How Can I Call This Work ?

It was a perfect day, not too hot, not too cold. The sun was shining. I decided to make some Wee Little Sheep outside. Weather like this is too precious around here to miss out on time outdoors. I made myself a pot of peach tea to sip as I worked.

 Oh what a perfect day! I accomplished a lot but I have a lot more sheep to make. So I made another pot of tea, and as the day turned into evening...

...I lit candles and plugged in the lights over the table.

I added finishing touches to another flock of sheep.After awhile I sat back and simply enjoyed my evening.It was a lovely day,it was a lovely evening too. "Man goes forth to his work and to his labor until evening.O Lord ,how many are Thy works!In wisdom Thou has made them all;the earth is full of Thy possessions." Psalm 104:23,24

 

 

The Trouble With Tribbles..

I found these tribbles in my chicken pen!

 The little fluffy tribbles were running around with the chickens.

 Papa Tribbles, also known as Mr. White. He is a bantam white Cochin, frizzled.The mother of the chicks is also a frizzled white bantam Cochin. 

 I think these little frizzled , fluffy chicks look like tribbles, don't you? (Star Trek~ The Trouble With Tribbles ) I have to say, the trouble with my tribbles is they're so clucking cute they distract me something terrible. What a sweet distraction they are though, my little tribbles!

40th High School Class Reunion ~Makes My Heart Hurt On Reflection

This past Saturday I attended my 40th High School Class reunion. Who knew, or even thought about such a thing when they graduated? I took this picture minutes before I left for the reunion , to attend it with my husband's sister who graduated the same year, same high school. The high school where I met my husband. Yes, I did marry my high school sweetheart, and am still very much in love with him, and very happily married!

I did not know many people there, I attended Mount Tahoma High School in Washington for 2 years, and before that attended Hayfield High School in Virginia. I received invitations for that 40th reunion too. Two high schools on opposite coasts of this very big nation. Two perspectives, very different from each other, the mind-set and expressed values of each side of our nation , two Washingtons, also very different.

I began high school ( 9th grade) in Alexandria , Virginia when Martin Luther King was peacefully marching for civil rights. I saw and lived in parts of the country where racial segregation was the law of the land, and it puzzled me, because I was from the Pacific Northwest where this was foreign to me.I was an Army brat, and saw my father play his guitar and sing along with his fellow brothers-in-arms on our own lanai in Hawaii, share meals with them,the men he fought along-side, who were of all races, only to see they were not allowed to drink from the same water fountain as us ,or attend school with me, in the south ( Fort Polk, Louisiana). I saw first-hand the burning and trashing of Alexandria in the late 60's, the destruction of much of Washington D.C., the encampment around Mt. Vernon ( home of George Washington) and the utter pollution and vandalism of the Potomac and surrounding areas by so-called "civil rights " groups, witnessed by my sisters and me  as my father would steer his boat down the Potomac River past Mt. Vernon. My sisters and I saw all this, and we were of an age we did not realize we were seeing America at a crossroads, for better or worse.

I still have our local newspaper from Washington D.C. excitedly proclaiming "Man Lands On The Moon!" This was my reality in the late 60's and on into the 70's, and I did not know it was nation-changing history.What I did know was my father was being sent to Vietnam again, and his 2nd tour was during a time I saw and began to resent my fellow country-men & women.( This was my perspective in the 70's )I saw my father return home only to have to NOT wear his uniform to & fro in this country without fear of violence from his own people..and to this day I have few kind thoughts toward these people, many who betrayed our nation & rule our nation now.The ones who showed little  honor, ( sorry, this is my blog & I'll say it plainly for once) defected, and left a generation of honorable men and women to fight, die, be imprisoned, leaving  these very rebels to rule and ruin in these days.Bad judgement from our leaders caused the loss of so many at such a young age who chose to honor their country's laws. ( please know I am not defending the war ). I have seen honor scorned & mocked, the good betrayed by the very people they fought for. Those returning from war were demoralized and even broken, not by enemies of our country without, but enemies within. I truly believe this nation lost many of the best and  most honorable during these years .

My high school reunion was pleasant. I was not going to go, but in the end attended with my husband's oldest sister. We graduated the same year. I talked to a few of the people I knew, but did not share the history with them they shared with so many others.I did not grow up in any one place, and I really felt that. Mostly I wanted to ask the people I knew,"How is your life?"  "What makes you happy?" "What have you learned to value after all these years?" But, I did not,wish I had. Seems after all these years that silly high school intimidation and fear sets in...soooooo  high school of me! May I ask you,after all these years, what would your answer be to these questions?

Well, there, I have shared things that have been on my mind for years. I just might delete this post if I think too much about it, but probably won't. I want to share these things with my children & grandchildren. I still don't know what to do with some of these feelings,and they remind me of how much I hurt for my father, he was honorable, and he suffered the scorn of countrymen he truly believed he fought for.Honor seems to have turned into a "situational ethics" show, and the deeply held values of generations past seem to hold little import for so many, again, offered up for ridicule & mockery.But I know God takes care of this, in His time.May we examine our hearts, our loyalties, and think for ourselves, asking for God's wisdom & discernment. Please? "But as for me, I trust in Thee , O Lord, I say "Thou art my God". My times are in Thy hand;" Psalm 31: 14,15

Wool-Gathering

I have been busy, always busy. Busy, busy, busy...

