Mid week, and the day has begun. Another day of water in the basement duty-joy. I say that with a sarcastic taste in my mouth. Yet, we will manage-we have so far. Enough said about the basement, otherwise it becomes a dreadful centerpiece on my kitchen table of life.
The kitchen table is where I sit to write; the advantages of a laptop. The kitchen table is also where so many things happen. Baking, cook prep, art projects, soap making, sewing, etc....Sometimes, I believe the kitchen table to be the heart of the home. I know it was for my grandparents' house. Each time I would go to visit, growing up and continuing into my early adult years until the last few years on occasion, I always knew where to find my grandmother when entering the front door. If she wasn't working crochet thread into spider web like creations we all know as doilies, she was most likely in the kitchen. A chat with my grandfather while he sat in his recliner watching tv, my internal gps would always point me to the kitchen. Take a seat at the table was the customary ritual, as she would be clearing away the last meal's dishes, placing into the sink for rinsing. Sometimes I would catch the scent of whatever she was cooking when I hit the front door, so the beeline for the kitchen was a bit faster; you never left their house hungry.
So, as I sit and write here at my kitchen table, those kitchen memories surround me. I look around at my own kitchen, looking for traces of connection. I am a hearth keeper, and my home's heart beats at the kitchen table.
~Momma
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb."
-Psalm 139:13
Gretchen, you are too cool! You are doing so much of what I want to do. I'm working on the homesteading too, just added 2 goats to my yard, in addition to my chickens and ducks. I will breed the little girl in the fall and have milk in the spring. I hope to breed her to an Angora buck so that I'll have fibers to sell (mohair and cashmere). Our garden this year doubled in size this year as we started using the squarefoot method of gardening. It allows you to plant so much more in much less space. We should have over 200 corn stalks, some wheat, cotton, and there will be gourds for decorating. The usual veggies will be there for canning and a local pick-your-own orchard provides us with fruit until our trees start producing. I have elderberries off my patio and just planted some red currants. I have gooseberries waiting for me at the local Agway and also plan on putting in some highbush blueberries.
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way. My 8 year-old spent time in the NICU too. Due date was 1/26 but he came 10/10. He's 8 now and we had a normal delivery for our second son who is now 5. Very scary but thankful for no lasting, life-changing issues as a result.