What you do in your house is worth as much as if you did it up in heaven for our Lord God. We should accustom ourselves to think of our position and work as sacred and well-pleasing to God, not on account of the position and work, but on account of the word and faith from which the obedience and the work flow. ~ Martin Luther

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Snowdrops

 

Can you spot one of Matt's recent projects?
 
 
 


 
A Handmade Christmas Gift for my sister-in-law.  I made this pattern up, trying to work out something in my head.  It wasn't quite what I had envisioned, but still lovely.  I bought the buttons (one of the only supplies I needed to buy for all the handmade gifts I made) and fell in love with the sparkle.  They remind me of of glistening snowflakes on a blanket of white.  I call it the Snowdrop Cowl and maybe wish it were my own.  ;-)
 



 Last week, the earth around Hopestead was covered with the most glorious white, drifty snow.  The snowflakes danced downward, spiraling into one another and clasping hands into clumps of crystal as they fell.  We were quite snowed in, as a matter of fact, or felt as much as the hill remained unplowed for most of the day(s) that snow fell.  And then, a few days later, when night fell the rain did too and the winds howled outside our door and beat against our windows and rattled their panes and me.  Nothing more shivery than wind gusts in winter.  I was thankful, then, to have Mattie to snuggle into and walls around and quilts over top.  Positively surrounded with goodness. 

The next morning it was gone, all gone.  All the snow drifts and sparkles, all the piles and piles and miles and miles of white.  In one night, white had turned to brown. Matt had to go out of town for the week...he left me like the beautiful snow.  And then.  THEN.  The winds grew bitter and brutal and cruel.  The windows became so frosted, they were opaque with sparkles."35-below with windchill", my neighbors told me.  "Don't be out for more than 15 minutes or you might get frostbite!"  they said. And no husband to warm my feet in his or to snuggle the chill right out of me. 

It's been me who has had to stoke the fire, over and over, trying to get the chill out of this drafty house, an impossibility.  Our breath billows on the second floor and we wear robes over our clothes and we eat warmth for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  It's been I who has had to go to the barn to comb down bear-like ponies and fluffy cows, with their thick winter fur and their frozen whiskers.  I've had to break ice, haul water, shove hay all-around, with frozen white fingers that lose their circulation in the cold.  Winter chores are no fun and especially so in the bitter, cruel gusts of below zero and a Mama stays very  busy trying to do it all.

Even so, I am okay.  Chores are just a small part of a big day (at least there is no milking yet!), the thermometer promises to creep slowly up soon, the days and minutes pass until I can see my Mister and I have rainbow colored eggs at a certain time each morning (Who can say that?!?) thanks to a bit of cut glass against windowpanes.   

 I have decided I am going to collect prisms.  I am going to fill an entire window with them and then have a whole room filled with dancing rainbows.   If that seems cheesy, who cares?  Gaudy?  Probably.  But then again- I don't think a person could ever have too much sparkle in their life.

Especially when they have to wear Carhartt brown at chore time.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hope it warms up soon for you! :)

Paula said...

Your rainbow reminds me of 'Pollyanna' by Elenor H Porter:

""Why, Mr. Pendleton, it's a baby rainbow--a real rainbow come in to pay you a visit!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together softly. "Oh--oh--oh, how pretty it is! But how did it get in?" she cried.

The man laughed a little grimly: John Pendleton was particularly out of sorts with the world this morning.

"Well, I suppose it 'got in' through the bevelled edge of that glass thermometer in the window," he said wearily. "The sun shouldn't strike it at all but it does in the morning."

"Oh, but it's so pretty, Mr. Pendleton! And does just the sun do that? My! if it was mine I'd have it hang in the sun all day long!"

"Lots of good you'd get out of the thermometer, then," laughed the man. "How do you suppose you could tell how hot it was, or how cold it was, if the thermometer hung in the sun all day?"

"I shouldn't care," breathed Pollyanna, her fascinated eyes on the brilliant band of colors across the pillow. "Just as if anybody'd care when they were living all the time in a rainbow!"

(from Chapter 18)

Tracy said...

I know it's hard work, and that you're very cold, but truthfully, you make it all sound a little romantic, kind of like The Long Winter. (That's a compliment to your writing!)

Rosemary said...

Prisms are the best. I have some in my front and back windows, to catch me some rainbows at different times of the day. I would love to string them everywhere as was done in Pollyanna. I have been indoors for days, as it is too icy for this older lady. The prisms/rainbows help with my cabin fever.

Julian said...

Brrr! I remember as a girl in minnesota. Fifty below zero! Here in texas its been cold. One morning it was 23! I'm guessing that's a heatwave;).....
Prisms I love. How would I go hanging them by the window? Is there a certain way? I'd really like to do that. And where do you buy rhem? The cowl is beautiful! Great job!;)
Try to keep warm. I know you'll be extra glad when your husband comes home.
Christina

ulli said...

Again, your photography is stunning! I can see the snow billowing down--so beautiful how you captured it! I know the chores are cold and hard, but you're a strong woman, mom, wife. You do what you have to do and all the while you're setting an excellent example for your children. I can feel the cold as you describe it--oh wait, it's cold here too--I really AM cold! :) But as you said, it won't last forever.
Love your colored eggs and the prisms. The cowl is to die for, as are the buttons! Great job!
Stay warm--Matt will be home soon, I hope.

debbie said...

is that a public road and the baen and other builings are they yours too

BajaManna said...

I was so taken with your photos, all I could think of was what a gift God gave you to be able to live on the ancestral family farm. I understand the downside, too - have experienced the same things myself - but overall the hard edges of your life just add to the overall sparkle of the gift you've been given. SOOO much better than living in a house with no personality and no room for a garden in the midst of a suburb somewhere.

Rebecca said...

Christina~ A small nail in the framing, a suction cup holder, or even hung by the little window lock latch would all work well. I got mine at A.C.Moore with a 40% off coupon- and they were only $3.99 to begin with!

Debbie- it is a public road- but a po-dunk one, which is why it doesn't get plowed as often as main roads. Yes, the barns and buildings are ours- dilapidated and all. (We are working on it!)

Amanda said...

Dear Rebecca,

Your posts lately are so full of wintery life:-)

I'm really enjoying all the snow ones. We don't have an ounce of it, so seeing your photos makes me happy.

Of course I enjoy your crochet creations too. What a crafty mama you are.

And the carhartt brown looks stunning on you;-)

Stay Warm!

hugs from the backwoods,

Amanda

Renata said...

I thought straight away of Pollyanna and her prisms when you mentioned your prism idea! Just beautiful. And I will swap in a jiffy. We have killed anything that was left in the garden. Or maybe we could just share and both have beautiful weather :).
Hope you keep warm!
Blessings
Renata :)

Renata said...

For some crazy reason I just came back and reread my comment only to realise it makes no sense. I was talking about the weather...we are in the middle of a heatwave! Anyway sorry about the confusion!
Blessings
:)