orange glow!

When it feels good to be moving slowly.

Glaciers seem to be good at it. grains of sand through an hourglass. the opening of a flower is pretty slow. cannot actually see it happening. what is the best thing to be doing when life seems to be forcing you to move s.l.o.w.l.y.? there can the frantic sense that I am getting more and more behind on what is really important. It can also feel like maybe I have NO IDEA what the important thing is. 

5 knotts in a long boat feels like a comfortable way to 'go slow'

maybe I need to think of my body as a long boat.

natural beauty

day out

sewing in the threads

Knitting a jersey for the second time... there are things to really celebrate in that. The color for one- the way the decreases made a tidy pattern down the side after LOTS of practicing.

a little help with the shoulders, a book from the library coaxing me through the finishing of the neck


the sleeves have a reasonable edge (maybe lacking elasticity) but I feel OK about them (yay)

sewing the sleeves in - is another story. Have you ever been almost done with a project and wanted to bail out at the last turn? Yikes!! so much has gone into this thing. I want to get it to look right - be beautiful even, not just for me but for my growing girl too. Self imposed pressure. I know! I always hope that these physical things teach us to 'smooth' the connections, sew in the trailing threads or beautify our personal interactions as well.

wishing you a beautiful weekend. 

sunny morning

the sun is out, drawing attention to all good things.

just finished a book - Everything Belongs. by Richard Rohr. As the title suggests, I was left feeling everything makes sense. good feeling.

happy day.

A chance to look and listen deeply

When someone deeply listens to you

It is like holding out a dented cup

You've had since childhood

And watching it fill up with

Cold, fresh water.

When it balances on top of the brim,

You are understood.

When it overflows and touches your skin,

You are loved.

 

When someone deeply listens to you

Your bare feet are on the earth

And a beloved land that seemed distant

Is now at hand.

 

--John Fox

This poem is so appealing. The longing to be understood and seen - we all share that. We all share that need to really see deeply also. To transform our life from ordinary to meaningful. Hey, it pleases me no end when I find something on a blog or in a book that helps me to see connection in all the world to the simple and sometimes tedious tasks that are common to our lives. How about the laundry task for one....

sunny day

laundry collected

wash

line dry

birds and breeze

alone in thought

gather in

smell

fold

night time

exhaustion

turned down bed

ease between cool sheets

feel of fresh

scent of earth

peaceful slumber

The most over used appliance in our modern world, in my over wrought opinion, is the clothes dryer. I am an advocate of line drying under the bleaching aid of the sun and the drying agent of the breeze. But there is deeper meaning and value for me in quelling the impulse to throw the laundry from the washing machine into the dryer. Piling my laundry basket high with whites and escaping over the grass to the clothes line becomes MY time. Organizing, ordering and hanging my wash to dry is a creative task – an art form. Socks are pinned together here, sheets there, and under-garments are privately tucked away on the inside line. 

Hanging clothes is the ultimate nature experience. The smell of newly washed laundry mingling with fresh outside air is a sensory high. Sun warms your skin. Listen closely and you hear the cooing of the Morning Dove or the chirping of the Chick-e-dee-dee-dee. Insects buzz around you A cob web has formed in the corner of the line. It is a oneness – a belonging in the middle of natural earth where Mother Nature once again works with us. 

The reflective nature of the “hanging clothes” chore is probably the most profound for me. As I fulfill this pleasant labor, I always feel closeness to the women of my past. I think of the countless generations of women who have done this before. But often, I remember my mother. I think of her outside in most any weather humming to herself, making order in her laundry while the children inside wreak havoc. I can almost climb into her skin and feel for a moment that I am her and she is me. We are bonded together as mother and daughter and the space of time and place dissolves. 

Hanging clothes is a simple act of womanly duty. Here is peace and order amid hectic lives and connection between our generations.

 found on http://sugarcityjournal.blogspot.com/

I feel loads of gratitude to people who have clear and clean perspective and have the patience to set it down in color for the rest of us to contemplate. I have a lot of laundry to do today. We have sun, and a amish-made wooden clothes horse to dry our clothes on. I will think of it in a new way today. I hope that you have sun and someone to listen to today. (smile)

an old fruit Turning Green

I have been thinking a lot about recycling plastic bags. take a look at this . (this is especially for you Caroline M) Am I crazy to think we could all be doing this?? every once in a while.

Any ideas what we could make with the bags ... I was thinking about the famous green tote, that we all need now. Maybe a groundsheet for your tent. 

Anyone for Salad?

First..... Thanks so much for the comments :)

and then.. I wanted to tell you that ...
I found this fantastic salad dressing recipe for a party we had, and have been using it a LOT ever since. It comes from here 

Recipe:

3/4 and 2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 cup and 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar (I use cider vinegar)

3 tablespoons and 1/2 teaspoon Dijon Mustard

3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 pinches of white sugar

1 tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon and 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

7 cloves of garlic chopped

shove it all in an airtight jar and shake it up!

This goes with almost any salad (really!) and keeps well in the fridge. It is a little thick, stays well blended in the jar and sticks to the lettuce in a very pleasing way. ENJOY!

In the Garden

It is beautiful outside today... all except for this large pile of compost begging to be put to use. I made a very small dent in the right-hand side 

The grass is peeping through, the topsoil Andrew spread last week. 

honey smelling white flowers near the apple tree.

(OK so this is sideways- I have a lot to learn!) but do notice the flowers. I need to find out what they are called. I hope the day is sunny and warm where you are also.

first day

we opened a blog today-- the hope is that photos and recipes and knitting patterns and nature and thoughts that fill our days will land here for family and friends to share and enjoy.