Meeting a Fellow Blogger is a Bit Unreal

Meeting a fellow blogger is a bit unreal, and, it’s also very natural. Amy at Confessions of a Natural Momma and I have been following one another’s blogs for over a year. Even though I am decades older, we found common ground in our beliefs and ideals, and I frankly think she is quite remarkable. She gives me hope for the future. She lives in Middle Tennessee, my original stomping grounds, and when I was home visiting family and friends last week, I dropped in to see her for a brief hour. It was about two hours driving to her house round-trip, but well worth it to meet her in person.

Amy follows Tanami up a rise in their yard.

I’d heard so much about, and seen such beautiful photos of, their daughter, Tanami, it was a treat to find she was everything I imagined her to be. Raised “all-natural,” Tanami is alert, engaged, happy and healthy. And she looks positively smart, and comfortable, in her fuchsia cloth diaper pants, which have been streamlined since I was diapering my son!

Cloth diaper pants hanging in the sun to dry.

I raised Walker (graduating from Stanford in two weeks!), in cloth diapers in the early 90’s. There was a wonderful diaper service in Los Angeles, and it was perfectly natural, and simple, to diaper him in cloth. Traveling was a bit more of a challenge, but I was determined, and I washed diapers and hung them out to dry over the cabin porch railing on a trip to the Sequoia’s. I remembered my mother describing long road trips with my father when she was a young mom, and carrying the diaper pail in the back floorboard. What I found, clearly, with diapering in cloth is that once babies are walking, they don’t like to lug that heavy, wet diaper between their legs any longer than they have to, and my son graduated to the potty early.

Amy is adamant not only about putting the best fabrics and products on, but, also, the best foods in Tanami. I am passionate about the quality of food – I heard this over and over on my Tennessee trip, people want to know what they are eating – so food security is an issue we share. Amy got me drinking a teaspoon of raw apple cider vinegar in spring water first thing every morning. Knowing she makes her own laundry detergent, I brought her hand-felted wool balls for her dryer, which reduce drying time and static electricity. (You will see Ashley, who grows the sheep, whose wool she felts, in an upcoming episode of “Late Bloomer!”)

Tanami inspects felted raw wool dryer balls made by Ashley Brooks Whitaker

As the minutes I had to spend with Amy and her family flew by, I said I must see some of the wooden furniture pieces she had recently made from scratch. She showed me the bed, and I said I had to see her skill saw, and she pulled it out and I snapped this shot. As you can see, Tanami is quite comfortable on this king-size hand-built bed. My mother, who made a lot of our furniture when we were young, was featured in the Nashville Tennessean with several photos of the furniture she had made, so naturally I was very impressed with Amy’s spirit and determination to do-it-herself.

Amy with her skill saw which she used to make this bed.

Next up, a tour of their first garden, which represents only a fraction of their yard. (The space they have fenced off for the garden is about my total growing area!) The hubby is in charge of planting the garden and I gave him some advice about using mulch to hold moisture and suppress weeds. I really wish I had gotten some of those sweet potato starts!

Amy identifies young plants in her garden.

It was almost time to go. Since Amy met her husband, who is from Australia, at a dancing studio (he’s a professional dancer), I asked them to do a little dance for me. Tanami joined in.

Amy dancing with hubby and daughter.

A great visit, which deepened our connection. Have you had an opportunity to meet a fellow blogger? I’d love to hear about it. Thanks for reading! – Kaye

Tags: do-it-yourself, farming on small scale, gardening, gardening web series, green your world, growing your own vegetables, Kaye Kittrell, Kaye Kittrell Late Bloomer, Late Bloomer, mulch, organic, urban gardening

Category: Community, Environment, Food Security