Life is good. Always remember that.

"The earth has music for those who listen"

Shakespeare

Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone, or weary of life.

Rachel Carson

 Nature is not a place to visit.  It  is home.

Gary Snyder

It is only a little planet but how beautiful it is.

Robinson Jeffers.

If you really think the economy is more important than the environment, try holding your breath whilst you count your money.

Dr Guy McPherson

 The forest and I was all there was. In the deep still silence I could feel the Earth's beating heart.

Druids Trees.

When a man moves away from nature, his heart becomes hard.

Lakota

 

tenalach, n., the relationship one has with the land, the air, the water; a deep connection that makes you one with nature.

 tenalach: a word used in the hills and mountains in the west of Ireland, allows one to literally hear the earth sing.

The human spirit needs places,  where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man.

 

If we surrendered to earth's intelligence, we would rise up rooted, like trees.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Honor the sacred. Honor the Earth, our Mother. Honor the Elders. Honor all with whom we share the Earth:- Four-leggeds, two-leggeds, winged ones, Swimmers, crawlers, plant and rock people. Walk in balance and beauty. "YES"!

Native American Encyclopedia

 

 “If you will stay close to nature, to its simplicity, to the small things hardly noticeable, those things can unexpectedly become great and immeasurable.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

 

I am grateful for today.

Absolute quiet, clear blue skies, sparkling clean water, loons, eagles,  good friends, warm sunshine.

No worries allowed.

Life IS good.

Minutiae

My baby boy Roy is sick......he has kennel cough,  and would prefer that I not take his picture right now.
He started with the cough, sounding like a kid with whooping cough.  So off to the vet he went.
The medicine is helping, but we have to keep him kind of quiet.  Short walks.  No running.
He is not happy with this plan.

I got it in my head that I wanted to make some pickles this summer, like I haven't done in years.
Last week 14 day sweet pickles, this week, Winter Salad.

DH said, "you make some weird stuff."

Hmmmm.
It's delicious, let me tell you.

I will post recipes for both of them under the RECIPE tab.


My friend was visiting from Georgia recently........I was admiring her handbag.  Leather, with straps that you can use like a backpack.   She paid $140 for hers, on sale.  I was in need of a new bag.

I found one like it, in a different color, on Ebay.  NEW, never used.
$29.
Don't you love a good deal????

I am still weaving off the 8/2 cotton warp on the AVL.
I did find  the paper that I wrote out on the day we warped it, and now I know that I put 30 yards on it.
I better get weaving.

What's Lois doing????

No, she hasn't escaped Crazy as a Loom.  Yet.

She is busy, too.
Weaving Rosepath rugs on the Cranbrook.

If you squint, you can see the diamonds.  They will be easily visible when it is on the floor.
 We are hoping to have a few of these for the Southern, Adirondack Fiber Festival on September 27 and 28, in Greenwich, NY.

Remember the refrigerator pickles I made not long ago??  I got the recipe off Pinterest.  I don't know why I didn't stick to the tried and true recipes that I have had for 30 years.
These pickles were horrific, and tasted like pure vinegar.  I dumped them all.

I got out an old cookbook, and made my "14 day Sweet Pickles".
As always, they rocked.

I made a mistake when I first made them, back in the 70's.  The recipe called for celery seed, and I used mustard seed.  The pickles were so good, I changed the recipe.  No one will ever know what they taste like made "by the book".  Ha!

September is MONKEY SALE month.
Stay tuned.

Hello there.

Busy, busy, busy.

I am so busy.  How did I ever find time to do nursing?  I'll never know.

Of course, two days a week, I am loving my time with baby Dale.  She is on the move, and she has my heart in her fat little hands.  
Back in the winter, when I told my daughter I would watch the baby two days a week, until she is a year old, I wondered.   Would I be able to do it, with my HEAD????
Would the headaches allow me to do it??  Would it all be too much???

I won't lie to you, there have been mornings, when I didn't feel as good as I would have liked.
But I managed.  And for the most part, it has been just fine.
It means so much to me that I have been able to do this for my daughter, and it has been a very special time, to be with this lovely little girl.  
I am so grateful.

I think back to my three surgeries, and marvel that I am here, and able to experience this little
 wonder.

And I don't even mind that I sing Sesame Street songs for days after I see her.
It's ok.
I like Elmo.  I do.

The studio is undergoing some change.
The side yard is all fenced in now, for Roy.

 Black chain link, 5 ft high, tensile wire along the bottom, two gates.  It is very nice looking, and blends in well.

Roy is one spoiled boy.

I am moving everything weaving related out of the living room, to make it more comfortable for us when we stay there.
It's all about downsizing, and evolving.

