October 31

While most of the country is celebrating Halloween (and we are ready - last year we had two kids show up- I think two bags of candy will suffice and if there are leftovers...oh, well), if you are not into that there are other reasons for celebrating today.

You could celebrate this.

You could wish my cousin a happy birthday.

Or my lil sis Lori.

Happy Birthday Lori!! And George! See both of you in November!

picture of somebody's son as Jane the blonde

month of contrasts

this morning's sky

October days range from warm to cold. Days of great beauty and color to gray and drizzly.

Emotionally this month has been all over the place too. I have sent out 5 sympathy cards this month alone. Five families suffering the loss of a loved one.

Yet as I have worked out my grief over the last few days on this blog, I have been touched by friends reaching out with words of comfort. Thank you. Especially to kjh and Kathee, college friends whose emails came at just the right time.

Lest you think it is all sadness around here, let me assure you, it is not. There are five family birthdays this month. Reasons to celebrate.

I spent some time on Sue's husband's facebook page. Looking through the family photos and seeing so many pictures recording laughter and great times. Precious few pictures of Sue, she was the one snapping the shots, but the ones of her are so....her. Her family 'mugging' around her, Sue sitting calmly in their midst with a smile on her beautiful face. She will be so missed.

Her memorial service is tomorrow. Which, it occurred to me, is the 23 rd anniversary of my friend Diane's death. My. Two lovely ladies gone too soon. I am so blessed to have known both of them. (Amazing too, that I could 'google' Diane's name and find her though she was gone long before google had begun.)

Nate called with some wonderful news yesterday:


No, it is not their baby. This is the sweet little baby girl of their best friends. Her daddy is one of the snowboarders that we hosted every year when we lived up north. Her pictures on facebook are simply adorable. Congratulations to T. and C! And Nate and Michelle, I like this look! :)

Awaiting news of another birth today. C.'s c-section is scheduled for this morning.

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven....
Ecclesiastes 3:1

sleepless in the Smokies

I took advantage of my sleeplessness last night to pray for Sue's family. Strains of this old (1876) hymn floated through my brain:

Loved with everlasting love, led by grace that love to know;
Gracious Spirit from above, Thou hast taught me it is so!
O this full and perfect peace! O this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine.
In a love which cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine.

Heav’n above is softer blue, Earth around is sweeter green!
Something lives in every hue Christless eyes have never seen;
Birds with gladder songs o’erflow, flowers with deeper beauties shine,
Since I know, as now I know, I am His, and He is mine.
Since I know, as now I know, I am His, and He is mine.

Things that once were wild alarms cannot now disturb my rest;
Closed in everlasting arms, pillowed on the loving breast.
O to lie forever here, doubt and care and self resign,
While He whispers in my ear, I am His, and He is mine.
While He whispers in my ear, I am His, and He is mine.

His forever, only His; Who the Lord and me shall part?
Ah, with what a rest of bliss Christ can fill the loving heart!
Heav’n and earth may fade and flee, firstborn light in gloom decline;
But while God and I shall be, I am His, and He is mine.
But while God and I shall be, I am His, and He is mine.

This morning's devotional reading brought further comfort. It was John 11. The death of Lazarus. Jesus proclaims:

I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this? (vs. 25-26)

And when Jesus saw Mary and the other mourners weeping, He was filled with compassion. As a result of His compassion we see the shortest verse in the Bible:

Jesus wept.

Such comfort. We are not alone. Though we mourn and cry and lay awake, Jesus knows.
Jesus cares.
Sue fully knows this now. Not 'through a glass darkly' but face to face.

in loving memory

early morning mist on Nesbit Lake

Kind-hearted, sweet, encouraging, loving, uncomplaining.

You will hear these words and more to describe my friend Sue. Devoted wife, loving mother, creative, hard-working, wonderful friend.

Sue stepped into heaven yesterday after a long battle with cancer and the accompanying ravages the disease wracked upon her petite frame.

