Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Through a door and onto the rooftop of the world!

If you're wondering how our business ever got involved in our current work in Central Asia you'd have to read this post.  It's a pretty amazing story and I'm still amazed when I read it how all these events have come about.  Sometimes I have to pinch myself.

It was through a wardrobe door that we entered into the enchanted world that Linda Cortwright calls “wild fibers”.  It was a brisk day in early fall when my mother received a midmorning call from the Council of International Programs USA, a non-profit educational exchange program based out of Cleveland, Ohio.  They were planning a series of stops for a group of fiber artisans from Kyrgyzstan and we happened to be the closest mill available.  They wanted to know if we would give their group a tour.  Of course we said yes, and within a few short weeks a group of twelve artisans and two translators showed up at the mill and changed how we viewed the world forever.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Spring reveals yet another beautiful mess

The winter months have finally begun to yeild to the climate of spring.  Long cold, cloudy winter days have become milder, cloudy, rainy days with a few days of bright warm sun.  We actually had a picinic the day of my birthday (February 18th) outside in the 55 degree weather.  I don't ever remember it being warm enough to enjoy a family meal outside on my birthday before. 

But with the approach of spring also comes the revealing of all the things that need to be repaired and renovated to accomendate life on the farm.  So what follows is a list of things that will need to be addressed here in the next couple of months as the weather turns nicer.