Rebecca Sower

the quote keeper's summer series (13)

Slight not what is near

by aiming at what is far.

{ euripides }

{ photo: henny-hen eyeing my basil, the silly. }

the quote keeper's summer series (09)

Life is not so short

but that there is always

time enough for courtesy.

{ ralph waldo emerson }

{ photo: images from around the homestead }

that kind of day

I woke with energy and motivation to go into my studio and make journals to put in my shop.

But that changed when I went down to the kitchen, windows open and that spring breeze blowing in.  I knew it would be a baking, fresh-air chores day.

(I'm just learning Instagram...bear with me...these photos look a little weird don't they?)

That sky-blue sky with those puffy white clouds.  Breathe deep deep deep and savor all that fresh air...

 

just the remedy for that teenage-boy-smell that sometimes accompanies the clothes on that young man that I love so much...

and with windows open and fresh lilacs catching the breeze, I don my apron and start baking...

stacks of waffles to put in the freezer (there is no end to how many waffles a 14-year-old boy can eat in one sitting)...

almond butter cookies that will be gone within 20 minutes of the kids getting home from school...

and fresh bread for dinner and maybe even some for tomorrow too...

What do you like to do with your fresh-air spring days?

honeycrisp apple crisp

My husband and I drove up to the Country Living fair this weekend.  On the way home we stopped by this store and...there they were!

...what I've been waiting for all year...the season's first honeycrisp apples.

My favorite apple.  I bought a big bag full...some to eat on the way home, some to put in the kid's school lunches, and some to make apple crisp (recipe below).  Sorry no photos of the finished dessert, we ate it all.

HONEYCRISP APPLE CRISP:

Dice 6-7 apples into baking dish (i leave the peel on).  Squeeze half a lemon over apples.  Drizzle honey (i use local wildflower honey; or you could use pure maple syrup) over apples and stir around a bit to coat.  Sprinkle cinnamon over top.  Mix this topping in a separate bowl:  6ish tablespoons of soft (real) butter, about 1 cup regular oats, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour, spoonful of cinnamon (here's where you can grate in a little nutmeg, or a pinch of ground cloves, etc., if you'd like).  Scatter mixed topping over apples.  Toast some pecans or walnuts and sprinkle over apples if desired.  Bake at 375 for 40 or so minutes.  Serve warm with ice cream and/or coffee if you'd like.

Happy almost fall!

bringing back a barn

The old tobacco barn project is moving along.  It's actually become a pretty functional place for me.  Since it's the closest structure to our main garden, I've found it my favorite place to hang out and do my 'garden' tasks.  A big flat-bed trailer in the back is where most of that happens.  But here are some shots of the front section.  Nothing too fancy or finished, but it's become a fun place to eat, read, hang out.  Warm and dry when these frequent and strong storms blow through...

Thanks for taking a little barn tour with me.  I hope all is well with each of you and that you are loving this beautiful life we are given.

Until next time...

still here

After a few emails ("hi Rebecca, are you still there?"), I woke up and realized just how long it's been since I visited with you here.  Updates.....

A couple of weeks ago, a dear friend introduced me to Thistle Farms in Nashville.  I've visited their facility twice now, such authentic and strong women.  Here's a bit of what they're about...

"Thistle Farms is a social enterprise run by women who have survived lives of violence, prostitution, and addiction. By hand, the women of Thistle Farms make natural bath and body products that are as good for the earth as they are for the body."

Their products are beautiful and truly good healing products, been using nothing but for a couple of weeks now.  Oh, and the sweet lady in shipping told me to tell you that if you purchase something online from them, she takes time to pray over your product and its recipient.  Really.  How many of the items you purchase are prayed over?

 

For my gardening friends, are you starting your seeds indoors?  I've been tending my little green indoor garden for a couple of weeks or so.  This is so relaxing and rewarding for me.  But I'm ready to get out there and dig in the dirt for real, aren't you?

 

I've been in my studio very little lately.  The pull just hasn't been there.  We go through these times, and I always say to roll with it.  Forced creativity usually tells on itself. 

Been making and packaging up a few things to take to my new little booth at Artifacts...a handcrafted artist emporium in a nearby town.  It will be fun (interesting?) to see how I sell locally. 

And last but not least, when the weather permits, I've been heading down to our old tobacco barn.  For the years we've lived here, the old barn has sat quietly by, waiting for something.  I've just never been sure what that something is.  But lately I've been going down, cleaning up, clearing out, thinking, noticing.  Got something up my sleeve for the old barn.  The scheming's been fun.