...washing, dyeing, drying, picking & carding wool .

When I am done carding the wool it will look like this,

and this. These are wool batts, and can be used in so many ways. The wool batts are great for spinning wool yarn, needle-felting, wool crafting of so many kinds, the possibilities are truly endless.Sometimes the colors and textures are so delicious I am tempted to just fill big baskets of the carded wool and leave them around for display. Since I have a flock of sheep and a LOT of wool, that would probably make life a bit cramped around our home.I am not sure my husband would appreciate this but,

the cat does! Blizzard is stretched out on a locker-hooked rug I made years ago. He knows how to relax and refrain from busy-ness.

The temperatures around here are in the 90's and even over 100 degrees. Large parts of Washington are burning. I know I will see the scorched forests , fields, and town the next time we drive to our sons' homes in eastern Washington. Lightening storms are predicted this weekend and the fires are still not under control.

Since our part of the state rarely gets super high temperatures, most people do not have air conditioning, making it uncomfortable for most Pacific North-westerners.Blizzard the cat has the right idea, stay cool in the shade, take naps, and save your running around for the night!

"Wool-gathering :Indulging in idle fancies." Webster's Collegiate Dictionary

Dear Lord, please give me Your wisdom & discernment in my choices of "busy-ness". Help me know where my time is ill-spent and wasted, and the ability to eliminate these pursuits.

 

 

From My Porch ~ Bad Dog!

Hawk reclining on my quilt-draped wicker porch furniture. He makes himself mighty cozy.I think I disturbed his nap.

"We never really own a dog as much as he owns us." Gene Hill

Tea -Time Tuesday In Eatonville

My oldest granddaughter was visiting for 2 weeks this past July.She loves having tea parties with me and begs to help me cook & bake for them. She is fun to have around and I miss her.This week I am sharing one teacup from a set of three I purchased from an Etsy site.Isn't it a beautiful teacup?

 We decided to take some time off working around Cedar Pond and visit a near-by small town I love~ Eatonville, WA *. We packed up these teacups and took them with us...here my oldest granddaughter poses by the bakery sign. We bought our sandwiches from the bakery and ate them on the deck of the cafe as we watched traffic roll through this tiny and picturesque town.

 Tea is so much better in china teacups, don't you think?

We pulled out our well-wrapped teacups from my carry-bag  and unwrapped them to hold the tea we purchased from the cafe.My granddaughter and I drank all our tea, but the sandwiches were so big and full of good things, we each ate only half of our sandwiches, the rest we wrapped up and brought home for dinner.

 In Eatonville you can see Mt. Rainier from practically everywhere.This photo was taken from the car at a stop sign.The building you see is the school. What a view from school!

 The columns are at Founding Family Antiques,and yes, the owner is a family member from the founding family of Eatonville.The columns are at his place and come from an old school in the town.Wouldn't you love columns like these supporting your vines?

 This is a set of covered stairs that allow one to step over a fence (that probably enclosed livestock) without having to open a gate or climb the fence.I know there is a name for this but it is not coming to me here.You can see my granddaughter is wearing the dress gloves the owner of the antique store gave her.

 "Colclough China ,Made in Longton, England"

I love everything about these teacups, especially the pale robin-egg blue color on the bottom of the cup and center of the saucer,and the ivory embellished with delicate gold flowers. The handle is comfortable. These teacups also go so well with all my blue & white china.I have been using these teacups regularly as I sip tea on my porch while spinning my wool.

The best part of this Tea-Time Tuesday was being with my oldest granddaughter who enjoyed browsing antique stores with me, and I think she could have done this all day.I predict many more precious tea times and browsing antique stores are in our future, what fun, what a blessing she is!

I am linking with the ladies below for Tea-Time Tuesday.Enjoy!

1. Sandi @ Rose Chintz Cottage
2. Terri @ Artful Affirmations
3. Martha @ Martha's Favorites

Whoooooooooo !

I went outside mid-morning a few weeks ago to let my ducks out of their pen for the day.I encountered this feathered visitor who glared at me, but otherwise remained where he was.I decided my ducks were safer in their pen for awhile longer.

 My visitor turned his gaze from me back to our pond, then quickly swooped down and plucked a frog from it. As he ate the frog ( on the branch), the robins, and other small birds surrounded him and chattered.The owl took his time over Cedar Pond, not the least disturbed by me or the angry birds flitting around him.I left the ducks in their pen for a few more hours just to be safe.

Verses FromThe Vine

"Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor be put away from you along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you." Ephesians 4:31,32

"And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so should you ." Colossians 3:12,13

Friday From The Porch

Look a little closer...

 ...do you think she is house hunting?