Amid The Amish

R O A D   T R I P   P A R T   T W O !

Hello my fellow travelers

I hope today is going to bring you peace and happiness. I would love to share with you a few more images of our short visit to what I call Amish Country. We recently visited Holmes County, Ohio, the largest population of Amish in the United States. I introduced our brief stay in my prior post and you can read about it here.

I do have a lot to say about our trip, and I will eventually get to the "touristy" part in my next post, but as I went through my pics, I am still enamored with the rolling hills, the simple beauty, and old-world lifestyle of the majority of those living in that area seem to embrace. I think I am a little jealous of it! 

Today, I would love to share what I call "snippets" of what I saw to be the Amish way of life in this area. I do have a few personal stories that happened while on our trip that I want to share with you, but I will do that next time. Today, I will share some personal feelings and thoughts I have about some of the images.

I am will show you a bit of this and that of what we experience just about every corner we turned, without even going out to look for it. I think that is what made our visit so very pleasant, easy, and restful. We weren't on the "hunt" for an experience, it just happened. 

I will admit, that a large part of our enjoyment, just had to be weather. Even that first photo at the top, I took just because as we drove up over the hill, and I saw all those clouds, I yelled, "Stop!" As you can see, we are pretty much alone on that dirt road, and my dear barber husband, I am thinking, is used to my yelling this and not freaking out, as he can see my camera already up and aiming. But when I saw those clouds, it was like a painting to me. And while these bird houses are just charming (and they were all OVER the place!) the deep blue sky was just the perfect backdrop.

And then it just seemed we kept turning down these roads and coming across Norman Rockwell farms and as we drove closer and closer, I just kept clicking and clicking seeing it from  different angles and we just enjoyed the beautiful silence - and the clicking of my camera - and me of course, sighing behind the camera and talking to myself and saying, "Oh that is nice," or "Oh shoot," or "Oh, man" or "Oh you should see this..." now that I think about it, it probably wasn't all that quiet for my barber husband, but he assures me he enjoys hearing me so happy behind my camera having my own happy conversation...my good friend Debbie Dusenberry once told me that it will be an easy transition for my barber husband should I slip into dementia in my old age...she said he probably won't be able to tell much difference. LOL :-)

We got out at a vegetable stand and my beloved bought some tomatoes to take back to our log cabin. While barber husband bought them from the Amish, I walked over the fields and snapped some of the most beautiful fields and sky I think I ever seen. Sometimes, I really think I was born in the wrong era or location. 

Even as a kid, I was the only one in my family that ever dug in the dirt to grow things. I had a little garden in the corner of our yard growing up and grew a little patch of vegetables. I was the kid in the family that made the birthday cakes and loved to cook. I also was the kid that learned to sew at a really young age. I loved to play outside and I was one of those kids that hated to go inside to eat or pee. I would forego lunch and "hold it" because I was so engrossed in whatever activity I was doing outside. It's funny, to this day, my barber husband will call me up during the day and ask me if I ate anything when I am doing a huge project - he has learned that I will go hours without eating because I still get so engrossed in my work. And yes, not that you asked, but I have been accused by colleagues of having the strongest bladder they have ever seen. I know, neither habit is good at all, but it is funny how habits as a kid can stick with you as an adult and you don't really realize it.

 I was enamored with all the clothes hung out to dry. I am guessing Mondays are wash days, as the lines were full every where! I grew up an era of standing on a stool to help take down the laundry. It is rare where I live to ever see laundry hung out to dry. After seeing so many lines of laundry hung out to dry, I will admit there was a pang in my heart of a time gone by. I remember being really young and playing with my little brother under the towels and pushing them around as mom tried to get her work done. And then the empty clothes ling became our personal jungle gym until mom hollered out the window to "Get off that before you hang yourself!"

Buggies were everywhere and so were the bicycles. Children, women and even hard working farmers. The nicest thing about it? No noisy motors or horns! It was so serene. 

Of course, when I saw this stall of buggies and horses, I just had to stop and snap a pic...

Why? Because this "parking stall" was at the Walmart store parking lot! Yes, I guess even the Amish like a good deal too. And here, Walmart provides a parking area for the buggy and horse  customers too!

