listening...

{dig down deep ; vandaveer }


three listening lovelies for today... vandaveer, samantha crain, and ben sollee


all three are new favorites.  all three inspirational.  unique.  beautiful.  sincere.  soulful.


good for the heart music

{ santa fe ; samantha crain }

{ prettiest tree on the mountain ; ben sollee }


an artist who happens to be from my hometown of lexington, ky... here is a little about ben's 'ditch the van tour' (from his bio)  


"Later in 2010, Ben embarked on the “Ditch The Van Tour.” Ben and his band abandoned the comforts of a motorized vehicle and hauled their gear and instruments (yep, the cello too) across the country on bicycles. Ben’s mission was to engage a greater sense of community involvement at every performance. By huffing it on two-wheels between cities, instead of driving or flying, Ben and his crew were able to discover people and facets of our country in ways that traditional touring could not allow. “It’s not about being green or even sustainable… we want to exploit the limitations of the bicycle to slow down and experience the rich communities and people that I’ve spent years flying-by and driving past.”




happy tuesday

listening...

{ rest, by cheyenne marie mize }

another kentucky girl

listening, as i try to clean house and wrap presents and do laundry and stitch presents.  not feeling so great today, so all i really want to do is curl up on the couch, with a cup of hot chocolate, beautiful music, and  a good book...

happy tuesday

celebrating sisterhood...

handmade tree i picked up from berea, ky

well, i'm sorry for the lack of posting over the last few weeks... can i claim an end of summer break excuse?  between being sick, and family weekend events, and busy stitching (some exciting shop news will be coming soon!), my writing and posting has been quite delayed.  

in my aunt and grandmother's 'secret' little garden, 

this is the feral cat who is father to my sister's two cats... the father to my cat is a few feet away under the brush

this last weekend, my sister and i made a quick trip up to kentucky to visit family... our mother and grandmother and aunt and uncle, as well as a visit with my best friend and her sweet baby girl.

on sunday, we drove through the back roads of kentucky, across the river ferry, and in to the town of berea... for a bit of shopping, conversation and coffee (and chocolate muffins), and a feminist dialog conversation event featuring the amazing gloria steinem and bell hooks... 'celebrating sisterhood'.

valley view ferry in kentucky

now, for anyone of the folk arts and crafts way of living, the town of berea is truly like a little hit of ecstasy!  shops filled with carefully, lovingly, and pridefully hand crafted deliciousness, from hand woven textiles, to carved sculptures, to beautifully simple wooden furniture, to lovely pottery and beyond.  i believe we exclaimed in merriment (with bursts of "cute!" and "amazing!" and "so beautiful!") over every single piece in each store... in other words, thousands of times over.

after a rest at the coffee shop, we headed over to the chapel on the college campus for the conversation event, presented by the women's studies department... here is a bit about the college itself ~

berea college, founded in 1855 under the scriptural motto "god has made of one blood all peoples of the earth", was the only interracial and coeducational college in the south for nearly half a century.   a place of shared learning, striving for the equality for all races, genders, and cultures... and offering  amazing opportunity to students from poor economic backgrounds... 

and today, seventy percent of the student body of the college is still made up of local students from appalachia and kentucky, while around sixty percent of new freshmen come from families where neither parent has a college degree.   

as one of the most highly ranked colleges in the nation, all students participate in a labor program of learning, work, and service within the community... with free tuition (offset by endowments, gifts, scholarships, and grants).  part of the berea college mission to "encourage in all members of the community a way of life characterized by plain living, pride in labor well done, zest for learning, high personal standards, and concern for the welfare of others."

bell hooks and gloria steinem, at 'celebrating sisterhood'

such an emotional experience, witnessing this conversation between two such powerful women... it was as if we were a few hundred flies on the wall, eavesdropping on this dialog, of age and gender and race and compassion, between two longtime friends, who each happen to be fundamentally important women in the history of activism for equality.  an earned sisterhood of trust and empathy... creating a trusting kinship of listening, knowing, and respect for each individual mind, rather than simply striving to achieve the same thoughts and philosophies. 

how i could go on, sharing their provocative and emotionally stirring thoughts on societal pressures of gender and age, compassionate empathy for nature and humanity and creatures of earth, and embracing and understanding and combatting the essential flaws found in every human being (how surprising and inspiring to learn that the historically vocal gloria steinem was once terrified of public speaking!).   

