Gratitude Sunday!

I've been a busy little bee lately, but tonight, it finally hit me. I'm exhausted! I thought I'd sit and knit, but I got restless, as I tend to do when I'm tired (which really doesn't help things), so I figured I would post.

-Managing to get my little Christmas/Yule tree up the night before Thanksgiving. I'll take pictures when I have the energy. I decided to tone down the gaudiness this year, because while I do love glitz, I'm just at a different place in my life this year. I had SO much fun painting pinecones for decorations, though!

- Having a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family. That includes "the hippies" and D-rock. We had a ton of delicious food, more laughter, and even more enjoyment of the company.

-I made it through the Black Friday weekend in retail unscathed. I am super grateful that none of our customers were too crazy.

-Knowing that the only thing I have to do now to finalize plans for my trip to Oregon is buy tickets on Friday. I cannot wait to see my brothers and my wonderful best friend and her lady. It is so needed!

-My mother finally agreeing to help me dread my hair tomorrow. I've been threatening to for years. She's been crying "No!" for years. I am finally going to do it, and she is at least willing to help me out now, and that's great. I plan on keeping them, and there's no one else whose energy I want more surrounding this step in my life.


At the moment, however, I'm grateful for being able to sit on my bed, knit, and watch a show before I fall into the sweet bliss of my bed!!!

Long time, no see!

It has been a long two months. A lot has happened, and at the same time, a lot hasn't. I've been slowly finding my way back over the past few days, sorting my way through the maze, so to speak.

I went out for a walk the other day, sat down and just had a nice, long talk with Mother Earth. She reminded me of a lot of things I had let myself be distracted from, and reassured me that I really am okay.

Among those things that I'd let slip into the background are some very dear friends. I've been doing my best to reconnect with all of them in my own way, and it's wonderful. I can't imagine, sometimes, why they put up with me, but they do.

Most excitingly, however, is that I finally decided that enough is enough, and I'm planning a trip! In the winter, of course, so I'll have the time to go and thoroughly relax and enjoy.

You see, I have three very close friends who all live in the same state. One is one of my best friends in this world, and the other two have been big brothers to me since we met 14 years ago. See, the thing is, with the boys, we have never actually met face to face. That in no way lessens how close we are, but it really is a shame. I plan on fixing that in January. I really can't wait, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop hugging them.

Gratitude Sunday!

Happy fall, everyone!

I don't know about you all, but it's quite honestly my favorite time of year, followed closely by winter. Fall, the perfect time for bonfires and treks through the woods. Days filled with that incomparable, rich scent of fallen leaves and the crisp bite to the air... Pumpkins, apple cider, breaking out the snuggly sweaters and rain boots, more pumpkins...

You see, I have a "thing" for pumpkins. There's just something about them. They're so very full of promise - the promise of good food, or delightful jack-o-lanterns, depending. The promise of seeds for next year. To me, the are, above all else, true soul food. I seem to be adding them to my life in other ways these days, in the form of knick knacks and plans for quilts. I have a seemingly neverending search in progress for the perfect pumpkin teapot.

This year, as you know, my pumpkins did not do well at all. I have no shame in admitting that I did cry a little when it became obvious that I'd lose all of the vines. I couldn't help it - I had such plans, such visions in my head of having enough this year to share with others.


Thankfully, as we were driving past a local farm stand last week on the way to the concert, I saw them, all lined up in gorgeous, ripe rows. I went out the next day and bought some! I found my much anticipated musquee de provence, a jarradhale, one whose variety I cannot place for the life of me, and of course I had to grab an acorn squash, because they are such good eating!

I've already put up the mystery pumpkin and the jarradhale, which didn't steam as well as I'd hoped, but it was nothing a little sugar and spice (and everything nice!) couldn't fix. There's a pumpkin cake in the fridge, and I've promised to bake another next weekend for someone special. I couldn't be happier (except if I had more).

On to the gratitude!

-I'm delighting in fall, even if it hasn't turned chilly yet, and the leaves still have that rusty, end of summer tinge to them, it still makes me entirely too happy to see pumpkins and corn stalks everywhere.

