Equilibrium

Foggy mornings and stunning sunsets. Hot humid days, broken by thunderstorms that remind us of why sweatshirts still hang on the Shaker pegs by the front door.

Birdsong, insect thrums, hay wagons rumbling along the road.

Baskets of veggies and fresh bread (see below) and samosas for lunch…gathered while chatting with the farmers and vendors about the weather, garden pests, and local news. The Montpelier’s Farmers Market is full of fun. Leashed dogs are welcome and on Saturday I met a very sweet bulldog named “Potato”. :-)

We recently re-opened the kitchen in the playhouse and it’s ready for a string of visitors to our “bit of earth” . Built with recycled wood and stocked with treasures from the thrift store, this kitchen specializes in local “potions” made from whatever can be foraged from the meadow and woods. There was some concern from a recent visitor that there was no oven, so we’ll have to get to work on that…

Little Freya (above) has upended our routine in a most delightful way. She and her mama and papa were with us for nearly a week. Her cousins, Flora and Matilda will join us this Saturday. There will be waves of visitors to our bit of earth this summer, providing opportunities to enjoy each family as they come and go.

That wee rocking chair in the background? It was mine when I was a kid, and then my two brothers rocked in it too. Then each of our four kids took their turn. The puzzles? Our kids did them over and over again when they were little. Ah, generations…

One of my favorite poems here.

I’ve been waking up, making a cup of tea and tuning into the Tour De France for a few minutes. Each morning I watch the gorgeous landscapes and Medieval villages and the terribly fit men create a blur of beauty. When the coverage switches to the view from the helicopters overhead I cannot help but think that the peloton looks like a murmuration along the roads, weaving and swooping as the race goes on.

Other times I take my tea out to the yard and deadhead the daylillies as they droop, thanking them for their short dash of brilliance.

There has been berry picking. Blueberries at a local pick-your-own and raspberries at our friends down the road, with the added bonus of visiting the goats. Batman made galettes two nights in a row. #summertime

As we watch our own gardens grow, I said goodbye to the very last onion from our 2024 garden. It had weathered our root cellar, but did not make it into the chili. I thanked it for its tenacity and then added it to the compost to bring it full circle to next summer’s garden.

I have paused work on Flora’s quilt, but I did take an adventure to find fabric for the border, binding and backing. I will fold that into another blog post. To get your sewing/knitting fix, I recommend a visit to Tiny Happy, Melissa’s blog from New Zealand. I’ve followed her for years and find her spot to be an oasis on the internet. Do you know Not a Primary Color? Sienna is an amazing creator, and she “documents her makes and her process” on the blog. Such an inspiration!

Our book group just wrapped up Vermont writer Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel Spent. I enjoyed the antics of the cats and goats more than those of the characters. Alison included many clever Vermont inside jokes that made me chuckle. Enough said.

Our book for August has been on my “want to read list” since it was published. Raising Hare, by Chloe Dalton is a beauty of a book.

And I share a sadness here today, too. I will miss a shining light that has left this world in the essence of poet Andrea Gibson. Two of my favorite pieces of their work are here and here. A lovely NYT piece can be found here. (I’m not sure the link will work, I do not subscribe to the NYT, I just happened upon the opinion piece somewhere on the internet, sorry)

And a wee bit of happiness…our sweet and wacky Corazón celebrated her “Gotcha Day” yesterday, marking seven years since we found her at the Central Vermont Humane Society. Ever the sweetheart, she is a beloved part of our family. Mouser, snuggler, inCORAgible…we cannot imagine life without her.

Much like the rest of us, she is working on maintaining equilibrium. Finding an even keel in choppy waters is our task at hand, friends. I love knowing that you are out there, all across the internet, holding hands, taking deep breaths, and not backing down! Wherever you find your strength, fuel it! You are not alone! There is still light in this world! Reflect it, be it!

Much love, KLR

All I’ve got are distractions, friends.

Well hello friends.

Jeepers. What a mess. I’ve postponed showing up here because I don’t really know what to say.

Again I’m comforted by words from Virginia at Gather Here. “…I have learned that despair is not an option. And hope is a discipline. Being in community is building resilience and experiencing interdependence.”

That’s it, friends. In a nutshell.

