June Sunday

 Check out a little interview I gave over at My Bit Of Earth.
Really fun blog and I am happy to be advertising on it!
 Mel, the writer, is funny and warm and down to earth.

http://www.mybitofearth.net

Morning light upstairs bedroom

Milestones and Snippets

There was a family gathering.
A lovely sit down party for Ginger's 17th birthday.
At House of Taurus, the home of Chia, Javier and the just turned one Desiderio .
With 3 point sized waiters serving our every need.
 One of them blew a lot of bubbles, one frequently broke into dance, and one very small one took the job very, very seriously.
Oh I love a baby in a button shirt with collar....and naked.
I just noticed that Jessie doglet seems very interested in that chocolate ganache cake!
Check out those smiles.
Check out that beautiful table.
Five daughters with partners and children.
A beautiful setting and a beautiful family.

Back in the country we had a bunny grooming day. This is Cocoa being very sad about his turn getting his bunny nails clipped.
Slightly harrowing, even for this former nurse.
Clip too close and they screech and claw, fly, scramble, panic, out of your arms and catapult themselves into the next county!
I have never experienced this drama.
Fingers crossed.
He is a Dwarf Rex....softest bun ever.

Rainlilys! 
Dozens and dozens of creamy white beauties. They close up at night and show off their mauve and pink undersides.
Which means that we had rain!
Drop by drop keeping the drought at bay.
The aquifers and wells not completely dry.
Beautiful.

I finished my summer lap blanket! 
Stealing time from Buddha Hill sewing to finally, happily complete it.
Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino ( wool, cashmere, micro fiber)
Cashmere, people!
Unbelievable soft. Creamy white with circle in a square design.
I love it.
Lastly, the 99 cent thrifted crocheted table cover.
Peeking out my front door.
Had to rescue it.
The work is beautiful...someone spent a lot of hours of her life creating it.....wish I could tell her that it found a grateful new home.

Inspiring Me Today

Pickles!



When I was gifted a 20# box of just picked cucumbers from Jennifer and Temple via their CSA Tecolote Farms, well, canning happens.
With my Dad's really old canning kettle and tongs,
two recipes from Ashley English's book Canning and Preserving ,http://www.smallmeasure.com/
and dim recollections of the many jars I put up in the past, I set to work.
 The rhythm of wash, sterilize, pack, process came back easily.
It was a fun 2 days.
Inspiring to take a break from sewing up my stash for fall/winter art shows.
Reading yellowed index cars written in my Dad's  small, precise handwriting.
His own canning experiments recorded.
 Wondering what he was thinking when he preserved salsas, jalapenos, German dill pickles.
He was not one to share his thoughts. I think life as he experienced it drained the sharing and caring out of him.
 Infinitely sad for us who knew him, but so much sadder for him.
So I think about him as I use his canner, pausing frequently to look out the row of kitchen windows at the meadow and trees out back.
Wishing things had been better for him.
Letting the unhappy times go.
Keeping the good memories.
Canning with his kettle.

And Then There Were Five

These pictures give me hope for the world.
They are the best of us.
The next generation.
Part of a strong thread of family.
Lovingly taking the best of us and building on it.
Respectfully rejecting that which does not make the world a better place.
Being shown by their parents the power of love. The responsibility and strength of family.
I can see the love here shining from their faces. That is always the start of something great, right?
I am proud to be the mother of six children and now five grandchildren.
I like being part of this. Very grounding. Joyously uplifting.
Because despite squabbles (rare), busy, busy schedules (constant), the minutia of day to day life (never ending) we find time to gather, we stay connected, we will drop everything to help each other.
I consciously think about each of these folks every day. Usually during a dawn  walk down the country road out here or while stitching.It takes a while. Down the list I go.Five daughters. A lovely adopted son via marriage to his equally nice Dad.Five grandchildren.
Sending them good thoughts. Wondering what they are doing. Staying connected.

May Gathering

Gatherings are very special in our family.

Family is me (the matriarch, a title I proudly accept), my husband , five daughters, one son, their partners, and five grandchildren. Various and sundry animals always, beloved friends occasionaly and gladly. 

Always lots of laughter, catching up, play, silliness, possibly tears ( scraped knees, cousin disputes, crazy laughing, and after any card given to me by my children)

This Sunday was about the mothers, 2 birthdays and a new family member.

I felt in touch with my beautiful mother, my daughters and grandchildren. I am reminded of the stretch of time and  the strong connections between these generations . How each of us, during our time and with as much grace as we can muster, create a life, make a home, and pass on the best of ourselves to the next generation. How we  consciously make the effort to stay connected to each other despite busy schedules. How we all truly believe that our strong family uplifts and enriches our lives every day.

We are a family of lots of mommas and daughters, so, for today I want to celebrate four generations  to include the birthday girl Chia and our newest family member Desi (son of Chia )

My mother Grace, 1957

Me....Kathryn

My daughter Chia

Our newest member Desi

 Beautiful family. Strong women. Gentle men. Good life.

Quietly

So hard to know what my writing voice will be because,

I am a quiet person who spends most days quietly stitching, gardening, caring for animals, and the rest of the puttering and erranding that are needed to make a home, family, and business continue to move forward.

Ok, I do talk to my plants, rabbits, chickens, chocolate lab, and possibly the small sewn creatures that I make.

But they are all silly creatures who invite a bit of chatter now and then.

I do wisecrack with my five daughters and one son and husband but they are also silly and sweet ...

and they think I am funny and wise and possibly interesting so there is encouragement from that quarter.

I am reckoning that the blog will evolve a bit and become after a bit a reflection of who I am, how I live, and what I make.

Well, we will see where this goes.

Thanks for looking.