But I get the feeling that most of the time, the Amish are spending their time in the fields, and not at Walmart.

So funny how worlds apart I am from the Amish. I saw this cart earlier in the day while at an Amish farm, buying a basket (next post story) and I thought, "Oh, how nice, they are going for a hay ride..." and I was dying to take a picture, but my camera was in the truck, as I was in an Amish home, and not pictures should really be taken. I just died that I missed it. Later, down the road, we saw the same wagon and the "hay riders" who actually, were on their way to work! In  my world, riding a hay wagon, means playtime, and in their world, it means work. LOL. As you can see by the blurry bottom of the pic, we were driving right past as I tried to snap a pic. 

There is so much more to share...but next time, I want to share what I feel is my most memorable experience that made such an impression on me. And it took place at the farm in the above photo where we bought a huge blanket basket from a lovely young Amish wife and mother of ten beautiful children. It was like walking right into a story book.

I only hope I can tell the story as lovely as the experience.

Until then my wonderful friends. I hope these images inspire you to see the natural beauty around you, even if you live right in the city. I know the sun will set where you live and maybe take a moment today, and enjoy it, if possible. 

from my house to you house,

Elizabeth

Urgent Serenity

Hello!

I hope this posting finds you all well.

I hate that I waited so long to write again, as that was not my plan. But lately, a lot of things have not been "my plan" and although I try to go with the flow, I just haven't been flowing so easily lately.

As exciting as life can be at times for me, I have noticed for quite a while now that something is amiss. 

No, "amiss" isn't the right word, because the word "amiss" means, that something is wrong. Nothing is wrong in my life. But lately, for many months actually, my life has felt ....hmmmm....what is the right word?

I can't think of just one word to describe how I have been feeling for some time now, so I will borrow a phrase of how a good friend of mine is feeling as well: I am feeling of late like a square peg not fitting into a round hole.

And the thing is, I don't really care about fitting into the round hole. In fact, the round hole doesn't even really interest me at this point. I am not even sure I am square shaped...but whatever shape, it ain't fitten'. And that is what is throwing me off a bit, I think. I've never been one to try to fit in a group, but I usually find some joy in going with the flow, so to speak. But for some time now, I just find myself not really going with the flow, nor really wanting to. Sorta feel like bucking the system...

I find myself more and more lately enjoying being on the sidelines, doing my own thing and not really wanting to participate in keeping up with the group. Whatever that "group" may be. 

At first I thought maybe my interest were changing (or evolving), but after giving this some great thought, and time, I realized, that wasn't it. I still enjoy what I do and I still write and photograph, create, and so on.

Then I thought maybe I was feeling like a square peg not fitting in a round hole because of quite a few big disappointments in my life lately and some major hurts. But that wasn't it. And then I thought, hormones? Maybe...but it is more than that. I then really hurt my knee, and I am getting an MRI, and I haven't been very mobile, and I thought, maybe that put me in a funk mood, but then, I realized it wasn't that either.

It wasn't those things because I am looking forward, not backwards. Like I said, nothing is amiss. I am just feeling like I don't fit in anywhere. 

But you might be asking, "Where is this 'anywhere' she keeps talking about?" By "anywhere" I mean anywhere that is out there in the world. I know I must not be the only one who has felt this way at one time or another. I know there are times we may feel melancholy for the "good ole days" and feel like we don't fit in. Or maybe we don't feel like we fit in sometimes because technology has taken over and we just miss having front porches where REAL people actually walked across the street and sat down and spoke face to face...those  moments I get and understand, and I think we all have those moments of not feeling like we fit in and feel disconnected with the world.

But those are not the feelings I am describing when I tell you that these past months I feel like a square peg not fitting in a round hole; nor am I interested in the hole itself. 

The feeling I am talking about when I say I am square peg that doesn't fit in a round hole has taken me quite a few months to finally pinpoint it, but I think I got it. What I finally realized is that the "hole" that I am no longer interested in, nor fitting in, is the supposed urgency of it all...

...there seems to be (to me at least) a relentless urgent energy "out there" to be fresh, to be new, to be "it" and to just be, be, be....and everything is just so urgent. All the time. And I have no interest in this constant urgency. 

