"And, the merry firelight flickered..."

"The ruddy brick floor smiled up at the smoky ceiling; the oaken settles, shiny with long wear, exchanged cheerful glances with each other; plates on the dresser grinned at pots on the shelf, and the merry firelight flickered and played over everything without distinction..

In the embracing light and warmth, warm and dry at last, with weary legs propped up in front of them, and a suggestive clink of plates being arranged on the table behind, it seemed to the storm-driven animals, now in safe anchorage, that the cold and trackless Wild Wood just left outside was miles and miles away, and all that they had suffered in it a half-forgotten dream."

  ~Kenneth Graham
Mr. Badger Chapter,
The Wind in the Willows

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And, that's kind of the way it was here just a few days ago.  There was snow, sleet, freezing rain, and a cold wind blowing, certainly enough to drive both man and beast inside to the comforts of a warm fire.

But, all of that could well have been forgotten today, for it was an almost spring-like day here in our Wild Wood.   Millie and I walked the longer trail as we often do on warm sunny days.  We didn't see any signs of spring, even though we looked, but we couldn't help noticing touches of red here and there.

Reflections were at their best on the pond.  It almost seemed that Thoreau might step down to pond's edge just to see what he could see, or to catch a nice bass for his supper.  Or, perhaps to take his morning bath!  (Millie made the ripples when she waded out for a little bath.)

"Every morning was a cheerful invitation to make my life of equal simplicity, and I may say innocence, with nature herself.  I have been as sincere a worshipper of Aurora as the Greeks.  I got up early and bathe in the pond; that was a religious exercise, and one of the best things I did.  They say that Characters were engraved on the bathing tub of King Tching-Thang to this effect:  "Renew thyself completely each day; do it again, and again, and forever again."  ~Thoreau

My daily sewing continues.  Just for the fun of it, I gave "The Five" crude little faces with pencil and tied a rag around their heads.  All of that will soon be covered with clay.  I was amazed at how different each one already looks.  I am thinking that it might be fun to give each one a name now, before going on.  Completing this many dolls will not be done quickly.  I am not fast!  I am working on the legs now, which will be sewn on when the doll is finished.  I love them already!

Thanks for stopping by!

Mary

Sometimes....

Sometimes, the hill seems steeper and my legs feel heavier, but when I look ahead, there is Millie waiting...  We don't miss our walks over Hill Top.  At least we haven't for 922 days!  Our Thousand Days is not so far out there anymore.  But, we still have the worst of winter to get through...  And,  sometimes I wish I could just hibernate.

Sometimes we walk farther where there is no trail.

Sometimes Millie finds things along the trail, such as this deer jerky.  

Not only am I walking every day, I am sewing something every day as well.  I just finished five pairs of hands/arms.  If I should reach 1,000 days of walking, surely I could do the same for sewing, but I definitely wouldn't want to sew hands for 1,000 days!   This is sewing day #17.

 Sometimes, I stuffed arms while we watched television, usually some old movie or a football game.  One movie we watched recently was North to Alaska.  It was one of the first movies I saw on the big screen at the theater when I was a young girl. How wonderful it was when  Johnny Horton's song, "North to Alaska" filled every corner of that theater (even the balcony where I was sitting).  It definitely made a lasting impression on a young me, and Johnny Horton will forever be one of my favorite singers.

Where the river is windin' big nuggets they're findin'

North to Alaska go north the rush is on

North to Alaska go north the rush is on.

Since I have been spending more time in my sewing room, I may have to consider posting a few rules, such as these that showed up on Facebook.  I especially like the one about the seam ripper.  

                                                                                       
                                                                                      Mary

While my mother sewed...

"Sewing took up quite a bit of my mother's time, but she considered that a pleasure.  Most of our clothes she designed and made herself, especially when we were fairly young.  Smocked dresses took ages to make, but I had a good many.  Summer afternoons in the lawn chairs and winter evenings by the fireside were put to good use.  While my mother sewed, one of us would read out loud to her or just play quietly - at times."

                        ~Drawn From New England (Tasha Tudor) by Bethany Tudor

The excerpt above, written by Tasha Tudor's daughter, Bethany, could well be describing our family, for we, too, were brought up at our mother's side as she sat long hours sewing, both by hand and on her treadle sewing machine.

I remember well the day Momma's ruffler attachment for her treadle sewing machine went missing.  While Momma sewed, my little brother and I often played together.  To keep us occupied, she even allowed us, sometimes, to play with the little metal box of sewing machine attachments.  I seemed to be most fascinated with the beautiful velvet lined-box, while my little brother was most assuredly captivated with the ruffler.

On this particular day, when my mother opened the little box for the ruffler, it was not there.  Now, she used that ruffler a lot for gathering and pleating skirts and ruffles of all kinds.  Of course, she must have searched the house high and low looking for that oh-so-important and necessary sewing attachment, but to no avail.  And, just like that, our household was in total chaos, with everyone, even my dad and older brothers, getting involved.

I think it was I who suggested it might be outside in "the dirt place" where we liked to play.  I don't remember who found it buried in the dirt, but whoever did surely saved the day.  Peace was restored to our family and home, and the once doomed little ruffler now happily bobbed up and down as my mother sat sewing, and all was well...

                                                                           ~Mary