Quilt Blocks

 Quilt blocks go into making quilt tops that will sooner or later be a warm cozy comfort.  I like making quilt blocks—here are the latest blocks that will become tops on their way to someone

Puzzles

 I’m not a good puzzle person—don’t have the patience to sit and look for one tiny piece to plug into a hole!  During lockdown, family members would sit for hours to work on a puzzle—even into the wee hours of the morning!

But, there they were—saying just one more piece! And then—finished!  Which one to do next, they ask? 

Hubby will play puzzle games on his phone at odd times—so addictive!  Just turn the sound off please!  He doesn’t hear it anyway!  

I’ll do some other types of puzzles—

Like words with friends, more like scrabble—it goes quickly depending on how many friends that play you. 

And Wordle—I can do that; usually quick and I’m done!  

This word search puzzle popped up with Nomadic Knits—and I thought—I might like this type of puzzle.  My friend will do books of word searches—this might be fun!  It took me 15 minutes to find one word—okay, I won’t give up right away—hours later, I’m still searching for words on the list.  I’d pick it up, search for few minutes, put it down—two weeks into this, I gave up—this is taking way too much out of my knitting or spinning!  This isn’t for me.

Puzzles for puzzle people!! 

Ooooooooooo

Today we are ooooo so happy to write about O! I’ve never really thought about O before—you can see lots of ooooos in your daily life—like that donut we had as a snack; or the tire on your car that is an O. 

How about the O on the guitar? That my husband doesn’t play!

Ooo, my bobbin even is an O!

Top of my coffee container is O tooooooo!

This thing has two ooos!

Here is a list of O words—

And animals and foods that begin with O—Oh my!!

I’m seeing O is an Object that isn’t Obscure, Obsolete; Occuring Often in Occupations, Oceans, Olympics, even Online!  

Open those Senses to the OOOOOOS in your Ordinary life! 

Over and Out! 

Night Sky

The month of April has been a blogging challenge--March 27, 2010 a challenge was sent out to all bloggers for the month of April.   Can you post every day except Sundays during this month?  And to up the bar, can you blog thematically from A to Z?

Although, I try to blog on occasion, this was a true challenge to me--can I find something interesting to blog about every day of the month of April??  Some bloggers have selected a theme for their writings--maybe, I'll do that next year--let me see if I can make it successfully through this year!

I'm up to N and have a good topic for N--we had the occassion to attend two, not one, but two viewing parties in a vicinity that is 'dark skies'.  The county friends of the night sky were hosting the event--that it's at a winery, didn't hurt either.  Our friend received a telescope for Christmas, so we’re in good company with fellow astronomy patrons.

Fingers crossed the weather held out for clear skies--no full moon either.

Night sky on this evening presented Venus floating between the small, dipper-shape Pleiades star and the bright red star Aldebaran, which is the “eye” of the constellation Taurus the Bull.  Mercury will also be visible.

Anytime, you can drink wine under the starry skies, it's a good night! 

 

Memories!

 I have a good memory of this day of many years ago—the birth of our first child!  What I remember of that day is totally different than how my husband remembers—isn’t that interesting?  Our memories don’t gel!   All the same, it's a happy memory!  

Every year on the day Elvis died, we try to remember where we were--as family we were all in the same car, driving on the same road, somewhere in Colorado--BUT, no one remembers exactly where we were--a different location from each of us.   Sometimes, we have photos that flash into our memory, those don't always refresh our memory though.  

Memory is a strange fellow!  Most of us can remember historic events and where we were, what we did, how we reacted--like, Kennedy assassination, bombing of World Trade Center, terrible acts of violence==Science says it might be impossible for humans to bring a memory to mind without altering it in some way--such an interesting theory

 The other day, a photo was posted on FB; it was a photo of extended family gathering--I don't remember the day so much; the kids only remember they loved the little house we were standing in front of.  And then the comment who took the photo?  Whose absent from the photo?  We conversed with each other and decided it was Easter, 1977!  Only do we know that date, because it's printed on the photo back!  Our memories would never let us remember the date or the reason.

