Here.
Doing what needs to be done.
I'm sure most everyone knows how cold it is... ridiculously cold. Not just here, But here, snowing most every day since I last posted.
The barn. At my son's place.
Gotta start somewhere...
Here.
Doing what needs to be done.
I'm sure most everyone knows how cold it is... ridiculously cold. Not just here, But here, snowing most every day since I last posted.
The barn. At my son's place.
Gotta start somewhere...
Still here, although here at present is The Gambia, visiting my husband’s family, not UK. It’s so hot here, I would welcome a colder climate!
I’m so glad you are too! In your cosy cabin.
Take good care ❤️
hot would be nice for a little while…
Hi from the west of Ireland. Strong shafts of sunlight across the kitchen floor today but a red alert issued for tonight. Strong winds and rain. Getting prepared today.
Your blog has always been inspirational to me Jude and I feel your ‘people’ are of the same ilk. All things could be taken away but our creativity will always be our strength. I cannot remember when I first came across your work but
It helps me to see you make. You are a mighty piece of work……xx
We need to keep the thread of positively. Thank you for your kind comment.
Still here after all these years.
And it’s been years! ❤️
Hey – still with you Jude – as we say in Ireland “May the wind be always at your back” which is taken from An Irish Blessing
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
Hey, thank you! ✌️
I’m still here and will be as long as you keep writing. I love reading all the comments. Thank you for your perseverance and Solow’s urging to keep going. Blessings to you both from fridged Ohio. Keep the fire burning.
❤️…hey ho! 🔥
Hey. I don’t comment much but I read every word you write. Minus 4 degrees here in the middle of the country.
No winter lasts forever, no spring skips it’s turn
(But I’m so tired of the cold)
Yeah, worn out too
Still here too….so happy to see you and Soul-O, and read all the lovely comments. What a beautiful community 💙
Keep warm over there everyone.
I hear an owl outside, and it’s making me smilec 😊
There were coyotes last night…
Ohhhhhh!
After more than two weeks of drippy fog, we are having a sunny day but temps are low 40s, down to mid 20s at night. Still, having to squint in the sunlight is worth it. It is Oregon, after all. The fog and rain will return sooner rather than later. Bought some asparagus starts to get in the ground. Not a lot grows in our shady backyard, but there’s one patch where it might thrive Wish me luck.
I left my asparagus patch behind, it had just taken hold.
Of course I’m still here 😸. I’m almost embarrassed to say it is 60 here and the sun is shining. Sending you virtual sunshine. I’m hibernating — only 15 more weeks of chemo to go.
There are all kinds of “storms”, right?❤️
Judith~ 60’s here too, but windy 🙂
Sending you loving thoughts X 15 weeks 💕
Still here after all these years. What a long strange trip it’s been. Enjoy every minute ❤️
I am here on the other side of the world in Australia. It is very very hot. I have never commented but I am here. The value of being here is immeasurable. I love it when your words and pictures arrive from a landscape I have never experienced. The main job here is to water the garden in preparation for the expected heatwave in the next few days.
It seems a world of extremes…and here we still are.
Waving from across snowy, state lines. Still here, still happy to be. 💛
Just shoveledl 1000 feet of driveway it’s snowing again!😬
Jude~ (and all)
Well, I think I may be the first (only? haha) one to say it is not cold, low 60°’s. However, we are back on High Wind Warning until 2PM tomorrow. It is very windy here, which plays with my breathing etc…but, I’ve already checked Watch Duty and no new fires at this moment.
Okay, that’s the weather report from SoCal 🙂
But, what I really want to say after reading your post and all of the comments is that I truly, deeply love this community and all who come here. This post had me back in the ‘early days’ of my time here 2010, when there was comment upon comment and it felt like an in-person gathering where there was was laughter and hugs and such a sense of being together. I really can’t tell you the depth to which I value this. No matter what the blog platforms do (or don’t do)…this feeling is worth the trouble. We are worth the trouble. This is the only ‘social media’ I do (Is you tube considered social media? – I do that too) and being in the blog-homes of others is extremely valuable.
May you all keep warm, eat well and enjoy this day in ways that work for you. 💕
Yes this has become like home, it’s amazing really, I am so grateful for the conversation.
Yes, life goes on, still here and the Sun in alway up there. Another beautiful day with new opportunities to create and bring change and more light into times of darkness.
The clouds have parted!
Still Happily Here! & chilly chilly chilly in VT. XoxoB
👍❤️
Hey! Still just going in Ohio too ❤️
Yay!
Still Happily Here! & chilly chilly chilly in VT. XoxoB
Still here xox
Take best care everyone !!
