on gardens and gardening

It seems like everywhere I look folks are talking about their gardens. Truth be told, I like it and I get it. Up until a couple years ago...I didn't get it. You see, up until a couple years ago I never lived in a house, never had a garden and had never grown something from the ground and eaten it.

That's all changed since I moved into this delightful little house in the lovely PNW, but I still reminisce about my childhood. I grew up in a 10 unit apartment building with a pool in the center of a small courtyard. Although I didn't know it back then, the apartment I grew up in was bigger than a LOT of houses and we didn't really ever want for space. The best part besides the pool is that each unit was occupied by families with kids around our age. Some of which have remained in my life to this day. Over thirty years later, a couple of those families still live there...including my mom. These people that started out as neighbors and became like family have all changed and grown...some have become grandparents recently. EEK! Some have fought in wars around the world...they have children and jobs and struggles.

Even though I didn't have a garden then, I now realize as I walk through grass still wet with dew, as I pick flowers to give away or to perfume my home, as I anxiously await my budding tomatoes and pop warm raspberries in my mouth...Gardens come in many different forms. As a child I still got to watch things grow. I still got to see things being tended and loved.  I learned the lesson that what springs from the earth will eventually return to it and that you reap what you sow.

I am so thankful for what I have now, but it can never compare to what I had then. I don't own this garden...but for now, for today, it's mine to enjoy.

the act of seeking out

 all images taken this weekend at Golden Gardens and Kayak Point

Sometimes I feel like I lead a double life.

The virtual one and the real one. The virtual life looks a bit different than the real one, yet it is all the same. It really comes down to what I share...isn't that the same for all of us really?

If using the Internet as ones sole point of reference...one could say I go a lot of places, complete a lot of projects, cook all the time, have a garden filled with beautiful flowers and enough downtime to photograph it all. Wow! What a life...could I be that girl? When I look at my own blog and my own Instagram feed I am often struck by how pretty, fun and full it all looks. It gets me thinking about perspective and how what you choose to share becomes the narrative.

So hows about a bit of truth with your morning cup of tea.

I am a homebody and not particularly social. I have a very small group of friends and most of them live in other places. I spend long stretches of the day not speaking to another human being. I work from home so my interactions are few. This lifestyle is mostly delightful to me as I have never been an extrovert. This does not mean that I am antisocial. Actually quite the contrary. I enjoy other people. I enjoy people watching. I enjoy engaging in animated conversations. I just don't seek it out.

I decided to make some changes in 2014. While I didn't feel the need to become a social butterfly. I did and do want to get out more. I want my everyday life to be more like the life I see in my own pictures. I want the fullness to be the rule rather than the exception. I treasure my quiet simple life...I truly do...but there's so much good stuff that comes with getting out and I can't expect all that good stuff to come to me. So far I have exceeded my own expectations. Both with Keith and without him, I have explored this great city...I have embarked on a road trip, I have visited new places and dined with new people. I have cooked different kinds of food and listened to different kinds of music. I have watched documentaries on subjects for which I never previously cared. I have played with my dog and wept with strangers. I see Keith doing the same...stretching himself in ways that make me proud and happy.

One of my goals is to visit a whole list of parks here in the PNW. The parks here will blow your mind, they are really that beautiful. Every time I visit one I return home feeling joy. Fresh air, trees and a nice long walk will do that I guess...who knew? 

In addition to the parks here are a few other things I want to do this summer:

Take a cooking class.
Have tea with a stranger.
Go to more movies.
Have a picnic with Keith in our backyard
See Mt Rainier up close
Rent a cabin with a hot tub;)

invent a signature cocktail
do a bit of painting
wear more dresses
take a yoga class

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?”  
-Mary Oliver

knit+purl | fall edition

 

Autumn is the time to sort through my bins and baskets of yarn...to revisit old, cast aside projects, to purge and collect, to knit and crochet.

I love nothing more than getting a few new things on the needles and hook. I am much more proficient with a crochet hook but probably a bit more enthusiastic with a set of needles. While my experience with crochet makes me more willing to try challenging projects, my current love of knitting and the array of modern patterns means I am more inclined to see those projects through to the end.

I am a simple knitter...scarves, cowls, caps and gloves. While I want to try a pair of socks I fear the complexity will keep me from it...at least for a while. Clothes? Uhm... no, I'm not there yet. I actually have never crocheted or knit an article of clothing...like a sweater. I am more into blankets, caps and scarves. Living in the PNW means that I can indulge in lovely knits practically year round, but this time of year is my favorite. Something about the smell of wood burning fireplaces and all those football games translates into a LOT of knitting in front of the tv.

This past weekend my friend and I traveled a bit east of Seattle to the Snoqualmie Valley and the small town of Carnation. Wa. I am forever mesmerized by the fact that so much nature and beauty exist so very close to the city.  Tolt Yarn and Wool was a revelation...and the Mexican restaurant across the street wasn't so bad either, but back to Tolt. Anna, the owner, is warm and knows her yarn! It was a pleasure watching her chat with customers and talk shop with fiber lovers, some of whom came from Canada to visit. The shop itself has high ceilings and accomplishes that perfect balance of feeling both open and cozy. There are colorful rugs and comfy chairs strewn about. The walls are repurposed wood pulled up from the floor. The fixtures are simple and elegant and we haven't even got to talking about the yarn...oh MAN, the YARN.

This place has the good stuff...much of it local. The samples, merchandising and general loveliness of the place makes me want to go back immediately. I'm sure my pocketbook is happy that it's a 30 minute drive. So here's to Tolt...to yarn and to those of us trying to make the world cozy one scarf at a time.

all images photographed at Tolt Yarn and Wool in Carnation, WA