tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41767583320723347142024-03-18T23:13:30.964-04:00drucilla pettiboneDrucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.comBlogger696125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-67048309310277148192013-07-10T19:33:00.000-04:002014-10-21T19:57:29.703-04:00moving toward the light<div style="text-align: center;">
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dear friends, this has been my blog home for such a long time... but lately i haven't been feeling it. i think that with my papa's passing, i've gone through kind of a metamorphosis... (no, not into a cockroach!)! i may be back in this space, or not..</div>
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here's some little bones to leave you with (obvs i'm still working on cleaning them)... from one of our roosters who met his demise... from all-natural causes known as our dog betty :( </div>
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here's to better days ahead!</div>
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Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-53718372770443973132013-06-17T16:26:00.002-04:002013-06-17T16:40:30.514-04:00mini (many) miracles<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A week or so ago I had learned of a magickal caterpillar on <a href="http://theindigovat.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-one-year-anniversary-of-indigo-vat.html">Sylvia Linstead's blog, the Indigo Vat</a>. Imagine my surprise when I was taking photos of a vintage lamp for Etsy only to notice this coast's version of the little visitor: a white-marked tussock moth caterpillar. He seemed to be carrying an extra bit of fluff in his antenna - you know there's always plenty of fluff around here! The prominent little tufts, or tussocks, actually are defensive weaponry - they are toxic and can cause a rash in humans! Wild little trickster faeries.</div>
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Father's day came and went with plenty of tears. I feel like I'm breaking open and perhaps I'll be left a more real, less cynical and reserved, more overtly spiritual person. In our wolf-dog's usual wake of destruction (at a year and a half, she's still just a huge puppy), she unearthed a notebook with papers that included an email from Papa dated 5/23/97. It was one of those things I put in a safe place but had no idea where that was. It was the sweetest letter he ever wrote me. It felt like the sign I'd been waiting for, praying for, that he really is here with me. And my wolfie messenger is so dear for delivering it.</div>
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Later this week I'm going camping with Mad, my oldest and bestest friend, at the <a href="http://www.fireflygathering.org/">firefly gathering</a>. We've known each other for around 27 years. She's coming all the way from Illinois to see me and make things ok. And our girls' getaway of choice is this gathering... she's an archaeologist, so our interests intersect in learning primitive living skills (including for me, dyeing the Appalachian colour palette) and communing. I haven't been camping in years and my hub insisted I needed gear that I wouldn't have thought - like fold-up chairs, a hatchet, a lantern and a ginormous cooler. I was envisioning glamping with quilts and candles and bunting, and so these utilitarian provisions in their Coleman shades of dark blue and grey didn't seem quite aesthetically pleasing or old-school enough for me ... but he says I'll thank him.. So you can look forward to lots of photos of hippies and tools and plant friends and bonfires and shamanic dancing and glow tubes, and hopefully more faeries!</div>
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Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-91649991073311864752013-05-26T01:19:00.001-04:002013-05-26T01:34:26.693-04:00a spark of gray<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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i've been an admirer of Sylvia Linsteadt's blog <a href="http://theindigovat.blogspot.com/">The Indigo Vat</a> for some time now. what drew me in initially was her work with wool, but i stayed for her lush descriptions and photos of the wild bay area she loves. her combination of deep ecology and myth with lyrical writing is just enchanting... she has also written for the Dark Mountain Project, most recently an essay called <a href="http://dark-mountain.net/uncategorized/turning-our-fairytales-feral-again/">Turning Our Fairytales Feral Again</a>. so when she started a "wild tales by mail project," called the <a href="http://theindigovat.blogspot.com/p/the-gray-fox-epistles.html">Gray Fox Epistles</a>, i was curious - how odd to have a newly-penned story come via snail mail! i couldn't resist the analog appeal.</div>
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i came back home to the first three epistles all at once. the presentation is gorgeous, complete with animal tracks and lace lichen, seeds and petals. it took me a couple of days to devour them. these are not just stories, they are deep universes of imagination, history, animal knowledge and innovative prose. so much more than i expected and so nourishing to my wild-deprived soul. i've been tired of all my usual interests... but these stories, they are the first thing i've come across that lit a spark for me, made me want to learn and think and move and maybe even write again. </div>
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i have a good friend who said to me once, "there's no wild any more. there's just captive and captor." she is a wise woman, and i accepted her pronouncement, depressing as it was. but Sylvia and the Gray Fox have made me see that there is still plenty of wild, out there and also within, maybe just out of reach, but strong and coursing in, through and around our man-made mountains.</div>
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<br />Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-15659301909198199102013-05-20T21:18:00.002-04:002013-05-20T21:20:06.198-04:00giving thanks<div style="text-align: center;">
some of my nearest and dearest have made and sent the most thoughtful gifts...
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such a generous surprise from <a href="http://themerryspinsterat.blogspot.com/">Heather</a>, who knows my feelings about trees..</div>
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we studied them together.</div>
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she even contacted <a href="http://rockyalexander.wordpress.com/">my hub</a> to make the arrangements. </div>
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i was so moved by this gift to the earth! </div>
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and not long after the worst, I received</div>
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"Fairy dust" by <a href="http://handstories.typepad.com/">Handstories</a> (embiggen to see all the dust!) </div>
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all I had to do was mention faeries, and off she went! </div>
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it even includes a fragment of Grandma's sheet </div>
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(and there aren't many people who can say that!)</div>
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it softened my heart and made each day a little easier to bear.</div>
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and then such preciousness blew in from my dear Dana of <a href="http://leililaloo.blogspot.com/">Leililaloo</a>, </div>
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who knew from across the pond how much I needed gentle care. </div>
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she even included the tree painting, below. </div>
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there were also lovely cards, texts, comments here and facebook messages of support and love.</div>
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i'm still heartbroken, but i'm also ecstatic to have such friendship.</div>
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i feel very blessed to have such a father,</div>
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and to still have such beautiful souls in my life.</div>
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*thank you all*</div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-81577227124210922542013-05-04T15:25:00.001-04:002013-05-04T15:28:01.946-04:00things are still happening<br />
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<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">but it doesn't feel like they are supposed to. My seven year anniversary with my love was on the 28th. I felt it, because I love my love so deeply, but we haven't celebrated yet. And Beltane, the crown of the year, has passed me by as well. I long to be a light-bringer, a blessing on this mother we call earth... but for now, all I feel is in this tearjerker of a poem by Auden. </span></span></h2>
