The Friendly Stitcher

A No-Good, Very-Bad Day

2010-07-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my brother Mike from 2006, who was three years older than me, and took his own life almost three years ago when he was 57 years old, almost 58. I recently passed my 58th birthday, so I have now outlived my brother.

I had expected that by now, I'd be over the loss and doing well, but it's not working out that way. I don't know if I will ever "get over" his suicide. I've given up trying to get over it and am trying to move to some new reality, but I can't go back to being the happy nitwit that I used to be.

I dragged my heels so much on going through his probate, but recently finished it. I tend to procrastinate on things I don't want to do, so procrastinated my head off, but time goes on and eventually even the most hurtful truths have to be confronted. Today I gathered up all the folders and paperwork regarding his estate and put it in a banker's box. The task just made me extremely angry, as thinking about his death usually does. After the energy of the anger goes away, the depression is there. It feels wrong, like I'm leaving him behind.

I've come to realize recently that the only thing that would make all this crap from the past few years worthwhile would be if my brother prayed to accept Christ just before he took his life. I could see him doing that as a precaution. Otherwise all this pain and suffering is pretty meaningless. At this point, that's the one ray of hope I'm holding onto--if I see him in heaven, and hopefully my dad also, this pain will all fade away.

Sometimes the anger is so overwhelming--anger at Mike, anger at God, anger at myself. It comes and goes. And yet I know that God loves me and loves Mike more than I can ever know. Today this verse was helpful:

Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.

Is. 46:4, NIV

Note: Obviously not one of my better days--just needed to rant.

My Current Favorite Video

2010-04-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

Combining two of my favorites: the song Broadsword by Jethro Tull and footage from Lord of the Rings--Outstanding!

This video is from user ShakeZulla1099 at YouTube.

Happy New Year 2010!

2010-01-02T16:25:00.001-08:00

Wow, a new decade already! Hope it's a good one--

For Jane Austen lovers, there will be a production of "Emma" on PBS starting on January 24th. For stitchers, the "Emma Project" will be featured at www.thesamplergirl.com, something to stitch while watching Emma--what could be better?

Happy 2010!

Another CS Finish for Charity

2009-11-21T18:41:00.001-08:00

Finally, another cross stitch finish (these have been a little few and far between!). This is another one that will be going to the Yahoo group Cross Stitching for Charity for Cole's Quilts. This is from Walt Disney Characters in Counted Cross Stitch, Paragon Needlecraft, 1980, which I found on Ebay. The whole quilt will be of Disney characters.

I had kind of gotten away from cross stitch, which was my first love in needlework, and find that I'm now enjoying it again.

Today is National Survivors of Suicide Day, so go hug the people you love--

A Cross Stitch Finish

2009-03-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

I finished this Dragon Baby by Ellen Maurer-Stroh for the Yahoo Group Cross Stitching For Charity. It took me a little over a month to finish this. A number of people are working on similar animal babies from the same collection, and these will be made into a quilt or a fabric book to donate to a sick child through the organization Love Quilts. I took this picture outside because my flash wasn't working right, and the fabric came out looking light blue, but it's actually white.

I used to do a lot of cross stitching, but it takes a lot of concentration to keep following the pattern. I think I'll take a break and do some crocheting for a while for my other Yahoo Group Crafting For A Cause. I've been making "saltines" for this group (the first two rounds of a granny square), which will then be sent to one of the members, who makes them into gorgeous shawls to sent to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Saltines are fun and quick to make, and a good way to use up stash--fun to do while watching TV.

Maggie Teagan

2009-02-04T18:01:00.000-08:00

Here's our little Scottie princess, Maggie Teagan. She's just home from the groomer, and is a little bummed out that I'm following her around, trying to take her picture!

For Christmas, we put up our 6-7 foot artificial tree that we always put up. My husband ran in a road race where they gave out little 2-foot Christmas trees to the participants. Since we already had our tree up, we decided to give the little tree to Maggie (it was a Scottish pine). She had SOOO much fun with that tree! She dragged it all over the yard and ripped all the branches off, so that eventually she was just dragging around a long stick. She'd take the branches and toss them up in the air. The tree is still in the yard, and she's still having fun dragging it around! I'm pretty sure that we'll be starting a new tradition of buying Maggie her own little tree every Christmas--I've never seen a dog have so much fun with a tree!

Baby Afghan

2009-01-19T02:19:00.001-08:00

This is an afghan I made for the new baby of some friends at church. I actually finished it before Christmas, but it took me this long to finally take pictures of it so I could give it to the baby! I made it in shades of light purple and gold, the colors of the college that the baby's father went to, the same college where my husband teaches and my two sons work (one in the admissions office and the other in the bookstore). Maybe someday, Zoe will decide to go to this college--or not--whatever she decides is fine. This was made with many prayers and good wishes.