the conversation celebrated the launch of the 'bell hooks institute for critical thinking, contemplation, and dreaming' in berea.

a lovely evening to finish off a lovely weekend.

happy wednesday

tula

meet tula, my new sweet kitty... a georgia girl now, by way of kentucky. she and her siblings were actually rescued by my aunt (from a racoon)... the litter was born behind her house to a feral cat, who has since fortunately been spayed after giving birth to several litters of kittens. this litter was than fostered by a wonderful woman, who actually fostered my sister's kittens as well... tula's nieces! oh the hilarity this caused in my niece and nephew... that an 'aunt' could simultaneously be a baby!







tula, the smallest of the litter... yet oh so affectionate and loving... and a bit of a trouble maker! fortunately, she's pretty darn cute, so i tend to often look past the trouble part ;)







she was originally called thumbelina, for her tiny size and love of being held in a little ball, but i decided to give her the name tula, which means 'jumping water'. how surprising to find how well this tiny one can jump all over the furniture! the first night home, i spent time making a nice bed for her on the floor beside my own... i than crawled into my own, only to find this wee one springing onto my tall bed, curling up next to me










*** look for this lovely giveaway, via my friend rachel, from handmadecharlotte, coming next week on my blog... a darling skirt for babies, perfect for your own little one, or as a shower gift... i'm planning on including a little something from my own shop as well ;)

busy excitment

well, the last few weekends have been quite busy... but full of excitment. finally found a home to call my own a few weekends ago... as well as a car, all in the same weekend! much unpacking to do, but everything is beginning to come together... after so many months in limbo, staying with family, it's beautiful to discover old treasures as i unpack

thrilled to finally have a fireplace and mantle once again, after living without one for so many years in new york... i've dreamed of building fires over the holidays for quite some time ;)

some old favorites... lovely sea finds from my time in north carolina... i do miss living by the ocean

antique wooden spools from berea college, in kentucky... a favorite community... i bought these lovelies from my mom, imsovintage

glad to find this one arrived in one piece... an antique stained glass window... a gift from my mom several years ago

a favorite gift from my last birthday... from my sis, littleloveblue

so special to me, as she created this one using an old shirt from the little girl i used to take care of for many years... i think of my sweet little one every time i see this birdie

a new favorite... an antique trunk i picked up from a moving sale, here in buckhead... fits perfectly in my new living room

wedding

picture by littleloveblue

and this last weekend, i was so very honored to stand up with my beautiful friend, andrea, as her maid of honor... i've never seen her so happy as on this day, which filled my heart with joy

picture by littleloveblue

we've talked and dreamed of our wedding days over the last fourteen years we've been friends

such a gorgeous bride, and what a special feeling to stand with those you care about most in the world on their special days

now i'm looking forward to spending a little time settling into my new home... and getting busy creating new pieces for the shop!

bluegrass

1. Companionship in B&W, 2. In Her Eyes, 3. Sun & Fog, 4. Renae Price, 5. Old Man On Horseback In Mercer County, Kentucky, 6. Blooming Dogwood in Fog, Kentucky 2005, 7. Kentucky Club Tobacco Barn Ad, 8. Red River Gorge in the Daniel Boone national forest Kentucky, 9. Mill Springs, Kentucky, 10. Great Blue Heron at Lake Barkley state resort park Kentucky., 11. kentucky grass, 12. Kentucky colors, 13. Old Kentucky, 14. Crooked Birch Tree located off of Sulfur Creek Road in Adair County, Kentucky, 15. Dedicated To Eight Belles Who Died At The Kentucky Derby, 16. South Union, Kentucky, 17. Ezel, Kentucky, 18. Kentucky dawn4, 19. Quilt Pattern Barn in Kentucky, 20. Woman Carrying Laundry on Her Head Somewhere in Kentucky

off for a weekend road trip with my sister to kentucky, the state where i was born. some visiting time with our 'granny' and aunt 'laine', and a bridal shower for my best friend who is getting married next month

in honor of this trip (and since i will be missing the shopping list tomorrow), i found some lovely images of kentucky on flickr

enjoy this little tour through the bluegrass! i hope to have some pictures of my own to share when i return