Still Waters

Yesterday was a pretty typical day. It began early, with class planning, grading, and research. That's one of the lovely things about worshiping on a Saturday night- the Sunday morning quiet in the house and the determined application of mind to task. There was much to be done- I needed to plan activities for my British Lit class on connotations and imagery. The math class I was facilitating was starting a new book, and I needed to prepare for that. And later that evening I was giving an evaluation in reading to a sweet little girl. Oh, and of course my own kids' work needed grading!

When my husband asked if I'd like to get outside for a walk, though, I didn't hesitate! It was gorgeous, take-your-breath-away weather, with sunny, clear skies, cool temperatures, and green buds everywhere. We gathered up our kids (at least the ones who like to walk) and headed out the door and around the corner to Gourd Island Conservation Area, one of our favorite hiking spots. It felt so good to stretch my legs! The grasses were blowing, the insects were buzzing, and all the pressures of life slipped from my shoulders.

Irises along the banks of a stream

We deviated a little on the hike, and took a path we'd never taken before and came upon this scene. The waters were still. The flowers were brilliant. All was calm. It was such a delicious delight, such a supreme surprise to find this piece of prettiness.

It was like what the psalmist sang when he wrote of being led beside the still waters. It restored my soul. It gave me energy, joy, and peace that carried me through the rest of my busy day, and it is staying with me even today.

I am reminded of Walden.

“We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.” 

― Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods

The tonic of wilderness. Yes, I needed that yesterday, and it will carry me through today! I hope it won't be too long before I can return, refill, and refresh.

Be blessed.

Musings and Meanderings

It's been a long time, I know. As time goes on, it approaches a sense of awkwardness when I update my blog. It's as if I have dropped a thread of a relationship that must be re-knit before I can claim that close friendship again. And so I begin the dance of approach avoidance. This can drag on for quite awhile until the better part of me ultimately slays the reluctance beast and writing resolutely resumes.

So, what have I been up to that's taken me away from this blog? Ultimately it's come down to travel, school, and illness, not all occurring at the same time. Towards the beginning of February, I flew out to Kansas to meet Dad and begin the annual trek with him down south in whatever iteration of camper he has for that year. I've gone down now four different years in a row, and I've stayed in three different campers! This year I had the pleasure of riding down in his truck rather than in a motor home, and we hauled a camper behind us.

For me, it was an especially memorable time when, on the very day I arrived, we drove out to Langley, KS. Langley is essentially a ghost town now, but back in the day it was a vibrant community situated in Kansas along the railroad tracks. Dad lived, worshipped, and went to school in this tiny place. My mother, along with my grandparents and some cousins, is buried out there, in an intimate and peaceful cemetery. I feel very connected when I am there.

Our visit to Langley Church was especially poignant for me. It was a typical rural church in the '40s, served by a traveling preacher. My dad's family was part of the congregation. On cold, snowy, blustery days, the first congregant to arrive was set the task to start the fire and clear a path for those who would follow.

How Langley Church looked back in the day.

As time went on, Langley Church eventually closed down. The farmers who had worshipped in its sanctuary drove into town, and the small building sat alone and untended on top of the hill. Time took its toll on the little white building, but when it came time to tear it down, no one had the heart to do it. My aunt and uncle eventually had the building hauled from its original site to their rural farm property less than a mile away. That's where Dad and I drove as the sun sank into the still earth.

Where Dad stands is where the original entryway was located. Sadly, that is no more.

Coyotes called as we crawled out of the warm cab into the quiet, peaceful, and chilly air. I smiled at the familiar sound. It reminded me of my childhood sleepovers spent at Grandma's house.

We didn't stay long. It was getting late and the sun was nearly gone. I managed to capture a few snaps of the property, and then it was time to crawl back into the warmth of Dad's truck. It took me, and I think it also took Dad, a few moments to compose ourselves. That ground is sacred to us, and we each of us felt it.

Up the hill is where the church was located.

It was nearly dark when we got back to town. We were both quiet. I marveled at how the workings of just a few decades can change so much, and I wondered what would be gone by the time I reached my father's age. And what would still stand.

Sunset at Langley Cemetery 

Paddle (almost) to the Sea

One of my favorite activities to do while on vacation is rent a canoe and explore the area. I love the quietness of the adventure. Wildlife have no fear of dripping oars, and usually I'm treated to some special sighting of some animal. For years I've daydreamed about having a canoe for our family. This week, that dream was fulfilled when hubby and I purchased an Old Town Canoe, the Saranac 160. A green, 16-foot behemoth, this canoe promises lots of future adventures for our family. We went on our first one yesterday.

Dearest Daughter dressed for fun!

Not far from our house, about five minutes by car, is a put-in spot for the Bartram Canoe Trail, and I had often driven by it and dreamed of a day when our family could explore it. The canoe only holds three people, so Brett and I took our daughter for the first outing. We loaded up the canoe on top of the Highlander, drove on over and turned down under the bridge.

One of two entrance spots

It was a beautiful but chilly day. The sun was out for the first time in over a week. We eagerly unloaded the canoe and set out for a little adventure.

Our first view on the water

The still water made for beautiful reflections!

Why yes, that is my trusty Tom Bihn Synapse 19, hard at work!

The Saranac 160 is called the mini van of canoes, and it's easy to see why. Although it's heavy, it is stable and tracks well. There's plenty of on-board storage, and each of us had a nice hot beverage sitting in a cup holder next to us. My iPhone sat close by in a dry well...just in case. There are convenient places to put fishing rods, although we didn't bring any. Our mission was strictly exploration, fun, and photography. Serendipitously, my daughter had a photography assignment for the week to capture reflections in water. I would say she succeeded! This trip was full of beautiful photographic moments featuring reflections!

While on the water we were treated to seeing birds, squirrels, one water moccasin (could have done without that one) and even a loud beaver busily at work!

Very happy paddlers!

The trail we were on will carry you eventually to Durbin Creek. From there it opens to the St. Johns River, which is an outlet to the Atlantic Ocean. We only explored about a mile or so out from the put-in, but I'm looking forward to further adventures in future days.

On the return trip to home

We have so many places we want to explore now. Once duck season is done, one of the first will be the Guana Tolomato Matanzas Estuarine Research Reserve, which serves as a nursery for many forms of marine life, including dolphins and manatees. I've purchased a couple of canoe and kayak guides to get us started. I am amazed at how many places there are within a short drive from our home. Adventure awaits! It's time to get paddling!

Here's a map of our adventures, for any who may be interested.

Chill

Winter has come to Florida! Since it is an occasion to be remarked upon and remembered, lasting for only approximately 48 hours out of the year, I thought I'd take a moment and capture the essence. I'm sitting in front of the fire, a cup of steaming rooibos tea (still fasting!) in front of me, and a gingery bundle of fluff supervising my writing.

The house is still, silent, and somnolent. A breeze is a susurrus in the background. I am snuggled in one of my hand knit wool sweaters, and somewhere in the distance I hear a cat faintly purring. It's a perfect time for a poem!

The Darkling Thrush

By Thomas Hardy

I leant upon a coppice gate
When Frost was spectre-grey,
And Winter's dregs made desolate
The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
Had sought their household fire.

The land's sharp features seemed to be
The Century's corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon earth
Seemed fevourless as I.

At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom.

So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware.

I heard on the radio this morning that approximately 85% of the country is below freezing. Stay warm everyone, and have a blessed day!

Turnings

It's the turn of a new year. With that, it makes me want to capture the time and slow it down. The older I get, the more time slips away from me, as water through my finger tips. My children grow, and in turn grow taller than me. One more wrinkle appears on my tired mommy forehead. An ache in my shoulder becomes an everyday companion. And through it all I rush, heedless of time, allowing the tyranny of the urgent to overrule and dominate in my life. It is a never-ending cycle I beat back all the time, like weeds invading a garden.

