Off Grid Modern Prefab Heads Into Holidays

Modern off grid house struttin' into the holiday season.

We are on holiday until January.

Cocoa Puff is on holiday.

"KIDDZ! Come out and PLAY!
There's no homeschool this week! LET'S RIDE!!!"

Before we went all holiday crazy, we had fun tracking the International Space Station AGAIN.

Off to hunt the ISS!

If you look REALLY CLOSELY you can see a tiny white dot where the branches of the lower trees in this video form a circle - that is ISS! In real life it was much more thrilling, viewable, and detailed, I assure you-

As if it were not exciting enough to see the international space station for a third time this year, as Pip 1 whirled about playing with Tiny by teasing him with a log...
PIP 1 SAW A METEOR HIT AND EXPLODE! We were watching the space station and he was playing with the dogs and whirled around:
"I just caught the streak of this bright yellow small object flying down towards the earth and then the moment why I started tracking its motion it exploded into a ton of down spiraling little miniature rocks!!! Like upside-down fireworks!"
VERY COOOOOOOOOL.

So, yes: the holidays were upon us.
More on that in a moment.
When we returned from our back and forth fun, we returned to the off grid prefab house after many gray days away with rain, no heat, and temperatures in the 40s/50s to 20s/30s. Inside the unheated-for-days off grid prefab house it was 59. Got the cook stove going, and then we were warm.

I'd like to especially thank our friends who enable us to get away and see friends and family in the city while caring for and loving on our animals, and those friends who appreciate staying here when we're gone for their *own* fun getaway!

We wandered about the city, spent time with loved ones, headed over the river and through the woods to whip up and serve a seven course meal for fifteen on Christmas Eve, headed to an uncle's farm for Christmas Day, back to the city for cocktails and dessert in Richmond's Fan with friends, then wandered back home just in time to hug the horses and donkey well before heading in for an evening in the off grid prefab house.

The holidays continue, and with it a strange sense of content mixed with unsettledness. Deeply content and wanting nothing, yet unsettled because we will never be 100% country nor 100% city so when we go back and forth we're always missing the other, and now that we're back we wish we had seen more people when there... so, city friends, COME SEE US. And country friends- GET OVAH HERE!
xoxoxo

Here's some pictures.

Up a tree at Maymont.

The Jefferson

Maple & Pine at Quirk.

And recipe:

Christmas Eve Courses:

Hors d'oeuvres:

Roasted oysters with sauteed garlic, spinach, Virginia ham and lemon.

Bacon-wrapped shrimp sprinkled with fennel orange and lemon
with a roasted red pepper dip.

Aperitif

Soup: (This was supposed to be pureed oh well...)

Turnip Onion Soup

Salad:

Mixed greens with a slice of pâté.

A break, cleansers, and Christmas crackers!

Christmas crackers.

Pasta Puttanesca

More wine...
Entrees:

Beef en Croute

Pheasant but I forgot to add the stuffing I made
and opted for mashed potatoes that were there
to please the kids hahaha, with homemade cranberry orange relish
and Beef en Croute.

Dessert: Lemon sorbet / cheese plate.

There were hats handed out.

They've got some serious HATTITUDE
goin' on, dontcha think?

I'm happily playing with my Christmas cracker
toy harmonica for entertainment...

Christmas was here.
This was cute. We wrapped up presents and Pip 2 opened, randomly, a present: a log. "Oh THANK YOU for this log!" she exclaimed. A few gifts later she found the packet of 100 Oyster Mushroom Spores. The log was supposed to go with the mushroom spores... "I can now start my own mushroom farm!!!" Yes, kid, but you had my heart when you thanked me for the log. XOXOXOXO

Pip 2 with her log and mushroom spores.
On the right were gifts she made- the Grinch's dog for her Papi,
and their beloved horse for her brother. <3 td="">

It was wonderful to see so many friends and family. We flitted all over the city to spend time with loved ones.