home + garden

Tomorrow they (the weather forecasters) are saying that it's going to be 70 degrees. 70 degrees people! We have not had that kind of weather around here since I don't know when. What am I going to do? I can't find my flip flops, plus I will need to break my feet into them again (like I do every spring) gradually. So I can't just go flipping out the door tomorrow morning.

You can probably all tell from the photos that the sun has been shining here the last few days. I feel like I'm waking up out of a trance. It's so weird to have hours of daylight to burn after I get home from work. Instead of vegging out in front of the TV I've been taking walks and contemplating my garden.

I can't wait until things start popping up. Little green nubbins. What will they be? Will my alliums bloom this year? They didn't last year. So many questions. I won't bore you.

I finished the elephant pillow for my niece. This one spent a long time in the embroidery hoop. I always get anxious about sewing the pillow together on my machine. There's just so much that could go wrong with the lace and the seams - on previous projects I've spent a lot of time tearing out mistakes. But I just went with it this time and everything seemed to come together. (A good approach for lots of different situations, not just sewing.)

Hope the sun is shining where you are!

lost on the interwebs (with only one sock)

Lost on the interwebs . . . a blog adrift without a valid domain name. I have returned from the land of Go Daddy - Blogger - Google with my blog intact, but my nerves somewhat frazzled. For the past few months I'd been haggling with Go Daddy over my domain name because of some changes that Google made to their "Admin Settings" and we finally came to a resolution - if you are here today you will notice that my domain has changed - same tendril + twine - different address. Please update your links and pass it on to your friends.

I am so relieved that I still have my archives - they represent five years of living, crafting and loving. I've decided that I'm going to back everything up in book form - just for me. I've been looking into Blog2Print . It seems like a fast way to document my blog's history. Anyone else have any suggestions? I would love to know how you back up your blogs - or even if you're concerned about doing that.

On a creative note, I've finished one sock just this morning and will be casting on for the next soon. We've been eating a lot of salads around here and I tried out a new recipe on Friday night with quiona and black beans that can be found here. Great with chips and guacamole - thanks to Meghan at book club for introducing me to it.

Yup, I'm re-reading Sense and Sensibility again. I just can't help it. There is something so soothing about Marianne freaking out and Elinor setting things to rights with emotional calm and poise that I'm just really, really addicted to. It. Never. Gets. Old.

Well, I'm happy to be back and still my crazy, crafting self. Hope you all are having a wonderful weekend.

XOXXO

Jillian

P.S. I helped my sister - Jennifer - and cousin - Ashley - set up their own blogs this weekend. You will find One Sister Two Sister and Blue Jeans and Socks on my sidebar links. Can't wait to see what those two post.

the sprinkles on top

Lots of color around here today. We had a baby shower for my cousin Ashley and so I finally get to show the baby quilt that my sister and I made for her. I made the top and my sister quilted it on her machine and sewed the binding. Bright and colorful - it makes me smile. We used flannel shirt fabric for the back so it should be nice and soft for the baby.

Baking cupcakes. We've had these before and I made homemade cream cheese frosting to spread on top. We overindulged for about twenty four hours, then I brought the rest to work and they were gone in under five minutes.

Hope you're enjoying your weekend.

barn notes : a little miracle

I got this email from my mom this morning and it charmed me so much I had to post it here. Little Hannah's eyes say it all.

Notes from the barn: How Miracle got her name:  

We brought her in from the barn Monday night - she was very cold and wouldn't eat. We tube fed her and put her to bed in the bathroom in a box of straw with a hot water bottle to comfort and keep her warm.  We honestly didn't think she would make it thru the night -  she survived!  When I went in to use the bathroom at 2 am I frightened her and she crawled out of her box baaing.  She took a bottle from us a couple more times, we put her back with her mom and she still couldn't figure out how to eat from mom so we had to bring her in on tuesday night, fed her and put her to bed with a water bottle.  This is how she woke up on Wed am - eager for someone to feed her. Last night she spent the night in the barn - I've been out there every few hours struggling with her to eat from her mom ( Dad often has to hold the ewe in place).  This morning she was able to get some milk without our help - we're keeping our fingers crossed she stays strong and determined to eat.  Otherwise she'll have to be bottle fed.... which is fun for awhile...

Love you all, Mom

ode to spring socks

The moral of my ode is this:
beauty is twice beauty
and what is good is doubly good
when it is a matter of two socks . . .

Pablo Neruda

There's nothing better, in my opinion, than making a pair of socks. The entire process is engaging, meditative and beautiful. The finished product keeps you warm and cozy for many years to come. The snow may finally be melting around here, but that hasn't curbed my desire to finish this pair of socks. Hope you are all enjoying the weekend.

full moon farm

Up home to the farm this past weekend to get ready for Shepherd's Harvest Festival. We were working so hard that we only had time to make some farm fresh eggs and sausage, instead of our usual large family meal. (No one complained.) We're trying out some new things this year, like fiber batts with our extra wool and mohair. A lot of work, but well worth it.

My mother is on spring break from work, because her ewes are delivering their lambs this week. I hope she sends me some fun photos to share with you all. I started to spin some new fiber on Saturday - we call this colorway "Zinnia." The pale pastel colors in it's twists remind me of the faded zinnias from my garden.

Can you believe tomorrow is the first day of spring?  I'll believe it when I feel it and see it.

changing seasons

Can you feel it in your neck of the woods - the season is changing? I can feel it around here. Maybe it's because daylight savings was last weekend and the light is with us longer in the evenings. The temperature is starting to thaw. I find myself tugging off my mittens on my daily walks to and from work.

The snow is still well over a foot deep in the backyard, but it's melty and crusty around the edges. It's slowly dissolving and rich brown earth is starting to appear at the edges of all the drifts and piles. I can see the raspberry canes spiking up through the drifts. Soon maybe some buds will appear on the little maple tree we planted in the backyard two years ago.

The changing season makes me think about our adoption. We receive updates every month and have been getting "hits" and inquires over our profile. Well over a dozen birthmothers have asked for a copy of our profile book, but we are still waiting. I wonder if maybe one of the birthmothers who is looking at our profile - "our birthmother" - is still early in her pregnancy and is wondering what she will do. Maybe she looked at our profile and then tucked it away somewhere as she sorts through things in her heart. It is as hard on her (maybe harder) than it is on us. I think about her every day and hope she is taking care of herself and the little one she is carrying.

I look at my frozen garden, mostly hidden beneath the snow, and I tell myself "Next year when the raspberries blossom our baby will be here" or "next fall when the maple burns red we will be celebrating that we have made a connection with a birthmother." And I will remember the berries and the red leaves on the maple and how they helped me count the days of this wait.

Patiently waiting (well . . . waiting)

Jillian