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Funeral Blues</h2>
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone.<br />
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,<br />
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum<br />
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.<br />
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Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead<br />
Scribbling in the sky the message He is Dead,<br />
Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public doves,<br />
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.<br />
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He was my North, my South, my East and West,<br />
My working week and my Sunday rest<br />
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;<br />
I thought that love would last forever, I was wrong.<br />
<br />
The stars are not wanted now; put out every one,<br />
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun.<br />
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood;<br />
For nothing now can ever come to any good.<br />
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<h2>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Thank you to my dear friends for your condolences. Every tenderness counts x a thousand right now. </span></h2>
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<br />Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-8557903548573526462013-04-22T20:57:00.001-04:002013-04-22T20:58:21.064-04:00Papa died on a Tuesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0092Q4CnCcZ1dZqOzqJ_KH6Bsxo5_z41ff1sHlW8gPiEfr9CR6bSR-YT_yD7k2pN70qsVuWTKvMN5oRwTalwrb_9ax9Y8sGo3A-hNd0PmtJBMcN8GV8_WJXxGTb6W5pQzyiyR1zG7jk/s1600/funeral+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk0092Q4CnCcZ1dZqOzqJ_KH6Bsxo5_z41ff1sHlW8gPiEfr9CR6bSR-YT_yD7k2pN70qsVuWTKvMN5oRwTalwrb_9ax9Y8sGo3A-hNd0PmtJBMcN8GV8_WJXxGTb6W5pQzyiyR1zG7jk/s400/funeral+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiWEvf-8RI3kd97_WF7xePYmwpMI3UW06amPXlq7oM-JAaSqXQLjqHGOHFDpz_XrRIm7dMCxdB0AlnVXFHETtk_SUyJWpKzil_uZgFz8WUWRlUR3rxb3ALgDRiqf93TqZ80wiajijSgc/s1600/funeral+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaiWEvf-8RI3kd97_WF7xePYmwpMI3UW06amPXlq7oM-JAaSqXQLjqHGOHFDpz_XrRIm7dMCxdB0AlnVXFHETtk_SUyJWpKzil_uZgFz8WUWRlUR3rxb3ALgDRiqf93TqZ80wiajijSgc/s400/funeral+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KBF35355Q15_3P1SM9BfvvgzmUL3PWsPfTfZxwzetAL3PkNVJ76SSFXuCpAxO5DqV1IqSRm0VD8nX9ibSuDszlMR7DiOtX37A4zrSP9r9WtzvuJAq2DNPHvhqtjIoaM34WQMdb7Vwik/s1600/funeral+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6KBF35355Q15_3P1SM9BfvvgzmUL3PWsPfTfZxwzetAL3PkNVJ76SSFXuCpAxO5DqV1IqSRm0VD8nX9ibSuDszlMR7DiOtX37A4zrSP9r9WtzvuJAq2DNPHvhqtjIoaM34WQMdb7Vwik/s400/funeral+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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and i haven't seen him since</div>
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except in my memory - i keep hoping he will haunt me.</div>
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i feel like i've lost my way with blogging</div>
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like i've lost my way with everything. </div>
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Papa had a beautiful and green burial. </div>
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just what he very specifically wanted, a pine box, out by the monastery.</div>
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Father Vincent did a lovely job with the memorial service.</div>
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it was so personal.</div>
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</div>
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i'm still (mostly) here, gutted</div>
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and possibly more likely to pop up on fb or instagram</div>
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but some of my friends are only in blogland,</div>
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so i'll try to be here too</div>
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as i reinvent life, and find something to say.</div>
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right now nothing much seems to matter enough to bother,</div>
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except thank you for being here.</div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-65468229415227382202013-04-03T21:07:00.001-04:002013-05-26T12:47:53.763-04:00fluff and maudlin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_MlOkksJ-AQBRTb4V_6wBf_ot5zkr-h3-fedUt9CLoe13w0_UsF2ZCqyOJerSIISxDJF7PkUiR2Csd3lFsPKN62mx9AYxciA5t-66kewvKUTvHP2ymKiadWPeVIvYZLgvPk5n5KV0PY/s1600/crimson+fronted+purple+finch3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ_MlOkksJ-AQBRTb4V_6wBf_ot5zkr-h3-fedUt9CLoe13w0_UsF2ZCqyOJerSIISxDJF7PkUiR2Csd3lFsPKN62mx9AYxciA5t-66kewvKUTvHP2ymKiadWPeVIvYZLgvPk5n5KV0PY/s640/crimson+fronted+purple+finch3.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWiODJTnJWtBX2sC6HDRAlIBd1dLAgBoc0RRjBtW40yh5ivPU8EzNe_ohWylaK_SMbV90_thw62B_8O00XcghzN047f5IwoGYCpquqXTyqjYxmER53Pi2MdPPSRpEyph50LKYb_ZHweM/s1600/swamp+warbler+batt2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLWiODJTnJWtBX2sC6HDRAlIBd1dLAgBoc0RRjBtW40yh5ivPU8EzNe_ohWylaK_SMbV90_thw62B_8O00XcghzN047f5IwoGYCpquqXTyqjYxmER53Pi2MdPPSRpEyph50LKYb_ZHweM/s400/swamp+warbler+batt2.jpg" width="500" /></a>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXOpvQMuRDYIivU0B8H1EnC3wqu8xhN5P4J4HMxYxOjELJ0SP9-_zPiAaJcuDakm8KRUgdB9LSwPl1N-ycByYIfwoy2jjP-W2llnkYSkYnhyThhxxVUR_NiFGhqAPU6g_GS_7KLEuEiWM/s1600/crimson+fronted+purple+finch5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXOpvQMuRDYIivU0B8H1EnC3wqu8xhN5P4J4HMxYxOjELJ0SP9-_zPiAaJcuDakm8KRUgdB9LSwPl1N-ycByYIfwoy2jjP-W2llnkYSkYnhyThhxxVUR_NiFGhqAPU6g_GS_7KLEuEiWM/s640/crimson+fronted+purple+finch5.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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these are some batts i whipped up not long ago. i missed spinning and fiber so much while i was at my folks' place, but now that i'm home, i'm feeling meh about it again. there's too much else to do, too much to feel and think about and process. i think my relationship with fiber is one of control. while i'm carding, spinning, stitching, i feel as though i have some order and that things are holding together as they should. it's a great feeling. but when i'm not able to do fiber it's because all is hanging out... there is no control... or i'm admitting that there never was.</div>
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it's not that it's right or wrong to want to be in control and to be exercising that desire through fiber, but i think it's good that i become aware of it. then the maniacal stitching that happens sometimes starts to make sense. did i tell you about that book i read called <i>Solstice Wood</i>? i think i did, but anyway, the ladies in the fiber circle were stitching together the boundaries between the worlds. i can so easily relate to that... i want to keep the boundaries closed, at least in terms of my papa - i don't want him crossing over, not yet, not soon - but it seems they are thinning anyway and there's nothing i can do to stop it. so i'm leaving them wide open and hoping we all get swallowed up.</div>
