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| Unfurling poppy in the garden |
Greetings Friends of Earnest Efforts -
Because we're still on dial-up, my goal has been to write our blog on Saturdays while I'm set up at the Eugene, Oregon Saturday Market. This is obviously not happening and I honestly don't know what I was thinking. When did I think I would have time to do this? I'm simply too busy with customers to have more than a few minutes at a time online. With sanding and errands done for the day, I'm writing to you from my office in Olalla and hoping I have time to write this post, make granola, pick greens from the garden, make our dinner and make Earnie's oatmeal before tomorrow. Ha. So don't be surprised if I write this on Tuesday and post it on Friday. Here goes...
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| View from the sander in the Sawdust Cathedral |
This past week I spent some time behind the lens collecting images that I now realize are a collection of the many blessings we have witnessed this week. Just a small sample of the moments that fill our hearts, make us laugh or reflect and keep our hands busy and our minds present. What amazes me is that this is just a minute collection - I wish I could share all the others with you as well.
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| Steve and his boys and Sierra & Myrtle in the foreground |
With the amazing and glorious image of the unfurling poppy already posted I can rewind to this past Thursday when our dear friend Steve and his two boys joined us for a visit. Steve and I have been friends for more than 20 years now, which just doesn't seem possible, and I am grateful for every moment we are able to share. His friendship is a constant reminder of how delicate life is and to treasure the precious ones who fill our journey with stories. We're grateful for the laughter and nurturing food, stories and quiet moments we were able to share during their visit. By the way, Myrtle & their black lab, Sierra, absolutely adored one another. Sierra taught Myrtle that there are not only soccer balls, but tennis balls.
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| Harold E. Robbins Memorial Park in our woods |
When we have friends come visit us on our farm in Olalla there are so many things we love to share, and my personal favorite is what I see as our greatest treasure - our woods. Earnie bought this land in the early 80's which included a 5 acre parcel of small christmas trees along the south central portion of the land. The trees had already been purchased and were to be cut; however, to make a very long story very short, the guy who purchased the trees for cutting ran off on his wife and the trees were never cut. They now stand at about 35 years of age, protected from the blade, and are guardians of many of the trails that we hike. The picnic table was built by my Grandpa - Harold E. Robbins who passed over the year we were married. He was never able to come to our home in Olalla during this lifetime, but he is with me on my hikes - for he was a man who walked many many miles. I come from a long line of walking feet. Honoring his memory by placing his picnic table in these awesome woods was perfect, so wee call this small area the Harold E. Robbins Memorial Park.
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| Ash Driftwood Branch Box in our Etsy Shop |
Speaking of trees, as we often do, I had to share this latest Ash Driftwood Branch Box with you all. We haven't had any Ash in a long time, but we collected some in January and finished a handful of them last week. It is fabulous. There were 5 new Ash Driftwood boxes at the beginning of this week, but they are starting to make their long journeys to far away homes. One is off to Florida this week, while another went to North Carolina. We like to tell our customers that a little bit of us travels with everything we create and it's nice to know where we're going.
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| 20 thousand friends |
Finally, we are grateful to have this amazing, fertile soil to grow the food to nurture our bodies and flowers to nurture our bees and birds. Just a week, or so ago, we hauled the swing into the garden to make the experience as delicious as possible. I feel like I've reached nirvana when I am in this swing reading, watching the bees and chatting with Earnie. "Life is good" as they say and I can't imagine how it could get any better.
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| Nirvana |
I hope you've enjoyed this little hike through our daily life. I'm already planning the images for our next post! Thank you so much for visiting and may your days be filled with peace & joy and...
Take care, be good & kind, and don't forget to laugh,
Ellie Efforts (aka Heather)
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