A Snowy Walk and a Craft Swap

You may or may not be aware that we live adjacent to a large golf course. The course is sprawling and plagued with plaid pants and loafers in the warm months, but when the temperatures drop the golfers flee and snow and silence blanket the hills. I was very skeptical of the proximity when we moved in, but now except for an occasional "Four!" or a random golf ball in the veggie beds I hardly know it's there.


Yesterday I went walking (as I often do) on the course to explore the winter there and discovered a wonderful little pond with a bank lined with river birches. The course tries very hard to protect water and wildlife, and they've received all sorts of awards for their clean water runoff and their native plantings and Audubon involvement. There are bird houses all over the course and most of the non-turf grass is native bluestem. They plant native trees and shrubs, and all in all it's about as nice as a golf course can be.

While I was walking I was listening to Arvo Pärt's Sanctuary and thinking about my recently departed parents and their new life in New Hampshire. I was also thinking about my lack of drive in the winter to create and craft. I think about crafting constantly during the cold months, and I even start a number of projects but I rarely sit down and work on making myself finish something. It was while I was on this walk that I was struck with a harebrained idea. I have since discussed my idea with my mother and she has agreed to humor me :)

I plan to craft at least one thing per month to send to my mother in New Hampshire and in turn she will do the same. While she was visiting she had me pick out fabric for a gardener's tool-bag that she has offered to sew for me, and I couldn't help but be inspired by this to do something for her in turn. I'll try to do something at least once a month, and if it goes well I may even do something every two weeks... we'll see.. I have a few ideas in mind for my first craft-swap, but I have to keep them under wraps until I send the finished project off to my mum since she reads here.

Anyway, from a dreary, grey snowy day came a great way to share my life with my mother. I'm glad I went exploring.