'Gwnewch y pethau bychain'

Do the little things.

Tomorrow commemorates the patron saint of Wales, St. David, who was born in the sixth century at Henfynw, Cardigan. He is represented by the Welsh symbol of the leek, which is said to have protected the countrymen in combat, turning the tide and wresting victory from their Saxon enemies during battle. In honor of St. David, i think i'll plant a bulb of aromatic leek, and maybe make some Mushroom, Leek, and Potato Soup.

I admit it: i'm a sucker for all things Celtic, like most. I get fascinated by Interlace work in general. One of my favorite of the particularly Welsh traditions is that of Love Spoons. I am such a dip. The best part of the Celtic tradition (like any) are the stories. There's a lot of confusion about the origin of all things Celtic, where they came from and what they mean. Bradley W. Schenck, who has some amazing designs, often gets "origin" questions, and i like his answer:

We monkeys have a natural tendency to want to assign meaning to things. That's got nothing to do with whether the meanings were there already.
These patterns in their historical form were not symbols, and didn't represent specific ideas.

Anybody who tells you something else is probably trying to sell you something.

Yup, that's a keeper, not only for the meaning of Celtic interlace, but for darned near anything.

library land

i'm still waiting to hear from the temp agency regarding a contract or three. pressure is getting tight these days, and i know i should be more freaked out than i am but for some reason i simply can't muster the energy for anxiety. off-the-wall as it might seem, i have a sense of calm that is hard to shake right now. irrational, but true.

i feel pretty confident there will be some sort of secretarial position in the coming week or so that i can take on while i pursue other, more meaningful paths. building a home ranks top of the list. because, as i was reminded yesterday, it's all about knotwork.

david and i drove down the mountain this morning talking, really communicating. the drive from New Castle town to Salem has become special to us both, and i'm hoping that any job i get will coincide in such a way that we can continue carpooling.

this morning i'm in the library once again, with an interesting book, a cup of coffee and a half bag of snacks. while it might look to the world that i'm just passing time, i'm doing some serious thinking, here.

i like it.

also, while i was doing some account maintenance, i came across today's horoscope. it bears repeating, no matter what your sign:

You might have the chance to connect with long-lost friends, which could make you feel a greater kinship with others today. Just being able to see people who have been in your life for such a long amount of time might give you a sense of belonging. You realize that there are people who accept and care for you no matter how far away they may be. Perhaps by telling your loved ones today how much they mean to you, you can increase this feeling of connectedness. You might call, email, or visit someone today that you have been thinking about but haven't had the chance to connect with, letting your friend know about the role they have had in your life and what they have brought to it. Bringing old friends into your life in this way collapses the time you have been apart and strengthens the bonds that exist between you.

Keeping up with our old friends cultivates our feeling of belonging in the world, for the people who have known us for a long time often accept and love us for who we are. When we know that there are people who don't expect anything from us, it reminds us that we live in a community of people bound together by love and experience. Letting our loved ones know how much we value this connection allows us to reinforce this sense of unity and togetherness. By connecting with friends today you will nourish your relationships and feel closer to others.

rainy days and mondays

Actually, rainy days are some of my favorites.

This weekend was possibly the best time in my life yet. No kidding. Nope, no particularly stellar event or anything, just a wonderful sense of contentment and peace. David and I did silly things around the farm, and I swear I've never felt so alive and wonderful.

• We took the boys out to the Crossing Logs with the youth rifle and the pistols. We shot a milk jug and some tin cans and all in all had a great time teaching them to shoot. Tiger is mostly a fan of the rifle, and Dragon likes it too, but he likes the .40 pistol best. It will be a while before he shoots anything other than the rifle of course, but we wanted them to understand why the pistols aren't coming out any time soon. Tiger has a healthy respect for the kick of the .40. I hadn't ever shot a .22 rifle before, and i found out i'm pretty good. Not that it really matters; just getting to shoot is fun: being accurate is bonus.
• i drove the tractor. i love driving the tractor and it would be on my List of Cool Things even if i just drove it across the field, but this weekend i turned the poo pile so it will be good soil for the garden come Spring. i was working the up-and-down lever and the tilty-bucket lever and going forward-and-back and scooping and moving and dumping and doing it all over again, David nearby talking and smiling and making me giggle both with his encouragement and at myself. By the time the pile was moved from Point A to Point B (some three yards or so away from Point A), i had declared myself the Princess of Poo. Well. It made me happy, anyway.
• We played Junior Trivial Pursuit. Think that sounds easy? It's not. I won by the hair on my chin, and we laughed mercilessly.
• Through a strange turn of events, we ended up at Uncle Charlie's farm drinking tea and talking with Uncle Charlie and Aunt Barbara. Man. Let me tell you they are cool folks. And to watch them with each other is a real treat. They have been together for 40 years, and are still quite a couple. They have this non-verbal communication that only they and dogs can hear, and it's cool to watch. They invivted me back, and somehow i feel like i have gotten a little gold star of approval, and i'm as happy as a little kid. David tells me that they play chess; i can't wait to watch a game.
• We brushed the horses after we fed them. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is.
• We napped in the barn on a few bales of hay. It was C O Z Y.
• We watched Pale Rider. I am quite a fan of Michael Moriarty's speech in the middle of the movie and will be looking for a clip of it.
• We also watched O Brother, Where Art Thou?, another great movie i had never seen. We have concluded that the purchase of the soundtrack is not optional. Quoting the movie at random and strange points through the weekend was fun too. ["of course it's Pete. Look at him!]
• We went to Ruby Tuesday's as a family on Sunday night. It wasn't a big deal, but it was warm and calm and comfortable and very together. These are the things worth living for.

long time coming, been a long time gone

Hey kids and welcome back to the heidi show.

Living out in the country is an amazing thing. I swear that the boys haven't had school in forever. [The difference between this and home-schooling is *what* again?] Despite nearly losing my mind while they were out, the mountain was perfectly gorgeous on our icy Valentine's. We visited Nana and then headed back up, noting how often the sun through the ice-covered trees looked like something out of Narnia.

Ethan's bad behaviour has resulted in a lack of daycare, so this morning i spoke with the bus coordinator about which bus comes out to our place. meanwhile, my contract ended, so i've been busily looking for work. things being what they are, i'll likely be waitressing soon. Drop in and grab a cup of coffee at my table.