I’m guessing that many of you who come here are looking for a break from the heaviness of life these days. So let’s push aside the grim darkness for a bit (we know it’s there) and simply move on to catching our breath. Pausing. Finding spaciousness. Refueling.

Tidying up…our house, our yard, our gardens…sometimes it helps me feel more centered and grounded. It helps me feel like I’m in control of something. So, Batman and I spent the 4th up here on the hill, weeding, mulching and mowing. Laundry floated on the clothesline. It was very satisfying. Friends came over to sit around our fire pit and we toasted democracy. Under duress, but still an inspiration. We watched the sunset, we listened to the birds say goodnight, we laughed, we sighed. We appreciated being in this place, with peace all around us and the comfort of community.

Yesterday we weeded some more (because there are weeds 24/7) and Batman cut the garlic scapes. I cut some lavender and marveled at the way the stems sang so beautifully with the California poppies. That color combo knocks my socks off.

Here’s a sneak peek at squares I’ve been working on for Freya’s birthday quilt. It’s been SO MUCH FUN to work from my stash. Stitched with instructions from Sara’s sew along, I’m taking time to trim seams as I go and I am loving the results. Excellent matching of seams and consistent sizing of squares. Slowing down and doing things with care has been a pleasure. Really focusing can move me into flow.

Our little library is working on gaining certification from the Sustainable Libraries Initiative, and last weekend we hosted a “sustainability celebration” highlighting what we’ve accomplished so far. A few of us set up a mending and patchwork station to demo those skills. I brought a few items I made with repurposed stuff for “show and tell”.

(You may have seen some of these items in older blog posts.) A drawstring rice bag (using KZSteven’s pattern) made with an actual fabric rice bag. A rope bowl, dyed with marigolds and tabbed with a bit of leather from the factory floor at the Vermont Glove Company. A canvas tote, made with repurposed handles from a bird seed bag. A potholder, made with bits of ticking, worn tea towels and napkins. Have you repurposed stuff? Drop a comment below and tell us about it. Little, intentional actions add up, friends.

Wilma cannot seem to get close enough to my sewing machine and I sew on despite her pushiness. Corazón likes to curl up in any container, anywhere. Their company is such a balm for my soul. Cora hops up in my arms several times a day and nudges my face with a huge purr. Then she settles down, tucked under my chin and forces me to stop what I’m doing, relax and just breathe. It’s the best kind of CAT scan.

We had another overnight trip to Portland, ME to meet up with Doug and Ra and we took the mail boat out onto Casco Bay on a gorgeous, sunny day. Wind, sea air, sunshine, a nifty picnic and birdwatching…another refill of the spiritual tank! We enjoyed a great dinner at Ocotillo and breakfast at Becky’s Diner (a local favorite). We don’t eat out much in Vermont, so these meals cooked and served and cleaned up by others is a treat. On our morning walk to Becky’s, we saw lots of sidewalk poetry and I’ve shared one here. Such a delight to find these little truths along the way.

And will you look at this! I’ve been keeping up a practice of writing to politicians…to thank them or encourage them to change their ways. Our junior senator, Peter Welch, wrote me this note. I’ve done some research, and I believe it was written in the Senator’s own hand, not an aide’s. I gotta tell you, being a Vermonter is really special.

Where am I finding joy? In snail mail. Watching the swallows flit around the birdhouse, feeding their babies. Sitting on a friend’s deck in the evening with a bunch of fun people, watching the river meander its course and munching on a potluck spread of amazing hors d’oeuvres. Seeing pictures of the grandkids, playing in water to keep their cool on a hot summer day in Detroit. Eating salad from the hoop house. Playing Mahjong with pals on the screened porch, where nothing else matters but friendship. Discussing Miss Benson’s Beetle with our book group and eating a tropical pot luck supper together. Working on tough things with others who give a damn. Watching the Tigers on TV with Batman, even though I can barely follow the game. *yawn*. The things we do for love. :-)

How about you, dearest ones? Are you able to find joy? Are you able to refill your tank? Drop a note below, and let us know how you are doing.

Love, light and hope to each of you, beloveds.

Time out

Hello friends! I had some trouble getting this posted. Maybe this will work?

Just popping in to remind us that celebration does not require a party store or an invitation. Catching my breath after a challenging week, I dipped into ancient traditions and took a time out to wander the meadow with my gathering basket. Happy Midsommar to those of you north of the equator! Enjoy the light!

Into the woods

Photo credit: Batman

Photo credit: Batman

“You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land; there is no other life but this.”-Henry David Thoreau

Well friends, what a few weeks it’s been.

I offer you lots of pictures here on this post, hoping that you might enjoy taking a peek into the beauty here in the Green Mountain State.

Doug, Ra, Batman and I had a few days together here in Vermont and we felt the need for some restoration. We pulled on our walking shoes, grabbed our water bottles and headed out to explore a few bogs. We visited Eshqua bog in Hartland. We were a bit early for the spectacular showing we saw four years ago, posted here. I may go back this week to check things out. We also hiked the Chickering Bog Natural Area in Plainfield. We spotted lady slippers, blooming pitcher plants, ferns, fungi, mushrooms, birds and carpets of forget-me-nots. There were occasional rain sprinkles and lots of mosquitoes, but the magic and beauty and sanctuary of the woods made up for those distractions. We also visited VINS, the Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Quechee, where we did the Forest Canopy Walk which blew my mind. I am someone who sometimes has trouble with being in high places, but I took my time and did a bunch of deep breathing and I was rewarded with the most extraordinary views from the top.

Thank goodness for preserved swaths of land and the sanctuary they provide.

And just for fun…I was in the children’s library the other day and found this amazing “magnetic poetry” at the circulation desk. Brilliant, shining light.

I hope you are finding shelter from the storms that are sweeping through our nation. Kindred spirits are coming out of the woodwork, may we find comfort in our growing voice. Be strong, be clear sighted and rest when you need to dearest ones.

Drop a comment and let us know how you are doing…

With love, me

The sweet June days

As the crabapple and lilac blossoms confetti themselves on the lawn, the lupin step up to steal the show. I have tried over the years to be like Miss Rumphius and scatter their seeds in the meadow. Sadly, they are reluctant to spread into swaths of color like we see in the median strip of I-89 on the way to Montpelier.

When some of us went to Susan‘s house to play Mahjong on Tuesday (on her screened porch!), I could not resist taking a photo of the lupins her daughter-in-law brought by. Such elegant beauty from a wildflower!

The Rowan tree is blooming by the front door, the ferns are strutting their stuff under the crabapple and the lobelia greet us on the porch post. Spring was late and then enthusiastic this year!

Our forget-me-nots remind me of so many dear friends and family, near and far and gone altogether. I think before they fade I will make a list of my beloveds. I’ll light a candle, take a few deep breaths and let the names flow. Mother Nature can be such a minister sometimes.

I’ve been inspired by the wonderful Sara Buscaglia and her weekly quilt block tutorials. I cannot show my squares to you yet because someone is turning three this summer and needs a quilt for her “big girl bed” before the snow flies. It’s turning out to be a real joy to work on this project.

Kale, spinach, lettuce and parsley from the hoop house, where I go for my drive-thru lunches these days.

It’s finally going to get hot here in the next few days, and so this morning I went out to gather things to cook up before the heat makes the kitchen an un-fun place to be. The gathering basket was made by my beloved Franny, so her spirit went out to collect things, too.

This morning I made

• A batch of yogurt

• A jug of black current iced tea

• A jar of stewed rhubarb to go on the yogurt from this cookbook

• A pitcher of rhubarb rose infusion from this cookbook

• A batch of miso-curry delicata squash from this cookbook

Things that are filling my heart

• Insight Timer’s free Mid-Year Reset Challenge, which I prefer to think of as an invitation. You may need to download the app to your phone.

• Liz Lamoreux’s Five Things workshop, here.

• Learnings I took away from the Vermont Library Associations Annual Conference that I attended a few weeks back. The theme was Rooted in Community, and we all got seed packets of Gilfeather Turnip seeds. Read about why the turnips are special here. AND, one of the keynote speakers was Hannah Miller and she spoke about her quest to knit in every public library in Vermont. Merciful heavens, she was absolutely fabulous. Such radiance, such integrity, such fun. You can find her here.

