First Day Musings --- Beauty

Margaret Tarrant Post Card



Margaret Tarrant has been one of my favorite illustators for years. Her work is tender and soft, with light that makes me think of Turner. Her children are my especial delight -- along with her goats... of course. She has a way of capturing the innocent and the pure. It is the perfect world.

Have you ever found an artist that you drew inspiration from? Someone whose work made you realize that life could be different?

Many of us instantly think of Tasha Tudor. Her work and life were inspiring and made us think, for a minute or two, that we could live like that. We could find simple joy in the day-to-day. Life had possiblities when we considered her work. We saw beauty.

So much of life is spent missing the beauty around us. Crystal snowflakes slipping through the frigid air. The smell of a doe coming in to feed from the brisk air. The nuzzle of a little nose in the palm of one's hand as it looks for One More Cookie. The dusky smell of a narcissus as it blooms in the house, bringing in a touch of spring on a very cold winter day.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as the saying goes. Yet, we must have the eye to see. I once read that a way to keep one's mind sharp is to watch for one special colour as one walks or travels through a day. It is an interesting theory and one that is challenging and, frankly, rather fun.

This week, I challenge you to do one thing: create something beautiful in your life. It doesn't have to be a big thing -- for me this week it was purchasing a small $3 cluster of miniature tea roses (white with a green edge), breaking up the cluster into three little nosegays and placing them in unexpected places -- the bathroom, foyer, and kitchen counter.

Love of beauty is taste. The creation of beauty is art.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have a beautiful week!

Say it isn't so...

A rogue deer attacked the Goat Mobile. While usually a Forester would trump a deer, this time both were casualties.

Now the question becomes: another Forester or a new truck? Remember, I have a wonderful 1976 Ford, but the smell of a new one... well.... I think that covers it!

What do you think??

Dear Lord

Please help the computer teacher in my Mother's computer class. She needs all the patience and humor you can give her.

Lord, I am sure you remember the last time Mother tried this. She called me every Monday and Wednesday night after class. I knew it was her from the weeping on the other end.

"Mother? What is wrong?"

Weeping.

"Mother?? Tell me. What is wrong?"

"If I could remember how to turn the computer on, I bet the class would be easier!" she would wail and then hang up.

I'd call back, Lord, you remember, and talk with her about writing it all down so that she could remember it. And, Lord, you remember that she and I had this long talk about how it was important to keep trying to learn new things. And, remember??, we discussed how she wasn't too old to learn new things. You remember that, right?

Well, Lord, she has decided to try again. This is why I am talking with you. She just called. Laughing. Hysterically.

"Listen to this question!" she began. "What do you know how to do with email?"

She read a long list of things, including sending it, creating folders, and so forth.

"What did you answer?" I bravely asked.

"What is email?"

Lord, please keep this teacher in your special care. I think she is going to need it.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Saturday the Mister and I went for a ride. This is unusual for us as we try to conserve gas and, frankly, our time is always so full we don't give ourselves this kind of treat. Would you like to come along??

This is Little Wilson Creek.
It runs into the New River.
Notice the ice still on the creek!
It has been so cold here that we still have ice
although the temperatures have risen to the 40s! 

Can you see the little house perched on the rocks?
We decided that the house was probably lived in the last time
this car ran. It is a late 1950s Plymouth.
It still has the interior, although it has been
home to a number of critters! 

This is the view from near Whitetop, VA.
It is easy to see why this is called "The Blue Ridge"
because of the blueness of the mountains.
To orient yourself, imagine you are standing in VA and looking
"down" toward NC. The New River runs through
the little "valley" in the center of the picture. 

We couldn't help ourselves with this one!
This part of the world has a lot of huge, smooth rocks.
Can you see how this one was chiseled out
to permit the road to come through?? Isn't it marvelous?

I hope you have enjoyed your little ride through the mountains today! Come back and visit again, won't you? 

First Day Musings -- Nearly Here

Quick update:

The semester starts officially tomorrow. I have a lot of reading to do!

The shawl has finally become a joy. Photos to come.

Cleaning the stable a little every day. Using the old hay to build raised beds in the greenhouse.

Cutting wood. 'Nuff said.

Cleaning house. Really 'nuff said!

Lots of pictures for this past week, but my camera is in the car and I am not. When I get back from filling the car with gas, I will post 'em for you.

Have a great week!

Defiant

Have you ever had a knitting project, or any project for that matter, that refuses to be done? You may remember the prayer shawl burning a few years ago.... It was a moment that I wasn't very proud of, yet I have to admit, it felt good to do.

I am nearly at that point with my current project.

Have you seen this book??

It is a marvelous book and I have enjoyed knitting shawls from it in the past. It is well written and the designs are fascinating! I have started the Ireland Folk Shawl and it is lovely.

The problem is: I can't count. I started the shawl a few years ago and quit because, frankly, I am not such a good knitter from charts. I learned to knit from written instructions and I have difficulty making the transition. Well, in a fit of clearing out UFOs this was on the top of the list. I love the shawl. Really. Love. It. So, out it came from time out and we started visiting each other every night.

I have ripped out more than I have knit. The pattern is a series of four rows of pattern in five sections. It isn't that difficult, really. It just seems that I can't keep my yarn over and knit two together straight. Finally, though, today, I have hit my stride. The body of the shawl requires five pattern repeats. Then, there is a knit lace border. I can't wait to start that as it is always my favorite part of any shawl pattern -- to knit on the lace edging!

What do you do when you get stumped by a pattern??

I Bet My New Year Was Most Rocking

Happy New Year to you all! Hope you are off to a wonderful, contentment filled 2012. And, that you don't believe a word the Mayans have to say about the world ending in 2012. After all, they are an extinct culture. You'd think they would have seen that coming... 


Anyhow, have to share with you my wonderfully exciting New Year's Eve. It was fabulous. It was like nothing I have experienced on any other New Year's Eve.

I spent the night at the emergency room hoping to either be given a miracle cure or a termination date for this crud that I have fought for ten days. While waiting for the doctor, I enjoyed a wonderful conversation with a mentally challenged man who not only pulled up his shirt to show me his scar from his open heart surgery, but shared with me how "beef stew just gives me the run-offs."

Now, before you think I am making fun of this nice man, I am not. His open frankness and his innocent faith were touching. He, as I started off, called to me: "Happy New Year, ma'am! I hope you get better and that God will bless you!" I returned the wishes. Let me say, that was the nicest send off that I've had in a very long time.

And, you know what? I think I will and that He will!

Last year Brenda inspired me to select a word to guide my year. I selected "Moderation" and I practiced it most of the year. So, I have decided to select a word for this year. I have considered: frugal, determined, doggedness, perseverance, and patient. Instead, I have chosen

Discerning

I have so many things in my life that will benefit from practicing this word... and the world would benefit from more people using discernment. 

Are you going to select a word to guide you for this year?