👋
always a treat to gather round your fire, jude, with all the ragmates huddled together, as we sip our tea, bake our bread ‘n snuffle our cats. i do love the intense invigoration of seasons. and yes, the figuring out of things. sprouting bulbs in winter are a nice reminder that spring is on its way. it’s all a big circle. speakin’ of which, sending a big, warm hug… x
All my plants are still back at the old place but they will be here soon…
I’ve been thinking about hibernation and what a shame it is that humans don’t do it. But I’m gonna try to get moving today. No news, no social media. We’ve been informed that our chimney is not safe ($10K to line it!!!) and to only use our wood stove in emergencies, so no fires for us. It’s okay. The novelty of it wore off a few years after we moved in, but it was cozy and nice to hear the fire crackling.
Wish it was more of an option here, nice to take a day off now and then…
Hey ! Still here looking at your great photos ..
LOVE.
There is always something to capture, life has so many moments.
Hey!
Still here and glad you are too!
👋
Minus 14 here last night, but the sun is out. Just going to tend to inside tasks today.
Eeek!
Cold coming (again or still) in Eastern Canada. No radio on or phone today, can’t bear it. I’ll make cookies. So good to hear from you Jude and read the wise comments of others. The pendulum will swing but in my lifetime? Hope and kindness prevail.
Cookies sounds good 👍
So glad to hear from you today, Jude. And I’m glad to hear from everyone else in this lovely warm friendly group. Yeah, no news; keep going and do something positive. 20° here and I’m now watching the birds. So grateful for the blue sky today and the birds and the squirrels.
Yeah, the sun came out here and cleared my head.
Still here. Grateful for the song of the furnace, turned down a few degrees to help preserve the grid. Glad for an excuse to spend the entire day with a good book and cloth. Thanks for the poem, sister Ragmate.
Here we are, right?
Good to hear from you up in the frozen north. Cold, cold here in southern Indiana 1 F when I got up heading up hopefully to 12 F and then down again tonight to -3F. Maybe out of this below freezing weather by Thursday—–one can only hope. Just started a very long book just in case I am stuck inside for awhile.
Stay warm. Soul-O has the right idea about being close to the source of warmth!
Yeah, imagine, even a frozen south.
And at least the only fire is in the stove. Soul-o in a coma.
Here in SE Michigan I’m in the same band of frigid weather as you Victoria. Fortunately I can work from home, so I don’t have the confront the cold unless I choose.
So glad to hear from you today …thank you for sharing gorgeous pics.
Deep East Texas will probably have ice today , so it’s COLD !
Cloth & thread keeps me going!
Yeah, just crazy! Be warm and safe.
No news channels today for me … head down and try to stay warm hand quilting ✌🏼
I’m glad you’re still here too!💙☃️
✌️ to you on this January day.
Good to see you here today. Have been wondering how you have been weathering the storms and the sad. Today I will want a shot of something strong in my coffee and maybe a nice fantasy novel to disassociate with. Bread baking and putting my phone in a drawer for the day sounds good too. Enough stupid for a lifetime indeed.
Time for some common sense.
Pureed cauliflower soup today with a squeeze of lemon. Artic weather arrived in East TN last night so 11° this morning. Pot of tea, dog on lap, looking out at sunshine and birds at the feeder. Yep, zero news. Awakening to a new way of being in the world. Appreciating all the comments and goodness flowing through here.
Good food helps…
Glad to see your welcome post this morning, Jude. Since you’d been feeling a bit low, I hope it means you are in more joyful spirits today. Cold here too in this southern part of Canada — almost minus eight F. The shining sin makes it feel warmer and brighter this morning. ☀️
The sun just came out! Yes, I am lighter!
🍀And I remembered: “…Before enlightenment – you carry water, you chop wood. After enlightenment – you carry water, you chop wood”…
Right!
Oh, thank you for this!
Life does go on, wood needs to be chopped, fires stoked, soup and bread made and baked and checking in on you, a given. So glad you are back. Here in central New Mexico, no snow but it is 20 degrees outside as I write this and it will get down to 8 degrees tonight. No fireplace but my heat will come from the green chile pork stew that I am simmering for dinner tonight. New Mexican Hatch green chiles will provide the heat and it will be so good along with some warm corn tortillas.