-That I both know how and when to devote my time to something entirely selfish, and when to take a breather and be productive.

-Time spent spinning and knitting with Mom and a dear friend of ours. It had been entirely too long.

-That there are only a few days until Saturday!!!

I will post my pumpkin cake recipe sometime later tonight, I think. :)

Gratitude Sunday!

Another week gone already? I would normally be a bit disturbed by how fast it went, but these days, it's a delightful surprise.

Things have been going a bit slowly around here. The only things still producing are the beans and the okra in the garden, and the persimmons in the yard. That's fine by us, as it gives us time to focus on this winter's projects. Among those are fixing up our big shed and turning it into a chicken coop, and plotting out the new home for the garden in front. This week, I need to start on a cold weather roost for our rooster, but that should be fairly simple, as we always seem to have scrap lumber and bedding these days.

I find myself falling even more and more in love with homesteading. I love making plans, I love working on projects and seeing that yes, I can actually do that! It may not be a slower life, persay, but it is much more rewarding than simply focusing on my retail job. I am much happier, and much more myself these days.

On to the gratitude!

-Mom is just about back to her old self after the car accident she was involved in last week, and all of that is being worked out by official types.

-I am so happy to have met someone who not only encourages me to be my crazy self every day, but who wants to learn all of this "farming stuff" with me. It makes me just glow with joy to look forward to sharing the learning process with someone I can really relate to.

-October is not that far away! Not only is it my favorite month, but it has great things in store this year. Ohhhh, cryptic, huh?

-This afternoon, I'm heading out to a day of silliness and a concert with a very good friend.

-The weather has turned colder for a bit, and I am relishing the time spent curled up with coffee and a sweater, with no AC or heat blasting down on me. I can't wait until it's cold enough to fire up the wood stove.

Gratitude Sunday on Monday!

It's been a long week, what can I say?

Everything was going swimmingly until Saturday, when I got a call at work to inform me that my mother had been in a car accident. She's fine, if bruised and battered, but it was a terrifying moment in my life. I think I'm going to be putting her in a bubble - a badly broken leg last year, the tornado we weathered this year, and now a car accident? Really?

Tonight, well, this morning, my list is as follows:

I am so very grateful that my mother was in a Volvo on Saturday. The accident could have been much, much worse if she hadn't been.

I'm immensely grateful for one of the managers at work who okayed my going home after I heard, gave me a hug on my way out of the door, made me laugh, gave me more hugs when I saw him again, and just generally made life easier and me feel better.

The opportunity, in a week, to go out for the night and let my hair down with some very good friends at a concert. I can't wait!

And certainly not least, spending a very large portion of time getting to know someone new quite well.

Gratitude Sunday!

It's been a while, again. I know, I know. More excuses? Well, just a little one. We didn't have power in this neck of the woods last Sunday. I know there are plenty of people out there who got the brunt of Irene, and still don't have power. Amazingly, here in the Tidewater, we fared pretty well, though.

On to the post!

It has been an absolutely phenomenal few weeks for me, hurricane aside, so here we go...

I am grateful for...:

-Getting through Irene safe and sound. Even the poor rooster, who was stuck outside through it all, came through it beautifully, and has been "pimpin' it" down the road with the neighbor's hens.

-Having the grace to make it through a rather insane weekend at work through the storm. I wasn't sure I could keep my cool, but I did, and I even managed to have some fun in the process!

-My wonderful, supportive parents, who have been even moreso these past few weeks, though I'm sure I haven't been the calmest person ever.

-Meeting someone I could (and do) spend hours talking to, and still think of more to say. It's been a long while on that one, and it is so very, very refreshing and good for the soul.

With that, dear folks, I am heading to bed. So much work to do tomorrow!

Gratitude Sunday!

Hello, blogworld.

I haven't posted in entirely too long, and I apologize for that. Now, usually, when I don't post, it's because I'm forgetful, or just having a rare, lazy day. Not so, this time!

The origins of the Wren's Daughter:

While I was born a few states over, I spent most of my formative years in various parts of Knox County, Tennessee. I had a very eventful, communal upbringing, for which I am eternally grateful. Before the family moved to New York, there was hardly a day that we didn't have someone coming over for dinner, and normally, it was more like 5 or 6 someones.

Weekends were for bonfires, which we lit on the driveway, out in the country, under the huge maple trees. I grew up around that fire, grew up around people from all different walks of life. Looking back, it's so fascinating to realize the group of people that came together in our little dairy-barn-turned-house were, on the surface, so vastly different, but in truth, not all that different at all.

I have two biological siblings, and I love them dearly, but I also have countless "adopted" big sisters and brothers that I love just as much, and on the 5th of this month, a group of them came to Virginia to visit.

It was so very good to be sitting around the fire again with the people who helped raise me, and seeing very clearly the parts of me I know came from them. Odd, in some respects, as the last time I spent time with some of them, I was still a little bird, and now, they have a little bird of their own. I watched myself go from little sister to big sister that weekend, and was reminded that things really do come full circle if you wait long enough.

This Sunday, I'm so grateful to have had the chance to see Ally, Matt, Kate and Shelly, and the chance to meet Annie (who, by the way, is officially adopted, says me!). It was a crazy whirlwind of a weekend, in which I drank probably more than I should have, spent more than I should have, and enjoyed my siblings' company even more than I thought possible! (How odd is it that now I get to drink with them?)

I miss them all terribly, but I know it won't be long before I see them again!

Somewhat late Gratitude Sunday and post

Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? This past week has been a little bit crazy between the holiday and a thunderstorm that knocked out the cable modem, router and wireless adapter. It was a good reminder that technology is terribly fallible, but it was frustrating and expensive to fix, nonetheless.

In any case, I'm back, so let's get on with it, shall we?

What frustrates me the most these past few days is nothing to do with technology, and everything to do with nature. We had a problem earlier in the season with our pumpkin plants dying off. I asked a friend at work who's right up there with my mother on the green thumb scale, and she suggested it was where we'd planted them. The pumpkin patch is quite sandy (which is something I plan on working on over the winter with leaf mulch and whatever else I can find), so she suggested we up our watering. That seemed to work for a good, long while, but...

But now, they're at it again. My big, beautiful Musquee de Provence is on its way out. When my mother told me last night, I felt like crying. All of her plants look beautiful. The corn, beans, cucumber, tomatoes... but mine are all giving up. It makes a girl wonder what she did wrong, though if we're both right and it's bacterial wilt, there's really nothing we did to make it happen.

On top of that, I'm going to have to replace a rose bush next year. My climbing rose started out absolutely beautifully, but it's slowly dying off, helped along by rose virus and bugs. I'm so glad I planted it far, far away from the actual rose garden. All the others are looking fine and getting ready to go into their third or fourth bloom.

I keep telling myself that this is a learning process, and that Mother Nature will do what she does no matter what I think I know, ultimately. I'm not sure it's working.

On to the gratitude section, because that's all too depressing up there!:

I'm grateful, so grateful for...

-Having a spiritual epiphany one stormy night last week. It surprised me, but it shouldn't have, considering my slightly unconventional upbringing.

-The geeky employee at the store who helped me with my computer troubles. I was entirely lost, and he was sweet and calming.

-My cat. We are loyal servants to five of them, but "my" cat, my little feral tortoise shell who I was patient and stubborn enough to socialize as a little, scrappy thing is such a gem. She's a little weird, and goes through the most pronounced moods I think I've ever seen in a cat, but whenever I'm upset, she always seems to know and seek me out for cuddles. At the moment, she's sleeping outside of my door.

-My parents. I love them, even though I may not always be the best at saying it. I can't imagine having any others, and I'm sure I'd be terribly boring if I did!

Gratitude Sunday!

(Yep, that's yours truly)

Time for another gratitude post. I love writing these almost as much as I love reading them!

This week, I am grateful for...

-The chance to see some very dear friends tomorrow. We see them every few weeks, but that's just not enough. I think of them as older siblings, and they've been there for our family through some really crazy times. Love you, hippies!

