A Page from My Day Book

Outside my window… The world is gray and promising more rain

I am thinking…of tomorrows food and laughter

I am thankful for…every piece big and small of my life

From the kitchen…the oven is on

I am wearing… a fluffy white robe

I am creating…my great grandmas Corn bread stuffing

I am going…to cook deliciousness

I am reading…the all consuming, blanket over the head and flashlight in hand Chronicles of Narnia

I am hoping…to dig up all the good recipes

I am hearing…rain on the tin roof

Around the house…candles are lit

One of my favorite things…The way yellow light shines on the ivory pages of great novels..when the room is dark and silent and only the sound is the snoring of hounds.

A few plans for the rest of the week…priming and painting

The thought I am sharing…count your blessing and place them high on a shelf you can constantly see

"Living Honest"

We have all lost virtue
It has slipped away
Like the fall harvest
It has been left
And shriveled on the vine
Soon there will be no trace of it
For it was not preserved in
Diamond cut mason jars
Virtue has rotted
Forgotten in the field
It will be turned under
With the roots
And dug up with 
The potatoes
Scrubbed  and sliced
And mulled over in
Winter stew


This post is inspired by  simple womans daybook

Its time to finish dinner and plan the secession...

    The latter part of the sentence above is something I thought I would never get the chance to say.  Well apparently the time has come.  My tiny town, population 312, has had enough  and they same its time to secede.

    We have been living under the rule of the local  government, Southampton County, whose complete disregard for the citizens of Ivor has caused us to throw around the words “disgust” and “secession“.  We feel as though we are being, to put it mildly, raked over the coals. 

    We pay thousands of dollars to a complacent neglectful county in “luxury” taxes every year.    With the only services rendered from the county being our tipping fee for the use of the local dump.  We have almost no police service and even being from a tiny town it is scary to think how long or if the cops would show up if something happened. 

    We are not the only ones, the city of Franklin, after losing its paper mill to this horrible economy, has also talked of secession.  They too pay out of pocket to Southampton and are unhappy with the results. 

    Ivor’s bare bones town budget is 135,000.00 dollars. Which in a way is a good place to start, there may be no room for error but error and what I believe to be deceit is what has caused this current town atmosphere.  So its best to start at the true beginning where there is no question to where the money is going.  If we secede it is high time to do this the right way and in my opinion that is the only way this can be successful, any other way would be a complete waste of time.

Transparency is the issue.  Let me purpose the question to you reader.. Why is it so hard for the government, YOUR government to understand that you want to know where your hard earned money is going? What is the issue with transparency?

     I believe the governments sole purpose of opaqueness is that it knows disapproval is the only outcome of them being forthcoming.  And that dear reader is when you know its time for action.  Real action... not just the bowing up of professional politicians, but the action of a disapproving populace. 

I think it all comes down to this simple statement.  Taxing the personal property of people who make a honest living and calling it a tax on luxury is disgusting.  We all know that personal property is not a luxury.  It is worked hard for.  It is earned.

A free citizen of Ivor
Sarahlynn

The Silent Religion

They say there is weather coming.  Just after dawn the storm windows began to shake, as the gloom that always seems to usher in the rain and wind began to coat this part of the world.  I have always loved the fall, and selfishly loved its storms. 

The skeletons of ancient trees swaying against the starkness of a blue-less sky.  The clouds and their heavy, battleship gray bellies, that float with such effort over a field.  Where the velvet leaves of cabbage and lettuce dance closely to the plowed ground.  Autumn and its storms are a silent illegitimate religion.  That few follow and fewer notice.  Never has a church been as holy as the heavens before a Autumn storm. 

I bid you reader, to go worship.. Soon we will be within the annual purgatory of winter.

