Joining in Five on Friday with Amy at love made my home:
One:
Have you read Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House" series of books? I have lost track of how many times I have read through the series, but after ten days of camping in the forest east of Mt. Hood, recently, pioneering has especially been on my mind. I was on roads that followed the Oregon Trail formed by brave and foolish folk who wanted to stake claim on land in the western United States. We drove home to our log sided house, and since then I have thought how I have felt like a pioneer of sorts as I have traveled back and forth across the USA over my 65 years. I have never lived in a true log cabin, but have often joked that I have lived in houses with dirt[y] floors! When I saw this book this week I was primed to read and enjoy every page of it! I also finally framed the Multnomah Falls poster I purchased last Fall at the Centennial Celebration of the Falls as a national park site, and it reminds me of the wonders nearby and around the world that we can pioneer our way to see, and protect and treasure.
Many of the pioneers were dependent on their gardens as they settled on their land and needed to grow food to sustain themselves and their neighbors. While I have not fought the effects of plagues of grasshoppers or the effects of foul weather on my gardens, I have had marginal gardening success, so I am especially hopeful as I note that three years after I planted them, I have two Holly Hock plants and one of them has a huge flower bud! Also, for the first time in the many times I have planted Sweet Pea seeds, I have Sweet Pea vines growing up the trellis by the Holly Hock! Still on the theme of growing, I enjoyed reading the first issue, FLORA, of making which has many patterns for stitching projects including a sweet counted cross stitch pattern by Alicia Paulson.
June 14th we celebrated Flag Day here in the USA although I did not attend any celebrations focused on it...I just noted that I am grateful to those who pioneered their way here so that in my lifetime I have been protected to live with much freedom...and I yearn to share that freedom and peace with everyone.
Teresa and Dayle found a knit happy mug for me to keep some of my knitting needles and crochet hooks in. Thank you again Teresa and Dayle. I also have a crochet hook holder that Taci made for me in it, and a sock needle DPN holder that Betsy and Dennis made for me in it. To me these ladies are all pioneers in stitching who have traveled much farther in their stitching skills than I have, and I am grateful that they and others still cheer on my efforts to grow my stitching skills.
When I noted that my four year old grand Joy was saving her pennies in some sort of tin can...which works fine...I was nonetheless inspired to pick up a piggie bank at the craft store for her. Joy's mom, Joy and I pioneered our way through mixing red and white acrylic paint and brushing the resulting pink onto the pig...phase one of the pig's decoration.
Have you been pioneering this week?
xx
Gracie