• A few weeks ago one of my very best college friends found her way to Vermont for a family celebration. We had not seen one another since 1978. I was allowed to “ kidnap” Ann for a day and it was such a joy to hear her laugh again, to catch up on our lives and to just be in one another’s presence. Like other Earlham friends Tracy, Carolyn and Martha, I feel so lucky that they have all made the trek to our “bit of earth”, and broken bread with Batman and I. I have cherished my time with them.

• My friend Anne Butera has finally found her place in the country. Much like Batman and I, it took Anne and Matthias a l-o-n-g time to find their spot, but hip hip hooray, they’ve done it! Joy abounds! Read about the excitement via her newsletter, subscribe here.

And welcome to new subscribers to sewandsowlife Linda and Gwen.

And thank you so very much for all of your comments on my last post, I recently answered them over on that post.

For so many reasons I am no longer “churched”. One of the things I miss is singing hymns. You can listen to The Sweet June Days here. It’s a beauty.

Well dearest readers, I wish each of you could sit on the porch and sip rhubarb rose infusion with me. We could listen to the birds sing their tiny little hearts out. We could sniff the last of the fading lilacs and swoon at their scent. We could talk about our fears and our dreams and we could feel connected in real time. For now, let this little blog post be a golden thread that sews me to you.

love, light, hope…all for you.

The 100 day stitch book 2025

(Forgive me dearest readers, I tried to edit this post a bit and ended up changing the format. I don’t know how to get it back to normal…I hope you’ll enjoy it in any case. )

Hello friends. Last year’s stitch book was such fun. And this year’s felt so much more challenging for me. I honestly feel like our world is being turned upside down over and over again and it’s freaking disconcerting! So, this book took longer than 100 days. The work stretched out to accommodate my restlessness, my lack of focus, my ennui. The book feels a bit choppy and not cohesive as a body of work. But it’s done and I’m happy about that. (You’ll notice a few themes from last year reflected in this year’s book.)

+++you can find all the info about the project at Ann Wood’s website here. Ann is such an inspiring stitcher!+++

As I began the work, I had been looking a book inspired by Pete Seeger’s song Oh, Had I a Golden Thread. The book, written by Colin Meloy and illustrated by Nikki McKlure pays tribute to a man who changed the world with song. In contrast, there’s a man who is changing the world with an obsession with gold. The tackier, the better. As I stitched this book, I held that sharp contrast close to my heart and imagined all of us bound by golden thread, one to another, making us stronger and braver.

This (above) is the front cover of my 2025 book. A dove, the sun (dyed with homegrown tansy) and some sturdy trees.

Stitched with bits from my stash, including fabric dyed with fresh indigo, acorns and birch catkins.

More scraps. Left, Liberty of London floral with reverse appliquéd hankie and some vintage buttons. Right, linen and cotton.

Left, cotton dyed with madder root from our gardens, shibori resist. Right, commercial fabrics and brown swatch dyed with Black Hopi Sunflower on cotton. I’ll let you interpret this juxtaposition…

Left, background of page, tansy dyed. Various commercial fabrics and golden beads. Right, background of page, madder root dyed. Many little bits of treasured garment scraps.

Left, tansy dyed background, with appliquéd radishes from Anne Butera’s Spoonflower shop. Right, screen printed and beaded patch crafted by my daughter Gretta.

Left, fresh indigo dyed linen, with scraps from various projects. Right, three fresh indigo dyed patches (different batches, different years) and vintage buttons.

On the right, a page inspired by my daughter Hannah. Background page is dyed, using clothespins to create resist.

Left, page using scraps from my son Stewart’s college quilt. Right, page made with scraps from my daughter Lindsey’s college quilt. They overlapped at Earlham College by two years, and I love that these two pages share a spread in the book.

Oh, indigo. How I love thee. Left, raw silk dyed...turquoise…with fresh indigo from our gardens. Reverse appliqué. Right, Black Hopi Sunflower dyed background. Fresh indigo leaf pigment transferred using Japanese method of Tataki zomé.

Back cover. Leaf carved and printed with a bit of linoleum. Wooden buttons from my stash.

AND NOW FOR A SPECIAL TREAT! Some of my readers have generously shared photos of the work on their books. I am so grateful for their willingness to send their photos along so that we can all see the variety of ways to approach this project.