An Autumn thought

We have entered into the dark.  This time of year dusk is a war, where a scarlet tide rages against black limbs and the destination of the horizon.  Daylight is pulled, and coiled like lengths of rope on to a wet weathered deck as it disappears in to the  inky slickness of night.  Autumn is the anticipation of battle, the time to say your goodbyes.  Winter is the trenches and it yields no letters from home.

A Page from my Daybook

 November 14, 2009

Outside my window… the mist is falling

I am thinking…of pale daffodil, bicycle yellow…lemon soufflé, straw hat, wildflower honey and chickadee… behr paint...

I am thankful for…the comfort I can find in solitude

From the kitchen…dishes soak in the farm sink

I am wearing… fleece and red cables

I am creating…a feathered nest

I am going…to the craft room

I am reading…The Chronicles of Narnia ..

I am hoping… I can take my dreams and ideas and turn them into reality

I am hearing… “ Lucy, you’ve been dreaming.. Dreaming of the sea captain that haunts this house.. You wrote the book ...and after time this dream will die.. Just like all dreams disappear among the wake”
- The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

Around the house…things sit quietly awaiting for their turn

One of my favorite things…the words of far wiser people held securely between the spines of pebble bound leather… standing like an army , embossed in gold

A few plans for the rest of the week…one word… KLIZ

The thought I am sharing…

“A new year wind blows
Through the empty branches
Of pecan trees
The Camellias’ anchor the corners
Of century old wood
Bracing the edges of hope
Gusts blow and shake the beams
And boards
But they  are only seen 
Through the wavy glass of home” -Sarahlynn




This post is inspired by   http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com

lovely book mark from ... www.marmeecraft.com

From My Day Book

The Simple Woman's Day Book

November 12, 2009

Outside my window… a storm that is to make history is blowing and pouring

I am thinking… of my dear husband cold and wet and away from home

I am thankful for…this old house , who’s  sturdy walls sit peacefully amongst the rain and wind

From the kitchen…a cinnamon colored kettle whistles from the stove  waiting to meet the Earl of Gray

I am wearing… cotton and comfort

I am creating…words that make me smile

I am going…no where in this

I am reading…romantic country, and fairy tales

I am hoping…the water doesn’t rise

I am hearing…the pitter patter of rain on the tin roof

Around the house…the lamps are lit

One of my favorite things…the soft contemplation of words strung together, hanging like     ornaments  through out my mind

A few plans for the rest of the week…the humble chore of cleaning up after a storm

The thought I am sharing...

"November is bitter
Its teeth are hungry
And it stirs anticipation
And reflection
Of warmer days
Winter should be spent
Between blankets
Watching hounds
Sleep on the hearth" - November- Sarahlynn

This post is inspired by   http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com

Jumanji

Autumn truly is the time of reflection and the beginning of internal discovery.  On the eve of Samhain I was forced to deal with a tooth issue that had completely hindered my life for the past two years.  After a trip to the emergency room and the worst pain in my life I went under the oral surgeons' knife last Tuesday morning and had all my wisdom teeth and two second morals that were broken and brushing against my sinuses , finally, thankfully, removed.  I am now on the mend. And doing pretty darn good after one week I think.  But the point of this post is just to put down something I feel I have accomplished, gotten past.  And I feel free.  I couldn’t garden or mow and it seemed every time I had big plans my tooth would act up and send my sinuses into pain that I would stop me from  eating or sleeping or laying down. I am primed to prosper now.  Without the nagging pain of sweeping something under the rug. 

My husband and I had gotten a lot of things “together” about a week before Samhain, we both felt like we had moved things in our lives into their proper place.  And we were ready to set things in motion.  Whether it was with ourselves or with Paper Road. This needed to happen, and has. It all feels like that deep exhale right now.  What a good feeling.

We have so many big dreams that our now big plans… and hopefully will be a big success!

