Tuesday, March 17, 2015

~~~Gratitude~~~ Winter Weary...but...still grateful


Friday, March 13, 2015

PAUSE & SEE ~ yin & yang

  It’s about balance….
The changing seasons of life.
Breath in, breath out.
Expansion>
Contraction<
The circle that slowly goes…
Round,round,round.
                           
It’s about love….
Changing faces/places/spaces.
Who we are and what we give, today.
Is not.
Who we are tomorrow.
We seek.
Shall we find?
Or shall we lose?
Again.
                           
It’s about life….
Choices: made and missed.
Lives with limits.
Far better to be lived,
Fully and finally,
Free.
                                
Are we ever sure?
Can we ever, truly know.
Who we are.
Who we are meant,
to Be.
                                                                       
Yin/Yang, a constant.
As it should be.
As it must be.
Moving life forward.
Relentless….
Coursing through our veins.
Until the last breath that we take.
                                     
Connecting, interjecting,dissecting and rejecting.
Meeting of the minds.
Bleeding of the hearts.
Yin/Yang/Love/Life
                                     




         I try to see something new each day. The art of seeing is essential to any creative work in my humble opinion.  My favorites are the ones that stop me in my tracks!  Like so many folks I have a very busy mind that I struggle to quiet.  By creating this practice it has given me many opportunities to pause and be with a new wonder.  I love to wonder about wonders.  These little seeings can be just the jolt my creative process needs to get out of a rut.  But mostly, they provide a pause which is that moment of peace I need to heal from a frustration. These seeings are grounding for me and bring me to the present.  I will admit to laughing out loud with joy over some of my discoveries, they are a moments of childlike wonder!  


"When you realize how perfect everything is you will tilt your head back and laugh at the sky"     ~~~Buddha

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Part 2 ~ Cat & Mouse


Today the tale of the EcoNip Cat toy.  It started with a box of string as any good kitty story should.  Well, it is not exactly string but nylon cord.  Many years ago I was a member of a craft coop on the coast of Maine.  It is where I tried to sell handwoven items and when they won't sell I started making puppets! (selling handwoven is tough if you want to get USA wages with so many items being made where the labor cost are unfairly low... Anyways, I digress.)  One day it was my turn to be cashier at the coop and one of our older members pulled up in her car as I was about to go inside.  She had 2 big trash bags with her.  One bag was full of wool scraps, she was a rug braider.  The other was full of nylon cord, her husband made wooden lobster traps and the cord was used to "knit the trap door into the kitchen".  Well, this lady told me she thought I was a very handy girl and was sure I would find a use for these scraps.  As the old saying goes "Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, or do without!"  

So up to that attic they went, out of sight but NOT out of mind.  The 2 big bags sort of haunted me.  I needed to come up with an idea.  One day while gardening my cat at the time...the amazing Wally...who lived to be 23 years old...was rolling all over a catnip plant.  Ah-ha! a light bulb moment!  This was before "upcycling" was a word but being eco has always been hip to me!  So the EcoNip was born!  I have made 100's since then and they have been enjoyed by cats from coast to coast!



I recently re-designed the EcoNip to rat size for longer cat huggable fun!  Here is my product description... EcoNips ---> HERE

Each Econip is handmade from upcycled wool. The nylon tails are scraps from the making of Maine lobster traps. The nylon would have just ended up in the waste stream if I hadn't nabbed them. This Rat size Econip is approximately 11 inches long with a 18+ inch tail. The long tail allows you to play with your cat at a safe distance from claws! Contrasting colored ears are fun for cats to chew.

Each toys contains 1 CUP of my own HOMEGROWN Catnip, carefully cultivated using organic practices in Freedom, Maine. I store the catnip in leaf form and only crush it a bit to stuff each Econip. This method seems to leave the catnip more potent. After the catnip is added I stuff the rest of the body with Maine Sheep's Wool. The wool is washed waste wool from my handspinning ... see my yarn works here:::https://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyEmporium


Vern LOVES EcoNipS  I have to store my shop stock on a sealed box on the highest shelf I can find!  Some of my EcoNip customers store them in the freezer so their cats won't find them!






~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, &  Lifestyle on the Land:  


"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Today ~ Winter Marches On...


Another day in Winter wondering when it will end land...  This is today.  A little bit of thawing is happening.  A slow thaw is for the best but I do long for the snow to go at this point. 

The ducks are enjoying the first ground they have seen in 6 weeks!



 I snowshoe each day preferring the old gust shoes to the fancy metal ones.  They are quieter on this old spring snow.  I am leaving treats for the resident ravens each day.  Feels like plodding along through winter.  I often for get to look up and just watch the progress of one foot in front of the other.  But when I do look up it is beautiful....

 My favorite tree to hug ((()))

 Nice to see some blue sky today...

 The pond inlet flow is starting to work away at winter's grip.

First pussy willows are a welcomed bit of white! 
&
a perfect poem to describe the Now!


 

 WINTER'S END

Dwayne Leon Rankin

The snow still covers all the ground,
A chilling wind still blows.
Still no green or brown is seen,
As winter snows still flows.

But on the breeze a change is felt,
Blowing now on past.
Showing forth a hint of thaw,
Upon this winter cast.

Every day the sun does shine
With just a bit more heat.
The air seems just a bit more fresh,
With every breath more sweet.

And even though the snow still lies,
Upon the ground to see.
Still a trickl'ng can be heard,
Of waters flowing free.

Every day the level drops,
Of all that snow still seen.
Bringing hope the ground will soon
Be showing us some green.

A robin's song is heard nearby,
So faint and sweet the sound.
Showing now t'is winters end,
To all the land around




~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE! 

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, &  Lifestyle on the Land:  


"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry







Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Which came first--- the Cat or the Mouse? (Part 1)


I have been hemming & hawing over how to tell this story.  Maybe it is a bit of cabin fever or just that the story is a rather long and drawn out tale.  We are still very much in the grips of winter.  There are signs of spring, though.  The sun is a little higher on the horizon, my onions have sprouted on the window sill, and our cat, Vern, is going a bit nuts!  (...notice the cat chew marks in the wood...those shims are there to prevent Vern from using my onions as a cat bed!)


I have made strides to alleviate his cabin fever.  I found this nice big piece of wool fabric at the thrift shop.  I took time away from Etsy sewing to hem it and create a cat tunnel behind the couch for Vernie.



I also sewed up a batch of catnip mice toys I call EcoNips for my Etsy shop. Not sure that helped with Vern's craziness?!?  The tale continues to wind...I thought my EcoNip photos needed a something to jazz them up a bit.  With cats on my mind I decide to revisit an old puppet pattern.  This puppet was inspired by our wonderful old cat, Zippy, and my son's love for the nursery rhyme The Owl & the Pussycat.


Zippy lived to the ripe old age of 16.  He was still with us when Vern came to us 3 years ago.  He was a wonderful mellow cat.  My DH & he had a very special bond the Vern has not quite fulfilled.  We still miss him!



This a photo of my son's fun with our mellow boys!



Here are the original Owl and PussyCat (Zippy) Puppets as they look today! They have held up pretty well considering they are around 16 years old.  They were my son's toys but, I, also, used them for 5 years of elementary school substitute teaching!  They got some real use then!

My son's 4th birthday party with me doing The Owl & the Pussycat Puppet show!


Red-Wing Blackbird & my Boyo!


So here are the new puppet that are now in my shop...Inspired by Zippy & Vern!


Ok...I am * NOW * a mom of a college man ...but once upon a time....



I
The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
   In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
   Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
   And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
    What a beautiful Pussy you are,
         You are,
         You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

II
Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl!
   How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
   But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
   To the land where the Bong-Tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
   With a ring at the end of his nose,
             His nose,
             His nose,
   With a ring at the end of his nose.

III
"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
   Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."
So they took it away, and were married next day
   By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
   Which they ate with a runcible spoon;   
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
   They danced by the light of the moon,
             The moon,
             The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.