January 4, 2008
High Button Shoe
the farm update
Simply Primitives
...soon Primitive Gatherings
....I do not make resolutions for the new year.
Occasionally I admit mentally to a few 'goals', but often they are lost by
mid January and at least by March. Discipline is not my strong
suite. Along with being 'challenged' as they say, by technology, manuals,
anything that requires common sense, anything electronic and definitely
anything that is beyond what I have been shown or found on my own on the
computer while holding my breath in fear of hitting a wrong key..... I
have only limped into this new century. And adding a year to it doesn't
improve my status in the least. One notable conquest is the digital
camera. I am very proud of myself for learning to take pictures with these
miracle cameras, although at the moment I have NO idea where one camera is
after "the move". It took many weeks of a sweat dropped brow to decipher
the cameras. And even now I dread when something goes wrong, as I don't
know how to fix it. Manual defiency I believe the term might be. Like when
it suddenly changed language to Japanese. HOW did that happen? AND you
can't begin to fix it when you don't read Japanese! Yegads. I can't even
read the manual in English!
Seems like everything now days comes down to before
the move or after the move. Before the move, even though I self diagnosed
myself as severely disorganized, I did at least know which room something
was in, what closet, what stack of junk in the basement...the general
proximity of something I was looking for. After the move... I know not!
Even with boxes marked, there are too many boxes and in too many
buildings. While the boxes are organized, I don't know where anything is.
I can't see this being rectified any time soon. So any resolution for #1.
getting organized is for naught. My one goal for this year, as I am weary
of boxes and 'organized' and after all ONE solid year of doing that was
way beyond my range of any discipline, is to have my one flower/herb
garden magnificent again. I find, aside from dirty feet, knees, and bad
fingernails, and aches and pains from weeding, a garden like this is most
calming. In 2007 it was neglected to the point, of almost non existent,
with only the hardiest of perennials growing, in spite of me. And the
winding old 100 year old brick I had one by one handled from a pile from
the old Gundrum Mercantile and moved to the farmhouse--- path remained
only the 9 bricks I did in 2006. You would have thought my theory of
putting in 10 bricks a day would have been do-able. But I never did.
Being move organized, you know. It got in the way of so many things! So
the other 291 and some odd bricks are still stacked in a neat (ORGANIZED)
pile by the gate waiting to be put in. And while Ronnie, who knows how to
do all things (or so he tells me...) had the 'pattern' I was to follow to
lay the bricks in my path, which of course, was not MY pattern I intended
to use, I have long forgotten his pattern, so may just be left to my own
devices, occasionally not practical, and my bricks may not stay in place
as good as his would have...but at least it will be done. Besides, he
needs a good "I told you so.." for me once in a while anyway. Usually he
need not worry about that, as I often give him many instances to use that
phrase on.
I know. That surprises you!
While weary of all the moving, boxes, and loss to
find things, 2007 was a memorable year. Probably one of the happiest for
me. I absolutely LOVE this farmhouse. I continued to follow the rays of
the sun through the house, spending too much time watching it make amazing
shadows and sunlight catching in forgotten places and often times stopping
me dead in my tracks to see a piece of collection engulfed in sunlight
where it would be for only a few moments. Never to be caught the same way
again, as the next days sun wandered into another place and did not follow
the same path. Long believing my energy came from the sun, I now believe
it also calms my soul, in this farmhouse. We amassed over 240 photographs
now of the farmhouse and grounds on the farmhouse CD ( $15 post paid).
Many of these are taken only with the sunlight, and the shadows it made.
2007 also brought new people into my life via our
website, and I am grateful for each one. And especially grateful for the
continued writings of you who have been here longer with me, probably know
me better, and write to me. I have come to know you equally as well and
are blessed by your friendships. I wanted to share some of your writings
to me, with permission, here as many times I am told that you have cried
and laughed with me through my writings.
This was sent to me by Ginny after I wrote about
Esther Gaffney. Many of you responded, and I was touched by each writing.
Ginny's made me cry.
Next week I
will miss seeing you at Bradford and only wish I was closer so that I
could make it to the Cadillac show. This morning I am off to the creek (we
are not blessed with cool weather yet) to put Esther’s name on a stone and
place it in the creek. The stone may never move or it may find its way a
½ mile or so to Center Hill Lake. It is my way of letting the world know
that she indeed did live and is thought of. God put her in your path for a
reason. He has put you in my path to learn. Whether you know it or not I
have learned much from you and your newsletter.