Medieval Times

2008-12-21T00:53:00.001-08:00

We had a great time on Thursday evening. We had several birthdays to celebrate and decided to go to Medieval Times in Buena Park. We've lived in the area for over 30 years, but have never gone before. It was hard coordinating six people's schedules and finding a time when everybody was well! We had a great time--really enjoyed it. There are several locations throughout the U.S., and if you haven't gone before, I would highly recommend it. It's a little pricey, but well worth it. The horses were just gorgeous, and if you get there early, you can see them in their stalls before the show. One of the Andalusian horses was pure white, and in the light, it looked like it was absolutely glowing! All of the horses were really well trained. There was even a falconer with a falcon that flew all around the arena. The food was good, and the show was a lot of fun. Well worth going to, especially if you have kids or grandkids!

My 9-11 Story

2008-09-20T16:00:00.001-07:00

I'll explain the cute quilt above in a moment (click on the orange strip above if you can't see the quilt). It was NOT made by me, but was made by Jeanie, a member of Cross Stitching For Charity, a Yahoo Group.

9-11 was the first anniversary of my brother's suicide, and I've been really dreading it. I've been really stressed about it for at least a couple of months before 9-11. My brother was an emergency room nurse, and I believe the date 9-11 appealed to his cynical sense of humor. The day was really awful. I know something of his activities during that day, and it was just a horrible day of counting down what he was doing and thinking throughout the day, leading up to 8 PM, which is when the coroner placed the time of death. I felt really down all day, wondering what in the heck I'm doing on this planet and what good can I possibly have to accomplish at this point. Anyway, the day ended on a happier note--some time after 8, I was checking out my two favorite Yahoo groups, Crafting For A Cause and Cross Stitching For Charity. I noticed on CSFC, that Jeanie had posted about the frog quilt, which I had stitched the Sanrio Keroppi frog for, so I checked, and she had posted a picture of the quilt that had been finished from the different frog cross stitch pictures that were sent in from different members (my Keroppi frog is in the next-to-last row in the middle)! It was such a pick-me-up to see the finished quilt with my crazy little frog in it. Not only that, but she gave a link regarding the young girl the frog quilt is going to, and I hope you'll pray for her. Her name is Taylor, and she's a young teenager who was badly burned in a fire in April 2008. Here are a couple of links where you can read about her:

http://www.prayfortay.com/
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/taylorstrand

Hopefully in the next week or so, she will be well enough to be transferred to a specialized burn unit where she can receive more intensive care that will help her to heal faster. I can't imagine anything more painful or disfiguring than being burned over 70% of your body!

Anyway, while I'm certainly not saying I'm in any way happy about Taylor's predicament, God used the situation to lift up my spirits and show me that I can still hopefully do some good in this messed-up world!

Two Glasses of Wine

2008-08-29T19:25:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me this in an email, so it might be something you've already read from somewhere. I'm not claiming to be the author! I like the sentiment, and thought I'd pass it on:
____________________________________________________________

TWO GLASSES OF WINE

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 glasses of wine theory...

A professor stood before his philosophy class with some items on his desk in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'YES.'

The professor then produced two glasses of wine from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things; your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions; things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else; the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first', he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the good things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18 holes. Do one more run down the ski slope. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first; the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the wine represented. The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of glasses of wine with a friend.'

Free Hugs!

2008-08-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed this music video, and hope you do too! Now I want a hug!!!

I'm Still Here!

2008-08-11T12:53:00.000-07:00

I've been really bad about keeping my blog updated! I have some pictures to post, and will try to bring things up to date in the next few days. I've set up an account at YouTube and have been having WAY too much fun looking at videos. Just wanted to share this one--these are not my dogs, but I wish they were! This was posted by user scottietyme one year ago. It's a video of a male Airedale babysitting a litter of Scottie puppies:

Too cute!!!

Maggie's Spa Day

2008-06-09T13:43:00.001-07:00

Well, we finally had to take in our 6-month-old Scottie girl, Maggie, for her first haircut. I'm posting before and after pictures. She looked like a little bear, and people at her obedience class were asking what kind of dog she was, so I figured it was time for a nice summer Scottie haircut. And yes, our backyard lawn really does look that bad!

So here is the old Maggie and the new Maggie--she doesn't look like a puppy anymore! She looks happy with her new cut, and I'm sure it's much cooler for her.

One of the things she really enjoys doing is pulling up the weeds in the yard, which is perfect for us! After she pulls up the weeds, though, she doesn't want to give them up! She shakes them and gets dirt in her mouth, but doesn't seem to mind. I guess it must be a terrier thing!

