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While sitting at the table in the new garden shop/shed/whatever, I looked up to see what at first appeared to be a blizzard. With unusually warm temps, in the 80’s, snow wasn’t possible.
Knowing what it was, I went out to be closer to the cherry trees so I could experience the showers of blossoms with every gust of wind. Some friends and family will sometimes comment that I see things as a child would see them. When the cherry trees are in bloom, is one of those times when I feel like a child who is seeing this for the first time. I am in awe of the beauty, will sit or stand under them to gaze up at the blossoms and love to experience the blossom showers. I noticed neighbors will also stop to enjoy the trees. In fact some have told me that they look for to the trees blooming each spring and if they happen to be walking or driving by when they are raining blossoms, they will stop and experience the showers.
Photos taken yesterday…
The first is of the small Weeping Cherry tree. It is still relatively young and so not yet very big nor dense, but it has the most beautiful pink blossoms. I’ll be picking, pressing, and drying some of the blooms today.
Under the Yoshino Cherry trees. These are the types of trees you see in D.C. The blossoms are a little paler than those of the weeping cherry, but just as pretty and the trees themselves are beautiful with that layered branch way of growing. I’ll be cutting some small branches and taking them to a friend in the infirmary. Last year she came over often to sit on the bench near the trees to enjoy them. If she can’t come to enjoy the blossoms, I can take the blossoms to her and maybe make her day a little brighter.
And speaking of children… last week granddaughter Jess was trying on hats from our collection of vintage hats, to see which one she wanted to wear to Hat Day at school. Grandson Connor had been dropped off very early as his daddy was having hip replacement surgery. Connor was upset at not being able to find a boy hat to wear, something other than everyday hats. I remembered I’d pulled out a chullo hat from a trip to Bolivia so that I could copy some of the stitch designs and use them in a chullo hat I’ll be starting soon. Connor tried it, and it was perfect!
Looking at that smile you can easilly see why it is that children can smile that way. There is a lot of passion in everything they do… they way they experience a shower of blossoms, they way they smile. We can learn a lot from children.
I mentioned Connor’s daddy having surgery. Our son-in-law could use prayers and healing thoughts as he recovers from this surgery and faces the next one. Hip replacements at his age are not common, but we are hoping that once healed he will be able to do all the things he has not been able to do for quite some time, important things like teaching a son about camping and the great outdoors.
I also mentioned the garden house… if you’d like to see photos of it so far visit my studio blog, link in the sidebar.
A friend invited me to a concert, we went yesterday. I knew it would be held in a historical church The Park Church, and I thought it would be like many other church concerts I’ve attended, watching and listening to music being performed.
I was right about the listening part, but not the watching part. After a very brief introduction by the pastor, we listened to MUSIC for ORGAN/VIOLIN for OUR JOURNEY through LENT (Music for Meditation and Reflection). What a unique experience! Not being able to see the musicians on the balcony behind us allowed us to just close our eyes and listen to the wonderful music, meditate.
Music played:
- The Eight Station (from “Stations of the Cross) for Organ – Macel Dupre – (Jesus Comforts the Daughters of Jerusalem
- Kol Nidrei (Hebrew Chant for Yom Kippur or Day of Atonement – Max Bruch
- Hymn Prelude on Stabat Mater” – arr. By Alan Viner – Largo (from Xerxes – G.F.Handel – Gammal Fabodpsalm Fran Dalarna (Swedish)
- Oskar Lindberg – An Old tune from Dalecarlia
Afterwards there was a luncheon where we met some of the church members and visitors and learned a little about the church itself. I’m sure I’ll be back in the future.
FOR TODAY (February 2nd, 2009)…
Outside my window.
Dark, cold, but we will be having mild weather today as we did yesterday, a nice change from our frigid temps the last couple of weeks. We are over the coldest month and looking forward to spring.
I am thinking
All that we have going on today. Our daughter is having minor surgery and so we have the kids for the day. Gizzy has an appointment to be groomed … And so it goes…
I am thankful for
That Hubby and I are feeling better after a bout with the creeping crud. That our dog Krystal is recovering from her limp. I think she did herself some damage when she decided to climb a snow hill rather than use the nicely shoveled walk, and then sank and struggled to free herself. She gave me a scare when she came in limping and then crashed flat out on her side at my feet. But, once she was up and around, she was her usual funny princess self, letting me know that she was not happy to be confined to the den. I’m now monitoring food and treats in order to get her back to around 15 pounds. She is a little heavier and it may be the cause of her not being so agile… that and her being a senior dog.
From the kitchen
Not much, still recovering from the crud.