The next time you are gathered with family or friends, discuss a memory you had from years past and see if your memory gels with their memory.  Then ask what is the earliest memory they have of their childhood--i know mine comes from seeing photos or hearing stories of such an event in my life.  Otherwise, I have no memory!

Love Letters

probably the oldest surviving Valentine love letter in the English language was written by Margery Brews to her fiancé John Paston in February 1477. Describing John as her 'right well-beloved valentine', she tells him she is 'not in good health of body nor of heart, nor shall I be till I hear…….

Recently, I’ve been watching a PBS program featuring Jane Austin’s Sandition, unfinished novel begun in January, 1817, stopped in March 1817.  Now on season three, it stuck me how today’s romance has lost the touch of true “wooing!”  

Back to those days of Jane-No touching in public, modest clothing, fans fluttering around the face to flirt; and love letters written, secretly placed in hiding spots known only to two would be lovers or maybe a letter arriving discreetly in the mail to be whisked away, only to be read in privacy.  It’s all so romantic!! At least, in Jane Austin’s world—

Brings to mind, the original movie, “Shoppe Around the Corner”, starring Margaret Sullivan and James Stewart.  This movie was made in 1940. Somehow, these two became pen pals through postal service.  Their letters soon turned into love letters—-ahhh!  What a movie!  Today’s version is “ You’ve Got Mail”— the story uses internet to bring emails to life.  Is this “wooing” today?  No hand written letter to unfold, to read in secret, to read over and over again—

During my courtship with hubby (over 60 years ago), we wrote letters to each other.  I couldn’t believe what lovely words he could jot on paper!  Made my heart swoon!  How I miss those letters, which were destroyed in a house fire.  I wish our children could appreciate those words of their father—they would be astonished he had an ounce of romance in his bones!

And if you happen to see an oldie but goodie movie, you might see a stack of love letters bundled up and tied with a ribbon, which are lovingly hugged by the heroine, who unties and cries as she unfolds the paper to relive a once special romance.  

Yes, love letters today are not of Jane Austin’s world—sure would be nice if we could be like that again! 

K=Whatever!

 Key to K

This day is all about the letter K.  All I could think about K is knit, since my mind is geared to textiles.  Digging deeper into K, I found it means so much more—putting K at the end of a number means thousand, 500K—wow that simple 500 jumped with a K to 5,000! 

Then, researching the letter K further, this popped up—unbelievable!  K in your name? K in history? 

Right. Now, I’m K=less!  Meaning keyless!  To enter my home, I don’t have a physical key—just punch in some numbers to open the door.  My car doesn’t need a key either to start the motor—just push a button to be off!  Yes, there is a keyless fob in my pocket to make it work.  I don’t need a key to start my sewing machine, washing machine, dryer, oven or any other appliances.  

We are doomed to being. Key-less!!

Joyful Turns Into Disappointment

Easter Sunday was such a joyful day!  We celebrated our belief in our risen Lord that sacrificed his life for us!  The family gathered to share the day activities.  We had a small egg hunt for our great grandson—what a joyful event!  What a blessed day!

Later in the evening as I had time to reflect on the day and the meaning of our celebration, I opened FB page to Victoria Methodist Bristol knit along—there were photos of lovely completed Lenten scarves— 

Photo from Ann Jackson—such lovely work!

Jill Jackson wears hers pridefully! 

And this one!! Oh such a joy to see these and learn the story that is told in knit and purl stitches. 

But—

I’m so disappointed in myself!  I gave up!! 

I didn’t finish!  I put away the pattern and scarf—walked away—

Jesus would never walk away—HE is always there when I need him—I’m thinking that devil got into my heart and mind and said, “why do you want to finish this project?  What’s in it for you?  Just another scarf you’ll most likely won’t wear?”

My disappointment has turned into Joy!  I’m picking up where I left off on the pattern! 

And I will finish and joyfully wear my scarf!!

I Wish You a Blessed Sunday

Hats!!

Finished!  All the ends woven in--all inside the tube so you can't see where there was an additional yarns added.  This pattern is great stash buster.  This is the second one I've knit.  I keep thinking I'll add less stitches to begin as I want a tight fit.  But, so far, I've not achieved that goal--maybe, the next one will be different.

