time in the garden...

I guess I could complain like everyone seems to be doing about the heat.  I am definitely not a fan of hot weather. Instead I am choosing to be grateful.  I am thankful for the air conditioning and the fans that keep our house nice and cool.  I am sure that it definitely does help my gratefulness.  If I were hot non-stop, I think I might struggle with gratitude.  

Instead, I can wander out into my treetop garden and celebrate the fact that the heat is creating the need to harvest several times a day. I am able to keep my dehydrator filled and running almost non-stop right now.  The cayenne peppers are bountiful this year and each time I walk outside it seems like more of them are vibrant red.  This is the first year that I have had more than five or six to last throughout the year.

I'm trying out something new with the abundance of cherry tomatoes.  I've sliced them at a quarter inch and sprinkled them with the garlic salt, made from the scapes. They are in the dehydrator now, if all goes well, they will dry and become a slightly chewy chip. Fingers crossed. And if they aren't something we like as a snack, they are definitely something I can toss into various recipes, just like the powder I made from the dehydrated tomato skins. 

I'm did most of my Monday chores yesterday, I have a lot going on this week.  I was given a couple of bags cucumbers and decided to make cinnamon pickles.  Sometimes known as Christmas pickles. I've never tried them, but when you have an entire sink full of slightly larger cucumbers you need to come up with some use for them. 

I didn't realize they took 5 days before coming to an actual canning stage.  Day two was the most labor intensive if you don't count peeling a sink full of cucumbers.  We won't be able to taste them until day 4 at the soonest.  Hopefully, I am not wasting an incredible amount of time and they are as delicious as everyone says they are.  After all, we were pretty darn happy with the pickled brussel sprouts, and they sure didn't sound all that good. 

Waste not, want not.  

when a squirrel does the planting 
they know nothing about spacing...

All of these blistery hot days are definitely paying off.  It looks like one of the squirrels decided to plant a few tomato plants for me.  I'm debating on what I am going to do with the little volunteer plants that have popped up. I definitely don't have enough bed space to let them all grow, although I absolutely despise pulling them and letting them die. I have no idea which ones are growing, although I am pretty sure that we have enough warm weather ahead for at least another harvest before this season ends. Based on where they are located I am guessing either a cherry tomato or a chocolate cherry tomato.  Both have produced wonderfully. 

cherry tomatoes

Hungarian sweet peppers

gypsy peppers

mini peppers

jalapenos... soon to be jelly

Hubs and I spent the late afternoon in the garden.  Cleaning it up, weeding, tying up tomatoes (did I mention that the tomatoes are going crazy this year?) pruning here and there all the little things that help it continue to produce so well.  I think I am going to fertilize today and plant a few more cow peas.  That should wrap it up.  

I have two more bags of potatoes to check on, they might even be ready to harvest.  Then it's time to decide what I am planting for fall in those bags.  Part of me wants more potatoes, but then I start to consider some beets.  I'm also getting ready to plant the fall lettuces again.  As the season starts to change there are more shaded areas where they will grow well.  Maybe some onions?  And I am waiting slightly impatiently to plant my garlic for next spring. 

The garden definitely consumed the greater part of yesterday.  It's all good, if it hadn't that would mean it isn't thriving. 

not sure why Belle thinks she's a fern...
or why she is in the planter...

Thankfully the weather has cooled a bit today, so it will not be so miserable when I head out to mow the grass.  After I finish the morning chores I will head up to the sewing room for a bit.  I didn't get much made this weekend and need to refocus myself. We headed to a few antique shops and found a few more feed sacks and vintage embroidery work.  My goal is to have 20 of the beautiful pin cushions made by Wednesday.  Shouldn't be hard.  Then I am going to mix it up a bit, I want to create thread catchers/pin cushions with them.  

I bought a very plain one at a quilt show not long ago and I am in LOVE.  I take it with me everywhere that I will be crafting.  It has completely changed my frustration level when doing hand work. I will make a small assortment of those before moving on to the next project.  I can't believe we are already moving into August. 

Tomorrow is the eldest daughter's birthday.  Mine will follow a few days later and then my beautiful grand daughter is two days later.   She and I will do something together to celebrate this year.  I am so thankful for that.  She growing up so fast that before long my sweet girl will be off living her own life and that day between birthday celebration will become the stuff memories are made of. 

I haven't forgotten about 2 Timothy 4:3-4, I'm simply still processing it.  It ties in so soundly with the message that pastor shared yesterday on John 9.  So many thoughts are swirling in my head and I need time to process, maybe ask a few questions.  I am finding the more I think I understand, the more I need to question, the more connections and truths I am finding.  Talk about sliding down rabbit holes. 

Well the sun is starting to rise, soon it will be time to take care of outside chores, so I'd better get busy and finish the inside one. Time is wasting... And I don't wish to waste the blessings from the father...

love and prayers... b

how does it grow...

This morning as I sat in the coolness of the garden with the pups around 430 am, I started to idly scrolling through social media, basically hoping to stay just awake enough for them to take care of business, but not so awake that I wouldn't fall back asleep.  

The first thing that popped up for me was a verse from the bible.  Ironically, it was not on a page noted for being "religious", more so for being holistic medicine.  I feel I was meant to see it, because this particular page hadn't been showing up for me lately... you know algorithms and such. 

It was 2 Timothy 4:3. "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching.  But having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.  And will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." Those words were written around 2000 years ago, give or take a couple of hundred.  Yet reading them this morning it was as if it was describing our world today.  Are we living in that coming time?

One of the pastors that I listen to almost daily often says the Bible is a living document and the reason we should spend time reading it is because of the revelation knowledge that will come to us. She says that we can read a verse many times and then one day that verse will make complete sense. 

Our pastor that renewed our vows for us last night often says the same thing basically.  And even last night as he shared 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and it's deeper meaning with us.  I felt the same resonance. So many fail to realize the deeper meaning and to steal his words use it as a Hallmark card moment.  It isn't a Hallmark card, it is the deeper love that can only come when you invite Jesus into each moment. 

The words are living.  The words are there. 

This morning as Hubs and I sat and enjoyed our coffee and puppies in our normal morning routine we talked about how special our renewal ceremony was to both of us.  In truth, I did not feel strongly one way or the other about the renewal.  I'd promised to love, honor and cherish him 20 years before, I didn't realize the impact renewing the action would have on my heart. 

This morning, I am very thankful that it was the one thing Hubs truly wanted to do.  How many of us married folk flippantly say "of course I'd marry you again" and of course you truly mean it. But do you realize the power of it?   I can't say that I really did.  

It was only 30 minutes total of our life, nothing much really, if you look at it like that.  But standing there in the stillness of the darkened sanctuary, with just us and our pastors surrounded by the love and blessing of our heavenly father... it was so powerful, so affirming, so renewing.  There aren't really words to encompass it, the description fails me. 

that smile though!

I know I had tears running down my cheeks as we shared our hearts, prayed for the strength and love in our marriage and that of others, we both giggled a bit when our pastor reminded us to answer in the affirmative (if not it was going to get really weird to quote PK), Hubs later shared that his knees were shaking a bit through the ceremony, and through it all we felt blessed. 

We finished the day enjoying a wonderful dinner at one of Hubs' favorite restaurants with the girl and her precious daughters, so perfect since she was unable to be at our first wedding. She believes, as do we, that time spent with family is far more important than any gifts that can be given. 

Today officially starts the first full day of our next 20 years, and Hubs is already making plans for our next renewal. 

Marriage takes work. 

Hubs and I were talking about that this morning.  It isn't so much work like manual labor, but for some I guess it could be. As I was caring for the garden this morning after he left for work, it occurred to me that caring for a marriage is a lot like caring for my garden.  

You have to constantly evaluate things, prune away and discard diseased or damaged branches.  Those simply suck the life out of the plant and it will cease to be fruitful.  If either of you have inadvertently hurt or damaged the marriage, it needs to be dealt with then tossed in the compost pile.  It doesn't mean it wasn't there, it simply means that it doesn't need to stay there forever and rot the entire thing.  Besides once it is addressed and tossed in the compost pile, several things happen the compost pile decomposes it and it becomes a rich nutrient filled soil so that the garden can continue to thrive for years to come. And the plant heals, grows stronger because the damage has been removed, it thrives and is more fruitful than ever. 

You also have to weed it, removing things that do not belong.  I pulled the start of a small tree out of the middle of pepper plant this morning.  It was deeply buried beneath the foliage and if I hadn't been harvesting I would have missed it. As it was it was already about 3 inches tall.  If I had left it, it would have eventually killed the pepper plant.  I might have had a tree of some kind, but I am growing peppers. A marriage isn't really all that different. There are things that pop up, that aren't exactly bad on their own, and in the correct environment, but they sure don't belong in the middle of your marriage. Well, let me amend that... Jesus belongs in the middle, just like the frame that holds up those heavily laden fruit filled branches. 

It takes commitment.  Every morning I water my garden, unless it's raining and then I take time to thank God for the extra hand in the garden.  How often do we not take time to water our marriages daily.  My sweet Hubs has been making my coffee every morning for over twenty years, well he's missed maybe .01% of the days... shoot probably less than that. I told him when we were first dating that the Bible says men should make the coffee (Hebrews - duh - oh yeah I'm a brat), he definitely took it to heart.  It's probably the littlest thing in the world, but to me it screams I love you. 

If I fail to nourish the garden it ceases to produce and goes into full blown survival mode.  Wilting, yellowing, dying.  I grow my garden in planters, the only nutrients they get come from me.  When I get wrapped up in other things I sometimes forget to feed them and I quickly notice. A marriage or relationship of any kind is the same way.  We are all kind of like pots, if we aren't given external nourishment, we falter and fail.  

It also means a lot less of self. How many times are we tempted to put our own lives, desires, hobbies, goals etc ahead of our husbands or wives?  All of us fall to that, again we are human after all.  Sometimes that movie, sewing project, work project gets us all wrapped up, we lose track of time, we fail to do what we promised.  Not out of meanness or neglect, we don't intend to ignore, but sometimes we do.  It takes work to return our focus to where it needs to be. If I ignore my garden and fail to give it the proper attention, it rapidly becomes out of control, weed filled and in this heat wilted and dying. Time has to be made to take care of it. 

Our marriage isn't perfect, we are imperfect human beings.  Sometimes we fail one another.  Sometimes we cause pain, even when we don't mean to. Both of us pray over the other and we have always invited God into the middle of everything, even when we might not have admitted it to each other. 

I'm thankful for our life.  I cherish our love.  Over two decades ago God led me to my dear sweet Hubs, I am going to continue to lean into God to continue to be the best wife and life partner that I can be.  I'm looking forward to the rest of this incredible story. 

a kiss to build a dream on...

I guess I never bounced back to 2 Timothy... somehow I got lost in remembering the beauty of yesterday. It's definitely a verse that I am going to be spending more time exploring and striving to "learn" from. 

For now... I am going to wrap this one up and get ready to go to the dentist... ugghhh.... 

love and prayers... b

time flies...

Twenty years... Some moments it feels like an instant, others time feels like it is eternal.  What a joy it has been.  About this time twenty years ago, I was getting ready to get up on a horse for the first time in my life.  Actually I was questioning my sanity.  Not about getting married, nope that was the one thing I was positive about.  But that horse thing... what was I thinking?  I'd never ridden one, wasn't in the best of health and here I decided I could just saddle up and away we'd go.

Twenty years ago it seemed like every one and their brother had a "warning" or a negative thought concerning our marriage.  We could not seem to please anyone and finally reached a point that we were simply going to please ourselves.  

Not every one could be there.  We missed them.  Even as we realized that their life choices were theirs and we could not keep rearranging our life around others. There were moments that it felt like we were having to make a deal with the devil just to have the youngest kids with us.  

We decided against a church wedding.  We'd both been married before, no sense in that, it seemed over the top and so very expensive.  As we thought and searched for the perfect place for us the Dinner Bell Ranch appeared. The memories of that trip and those moments are so clear, even though the number of pictures is so small.  Digital camera's were new, the photographer didn't mean to erase them all.  Thankfully, we have a few small ones.  Although, I don't need pictures to remember it at all. 

At the top of the ridge, overlooking the valley, terrified of getting off my horse for fear I would not get back on we exchanged our vows.  With the family that was able to make it, in the midst of nature we pledged our love and lives to one another.  

The ride up and down the hill terrified me.  I mean, I knew I was marrying an accomplished rider, I didn't realize that I would be holding on for dear life (at least in my mind that is how it felt) with my in season horse following his horse's every move. Mr. Smarty Pants loving being in the saddle again was not exactly sticking straight to the trail. When we finally returned to the bottom I wanted nothing more than to possibly kiss the ground.  It's been twenty years and I haven't gotten on a horse again.  I'm good. 

What an amazing journey it has been.  We've dealt with some harsh blows, always leaning into our love and our faith to see us through.  We've had adventures and chased dreams.  Always side by side.  We've faced tragedy, joy, births and deaths, we've faced the sickness and in health thing several times, through it all we've been holding hands and keeping one another's hearts safe from harm. 

All those naysayers... well, they sure got it wrong.  Yep, we are as different as night and day and yet we are also the same in many, many ways.  He's far more outgoing than I am.  He has a wicked sense of humor and never fails to remind me of it.  He's the hopeless romantic, never ceasing to surprise me.  He is the dreamer.  I'm the pragmatic one.  Happiest in my tiny circle.  I have been accused of having no sense of humor, yet somehow I still manage to make him laugh at the darnedest times.  I live in the now, feet firmly to the ground.  And when I do actually do something romantic, I've been known to make tears run down his cheek (shhhh... don't tell him I told you that).

I rarely do things without my sweet Hubs, he rarely does them without me.  We are two halves of a whole and we truly love being together.  It works for us.  Sure we have moments we get frustrated or fired up, I mean we are human.  Whenever he says he wishes he'd married me decades ago, I gently remind him we wouldn't have made it if that had happened.  

We both had to grow into the people that we became.  We both had rough edges to smooth and obstacles to face.  God knew when the time was right, because he's guided our steps and led us to where we are.  For everyone that said I wasn't his type... so true.  I wasn't that type.  Thank goodness, because I ended up being THE type.  

This afternoon, in a very private ceremony we will renew our vows.  This time it will be in a physical church, just us, our pastors and in the presence of God.  We will celebrate stepping into our next twenty years. 

I am so very blessed.  I married my own knight in shining armor, someone that protects me, provides for me, doesn't try to change me.  Someone that accepts the quirky, strange, flawed human that I am and loves me unconditionally.  I might not be a knight in shining armor, but I assure you I love, cherish, protect, honor and care for him just as strongly!  Although I still struggle with the obey part. 

I love this wonderful, silly, romantic man with all of my heart.  More today than I did twenty years ago, if that is possible.  Giggles, laughs, adventures, bumps and bruises all of it rolls up to make this an amazing life!  I mean who else is gifted black and blue toilet paper for their 20th wedding anniversary?  I mean besides this girl!

There will be no horses tonight.  We spent the morning in nature playing with our pups in a stream.  That is the closest we will get to recreating our wedding.  

There is a line from a country song that has always resonated for both of us, "God bless the broken road that led me straight to you". Both of us had traveled journeys to get to where we are, those journey's left wounds that neither of us expected to ever heal.  Now twenty years later, they are simply minor faded scars that do not have the ability to harm us, we have each other, the rest simply doesn't matter.

Thank you God for guiding me to him.  Thank you for your blessings... 

love and prayers... B

Give us this day...

It's so quiet in the house this morning.  Sweet Hubs had to be to work basically in the middle of the night.  There is a big project starting today, having been in the same line of work, I completely understand the insanity of the hours sometimes. It isn't an everyday occurrence, but there are times.  This month has had a lot of those times.  Mostly caused by the insane weather we have had this month.  It's been crazy.  Today is just a normal big project. 

