A Much Needed Time To Reflect!

I know from talking to the few people that I actually have a chance to talk to that "life" has apparently gotten increasingly difficult. In our life there are times when the struggle to simply "survive" becomes seemingly overwhelming and I get discouraged and feel like giving up! Then there are those other times like last night....the weather finally cools down and the man eating bugs decide to dine elsewhere rather than ingest us and we get one of our rare opportunities to just sit down, have a fire, and relax!

We NEED nights like this! Total quiet, a small fire, and a chance to just sit and be quiet and think! (Actually I took a nap as well!) There is no noise out here....no traffic sounds, no dogs barking, no neighbors yelling...just tree frogs, crickets, night bugs, and a plethora of owls. One can almost be lulled into the delusion that all is right with the world and that the daily insanity our lives seem to have become is nothing but a thing of the past! The struggle to make ends meet seems to vanish as we watch the moon break over the ridge top and shine through the trees with such illumination that you can actually read a book in the middle of the night. Other than the occasional jet passing over from Nashville to who knows where, you almost get the sense that there's nobody left on earth but us. Sometimes this is a good feeling...sometimes it isn't.

For hours we sit with hardly a word being spoken. None really are needed at times like these...especially after all the years we've spent together. In between napping, I rehearse in my mind the day before and dwell on images of Susie turning the print shop I work into a "fiber studio" while I ply my craft on the press, churning out printing of no relevance, doing work that pays the bills but I consider "mindless". I LONG to print things of beauty and meaning but for now, this is my lot.

I worked Saturday in town which is something I rarely do and rather than stay at home, Susie spent the day there with me working on her fiber projects. She finished filling her first bobbin on the Country Spinner which is so huge it seems comical compared to the bobbins on her other wheels. Once filled, she skeined it off and did her calculations on yardage, then weighed various fibers on the ink scale, measured dyed roving, made COPIOUS notes, and took pictures of everything she did! I'm very proud of her and her work and truly stand in awe of her talents!

So....as the clock approached midnight, we folded up the chairs, put out the fire and made our way to the house....my head still swimming with the visions and sensations of wool and dyed roving...of Merino and Gotland....of Jacob and Stansborough...of yarn and roving...and I think about the fact that we DO have a roof over our heads and we DO have plenty of food....I AM employed and the house IS full of fiber! I also realize that tomorrow IS another day and that GOD IS ON THE THRONE and life IS in fact good! Yes....we NEED days like this!