Late Autumn Camping

We are so lucky to live in Southern California where the weather is perfect for most of the year. This means that we can go camping just about all year round. Speaking of camping, I wanted to share ths post from a few years ago...

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Our little family of 4 live in Los Angeles, surrounded by miles upon miles of urban metropolis. My husband and I have struggled enormously with living such an urban existence. He grew up in the pristine beauty of New Zealand's forests and I spent my childhood on the dusty plains of Africa. Both of us feel more comfortable in a country setting and yet, our life's path has brought us to settle in one of the worlds largest cities. I fought this path vehemently in the beginning. I wanted to bring my children up with the wind in their hair, the fresh scent of open spaces in their hearts. I pleaded and begged with destiny to take us to the forest, the mountains, the meadows. But, alas, it seemed she had other plans for us. It was only when I stopped fighting her, stopped focussing on what I 'didn't have', that I could see that what I did have was so much more important. And, can you believe, it was then that she gave me my hearts desire!

Two years ago, on New Years Day, we passed a campervan parked on the side of the road with a 'For Sale' sign on it. Although we hadn't even entertained the thought of buying an RV until that very moment, we stopped our car, called the number on the sign, scrounged together the asking price of $6000 and, on utter impulse, bought her there and then!

Oh boy, has she changed our lives! She has given us the open spaces, the meadows, the mountains, the forests. She has given us memories and happy times. She has strengthened our family love, our marital love, our Earthly love. She is a blessing in our lives.

Often, on Friday afternoons, the kids and I pack her with what we'll need for the weekend. We put our food in her fridge and fresh linens on her beds. A Good Man knocks off work early, hitches her up to his truck and off we set, excited for the adventures ahead.

She has a place for everything - our jackets hang on the hooks at the door...

K makes sure she doesn't forget her comfy pillow...

Sometimes, she is our little home in the big woods, sometimes our little house on the prairie and, just last weekend, she was our cabin in the mountains.

First thing I do when we arrive, is set out our pretty table cloth...

My Teddy Bear goes straight to play in the dirt...

A Good Man "unhitches" and "hooks up" while I make us some coffee...

Kitty goes off in search of new friends... We make new friends too... We light the fire...

and cook our dinner...

Wholesome food, with the flavor of fresh air...

We pop popcorn...

We roast marshmallows... We have late nights...

Sometimes, we sleep well. Sometimes, the children wake up in the night and we all end up in the same bed. Often, we wake up at dawn, ready to explore our new surroundings.

We walk in the woods...

We feel the texture of grasses in our hands...

Sometimes, it rains. But we don't care... we get wet. We let the raindrops splash on our faces. We notice how clean and vibrant the rain makes everything look and feel...

We spot our favorite things...

We discover magic...

I have found that when you let go, that when you take a deep breath into your very soul and quieten those rumbling of discontent, that when you truly accept that you will make the most of what you have, you find that what you have been wanting so badly all along, is actually right there in your hands.

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Our Little House in the Big Woods.

I am sooooo sorry for my abrupt absence! You see what the stress of having to choose a winner for the Fairy Garden Competition did? Just too hard to decide, so, we did the next best thing... we procrastinated and went camping!


Choosing a winner has been delayed but will happen, anon (keep checking in, we'll do it, I promise :-)

As we are having such a magical time in the wilderness, I thought I'd direct you to the SewnNaturalStudio blog where I recently wrote a guest post about why we love camping so much.
Enjoy!

Blessings and magic,
Donni

May I have S'more!!

To all of my American friends... I bet you can't believe that the first time I ever tried a S'more was a few years ago on our first American camping trip. I'm totally serious... I'd never even heard of a S'more before then. Yes, we grew up roasting marshmallows over the coals, but a S'more, nope, never had!

So, for all my friends who aren't American and have, perhaps, never had a S'more, you are in for a culinary treat! This, my darlings, is a S'more!


It is quite the yummiest thing you'll ever have.

This is how it's made...

Marshmallows, chocolate and biscuits (called Gram Crackers in America, kind of like a digestive)


First, scour the countryside to find the most perfect marshmallow-roasting stick. Your stick needs to be sturdy, smooth and long. K found a beauty...


If you can't find the perfect stick for yourself, niggle your sister until she gives you hers and then 'Whoop' in triumph at your prize...


Insert your stick into one end of your marshmallow and roast it over the coals until it becomes golden and delicious.


If you can't wait for your marshmallow to roast, eat it, by all means and try again...


But if you are patient and choose a lovely glowing ember to cook it over, your marshmallow roasts wonderfully.


While your roasted marshmallow is still hot, place a piece of chocolate on a biscuit. Cover the chocolate with the hot roasted marshmallow and top with another biscuit. You now have a S'more!

The hot marshmallow melts the chocolate into the biscuit and it's so super delicious that one is definitely not enough.


You'll soon be asking for S'more!

Blessings and magic.

These are the Days.

Oh, the excitement of camping... setting off for somewhere new.

Our little family of four... together... exploring... sharing... making memories. Up the Southern Californian coast this time to a breathtakingly beautiful beach called El Capitan, just outside of Santa Barbara.

So many beautiful moments...

Breathing smoke like dragons into the cold, early-morning air.

Our misty morning view from our camper's window.

Wildflowers.

Drawing pretty pictures while waiting for breakfast.

Reading many chapters of Little House on the Prairie.

Hours of playing on the pebbled beach.

Finding treasures from the sea.

Saving creatures from the land.

More than once.

Collecting wonders of nature.

Enjoying special moments.

Discovering life on the rocks.

And moss from the sea.

Noticing the colors of the pebbles.

Spotting dolphins.

And, topped off with a S'more or two!

These are the days, my friends!

Blessings and magic.

Name the Bird...

Now this is a bird after my own heart!

Can you guess what his name is?

Yes, he is a woodpecker, but what type of woodpecker?

I'll give you a clue...

YOU GOT IT!! He is an Acorn Woodpecker! Look at what he does!

He makes hundreds of little holes all over the tree trunk and then collects acorns to stick in the holes! Isn't he funny!

Look how hard he has worked...

A Good Man remarked that if I was a bird, I'd be an Acorn Woodpecker. So there you have it! What bird would you be?

Our Earth Day Giveaway ends on Earth Day, 22 April, please enter for your chance to win some really sweet goodies.

Blessings and magic.

Home of the Apple Pie.

On a whim, we packed up the RV and set off on a camping weekend. We headed to Julian, the home of the apple pie...

Such a quaint little town, old fashioned and sleepy and filled with pie shop after pie shop filled with delicious pastries and steaming pies.

We had our fair share,

And then headed out into countryside to explore the spring beauty.

Luscious green hills dotted with oak trees.

And wild flowers galore...

And wild turkey nests with 11 gorgeously speckled turkey eggs...

*(footnote: I must remember the image of A Good Man stumbling across Mrs Turkey sitting on her nest - I honestly can't decide who got the biggest fright; my big strong husband or poor Mrs Turkey!)

We love camping and the family fun it brings. Coloring together...

Cooking on the fire together and telling stories in the light of the candle...

Playing together in the dirt...And even rolling in it too!
As one of my favorite sayings goes... A dirty child is a happy child. Judging by the color of my children's bath last night... they must have been VERY happy children indeed!

Blessings and magic.