Am I crazy? Or does anyone else feel this negative, urgent energy?

We, as a culture, talk all the time about slowing down, but in reality, we never do - ever. And in our arena (creative arena...crafts, design, art, cooking, writing, photography, sewing, ....) it seems that there is always, always something going on that someone (everyone!) must be a part of (to get our name out there) and to get our product/idea/name known. 

Trust me, I totally get it, understand it, done, know it, and am not blind to the reality of the business. And there is nothing wrong with that at all; I will still continue to involve myself in  projects or events that I find interesting or want to fit into my schedule that I enjoy. 

But I guess where I don't fit in (nor want to) is this ridiculous sense of urgency of constantly wanting/needing/hoping/looking/digging for the next whatever. It just doesn't fit with who I am at this season in my life. What I have learned with time is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with reaching for the shiny stuff (or in my case...the distressed stuff... :-)

But it just seems to me that while reaching out for the shiny stuff, there is all this constant supposed urgency to get more, do more, be more, have more, no matter what! It seems to be "out there" all the time and I find it draining, while it used to energize me as it does so many other people - hence the square peg and round hole. I feel this urgency is somehow so different now than it was several years ago on a different level. It has a draining, pushy vibe to me...

For a long time, I used to think that maybe I was just burnt out from it all. In fact, I had several people tell me this, and I began to believe them. But I knew better. I knew the difference between tired and burnt out. But I wasn't tired either. I was happy...but just not interested in fitting in anymore and I was definitely not burnt out. Then I thought maybe it was my age. But then last summer I worked long and hard hours on the book in the heat, and I was so passionate about it, I knew I still had the energy and excitement that I did 15 years ago, so it isn't an age thing...

So what was going on? I pondered for months.

I am not one to accept not knowing what is going on and not one to sit around without answers. I very much lack patience. That is probably my worst character flaw, I think. I think God is really working on that flaw these past months. I sorta feel sorry for Him...I am a tough case.

So if you stuck with me this far, then I am guessing you either are going through something similar, or, you are just curious to what I finally am going to end up saying....me too. I am curious how this post will end as well.

Well, the title of this post is: Urgent Serenity

Serenity means: The state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled.

And that right there, folks, is where my living is incongruent with what I am feeling is "out there." I have no interest in the moment in being a part of all the urgency of doing, being, reporting, and becoming whatever the next best latest and greatest whatever "out there" is dictating, proclaiming, or exclaiming "it" to be. 

The title of this post is an oxymoron.  My life these past months, I believe, has been one as well. I believe, after much pondering, I have been urgently seeking serenity in my life.

Now, aint that a kick in the butt?

Urgently seeking serenity?  That is like planning spontaneity. 

So, why am I sharing this? Well, for a couple of reasons. First, I like you. No, actually, I really love you (a lot) and I figured that if I am feeling this stuff, then maybe someone out there is too and they won't feel so alone and may actually be okay with being a square peg right now as well. 

Also, not wanting to "play ball" with the group is okay too. Whatever or whomever that group may be, they can go hang on their own for a while. You can go do your thing and feel really good about it. Who cares what is supposedly so urgent "out there" that you supposedly must do to keep up so you will fit in...you may want to slow down and think if you really are still interested in fitting in with that group in the first place...you decide, not them.

Secondly, I am sharing because during my months of wondering what was going on inside my peabrain, I did discover several neat things along the way.

Like I said in the beginning, nothing is wrong in my life. In fact, things are very good. I just felt out of sorts, as I tell my barber husband, when I don't have the words. "Out of sorts" to me is when things are okay in life, but you don't sleep well. 

Well, on my rapid road to serenity, (that is hilarious) I rediscovered my love for cooking from scratch and discovered some new things about living very simply. Yes, I did happen to document some of these things that I will share later.

I discovered ways with my barber husband in which we are making a new journey in how we live and we are loving it and I will share those as well as time goes on. It is nothing new, but new to us and that is what makes it exciting. I also realized that there are some things I never shared with you that I do in everyday life that a friend pointed out to me. She was shocked that I never once posted about these things. It just never occurred to me you would even care, but she insisted, so I might post those things as well.

