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Friday, October 29, 2010

THE PERFECT PASTIME...

This has been one of the wildest, craziest, busiest weeks here at the Quill and through it all I have had one tantalizing thought in the back of my mind, an experience from last weekend, the perfect pastime...napping at the farm.We arrived late last Friday evening with a new bed in tow after sailing over miles of highway where both dusk and melancholy cloaked us in their darkness. Handy Hubby and I were feeling weary from the rigors of our week. As we rounded Bald Man's Mountain a sense of remembrance took over my body and it felt like so many other Friday evenings of my childhood when we passed these very same stripes on the road headed for a tiny mountain cabin that my grandmother called home. Only there was no tiny cabin at the end of this journey, it having long ago given itself over to age and emptiness, quietly fading away, and there was no grandmother to greet us with her warm hugs that could melt the worst of the worlds worries.We arrived at the new house, only it has not really been new since 1972, and quickly scrambled around shifting beds, box springs, and frames for more suitable sleeping arrangements. It was with a pang that I helped to load the bouncy old saggy bed onto the trailer marking the end of an era. I cannot tell you how old the bed was only that it had well lived past its time of replacement. I turned from the trailer tugging my memories loose from the coils of the old springs, while getting rid of the mattress was a must, keeping the memories of the perfect pastime, napping at the farm, were essential.Saturday afternoon found me wandering around listless. I thought of setting up a cot under the apple tree for a nap but the shade part was in the cow pasture and napping with the cows did not seem so appealing. Perhaps the front porch, no, the afternoon sun had filled it with too much warmth and light for comfort. Handy Hubby was banging around in the back shed doing some electrical work so the shady side of the house next to the fragrant mint bed was out of the question too. I ended up back inside taking the familiar path down the hall where I curled up in the middle of the new bed dragging a light blanket over myself.A brisk wind was blowing off the mountain and making whistling sounds through the old metal screening on the open window. I contented myself with watching the sheer being drawn tightly against the screen as Old Man Wind took in a deep breath before forcefully exhaling it, sending the sheer fluttering across the end of the bed exposing a peek at autumn come to the mountain. I watched the earths breath being drawn in and out, invisible, yet visible.
I shut my eyes and listened to the house, missing the ticking of the ancient Big Ben windup clock with its dark brown face and bold white numbers that glowed green in the dark that always sat at my grandmothers bedside. I missed the smells of home cooked country meals, hot and nourishing, that always lingered in the air. I missed the shuffling sounds of feet and voices that always drifted down the hall. In the silence I listened...and that is when I heard them..." Where'd Nay git off to?" I heard Granny ask. Momma said I'd gone to lay down and Granny said I must have been plumb tuckered out. " Hey Momma..." I heard Aunt Katie begin a conversation that was punctuated by Uncle Charlies deep chuckle mingled in with Uncles Tommy and Clif's laughter. The clatter of dishes in the dish pan began and I knew Aunt Linda was there quietly finishing up the noon meal clean up. Whispers outside the window told me that the boy cousins, Chris and Todd, were up to no good.
I wasn't curled in the comfort of a new bed but cradled in the springy softness of the old one. The curtain at the window was not a sheer but a blue lace panel. Old Man Wind and the mountain were the same. I never really napped when I snuck off and curled up in Granny's bed, I listened. I listened to the sounds of familiar comfort like the deep rumbling bursting laughter from Uncle Charlie that sounded like " Huh, huh, Huh!" , always three rumbles. I listened to Granny exclaim, " They geeee!" when astonished by some piece of news. I listened to the familiar start of almost all conversations, " Hey..."
I heard the nick names being bantered about, Nay (me), Whistle Britches (one of the cousins, which ever one happened to blow through the house at any given moment), Kitern or Susie (my mother Carolyn), Neno (my Aunt Linda). I listened to the stories of remembrance and the gossip as I attached each voice to its owners face. They and their voices were all still there, invisible, floating around on the winds of the past, audible in memory only.
I drifted off into the realm of dreams to the song of the singing wind, comforted that all things past and pleasant were only a memory away. I awoke to a tickling sensation on my cheek. Old Man Wind was ruffling my hair in a teasing manner drawing me back into the present. No clock ticked, no dishes in the dish pan rattled, and no voices lingered. I sensed that I was alone, no one about the place, as I strained to listen. I wasn't a small child curled up in the comfort of Granny's bouncy old bed, I was, I am, now the Granny with a big new bed that I hope my own grandchildren will steal away into as they listen to the sounds of comfort and the stories of the people who love them best. I hope that they too will experience the perfect pastime of napping at the farm.

