Category Archives: Country Living

Loose theads

Hello! I’ve been missing this space. It seems that my technology skill are quite rusty. or perhaps just strange things can happen in the World of Web. At least for Elaine. But here I am again.

I’ve needed some slow time. It seems that summer was full of heat and rain and branch cleanup and shrubbery growing out of control. Sometimes in the overwhelm, this girl just has to sit with a good book* or needle and thread. For therapy, I replaced all the ugly buttons on this robe with some vintage mother-of-pearl. Simple and refreshing and only about 4 years waiting. sigh

May is always delightful. The fresh greens and small flowers are such a gift for the heart.

Then June. the Calla Lily experiment continued and there were half a dozen blooms this year. I was late getting the corms into the ground. I will be more selective next year and pick only the largest. I hoped for lots of swing time this summer. I didn’t get much of a vegetable garden planted and with the weather, that was just as well. Over the summer months, our gauge registered about 20″. Historic downpours. Not much swing time.

The day lilies of our garden did not fail us – except for one variety which has disappeared. Which brings up the fact that we are dealing with moles and voles and it seems a rather futile battle. Moles tunnel and voles eat roots. If you have a solution, PLEASE, let me know!

These have been here before in various stages, but most are now finished and two pieces are waiting the final stitches. There are always bits of fabric to create with and a few projects to come. They are all taking a back seat just now as I work on the hard thing …

Mom’s doll needs clothes. I have no idea if she had a name, but for now, I will call her Daisy. Daisy is 21 inches tall, is made of wood and has spring joints and a label on her back which says Schoenhut. I don’t remember her original hair-do. This one was chosen by my sister Margie, her second mom. Margie collected dolls and had plans to make clothes for this one. I have no idea of the original garments. I never asked, never really saw Daisy who lived in the depths of Mom’s cedar chest. She did not interest me. And I forgot about her.

Until last year. Margie had dealt with many eye issues stemming from an infection quite a few years ago. The doll clothes remained a dream as she learned to live with low vision. And then there were five years of cancer treatments. The summer of 2017, she made the brave decision to start hospice care at home. In September the lingering effects of shingles and another infection made her so uncomfortable and debilitated and she knew she needed more expert care. My last visit with her in her home, she asked me to do three sewing projects – whether for me or for her, I can’t know. Margie spent her final weeks in the loveliest hospice facility near her home with the kindest care.

Two of the projects are long done. Daisy’s clothes are another matter. I’ve searched through storage boxes for patterns but they are all too modern for this old girl or they won’t fit or are beyond my skill level. I’ve spent hours on-line looking for ideas. Tomorrow I will decide. And somehow, I will make garments for Daisy. And they will be tear stained.

*I’ve been reading Louise Penny’s series with Chief Inspector Armand Gamache

Then Spring Comes

It has been so long, since I opened this little online book. Life happens and it isn’t always happy and processing grief takes time. But I do know that joy is available, if I’ll only stop and take notice. For me, that frequently involves beautiful growing things. So I’ve been working at noticing while cleaning up from the fierce winds we’ve had. I’m delighted to share some spring beauties from this land we have been privileged to call home.

“I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works.” Psalm 9:1

Marvelous works, indeed:

Magnolia, violets, Virginia bluebells, Celandine Poppies

Fragrant Viburnum buds, Jonquil, Grape Hyacinths, Dandelion, Vinca, Blueberry buds, Violet, Vinca, Hosta

And, because I just love these Virginia Bluebells:

The lazy way that the ferns emerge and slowly stretch out in the warmth of spring, encourage me to stretch and grow from this past season of rest.

May they encourage you too.

Clicking on a photo will enlarge it for you, if you like.

Winter Quiet

January is a quiet month around here. Days of bitter cold and wind mark the days with slicks of snow now and then. Packing away the Christmas trimmings for another year always brings a bit of nostalgia and perhaps more so this year. My sister and I rarely visited each other over the holiday in recent years but so many memories attach to ornaments, especially the ones she had made or specially chose for us. My sweet niece frequently has spent part of Christmas Day with us and this year she decided to take over our kitchen and make dinner for us and for her parents who were visiting. I know she meant it to be a blessing, and it was… and it wasn’t… I didn’t really know what to do with myself. Dinner was delicious and in a turn about, she left us with all the leftovers instead of taking them home. Changes can be hard.

Christmas Cactus

The window garden has been slow this year. While I’ve been anxious to see color and enjoy the blooms, they seem part of the quietness, calling me to quiet myself.

African Violet

Amaryllis

I’ve considered that I left the Amaryllis bulbs outside too long last fall and they decided to prolong their beauty sleep. Finally, they are awake although we may not have bloom until Easter this year!

