A Drive-n-Stitch Day

Today I travelled north for an appointment, which thankfully, was earlier in the morning than usual.  Since at that point I was only 30 minutes away from where my paternal grandparents are buried, I planned for a visit to the cemetery and brought my cross-stitching along with me.

This little project was started at the beginning of the month and has become a tribute to all of my grandmothers.  First I stopped and stitched for a bit with my GGGrandma Frances, grandmother of my maternal Grandmother.  Then, on the same trip home, I stopped at the cemetery where most of my mother's family are buried and stitched with my maternal Grandma Bessie and her mother, my GGrandma Sinthe.

My starting point today.

Today's stitching was with two of my paternal grandmas.  I sat with my Grandpa & Grandma for over half an hour and worked on my biscournu, adding Grandma Mary's initials when I was finished. 

MBS

Got back on the highway and drove many more miles toward home before I stopped again.  This time I sat and stitched with my Grandma Mary's parents.   I worked well over 30 minutes because I just really wanted to finish up these particular colors on the flowers.  When I was done I added GGrandma Helena's initials.

HWB

Five down and six more to go!  Three are reachable, and the others I will stitch with them in my heart ❤

{Simple Daybook} 24 February 2020

For Today ~

Looking out my window ~ beautiful sunny day.  The roses in front are growing new shoots but I had meant to cut them back this year.  I think I will anyway, and hope in the additional sunlight and fertilizer to get them growing again soon . . . better and fuller and more beautiful than before.

I am thankful ~ for my home.  Always.  Every Moment.

One of my favorite things  ~ is sitting with my daughter in companionable silence with a movie on, we each working on our own project, or working on bullet journals together.  I love her creativity.  She inspires me.

I am creating ~

 

 This is a small Biscournu cross stitch.  I started it at the beginning of the month while I was in hospital.  This past weekend I started using it as a daily Stitch 30 project, which simply means that I'm committing to stitch on it for 30 minutes every day.  I'm pleased with even the little bit of progress that has been made so far.  

 

I am reading ~ Only the River Runs Free.  Four chapters in and the story is developing really well.  It is the first book of a trilogy.  Looking forward to seeing where it goes.

I am hoping ~ to get the pantry rack placed in the kitchen where it belongs, once daughter and I move the existing cabinet out to the garage.

In my kitchen ~ the dishes get loaded and counters wiped every night {happy noises} Yesterday I made the Curried Quinoa which was delicious.  I added an extra lemon (juice) and a little pepper.  The recipe will be going into my folder as a regular.  I also made a pan of our favorite Amish Baked Oatmeal (per Sue Gregg I use 2 cups of buttermilk instead of regular milk) and tonight daughter is making homemade tortillas for some green chili chicken enchiladas she has planned.  Lots of yummy things happening here.

In the school room ~ a nearly complete high school curriculum is sitting in my hall closet.  I really need to pull them out and list them of find someone to give them to.  That's a goal.

Shared Quote ~ 

Just because you're trash doesn't mean you can't do great things.  Its called a trash CAN , not a trash Can NOT.  

(a quote daughter found on Pinterest and wrote on our chalkboard as inspiration for the week)

Truth from Scripture ~  

 

He who troubles his own house will inherit the wind.  Proverbs 11:29

(the reality of this truth is evident in our lives today.  all traces of what was are slowly being wiped away and replaced with beauty, peace, and happiness)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scripture Highlights: Proverbs 10/11

Proverbs 10: 23-25

To do evil is like sport for a fool,

But a man of understanding has wisdom.

The fear of the wicked will come upon him,

And the desire of the righteous 

will be granted.

When the whirlwind passes by,

the wicked is no more,

But the righteous has 

an everlasting foundation.

Proverbs 11: 5, 29

The righteousness of the blameless

will direct his way aright,

But the wicked will fall by 

his own wickedness.

He who troubles his own house 

will inherit the wind.

Seedling Crochet

Yesterday ended with me falling swollen and exhausted into bed with the determination to stay put tomorrow, rest and recoup some much needed energy.

This morning started perfectly with a hot cup of lemon water with echinacea tea, relaxing in bed and catching up on YouTube.  But I can't sit and do nothing so I grabbed the Adore-A-Ball yarn I've so been wanting to find the right project for, my crochet hook case, and scrolled through my pins.   I found this yarn at Hobby Lobby, so soft and plush, intending to make an intricate Irish chain pattern baby blanket.  Three rows in, I figured that it was not the right yarn for that pattern.  Too bulky with all of the chains crossing to go over a tiny little newborn.  That was quickly frogged.  Next I tried Hygge Chic Throw, which is a simple but lovely textured pattern, but again, three rows in I knew it wasn't the best fit for the Adore-A-Ball that I have.  That was even more quickly frogged.

Finally (!!) I pulled up Seedling Crochet which is perfect! 

This has worked up really quickly.  Just this morning I've completed eight rows, about 6 inches, and am on my third ball.  I'm really happy with the feel, texture, and drape of this.  One of the bonus things about this pattern, besides it's absolute simplicity, is that she gives you the foundation chains and number of rows to make 12 different sizes.  I chose the Swaddle size which is 47" square.

