Through the Smells of Time

We live in a very old house. It was my grandparents home, in fact, it was actually my great parents summer home previous to that. So, in reality, over the years five generations have lived here.

Crazy to think of it that way, but it's true.

The house sits on a ravine overlooking a lake. Remarkably serene and inviting. Amazing views in all seasons. I enjoy summer the best, probably because of the memories of time spent in my youth here.

Winter, though beautiful in it's own right on this lake (or any body of water for that matter), is hard to endure. Ice and biting winds seem somewhat colder and more brutal when staring at the slab of immobile ice just outside your door.

I have noticed as I age, childhood seems to include a resiliency in winter. Somehow the cold and snow evokes adventure, not feelings of ire and fear. Which suddenly emerges in adulthood.

By March, I'm strung out and ready to pull out all my hair. I'm frustrated cold and I can no longer feel my appendages. So, when the early signs of the new season start to emerge, I can start to see the light of Spring, which helps to pull me through the last few weeks of cold, wet and mud.

The time change helps too. That extra bit of daylight at the end of a long day is a blessing after a long period of cold and dark.

With this new feeling of rebirth comes the feeling that this old house we live in is, in fact, old. And everything in it is old. The mold, the cobwebs, the dirt, etc.

So, in the Spring, though much anticipated and necessary, signs emerge to indicate the changing of the season.

And one of those signs is the musty, colorful odor that emerges from the inner fibers of this house. Smells that had been dormant during the frozen months.

There is a different odor for all the seasons, though the winter scent is the mildest. Spring at first is musty, pale and quiet, but when the trees hit full flower peak, the smell turns more earthy and warm.

Summer is certainly more pungent and darker, but definitely still inviting; and Autumn is my favorite-- very earthy and dark, which still has the warmth of summer, but an underlying coolness of the winter to come.

The best part about this revelation is that, these smells have not changed. They are the same ones that I remember from my youth. Probably the same as before my time when the previous generations lived here.

It gives me a warm feeling to know that I can share that with Seamus and though he will never know the amazing people of our past, he can still experience what they experienced in this place that seems to stand still forever, while the world around it is ever changing.

How do you explain the blahs

I am feeling very uninspired lately.



Winter does it to me.



Life does it to me.



Wife-dom and Motherhood sometimes is the cause.



And recent current events (that I am not going to get into, but if you want to know, go turn on your TV) are certainly a cause of blame today.


I guess I'm depressed and spring still seems so far away. I use escapism a lot to get through the rough patches.

That's where knitting comes in. It occupies my mind with color and imagination. My mind is in constant motion trying to conger the next stitch, texture that I will create.


I can create a world of warmth where only happiness exists. (I know, not very practical, but sometimes we all need a break from reality, so just humor me for a few hours. OK?)

Unfortunately, even that hasn't seemed to stifle the blahs lately.


I'm stuck in a foggy forest and I can't find the path to lead me out.

That's what it feels like; my brain can't function properly, because there is some sort of fog around around it.

So, I dug into to my stash to see if I could pull out something to inspire joy and fight off the blahs.

This is what I came up with:



I fell in love all over again with this Noro Sock yarn when I unearthed it this morning. This is actually a new addition and I think this might just do the trick!

Now I just have to figure out what sort of lacy goodness needs to be born from it...

Suddenly I'm feeling inspired!!