country living Archives - Spoonful of Imagination

Would you believe me when I say that this fire pit was free? It didn’t cost a dollar. The sweat and time were the only price for this huge, beautiful fire pit.

When we were visiting my sister the other week in Arkansas, we wanted to help her with some projects while we were there. She had on her to do list to build a fire pit. We literally found all these big rocks on her property and carried and carted them over to where she wanted her fire pit built. I wish I had huge gorgeous rocks like this lying around on my property too, don’t you!?

Of course, we had some really excited helpers that wanted to be apart of this project. Lucky for us, we did need some smaller rocks so they were quite helpful and of course good company.

The first step was to create the base size/structure of the fire pit by laying down the first round of rocks. My sister, Olivia, made it bigger than I was expecting, but I love it! I wouldn’t have thought to make such a huge fire pit, but it fits her property and land perfectly. This fire pit is easily four sizes larger than those metal circle pits they sell at hardware stores that I am use to seeing as fire pits around these parts.

We decided we thought about three rows of the big rocks would look the best. It then became a puzzle of aligning the rocks and placing them in the best way to create a circle rock wall with as level/sturdy foundation as possible.

After we got the rock wall in the shape and height we wanted, we inserted some of the smaller rocks into niches to create the most sturdy base as possible. What we wanted to prevent was any one siting or standing on the fire pit (when it’s not in use) and it tumbling over.

The last step was to test it out! I loved building the fire and watching the grass inside the pit immediately spread and burn away. The rocks kept the fire in though, so it worked. We had dinner grilling hot dogs and smores over the new fire pit to enjoy our hard work.

You might not have free gorgeous rocks on your property either, but would you build a fire pit out of rocks instead of buying a premade one? I know this project is now on my to do list for my home! To see more pictures of this fire pit in use and of our trip to Arkansas you can go read about the beauty of country living. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Do you ever dream of a life you don’t live? Maybe you dream of living…

…in the 90’s with big hair again

….or maybe it is early colonial days when big puffy dresses were the fashion

…or maybe it you don’t like big things at all and you are content in this era

you just dream of a different location.

Sometimes a different location can seem like a different world. I love our new house because it is surrounded my cow fields and animals, but we are still in a neighborhood. I often dream of living REALLY in the country. We visited my sister at her home in Arkansas about a week ago. Although it is a good 12 hour drive to get there, it is a trip I will do at least once a year.

Visiting Olivia and her family is like visiting another world. The ways and systems in their daily life are just different from ours. Life is simpler and it is something I dream about. I want to share a few things about the beauty of country living that we got to experience on our trip. Some of these are things we do here, but they may be harder to implement and have to be intentional in my world (living in the metro Atlanta area).

In the country, you may…

…look out your window and see the Chick-Fil-A cow everyday.

…change outfits four times a day due to sweat, water, dirt, etc.

…start and end your day milking a cow.

…chase chickens and try to catch a baby without the mama pecking you.

In the country, you may get bored and…

…have to find something to do rather than be entertained.

…walk through a field picking grass to feed it to a thankful horse who gets a break from grazing.

…sit on rocks and just talk.

…play with kittens.

…explore old barns.

When you live in the country…

…fire pits can be part of your nightly routine.

…you might burn your own trash.

…you can pee outside.

…you drink from a hose.

…you wake to roosters crowing.

…dirt roads don’t surprise you (so you prob don’t own a mini van).

…you can yell “yea haw” while really riding a real horse (Reagan was thrilled).

…driving to get a sweat tea may take a little longer.

Country living is appealing to me cause…

…it’s a slower pace to life.,

…the to do lists may be long but the priority of them really seem to matter.

…hard work requires sweat most of the time.

…the natural way of life has you outside more daily.

…experiencing the simple rawness of nature and its beauty is energizing.

…family can stay together easier than all going different routes and places regularly.

We had the best time visiting my sister and her family. We are already trying to figure out how we can go back this fall. I love the way of life the country brings. I probably drive my brother-in-law crazy with all my questions about his lively hood, but it fascinates me and is all new! I could see us moving to have more land and country living someday, but for now I am thankful we can escape to my sister’s whenever we want.

What about you? Is there a way of life that appeals to you? Are you more of a city, mountains, beach or country lover? Thank you so much for checking in! Tomorrow, I will be back to show you one of the projects we made while at my sister’s!

Building a Fire Pit

The Beauty of Country Living

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