Hello There!

I wrote this a week or so ago and forgot to post it!

...... So today it is close to the end of April 2020. I have only posted once this month. When the whole coronavirus thing started happening, I thought I would post a whole bunch. But then something happened. Nothing bad. Noone in my family is ill - thank goodnes. But something shifted in my inner self. I wasn't aware of it until now when I sat down to write this post. All the fear of the unknown and the illness spreading got to me. I hunkered down with my little family and watched the world around us. I was obsessed with the news and that took up a lot of energy. I decided not to write on this blog and turned a bit inward. I think a lot of folks may be having the same experience. I've baked a little bit but I have been all about the cooking and taking care of the family with generous meals. Lots and lots of soups, a nice leg of lamb for Easter, and lots of eggs and comfort food. My chickens are laying like crazy and there have been popovers a couple times. I need to make a Dutch Baby - I will admit - I never have. 

I feel so fortunate that I have a little family to spend the quarantine with. And lovely cats, dogs, chickens and sheep. Here's Daisy in front of the fire I built one afternoon. 

The weather started to change a little and spring began coming on. It has been a very chilly April. The daffodils have been blooming and lasting a very long time with the very cold nights and some rainy days. We've had a couple fires in the giant fireplace and the cats love that. We have a bunch of wood that is starting to go punky and it's either burn it or let it rot in the woods. The furnace has still been running. 

The grass is slow to start growing. My Farmer has been fencing areas for the sheep to move into. It's a huge job and slow going but he is getting it done. He's doing so much better than the past few years - he's able to move around without pain and is even able to do some chainsaw work which he hasn't been up to for quite some time. For the past 3 weeks, we have been moving sheep out onto the pastures. It's nice to see some life in the fields outside our farmhouse. 

The ewes that are moving from the barn to the fields are those who lambed back in January and February. Their lambs are 90 to 120 days old so they will keep growing without the milk from their mamas. We still have many ewes that need to stay with their lambs because they aren't old enough. In time, they too will be moved onto fields and the lambs will be weaned. 

The rest of the time that has passed this month, I've spent keeping in touch with family and friends. I think at times like this - not that there has ever been a time like this in my lifetime - it's normal to start thinking about old friends and family. We have figured out Zoom and have been having Sunday afternoon chats to catch up. It's not the same as being in person but it is helping us keep connected. My Mom is sequestered and is safe and healthy but she is going stir crazy not being able to see anyone. I wish she had more digital skills because that would be a good distraction for her but she doesn't and no matter how many times we show her, she doesn't get it. 

I've been obsessed with my ceramics and been painting up a storm. I had a lot of leftover thrown and slab pieces that I made last year that I didn't have a chance to decorate. It has been a perfect way to spend a quarantine lost in my patterns and colors. My kiln is firing a bisque load right now and I'm hoping to get everything glazed this week and to photograph and load the pieces onto my website to sell. I'm wondering if there will be any market for my handmade pottery as so many people have lost their jobs. Is it all for naught? I don't know but it is keeping me sane so I keep painting. 

The whole coronavirus thing is such a crisis for people's health and for their livelihoods. I wonder what the world and society will be like when we come out the other side. Will it be like 9/11 when so many people fled cities and changed their lives? Will the virus keep going round and round? How will people feed themselves? What will cities and small towns be like? I worry and think a lot about people I do not know who have lost their loved ones. It's all a whole bunch to take in and digest and I think we will be doing it for years. 

In the evenings I sit and make crochet hexagon after crochet hexagon. It is soothing and mindless and therapeutic. I had better start sewing them together because the pile is getting enormous. I think I have enough for another large afghan. I'll call it the Corona Afghan. Maybe you have made a Corona Afghan too. 

I've looked over and over and over at the image of the coronavirus. I'm a bit captivated by the spikes and the colors and the orbs. 

I've been selling a lot of my crewel wool and embroidery supplies.  It seems people are like me and finding solace in stitching. I need to start another crewel project. Our governor has just extended the Massachusetts shutdown until May 18th. That gives me some more time to get more done. 


The Farmers Market that we do has not opened and it doesn't look like it will for a while. Measures are being taken to make sure everyone is safe - both vendors and customers. On the other hand, we have been selling a whole lot of our farm-raised lamb. People have been coming by appointment to the farm and I do the mask and glove thing. We are almost out of lamb but there is more coming very soon. I keep wondering how long this interest in farm-raised meat will last. 

I hope you and yours are safe and healthy. Thinking of you all.