So there you go.  It's what's going on in my world of late.

But enough about me...what's been keeping you busy?

 

for the ideas (and the food)

Another snow yesterday. 

But here on our little 'farm', January is the beginning of warm and green too.

Why is this so exciting to me?  A small spoonful of soil and a tiny seed.

That will grow into something beautiful and healthful for our table and our bodies.

Even the books are exciting to me. And I spend much of my winter curled up somewhere, pouring over the pages and the photos.  Daydreaming.

If I close my eyes I can almost smell the good earth, feel the soil in my hands.

This year, a much bigger garden.  It's likely I'm over-achieving.

But I will be at home there, between the rows, letting my thoughts wander and meander as I tend the vegetables.

Why do I grow a vegetable garden?  The food.  Of course the food.  Straight from the earth to my family's table.  There is nothing so nourishing as that.

But also for the way my mind gets to run off and play while I'm out there digging in the dirt.  It's good for mind and soul and body. Why would I not do this?

Do you garden?

merry christmas to all

Here in the country it's a quiet family Christmas. 

And I am blessed with a few moments to sit down here and wish for you . . .

. . . a season of comfort and joy and all that is peaceful and good . . .

. . . a time of reaching out to others (remember, the holidays are not merry and bright for everyone; some dear souls are hurting this time of year...it's our privelege to do what we can to ease their pain a little) . . .

 . . . I wish for you many, many moments of warm candlelight,

holding the hand of someone you love . . .

 . . . and much time spent laughing and sharing and making new friends . . .

. . . I wish for you a Christmas that is everything a Christmas should be.

And I will see you in 2011!!

 

"And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God, Eternal Father,

Prince of Peace."

{ Isaiah 9:6 }

life, creatively

I'm in full-on homestead mode here on our little piece of earth.  If summer is busy, autumn is even more so.  But beautifully busy.  Feel-good distractions pulling me away from this computer.

Our newest hens are laying like crazy.  So with the baskets full of healthy, happy eggs comes much fall baking.  And since I'm in the kitchen...

 
I should bake a pie or two with these most delicious honeycrisp apples that I've gone back to the store three times to restock.  We can't stop eating them this time of year.  Wow, my kitchen is a busy place, a lot of kitchen sounds with good tunes to keep me bustling.

 
My sweet-16 cupcake baker made these.  And for dinner you could try this stew or this meatloaf.  We loved them both.  Let's see, what else is going on around here?

Oh yeah, it's time to drag this beast out and put her to work.  And work she does....

 

For the past few years I've been canning all sorts of foods with the best ingredients available, many are from local gardens and farmers.  It feels so good to be less relient on ingredients I'm not okay with.  Can you tell I watched Food Inc. again recently?  Gets me every time.

 

Fall is also backpacking season for us.  The packs are lined up and getting ready to go for our trip to the mountains next week.  100% nature and each other for three straight days.  We come home dirty and exhausted and a little grouchy.  But our spirits are cleansed and mended and re-energized.  Unplugging from everything always offer its own beautiful rewards.  Need a source of inspiration for getting out into God's green earth?  I have just the thing.  And when we return?  It's back to 'project studio re-do', no more procrastinating.  It's coming along, a little more slowly with my self-imposed budget of $0.  Pushes me to be a little more creative in my thought processes.

So you see?  There's much calling me away from this computer screen.  I know it's the same with you.  Grab my hand and let's get out there together.  No more sitting around talking about living creatively...let the creative life begin!

 

 

 

for what they are

"We love the things we love for what they are."

{ robert frost }

Things like...

...fresh basil on the patio, and things like...

...the prettiest cupcakes made by my sweet-16 (inspired by those cake shows on tv--she's really good at this isn't she?), and things like...

...a dear dad's 70th birthday celebration (guess who made the cowboy cake?), and things like...

...a lazy kitty in the sun (thanks Bernie, I still love her!), and things like...

...a sweet young hen from our newest flock (she actually comes up to me so I can pick her up and pet her...I've named her 'Buttercream'...because she's golden and sweet), and things like...

...a daughter who's finally coming home from Haiti this weekend (I'm so proud of her but I miss her like crazy.  Is this the first time you've seen a hippie-clown?  Yeah, me too.)

What are the things you love for what they are?  You should do a blog post about them...you should.  And let me know so I can stop by.  I'd really like that.