Lenten Reflections

"You are dust, and to dust you will return." This phrase lingered in my mind today as I shoveled mud and contemplated how to observe Lent in a meaningful way this year.  Thinking about myself as dust used to depress me, but now I take great comfort in remembering my origins and ultimate destination. It is a shared fate with all living things, the cycle of birth and death, decay and new birth. Just look at the compost bin.

 

In our neck of the woods this time of year, a more appropriate rendering of this phrase would be "you are mud, and to mud you will return."  The chickens delight in all the worms uncovered when we expose fresh earth.

Thinking about my dust-ness helps to calm my crazy multi-tasking anxiety about whether I'm getting enough done each day, accomplishing anything worthwhile, or making any headway toward my ultimate goals. I find myself too often frustrated by the daily mundane tasks required of a mother of a small child--"I can't get anything done!!" When I think this way, I know I'm losing perspective. It's so easy to let ambition and worry rob the present moment of joy and contentment.

Today the first daffodil bloomed.

 

Her loveliness brought to mind another phrase, and sent me to our little King James to look up the whole passage: "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say to you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" (Matthew 6:28-30).

This lent, I think I will try to focus on "toiling not". Finding contentment in the mundane, appreciating the beauty right before my eyes, loving the people I'm blessed to call family, and the people who cross my path each day. Performing each task with mindfulness and gratitude, and letting anxiety and frustration fall away. 

How will you find meaning in the days of Lent this year?

For more Lenten thoughts, Eileen has a lovely reflection over at Rhythm of the Home. 

First transplants

Today was moving day for these happy little greens!

Spicy mesclun, scallions, butterhead lettuce

Cilantro

Butterhead Lettuce

They have been growing inside under fluorescent lights for three weeks and are ready to venture out to the backyard now. We've set them out in our new hoop house during the day for the last few days to get acclimated to the outdoors a bit. 

In addition to building the portable hoop house above, Dan secured some hoops to one of our raised beds this weekend so that we can cover the tender plant starts and provide a more protected environment during these early spring days.

This is our first year experimenting with season extending in this way. Without the plastic cover, we would need to wait a bit longer to plant outside.

I'm so happy with our new soil block system for seed starting. I've never had such healthy, vibrant seedlings. I think the homemade potting mix helped, too. We used a combination of peat, local organic compost, perlite (which I just learned is a naturally occurring volcanic rock), and an all-purpose organic fertilizer.

To prepare our bed for planting, we let the chickens scratch around for slugs and eat up the nice lush crimson clover cover crop. Then we cut back the remaining clover, put it in the compost, and lightly hand-tilled with a garden fork to loosen the clover roots and aerate the soil.

One of our beds with crimson clover still growing as a cover crop (and garlic sprouting with a straw mulch in the back)

We would have added compost at this time, but didn't have any quite ready. Hopefully we can side dress the plants with compost once we have some ready. We worked in some lime and the all-purpose organic fertilizer (purchased at Concentrates) recommended by Steve Solomon in Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades, then popped the little soil block transplants into the bed. No plastic pots to wrestle with!

 

One of the benefits of minimal tilling is that our friends the earthworms (and all the other soil critters) are left in one piece. Now, with any luck, we'll be eating fresh backyard greens in just a few weeks!

Market Bag and Bag It Oregon

I've been meaning to sew up some cloth bags to bring to the store for a long time now. Finally this afternoon, the timing was right, the toddler was playing with dad, and the inspiration struck. I pulled out the thrifted rainbow shower curtain I had set aside for this purpose at least a year ago, found the online pattern for a Market Bag Tote from Denyse Schmidt Quilts, and started cutting. An hour later I was happy to have this lovely, simple bag:

 

After finishing the bag, I checked my email and found a reminder for the event Bag It Oregon. Hollywood Theater in Portland is showing the film Bag It, about our overuse and abuse of plastic, every night March 4-10 at 7pm. There will also be elected officials, music, and discussions about plastic bags and the upcoming consideration by Oregon congress to ban single-use plastic bags.

 

Indeed it does seem a perfect time to be sewing up some nice durable non-plastic market totes!

Birthday Sewing

My little babe just turned two! Some birthday sewing was surely in order for the occasion. Of course she would need a crown...

 

A little dress...

 

And a banner would get us feeling festive...

Some carrot cupcakes would sweeten things up...

Now, when will all those special guests arrive for the party?

 

The guests did arrive, and we all had a lovely time. We're so thankful to have really wonderful neighbors with whom to share day-to-day life (and celebrations!)

A few details on the projects: 

A tutorial for the birthday crown can be found at Frontier Dreams.

The dress is my first attempt at such a garment--I used a very simple $2.99 pattern--McCalls M6261, and fabric I found at SCRAP and a garage sale. It is a little rough (especially the sleeves!) but so fun to actually complete a dress for my daughter. I still have some of the dresses my mom made for me as a little girl, and I so loved wearing them. Unfortunately, my little girl is very particular about her wardrobe at the moment (she'd really rather wear nothing at all), and when I tried to put it on her, she started screaming and wouldn't stop until I took it off. Not even the prospect of cherry pockets tempted her. Nor the puffed sleeves (she doesn't know about Anne of Green Gables yet). Oh well. It's a little big, anyway...maybe she'll warm up to it by summer time. Such are the hazards of sewing for one's children! 

The banner/garland is inspired by several variations I've seen on blogs and in friends' homes. Here are a few of the blogs that inspired me:

Purl Bee Party Garland

Soulemama Birthday Banner 

Sew Mama Sew Scalloped Fabric Garland

I created my version with some garage sale quilt squares, which simplified the cutting--I just cut each square on the diagonal,  sewed right sides together, turned right side out, pressed, and then sewed each triangle into an extra-wide double fold bias tape. I love the fabric--sort of vintage country--so bright and cheerful. The squares have found their way into several other projects, including some little pants pockets and these potholders.

And the recipe for carrot cake can be found here.

Wishing everyone happy birthday sewing in the coming year!