~ All Kinds of Things ~

 Well Hello!

yes, I have been otherwise occupied from my blog for the past few days.

Starting with my broken heel.

On monday, after returning home from a wonderful weekend spent with Hannah in Richmond, VA

I decided to mow the lawn {about 2 acres}...then clean up the front of the farmhouse with the blower.

AS I was blowing off the front porch of the farmhouse, 

my left foot became entangled in my 3 tier, Victorian wire plant stand...

{{ now mind you, much to the dismay of friends and family, I am barefoot 99% of the time, 

... every day, no matter the season }}

AND I have thee longest toes that you might ever see on a person!!

{{ my 'second' toe is soooo much longer than my 'big' toe }}

so I am always banging them into something....

As I was walking past said plant stand, the bottom  layer of wire loops grabbed my toes, 

and because I didn't want to fall, I made a HUGE step to try to untangle my foot....

well that didn't work.

~ I came down HARD and FAST on the heel of my left foot, 

incurring a lateral hairline fracture along the base of said heel.

Long Story Short:

Broken heel. Ice. Ice. More Ice. Elevation. Crutches. Ugh.

I should be ok in a about a week.....

and I do thank you all for the emails & messages of prayers for healing!

I did get a chance to walk {a little} outside into my garden....

~ where I feel connected to Mother Nature. 

I spotted her....

now don't get all creepy-crawly on me!

this is an Orb Weaver, or Banana Spider.

She is beautiful and important.

{as most of the ones we actually ever see are females}

D you see the zig-zags in her web?

what a needlewoman she is....

 

those looooong legs help her weave beautiful patterns in her web ~

 catching  non-desirable insects such as bot flies, mosquitoes and other bloodsucking flying things.

 

such talent...

don't be afraid of her, she is here to help us.

 

OK, enough of her ~

{I hear you all saying eeeeewwww!!!!}

so a couple of week ago,

I had mentioned that Joan & I were hooking our big Jarrahdale pumpkins

in a wider cut {torn} wool strip.

We both began by ripping our strips into 1 inch-ish pieces.

{I say one inch-ish, because I convinced her that my thumb 

measures approx. one inchfrom tip to first joint.

I might have miscalculated by a smidge, but whatever...hahaha }

Joan's is on the left, mine is on the right:

 

I like hers better.

It is what we wanted them to look like.

I chickened out and cut my torn wide strips in half, and there ya go...

 

 In Other News ~

Peter has been preoccupied with his banana plants.

and his Fig Tree.

Me? not so much.

The banana plant does not produce bananas until they are at least 8 years old. 

and ours are only three.

the fig tree has, for the first time ever ~ 8 or-so figs on it.

They will not mature until the first frost, and

me, having diverticulitis ~ cannot eat them.

*SIGH*

but, he is happy and that matters greatly to me.

 

Peter says,

"we didn't have time to go to the tropics, so we brought the tropics to Notforgotten Farm"

 

Here he is amongst his jungle!

 

 

 

In my needlework and folk art,

I have turned my attention to Christmas/Winter designing....

but you may see a few turkeys popping up here and there

;)

And

if you're in the neighborhood:

that means today!

 

 We will be closed next weekend,

I will be teaching/vending at the

Stitching in the Valley Retreat in Strasburg, VA

http://www.valleyneedleworks.com/

Hope to see you there!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ a short visit to Richmond, VA ~

Spent the last few nights in Richmond, VA

 with our daughter Hannah

walking the brick-lined & ancient cobble-stoned streets, seeing the sights...

just taking in the old-city 

and being amazed at all of the wonderful diversity she has to offer. 

We dined at a few locales, thrifted at a few dusty little shops

and then headed out on our walking tour of her neighborhood:

a.k.a. 'The Bottom' {Shockoe}

I didn't want to infringe on anyone's privacy, so I did not take photos of private homes.

But let me tell you this ~ row after row of beautifully appointed and historically known homes line the streets there, my head was spinning around like an owl's!

Our plan was to take in a few museums, then maybe head over to Hollywood Cemetery.

 but we just took our time and enjoyed each others company 

walking on those old streets and being voyeurs of those old houses.

We did however, visit the Edgar Allan Poe museum, 

...which is in walking distance from Hannah's home.

and what a loverly museum! 

a small home { ca. 1700's} is used for the entrance to the museum and gift shop,

 and walking through it & out the back door brings you to a delightful tiny courtyard surrounded by high brick walls, pathways. and a bubbling fountain ~

I made fast-friends with two resident cats

...they are brothers.