I am wearing
Crazy hair. I washed my very curly hair and then stepped out on the deck while letting dogs out before my hair was dry. There was a strong breeze and it resulted in Very Big Hair. And no, I’m not going to post a photo.
I am creating
I’m still working on my wine colored wool/alpaca sweater, knit in one piece. I finished the length up to the armholes, put the front sides stitches on stitch holders and am working on the back. I’ve spent a little more time this week spinning, dyeing. Right now I’m spinning a silver silk and will be plying it with a single of Jacob/Angora I spun from a blend from Amazing Grace Farm. I need to take some time soon to work on photos of things I’m working on and things to sell, hopefully my camera will cooperate!
I am going
I have several places I need to go, mainly dropping off or picking up people.
I am reading
Still reading… Sabbath… Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest by Wayne Muller. I’m reading only a little bit at a time so that I can study each section and Exercise before moving on to the next.
I also just finished reading Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani.
I’ve started updating my book list on my Reading page, will be adding more books as I come across them. And I’ll be adding comments as I think of them also.
I am hoping
That Steph’s surgery goes well even though it is something minor, it can be painful.
The we survive the grandkids for the day *G*
That we recover from the crud.
That the weather improves so we can get back to working on the new studio/shed/nest.
I am hearing
The crashing sound caused by the sudden change in temps and fast thaw of snow and ice on the roof, some falling through the downspouts, some just falling off the edge of the roof. Every so often the sound makes us jump and is making the dogs a little edgy.
Around the house
Mixed media supplies have been moved back to the studio and seed catalogs and garden plans are getting some attention
One of my favorite
Tiny little trinket boxes that hold jewelry, special stitch markers, etc. Tiny little things just seem to catch my eye.
A few plans for the rest of the week
Get some more studio work done.
Order new dyes for customers who want to do their own dyeing.
Work on items for a March art exhibit.
Get the banner and needle felting supplies ready for Saturday’s guild meeting.
A picture thought to share:
Jeweled Frog & Dragonfly Trinket Boxes
To read more about The Simple Woman’s Day Book, visit her blog. http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/
I saw this on another blog and thought that someone read my mind. The things we love were so similar that I could have just posted what she wrote without changing a thing, but I didn’t.
7 Things I love:
* My family… 2 legged and 4 legged… who know me well … and love me … quirks and all. Particularly my husband who has put up with me since we were children. And the grandchildren who let me see things through a child’s eyes.
*My home… where friends and family gather comfortably. No matter where it is, big or small, it is unique and much more than just a home.
* Quiet time in the morning with a cup of coffee or tea, watching the sunrise, reading or strolling through the garden while the dew is still on the flowers… with Him who loves me most.
* Curling up in a comfortable chair … with a good book … no where I need to be.
* A winter day with big fat snowflakes slowly falling gently …. snowman making weather …
* Being creative …. trying something new… a recipe … a new craft … new flowers in the garden … and sharing with others.
* Living simply … doing more with less … finding the little treasures in life.
That refrigerator that died last week and caused me a bit of work and stress, moving or giving away food.
Well… its not dead.
We contacted a used appliance store that will pick up fridges that look good, repair them and then sell them at a very good price. The lady that Ruben spoke to asked if we had tried turning off the fridge for a day or so, letting it sit and then turning it on. Are we the only ones that have never heard you should try this? So, we did and of course it was roaring along rather nicely, cooling just fine.
If Mom were still alive, she would laugh and say … A Dios No Le Gusta Feo … which means… God Doesn’t Like Ugly.
I have complained about the noise that fridge makes, I could hear it a floor above or below. And while I like listening to music and such, I also like quiet, very much dislike the constant sound of a loud motor running. To me, it is the same as having a TV going all day. Of course, whenever I complained, I would stop and think that I should be grateful for a fridge that works.
That is the ugly part. Mom would have told me that I should be on my hands and knees Thanking God for providing us with the means to have things that other people would love to have. To be ungrateful is ugly.
So, now we have two fridges. The one inside hums and the other, in the garage for now, still roars and there is no guarantee that it won’t continue to have problems. We haven’t decided what to do with it. Every time I stop and think that we could have used that money for needed home repairs, I remind myself that I got exactly what I asked for.
The 3 days I spent running around dealing with moving food and finding a new fridge were days I’d really needed to catch up on studio work and customer orders, orders that I’m just now, a week later, working on.
Reminder to myself: Don’t be Ugly
Nearby is a monastery. Rather than go on and on about what an interesting and spiritual place this is, you can read about it here Mount Saviour Monastery. I will say that regardless of where you come from, denomination, race, etc., the chapel is a wonderful place to sit and pray. And the surrounding area with the sheep is very restful. The photo is of a 14th century statue in the crypt.
