Woven

My parents were both first generation Americans in families

fighting their way up (and out) of Brooklyn, NY 

-That is my mom in my grandmother's arms 

and my dear Aunt Ethel standing in front of my grandfather-

I never knew what "upper middle class" even meant until

I went home for Easter with my college roommate 

I remember a beautiful old house in a suburb of Chicago,

My first glasses of champagne and aged red wine,

 classical music playing during dinner,

my first experience sleeping on cotton sheets, 

talk of semesters in Europe, leather interior in the car,

Lanz flannel nightgowns, Italian tile on the kitchen floor

antique chairs around the table...

What amazes me now, is how woven all of my

experiences are into who I am and how I live today

The best part being that the weaving doesn't end.  I get to keep changing

and growing and having more experiences

Like my very recent indulgent purchase of fine linen sheets

I needed a dust ruffle for our new bed frame

 A google search led me to Linoto, and to Jason, 

who explained their linen and its qualities. 

(incredibly sustainable by the way)

And yes,

 instead of a cruise to somewhere exotic,

 I splurged

 on two sets of linen sheets and a dust ruffle

They came today. 

It is all so beautiful I could weep.

I had bought a set from Restoration Hardware a few years ago and

it makes them look like burlap.

I am overwhelmed with gratefulness.

For the polyester I grew up with, the cotton I moved up to 

and the linen I cannot wait to jump into tonight.

Isn't life grand?

Enjoy!

Kyra

Crafty

Holy Toledo Batman!

 I find myself so grateful for my crafty side

as the forecast for tomorrow calls for flurries and 20 degrees

As I'm watching friends slowly loose their minds and

frantically booking trips to Florida

I began to look around at what I've been doing during

the "winter that seems to have no end"

I've got Mache ready to go when it warms up and

my eggplant, onions and peppers are getting a good head-start

in the basement under lights

I've sewed a whole new wardrobe (mostly in linen) and still have

 a few more fabrics, with patterns on top, ready to go

I'm crazy over Citronille (Fiddleheads has English versions of many)

 and I think I'm trying to make

everything in the book "Simple Modern Sewing"

This project really tickles me - 

I've been making my own beauty products!

      

It's just like cooking and I have most everything already here.

After reading a lot of "recipes" I used the ones on the

Wellness mama blog site as a base to come up with my own versions

The coolest thing being these Tallow lotion bars - 

Tallow, rendered beef fat, contains tons of vitamins and minerals

and is great for sensitive skin.

In just one week my winter eczema on my shins has completely healed

I have been suffering with this for 20 years!

I've put the recipe at the end of the post and am so grateful
to Colleen at Old Ackley Farm for rendering
the beef fat for me from their beautiful grass fed source

Sewing with friends on Mondays at Lily's. 

Look at this fabulous baby quilt Chris made - double sided!

                         

Yesterday,  I cut these luscious strips of color
 for a new quilt creation of my own

(while listening to House of Cards on my computer)

How decadent is that?!

Oh yeah, have I mentioned that 

I've moved everything around in our house?

And have drank a lot of bottles of wine....

Hope you are well
Especially if your forecast calls for snow tomorrow.

Enjoy!
Kyra

TALLOW LOTION BARS

2.6 ounces beef tallow (from a healthy source)
2.6 ounces shea butter
1 ounce beeswax
1 tsp. calendula oil

Combine all ingredients in a quart size glass jar
Place this jar into a small saucepan of water on the stove.
Turn burner on medium heat and bring to a low simmer.
Stir ingredients constantly until they are melted and smooth.

Pour into greased molds of your choice
I used coconut oil to grease my old corn bread muffin tin

Let cool, pop out, wrap as desired and store extras
in the refrigerator/freezer or give to friends!

Enough

I had a thought this morning that was similar to

the Seven Sisters Constellation...

you know  - that cluster of stars that you don't really see

until you stop looking at it.

My thought was wrapped around this wonderful idea

that I seem to be truly embracing about us all being one being

from there I remembered a line in some wise words I read

about celebrating someone else's success because it is your success too

this lead me to thoughts of how grateful I am for my life,

especially in its new form of not working 90 hours a week.

Grateful for the time I take to meditate and be filled

with a knowing that I am on the right path for me

and don't need to live any other way than how I choose.

I'm not missing anything, because I am enough.

Slippery vision, but it feels so good when I see it.

Here's to feeling like enough,

 and being part of one another

Kyra

"It is your beliefs that

keep you

or 

free you"

Enjoy your weekend!

Kyra

Here I am!

Well!  That was interesting.

Just home from Boston to see my favorite Uncle, I ran to

the store to get a few things.

When I came back I noticed my cat had draped his favorite rope toy

over the keys of my computer.

I can only imagine what kind of kneading happened on top of the keys

I closed all the weird windows that he had inadvertently opened

and went on my merry way.

That night I discovered that Google had disabled

my Lily's House account - email, blog, calendar -

with a spamming warning.

6 days later and I am finally reinstated.

I am meeting with a computer person today to discuss how

to back stuff up on another site like Migration so that

I don't lose access to everything like this again.

I'll let you know how it goes.

And just so you know, while I was on forums

trying to get answers, I discovered this happens often and randomly

and some people don't get their account back

So, if you are computer world naive like me, you might want

to talk to someone about what to do to protect yourself.

I hope you have all been well.  I've missed touching base 

and look forward to spending more time soon.

Enjoy your day!

Kyra