-Finding out yesterday that I am not, as I previously thought, the only pagan at work. I have absolutely nothing against other faiths (in fact, I embrace them all), but sometimes, it does get a little lonely around the workplace.

-My new tea, Fidnemed Nighttime tea, from Mountain Rose Herbs. I've had it for two weeks now, and while I only use it on weekends (because that's when I work part time), it has so far passed with flying colors. It's gentle, but when you fall asleep, you really fall asleep!

-My pumpkins are finally getting their color, and my Musquee de Provence pumpkins are finally producing female blossoms. Also, we seem to have stopped losing the plants to the heat and lack of water, yay!

-The lovely orange I got from dyeing some wool with coreopsis flowers. I had seen some photos, and I realized that I had some of the flowers in my haphazardly planted "just flowers" bed. I plan on planting an entire bed of them next year!

-Also, I have to mention that I am so grateful that my mother has taken it upon herself to water my rose bushes if I happen to be at work when they need it. She really doesn't like roses, and I promised her she wouldn't even have to touch my bushes, but she's done it of her own will, and that makes me smile.

That's it for now. I'm off to knit my delicious shawl and cut out pattern pieces!

The sewing bug strikes again

A few weeks ago, I was inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, Farmama. Her lovely, sturdy overalls seem like just the thing for working out in the garden and berry patches.

I always had this notion in my head that overalls were somehow less than desirable. I'd only ever seen someone wear overalls and look good in them once, and now I realize she looked good in them because she wore them for the right reasons. They weren't a fashion statement - they were practical, comfortable, and protected her from the elements. Aha! That's just what I need! The more I delve into homesteading, the more I leave behind what's "fashionable" for what's practical and comfortable. With that mindset, I've come to see well-worn, well-loved overalls as a thing of joy.

I tracked down an old pattern, bought it, and then tackled the task of finding fabric I liked for them. My "old brain" drove me for a while. I looked for something light but sturdy, something printed and pretty, but then one night, as I was reading Country Women: A Handbook for the New Farmer, it hit me. It was really quite stunning. I stopped cold. I laughed at myself. Overalls should be work clothes, silly!

I'm waiting on 5 yards of heavy, striped denim to arrive now. I also splurged a tad on two 3 yard lengths of cotton shirting and a pattern that's very close to my favorite shirt ever. The shirts may not turn out to be terribly sturdy, but they will work as a go between for the gardens and the outside world this fall.

This is going to be a learning process for a long time, I'm sure. There are times when I wonder how I ever made it this far in life without realizing some things, and there are times when I realize I've known certain things forever. It's fascinating, challenging, but overall, it's full of enjoyment and growth.

Sunday Gratitude post

I figured that today, I would join Taryn from Wooly Moss Roots in a gratitude post. I've been wanting to do this for a few weeks now, but have always seemed to get distracted, so here goes:


-My mother giving me her copy of Country Women: A Handbook for the New Farmer to read. This was published in the 70s by a group of farming feminists. Mom told me as she handed it over that she'd read it cover to cover and it really touched her. I can see why. Not only is there a ton of information on many subjects (the section on wells, and the one on outhouses I find particularly interesting), but the journal entries scattered throughout have really gotten to me. They put into words how I've been feeling more often than not lately, and it's good to know others have gotten through this transition from submissive girl to independent woman.

-The sheep that provided the beautiful wool I just finished spinning last week. It was a variegated Rambouillet fleece I purchased a few years ago. It spun up like an absolutely dream, and knits up even better.



-Finally getting some recognition at work from my "big boss" for all the work I do. It was nice to hear it had been noticed, and I'm flattered they seem to be "grooming" me, even if the job itself is entirely against my nature and not something I want to do for much longer.

-Coming home from said job and going out to check the herbs, roses, veggies and berries. What a lovely way to reconnect to the land after all the hustle and bustle of "civilization."

-Finding old friends online and discovering that our relationships are as strong as ever. Also, for friends I have lost over the years, whose memories still bring me so much love and joy.

-Seeing my best friend relaxed and happy.

And finally, for all the fathers in my life. None of you are perfect, but you are all wonderful and much appreciated!

