Good Friday

Remember. Be thankful. Live joyfully.

Friends

 

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: "What! You, too? Thought I was the only one." (C.S. Lewis)

Part two of the archive meme is about friends. I am so blessed with friends of all kinds, from those with whom I share my deepest feelings to more casual relationships. When we lived overseas, friends became the family I missed and those friends, scattered around the world, are still dear today.

My family members are also my friends. My daughters are my best friends. But throughout my family, my mother, sister, mother-in-law and sisters-in-law share similarities and differences that we all appreciate about each other.

And I've met some wonderful new friends during this blogging journey. Inspiring, like-minded, generous women with whom I can say along with C.S. Lewis, "What! You, too? Thought I was the only one."

Simple and Sweet

 

I have this bit of spring inspiration in my dining room. I love the green birds which I found recently. Hope is one of Easter's hallmarks. Hope for this life and the next.

A little iron ring

 

See the ring on my son's pinkie finger? It's an iron ring and it symbolizes an engineer's obligation to society. The ring is given as part of the Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer. The Obligation which is part of the ceremony is written by Rudyard Kipling in 1923 specifically for the Canadian Engineering profession and the language is beautiful.

Although the ceremony is attended only by engineers (count me out!) I read the obligation afterwards at the reception. This is a huge milestone for Travis - and we're so proud of him.

When he was 10 he was struck by a car and suffered a severe brain trauma. While he was in a coma, we asked the doctors what the prognosis might be. They weren't terribly encouraging, but also said that they just couldn't tell. "But we can tell you that he won't be doing calculus." Ha, we all laughed, not really caring about calculus at that point.

We trusted God to heal Travis and He did - far beyond what we could hope. Calculus is Travis' best subject - he gets straight A's. And now he's a computer engineer. We are so grateful!

Archive - Family

Christi tagged me for an archive blog. I'm going to divide it into 5 separate posts. So here's the first one...Family. I've not blogged much about my family for privacy's sake. But here's a photo of the 7 of us taken at my son's wedding 19 months ago.

 

My husband, Tim, and I have three wonderful children. Our eldest daughter is married to an engineering technologist. She teaches high school English. Our son is completing his computer engineering degree this year and his wife works for the provincial government. Our youngest is finishing her degree in Linguistics this spring. She says she doesn't want to marry anyone associated with engineering!

We raised our children in South America - they were all born there. We returned to Canada 6 years ago. We're very close and the dearest times I spend are with my family. God has blessed us so much with them and with our marriage. My husband is my closest friend, the person with whom I laugh, cry, pray and play. I love to cook dinner for my family, to sit around the table with them and to hear them talk. We play games together - well, the youngest and my husband don't enjoy that, so they do the dishes while the rest of us play games.



Last summer we bought a sailboat, along with two other couples. We enjoyed getting out on the water with the children. When we did overnight trips, some camped on land as sleeping 7 on the boat would have been very crowded. We enjoy the outdoors - hiking and exploring some of God's beautiful creation in this part of the world.


I'll carry on with friends next time.

Here are the instructions:

Link 1 must be about family.
Link 2 must be about friends.
Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are… what you’re all about.
Link 4 must be about something you love.
Link 5 can be anything you choose.

I think this is a great way to circulate some of the great older posts everyone has written, return to a few great places in our memories and also learn a little something about ourselves and each other that we may not know.

Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better….and don’t forget to read the archive posts and leave comments!

Doorways

Doors hold fascination. Secrets of all kinds linger behind doors - unknown worlds to be explored. Britt has a beautiful post on doorways. Here are a few of my own.

 

In Avignon, I looked down from a park and saw this tower and doorway. The only direction to go is down, curving around the stairs that follow the tower construction. Round and round, down and down.

 

A doorway for escape. But Marie Antoinette did not escape for long. This door leads from her bedroom in Versailles and it is through here that she fled from the angry crowd. I like the fact that the door still holds signs of the hundreds or thousands of hands that touched it.