So in the meantime, if you find yourself not as interested in things or needing to be involved as much as you once were in a group of friends, activity, or a community group....don't just automatically brush it off as you no longer "fitting in" or don't just think that you are just burnt out.

No, maybe your mindset is seeking a little serenity from all of the supposed urgency of what you now decided is really not so important after all. Maybe it is time to really pick and choose how your precious time is spent. It is a tough economy, might as well cut back on your time spent and budget it well. :-)

It is so very easy to allow our time to be dictated by what we thought was so urgent, when in reality, we thought our need was to fit in some group.  

I am finding that my needs are changing and I am excited to share with you over time my new adventures. My hope for you is that you find peace and harmony as your needs are met as you see fit.

From my house to your house,

Scissors, Soul, and Searching

Scissors: Who would have ever thought that such a simple, little invention could bring us such joy, engage our imagination, and steal hours and hours of contentment that may serve no other purpose than to feed our soul and escape our daily grind of reality. Particular seasons in our lives, that reality can be sometimes, well, just unbearable. 

But the quiet calmness of the "snip" and slow and careful cutting along the edges, allow us for a moment, to cut away some harsh realities and create a fresh beginning. 

Whether it is paper, fabric, cardboard, wallpaper, wrapping paper, newsprint, card stock, burlap, a pattern, a photo, a paper sack, a flower stem, a fuzzy pipe cleaner, or just about any number of things that a pair of sharp scissors can cut, we somehow get that little bit of joy from the very first snip.

That first, fresh cut is our invitation to start anew. To begin again. To try  just one more time....and besides, no one is looking and we have only ourselves to please. And when life gets hard (and it can get pretty crappy, I don't have to tell you that)  it is our creativity that comes out and saves us from ourselves. Creating helps us to breath easier and it helps us feel like we belong somewhere...

And this is where I would like to take a moment and introduce to you someone very special to me ....and even to you. See that button to the right on my blog? The one that announces that I will be attending The Creative Connection Event? I hope you have clicked on it and checked it out by now, and if not, then please do! In case you don't know what I am referring to, here is the button:

Click Here!

Jo Packham, co-founder and creator/editor of Where Women Create and Where Women Cook is the creative soul behind this fabulous event, The Creative Connection Event, or TCC. 

Jo Packham, Publisher, Friend, Co-Founder of  The Creative Connection Event
Creator and Editor in Chief of WWCreate and WWCook

Most of you know I have been very honored to have been featured in both publications (see my side bar of my blog) and have also worked as a photographer for both publications featuring other artists as well. I am also going to be in the upcoming issue of Where Women Cook in a regular feature called Art Bar and below is a sneak peek photo:

But back to The Creative Connection Event (TCC) and the person I admire so much: Jo Packham. In several upcoming posts I will be highlighting some of the most fabulous artists and panelists that will be teaching and speaking at this event (September 15 -17) and I really encourage you to check out the website and read all the wonderful classes and events - one will be an autograph party - which I will be in attendance signing the latest issue of Where Women Cook - as well as assisting with the event - I can't wait! The TCC site has all the details!

But what makes this event so unique and special is that it culminates what Jo has worked and created for almost 30 years. She inspires and encourages women artists/crafters/foodies to take their talents and passions to a level they never really dreamed of. She inspires us little people, who craft after working all day, on our dining room tables, or only on weekends when we are abled. She is REALLY and TRULY proud of us and she wants us to know that creating is truly good for the soul and how much SHE admires YOU. She has told me many times  how she is just amazed over and over again with all that she sees with just us "regular" people.  

It is someone like Jo, who views people like us, who craft, blog, create, cook, and who sees our passion, can connect with us. She doesn't "poo-poo" our time spent doing these things as time wasted, she understands us because she is one of us. She was WAY AHEAD of the game years ago, way before HGTV, way before the Internet, way before Facebook, way before it was cool to be a "book scrapper"....she was the "oddball" 25 years ago for actually taking women seriously who seriously loved to craft. And her positive attitude about our passion affected us all. In more ways than you could imagine.

And while I will go into way more details about TCC, Jo, my involvement (and some neat news as well) in the next post, (as well as a contest!) for now, I want to begin my TCC series with a letter that Jo received from a woman in which this woman expressed just how much Jo's publications and how creating saved her during a very painful time in her life.

