The Open Tomb

Living in a Saturday World before Easter

The following is taken from Christ in Our Home, a Lutheran publication:

What do you do on Saturday? Catch up on work around the house? Make a trip to the grocery store? In our culture Saturday is an in-between day. It's wedged between the work week...

What do you do when your world has fallen apart? Late Friday afternoon, Joseph of Arimathea made sure the body of Jesus received a proper burial.  He sealed the tomb with a large stone.  I can imagine that once Joseph's work was done, he -- like the other disciples -- started wondering what to do next.  The Saturday between the first Good Friday and Easter was an in-between day.  It was a day of unspeakable sadness.  The hopes of the disciples had died with Jesus.  There was little for them to do but wait.  They could not fix the situation.  Only God could.

We live out our days on Saturday. It's a day of waiting for God to come and do what only God can do. Philip Yancey tells a story of a grandmother who lies buried under 150-year-old oak trees in a cemetery in Louisiana. In accordance with the Grandmother's wishes, only one word is carved on the tombstone: "Waiting."

(From Augsburg Press, p. 7, April, May, June 2010  issue)

Good Friday: Images

Christians gather at Rome's ancient forum ahead of Good Friday's Stations of the Cross ceremony, commemorating the crucifixion of Christ.

From Photobucket:

From Apologetics:

Is Christianity True? Introduction by Brian Auten (series of essays)

Is Christianity True? Introduction by Brian Auten

Today's essay can be accesses via audio here.

Posted using ShareThis.

Feather and Fan Pattern for Centerpiece

From the beautiful coffeetable book Knitter's Stash (2001) by Barbara Albright, I found her intriguing patterns for elaborate lace washcloths.  She has eight different lace patterns, and suggests using linen as knitting yarn for these small projects.

Knitting a smaller piece is a good way to see which lace pattern repeat you prefer from the eight discussed. 

Using a bright wool/polyester fiber with slubs, here is the completed project called "Feather and Fan":

And here is one use for this little jewel:

It is a canvas for a terrarium placed beneath a painting on an entryway table.  Those bright colors just make me happy. 

And now I am ready to complete a shawl with the same "feather and fan" lace repeat on its edges.  This smaller snippet of lace was helpful in familiarizing myself with that particular pattern repeat.

Needlepoint Facts and Pictures

It's time to use some old pieces of needlepoint that I've stashed for years, waiting for a good use.  Most of  this intricate handwork was performed by long deceased family matriarchal members.

From this source, Marie Reidelback, Curator of the Needlepoint Museum writes:

Every needlepoint is an astonishing achievement, when you think about it.

They take tons of work--even a small needlepoint the size of a business letter has about a 100,000 stitches and took someone maybe forty-five hours just to stitch--an incredible investment of time and energy.

And when it's finished? Needlepoint is amazingly durable, colorful, lustrous, and rich--a needlepoint bag will last for years of heavy use, as strong as leather. And from the canvas to the finished piece, it's made completely of strings. Remarkable.

This same Museum of needlepoint oddities shows dozens of "odd" pieces in its gallery.  Nudes, flowers, landscapes...all are included in their library.  Here are just two of the differently abled displayed needlepoint pieces shown at their website:

Needlepoint is one of the oldest forms of needlework and has long been associated with church vestments, kneelers, and wall hangings. During the 19th century this method was known as Berlin work and is now sometimes known as canvas work. The needlepoint technique is worked with needle and yarn on a strong canvas background.

Below are a couple of pieces of old needlepoint that I previously re-purposed (the rose was completed about 100 years ago by a great aunt and now used for a footstool cover.   The monogrammed "M" on the leather folder and the framed lemon were sewn by my late mother).

This is the last piece of needlepoint that needs to be used.  It is about 9" x 7" with a geranium motif on an ivory background. 

What do you think? Should it be used for a knitting yarn bag?

Lauren Burch has beautiful, hand painted needlepoint designed canvases if you want to create a 21st century piece of needle art that will last for centuries.  It is worth a click to see some of her beauties.

Create Your Own Color Palette using Colourlovers.com

Project:  Guest bathroom needs a paint facelift. 

This has been on the to-do list for a while.  Color choices: narrowed down to reddish hues.  Where to go for color guidance in paints? THIS SITE is excellent!  Colour Lovers opens up a plethora of choices in helping select a paint palette. 

Here is the scheme I made in about five minutes using the software on the site, without downloading anything:



Two walls will be painted in the darker red, and the wood trim will be painted in a very light hue of the purplish grey, similar to this color:

What a fun, easy way to choose colors.  You might give it a try.

On second thought, the red is too dark.  Back to the drawing board for a lighter shade of brick red.

Now to get the paint and do the work.

Color by COLOURlovers

Alice in Wonderland, the movie

Have you seen the movie Alice in Wonderland yet?

Stephen Greydanus gives a far better review than most (the link is inclusive and has an excellent viewer comment included).  Simplistic me, I enjoyed the 3-D graphics, and believe it was worth the price of admission to enjoy the graphics and costuming.

Loved the Queen of Hearts' red valentine mouth!  And Tweedledum and Tweedledee were captivating.

An enjoyable film, and popcorn and soda were not necessary concessions for added entertainment value.

The Arches National Park

This week included a trip to Moab, Utah and Arches National Park, a short visit from a Denver friend, and a new recipe that was pretty tasty.

Regarding the park, the above site says:

Arches contains one of the largest concentrations of natural sandstone arches in the world. The arches and numerous other extraordinary geologic features, such as spires, pinnacles, pedestals and balanced rocks, are highlighted in striking foreground and background views created by contrasting colors, landforms and textures. With the addition of the Lost Spring Canyon area, the park is 76,519 acres in size.

Above is a picture of The Three Gossips, one of many unique rock formations found in the park.

Water and ice, extreme temperatures and underground salt movement are responsible for the sculptured rock scenery of Arches National Park. On clear days with blue skies, it is hard to imagine such violent forces, or the 100 million years of erosion that created this land that boasts the greatest density of natural arches in the world. The more than 2,000 cataloged arches range in size from a three-foot opening, the minimum considered an arch, to the longest one, Landscape Arch, which measures 306 feet from base to base. New arches are being formed and old ones are being destroyed. Erosion and weathering are relatively slow but are relentlessly creating dynamic landforms that gradually change through time. Occasionally change occurs more dramatically. In 1991 a slab of rock about 60 feet long, 11 feet wide and 4 feet thick fell from the underside of Landscape Arch, leaving behind an even thinner ribbon of rock. Delicate Arch, an isolated remnant of a bygone fin, stands on the brink of a canyon, with the dramatic La Sal Mountains for a backdrop. Towering spires, pinnacles and balanced rocks perched atop seemingly inadequate bases vie with the arches as scenic spectacles.

The weather was sunny and warm and a perfect day for a car trip and sightseeing.

Here is a quick recipe that was ready for us when we returned home, since the crockpot did the cooking:

Tangy Chicken

2 ½ - 3 lb. meaty chicken (boneless thighs or a package of frozen, skinless, boneless chicken pieces)
¼ tsp. salt
½ of a 12 oz. can frozen lemonade (3/4 cup)
5 oz. can of chopped green chilies
3 Tbsp. packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp. Ketchup
1 Tbsp. vinegar
2 Tbsp. corn starch
2 Tbsp. cold water
Put chicken pieces in slow cooker. In small bowl combine lemonade, sugar, ketchup, salt, vinegar and green chilies. Pour over chicken. Cook on low 6-7 hours or on high for 3-3 ½ hours. Take chicken out, cover and keep warm. Put the sauce in a small pan, skim off fat, combine corn starch and water and stir into liquid. Cook til thick and bubbly. Cook for 2 minutes more and pour over chicken.

Cashews or peanuts added at the last with a garnish of chopped green onions tops it off!  Served with rice, this is a fast and tasty dinner. (Thank you for the recipe, Darlene.)

St. Patrick's Day

Top o' the morning to all you Irish and others!

Two years now I have been blogging!  This blog experiment started around St. Patrick's Day in 2008.   It has been a self indulgent journey of archiving projects, places, and eclectic facts that are of no particular interest to anyone (except me). 

Tonite, Gene, the Cook, is making a traditional Irish corned beef and cabbage dinner for family and friends.  I'll be whipping up an emerald dessert to keep us in the spirit of the Green.

A short pub crawl in downtown Grand Junction will finish off the evening's activities.

Pretty Birds

Pretty Birds at the Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, BC: