Why a Cottage Vineyard and not a Vineyard Cottage?

The Vintner will be home for a long weekend beginning this evening. I'll have some extra work today, to clean up the Cottage. Usually, on Mondays, I make time to tidy up from the weekend, but I won't get the chance next week. I'll have to do that on Tuesday, and there will be three days of tidying to do. We have no special fun plans, but only extra work here. The Vintner is in high need of some time away from the office and some extra time in the vineyard.

It is a very special time in the vineyard, too. This weekend is the time that we will plant our first two vines. They have been acclimating to their home since about the time I started this blog. Indeed, the blog is about their progress. When we purchased this little Cottage, I prayed over Proverbs 31. I promised God that if he saw fit to place us here, that I would plant a tiny vineyard in glory to Him. Our Cottage is not a small home within a vineyard, but rather more in the sense of a "cottage industry." That is, it's so small of a plot for a vineyard as to need a special qualifier as to how small it is. Thus, "cottage" was the most quaint, the most twee word I thought appropriate.

The ultimate goal of the vineyard is to give thanks to God for all his blessings. The more minor goal is to cease purchasing wine for the Vintner, and allow him to bottle his own, to be self-sufficient in regards to wine. Next, would be for a small income from the wine to be self-supporting in the bottling process. Finally, we'd like a token presence in the local shops, and to make our cottage vineyard a true cottage industry for our home. This is a long-term process. We're only just now planting, and it will take years for our vines to mature. It will take even longer to develop our wine. Since what we are really doing is building our family and home, the slow progress is appropriate. We must have patience, both for rearing children and for raising vines. Our marriage must be nurtured just as slowly and deliberately as our grapes. The glory to God's Grace and Mercy cannot occur overnight. This vineyard is part of the cottage industry that allow me to a keeper at home. Even though we are beginning so small, and may never have a "proper vineyard," our service is to God.