the sewing table

Gone are the days when I would have to clear my sewing projects off the kitchen table so we could eat dinner.  While certainly I don’t have a lavish sewing room in an estate- I do have a spot. A real spot to sew. I’m grateful for it as it looks out along the back hillside and inspires me to endlessly daydream.  Often I will leave mid-seam and go outside as I can only look out there so long before I want to feel the snap of the chilled fall wind and hear those last golden leaves rustling up high on their branches.  Isn’t that a great sound? 

If you look closely you can see Molly’s teepee she made from long sticks and covered with lopped off pine boughs.  She sits in there and practices her chorus songs.  We have one chicken that also likes it in there.  Molly singing and a chicken.  This is why I like being a mother. And also why I like to sew and look out the big window.

Many of my sewing items used to belong to someone else.  That is okay with me.  It feels personal to rummage through an old sewing case.  Usually everything is so meticulous. Little buttons sewn onto a tiny fabric scrap.  Pieces of ribbon wound about leftover mint tins.  If we could all be so organized, right?  It is shameful how I mistreat my rogue buttons and ribbon scraps.

The truth is I haven’t been sewing as much as I would like.  I sift through my patterns and make a stack  of what I would like to make. More often than not the stack sits there for too long.  By the time I return to it I’m like what was I thinking?  My tastes change or the seasons do and I start sifting through all over again.

This time I am determined to make something other than pajama pants.  I made each of the three younger kids four pairs and I am super tired of them (the pants not the kids haha).

I love wide wale corduroy.  Hopefully (fingers crossed) Sawyer will end up with some overalls and pants and I will make an apron out of that cute Thanksgiving fabric.  Maybe even before Thanksgiving?

I made this blanket last week.  It has become a good friend to me.  I bought four yards of this windowpane wool at an estate sale several years ago. On a whim I cut it in half and lined it with a soft non-pill fleece.  It is so warm and cozy.  It is definitely a lazy blanket to make but the reward is grand.  No quilting or binding, you can sit and daydream through those 72” seams and it will come out just fine.

 

goldilock chairs

 

Outside of being a mother and wife and all that important stuff, I am a collector.

I don’t like the word junk or cheap.

I like old things.

That explains why there are enough children’s chairs in the barn to seat a large population of children.

Sometimes I redo them, but I like to leave them just so, too.

This blue chair reminds me of the three bears story. That’s mostly the reason I can’t resell it.

Surely a rocking swan is a necessity?  Good grief what kind of mother would I be if he was unable to contribute to his balance/ rocking skills without a swan?

happy days

 

 

 

 

 

A mish mash of pictures of what we have been up to.

Things are good here.  Never underestimate good!

It’s fall and now that I have finally loaded all the summer pics I can move on to the glory of all that is outside.   The colors are so pretty this year.  Henry and I have been saving the most colorful shiny leaves and pressing them in our biggest books.  He loves this, it is such a simple thing that I will carry with my favorite memories as he grows up. 

This past year I have really felt like the mother of BOYS… as I there are three living at home still.  We have always been a mostly girl house so it is wonderful and strange at the same time.  Our girls have all been home this week and it has been so fun! 

Have a happy weekend, there’s fun stuff around every corner—hope you find some!

 

our first pumpkin

A few years ago I received a bit of advice in the form of a few words of comfort.  I was at my husband’s work picnic and talking to his coworker about big families.  He had six children and his oldest was about to leave for her second year of college.  At the time I had all my kids at home and our routine was very controlled.  Everyone had their activities but by 9:00 all the kids were tucked into their beds.  I asked him how hard was it to have a child leave for school…is it worrisome?  I could not imagine being in those shoes.  He said it took getting used to but it reaches a point when it is okay.  It just becomes okay.  He was right.  Now with two kids away from home it feels okay.  I was weary I would ever reach this point.  It helps that they are happy and they have surrounded themselves with good friends.  I’m happy they are happy!

What about when they come home for a visit?  Oye!  It’s so exciting!

Hadley is coming home this weekend and I can’t wait to just hug that child.  I always want her to feel like this is her home, even though we moved here while she was away at school and no longer has her own bedroom.  But she needs a place!  A place that can be hers while she is here.  I never want her to feel like a guest.

I surrounded her little corner bed with things that remind me of her and hopefully remind her of happy days of childhood.