Other than a baby blanket that I started last October just because I fell in love with the colorful mandala yarn, I haven't really sat down and crocheted for a long time.  I'm looking forward to seeing this finished and being able to gift it to a cousin with a new son.

{Simple Daybook} 18 Feb 2020

For Today

I am thinking . . . of all the pins I've pinned and ideas I have for reclaiming my home.  Glass shelves in my large kitchen window - painting kitchen and laundry room, cute pink accents, rearranging furniture, the new chair that arrives tomorrow with decor pieces to follow.  Excitement!

One of my favorite things . . . doing genealogy.  This past week has been full of new discoveries filling out ancillary branches on Ancestry and linking family members together on FindAGrave. 

I am watching . . . Lie To Me with daughter after we recently discovered it on Prime.    I'm waiting for Only The River Runs Free to arrive at the library.

I am hoping . . . to keep active this week with more cleaning, organizing, and walking.  I need it physically and mentally.  For too long I told myself that I don't have to do it (move) because it's too hard and it hurts.  That time is over now and I want to be Doing!

I am learning . . . that I can do much more than I think. (see above)

In my kitchen . . . I've been keeping up with cleaning off counters, dishwasher loaded, everything in it's place, and floor swept and mopped.  Amazing. Really.  I live with my youngest children - adults - and sometimes I just want to give up.  A Curry Quinoa recipe is floating in my head that may soon be made.

In my garden . . . an iris rhizome I planted last winter has finally bloomed - a gorgeous deep purple.  A beautiful surprise for mid-February.  Some bare root roses will soon be making their home in my backyard, along with at least a Gincko Biloba tree.  Their lovely, delicate leaves won me over the very first time I saw one.

Board room . . . I haven't pinned for several years (severe health issues) but now that I am reclaiming my home, the inspiration keeps me going with the deep cleaning and de-cluttering that is needed.  My top Boards the past few days are Kitchen Inspirations, Naturally Pest-Free,Eating To Heal

A Photo from my day 

A Feat

Monday started off inauspiciously with a head-full-o-fluff and a nap.  

 But when the cleaning spirit catches you, you obey.

The picture below may not look like much of anything.  An old, nearly empty closet in a room that is in great need of painting.  You would be completely on target with the painting part.  This has been the one room (Laundry) in the house that has never even been close to being finished since we moved in over seven years ago.  And in those seven years, this poor, centrally located closet has borne the burden of every unwanted, unneeded, not-right-now/I'll just put this here until later-item that I could throw at it.  That is to say, on Monday when I made an innocent trip to the kitchen and walked past this sad closet for the umpteenth-thousandth time, my heart said "Enough is enough."

This closet was stacked helter-skelter with boxes and bins and papers to almost the full height of the ironing board.  I cannot even tell you what ended up in the garbage can and recycle bin except that my heart and brain were finally in agreement that it was past time to get rid of things that I have no intention of using.  I organized the packaging and bags I want and will use; I discovered a binder full of photos and notes of phone calls with my father and his first cousin, both of whom are gone now, about my grandparents and my extended paternal family; I made the determination to greatly lighten my collection of stamps (Stampin' Up!).

After the closet was cleaned out, I put together a metal six shelf unit to go inside the closet - it looks beautiful!!  But, alas, I cannot overcome physics and when purchasing the shelf to go in the closet, I did not factor in the four inches of overhang on the framing.  See, the shelf unit technically will fit inside the closet, but once it is built I cannot put it inside.  I won't tell you how long I stood there staring, questioning my mental capacity, luck, fate, etc.  

Once I snapped out of it and accepted the reality of the situation, I went and sat down for a much needed break.

When I was watered and refreshed, I got back up and cleaned all of the debris from the utter chaos I had created.  The five things that remain are, clockwise from wok, a small bin of clothes one size smaller than what I wear (yes, I'm keeping them as incentive!), Large bin of scrapbook paper, supplies, and albums, clear bin of stamps that haven't been used in many, many years and will soon be listed on eBay, and a box with a started quilt top.  I'm still vacillating on the quilt top, but by the time I reached that box around the corner I had made too many decisions already and saved that one for later.  I also cleaned up the rest of the laundry room, including lots of clutter in front of closet #2.  (Yes, there is another, with even more stuff in it!)

Then it was time for the finishing touch:  Sweeping and mopping my laundry room.

Oh.  My.  Goodness.

It was an UTTERLY Exhausting day, I cried a little bit, took some tylenol, made a cup of tea, 

and went to bed for the remainder of the day with a heating pad on my back.

The reward, though, is this beautiful closet just waiting for some new shelves 

and to be a loved and useful part of our daily lives.

Changed . . . Clicked . . . Different . . . HOPE

It's been four years since my life turned completely upside down.

This year started off with the same old routine, same feelings nestled snugly beside me.