Kathleen Doenier sent her pics all the way from Wisconsin. I love the way she used frayed edges for waves! And such genius to use pinking shears to do some of the cutting. And I love the way the birds are mirror images, but not exactly. So creative!

My friend Ellen lives just over the ridge from me. I love how she used reverse appliqué to create portals…for ants and for a pastoral view. The moon and stars over the little red farmhouse…so quintessentially Vermont!

Thank you to both Kathleen and Ellen for allowing me to share their work here!

I’d like to welcome my friend dawn as my newest subscriber. A former colleague, dawn has moved away from the area, and I’m so glad she found us here.

Much to catch you up on, friends, but I wanted to get this post out to you today. I’ll be back soon. Keep on stitching, reading, speaking up, pushing back and all the other things that bring you joy, courage and hope!

with so much love and light, me.

The refulgence of May

Our serviceberries are in bloom! How many times have I referred to The Serviceberry, Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World? So many times! This book becomes dearer to me as the days roll along. Robin Wall Kimmerer’s timing with this book was a gift to all of us as we struggle to find new ways to move forward in our upside down world.

“In the spirit of the reciprocal economy, you might consider how you can reciprocate the gifts of the Earth in your own way. Whatever your currency of reciprocity—be it money, time, energy, political action, restoration, acts of care, large and small—all are needed in these urgent times.”

When I was recently in Portland, OR and whiling away the hours at Powell’s, a used book caught my eye…I’m guessing it was the beautiful photography. Simply Living Well, a guide to creating a natural, low-waste home, by Julia Watkins came home to Vermont with me. As I try to get more plastics out of my shopping cart, this book offers oodles of ways to do just that. As I use up store purchased supplies, I intend to replace them with some of Julia’s suggestions. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

All the Beauty in the World, by Patrick Bringley, our book group’s selection for May was one of the most wonderful books I’ve read in a while. Written by a man with a wounded heart, it’s the story of his healing while working as a guard at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The book has links to follow, connecting the artwork mentioned to the museum website using accession numbers. This little book is a treasure, to be read in small, quiet moments.

In contrast, Carson Ellis’ newest book is a fun romp into nostalgia. In One Week in January, Carson documents in word and pictures, an old diary she kept back in 2001, before she and Colin Meloy were “an item”. It’s an odd little peek into the beginnings of their creative lives and the illustrations are fun.

June’s selection for our book group’s needed to be shortish and fun. June is a wild month for our bunch, with two of our members retiring from long careers as elementary school teachers. June is a month of “time crunch” here in Vermont, with celebrations, gardening, yard sales and all things outdoorsy. So, after a very funny conversation, with many books suggested, we decided to give Miss Benson’s Beetle a try, written by Rachel Joyce. And we’ve got our next round of voting for the next six months of book selections underway.

And last, but not least in all things “bookish”, have you seen the amazing film of the Johnson Public Library being moved, quite literally, to higher ground? Check it out here! Watching this film may end up being the best part of your day. Seriously.

What have you been reading?

I have a younger friend who just finished a program run by Emerge Vermont, and I went up to Montpelier to attend her graduation celebration on Thursday night. Emerge Vermont “recruits, trains, and provides a powerful network to Democratic women who want to run for office.” I met Becky years ago at the Vermont Modern Quilters Guild, and I can’t wait to see how she will bring her skills as a quilt maker to create a powerful patchwork/network to her mission in the world. Hooray for the next generation, working their way into newer ways to build a stronger democracy!

The very next day I attended an Arts and Humanities Town Hall at the Chandler Center for the Arts in downtown Randolph. Promoted as an “Arts and humanities conversation and call to action”, it was hosted by Vermont Congresswoman Becca Balint, and her friend Senator Peter Welch dropped by, too. There were others who joined them on the stage, including community arts and humanities leaders from around the state. Authoritarians go after free speech first, which includes artists, journalists, poets, libraries and others who hold up truth to power. We were both sobered and also inspired by what our delegation shared with us. Standing up, standing firm and standing together will be our superpower, friends!

This page from my 100 days of stitching is an homage to our Hannah, third born Reed, the “cruise director” and “encourager in chief” of our gang.

This page pairs well with a “chaos” page, which you’ll see in my next post. :-)

This page was done with reverse appliqué, using raw silk dyed with indigo grown here in our gardens. The gold thread continues to weave itself through the pages of my book.