This past weekend was a mixed bag but the focus was on stitching a protective cloth talisman talisman to protect from what is coming today and the next four years. It is a wee cloth but powerful and hangs by our front door as protection for us and all who come into our home. It was blessed by candle light and words spoken over my Celtic altar before placement. Made with pieces of naturally dyed cloth from here in New Mexico, it also contains an imprint of a tiny eucalyptus leaf from my grandson in CA because CA is so on my mind and heart, a sprig of fresh sage for protection was stitched to the cloth and topped with a green bead from my CA granddaughter who knows I love all things green. Blessed be all who believe in democracy, in caring for each other, our communities and this earth we call home…
Thank you, Marti, for this idea of a talisman. Blessings!
I wonder if…what if the spent amaryllis blooms will give color? You have me going in my thoughts Marti! I think -2 tonight, and -7 tomorrow night. OK, let’s do this!
Thank you, Marti, your message is much appreciated.
It’s cold here, too, on the edge of the cold front. Frost. Will be huddled in the kitchen all day, the one warm room. Bread baking is on the agenda here, today, too.
Yes! And there is the aroma!
So nice to wake up to your post & pictures, Jude! Glad you are getting settled in spite of the cold. Baking bread sounds perfect!
It was 13 degrees at home yesterday, but today I’m on the road heading south & I’ll be in a sunny place by the end of the day. I’ll be away from home for awhile (medical stuff), but I’m staying with family & I brought along a “mini fiber art studio” for myself – small electric spinning wheel, a small loom, LOTS of yarn & fiber, needles, threads, etc to play with. Looking forward to some relaxing time in a warmer place!
Sounds good! Be well…
Jude ,
We got snow too . Hopefully WP will get its act together. Stay warm
Yeah, it’s a winter wonderland. That is, I wonder when winter will ease? 😂. 🔥is burnin’!
I’m here too. we had a day or so above freezing so that first deep blanket of white reduced itself. more snow yesterday and now the very cold. 4 degrees in northeast Ohio. glad you’ve lifted enough to post! rise like bread?
Rise like Bread!
Quote of the day!!!
Still here. The deep snow we have is welcome. We have put out our game camera and brought many treats to the chickens and wild birds.
And, here is a poem that is a story in a story and a reminder. Find the strawberry! So many great images
Relax, by Ellen Bass
“Bad things are going to happen.
Your tomatoes will grow a fungus
and your cat will get run over.
Someone will leave the bag with the ice cream
melting in the car and throw
your blue cashmere sweater in the drier.
Your husband will sleep
with a girl your daughter’s age, her breasts spilling
out of her blouse. Or your wife
will remember she’s a lesbian
and leave you for the woman next door. The other cat–
the one you never really liked–will contract a disease
that requires you to pry open its feverish mouth
every four hours. Your parents will die.
No matter how many vitamins you take,
how much Pilates, you’ll lose your keys,
your hair and your memory. If your daughter
doesn’t plug her heart
into every live socket she passes,
you’ll come home to find your son has emptied
the refrigerator, dragged it to the curb,
and called the used appliance store for a pick up–drug money.
There’s a Buddhist story of a woman chased by a tiger.
When she comes to a cliff, she sees a sturdy vine
and climbs half way down. But there’s also a tiger below.
And two mice–one white, one black–scurry out
and begin to gnaw at the vine. At this point
she notices a wild strawberry growing from a crevice.
She looks up, down, at the mice.
Then she eats the strawberry.
So here’s the view, the breeze, the pulse
in your throat. Your wallet will be stolen, you’ll get fat,
slip on the bathroom tiles of a foreign hotel
and crack your hip. You’ll be lonely.
Oh taste how sweet and tart
the red juice is, how the tiny seeds
crunch between your teeth.”
May you all be safe and warm and remember there are many people that think of you fondly.
Sharon
Thank you, that was great.❤️
That was a wonderful reminder that “circumstances don’t matter. It’s how you react to circumstances that matter”.
Yes…
Thank you for those words Sharon…the pendulum always swings. Time to find the strawberry!
Thank you Sharon…such a great reminder.
Baking bread sounds like a very good plan; all the ingredients are already here; it’s cold here too. Almost ready to start something new.
I think of my dad when I make bread
I am glad you are still here and many others are too. Community is essential. I recently moved to southwest New Mexico and I took a day trip to a Mexican border town yesterday. Good people are everywhere. 💞 Wishing you warmth from within for now. Spring is on her way.
Ah, thank you for your warming comment. 🔥
snowy, cold, and windy here, with an arctic blast from the Sound, but it is a good distraction to what is going on here on LI and DC. I will take Mother Nature over human nature these days.
I’m painting lucky charms on large pieces of burlap for 2025. I think I will need them. If I had a stove, I would chop wood, too, to keep the flame burning. Thank you for always sharing yours.
