Grand Prix.

The Little Girls participated in their Awana Club pinewood derby tonight called the Grand Prix. It was such a hoot! Savannah's car is the pink in the bottom left and Ivy's is the brown truck, third car up on the right.

Both cars did really well in the heats, at one point Ivy's brown truck lost a wheel while speeding down the track. The "mechanic" glued it back on and then put it directly on the track for the final race and...

it still won!

 Ivy won the final in 1st place! Savannah came in 3rd! They are so proud.

An Invitation.

Hutters,

I'd like to share with you a project I've been working on. When my Mom died, friends, family and community members contributed to a memorial fund in my Mom's name directly benefiting the art departments at the Christian school all of us Sattler kids attended. After 10 years and many ideas, my friend and the current art director at EAS, Lupe Negrete, brought this event to life. She has arranged art works from the elementary school, junior high and high school ready for display at the concert. This project is very dear to my heart. My Mom's passion was art, her pride and joy were children (hers and all) and her missions were music and this school. If you are local and able, I hope you will join me at this event.   

 

 

Faith First In Concert

El Dorado Adventist School in partnership with The Patty Sattler Memorial Art Fund would like to invite you to an evening of Music and Art.

Wednesday June 4 at 7:00pm

Free Admission

A love offering will be taken, all proceeds directly benefit EAS art departments.

Color Run Fun.

Saturday morning Ivy, Savannah and I ran in the 2nd annual Cougar Chromatic Chase at the local high school. I've never done a Color Run before, it was great. Ivy did 1 lap (1.5 miles), she crashed half way through the lap and I ended up carrying her on my back the rest of the route.

Before the asphalt-burnt knee portion of the morning.

Savannah and Wrenna ran both laps, a 5k! (Wrenna's papa is a teacher at the high school, he organizes the race with his leadership class.)

Post race powder. This was a super start to our weekend, so fun to get messy with The Little Girls.

Sunning.

The sky has been so perfect these last two days. The air crisp with fluffy and sometimes stormy clouds. The sun felt so good against my back while I was in the garden or waiting for the school bus.
And I'm not the only one sunning my back...

the Baby Lovelies are out of their brooder coop and now mingle in the back garden with the other Lovelies. The two flocks hang out very separately and have not yet become one.

These five stick close together and love the afternoon sun exposure the front gate brings late afternoon. As the sun starts to set, the group huddles closer and closer together until they all the sudden jump up and march to their coop. l-r Taylor, Addie, Ivory, Snow White and Chicka

Easter Sunday.

Yesterday we hosted an Easter brunch here at The Hut. Our close neighbor friends The Gassen's, The Morris', The Potter's came over with their Littles and so it was casual and very easy going.

Goo and his buddy Lucky played all morning on this toy, pushing and pulling each other across the lawn.

The egg hunt was a bit chaotic, kids in every direction and me forgetting where I had hid them moments before.

As soon as the girls finished they rushed to the teepee to take stock in their treasure.

Meanwhile...

the little boys found their own spot to look through their baskets and talk.

Ahhh....

Hutters. I am completely ruined by a project I've been working on and so today my friend Krista saved me by suggesting a hike at Jenkinson Lake (Was she tired of supplying liquid inspiration/sympathy? Maybe. Regardless, she is a gem at pulling me away from madness).

The Littles (hers and mine) were very creative with littered beer bottles on the shoreline. They recycled these bottles as a water source for the dam and village below, yes...we packed them out.

There were a tremendous amount of ladybugs, a few crickets and an alligator lizard missing it's tail just waiting for Littles' prying eyes and stick-poking. We saw a bald eagle but these Littles acted like that nonsense was old news (oh country bumpkins and their everyday type ho hums...).

Savannah

Savannah and The Goo took liberties with the mud and clay, fully  indulging in it's slimy and gritty qualities. Ivy was proud to be "clean as a mouse", which I think might mean the opposite of what she was trying to communicate.

