Farm Days | Whispers of Eden Farm

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Back in February I responded to a craigslist ad that my Father, The Sailor, had sent my way in regards to some alpaca wool for sale (I'm telling you what, he just gets me).
So after arranging a time, I grabbed my adventure buddy Meagan and we headed to Whispers of Eden farm.

I wasn't sure what to expect but upon arriving and meeting Mehleh, we pretty much never wanted to leave (never ended up translating to over two hours... but you get the idea).
Mehleh was so friendly and wonderful and gave us an extensive tour. Telling us about farm life, what raising her various animals entailed, and entertaining us with endless charming stories about each of her adorably named creatures. She primarily has goats, and were the ones most willing to be photographed, though I did of course manage to purchase some wool from her alpaca's Scamper and Firecracker.

I've yet to process it into yarn (Five months later... eep...), but now that I finally have a spinning wheel the time for that will soon be approaching.

Meagan snapped this photo of me at the end of our visit and It's a pretty good summing up of our little adventure.

Photos shot in 35mm film

An Unblocking

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and i wrote and wrote and wrote.
with the rain coming down, pattering on the fire escape and ac unit outside my window.
i had all these thoughts. thoughts i hadn't given space, allowance or room to be expressed.
and now they were rushing, bursting, running, spilling out.
raining thoughts. thoughts of rain.
my borrowed turned stolen tea grew cold as my fingers flew across the keyboard(s).

Daughter Of A Sailor Crochet Hooks

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It all started when I saw the boat hook that my father, The Sailor, had made for Una.
"Hey this looks like a giant crochet hook..."
Wheels started turning and shortly after he made me a set of beautifully handcrafted crochet hooks for my Birthday. After some more wheels turned, and upon request, he made a much larger one. 

So of course, naturally, it's the first product brought to you by Tumblehome.

Each hook is artfully crafted from red oak and poplar, coated with shellac and waxed for an extra smooth finish. 
As a final touch, each hook has a sailboat, the Tumblehome logo, burned into the end.
It's light in weight and a great hook for beginner crocheters! 

They're each one-of-a-kind and measure 4" around (about 1 ¼" in diameter) and 12" long, which is larger than any hook sold in a craft store (yep, even larger than size Q), so you have so many unique creating possibilities with these beauties that no one else has.

If you'd like to be the owner of one of the few Daughter of A Sailor Crochet Hooks we have, head to the shop!

Happy to have such gorgeous photos that do these beautiful works of art justice.
Thanks to my life photographer Meagan for taking them.
xo

Doug + Mary

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oh my heart, my heart, my heart.
it's so very all-the-way full, overflowing in fact, in that way that only comes around on those once-in-a-lifetime days because of a once-in-a-lifetime event.

oh what a week. 
a week of laughter and tears and joy and bittersweet how-is-this-already-here's and how-is-it-already-over's.
but it's not really over, it is in fact just the beginning.
the beginning of a life long adventure. 
i'm so incredibly happy for these two wonderful beings. one of whom i've been blessed enough to know for almost a decade now, and as for the other... well as my friend Hannah put it: 
"he fist pumped into our lives and stole my favorite dance partner." 
but there's no one i'd rather share the dance floor with and welcome into our little rag tag band of a family.
back to her? well... she's one of my persons and i'm so very happy that she's found her as-long-as-they-both-shall-live person. it was such an honor to celebrate their love and commitment with them these last few days. an honor i'm not fully able to express or explain. 
i cannot wait to continue doing life with them. 

happy to have broken the "once a wedding photographer never a bridesmaid" spell. 
i would do it all again in a heartbeat. 

The Block

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i’ve had a bit of a case of writers block lately. 

in truth, “lately” has lasted a few months.
i feel and think in immeasurable amounts that i want to express and convey but every time i try to, there seems to be nothing there.
i think the block has been in the way of more than just writing though.
i’ve tried talking about it with various people. i’ve tried working it out in my head. i’ve tried working it out out loud. 
i’m not all the way sure what it is.
i have bits and pieces here and there, but all around there just seems to be this barrier that’s preventing me from being my true self all of the time.

i hesitated writing that sentence, and do you know why? because i care.
i care what people think.
i didn’t used to, but somehow, somewhere, i picked up that little nasty habit and i’ve had a hell of a time shaking it.

writing that sentence was hard too, admitting that out loud, in defined black and white terms, was hard.
maybe that's the first step to getting past the block though.

i wrote the above some time ago. and since then i have been doing better. but there is still something there.
still something that’s been inhibiting me from just… being. 

false expectations?
failed endeavors?
fearful wonderings?
shame? fear? doubt?

such horrible cousins, all, those last three.
i’ve heard it said that fear and anger seem to intensify as they leave the body.
i feel those intensities. 
but i think they are in fact on their way out. 
i see the light that’s at the end of the tunnel.
i’m running toward it.