 

"Keep out," says this iron grill in Sevilla, Spain. But at the same time it tantalizes with glimpses of the cool garden and fountain beyond. A paradox. Inviting and detracting all at once.

 

Moorish architecture found in Sevilla contains beautiful arches and intricate detail.

Spring Blessings

 

 

What's cheerier than a daffodil on a grey day? Kari and Kijsa are hosting a spring blessings gathering. Hop on over to see the other posters.

I love this poem by William Wordsworth...

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed--and gazed--but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Linen Closet

 

Neat and tidy. I'm in the process of sorting and cleaning out closets. I love opening the door and finding things in order. It might not look like the pictures in magazines - blankets, sheets and towels collected through the years don't have a cohesive theme.

Today I'm working on my studio/office - actually, it's taking about 3 days. I keep stopping to watch bits of Lost - my daughter had her wisdom teeth out and rented the entire first season. I'm finding it rather captivating.

Signs of Spring

 

 

We're enjoying beautiful sunshine. I was asked to sub at school yesterday so I walked over (about 20 minutes). Although it froze over night and the air was brisk, the light and the warmth of the sun were intoxicating. I felt like skipping along, swinging my bag like a schoolgirl. Spring is coming...

Productively Unplugged

Last Tuesday I stayed away from the computer. Rebecca issued a challenge to unplug for a day and be creative. It was harder to stay away than I thought it would be. But in the end it was a great day.

Seeing tangible results of time spent is so valuable for me. Although I'm a writer and spend a lot of time on the computer, I also need time to read and to think. I find that when I create with my hands, my brain is able to recharge and new ideas come flooding in.

When I realized how valuable the time spent away from the computer was, I spent less time on it for the rest of the week. And I accomplished a lot of things in my spare time...

- sewed a set of curtains for the guest room
- painted the guest room closet
- cleaned out and reorganized the linen closet
- made four sets of note cards and some bottles for future gifts
- made a spring banner
- read two books
- did some serious thinking and journaling about goals and dreams and how to put them into place

I decorated a few glass bottles to use as gifts for the future. Spring and summer are coming and I love sharing a flower or two from my garden with friends. These bottles are all recycled - they used to hold everything from pancake syrup to coffee flavourings to vanilla. When I purchase a product at the grocery store I now evaluate the shape of the bottle it comes in to see if I'd like to use it in this way.

I had a sheet of old wrapping paper. It decorated a gift given to my daughter several years ago and at the time I thought it just too pretty to throw away. I used it to make these cards and the banner below. For the cards, I just tore rough shapes of the flowers and words and glued them to cardstock - blue, green, yellow and pink. I like the mosaic effect. They are all different and I've packaged them in groups of four cards to use as gifts.

The banner uses the same gift wrap - it covers the bottoms of the card stock triangles. A simple ribbon threaded through the top, letters printed on pale yellow paper and voilà, a banner to brighten up the mirror on the landing.

I can hardly wait...

 

Spring is on the way. The quality of light has changed - there's a lightness in the air and faint stirrings in the brown garden beds. Tulips, daffodils and hyacinths are poking their heads above ground. Forsythia and rose bush stems swell and will soon burst forth with new life.
I have plans for my garden - some plants need to be moved and I can do that any time now. I want to fill in some blank spaces with shrubs that will add texture all year round.

I've been tagged by Regina. Here are the rules:

1. Once you are tagged,link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let know they have been tagged.

Hmmm, 7 weird or random facts about myself - it shouldn't be difficult, but how much do I want to reveal? Here goes:

1. I love to read - mysteries, adventure, spy, biography, inspirational, how-to, essays - I'll read almost anything.
2. My three children were born in a small mission hospital in the South American jungle. My husband and I worked for a Christian mission organization.
3. I absolutely HATE being cold.
4. There is a textured ceiling in our bedroom and in the mornings I wake up slowly and look at the ceiling. I've found all sorts of weird and wonderful characters there. My favourite is the outline of a donkey with a party hat! My husband can see them when I point them out to him, so I'm not entirely loony.
5. I rarely use recipes when I cook, except for ideas. I call it "cooking by grace, not law." And I love to cook! When asked for recipes I have a hard time giving them because I always change something. Baking is another story - I follow those recipes!
6. Hardly a day goes by when I don't eat chocolate. Dark.
7. I'm willing to try almost any hand-work - I love to create.