If you are not one to really read blogs, but rather just look for pretty pictures, I ask you this one time, if you could, to PLEASE stop and take a moment to read the following, heart-wrenching letter. My throat got so tight, I thought I couldn't breath for a moment. 

This letter says it all. Jo passed it on to those of us working with TCC to remind us all why we work so hard to provide such events as The Creative Connection Event - because creating and connecting is a lifeblood and it is in our soul.

The following letter that was sent to Jo by a fellow creative soul. It touched my soul deeply. I wanted to share it with you because if you are visiting my blog it is likely you were searching for either some inspiration, or something beautiful, or a little encouragement, or maybe just not to feel so alone. This letter does all those things and more. This letter connects us all so beautifully - and that is what Jo does with The Creative Connection Event...she connects us, our passion, our talent, and our souls... 

Thank you for allowing me to share this letter. It is long, but so worth the reading...


The next post, I will introduce you to some the most interesting people you will ever meet...but wait...you can meet them in person! You can sign up to go to TCC and stop by and say "hello" to me (I would LOVE that!) while taking some cool, (super cool really) classes and listen to great speakers and even pitch an idea or a book or a design to a publisher....more on the next post. (And I haven't forgotten about updating you on other things as well...so much to do!)


For now...the heartfelt letter that brought tears to my eyes and made my heart swell with pride to be a part of the creative world....and a part of your world as well...

6-24-11

Dear Jo,

Things have a funny way of working out...so that is the reason I am writing this letter to you...

I recently gave a talk at a Women's Spring Brunch, in which I talked about your inspiring magazine and what it had done for me....

I received a lot of wonderful feedback, but most of it was wanting to know more about your magazine and was I going to write to you and let you know my story.

So, here it is... I do have a story and I wanted to share it with you...

I have included a copy of the talk I gave, but here is the background information so you can fully understand it.

On June 9^th, 2010 we buried our 20 year old son, Ethan who fought an epic battle with cancer. He was and is a 'rockstar' in our opinion... he taught us so much about life and how to make every day count. This was his third battle with cancer; the first two took place when he was just three years old.

That shifty disease came back when he was 19 and on top of the world. You would think that he would be angry and feel cheated, but not so.... Ethan told me that he had lived a wonderful life.

Our family of seven faced this battle united, with lots of support from family and dear, dear friends. Ethan felt that the Lord was either going to heal him here on earth or in Heaven and he was okay with either way.

We had the most amazing, cheerful and colorful funeral (no black allowed). We celebrated a life well lived!

My story however, is about healing. My story is about how beauty and creativity play an essential role in the healing process.

Your beautiful magazine is so full of life and encouraging words... one cannot help but to be touched in a deep interior way... page after page of eye candy, story after story of encouraging one another... what a thoughtful and refreshing concept!

Thank you for helping me in the healing process... I just thought you would like to know that if this is what you are trying to accomplish, you have done a great job, indeed.

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart.

Best regards and many blessings,

Nancy Mills

Here is what I shared at the Spring Brunch:

This sharing is about possibilities, opportunities and about simple beginnings...

This sharing is about God The Father, as the Master Creator, The Master Artist who made all the animals on the earth, all the fishes in the sea, the snow caped mountains, the green hills, all the stars in the sky...

He is responsible for every single color that we appreciate in the flowers, the trees, the fruit we eat...

It was He who invented beauty, the concept of it, the glory of it...

It was God who knew that humans would so need His beauty...

It was His beauty that would bring us back around to Him...

God knew that women would love beauty... He knew that we would revel in its magnificence... that our hearts would respond to it and that there could actually be healing in it...

After Ethan died, I was just so incredibly sad... nothing seemed to be able to touch it...

I tried to pray it away

I tried to sleep it away

I tried running away

and although all those things helped a great deal... I still had this enormous gaping hole in my heart.

In my misery, I cried out to the Lord to send me a lifeline... and do you know what... He did it...

my lifeline was not just one thing... it was actually several things...

It was daily Mass.