Praise God, she is in pain no more. Please pray for her family: her husband Dave (one of the funniest people I know), her daughters Stephanie (in college), Sarah ( high school) and David (middle school). They have been through a lot as they have watched Sue suffer. Now it will take time, tears, the love of their friends and God's grace to begin to piece together their new reality. There will be laughter and joy too. That family knows how to laugh.

Sue did not complain. Whining was an unknown language. I know she had dark days, but if you asked her how she was doing, she would say, "Good! How are you?" She always turned the conversation away from herself.

Sue was a home schooler extraordinaire. So creative. You should have seen the Magic School bus she made. And she was our 'go-to' person at Nesbit during Cranium games. She could draw with her eyes closed like nobody's business.

Sue helped me plan Nesbit in 2007. She was feeling good that year. And she would have taken all the work on herself if I would have asked her to. That is just the kind of person she was.

The Source of her strength was Jesus Christ. She is in His Presence now.

I can only imagine.

Well done, good and faithful servant!

furious

fu·ri·ous (fyr-s)

adj.

1. Full of or characterized by extreme anger; raging.

2. Suggestive of extreme anger in action or appearance; fierce. See Synonyms at angry.

3. Full of activity; energetic or rapid

I am on a mission. As described in definition #3. Not mad or raging (I don't do raging - way too phlegmatic for that).

I have a couple of cross stitch projects that I told Mom I would finish. These things take a lot longer than one (me) would think. For the past few days I have been furiously (full of activity;energetic or rapid) stitching on a cross stitch begun by my maternal grandmother decades ago. Mom stitched on it some too and now I am on track to finish this puppy this week. A three generation deal.

Then on to a (huge!!) Christmas table runner. Which I want to finish by....Christmas. Which is now less than two months away. More furious stitching.

I also seem to have signed myself up for a second Bible study. As if the first didn't have enough homework. I'm not complaining...I love to study the Word and it is good for me. But a lot of stitching and a lot of studying make for a lot of sitting.

So, off to Bible study here in a bit. Then this afternoon Mom has a Doctor appointment and if we have to wait for an hour and a half like we did yesterday for Dad's appointment (waiting and furiously stitching), I will have stitchery #1 finished!
~~~~

sewers

Pat and I had a little discussion yesterday during one of the football games. We were wondering if the commentator 'commentates' on the game or 'comments' on the game. I prefer comments.

Similarly, I prefer to say that one attends an orientation to orient yourself to new surroundings, not to orientate yourself.

What does all this have to do with today's title?

One who sews might be called a seamstress or a sewer (sew-er). But sewer looks bad in print because it connotes (not connotates) an unpleasant image. Not a lady sitting by the fire with needle and thread, but underground filth and rats and stench. Some bloggers have taken to calling ladies that sew 'sewists'. That sounds and looks (and smells!) better than sewers.

Last Friday I went to a new quilt shop. It opened two weeks ago 15 miles from my house and is owned by a lady in my Bible study. It was delightful. So many wonderful projects, designs and fabrics! I think I will be spending a lot of time here (and money...shhh ).

Her website is still in its beginning stages, but she told me about Moda's website. Fellow sewists (see, this is where I was going with the sewer/sewist thing) will definitely want to check this out. There are free patterns. FREE!

And lots of cute tutes (tutorials) in the Moda Bake Shop.

So, fellow sewers, go orientate yourselves around that website and come back here and commentate on your favorite freebie!
:)

a little bit of this, a splash of that....

Oooops.

Someone (that would be me since I am the cook around here) didn't put the little plastic thingy back of the Worcestershire sauce. So instead of the teaspoon or so that I normally add to my meatloaf, out came a tablespoon or so.

Not being one to waste food, I decided to just let it be.

It was the best meatloaf I ever made.

Here is my 'recipe':
1 1/2 pounds of ground beef
3/4 cup oatmeal
1 egg
a really big splash of Worcestershire sauce (guesstimating 1-2 T.)
1 tsp. rather old onion powder...for some reason I was out of onions. I'm never out of onions!

Mix together with your hands and put in a loaf pan. Spread top of loaf with ketchup.
Bake at 350* for one hour.

It was so juicy and flavorful and tender! And the best part about meatloaf is meatloaf sandwiches the day after. With plenty of ketchup.

Regarding the never being out of onions bit...any time I chop an onion for a recipe, I put whatever I don't use into a freezer bag to use later. It is easy to break off a chunk of chopped onion and throw it into this or that. Unfortunately my freezer bag of onions was empty. Much as I would love to blame this on someone else, I can't. My bad. So I used my really old (had to chop it up with a knife) onion powder and it worked just fine.

BTW, 'they' say you should replace your spices every year or two. Don't listen to them. Spices may lose a little bit of flavor, but that is easily remedied by adding more than you would normally use.
~~~~~~

And in other news....sure hope Northwest gets its act together before I fly to (hopefully!) Minneapolis on November 12. I'll be babysitting Joshua at great-aunt Suzi's house for a week. Counting the days (19)!

why do birds suddenly appear?

Instead of meeting Randy and Ann in Townsend, I went all the way to Pigeon Forge. The revised plan was that I would meet Ann and her three friends from high school at the Burger King and we would venture out from there.

We made contact via cell phone, I told them I was waiting out front, they said they were just pulling into the parking lot.

I did not see them. They did not see me.

Turns out Pigeon Forge has more than one Burger King. Who knew?

When we finally got ourselves at the same Burger King, I climbed into Ann's van and we went to the cabin they were staying in. We walked, we ate, we sat on the porch overlooking a 'holler' and just enjoyed visiting.

Then we girls decided to brave the twin cities (read: tourist traps) of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

First stop was this pottery shop.
Beautiful pottery. I could have looked and looked and lightened our bank account by quite a bit, but I called on all the self-discipline I could muster and refrained. While the other gals bought, Ann and I sat out on the deck on a bench under a shade tree.

My reward for my self-control? As Ann and I chatted, I felt something first on my head and then on my shoulder. Some little bird perched in the tree above decided to let me know what it thought of me. Eeewwww.

Back into the pottery shop I went, seeking a bathroom so I could clean up. The shopkeeper thanked me for not making a fuss and when I expressed that it certainly wasn't her fault and no one could blame her, she said 'you'd be surprised'.

Along the way down the mountain there were several groups of shops. This, before we even got to Gatlinburg proper. We randomly stopped at one grouping and found some very nice shops. Including this beauty. I may have bought a little bit of fabric here, throwing self-control out the window since it had been so negatively reinforced earlier.

I hope to get back to this little shop. My aunts and cousins will be here in a few weeks and I think I can at least talk one of them into stopping and checking out all the luscious fabric.

All too soon, our time was over and Ann and the gals dropped me off at my car. A good time was had by all.

Now, I may disparage Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg as tourist traps and they are. Especially if you stay on the main drag. You know, you've seen one garishly decorated mini-golf course, you've seen them all. But if you get off the main drag there are all kinds of delightful shops. You could go shopping every day for months, I would guess, and never enter the same place twice.

However, and let this be our little secret, I really enjoy shopping in these towns. And I don't like shopping!

C'mon down and see us. I'll take you shopping. But please understand if I don't sit on any benches under trees.

friends are friends forever

Today's agenda:

Stop in for the first half of Bible study.
Head to Townsend with Pat to meet Ann and Randy for lunch.

Could there be a better agenda for a day?

good times

here they come!

Yesterday I ran up to Townsend to have lunch with our good friends Ann and Randy. Unfortunately Pat had to work and couldn't get away (somebody has to support this family - thank you, honey!), hopefully we will be both be able to meet with them tomorrow.

We had a great time catching up. When I looked at the time, it was three and a half hours after we had first met. Seemed more like ten minutes!

What a blessing these two are to us. And to everyone who knows them. Godly people with servant hearts. I hope to be like Ann and Randy when I grow up!

span of years

beautiful golden mums from Aunt Barbara and Uncle Bob - thank you!

If you can believe this kind of thing, it looks as if I will live long enough to be a problem to my children (as though I haven't already):

Check your score here.

Mine? 100.

Providing I don't get hit by a bus or ride away in an experimental hot air balloon.

Of course, I don't put much stock in this, but it was a interesting way to spend 10 minutes.