 

If you push one end inside the tube, you get this look

Push it inside the other end and you get this look.

Isn't that cool?

The designer is Ysolda and the pattern is Musselburgh.  I mentioned this pattern in previous posts--it is mindless knitting once you get the correct number of stitches on needles.

It is a great multi-gauge, double layer hat!

Quest for a Man by Laura Nelkin is on the needles now--I'm using some 'manly' yarn for this hat.

I like to knit hats, stash them and then send to charity--I missed the window to send my hats this past winter to Emily's Hats for Hope--knitting for Hope is a good thing!

Goodness Sake

 Today is our son's birthdate!  He can't be that old though!  Because I'm not that old to have a child, even though he's an adult child, that old!  My mind is stuck in the 20's--but the bod is saying 'no, no, no' when I try to fetch a dish from a shelf, hang a curtain on a windown, climb a step ladder, pull weeds from the garden, etc.   Muscle pains come the day after.  But, it's the truth--he is that old and so am I.

With age, your skin thins and becomes less elastic and more fragile, and fatty tissue just below the skin decreases. You might notice that you bruise more easily. Decreased production of natural oils might make your skin drier. Wrinkles, age spots and small growths called skin tags are more common.  

How did I get so Old so fast??  Whatever you do--don't look up the definition of Old AGE!  You will be depressed for hours, days, weeks, months, if you think you're in that 'old age' bracket.

What are the stages of old age?  Can you believe that someone has come up with a list of stages for old age?  Obviously, it’s youngster who did this study!!

1. Self-sufficiency. The first stage in the aging process is self-sufficiency. ...
2. Interdependence. Eventually, aging loved one will require some support and assistance. ...
3. Dependence. ...
4. Crisis Management. ...
5. End of Life.

This has become depressing to write--ALL I wanted to do was wish my little baby boy--

"Happy Birthday!"" 

Faster I Go, More Behind I Get

 

“The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.”  ― Lewis Carroll

That's my life in a ntushell!  I'm stuck in an Alice in Wonderland world!!

It seems I go fast, but I'm just spinning my wheels in stationery place!  Yep, I'm so far behind in my projects--especially my knitting.  I wanted to have the Lenten scarf finished in order to wear to Easter services--but, I'm behind one whole week--and that's alot of stitching.  The patterns have been interesting --thrown in some stitches I've not knit before.  As I knit, I try to catch up on TV shows--there is "Outer Banks"--and I love "Candice Renoir" (all in French so you need to read subtitles) that definitely slows my knitting attention!  

There is my Musselburgh hat waiting to be finished--just a few more rows and it would be finished!

There was an inquiry from family about plans for Easter!  What?? Is it time to plan for Easter?  Holy smokes—

I just need to calm down!  Breathe deep! and recenter myself--it's okay!  everything will be okay--even if projects sit for a little while longer----other things go by the wayside-- after all, it is Easter time!  Just be happy in the space I am at the present time--yes, this is a happy place for the time being!  So what?  If I'm still behind-- in the words of Lewis Caroll  "The more passionately you pursue your dream, the more demands you'll have on your time".  Isn't that the truth??

Exercise?!

 Whenever we go to a store,  the spouse will leave my side and go 'walkabout'.  The family hates that!  he doesn't say where he is going--just takes off and we can't find him when we're ready to leave the store!  Oh, he's just on a 'walkabout'.  

Meaning:  an informal stroll among a crowd conducted by an important visitor.British

AUSTRALIAN:  a journey on foot undertaken by an Australian Aboriginal in order to live in the traditional manner.

• noun: walk-about; plural noun: walk-abouts
• a walking tour is our meaning to this term!  He is doing a tour of the store to parts unknown to us!

Well, I'm going to do a 'walkabout' in my own neighborhood!  Beginning April 17, there will be 'walkabout' quilt a long==indeed, I need to move my bod and get more exercise and this quilt along will give me an opportunity to create and exercise!  Sounds like a fun event.  I've signed up for the daily activities--hopefully, fingers crossed I can keep to the schedule!      

