What do you do?

It's a common question that comes up frequently in polite conversation. "What do you do?" The answer is much more complex than you would expect. I still don't know what the right answer is, or if there even is one in my case. What I do know is what I DON'T do and what I DON'T want to be called.

I don't sit in an office all day. I no longer occupy a cube and do mind numbing repetitive tasks day in and day out. I no longer feel that my creativity is squelched. I also do not have a steady income and a weekly or biweekly pay check I can count to be there consistently. I guess you can't have it all. Was it worth giving up the security of a promised amount of cash in my bank account every other week? For me it absolutely was.

I am a small business owner. I am an Etsy seller. I am shop owner, designer, head stitcher and unstitcher, rotary cutter queen, princess of quilting and goddess of binding at Lulu Belle Quilts. I am chief egg gatherer and secondary rooster disciplinarian at Thaddeus Farms. I am chief financial officer of our family's finances. I am primary pig wrangler on days Edgar gets frisky and escapes. I am director of bovine health and happiness as well as mistress of sweet feed distribution. I am in charge of hay rationing and some days I herd cats, literally. I am subject to every whim of a sweet bulldog. I am rabbit food intake manager and duck water analysis. I am the primary cuisine developer for our home and I make a mean macaroni and cheese and a pretty amazing peach preserve. Oh yeah, and I attempt to blog.

SO I do all of those things. For those of you that want a simple answer, don't expect me to say sewer. A sewer is where poop and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live, not what I do for a living. I like quilter but when I say quilter I think most people get a mental picture of an 80 year old lady with little round spectacles on the bridge of her nose sitting in a rocking chair hand stitching. That is definitely not what I do. I recently learned the word "Sempstress" which is an old word for one who sews. I like it. It sounds sassy, like me, and it's a little different. If I had to put one word on a business card it would probably be this one and then I could explain to everyone else what it means, which or course I would love because it means I would get to talk more.

But really when you think about it, "What do you do?" can mean so many things. I think people tend to look at it as a simple question meaning "What do you do for a living?" or "What is your job?" Does what we do to make money really make us who we are? Is being an engineer or a dancer or a doctor what defines you as a person or is it what you do when you are not at work? I would hazard to say that most of us don't define ourselves as what we do to make money but as much more than that. I just feel lucky that what I do for a living as well as what I do as a person can not be whittled down to a one word response. I like to think I am a bit more complex and interesting than that.

Hi Internet! It's me, Lindsay. Are you there?

"You should write a blog" they said. "People will LOVE to read your stories" they said. "We'll just see about that" I said.

So I have about a million ideas for blog post topics, however this first one is a bit more difficult than I expected. I want to come out the gate profound but approachable, funny but thought provoking, knowledgeable but entertaining. Since I have no idea how to do all that I guess I will just introduce myself and let my witty banter woo you all into loving me :)

I am Lindsay. I live on Wadmalaw Island, SC. We are a sleepy little island outside of Charleston, SC. Oh yeah, they also make Firefly Vodka and Moonshine here. Like .3 miles from my house. Not a bad place to be! I live here with my boyfriend, Johnny Cash Man Nurse, Pirate Gardener, Bearded Wonder - Patrick. Also there are some animals. Quite a few animals. I'll introduce you to the whole cast of supporting characters another day, but rest assured they are all well fed and bring much joy to our lives.

Why Fabric.Farm.Food. you ask? Well that is an excellent question my darling reader(s). The answer can get really complicated, but to prevent my wordiness from getting the best of me I will keep it simple. I sew. Not just for the fun of it or as a hobby, but for a living. I LOVE it. I have a tiny farm. We call it Thaddeus Farms after my grandfather. It's an ever evolving venture and we are excited about where the future is taking us. I eat, judging from my rounded physique, too much :). We had our first garden this past fall and Patrick is hooked! The more food we grow and make ourselves the more we want to do in the future. There is nothing better than preparing something you grew yourself. It always tastes better than the store bought ones.

As a side note - I LOVE glitter. If there was an F word for glitter it would have made the blog name, unfortunately I couldn't figure one out. I almost went with Fairy Dust but it didn't make the cut.

My goal is to share my thoughts and stories and this journey I am on with you all through this blog. I would love to promise that I will write once a week or twice a week, but as you that know me well know, I have never been on time to anything in my entire life. With the exception of my birth, I was born early, that was the LAST time I was ever early for anything. So let's be realistic and say I will write bi-weekly and see how it goes from there? Feel free to ask me questions, leave me comments filled with kind words and encouragement or curse words and Grammar Nazi critics. Whatever blows your dress up.

I am excited! Let's hope I stay that way and this becomes a new thing. Buckle up and enjoy the ride y'all!