It made me think of this verse, penned by Moses, inspired by the Holy Spirit:

"The length of our days is seventy years-
or eighty, if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away."
Psalm 90:10

Perhaps not the most comforting verse in the Bible - but a clear-eyed view of life. In the world you will have tribulation. Moses would know. He led the complaining, grumbling, ungrateful Israelites in the desert for 40 years (and lived to be 120 by the way!).

Take the test (if you dare ~smile~) and report back in the comment section. It would be interesting to see how many of you are going to stick it out with me! :)

"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."
Abraham Lincoln

reminded in the dark

pretty picture posted previously

The sky is quite dark these days as I step off the front steps for my morning walk.

Yesterday morning the sky was clear, but innumerable stars were visible reminding me of God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:5.

This morning a dense fog settled on the valley here. This reminded me that the children of Israel followed God in the wilderness. His Presence manifested in a cloud. When the cloud moved, they moved. When the cloud stopped, they stopped. He provided for them all the while they were in the wilderness, though they grumbled and complained (and suffered the consequences for their ungratefulness - note to self - don't complain -be grateful!).

God's promises, protection, provision and presence. I need to be reminded of all these as I go through my days. It is so tempting to worry.

But I need not. Of this I was reminded this morning in the dark.

fall has come

Fall has come to southeast Tennessee. Pat switched on the gas fireplace last night for the first time this season. Instant cheer and warmth. So different from our old dusty woodstove.

The wind is blustery, the skies dark and moody. Off and on it rains. Mostly on. The leaves are changing color, some are dropping. The changes here are more subtle than in the Northwoods. Mostly because there are fewer trees where we are.

Put on long jeans for the first time yesterday - I might have to pack my capris away.

I finished reading The Bible Jesus Read by Philip Yancey yesterday. I so appreciate his perspective. Already, I need to read it again. Do you do that? Read books more than once? I do, I have many books that are like old friends. We visit again - tell the same stories but they mean more each time.

And speaking of old friends. Not old, but long-time friends Ann and Randy are arriving in Southeast Tennessee tomorrow. They are coming down and spending a week with three other couples - high school friends of theirs. Thankfully they will carve out a little time for us.

If I go missing next week for a day or two it is because I am out making more memories with dear friends.

oh, drear

the clematis still blooms

The weather man announced yesterday that half of the days of 2009 have been rainy. Since the southeast has experienced drought the past two years you would think this would be wonderful news. Not everyone agrees and as I move through the grocery store I hear snippets of conversations. Complaints about the rain.

On the upside rainy days make for good reading/cleaning/sewing/baking days.

My current read, Philip Yancey's book The Bible Jesus Read is completely different than I expected. I appreciate Yancey's unique way of looking at the hard Scriptures and his willingness to dig deep and not give trite explanations for difficult passages.

I've marked some of the pages I want to read again with little sleeves from DMC floss (can you tell I am alternating between reading and stitching?).

Here are a few quotes that got me thinking:

It [the Psalms] contains the anguished journals of people who want to believe in a loving, gracious, faithful God while the world keeps falling apart around them.

He talks about the curious juxtaposition of certain psalms:

By itself, Psalm 23 leads to an easy- answer faith; by itself Psalm 22 leads to spiritual despair; together the two offer a bracing mixture of realism and hope.

I have come to see these psalms as calling for different kinds of faith. Psalm 23 models childlike faith, and Psalm 22 models fidelity, a deeper, more mysterious kind of faith. Life with God may include both. We may experience times of unusual closeness, when prayers are answered in an obvious way and God seems intimate and caring. We may also experience dark times, when God stays silent, when nothing works according to formula and all the Bible's promises seem glaringly false. Fidelity learns to trust that, out beyond the perimeter of darkness, God still reigns and has not abandoned us, no matter how it may appear.

Thoughtful words. Whether you are having a Psalm 22 kind of day or a Psalm 23 kind of day: God still reigns.

we r family

Company. Family. Two words that for me evoke fun, anticipation, love, joy...

On Sunday Roger ( my brother) and Emilee ( my niece) stopped by for a few hours. Always enjoy spending time with them. Roger is so funny and such a nice guy. Emilee is a doll.

