Granny's Parlour

Of DIY Projects - “There is no better insurance than the knowledge of how to do something the right way. There is no greater peace of mind than knowing you did it the right way.” - Jerry G. West

Of Life Shared with Chickens - “Nancy taught two hens to help her sort flowers to make leis. She set them down by a basket of three colors of plastic flowers. One hen quickly pulled out all the red flowers, and another the white ones, leaving the pink flowers in the basket.” – In Lads Before the Wind, by Karen Pryor

Of Silence - “We sit silently and watch the world around us. This has taken a lifetime to learn… Silence is holy. It draws people together because only those who are comfortable with each other can sit without speaking.” – In The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks

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It is a special treat when bloggers who had been inactive for a while suddenly reappear. There is so much to tell by then. To be honest, a part of me worries when someone is silent for a time. It’s that Granny instinct!

To my delight, Chateau de Vie reappeared after one such interlude and the author was busy indeed. The title proves the point: Winter Project Mash-up.

Home projects are exhilarating. They also build character since they tend to offer many trial and error curves. The first project is conveyed step by step, with humor, so the reader can feel the grind (and be relieved they did not have to participate). “Step 4 – Have a mini melt-down because you realize it needs another coat. Step 8 – Give up. Contemplate throwing it out the window. Step 9 – Get mad. Become determined to finish this stupid project because you’re not a quitter…”

But all is well that ends well, I assure you. Go find out.

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Ha! I love it! Another milestone and I arrive just in time. Curtiss Ann Matlock ponders choices and raising chickens in Our Gluten-Free Chicken Adventure at One Year.

The post includes a quote, which sums up the author’s perspective rather well: “I …cannot pretend to be an expert in the field of poultry nutrition, and indeed consider every one of my formulations a snapshot of a moving target-that is, an ongoing experiment.” – Harvey Ussery

“We come to the first year anniversary of our adventure in raising chickens and feeding gluten-free,” begins Matlock. “The line from Monty Python’s Holy Grail movie springs to mind: ‘We’re not dead yet.’”

This was no small feat. You’ll see why when you read further. Given the author’s circumstances, conventional thinking could have meant giving up for sure. How often do we fail to be creative because we allow beliefs to dictate our choices? One must think out of the box… or is it out of the coop in this case? Find out now.

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In  The unattainable sound of silence, The Gardening Canuck is pensive as well as she explores the constant audible landscape. Life in general is a landscape of noise, and it stretches for miles and miles. As with noticing a beautiful garden for the first time, once we pay attention to the sounds it is difficult to relinquish them to the back of the mind; they invade. But there is beauty in this also.

She reminded me of a weekend in the city, after nearly 20 years in Vermont, at a B & B that shared a common courtyard with adjacent apartments. I awoke to the sounds of coffee grinders, radio morning shows, clattering breakfast dishes and children. Had I not been a stranger to these sounds for so long, I might have been annoyed. I listened for a while, and found a very pleasant symphony.

“In my office, the heating system sounds like a plane revving up for takeoff… At home, the refrigerator has a very loud voice… the house creaks and groans with the weather… On a still summer night, with the windows open, …you can hear the whistle of the train… four miles away… Sometimes I long for the deep peace of the countryside… How beautiful, the absence of mechanical sound…” – Continue reading

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