Spring time on the 'Farm'

Well, this farmgirl is trying to keep herself busy with some of the things that bring her joy so here are some pics of what I have been up to of late. As long as I can play in my garden with my flowers, spend some time knitting and with my spindles, I am can maintain a relatively level amount of sanity. ;-)
Here are some pics of my flowers and some other spinning I have been doing. (along with the other post on the Turkish Spindle.)

My bleeding hearts are the first to greet me in the spring. The lavender in front of it has lots of new growth and I am very fond of it.

I just adore the faces on pansies! I plant the whole bed with them and enjoy them all of spring being careful to pinch back as needed. The cool spring has kept them quite happy.


Along with finally getting the hang of my Turkish Spindle I have been busy with my top whorl Louet.

Turkish Delight

The first spindle I ever bought was this turkish spindle. That was six or seven years ago and I never quite got the hang of it. I bought other ones and I kept trying, finding them much easier than the turkish. Well, I don't know how it happened but I finally got it! I won the battle of the turkish spindle and I can tell you I LOVE IT! It spins forever! I cannot believe it took me so long to figure it out.


I think the lack of hook intimidated me...not sure what the block was, but all that is behind me now. I have it now and I am spinning away, rather obsessively I might add. In fact it is a bit of a sacrfice to post this here as I am itching to spin and I hear the spindle a' callin' me.



Here are some pics of what I have been working on. It is some Border Leicester I have had for a while now. I must say, I am very pleased with my 'new, old toy'.

Uh-oh! Watch out folks, Philly is whining again!!!

Why, oh, why does World Wide Knit In Public Day have to be on Saturday, June 9th, 2007? Rats and double rats!! They are so not fair!!! I can't be there on a Saturday! It's Shabbat people!! No knitting on Shabbat!!! I want them to change the day so I can go play too!!! POO!

I mean, think about it! Wouldn't it be so much fun to be walking about and see a group of random knitters sitting in a park or mall, needles clicking happily away. I would clutch my knitting bag tightly, joyous tears streaming down my face and run to join them! (yes folks, I probably would run or at least walk VERY fast!) It would be like a total knit in, a love fest for wool!

Oh well, it's just not meant to be. It's not such a biggee, really. Just cause I can't be there to knit:::sniff sniff:::

Seriously, it is OK. I really just felt like whining a bit. Keeps me feeling young and girlish.;-)

I think there is an option to make an unofficial group on another day, and ya' know what, I just might do it.

So, if you happen to be here in the City of Brotherly Love, more than likely you will see me out and about with my knitting or drop spindle. I seem to be knitting everywhere out in public these days. And my drop spindle... :::sigh::: I especially take my drop spindle where I know there are a few stairs. I can spin for quite a while when I have several steps on my side. Don't be shy, come on over and introduce yourself and feel free to join me!

Happy knitting and joyous spinning my friends, no matter what day it is...well, except of course on Shabbat!

Newest Addictions

PODCASTS!!! Wow, I am enjoying them so much! I have started listening a couple, catching up on back episodes and enoying the current installments. They are all knitting podcasts and it is kind of like having a knitting buddy here with me at my beck and call at any time of the day. My son laughed at me when I told him. He asked me, "What do you talk about with knitting?? Here I have two pointy sticks and I have some yarn, made of wool, cotton, flax or hemp. Now I knit. OK podcast over!" I laughed at my non-knitting son and went on with my podcast listening, spinning and knitting as I go.

Here a couple that I enjoy and you may too.

Cast-on: A podcast about knitting and life. Hosted by Brenda Dayne.

Pixie Purls: a podcast of a knitter and spinner

This morning I learned to look at the sky

This morning I was not feeling so well. Physically I am great, but since I am not a purely physical being there are other parts of me that are not at peak today. As I was aimlessly wandering about Cyber World (not a recommended pastime) I wandered over to Azamra.org and found my Rebbe there waiting to teach me something and bring my focus back to Hashem. Here is what I learned and I share here with you.

