, especially the rooster. Ours is a real Romeo; when he finds a worm or a really choice scrap, he chirps and coos to call “his girls” over; he often spreads everything out for his harem before he eats a thing. I love when I work in my garden and they surround me, scratching away at the newly-turned earth, finding worms burrowed into the roots of weeds I’m pulling. I love the quiet sounds they make at night when I go to lock them in, and their happy clucking when they greet me in the morning. And of course, I love having a constant source of beautiful, free-range eggs! Chickens are farm animals that pay you back for the care you give them; it’s really gratifying, especially in the dead of winter, to see them cozy in their coop, looking so healthy and happy. Chickens really show their health in the gleam of their feathers, the perkiness of their combs, and by their general demeanor. I’m happy to say, I have very healthy hens!

One night we were late locking the chickens in, and suddenly heard riotous squawks…we ran outside, in the dark, and knew they were being attacked. They had scattered, and were doing their instinctive, self-protective huddle all over the place. The rooster was doing his darndest to lead us away from the coop, running in crazy zigzags as my long-legged husband chased him. My hubby had brought out the axe in case he encountered a predator (don’t ask), and I have this image of him high-stepping through the long grass that surrounds the pond, axe in hand, in hot pursuit of the rooster whose presence was only revealed by the grass that rustled above him as he moved!

From your many Yarn Along posts, I see you are knitter! How long have you been knitting? Is there any project you started years ago and have yet to finish? What book would you recommend for a beginner? 

I started knitting when I was 10 years old, so that would make it 28 years since I started! My mother and nanny were very patient women and I knit my first sweater by the age of 12. These days, small projects are where it’s at for me (toys, socks, hats, baby items). Back in my early twenties I started knitting what we call “A Curling Sweater” (shawl collar, zipper, graphics on front panels, sleeves, and back). A young man I’d been spending time with (and ahem, had a crush on) expressed that he’d like one. It still sits in a bag upstairs, finished except for one sleeve. I’ve fitted it on my husband and it’s a good fit…now, to find the pattern so I can finish it! I would be lying if I didn’t have many unfinished objects in my bins in the attic. I’m much better now to finish what I start, but the ghosts of those old projects whisper to me from time to time…

For a beginner knitter, “Stitch and Bitch” by Debbie Stoller is very user friendly. Also, Elizabeth Zimmermann is a great resource; I love her “Knitting Without Tears” and hear that her “Knitter’s Almanac” is a must-have. A knitting friend is indispensable; knitters are notorious for wanting to share their skills and turn other people into knitters (at least I am)…so seek out someone in the know who can get you started.

I really enjoyed reading your long post about hand held gadgets. I know anything about parenting can be a hot button issue so I won’t get into that here, but I do want to talk about your favorite non electronic toys and activities. What are the three most played with items at your house and the top three activities. Around here Sarah’s Silks are never ending fun. 

Top Three Toys:

Wooden toys: rainbow blocks, tree blocks, farm animals are popular with our almost-three-year-old. They sit on our coffee table in a variety of baskets and bowls, and she uses them in all kinds of ways. They are simple, appealing to look at and touch, and are just the right size for her little hands.

(our blocks/animals are from www.novanaturals.com

Our four year old loves tea parties: thrift shop tea cups, saucers with little snacks, and some water to pour!

Our six-year-old loves to play with “guys” (his dad’s old Lego figures!)

Top Three Activities:

Music/Dance: my husband and I are both musicians, and when we jam we always make sure there are shakers etc. available for the kids to join in. We let them use our instruments, and always have music on for them to dance to. We talk to them about what they’re listening to, and the older two are getting really good at guessing “What’s that instrument?”! We believe in exposing them to a wide range of genres, and they are also getting good at guessing what type of music they’re hearing!

Our kitchen table is the place to be for crafts, art, writing, and sculpting. We have a large shelf with glue, paints, markers, paper, play dough, pens, etc. all within the children’s reach. When they start arguing or getting scrappy, we just get out some supplies and cut them loose. It always works. We like to sit in with them and work on our own creations.

Dressing up! The kids often dress up in bathing suits, and spread out towels in the living room to pretend they’re at the beach. The girls are always in tutus, and our son likes to be a spy or a ninja. The best thing is when the costumes get mixed up: a toque with earflaps worn with a princess dress, a crown with unicorn costume!

I have to add one extra item in: playing outside! My mom always says that when kids get cranky, you should just put them in some water. I’d add “put them outside” to that advice…we can always find an adventure, whether we’re sliding, taking care of the chickens, hanging out in the potting shed, or wandering in the bush. The four distinct seasons we experience here in Ontario makes for constant change. We encourage our children to watch the weather, trees, animals, etc. so that they learn what each season looks/smells/feels, sounds like.

