Hello, Spring!
Hello, friends! I apologize for being M.I.A. for so many months. Time is just flying by; it is spring now! Can you believe it - how did winter go by so fast?? The birds are singing and playing in the rain, the trees are blooming all shades of beautiful colors, and lo and behold I am sick and stuck on the couch. The upside of me feeling too terrible to be up and about is that I finally have the time to update you all on life here on Buena Vista. What else would a crazy workaholic do with her time when she is too sick to tend to her ridiculously long to do list?
The reason I have been neglecting the blog for so long is because we have been putting all of our time and energy into our first ever craft show. Right after we completed the floors in the house and really started settling in, I heard about a super cool and exciting event that I just HAD to be a part of, The Hip Handmade Market in Joplin, MO. The fact that I barely had any merchandise ready and I honestly had no idea what it meant to participate in a handmade marketplace event was considered, but then very quickly ignored. Adam and I read about the event, looked at each other and said, "we can do this!" We signed up the night of the application deadline and threw ourselves into it, putting all other things aside (mostly sleep and healthy eating habits). After many weeks of stitching, beading, crocheting, and building, the weekend of the event came and went. In the wake of it all, I am so happy we did it, even though it was stressful at times and took up every second of free time (including my thirty minute lunch breaks at work). I definitely consider it a success for our first show and it pumped me up for more shows in the future. Being a part of such a creative environment is empowering. I met some amazingly talented people and felt so inspired to get started on many new projects. If you are a maker and you're on the fence about whether or not to participate in a craft show, put some faith in yourself and give it a try, it is totally worth it.
Like I said before, spring has arrived! Which means it is now warm enough for us to continue renovations on the house (there goes our excuse for being lazy). We have the front stoop to fix up, the back porch to screen in, the kitchen to finish; we should probably think about painting the exterior, and then obviously we need landscaping. I very often find myself fretting over the fact that there is just not enough time in my day for all of the things I want to do. Does this happen to you like every day too, or am I just insane? Adam tells me almost daily to just sit down and relax for a minute (I am not very good at listening to him, and I am sure this is why I am currently sick). I try to slow myself down and take it one project at a time, and the first one I have chosen is plants.
As I have been crafting around the clock, I have been mulling over garden ideas for our very empty expanse of land. I want to make our home look welcoming with bright blooms, but also try to limit myself to useful plants and plants that are native to southwest Missouri. We have started some seeds for veggies, herbs, and perennial flowers, and many of them are actually doing really well! This is super exciting for me because I have such a black thumb - but I am determined! I have started listening to the podcast, All Things Plants, and it is helping me feel more confident. Also, they are such a fun couple to listen to and if you have room in your life for another podcast, I highly recommend it! I plan on getting some more seeds started this week, and hopefully I will be feeling well enough this weekend to get outside and dig in the dirt a bit. I also plan on starting a section in the blog called "In the Garden" or maybe "The Weekly Blossom Report" or simply "The Dirt" (I'm very indecisive - perhaps you can give me your two cents on the matter) that will be dedicated to quick weekly garden updates, so watch out for those!
I also plan on starting a similar section called "In the Studio" that will highlight the projects I am currently working on, including experiments with natural medicinal creations and learning to work with plants for dyeing. As always, I have a million ideas in my head and plans to last a lifetime, but that pesky need for working to pay bills and the necessity of sleep constantly get in the way. I do promise to try to be a better, more consistent blogger in the future and I hope you bear with me as I figure out how to balance it all. I will leave you this time with photos of the completed Raggedy Ann dollies I promised so many weeks ago. Love and peace to you all from our little Missouri homestead.