Look up at the Sky!

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov had a follower who was poor but very pious.

Taking advantage of some business opportunities he started becoming more prosperous. But the more his business commitments multiplied, the less time he had for his spiritual pursuits. Eventually he even stopped visiting Rebbe Nachman.
The Rebbe's window overlooked the main street in the town. Once he looked out and saw this man hurrying to the market. He called him. The man was ashamed and could not pretend he had not heard.

"Did you look up at the sky today?" asked the Rebbe.

"No."

Rebbe Nachman pointed to the market-place and asked him what he could see. "Horses, wagons, merchandise, lots of busy people..."

"Fifty years from now," said Rebbe Nachman, "there'll be a totally different market with different people, different wagons and different goods. You won't be here and I won't be here. So let me ask you: Why are you in such a hurry that you don't even have time to look up at the sky?"

Rebbe Nachman told the man to take at least a few moments every day to look up at the sky in order to remember that worldly life passes all too quickly and only the heavens endure.

This is something everyone should do. The mundane world can be so absorbing, but very soon it will be gone. Look up often at the sky in order to put things in their proper perspective.



:::Philly is off to look at the sky and thank Hashem for her many blessings:::

You MUST watch this video!

If you have children, work with children, love children, take care of children, whatever, you must watch this video. It was sent to me this AM and it moved me. I thought of my own children and how unique each one is. I thought of my lively bunch of three and four year olds and about how precious and different each one is. Not one of them fits in a box. We just were not created that way, not us, not our children.
As I was told, 'it will make you think'.

Ya' win some...ya' lose some

First and foremost "the win some":

Thank you so much for the "Thinking Blogger Award". It really is an honor, not so much the actual award (which is really wonderful BTW), but the fact that you read my blog and it causes you to think. That is an awesome thing. It's funny because I cannot even remember why I started my blogs. I think it was just a way to find other folks who maybe thought a little like me. I guess I was trying to find the rest of the 'bumble bee people'. Maybe I just wanted to hear myself speak or maybe prove to myself I am not so 'weird'. Well, I know I am not wierd, just mis or displaced (°Ü°) and for whatever reason the blog is here. Along the way I have made friends and received some really sweet love notes from some of you. Many of you have shared your lives with me and some I haven't heard from in a while. You should know that each and every one of you that have contacted me, have made an impact on my life and I think of you all often. I thank you so much for the award and for your time that you spend here sharing in a part of my world. You have also made me think.

Now for the "lose some":

So, in my Farmgirl naivety, as far as I was concerned, earth day was just that, a day for the earth. A day that people who in their otherwise busy lives had set aside, to maybe raise a little conscienceness about the enviroment and the planet we live on. As many of you have pointed out about me, I am a bit of the earthy-crunchy-organic-granola-Mama-type-side. So for me, every day is earth day! I am a Jewess who figures being here is a gift from Hashem and so I have a certain responsibility to take care of this gift. For the record, my family and I did not participate in any formal earth day celebration. I spent the day cleaning and knitting. It ended with my beloved SIL, dear friend, neice and daughters in a secluded spot in Lancaster County where we layed on lush green grass and were surrounded by farms talking about what we are currently learning.

My intentions behind the post was not so much a "Hey, everyone! GO out a join some rally!" (I didn't realize they had such things). Mine was more of my typical 'buy free range eggs,(yes, you REALLY have to be careful checking them!), support your local farmer and think organic!' I am really am a simple farmgirl who thought it was just another day on the calender...like John Deere Green day where folks go out and paint watertowers bright green. (only kidding...I just made that one up! LOL!!) Apparently all that glitters is not gold and one of my readers/friend wanted to enlighten me a bit on the background of the day. Without getting into all of it, the rest of you can go ahead and do your research and use the Google search engine to find out about it's background.