I hope you all have a pleasurable weekend!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

COUNTING MY BLESSINGS...

Idiom definition for " Count your blessings" - When people count their blessings, they concentrate on all the good things in their lives instead of the negative ones.The definition above definitely describes the life motto of my sweet blog friend, Sonya. Like everyone of us, Sonya has her bad days and her good days, days filled with joy or peppered with sorrow, but always, she chooses to be mindful of counting her blessings. I wanted to introduce you to Sonya, her beautiful inspirational art, and her brand new blog, Counting My Blessings, where she shares her family, her faith, arts and crafts, gardening, and thrifty finds.

Here are a few photos of her beautiful fabric collage pieces, a precious sentiment using my favorite subject, a bird. Can you believe that this is her very first fabric collage?
I love the little rusty safety pin holding the feather...Don't you love the little coin purse nest?This one has a Victorian feel from the image of the mother and her precious children... Isn't this sentiment the hope of every mother, to be appreciated?Pretty pearls, yummy chocolate velvet, gorgeous lace, ribbon roses, so sweet...I hope you will join me in welcoming Sonya to the blog neighborhood by hopping over for a visit and leave her a message of warm welcome.

Right now I am counting my blessings of having such wonderful blog friends like all of you. The support and love from the blog community is amazing. You offer encouragement, inspiration, laughter, joy, and precious friendship. For that, I thank you.

I hope that precious blessings of goodness and mercy are flowing your way today and that you too will have something good to concentrate on.

Many Blessings,
Miss Sandy

Friday, October 22, 2010

S.O.S. - SEEKING A SOURCE...

I am calling on all blog buddies using the international call for help...S.O.S! A while back I posted on some railroad hand carts that my husband had scored. He was given two complete carts and one cart that was just parts ranging from poor to fair to great shape. A few weeks later he was given another one that was in mint condition. Since that posting the two larger carts have been sold and a potential buyer wants to view the third smaller complete cart on Sunday afternoon. Here is where I need your help.I am wavering on selling the last complete cart as I want to use it at the farm for a coffee table BUT if I can find the missing part for the parts cart I'll let it go and have Handy Hubby custom build it with salvaged wood from the old house at the farm. This is the part I am looking for...This is one of the balancing wheels that go one each end of the cart. I am looking for the entire part of mounted cast iron wheel and bracket that holds it on the cart. I have checked Restoration Hardware as well as done a ton of googling and can't find a wheel. If you know of any source please let me know. I have three local sources that I am going to check with today and then I am out of ideas. I would so appreciate an leads you could give me!

My second request is how to fix the problem of being a faceless follower. Every time I go to follow a blog I cannot get a photo to upload so I appear as a little gray faced guy! It always says my photo file is too big. Can someone tell me how to re-size a photo to use on the follower feature?

Thanks a million for any help you can give in either of these areas, I really appreciate it and you! We are making a run up to the farm to do some scheduled maintenance this weekend. I hope you all have some fantastic plans in place for play this weekend!

Many Blessings,
Miss Sandy

Thursday, October 21, 2010

SOWING ROSES AROUND THE STUDIO...

My nose and I thank you all for your sweet concern and we are both doing just rosy. It is not serious and I will heal in a few weeks time. The bruising is much more faint than I anticipated and some concealer does the trick quiet well for a trek out in public.

