Embroidery I Have Done: Skully Hoodie

Image and Embroidery by Amber Shehan

Ok. This one was fun!

My dear friend Jessica wanted some bling and glitter for her favorite comfy, black hoodie. We are ferocious pirates, of course...so she decided that she wanted to sport Jack Rackham's crossed sabers and skull flag!

Now, Miss Jessica is um...quite fond of rainbows and flashy colors, so I decided to use a multicolor thread. She wanted the design kept simple, so I just did a chain stitch, doubling the thread to maximize the colors!

Once the Skull and Crossbones was completed, I accented the cuffs and the edges of her hood with a basket stitch in the same thread.

Thanks for checking it out!

Michael, Angel of God

This story was originally written in 2009 while working retail in Downtown Portsmouth, Virginia.

They come in and see me sometimes, these Angels of God. Something about organic food draws them in, or possibly it is the Crossroads, the first and oldest heart of this town that funnels them into our corner market.

Michael came to me on Monday. He didn't make it farther than two steps in and then he froze still, his eyes locked to mine as I stood behind the register counter, smiling with a benign greeting. He offered me rapid and insistent blessings from his Lord, and I acknowledged them and offered them back in return.

"Can I help you find something today, Sir?" (and perhaps allay your intensity, which I will not otherwise flinch away from?)

"Look into my eyes, and tell me if you see God within me!"

"I surely do see God in you, Sir. I see him in everyone." (so easy not to lie, sometimes.)

He disagreed - he insisted that his God is not in everyone, because the Devil has a hold on too many people. Since I didn't agree nor care to argue further with someone so passionate about his beliefs, I smiled and shrugged in such a manner that he may find agreement therein if he chose, and thankfully, he did.

I was regaled with a story from when he was incarcerated - of the guards in jail trying to put his Holy Lights out - the selfsame intense orbs which threatened to burn me in my boots should I prove to be a demon or otherwise negative influence bent of the destruction of all that is Good in his world. He asked me name and offered me his: Michael.

Michael said that the Lord gave him that name, right after he cleared the fog of the guards' mace from his eyes. He says the Lord took away all of his pain, and I believe him. How could I not, knowing that the Holy and the Crazy and the sacred/scared Fool are generally the one and the same. I offered Michael my own blessings, and he left as intensely and abruptly as he came in.  He didn't need organic food, just validation from the witch at the crossroads, I suppose.

God Bless You, Michael - the blessings of whatever God you serve, for I don't think you'd care for mine. My pity goes with whatever demons your deep and wild eyes come across, for your God sends you forth with no fear...a dangerous course for ones so fleshy as ourselves.

May and June 2011 Growing Update...

Lavender in May, Image by MSP

Ok, so we put our tomatoes out way too early...but we were given leggy tomato starts early in the season, and they just couldn't make it indoors anymore!

Unfortunately, only the 2 Oregon Spring tomatoes look like they'll do anything - the 3 remaining are miserable, and we already lost one of the Cherokee Purples. *sigh*  Oh well, we have new tomato babies waiting to take their places!

Tomatoes:
1 Cherokee Purple
2 Oregon Spring
1 Anna Russian
1 Jeune Flaume

We also put into the dirt near the tomatoes an onion that had sprouted in our pantry, as well as fennel seeds that are sprouting beautifully...we've amended the clay with sand and some nice chunky soil, but it still hardens on the surface and pools the water. *also sigh*

In pots, we have:

Aci peppers - Capsicum annuum, 'Aci Sivri' is an old Turkish variety that can be mild to burning hot, can produce up to fifty 5-9 inch cayenne-shaped fruits per plant. They are currently bursting into flower...we are super excited!


Also in our front yard, we have a pallet that has been filled with good soil and we used as a sort of raised bed for herbs and shallow rooted plants like lettuces.  In this lovely garden grows:

Our lovely lettuces - Image by Modern Scribe Photography

Comfrey - she returned from last year! Huzzah! Poultices and oils and salves there shall be!

Lemon Balm - a lovely clump that is quickly spreading, oh, sweet Melissa, you are delicious.

Soapwort - she overwintered in the house, and is now growing merrily. I haven't played much with her yet, and will update when I do...we are new to each other.

Motherwort - given to me by a friend last year, she lived outside in a pot all winter. I assumed I had killed her, until spring began and small leaves broke the soil. She is now blooming!  I love Motherwort!

Spearmint - happy, vibrant, green and icy, sweet spearmint was purchased at the 2011 Asheville Herb Festival and has quickly taken hold of the soil and is an astoundingly healthy plant.

Corsican Mint - this tiny-leaved clump looks more like a moss. This mint is sweet and potent, and is the flavor used to make Creme De Menthe.  It makes a fabulous groundcover for scented walkways.

Lettuce - This has been a wonderful experiment for us...once we got rid of the groundhog, that is.

Another little sunny, dry plot in the center of our front yard has yielded some results from last year:

Lavender - she's up, happy, a lovely green, and spouting out a ton of new stems and starting to flower now that is it June! Yay!
 

Yarrow in May, Image by MSP

Marigolds - these spreading masses have returned and are bound to be lovely in summer and fall.

Yarrow - there's a bit here that I got last year, mislabeled as Chamomile! Ah well, yarrow is my new best friend and I can't get enough of her. Which is good. Keep reading.

The Iris -  My husband's mother sent us a box of bulbs last fall whose lineage can be traced back to three or four greats on the matrilineal side. Only one bulb made it, and it's foliage is gorgeous, but it hasn't bloomed yet. I can't wait to see what color she is!

In the kitchen window:

Basil - crazy, hasty, excited, healthy basil. I foresee pesto in our future....