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so what activities are good for life-in-transition? dyeing? water usually soothes my wild beast. or how about making pies. reading and sleeping have been my mainstays but i should try walking the wolf pup through the woods. too bad we lost that bungee leash, it made it so much more comfy to walk with her. she's so incredibly strong and still she wants to chase birds, so she can't be left to run on her own. catching up on blogs and feeling connected to other people today has helped a little. there must be some way of staying present even in this grief, but if i'm honest, i don't even want to, i want to escape to a make-believe world that i create and stay there. where he is always there, singing to me, just like when i was a baby girl, "you are my sunshine," or "hush, little baby." i was always most excited about the billy goat. or i can take over on the singing part. i can do that.</div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-36407677231093215032013-04-01T14:07:00.001-04:002013-06-17T16:39:24.672-04:00deerie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia4NBTiekAI4eQnJKcq-SI4FTg3ENt1mhL_Yh8sKeK0gsaDmnmYh7Pe35UaQ0mLdHYB596vhTEMh1hfmmff50a2_OwJnANWQbvi20qRkNGEa-_VU2BcVEexKFv63fDfHGVourJvSklCiM/s1600/bloggy+deer1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia4NBTiekAI4eQnJKcq-SI4FTg3ENt1mhL_Yh8sKeK0gsaDmnmYh7Pe35UaQ0mLdHYB596vhTEMh1hfmmff50a2_OwJnANWQbvi20qRkNGEa-_VU2BcVEexKFv63fDfHGVourJvSklCiM/s640/bloggy+deer1.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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i found this little dear awhile back on a walk through our woods. hir skull was poking up through the leaves just as bright and heady as a queen surveying hir realm. i stopped in my tracks and without even thinking, gathered hir to myself. i soon realized that there was much more of hir bone gold to be found under the layers of damp leaves and earth, and each limb bone and vertebrae that extruded felt like another gift, and there were many. i hadn't brought a bag or basket for gathering, so i took off my aran sweater, a long-ago gift from mum and a staple for me on cold winter days, and laid hir out. the green and brown staining made me wonder if bones could be dyed like easter eggs. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPn8PxIGpvJBlBT8g4Fk9F4VO1yrvGNCPGBZv1JuRdg_xaZPgNKSNAhVxlZEBQ6UT09JQwi64AOWiBcGQ5J6DwBRKtoS7FQg2T_nwZaGB3AKdQmjLyH89jkOPob4ks9ANn_UmW1OqYAQ/s1600/bloggy+deer3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNPn8PxIGpvJBlBT8g4Fk9F4VO1yrvGNCPGBZv1JuRdg_xaZPgNKSNAhVxlZEBQ6UT09JQwi64AOWiBcGQ5J6DwBRKtoS7FQg2T_nwZaGB3AKdQmjLyH89jkOPob4ks9ANn_UmW1OqYAQ/s640/bloggy+deer3.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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i have since cleaned and bleached dearie's remains and they are pristine, blanched, beautiful. i have thought about making hir into a mobile, in which i would crochet hir back together and add some of hir missing bits, as i imagine hir when s/he was alive. i have been guilty of following the trend toward bone collecting, toward rewilding, earthing, primitive living - they are all connected somehow, are they not? is there not a bone craze making itself felt throughout the craft world, in jewelry and on etsy? </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcE6iCNxxTYY6WEtBWsmb_J0Aw8eXZH9AKimcuyO0CctAbBFhpVYartRwyJ2o1e46mJoithPFUcluMkwwWiWrbqgj68aXzSTb_BuBticwpugQkG-JVrGtxWQlAq3ELGwcvJ0uNcyZLVX0/s1600/bloggy+deer1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcE6iCNxxTYY6WEtBWsmb_J0Aw8eXZH9AKimcuyO0CctAbBFhpVYartRwyJ2o1e46mJoithPFUcluMkwwWiWrbqgj68aXzSTb_BuBticwpugQkG-JVrGtxWQlAq3ELGwcvJ0uNcyZLVX0/s640/bloggy+deer1.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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i know i'm not the only one gathering and crafting with bones and animal-ephemera, not the only one with a red fox tooth ear cuff and tail, a crow cast skull necklace, a set of my own indigo-dyed cat bone adornments, a gifted antler wand, a cache of precious traded squirrel bones, a grandiose four-horned sheep skull and any number of thrifted taxidermied friends whom i've collected since childhood (and i'll only barely mention here my roomfull of wool). we are, many of us, held rapt in their presence. <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/65621549/book-fang-and-fur-blood-and-bone-a?ref=shop_home_active">lupa</a> has written about the magick of animal parts, and hoodoo has a long tradition of using animal claws and bones along with herbs to make their mojo. although with hoodoo, i believe many root doctors don't shy from a human finger bone or other as curio. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8W5bTKpyBof615HxODUI0PcoYFGBRS6AMuiFUuurBl1DFhbup3gHbRD0f8ycbJ6V-QmQf230tT4bDcexGirRbVc8AkObv-weSZkwAo20fdZqNAQ9W1estw7BYjwQql9Is-s7tKKwtn_k/s1600/bloggy+deer4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8W5bTKpyBof615HxODUI0PcoYFGBRS6AMuiFUuurBl1DFhbup3gHbRD0f8ycbJ6V-QmQf230tT4bDcexGirRbVc8AkObv-weSZkwAo20fdZqNAQ9W1estw7BYjwQql9Is-s7tKKwtn_k/s640/bloggy+deer4.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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i am wondering though if i was right to unearth dearie. if this fetishization of animal remnants is yet another form of speciesism. most of us wouldn't consider having human bones around. and yet while we seem to separate nonhuman animals out this way for adornment or decor, it isn't on surface smacking of disrespect, but rather of honour. we who fetishize hold them sacred. we don't venerate human bones in the same way partly out of human exceptionalism, but also because they aren't that interesting. (although i do have a close friend who was able to snatch up a small bone of her dear friend who met an early death. she found it when they scattered her friend's cremains, and kept it, a beautiful story).</div>
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deerie seemed comfy there in the woods, no matter that her skull sung out to me, a beacon. i am not the most observant of kin, something i'm trying to change, but still i need company when morel-hunting to spy the little phalluses. i tend to miss the glorious details, but s/he shone so brightly to me that i could not resist or refuse hir. the problem now is that there is no art i can make, no method of display, no reanimation or imagination that won't fall depressingly short of Hir in life or spirit. s/he now lies wrapped in a tea-towel embroidered with the day of my birth, another gift from mum, awaiting my plans. whatever i decide, i think it's important that before s/he ends up forgotten and dusty with my own remains that s/he be respectfully re-interred. </div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-89311897891313745112013-03-29T23:40:00.001-04:002013-03-29T23:41:25.470-04:00meet wolfie, in liminal space<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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this is wolfie. </div>
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he emerged as part of a very unique and interesting commission.</div>
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i'm finally home, but everything is in limbo</div>
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papa's cancer has interrupted life as we know it.</div>
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we've been through it before, but not like this.</div>
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the funniest, most precious moment lately:</div>
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doctor, to my papa: "do you know where you are?"</div>
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papa: "on that lady's ranch."</div>
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doctor: "what do you do for a living?"</div>
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papa: "retired"</div>
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doctor: "what did you do for a living?"</div>
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papa: "cowhand."</div>
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doctor: "what is a cowhand?"</div>
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papa: "a person who takes care of cattle."</div>
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mama and i were flabbergasted. </div>
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did he get this from gene autry movies?</div>
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or from a past life?</div>
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i think the doctor thought he was joking at first, but he was totally serious.</div>
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we're going to see the work that's been done on the house tomorrow,</div>
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the new roof and plumbing.</div>
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but as it turns out, we may not move there.</div>
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there's just too much going on.</div>
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ah well.</div>
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yippee calle, mufukkas!</div>