Do you make resolutions for the New Year? I don’t. But I think clearing clutter, downsizing, and reorganizing run like an undercurrent of my life these days. I’ve done some major work in the area of fabric and thread in the past, but still there is “the suitcase”. It hides our of sight in the back of a coat closet, blocking the way to the Christmas storage. Therefore, at least twice a year, it rolls out and I look through. Finally, I decided to take out the remains of a duvet cover I made more than 25 years ago.

It was filthy and damaged in our house fire, but I loved it, so I salvaged what I could and washed it many times to remove the dirt and stench of smoke, fading and softening it in the process. A trip to the quilt shop before Christmas and I had the makings of a twin size quilt. This was a satisfying January project. I still have a few blocks and I’m considering them. They will not go back in the suitcase.

Another quiet winter project in the making – sorting out the recipes I only used at holiday time and giving them their own binder. I don’t know why I haven’t thought of this before. It will certainly declutter my every day files. And if I am honest in the process, I will discard many unnecessary ideas into the recycling box. This is a hard process, although one I have worked on from time to time. I started collecting cookbooks “with a story” before I was married. I lost quite a few with the fire but — there seem to be quite a few on the shelves; many, lovely gifts.

Blue moon, red moon, eclipse

And the month ends with Holly Berry Day for the Robins! The trees were alive with a flock.

Book club again for February.

I’m grateful for so many things; especially for you who take the time to visit here with me.

Come again, friend.

Beautiful Callas!

My husband had gifted me with these beautiful blooms several years. My gardening with Calla story began in September, 2014. This post from last year has links for my continuing education project.

This year has been exciting! While we didn’t have a hundred percent bloom, the foliage is lush and the education of Elaine continues!

I potted fewer bulbs in the large pot and there were 4 blooms. I also planted them in 4 smaller pots, no bloom.

I planted a group directly into the garden soil and those did the best with one white bloom and 4 of the pink to rose shade.

This has been quite an adventure for me and I have enjoyed it! Seeds have been forming for quite a while now and I plan to harvest them and see what their future brings.

Growth

Lots of things have been growing in the heat of summer.

When the weather is pleasant, I like to sit outside and read. Whispers of Rest by Bonnie Gray has been my 40 day companion for rest and personal growth. I enjoyed it so much, I’m starting over in August!

It has been many years since we took a trip to St Michael’s and the maritime museum. It was a hot day, but we did enjoy the indoor and outdoor museum features and a lovely river cruise.

Most days are home days this summer and while we will be settling into green, the flower gardens have been lovely – take a look!

I’ve been working on some quilt projects this summer. Piecing a small project, sewing blocks together that I cut back before the broken foot, and sorting through the dwindling stash of old.

The last piece is part of a comforter cover I made long ago. It was seriously damaged when we had the fire, but I saved what I could. I just loved the colors. I’m trimming it down and backing it with the bird fabric for a kind of “cozy”.

I haven’t forgotten Calla’s story. Coming soon…

Resting in the glory of June

For better or worse, I’m enjoying the flowers and ignoring a lot of weeds! Actually, until the last few days, the ground has been so dry that it will not give up the weeds but holds tight to the roots. Now that a bit has fallen, I’ve begun the slow process of routing them.

But soon I’ll have a story to tell – All about Calla!

May Days

Rain and sun, a few hot days, but mostly a bit too cool for me. Ah, but the beauty that unfolds…

And color comes back to visit…

Mystery and wonder abound!

So, why did the groundhog climb the tree? This was the first time I have seen this in my own yard.

White time

Winter days where grey and brown. Spring has been filled with fog and a bit of rain.

It is time for white. Clean and bright, white!

Fragrant viburnum

Blueberry bloom

Narcissus

Lily of the Valley

Refreshing!

Where the Wind Blows

The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. John 3:8 HCSB

Months of wind. Cleaning the trees, knocking things over, waking me in the dark hours of night and morning and offering me opportunities to see rare beauty. The Spirit of God is like that.

The photos above are from this morning. A few recorded beauties follow.

These. of course, are from our anticipated visits from Amaryllis. [click on any photo to enlarge]

One welcome visitor, one not… One must look closely where the blossom starts to see the Brown marmorated stink bug. While nowhere near as invasive a nuisance as a few years ago, some still find their way through cracks, open doors and down the chimneys to overwinter. Any warm day finds them zinging about the house looking for a landing place – or a meal. I know it was probably cozy on the blossom, but, he was removed and perished. These are an invasive, non-native bug with no known predators. They do not bite, but suck. They have been particularly destructive to fruit crops here in the Mid-Atlantic region and, according to the linked article, have continued to spread throughout the country.

