Woodpiles and Fireplaces

Ah, woodpiles and fireplaces!!! There lie the two passions that propel me into actually enjoying bad weather. Someone said, "the darker the weather outside, the brighter the fire." I am a certified "pyromaniac" and plan to revel in that mania for as long as I can haul the wood into the house and onto the hearth. There is no such thing as loneliness beside a winter fire. There is never a want of companionship beside it's warmth. Nothing can fill me with an awareness of my blessings or invite contentment like sitting by our blazing hearth. Looking out from my fireside seems to hold at arm's length any nagging discontent that might rob me of recognizing the everyday, ordinary blessings I see from this" best seat in the house."

Fires and their amazing emotional benefits aren't limited to fireplaces inside your home. A little fire in your yard on a cool afternoon does wonders for your soul. Last week I spent several magic afternoons in Clare's New England backyard around a campfire that served as a magnet to neighborhood children (experimenting with a stick and crescent roll dough), and later a lovely little tea party with an elderly widow invited from next door. They were packed with more entertainment, goodwill and happiness than any elegant catered affair. Oh, and who can forget what it does to a hot dog or a marshmallow!

I can't write another word about fires without praising its source- the humble woodpile. The sight of one, lovingly stacked, elevates my blood pressure a bit. When I spot one beside a house,the desire to stare, to covet, to picture its influence over their home makes me a danger to other drivers. Phil didn't realize when we said our vows that I wanted to add to the "better or worse" part a vow to include a promise to keep the woodpile full, no matter the hardship, no matter the expense. Fortunately, he loves fires too and only needs to see my ever increasing depression set in when the woodpile is decreasing to do whatever it takes to replenish the honored commodity. I'm ever grateful for that!

"Happiness grows at our own firesides, and it is not to be picked in stranger's gardens."

"The family fireside is the best of schools."

"You are a king, by your own fireside, as much as any monarch on his throne."

Fall turns me into a "sap"

OK, here it is, not the hint of it, not the anticipation of it, but IT! This season truly turns me into a sentimental sap, letting down my guard over my emotions. Fall always tenderizes my heart after summer's heat has somehow hardened it, like it does to the late summer earth. Poignant memories and bittersweet endings swirl around me in the cool air like leaves making their way to the ground. I am an autumn nut case. This season means so many things to me. I fell in love with Phil in the fall, gave my heart and life to Jesus in the fall, have my birthday in the fall, write poetry in the fall, cry at the drop of a hat in the fall, and spend time lying on the ground and staring into space a lot remembering and dreaming.

Listen to some great things other fall nuts have written:

October gave a party, the leaves by the hundreds came-
the chestnuts, oaks and maples-their costumes all aflame.
Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor wind the band.
The guests were all aflutter and danced off hand in hand." -Cooper

"Delicious Autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. George Eliot

"If a man watches more than 3 football games in a row he should be declared legally dead." Erma Bombeck

My secret weapon

I got two new aprons for my birthday, both beauties! Before I begin this little tribute to one of life's secret weapons, let me make it clear that aprons and the wearing of them, have the power to transform me, much like Superwoman's lasso. I realize there are tons of women who do not like aprons-or maybe don't like what they think they stand for. I certainly don't pass judgment on this, each woman must march to her own drumbeat. However, I wouldn't live without them due to their incredible usefulness, and what they represent to me.

When I paint, I wear my apron (the one that has hints of dozens of paintings all over it.) When I cook I wear the one with stains from past pot roasts, cherry pies, or maybe that is marinara sauce, anyway it covers my clothes, serves as a cup towel for spills and a kleenex for fogged up glasses when I open the oven door. Whenever I get serious about shining things up around here, I wear my apron, not because I get that dirty, but because it changes my attitude toward housework, and any other task I tackle here on the home front. I have a garden apron, stained with dirt and pockets big enough for seed packets, garden string and various other necessities. My apron is my uniform of choice. When I tie it around me I feel more ready, more equipped, more willing. Much like a fireman facing a fire without his suit, I feel a bit unequal to the task without my apron.