The Road Scarf

2008-05-20T19:43:00.000-07:00

There's an interesting story by Michelle Edwards at the Lion Brand website that I've enjoyed reading. It's about a scarf her daughter knitted while on a road trip. I can remember those wonderful road trips with my two sons fighting in the back seat--there's no way I would have handed them any sharp pointy objects to keep them busy! The story kind of expresses how I feel about things that have been handmade.

You can read the story here, and the scarf pattern is here.

David A or C?

2008-05-20T17:33:00.000-07:00

We just finished watching American Idol (I am such a fan of that show!), and really enjoyed watching the two Davids compete. They're both so talented, and I'm so happy for both of them because I'm sure they'll both have a great career ahead of them. I think David Archuleta is going to win--he has such an amazing voice for such a young guy, he's almost like some kind of prodigy. I don't think I've ever heard him sing a bad note, and even though he's so young, he doesn't have that "boy band" kind of sound. David Cook has an interesting voice, kind of more raspy, and I appreciate that he took chances with the songs he picked. He seems like a talented guitar player as well. They both seem like such nice people too. This year of Idol had such a talented group of people. It's been fun to watch them as they improve every week.

Chuck and I had lunch with my mom today, and took her out for a ride to see the jacaranda trees in bloom. It's really hard to get her to do things--she always says, "I don't feel well, I'll do it next time," but we kind of pushed her since in a week or so, most of the blooms will probably be gone. Once we got her in the car, she really enjoyed it, so it was a good day with her.

The Jacaranda and Tabebuia Trees

2008-05-18T14:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of a gorgeous jacaranda tree in bloom. I drove around the area, snapping pictures of trees here and there in people's yards, jumping back in my car and zooming off before they called the police. A couple of blocks over from our house, there is a major street that is lined up and down with jacarandas on both sides for about four to five blocks and onto the side streets, and it's just gorgeous to see. I think the trees are originally from Brazil. Our older son's birthday is in a couple of weeks and the jacarandas bloom about mid-May, so we would tell him to watch for when the trees turned purple, and then he'd know his birthday was near. You can see on the streets and yards how it looks like purple snow has fallen--probably kind of a mess for people who live there and park their cars there!

Our younger son's birthday is in late March, and in mid-March, we have tabebuia trees (also from Brazil) that start to bloom in either yellow or pink, so he would watch for the yellow trees to know when it was near his birthday. I forgot to get a picture of the trees in March until it was too late, so borrowed this picture off the web. They're like the jacarandas, in that they lose all their green when they bloom in yellow or pink. Then the blooms fall off, they get seed pods that fall off, and then they fill out with green leaves.

Mother's Day

2008-05-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

There's no reason for this picture except that I like it. It's of a young girl knitting.

I wasn't sure whether to blog or not, as I hate to sound whiny, and I admit I do have a tendency to be whiny! I was very much dreading Mother's Day, and last week and this week were stressful in anticipating it and then recovering from it. I wasn't sure how well I'd handle spending Mother's Day with my mom, as I still haven't told her about my brother's suicide in September, and am not planning to if I can help it. I sent her two dozen roses from my brother and his girlfriend, and loaded up on Xanax before we went over to see her--I didn't want to lose it in front of her.

The place where she's staying is a board-and-care facility and is really nice. My mom is 86, and is pretty much wheelchair bound at this point, and needs quite a bit of help. They had a nice lunch there with lots of Mexican food. A lot of the workers there are Mexican and are excellent cooks. She got to have a Heinekin with her meal, which was good. We took over "Throw Momma From the Train" as a Mother's Day movie, and she really enjoyed it.

It's just so sad to me on Mother's Day that my mom doesn't even know that her only son is gone. I just think of how I'd feel if one of my sons died and nobody told me. I think I'm doing it out of good reasons to spare her from this horrible situation, but I can't help feeling guilty too. I hope that some day, she'll forgive me. At least I was able to hold it together until we left. When she asks about him, I have to make up stories about how well things are going, and oh, doesn't she remember that he called last week? I feel like such a rat to make her feel more forgetful and disoriented than she really is.

Sorry to be so down and whiny--and guess what, today is actually a pretty good day for me. I just feel like a part of me will never get over this. When I think about the last eight months, it just all seems so horrible and unreal.

Again, sorry. My next post will be happier. I want to take some pictures of the purple jacaranda trees near my house before they lose their blooms. They are gorgeous this time of year. If you've read this far, thanks for listening.

What kind of yarn are you?

