Tuesday, November 10, 2009

last night and last month...

We had our first home camp fire last night. (Is it still called a campfire if it is just in your backyard?) And Jason started the fire with a bow drill, one of the many amazing skills he learned at Tracker School.

Once he got the coal started in the tinder we all helped gently blow on it to get it going a bit...


and then into the fire circle it went.

Warmth, light, a space for family gathering!

I also wanted to introduce you to my new friend. Ms. Henny Penny. I am seriously in love with her. She sits on the windowsill above the kitchen sink, I say hello to her every day, we spend a lot of time together. (You know, cause of all the time I spend washing dishes.) Ms. Henny came to be with our family at the end of last month. October 25th was our 10th wedding anniversary! Chessa and I went to the antique shops in town to see if we could find a special family treasure as a gift for the day. And so we did! Without realizing it, I found exactly what I was looking for. We had one just like her when I was little. I feel like she was missing from our home. And now here she is. Can you tell I really do love her?

Perhaps I should have been instead talking about how much I love Jason, that most wonderful husband of mine, whom I have now been married to for more than 10 years. My kind, compassionate, handsome soul mate, who is also such an amazing father. We were married at my dad's house in Washington, on Whidby Island. It was a tiny wedding. We couldn't invite everyone so we invited no one. It was also kind of last minute. We had known for several years that we would get married, have children, be together forever. But in September of 1999 we decided that we did not want to wait any longer, for any of it, baby included. We decided we had to get married the next month. We chose a date. My dad and his wife arranged everything. We flew to Washington. We were married on the water. It was a rainy day, but cleared up just in time for our ceremony. The woman that my dad's wife found to marry us was wonderful! She helped make our wedding magical. You know what is so funny.... about 5 years later I was looking around on the internet for festival ideas, I don't remember which festival, but I came across this woman who leads what she calls "a festival life". It was the woman who married us! And she used to be a Waldorf teacher! She even trained in England with Margaret Meyerkort. I always knew she was a special woman, I was so happy to find out more about her. Super neat, I thought. Now, if I was more technically savvy I suppose I could scan some pictures of our wedding day and post them here. But I tried the scanner thing once, about 6 years, didn't work. Hmm, I see people doing it all the time now. Oh well, trust me, it was a beautiful day!

21 comments:

Heather said...

What a gorgeous way to describe your love.

May I please just say how impressed I am with how he started that fire? That is amazing

Stacy said...

The backyard campfire looks fun and cozy. I loved reading about your wedding and your love for your husband, that was beautiful. What is Tracker School?

momma rae said...

ah, happy anniversary sweetie! i am so glad that you two found each other. :)

Simple Mama said...

Happy Anniversary! Wishing you many, many more!

Kelly said...

Hi Renee,
The fire making is just great. So lovely to read about your love and togetherness. Wishing you many, many more years of happy love with your special husband. It's just the best!

leaningapplemama said...

congratulations on your anniversary. i loved your story...it sounds perfect. i hope that someday you do get to scan some of those photos in...!

i want to learn how to start a fire like that! sounds like wicked fun. xo, pennie

Marina said...

That fire is so lovely, makes me wish we could build one here.

Thank you soooo very much for sharing your wedding story, what a beautiful day and I can't wait for you to share photos someday :)

* * said...

over the summer we attended a day at a farm and one of the things we were taught was how to start a fire in this way. Well, the instructor made it look so easy and then he paired us off into groups and said lets see who will be the first to get a fire going! Well... no one actually did! One group thought they were funny and lit theirs with a match ; ) Impressive fire starting Jason!
Renee, anytime you talk about your husband your love for one another and your girls there is so much love in your voice.It is so lovely to hear of your wedding day story and the special moments you shared together over ten years ago. It is also so incredible to know that the woman who married you was a Waldorf teacher! My husband and I celebrated eleven years over the weekend, all of my dreams are made true with him and my children it is beautiful to hear the same is true for you : )xoxo

farmama sara said...

Geesh Renee,
I can't believe your wedding was ten years ago! It's so strange the way time can fly by! Congratulations!
It was fun to hang out with you guys last night! And I would love it if Jason would teach the boys how to start a fire with the bow drill!
love, Sara

farmama sara said...

Oh....and I love your new hen on your window sill!

eringoodman said...

what a beautiful post.

congratulations on your anniversary. (our tenth is next summer!)

love your hen!!!!

Anonymous said...

Making a fire, is a good thing to know. I love your little hen. I think my mom has one of those. I have a few beautiful things like that around my house that make me smile. Happy Anniversary Renee! ps. we made your cookies tonight with coconut oil. Very yummy~ xo Kyndale

suzanne said...

Happiness and love make for a wonderful life Renee. I love to hear people talking respectfully about their spouses. I Love my Andrew too. My soul mate without a doubt. A Happy anniverary to both of you. I do love your felted lady on your previous post too.

Have a great weekend Renee..Happy Lovin..
Warm regards
Suzanne

Linda said...

I so enjoyed reading this lovely post Renee, how beautiful your wedding day was and what a wonderful life you have made together. Happy Anniversary. Oh yes, and Ms Henny Penny is beautiful :)

themagiconions said...

Clever hubby to start the fire the old way!! Very impressed!
Love Henny Penny.
Your wedding day sounds magical.
Thanks for sharing on Friday's Nature Table.
Blessings and magic.

Tammie Lee said...

so fun that you made the fire from scratch. i feel so happy for the love that is shared in your family, may it spread to the entire world!

sarah in the woods said...

The bow drill is very cool. Happy Anniversary!

Beth said...

I've always wanted to try starting a fire like this. It looks very strenuous and difficult. How long does it take? Beth

FrontierDreams said...

Oh thank you for sharing about your wedding and your dear husband!! It was so wonderful to read ;)

sarah said...

I really want to learn how to start a fire like that, I am going to have to learn! Tracker school sounds interesting.

10 years, YaY! Happy Anniversary to you and your hubby. You made me laugh when you wrote about how you could not invite everyone so you invited no one. Perfectly honest. I love it, and getting married on Whidby Island sounds wonderful.

Lisa said...

happy anniversary! the hen reminds me of my mom's collection. she was raised on a poultry farm, so they collected that type of hen, she has all shapes and sizes of them. love the milk glass look!

lisa