Storyteller overlooks Paperwhites.
Fabric postcard from heathersmeding.
Snow is predicted for tomorrow. I'm not complaining. We haven't had any snow whatsoever this winter yet...snow will be pretty to shuffle through. I got a little lost here today...thanks to Holly on Decor8. It's been a year since I took her BloggingYourWay e- course. If you want fresh ideas for your blog I highly recommend it.
Oh my...Kinfolk arrived yesterday. Simple gatherings with friends.
Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. ~Charles Mingus
Kinfolk is simply wonderful, delicious, lovely...it is how I want to live each moment. If you haven't seen it...I don't say this often...you must have a peek. Kinfolk can be found here. To compliment this gorgeous work are beautiful films that Kinfolk has put together. Below is just one of them.
Dutch Oven Bread from Kinfolk on Vimeo.
Thank you so much Kinfolk...
I haven't had a whole lot to say lately here. Alot is going on though...photos are being taken, things are unravelling, I'm sitting in the Lodge with my sisters...and I'm preparing for a food journey with a friend. In the middle of it all...Emma is still travelling...and we're building a kitchen. I hope when its done we gather with our friends and begin a new chapter here. I'm listening to this today....just love them!
The snow drifted down yesterday to give a gentle coat of lovely to our homeplace. I'm thinking of so many things as this new year unwinds at the start...not the least of it being wonder...wonder what will be next.
What's next on your plate...?
Do you keep bees like we do? Well, you might need some music to serenade you on the way to the hive to check on whether...all is well...here it is!
Oh ye beekeepers travelling in CA...tell me what you think! A very long way from Bonnaroo seven or eight years ago! Enjoy!
I can't hide it anymore. Five weeks ago...this happened.
That's the last I saw her...
This is really the last time...for awhile...
Leaving for a gypsy life...a dancingnomad leaves home again.
That's it...and they were off. Pat and Emma left for parts unknown five weeks ago now. We shed tears at their leaving. Goodbyes I am never good at. So long to our one and only and her beloved Pat...well, that's never easy. I have seen her off at airports for destinations to China, Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Scotland..all over the east coast seeing so many friends. Saying goodbye after a late night concert she gave...knowing she was so tired but, had a 4 hour drive back to Vermont on no sleep, up that long Rte. 91 north because she had to be a permaculture class in the morning. I always worry. She has often gone off solo to parts unknown. She's driven up and down the east coast many times and when she finally went on her own...she did it marathon style all the way to guitar "camp". She hardly bats an eye at trying something new.
This trip somehow seems a right of passage...like so many others. An unschooled child...no wait, an adult...says, lets go cross country! She makes it happen. A serendipitous way that the lovely vintage 1978 Scamp landed in her hands on her birthday...just up the road from us from a neighbor. What?! You "wished for a Scamp" for your birthday???!!! And so it is...that she and Pat have been gone all this time, living like gypsys...landing in so many places...hitting snow storms in New Mexico, visiting an important spot in Roswell, Texas, Arizona...currently in California. They slept for a week amongst the giant Sequoias and took in all of their wisdom energy. Yesterday I heard from her and she was laughing...always laughing on the phone...shouting out things like, "hey, look, look, look at that Saguaro cactus!"...or, "look at the birds...you should see the sky mama!". She doesn't know it but, tears pour down my face. I'm so happy for her. I am so happy that she gets to take these adventures and discover deep parts of herself to take on the journey that she lands in next. They are on the edge of the Pacific Ocean now for a week. They wake up and look out over the ocean. which is amazing for this east coast girl. Elephant seals greet them in the morning. Whales are out there for her to see...seals dance in the waves for her to laugh out loud at! I just love all of her stories...
This is the first time we've been without her here at Christmas. Today...it just feels strange. Emma has one of the biggest Christmas spirits I know...she loves this time of year. She makes gifts for all of her friends, bakes for the entire month, is always concocting some new amazing craft for the holiday. It's not here this year. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled she's on an adventure of a lifetime. It seems there is no definite plan of coming back...when that might be...it sounded like returning with the spring might be an option...
Pat and Emma on leaving day. This reassures a mama's heart....I love how he looks at her. How does one come back to living a life after being on the road, sleeping in the woods, spending all your moments with your beloved, breathing in nature, meeting new friends...moving, adventuring...how does one do that? I'll wait to see...
sunset at the farm...pink wrapped around tree.
stone bear..
blurry tommy, nate and johnny...it's always a great pleasure!
table centerpieces...
look up...
tommy doing what tommy does best...
I created this spirit doll today...
She is made from a white birch that fell during the big snowstorm a few weeks ago. She is dressed in vintage linens with an L embroidered on her back. The feathers are Turkey, Pheasant and Owl given to me from my husband. She carries rosehips and milkweed pods for nurturance and heart health. Silk ribbons are held for humanity...and the community of women sisters that I travel with. Aventurine gem is a her throat chakra tied with a gossamer thread for speaking the truth, finding one's voice, speaking up. Aventurine shards are also hung from her belt and held in her hand...for heart protection, leading, self healing, pain relief, transformation, clairvoyance, intuition, self nurturing. Mother Turtle is at her core chakra...holding all that is the world. Octopus hangs near her feet for swimming through the deep tides of the emotinal depths of the soul's ocean. A vintage handkerchief sit on her head...tied with glittery silver threads that call in light, winter, the north, the moon. Her feet are wrapped in the seafoam of the ocean...watery, undulating, deep, welcoming and at times so unforgiving in her power. The base wood is from a poplar tree. Spirit protectress...I made for Soulodge, which is a wonderful community of women sharing a journey together...Aho.
This week in the Lodge we are moving into the South. It is into the fire I go. Looking underneath, more closely, authenticity, facing fears, walking though it...with tenderness.
moon tree
We made it through the big snowstorm of October! Believe it or not, we never lost power. We didn't loose a tree either. I think last winter's storms did us in and we were spared this time around. Neighbors still do not have power. Things are busy around here lately. A few photos for a class...Infusing Images with Soul. I don't know my way around this camera yet.
turkey feather on lady's mantle
circles
lines
Photo Meditations and Soulodge are taking up my thinking lately. I have not posted much on this blog in the past months. I do not know the direction I'm heading with this blog. Things may change here. It seems a new focus is required and desired. This year of turning 50 has brought so many changes to me. I'm remaining open to what the universe brings in.