Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Looking back & ahead: Holiday snapshots



This past May we went on a family holiday to one of my most favorite places on earth, a little cabin on a spit of land in the middle of nowhere, smack next to a glorious body of water. It is sort of tradition to go there on Holidays and for a blissful week we are off the grid and living electricity and gadget free. It feels so good to unplug and not worry about anything or anyone. No obligations, no place to go, no phones ringing.....just nature and family, making memories and treasuring our time together. And time does truly slow to a crawl as the pace of life becomes less busy. We have time just to sit and read or be read to.  Or time to sinply do nothing at all if we wish! We poke about looking for driftwood, or knit quietly while looking across the gently rippling water.
We beach comb a lot, looking for rocks that strike our fancy, sometimes strolling slowly down the beach, other times sitting right in the piles of rocks and sifting throught them for hours at a time. We clamber over breakers, clinging with our toes and finding spots to sit on sun-warmed boulders. We poke feet in frigid water and wade out too far in the hunt for the elusive "perfect" rock. And then there are the huge driftwood bonfires on dark nights. Lying on our backs in the cool, almost cold sand, we gaze at the countless stars twinkling in a blue-black sky. Sometimes ghost stories are told around the fire, & then with a healthy thrill of delight & terror shivering down our spines we scurry back through the dark, over the dunes & bluff to the cabin. The haunting call of the loon & eagle float across the waters and at night the wind whips up with a lonely moan in the tops of the pine trees. Cozy around the table, under the light of the lamp we read, knit, play games, sip tea,  until dark sets in and we retire early to bed. Morning comes, sometimes foggy & still as glass, other times sunny & marvelous. A walk down the shore at 6am with coffee in hand is a glorious thing indeed. 
As we slowly swing towards the winter months it cheers my heart to look back over these Holiday photos and reminisce about that lovely week. More then once over the summer I have longed to be back there. And so we shall be again, if the Lord wills it. But for now I will dream of mist, rocks, sand, and moss, and of wind murmuring in the pines, as I eagerly await the return of spring. 

Sunday, June 22, 2014

I am back! Plus, Fluff-to-Socks news.

After a long hiatus from blogland I have finally returned. Spring was ever so busy and all of the sudden here we are in Summer already! 
The pace of life quickens during the warmer months; we scurry and flurry our way through a myriad of things, be it get-togethers, gardening, or holidays. The calendar is dotted with parties, weddings, family functions, birthdays, church functions, showers... Last year was an exceptionally busy year and I wasn't able to take the time for some things that I needed to. My shop, for one, didn't get the attention it should have. And I felt frazzled and worn out by the time autumn rolled around. This year, however, I have been working on managing my time & obligations better and, while busy, so far I am not running myself ragged and into the ground. Which has been a huge blessing and relief. I love summer and it is nice to be able to just enjoy it and take time to reflect on the goodness of God.

But onward to the brightly colored socks and yarn in this post! Remember the Fluff-to-Socks spin-along and knit-along I told you about in a previous post?  Well, the above socks are my "entry" for said sal/kal. Those of us who participated in the sal/kal were given 3 months to spin the yarn, and 1 month to knit the socks. June being the designated month for knitting, I am picking these up whenever I can and squeezing in a row or two. They are quite vibrant, and will add a splash of cheer to grey and cold winter days. They probably won't go with a single garment I possess but no matter. They will be warm, and that's what matters.