That’s the way, too, of life sucking troubles: they can hide away, just waiting for the right day to get out and about reproducing their destructive kind and sucking out the joy of life. It takes vigilance to catch and dispatch them.

When we first bought this property, we found a country trash pile in a back corner. We spent years hauling it away, bit by bit. It was covered in leaves and brush and every layer we removed gave opportunity for the wind and rain to remove more of the covering, revealing old metal parts of who-knows-what, foil baking pans from TV dinners and lots of glass – mostly broken. I did find two lovely pieces of blue glass, one a Noxzema jar (my Mom’s favorite) and the other, this 4 inch tall Bromo-Seltzer bottle (always in Dad’s cupboard). The Jonquils were picked before the snow came. I love them in this blue, don’t you? These minis grow near the kitchen door where the sun warms the protected area and spring comes early.

The last snow of the season? Beautiful day with lots of bird visitors and and this brazen thief. Totally unimpressed with me. Her kind have totally stripped the hydrangeas of buds and the warm days that inspired growth of the daylilies provided unintended salad for them too.

What do you do on cold snowy or rainy days? I find them good soul nourishing days. Sometimes I make soups and bake bread and treats and get in a bit of stitching. And, there are always stacks of reading materials at hand. The top three are in my own library, the rest borrowed from the county. Patsy Clairmont’s book of short stories – Stardust On My Pillow – is a sweet favorite to re-read from time to time.

This time, I wanted to re-read “Chattanooga Choo Choo” Miss Pearl teaches Jamie about way-markers as she tells him to remember the signs his daddy left him when he died… “the signs your daddy left you will guide you into manhood”, for “A way-marker is like a signpost telling you which way to go.” Way-markers. “Never let a good dead go unattended.” was one that inspired Jamie to take action. We might know it under different expressions: Saying thank you, writing a thank you note, taking a hostess gift, sending a teacher’s gift… So many things can be way-markers. Things remembered by the winds of the Spirit that remind us of the best way, not only to deal with the affairs of life, but to find the perfect way to our eternal home.

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, for in You I do trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk. for I lift up my soul to You.

from Psalm 143

This last photo was taken yesterday when the whispering breeze through the tree tops could barely be heard over the honking geese, screaming gulls , occasional car traffic. Each day is different in life. I must learn to listen.

Happy Spring!

30 days hath November

There were glorious days, warm ones and cold ones that had me scurrying about freshening bed linens and garden beds, planting bulbs and dealing with leaves and leaves and still more leaves! Oak leaves 12 inches long!

The Undoing of Saint Silvanus by Beth Moore was only available as an audio book from my library. I debated and then reserved my space. When I saw it was 10 CDs, I wasn’t sure I would persist. But I did. her masterful storytelling kept me company as I dug and pulled and trimmed and planted a garden bed and then kept me company as I restored the edging of our old quilt with fresh binding. Then I listened to it all over again!

I began the quilt long years ago. When I started the class with Lois Smith, I was excited by the possibility of making – start to finish a quilt for our bed. Under her kind, clear, tutelage, I learned so much about color, pattern drafting and machine quilting. But life, or a kind of death in the specter of fire, happened and rearranged our lives for a season. When it was over, nothing was quite the same and I chose not to work on this autumn themed quilt. I moved on and took several more classes with Lois and finished two more quilts. Sometime, I finished it off and hung it in our family room in winter. Then I started using it, the weight and comfort just right. It was a shock to realize it is now a shabby beauty, warm and cozy.

Autumn color can be a long, slow, unfolding here. Tender plants first, some trees seeming to forget to change, high winds swirling leaves around steps and doors. Holly berries ripped from their stems. One has to look for the beauty in all the pain and dying of this month.

And, of course, we went chasing the super moon. It doesn’t look all that exciting, but the chase was fun. One more to come on December 14.

Of course there are always squirrels running to and fro and sometimes hanging from their toes to eat the suet cakes. Woodpeckers, Flickers, Titmice and Nuthatches are the usual diners. But one day, I happened to catch this Bluebird too! Things are always a bit fuzzy through the screen and glass, but there is no mistaking the color of these beautiful birds.

One of the surprises of the garden cleanup were stalks of Hosta seeds hiding deep within a large plant. I’ve done a little reading and I’m not sure I will try to grow plants from the seed, but the pods are quite interesting.

This season of apparent dying and seed planting has been brought home to me these past days in the sudden and untimely death of my niece-in-love. At the several services we attended, even her pastor, who knew her well, marveled at the packed church as people came to show their love and respect for this lovely, quiet woman. She sowed seeds of love and acceptance in everyone she met. I pray that those seeds will bear much fruit in the coming days and years as her family struggles with her death and the changes in the home and for her children who were being home schooled.

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.