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I am Sandra - faithful steward. listener. shepherd. dream believer. hard worker. collects brass bells, boots. Jesus follower. contented. star gazer. homemaker. farmer. prayer warrior. country woman. reader. traveler. writer. homebody. living life large.

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Busy Week Ahead

Good Morning! The fog is beginning to burn off and the sun is streaming behind the trees in the lower pasture. It's beautiful but I have to be vigilant about branches falling off and leaves wilting. I believe the leaves make a form of prussic acid which can kill livestock. The trees are allowed to live because of the shade they provide as well as the back scratching material -smile-.
Let me apologize...for some reason my posts were underlined, very annoying, but I couldn't figure out what I did to cause this. Now, some sentences aren't underlined but there's is No Way I'm going to re-do this post. I know this is annoying to you; it's annoying to me but I can live with it. When you finish reading this entry, you'll understand why. Simply too much to do in the daylight I've got today; so what's new, eh? -smile-

If you know why my post was underlined and, more importantly, how to prevent it next time, please don't keep it a secret! Tell all, tell all...
See these little fawn triplets alongside the road? This worries me; where is their mother? I dare not consider...

As we passed, they bounded into the underbrush but I caught a glimpse of this little one as s/he left the side of the road. I always make a lot of noise to, hopefully, frighten them away from the road. People think of me as a crazy woman...honking the horn, yelling, waving stuff out the window...but if it helps these little ones grow to adulthood, it's well worth being thought of as crazy.

It's a busy week at Thistle Cove Farm. I'm in the studio this week, getting ready to demonstrate the fiber and textile arts at The Highlands Festival in Abin
gdon. Thursday will be a Very Long Day and, for the first time in a long time, I'll have to pack a lunch and water as I'll be glued to my spinning chair all day. I'm not a fan of festival food as it doesn't like me much either. I'll take my spinning wheel, rag rug loom, roving to spin and roving to sell, some fleeces and yarn. Hopefully, my small antique fan will keep the faith and work all day long. My pioneer dress gets a bit warm so a fan will be helpful.

So, does this picture look better with, or without, Sadie Lady? Not bad either way, eh? -smile-This morning Sadie Lady sat as I wandered around the studio, taking photos. She's looking at kittens and cat, wondering if she dare, DARE, chase them? NO, Sadie Lady, the answer is NO! At four months old, her body is beginning to look like a dog but her mind is still Pure Puppy!

****************** Miss Emma says, "Why should a DOG get attention? I wanted to add my own special touch so I walked across the keyboard and put in stars..."
Thank you, Miss Emma. Now the blog looks SO much better!

I've joined our local YMCA, newly opened, and am taking Zumba and yoga classes. Sometimes, I take water aerobics but enjoy Zumba and yoga a tad better. I don't enjoy the Zumba music though, it's a bit vulgar for my tastes but then, I don't listen to pop music. I prefer Celtic, jazz, blues if I'm going to listen to secular music and this pop music is, in a word, Awful. No wonder people's minds are full of nonsense. Oh, the music is great for jumping around and getting the heart rate going but it does make me blush! Some of it, I'm ot even sure what they mean and I'm not sure I want to know. I do know my blood pressure was 118/80 when I got home yesterday; that was after two hours of exercise. I find when I stretch before and after exercising and then when I get up in the morning my body responds in a positive fashion. I feel much better, my posture is much better and my attitude is better. Generally, I have a good attitude anyway and those increased endorphens just add to the joy.

Now, as I'm typing this, Miss Emma is draped across my shoulders, supported also by the back of the sofa and she's playing in my hair. She and the other kittens received their vaccinations on Friday and not a moment too soon! Miss Emma has a cold and is on meds; she seems to be a bit better ...at least if her antics this morning are any indication. I just wish her nasty little cough would heal.

Are you among those who are C. S. Lewis fans? Are you also aware he was a member of the Inklings? There were a small group of thinkers and writers who, IMO, re-defined Christian writing. Dorothy Sayers and J.R.R. Tolkien were both members although I've read Sayers was an unofficial member due to her gender, and it's due to a challenge from Tolkien that Lewis wrote the Chronicles of Narnia. Tolkien's most famous books is the Lord of the Rings series and my favorite of Sayers are the Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries. Hugh Laurie, the actor who plays Dr. House, is the actor who played Lord Peter Wimsey whom I enjoyed far more than the House character.