And now to tag people....

Christi from Charm and Grace
Angela at Cottage Magpie
Lilli who writes Make Mine Blissful

And since many people have already been tagged, I'll stop there. But if you haven't been tagged and would like to share a little bit about yourself with your readers, please blog about it and leave a comment and I'll mention it.

Unplugged

Tomorrow, Tuesday, I'm responding to Rebecca's challenge. I'm not going to read blogs, post to my blog or read email. Instead I'm going to use the day to produce something. I'll be back on Wednesday or Thursday to show you what I accomplished.

Sea Glass

 

When we go walking along the beach, I always keep an eye out for sea glass. I love its worn translucence. I keep it in a jar and from time to time I put candles on a plate and surround them with my small but growing collection of sea glass.

I like to think of the pieces of glass, once sharp and cutting, being tumbled about in the ocean, tossed against rocks and scattered along the sand until they become these bits of beauty. The smooth edges remind me of how God uses the experiences in my life to soften my hard edges and create beauty in me.

Valentine Sweetness

 

Yesterday at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) it was all about chocolate. We created Valentine cards, made chocolates to take home and had a great time. Table centerpieces were all about nostalgia and romance. Here's the one I created - with a message for all of you wonderful people whom I've "met" through blogging. It's opened up a whole new world to me. Thank you.

Write It Down

I once heard Elisabeth Elliot say that a person doesn't really know what she's thinking until she writes it down. I find that true. When I write in my journals, I clarify what I think - I bring my thoughts together into some sort of cohesive (or sometimes incoherent) mass.

When I take the time to write down ideas of things to make, recipes to try, projects to complete, I find the very act of writing stimulates me to think of even more ideas.

And I refer back to my journals - they are more than diaries, they are the developing story of who I am.

I've never decorated a journal before - this is my first, but it won't be my last. So much fun.

Sunday Hike

 

The rain let up for a bit this afternoon so my husband and I headed out for a hike. It was 3:30 when we parked the car and we moved at a fairly fast pace, arriving at Squally Reach in about 45 minutes. It was a bit of a workout! The view is spectacular. Unfortunately, I had forgotten the camera. This picture, of the same area, was taken last summer, on a cloudy day. It looked much the same today - all blues and greens melting into each other with a shimmer of water. So beautiful.

For Me

It seems like I make most things for other people. Don't mistake me here, I love giving presents, especially ones I make. But sometimes I look around and wonder where all my creativity went - literally. So I made these sachets, sweetly scented for my own closet. I had fun with the buttons and trims.

How much of what you create do you keep for your own enjoyment?

Button Love

 

I embroidered this little saying early last fall. Yesterday I found it and decided to finish the project I had in mind. Some blue toile, a fist full of buttons and blue buttonhole stitching. I think it will nestle on my bed with the other cushions.

To a Snowdrop

My daughter said she saw snowdrops through her window so I went out this morning. Oh yes! Delicate white sleepy blossoms nod in the chilly morning. A sign of hope...spring is coming!


"Nor will I then thy modest grace forget
Chaste snow-drop, venturous harbinger of Spring
And pensive monitor of fleeting years!

(William Wordsworth)

Three

They fill my thoughts and dominate my prayers. My children. Three wonderful children. Grown now, bits of my own heart walking through the world apart from me.

When I decorate I often use three, or five items clustered together. It's a decorating principle to employ odd numbers. When I purchased these three stone hearts I wasn't thinking of my children. But when I set them on the silver tray on our coffee table, it occurred to me that three hearts were formed under mine. I am so blessed. My children aren't perfect, but they are simply wonderful.

I found these stone hearts at a store that sells fair trade and handmade items from various places around the world. These are from Kenya (dark green), Burma (beige) and Pakistan (pink).