While I was recovering my momma was here to take care of me and the house and lol my stressed husband.  Its amazing what mothers do to set a calm over an environment and you.  We call my momma the “bumble bee” which I am sure you know why she is the busiest little momma ever! She makes something for herself to do and rarely sits down. Though I forced her to watch a movie with me which I’m pretty sure she enjoy because it became the theme for the rest of the week. look it up and you will under stand why “ Jumanji” LOL !

Here is why this movie became the theme of the week.  Ed and I had ordered a new fridge as ours was becoming a health hazard it was due to arrive the day of my surgery so we ended up moving that back to later that week. But we needed to prepare so we un hooked the water line to the icemaker that we weren’t using in hopes that it may stop the water from building up in the fridge. 

Luckily for us ( haha) the former owners of this house live right across the street… So Mr. Paper Road went to across the street to ask if this water line was pressurized and where the turn off was before he went crawling under the house… Well “OF course its not pressurized!!” ..lol.. OR NOT!
Needless to say my mother was in the kitchen with all our bath towels trying to hold back the geyser from the water line.. Mr. Paper Road was yelling back and forth from outside trying to figure out how to turn it off , I was standing there with gauze in my mouth bleeding like a stuck pig yelling “ OH MY GOD!” holding my numb face… finally I yell to my husband turn off the main ! He runs out to the street and finally gets it off. My mom was dripping wet, there's water all over the kitchen and we all start to laugh when mom turns to both of us and breaths out “ Jumanji”

That was just the beginning to a week of : a lost wedding ring,milkshakes, a broken clothes dryer, pain pills,  Lowes delivery men calls, enough lint to fill a grocery bag, a fixed dryer, a leaking sink, and a whole lot of giggles. 

Alot has happened and over all I am glad it has, sometimes like my momma says “ sometimes, somethings gotta happen to make other things that need to happen, happen” So right you are mom.
And I am ready for our big plans to happen.

Playing Along with Blue Bird Notes

                                                     Where is your cell phone? hiding

 Your hair?rapunzel

Your Mother? thoughtful

Your Father? quiet

Your favorite food? homemade

Your dream last night? restless

Your favorite drink? EarlGray

Your dream/goal? indiepreneur

What room are you in? front

Your hobby? creating

Your fear? loss

Where do you want to be in 6 years? comfortable

 Where were you last night? couch

Something that you are not? disloyal

Muffins? when?

Wish list item? corduroy

Where did you grow up?VA Beach 

Last thing you did? buy fridge

 What are you wearing?jersey

 Your T.V.? off

Your pets? awwww

 Friends? husband

Your life? blessed

Your mood? breathing

Missing someone? nope 

Vehicle? pickup

 Something you are not wearing? shoes

Your favorite store? Etsy

 Your favourite colour? peacock

When was the last time you laughed? 2 up

Last time you cried? long story 

Your best friend? husband

One place that I go to over and over? pecan tree

One person who emails me regularly? momma

 Favorite place to eat?  home

loved doing this... 

On A Paper Road

       Color has arrived to this little village of 312.  The maples in the front yard are now ablaze.  Leaves lay like confetti, as if the earth was celebrating.  Friday night was spent relaxing flipping through the pages of  The Magicians Elephant    … ( A so far beautifully written and illustrated “children's” book) snuggling under a down blanket in the comfort of my bed. 
    After reading I typed up several Rituals and Meditations for my newly constructed (and temporary) Grimoire taken from a book by Judy Nock, as I prepare for next weeks Shabbat. I will post pictures next Sunday…  Along with the Grimoire I also put together a binder for our home , Paper Road Farm.

     You ask, Paper Road? Well I will tell you.. gather near. When we bought this darling grandma farm house we were told “ You live on a paper road” .. My husband and I stared at each other.   Turns out that we live next door to a road that was never build its only on paper ( the city plans, our deed, what not) but our little town never built the road.  So I took out our land plot documents and there what we call our gravel drive way sits “Elm street” , yes, really.  I giggled too when I read that.  The street I live on use to be Magnolia Lane before it was renamed for  a founding family I would imagine sometime in the towns “recent” history. 
        However I digress, I made this binder to hold all my paint chips, fabric samples and decorating inspirations.  I recommend everyone doing it, who has a tendency like me to love eye candy.. to collect it like a magpie… and lose it.  It is now all right at my finger tips. 