I told my chidlren at Hebrew School (who all attend public school BTW) when they asked me about earth day, that although it is very important not to litter, to recycle and re-use, the absolute best thing that they could do for the planet is to learn Torah and do mitzvot. Really, that is what keeps us on our axis spinning.

You know...maybe I will start John Deere Green day. Don't you think the water towers will look so nice green. Oh, and we can put my favorite yellow smily faces with the kippot on them too. Now that would be purty!!

It probably already exists. °Ü°

HAPPY EARTH DAY!!

I am not ususally into the newer holidays but this one I like!!

Happy Earth Day All!

WE can make our planet a better place on so many levels:

Don't litter
Recycle
Re-use
Be kind
Think Organic
Support your local farmer
Smile at people
Think kind thoughts
Realize the gift that G-d has given us in this Planet and respect it
Breathe
Plant trees
Walk more
Or ride a bike
Respect your enviroment
Think Peaceful thoughts
Listen to the birds
Pray
Hug a tree
Hug your children
Hug a friend
Turn off your TV
Turn off your computer
Turn on your life!!!
Tikun Olam!!

Love, Peace and Blessings to you all!
~~~Philly Farmgirl

Philly is Ramblin' again...

I love gardening, especially flower gardening. I know it is not practical at all, unless you plan to live on a diet of nasturciums and pansies. But flowere make me so happy and I love to pick them out. Gentle empathetic pansies, sweet sprawling forget-me-nots, and even plain but colorful petunias make it into my garden. They are all different and all beautiful to me. They all serve the purpose of making my world more lovely and happy. I don't care much for the well manicured-tidy-everything- in-it's-place-garden. I much prefer a cottage type garden with flowers carelessly strewn about to create a more natural look.

So what is the point? Well, I kinda figure we are all like that. We are all just a flower in G-d's many gardens. Corny I know, but I think in pictures and colors so these things work for me and help me to understand. Some of us like being in the well manicured Longwood Garden of life. I like being among the wild flowers or the cottage garden. I sometimes even feel like a lone bloom out in the desert growing from some long forgotten dirt in a rock. It's isn't that I don't appreciate the orderly gardens. I think they are amazing and sometimes think of joining them, but my roots get choked very quickly by their limitations. Mind you, thier limitations, not the Master Gardener's. No, not His. Although He does have a very clear gardening method, He does allow me and seems to even encourage my free spirited growth. It is after all how He planted me.

Some may say this is not normal. 'Stay in your row!', they cry. I saw rows are for vegetables, not for flowers.

What is normal after all? I read somewhere that it was just a setting on the dryer.

Especially when it comes to this mandate I have heard about concerning 'fitting in' with your local community. I suppose if your community is a Heirloom Rose Garden, being a wild rose could have it's drawbacks. Maybe you would even be considered an eyesore. I suppose...

But then again, you never know. The Master Gardener would never place a flower just anywhere. No, everything is growing in that place for a reason. Nothing is growing by accident. Maybe, just maybe, that tiny wild rose among the Heirlooms brings the Master Gardener so much joy for growing and being nothing more than a wild rose. Maybe the Master Gardener placed it there so it would get good soil and grow stronger. Perhaps very soon, the Master Gardener will take His shovel and gently transplant this wild rose among other wild roses. Yes, perhaps the Master Gardener is just waiting for the wild rose to mature a bit more and will soon (PLEASE G-d), very soon transplant it to a more suited garden on a mountaintop. Meanwhile while the wild rose is waiting she should always remember to Bloom Where You Are Planted.

Learning from other Wise Women and the spirituality of the fiber arts

