Sleightholm Folk Art

Good morning– And happy Tasha Tuesday!

This morning the light is slowly increasing and illuminating a very cold, chilly and snow-blanketed world. Outside my window, there are little birds flittering around the birdfeeder as powdery-white snow swirls down. It is bitterly cold outside— colder than we’ve experienced here in Oklahoma since I can remember. We are all nestled in, making coffee, curling up, not going anywhere any time soon.

This snowy weather can’t help but remind me of Tasha Tudor, and her days of ‘hibernation’, when she’d spend long and snowy New England winters sequestered in her home, creating artwork. This sort of weather always brings her to mind, as I envision her sitting at the little end of her table, painting….corgis under foot, a fire in the fireplace and a cup of tea nearby. Those of us who admire Tasha always marvel at how much she was able to accomplish, but I imagine that it helped a great deal that she was so often isolated at home, and most definitely didn’t have the constant distraction of social media breaking her concentration.

I am taking my cues from Tasha Tudor today, and finishing knitting projects and working on my own artwork as the snow falls outside. I admit, I am having a very hard time finding a routine in these last few months, as our schedules (especially my children’s school days) are still unstable. Inclement weather and the virus have called for several weeks of distance learning, which we did most of last week and will probably do this week as well because it’s so cold and the roads aren’t safe.

I wish I could sit back and just enjoy the snow like Tasha could, but I live in an area where the infrastructure is not built to withstand lots of cold and snow— right now we have a few frozen pipes in areas of our house where the plumbing is against an exterior wall, and there’s talk of rolling black-outs as our power grids get overwhelmed by everyone needing to heat their homes in below freezing temperatures. Our neighborhood streets haven’t been plowed or salted once since all this began, so travel is done only when absolutely essential, and even then we don’t go far.

Oh, to just enjoy the snow like Tasha Tudor— and our pup!

This is Charlie, our cocker spaniel pup, and he’s now 4 months old. With this snowfall we’ve found out— he loves snow! He loves to stick his face in it especially, and get his muzzle all snowy! And there’s nothing better than a full-on gallop in the snow, according to him!

I, however, will probably remain inside. I’ve just made myself a hot cup of tea and maybe I’ll go put on another sweater. Saying a prayer we don’t lose power, as I cant even imagine how cold it would get with these temperatures outside. My plan then would be to put on all my knitwear and get in bed, probably with several animals and some children!

More snow is expected to come through on Wednesday, although the temperatures are supposed to get warmer after today. Say a prayer for all of us out here, including friends in Texas, dealing with New England-style winter, but without the means to handle it! I hope you are well, and safe and warm. And I hope, most of all, that you can–

Take Joy!
H