Just get a cheap binder if you don’t have one laying around and clear page protectors.  I just took tape and a sheet of computer paper and stuck together some beautiful inspiring pages that are double sided and could easily be unstuck if they needed to be.

Above are the piles of fabric and paint chips that I had stuffed in my living room book shelf that are now sitting neatly on the shelf. 
Now for a wonderful tip! This tip is cheap easy and you might already have it in your home.  I have struggled with finding work space.. not only to I not have a desk right now but I also am most creative when comfortable and I am at my most comfortable sitting cross legged somewhere cozy.. but cozy is a crappy work surface.  So here is the answer!

This is a simple wooden cutting board.  It is about H 12” by L 18” or so … I picked it up at Walmart in a set of three a year ago and only used the small one until I got grossed out by trying to wash wood after cutting food up and making deep scratches in the surface.. So after purchasing a plastic Microband one my wooden ones sat useless in the cupboard.  So Friday I had an AH Ha moment pulled it down and this one above has traveled all over the house with me since the moment I pulled it down.  If I flip it over there is the craved out groove all away around the board, which is prefect for a resting pencil or pen… I know, I know its just a piece of wood… But it has solved a problem that has plagued me for years. I hope this might help someone else. 
Before letting you go I wanted to let you know what’s coming up .. I spent the last week sewing my first dress it is so wonderful and I am so pleased with how it turned out I will be posting it soon with a review of the pattern by a true sewing beginner and where I found my fabric. Please do have a wonderful weekend I am off to use my brand new KitchenAid cinnamon red tea kettle and a cup of Early Gray… try to do something cozy by candle light…
blessed be
Sarahlynn

The Art of Limbo

Limbo is the edge.  It is where I often find myself.  Sitting right on the edge of everything.  Biding my time until…  into the infinite dot, dot, dot . Its a place where I wish I didn’t feel like I had a perpetual “reservation” on the worst table in the place.  But I feel like I am there. 

The funniest thing is that I am a person who really knows what they want.  Which is quite a blessing in a world where people often have no clue what they want and no idea how to get it.  My problem, that always seems to land me at my special table is that I have so many ideas in my head that I stop.  I stop dead.  Bouncing between all these beautiful ideas .  I spend so much time researching and preparing that things never happen. 

There are only a few things that we all know to be true in our lifetime I feel, and I would hope that most of those things would be about yourself.  So here is what I know to be true about me:

I have always created.

I have always wanted to create.

I cannot stop myself form creating.

and

I am my own limbo

The wheels turn but nothings coming out.  I plan to no longer place myself at this table for one, with no supplies and a wobbly chair. In writing they say that “writers block” is no excuse not to write.  You should work harder.  I don’t want all the ideas I have to fizzle out in limbo.  I want them to flow out of my finger tips so lofty they float to the ceiling . 

Limbo can cancel my reservation.

What I'm Working On Wednesdays

The days are finally turning cool, and along with the brisk air came the inspiration for me  to finish my knit mega cable wrap! It took me forever because of knitter error, lol ( I wrote the pattern down wrong twice!)  The pattern is done in Naturally Caron yarn, Country which I HIGHLY recommend! It is cheap in price and extremely beautiful! The drape is the best I have seen and is stitch definition is wonderful. As someone who has spent many hours online looking for a yarn to love this one is definitely it! Naturally Caron in Country is unmatched in value and beauty, in my opinion. And I have already reordered it in a new color for a handmade Christmas present for my momma ( love you momma!) I also plan to make a pair of fingerless gantlets in the Deep purple Country.

I'm terribly excited about it!! yay!

