Note To Self...

This is me, I was four years old. I look rather tentative in this particular moment, wouldn't you agree? I believe that I might know why... someone perched me up on that stone wall to take my picture. I know where this was taken, at my great aunt and uncle's home in New Hampshire, there is a brook running just below that stone wall. I'm pretty sure that I was worried about getting back down safely, I never was a particularly adventurous child. Mr. G and I watched a reality television show the other evening where the contestants were charged with writing notes to their younger selves, giving advice to the child that they had been based on their current life experiences. I found this challenge interesting. What would I say to a younger me? I would encourage the childhood me to not be afraid but to have faith, I have been wearing a bracelet that says" faith over fear" for the past year now, it's never too late to embrace that understanding. I would tell the little-girl-me to try new things and not be fearful of failing, but, instead, to fear not trying new things at all! I would remind myself that it's perfectly okay to be a beginner-level, at anything! I would instruct the younger me to ask for help when it is needed and not to carry the burden of figuring things out, or shouldering all of the work, by oneself!  

Another face of four-year-old me! A happier, more confident little girl in this snapshot; one who already knows that you can't ever be overdressed for any occasion (and the delight of a dress with pockets!)! 😊 Continuing the letter, I would remind my former self to worry less; to live and love with an open heart, and to trust in the Lord above all else! I would relate to the child in me the importance of looking for the best in people, always keeping promises and living generously. I would encourage the little-girl-me to always be on the lookout for JOY, to share it freely and to watch it multiply! In closing I would say: "be helpful, read all that you can, stand up for what you believe in and always, always, tell those closest to you that you love them!"

What would your letter to your former self say? 

💗

Life is Good!

Everything I Need To Know...

This is a completely unsolicited book review: Everything I Need To Know I Learned From A Little Golden Book; I received it for my birthday from my Mom a couple of months ago.  It is a New York Times best seller by Diane Muldrow. 
Between the covers of this sweet and simple book, illustrated in a most familiar fashion, lies a lot of comfort as well as humorous and practical advice for getting the most out of our adult lives. If you have cherished these gold-spined volumes as a child (like I did), or spent countless hours reading Little Golden Books to your own children (did that, too!) you will appreciate this happy trip back in time and value the straight-forward encouragement offered here. My Mom even wrote my name inside the front cover where it says: "This Little Golden Book belongs to: ---------", just like she used to do when I was very young. 💗   Who couldn't use a little bit of Golden wisdom today?

Life is Good!

On this, the 15th of November, I am thankful for my mother

who still knows exactly the right thing to give me for my birthday!

Sharp Advice!

Your sewing space is fraught with dangerous, sharp, objects; you already know that. We always think that we're exercising caution around our tools; but, as quilters, we're so accustomed to picking up and handling the rotary cutter that it's almost like an extension of our own hand. We use them without always thinking about the risk, we become mindless to the fact that we really are handling a rolling razor blade...herein lies the potential problem; believe me, I am just as guilty of this lack of respect for the rotary cutter as anyone else. I've learned something this week that has changed my thinking however, a lesson that will haunt me (and you, too) for a long time to come.

A friend dropped her rotary cutter last week, it innocently bumped (blade exposed) on the edge of  a table, causing her to lose her grasp on the handle, and ended up blade-side-down in the top of her foot, her bare foot.  What she thought was a superficial laceration has turned out to be much more. She has suffered a cut to a tendon; at this point she's not even sure if the tendon is severed, there's too much swelling to know that yet. In the meantime she is sidelined; immobilized and awaiting surgery with her foot elevated.  She's out of work while this waiting happens; adding insult to injury, quite literally.

I'm posting these three rules today as a warning. Why? Because this could happen to any one of us!
1.  Pay attention to your rotary cutter, only expose that cutting blade when you have your cutter poised over your fabric to make that one cut and then slide the guard back into position. Every. Single. Time.
2.  Wear shoes in your sewing space, real shoes... no more bare feet, sandals or flip-flops; it's not worth the risk.
3.  Clean up your sewing/cutting area frequently: you'd be amazed at how quickly those piles of accumulating scraps can obscure your workspace and cause you to lose sight of your rotary cutter or other sharp objects... if you can't see them you don't have control of them.

Develop a heightened awareness and exercise caution around all of your tools; remember: they stay sharp, especially when we don't!  Please join me in a prayer for complete and speedy healing for my friend; she is eager to get up on her feet and back to work soon.

Life is Good!