standing squarely in a puddle of hope

Hello dearest ones.

My friend the red squirrel and I are here to help you remember that hope springs eternal. These photos were taken last weekend, when we got 16-17 inches of snow here in Central Vermont.

I took this photo this morning. These brave little snowdrops sprung back to life once the sunshine created lots of solar warmth to melt the snow.

Here is a snow drop in bud, and the same stem once it opened its umbrella-like flower. I adore them and am slightly jealous of folks in Europe, who cultivate many more species than we have here.

A few years ago I used “birthday money” to treat myself to this sweet little dish made by Memphis potter Melissa Bridgman. Her work is gorgeous (and often blue and white). The wee pitcher (in the “chintz” pattern) is another of my faves, from Burgess and Leigh, in England. You can read about it here. Little bits of beauty on a windowsill or table can really lift the end-of-March spirits!

You’ll be glad to hear that Batman was able to resurrect the hoop house, and it will need just a few adjustments before we start planting in there.

And isn’t that hopeful? Planting again!

If you are thinking about gardening this spring check out Anne’s Seed Sowing Planner and Lori’s Garden Planner and Journal, both free printables!

Another way to find hope is to get out and help if you can.

I invite you to check out work I’m doing to feel hopeful in the midst of such overwhelming struggles in the world.

Vermont has the second highest homelessness rate in the country, just behind California. Food insecurity adds to the challenges of simply getting by. Yet, Vermont has a healthy number of not-for-profits, folks working together to improve the lives of their neighbors. I serve on the board at Capstone Community Action, and you can read our inspiring Annual Report here. It’s a snap shot of the wonderful things the agency has been able to accomplish despite last year’s flooding, in July and December.

Our sweet little library was just awarded a grant to repair our historic cupola. You can read about it here. And we are watching a bill move through the legislature, hoping it will pass.

You may wonder how repairing a cupola will really change things…our little rural library has much to offer and builds community for anyone walking through its doors. Keeping it in good repair (mending a leaky roof) allows the library to continue to shelter its patrons and the collections as well. And truth be told, libraries shelter democracy, too. No small feat these days.

If you have work you are doing to sow hope in the world, please jot a comment below. Share it with us here! Each time we put our hands into the soil, each time we mend a garment or a relationship, each time we pitch in to help a neighbor, each time we raise our hand to say “yes, I can help”…gosh we are doing good work in a world that defies understanding.

And later this week another 12-13” of snow are forecast. No worries, it will melt…

Hope.

Let’s put on our boots and go stand in that puddle of hope together, shall we?

xo

PS More of the 100 days of stitching project to come later this week…

PPS I finally responded to your many kind comments on the last few posts. xo

waiting for the next Nor'easter

Our week with Lindsey’s family was such fun. Reading out loud a lot, making homemade pasta, building snow people and snow angels, visiting the day old baby goats, story time at the library, playing in the card table “fort”, drawing… So glad they had a safe drive to Vermont and back to Detroit. I’m not sure they’ll navigate Mud Season again anytime soon, but we’re so glad they just did.

My maternal grandfather made this step stool for my brothers and I in the very early 1960’s. It has survived many moves and a few years in storage, and came out for Flora and Matilda’s visit.

My dad made this version for my kids in the mid 1980’s. It has since made its way out to Detroit and helps little Freya step up to brush her teeth.

Batman and I decided that Theo needed a step stool for his second birthday and put together this third generation kitty bench.

Does this mischievous face remind you of anyone? I’d like to think that my long-departed grandfather would approve. :-)

Spring has come to Vermont’s calendar, but we’ve had nothing but flurries and blustery wind for days. Tonight two storms will converge to create a Nor’easter and we may get as many as 19” of snow by tomorrow evening. I will be stitching in my studio while the wind howls and the snow swirls!

The last three weeks have been busy and full. I’m carving some time out to reset and regroup. Coming back into this space more intentionally is something I’m looking forward to. “See” you soon.

xoxoxo

mud season getaway

At this time a year ago, Batman, my brother Doug, sister-in-law Ra and I were busy clearing out my Mumsie’s home of 70 years. I am happy to report that she is still happy as a clam in her assisted living community today.

When Ra’s beloved aunt died a few weeks ago, Ra made plans to go to Florida to clear out Sally’s beachfront condo. Ra had been so devoted to helping us get Mumsie’s place cleared out that I raised my hand to help Ra in Florida.