Secondly, I have picked back up my pen and ink ! And here is the first picture I have done in years. I just started it Monday night but was too excited to wait till it was all done before posting it. So heres a sneak peek

hehe I can't wait to finish it! I will be doing a color wash over the ink .

And now lastly before getting off here to go cook dinner and settle in for the rest of this beautiful fall day , and my favorite day of the work week ( more people need to show love to Hump day! ) I'm going to leave you with a picture of my two best friends! My dear sweet patient loving hubby Ed and our ridiculously entertaining Bo dog (the pitbull/lab/chow/coyote mix, yes I said coyote) I love this picture cause they play in the kitchen everyday while I'm cooking and Bo looks like hes laughing , which if we could understand him he probably was! ( whata goood boy!) Have a wonderful evening all! Blessed Be!

What Is Inspiring You?

What is inspiring me right now :
    Pen and ink, Etsy, children’s books: their magic and illustrations, peacock blue, heathered knits, cardigans,  brown leather boots, ticking, newly fallen leaves, crisp morning and evenings, flannel sheets, the Sharpie pen!,  ghost stories.. Chipping paint, the shades of white, day dreams, antique quilts… 

I feel like I have found myself after picking up my pencil and pen again.  My right hand moving across lightly textured  paper. A sanctuary of ivory and graphite bound carefully with wire.  I go there to capture movement , creatures and dreams.  And leave light headed and gray handed.  What is inspiring you right now? I hope to make this a regular installment on my blog. Come sit a spell friends and go through your dream books and magazine clipping really think,.. Really think about what is making you tick, tick, tick away these days?!

Keeping a running list has helped keep me grounded lately. I am slowly making my way back to who I am and what I love to do. It is a magical feeling. I encourage all of you to keep a book or binder with clipping and things that really inspire you so if you ever come to a block you can hopefully flip through your book, box, or binder and renew you creative spirit. Thank you all for helping me get back to this wonderful place! pictures to come!

alittle note

Happy Wednesday!  Its been awhile since my last post, due to a ridiculously time warping stomach bug ( or whatever it was)  I was down for the count for an entire week.  But now that I’m eating again, I will hopefully be able to post this weekend as I catch up on the house chores.   Until then I have enjoyed reading other bloggers beautiful posts , I can’t say enough how much I have been inspired by all of you since I started  this little idea.  I feel like I’m getting my life in real order again.  I would like to direct anybody out there who feels overwhelmed by housework sometimes to go visit  “ The Flylady” she has changed the way I look at my home and the unavoidable mess that life creates.  I can’t wait to start posting again! -Sarahlynn

PS - Please enjoy this to die for Autumn weather!

A Tribute to Great Men

The beauty of living within history, is remembering it.  Personifying every year that has passed each square head nail and heart pine plank.  The key to living is in preservation, not renovation.   In sealing over the blemishes that left scars from days gone by.    The memories that let this house breathe in, splitting plaster walls  with the heavy sigh of winter nights.  Or the humid summer memory of woolen soldiers spilling life on the porch.  It is in the rattle of  the ghosts of railroad men, who pace and smile at their dream still at the end of  the  road.   The steady chugging of steam powered progress that fueled a coast with coal from the mountains.  Who’s compacted rails will soon move people from city to city, in the belly  of modern beasts.  We live within the dreams of men, who prospected the burden of prosperity, and built over it. 

Thank you Bells, Babbs, and Dardens for believing in the simple dreams of men.

The Doors of Bell House

  


"In Testament" 
We are the Salt
Of copper washed
Soil
The tenders
Of graves
On plots
Bought with blood
We are stronger
Than
Declarations
And
Proclamations
We are the salvation
Found
In solitude
We are your
Starving flesh
Now calmed
By the
Thirst
Of righteousness
We are
The epiphanies
Born Out
of the
depths of
Darkness
Fasting
In the moonlight
We Laid down
By
The light of
Wick and wax
And Have
been
Delivered

      
"Front Door"


I have broken the handle to years forgotten
Selfishly hanging the door in my home
The iron hinges swing freely
But the knob no longer turns

A few words by me..