Okay, so I dug way back into your blog archive and came upon your posts about maple syrup. Making your own maple syrup comes out at the top of the ladder for awesome things to do from scratch. As a desert dweller that will never happen for me so can you tell us more about the process. Do have an recipes you love to use your maple syrup in or on?

Maple syrup! The one thing missing from our property is a sugar maple bush! But luckily, we have lots of friends and neighbors who are happy to have our help with the harvest. When the days get sunny and warm, and the nights are cold, it’s time to tap the trees. Little metal spiles are tapped into the trees, and almost instantly, the clear, mild tasting sap starts to drip into metal pails. Depending on the year and the weather, the buckets fill slowly or quickly. Larger operations have their spiles attached to small tubes that run it all straight to the “cabane a sucre” (sugaring-off cabin), but most farm operations that do it for their own use have to collect the sap by hand. That means walking from tree to tree several times daily to pour the sap into a larger bucket.

The sap is then poured into an evaporator, a large shallow pan that is heated with a wood fire. The water evaporates out of the sap, and after hours, you’re left with syrup! It is then strained through a filter, and bottled. It’s precious and beautiful, and worth every bit of work. After a long, hard winter, there’s nothing like seeing your children running around in the mud and snow…they wear a unique outfit: toques, splash pants, rubber boots, sweaters…the sun is warm enough to ditch the snowsuits and mitts, and they get all sun kissed and rosy-cheeked. We spend the whole day outside, working together. Once the sap is collected, there’s time to visit, play music, eat. It’s a timeless tradition, one that hasn’t been changed or improved by technology.

Favorite uses for maple syrup? We put it in our coffee. I use it in salad dressing (3:1 parts oil: vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, and a “bloop!” of maple syrup). And we eat it on pancakes and waffles. We pour it in baked beans…it can be used in place of any sweetener, but I usually use it in a way that allows you to really taste it. It’s quite costly and work-intensive, so we’re careful with how we use it.

Being a mama, wife, teacher and homesteader is a busy job. What are your go to snacks to help you keep up with all that?

Go to snacks for me:

Almonds with either an apple or a raw carrot

Hummus and rice crackers

Yogurt with honey and walnuts

Homemade gluten-free muffins

Green tea, lots of water!

Earl grey tea in the afternoon.

This is pretty much it! We feed our kids lots of small meals through the day; their favorite is what we call a “tapas plate”…lots of little things cut up so they can choose what they like: sliced apple, nuts, dried apricots, peppers, baby carrots, sliced salami, crackers.

I see that your family are music lovers. Do you have any advice for introducing music to little ones? I know nothing about music but would love to introduce my toddler to different instruments. 

It drives us crazy when we see little kids playing “instruments” that are made with plastic and need batteries to emit a synthesized sound. They’re annoying to parents, break easily, and don’t really teach a child about how music is made. We’ve always had a basket at the kids’ level full of “real” instruments: harmonicas, penny whistles, egg shakers, maracas, tambourines, hand drums…stuff you can buy pretty cheaply at any music store. We let our kids play our instruments but taught them early on how to treat an instrument “respectfully”: you sit while playing a guitar/mandolin/banjo, and don’t sit ON instruments! I wrote a bit about music in the Toys/activities question above.

Listen to lots of music. Sing to and with your child. Dance with them. Tell them the names of instruments. Take them to see live music as often as you can. Be open minded about the “kinds” of music you listen to with your child; don’t limit it to just synthesized nursery rhyme recordings. If they’re going to learn nursery rhymes (which they should learn for many reasons!), they can learn them on your lap!

If you have friends who are musicians, invite them over! Don’t push lessons on your children too early, because you really want them to be musical! Just expose them to lots, encourage their natural love of music, and let them explore till they’re about six or seven (that’s just my opinion)!

I’m a city dweller, well more like suburban desert dweller. From what I’ve read you live way out in the country side. What do like the most and the least about living away from the city? Have you had any crazy animal encounters?

I’ve always lived rurally aside from the years I spent in university. When I get into Ottawa, I love to wander streets with little shops. I like to wander into bookshops, and have a coffee in a café’s window where I can just watch people go by. There’s a beauty to the community of rural life, where you can drive to the store and wave at five people you know as you go. Knowing that your business is often everyone else’s business can drive some people crazy, but there is an accountability that I like; I also know that if we were ever in need, we’d have neighbours at the door willing to help us out. With that said, I also like feeling “anonymous” on a city street.

Rural living means lots of driving, which is just part of life. It gets a bit harder each day as gas prices go up. But we like to be at home anyway, so we’re not running the roads every day except to get to work!

Animal encounters…well, our commute always involves passing fields of horses and cows. Once, on our way home from work, a herd of cattle was wandering down the road so we had to stop till they got out of the way. I also saw a moose running along the shoulder of the road one afternoon. We often see deer, porcupines, owls, and raccoons while driving. Skunks and raccoons like to visit our porch at night to eat the cat food! We do have wolves, bears, and coyotes in the area but sightings are rare.