<br />Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-41001295999207249012013-03-20T12:40:00.002-04:002013-03-20T14:37:48.561-04:00kitchen: before<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlO2vmvlGnQlguKiazcmVuqvB0ADAwWopWCaDh7LU9vbRr3nA7U1S9NMKTq7OrI5JuCK0FrY1V7nxCZtNLX-2LpSI0UtC3haueVUTaPViLBtIGOLcReAT3sJYx87-WYgR3r7s2WZLZQAE/s1600/bloggy+kitchen2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlO2vmvlGnQlguKiazcmVuqvB0ADAwWopWCaDh7LU9vbRr3nA7U1S9NMKTq7OrI5JuCK0FrY1V7nxCZtNLX-2LpSI0UtC3haueVUTaPViLBtIGOLcReAT3sJYx87-WYgR3r7s2WZLZQAE/s640/bloggy+kitchen2.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUA4qr7lfPlXr7XZpV1334YlMj_1rHHXfpXHHD8B220B5spvD_uRI5cvQ1Nnr9yepaHoJUJuvRJKTNMRGOVIQEYQ-aRRL_R0rmHL3IOSSsZW0a8x0deLul2zIwXuG55zHKoLQUlBFYgXk/s1600/bloggy+kitchen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUA4qr7lfPlXr7XZpV1334YlMj_1rHHXfpXHHD8B220B5spvD_uRI5cvQ1Nnr9yepaHoJUJuvRJKTNMRGOVIQEYQ-aRRL_R0rmHL3IOSSsZW0a8x0deLul2zIwXuG55zHKoLQUlBFYgXk/s640/bloggy+kitchen1.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRjbbkjHKewWw5nHBzCHrArXKBOM02hDA69jt9skK6HdaByGgk6Z6D80Wc7yWljG7bjOQn3CrymYXCcruNA40LqJTBX7QRV59AJPdvQYkf6M8EBnow400U_ZJY415IC5goOBbJ4ZXEIQ0/s1600/bloggy+kitchen4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRjbbkjHKewWw5nHBzCHrArXKBOM02hDA69jt9skK6HdaByGgk6Z6D80Wc7yWljG7bjOQn3CrymYXCcruNA40LqJTBX7QRV59AJPdvQYkf6M8EBnow400U_ZJY415IC5goOBbJ4ZXEIQ0/s640/bloggy+kitchen4.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIleJcYSJpw9B4QsUFAmiAn8DeOAmZhDsnMa9tRsOh3jtjT3RFRKwMDo0imQqYskA-3ZfRU2iP3reVbOJvxeM2UfAJdq1gh7eHUl6axnRJGdq4EdPZDHUhN5-M1zzPv0C85G3rUQ4rUU/s1600/bloggy+kitchen5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuIleJcYSJpw9B4QsUFAmiAn8DeOAmZhDsnMa9tRsOh3jtjT3RFRKwMDo0imQqYskA-3ZfRU2iP3reVbOJvxeM2UfAJdq1gh7eHUl6axnRJGdq4EdPZDHUhN5-M1zzPv0C85G3rUQ4rUU/s640/bloggy+kitchen5.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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while i'm waylaid i thought i could show you</div>
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the sad little kitchen and breakfast nook.</div>
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stuck in 1998, or long before.</div>
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i have taken down the curtains and scrubbed and scraped</div>
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grease from the cabinets.</div>
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everything is vaguely yellowed.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the gas man told us that the man who used to live here</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
stayed right in the kitchen next to the gas heater.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
this is where he lived</div>
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he didn't use much of the house</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and he was a good man.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
i wonder if he died here.</div>
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<br /></div>
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progress is being made in my absence, the roof is almost done.</div>
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the plumbing needed help too.</div>
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and we had the guy do some other sundries for good measure.</div>
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i can't wait to get home and see the progress</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and start DIYing</div>
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and dyeing my pieces for the Fall show in Hillsborough</div>
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have i told you about that? i will soon.</div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-67183365024443599902013-03-09T00:19:00.003-05:002013-03-09T19:37:31.262-05:00waylaid<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbknkaTqFiqPWE5CmmQnfzS_WFmRpeFcNUyieFcr1EUTrV5QPIF6yY2HFUsXY-VH-v6GIZkMq7RsEg6YfORAmzZjp3RBAlNk7_QtCR9GySjD8VjVKnSl9m7W5zLGdhFFDs4T_3ye-lcTI/s1600/bloggy+violet+loop1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbknkaTqFiqPWE5CmmQnfzS_WFmRpeFcNUyieFcr1EUTrV5QPIF6yY2HFUsXY-VH-v6GIZkMq7RsEg6YfORAmzZjp3RBAlNk7_QtCR9GySjD8VjVKnSl9m7W5zLGdhFFDs4T_3ye-lcTI/s640/bloggy+violet+loop1.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
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this was one of the loveliest, most thoughtful gifts ever<br />
a vase from my friend <a href="http://www.susanwellssculpture.com/" target="_blank">Susan</a><br />
who is an amazingly talented sculptor and potter<br />
and yes, with violets on it<br />
it's the first object of ours that I brought into the house.<br />
<br />
work on the house is Happening<br />
the new roof, and work on the plumbing<br />
but i've been waylaid<br />
we learned today that my darling father has the cancer, again.<br />
so it might be some time before i'm back<br />
making this house into Home<br />
or making the rounds in blogland<br />
but i do miss you all. </div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-60805060491526005592013-02-24T12:29:00.002-05:002013-02-24T12:30:28.276-05:00wouldn't you know<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYagIzdVczoEeQKcNb4imBMOBBfJwlIRVztlNbczLKVpgDZvrK4VO_OQBjiRIcil2So-pPpSF-S1MCjGAR0ijtYV17ARERFZRFaND9DRMbHAqQ2NC9n9OkIXGPwCf4jn6wZ15M72sIoM/s1600/roof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYagIzdVczoEeQKcNb4imBMOBBfJwlIRVztlNbczLKVpgDZvrK4VO_OQBjiRIcil2So-pPpSF-S1MCjGAR0ijtYV17ARERFZRFaND9DRMbHAqQ2NC9n9OkIXGPwCf4jn6wZ15M72sIoM/s640/roof.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
that the wood under the roof tiles isn't looking too good.</div>
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so we're told we need a new roof</div>
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i guess we'll have to go forward, although </div>
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i loved that patina on the old slate roof</div>
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but it is 60 or so years old, i guess it's tired</div>
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and been leaking for a long while.</div>
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so, on we go!</div>
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<br /></div>
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our guy is replacing the roof, the plumbing, </div>
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fixing the ceilings and walls</div>
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and repairing the hardwood floors.</div>
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should be done by the time i get back from atlanta!</div>
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and then we'll paint and see what else needs doing.</div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-66108139415672728132013-02-20T02:10:00.000-05:002013-02-20T02:21:07.206-05:00we found our person!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGqJnyjgqe1luznH_96D693qwBDTpeMqRcrr8rtow6zBevqB4ZsZ9U6mWUi0GWuiJsiF7H2M7G9BIoh1BoNWx2iHpRAF4-BIldOxuJre0pyJmL_9V522mPtcSg7t-Eg-cjy07XUutTZuY/s1600/bloggy+outside+violetcroft22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGqJnyjgqe1luznH_96D693qwBDTpeMqRcrr8rtow6zBevqB4ZsZ9U6mWUi0GWuiJsiF7H2M7G9BIoh1BoNWx2iHpRAF4-BIldOxuJre0pyJmL_9V522mPtcSg7t-Eg-cjy07XUutTZuY/s640/bloggy+outside+violetcroft22.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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i'm so relieved that we finally have found someone to fix the roof!!</div>
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and he can do everything else too, apparently!</div>
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thank the Goddess for the recommendations of friends.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVu-_MPL2YsSNKq18qy4HWVecf7287su9qq9tlay8hffht7Zy92815nTo7udB02h4-yFevSuhIdyU_TNvPueyoJqv1OYYqqeKiTW5NCztLX_TFA0CtFMJo4MbBHMJ3u98VRzBMKooZvw/s1600/bloggy+outside+violetcroft23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVu-_MPL2YsSNKq18qy4HWVecf7287su9qq9tlay8hffht7Zy92815nTo7udB02h4-yFevSuhIdyU_TNvPueyoJqv1OYYqqeKiTW5NCztLX_TFA0CtFMJo4MbBHMJ3u98VRzBMKooZvw/s640/bloggy+outside+violetcroft23.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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there's this strange ceramic part of the chimney<br />
i wonder what went missing?!</div>
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i guess in the short term i'll cover it with a plant...</div>
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but it seems like it needs a coat of arms, or something architectural and grand..</div>
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there are two beautiful big black walnut trees</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM5iOB3461Nt7S59MTDlT_vVocCAgUPQ0q7KDF5cFLMFzhgpNib3D9MsMxiOXKQXYN8OIovU4yQG5Q78KBN99s82-Iqr1gWSRNbEmWCpo3Oxe9x6ggf771bVSF36tjeyN2BBuH6Voua3k/s1600/bloggy+outside+violetcroft19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM5iOB3461Nt7S59MTDlT_vVocCAgUPQ0q7KDF5cFLMFzhgpNib3D9MsMxiOXKQXYN8OIovU4yQG5Q78KBN99s82-Iqr1gWSRNbEmWCpo3Oxe9x6ggf771bVSF36tjeyN2BBuH6Voua3k/s640/bloggy+outside+violetcroft19.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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one in front and one in back</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Dxjhg6RIqa1JD25jj6jv2WIZ1N1LgUaWVthAKlZ7CJ7tWlblOgAYieprH0Ofgk7yReqXIl2oFOx32oIixtSpdceWNkddZD1m8UZtiK4KubQq2dlw9SfNeRELqkbRSQdG9YPJ8HY4y3w/s1600/bloggy+outside+violetcroft20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Dxjhg6RIqa1JD25jj6jv2WIZ1N1LgUaWVthAKlZ7CJ7tWlblOgAYieprH0Ofgk7yReqXIl2oFOx32oIixtSpdceWNkddZD1m8UZtiK4KubQq2dlw9SfNeRELqkbRSQdG9YPJ8HY4y3w/s640/bloggy+outside+violetcroft20.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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and this little workshop, with electricity</div>