I have been puttering in the silence taking care of my chores for the day.  That way I won't feel guilty when I head into one of the craft spaces.  I feel like today is going to be wrapped up in the sewing room.  I am not all together sure what inspired me to sign up for a craft show, when I have very little inventory made up... oh well, it's a done deal now, so time to hustle.  

Add that to it's harvest season and I am seriously questioning my own sanity.  This years' garden has been so very bountiful, that I cannot seem to keep up.  What an incredible challenge to have.  As I walk around harvesting and watering I thank God for such blessings.  I mean today alone our meals will contain roasted potatoes and peppers from the garden and steamed green beans.  There will also be salads of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers that are multiplying at a rate that seems impossible. 

Yup... that's a cuke I missed... Not sure what
to do with that...

Yesterday alone I harvested 8 cayenne peppers that are dehydrating as I type.  The beautiful plants are covered with peppers and each day yields more and more.  We use a lot of red pepper in our cooking, so who could possibly complain about something like that? A bit later today I will harvest a few more of the chamomile buds and also some white clover buds.  I am dehydrating those for a variety of purposes.  They make a wonderful cup of tea or I can put them in tinctures and oils for medicinal use. I haven't really started drying the herbs yet, although I really need to get organized.  And it's time to start planning and planting the fall garden. 

Yep... I might have been a touch crazy.  

The reason that I chose the name Waste Knot, Want Knot is because of the fact that I want the entire focus to be on upcycling, reusing, repurposing and using up what I already have, bits, pieces, scraps of this or that.  

Our great grandmothers and grandfathers survived several times in our country's history that were not bountiful or plentiful.  In fact the great depression destroyed many, it also brought forth some incredibly strong and creative people.  Ones that were able to not only survive, but thrive.  If you are here today, you probably have a healthy dose of that strength and ingenuity.  

Not all of us use that part of ourselves.  We've allowed society to create newer and better (that part is seriously questionable) things.  All in the name of making our lives easier. I'm not so sure it's made life easier.  In fact I would propose that it has made us slaves to a commercial system, one where we trade bits and pieces of our very souls in exchange for the next great thing.  

For years I have written about my own struggles with work/life balance.  Oddly, I work harder now than I ever did for someone else.  But the balance is 100% about living my best life. As that has evolved for me over the past two plus years I am even more inclined to think like my ancestors did.  

I don't know all of my family tree, but the parts I do know tell a story of strong people.  People that were survivors.  Some of the areas they settled in give new meaning to the phrase "dirt poor".  Then I follow those family lines, I realize that not only did they survive, they thrived and flourished.

Use it up, use it out, make it do or do without.  For years I have said that verse here in this blog as well as a personal mantra. Hubs and I are often tinkering on this or that, finding solutions that we didn't even know we had.  Now that I have the time, energy and my health has returned and is balanced I find myself being drawn more and more into using my imagination and skills.  There aren't really enough hours in the day for everything I dream of doing, probably some of the reason that my sleep has been spotty and disrupted.  

back of cherries

first one from old doily and feedsacks

Kitty embroidery and feedsacks

backing of kitty from practice quilting

Once I finally have enough inventory, I will figure out the next steps.  I'm focusing on having faith in the path that God is leading me down.  There are many sustainable solutions using the resources we already have available to us. Why do we feel compelled to buy new when something that already exists is heading for a landfill?

I just finished the third kid's jacket/vest that I upcycled, I enjoy stitching on them so much.  Especially during the evening hours sitting with Hubs and unwinding.  I am not someone that can sit still.  My hands just need to be engaged.  I might have been told too many times as a child that "idle hands are the devil's playground".  Who knows. What I do know is that when I am not busy doing something, I feel ill at ease and restless.  I'd rather feed that beast than deal with those feelings.  If you are ever at my house you will find many odds and ends that fill nooks and crannies, so that no matter where I find myself, I am always in a space of being able to be busy. 