By the way, Voyage of the Dawn Trader is in production. I love the Narnia books and movies and think the Potter series pales in comparison. Oh, don't get me wrong...Potter is good but Narnia is GREAT! Potter engages the eyes and Narnia engages the mind but then, I've always been a person for whom the mind being engaged was far superior to the eyes being engaged. Isn't imagination a wonderful thing? When children, or adults, don't have an active positive imagination, they just aren't living full lives, don't you think? A person with an active imagination is never bored because the pictures and story are being played out in the mind. If you disagree on the Narnia Potter discussion, that's okay too and I'd like to hear why you prefer Potter to Narnia. -smile-

As to Dorothy L. Sayers...she's an interesting person. She
, as Lewis and Tolkien, was associated with Oxford and advocated a classical education, as do I even though my "classical education" was on the waning moon. She wrote a compelling argument for same entitled The Lost Tools of Learning. She also wrote a definitive translation of Dante's Divine Comedy. In this, her last work, she looks deeply at The Seven Deadly Sins and the medieval concept of those sins.

All this, the above post, is because of Sunday's Sabbath Keeping quotes of C. S. Lewis. Every so often, I re-read Lewis and others of his time and enjoy
them all over again. Just like the Bible...King James Version, ta very much!...there's always something new to fix upon, to ponder and reflect upon. Dave has begun downloading some of my favorite authors onto my MP3 player so I now have audio books no matter where I go...studio, automobile, home...it doesn't matter where because I have headphones or speakers that will play the MP3. So much FUN to listen to authors who amuse me, entertain me, make me think and, hopefully, make me a better writer. There's a certain turn of phrase that's sorely lacking in today's writings. A lot of books today are so vulgar...there's that word again...tawdry, unimaginative, boring, even. I find myself returning, again and again, to the familiar, the safe, the cozy that still manage to stretch me in various ways.

What about you; what books do you enjoy listening to or reading?

The studio in the morning light with Sam intently studying the cat and kittens. "No, Sam", do Not Even Think of chasing them!

The west side of the studio with bird feeders and flowers in window box.

I think my little bird door knocker is so sweet and it looks like the Christmas cactus is getting ready to bloom!St. Francis watches over the flowers and has either water or bird seed in his container. I love the sweet look on his face. Do you remember the movie Brother Sun, Sister Moon. I loved that movie, wish I could find it for $5 at Wal-Mart -smile- and think it was one of Director Franco Zeffirelli's best, certainly one of my favorites. I'm sure if I saw it today, it might not be as great as my memory says but I'm sure I'd still like it.

The Chinese symbol for harmony with the pencil cactus hanging beside.I enjoy picking wild flowers and then putting them into this old blue enamel coffee pot. The lid long gone, the pot is still wonderful as a flower container and looks so nice sitting upon the little green table. That little table used to be white but white was too brash and stood out when I wanted it to blend. Uh Oh. Christian lesson there, I'd wager to say!

The studio is getting some serious time this week as well as for the remainder of the month. I've several quilts to finish, some textile post cards to make and scarves/shawls to sew. I enjoy finding beautiful material and making shawls/scarves. A couple of spinning wheels are out there so I can always take a whirl when my fingers are weary of sewing on my antique sewing machines. When I'm caught up, I'll take you into the studio for a visit and will also post my bread recipes.

Banana walnut bread is in the oven, coffee and tea pots are full and hot, dogs asleep at my feet, Miss Emma in a sunbeam...Ahhhh...this is the Moment!

Blessings ~ a good read ~ a good listen ~ great authors ~ ability to download ~ exercise ~ good health ~ festivals ~ banana walnut bread ~ puppies, kittens, dogs and cats ~ always thankful to God for giving me little ways to keep me humble! ~ YOU~

10 comments:

  1. good morning to you dear ms. sandra! oh boy, i love this post! first - funny thing about the underlines, haha! i liove the fawns - it's ok, we WON'T consider the sacry part. she's right there somewhere. ms. emma is is wonderful and sadie ais the best, love your bird knocker and the chinese symbol, and are you Catholic? just asking, coz we are. the books are great - love the narnia series and have read the seven deadly sins (let me write here quick - read a bit of mr. fleckennstein's blogs and the hubby went on and on about clunker cars, etc., i gotta read more to catch up). books i'm reading:still finishing Andrew Carnegie - grew up with his books and og mandino's and charles schwab's,and dale carnegie's. etc. AND one day my husband decided to pick this humongous book on Andrew Carnegie and I am glad really because it says here that this one tells all, none of those 'his wife wants this written' or 'the family does not like this part' kind of politics. anyway, this is getting long for a comment. also finished the stroy of Eva Scloss, Anne Frank's post-humous step-sister who survived the Auschwitz camp. will read c.s. lewis' Mere Chriastianity next.

    i'd like to see pictures of you doing the yoga, and the Celtic dances, etc. you DON"T want to see me dance, that'd for sure. okay, i have to go, i'm making oatmeal for breakfast, and want to go walking...bye! have a happy, busy week! whew! sorry for the length of this.

