Peaceful

Tonight I realized that I should take more time to enjoy the incredible sunsets that we have here on the coast of Oregon.  Beautiful displays of pinks, oranges and deepest blue can be had for just the looking.  I put down my dishrag - dishes can wait - and stepped out onto the deck.  Taking a seat in one of the outdoor chairs, I breathed deeply.  The long day at work, the migraine that has been pressing all day, were forgotten for an instant in the beauty surrounding me.  Gazing off into the horizon, I just sat quietly, listening to the sounds of our evening neighborhood;  the thump of the daily paper hitting the front door as the newspaper boy tosses it onto porches up and down the street;  traffic noises as people come home after their work day;  the sound of voices as others move outside to enjoy the spectacular colors;  soft footfalls of the neighbor out walking his dog.  I am in solitude here on our darkened deck, but I am not lonely.  Our evening neighborhood is full of noises, but it is not noisy, only peaceful.  The last rays of light slip behind the hills and I pick my dishrag back up, better off for the few minutes of natural wonder enjoyed.

Five Little Turkeys

Five little turkey's are we -

We slept all night in a tree -

When the cooks came around

We couldn't be found -

And that's why we're here

You see!

Howling At the Moon

Last night, Shilo and I went to see Breaking Dawn with a group of friends.  (It was awesome!)  Shi's birthday is the beginning of December and it seems that since I started knitting a few years ago, I have always given her a new hat for her birthday.  I didn't realize it until she pointed it out and now that I know, the tradition must continue, right?! 

Waiting for Breaking Dawn

This year I chose to knit up this super fun wolf hat from Vampire Knits, a wonderful new knitting book that I splurged on for myself this summer.

Even though her birthday isn't for another two weeks, we couldn't go to Breaking Dawn without me giving her her hat early. 

And, seeing how we're both Team Jacob, well...

Hoooooowwwwwl!

Flirty Apron's Secret Santa Swap

What an adorable banner for a fun swap!  I've joined the Flirty Apron's Secret Santa Swap after telling myself that I wasn't going to do it.  I love to make handmade gifts and never get all of them finished that I have on my list, but after reading about this fun swap I just couldn't resist.  Part of the fun is the questionnaire that we are to fill out so that our secret partners can learn a bit about us~

What are your hobbies?  I love to knit, bake and sew

What are your favorite colors?  I am very "favorite color fickle".  It changes all the time, but right now I'm really loving reds

Do you collect anything?  I have a small collection of vintage aprons and also a bit bigger collection of vintage classic hardback books

Are you allergic to any fibers or animals? Yes, but not enough to stop me from knitting with wool anyway!

Do you have any pets?  We have a Great Pyrenees dog, Gus - and two cats, Boots and Mr. Thomas O'Malley

Coffee, Tea, or Chocolate? Both coffee and tea!

What do you like to read?  I LOVE to read!  Historical fiction based on fact is my favorite genre, but I read much more than that.  I also love cookbooks and craft magazines.

Do you prefer Cookies or Candies as a sweet? Cookies, but I very rarely turn my nose up at candy either!

What is your favorite holiday treat? Pumpkin pie and hot holiday coffee and tea flavors

Describe your favorite holiday tradition. Driving around looking at Christmas lights with Christmas music playing along

Did you believe in Santa as a child? What do you mean as a child?  I still do!

When do you open presents?  We have always opened one gift on Christmas eve and the rest on Christmas morning.  The Christmas eve gift started as a get together with the grandparents and opening the gifts to and from them and we have carried that tradition on

Do you put up a tree and when? If not, how do you celebrate? Yes, we put up a real tree generally the second weekend of December

Does your tree have a theme? Not really.  The last couple of years our tree has been decorated in mostly blue, silver and red because our living room walls are blue, but we also still put up some of the kids favorite traditional decorations from when they were small.

What has been your favorite gift to give? to receive?  I love to both give and recieve handmade goodness~

Hope you all are getting into the festive holiday season!

 

Spinning Gold

"Spinning is the simple act of drawing out a few fibers and twisting them together to form a yarn. The process predates written history, and was first done by hand and with sticks. Spinning wheels are believed to have originated in India between 500 and 1000 A.D. By the 13th century, they were seen in Europe, and were a standard piece of equipment for those making fiber into yarn. By the 17th century they were commonly found in homes in the colonies of North America, where the production of fabric was a cottage industry. Spinning was generally seen as a woman's job. Women spun yarn at home, as well as with friends at spinning bees, where food was served and prizes might be given to the person who produced the most or best yarn."

~From the website American History

On my bucket list is learning the ancient art of spinning wonderful wool into gold...I mean yarn.  Yesterday I took the first step in marking this off of my list with a beginning spinning class taken through Astoria Fiber Arts Academy.  This class is a two-part with the first two hour session yesterday and the next two hour next Saturday.  I was so excited to start and my instructor, Shannon, did not disappoint.  She did a fabulous job of explaining all of the parts of the wheel and how the energy made from turning the wheel translates the wool roving into the final golden product, beautiful wool yarn! 

Shannon brought her own personal spinning wheel to teach on - very similar to the one in the picture above.  After going over the parts of the wheel and explaining how it all works together it was time to prepare our wool.  Shannon brought wool roving that she had dyed herself then proceeded to explain how you prepare the roving by "drafting" it - gently pulling the roving in segments to seperate the fibers and get it into the thickness that you want your finished yarn to end up. 