It was a daunting task, but we pulled it off.

Throughout the week, we used the two chairs on the balcony as a sanctuary from the sorting, box filling, Goodwill trips and UPS drop-offs. The waves, the horizon, the changing colors of the sea, the birdlife and Ra’s good company helped us clear our heads and put things in perspective over and over again. We hydrated often and ate “cuties” for snacks. It became a ritual.

I’ve had a day and half to rest and get ready for the next adventure…tonight Flora and Matilda and Lindsey and Scott arrive for a week. They delayed their trip for a day due to the crazy March snowstorm this weekend that left much of Vermont without power (so glad we invested in a generator a few years back.)

I took the week off from my 100 days of stitching, so there are no pages to show. I did read Gather and loved it. The narration was fresh and the message of living in community was gritty and true.

I look forward to catching up with you next week. Theodore Alan turned two and Batman and I made him a sentimental gift, which I’ll share with you then. Now I am off to make beds, pull out the kid’s books and wash down the high chair. :-)

Hope you’ve been well dearest readers. Keep your heads above the fray (for indeed the fray is real!)

xoxoxoxoxox

PS While I was away I was voted onto our local library board. Watch out book-banners! :-)

a mid-february digest

-HEARTS

After my last post, about Ecological Grief and Anxiety, I thought a more light hearted post might be appreciated. :-)

On Valentine’s Day Batman baked sugar cookies and we decorated them together. It’s been a tradition in our family for years and years. Some went out the door to neighbors, some stayed in the cookie tin here at our “bit of earth.”

I do spend a bit of time over at the American Heart Association’s website these days. (Knowledge is power, don’tcha know). A wonderful story was posted over there on February 1, 2024. I thought I’d share it here with you.

-BOOK TALK

Our book group has chosen our next few books for 2024, maybe you’d like to follow along. We had a lively discussion of The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store last Friday night. (I was really thinking I’d love it, then I sort of slogged through it, but once our group had discussed it, I liked it better. Thank you, friends.)

March Gather, by Kenneth M Cadow, a very local author. He was a National Book Award Finalist for 2023. I can’t wait to read this!

April This is Happiness, by Niall Williams, set in rural County Clare in Ireland.

May I Never Thought of it That Way, How to Have Fearlessly Curious Conversations in Dangerously Divided Times, by Mónica Guzmán. Need I say more?

June Mercury Pictures Presents: A Novel, by Anthony Marra.

I just purchased a copy of The Comfort of Crows, A Backyard Year, written by Margaret Renkl and illustrated by her son. I had picked this book up several times in the past few months before I actually bought it at Bear Pond Books up in Montpelier. Composed of 52 chapters, one for each week of the year, I thought I would read it that way…a chapter a week. (My friend Anne also recommended it to me).

-STITCHING

I’m still loving my 100 days of stitching project, hand stitching for at least 15 minutes each day. I have revisited some of my favorite themes for this page…embroidered balsams, raw selvedge scraps and constellations. The piece on the right was my first take on the scene. I didn’t like it at all. I altered one of my original guidelines for the project and I did decide to take some stitches out. #autonomy I like the one on the left much better!

Orion, my favorite constellation, wanders through the night sky at this time of year. Robert Frost wrote a beautiful poem called The Star-Splitters.

"You know Orion always comes up sideways.

Throwing a leg up over our fence of mountains,

And rising on his hands, he looks in on me

Busy outdoors by lantern-light with something

I should have done by daylight, and indeed,

After the ground is frozen, I should have done

Before it froze, and a gust flings a handful

Of waste leaves at my smoky lantern chimney

To make fun of my way of doing things,

Or else fun of Orion's having caught me….(cont.)

Here is an ode I stitched to Orion years ago.

I’ve been meaning to get a STUDIO TUNIC for Gretta underway for ages. Once again, my blogging buddy Anne had the right words at the right time. Even my somewhat little project benefitted from Anne’s strategy to get going on something, to hatch a plan, to begin!

Gretta purchased the teal and citrine fabrics, but there wasn’t quite enough to make the whole tunic. I had some gorgeous bug fabric in my stash and when I pulled it out I gasped. Now I have enough fabric, I just need to figure out how best to juggle the pattern pieces.