I'm going to have to work up some sort of posting schedule, I think. I have a work schedule, a rose schedule, a sleep schedule, why not a blogging schedule?

Anyway, no pictures just yet because the light was already gone when I got home from work. I do have to report on some quilting, however.

I started Think Big from the February issue of APQ in February. I went all out - I took my "birthday money" and my mother to JoAnn's and went crazy. I gave myself one rule - there are no rules. I knew what colors I wanted, but beyond that, it was a case of "if you like it, buy it." I don't get to do that very often, but since it's such a fat quarter friendly quilt, I went hog wild.

I decided to do my backgrounds in neutrals and tans, instead of blacks. Black is a little too stark for me, and I wanted something to remind me of a lovely summer when I finish. I got a few of the backgrounds that day, then visited my local quilt shop, Field's, for the rest. I even managed to grab the last yard and a half of one of my favorite backgrounds ever. Yay me!

I've been working fairly steadily on the blocks, and to date, I have 4 1/2 hand appliqued. I absolutely love hand applique. I suppose it's because the first "real quilt" I did was a teeny tiny Kim Diehl with an appliqued border. It goes along with my love of handquilting. There's something soothing about all of those tiny stitches.

In other news, our late neighbor's wife has told the real estate sharks that she won't be selling the property. This makes all of us on Hummingbird Lane very, very happy. She's definitely a character, that one. She told me with somewhat tearful, faint amusement at her husband's memorial that she'd have to get food from our gardens now, and I told her I'd take extra care with the oregano she gave me a week before the tornado. It's fierce and hardy like she is.

We're also taking care of her rooster, though no one can seem to locate her hens. I'm afraid they've all wandered off into the woods by now. The rooster, however, is doing smashingly. He struts around our little neighborhood like he owns it, and I suppose he rather does, the gorgeous thing that he is. He's been faring well on bugs the past two weeks, but I'm planning on getting him some feed tomorrow, so I can add that to the routine. (We already put out water for him, and I discovered today that boy, does that rooster know which water bowl is his or what? He followed me today and got a bit huffy when I wasn't fast enough!)

Well, that's all for now, and since I've really rambled on this time, I think that's enough. Happy May Day, all!

Not the post I expected

I was thinking that this first post would be full of lovely pictures of what I'm working on right now, and my thoughts, and introduction to the quilt sphere. I was wrong.

You see, on Saturday, as my mother and I pulled into our driveway and parked, she paused, and asked "What do I hear?"

Those are the scariest words in the English language when you realize what you both hear is a freight train, and there are no train tracks within 30 miles of you. We had no time to get out of the car and run for the house, so we hunkered down, covered our heads and prayed like there was no tomorrow, because there was a good chance there might not be.

We made it, though. My father had been standing in the back door, wondering if he could hold the car down if it started to move. Luckily, it didn't. Luckily, our two dogs, Samwise and Bombadil, were terrified, but unscathed out in their pen. My favorite tree, a huge black walnut, missed them by a few feet.

Once we were safely inside, my father rushed out to check on the neighbors. His quick thinking, and that of the two boys next door, saved a life. Our new neighbor and her husband had been home when their trailer was hit head on. My father and friends managed to pull her out, though her husband was not as lucky. He was a good man, who loved his wife and children to an immense degree, and I know he's thankful, wherever he is, that they're alright.

I suppose I can tie this back to quilting by saying that the rest of that night I spent in our dark kitchen with my parents, watching the emergency vehicles on the road beside us, wrapped up tightly in my first real quilt, a Civil War Soldier quilt from an old American Patchwork and Quilting, shaking like a leaf, crying, but knowing that there was definitely someone watching out for us.

I have to thank all of our friends and neighbors for pulling together, from those first few seconds afterward, to now, as they get a chainsaw gang together to start clearing and picking up the pieces. I haven't put too much thought into it just yet, but I think this experience calls for a quilt to commemorate all of the love and fellowship we all spread around our little corner of the world in the aftermath of this tragedy.

Hello, world!

I'll take this down once I have a real post to share.