Once we had a bit of roving drafted, Shannon then demonstrated on the wheel how to actual spin it, then it was my turn!  The hardest part so far for me is trying to figure out my hands.  I am definately not the most coordinated person you will ever meet, so getting that down and understanding when to hold the tension and when to let the roving feed in is certainly something I will have to work on.  In the beginning, Shannon spins the wheel by hand so that the student, (me!), can work on the hand skill while not having to worry about the foot on the treadle.  I learned to sew, many years ago, on a treadle sewing machine that had belonged to my great-grandmother, and was pleasantly surprised to find that my leg and foot still held that muscle memory and hopped on that treadle like I do it every day.  Muscle memory is an incredible thing.  Hopefully someday my hands will hold that same spinning technique memory!

Our two hours went by so fast and I can hardly wait until next weeks class.  I was sent home with homework - roving that I wil get drafted to the best of my very limited ability.  Then next Saturday, that roving will be spun into a two-ply yarn!  How fun!  I can see all ready how addicting this ancient skill can become.  Anybody have a spinning wheel for sale??!

So tell me, have you been able to mark anything off of your bucket list lately?  What was it? 

Turn the Page...Tuesday

Happy November!  Time for Turn the Page...Tuesday hosted by Adrienne of Some of a Kind.  A time to share what you have read the last month and find out what others have been reading.  Just a warning...it will most certainly add to your long to be read list, but that's okay - we all love recommendations from other readers!

During October I read some perfectly haunting reads!
Ghost on Black Mountain by Ann Hite

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was the perfect October read! Ghost on Black Mountain by author Ann Hite is everything the cover says it is; haunting, eerie, dark and unnerving. Told in the voices of five different women who all have different portions of the story to tell, the author did an excellent job of binding the story together in those separate voices. The story is set in rural depression-era North Carolina, we first meet Nellie, a young girl who, while serving meals in a soup kitche n, meets and falls head over heals for Hobbs Pritchard, a man eight years her senior. Nellie's mama immediately see's that Hobbs is a bad man and what she see's in her tea leaves confirms this fear. Ignoring her mama's warnings, Nellie runs off and marries Hobbs anyway. He immediately moves her to his empty, (or is it?) family home on Black Mountain.

One of my favorite quotes from this early time in the story:

'In the first days of sweet romance, if Hobbs had asked me to jump off a cliff, I would have with a smile on my face. Mama always said, "Nellie, don't love a man too much. A woman should save some feelings back to care for herself."

Nellie soon finds that the people of the mountain both hate and fear Hobbs Pritchard, but she still thinks that her husband must be mis-understood. Soon into the marriage, Hobbs cruel side starts showing itself to Nellie. According to Hobbs, his young wife is dumb, lazy and a horrible cook when in reality, Nellie is none of those things. Right away Nellie starts to see a few of Black Mountains ghosts. There is the woman who seems to live right in Nellie and Hobbs home and the man in the round glasses that is summoning her from outside. Shelley, the young girl who is hired to help Nellie clean the long neglected house, is scared but likes Nellie and slowly starts to give her some hints of Hobbs bad reputation. They say he killed a man here on the mountain and there are stories of the untimely death of his stepmother, along with a few other very disconcerting stories. As Hobbs cruelty to Nellie increases, she trys to find ways to leave, but Hobbs will never let her go. Will the ghosts of Black Mountain aid her? You'll have to read to find out.

I loved this book. It is the authors debut and I will definately be waiting for her next one to be released!

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Seems I spent a lot of time on mountains in Appalachia this past month. My next read was Bloodroot by Amy Greene, set on Bloodroot Mountain....

Bloodroot by Amy Greene

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bloodroot is a story full of magic and maybe a bit of madness, told by several different generations of the same family as they try to puzzle the story of Myra Lamb together. The author did a fantastic job of telling the story through several different voices and perspectives.

In the beginning we meet Byrdie Lamb, Myra's grandmother. Byrdie tells us about seeing Myra for the first time. The baby born with "Haint Blue Eyes" was thought to have broken the curse that Byrdie's Grandmaw Ruth's cousin had put on the family so many years before. Grandmaw Ruth and her two sisters were "Granny Women", all with their own gifts of healing. Their cousin, Lou Ann, was a Granny Woman also but didn't neccessarily use her gifts for good. When the girls grandfather died and left the best plot of land to Grandmaw Ruth and her sisters, Lou Ann put a curse on them and their family that wouldn't be lifted until a there was a baby born in their line with haint blue eyes. Terrible things started happening right away- husbands and children dyeing, houses burning down- Byrdie was mighty glad when Myra was born with haint blue eyes. Myra's parents were killed when she was just a baby in an accident on the railroad tracks, so Granny Byrdie raised her up on the mountain. Myra loved the mountain but when John Odom from the town at the foot of the mountain came along, Myra followed him without looking back. Myra soon finds out the John and his family are not the people she thought they were. What is that smell of evil that seems to penetrate John's dads house and why is she so uncomfortable around them?

This was another story - a great October read - with a bit of magic, mystery and maybe some murder thrown in. Bloodroot had me turning pages late into the night, antsy to find out what would happen next.

From the back cover:
Myra Lamb is a wild girl with mysterious, haint blue eyes who grows up on remote Bloodroot Mountain. Her grandmother, Byrdie, protects her fiercely and passes down "the touch" that bewitches people and animals alike. But when John Odom tries to tame Myra, it sparks a shocking disaster, ripping lives apart. Bloodroot is the dark and riveting story of the legacies-of magic and madness, faith and secrets, passion and loss-that haunt one family across the generations.

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