But something happened between January and February.  Like, really.  At the end of January I was away on my get-away anniversary week, came home for two nights only to leave again for what ended up as five days away for treatment for my kidney transplant.  After sleeping away a day and a half, and resting up another day, I woke up with a new spirit.  It was like a switch had been flipped and suddenly instead of settling into the same old routine I had essentially been walking through for the past few years, I wanted to get up, and go, and do. 

A week full of activity has ensued and I feel really good.  I've cleaned and planned.  I've been in doing genealogy and out doing volunteer photos for FindAGrave, both of which make me happy.  I've even been pinning and dreaming.  I've done more this week in my home than I have in the past few months combined.  I've moved and labored, breathed hard and told myself to just shut it and quit complaining.  Moving is good and the reason it's hard is because I don't!  Yes, I sat down and took a break, but then I was ready and willing to get up again and continue on. 

Some of the consequences of the transplant and occasional treatment is that many things are beyond my control.  I just have to go with the flow of what is happening to my body, ride it out, and be ready when it subsides to get back to normal.  One thing I have been doing is eating more consciously when it comes to things I need and things I don't.  Calcium, yes!  Phosphorous, no!  Iron, yes!  Potassium, keep it in check.  The encouraging thing is that these changes are showing up in my lab results. 

All of this to say that things are different.  And I like it.

I've claimed 2020 as my year of Jubilee.  The Hebrew year of Jubilee symbolizes freedom, forgiveness, and mercy.  Whether celebrated in the seventh year or the year following the seventh, slaves and servants were set free, debts were forgiven, land could be redeemed, and the mercy of God would be manifest to all.  In 2012 a change happened in my life that started a spiral and that spiral went out of control.  Since 2016 I have been edging my way out of a valley that nearly consumed me.  These are not idle words.  2020 dawns as the year after the seven years.  Time has passed, and even though there's no real resolution to our troubles in this life,  justice has run it's course and it is time to move on.  There is a lightness and a hope inside of me, and I'm most touched by the easy way of life that my children and I have settled into.  A beautiful glimpse of what should have been a reality so long ago, but I'm grateful that it manifests now.  My hope feeds on the peace. 

This new hope is spurring me on to dream and plan.  As my Jubilee year, I'm reclaiming my home.   Cleaning out cluttered corners and closets.  Planning projects and shopping for decorations to make my home as warm and welcoming to others as it is to me.  Planting trees, clearing views, and creating the peace and beauty that were foreign words to us many years ago.

In order to keep myself accountable and to measure my progress - however big or little or excruciatingly slow it may be! - I will be posting what's happening as my home goes {Lord willing} from MY haven to A Welcoming Haven.

Love,

Denise

This is My Story . . .

I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, 

and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me. 

O Lord my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. 

O Lord, thou has brought up my soul from the grave: 

thou has kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. 

Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, 

and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. 

For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life: 

weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. 

And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved. 

Lord, by thy favor thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: 

thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. 

I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication. 

What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? 

Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth? 

Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me: Lord be thou my helper. 

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: 

thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; 

To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. 

O Lord my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

Psalm 30

Roses Abound

Stamping some cards as a gift for a friend today ~

I bought the patterned paper yesterday and am really pleased with how they turned out.

Daybook 27 December 2017

For Today ~

Looking out my window ~ a sunny but cold morning, cars were frosted this morning, and my bird feeders are empty

I am thinking ~ about how fortunate I am - - but fortune means arbitrary luck so that is not the word I want.  How about how grace-full I am.   Because my present state has nothing to do with me and everything to do with the goodness, steadfastness, and mercy of the LORD

I am thankful ~ for my family, ALL of them, and especially my four beautiful, funny, quirky, nerdy, intelligent, and totally unique children.  They absolutely make life worth living and I (usually) can't wait to see what they will say or do next

One of my favorite things ~ DS #2  gifted me with a Chromecast for Christmas and it has been delightful! 

I am creating ~ a set of stamped cards today as a gift for a dear friend

I am wearing ~ warm socks, jeans, white t-shirt, purple fleece jacket, and a handmade pastel rainbow knit wrap/scarf with a turquoise knit beanie

I am listening to ~ Spotify, casting from my phone, my Jane Austen Companion library which plays a beautiful mixture of Haydn, Schubert, Bach, Boyce, and more.  Currently playing is Cello Concerto in C Major: Adagio by Franz Joseph Haydn

I am hoping ~ to get New Years cards and gifts for DS #2 and dear daughter-in-love in the mail today

In my kitchen ~ are leftover mashed potatoes from Christmas dinner with the family.  I used my friend Ginny's recipe ( Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes ) and they turned out perfectly perfect!  This morning I heated up a small bowl for my breakfast and added a few spoons of some fresh corn salsa we have in the fridge.  Oh. My. Word.  It was so delicious!

Board Room ~  Daughter and I are both wanting to get more creative this year, and will be experimenting with Bullet Journaling as a vehicle for that.  I found this series and thought it would be a fun way to get started and practice our mad doodle skills ;-) 

I'm Felicity Farm on Pinterest

Quote of the day

"These are serious charges against my client, your honor, and his life has been greatly impacted by this."

This is rich with meaning and irony.