Another Birthday

It is my personal (ah hem) opinion that anyone over 11 years should not "celebrate" birthdays with a party. Of course, there are exceptions.  A woman of a certain age can, however, enjoy good wishes sent by others.

And boy-oh-boy, did I love the cards and phone calls checking in.  Thank you friends and family, for the sweet remembrances.  Here are a couple of cards to bring out your smiles in this last week of January.

 (cause we cool chicks gotta stick together)

And one from my friend Sharon that said "I think of you...and give thanks"  Ephesians 1:16.  And one from SIL with a little buck toothed dog on it, just like our Libby Sweetpea!

Some pretty silk scarves my daughter sent me:

And a beautiful bouquet of flowers from SIL and brother:

Don't you love it when somebody makes you something?

A pin cushion with heart pins!! The poppy is felted and the leaves and poppies applied with hand stitching.  So sweet, thank you Natalie.

The Mr. cooked up some snow crab for dinner.  It was yummy. And so another year was added to the lifeline. Grateful.

"There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.” ~ Ralph H. Blum

In Process

Linking to Tami (WIP) and to Our Sheltering Tree because in process today are...

• A Hospice visit with Libby to see a patient in a rehab hospital (Therapy Dogs International)
• Two Knitting Projects

• finishing up painting interior walls
• whipping up these delicious apple treats, from a Mennonite Girls recipe found here, along with their photograph
• sending off a book for a tweeners' birthday

Please leave your blog address and I will be sure to visit you to see what you are up to today!

Painting

It's been quiet here on the blog these past few days. Because it has been a record breaking cold spell. It is now -2 degrees F at 6 AM.

And because I've been knitting and reading and playing Scrabble online getting ready for a Scrabble tournament in Las Vegas next month.  

But mostly because the bathroom and entryways needed painting. That leaves little time for introspection.

So, I took up the cause and got busy with paint.  Here is the bordello red powder room that needed a face lift:

Using Behr's Indulgent Mocha with primer, it now looks lighter.

and a bit brighter

But wait.  There's more. 

This entry it is not yet finished.  It screamed for camera documentation. The door is going to be a bear to paint.

How many aspirin have disappeared during this exercise?  Quite a few.

A Knit in Memory of KnitPurlGurl

Podcaster, knitter, blogger, designer, wife and mother of two young children, Karrie Steinmetz died suddenly at the age of 38 in December, 2012. She called herself the Knit Purl Gurl.  I was her "follower" along with over 1200 others on Google.

Karrie was a talented young woman full of energy and ideas.  She was always willing to share and teach others as shown through her blog found here.  Her last post was about podcasting and giving tips to others who might be interested in creating their own podcast (Karrie's podcasts are archived here.)  And Karrie's knit pattern designs can be found here.

She was a real encourager.

Karrie started giving patterns away in what she called Random Acts of Patterns.  In October, she wrote:

I’ve declared that Tuesdays are for Random Acts of Patterns (or RAP). It’s the fibery equivalent to Random Acts of Kindness! Most of us have either randomly given or received patterns, so this is not my invention. However, I’d like to make it a movement and get more people involved! So on any random Tuesday that you feel inclined to and/or can afford to, consider randomly selecting a fellow Raveler and gifting him/her a pattern off of his/her queue. :) THEN - Come back here and tell us! I get so inspired by people who participate in RAK, or in this case, RAP, that I’d love to hear all about your generosity in this fab community! :) Of course, you don’t have to wait for a Tuesday. You can participate in a RAP at any time, but I thought Tuesdays could use a little jazzing up!  ALSO - if you’ve been the recipient of a RAP, please share too! We all need a little sunshine in our day!

One of her shawl designs was given to me in a RAP after her death.  And I sent it on to keep the RAP going.

This is "Crosswords at the Coffeeshop," a pattern she designed saying that

When I’m not knitting at the coffee shop, I’m working crossword puzzles. This is the perfect mashup of rugged and lacey. Intended to wear at the coffee shop, the shawlette is just perfect to keep the draft from the door from giving you a chill, while the shawl is a perfect wrap. It’s knit in an aran weight to provide that snuggly warmth. Inspired by crosswords, there are elements of boxes in the lace and even the short rows create squared tiers. Throw on a pair of fingerless mitts and enjoy a latte!

And for Finished Objects Friday and Fiber Arts Friday, here is my (Karrie's pattern) Crossword shawl.

Warm.  Thinking of Karrie and her family.

All pattern purchase proceeds go to her family.

Poppies and IA Challenge

Poppies are a favorite flower.

source

source

Ivon Hitchens (British artist, 1893-1979) Flowers

According to this source the poppy means that...

The red petals stand for the vast outpouring of blood; the yellow and black center, the mud and desolation of all battlefields. The green of the stem is symbolic of the forests, meadows and fields where generations of Americans have perished to make this land free. The stem represents the courage and determination of our fallen warriors. The assembled product, a flower, is a symbol of resurrection, which is sure to follow.

In the book The Language of Flowers, poppy means consolation.

Darling earrings  source

A favorite blog read is BJWS; this paragraph is taken from her post found here about poppies.

In the World War I battlefields of Belgium, poppies grew wild amid the ravaged landscape. How could such a delicate flower grow bright and  wild surrounded by death and destruction? The overturned soils of battlefield enabled the poppy seeds to be covered, allowing them to thrive and to serve as a reminder of the bloodshed during that and future wars. The use of poppies as a remembrance for those who served in war was inspired by the poem "In Flanders Fields" written by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae of the WWI Canadian forces in 1915.

poppies on silk by McCarroll

Elsbeth Müller-Kaempff (German artist, 1869–1940) 

Poppies have been painted, photographed and written about since time immemorial.  Show us a picture or write about poppies and link back to Inspiration Avenue (IA). I will comment on every entry and will surely  enjoy each of your posts.  Here is a linky picture to use in your post if you would like to copy it.

Today is Epiphany

In Christianity, Epiphany refers to the moment that a person believes that Jesus is the son of God. To symbolize this, Western Christian churches generally celebrate Epiphany with the arrival of the three kings at the birthplace of Jesus 12 days after Christmas, or January 6 on the current calendar.

January 6 is also our wedding anniversary, another memorable personal event. This video was made three years ago by my husband for our 20th anniversary. It bears repeating.

Happy Anniversary, Gene.

January 2013

Welcome, 2013

Thank you to all the readers of this blog for the time you take to check in with the thoughts and images I have shared here in the past five years of blogging.  Thank you for the comments you have left and for the friendships that have been sparked through the sharing of ideas.  You are all a wonderful group of creative and talented internet friends.  And for you lurkers out there on the innerwebs, thank you, also for reading and visiting.

Pictures from Marjolein Bastin

May you all have a happy and prosperous 2013.  From St. Francis:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Good Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.