2008-05-06T08:23:00.000-07:00

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Dishcloth Cotton.You are a very hard worker, most at home when you're at home. You are thrifty and seemingly born to clean. You are considered to be a Plain Jane, but you are too practical to notice.
Take this quiz!

Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Waahh--I am so incredibly boring!!

Oh well, I guess for a Quaker, it would be "wrong" to come out as eyelash yarn or cashmere!!!

American Idol Junkie

2008-04-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

I resisted American Idol for the first couple of years it was on, then started watching it, and am now completely hooked! Yes, I'm a total American Idol junkie!

I kind of liked the way they did it this year on the preliminary cuts. It didn't seem like they spent as much time showing and making fun of people who were just obviously out of their league or seemed to have emotional problems--that always struck me as more than a little mean-spirited.

I was so surprised and disappointed last week when Carly Smithson was voted off. I think out of all the women contestants, she was definitely my favorite. She has a really powerhouse voice, and I could definitely see her becoming a big star, although possibly not a mainstream big star. I hope that if anybody ever decides to do "The Grace Slick Story," they'll remember Carly Smithson (Grace Slick was the lead singer of Jefferson Airplane and later Jefferson Starship--I'm dating myself, huh?). She looks like her and can belt out a song like her. I hope Carly goes on to have a great career.

Among the men, my favorites this year are David Archuleta and David Cook, so they're still in the game. Between the two, David A. probably has the better voice, and does really well on ballads. David C. has a great rock style and stage presence. I like them both for different reasons.

Well, I'll be glued to the TV tonight--I'll probably be able to get some crocheting done. Hope the two Davids make it through this week!

Some Help From Charles Spurgeon

2008-04-01T01:55:00.000-07:00

I enjoy reading a couple of Christian blogs, and one of them is by Pastor Tim from Grace Church, San Luis Obispo (where I would love to retire to!). This particular blog is about depression, and it just kind of helped me to not feel so out of place as a Christian who experiences depression. The picture above is of Charles Spurgeon, a Baptist preacher who lived in the 1800s. He looks pretty jolly there, but apparently suffered from bouts of depression. The below is from a sermon of his, and I found it helpful, at least the parts I could understand!

As a totally irrelevant aside, my brother's first wife had some relatives who were missionaries, and gave their son the first name of "Spurgeon"--talk about child abuse!!

By all the castings down of his servants God is glorified, for they are led to magnify him when again he sets them on their feet, and even while prostrate in the dust their faith yields him praise. They speak all time more sweetly of his faithfulness, and are the more firmly established in his love. Such mature men as sonic elderly preachers are, could scarcely have been produced if they had not been emptied from vessel to vessel, and made to see their own emptiness and the vanity of all things round about them. Glory be to God for the furnace, the hammer, and the file. Heaven shall be all the fuller of bliss because we have been filled with anguish here below, and earth shall be better tilled because of our training in the school of adversity.

The lesson of wisdom is, be not dismayed by soul-trouble. Count it no strange thing, but a part of ordinary ministerial experience. Should the power of depression be more than ordinary, think not that all is over with your usefulness. Cast not away your confidence, for it hath great recompense of reward. Even if the enemy's foot be on your neck, expect to rise amid overthrow him. Cast the burden of the present, along with the sin of the past and the fear of the future, upon the Lord, who forsaketh not his saints. Live by the day—ay, by the hour. Put no trust in frames and feelings. Care more for a grain of faith than a ton of excitement. Trust in God alone, and lean not on the reeds of human help. Be not surprised when friends fail you: it is a failing world. Never count upon immutability in man: inconstancy you may reckon upon without fear of disappointment. The disciples of Jesus forsook him; be not amazed if your adherents wander away to other teachers: as they were not your all when with you, all is not gone from you with their departure. Serve God with all your might while the candle is burning, and then when it goes out for a season, you will have the less to regret. Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are. When your own emptiness is painfully forced upon your consciousness, chide yourself that you ever dreamed of being full, except in the Lord. Set small store by present rewards; be grateful for earnests by the way, but look for the recompensing joy hereafter. Continue, with double earnestness to serve your Lord when no visible result is before you. Any simpleton can follow the narrow path in the light: faith's rare wisdom enables us to march on in the dark with infallible accuracy, since she places her hand in that of her Great Guide. Between this and heaven there may be rougher weather yet, but it is all provided for by our covenant Head. In nothing let us be turned aside from the path which the divine call has urged us to pursue. Come fair or come foul, the pulpit is our watch-tower, and the ministry our warfare; be it ours, when we cannot see the face of our God, to trust under THE SHADOW OF HIS WINGS.

Quakers and Quaker Meadow

2008-03-29T19:14:00.001-07:00

Every now and then, I do a search using Google's blog search to see if anyone is blogging about my home church, East Whittier Friends Church, and stumbled across this blog that mentions our church. It was nice to read such a positive insight from an outsider who visited our church. Our church is going through some difficult transitions right now, and this was a very welcome thing to read. Through this blog, I was also able to find links to a number of other Quaker blogs and sites to bookmark. Most of these blogs are very thoughtful and intellectual, unlike my own!

I also found the below video of a worship song from our junior high youth camp at Quaker Meadow:

Looks like they're having a great time--cool!

Setting Some Goals

2008-03-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

My son, David, is studying up to take the GRE (Graduate Record Exam) in English Literature to possibly go on to graduate school in a year or so. Seeing all the literature that he has read, I've been realizing just how amazingly ignorant I am on this, as well as a variety of other subjects. When I went to high school and college in the late 60s/early 70s, the big buzzword at that time was "relevant," and it seems like reading a lot of classic literature was decided to not be relevant enough. I remember that a lot of our English classes were spent sitting outside in a circle under trees, discussing our feelings and writing in journals, kind of like an "encounter group." Unfortunately, I feel like a lot of this time was wasted, and we kind of missed out on getting a decent education.

I was looking at the website Lists of Bests, and have created my own account there to chip away at some lists I'd like to work on. I've been having a lot of trouble focusing and accomplishing things since Mike's death, and I think this might be helpful. I have several book lists that I want to slowly read my way through, and have also started a list of charity projects I want to complete in 2008. I don't want to make this something that I beat myself over the head with, and I think it's going to take me quite a while to work my way through these lists, but I'm going to give it a try. I figure by the time I finish reading all these books, I'll probably be getting senile and won't remember them anyway--HA!

I'm planning to post my lists on my home page, along with the percentage I've finished of each list. The Caldecott Award Winners are children's books that have won an award for illustrations, and the Newbery Award Winners are children's books that have won an award for story. I might start out with the children's books and work my way up to the adult books. The College Board book list will bring me up to where I should have been over 30 years ago! There was one list of 1001 Books You Should Read Before You Die, but that's a little too much for me!

It'll be fun to check things off as I finish them--

Happy St. Pat's Day!

2008-03-19T08:08:00.000-07:00

Hope everybody had a good St. Patrick's Day. We don't usually do anything special for St. Pat's, but this year, my son David and his girlfriend Leslie wanted to do a special dinner, since her family does this every year. They bought a corned beef brisket, which I cooked for about 10 hours in my large Nesco slow cooker, and we put in cabbage, carrots and red potatoes to steam for the last hour. Keep in mind that I'm probably the worst cook on the planet, but it came out really well! We might have a new tradition in our family. David bought some Harp Irish lager to top things off.

Our new Scottie puppy Maggie enjoyed being Irish for a day! She's about four months old now, and we've had her for about five weeks.

You'd think that probably no one could ruin a meal in a slow cooker, but I have managed to do that before! We received a Rival Crockpot as a wedding present, so early in our marriage, we were having a friend over for dinner and I thought I'd give it a try. There was a recipe for slow cooker spaghetti, and I thought you were supposed to put the spaghetti in at the start, which I did. When we got home from school, the entire contents of the crockpot had melded together into a giant spaghetti ball! I wish I had a picture of it! When our friend came over, it was kind of like, "Hey, cut me a slice of the giant spaghetti ball!" I think we went out and got hamburgers--

The nice thing about my hubby Chuck is that he will eat any terrible thing I cook and say it's fine--what a nice guy!

Headed to Multiply!

2008-03-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

What's wrong with me--why do I keep moving my blog??? Am I in the blog protection program?

I've kind of given up on my Y360 blog. I'm going to leave it up to refer people over here and to Multiply, and also just in case Yahoo pulls something fantastical out of the hat in the future. I've been trying out Multiply and MSN Live Spaces. Multiply seems pretty good for making friends. I've gotten a lot of responses over there, and the format is easy to set up. Here's my Multiply blog.

Live Spaces is actually pretty good too, a lot like Multiply except that nobody really responded back to my blog. One funny thing is that I tried to search over there for blogs or people interested in cross stitch, and MSN kept telling me that it wouldn't tolerate me continuing to search for adult/mature content--!!! Too funny--I had no idea my hobby was so "adult"--I'd better not cross stitch in public any more!

Blogger seems to have some good features, but again it's hard to make friends here. I'm going to keep up the Multiply and Blogger accounts for a while, but eventually I want to just go back to one blog.

All of this blogging and moving and uploading is hard work--I should have worn more deoderant today!

Moving in!

2008-03-14T02:52:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm moving in to Blogger from Yahoo 360! I'm anticipating that MSN will take over Yahoo, either willingly or unwillingly, and Yahoo 360 will probably be scrapped, so I figured I'd get a jump on things and move my blog here before it disappears.