On Monday my aunt and uncle came. Here is a picture of Mom with her baby brother and Dad and Aunt Barbara:


How well I remember the day when Aunt Barbara and Uncle Bob got married. I was so taken with Aunt Barbara. In fact, I got in the reception line more than once to give her a big hug! I was in mid-late elementary school. She had just graduated with her teaching degree in elementary ed.

Since my aunt and uncle are only 12 years older than I am, our relationship has evolved into a friendship. I really enjoy their company. Uncle Bob, a retired teacher of history and English, confirmed that yes, indeed we are descended from a pirate. Of course, he reminded me, that John Hawkins (rrrrgh) would only have been considered a pirate by the Spanish. According to the English, he was a privateer. Yo, ho, ho.

If Aunt Barbara and I lived closer together I am sure we would do all kinds of 'girl' things together: shopping, crafting, gardening and occasional stops for tea. The older I get, the smaller the twelve year age difference is.

I reflected on my relationship with Emilee and was shocked to realize that I am 50 years older than she is!

I need to get busy having tea parties and doing crafts with her. Especially if I want her to remember me for being more than just her old aunt with weird moles and a fuzzy upper lip!

enjoying...

...a visit with my aunt and uncle.

Lord willing, I'll be back to blogging on Thursday.

blessings in disguise

captured after last night's first storm

Our interim pastor has quoted John Clay Poole on more than one occasion. Here is one, tucked in my Bible, written on the back of an offering envelope:

"It takes time in the Presence of God to recognize blessings in disguise."

Blessings in disguise. And what do blessings come disguised as? Other blessings? Nope. Afraid not. They come disguised as trials, difficulties, suffering. Cancer, job loss, disappointments.

"It takes time in the Presence of God to recognize blessings in disguise."

Are your blessings traveling incognito? Take time. Take time in God's Presence. He'll unmask them.

the good, the bad and the weird looking

The good:

The past two days have been picture perfect weather-wise. Moderate temperatures, leaves just beginning to color. Wonderful.

The bad:
Pat was doing some weeding around our landscaping the other day. He grabbed a vine behind the japonica between his thumb and forefinger, only to realize it looked like this:

Leaves of three, let them be.
Hairy rope, don't be a dope.

Yep. Poison ivy.
He came in and washed with Fels Naptha soap and poured rubbing alcohol over his hand.

Thankfully, he is none the worse for the wear.

(Here goes Blogger again, underlining everything. I know why now, I had a picture in this place initially. I just don't know how to make it stop!)

The weird:

We were quite entertained the other day by this praying mantis. (Yes, we are easily amused.) It is really strange to have a bug turn its little alien like head to look at you. They are so cool!

Much cooler than poison ivy.

new traditions

Another great birthday. Thank you so much to everyone for your kind words, phone calls, cards, gifts, texts and facebook messages. I feel the love.

For many years Lora and I would go out for a birthday dinner or lunch. Usually not on October 7, in fact one year we didn't get out until April. I miss her and I miss our tradition. Love you, Lora!

Today starts a new tradition. My neighbor's birthday is two days before mine. So, we are going shopping and out to dinner tonight. I'm really looking forward to this.

Some other things I'm looking forward to: a visit from my brother and niece on Sunday and a visit from my aunt and uncle next week. The week after that, Ann and Randy will be down here.
Love, love, love having visitors! When are the rest of y'all coming down here?

And may I brag a little? Daniel offhandedly mentioned the other day that he was elected homecoming king. Here is the proof:

it's good to be king
(pic lifted from Hannah's facebook page)
Daniel was allegedly asking the queen, 'Do you feel beautiful around me?'
Classic Daniel.

signs

from free clip art

Today I am another year older. And wiser? Perhaps not, but with every year, I hope I become more thankful. Each year brings more evidence of God's faithfulness and His loving kindness toward me. More blessings.

Oh, there have been bumps and bruises and disappointments along the way. But the blessings far, far outweigh the hurts. And with time, even the disappointments turn to blessings as I see the way that God works.