While visiting last week, I saw a sign announcing the day they would be shearing their sheep. So early on Saturday I drove to a friend’s house who is fortunate enough to live about a mile from the monastery and we walked uphill to the barn.
You know you’ve entered the Monastery grounds when you see a large crucifix on the side of the road, looks old and what you’d expect to find. I forgot to take a photo of it. But, I did take a photo of what I saw next, part of an electric fence. Not a very interesting photo, but it struck me that it was such a modern contrast to the old wood hand crafted crucifix and an example of the modern monastic life, some things done as they always have been, but others things done in a modern way.
A view of the barn uphill in the distance, you can barely see a part of one of the Casas on the left. The Casas are where guests stay.
A little bit closer …
Approaching the barn we could see lots of cars parked around it and people walking in and out of the barn and over to the chapel and gift shop.
Inside the barn… Watching this gentleman working, it was easy to see he had a lot of experience with sheep. He worked very quickly, carefully, handling the sheep firmly but kindly so as not to injure them or cause them much stress. A young woman was also shearing and while not quite as quick and neat as the man, she was pretty darn good. Note: I don’t know what most people envision when they think of a Monk. When working with sheep, here they wear a type of coverall. I noticed Bro. Bruno and Bro. Pierre wearing them and so I’m guessing that the man in coveralls in the photo below is a monk.
There was a man standing near me taking lots of photos, smiling as he did. By the way he was talking to the monks I could tell he knew them well. Curious, I struck up a conversation with him and found out that the two teen girls in the photo are his daughters. They travel from D.C. every year for shearing weekend and other retreats. The girls help every year and this year they were ‘throwing the sheep’, which basically means flipping them over onto their backs and sliding them over to the shearer to save him some work. Behind the girls you can see more sheep waiting to be shorn, hundreds were done that day. The sheep was herded into the barn the day before (the monks ride 4 wheelers ) avoiding a thunderstorm and wet sheep. A lot of people come to help herding and shearing and so it goes very quickly.
A very large, shorn fleece on the skirting table. All but a ewe named Poodle and a lamb, are white. Poodle and the lamb are black. While normally they send all the fleeces off to be processed and spun into yarn, batting and such, when I asked they were pleased to sell me a fleece or two for a workshop. I picked out a large white fleece and asked for Poodle’s fleece to be set aside for me in case I missed her being shorn while taking a lunch break.
Sure enough I missed Poodle being shorn. For some reason I thought Poodle was a ram and would be done last, but Poodle is a ewe.. duh…. And she was too far when I came back to get a close up shot of her. This was taken with the zoom feature on the camera and you still can barely see her. She is the lone black sheep in the center of the photo. What you don’t see in the photo is a glider in the sky from the nearby national glider museum, a post for another day.
After the sheep are shorn, they are checked very carefully for any cuts or signs of illness and such. They are then released and immediately go out to look for their lambs which have been waiting, impatiently and very noisily for their moms. Here are a few waiting and behind them a Ewe is nursing her lambs. We watched as she was released and ran right over to her lambs which looked to us, exactly like many of the other lambs. While she knew exactly which lambs were hers, the lambs at first were not sure this was mom.
The matriarch of the sheep, an older ewe was creating quite a fuss. Very upset that some of her flock was still in the barn, she would come in from the pasture and complain very loudly. Every time she did so, all the lambs waiting for their moms would run to her and follow her also complaining, making for a lot of noise. Eventually she would leave, still baa-ing loudly, calling the sheep to follow her. I tried to take a photo of her, but she was pretty upset and moving faster than I was.
Here are the fleeces I brought back home with me. The white is actually much larger than the dark fleece. When I unrolled the fleeces I could see that although Poodle looks black when shorn, her fleece is varying shades of gray.. very pretty. The spinners that meet at my house regularly will be helping me skirt the fleeces a bit more, wash and process these fleeces so that they can experience the entire process from start to finish.
Close up of fleeces…
Before coming home I stopped in the gift shop to pay for the fleeces… big mistake… I came home with a dvd about the monastery that received 3 Emmy award nominations and I came home with this painting. An artist comes and paints scenes of everyday life here and donates them to the monastery. This one I’ve named ’The Good Shepherd’. It is Brother Pierre, who is in charge of the sheep, in a winter scene, Poodle being the dark sheep. Bro. Pierre is a small, slim but strong older man who physically reminds me a lot of my Dad. I saw this painting last week and when I saw it again this week, I knew it had to come home with me. Not a traditional sheep scene, but I like it very much. There is a little glare in the photo but you get an idea of the painting.
I’m reading a book titled Eat, Pray, Love. In this book, the author states that although prayer and mediation differ, they are both methods of communication. When you talk to or with God, you are praying, while listening to God is meditating.
I’m not sure I agree totally, but it got me to thinking about which I tend to do most often., talk to God, or listen to God. I think I tend to listen to God, but is that the same as actually hearing God?
As my sweet friend Pamela would say… stuff to ponder.
A glitch in Blogger switching from old to new version has made it impossible for me to post updates on the ‘A Life Overflowing’ blog and so I’m posting my updates here.
In this group we are paired up with another person, round robin style. Partners are to pray for each other, keep in touch and since this exchange has a coffee/tea/drink theme, we are to gift our partner with items we believe they will enjoy based on info they’ve supplied.
The most recent request or assignment is to post photos of our favorite cups.
Here are some of mine ….
A gift from daughter Tina, porcelain with ming style cobalt design, comfortable to hold, nice and big.
A gift from friend Lynn L. If I’m reading, counting stitches, whatever and someone starts talking to me while the cup is close by.. I only need to lift it or point to it and they understand to give me a second to finish counting or reading.
I think there needs to be cups that say. Shhhh.. I’m thinking… or maybe just Shhh I’m _________ and then one can fill in the blank .
A gift to myself… note the little dragonfly and garden theme. A nice stoneware cup for maintaining the temperature of the drink it holds.
A gift from Sis. Just before she gave me this, someone had greeted me saying Feliz Navidad!
Spanish was my first language, but I grew up in the states and so English is my main language now. Sometimes I’ll hear an English word or phrase and not understand it cause I’m listening in Spanish … and the same with Spanish phrases…. does that make sense? *G*
When this person greeted me.. I thought.. what did they say about fleeces? Duh! And then I realized they were wishing me a Merry Christmas.
I live with a pack of Lhasa Apsos and this Lhasa puppy print caught my eye, bought it for my den. Later a friend gave me this cup. When I got the cup I thought, this looks familiar. It wasn’t till I set it on my desk one day that I realized why it looked familiar.. *G*
Yes, I know, it’s not a cup. But you have to have a creamer right? This cute little staffordshire creamer caught my eye because it has dahlias on it and Mom loved Dahlias.
Mom, known to family members as Mamita, also loved roses.
Before she passed she told me she wanted me to have her china cabinet. I spent many hours as a child making sure things in there were dusted. Along with the cabinet I brought home some pieces with roses. The cup on the far left was a gift from Lynn L and it just fits right in.
The tiny little cup in front was one I gave Mamita as a gift. She like miniature things. The saucer says. “I love you, Mom”.
Also in that cabinet are some of Mamita’s art deco cups.. I don’t dare use them for fear they’ll be damaged.
Packed in a box are my grandmother Catatlina’s tiny cups. I didn’t have a place to display them safely and had packed them away and only just remembered that I had them. Now I can put them in the cabinet with the others.
You are ushering in another year, untouched and freshly new,
So here I am to ask You, God, if You’ll renew me, too.
But, Father, I am well aware I can’t make it on my own.
So take my hand and hold it tight,
For I can’t walk alone
- Helen Steiner Rice
Yesterday I received two pkgs.. one was a trade pkg… a book titled The Knitted Rug. It has lots of nice patterns and ideas for rugs.
The other pkg was my Feet To Prayers pkg from Cary. Inside was a Helen Steiner Rice calendar. I love the quotes and nature scenes. My family will be pleased to see a calendar with something other than a dog theme. *G*
There was also my sock and pattern. Cary mentioned that the colors were not what she asked for when she ordered the yarn, but I really like the colors. I like greens in shades of celery, fern, sage, etc and this has quite a few in there with some soft earthy browns. A perfect match for my chartreuse cabled turtleneck top that for some reason hubby doesn’t like but I do. *ggg* The sock and yarn came in a little bag painted by Cary’s mom… I took the bag to the knitting group last night and the ladies wanted to know where they could get one. It is now my sock knitting bag.
There were a few other things, but I want to point out the card with the photo of pumpkins on it. That card was made by Theresa who will be selling her cards soon. She takes beautiful shots and I look forward to being able to purchase cards from her. I’m framing this one… just gorgeous! Thank you for everything Cary!
A shot of my dining room table. Does anyone else have a table that doesn’t get used for dining? At the moment this table has a little gold wire tree surrounded by little gifts I’ve received, cards, and all sorts of goodies and we keep adding more each day. I don’t know where I’m going to put this all when we have to use the table for dining.
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