OPENING

As Pete and I readied our home and various hand-crafted creations for our first ever open house, we made some important self-discoveries. I (Leenie) am, by nature, a private person and, by temperament, an introvert. Pete carries the ball, socially speaking, most of the time for our duo. 

But one thing we share in common is an intense love of and appreciation for our home. We love it on the messy, chaotic days of newborns and toddlers, and we love it on the, admittedly rare, days of sublime order and clean, uncluttered surfaces, neatly made beds, and shiny, smooth floors. It's all good for us because it is home, a place of people-before-things, a haven and creative workshop in one, and the gathering spot of our most beloved and favorite people on the planet. This works for us.

However, as we sorted stacks---of books and magazines, socks and containers, seeds and shoes---we looked around with more critical, metaphorical eyes that can't appreciate or sense the laughter ringing in the walls from decades of celebrating the blessing of family. Or appreciate why a treasured plastic dump truck still enjoys pride of place in our unruly garden, even though the original owner has long since grown and flown. 

And then there are my little green friends, the wild herbs, both medicinal and culinary, that grace the beds and borders, paths and woods. (I have foregone the habit of referring to them as 'weeds'. For the full text of that lecture you can sign up for one of my wild plant talks or walks. Ha!) I have been gathering wild foods and medicines for more than three decades and have grown comfortable with the serendipitous and capricious nature of plants that decide a walkway would make an excellent home for a delicate Lobelia inflata specimen. Or the foundation path by the outdoor water spigot proclaimed, "Perfect!" by a fabulous Mama Elder (Sambucus nigra) for raising a brood of seedlings. 

Life is a come-as-you-are event. We will never be ready in the sense of everything being perfect. Showing up and finding something to love is what it is all about. Pete and I reminded one another that we love our home just as it is and we can stay with that even as we open the door to others. It won't match every taste or need, some may feel more negatively critical. That's okay. It has taken me a long time to learn to appreciate what is, on any given day, and love it rather than consider the infinite list of what is not. 

In the midst of getting ready, the inevitable happened..."unexpected interruptions" that were not interruptions at all, but the natural results of caring and being connected to friends and clients who happen to have an unscheduled need or request. Although these opportunities had not been on my to-do list, it was a joy and honor to pause and attend. People before things. At the end of one long day a dear friend asked me, via online chat, how I was doing. I said I was okay but, of course, I was not getting everything neat and pretty as planned. I told her that I wished everyone who came to our open house could see the beauty in the commonplace that we see, the celebration in the mundane. She said something that I will always cherish. I won't get it verbatim but she told me that some people wear rose-colored glasses and see life in a way that no one else can understand, but that I hand out those glasses to everyone I meet, just by being myself, so everyone can appreciate what I see. It doesn't take special glasses to see that this woman is a very special friend. 

So, if you're free today and you care to come and enjoy a rosy view of life as it is, swing by between noon and 4 p.m. for some tea and treats. We can talk wood and wild herbs, sunshine and gardens, or whatever else you fancy!

VINTAGE SUITCASE UPCYCLE...Or Apothecary To Go!

It can be fun to learn a new skill or craft, to shop for and gather all of the tools and materials, even to take a crafting class or follow a tutorial. But we often feel the most creative excitement from taking a look around at what we have on hand and coming up our own plan, sort of "getting off the blacktop" creatively speaking.

Limited parking and space at our home makes offering herb classes here quite restrictive and many people observe that we are definitely pretty far off the beaten path. This winter I (Leenie) decided to put on my thinking cap and come up with some new ways to teach herb classes at other locations without trying to move my 3 cupboard herb storage area (plus things on the pantry shelves and in the freezer) and a trunk load of tools and utensils. I found an old, small suitcase that had once belonged to Pete's grandmother in our storage room. It is sturdy and all the clasps work fine despite probably being over 70 years old. It smelled rather musty as well, but I saw possibilities. Because it is rigid and quite solid I observed how when stood it on end it could open rather like a steamer trunk. I told Pete about my idea to convert it to a portable apothecary for classes and asked if he would be able to build small compartments inside to house a variety of herbal preparations in various sized bottles, jars, and sacks. Thankfully, as always, he was able to work his wood wizard skills in creating just what I had envisioned.

First, I cleaned the exterior and gutted the torn and stained lining. Some cleaning (with homemade Citrus Vinegar), airing out in sunshine, then closing it up with aromatic Lavender from the garden resulted in a fresh smelling suitcase. I began painting the interior just to improve the appearance a bit and then handed it over to Pete to customize the shelving units. Then it was ready to paint on the outside and fill with the tools of my herbal trade.

I took my wonderful little portable apothecary out for its first teaching gig this past Saturday. It was a breeze to pick up this little, lightweight case by the handle along with a handful of note cards for my talk, a disc for the slide-show, and a few business cards. So much fun and now that I know that it works so well I am already on the look-out for a couple more vintage suitcases for other herbal classes. Next up: a Portable Herbal Spa!

ADVENTURES IN HANDMADE LIVING

Pete constructing our hand-built home from locally sourced wood 

20+ years ago.

From those first camping trips as teenagers, Pete and I have shared a passion for making things ourselves from materials at hand. Forty years and 4 kids later we are still having fun carving, fashioning, shaping, weaving, composing, formulating, and just generally loving our handmade life. 

Pete, in the main, is a woodworker and has constructed all sorts of useful things from hand-carved spoons to guitars to the home we live in. He makes treenware (hand-carved wooden utensils like spoons, ladles, bowls, and such), organic furniture, stringed instruments, among other things. Leenie, in the main, is an herbalist devoted particularly to wild plants as foods and remedies. She makes a variety of herbal preparations and items related to gardening and herbs, but is most enthusiastic about teaching others about wild-crafting (gathering from the wild) and cultivating herbs and to make their own apothecary products.

This blog will be our outlet for sharing what we are making, sometimes our musings on the process, letting you know about classes and/or where you can purchase our artisan products, and hopefully a place of learning some modern technology skills to link our yen for ancient crafting to a modern world. 

Here are a few photos of current projects to inspire and spark your own creativity:

Dough bowls and ladles from local Sycamore

Vintage suitcase upcycled to a portable apothecary for herb classes away from home

Beautiful Walnut ladle made from local sustainably sourced wood

Sign up for a weed walk or herb talk with Leenie this summer and learn about the common plants of uncommon value right outside your door