27 November 2009

pining for home

In addition to the requisite dogwoods and magnolias, the area round my mum's house boasts some mighty pines. And this time of year, the ground is littered with needles.

Their spikiness is misleading: where they pile up, they create the most wonderfully soft and squashy carpet. And then there are the pine cones, each so delightfully knobbly...

as well as mathematically correct. Remember the Fibonacci sequence?

While packing the real thing would've resulted in a crunchy mess, I'm sure, this pine cone reached England in perfect condition, ready to hang in the living room...

to remind me of my home-away-from-home.

Wool pine cone designed and made by Stephanie Congdon Barnes. Post inspired by Pebbledash.

16 comments:

  1. As a fellow North American living here in the UK (for the past 9 years) I can really empathize with things that you miss from home. I grew up in a house surrounded by tall pines and we used to fall asleep nights listening to the wind blowing through their branches and I also had a back yard just brimming with wild blueberries in August. While I do love the UK, there are lots of things I miss from home, not least of all my family. (Especially this time of year!!)

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  2. Ah, I remember those things lol. For a long time my family lived in CT and we used to have evergreens that would collect all these pine cones underneath. Well, I guess it makes us appreciate these things all the more when we dont see them regularly.

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  3. It's beautiful, such a perfect pinecone. I'm sorry you are feeling longing for home, I feel the same in reverse. I'm an American but I grew up in England and I miss it so much it hurts. Hope you have a wonderful holiday with lots of wonderful memories.

    theprairiegirl.com

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  4. I hope looking at your lovely pinecone makes you feel a bit closer to home. It is lovely to spend time living abroad but I remember it being very hard to be so far from home, especially at this time of year - I do sympathise.

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  5. It must be hard having to leave home again each time you visit.
    I love the pinecone and I hope it makes you smile every time you look at it.

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  6. Pinecone bliss! And I treated myself to one of Stephanie's too, they're so beautiful. Thank you for the link. Hope your next trip is already planned - something to look forward to.
    D x

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  7. Pinecones are wonderful aren't they? We used to make turkeys with ours in November, add glitter at Christmas, dress them up with lard, peanut butter and bird seed as a birdfeeder in January, and on our piratey summer days turn them into small grenades (palm fronds were our swords of course!).

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  8. It is good to have you back Kristina.
    Alicex

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  9. Wouldn't it be handy to be able to be two places at once? Exhausting, maybe, but it would solve a lot of problems...

    (Beautiful pinecone -- before I read your words, I was sure it was ceramic!)

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  10. how beautiful!!

    you've always got good taste Kristina.

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  11. Such a beautiful pine cone! In the late spring, when things are warming up, I love the way they crackle as they open up. D x

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  12. I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving and are enjoying being back at home - the trees sound so majestic. It's funny how trees vary so much from place to place, and quite what a powerful impact they have on the way a place feels. Oh I do love trees. The pinecone is beautiful!

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  13. the wool pinecone is a wonderful alternative to pinecone shards in the suitcase. :-)

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  14. Oh that pine cone is so good and so incredibly clever. I love the smell of those pine needles, Dylan and Tilly had their tree house in a pine tree when we were in Wales and I do have a soft spot for them..

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  15. I've swooned for those pine cones by SCB for a while now!!

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  16. Oh dear. I want one of those pine cones. Now.

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