Take some time to reflect and refresh!
We have taken a much needed break and it has been very refreshing. It is amazing how getting out of your own environment and rhythms and visiting new places and old friends can be so inspiring. First thing on this trip we visited the Green Mountain Spinnery in Putney, Vermont. It is the last woolen spinnery in Vermont and if you are ever in the neighborhood you should definately stop in and ask for a tour. Their collection of old equipment is really amazing. I came out of my knitting slump of 10 years and let each of the kids pick out some wool that I would make them whatever they wanted with.
My son asked for mittens and the helpful lady behind the counter printed off some free pattern for simple mittens. It was a perfect engagement for me to do while we were driving or relaxing around friends wood fires. It can be hard for me to relax and so it is great to have a small social project that was easy to do.
We have taken a much needed break and it has been very refreshing. It is amazing how getting out of your own environment and rhythms and visiting new places and old friends can be so inspiring. First thing on this trip we visited the Green Mountain Spinnery in Putney, Vermont. It is the last woolen spinnery in Vermont and if you are ever in the neighborhood you should definately stop in and ask for a tour. Their collection of old equipment is really amazing. I came out of my knitting slump of 10 years and let each of the kids pick out some wool that I would make them whatever they wanted with.
My son asked for mittens and the helpful lady behind the counter printed off some free pattern for simple mittens. It was a perfect engagement for me to do while we were driving or relaxing around friends wood fires. It can be hard for me to relax and so it is great to have a small social project that was easy to do.
Next stop was our dear friend, jemima's homestead where she grew up. Jemima is my stunt double (she is pictured above holding my daughter) and has worked markets with Happy Girl for a decade now. We have always appreciated her mood and visiting her homestead helps us understand why! It was truly amazing to see the 175 acres of land she grew up on. We hiked the property until we froze and then tumbled into the tiny kitchen and cooked a simple feast.
She later remarked that she did not think such a spontaneous and delicious party was had in that kitchen for 20 years. The simple pleasures ring true once again!When we were packing for our trip, there was no snow in the forecast and it was 50-70 degrees in the North East! But, we kept hope alive and continued to sing the song "snow" from "White Christmas" our whole way up to Vermont. We woke up to a happy surprise of a snow storm our first morning in Vermont! We put on whatever layers we could and hit the sledding hill with a pack of kids, sleds and even a dog named fiddle. Our friend is a wood-worker and has even made some snurfers which are modeled after some of the first snowboards ever made. It was a beautiful morning!
We then visited another friend a little farther up in a place called Craftsbury. He is an organic farmer and has a 600 member CSA year round!
We arrived on the farm sharply at 6 pm just as the broom ball game was about to begin. None of us had ever played Broom Ball, but the sight was truly amazing. We pulled around the back of the processing building and saw a field that had been plowed with the tractors and the tractors were sitting on the perimeter of the field with their headlights on to light up the field. The game was intense! Everyone was very passionately running and chasing the ball with the brooms. We were a little intimidated to join in the intensity of the whole game with our whole family including our 8 year old. But we were heartily welcomed in to the scene and we had a blast in our tennis shoes and with socks on our hands for gloves! It was a wild romp with our long lost friends and a great way to reconnect. 
I eventually finished the children's requests much to my husband's surprise! It was fun learning a new pattern and having the time and patience to tear it all out and start over again and again. I felt new brain paths being paved that have been inactive for years. The perfect way to get refreshed to return to my world with new life and vigor. Learn or do something new this winter. Get refreshed!
You guys are Awesome!! Happy New Years! <3