I guess it's a lifetime process, this evolving thing.

 I am hoping to have an OPEN STUDIO TOUR, and a SALE, this fall.  I have way more yarn and thread than I will ever use.

Time for a cuppa tea, and some of that yummy glazed lemon zucchini bread I just made.  
I'll let you know how it is.

a few words. and a couple of pictures.

Hmm.....

Things that made me happy today........
Watching two young woodchucks wrestling with each other, enjoying the labyrinth.
I can enjoy them now that my veggie garden is FENCED.

Getting started on a custom order for TEN cream colored placemats.

Listening to Prairie Home Companion.

Taking my woven band off the loom.....ready to sew.
I am so enamored.

Having my headache dull down to a 6-7, for several hours.
I give thank to the universe.

It totally makes every minute count.

One day at a time.

I do apologize for my lackadaisical blogging.   My only excuse is the truth.
I am having trouble with my life.
Managing it through daily pain.

Trying to keep my sense of humor, my perspective, my sense of purpose, that has never failed me in the past.
But then again, I have never experienced anything like this.

I came in from a short walk, my husband was in his recliner.
I put my fingers on either side of his head, on his temples, and pressed hard.  He winced.
Then I pressed on his face, around his eyes, hard, he moaned.

He said, when I took my hands away, "what was that??"

I said, "That's the way I feel every day.  I wanted someone to know."

Pathetic, I fear.

But sometimes it does seem like I am in this place that I can't explain, and that truthfully,  is hard for other people to hear about.
People that don't know me well, and can't tell from my expression, think I am just fine.
I have gotten pretty good at hiding just how much pain I walk around with.

What happened to May and part of June........when my headache had dulled down so much I almost felt normal?
I keep reminding myself of that.  Telling myself that it could happen again.  It could.

I pray for the breaks, however short they are.  I take them and relish every minute of them.

Last night I dreamed that a little, bald man whispered in my ear, he said, "Don't worry, I've got this.  I will take care of your headache.".

If only.

The chicks are settled in.   Bart is being a gentleman, so far.   Bossy, but not mean, yet.
Eight hens, and a rooster.......sounds like a perfect little group.

Weaving a bit, here and there. 
Still in love with my Swedish band loom.  Working on a guitar strap right now.


But regardless of how hard life can be sometimes, no matter how many losses and set backs there are,   there is always PURE JOY.
It often comes in small packages.

And then there were NINE.

Vacation's over.
Sigh.

Back to my everyday life.   And right now, my everyday life is about Change.


My friend's husband lost all but one of his chickens, to a pack of raccoons.  He immediately ordered the "automatic chicken door" just like the one that I have.


And today, I gifted him with FOUR of my girls.  He was very pleased.  And while the chickens were all aflutter, it was good for them, and for me.  TWELVE chickens and a rooster was a bit over the top for the square footage I have.  Sometimes change is good.

And one of my favorite sayings is coming back to haunt me: Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

I wanted "hobby chickens", eggs for myself, not a chicken farm.

And in that spirit of downsizing, here is some more news.

As of August 15th, I will no longer have the Hip to Be Square looper loom for sale, or the loopers.
But you will be able to order them from Homestead Weaver.  Chris Gustin, and her son Andrew, will be happy to help you, and they will have the looper looms, and the loopers.  Contact information is on her web site.
It was fun.  I loved creating the product, figuring out all the things I needed to do.  I was always intrigued by the bright colors, and the possibilities.
But I have realized, that the "hobby" weaving business I started out with, is actually the one I want.
And recycling socks is not part of that picture.
My new normal, wants what I had when I bought the studio......a simple, joyful place to weave.
Period.
If people want to buy what I weave, FANTASTIC.  It pays the heat bill.
But I don't want to market, I don't want to be a RETAILER, a WHOLESALER. 
Nope, not for me.  Not at this time in my life.

I have said it before, but it bears repeating.
Some life events get you to take notice, to do your own inventory.  Mine came in the form of a HUGE ROCK, a CRACK on the head, and all that followed.

I want peace, quiet, serenity.   I do not want that feeling of being driven, I do not want drama, and I do not want stress.

So, I am in the process.......back to the future, you could say.......because I know what I want in my future, and it isn't crazy 24/7 business.




While I was sitting on the lake in Maine, I took some selfies.
When the hell did I get WHITE hair????

And when the hell did I get so OLD????

Ay yi yi.

But can I just tell you how grateful I am???   to be this old, and have the chance to sit by a lake in Maine???  admiring my own white hair???   Can I tell you.......again.........how thankful I am, headache or not, for this life of mine?

Oh, yeah.