Upside

One of the benefits of being married to a man who travels frequently for work is frequent flyer miles. Yep. The Mister has enough for this gal to take a trip back home to TN. 12 weeks to the day and counting!

This was/is my backyard back home. We still have our house that dear friends are renting out. I miss those woods, the creek and the way my garden grew.

Bunny Love

Love this guy! At 18 weeks to the day he weighs 8 1/2 pounds and has incredible fiber. I'll need to shear his fiber back in 2 weeks which will have given him 11 weeks of growth. Normally these guys get just about 13 weeks of growth. Today while grooming him he was sitting at 3" in 63 days! That's an inch and a half per month!! His fiber is so thick, and seriously, there is a ton of it. I can not wait to spin it up. I'm definitely thinking a nice pair of hand warmers, cap or a scarf will be in order with his fiber.

Joy of Joy's!

Be still my heart! 4 years ago when we lived in our house on the hill I gathered with other ladies for spinning. When we moved to TN (4 yrs ago) I looked for a knitting or spinning group and found a few but they were all during the day. Day time groups don't work for those of us with littles at home. When we moved back to WA I had hoped for a group but the only ones I found were also during the day. I've attempted a couple times in the past to start a group but it never pans out because everyone seems to want a different day and different time. Today, be still my heart, I came across a fellow rabbit breeder (okay so she's I'm small fry and just a rabbit pet owner compared to her) and found out that she began a spinning/fiber arts group in November and wait for it...6:30 in the evening!! Hot Dog!!!! Yes, I will once again know the company of fiber arts women!

Ack!

So, um, well, it's finally happened. Over the last couple months I have found my first 2 ever grey hairs. Yep. Only 2. I yanked the first and left the 2nd. I no longer can locate the 2nd but I know it's there. Not dying my hair either. More raw fruits and veggies in hopes of helping.
Ack!

Ponderings

I was given some news on Friday from my husband that set off a stream of emotions. I'm thankful that God has given me a rock. He has given me a husband that I gain strength from and optimism. I know that that the Mister is also in a state of frustration but, using logic, he carries on.
We've talked about making changes over and over and over again for the last 6 years. Sometimes we'll begin but it lasts no longer than a month and slowly our lives revert back to the way they were. Now, change is being forced. Financial change is being forced. I've said over and over again to my Beloved that I want to live on less but no longer can seem to figure out how. Now, I had better figure it out because it's not an option. Over the last 4 days I have had moments of very selfish thoughts. I've grieved over the idea of giving up using my hands. The truth of the matter is that I don't have to give using my hands I just have to change what and how much I do with my hands. Ultimately I'm now looking at change as a gift. A lesson from God but also a gift.
My kids are at the age where schooling should be commencing. They routinely ask me to have "school". My heart longs to spend time with God. To spend time in His word and in prayer. I long to be a shining example to my children. I long to be the Proverbs 31 wife. I long to reshape my body and to be a good steward of this body that God has breathed life into. Despite my longings and desires I often find making things with my hands taking the priority in my life. I don't want it to be and yet, it always is. At this moment I'm looking at this "forced" change as an opportunity to really turn to the Father and to work on the changes I've yearned for.
The Refiners fire isn't a pleasant one but I know it could be more unpleasant.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday my Goober

What? How? Why?!

When it rains it pours. Life as we, I, this family knows it is not about to change. It has changed. We are being forced to change.
xoxo

Color

I.need.color. There. It's out there. I have forever bought the darker reds, dark wood tones, dark greens, blues, etc. About 5 years ago I decided enough was enough and I really wanted to brighten things up. Well, lighten things up anyways. What did I do? We were new to TN, the moving company ruined our previous furniture (which was garage sale finds and kind of a queen Anne thing going on...bluck) so I went in search and settled on a robin's egg blue couch. It just doesn't match anything. Never has. I've repeatedly told my husband that it was okay because I was going to lighten everything around us. Enter fear. I have always been afraid to get out of my comfort zone. Nope. Nada. I'm changing. I'm coming out. It's time for color. It's time for white. For what it's worth I began making a hexagon blanket with scrap yarn. The white has ran out so the blanket is going on hold for a bit but here's a snippet of what I have planned.

Oh yes it is

Last year I planted 3 hydrangeas. While waving goodbye to company today I looked over at one of the brown bunch of twigs to notice some green. Yet another sign of life.

Spring Fever

While strolling through a quaint nearby downtown Little Miss and I noticed hyacinths and the crocus starting to poke their arms out of the ground. Upon arriving home I noticed that the maple in our back yard and the plum blossoms that line our street are starting to push out their little nods. Today it's supposed to be 47 and rainy but God had something else planned and is delighting us with a slightly(very) overcast sky and a warm 59 degrees. The doors and windows are wide open and we're drinking it all in. Too bad I have to sit down at the sewing table. Sunday's birthday is quickly approaching and I haven't even begun the birthday quilt.

Today's warmth and this picture taken in April or May of last year has me itching for the red's and pink's of February and spring. It has this girl day dreaming of days past in Tennessee. It has this girl ready to make plans to load up the kids in April point the truck in a Southeastern direction in hopes of reaching our home in the Cumberland Mountains, a visit to the Smokies awakening in the spring, missed friends and a new baby who's just about to celebrate a first birthday.

From 17 to 2

So rabbits are one of those things. You work on them, you buy them, you love them, they're the right rabbit for your rabbitry and then...something happens and the bun is just not exactly what you were wanting or something wonderful happens and some of the ones that were "right" created something even more "right". 17 rabbits have come and gone or been born and left my little "rabbitry" in the last year. It really isn't a rabbitry but I don't know what else to call it. Heaven help me if I chalk it up as another hobby but...well...it is. Last year I saved one buck from a friends butchering block because I saw some potential in him. I also had my husband drive 3 1/2 hrs with me to pick up a doe that I had never laid eyes on. Both of those rabbits have had their days and are now gone BUT they left me with 2 buns I can't seem to part with. These 2 are amazing.

Little John - 16 weeks and anything but little

blue buck

Lady Emmaline - a beautiful lilac doe

Ambitions are good

Within a few hours of posting that I was on a mission to locate my camera cord I "came across" it. This quilt is by far my absolute favorite one thus far. Please excuse the overall bad picture. It's been nothing but cloudy and rainy for several days.

2010

First things first. My first goal for 2010 is to locate my cord to be able to upload photos from my camera to my computer. It's gone. Gone and hasn't been seen in weeks. I know I put it somewhere so I wouldn't loose it while rearranging things. Just can't seem to find where that spot was.
I want to spend this next year focusing, simplifying, growing. I want to refocus my eyes on the goal, Heaven. In the spirit of honesty, spending time in prayer and study tend to take a back seat. I could throw any and all reasons on the table but I won't. It's my first priority.
Secondly, it's time to begin focusing the kiddo's to the idea of consistent "school" E is 4 today and J will be 5 at the end of the month. Reality says that if they were going to a school building J would be starting this fall. It's about time. We've been tinkering around with "school" for a couple years and now it's time to move towards a little more seriousness.
Jeff and I have also decided that it's time to really pull the reigns on our lives. It's time to truly live more simply and frugally. We talk the talk all the time it seems but we've begun the walk. It's a time of transition for us not made particularly easy for me since we've begun a new way of eating. We've decided to no longer purchase meat from the "big box" store or regular restaurants due to our conscience. In order to purchase meat that was raised and slaughtered the way we feel is humane it costs 2 arms and a leg until we can afford to again purchase 1/2 an animal from a local farmer. This means a more vegetarian lifestyle. Difficult when trying to loose weight and being in the trendy mindset that carbs=weight gain.
This frugal/simple lifestyle will also affect how and what I craft. I use my hands all the time to knit, spin, crochet or sew. While I generally never thought about the $$ spent to do those things, I am now aware of what I'm generally spending doing such things. Purchasing yarn and fabric can no longer be a common thing but must become a special event. It's time to use up what I have in my stash (not as much as some but plenty more than others) and finish some long awaiting UFO's.
With all of this said, once I can locate my camera cord I'll have a picture of the first quilt of 2010. It's for today's birthday girl, made completely from fabric and batting that was on my shelves and is completely her. Girly. When this certain 4 year old is asked what her favorite color is she'll quickly answer "pretty". When asked what "pretty" is she'll pause a moment and respond with "pink". This quilt is exactly that. Pink with some white thrown in for good measure. Now to dig around my stash and create something for a soon to be 5 year old who's father is very particular about what is boyish and what is not.