I'm Working on a Dream

My daily Bible reading brought me this verse yesterday: Proverbs 31: 16 “She looks at land and buys it, and with money she has earned she plants a vineyard.”

I have no time to blog – the accountant is waiting patiently, the “About the Author” page for my husband’s latest book is clamouring to be written, company is coming for dinner this Friday, including our grandson’s first overnight visit!!! and the house is decidedly not ready, although I have washed the new Pack N Play fitted crib sheets, even though the Pack N Play continues to sit in its box just inside the front door. I have books to deliver later this morning, newsletter requests to input, oh yes, and we leave for Hawaii in less than a week. The verse brought me to a standstill anyway.

Proverbs 31 is one of my favourite chapters in the Bible and the woman of Proverbs is my fourth hero, I think. The hero exercise is one that my husband does frequently with his corporate and team clients. And now that I think of it, perhaps I will use it in two upcoming speaking engagements in May. Either way, she is indeed a hero of mine, and when she works hard, buys land, and plants a vineyard, she captures a little piece of my heart.

Shortly after we moved into our newly-built log home, I found myself (what else!) gazing out the window overlooking our property as I washed dishes. As my eyes swept over our 2 acres of south-west facing slope, I recalled the sloped vineyards of Switzerland. In a flash I had a vision of grapevines enveloping our little corner of bliss. In no time flat I had the vineyard named, but more than 10 years later, most of the slope continues to be a thriving blackberry and alder production.

My first planting of Gewürztraminer was a dismal failure – the vines were planted smack-dab in the middle of a heat wave, of which we have precious few here in the Pacific Northwest, right beside our house. Either insufficient sun, over-sufficient blackberry invasion, the initial drought, or a combination of all three, soon wiped them all out. I tried Pinot Noir in a sunnier spot 2 years ago, and most of those are still with us. My dear husband has entered the dream, although I continue to have difficulty convincing him that the vineyard must be organic. So far, while not certified, it is.

If my book and bookkeeping challenges are met, perhaps I will come home from Hawaii, sufficiently infused with sunshine and lush growth, to dive into the dream. Thank you Proverbs 31 hero for the fresh inspiration.