I don't have all that much to say, but I enjoy having a place to say it, and to show pictures of my craft projects, and what I'm doing or reading. This is cheaper than therapy, right?! I'll be tweaking my blog here over the next few weeks, and figuring out how things work.

I hate to leave my 360 friends, but hope to make some new friends over here.

Donna, somewhere in SoCal

MS/Yahoo??

2008-02-23T11:03:00.000-08:00

So what do people think of the possible MS/Yahoo merger? I wonder whether it will take place, and if so, how long to integrate them, and what possible delays that will mean. I wonder if Yahoo will fight the merger, or try to merge with someone else. At this point, I'm trying to decide whether to move my blog, and if so, where? I want to go with something well-established, because if I move, I don't want to have to move again in a couple of years. There are things I like about Google, but their Blogger doesn't seem to have as much of a community as 360. MSN Live Spaces is more of a blogger/social network like 360, so I might go there. If the merger takes place, maybe that's where the Yahoo 360 community will end up anyway--I imagine Yahoo will scrap their plans to reinvent 360 and go with Live Spaces, which is already up and running. Live Spaces doesn't seem like it's mainly for teens either, like some of the other social networks. I wonder what will happen to Yahoo Groups also--I like my groups!

What's everybody else going to do? I hate to lose my 360 community, but I want to back up my blogs, goofy as they are. Hmmm, decisions, decisions ....

(From Saturday February 2, 2008)

Crazy Crayon Lapghan

2008-02-23T11:00:00.001-08:00

I finished the above lapghan for my mom a few weeks late for Christmas and gave it to her last week. She likes bright colors, especially red, and this lapghan is almost glow-in-the-dark bright (I wonder if there are any glow-in-the-dark yarns--hmmmm). I need to learn some new crochet stitches, but for now grannies are something to keep my hands busy while I'm watching TV. I did try something new by putting a ruffled border on this one. I started another rectangular granny in hot pink and purple--this one will go to either the UC Davis Children's Infusion Center or the Hartwyck Hospital through my crafting group, Crafting For A Cause. I'm also still working on my Keroppi frog for my other crafting group, Cross Stitching For Charity--I'll post a picture when they're finished. By the way, the innermost color above is actually purple--it looks more blue in the picture!

(From Tuesday, January 22, 2008)

The End of Another Chapter

2008-02-23T10:58:00.001-08:00

The end of another chapter came on December 28th when we had to have our beloved crazy little Scottie put down. He finally lost his battle with malignant lymphoma. The treatments gave us an extra 16 months with our boy, and he felt pretty well during that time--dogs apparently handle the treatments better than humans. He really liked our vet and all the techs who took care of him, and was always happy to go see them, even though he got poked and prodded. He hated having a bath more than he disliked going to the vet. He was only 7, which isn't too old for a Scottie.

Hamish was so crazy and brought a lot of laughter to our lives. He really loved our boys (currently 26 and 23, living at home), and thought of them as littermates. One of my happiest memories of Hamish is how he would follow the boys around the house, trotting behind them with his tail held high, like he was saying, "My brothers and I have important things to do!" We're thankful to have had such a great little friend.

(From Sunday January 20, 2008)

The End of a Chapter

2008-02-23T10:55:00.000-08:00

I haven't written for a while--I've been depressed and I don't like to drag anyone else down with me when I'm depressed, but I think I'm mostly blogging about my brother for my own therapy. I don't claim to have any great wisdom or insight to impart to anyone, other than that if you commit suicide, it hurts like hell for the people who care about you, and it's a hurt that probably never goes away. There are so many questions about why, if I had been a better sister, parent, friend, spouse, etc, would this have happened, etc. I kind of suspect that if somebody has really decided to commit suicide, like my brother, they're not going to give out signals or talk about it with others, and they're going to do it in a highly lethal fashion. When it comes down to it, nobody can really impart to another person the will or desire to live--people ultimately have to find their own personal meaning and motivation in life.

With email, my brother and I had gotten a little closer in recent years. He was always very intellectual and had a cynical sense of humor. I guess I always just assumed we'd have more time together, and maybe live closer together again at some point.

God was so good to us when Mike passed away. It was all such a shock, and it was so hard to even think straight, let alone make arrangements. I had forgotten that a friend of mine from my high school church youth group, Gary, was a church pastor up in Washington. His sister, one of our good friends, told Gary what had happened, and Gary was able to come to a memorial service at the hospital where Mike worked, and then officiated for us at the graveside service. He acted as our pastor in Washington, and it was such a total blessing to have him with us. We hadn't seen each other for over 30 years, and God took such loving care of us by having him there.

