Awakened

The soft glow behind the curtains

must be morning at last.

The moon is long set.

I am in my mother's house.

She finishes one more sleep

in the room beneath mine.

I am old,

and she is ancient,

Yet still the mother bond

pulls firm as ever --

The body that encased me,

The voice that whispered

the mother secrets that

no infant can remember,

no woman can forget.

She is here yet.

The soft glow of morning,

The deep green fescue growing,

The distant lowing of cows

in a neighbor's field, calling,

Come, my love, my baby,

Come home to me again.

copyright, M.K. Christiansen

August, 2023

Just Sitting Here --

 Hi, friends -

Since I'm just sitting here on the reclining loveseat with Adam on a slow Sunday afternoon, I might as well write a blog post, right? Sorry to be so absent. I'm definitely slowing down these days. Adam is done with school for the year, and since he's home, he's the cook for the summer. Hooray! I'm glad to get that daily chore off my shoulders for a few months. I don't mind cooking, but not everyday!

So what's going on? I'm enjoying being at home with the two dogs and the kitty cat. It's a pleasant, slow life. Most days my back gradually hurts more as the day wears on, and I take pain meds, use a heating pad, and rest a good bit. Thus: slowing down.

Still, I try to keep painting and spinning/knitting. Let's see if I can find some photos on my phone:

Here are some cards I have for sale at the Saturday farmers market.

This 9x12" piece is fairy children going into a forest. It feels magical. I very nearly achieved what I was hoping for, which can be hard with art!

Our huge gardenia bush is blooming now! I have a blossom tucked in my blouse as I'm typing now.

Painting bookmarks:

This is the "wildflower blanket" that I crocheted for my sweet granddaughter who is two years old.

Leo, my companion in the studio. He's so sweet.

Lately I've been spinning up this fleece from a local farm. It's a Shetland/Black Welsh Mtn. cross. I'm planning a cardigan sweater!

This pile of yarn went into a rug I wove. I love the mix of the dark (seen in the above photo), and the light-colored Cheviot fleece.

For those who recall that my husband Adam has been sick for several years with a severe auto-immune illness, he is getting better. He had 2 chemo infusions (the aggressive and preferred treatment), and he is definitely improving, has more energy, and will hopefully be able to go off some of his meds soon. We are very thankful. 

Much love to all of you friends in blogland!

Hello, Friends!

 Well, everyone, I've been gone a while. I've struggled to keep up with both my blog and my Youtube channel. Sorry! But I'll try to catch you up on the highlights of the last few months.

Christmas was not what we expected! Just before leaving on our long-awaited trip to Mississippi for Christmas with our kids and grandkids, Adam tested positive for Covid. He was not very ill, but he couldn't travel. Then, on Christmas Day, I had to make a "mad dash" trip to visit another of our children to help, and Adam stayed home. I traveled quite a bit, ended up in Chattanooga for a late family Christmas. Chaos ... but it all worked out!

Adam visited a new doctor for his auto-immune illness and was approved for two Rituxan infusions in March. They've already made him feel so much better! We're very thankful for his improvement. He has much more energy and hopes to be in remission soon. 

I'm still making soaps and lotions and working with yarn a lot. I bought two fleeces at a local farm, and then my brother gave me a large bag of fleece from his sheep in West Virginia. Those fleeces have been so fun to clean and work with! I love working with fleece more than I expected, even the feeling of lanolin on my hands and the smell of the barnyard in my studio. I used the old alpaca fleece to make a rug -- a trial run on rug weaving.

The farmers market has started up again. I've been doing it for nearly 11 years. I still enjoy it, but it's quite tiring. I'm slowing down a bit on making some of my wares. But I'm still enjoying my chickens and my spinning and knitting.

I've had a little medical problem, esophageal spasms, that keeps me from being as active and productive as I like to be, so it's been a more "restful" year than usual. REST is my word this year, I think. I don't mind slowing down and realizing I can't do all I used to do. And as we get older, of course we want to use the energy we have for other people, especially family. Adam is still pastoring and teaching middle school, so that keeps him very busy.

If for some reason you'd enjoy watching my Youtube videos, here's a link to my channel. A lot of the things I mentioned here have dedicated videos there. Wishing you all the best, blog friends!