I finished stitching my book and will show you the whole production soon. In the meantime, I INVITE MY READERS TO SHARE THEIR WORK ON THEIR BOOKS WITH ME, so that I might share some of it here. Here’s how. Send me up to three jpegs of your work by next Tuesday, May 20th, 2025. I have no idea what sort of response I’ll get, so I’m not sure how I’ll set things up on a blog post, but I can’t wait to see if I get any submissions. (Don’t be shy).

Have you seen that Sara at Farm and Folk is offering a free sew along? Check out her blog (this post is especially pretty) to get details. If you have been thinking of dipping your toes into piecing quilt squares, this is a great opportunity! Sara’s work is beautiful and her commitment to growing and dyeing her own colors is inspirational.

Our neighborhood has turned bonkers green and folks are grinning from ear to ear. We Vermonters wait a long time to see things sprouting after our long winters. Our farmer’s markets are open for business and garden centers are full of color. I’m holding my breath for the lilacs to bloom.

This has been a long post, so I will wrap up for now. I would like to welcome my newest subscriber, Juliet. Hello!

Please, please, please dearest readers… do not despair. I know it’s easy to feel the weight of things these days. But there is still so much goodness in the world, and other folks who are standing tall along with all of us…

Sending light, love and hope your way, as ever. XO

Quiet time

Cistus Design Nursery in Multnomah County, OR

Portland Japanese Garden, OR

Portland Japanese Garden, special exhibit, Natural Patterns: Katazome Stencil Dyeing, by Karen Illman (Please ignore the reflection of the museum shop in the pair of Noren.)

(Perhaps you would enjoy reading this story on BBC: World News and Stories…Japan’s 97-year-old cherry blossom guardian.)

(And I recommend this gorgeous YouTube film, How Bamboo Becomes a Traditional Chinese Umbrella.)

Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens, Portland, OR

Old Portland Hardware and Architectural.

We strolled on timber lumbering roads, we explored an obscure and abandoned botanical garden, we drove over bridges…into Washington State to see the burn scars along the Columbia River. I roamed Powell’s Books for hours. We found a few items we could not live without at Bolt. We sat at the kitchen table and played with vintage color cards. We visited with friends, dined with others and had a house tour of a recently purchased bungalow, perched on a hilltop. We visited the local feed store more than once, (because you need plants and soil and cat food in the greening month of May!) He worked a bit, I napped and read and drank tea on the deck, overlooking the industrial section of the Willamette River. Mount Hood and Mount St Helens made an appearance on the horizon when it was clear. The Steller’s Jays screeched for their shelled peanuts to be lined up on the deck railing.

Nearly each evening we walked around the neighborhood, with Goblin at our heels. (My beloved brother, his cat and their new quilt, above.)

All week long, bit by bit, my blood pressure dropped and my spirit was refilled. Enchantment is still possible, thank goodness.

More about books and stitching and such soon…

xo

three good listens

Hello again!

I wanted to send this post along to you because it’s timely and I’m enthusiastic about the contents. All three links will stimulate your thinking and, I hope, bring you some hope and/or inspiration.

I grew up in Canton, MA. Next door to the house my dad grew up in, down the street from the house my grandma grew up in. Early American history has fascinated me, and if you’ve ever lived in New England, you know that local history is front and center.

Paul Revere’s copper mill was situated in Canton. I attended the Gridley School for first and second grade. My dad went there for grades 1-8. I attended the Revere School for 4th grade.

Batman and I were married in a Canton church with a belfry sheltering a bell forged by Paul Revere.

(My dad painted the scene above, with a bit of a chuckle. The bell ringer is standing by the bell rope, ready to call people to worship in our church in the 1700’s. But he’s checking his wrist watch.)

Tonight is the 250th anniversary of Paul Revere’s ride. Longfellow’s poem describing the ride can be read here.

Tomorrow is Patriot’s Day in Massachusetts, celebrating Revere’s ride. I can remember, years ago, being in Boston and having a re-enacter fly by me, cape flapping, horse’s hooves pounding on the cobblestones. “The British are coming!”, he hollered. It gave me goosebumps.

Heather Cox Richardson and Angus Cox recently had a wonderful conversation inspired by Revere’s ride. You can find it here.

The dreadful Oklahoma City bombing was carried out on another Patriot’s Day. This Story Corps piece aired this morning on npr, and it is remarkable.

And this piece has been making me think for days. Ezra Klein and Jonathan Haidt talk about smart phone usage. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Showing up

A late spring here in Vermont and the general state of the world has me dragging my butt. But these two morsels, waiting at the bottom of the stairs for breakfast remind me that we need to show up for one another. So here I am friends, a bit bedraggled and weary.

Last week was National Library Week and I hopped in with a posting on Front Porch Forum with a reminder of how we can support our public libraries. They are essential cornerstones of a healthy democracy. In the midst of reckless slashing of funds. I wrote to political leaders, letting them know how important inter-library loans are to us. I brought tulips to our librarians. I lit a candle one morning and sat with my gratitude for our vibrant, small, rural library and the many donors and volunteers who support it. I tried to show up for all of us who cherish it.

On another board I serve on, we recently reviewed and approved a new policy on what to do if ICE shows up at our Headstart classrooms. Sit with that for a minute. Yup. Brutal.

I try to keep sewandsowlife as a sanctuary for us. A place for book recommendations, sewing projects, some gardening and other gentle things. Because we need safe spaces to rest. But this morning I just really needed to document a few ways the real world seeps into everything these days. And I want to thank those of you who pulled on your courage along with your shoes and stepped out to protest a few weeks ago. I appreciate that you showed up for democracy. And to those of you who may be writing letters and post cards, and making phone calls…thank you. Thank you to any of you who are taking an active part in defending our precious democracy.

And now, for sweeter things…

The road grader has lumbered by this week, heralding the winding down of mud season. The freshly turned dirt smells like hope. Coltsfeet are blooming along the sides of the road, reminding me of Dorothy’s yellow brick road. The spring bulbs are blooming all over the neighborhood, popping up from the leaf litter here and there. Neighbors left a gorgeous handmade Pysanky egg nestled in a pot of tête-à-têtes on our porch. And more baby goats are due this week. Batman is chomping at the bit to participate in “clean up day” on Saturday at our local, public golf course. It’s rather helpful to notice and appreciate these things. :-)

The very first quilt I made is in need of some radical work to revive it from the past. How much do you love those early seventies prints, stripes and checks? I dreaded trimming the edges, but I wanted to reconfigure things and add a border, so trim I did. More soon.

Our 100 days of stitching is winding down. I’m thinking of how the pages of the fabric book will face one another, how to pair them. This detail is from a page I sewed with scraps of batiks from Lindsey’s college quilt and an assortment of dotted fabrics.

This page is stitched with a scrap of fabric brought to me by a friend who often visits family in India. I also used fabric hand-dyed with homegrown, indigo and Hopi Black Dye Sunflower seeds.

Do any of you have pages/books you might be willing to share here? Send me note via my “contact” page (here) if you’d be interested. I’d like to think of a way to share your work here sometime in May.

I listened to The Bookbinder, by Pip Williams. I like her The Dictionary of Lost Words better, but this was a good story, too. Companionable on another drive and back to MA.

Our book group discussed Familiaris, by David Wroblewski, which is a long tome. I did not make my way through, but others in our group loved it.

May’s book is All the Beauty in the World, by Patrick Bringley, the story of a guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I’m looking forward to reading it!

Onion and tomato seeds are percolating under the lights down in the utility room. The small chest freezer in the basement is emptying out. We still have garlic and onions from last summer, and a few aging beets. But we are definitely looking forward to a new growing season. Batman has come out of retirement for the third time (our kids rolled their eyes affectionately and said, “Oh, padre”), and will be working about thirty hours a week for the next 6-12 months, on a bit of a mission of mercy. He is showing up. He really is a super hero. So our team gardening will be done in the late afternoon/early evenings.

It’s almost time for drying laundry on the line (I see you Stacy!) And almost time to put the screens back in the windows. And almost time to swap the snow tires. And almost time to take the plow off the tractor.

So there is HOPE in the little things, friends. And HOPE in standing our ground and showing up. Let’s do it all, whatever we have energy for, wherever we can. Let’s show up. Again and again and again.

With gratitude for your presence here. For your care. For your Light.

-me