It was a surprisingly sunny day on Cedar Pond, and very cold. Although it looked like a work outside in the garden type of day, the immediate cold to the bones set in and I decided it was really a work inside the house and look out the window type of day. As I worked I was reflecting on
Sandi's* theme for today and knew I would take time to truly savour the moment.
The table-covering is an old wool rug my husband's Aunt Marion made many years ago. I remember visiting her apartment in Everett, WA . She invited us for dinner and to watch her alma mater's football game on t.v. The U of W Huskies against her team, WSU's Cougars. This rug she hooked herself was one of many covering the hardwood floors in her apartment. Her home was filled with her handmade rugs, wall-hangings, quilts, and special mementos of her many travels world-wide. Aunt Marion was an independent single woman in a time many years ago when being a single woman was considered a handicap. She was well educated and became a teacher.
I decided it was a perfect day to spin up another skein of wool yarn and savour the moments of a quiet time at home doing something I dearly love to do. The wool rug my husband's aunt hooked from sample books of wool fabrics that were sent to the school where she taught home-economics was probably a project she worked on in front of her t.v. on the many cold and rainy days Everett, Washington is known for. Do you think she savoured the moments she spent in her cozy apartment with a view of the Everett waterfront ? Nearby you can see my spinning wheel. I was finishing up the plying of another skein of wool yarn. ( This means I was combining and twisting together strands of wool yarn I had already spun up . I combined 2 strands of yarn making this a 2 PLY yarn)
In the center of the table on the rug Aunt Marion hooked sits a basket full of my hand spun wool yarn. The basket was woven by a local basket weaver. The basket weaver told me she sat down in a forest , picked up the branch handle and wove the basket there. Do you think she savoured the moments she worked in a forest and quietly, probably reflectively, wove this basket ?
The longer I look at this rug the more I appreciate Aunt Marion's choices and flair for design.
The wood bowl once belonged to Aunt Marion. I wonder if the person who made the wooden bowl savoured the moments spent in a shop filled with beloved tools and the scent of wood shavings, thinking about this bowl and the many creations to be carved out of precious chunks of wood surrounding the work space.
The last little bit of two-plyed yarn is done and I am ready to transfer my yarn to a winding reel.
This winding reel was given to me by a friend who's job requires her to crawl under people's homes. She found the winding reel and an old home-made spinning wheel I hope to restore someday outside an abandoned home. The winding reel has been an amazing help to me. I did not know I needed one until I used it. I simply wind my newly spun and plyed yarn onto this reel. Each wind around to the peg ( inside the reel where a small strand of the yarn is tied) measures 2 yards. I count the winds thus giving me the yardage of each skein of yarn. Do you think the person who made this winding reel savoured the moments crafting it? Do you think he ( it was most likely a man) was thinking of the person he was crafting it for and savouring the anticipation of excitement and appreciation he expected?
The teacup is a lovely blue lustre-ware with a honey gold color inside and was made in Japan many years ago. The chocolate cake was made by me from scratch and I added everything the recipe called for. Real butter, sour cream, real vanilla, fine- ground good quality chocolate ,fresh eggs from my own flock of chickens, and love. I also made the chocolate buttercream frosting.Do you think I savoured the moments making, baking, and frosting this cake? Do you think I savoured eating this piece of cake? Yes indeed .
Savour the moments of your life! If you don't, who will? Learn to savour the moments with a grateful heart.
I am joining Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage for this day to Savour The Moment* and the rest of the Tea-Time Tuesday ladies.