-BREATHING

A few days ago I took a walk on the road to stretch my legs and clear my head. It was cold and windy. My eyes were watering and my breath was visible. I went to say hello to the cattle who were sheltered in their shed, out of the wind. They took no notice of me as they chewed on some hay and buddied up to stay warm. On the way home I stopped again and again to watch the changeable sky, darkening as the afternoon faded into evening. How lucky am I to have this pocket of peace right outside my door?

4:49 PM on Valentine’s Day

I send you light and love and hope…always hope…from my home to yours, dearest readers. xo

taking my cues from flora

My son-in-law took this photo of our granddaughter Flora, who is closing in on four years old. She had stayed up a bit late the night before, and took an extra long nap the next afternoon. When she woke up, she was out of sorts and eventually sprawled out on the landing on the stairs, completely surrendering to her funk.

Something about this photo just grabbed at my heart and made me laugh and cry at the same time. Here is a girl who honors her own heart. A girl who has no guile, who is fully in touch with her feelings and who will not let anyone get in the way of feeling them.

In the midst of my laughing/crying at this photo, I turned around and recognized the beast that has been hunting me for ages. I’ve been pushing it away and at the same time I’ve been reading about it, talking about it with friends and meditating with it. This week I named it. And I’m feeling it, Flora style.

Photo from Our Kindred Home, by Alyson Morgan.

It’s real and it’s scary and it’s overwhelming sometimes. Maybe you feel it, too?

Here are some words that I have copied into one of my notebooks. An assortment of wisdom. Words to consider. Words to chew on. Words of comfort, words to challenge. Maybe they will resonate with you too?

Soul and soil are not separate. Neither are wind and spirit, nor water and tears. We are eroding and evolving, at once, like the red rock landscape before me. Our grief is our love. Our love will be our undoing as we quietly disengage from the collective madness of the patriarchal mind that that says aggression is the way forward. -Terry Tempest Williams

In order to survive these times and stay human, we will have to walk with one hand holding the grief of watching the dying world and another hand holding the light so that we can find our way towards the new world which is being born. -Laura Matsue

Our grief is not the weapon. Our grief is the wound and our grief is the needle which sews the wound and our grief is the silk which threads the needle which sews the wound and our grief is the hand which holds the silk which threads the needle which sews the wound. -Althea Black

In our time of disturbance and radical change, we are crossing a threshold, a portal, or an unseen bridge from one world to another. It could be said that the bridge is either collapsing beneath us, or being made as we walk together, in the long twilight hours when one civilization gives way to another. -Geneen Marie Haugen

I never have been in despair about the world. Enraged. I’ve been enraged by the world, but never despair. I cannot afford despair…you can’t tell the children that there is no hope. -James Baldwin

I have a kind of courage you do not understand. I am far from blind, far from indifferent, but I will not indulge in impotent, passive despair. I will not add to the despair of the world. I am working on counterpoisons, I create space in which people can breathe, restore their faith and strength to live. -Anaïas Nin

I keep All We Can Save, Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis close at hand. A book of essays edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine K. Wilkinson, it’s a great one to pick up for a quick read. Check out their website.

So, I thank Flora for reminding me to feel all the feelings. I thank fine thinkers and writers for their insights and words. And I know that for me, when things feel overwhelming, I have the sanctuary of the present moment to duck into. A place to breathe and recenter myself.

Here’s an update on the 100 days of stitching project…a few more pages for the book. My 15 minutes of centered needlework. Thread the needle, stitch, breathe. Stitch, breathe.

Six hand dyed fabrics, made with tansy, indigo, marigolds, onion skins, and Hopi Black dye sunflowers and two scraps of William Morris fabrics.

A napkin from my Grammie Lowry’s collection, embellished.

The piece on the left is in process.

So that’s it for today, friends. Let me know if you can relate to Flora’s situation. :-) oxoxoxoxox

stitching and sledding under the blue, blue sky

look at the sparkles!

I cannot remember the last time I made a snow angel.

into the woods…squirrels, deer, bunnies…

cerulean blue.

Doug and Ra, hiking back up the hill after a toboggan run.

I had not been on a sled in 20 years. I don’t know what possessed me. But I whooped and shrieked until I bailed out halfway down because I was flying! What crazy fun.

More 100 days of stitching…near the beginning of a new page…

Finished.

Another nighttime, this one snowy. (And it needs a lint roller, ha!)