I have been sowing a few roses around the studio. The globes I ordered on Ebay for the new light fixture finally came in and I love them. To me they look like creamy roses blooming out of cut glass bowls...They finish off the fixture nicely. I wish they stood up a little higher out of the bowl but this is the best it gets as far as fit goes. I love their soft creamy glow. When I am working and need more light I can just pop them off so I get pretty and practical all in one, a very rosy solution.I have still been fusing with my window treatments too and decided to add a few vintage millinery roses plucked from an old tattered hat...The rest of the plucked blooms fill a decorative jar...Vintage mink roses drape gracefully from a shelf...
I picked up these great rose covered vintage hat boxes not too long ago and I am using them to hold collage papers, small left over bits in the small one and larger pieces in the other...I have begun working on decor for the sewing wall and added this old iron hat rack with a yellow rose motif just above my sewing area...I love saving flowers I have been given and drying them. I bundled a few roses my husband gave me with some cockscomb my daughter gave me and let them dry, tucking them into a little vintage silk handbag with a dainty hanky, vintage postcard, and a found birds nest nestling a pale blue speckled faux egg...As you can see, I am making very small strides of progress to get the pretty part done in the studio. I so wish I had more time to share and visit with you all here today but duty calls and I must answer. How about I leave you with a pretty thought on friendship and how beautiful I find yours to be...

But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold.
-Oliver Wendell Holmes-

And a pretty background I designed that you can use in your artwork...(FREE BACKGROUND IMAGE)

I hope your day is a sweet one!

Many Blessings,
Miss Sandy

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

MY NOSE IS A LITTLE OUT OF JOINT...

I woke up yesterday with my nose a little out of joint. Usually that phrase means that one is upset, annoyed, irritated, or your plans have been upset. None of these, however, apply to my state of being. We had a fantastic weekend hanging out with our precious little grandson. He came for an over night visit on Friday and we spent the day at the zoo on Saturday. We got a private tour of the lorikeet exhibit getting to help feed them, it was like being swathed in a rainbow of brilliant color...Nothing about that to make ones nose out of joint.

I did not wake up like a grumpy gorilla...Nor was I having a bad hair day...
My feathers were not ruffled...
I did not discover any new wrinkles...
I don't feel like I am just treading water...
Or like the odd man out...
I don't have a crick in my neck and I can still bend over and touch my knees...
I am not suffering from seriously scaly skin or in dire need of a mani/pedi...
And my dry as leaf diet seems to be working...At least it's making my head look thinner don't ya think?...
I am not depressed and feeling like a I need to crawl into a deep dark hole...I am not being caged in...
Nor am I pressured to follow the crowd...
And I am not hanging on by a fine thin line...
Any of which could put ones nose out of joint. Nope, my nose is literally out of joint...I think I may have broken it!

Did you know that if we go from bright light to a dim lit or darkened room we are hardly able to see our surroundings at first? As time goes by we gradually become able to detect a rooms contents. This phenomenon is known as " dark adaptation," and it typically takes between 20 and 30 minutes to reach its maximum, depending on the intensity of light exposure in the previous surroundings. This little phenomenon is what caused my nose to be out of joint. While humans can somewhat adapt to the darkness they are not nocturnal.

One of my favorite exhibits at the zoo since childhood is that of the lemurs also known as bush babies. The term " bush baby" literally means " little night monkeys." These nocturnal primates have large eyes that give them good night vision and they possess remarkable agility to move around in the dark without bumping into things. Humans do not, hence my out of joint nose.Did you know that if you have been doing a little bedside reading with a brightly lit lamp and suddenly turn it off, stand up, and then attempt to walk down a dark hallway though two doors and that since you have not given your dark adaptation senses time to kick in that you might become somewhat disoriented as to the exact location of the second door and you might just slightly miscalculate said opening and you might just slam face first into the frame instead of the opening...just saying... it could happen.

I got myself an instantaneous goose egg on my nose. An ice pack and three pain relievers later I was able to rest a bit. Some swelling, some bruising, and some volley of phone calls to the doctor later have determined that it may indeed be out of joint. I guess practicing those lemur skills is kind of out of the question from now on and hanging out at the zoo for a day might not be such a good idea if I come home trying to imitate them!

So, what did you do over the weekend?

I hope your week is off to a great start and that your day resembles nothing of a zoo!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy
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