Friday, May 4, 2018

The Tender Things of Life.

Remember how I told you I had baby chicks coming?
Sweet little yellow chick peeking through!
Sylvie (hen on the left) went broody first. I had 7 eggs under her. Later her sister, Lady Grey (hen on the right) joined her in sympathetic broodiness. Those two fluffy mamas fill up a nesting box!
Of the seven eggs, I got four chicks. A fifth one died, and two of the eggs were not fertilized, and I threw them out at last.
I have one yellow, one brown, and two black chicks, although their color will likely change a lot over time.
Today I helped Anna alter her wedding dress. It was too long by about 6 inches. She'd already hemmed the main skirt bottom, but I helped with the organza overlay. I ran two thin hand-stitched seams up from the bottom lace elements, and pulled it taut to make a shirring, thus raising the lacy hem. It only needed raising on the front.
In the kitchen, Adam was baking Wedding Cake Tester #3. Anna was quite excited by this.
Then she and I watched the Julia Child episode where this cake is presented in 1996.  It's Martha Stewart's recipe. Anna saw it as a little girl and asked her daddy for it, for her wedding. And he's keeping his long-ago promise.

If you want to watch the episode, here it is:
Over the weekend in Mississippi, Anna's engagement ring and mine were together for the first time. They are both Belcher settings; the stone does not extend above the shank of the ring. I've loved mine. She wanted one in this setting too.
Philip and Kara made themselves a very fine hammock, a place for rest in the shade after a long day of work. Isn't it fine and sturdy? I'd like to see one of these in my future :)
One of my regrets from my decades in Mississippi is that I never visited Oxford, home of William Faulkner. It's a lovely old town with a square (and a university). I studied Faulkner extensively and read his novels with deep interest. Returning from Clarksdale, I finally had my chance to step foot on its square!
I particularly wanted to visit Square Books and buy ... a book ... anything (well, maybe not anything).
But we'd left early, and they weren't open yet, and we didn't want to delay our drive. So we left --- another time, I hope!

When my daddy died in January, I had time to sort through old photos at their house. I came across this baby photo of Anna.
My old copy of it was water-damaged. I was thrilled to find this good one! She's wearing a Christmas dress, so I guess she's about 6 months old.
A tender age. A dear little girl. So many years, so many adventures, heart-aches, changes, joys, accomplishments, travels. And now she is to be married. A very tender time. Perhaps that's why we dress it in lace and organza. A wedding dress is a most delicate garment, but the relationship it symbolizes will strengthen and toughen with the years.

But now? It's the most tender little sprout of love, and we celebrate its beginning!

2 comments:

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

What a lovely post! Enjoy your time with Anna.

FlowerLady

Carol Blackburn said...

Good day M.K., how wonderful things are coming together for the wedding. And such talent in your family too, from dressmaking, baking and that hammock, too. You must have such fulfilling days.