Red Cedar
More apocalypse, less angst
Post #2031: Sewing, yarning, cleaning, planning
Last night I cleaned up my sewing room a little bit – mostly because it had gotten too messy to do anything in, but also because Brian’s family are coming to town and I like to tidy up before people descend. It’s not even like I’ve been sewing lately (too hot, though now it’s cooling off I’m excited to get back to it) – but just using my ironing board and sewing table as places to dump stuff that I don’t feel like putting away. Bad habit!
As always, when I start tidying, I notice how many unfinished objects (UFOs) I have kicking around. Sometimes I just stuff them all back away for some future gleaning, but last night I actually assessed a few as “too old” or “I hate that fabric feel” and pitched them in the garbage rather than pretending I was ever going to get around to them. Other items, I noted, only need a hemming or a blocking to finish – and so I’ve set those into a pile to see what I can do with them in the next six weeks or so. Then there are larger projects that will take more time and energy to finish – and once I do the “easy” finishes I’ll start working through those too.
But mostly what I thought about was the fact that I’m going to be pulling everything out of that room (and the closet) in September so that I can paint it, and after that I’ll be putting in new furniture and reorganizing the rest. My step-daughter going into university residence means we’ve got a new room in the house which for now will be used as our TV and guest room (including place for her to stay when she isn’t at school) – and that means that at least for now I get a dedicated sewing/yarning/making space. Since it’s a pretty small room – my goal is to maximize storage while not crowding it up – so I’ve got plans to change up the closet storage and include some under-desk and under-bed storage options as well (I’ll be converting the single bed from my SD’s room into a daybed in the sewing area for now). I’m also hoping to improve the lighting and find space for a design-wall or at the very least a corkboard for pinning ideas and cloth scraps to.
In any case, I’m pretty excited about having this dedicated space – it’s a real privilege to have enough extra space to do things like this. I’ve got a list of possible Ikea furniture in white with black accents and am now thinking about neutral paint colours that I can live with. I’m thinking silver or dove grey mostly – something with warmth though, and not too much blue. And for an accent (pillows on the daybed mostly) – purples as the accent colour? I’m not exactly sure about that yet – but I do like the idea of painting the inside of the closet something crazy vibrant-fuschia and having cushions on the daybed that pick up on that. We’ll see. Whatever I end up doing in there, it’s a bunch of work in the fall to get done. I’m looking forward to it though – a refresh of a room that has up until now been just utilitarian space without much character. I’ll post before pictures and swatches soon!
Post #2030: Crash landing
Having done two (short) residential meditation retreats, I now feel qualified to say that I *always* have a rough re-entry to the world after three or four days of silent meditation. I mean, who wouldn’t right? After four days of forest, silence, lovely dharma talks, healthy food – you’re getting truly and juicily into the deep meditation state – only to get back into the car, drive on a highway, go back to work, deal with household aggravations, and so on. Yesterday I was not only late for work but I left my government ID at home, had a mini-spaz about some work stupid, screwed up a knitting project, and had a stress attack at the hardware store. It wasn’t awesome. Today has turned out much better which means that I have truly arrived back in my life.
Post #2029: Foolproof fruit
Stone fruit season came early to BC this year – cherries! nectarines! peaches! apricots (and soon, plums too ). Now, I know that we all dream of the canned fruit the way your grandmother or father used to make (it was my grandpa who did all the canning) – the perfectly sliced peaches and apricot halves floating in golden sugar-syrup, ready to be doled out after dinner as a dessert…. but I just don’t can that way (or use fruit as a snack). In fact, I try to do as little as possible when it comes to putting up for the winter – and that means no perfectly sliced or pitted peaches. When it comes to fruit that can easily be stirred into plain yogurt or oatmeal, and sometimes added to pancake batter – it really doesn’t matter what it looks like – it just has to taste like fruit (not sugar) and come in bite-sized chunks. What follows is my foolproof fruit recipe – I use this every year to put up enough for a jar per week in the winter. Yesterday I put up 40 of those jars which means I’ve got some more work to do in the near future (applesauce probably, perhaps some kind of plummy jam). You can adjust this to the actual amounts you might use:
2o pounds nectarines or peaches
2 cups of water
2 cups of honey (or more to taste)
spices (I use about 15 anise stars for the nectarines, 10 small cinnamon sticks for the peaches)
Wash and rough chop fruit, leaving peel on (discard the pits) . Throw it into a big (very big) pot with the honey, water and spice – bring to a boil on medium temperature, stirring every once and awhile. Ladle into jars and process (12 minutes for 1/2 pints, 20 minutes for pints). This recipe will make 12 1/2 pints plus 8-12 pints (depending on how much fruit comes off the pit) – so plan on two full canner batches.
And voila! Much fruit to put by without too much effort – it’s even better when your partner cuts the fruit for you beforehand (thanks Brian!)
Post #2028: A simple woodshed and a shower in the woods
This week at the cabin has seen much work – a woodshed (mostly) finished this morning, a bunch of trail (and beach) building, a wash station set-up for our outhouse, and a small shower platform in the woods. The woodshed above represents the first time that Brian and I have successfully worked on a building project without arguing – *and* ended up with a finished project that is level, mostly square, and won’t fall apart in six months. I am fairly thrilled by this fact alone and we’re already talking about whether or not we could build a small bunkhouse (100 square feet or less) on our platform behind the cabin. Not this year of course, but maybe next? We’ll see.
Post #2027: Arrival at a conclusion
We have now been at the cabin-in-progress for four days, with another three ahead of us before we return to Vancouver. This is the longest stretch we have spent on this property in one go.
Each day I have meditated, jogged, kayaked, walked, worked on the property, and gone swimming. This afternoon I spent the two hottest hours of the day at a swimming hole created by Brian and our friend Will – thus giving us a “private” beach covered in lovely native grasses, solomon’s seal, and wild mint (photo above). Also, I have seen water snakes, frogs, osprey flying overhead, deer, rabbits, and many signs of other animals since we have been here.
In the last year I have sometimes wondered if the cabin project is worth it, worth going back to work full time to pay for it, worth giving up other experiences for. After floating around on the lake with our friends this afternoon, another fabulous meal, another day of watching the sun go down over the hill – I can honestly say yes. Yes, it is worth it and all the work ahead will be worth it too. We have been incredibly lucky to find this place within reach of the city at a price we could afford. Each moment we spend here is a taste of more to come – and in particular I look forward to more time with friends in this place.
It is quiet at the moment, with friends gone to bed, or out fishing – and I am grateful for that also. A moment to myself in the evening hum of crickets, birds, and the odd passing car on the main road.
Red Cedar 