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Brambleberry Meadow

Farmstead Living, Good Stewardship, Home Comforts

I want to find...

smocking

The Soothing Power of Fancy Work

September 1, 2021

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I've spent a WAY too big portion of my day giving

I've spent a WAY too big portion of my day giving the website a facelift. It still has a long way to go, but one of the upgrades is finally starting an E-mail list.⁠
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And, as an extra bit of bribery, if you subscribe, you'll get the recipe for my "In the Gloaming" Apple-Grape pie.⁠
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All of that means that, in between editing this week's podcast and trying to fix the website bits that are still a bit wonky, I have to come up with some good e-mail topics.⁠
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What would you like to see?⁠

#fallpies #fallpiebakes #grapepie #bloggersofinstagram #emaillistbuilding #realfood #AmericanaCore

When first we moved to our little coastal town, on

When first we moved to our little coastal town, one of my favorite things was to sit out on the porch on misty evenings when you could see the beacon from the lighthouse as it turned, and hear the foghorn. Since then, the lighthouse has been decommissioned, leaving only a "digital signal" to guide ships.⁠
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I always feel like this is a short-sighted plan for lighthouses. It's possible that large commercial vessels have all the gear they might need to always be able to locate that signal. But I often wonder what would happen to a small craft, disabled and without any sort of power to detect that "digital signal." Imagine passing a long night in a tiny boat or even a life raft, adrift. No light or foghorn in the distance to provide hope and direction. The assumption that a mere digital beacon can replace every function of that lighthouse seems to me the height of modern arrogance.⁠
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Have we done the same thing in our communities? Have we disabled our lights and foghorns, trusting in a single digital signal to provide all the hope and direction the lost might need?⁠
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It seems to me to be a mistake, all around. ⁠
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Perhaps we need a new generation of Lightkeepers.

Goodbye Summer. It's been a good, if weird, one.

Goodbye Summer.

It's been a good, if weird, one.

Soon it will be time for cinnamon and handknit socks. Time to wish my little friend here Godspeed, and start settling in for cozy season.

I should also like to mention that I am now part o

I should also like to mention that I am now part of the Grit magazine blogging team. Visit grit.com for my piece on uncommon berries. And comment here or send me a DM if you have suggestions for other "Grit-ty" topics you'd like to see posts on.

I hope to be like @souly.rested when I grow up. 🤭

#gritmagazine #homesteadblogger #grit

Sometimes our plugged-in world with its 24 hour ne

Sometimes our plugged-in world with its 24 hour news cycle gets to be a little too much. ⁠
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Sometimes I have to step back a little and let it go, however I may feel about what's going on both near and far.⁠
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Grandma's kitchen table, with gospel music playing on thee kitchen radio, was the ultimate "safe space." Everything from the breeze that ruffled the window sheers to the smell of coffee in the percolator said, "Sit down, relax, and sit a spell."⁠
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Wisdom lives in that world. Even though I don't drink coffee and Alexa plays DJ for my kitchen radio, comfort and shelter from the storms of life can still be found at the kitchen table. Mine, or this one from the historic village in Allegan. ⁠
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Build peace in your home. Practice hospitality. And shelter your own.

#vintagekitchen #grandmaskitchen #nostalgiacore #americanacore #slowlivinglife

I spent my morning at the Michigan Fiber Fest (mor

I spent my morning at the Michigan Fiber Fest (more about that later).

While I was at the Fairgrounds, I stopped to stroll the the "historic village.". The local historical society has, over the years, moved a number of historic buildings to the fairgrounds. They have set them up with educational exhibits, and staff them with volunteers for larger events

I was apparently a remarkably delightful find to them. I was interested, and could speak with them in an informed fashion. I took this photo in the one room schoolhouse. It used to be across the street from a family farm owned by a great uncle of mine. The school didn't close down until 1967. When it was moved, those black boards were discovered inside the wall... With the last lesson still on them. Plexiglass has been installed to preserve it.

I also met the interpreter equivalent of the two little old ladies in every historical drama who live together. They were dressed in Victorian fashion (sort of), and delighted in showing off the house they were staffing. They also made me play the organ.

All in all, the side trip into the village was almost worth more than the festival.

#oneroomschoolhouse #vintageschoolhouse #localhistory #allegancounty

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