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where Rocky will put his woodshop</div>
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and in the lean-to area, i think that'll be where we keep the feed.</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
here's the back of the girl. a funny face :)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
i love that stump right in the middle.</div>
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work on the roof starts thursday!</div>
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and then we'll work our way down.</div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-40901570279599795522013-02-14T09:44:00.002-05:002013-02-20T02:17:23.548-05:00Craftsy Sale!<a href="http://www.craftsy.com/ext/DrucillaPettibone_holiday"><img alt="Craftsy Valentine's Sale: All online classes up to 75% off. Sale ends Fri Feb. 17th, at midnight!" height="333" src="http://static-sympoz.s3.amazonaws.com/banners/2013/sale/2013_valentines_day_sale/2013_vday_tier300x250.jpg" width="400" /></a>
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<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-6385012925186330012013-02-13T15:05:00.001-05:002013-02-13T15:05:48.210-05:00murmurations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0TyE4mG6xyO9TOeFDCCarT6kCbdKkhPN4DBY3XnUJviveQ8rFMxTOAUBrWJFOkaFBBNAwaRVK4hefny3khk04VIIQCz-fVMk0pcYUBCITau1MKhyphenhyphennbnED9rfEuwVHM1M8Ap9aQ_Whus/s1600/bloggy+blackbird4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz0TyE4mG6xyO9TOeFDCCarT6kCbdKkhPN4DBY3XnUJviveQ8rFMxTOAUBrWJFOkaFBBNAwaRVK4hefny3khk04VIIQCz-fVMk0pcYUBCITau1MKhyphenhyphennbnED9rfEuwVHM1M8Ap9aQ_Whus/s400/bloggy+blackbird4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
i feel like the Starlings are following me. even though</div>
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they are probably just going about their business.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
so i had to make a bird.</div>
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not fancy iridescent fabric for my first bird though.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
just a little bird, looking at me. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
we're still trying to find some help on the house.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
we're starting with the roof, and </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
the first couple of people don't seem like the right fit. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
but i have another lead i'm working on...</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
we've had a couple of mishaps. when i had the water turned on,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
it sprayed everywhere in the mudroom from the washer hookup!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
everywhere, out into the room, onto the windows, down the side of the house</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
it was cray-cray.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
but some pliers and a few turns later, it was off. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and it turns out the copper gas pipes were stripped!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
by some needy soul. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
so they have to be re-installed. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
so still, no hot water because it's gas.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and for some reason, no water to the upstairs.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
that has us scratching our (collective) heads.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
more mysteries to be revealed.</div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-35662490741957871122013-02-01T11:11:00.004-05:002013-02-01T11:12:22.905-05:0013 acres<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRf9_qawnrAqVfOjoqb742RdD0ARgWoLD4zb-_gyrSkAQLYhP7-Uiwdie1r-A2_w0ioA_FELRL14sj9qfPNmrmginbe9EszkcA-ne3p8MXf94-Vz8fQ81WBDenhWmWA9gsM3B-7xBb2PE/s1600/bloggy+outside+violet+22.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRf9_qawnrAqVfOjoqb742RdD0ARgWoLD4zb-_gyrSkAQLYhP7-Uiwdie1r-A2_w0ioA_FELRL14sj9qfPNmrmginbe9EszkcA-ne3p8MXf94-Vz8fQ81WBDenhWmWA9gsM3B-7xBb2PE/s400/bloggy+outside+violet+22.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
this is what the land looks like..</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYBLvHxzMLnU93mw22B5-clB5VMhkBQ1w-3OkzqPqeEbiN92W5Aq0prLGmp0TFjkYG8oYPHzsdQPdQfWmKCe2tfZQaQl1T0UsPzphM2dDsdaOtc4s6RGZa7TgVoOdbtj-ul8SXWujikY/s1600/bloggy+outside+violet+23.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYBLvHxzMLnU93mw22B5-clB5VMhkBQ1w-3OkzqPqeEbiN92W5Aq0prLGmp0TFjkYG8oYPHzsdQPdQfWmKCe2tfZQaQl1T0UsPzphM2dDsdaOtc4s6RGZa7TgVoOdbtj-ul8SXWujikY/s400/bloggy+outside+violet+23.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
this is that tree in the middle of the old well-house</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
it's an evergreen (obvs) and full of berries!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
anyone know what kind it is?</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ru-t3Ke2Xw1R4fGG57NvxKGOjYMSQBJzldDBIVcSJzleq9Xk1kMU8nfuRj1KrVIamlBzl4vgg4GmqyiK1HkQ-_VB0GYNbAjvj1PERmj5Ab8QdKPLcfHn3fCxOM72tNbjszNvP9EN0WY/s1600/bloggy+outside+violet+21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ru-t3Ke2Xw1R4fGG57NvxKGOjYMSQBJzldDBIVcSJzleq9Xk1kMU8nfuRj1KrVIamlBzl4vgg4GmqyiK1HkQ-_VB0GYNbAjvj1PERmj5Ab8QdKPLcfHn3fCxOM72tNbjszNvP9EN0WY/s400/bloggy+outside+violet+21.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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and this is one of three sisters out in the pasture</div>
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Sarah thought it looked like an apple tree</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
anyone else? </div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyLWfhp3mffb_cIX9qGPcsQrO70LmbW0A53J5VcS1hbxbdZ4GlRiHYifL-OJhZojoGmYIPoeucs3IXUqTskI8OcUHvRp7Ez0GSz1ok0hQrS4RXvSUFrOa0N7WgJUS7o4h5C0GNpnwSwk/s1600/bloggy+outside+violet+24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwyLWfhp3mffb_cIX9qGPcsQrO70LmbW0A53J5VcS1hbxbdZ4GlRiHYifL-OJhZojoGmYIPoeucs3IXUqTskI8OcUHvRp7Ez0GSz1ok0hQrS4RXvSUFrOa0N7WgJUS7o4h5C0GNpnwSwk/s400/bloggy+outside+violet+24.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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and this is the old barn. i think it'll do just fine for the bunnies</div>
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and the lean-to will be good shelter for the donks and sheepies.</div>
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hub thought it might fall over, but i figure it's been here a while.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjupTeyCLDc0wJefLzlNzYkjwiG0zL9MkhGgzZyn424exxTu_FSbtl6w2nNCy4ctislFKdL0e7XZ4hzFzWiFagx6Ru2qCzBXM5GBBeG7w3WMtTUfxkbZoQh6U5G5KsiYQHp7KY35ot0AwA/s1600/bloggy+outside+violet+25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjupTeyCLDc0wJefLzlNzYkjwiG0zL9MkhGgzZyn424exxTu_FSbtl6w2nNCy4ctislFKdL0e7XZ4hzFzWiFagx6Ru2qCzBXM5GBBeG7w3WMtTUfxkbZoQh6U5G5KsiYQHp7KY35ot0AwA/s400/bloggy+outside+violet+25.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and we found this old trunk in the barn, how exciting!</div>
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this isn't who we bought from. i love picking in general, but from our own land is the best.</div>
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i think we'll use it as a coffee table. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgox734FzUpVb1cZXmZnFtEpJcP7PtPE_EIw0_47LcACblHuhwZVfKCFqOe0ZaU7FhIwCozQghCpUeZMrmbOL4B3lAjnXvK5tdvXoJMCo6G5VluAmXsTcopCLsAGdJVljDUc-VO6l38auo/s1600/bloggy+outside+violet+26.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgox734FzUpVb1cZXmZnFtEpJcP7PtPE_EIw0_47LcACblHuhwZVfKCFqOe0ZaU7FhIwCozQghCpUeZMrmbOL4B3lAjnXvK5tdvXoJMCo6G5VluAmXsTcopCLsAGdJVljDUc-VO6l38auo/s400/bloggy+outside+violet+26.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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and the sand!! the sand is so weird!! </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
this area of NC is called the Sandhills, but i'm so shocked to see it everywhere</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
at least we won't have so much mud and muck like here</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
