Little House on... Haydon Street?

We talked to our people in Australia (we have people in Australia! How cool is that?). Patrick’s sister, her husband, and their daughter live on Kangaroo Island (YES, that is a real place!), and we will be visiting next summer. We like getting to touch base with them every once in a while on the phone. During our last conversation, Amy, my 7-year-old niece, desperately wanted to talk to me. As soon as she got on the phone, she didn’t even say hello, just launched straight into a full-on discussion of her latest favorite read, Little House on the Prairie.

“Aunt Emily, I have been reading about Laura Ingalls! Do you know her?”
“I remember reading that book! I loved it!” (my response)
“And I am watching her too on the television!” (Remember, she’s Australian, so all of this in a sweet little accent)

Then I went to school for a couple days to meet with the team of teachers with whom I work. Wes, my co-worker, commented on how long my hair has gotten since he’d seen me at the end of the school year.

“Oh, are you growing it out to put into a bun?!”
“Huh?” (my response)
“Oh, my daughter is reading Little House on the Prairie and all she talks about is growing her hair out to put into a bun like Laura.” (How cute is that?)

So apparently LHOTP is a hot topic among the seven and eight year old crowd these days. Maybe I should re-read?

This is all to say that I am feeling very prairie-ish these days. I made my own jam and pickles and canned them the other day (just to see if I could do it). Today, I am making my own yogurt in the slow-cooker (recipe from here). I also have all ingredients ready for making my own bread the minute this current store-bought loaf runs out. And I noticed, while typing this post, that my hair ACTUALLY is pulled into a (somewhat messy) bun. I have also tampered with my sewing machine a little this summer, again just to see if I could do it. A friend gave me a recipe for making my own laundry detergent, which I have yet to try. I find a crazy sense of satisfaction in mastering skills like these, even if I never use them again.

My husband thinks I’ve gone a little mad. I think I’m just getting a little smarter.