GOODE day my deare friends. Tis cool & sunny here in Vermont as August draws to a close and Autumn knocks on our door.  The heat and humidity, which seemed our constant summer companion has finally departed (hopefully for good) and cool lovely air has taken its place. Geese are already gathering in the fields (it is early this year.....)  stopping by for rest, as they make their way south, for the Winter.  Turkeys forage for acorns, and this year, seem to be accompanied, quite often, by bears as we've had so many sightings this year.  We believe the dry summer has brought them off the mountains and into the valleys, looking for food (and eating huge quantities of corn, straight from the stalks).  What a wonderful time of year.  I love the cool crisp mornings.  Even when the days were still hot and humid, the August mornings have been cool.  Just two days ago,  I stepped out onto the deck, coffee in hand, daylight still an hour off, and was greeted by an owl, who hooted so loudly and so closely that I jumped and spilled my coffee.  He, or she, must have been in one the treetops just off the deck.  Goodness, it startled me. :).

Anyway..now that I've written a book and not yet gotten to my reason for today's message....  

First of all, I apologize for being so out of touch. I have been quite busy getting the September issue, of The Little Brown House Gazette, out the door.  It was a larger than usual issue and, believe it or not, shipped a week early!!!!  I am still amazed I was able to pull that off!!  In the midst of it all, my son fractured his pelvis in a four-wheeler accident.  So very scary!  Thankfully, he is beginning to feel better now.    Due to his accident, I have been helping take care of our grandson and,  helping with our son as well....SOOOO..my web show, which was originally scheduled for 08/18/2020,  was put on the back burner.  I was hoping to have been able to fit it in before August left us, however, it is just not possible SO, I have now rescheduled the show for Monday, September 7th at 4:00.  I hope you understand. 

SPEAKING OF THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE....It has donned its traveling clothes (a first-class envelope and TWO stamps (it was a hefty issue this month) and began its trip around the world.  Tis a thick and lovely issue ~full of goode things and Autumn loveliness.  Another bonus ( the first one being it's a large issue) is that it shipped early!!!  It began its journey last week (August 21st to be exact) so it should be arriving at your doorstep any day now.  Please check back here, on the blog, on September 1st as I will have a Sourdough blog post to accompany the September issue.  Also, if you are not a subscriber, it is not too late ~ just pop on over to my website and subscribe.  Here's the link;  https://vermontharvestfolkart.com/collections/from-a-little-brown-house-gazette/products/from-a-little-brown-house-gazette.

I am off now to put a chicken in to roast.  Our daughter and son-in-law, along with their dear friends raised chickens this summer to harvest.  They....harvested...them a couple of weeks ago.  We'll be having mashed potatoes and glazed carrots as well ~ perfect on this first, cool evening in August. 

Until next time my friends, wishing you health and happiness ~ Doreen

Autumn & WInter Workshops.......

GOODE day my deare and lovely friends.  I hope this note finds you healthy and in goode spirits.  Ahh, the lovely month of August has arrived with it's cool & dewy mornings, warm days and teasing hints of Autumn just around the corner.  Chickadee's sing, mama turkeys wander the fields, with their brood, and pumpkins grow fat on the vines.  Oh, I do so love this time of year.  

I am busy, in the studio, creating and finalizing plans for the remainder of the year.  With the world such as it is, and my asthma being a concern, I have decided I will not be doing my Autumn & Winter workshops, here in our home, this year.  I will surely miss the comradery and deare friendships however, the prospect of a more relaxing Autumn honestly fills my heart with contentment.  I am enjoying this bit of respite, for me it is a time to recharge and refocus.  I feel like this slow down is a gift I've been given and I need to use it as such.  Of course, my heart breaks for everyone suffering with their health or in other ways due to the virus, and I am grateful for our health and well being and certainly do not take that for granted, I am simply turning this situation into a positive as best I can. :). 

Let us hope that 2021 will be a fresh new year filled with goode will, excitement, new plans and gatherings of all sorts. Until then my friends, may we be patient and kind and make the best of a difficult situation.

I'm off now ~ my stitching calls.  Until next time, be well my friends.  doreen

ps....Beatrix Potter (my sourdough starter) is still going strong and makes the most scrumptious bread I've ever had :).