 

the shrine's statue of Poe is laden with coins, pebbles and other gifts of remembrance...

{there is a penny in Mr. Poe's right ear...very strange indeed.}

 

I tried my best to stay focused on the subjects of the tour

and not drift off to this spot...

but he was calling me.

 

the grotto that the Poe shrine is in 

was a cool respite from the day's almost 90* heat & bright sun.

my girl is a beautiful soul ~ inside and out.

 

I would love to make a courtyard here at the farm ~

complete with a bubbling fountain...

maybe in place of the kitchen garden!

 

ok, so my attention span is short.

I couldn't bear not to hold one of these big-boys...

oh, and we ducked into this to get out of the hot sun:

thought it was a phone booth at first, but....

no.

 

Perfect spot to REST in.

I drove home from Hannah's this morning, 

and once here I set to work cleaning up the kitchen garden

 {with thoughts of that courtyard in my mind}

and it's overgrown mass of sweet annie...

while I walking {always barefoot}

I tripped over a three tiered wire plant stand on the porch and busted my left heel.

~ so now I am walking with a cane. {ok, it's a walking stick I use when we go hiking}

cannot put any weight on it without shooting pain, so I think I fractured it.

ugh.

I'm just glad I didn't hurt it before the weekend 

... or I would have never been able to go to Richmond.

Now that I have to sit with this blasted foot up on a pillow on the couch for the rest of the day,

and possibly tomorrow ~

I will be perusing my sketchbooks for something new to needle punch.

{just hoping I don't need to get x-rays, not much they can do for a fractured heel anyway}

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ Crafty Saturday & Shop is Open Today ~

Good Morning Friends & Folk ~

just a reminder that our little needlework shop here at the farm will be 

OPEN Today from 10:00 - 3:00 only.

{regular shop hours are usually 'til 4:00}

 we will be gathering again on Crafty Saturdays 

for you to come out and bring your project in progress ~

hooking, punching, stitching ~ whatever! come create with me!

I'll be leaving this early evening for Richmond, VA

where I will be staying with our daughter Hannah for the weekend.

We'll be taking in a few museums because it is free admission weekend for the museums there :)

I am excited to visit the Edgar Allen Poe museum and the Medical Museums, in particular.

{I know...weird, but that's just me}

and in case you're not on Facebook,

here is the pumpkin that I've finished from a pattern I purchased from

 BeFruitful Kreations on Etsy....

~ although I did alter the template to make it a more fuller and 'squatter' pumpkin...

think I'll make some more...

yes! a white one! Oh! a BLUE one!!!!!

it turned out better than I thought I would do, and I am so proud of myself!

same pumpkin, different views.

 I'll have it in the shop with me, 

so if you're coming out to play you'll see it in-persona.

I am thinking about teaching a finishing class for a smaller version of this pumpkin, where you would hook the panels yourselves before class and then I will help you put them together.

If you have any interest in this, let me know!

Well I am off to get ready for the day ~

Hoping you have a *Sparkling* Autumn day my friends!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Basket of Jacks ~

a perfect little offering for stitchers on this, 

... the First Day of Autumn ~

Basket of Jacks 

cross stitch pattern from ©Notforgotten Farm™

linen: 36ct Runestone from Dixie Samplar Hand Dyed Linens

threads: The Gentle Art

stitch count: 89 x 131

model stitched by Heather Stevens

patterns available now in our Etsy shop as PDF or paper/mailed versions.

A Blessed Mabon to you all,

Happy Autumn, Happy Fall!

🌛

  

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ Thursday Morning Musings ~

A peace-full morning here at the farm ~

early morning hooking, enjoying the calmness of this old farmhouse....

I've been working on a 3 dimensional pumpkin - 

and getting a little more done before farmwife chores start calling.

{pattern purchased from Etsy seller: BeFruitful Kreations}

as I finished hanging the laundry, 

I had to go grab the camera...realizing it's the last day of Summer

I wanted to capture the beauty of the morning.

so, come on a little stroll with me ~

 

beauty-berry bush

oat grass

hung our Hallowe'en Flag!

wisteria pods

tail-feathers from our handsome boy Billy

this morning's harvest of black walnuts for dyeing

i love gourds!

our sweet momma-dog Pepper

Wishing you all a day filled to the brim with beauty and peace ~

 

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori