Happy New Year! It's a Gnomey Makeover!

For a while now I have been considering the marriage of two blogs- this one and another blog that I started a few months after this one at the request of friends who wanted to know just what this Maine adventure was all about- and why we were doing it.

I wrote for a while on that other blog, managing to maintain two blogs for a brief space of time before I had to choose between them. 

I chose the gnomes- isn't that just the way?

But I still have so many moments in my day where I think: "I wish I could blog about this project/story/adventure. This is so funny! No one would believe it." But I always wonder "Can I just leap into non-gnome posts like that? I have done it in the past once in a while, but this would be rather consistent."

Hmmmmm.

I was stuck on the idea that this blog could pretty much only be pictures of gnomes. 

ONLY. 

I've realized that just isn't the case. 

So, I'm stepping into somewhat unfamiliar territory and wondering if I can expand this to encompass the multiple impacts that happen around a daily practice. Maybe it will work, maybe it will return to just the gnomes but I want to try something new.

I want to write about what happens in between the gnomes- there's meat there. How do I fit them in?

Yes, I make a gnome pretty much every day- they are constant- even when I've missed a day, I am thinking of the gnomes. But, I am also the mother of four complicated, delightful, intriguing and wonderful human beings who require a lot of attention and connection because they are humans and I am given the gift of a brief moment in the vastness of time with them and I need to be conscious and present with that. 

And I am a happy momma of three dogs, two cats, two goats, two sheep (plus one that boards with us), a miniature horse, six chickens, two ducks and now a rabbit. That is a lot to take care of but the love is so present!!

The thing that keeps me so busy is homeschooling. It is a pleasure and sometimes completely intimidating. We have a sort of odd blend of unschooling, Waldorf influences and whatever I can find that helps the children find their way and inspires them to seek knowledge. That is what I really want- my children to seek to learn daily so that when they think of a question, there are no qualms about seeking the answer. 

The gnomes trickle in at different times in my day- though this year I want to create a sacred space in each day for the creation of them, to take that practice to a new place in my heart and in my soul.

So this blog is mixing things up a bit- there will be gnomes- so many gnomes! And stories and adventures about this place we live.

In the old, familiar words of my very first Gnome a Day post:

Here. We. GOOOOOOOOO!