This year, as in past years, I am participating in our church's annual Daniel Fast. I'm adding to it, however, a fast from my favorite forums, including FaceBook. I'm two days in and I'm feeling the loss, but not in the way I'd imagined. I feel it much like a child who loses a tooth, and keeps searching for it with her tongue, feeling the gap in her mouth. I've worn a path over the past almost ten years of building relationship online through places like Ravelry. I have friends, support, and fun, and that is all well and good. It has been since I obtained the "i" devices, an iPhone and iPad, though, that I found spare seconds were spent there that perhaps could have been spent in more productive ways. And so now I find myself prayerfully separating myself for a time, to see if I can rediscover those odd moments in life that I crave:  time to create, to relate, and to reflect.

It's early yet, but so far I've discovered time to sit, read, study, and knit. Spinning has even popped back into my life. And real letter writing to friends. And journaling. One of my true delights is time spent first thing in the morning reading and contemplating A Year with C. S. Lewis, a book I've owned for far too long and have barely dusted off. His essays make me think in all the good ways that I used to do. I'm reading my Bible, and I managed, in just three days, to finish getting my work completed so that I could become an IEW Registered Instructor. I'm embarrased to admit that I first began the process way back in 2012, and put it aside until now, but it's done!

For my knitting, I'm working on a simple shawl, Gaskell.

It's knit with Cascade Eco+

I'm looking forward to more spindle spinning over the next month or so. I was so blessed to receive a Moosie spindle by the Bosworth's as a Christmas gift, and I can hardly wait to give it a twirl! I'm finishing up some merino on a Trindle at the moment, but I think I'll select something over the weekend to start with my new treasure.

Oh yes, and I finished my "Just for You," project on time and was able to wear it to Christmas Eve services! I love wearing it. The Cadena yarn from Knit Picks was a perfect choice!

I pray the 2015 year is one full of blessings for you. I pray it is a time of drawing closer to family, to community, to Christ. Be blessed!

Mysterious

While I have been a Knitter for many years now (in fact, I feel the Knitter inside of me has been always a part of me, I just didn't recognize her for a few years), I still have many aspects of the craft yet to explore. As an inducement to challenge myself when I was learning to knit for the second time (long story), I signed myself up to work on a mystery knit-along featuring lace and beads. Mystery knit-alongs, for the uninitiated, happen simultaneously as a group affair, via email back in the old days, or Ravelry in the present, and as an individual activity, in the privacy of your own home or wherever you may be when actually knitting. For me in that first mystery knit-along, that just happened to be my local library in Centerville, OH.

For one glorious night each week, I fled the confines of my home and my three beautiful, yet needy small children. While Daddy took over the ship, I drove to the library, knitting bag clutched in an exhausted hand, and found a quiet, secluded spot in which to contemplate the nuances of charted instructions and make my work mimic that of the pattern designer's. Week after week a new clue would be revealed. Over time, I found it was a beautiful lace stole, Swan Lake, by Melanie Gibbons of Pink Lemon Twist. How did I learn this? It certainly wasn't from finishing it. Alas, to this day it is languishing half-knit in one of my knitting bins. Instead I watched as others from this fabulous group of knitters proudly posted their finished objects to our YahooGroup. I just wasn't yet experienced enough to keep up. I will say that my time was definitely not wasted. It taught me valuable skills, namely chart reading, which I prefer to this day over written directions, and the ever valuable SSK (slip, slip, knit). It also taught me to love lace. But I digress...

Years, in fact probably more than a decade, has passed since that mystery shawl. Over that time I have continued refining my knitting skills. I have successfully knit, and even designed, several lace shawls. Lace is my favorite thing to work on, and I truly enjoy the challenges it throws at me. But since that time I have never done another mystery knit-along. Perhaps it was because of my first failure. Perhaps it's because I was worried I wouldn't like the end result. Perhaps (and more likely) it was because of my time constraints of homeschooling three precocious kids. At any rate, while I've signed up for countless mystery knit-along patterns, to this day I have never begun one until this week.

Laura Aylor, who designed one of my favorite yet-to-be-knit-with-my-needles shawl, Cinnamon Toast, came out with a Christmas mystery knit-along called, Just For You. I just so happened to find it offered on Ravelry, and, on a whim, signed up for it. I really didn't think too much of it, but thought that I might actually work on it for once. The planning sheet was posted and I duly went stash diving. When I found four skeins of Knit Picks Cadena sitting in my bin, I was in.

70% Peruvian Highland Wool, 30% Superfine Alpaca, 110 yards/100 grams

Day one came and I woke up early for it. It was just me, the yarn, some hot, savory tea, and a cat cuddled up on my lap. The idea behind this knit-along is different than my first one. Instead of weekly clues, it is daily. It isn't lace, and it isn't complicated. Worked on bulky yarn, progress is quickly made, and by the 24th, all will be complete. While I don't know exactly how it will turn out, by now I am having a pretty good idea.

Here I am in my hideout on day 2.

It will eventually grow to be some sort of poncho/cowl thing. Normally, living in Florida as I do, I wouldn't knit something like this. Perhaps that is part of the novelty and joy of it. I'm knitting for the delight of discovery. I'm knitting for myself. It feels a bit like a guilty pleasure, stealing this hour or so every day to do it, but I can tell I'm happier and more relaxed. I wonder if I would take this time for myself every Christmas if it would become a more peaceful and joyous time versus the inevitable rushing and accompanying stress.

For today's clue (Day 4- we are more than halfway done!) I woke at 6:00. I have a cold, which is never fun, but with a lightness of heart I brewed the morning's cuppa, slipped into my comfy spot, queued my book (Herland, by Charlotte Perkins Gilman as podcast by Heather of Craftlit) and picked up my needles with the newest clue. The house was quiet except for the orange bundle of fluff purring on my lap. As I listened to the fabulous satire of Gilman, my project grew before my eyes.

Today's iteration

Today promises to be a busy day. I have cleaning, laundry, baking, and wrapping waiting for me in abundance. I have, however, seized the day for myself, and know that I can face it with a smile, with anticipation for tomorrow's clue to entertain and entice me. May you also find some small way to find beauty in the flurry of the festivities around you. God bless!

Hump

When our family decided to join Summit Homeschool Co-op this past fall, I thought that 31 weeks of academics sounded like an awfully long time. I worried that we wouldn't be able to keep the pace of early mornings, prepared and packed lunches, and (perhaps most importantly) that I wouldn't stay on top of my class duties. The hump, however, has arrived, and I'm pleasantly surprised at how quickly the time has flown!

Originally the plan was for me to teach one class, British Literature. You know the poem, though, "The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men/ Gang aft agley." (It's Robert Burns, and yes, we've covered that one this year!). Anyway, about a quarter the way through the year I picked up a middle school math class as well. There are three of the sweetest students in it, and I'm all the richer for it! We are using Math-U-See for our text, and in so many ways I feel like I've come back to a good friend. I have gone through the book with my own kiddos three times already, and I'm having a blast working through it again with these kids.

For our last class before Christmas break, I surprised the kids with a math project. This year the kids are working on fractions, so for our class time I found a recipe that made up cookies in a jar, and I had the kids triple the recipe (3 kiddos in the class) so they could each make a Christmas gift to give their parents, grandparents, or someone special in their life. Instead of working problem after problem on their white boards (I love white boards!), instead the kids worked out their fractions on the recipe and then worked together to mix it up.

Sugar!

And lots of chocolate chips!

Make yummy Christmas gifts!

Needless to say, my poor Brit Lit students didn't have the fun of making up cookie mixes. Instead my gift to my literary students was a story. One of my favorites at Christmas time is Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales. After we covered the exigencies of high school English life (namely how to merge quotes in literary analysis essays) I regaled them with Thomas' vivid descriptions of Christmas as a youth in Wales. Alliteration, imagery, onomatopoeia and more techniques abound in that wonderful work. If you haven't read it, please do. It will put you in the mood for Christmas for sure!

Working together to blend quotations.

Don't they look excited?

All right, he looks a little excited (maybe).

So now we are at the hump of our year. I pray that each of the kids has increased in knowledge. I hope the rest of the year will continue to be one of growth and enjoyment. My lit kids are reading through Frankenstein right now, and we will begin working on it when the new year arrives.

Until then, have a blessed Christmas!