Friday, December 24, 2004

On The Eve of Christmas

Ah, December 24th! I have been terrible about updating this blog, which was meant to be a journal of sorts. I hesitate to say that I will make a New Year's resolution to post on a regular basis...our life on the farm, along with full time babysitting of an active 22 month old grandson does not allow for "regular" scheduling - LOL!

But, my farm business did make a new purchase for me this week - finally, a digital camera that I am determined to make very good use of, and that will make adding photos to both this blog and the website much easier - I hope and pray ;) As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, so hopefully there will be many good picture/words in the future of this blog.

First, I think I should try to master the side bar and links and such. My blog friend and fellow Michigander, Marguerite, has sent me some tips that I believe will help me out.

Merry Christmas everyone! Since rededicating my life to Jesus in my adult years, Christmas and Christmas Eve have taken on a much more satisfying sense of awe and anticipation of the symbolic day. A few years ago, I heard a pastor preach a Christmas message that raised the question of what the atmosphere and attitude in Heaven must have been as Jesus prepared to come to earth as a baby born. I think on that sometimes....

More pictures and regular posts coming soon, I think (hope)!

Wednesday, November 10, 2004

Gregory and Gabrielle

I have been thinking today of my special friends, Gregory and Gabrielle and their folks Kurt and Deborah. They lost their home to Hurrican Ivan. We were blessed to have them visit Serenity Farms during the time of the storm and I can say truthfully that they have forever changed my life. So today, I am posting a couple of "hello" pictures to them.



This picture is for Gregory and shows the outside of "The Round House", a grainary converted to cabin on our property. Although he didn't actually get to spend the night there, he seemed quite taken with the peace and tranquility of it, so I thought he might enjoy seeing this picture. One day, if his family gets to come back for a visit, maybe they can camp there ;) Posted by Hello


These are Zinnias from my garden. Gabrielle and I gathered zinnias for bouquets to put on the table while they were here. She has quite the eye for color and for flower arrangement! I have saved seeds from this years flower crop and those will go to Gabrielle when time and place comes for her to have a little flower garden to remind her of Michigan Posted by Hello

Sunday, November 07, 2004

God's Weaving

I have a dear friend at church, Robyn, who is the head of our Missions program. In a recent Missions Newsletter, she included this writing...especially appropriate for the knitters, spinners and weavers I know and certainly for our day to day life journey! It has no author credited to it, if anyone recognizes it and knows the author please share it with me.

My life is but a weaving, between my God and me,
I do not choose the colors, He worketh steadily,
Oftimes He weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride,
Forget He sees the upper, and I the underside.

Not till the loom is silent, and the shuttles cease to fly,
Will God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful in the skillful Weaver's hand,
As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned - Anonymous

Thursday, October 28, 2004

Exceptions, of course

Some years there are exceptions to the weather I described in the last post. The picture shared below was taken in December of 1998 and we were still in shirt sleeves, while the leaves still clung to the trees - you see the browns and yellows of the oaks behind the team.



It is Michigan, after all ;) Posted by Hello

October Gardens

October is a very confusing month for me. We are generally past the glorious days of Indian Summer - they came and went in September - and we often have some snow flurries (these usually coincide with our draft horse show, the Michigan Great Lakes International). But then come these days in October that surprise us with hazy sunshine and sixty degrees, inviting you back out to the garden to do just a few more last minutes jobs before the winter weather really sets in.

They are deceiving days ... no insects and lots of energy that leads me to believe I can do more gardening in the spring and summer of the following year than I actually can, so I begin to plan new beds and think of what plants I want to add and where. It is a false and misguided belief, and my usual sloppy housekeeping suffers even more because I am cramming in those garden hours ;)

The picture above is not from my garden, but is of a plant that is IN my garden that is supposed to be Lavatera "Silver Cup", or Rose Mallow. However, the flowers that are boldly shining still in my fall flower bed are of quite a different, deeply veined color. I have taken some photos and hope they will turn out and show the true color - then I will post them here. They are such a pretty, old fashioned looking plant.

So what are the new garden bed plans for 2005? Well, along with extending the long perennial border on the west side of the house, I want to plant a Dyers Garden, with natural dye plants. We will see if that actually happens! Posted by Hello

Saturday, October 23, 2004

Cascading Leaves

Here is my in-progress Cascading Leaves Socks from the Townsend Sock Knit Along group. After a few false starts (lack of concentration on my part!) it has been flying along and I love it! The photo is a little dark and doesn't really show to advantage the rich chestnut of the wool-alpaca-llama handspun yarn. The llama was blended with a small amount of copper-gold glitz (angelina) that gives the illusion of frost on the leaves ;D

Knit on size 1 needles, the pattern is very stretchy and firm, so gives the llama and alpaca in the blend better staying power than it might otherwise have. Of course, the bounce of the Corriedale wool it has been combined with doesn't hurt either. I am really intending this pair to be for me to keep!
Well, what do you think of these bright colors?

I am thinking it would make some pretty dramatic socks! The bright colors help cheer me on this dreary, damp and windy day of late October. The leaves are coming down quickly in the rain...
Of course, I only dyed up small amounts of each color (just experimenting, you know!) so will have to fire up the dye pots again if I want to do more. The natural black I have plenty of. Posted by Hello

Tuesday, October 19, 2004


Me with Stella, one of my favorite mares. The grass was a little greener on that day..it is drab and dreary today, but a great day for working with wool! Posted by Hello

Monday, October 04, 2004

My Own Blog! A Place to Share....

This is it, I have decided to give it a try... my own blog! I enjoy reading the blogs of others, but also hope this will be a check list of sorts for myself, hopefully to keep me on track and on top of my various "works in progress".

Hopefully....


Now if I can just figure out how to work this thing!