Posted by kritzau on July 19, 2011 – 12:19 pm
We’ve been home for a week. During this time we’ve had our first taste of summer – literally. We have started harvesting cucumbers, zucchini, just a couple handfuls of raspberries and tomatoes, and, wait for it, two blueberries! Jam making has commenced as well: Apricot, Vanilla, White Wine and Strawberry Thai Herb. Our lovely and creative housemate, Beth, helped with these and now we take a breather before this weekend’s Plum Cardamom followed by a Tomato Sauce Extravaganza in a couple weeks.
Part of me longs to bake, dig, and organize – engage my hands and senses, leaving my academic side out of it. Already, a whole new set of shelves were installed under our stairs. The space wasn’t being used efficiently, so my activator/achiever strengths kicked in and voila, more storage.
It is a wonderful way to tune into summer: Sweating over a stove at 10 o’clock at night just like both of my grandmothers once did a generation ago. Not sure if they would’ve had the wine glass in hand, nevertheless, there is something calling me to this.
However, there is also something hastily beckoning me to Fall – to read textbooks, plan syllabi, and create lessons and assignments that are engaging and relevant. When I got home part of me longed to dive in but I just couldn’t start, not even on jam. Read More »
Posted by kritzau on June 23, 2011 – 3:01 pm
Summer is here.
The corn reminds me every morning by growing inches each day, just soaking up the heat. Likewise, the tomato garden on the other side of the yard is not complaining.
That’s a good thing because we are about to leave for a week of contemplative prayer and no technology – therefore, no blogging. A week of slowing down, savoring life as only one can when disconnected from all things savvy.
So I wanted to show pictures of the garden before we leave so I can see how much it grows while were gone. And to update you on its progress since I posted not too long ago about the adventure of homesteading we embarked on a couple of years ago. It has been great hearing about what all of you are growing and getting encouragement too.
I hope to come back from this retreat rejuvenated for this new season with lots of inspiration, love and energy for what is ahead. I am working on quite a bit of new material and (drum roll) … a new design for the website that will be amazing! I can’t wait to share it with you. So it’s a good time for a break and I hope you are getting some vitamin d too.
I also wanted to invite you to the homestead for another Beautiful Mess Workshop event. July 30th I will be hosting another creative day here where we’ll explore what it looks like to discover our true voices and find safe space with other women. It promises to be a memorable day that many women have connected with over the past couple years. I hope you can make it! And if you have come to one in the past, it would be great to have you back too as new explorations always emerge. Please click here for more information.
See you soon! Happy Homesteading.
Posted by kritzau on May 10, 2011 – 7:07 pm
One of the worst memories I can still feel in the core of my being is getting in the starting blocks at the beginning of a sprint. In high school I was a 100m hurdler. If you know me, then you’re probably thinking, “Huh… that’s funny, she’s pretty short.” Short but determined. (That could be a motto for my life).
I loved jumping over obstacles – running in straight lines seemed too easy. Put 10 large objects in my way, and –bam- I had a challenge worth my time. I even held the school record for a few years.
Theme songs from movies and the Frosted Flakes commercial would play through my head as my competitors and I would warm-up, stretch, and entertain our mock starts. There was always a feeling of anxiety… always.
Thoughts would creep in about backing out, but then I would remember all of those laborious practices. What were they all for if not for this moment?
I would glance at the other teenagers, some with long lean builds and muscular arms. I was a soccer player – lean and stocky, with muscle but I wasn’t a gazelle, more like a timid tiger, prowling, waiting, on alert, weighed down, scared.
There seemed to always be a voice in my head equally as loud as the advertisement for cereal, “Do you really want to do this?” Read More »
