{this moment}

From Soulemama: “{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.”

Read Full Post »

Signs of the Season: Garden Obsession

Out in the garden this morning, I had this epiphany about one of my own seasonal rhythms. During the summer, when the garden is bursting and I’m in the thick of picking, weeding, and exclaiming over what is growing, I fall in love with growing our own food all over again. Then I start contemplating doing more, providing more for our family than we currently do. Wondering what it would take for us to be more self-sufficient in regards to our food. I tend to obsess over it for the rest of the summer, have long discussions about it with L1, make some plans, then fizzle out come September and a new school year. If I get some things planted in the cold frame I call it a good year and then fall into the rhythm of the colder seasons, including being busy with grading and planning for my classes.

This year we’re going to go a little further with the self-sufficiency idea. We have a lot of reading to do. And I have to come to grips with being patient, content with the planning stage that we’ll be in for a time, and know that we continue to move toward the direction we have been for the past several years.

Things we’re thinking about:

• How much & what do we need to grow
• Grain for us–a totally new realm of growing & harvesting!!
• How is the yard going to be transformed more (L1 is all over this)
• Planning more cold-season growing.

Once again, I know this will be a long-time in coming, and there will be many items we won’t do for ourselves.  But it’s fun and exciting to daydream about it and building more of a community around it.  (I think about you, Jessica, and having your friend down the road with the garden space she can share!)

What rhythm do your thoughts take on at the height of summer (or winter, dear southern hemisphere friends!)?

Read Full Post »

My Bliss: When Goals & Love Meet

Every year as my boy’s birthday nears I find myself in a bit of a panic when I start contemplating the birthday sweater for that year. A similar process happens for my girl’s birthday, but in that it is usually, “Which pattern should I choose?” while in the case of my boy it is, “There aren’t any to choose!” While there are fewer “boy” patterns in general, the older he gets, the more this becomes the case.

This year, with a little help from the Inside Out e-course, I finally made it a goal to write and knit a pattern for my son. I sketched, read, started doing the math (which I loved!), wrote out what I thought I’d do, knitted, RIPPED, rewrote the pattern, re-knitted, added to the pattern, kept trying it on him, and finally finished it.

The Stats:

Pattern: X Marks the Spot, be me, front stitch pattern inspired by B. Walker’s “Inverness Diamonds” in A Treasury of Knitting.

Meg asked about this name, since he was turned 9, not 10.  🙂 The X pattern is knitted over his heart.  I wasn’t thinking of that when I sketched what I wanted to make him, but it came to me when I was trying to name it and realized where it was.

Yarn: Spud & Chloe Sweater

Needles: US7s

Thoughts: It’s isn’t exactly how I pictured/sketched it. I needed a lighter weight yarn for that. In the end, he likes it and that’s what matters, right?

Read Full Post »

{this moment}

From Soulemama: “{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.”

Read Full Post »

Anchors of Gratitude

Lately I’ve been catching myself in moments of gratitude for the pieces of our days, like the above hydrangea blooming after being dormant for a couple of years. Those pieces of gratitude are a good reminder when, like right now, my son just won’t/can’t go to sleep and is crying out that he is hungry (he’s been given snacks and told he was done for the night). I struggle between frustration that he won’t just lay with his eyes closed and give himself over to the music playing and the sleep awaiting him, concern that he might truly be hungry, and a desire to have some quiet adult time in the evening with L1. Finding my breath and the calm that comes with it becomes easier when I have some small piece of something to hang onto in those moments of frustration and uncertainty.

May you, too, find calm and an anchor for yourself. Namaste.

Read Full Post »

The Power of Dirt

From boredom to mud in minutes.  Such is the rhythm of summer in our home.  How about yours?

Read Full Post »

Beyond the Bend

Thank you, ALL for all of your well-wishes and support here and otherwise.  It meant the world.  I so wanted to come back to this space and share all of my castles in the air turned real.  I’ll share the foundations they need instead.

The Good:

I did it, I took that step, made the journey round the bend into the world of something new and unknown, being a vendor in a craft show rather than a member of the audience. There was lots of learning, something upon which I thrive.

The weather was gorgeous.  Though it was quite hot, we were under shade and there was a strong wind that blew all day so the air never became stagnant with humidity.  The predicted thunderstorms never materialized.

I was able to spend so many hours with my friend who invited me to the show.  It’s been a long time since we spent so much time together and it was lovely.

Setting up my sign!

Waste-Not Collection (reclaimed materials) on left table

Crunchy Clothes Collection

Gentle Living Collection (Household & Wellness Goods) on right table

The Not-so-Good:

Many of the vendors canceled at the last minute.  I was saddened that my friend had to call to discover where the missing vendors were—they didn’t have the courtesy to inform her they wouldn’t be attending.

It was the show’s first year, which meant that it was small.  Having those empty spaces from the cancellations was a turn off to many potential customers, it seemed, as so many would drive past but not stop, park, & get out.  The end result was a disappointing attendance rate.

Remember that wind I mentioned above?  It was a double-edged sword.  Everything kept blowing around or away!

Where I Stand Now:

I want to try this again, to find the right venue for what I have to offer.  I want to continue to refine my booth set-up.  There wasn’t enough time for me to do all I wanted to for it.

I am torn about feeling that the booth wasn’t “full” enough.  I knew I didn’t want it to be cluttered, but it might have been a bit too sparse.  I am currently wrestling with this.  I don’t want to create “things” because they’ll sell, or so that I’ll have a bunch of “stuff”.  It seems antithetical to the idea of handmade/handcrafted and eco-friendly.  I would like to have more choice & price-points for my booth & shop.  Thus my current dilemma is born, or really, if you look deep into my archives, it’s an issue over which I have been struggling for a long time.  Dear readers, do you have any thoughts on this matter?  I’d love to read what you have to say as I continue to ponder this issue.

Read Full Post »

When Perfection Just Won’t Do

A glimpse of a new design for the shop that I am loving & have worn several times.

:: It’s time put on a new lens to see. ::

::It’s time to let go and breathe. ::

:: It’s time to just be excited and giddy. ::

:: It’s time to learn. ::

:: It’s time to be me. ::

Saturday I’m participating in my first craft show ever. A dear friend is organizing and running it and asked me to participate. I said yes, and I’m so glad I did. It is a “bend in the road” as Anne Shirley would say, and I AM excited to see what lays around it. That being said, between last minute nuttiness for the show and cramming in visiting time with my SIL and nephews before they head back to North Dakota this week, I will be blog-absent until next week, except to answer questions and participate in the comments.

Just in case you didn’t know, all of your comments make my day. 🙂

Read Full Post »

Sometimes I Forget. . .

. . . that our normal isn’t “normal” to the many outside of our home.  I don’t even think about not having disposable cups, paper towels, or paper napkins (still have TP, much to the relief of L1 and any guest that stays in our home!).  Then someone asks for one of the above and a small part of me feels embarrassed for not being able to offer said objects, while another part feels a sense of pride in that as well. I find it fascinating, what we all come to value in our families and how it becomes such a part of the way in which we live that we can forget that not everyone lives the way we do.  What I sometimes struggle with and hope to avoid is judgment of those who don’t have the same values.  I try to remember, “I don’t know their story, I don’t know what their day-to-day is like.”  Do any of you have any mantras or reminders for yourself when you encounter those with different values/ideals than yourself?

Read Full Post »

To My Star, Age 9

There is no doubt, you changed my world forever. Any emotional roller-coaster I may have experienced as a teen pales in comparison to the spectrum of emotion I have felt because of you, my dear boy.

Your bravery and willingness to try the new and stick with what you love is inspiring. We teach each other all the time, don’t we Mr. Bug?

Your enthusiasm and passion make your living so full and bright and sometimes so low, too, because of your keen sensitivity to it all.

I hope you are always able to retain your strong imagination and creativity.

I love the thinker you already are.

And am often surprised when I see the serious side of you because I’m so accustomed to the joker.

I wouldn’t want any other boy to be my son in this life than you, Star. May you always be happy, just as you are.

Happy Birthday.

Read Full Post »