It was very hard cleaning out Mike's apartment in Federal Way. I hated that apartment so much, and yet that's where I felt I had my last connection with him. He killed himself in the bedroom loft, so I didn't go up there at all--I didn't even want to have any kind of picture in my head of what the loft looked like. After Goodwill had removed much of the furniture downstairs, and I had vacuumed and had everything else packed up and ready to go, I spent some time just lying down on my back on the carpet and looking up through the skylight. It kind of looked like the picture above. It was the most peaceful part of the whole process, kind of a time when I could just be there in the last place my brother spent his life, and feel kind of connected to him. How sad for someone to come to a place in their life where they feel that suicide is their best option, that that will give them some relief. It was nice to just lie there and look up at the tree branches and let my mind go blank.

Chuck flew up on Sunday the 16th, the next day the movers picked up the boxes, and on Tuesday, we turned in the keys and left to drive Mike's car down to Southern California. How hard to leave that apartment, even though I hated the sight of it--it felt so much like leaving him behind. The weather was bad for driving, but we made it home in about four days, and Christmas was a few days later. We threw up a tree, and got things together really quickly. I still haven't told my mom about Mike, and plan to not do so if I can avoid it.

Every day is a struggle to get out of bed and do things, but I'm doing so with the help of my faith and the pharmaceutical industry, God bless them. I hate the feeling that I'm leaving my brother behind, but I know I need to go on. It's different when an older person dies of some natural process and they've lived a full life--you don't have that nagging feeling of doubt and unfairness.

I'm currently reading the book, "Why?" by Anne Graham Lotz, and am finding it helpful. If I don't stop myself, I can find myself just lying in bed staring at the ceiling or sitting in a chair staring at the wall. I know God will help with the healing and moving on. A few days ago, I went with my friend Cathy to the Road to California Quilt Show in Ontario, and it was so much fun to just be out of the house, looking at new things and planning new quilts to make. Well, my blog should move on also. Hopefully when Yahoo brings in their new blog format, I won't lose my blog posts, but I guess if I do, I'll just consider it God's way of moving my life along.

From a poem by e.e. cummings

i carry your heart with me
(i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it
(anywhere i go, you go, my dear;
and whatever is done by only me
is your doing)
....
i carry your heart
(i carry it in my heart)

(From Saturday, January 19, 2008)

Growing Up is the Pits

2008-02-23T10:45:00.000-08:00

I've been in Federal Way near Seattle since last Sunday. I'm going through my brother's belongings, and getting things ready to go to Goodwill or be moved. If you think about it, I'd appreciate your prayers. This has been a very tough week, and it's getting more difficult as his things are being given away--it's like losing little pieces of him, and when I give up the apartment, it will be like giving up my last link with him. Chuck is coming up on Sunday, the movers are coming on Monday, and on Tuesday we'll start the drive down to Southern California with his car.

God said that He would never leave me or forsake me, and I'm just holding onto that for dear life each day--I know that what He says is true, whether I feel it or not. Some days, it's just so hard to focus on anything, but this is at least one Scripture that I can hold in my brain when everything else seems so messed up.

I brought some cross stitch with me, but haven't had time to start on it yet. I'm going to work on a Sanrio Keroppi frog for my Cross Stitching For Charity group--hoping that will cheer me up.

Hope everybody is doing okay--be sure to hug your loved ones this Christmas--

(From Saturday, December 15, 2007)

Cross Stitch Project Finished

2008-02-22T02:42:00.000-08:00

Hi, everybody--

I recently finished the above cross stitch project for the Yahoo group Cross Stitching For Charity. This is from a pattern by Dale Burdett from the Seashore Wannabee Bears booklet. I used to do a lot of cross stitching, and had gotten a little away from it, what with doing quilting, and learning to crochet and knit. I like doing all of them, so I guess it depends on what my mood is, as far as which I concentrate on. However, this means that my house is filled with aida cloth, needles and floss for cross stitching, fabric, fat quarters, rotary cutters, rulers and sewing machines for quilting, and yarn, hooks and needles for crocheting and knitting, along with patterns for everything! What a mess!

Cross Stitching For Charity is a great group, although I haven't actually had time to participate much in their everyday discussions. The members send in cross-stitched squares, and these are sent on to the group Love Quilts, that makes quilts for seriously ill children. The project above will be made into a quilt along with squares finished by other members using the same booklet, and sent to a child through Quilts 4 Kids Australia. I'm anxious to see what the finished quilt will look like.

I'm still reeling from my brother's death in September. He committed suicide, and I'm not sure how to come to terms with that. Some days are better than other days. It still seems like some horrible horrible nightmare.