Please take a moment to look through these doors from my home " Bell House". . . these handles have been turned for over a      century and a half.. be still my heart.   
                                                                                     

 My love of the arts has transformed into a lifestyle. My home, my words, my creations.. my thoughts are tucked securely in a chipped white washed lifetime...

I do hope you have enjoyed this quick post with my pictures and poems.. Blessed Be.

The Arrival of Autumn

Virginia usually leaves you breathless this time of year, all summered out.  But Autumn seems to be on time this September. The first day of the month brought sleeping weather and  I captured that coolness in the still of morning flinging open the doors to greet this unexpected but welcome visitor.  Dusk is ushered in by the back woods choir of crickets that ebb like the temperature where June bugs shrill once pierced the inky black night.

The  first day brought rain, leaving the sky gray but the fiery sunset pushed through the pines to claim its rightful place in the day.  It shown through for only five minutes setting the corn field and pecan trees on fire.  A magical glow wrapped itself around this part of the world reflecting off every slick wet surface before fainting behind the tree line. 

The hurried day reminded me of winter, daylight rushed into darkness. Its time to prepare, with oil and heaters and insulated drapes.  But that darkness helps you to look inward.  To focus on finishing projects and starting new ones.  Its time to settle in ...to enjoy comfy nights and sweaters.  Its time to breath in the scent of newly fallen leaves.  

So, gather here...its time to pick out those projects you've been meaning to get to and make a list.  The arrival of Autumn brings back the anxious stir of creativity!

(I will be posting my house hold projects soon. Fabric samples and paint chips! And my natural, all purpose cleaner .. coming soon)

BTW September first was Ed and I's fourth anniverisary.. Time sure flys!  Here is a picture of the fabulous necklace he bought for me from Etsy! Which I love and support anyway I can.. In hopes that one day I will have my own Etsy shop here is the lovely sellers store link

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6254638  
 Thank you Ed, I love you! and thank you "Azure Treasure" for your beautiful "Eternity necklace"

 

Settled

Home ownership is a magical thing.  Let no one tell you any different.  Who doesn’t dream of their own little corner of the world?  Think of the magnitude of property ownership back when this old house was new.  Over a century and a half ago men met and drew signatures across bone colored parchment, with ink that might as well have been blood. Owning land meant something, now it seems as disposable as the things we put between our four walls.  In the grand scheme of things there are very few old magical places left. And to have your name whether in ink or blood… on a hundred year or more old deed is something to be proud of. However with ownership comes great responsibility. 

    In a few days it will have been a year since my husband and I took on the adventure of owning.  It’s funny when I look back and realize that it has taken me a full year to finally settle in.  Though when I first walked through this grandma of a house I felt right at home.  My husband, Ed, actually said as we drove away from it the first time bright eyed and full of butterflies “ Is it me, or does it feel like that old house is hugging you when your in it?”  I laughed but had to agree.  It did feel like we belonged there, like the plaster walls were embracing us.

     As summer dies away into the cool nights of crickets and autumn I feel relief, the relief of being home.  It may have taken a full year and four seasons but I have arrived.  And like fall brings the changing of colors I too will bring it, in the from of brushes and buckets.  So I invite you in to my home and heart to take this journey with my family.  A trip of fixing, painting, restoring and saving a small part of history on my own little plot of the world.   As we move inside for the coming weather, a time of introspection and creativity I will share with you our trials of ownership. Whether you own, rent, have or dream of  living in a part of history I invite you in, to sit a spell and gush with me over all things shabby, chipped, crooked and beautiful.   Welcome friends to the first gathering of the Century Old Home Owners Society. Blessed Be.

A note from the blogger

Under Construction .. no pun intended.. LOL okay yes it was