Good point, distraction. Thank you for that. Makes whatever winter brings ok. Enough of the shit show.
what a wonderful barn … and I spy a playset! … thanks for helping me to focus on the positive today
sorry to hear that WordPress is being difficult, but it’s reassuring to know that I made the right choice to go back to the old blog
Yeah, he uses it as a workshop. The playset was there, there is also a trampoline!
Yeah, I am seriously reconsidering this online stuff.
Still here and the sun is shiny brightly today which I am always grateful for! 💛
Yes, the sun did come out!
still here too,
its cold and the idiot lit the town ship burnpile
and the cold pushed the smoke into the house
so no sleep.
the good news I see you are near your son.
at the 3 season cabin we’d put rocks on the wood stove to heat up and we’d roll them in towels and put them at our feet in the bed.
I’d keep a pot of water on the stove to steam.
Yeah, I’m learning … there is a sense of joy in figuring out how to get by.
There IS a serious sense of joy in learning to get by.
We used to call it Tinkering; still do😘
I like that ..I think my mother called it muddling.
Mine said “puttering” 🙂
😄
Here I am! 🙂 We aren’t quite as cold and no snow, but it’s cold out there! 19 F with the wind chill this morning, the frost isn’t melting in the shade. No snow makes it easier for me but less insulation for the plants. Glad you have some growing things as well as the fire and Soul-o.
0 this morning, probably below for the next few days 🥶. But hey. Winter becomes spring.🙃
It’s stupid cold here, meaning people get stupid when it gets this cold. Snow and ice predictions means it gets exponentially worse. Luckily I don’t have to go anywhere. And I’ve got an envelope full of moons with which I can entertain myself. Many thanks for those. Some day I will get brave and try an indigo vat, but for now I’m happy to have these. The pink ones made me go listen to Nick Drake. 🙃
Ha, it’s amazing what a little patch of color can inspire!
Cold here, too. Out to feed the horses in the red dawn glow wrapped up like an artic explorer. The horses are always glad to see me. They’re not cold, just happy for morning and food. I’m still here and going.
I must look very strange in all my layers. The horses next door are out in their coats, playing!
I’m glad you are ok… 3 degrees here, feeding the ferals this am, my fingers are still stinging…please be safe…. Hugs./purrs
Fingers are cold a lot but ok. Bringing in wood and shoveling in small spurts.
Amaryllis are so joyfully determined to grow tall and elegant!
A lesson for us all maybe? even if we are smothered in chunky socks, jumpers and shawls lol to keep snuggly warm.
I used to enjoy snow when I was young, much less so now in my 70s lol
UK is due some more I believe this next weekend …. 🙁
Yes, they do inspire. The snow is beautiful, just getting around in it is more of a challenge in older age.
Still here reading your words….
We also have snow and my Son is shoveling it off the front porch..the furnace has kicked in- I raised the temp….I’ve had a good shower and fresh clothes…..now breakfast and reading the newspaper… My paper white have blossomed and gone but the tall green stems are still of interest to me. Well, my oatmeal is ready… that’s it from Coastal Maine.
Oatmeal sounds good.
Still here! Really happy to hear from you this morning. Opened my email wishing for this and better you are!
I’ve been a bit low this week.
Still here!!!
And it’s cold here as well, winter storm warnings for tomorrow, snow on the Gulf Coast?! Ugh. They’ll be closing the schools for 1-3″ (becuz the roads will ice and no one knows how to drive in it!)
Love all the pics, the growing, the going, the barn and Soul-O by the fire!
I’ve got books, and cloth, tea and cats…and heat lamps under the citrus trees 🥶🤞🤞🤞 and I’m staying away from news/social media this week…SO very Happy to find you in my mailbox this morning! 📬🤩
….I’m Still HERE.
(& I’m glad you are too!!)
Wheeeee—
Absolutely no news, I’ve had enough stupid for a lifetime.
EXACTLY.
Is that not the solid truth, or what?!!
Just woke, 3:55 AM, it is -25 F. Hope you are keeping warm and not having to get up too often to add wood to the fire. Soul-O by the fire, always the place for cats. I’m usually okay with the weather and winter, but this winter? Is it spring yet? The question I keep asking,… is it spring yet?
Hey, just got up, 6:30 AM. -7! Not used to this. Much better at the fire thing, I get up once during the night to load it up . It is some crazy winter…same question.
I’m here, Jude! It’s cold here, as well….makes that cuppa taste doubly good, and then tea and threads. Walking Pepper is brisk, at 22*. But no wind!
And the Frost Weed in my Garden is blooming!
I think I will bake bread.
Green beaks and shoots make such a difference in the dark winter days.
Yes, it’s like a bit of sun 🌞