Beginning a log cabin.

6:55 AM on Sunday, before Batman made waffles.

Wilma and Corazón.

My brother, his wife, our cousin and his wife filled the house with fun this past weekend (Sat, Sun and Mon) The weather was perfect for the annual burning of the brush pile (with the Fire Warden’s permission), some brew pub crawling, mountains of good food… handmade tortillas anyone? And, sledding and tobogganing, at our age? Heck yes! In the evenings we watched The Commitments, and one of our old favorites, Dave. And there was a lot of laughing as we wallowed in nostalgia when we recalled our childhoods.

The news continues to swirl, and I try to consume it in tiny bites. I do have some thoughts about how I may try to navigate the next bit of time. I’m trying to figure out how to share them here. It’s not an easy thing. But since National Heart Month and Valentine’s Day happen in February, I think it may be time to chat about matters of the heart. Stay tuned.

All living is

storm chasing.

Every good heart

has lost its hood.

-Andrea Gibson

Extending my hand to each of you, dearest readers, across the miles. xo

quiet stitching

I found the crow in my holiday stocking and he sits with me each time I work on my stitch book. I brew tea, too, and rotate favorite mugs.

Here’s the first spread of pages, made with homegrown, and hand dyed fabrics, some ikat scraps and a feather. The appliqué bird is a scrap from a blouse my Mumsie made for me to take to college a billion years ago.

I so often think of James Taylor’s “and the Berkshire’s looked dreamlike on account of that frosting” …

Background fabric dyed with acorns from our bit of earth. “Buttons” made of birchbark.

Look at that raven!

I took Miss Perfectionism and Mr. Sewing Police outside and closed the door on them. I needed to get them out of the house so that I could have plenty of freedom to play in my studio without self-judgement. I’m not taking stitches out or making corrections, I’m just letting the threads take me on a slow journey to see where I end up.

Setting aside time every day to work on my stitch book has become an anchor in my days. I often spend more than the allotted 15 minutes a day and that’s OK with me.

TQOE*, my friend Cathleen, is working on a book in Connecticut and her theme is “conversations”. I love the idea of naming a theme for a book.

As January slides into February this week, I wonder what you have been up to, dearest friends. Drop a comment below or send me an email. Let me know how you are.

Sending hope and light from the Green Mountain State. xo

*The Queen of Everything

bright spots

Lots of the bulbs have come up from the root cellar to help us chase away the grey days.

These tête-à-têtes are leaning into the light!

Little baby Nora was delivered safely into the world in late December. Her mama is a good friend of our Lindsey and she lives about an hour north of us. Since I am a fan of intergenerational friendships, I signed up to deliver a meal to the newly reconfigured family via MealTrain. I think older siblings need to be celebrated just as enthusiastically as new arrivals, and so I made a gift for each sister. I found inspiration for the goofy bunny and the chick by scrolling through images of stuffed critters online. Then I took out a bunch of fabric and felt scraps and winged it. I made a rope bowl (which I haven’t done in ages) for the new mama and papa to catch keys and whatnot by the back door. I masked up before I went into their kitchen to put dinner in the fridge and I was invited in to meet wee Nora (her big sis was not home). Oh, friends, doesn’t it just take your breath away when you see a newborn? They are so very tiny and precious! Gosh, what a treat!

I thought you might like to see day one of the 100 days of stitching book project. I’m delighted that some of you have joined/are thinking about joining!

Our book group is reading The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store for our February gathering. Have any of you read it?

I started writing this blog in January of 2009. I’ve been so grateful for the friendships I’ve forged and the inspiration I’ve enjoyed by getting to know folks from near and far. And it’s been a fun way to stay connected with friends and reconnect with others.

Thank you, as always, for stopping by. And for your book recommendations, sweet comments and for sharing your stories.

xoxoxoxo

"only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars" MLK JR

Heather Cox Richardson has a wonderful piece over on Substack today.

Gosh, these times seem dark enough to go in search of stars. I have been sitting with a question/query today. “What actions am I taking to honor the life of Martin Luther King Jr?”

I send special love and light to some of my readers here who lived and learned together in the autumn of 1974 at Earham College. The conversations we had, the field trips we took, the books we read…all of it pushing us to think honestly about institutional racism and the day to day interactions we had…it was hard work. But those days we spent together continue to inform my life all these years later.

Be the light. xo