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!