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  2. Blessings to you!
    Your studio is such a nice place to have to work. It's great.

    The pic of Sadie Lady is award winning with her there and the gorgeous background. Heavenly days. I can only imagine waking to such earthly beauty everyday. I know you say the exercise helps with your blood pressure, but I think the scenery and your walk with God is a plus.

    Enjoy your blog and friendship,
    d

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  3. Good afternoon, Ms. Sandra! What a wonderful post to get my afternoon cranking!

    Your little deer photos reminded me of something that happend to me last year. My husband and I were taking a walk when a fawn came bounding up behind us. We live down a dirt road, so seeing deer wasn't uncommon. However, this little guy walked right up to me and would have let me pet him had a truck not chosen that moment to come flying around the curve! Later on that day, I saw the little guy again, this time with his mother and siblings, scampering about happily in the back of my in-laws property.

    I did a research paper on Tolkien years ago in college. It was through that research that I "met" C.S. Lewis and the Inklings. I enjoy everything I can get my hands on about these guys (and girl)!

    Love both Potter and Narnia but for very distinct reasons. Harry Potter speaks to me on such a personal level. I share many things with those characters, the least of which is having watched loved ones die and the feeling of lonliness that comes with it. In Narnia, I'm able to lose myself in the innocense of Lucy and the excitement of seeing Aslan! O, to be able to walk with him and talk to him in person :)

    Thank you for this wonderful post! Have a fantastic day!

    ~Jen

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  4. and sorry for all the typo errors - gosh!

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  5. Hey sandy!

    Just a little note to let you know you won the My Little Cabbage giveaway over at my blog! Just send an email to meg@whatmegmakes.com & tell me if you want the Conan, Pee-Wee, or Dwight pin. Along with your address of course!

    Thanks!

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  6. I saw a PBS series where there were several actors who portrayed the Inklings, and then were interviewed as they stayed in character. It was very, very good. I think I actually taped it back in the good old VHS days.

    I have read a lot about the Inklings, and I like C.S. Lewis. I read a book of his letters, still have it. I prefer Tolkein of all the Inklings...pretty much just about everything he wrote. Always leaves me thinking ...but then so does Lewis, and Sayers.O.K., all of them.

    Your view is always beautiful, fog, snow, rain or sun and I can tell you are thankful for it.

    You are going to be busy. Have fun while you spin and toil, and hopefully do not boil!

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  7. Have you read Melanie M. Jeschke's Christian fiction series, The Oxford Chronicles? A very nice perspective on the Inklings.

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  8. the narnia books are some of the finest books ever written...engaging, meaningful...and i cry my heart out when aslan is killed.

    your photos are lovely.

    good luck at your olde time days event...sounds fun

    chasity

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  9. Hi Cherie - I tell you...if it can be messed up, I can mess it up! So low tech but I can put together the groceries pretty well -smile-. You and I have read a lot of the same books, very enjoyable reads too!

    Hi Deanna - walking with God...the best part of walking -smile-! It's SO lovely here, no matter the weather, it's SO lovely here.

    Hi Jen - how wonderful to have such a close encounter with a fawn; what an absolute gift! Thank you for your thoughts re. Potter and Narnia and I do understand. It is sad watching someone die but I take great comfort and solace in knowing we'll be reunited in heaven. That's what gets MY feet on the floor in the mornings! -smile-

    Hi Meg - what good news; now that the festival is behind me, I'll visit and Many Thanks!

    Hi Kathy - I'd love to see that piece, sounds wonderful. I keep somewhat cool in that long dress and looked like I was far cooler than women wearing jeans that looked to be too warm to wear. It was a good day and I'm glad I participated.

    Hi Rhine - no, I haven't but it's now on my list to find and read; Thanks!

    H Chasity - but the good part is, Aslan comes back to life! Hurrah! Just like in Real Life - grin -.

    Hi Zakir - many thanks for your nice compliment and for your visit, come back soon.

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