Thank you all for your kind comments regarding our shop fire! As a brief update: we are still dealing with the insurance company and I imagine that this will be going on for many months. Their initial payment towards rebuilding is for about half the coverage we have, and no where near what it would take to rebuild even with Jonny doing all the work himself, which of course he can’t for various reasons. We continue to have moments of needing some item only to realize that it burned in the fire and we try to laugh about it, usually with success. We haven’t even started that part of the insurance claim. I am still doing my best to not think about it all and instead allow this to be Jonny’s thing to deal with (unless he needs me for something of course). I meant to quickly follow up that last post with something less fiery and more pretty, but being in a very intense season as far as family life and parenting goes, I struggle to find the time to sit down at my computer. I have big plans to reorganize my home (and hopefully my head!) over the summer so that we can all be more productive in the ways that we need to be. I do hope that God is on board with my plans. So often, He has something else He wants me doing and the only way I know is because I am presented with something more obviously urgent than what I initially thought was most deserving of my attention.
As time allows, I plan to keep sharing the small things that inspire and sustain me. I dislike being in this place of so little time to write and the focus being on the current major disaster. We each have our own personal disasters, our own challenges in life, in family life. And we each have to continue to search for and see all the good that surrounds us so we don’t drown in all the hard stuff. I continue to do that each day, it’s just been hard to extend that to this online place lately. For today, I am going to do some catching up. Given that we will hit eighty degrees or so in Virginia today, and there is snow on the ground in these first photos, I am pretty far behind!
I knit myself a new pair of fingerless mitts early this year. I wear fingerless mitts all winter long and love them so much. These are called Wild Feather Mitts. The moth pencil pouch was for a friend’s daughter. I am still sewing pouches here and there.
My reading has been completely hijacked by War and Peace. I can’t remember if I ever mentioned it, but after reading Anna Karenina last summer, I decided to embark on a slow (one chapter a day) read of War and Peace. (Amazon links are affiliate links.) I have not stayed the course, but am currently a little over half way through and committed to finishing it. I don’t have a strong opinion on it even nearly 700 pages in other than I don’t enjoy the war portions and I lament Natasha’s bad choices thus far. I have taken breaks from W&P with other books. My book club read We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves and I sobbed off and on throughout it for various reasons. I was very surprised by the affect it had on me. I won’t write about it, because nothing I have to say would make sense if you haven’t read it yourselves (many of us have our own childhood chimpanzees…see, that doesn’t make any sense, but I’m using chimpanzees as a metaphor if that helps) and also if you didn’t know that as a teen and young adult I wanted to join the Animal Liberation Front and also had the word “Liberate” tattooed in large old English type across my upper back. My teenage daughters call this part of my “lore.” This book was different than my usual choices. Have you read it?
I read Wesley the Owl and found it both fascinating and a bit horrifying. I finished it firm in my belief that I don’t want an owl (not that I was questioning that beforehand). On my bird kick, I then read Alex and Me and briefly DID want an African Grey parrot.
I’ve been picking up A Sand County Almanac for months and am still only about halfway through it. This is my favorite sort of book, but is also not my favorite thus far, which I have some strange guilt over. It’s considered one of the great classics of natural history and I see it referenced frequently in other similar books that I read. Maybe I just need to commit to finishing it and then I will feel differently.
Larkspur turned 19 in March. I knit her a new Jane hat to replace the one I knit for another birthday back in 2013. it’s her favorite and the old one is faded and has holes.
Silas made this darling little mushroom for Lark. This was the last thing made using our treasured lathe before it burned in the shop fire.
Silas was Confirmed! He took his (middle) namesake as his saint, Saint John Paul II.
Keats has been living at home again for the past year and is so happy attending our local university. In addition to playing viola and violin (and piano), he has started singing! He played viola in the orchestra for a recent performance of Mozart’s Requiem, but also set it down to sing a solo as well. (Yes, he’s that tall!) Having him home means I get to attend all of his recitals and performances and that makes me happy.
The sweetest news of all is that my precious daughter-in-law, Phoebe, was baptized, confirmed, and received her First Holy Communion at the Easter Vigil Mass. I love her so much and have since she was a little girl so you can imagine my happiness for her. It was such a beautiful night, with more than seventy people entering the church. Because of the large number of people, our Easter services are held at our local convention center. I had a big job because I volunteered as the photographer. This meant I had to keep my cool and not cry! Silas was one of the many altar servers and had the privilege of holding the paten when Phoebe received the Eucharist for the first time. So many beautiful details in that night. Almost our entire family was present at the nearly four hour long Mass. It was an Easter that I will always remember and treasure.