I read a marvelous article about aprons by Nancy Campbell. She talked about her grandmother and her apron. It carried fresh laundry from the line, wiped children's tears, dusted furniture, carried vegetables from the garden, and countless other important tasks. I cried when I realized how far we have come from what embracing our role at home meant then and what it means now. Of course, appliances have made our work at home much easier, I'm all over that. What makes me sad is what has happened to our hearts over the past 30 years. It seems many dread, or resent what has made homemaking an art for centuries. It is the resentment that tells the tale and stops the blessing of this art from being handed down mother to daughter.

Homemaking is not easy, but thankfully, it is not about a perfect home, rather having a heart that is grateful for the opportunity to create something powerful. Nancy Campbell beautifully said that we should put on our "attitude apron" as well. I believe that serving our families in love, no matter what the world tries to preach, is the most noble, most valuable arena we will ever be in. Little girls may grow up to be doctors, scientists, writers, astronauts or pilots, but if they choose to also be wives and mothers, I hope their hearts are as committed to creating a home as a career.

I gave our only grandaughter an apron for Christmas last year. She was only three but who knows, maybe seeing her grandmother wear one each time she comes over will plant some kind of little seed that will grow into more than a memory, maybe an example. Maybe one day she will roll up her sleeves, tie on her apron and feel equipped to tackle some heroic stuff in her home. After all, wives and mothers are the stuff heroes are made of. One of the biggest impacts you can have on people, in or out of the home, is consistently taking on the task at hand, however small, with love. I'm ever grateful for that.

Beauty in the eye of the beholder

Thoreau said, "Nature does not cast pearls before swine. There is just as much beauty visible in the landscape as we are prepared to appreciate,-not a grain more."
I love this quote (even though in that first part he tweeked the Bible a bit) because I find it is absolutely true. The more you love it, study it, marvel over it, the more you see and the more wonder it produces in your life. I guess you could call me wonder-struck, for I can't get enough!

Clare (my nature-loving daughter) shared with me yesterday that in England someone is campaigning to bring back "nature tables" to the schools. Remember ( if you are old enough to have this memory) the big, low table in your elementary school room filled with wasps nests, rocks,butterflies, scary looking dried walking sticks and praying mantis? Remember how your teacher would take you there every day and talk about each item, inviting you to ask questions and bring whatever you found to share with the class? What she was doing was trying to cultivate your imagination and a perception and regard for what is true, through observation.

We teach children facts all the time, but do we teach them the value of observation? To see a thing is not just looking at it. Nature study also cultivates a love of the beautiful and a comradeship with life out doors while educating us about our amazing world. Our world needs children who have an appreciation and understanding of nature as much as children who understand technology. If we, as parents and grandparents don't foster and hand down this important knowledge to our children and grandchildren, our world will be filled with self-centered young adults with thin souls. Nature is a great teacher of our small place in the vast universe. However to me, the most important aspect of nature study is its undeniable power to proclaim its creator. "Nature is full of genius, full of the divinity; so that not a snowflake escapes its fashioning hand." The more you appreciate nature's offerings, the bigger role gratitude plays in your heart, and that, my friend, is a mighty good thing!

We have a nature table in our library here at home. It is filled with found objects that bring God and His love for us inside our house. Acorns, butterflies, pressed leaves, intricate shells, moss, bird feathers, eggs, nests and other wondrous designs He's come up with for our pleasure, are all over it. Here, too, are nature guide books about birds, insects, trees and plants. I'm always on the look out for fresh finds because our grandchildren have free reign to pick up, carry around, rub and poke the treasures. A bird nest can stand just so much investigation, especially by a certain 3 year old we've nicknamed "jackhammer." But as Longfellow said, "there are no birds in last year's nest" so we'll just go and have the joy of finding another one--ever grateful for that.