i do love drainage.</div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-74040948660110619442013-01-28T20:19:00.003-05:002013-01-28T21:57:00.826-05:00She's Ours<div style="text-align: center;">
So, we did it!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I had cold feet on the way to the bank, I'm not sure why!</div>
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Since the sellers did their thing on Friday,</div>
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our part of the closing took all of 15 minutes, or maybe 10.</div>
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We got lots of new keys.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
We went to the house and the Buick was gone!</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Which is a Good Thing, since we had no title or clue.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And then we opened door after door and looked</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and looked ...</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and looked around.</div>
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We were so awed that I couldn't bring myself to snap pics, you know?</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
but gawsh She needs a lot of work!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I put my special <a href="http://susanwellssculpture.com/blog/" target="_blank">violet vase</a> in the window.</div>
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Lit sage.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And then started ripping up lineoleum to see what they were hiding!</div>
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Yeah, some damage to the wood floors, but nothing so terrible.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And old, dark, kinda interesting tile in the kitchen.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
I had planned on <a href="http://www.coolgreenfloors.com/forbo-flooring/mds-marmoleum-dual-sheet" target="_blank">marmoleum</a>, </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(look at all those awesome colours!) but then</div>
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I might just keep what's there.</div>
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I tend to do that.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicj4RYyM7_4PobWkAo2JmYUgK-N-wGWFVSCWXbsrhG-qmRrLfIfgMFcfo5tP-L0v4VcGP4aCwoqtIJ0fcMIGfAIdYBppTc2chxPQieUrENPwRuV2VkPNiVfwYK0vRmJF8aefFT6JlIU3Y/s1600/bloggy+lino+wood1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicj4RYyM7_4PobWkAo2JmYUgK-N-wGWFVSCWXbsrhG-qmRrLfIfgMFcfo5tP-L0v4VcGP4aCwoqtIJ0fcMIGfAIdYBppTc2chxPQieUrENPwRuV2VkPNiVfwYK0vRmJF8aefFT6JlIU3Y/s400/bloggy+lino+wood1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Pic from a previous, preliminary inspection!)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
Back tomorrow to meet a heating & air dude,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
and go to the waterworks and get that turned on.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And then Friday meeting a roofer!</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And not-so-suddenly, I want to stitch again.</div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-56372058571147699222013-01-27T15:08:00.002-05:002013-01-27T15:12:39.938-05:00almost closed<br />
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Well the Closing started to happen on Friday, </div>
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but they didn't tell me until that morning! Apparently something about</div>
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coordinating all the sellers and their spouses (since title is in an estate).</div>
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So we didn't make it down there because it started sleeting. </div>
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You know what wimps we Southerners are about snow! </div>
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So we go in tomorrow, pay and get the keys! </div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJ9AaSo1XhuMPGIfEZd3lbt2_6YgTVhAvobzFTZjl-1GD2yDP5gDBufIcRAWlDoJ-d-P7js694tWweDna2qWLGimL-6T5oYUY6XltyM-CfXn2h1JVDDH-tiKBCg7iXuDIWvRawpMuArQ/s1600/bloggy+fir1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIJ9AaSo1XhuMPGIfEZd3lbt2_6YgTVhAvobzFTZjl-1GD2yDP5gDBufIcRAWlDoJ-d-P7js694tWweDna2qWLGimL-6T5oYUY6XltyM-CfXn2h1JVDDH-tiKBCg7iXuDIWvRawpMuArQ/s400/bloggy+fir1.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPvxZ4wVCrFHgtn8N7dUFpS2cDWyA-DFIhm3oRwspdIeUMtd03_NLysuFXm0Ce6jkkfyCOdG6mQZCKJk_S6oJ02fEhvRkRs9SSsrACd3AbjO5C56D95QxUNPeEIFBk-SSxvCeERsKEnGY/s1600/bloggy+fir2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPvxZ4wVCrFHgtn8N7dUFpS2cDWyA-DFIhm3oRwspdIeUMtd03_NLysuFXm0Ce6jkkfyCOdG6mQZCKJk_S6oJ02fEhvRkRs9SSsrACd3AbjO5C56D95QxUNPeEIFBk-SSxvCeERsKEnGY/s400/bloggy+fir2.jpg" width="298" /></a></div>
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</div>
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I was excited to find out that this gorgeous lady is a fir. </div>
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I've been thinking a lot lately about firs. </div>
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And there is more than one of Her!</div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-59049793863445501112013-01-24T13:02:00.002-05:002013-01-24T13:05:03.609-05:00oh the all-important hearth, what to do with you<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The closing was supposed to be today but is apparently delayed. </div>
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The title is coming out of an estate so they say that might be the reason.</div>
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But I think somebody just forgot to put it on the lawyer's calendar. </div>
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Dern lawyers.</div>
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It really doesn't matter, except I can't do it tomorrow (doc appt.) and </div>
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I'm anxious to get to work!</div>
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<br /></div>
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So here is the current state of the hearth at Violetcroft.</div>
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Poor neglected hearth. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WO4UyJ942Z81iUT97Jf4PaU-AOYzeOkup5_zrz_DL9CUo5VyNmS2csIfF-ymBGe4J1uw3X4CEo1uUuflDGgZSmOBxGcTFqFyeFn5IR7jWYdS3vdok2xECP-SOFv1K6_s6Mkw7RMGTQE/s1600/fireplace+photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WO4UyJ942Z81iUT97Jf4PaU-AOYzeOkup5_zrz_DL9CUo5VyNmS2csIfF-ymBGe4J1uw3X4CEo1uUuflDGgZSmOBxGcTFqFyeFn5IR7jWYdS3vdok2xECP-SOFv1K6_s6Mkw7RMGTQE/s400/fireplace+photo.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Although they did leave her complete with a Holy Bible, a gourd Santa, several books,</div>
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family photos, crocheted potholders, and a stapler.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The options seem to be:</div>
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<br /></div>
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a. Unbrick her and try to work with her as an open fireplace.</div>
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Pros: ambience, purity to period</div>
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Cons: lack of heat</div>
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<br /></div>
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b. Unbrick her and add a fireplace insert with a blower</div>
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Pros: good heat by most accounts,</div>
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although one friend has one and says hers sucks on heat.</div>
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Cons: serious uglification unless major bucks are spent, </div>
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visible power cord from blower (even more ugly)</div>
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quite expensive regardless</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
c.1 Unbrick her and add free-standing woodstove</div>
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Pros: much more attractive, could get the soapstone I'm loving</div>
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Cons: we lose space, need a hearth pad</div>
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<br /></div>
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c.2 Leave her bricked and add free-standing woodstove</div>
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Pros: possibly simplest, could install ourselves?</div>
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Cons: I think we would lose the most living room space </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
I would totally welcome hearing other thoughts and experiences.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
But. I just saw the most amazing blackbird activity I've ever seen.</div>
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A mighty horde, swooping from the ground to the trees and back again</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
encircling this place. I think it was a Starling dance</div>
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right here in our very own woods. </div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-71665123955703928312013-01-20T18:51:00.004-05:002013-01-20T18:55:29.816-05:00A copse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdax70RIMIMi6hu-W9Ljtb3t6pPY0wAsraDjNM1xWCWGybbBxDUrD1SUI4js_QopFyz45a9lmHhOiyrWr_jWVtCPwmekuSvP6UBZbWpLeFXWgJkf8rX655DyD26OL89h4IXmq2pMkUPqQ/s1600/bloggy+outside+violetcroft02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdax70RIMIMi6hu-W9Ljtb3t6pPY0wAsraDjNM1xWCWGybbBxDUrD1SUI4js_QopFyz45a9lmHhOiyrWr_jWVtCPwmekuSvP6UBZbWpLeFXWgJkf8rX655DyD26OL89h4IXmq2pMkUPqQ/s400/bloggy+outside+violetcroft02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is looking out onto our new pasture. </div>
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I was wondering what was in there, </div>
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and hoping it wasn't a bunch of old junky appliance parts.</div>
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I love how land and houses always come with some mysteries. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0ClrPK_RyWgnfoPWw2dpxcRJLksXqM7yhsXLa-a8e7zEDNZNBePlZV0_6p5Xojswho9bKXsPqmz4f8OXSqqXv79wCsTChMokCiztG-NbMx-SvDqjBdLefDSY1mej_DOr7smxoUuzHs8/s1600/bloggy+outside+violetcroft04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY0ClrPK_RyWgnfoPWw2dpxcRJLksXqM7yhsXLa-a8e7zEDNZNBePlZV0_6p5Xojswho9bKXsPqmz4f8OXSqqXv79wCsTChMokCiztG-NbMx-SvDqjBdLefDSY1mej_DOr7smxoUuzHs8/s400/bloggy+outside+violetcroft04.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Is it an old well-house? </div>
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It has some faucets and a cistern-looking thingymabob.</div>
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It's supposed to be on public water now.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLZVMOFYug-dVBktNvaZuAinTm0CfKgpy8Ev1UQPcG_vslsDmDRJOK_MDfLwZVLnHfh9FBG05_RqDokD3XgvRnNGpVJVP0mzk29LdO0MAs8pdGLPXLdQh6UyRQ6WxXbcbRJrtcSUL1Jk/s1600/bloggy+outside+violetcroft03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLZVMOFYug-dVBktNvaZuAinTm0CfKgpy8Ev1UQPcG_vslsDmDRJOK_MDfLwZVLnHfh9FBG05_RqDokD3XgvRnNGpVJVP0mzk29LdO0MAs8pdGLPXLdQh6UyRQ6WxXbcbRJrtcSUL1Jk/s400/bloggy+outside+violetcroft03.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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It's an odd sort of structure with a triangle of limbs built up and suspended with pulleys..</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXrlRNOHGm6ITDqLocl-FazzCjfYHPv_huoCaGTo9Pjcr9vFZTIvTDt-le2foGbIS355TjVMLjOJEph9MBLlFbTEHL_blB7o7HiGFidftsjGNXad4V4CguLW2uxFszphdzEw2QdSOBM6Q/s1600/bloggy+outside+violetcroft05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXrlRNOHGm6ITDqLocl-FazzCjfYHPv_huoCaGTo9Pjcr9vFZTIvTDt-le2foGbIS355TjVMLjOJEph9MBLlFbTEHL_blB7o7HiGFidftsjGNXad4V4CguLW2uxFszphdzEw2QdSOBM6Q/s400/bloggy+outside+violetcroft05.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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All built around this tree, which is loaded with little purple berries.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJIFpL3hyphenhyphenbxHMCiGvymVkMvPp349L01t-Mem2kEI2iPEA2gBIVAise0Lb1TndiUAsQ31rPjx7enPOLP2gMUXudWiZeGICSXVWa_nTJ6KCXmHtnbGzutqLXW0DSUWQpnBeMcowqx8D7SM/s1600/bloggy+outside+violetcroft07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMJIFpL3hyphenhyphenbxHMCiGvymVkMvPp349L01t-Mem2kEI2iPEA2gBIVAise0Lb1TndiUAsQ31rPjx7enPOLP2gMUXudWiZeGICSXVWa_nTJ6KCXmHtnbGzutqLXW0DSUWQpnBeMcowqx8D7SM/s400/bloggy+outside+violetcroft07.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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You can probably tell that we visited the house yesterday.</div>
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I took lots of pics (more to come)..</div>
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and we close on Thursday! </div>
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<br />Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-72871707689838996362013-01-13T11:48:00.001-05:002013-01-13T12:15:11.525-05:00We're on again<div style="text-align: center;">
Ok so strangely we are back on, I mean off, to the <a href="http://drucillapettibone.blogspot.com/2012/12/violetcroft.html" target="_blank">cottage</a>! So that means cottage bloggin! I had fallen in love with another house in the meantime, it was quite lovely, but really, it was too far. I know some friends will wonder how it could be too far and this one not, because they really are both far. But this one is about 1/4 the price, so it seems not as far! And only about half the distance from where we are now, so renovating and moving don't seem like as much of a thing. It will be far for some friends, but when you live in the country, you get used to driving, if you want to go anywhere, that is. And the friends I've made so far in NC are PRECIOUS.</div>
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I'm sure you remember the<a href="http://drucillapettibone.blogspot.com/2012/12/were-off.html" target="_blank"> to-do list</a>. Maybe I should put it on the <a href="http://drucillapettibone.blogspot.com/p/to-do-roof-repair-remove-ancient.html" target="_blank">sidebar</a> to keep it handy. I think I'll edit that one rather than re-doing periodically. I did get the stove too!! And there's a car that comes with the house, weird. I'll have to tell you about the neighbors one of these days...</div>
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The closing isn't until the 24th<br />
so we won't get started in earnest until then. </div>
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Plenty of time to dream and pin. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmkRKe46w2PVJmAg7tJZuh6dnqrV-A_WPbR_QThpCs3TCSX32SjMCU4YjRegBagBvzqY5pquvBgm0AKqzGXBTWgdMqpP0ykX_Rf2anQY6eoLBFcVzGAvDVDfdUajV43YGa7BnD4w3EXI/s1600/tea+leaf+to+VI1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdmkRKe46w2PVJmAg7tJZuh6dnqrV-A_WPbR_QThpCs3TCSX32SjMCU4YjRegBagBvzqY5pquvBgm0AKqzGXBTWgdMqpP0ykX_Rf2anQY6eoLBFcVzGAvDVDfdUajV43YGa7BnD4w3EXI/s640/tea+leaf+to+VI1.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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A facebook friend had thought these tea leaves suggested I'd be moving to (or near) Virginia, but now I see that it meant moving to the Violet Loop!</div>
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Oh and come visit my new <a href="http://petitbones.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Tarot Tumblr</a>!</div>
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<br />Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-43334866810694327432013-01-07T18:43:00.004-05:002013-01-07T19:25:38.227-05:00Seems like everyone is sick around here..<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0132zGQzLqlbqL6GpM_hmM8ZU0tPvGbuY4yZFSGirD4Eqn3wbtxmiUMAYcBgKcZUewkMshCGK5KHcYCzIpZIhCDbaZCY3c8G9hZAGIlWV4Z8hQpxY2rYm-WKl_HpNFfy9dCIvDvWj7I/s1600/mazarin+stone+sisters.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG0132zGQzLqlbqL6GpM_hmM8ZU0tPvGbuY4yZFSGirD4Eqn3wbtxmiUMAYcBgKcZUewkMshCGK5KHcYCzIpZIhCDbaZCY3c8G9hZAGIlWV4Z8hQpxY2rYm-WKl_HpNFfy9dCIvDvWj7I/s640/mazarin+stone+sisters.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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The Mazarin Stone episode features a most extraordinary room:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJkEGay3qqGjM_DRCXFqED5jT9kdlYog8KBsJvidifjaKjfuRBDLoLLR5mYJDe84ikkuA_QYhMMM9l26mhTq0ds46LX-GRMCCKwmrzIHL_Y93HrUAxpCRs_eAxuR4h3Tn0IsHvHDzlqc/s1600/mazarin+stone+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTJkEGay3qqGjM_DRCXFqED5jT9kdlYog8KBsJvidifjaKjfuRBDLoLLR5mYJDe84ikkuA_QYhMMM9l26mhTq0ds46LX-GRMCCKwmrzIHL_Y93HrUAxpCRs_eAxuR4h3Tn0IsHvHDzlqc/s640/mazarin+stone+room.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Holmes's Third Eye:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMltObd4ajHkLL6YKJ-7mGVqhJS9Uu52RxB1dmbchBDagOFtM-QJ2AZNnZ2zL4meLqS1ATRPnYWO4iw1GySr576AEByWaLIVewsEqL6OXim2hOVulkoT3AvpjJzEpSnJyzSKSda0nK-uw/s1600/mazarin+stone+third+eye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMltObd4ajHkLL6YKJ-7mGVqhJS9Uu52RxB1dmbchBDagOFtM-QJ2AZNnZ2zL4meLqS1ATRPnYWO4iw1GySr576AEByWaLIVewsEqL6OXim2hOVulkoT3AvpjJzEpSnJyzSKSda0nK-uw/s640/mazarin+stone+third+eye.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Such a poignant moment.</div>
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I'd like to do a 2012 year-in-review, but this pretty much does it. </div>
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Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-58368828827897037952012-12-30T23:45:00.003-05:002013-01-07T18:45:49.188-05:00Burn the Log, O Fire!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ywbcPN189GA4zaNhZLVG61HXvFtDoxsukqG5Xf-hFQpb6IWOg825L48vACXLjbWdPr8RqhwxGsyeSBIddNlJqDGNhxxd6vP4_mQd4C1znzXu1UnyY4NTixaFPJrZBuMCuwFJ-Qmj1W4/s1600/Burn+the+Log.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2ywbcPN189GA4zaNhZLVG61HXvFtDoxsukqG5Xf-hFQpb6IWOg825L48vACXLjbWdPr8RqhwxGsyeSBIddNlJqDGNhxxd6vP4_mQd4C1znzXu1UnyY4NTixaFPJrZBuMCuwFJ-Qmj1W4/s400/Burn+the+Log.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Hope everyone had a Merry Yule and Happy Christmas!!</div>
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My short-term plan is to be getting back to fiber soon. <br />
As soon as I get back home, around the 8th.<br />
I want to focus on natural dyes and battsss. <br />
I have some theories as to why I had to stop stitching, for a time anyway,<br />
and one is summed up in these lyrics to a Papa Roach song:<br />
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I tear my heart open<br />
I sew myself shut<br />
My weakness is<br />
That I care too much<br />
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and the Scars remind us<br />
that the past is Real<br />
I tear my heart open<br />
just to feel.<br />
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And btw, check out this interview with me on <a href="http://www.spinartiste.com/featured-artist-drucilla-pettibone-of-petitbones" target="_blank">Spin Artiste</a>!</div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-75164244267103745992012-12-17T11:41:00.002-05:002012-12-17T11:41:57.296-05:00Spoke too soon...<div style="text-align: center;">
well, carp. the house thing isn't going to work out. so we're back to where we were, which is staying put here in our farmhouse. this is a pic i took a couple of yules ago. the ladder's been moved, i'm pretty sure, but it looks much the same and i've always liked this pic.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgX5SPeuV8AfYxmcgzX67vDgS3E8h3x1y1mKQoER8775qCc8J6gaF4sQZw2QrphQLfJRDBfvXdMu-Yd37kgShmclBuAZLqKCmk-yX7ZkKiL5uAj6YCiHQ-20CbS0ub_t80TpFgu_JMVA/s1600/bloggy+yule+house1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="375" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgX5SPeuV8AfYxmcgzX67vDgS3E8h3x1y1mKQoER8775qCc8J6gaF4sQZw2QrphQLfJRDBfvXdMu-Yd37kgShmclBuAZLqKCmk-yX7ZkKiL5uAj6YCiHQ-20CbS0ub_t80TpFgu_JMVA/s640/bloggy+yule+house1.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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yesterday i was completely heartbroken, but i talked myself into loving our old house again. poor ole farmhouse has been good to us and just needs some tlc. and in many ways, it's better because it's ours, we know it, and we've put so much into it already. </div>
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maybe pinteresting farmhouses instead of cottages would help. </div>
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maybe it just needs a name. </div>
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and then there's the woods. i would so miss the woods.</div>
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and over the last four years, the sheep and donkeys have pretty much made themselves a pasture. not 13 acres of pasture, but enough. and we could always fence more woods. still less expensive than putting in new fencing at the other place. </div>
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i'm thinking of passing on the stove too, even though i wanted it almost as much as that other house! but one thing i forgot is that they need to be set on stone. and i'm not sure i'm up for re-doing the kitchen floor here right now, even though it needs to be done eventually. laika (the wolf-dog) has torn up the linoleum. she is such a destroyer. but she's finally a year old, so we are hoping that she learns some manners soon. </div>
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so we could tile the floor, which would be nicer anyway, and then get the stove. there's already a hole in the wall for it and everything (and this one isn't from laika!)</div>
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hmm, thinking..</div>
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thanks everyone for the lovely congrats on the move. i'm just going to backdate them about four years and pretend we are re-moving in here.</div>
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Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4176758332072334714.post-20932219641264315622012-12-13T16:06:00.002-05:002012-12-13T16:11:08.828-05:00Violetcroft<div style="text-align: center;">
So no pics today, but an update! </div>
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The house has a termite bond on it, so the little buggers have already been zapped. And tomorrow we're meeting to find the corner stakes to try to make sure where the property lines are. A survey you say? No way, that would be too easy (and expensive). </div>
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But one little problem is that at the back of the Violet Loop </div>
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(a dirt road that encircles this lovely little 13 acres!)</div>
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there are some... trailers that look like they have been burnt.</div>
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As well as some pickup trucks. Sofas and stuff. <br />
And a house of sorts, a real charmer, it even has window panes out. </div>
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I peeked a little in a window and do see some evidence of life </div>
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if you count whiskey bottles (which I do).</div>
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And, there are four little dogs rush out whenever we've gone back there!<br />
But never any lights or people...</div>
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And some of it looks to be encroaching from what we can see of the property lines on the plat. </div>
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So I'm really looking forward to having this conversation with our new neighbor! :/ </div>
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And in the midst of all this, my facebook friends like Dani and Kristine have helped me come up with the current name of choice for this place: Violetcroft. </div>
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It might sound a little hoity-toity amidst the trailers, but a croft was meant to be humble. </div>
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That's the current fave anyway, there are many others!</div>
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And tonight, we are going to look at a wood cookstove that I found on Craigslist!</div>
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Did I mention that there were no appliances in this house?</div>
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Yes, everyone thinks I am insane.</div>
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But it looks just like <a href="http://media-cache-ec6.pinterest.com/upload/244531454737528847_51PqtQZY.jpg" target="_blank">this one</a>.</div>
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It's also the one that was in the movie Babe in farmer Hoggett's kitchen, or so the seller says.</div>
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I should probably pass, but I just know that then all I will see are more expensive ones in worse condition. That's what always happens. This is my dream stove.</div>
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And this is *so* much less than the modern equivalent of my dream stove, the <a href="https://www.lehmans.com/p-2782-artisan-wood-burning-cookstove.aspx" target="_blank">Aga</a>. </div>
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My only hesitation is what to do with this kind of stove in the summer. </div>
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I guess then homesteaders have an outdoor kitchen. </div>
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But I think that except for those few brutal summer months, </div>
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the slowness of the wood would really help me find my cooking groove.</div>
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And it looks like we will close on the 21st!! How totally fitting.</div>
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Just in time for the rebirth of the Sun!</div>
Drucillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03228978343783804866noreply@blogger.com4