Are You Running Yourself Ragged?

Imagine if you will for a moment a piece of cloth

woven with warp and weft.

Now carefully pick one thread from anywhere on the cloth

and give it a gentle tug.

You can make an unsightly loop or even pull 

the thread entirely from the cloth.

If you were to pick threads randomly from both sides wither and tither, 

you would end up with a pretty tattered and ratty

looking piece of cloth.

The cloth in this scenario is of course, our heart and soul,

our character, our physique, and our being.

Every person we encounter, task we tend to, errand we run, 

and decision we make are all tugs at the fabric of who we are.

Obviously some are menial and with a rub of the thumb

can be smoothed back into place.

Others require a bit more effort to work back into that even weave.

And yet others, well, we might just need a new thread

and our darning needle to repair.

Like anything, it's better to keep at things before they get to that point.

But it can be difficult.

We have demands being made of us at a rather alarming rate

if you think about it, and we don't even realize it.

In addition to the big ones: get to work on time, perform said duties,

kids to school, etc. there are thousands of others.

Car- fill me with gas or I won't run.

Phone- answer me or I'll keep ringing.

Critters and garden- water (feed) me or I'll die and won't feed you.

grocery clerk- pay me or you can't have your items.

Most of these are just understood, but they are still a tug.

They are not necessarily bad or harmful, but when too many 

rain upon us at once, we can be left

'hanging on by a thread.'

Equally important is the fact that we need time to be alone with ourselves

and keep our souls smooth.

There are times when we don't want to go anywhere or talk to anyone.

Time alone at home talking and listening to God and just being

seems necessary.

I think He made the seasons the way they are for a reason.

Just about the time we have run ourselves ragged,

the days start getting a little shorter and

the nights longer and colder.

It seems to go against mainstream society,

but He is almost pushing us back inside come evening-time saying,

"Rest up."

Like most children, we don't always listen as we should.

If this is where you are,

I would like this post to serve as that gentle voice that says,

"It's okay.  Take a breath."

Take a few moments to smooth out those little loops and

remember winter will be here soon, and we'll have more time

to spend with that darning needle.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Autumn Checklist

What a beautiful and busy time of year.

As we are pulling in and processing the tail end of the garden produce,

the leaves are changing, and Mother Nature is preparing for a change.

Isn't it peculiar how when the temperature begins to dip down to chilly

at night our nesting instincts kick in and give us 

that little boost of energy we need?

I'm not sure if we are ever really 100% ready for that first snow.

We always seem to forget something.

I am notorious for leaving hoses out until the snowfalls.

Then I have to go out and try to make sure they are drained

and put away while it's snowing on me.

Since I work best from a list and I know quite a few others

who share this same 'quirk,' 

I thought it might be a nice thing to share.

Of course, depending upon where you live and your situation,

your list might look a little different.

This might contain an item or two you forgot to add.

And if there's something on your list that you don't see here,

please share in a comment.

This is meant to help all of us.

In No Particular Order:

* Take stock of pantry~ What do you have in abundance, and what are you short on?

* Critter Feed~ Weather it's bunnies or beef, do you have enough feed (or a dependable source,) tank heaters, power  cords, anything needed for birthing (which will always be 2 AM of the coldest week of the year.)

* Heat Source~ Is the wood in? Propane tank filled? If electric or gas, do you keep a back up source?  Is your chimney clean?

* Equipment~ Lawnmowers, weed-eaters, chainsaws and any other form of small engine should be serviced before storing it for winter.  Why are we so good at this for our cars but not for smaller items?  My small engine repairman suggests using "seafoam" so that's what we use.  I don't know if there are other similar products of different brands.

* Tools~ From hammers and screwdrivers to pitch forks and wheelbarrows, how are the handles?  Is the metal clean?  Are they where they belong?

* Garden~ Put the garden to bed or plant your winter crop depending on where you live.

* Hoses!~ Geesh, I almost forgot to even put it on the list.  Drain, coil, and put them away.

* Blankets and Winter Clothes~ I don't store seasonal clothes, but if you do, you might locate, air out, iron if necessary, and ready them for wearing.  I like to either hang my blankets that have been folded up all summer on the line for an hour or two or give them a tumble in the dryer.

* Automobiles~ Have an emergency kit in each rig.  Check your tire pressure and the condition of the tires, antifreeze, fluids, wipers, etc.

*House~ Check windows and doors.  Are they sealing properly?   Are the leaves off the roof and gutters clean?  Do you wrap certain pipes for winter?

* Barns, Sheds, Fences and Gates~ In good repair? Is there a broken board that would be easier to fix now?

* Christmas~ Don't shoot!  I put this here, because if there are certain gifts you are making, you probably don't want to put it off until Dec. 1st to get started.

* MOST IMPORTANT~ How's your fire pit? Don't forget to take time to observe the beauty around you, jump in the leaves, roast a marshmallow and drink some hot chocolate or apple cider.  If you make it through even a portion of these things, you're ahead of the game.

Is here something you do each fall that's not listed here?

Let us know.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Using Borage

What is borage?

That's usually the first question people ask when it's mentioned.

Some folks have it in their "butterfly" gardens since it has beautiful

purple flowers that bees and butterflies alike are drawn to.

Attracting pollinators in itself is a worthing reason, but there's more.

It's edible!

Believe it or not, those prickly leaves are the secret ingredient

to so many delicious dishes.

You can of course use it fresh during summer months,

but you can also dehydrate it to use during the cold months.

And, how do we use it?

Around here, I try to keep a couple of quart jars of the dried leaves

in the pantry.

We add it to spaghetti - chopped up, in addition to your regular herbs.

If you are making a pot roast, toss a couple whole leaves in

on top of your usual seasonings.

A couple leaves added to the crock pot of stew sure doesn't hurt anything.

And, our latest favorite is -

Mr. LB chopped some up and added it to his homemade sausage.

I think he has just about perfected his recipe - Yum!

What it does~

Some claim it tastes like cucumber.

I can't imagine eating it in a salad.  The leaves are furry/prickly.

When cooked, it's similar to most greens and is no longer prickly.

When used in addition to your favorite herbs and spices,

it seems to meld and enhance the flavors.

It's like the sound of an orchestra when the members are

warming up individually vs. the sound when they play together-

only in flavor rather than sounds.

It doesn't seem to add it's own distinct flavor, 

but brings out the best of all the others.

How it grows:

In our garden, it has become a blessed weed.

We love it, but it drives us crazy.

The first time I planted it, I (foolishly) planted a row in the garden.

It was beautiful, but we had way more than enough.

So, the next year, thinking I was smart,

I planted 4 seeds.

When they came up, so did a bunch of "weeds" that looked identical.

Yep - borage. 

For the past couple years?? I've not planted any borage seeds.

We have beans and borage, tomatoes and borage, chives and borage-

you get the picture.

Plant a couple seeds somewhere you need a whole patch of 

pretty purple flowers, but probably not in your garden.

Borage is one plant we will probably always have around.

We can't imagine cooking without it.

Maybe give it a whirl and let me know what you think.  

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches

Miracles Happen

A couple posts back, I shared a bit about our area fires and evacuations.

One thing that is aggravating is that no motorized vehicles

are allowed in areas deemed as "wilderness areas" 

not even in emergency situations.

Due to the size and volume of some of these fires,
there is too much smoke to attack by air and 
they would be endangering the lives of firefighters to put them on it
without water truck back-up.
(The carbon footprint of our government)

Amongst the horror and sadness, God is still at work.
This account was told to us last week by a family friend
who grew up in the deserts of SE Oregon.  
If you are unfamiliar with the area,
it is high desert with a lot of sage brush and juniper trees in areas.
Two years ago, there was a fire from the Oregon side
that moved east toward the Idaho boarder.
Hundreds of thousands of acres burned
as well as livestock, wildlife, and feed.
The scene was morbid since there was an incredible number
of animals (both domestic and wild) that had to be
put out of their suffering.
This year, there is a fire from the Idaho side.
Our family friend called an older rancher he knew
to see how he was doing, where the fire line was, and if he needed any help.
The rancher is/was just getting his herd built back up from the last fire and
was now facing another from the other direction.
He told our friend he was getting ready to go saddle up and
see how many head (of cattle) he could gather before the fire got there.
Before he left the house,
he sat to pray,
telling God he didn't know if he could go through it again:
having to see what he saw and put cattle he had worked so hard for
out of their misery.
He asked the Lord to help him find and gather as many as possible.
(Maybe this is a good time to explain that out here,
cattle are turned out in the hills/mountains to feed for summer
so that lower pasture grounds can be hayed for winter feed.  
Usually, gathering is done in the fall.)
The Lord heard and answered this mans prayer.
As he walked out to saddle up, 
he saw cattle coming over the ridge.
He stood and watched as about 250 pair (cow + calf)
which was the bulk of his herd, trailed down toward the pastures.
There was an ugly ol' white mustang with no rider bringing them in.
Once they were all headed downhill, the mustang turned and
headed back up toward the hills.
The rancher still saddled up, got the cattle contained, 
and headed up to see if he could find the horse.
He didn't find the horse,
but thanks God his cattle are safe.
Our family friend quickly assured us this man is totally sane,
and if there was a rider, he would have seen it.
I have no doubt about his sanity.
My response I suppose, is a simple
Amen.

Until next time,
Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches