the blue muse

She never once looked in a mirror.
Never recognized her own beauty.
Never thanked the bees for their kisses.

She only had eyes for the sun.

He came and he went, barely noticing her presence.
He spread his light and warmth all around,
ambivalent, benevolent.

He never played favorites.
He warmed her heart with whispers of tomorrow.
He was always on time.

Each day, she grew taller, reaching for him.

One day he did not come.
The sky was covered in a blanket of gray,
so sad that it cried.

She saw herself for the first time,
a reflection in a drop of rain,
thirst quenched.

She knew then what she needed.

bread and butter.

::

{august break no. 7}

no words here, but the story of these pickles is over at
mrs. mediocrity today, lots of pickles, lots of words.

and a couple of giggles.

Enjoy your Saturday.

::

{august break no. 6}

really stand out in a crowd.

::

{august break no. 5}

to have all those spare knees?

::

{august break no. 4}

is better than love in a storm.

::

{august break no. 3}

:: :: ::

:: :: ::

p.s. do you know about Kim Klassen’s Inspiration Stay-cation?
If not, you should go check it out…
I was so honored that she asked me to participate.
I have a little post about writing here.

must fly carefully.

::

::

{august break no. 2}

Do you know about Susannah Conway’s August Break challenge?

The idea is to lighten the blog writing load for the month of August,
post lots of photos, less text.

I will be participating, at least part of the time.
I know that there will be times when I will want to write as well.
But that’s okay, because there are no rules.

That’s my kind of challenge.

I loved you well.

Our time was short, but ever-so-sweet

and I will always have fond memories

of your smile.

::     ::     ::     ::     ::

I am off today to learn how to make pickles.
(Sticking with that old-fashioned thing.)
I’ll be sharing about it here, or over at mrs. mediocrity, soon

FREE Shipping in our etsy shop ends tonight!

Every once in a while it’s nice to do things the old-fashioned way, It might be harder, take more labor, take more time, but it’s nice to do simple tasks in simple ways, one thing at a time, no technology.

I like to sweep the floors. I don’t do it very often, because with all these cats, a vacuum is pretty much essential (I use that every day). But I kind of miss it. There is something soothing and methodical about sweeping up all the dirt that life tracks in.

I like to write in a journal with a pencil. The keyboard is faster, and it’s much easier to edit and make corrections, but the act of handwriting itself calms me, changes the way I think, allows me to think faster than I write, rather than the other way around.

I like to make oatmeal using old-fashioned oats. I add my own goodies, nuts and berries and brown sugar and milk. It takes longer, but it’s so much better than the instant kind, and the process is a calming ritual.

A couple of times a year I make pierogies from scratch. It takes a whole day, but it is a labor of love, it is another ritual, and yes, time is lost, but it is good time, uncluttered time, there is no multi-tasking. I stand there, mixing, filling, boiling, buttering. I play music and sing and don’t worry about how much I have to do, because I am only doing this one thing on that day.

Starting plants from seed. It is a whole different process than buying plants and sticking them in the ground. You are so much more invested when you have nurtured them from the start. It is also a process that soothes me, the planning, looking through catalogs, waiting to see those first little bits of green poking up through the soil.

Gardening itself is like that for me, it requires patience and simple, physical tasks that become meditative. I like old-fashioned flowers, hollyhocks, sweet peas, roses and kiss me over the garden gate. I love the name of that one as much as the plant. And love in a mist, the same.

We use modern technology most of the time as a convenience. And that’s okay, that is the world we live in.

But every once in a while, it is nice to take a break and do something the way our parents did, or even our grandparents.

It’s nice to be old-fashioned, old school, straightforward.

That way of doing things got us where we are today.

What do you like to do the old-fashioned way?