As a Wise Woman is training I am always on the look out for Wise Women who have completed a good part of thier training. I have met some amazing Women filled with experience, deep spirituality and Wisdom. Mostly though, I have come across alot of other trainees who like myself have a long way to go. But every once in a while we meet up at the right time and place and really get It. You know, really hear the deep Wisdom and are able to pass it along to another. I was recently with my beloved Sister in law (more sister than anything) who also happens to be in training and I was the fortunate one on the receiving end of the Wisdom being given to her. I was thrilled! I was talking to her about my lack of time spent in prayer, how I felt so very stretched with all I am doing and that all I seem to be drawn to do is spin, weave and knit. I told her how horrible I felt about this and what I waste of time I thought it was. I lamented the hours I thought I should be learning this or that, halacha or chassidut.
She looked at me and then told me "This is your Prayer."
We sat a moment and then she explained to me how everything I was doing was my prayer. How those time spent with my spindle, my loom and my needles were times I prayed. She said to me, "You can't tell me that while you are sitting at your loom you are no crying out to G-d about your life, about how you long to draw closer to Him. YOu can't tell me that while you are knitting you are not praying for this person or that one. You can't tell me that!"
I thought about it. She was right. Whenever I do any of these things I steal away. Even if everyone one is around me, I am quite alone and content. I do pray and I do cry out to Abba! I pray for wisdom and strength for myself. I pray for my family and friends. As the yarn passes through my fingers I think about my life and I feel a deep connection with my Creator. I think about His deep Love for me and how I long to draw closer to Him. I feel centered and at peace. All of a sudden I do not think it is such a waste of time. All of a sudden I realize it is not really about the spinning, weaving, or knitting. I realize now that those times are really about what matters most, and that is my alone time with G-d.

This is the day Hashem(G-d) has made!!

This is the day Hashem has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it! Psalma 118:24
Zeh hayom asah Hashem negilah v'nismeha vo!

So yesterday the great N'oreaster hit...
To me it just seemed like an excessively miserable amount of April Showers was being dropped upon us. No biggee except for the swamp that was beginning to form in front of my home forcing me to cross over onto the neighbor's steps to reach the sidewalk. Strangely enough in spite of the perceived ugliness of the morning I ran to my car hollering "Zeh hayom asah Hashem!!!" Well, on a rainy Sunday morning at 9:30 there was no one to here me except myself, my daughter who stood shivering waiting for me to open her door, and Hashem. It really did wonders for my day! I was in a great mood when I arrived to teach Hebrew School and we had some wonderful class time! Later that day I hibernated with lots of knitting, stayed away from my cyber escape and went to bed early. It was a wonderful day and I really pray I learn the lesson I see here. No matter what the day may look like 'zeh hayom asah Hashem', THIS IS THE DAY the L-rd has made!
Yesterday the lesson continued. During afternoon circle time with the children we always talk about the date, day and weather. Of course everyone noted the stormy weather and lack of sun. Then I asked the children where the sun was. One of them told me it was behind the clouds. "That's correct!" I replied and we then talked about how the sun was still shining brightly even though it was hidden behind the clouds and we could not see it. AHA moment indeed!
So what am I gonna do about it? Whine about the weather? Be miserable and call more negativity my way? Or am going to rejoice and be glad?
Like I said I hope I learned this lesson, so far I am choosing (c).

Only a little excited..

I want you to notice the counter on my sidebar to the left. It's the picture with the sheep on it...do you see it? Kewl! Well, that is my corny lil' ticker couting down the days to Maryland Sheep and Wool festival. I have been wanting to go for way too many years now and it looks like this year (b'ezrat Hashem) will be the year!! WOO HOO!! I listened to 'Knit and the City's' podcast from last year's show and can I tell you, they have got me so stoked! Yes, I am a fiber freak and I cannot wait! I feel like a kid getting ready to go to Six Flags! I ask you, what could possibly be more fun?! Hundreds of sheep, wool, spinners, yarn, wool, sheep, demos, wheels, sheep, wool, roving, weaving, sheep and of course wool...doesn't it sound like heaven?!?!?!

As we come to the end of the madness...

And to the beginning of the celebration, I thought you would all enjoy this with me.