I love reading your blogs. Your family has grown and flourished so much. You also teach us that there is always a silver lining in no matter what we face or are challenged with. Keep up your posts..we listen and are grateful for your family…including you!
Congratulations to your daughter in law! Anotehr member of the Body of Christ! You are blessed indeed.
Our 14 year old has his Confirmation in June at our tiny village church here in southern Poland. My husband and I have been volunteered to present flowers to the Cardinal who will be confirming the children. And it will be, for some crazy reason, Cardinal Dziwisz! The good friend and companion to Pope St. John Paul II. Yikes! I’m just hoping I dont trip and fall or have to speak Polish.
We are still waiting for spring here, its taking forever….
…and I cannot believe you have a huge tattoo on your back that says “Lberate!” I have never been able to decide on something that I liked enough to have it premanently on my body and then the things that are most important to me I didn’t think it would be appropriate to tattoo them, know what I mean? I should have done it when I was younger and less practical! 🙂
Mayb Peace be with you, Ginny.
What a wonderful post! I admire you so much for helping your children love and LIVE their faith! Wish my children had stayed in the church—they haven’t left for another church but don’t participate in the Catholic faith that means so much too me. If you have any clues how you did it, please share them with us!
Beautiful photos!
Your description of Easter filled my heart with joy with and for you all. Glory to God! All your photos and notes are rich and encouraging as well. God bless you!
Ginny, your photographs are so beautiful! Look how big Ambrose is! The big brother!!!!!
I always enjoy your book suggestions. I put a couple from this blog entry on the list our book club members will vote on next month for the coming year’s readings. Have you read Kate Atkinson books? I think she is my favorite author. I’’m rereading Life After Life now.
So many small lovely moments ♥️
Praying for you all. So happy for Phoebe. Sending my prayers her way as well. Love to you friend. Xo
Hi, Ginny! I just wanted to say that I have enjoyed your blogs so much over the years, from way back when I was homeschooling and homesteading. Even though my life has changed dramatically, and my children are grown and out in the world, I still find comfort and sweet familiarity in the way that you write and share your world in beautiful words and photos. Thank you and God Bless.
So very happy for Phoebe! That is great news. ♥️
Hi Ginny, Thank you for the update. It has been a while since we wrote. Our hearts are broken. Our older sister, Joan passed away on March 16th. We are still trying to cope and get things in order. Sorry about the fire. Congratulations to Phoebe and Silas. You sure are reading a lot of books. We both read Anna karenina, not War and Peace. Keats is a very talented young man. Hope things work out with the insurance. God Bless.
Marion and Marilyn
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Dear Marion and Marilyn, My heart is broken for you both. I’m so sorry for your loss. Joan will be missed here. Love, Ginny
Hi Ginny:
I found you b/c you were the photographer at my confirmation on 4-19-25 in FXBG at the Convention Center. I am so glad I found you. I am one of the older people that was confirmed. I had tried numerous churches in the FXBG area over the last 8 years and started attending St. Marys over a year ago and felt that was my home. So glad I did their OCIA class that was amazing and hope I can give back to the church. Fondly, Carol
Congratulations, Carol Ann!
How beautiful to share that with your daughter in law. The Easter vigil is always special but this year I got to go to the vigil with my Mom for the first time in literally decades (living near her after 30 years in VA and Alaska) and it was so special. A light in the darkness. Prayers for grace through these hard spots. Already listening to the audible version of We are All Completely Beside Ourselves. That title alone is enough to compel an immediate purchase!
It is so good to read your lovely writing and gaze at your lovely pictures. I like your idea of doing a big re-organization of your home, for I know what you mean. My home needs it too and I will start planning it and think of you as I try to do it. And yes, God may have other plans for me as well!
Oh it is a busy season! Thanks for finding the time to write 🙂
Happy for you that you get to see al Keats’ recitals, and happy for Phoebe that joining the church felt right for her and you all could be there.
I love those bird photos very much. And it’s hard to photograph birds, so I’m extra impressed!
Finally…I loved War and Peace, but I definitely preferred the “peace” parts to the “war” parts! Too much military detail sometimes…but oh, what a story.
Wishing you good luck and time for (small moments of) rest in this season.
So glad you were able to find the time for writing and posting and sharing. A hearty and happy congratulations to Phoebe! Yay. 🕊️🙏🏽
Hoping and praying for good things to come in time re: the fire and the insurance etc!!
You like books ( good books), that is obvious to see! I’ve come across and now reading one by
Ann Voskamp author ……..book title….Loved to life.
I just want to let you know about this certain book, it just may be one you yourself
Will like to read.
🙂