Farewell June

Greetings my friends.  Tis dark and cloudy here in Vermont as the sound of thunder rolls in through our open windows.  Tis been a day of changing weather in our little spot on the map.  One moment we've sun shining down warmly and air that is warm and muggy and the next we've a cold gust of wind, black skies, thunder rolling through the clouds and a sudden down pour that leaves the yard dotted with swimming holes.  Just a short while ago, I  had just finished opening all the windows, turning off the lights and turning on the fans when I had to go back around, close them down, shut off the fans and turn on the lights. I actually feel like the entire month of June has been a month of back and fourths.  Just as we had really settled in, and gotten use to the  "stay home, stay safe" way of life they began telling everyone to go ahead, get out and about, live life as you did before, go back to your life..all is well.  Now, they are thinking that isn't the case.   I know many folks are anxious to jump back into the quicker pace of life before the pandemic but I must tell you, I am not.  I enjoy the quieter roads, the lack of crowds, the clearer skies, the quieter life.  The removal of  the "pressure" to be out and about, living, doing, GOING. Over the past several months, I am so much more relaxed, creative, centered.  There's time now.... TIME to do the projects that were always put aside, time to relax and sit on the porch without quilt, time to just be.  I realize this isn't the case for everyone and in no way do I mean to diminish that (my prayers to everyone struggling) but I also feel compelled to acknowledge the fact that for some of us..this has been okay and perhaps even GOOD, and that's okay :).   For us, (Mark and I) it's been a great time to just be together and concentrate on our own little spot on the map.    Our vegetable gardens are flourishing, as are the pumpkin patches (we have three now..I LOVE it) we put in four blueberry bushes (which are doing amazingly well)  we've made home improvements, and plans for even bigger ones down the road.   I've learned new skills.....sourdough bread baking and sewing my own clothes (two things I've long wanted to learn and master) etc. etc.   Of course, we've also had our trials..... missing the kids (thank goodness we can see them now), nervousness over the state of the world, frightened awareness when you finally do go into a grocery store (taking all the proper precautions) only to see the shelves half bare (and people NOT taking precautions) AND fear for the health of family, friends and ourselves (thankfully we've all been healthy)...but we go on, because we must and the way I look at it is, if we all step up, embrace what we've been given to deal with,  do what needs doing, make the best of a situation, do what we should, take responsibility for ourselves, look out for others and do what's right...well, this world would be a far, FAR better place for all of us.  . But I won't lecture.... Because, I must be off....

Tis time to take a batch of biscuits out of the oven (strawberry shortcake tonight) and to make sure the rain has not blown in too badly as we had another torrential downpour as I was writing this post.  

 FAREWELL JUNE ~ May July be full of promise and wonder.

 Until next time my friends, Be well ~Doreen

 

Perhaps......

 

 “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer, and that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there’s something stronger – something better, pushing right back.” Albert Camus 

Charles Daniel Ward - The Progress of Spring, 1905

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  If what we are going through right now,   is not a wake-up call for us to SLOW DOWN, SHOP SMALL & STAY LOCAL...I truly do not know what one is. We are EVER SO FORTUNATE right now, to have within our reach, an abundance of local farms, farm stands, small shops, breweries, bakeries, nurseries and ways in which to maintain our stay at~home mandate, but that is not the case everywhere. Growth & change are goode but equally important is keeping the small, family-owned and run shops.  We need our farms, small towns, and villages, now more than ever.

 WE NEED BALANCE.

I don't have all the answers, in fact, I might not have any answers but I do know a few things.  

**We need the big & THE SMALL.....  We need larger grocery stores however, we do NOT need one every ten miles because that is what kills the small, local ones.  We need, as a society, to be willing to travel thirty or forty miles to do our "big" shopping.

This same thing can be applied to everything we have, as a society, right now.  Our fast-paced, hurry up,  I need everything quick, will be the end of us if we are not more mindful and careful.  We need both the small and the large, the quick and the slow.  We need balance!!!  

We are getting a taste right now of what can happen when things come grinding to a halt in our world...  Can we survive on just technology, the quick, the big the far-reaching.  NO, we can not & perhaps we should what is happening right now and let it be a warning!!!  

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OH MY GOODNESS my friends, I apologize.   I decided to start blogging again to put a little encouragement out there, a little light in a dark time...... I had no intention of this, my return post, being a lecture of sorts.  I promise it will not be the case on a regular basis.   But, I am hoping, that when we make our way out of all of this, and we will, we remain mindful and, hopefully, be a part of the reason it doesn't happen again.

I'll be back, in a day or two, with a positive note, some lovely thoughts and goode things to share :).  Until then, I hope you are all staying healthy and your struggles are few.  Hugs to all of you, Doreen