Dishcloths

 Dishcloths!  Something about dishcloths that I like!  Especially if I can knit them with handspun cotton from my stash.  It doesn't take long to knit a cloth--just have to stay with it for a few hours

This was March’s  pattern from Kitchen Sink   GAlene has a  Year of dishcloth pattern club--it's free!

Each month you will receive the pattern along with a recipe to coordinate with the dishcloth--pretty clever if you ask me!  Last year, which I missed, was associated with spices--I think I might go back and knit those and include the spice with the cloth as a gift.

I've knit January, February and March pattern--now, onto April--I'm sorry that I've not baked any of the recipes she has included but someday! I will.  

April's pattern references Mini Easter eggs.  I've selected this lime green hand spun cotton to knit with. 

 This is a fun pattern to knit; think I'll have some mini candy eggs close to munch on as I progress! 

Cotton

I Love Love my little nano 2.0 electric spinning wheel!  It has sat in the box for several weeks--you know how that goes--you have something in plain sight and then you forget about it.  the other day, hubby said, "what's in this box?"  That woke up my spinning spirit!  Out of the box, it came and I've been spinning a few minutes every day!

What am I spinning?  Brown cotton!

This is brown cotton that I grew--didn't card it myself, but found a mill that would take my 3 lbs of ginned cotton and card into roving!  It's such a pleasure to spin.

I was worried at first that this little EEL nano wouldn't be able to put enough twist into the spin, but no worries on that front!  It spins perfectly!

Years ago, my partner in crime and I were at a natural dyeing workshop in Birmingham, AL.  There we met another cotton spinner who told us she could get "red" cotton, which is a darker shade of brown,

 

  She asked if we would be interested--well, YES!  It was selling for $10 lb--unheard of, but it was years ago when this happen!  We both said we'll take 25 lbs!!!

This was a bargain and we didn't want to pass it up!

Finally, it went out of mind until the day a large box showed up at the door!  

I mean a large box!! and inside was not 25 lbs but 10 huge carded balls of red cotton!  Only 10 lbs!!

Oh goodness!  So thankful, we didn't get 25 lbs!!  For years, some of those carded balls of roving were given as door prizes at our spin-ins.  I still have a box full of cotton to spin and my friend and I laugh often about out excited buy!!

 

Baby Update!!

I"m happy to report that our little great grandson, JD, is improving every day.  He's off all the bells and whistles; no more oxygen tube to tie him down.  He is gaining weight and eating steadily.

His intake is advancing every feeding--Thank you Lord Jesus!!  Our prayers have given him a new outlook on life.

He still has a feeding tube for small amounts of vitamins and nutrients he needs for the time being.  

Soon he can go home!

That is the greatest blessing to report!!

Now for more sundry news--not exciting or earth shaking but it is news in our household.

Hubby has wisdom spots!! say what??  Not "old age spots' but wisdom spots!

That's what doctors call those little brown spots on your face and arms--

extra wisdom, they don't give!

On this Palm Sunday--we have been blessed!  Count each day and minute as your assignment to be kind to each other

A = April = Avocado

 This is no April Fool joke--  I freeze my avocados!  Yep!  When they get too ripe, I put them in the freezer for another day when I can bake with them. 

Now, I'm ready to bake some flourless Avocado chocolate brownies! 

I add sugar free chocolate chips and walmuts to my batter--yummy good!  Top off with sugar free whipped topping and you ahve a great dessert worthy of praise!

And another great recipe is chocolate avocado cookies--I don't make this recipe often as I'm too lazy to dish out heaps of batter to make cookies; I'd rather smooth out the batter in a baking pan and bake!!

I'm not a fan of avocado toast--no texture there for me so I"ll use our overripe avocados this way.

April brings us birth-days--in fact, there are four special days in April--Son, daughter, husband and grand daughter in law!  We have one big celebration for everyone--special gathering!

On the fiber side of life--ain't much happening!  My mojo for sewing has slowed down--my thought is to finish what I've begun and really complete it--

there are the BOM that I would like to do but have resisted--good for me!

A to Z here we come!!

--Journey to Easter

 

Our cowboy Church fortunately has access to a shofar for call to worship--It is a great call to worship!