Parsley - a couple made it through the basil, and will likely have to live outside before long.

Thyme - fought past the basil and parsley, and we are excited!

We've got seedlings started:

Cucumbers - going into their new big home tomorrow (container gardening)
Golden Watermelon - they are gorgeous, and getting bigger!
Pimiento Peppers - FAILURE!  They just didn't come up!

We've put dirt into tubs in the yard.  Inside that dirt lay some seeds:

Golden Beets - all died after too much sun and heat when their lid got left on. *sigh*
Black Radishes - they are struggling, but coming up! We should have three radishes if we are lucky!
Bunching Onions - again...this heat surprised us. We fried these guys too...

On our lower lot, there is a strip of nice dirt along our stone wall which is home to:

Yarrow - this one was transplanted from elsewhere in our yard.  It grows here as a native, it is strong, resilient, and higher than my knees!  I will likely be selling/trading a lot of yarrow this year as I have more than our household's needs require.

Violets - as I mentioned earlier this spring, I received violet rhizomes from freecycle. These beauties have taken over their patch of dirt, and I have violet flower tincture and have been consuming flowers and leaves all spring. *happy sigh*

Wormwood - Artemisia is new to my garden, although I am familiar with her shady history. I have three lovely plants that are big and hearty and will make flea powder and maybe even some infused vodka in the style of absinthe (true Absinthe is distilled, and I don't have a copper kettle OR coil).

In the wilds of our yard, the hillside is pushing up the baby Evening Primrose.  The blackberry brambles have dropped their flowers and are rich with green berry-babies.  Yarrow, burdock, red clover, and other useful nummy plants are weaving up through the warming soil.

Gosh, but I love Spring!  Summer, here we come!

I got a choice.

Mama loved me so much that she told me what was up, straight and clean.

I was just a baby girl child, only three years old when she and my Daddy decided that they couldn't live together anymore, that they fought too much and were just not right for each other. I remember them fighting, but somehow knew it wasn't about me, and let it happen without getting too scared or upset, as I recall, anyways.

So when we moved out of the apartment and me and my mama had a sleepover with Nana, which happened occasionally, it didn't seem too strange.  After a couple of days, though, I noticed things were different right around the same time Mama crouched down and looked me straight in the eyes.  She said that she lived with Nana and Pop now, and that Daddy lived with Memaw and Grandad, and that I was welcome to stay anywhere I wanted to.

This is pretty heavy shit for anyone, but I was three. I took it like a champ. I remember thinking about it for a minute, realizing the gravity but not really comprehending the situation. Little Amber looked her Mama back in the eye and said "I want to live with Daddy and Memaw now, since I've stayed with you and Nana for a couple of days."

My mama never wept, didn't freak out, and just nodded and said, "Ok."  I don't remember feeling her being upset or sad, although I'm sure now she was, somewhat. We went to my Memaw's house and that was that for a couple of years (visiting regularly of course) until Mama got her own place nearby, a block or so away.  I always had my Daddy and Mama nearby me, allowing me to bounce from one to the other on a whim...them and the loving grandparents made me a big safety net of loved ones who I knew cared for me, even though I knew by then that they were humans, with fears, and emotions, just like I was.

My folks were never BIG PARENT people to me, but REAL people.  For that, I value them. For that, and for the choice given to someone who couldn't even tie their own shoes yet, I thank them.  And for never letting me see the true anger they bore each other, I thank them as well.

If you hate your mate, then do so. If you love your child, then do so. And for the love of god/goddess/plants or whatever you pray to and believe is watching you, please do not use them as a pawn in your emotional outbursts. Don't tug them. Remember Solomon, and don't cut them in half. Remember patience, and let them know they are loved by both and don't tear them apart with your anger.

The only times I got really angry at my Daddy is when he said something nasty about my Mama.  I knew well his anger towards her, but that wasn't his place to share it with me.

The only times I mistrusted my family is when they spoke against my Daddy...again, it wasn't their place to tell me "adult" problems...when he was just my Daddy.

I was given a choice that most children are not given. I was given respect, and love, and kept apart from their mutual emotional displays (except that one time, where they nearly broke the fish tank, and I told them off for almost hurting Pierre, ze amazink and also swimmink feesh).

For the love of your children, THINK first, and FEEL on your own. If you can't seperate it, then seperate yourself and seek counseling, or meditate, or whatever makes you calm and rational. REALLY rational, not just pretending to be so.

Your child thinks, more than you think they do.  They know way more than you assume they are aware of.  They realize that you are a person, and they are closer to the source. They know it better than you do, the fact that you are a falliable human, and that one day they will have to grow up to be one, too.  And they will learn their responses from you.

If you fear, so will they.  If you scream, so will they.  If you treat them with disrespect, don't expect them to be around longer than they have to.

It takes two people to make a child, until we learn that cool trick that certain reptiles and amphibians have.  And what is the first big lesson we teach our children?  SHARING.  And if you can't live it, they can't learn it. RESPECT. If they can't see it in the two people they know best, how can they know what it means?

Some of the worst lessons we teach our children are BLAME and FAULT.  Now, these are different than their cousin RESPONSIBILITY...who is a valuable friend.  Blame and fault cause only pain. Responsibility causes awareness of one's ability to affect change on a situation and know that you must assume the consequences of that change.

I made a choice that was the fairest choice a toddler could come up with.  Sharing. Balance. Fairness, Peace, and LOVE.

You are a mirror. What does your child see when they look into you?

That is what they will be.

Copyright Amber Shehan, May 29, 2011 - You may distribute for non-commercial use. For any other inquiries, please contact anchasta@yahoo.com