Here to There and Back Again

We've been on a road trip to the Lakes Region of NH. Spent time with Mom and Dad for both Father's Day and my mother's birthday this past Tuesday. This photo is from five years ago. There have been a lot of changes since 2019. Mom can't physically navigate much anymore, she's a good deal weaker than I've ever seen; it's so hard to watch this happen. But, on the bright side, at 91 and 96 they're doing quite well, all things considered. Just two months ago when she was hospitalized, Mom's doctor never expected for her to be at home again. We're rejoicing in the fact that today she is, sleeping in her own bed and spending her days in her favorite recliner alongside Dad; there's much to be thankful for. 

We took Mom out to an ice cream stand for a cone on her birthday, take a look at the cones available to choose from. 😉 We also ate lobster, Mom's favorite; what a special treat! I had lobster rolls two days in a row. It was my duty you understand "when in Rome...".

Arriving home on Thursday other special treats were waiting. 

The garden Phlox and Echinacea are in bloom. 

The Brazilian Verbena is attracting Zebra Swallowtails and Goldfinch in flocks!

I potted up a dish garden for Mom's birthday, found a wide variety of small houseplants at a local nursery before we left. I believe that Mom will enjoy this, they have great big windows that let in loads of light in their family room and kitchen area where this should thrive.

A friend from church shared this. She had gone to prepare the altar for Sunday service and sat down in one of the pews to pray after she'd finished. She looked up to see this reflected on the carpet. Wow.

😊

Smile- God is watching!

Life is Good!

What a Difference...

...a year makes! Our little Augie is all grown up! It hardly seems possible that he's been with us a year now. It sure didn't take him that long, though, to train us. 

The best seat in the house isn't a seat at all; he's the resident "hearth hound"!

He's filled our hearts and home with pure, unconditional love over the past twelve months.

And in other news around the house, (I'm trying to catch up!) the Christmas Cacti decided to put on their show a month early, I suppose they're Thanksgiving Cacti instead.

My parents sent this, a Swiss Cheese plant, when I broke my wrist at the end of August; it's already doubled in size! Have you ever seen one of these before? It was new to me.

These treasures were gifts from my mother, they belonged to her mother and are at least 100 years old. The smaller, clear glass cake plate is also a pedestal style, I tipped it up to show the detail. I'm so grateful for these and can't wait to use them for Christmas entertaining. 

I was privileged to be asked to create paraments for Advent for our sanctuary at church.

They were dedicated and placed into service this past Sunday. 

We watched this movie recently, if you like happy endings like I do, you'll love it! ⭐⭐⭐

I've got this pretty piece under the needle currently; this top is one of MANY (in the 100's!) left behind by a lifelong quilter who passed away last year. Her daughter is donating them to charitable causes, I'm honored to help her bring them to completion as blessings to others. 

So, back to "what a difference"... how about twelve years? Augie's not the only one growing up at the speed of light. Mason is driving now, he's not four anymore; and I tried SO hard not to blink. Sigh. 

Life is Good!

Snowy Sunday

To no one's surprise we awakened to snow on Sunday morning, right on schedule and as forecast! A few hearty souls braved the elements to attend worship; all told, we ended up with about 4 inches before it turned over to sleet. Today we have crusty, icy snow remaining, the roads and driveway are still a mess. We've been warm and dry at home, I finished a book yesterday (will report on this month's books read later on) while cozied up beside the fireplace. With nowhere to go, I'll try and find something to occupy my time at home again today!  😉

Life is Good!