This next excerpt is from Angie from Missouri. I had
lost touch with her for many months after her computer and most household
things got fried in a lightning strike and it took the better part of a
year for her to get back on line. She wrote me this a couple weeks ago,
and sent me pictures of this place. Like I always feel when Miss Elspeth (www.pineberrylane.com)
writes me, I find myself there with her in thought.. I am sure you will
find yourself there with Angie in this writing.
I
never fail to enjoy the writings of Miss Elspeth. Very deep, very
profound, she should be the great human writer of our time, as she
brings you into her world and her gardens. One of her last sentences
struck me.. the calming soft sound of thread pulling through fabric as
she sat hand stitching... can you hear that sound the same as I did?
I have the Christmas decorations down and put
away. Most of them were put away before they even made it out! And
with any luck will know where I put them for next year. The outside
icicle lights, brand new this year, are in the trash, as they
continued to burn out and leave me with some portions of the entire
porch front in blackness while others remained lit. Major
annoyance! It is my belief that brand new things should work
properly! Silly me. Then while I was pretty hostile about the burn
outs, they would vivaciously relight. Yup. The trash. I will deal
with new lights again next December. Or not. As the farmhouse
continues to tell me which directions it wants to go, I found more
simple decoration for the holidays was the direction IT chose. The
large loved folk art collections I have did not look like I
envisioned it, and they largely were put away. Probably to be
offered for sale next fall. Things I once treasured and still do,
but perhaps it is time to let someone else love them as I did, as
they simply do not work here. I plan on using more fresh pine green
boughs, more red swamp berries (you KNOW me and my beloved swamps!!)
, and the use of my old lanterns, candlesticks, wood bowls etc. for
the Christmas season.
But for the moment, I am happy the holidays
are over and while I know that just being January in its early days
doesn't mean change as change is approachable any day of the year...
it always gives us a clean slate to work with. Never one who
welcomed change with open arms, I find in this past year of so many
changes for us, that I am welcoming the unknowing of what is coming
in each new day and looking forward to it. Winter, never being a
favorite of mine, is being tolerated. With occasional fits of
intolerance I must admit...but largely tolerated non the less. The
days pass fast and it will soon be spring. And I will be off to the
swamps! And barefoot once again!
While there, check out the works of
Bittersweet Susan, PineBerryLane, and The Angel and the Crow along
with the others.
We also, will be joining Primitive Gatherings
on January 15th. I don't know our link yet, but the link to that
website is
www.ThePrimitiveGathering.com
. Again, I am very pleased and honored to be among this group of
talented artists! Items offered for sale on this website are NOT
listed anywhere else during the month they are shown on Primitive
Gatherings, to keep them unique to that site. So you must follow the
link to see what I will be offering. Six NEW items will be shown! I
am using some of the remnants of the quilts I took apart on the
porch in September for some of the items. I LOVE using old things to
work in. Often, as I work, I think of the people who touched them in
the making, before I became the keeper of their work. Stacey of
Raven's Haven just told me that same sentiment. I wonder how many of
us do that with the things we now keep from anothers past. Do you
run your fingers and eyes over these old things and wonder about the
maker? One of the new items will be a sampler stitched freehand on
some of that old fabric from the quilt and will offer that sentiment
of old things. I LOVE that particular saying. OK. I love many of
them!
In closing, I want to thank you for your
friendships and support during the past year. It means more to me
than you will ever know.
Next newsletter (this one has gotten too
long..) will touch on the definition and appearance of candle
snuffers vs douters vs conical extinguishers. I have a new book that
shows a picture of these, and while it is defined as one thing,
research of it has been eye opening AND I find I have TWO of these
things! My goodest southern friend, Lady Octavia, aka J-Pok,
recently questioned me about these and opened up a whole newsletter
unto itself. Also bought a new book on black dolls, that is utterly
wonderful. So will share these books information with you.
In the meantime, I am busy working on new
stuff, shoveling snow, and waiting for pussy willows, croaking
frogs, and red winged blackbirds. The countdown to spring has begun.
Should you decide not to be included in our
newsletters, simply email me with your request.
in fond regard,
Tilda, keeper of the still thriving rosemary
AND the boxes