It was 'front porch' girlfriends not excepting my “Oscar” quality acting skills,with me saying... “Oh yea yea... I'm doing just fine”...

My lifeline also came in the form of a brand new magazine on the market called “Where Women Create”.

My sweet sister, Monica, just on a whim, sent it to me, cuz she thought I would like it...

And finally the last lifeline happened to come in a random conversation I had with a dear friend...she said the most simplest thing, but it was as if she had a megaphone pointed right at my ear... We were conversing on facebook and I was asking what she was up to and she said, “oh, it's a crafting day”... she said “you know, I'm always the happiest when I'm making something”.

I sat there and looked at my computer screen for the longest time...

I remember thinking... “Oh,Ethan has been hard at work, I see... he's been working on getting his mamas heart healed...

You see, Ethan loved artsy-fartsy things... He was my biggest fan when it came to making things or trying new techniques... he knew I loved creating stuff...

… so I said good-bye to my friend, turned off my computer and just sat a while...

I started piecing things together and saw that this whole thing was beginning to make sense...

I said, “Okay, Lord... I'm beginning to get the picture... (No pun intended)...but, am I understanding you correctly... that you intend to heal me through stickers, and tape, and paper, and scissors, and glue and paint”? I mean, who am I to question You... but really?... :)

So, I got up, went to my craft cupboard and decided it was time to unpack a few things...

The first thing I saw was that magazine that my sister, Monica sent me... I figured now was as good a time as any to sit down and enjoy it...

I opened it up and to my extreme delight, it was filled with beautiful, inspirational pictures of artists, their work, their stories and the places where they create...

I was overjoyed with what I was seeing...

My heart, at that very moment, started to fill up, started to heal... I was actually happy... really happy... I remember saying to myself... wow... this is awesome!”

As I read all the Artists stories... I realized that their stories were really not that different from mine...

It seems that sorrow, grieving, and sadness must find a way to exit the body... and it seems that there are all sorts of ways for those emotions to do this...

what happened next really took me by surprise...

I started crying...

You need to understand that during my life, I was never much of a crier...I just didn't do it... I remember that I never cried at all when Ethan had his first fight with cancer at age three...and over the last year of Ethan's life, I was too busy being brave and strong for Ethan and everyone else... so no crying then...

As I was reading this magazine,which was so full of beauty and inspiration, the floodgates opened and I wept for hours... I cried about everything I could remember, for every single little thing I could think of... when no more tears would come, I was so exhausted that I slept for the entire rest of the day.

Beauty and emotions are related... one effects the other..

since then... I think I have cried every single day... I allow the tears to come as they may... so be it...

So,as the sorrow and grief were finding their way out … the desire to create was finding its way in...

I kept saying to myself... “what on earth am I going to make?... what is it going to look like?... is it going to be dark and morose?... ugly and sad?... pitiful and pathetic?...”

I decided to be brave, to explore the possibilities and to simply...begin....

what came out of me was amazing... it was bright, beautiful, cheerful, happy, positive...

there were moments that my eyes were just watching what my heart was telling my hand to do... I felt like my hand and heart knew how to paint, but my brain didn't.... it was an amazing experience...

it was then that I started feeling the warm, peaceful, quiet, healing process and it was wonderful.

The thing that I had in common with those artists in the magazine was that “something”, some issue, situation or experience in their lives brought them to a point that they must create something. It was a restlessness in their spirit or a small voice telling them that it was time... they felt compelled to create and in doing so... helped the Master Creator heal what needed healing in their lives.

Creativity encourages happiness and happiness encourages healing.

When you create, you feel calmer, happier, more reflective , more in a position to heal.

I know it was the Holy Spirit, guiding me.

I know it was Ethan's prayers... so wanting his mama peaceful and happy again...

In preparing for this sharing, I found this quote...

"When our eyes see our hands doing the work of our hearts, the doors of our souls fly open and love steps forth to heal everything in sight”.

In closing...

Is your spirit sad like mine was?

Are you experiencing a restlessness deep inside you?

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you?

Is He calling to you?

What matters most is that you listen,that you pay attention to that small quiet voice deep within you and then simply... begin....

May this day be the day your spirit is lifted and you find a pair of scissors and just simply begin...

From my house to your house,