Her childhood desk, it has an old wood smell inside it that instantly reminds me of her sitting at it working on her papers and crafts.  While she is too big for it now it is a good place to lay a suitcase.

This is a pillow she and I worked on one hot Texas afternoon. 

When she was 7 she memorized all the bird flashcards.  I wonder if this has come in handy in her life?  Does she walk through her neighborhood and identify birds?  I shall ask her this when she is here.  Maybe I will quiz her and see how well she remembers them.

There are treasures from her dad’s travels.  Each trinket has a story, my children often remember these stories better than I do.  All that traveling we did has made the world small in Hadley’s eyes.  Much smaller than I thought it was when I was her age.  The enormity of the world scared me, she isn’t bothered by such things.  She likes to see and do, where as I liked to look and think about doing.

What about that feeling when you are at the airport and waiting for your loved one to walk through the doorway?  It’s unnerving! Hurry up and come home to mama!

putting up

When the youngest has his big nap of the day I get ants in my pants about what exactly I will choose off my never ending list. If I pick one thing I will be in the middle of it and wishing I picked something else.  Lately the only constant is canning.  And I enjoy doing it. I love knowing there are jars of things in the basement. Sometimes I stand there and just stare at them.  In the winter I will remember picking things with my family when it was warm out and we scoffed at cold winter days.  But those days will be here, this I am certain.

Don’t mind my messy handwriting on those jars.  It’s only if what is inside tastes good that counts.

I was happy we had an abundance of concord grapes this year as last year we didn’t and I was sad about it.  This year I didn’t sigh out one complaint about skinning each of those grapes (well I kind of did just now).

This is my newest attempt…fruit cocktail.  I realize many people don’t like it but it is a staple here in our pantry. I used a few maraschino cherries which is horrible but when you are a child the cherry in fruit cocktail is the best part.  And it defeated the purpose to buy fresh cherries at $5 a pound that looked terrible  anyway.

As a family we mostly eat these plums and pears.  They are good when you are craving something sweet but don’t want to commit to a hefty dessert.

I wish I could photograph myself in a gourmet kitchen canning away in heels and a flowery dress with perfectly coordinated gingham apron.  This is my kitchen right now…

It’s awful.

I will be glad when it is all done, this has been an ongoing project that life interrupted. I will be so happy when it is complete!

 

being a dreamer

  I often think about why some people love to read while others look at it as a chore (hello to my brother Mike).  Maybe it is a personality thing?  I often wish I could be more outgoing and more relaxed around new faces.  I love to hear people talking about their experiences, their families…to see their animated faces sharing their happiness. 

Reading books transports me to another place and time.  I remember the first time I read the Emily series by LM Montgomery (same author as Anne of Greene Gables).  It was profound.  Her thoughts were so similar to my thoughts, the way she wrote about nature and the land.  Her words about being a child, it has stayed with me all these years. Those books made me feel like it was okay to dream.  To dream about stuff no one else would understand.  Like the way the water ripples on a pond when the wind rolls in before the rain.  Is there a proper adjective for that?  It just makes me feel something.

Books are everywhere in this house.

A good book makes you think, it stays with you.

While most of our books have their place on a shelf we still have many stacked about. Radiators make great shelves during the summer

My kids are all dreamers.  Like most kids they create plans and get so excited about them.  I suppose it is something that indirectly I have always thought was okay—to encourage them to keep doing that.  To be excited about stuff.  The oldest girls are now “grown ups”.  I love hearing their ideas and plans.  Their someday thoughts.  It’s okay to dream because I know. I know.

Happy weekend to you, hope it’s full of good stuff!

g’afternoon

Golly I think this summer should win an award for Best Weather Ever.  At least around here.

The weather hasn’t gotten in the way of anything, really.  The one rainy week I remember was in perfect timing to my lay in bed and read all day mood at the time.  It hasn’t been too hot to cook food.  We sit on the porch and enjoy the air gliding through at the perfect speed. 

The cats are comfortable window shopping for birds on the wide open windows. 

Though it does take all day to dry a load of towels on the line. 

The kids don’t sleep in the tent but they have hauled enough stuff out into it that I am surprised there is room to even sit in it.

When I’m in the house I feel as though I should be outside enjoying the weather and getting the garden weeded (hahahahaha). When I’m outside I think of all the housework that needs doing inside.  It’s hard to live in the moment and enjoy what is right under your nose!