Our caller is the chaplain at the Sculpture Prayer Gardens in Kerrville, TX  If ever in the area, please stop in to spend a few minutes celebrating this special prayer garden.  You can even leave a prayer on a rock.

Recently, we had a family/friends dinner and one of our guests was wearing tassels through his back belt loops.  When asked about them, he replied it was a way to show his faith and when people asked about them, he could talk about his faith--it was a perfect opportunity to lead into a conversation about God. 

tassels — in Hebrew, tzitzit – צִיצִ֥ת “You will have these fringes [tzitzit] to look at so you will remember all the commands of the Lord, that you may obey them …  I am the Lord your God.”  (Numbers 15:38–41)

The tzitzit pictured above are tied in two different styles.  The all white one is tied in the traditional Ashkenazi style, while the one with the thread of blue (techelet) is woven in the Sephardic style.  Notice that each tassel has eight strands with five knots, totaling 13.

The long thread of a special shade of blue that God commands in each tzitzit is called techelet in Hebrew.

According to a Midrash (story), the blue thread acts as a visual reminder to keep a heavenly focus on the Divine Presence of God, since the blue resembles the ocean, which resembles the sky, which resembles the Throne of God. 

We are leading into the last few days of Lent before Palm Sunday and the return of Jesus to the city after his 40 days of trails and temptation.  

My trials are nothing compared to others but I've been knitting along with Victoria Methodist Bristol on their special Lenten Knitalong--Each week a Lenten plan has been laid out with patterns to knit as we meditate on our journey.

We’re in week four.  I’m knitting with my hand spun wool/cashmere blend.  

Each week a section is revealed along with scriptures and pattern; hymns add to the mediations.  A lot of prayers are said as I knit.   By Easter, the scarf will be ready to wear! 

Books and Food

 Read any good books lately?  Something saucy and juicy? Or maybe a story that is sad and weepy?  How about an adventure on the high seas? 

Recently, I was thinking what food to serve along with a good book discussion.  Well, that means two or more people should read the same book—nope!  Hold onto your hat,  why can’t you fix couple of dishes that celebrate a certain book topic and share your thoughts on the book you’re reading?

Now reading  Midnight at the Blackberry Cafe—

here is my menu: definitely Blackberry pie for dessert.  Since this book is set in Alabama—how about A take off of cafe food— biscuits,  crispy hash browns, pancakes, ham in red-eye gravy, eggs, sweet potato hash, green beans, fried green tomatoes, corn, bacon, chicken-fried steak,  fried chicken, mashed potatoes, collard greens and grits, roast chicken, hot chocolate, potato salad, chocolate fudge cake, succotash--it would be easy to fix a menu for this book.

This book takes place in France--what a menu I could come up for this dinner!!  

• Boeuf Bourguignon.Bouillabaisse.: This Provençal dish is an elevated take on the catch of the day. ...Tarte Tatin. ...French onion soup. ..Escargot. ...Chocolate soufflé ..Crepes. ...Salade Niçoise.
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• I read this book at night--it's a light story about two English sisters, who are living together and take in older gentlement, who is down on his luck--some laughs on each page.
• Oh joy, what a menu with this one--Full English breakfast--sausages, back bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, fried bread, and beans. and of course, big pot of tea!
• or an afternoon tea consisting of light cakes, scones and sandwiches. Traditional sandwich fillings are often cucumber, smoked salmon, coronation chicken or egg mayonnaise. But they should always be served with the crusts cut off - and Tea!
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  A Greek Island tour!  Ahhh!  Delicious Mediterranean food!  Greek salad ( tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, black olives, feta cheese,bell pepper!). Beef shish kebabs, pita bread, hummus, 

  Baklava for dessert.  
  This book is interesting because we have visited Mykonos to do Greek isles tour.  
  
  
• As I was thinking about food and books, I came across a blog that puts these two things together--Cook The Book Club--and there are others that talk about books and food as well--
• I'm off to listen to Midnight at Blackberry Cafe while preparing dinner--it’s a southern evening of fried chicken, mashed taters, green peas and for dessert—blackberry crumble. 

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