So a morning/afternoon in the sun, aside the most peaceful of waters is really the best medicine and exactly what we all needed to nearly wrap up this Spring Holiday.

Botting's Brew.

Three weeks ago Tim brewed his own beer. 43 bottles of Porter. He opened his first bottle last night, the chocolate-y rich brew was delicious. It has been so fun to see the pride Tim had in this project. The sense of pride in learning to make something yourself is incredibly fulfilling. I'm so happy to share in his delight.

Cal Day.

Tim and I took The Littles to Cal Day on Saturday.

Savannah just finished an extensive dinosaur research project at school, so the exhibit in the gallery of the Life Sciences Building was thrilling.

The Big Bugs display was fantastic,

these metallic beetles? Incredible.

We went to The Art Studio and watched a ceramics demonstration, walked through Kroeber Hall so see the Student Art Show then we stopped to listen to the Cal marching band. Their performance was awesome, this student-lead group owned their Bear pride.

The Little Girls are already talking about going back to Cal Day next year and we've had deeper conversations about what they are excited to study in school. Their college years are distant we know. But starting early to dream with them is so much fun.

 

French Baguette.

For a long time I've wondered about how to make authentic tasting, with crispy crust, French baguette. Figuring success was unlikely, I shied away from any research or further questioning until Saturday when a rush of bravery mixed with a fierce craving got the better of me. My search took me to this blog. I watched the accompanying video, mulled it all over and got to work.

Hutters: This baguette is the real deal. The prep/baking was so easy. My Littles are drunk off baguette and now that I've made the recipe a couple times, I'm not sure we can ever sit down to dinner without this bread. Now I'm ready to try some other new bread recipes. Except sourdough. Sourdough freaks me out.

Potato Farming.

This weekend seed potatoes were prepped and planted.

Perfect seed potato. Two healthy sprouted eyes. This one is ready for the trench.

Potatoes cut and dipped in ash, toughening the flesh and keeping them from rotting.

Of all the fruits and vegetables we are planting, potatoes are the harvest Tim is most looking forward to.

This trench/trough digging was intense, Tim was a maniac preparing the rows. Surely his excitement gave him motivation. Then he taught Ivy how to plant the potatoes "sprouted eyes up". Looking forward to mounding these as the leaves push through the soil.

Sweet Memories.

Typically for my Mom's birthday I buy a bundle of flowers and place them at her grave. This year I wanted to do something different in remembrance of her, something I think she would have done or enjoyed. My Mom loved working in her garden (we once had a cat who would climb up my mom's leg, lay down on her back while she was bent over weeding and fall asleep!). So Goo and I went to the nursery and purchased two fruit trees for The Hut. I was a little late at the nursery for the peach trees I was hoping to buy so instead I picked out a kiwi vine and a fig tree. They don't look like much right now but in the future when I pick this fruit from these trees for my Littles on my acre, I will think of the wholesome life my Mom created for her Littles in her garden on her acre.

Right Now.

This post is meant to be a future inspirational touchstone for me to look back on and draw strength from. Amen.

 

The sunsets here at The Hut are really incredible these last few days. The sky is the clearest and air, crispest after this early Spring snow. I have so many projects coming up regarding the acre here. So much hope and excitement.

Tim asked me the other day, "When you think of retirement later in life, are you excited?" I answered quickly without putting any thought into my words at all, "No! Because if I'm retired, The Littles have grown up and we aren't doing exactly what we are doing right now. And I love life right now." And then as our conversation went on and I reciprocated the question and he replied how excited he is for retirement, I started thinking about what I had said. And yes, I'm sure retirement will be grand. My Dad loves it and I know Tim's parents are really going to enjoy their new freedom immensely but I love everything about right now in my life even moments like yesterday when all three Littles were crying at the same time about some ridiculousness they went to battle over or when I am physically and emotionally spent from their care and needs. Still, right now, this is the very best. I have everything I'll ever need and want, right now.

p.s. Remembering my Mama today. It would have been her 62nd birthday.