Waste Knot, Want Knot will not have a common style to what you will find.  Sort of.  What it will have is an assortment of useful items created from things bound for waste.  This will cater to my need to change things up, I get bored doing the same things over and over, and also allow me to work with whatever I have acquired and have thought of a new use for.  Today might very well involve some old fan blades, the sewing room and I have a few projects for the crafting room as well.  I also have a few things that need to happen with my precious long arm.  See... I am coming up with far more than I have hours of the day to fill.  Such a beautiful gift to have. 

Well, I'd love to chat about my hopes and dreams for where all of this is going, the plan for it's future and all of that good stuff... but the clock is ticking today and I have a few more minor things to take care of before I can get busy.  I plan to take tomorrow off completely and spend it with my dear sweet Hubs and our pups.  We've had several ideas but we really aren't sure which path we will follow.  I mean, for us it is such a special day... 20 years... be still my heart.  

love and prayers...

still...

Hubs' brought me my coffee and woke me up to see the strange color of the sky this morning, we were both a bit stunned.  Before sunrise the entire sky was filled with an eerie orange glow, the sun is not up enough at 5 am usually to affect the sky like that. I tried to get a picture, but nothing would capture it. It was dense and so very orange, looked like you could reach out and touch it. 

Even though it was eerie it was oddly calming and peaceful too.  The Lou had rolling thunder for most of the night and both of us had struggled with sleep. All night I could hear my grandpa's voice, telling me not to fear the thunder, it was simply the angels bowling. If that is the case, it was definitely a tournament of sorts. 

It's been crazy quiet these past few hours.  I was out in the garden in between rain bursts, just like I do every morning.  I was pruning, harvesting, praying not necessarily in that order.  The time I spend in my garden fills my heart, it's my quiet time with the Lord.  Normally the air is filled to capacity with birds, squirrels, the various critters waking up to face the day.  I just heard the first bird song a short bit ago.  And it was a solo voice. No responding tweet happened.  It's strange. 

Maybe they heard Sunday's message.  Maybe? Psalms 46:10.  Be still, and know that I am God. I know I am listening.  Oddly enough two of the pastors that listen to had that message in the past week. Seems pretty relevant in the times we are living in. 

I spent some time out there in the silence, picking tomatoes, trying to decide if I want to harvest the peppers or give them a bit more time to grow, pondering if I was feeling sturdy enough to walk down in the mud to harvest green beans and accepting the fact that the yard was not going to get mowed today.  All the while thinking, feeling his presence.  

Many times throughout my life I have turned into myself.  Not choosing to hear that quiet stillness.  Thinking that I knew better how to move forward with my life.  I always reflect on those arrogant moments and feel very humbled.  Each time, God brought me to my knees, as any good parent would.  And as soon as I turned back to him, the struggle, the challenge, the rough spot disappeared. I am striving to be a more dutiful daughter, to listen with my heart.  To be still.  

I was allowing this crazy mixed up world to seriously affect me. The more I give in to being still, the more calm I have become. The strange orange silence this morning felt like an affirmation that I am on the right path. 

After a wonderful dinner with new friends from church on Monday night, I spent most of yesterday catching up on podcasts and doing needlework after I finished my morning chores.  Today will be likely more of the same.  I am addicted to embroidery work right now and working on several youth projects for the craft show in September.  I am not finished with this little vest, but I am quite thrilled with how it is turning out. 

make a wish

I also have some projects to work on in my studio, I am seriously trying to vary my projects.  Now that I have full use of my thumb again (FYI - frankincense oil is such a blessing) I don't want to do mess it up again.  Almost six months of healing was enough to remind me to not push it. I was hoping to get some soaps made, but the weather is far too damp for that, it will take forever to set up.  

larger one I am working on

The next few months will be busy and fruitful. Very much so.  If I could simply get my head to slow down with new ideas.  It is definitely going faster than my fingers can keep up with. Hubs' thought yesterday's project would take me longer than it did, unfortunately not everything can take me a full day or I will have a very sad booth at Kinmundy.

Well... the sun is finally breaking through the deep heavy blanket of clouds, I am starting to hear more bird songs, so I guess that is my cue to get busy with the day.  Anyone else jumping in?  

Make today count.  But please remember to be still, if only for a few precious moments, be still...

love and prayers