Onion skin dyed Easter/Eostre Eggs

“Old English Eōstre continues into modern English as Easter and derives from Proto-Germanic *austrōn, itself a descendant of the Proto-Indo-European root *aus-, meaning ‘to shine’ (modern English east also derives from this root).[3] Writing in the 8th century, the Anglo-Saxon monk Bede describes Ēostre as the name of an Old English goddess and behind the … Continue reading

Wondering Why We Left

About six months ago, after about a full year of a very deep dive into my family’s genealogy…tracing many of my maternal lines back to America’s early colonies…I began to ponder on why these people left. Why did so many British, Scottish, and Irish peasants leave their homeland…risk their lives…to arrive in an unknown and … Continue reading

Resilience: an exploration of quilting craft

Some of you may have read about my first exploration with quilting here. I created a small quilt for my five year old daughter. I hand-stitched all the squares but decided to hand-knot the quilt instead of quilt stitch…as it would have taken me forever and the quilt had already consumed a year of working … Continue reading

Exploring Acorns, Starch Noodles

Some of you may remember my post on making pinole energy cakes with acorn flour. This fall, with the arrival of acorn harvesting season, I decided to finally try making the acorn starch noodles I had learned about in a foraging group on Facebook. Pictured above is the outcome of my SECOND attempt at making … Continue reading

School Hauntings & The Dreamtime

10 years ago I started having anxiety dreams. They would happen just once or twice a year, but they were always the same kind of dream. And, the residue from the dream would stay with me for days. I’m in a class, high school or college. I didn’t realize there was a pop quiz. Or, … Continue reading

Lichen Dying: You Will Lichen It

You are welcome for the cheesy, dad joke title of my blog. I am well known in my household for puns and play-on-words like this one. My husband sighs and looks away into the distance. My daughter laughs at me hysterically. It all evens out in the wash (smile). So, most of you know that … Continue reading

Stitching Together Memories

My great grandma Ora (born in the year 1900), of the red clay hills in Mississippi, was an impeccable seamstress and skilled in hand-sewing quilts. As far as I know, she never used a sewing machine or, at least, she never did on her quilts. With her legacy of quilt making in my family’s past, … Continue reading

Milk Thistle, Dreamtime, and the Liver

Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) (introduced by Europeans to the US) *** Milk thistle has been a part of my life and practice for about 15 years, now. However, I’ve been getting to know this herbal ally more and more lately as she grows so heartily out here in Coastal CA. In the past, I hadn’t … Continue reading