Moving into Advent

It's been almost a month since I posted anything here. I've received a few inquiries regarding my health and an email asking if I was experiencing a fun vacation somewhere. Nope; I can't claim either as an excuse for my absence from this blog, I'm healthy and present, simply busy- it's all good! In fact, I've thought about posting for weeks; but, by the time I got around to sitting down to do that, the moment has passed and whatever I had intended to post about already seemed like old news. So, here I am, catching up (as this news is old) by launching into Advent and the realization of a Chrismon tree in the sanctuary of our new (to us) church! Having a Chrismon tree became a dream shortly after we moved into our very own church building back in April of this year. Beginning in May, several members, plus myself, traveled to Rufty's in Salisbury, NC to learn all that we could about making Chrismons. I was bitten by the Chrismon-making bug and, along with a like-minded friend, made several more return trips for classes and supplies. I couldn't seem to stop, I was committed to obsessed by the process. If I couldn't figure one out I would work it and rework it until I was satisfied (even reasonably so) with the result. There are "levels" of proficiency attached to each kit; and yet, I forged ahead fearlessly. It would have benefitted my peace of mind to pay more attention to the levels; but, hey, the brain wants what the eyes see!  As our total number of completed Chrismons grew collectively, we crossed our fingers and hoped that we'd have enough to somewhat cover the branches of a small tree. As sort of a last-minute "push" to make more, a multi-generational workshop was held here, around the dining room table, in November; the group made simple Latin Crosses. 

It was a very successful day!

One thing that we knew we wanted to do was make Resurrection Butterfly Chrismons in loving memory of those church members who've entered the Church Triumphant over the years. 

On the first Sunday of Advent the long-imagined Chrismon tree appeared in the sanctuary at Grace Lutheran Church, dedicated in loving memory to those who rest eternally with our Lord and Savior. Each one is memorialized with their own Resurrection Butterfly, placed in the branches in their name.

Thanks be to God!

 The final Chrismon that I made this year is the one pictured up at the top, on the left, it's the "Advent Cross in Circle"; completed shortly before the tree was erected in the sanctuary at the end of last month. It may be the final one this year, but it's not my last by any stretch of the imagination; there's still so many beautiful Christian symbols to discover and create! I eagerly look forward to what's up for next year.

Life is Good!

Sacred Stitches

When you're a part of a small, mission congregation, everyone is called upon, at one time or another, to use their own abilities for the good of God's church. It truly does take a village! Only recently has our church decided that, in addition to Sunday morning worship, we'll be adding a Wednesday evening Vespers service, to include Holy Communion. This is a great thing! However, with limited resources the demand is still high to provide everything necessary for Holy Communion; this includes altar linens, which are laundered each week. Since we only have a very limited supply, naturally this will require increased inventory of needed items. I checked the church supply catalog and found the purificators (used as illustrated:)                                        

to be a bit cost prohibitive. I have white linen, and embroidery software, and the ability to stitch. I set to work. The best tutorial that I've found for mitering with inside, turned hems finished by hand was here.

The perfect, turned-under edges were easy and accurate with the use of Clover's Hot Ruler.

I can't rave enough over this tool (or any Clover notion, for that matter!); for me, this is a much used item in my ruler drawer, one that doesn't gather dust. 

Following the tutorial linked above will have you on your way to perfect, pointy, inside miters in no time! I sat and watched some Netflix while finishing the handwork on these. This is the backside ☝

And this is what shows on the front-side (before a trip to the ironing board and a thorough steaming). In some found snatches of time this week I was able to create two new complete sets of communion linens. There's no time like the present time 😌! Hopefully, these will fill a gap for a much-needed item at church. 

♰

You may not need to create purificators, but, this is a great skill to add to your repertoire! How about a hand-crafted set of napkins, tea towels or a tablecloth to give as a gift? You'll love the results if you follow along with the steps outlined here by Celebrate Creativity, it's easier than you may think; I promise! 

I entitled this post "Sacred Stitches", I suppose because of the creation of items used for a sacrament. But, if the truth were known, I almost feel like time spent sewing and creating, for whatever purpose, is sacred time to me; if not sacred, then it is certainly blessed! If I don't get it in some stitching time of some sort, every day, I can feel as though my soul isn't quite fed; do you feel the same way? 

Life is Good!

Will We?

Will we look back on these days and remember them fondly? If you follow this blog you might remember that our small mission congregation purchased a church back in March, we moved in during Holy Week and celebrated triumphantly on Easter Sunday worshipping, at long last, in our own space! With property ownership, naturally, comes new and added responsibilities. Who will maintain the space? Over the last few months teams have been established consisting of dedicated and able-bodied volunteers for building maintenance; one to clean the inside of the church and another to mow, trim, and tidy up the church yard outdoors. By the grace of God our congregation has recently received gifts of a mower, a trimmer, and even a building in which to house the lawn keeping equipment! This past week it was the Goodneedles turn to clean and mow. We drove over there together; Mr. G got to work outside while I donned my rubber gloves and started scrubbing bathrooms (I like to get that out of the way first). Floors were mopped, the kitchen was cleaned until it sparkled, tables were wiped down, the vacuuming was done, windows were washed, the downstairs hallway was swept and, before I knew it, over three hours had passed!

I walked outside to find Mr. G. finishing up the trimming; it was a beautiful day, cooler and drier than it has been. I sat there in the sunshine while he used the leaf blower to do a final clean up and I wondered, as I relaxed from my efforts, will we look back on these days and remember them fondly? Will we recall, in the years to come, how we all pitched in as a community of faith and cared, together, for this physical space? I have never before been this invested in a church building; I suppose I had always just taken for granted that the bathrooms would be cleaned, the floors swept and the carpets vacuumed before I arrived for worship. Naturally, I knew that in former congregations we had sextons whose job it was to keep those church buildings clean, and landscapers who did the mowing; and yet, I can't recall ever thanking them or fully appreciating their diligence or the scope of their tasks. Mr. G and I were both tired when we drove back home last Friday. I asked him the question as we rode together: "will we look back on these days and remember them fondly"? He smiled. "I believe that we will" he responded, "I believe that we will"! 

I believe so too!

Thanks be to God!

Life is Good! 

Golden Hours

Things around here have seemed quiet and much slower-paced since the conclusion of Quilt Camp last week. On Saturday I went down the road with a friend for another Chrismon class, this one was a 3D cross with pearls. It was fun! The cross framework was constructed first with the oblong gold beads; the pearls are popped in at the end, they're free floating inside. Isn't it pretty? Of course, I couldn't leave the store there without stocking up on supplies to make more. My plan is to devote a few afternoons each week to Chrismon-making this summer. 

It's been a while since I've done any machine embroidery. This was stitched with a new (to me) metallic thread. I've always avoided metallics in the past as my experience with them hadn't been the best. Quiltkeemosabe told me about this particular brand 🠟

for embroidery last year; it stitched up beautifully, no shredding or breakage at all, it is absolutely stunning against the black linen background!  This embroidery was created for a black clergy stole.

The inner lining fabric is a rich black background with embellished crosses; actually, Lynnleigh spotted this beautiful piece during a recent shopping trip and I thought it would be perfect for lining this stole. 

Quickly, I texted a photo of it to our pastor for his approval before purchase, 

he thought it looked great too; a plan came together on the spot. 

Yesterday afternoon was dedicated to more Chrismon making, my latest obsession. 

For me, this is blessed time, set apart; hallowed hours spent in quiet reflection and connection.

I already know that one day I'll look back on this point in my life and be so glad;

my heart will remember and these Chrismons will live on as a testament. 

Life is Good!

Continuing On...

I am still plugging away on the Chrismon path, I've hit a few potholes and endured some detours along the way but I'm persevering, holding steady and not veering off. After returning to the supply store a few weeks back to purchase some more kits to try, I've been dedicating whatever free time that I can carve out in the afternoons to work on these. The written directions take some getting used to. The Star Cross (far right, above) gave me fits, my first attempt was pitiful!  I took it completely apart, got new wire, and tried it again yesterday. This is how it is supposed to look. Hooray! A friend and I are going back to Rufty's,  "Chrismon Central", in a couple of weeks to take another (intermediate level this time! Yikes!!) class. She's been much more prolific in her efforts than I have, see below: 

She's become a Chrismon-making machine! Aren't they all beautiful, each and every one?

The two of us got to together the other afternoon at church just to see how many we're going to need to fill one of the trees that we'll use for this purpose during Advent. We carefully laid our completed Chrismons on a tree, just where it stood in the storage room, as an audition of sorts. Not bad. We're still going to need many more, but this gives us an idea; we've got time. Hopefully we'll be recruiting eager "makers" this fall within our own church family; and we have years and years to build our collection. In the meantime, I'll be continuing on... one bead at a time, learning all that I can along the way.

To God be the Glory!

Life is Good!