Simple Easter.

As always (or at least usually), we keep our holidays simple. This Easter began with some fun gifts from the Easter Bunny, an egg hunt around the farm, and some delicious Grandma-made cake. The rest of the day was spent hanging out with farm animals, playing soccer, cleaning up the yard, napping, playing video games and reading. (I finished this book today and then began reading this one immediately after and am almost finished - love them both).

Here was our morning, in pictures ...

It was a laid-back, but lovely holiday. I hope your holiday (however you choose to spend it) was wonderful and love-filled.

Happy Easter! Happy Spring!

Love,

Jodi

Goat Herd: The Girls Are Out & About.

Hooray for Spring in Maine. Finally. It is now time for our girls to escape their barn a bit every day ... to enjoy the greens ... antagonize the chickens ... destroy some perennials ... and follow us all around the yard during our outings.

And here are last year's kids ... You and Sweetie Pie. My how they have grown! And so have their hooves. So, Meaghan and I spent the other morning cutting and filing their hooves down. Not our favorite chore. Or theirs. And sadly, there was some blood involved. Me (our Queen of the herd) is not easy to work with ... and I cut a bit too far by accident ... but all is well now. Well, except that she is WAY overweight ...

... as can be seen above. I am almost embarrassed by this. But my Dad thinks that loving the goats means giving them food every time they "bleat" (click here to hear a goat bleating). And so, I have to give my Dad some of the blame for my overweight goats. No matter how often I tell him to leave them be ... that I know how to care for them ... he doesn't listen ... and thinks I am starving them. Ugh. I think I may need to hide their food from him. But he would likely just buy them more.

But tis the season for less grain and more natural greens ... so here is hoping I can get their weight down a bit.

Sweetie Pie above. Named by Isaac. And totally lives up to her name. She is so very sweet. Except when she bites me for trimming her hooves. She was our replacement for the goat that died within 24 hours of coming to our farm. That sweet goat was named Mini-Me ... and was so very ill. She was Isaac's goat ... and he and I tried desperately to save her ... but she passed in our arms ... and he later picked this one out to replace her on the farm. This Sweetie Pie is all the more important to him because of the passing of Mini-Me. And she is doing very well.

You is above. And she may be my favorite. Such personality. Always hangs out right by my side. Always a bit comical. And never bites when I am trimming her hooves. Thank you, You.

We love our goats. They are way more work then we initially thought ... but their company is so worth it. We have yet to milk them ... or put them to "work" for the farm in any way ... but we do so enjoy them.

And who could possibly resist these faces ...


Or even THIS one. (Our dear Emily).

So there you have it - a quick update on our small goat herd. They made it through a looong winter ... and are so happy to be out and about in the spring mud. As are we :)

ENJOY!

Love,

Jodi

Shop Local for Easter ...

... and if you are in the Bangor area ... shop at MY store ;)

But seriously ... there are so many wonderful goodies you can get and give to your loved ones that are healthier alternatives to some of the "big box" store offerings. Healthier for your wallet, for local economies, for the planet, for small family business, etc. So please - no matter where you are - please check out your local handmade shops.

AND if you are in Bangor (or willing to have me mail you something elsewhere) ... please check out the goodies we currently have in the shop.

Here is just a sampling of the goodness that you (or the Easter Bunny) could be popping into those Easter baskets :

Did you see those Star Wars finger puppets!!?? To die for!

And there is OH SO MUCH more! Photography, Paintings, Sculpture, Jewelry .... new items arriving almost daily.

170 Park Street, Bangor, Maine.

207-299-2869

Enjoy!

~ Jodi

Getting My Gypsy On.

I don't know how I lived without Ao for so long. She is an extraordinary woman ... who makes me feel that all my quirky and seemingly strange interests are actually wonderful and worthy of fully participating in.

She, like me, has a thing for pirates, zombies, the ocean, cephalopods, dancing when the mood strikes her, flashy make-up, gypsies, art in all of its forms, and basically putting herself "out there". She lives HERSELF. She is the me that I long to be.

Recently, she has joined us at Studio 36 as our "in-house" make-up artist. And we couldn't be happier about it. She offers make-up, hair and outfitting for our clients. But that's far from all she does. She leads a fantastic belly dance troupe ... she threads ... she weaves magical goodness into hair ... and she is a great photographer. (There is more, but you likely wouldn't believe me!).

So, since she has joined us, I have been UN-patiently waiting for my first appointment with her ... to transform me into some part of my inner self ... giving her full control to do as she wished .... and it looked a little something like this ...

(Thank you Bex Hickman for documenting the progress!)

And here are some of the results ...

I couldn't be happier with them. (Though there are more to show later). I see ME in these photos. An aspect of me. And I want to see more. So, I plan on many, many appointments with Ao. She amazes me.

As for the last picture, I knew that I wanted a tearful Gypsy look ... so I asked her to help create one. Little did she know that my Pepere (a hero of my life) once gave me a large framed piece of art - of a gypsy woman ... looking off ... and crying. I always wondered what she was crying about. And in order to create that somber look, I remembered that anonymous gypsy woman ... then my Pepere who shared her with me ... and thus, my sadness was real (I miss him so much) ... and well captured.

Thank you Miss Ao. Glad to have you on-board ... and glad to have your inspiration all around me.

Please drop in to see her work! Or contact her for an appointment ... (207)370-8701.

Love,

Jodi

Downtown Bangor is all About the Kids! Join us.

This Handmade Life will be offering free papercraft classes for kiddos ages 8 and up ... while Studio 36 will be offering free portaits for kiddos of every age. Drop in at 170 Park Street (up "The Hill"), Bangor, ME on May 7th from 11-5.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Love,

Jodi