In my daily read through the Bible each year I come to Mark chapter 2 on my birthday. The story begins with four men lowering their paralyzed friend through a hole they made in a roof. They gently lowered him down until he rested before Jesus. Jesus, seeing their faith, forgave the man's sins and healed him.

A reminder of a Savior who loves and forgives me. And of friends who care enough to go the extra mile to help.

The pastoral candidate on Sunday quoted C.S. Lewis ( from Letters to Malcolm):

"We are always harking back to some occasion which seemed to us to reach perfection, setting that up as norm and depreciating all other occasions by comparison."

While I don't want to be guilty of depreciating future occasions, I do like to look back and appreciate the past. But, as I heard on the radio yesterday, 'If you look in the rear view mirror too long, you will crash.'

So here's to taking stock with a quick glance backward and looking forward with joyful anticipation.

I love the verse in Proverbs 31: '...she can laugh at the days to come...'(25b).

I remember, not so very long ago, when 55 sounded very old. Now I think it sounds quite young. Fifty-five is the new thirty-five or something like that.

So, I'm anticipating a happy birthday. And happy, happy birthday to my birthday mates Lora and Kelly. Let's laugh at the days to come!

failure

I heard someone on the radio say the other day that we should not call ourselves 'failures', instead we should say that we 'failed'.

I have tried a couple of times to post pictures for today's post, but my internet connection keeps 'failing'.

So though I have failed to bring you the pictures and the post I had intended for today....


...I'll be back.

Blessed...

...are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4

This was the verse I pondered as I walked this morning.

This week one friend has lost her father, another her mother, another her sister-in-law. One friend awaits the death of her sister and another her brother.

A neighbor died a few weeks back, another is in hospice care.

A gal in my singing group lost her father a month ago, her brother-in-law a week later and an aunt five days after that. Today her daughter gets married. What a range of emotions.

So I ponder this verse and pray it for all these friends. Bless them, LORD and please comfort them. You promised.

Yet another friend's 38 year old son was killed in a motorcycle accident this summer. Less than a month later she suffered a mini-stroke. As I sat by her at the hospital she told me how blessed she was by all the cards she received. She read and re-read each one - looked up the different Bible verses and noted their context. Prayed them. Was comforted by them.

I need to get some cards in the mail.

To do my small part of bringing comfort to those who mourn.

fun with fabric

Every once in a while, I take my nose out of the book I am currently reading and play with fabric. I finished a few projects the other day, but no pictures of the completed items because Christmas is coming.

This fabric is simply beautiful though the pictures don't do it justice. It is an April Cornell fabric from Moda and it is luscious. Especially since it was 40% off. (Should have bought more...) Love the sweet little bird:
~~~~~
The schools in our county are closed due to swine flu. Thirty percent absentee rate. Have any of you had swine flu or heard of anyone who has?
~~~~~
While I have been sewing and reading the dust bunnies have been gathering. Why did they have to go and do that? I need to do battle with them and take care of the new bag of apples that our neighbor surreptitiously dropped on our back steps (second bag in a week - yay!).

First ...off to work at the food pantry!

reads

Back in January, I purposed to read one book a week. I've kept a list of the books I read on the sidebar of the blog. I'm close to achieving my goal, but need to step it up a bit in these last 12 weeks of the year.

I love to read. I always had my nose in a book, when I was younger. As did my sisters, though Lori normally read two or three books at the same time.

I am currently reading two books - The Bible Jesus Read by Philip Yancey and The Last Days by Joel C. Rosenberg. The Bible Jesus Read is thoughtful and thought provoking. Yancey generally inspires me to look at things another way. The Last Days is a page turner. I finished his first book The Last Jihad in two days because I couldn't put it down. Though, I have to say, it took me a few chapters to get into it - I thought some of the writing was a bit cliched (if that is a word).

I've cast aside other books if they don't grab me in the first few chapters. Life is too short to read dull books, but I'm glad I stuck with The Last Jihad. Of course, now I will have to read the whole series.

Next year I hope to be a little less haphazard in my reading. I think I would like to read biographies of our Presidents. In order of course.

So...what are you reading right now? Any recommendations?