G r a t i t u d e * S u n d a y

Today we are joining Wooly Moss Roots for

G r a t i t u d e  *  S u n d a y

{Sunday's heartfelt tradition. A time to slow down, to reflect, to be grateful. A list of gratitudes.} 

My gratitudes for the week:

-Finding a high altitude huckleberry patch on a hunting adventure and enjoying a late season wild treat! Our usual huckleberry patch typically is ready for picking late July/early August so finding a huckleberry patch with huge, ripe, juicy berries in September was astounding to us. The leaves of the plants had even started turning beautiful fall colors but the berries were perfect!

- The opportunity to be a vender at the Hip Strip Block Party later today. This will be the biggest vender event I've participated in to date. I'm really excited about this event since it is also my first vender event in town, but I'm also a little nervous since this is such a big step for me and my business!

-Creating, creating, creating! I have been sewing extra the last few weeks in preparation for this event but spent the last several days working hard on a few last minute creations for today. Although it was a little stressful and challenging at times to finish up, I did it and feel so grateful I met my goals for creations I wanted to take to this event. 

-The beautiful new bloom on my newest orchid, a gift from my parents when they visited this summer. The colors and intricate beauty of orchids never cease to amaze me!

-Visiting a lovely wool shop in town. There is a wool shop around the corner from the Upcycled shop I sell at in town so this week after I took more creations in to Upcycled I stopped in. I felt something calling me to go into this wool store, so I did. As I stepped through the door, I was amazed at how peaceful and inviting the space was. It felt so cozy and calming, I didn't want to leave! 

-Finding a use for my wool scraps! As a crafter and dedicated upcycler, I have been pondering for months what to do with my small wool scraps. I make wool diaper covers and wool backed nursing pads from second hand wool sweaters but am left with small scraps I couldn't bring myself to throw away. This week I came across an idea online to use wool sweater scraps as the center for felted wool dryer balls. I bought some carded wool to try it out and voila, our newest creation! I am so excited and grateful to finally have a use for these wool scraps and have another eco-friendly item to sell.

-Being able to communicate to my husband that I was feeling cranky and frustrated on the day we had off together. He was able to stop his projects and play with our little nugget for a while so I could take a much needed break for some quiet, alone mama time. It is amazing how being able to go in our bedroom, close the door and snuggle up in bed with a book to read for a little while can help me to get rid of my cranky mood. 

-A colorful sunrise. Although the bright, intense colors did not last long I am so grateful I happened to take the time to look outside before I started in on my day to catch a glimpse of the sky's beauty.

-Working in the gardens. I've been harvesting a lot from the gardens over the last month but have not spent anytime working in them, which is so therapeutic for me. Now that our weather is starting to cool, I've been able to start moving around some perennial plants, saving seeds and composting some of the early season plants long dried up and done producing. 

-Being able to remember to soak beans the night before! I've slowly been switching out our canned beans for dried beans. I used to buy the organic canned beans and stock up when they were on sale but I realized that it is still more cost effective to buy dried beans. My big worry in switching to dried beans was being able to plan a meal in advance and remember to soak the beans the night before. I was so thrilled this week when I remembered! Now if only I can remember every time...

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