A Place Like This......

Right Where We Left Her

I've had a couple of weeks off and a few more days to go before we come back home to the States. It's been an incredible past year and a half or so, in the very best way possible. Even so, I've missed moments of myself and the life I have created, like leisurely blogging and visiting blogging friends, crafting and knitting. I never knew a Slow Life could get so busy.

These long days of summer have brought back the Slow Life we had so consciously created and I feel nurtured and rested. Because the sun is up 22/23 hours a day here in Sweden, I haven't actually gotten on a time schedule. I find myself rising at 5:30 am and taking  long walks or bicycle rides only to come back and fall asleep again. 

There are twice daily coffee times with family and friends.

Outside meals.

And then, there are the animals. We always look forward to our moments with them, the long walks out into the fields, the horseback rides, the garden bouts.

They are our loyal friends. One in particular we can always count on and that is Luella's dog Clover. A highly trained sheep dog, Clover is always waiting, always watching, ever herding , even when one doesn't feel like being herded.

There are many Clover stories throughout the years. The way she herds us into a group when we arrive before she'll say hello. The time she herded 5 cats who didn't think highly of being herded and just left the farm for good. Only one cat stayed behind, Viola, to be a constant companion or an oblivious companion is more like it. Viola deserves her own blog post. What a cat !!!

Two years ago I left Clover standing right in this spot.

When I pulled up to the house, she was still standing in this spot as if she had never moved. That's just my own illusion because the dog rarely stops moving. The other night we were having dinner and she lovingly rested her chin on my lap. It was the greatest of compliments from the greatest of friends. 

As I  wander around visiting blogging friends, you like Clover are right where I left you. Time has slipped by and life has moved on but  I've got an ever growing list of crafting and knitting projects, wonderful recipes to try, and glimpses into the life you so lovingly share. Oh how it feels good to be back. 

Here's to Summer Days and the inspiration they give.

An Island Exploration

Since seeing Mackworth Island last year, all the boy could talk about was bringing his sister Mimi back so they could go exploring together. Recently that dream came true.

As they walked towards the water, little brother recounted to big sister everything that had happened the year before. Patiently she listened, enjoying the world through her brother's eyes.

 Climbing down a long flight of stairs and over layered rocks. They walked along the shore exploring tidepools, and sharing discoveries.

Little gifts from the sea were found and even a living specimen.

Gently the boy put the shell back in the water hoping he would give it a chance for survival. Just waiting on the rock, however, was an ever watching seagull. 

After taking this photo I looked up and both of them had gone. I decided to just sit where I was and wait for them to return. After a bit I noticed one and then the other, a metaphor for life I suppose. No matter how far away they go they eventually return. 

Here's wishing you a wonderful day.

For Japan With Love

Though yesterday was the official day of silence for Japan, I've been silent for well over a week. We've all seen the images and videos of the devastation in Japan caused by the earthquake and tsunamis.

 

I've been literally haunted by the suffering being endured by the Japanese people. I've felt for the last week like I've wanted to get on a plane and head over to Japan. I've just wanted to do something, anything at all. We've given to the Red Cross and then in the blogosphere I discovered that Utterly Engaged and Ever Ours are sponsoring a fundraiser to provide ShelterBoxes for the victims of the Japan Earthquake.

ShelterBox provides emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies for families around the world who are affected by disasters at a time when they need it most. Each large green shelterbox contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, and many other vital supplies. Each box costs $1000 US dollars.

Every little bit helps another's suffering. Please join Utterly engaged, Ever Ours and many blogging friends to help Japan.

The Japanese have a saying/greeting "Gambattemas" which means we're all in this together.

Thanks so much for your help.

Living in the Moment

I find so much of my time is spent either trying to manage the moment or looking to the calendar schedule for the moments to come. Along with this comes the internal dialog of "living in the moment", but feeling like a complete failure because I am constantly thinking about every moment except the present one I'm in.

If I lived in the moment what would that look and feel like? Would I really have no sense of the future? Would the past stay in the history section of my very current life?

This summer , I received the answers to all of these questions, coming in a most unexpected package, "living on a farm."

Though we were on vacation and not managing "the farm", we quickly started participating in farming activities. "O" has discovered that along with being an animator and inventor, he wants to have a farm when he grows up.

Everyday at 7 AM, I would hear the young boy's feet running down the steps towards the horse barn. Moments later, after shoes had been hurriedly put on, the barn door would be closed with a robust slam, you know, so he could keep the flies out. :)

And with this, daily life on the farm had begun. There were horses to greet, a dog to throw a stick for, and a cat to be cuddled. After that, there were horse riders and their children to give a howdie to. Next on the agenda of farm living was helping with a variety of projects from putting up an electric fence and learning how to manage it so you didn't get shocked, watching hay being cut, bailed and dried, getting honey from the bees and then extracting the  honey from the comb. All of this was interspersed with viking stick fighting, better known as clash of the tree limbs, fort building in the forest, and on the occasional rainy moment, building forts out of hay bales in the hay loft.

A peaceful din took over our lives for three short weeks. Nothing was more important than the moment and task at hand. There wasn't a "hurry up and get this done to move onto the next thing" attitude. With 22 hours of daylight, there was time for everything. A balanced, peaceful look at life. Now that I know what living in the moment looks and feels like, it is so much easier to place it into our life here in the neighborhood.

What moment are you living in?

The Stone Labyrinth

Though sometimes life is a little bumpy and can feel like it's hitting you with stones,

we can always take those stones and "make" a moment to reflect in their lessons.

One by one in their individual beauty, we place them into a continous line. 

Lighting our path as we go.

To remind ourselves of the one continuous line which binds us to each other.