I didn't realize that 360 was going to be leaving/changing. Is everybody headed over to Multiply? If they want us to stay here and go with Mash, it shouldn't be invitation only--I'd like to see what Mash looks like, but I also don't want to accidentally lose my whole blog by waiting.

Take care--

(From Saturday November 3, 2007)

My Big Brother Mike

2008-02-22T02:39:00.000-08:00

I just haven't felt up to posting anything for a while. My brother Mike (in the red shirt) passed away suddenly in the Seattle area on September 11th. This is a picture of him from last year with my husband and our two sons. I have so much to do, and no energy or will to do it. I know God will get us through this, but would appreciate your prayers. I hope to resume my goofy blog at a later time--

Thanks for understanding--Donna

(From Wednesday October 3, 2007)

Rereading the Series

2008-02-22T02:32:00.000-08:00

Yup, I know, weird Potter geek, and senile to boot (rats--I wanted to be in Gryffindor--my family will be so disappointed!). Just started reading the series over. Now there are a lot of "Aha" moments, where I catch things that will turn out to be important later that I didn't especially notice the first time through. I'm about halfway through The Sorcerer's Stone, and enjoying it as much as the first time I read it. Here's where you can get sorted.

(From Monday August 20, 2007)

Morro Bay Blues

2008-02-22T02:30:00.001-08:00

We had a great few days of vacation last week at Morro Bay on California's Central Coast. You can see from the picture above just how beautiful it is there. We stayed at our favorite place, the Best Western Tradewinds, which is a couple of blocks' walk from seeing the view above. We stayed for about five days and returned home on Sunday the 19th. On Sunday morning, we attended the Rock Harbor Christian Fellowship in Morro Bay, which was a lot of fun. I always enjoy going to other churches and seeing how they worship. Our church doesn't have communion, since we meet for lunch on a quarterly basis, and this kind of takes the place of communion, but this church had a communion that Sunday. I hadn't realized how much I missed going to a church that has communion, because it really challenged me to examine myself first--not that communion has any magical powers, but just the reminder to examine myself before God and not take communion without that personal accounting.

One thing that God has brought to my mind that I've been struggling with this week is just how VERY VERY MUCH I want to move to the Central Coast area when we retire. I've just never been much of a Southern California person--I grew up in Northern California, and Southern California just makes me feel very closed in, hot and stressed out! I think that God has really been speaking to me about how I'd accept things if His plan is that we not move there. Wow, that's a tough one! I don't think I realized before just how very much I've been hanging onto that dream, and how VERY hard it is for me to leave it in God's hands. There's even a little place near Morro Rock that I think of as "Scottie's Cove," because I can just picture how much fun Hamish would have there chasing seagulls and squirrels. I guess we all have areas in our lives where we want what we want and that's it, and I'm just praying that God will help me have an attitude adjustment in this area. It's not that having dreams is wrong, but insisting on them one-way-or-another- no-matter-what is wrong, and I can tell that God is poking me and kicking my rear regarding this! Ouch, God!!!

(From Sunday August 19, 2007)

OC Flyers and the Band From TV

2008-02-22T02:25:00.000-08:00

Forgot to blog about this fun evening on July 21st. A group from my church went to an OC Flyers baseball game, which was pretty fun because we won big against the team from St. George. Even better was the show we went to after the game, featuring the Band From TV, with Hugh Laurie from House on keyboard, Jamie Denton from Desperate Housewives on guitar, Greg Grunberg from Heroes on drums (he's also a part owner of the Flyers), Bob Guiney from The Bachelor on vocals, and Bonnie Somerville from Garden State on vocals. They did all covers, and we really enjoyed the evening. There were also a number of other performers with them, Brad Savage on bass and others, and the saxophonist (Bryan McCann?) was amazing! Their website is at:

Band From TV

All of the proceeds from the evening went to various charities.

(From Sunday August 19, 2007)

Potter'd Out

2008-02-22T02:19:00.000-08:00

Wow, finished it in less than two days--my head is spinning! Some of that I saw coming, and a lot I didn't! I think I'll wait a few weeks and maybe read the whole series over--

(From Tuesday August 7, 2007)

Immersed in Potter

2008-02-22T02:17:00.000-08:00

I know--55 years old and I'm such a Harry Potter geek! We pre-ordered the final book, and I didn't have time to read it first (even though it came out right around MY birthday!), so Chuck got to read it first. Our youngest son David was next--every time a new HP book has come out, he has started over ahead of time on Book 1 and reread everything over up to the new release, so has now read Book 1 seven times, etc. He read Book 7 in two or three days. We had forgotten a lot from Book 6, so David was able to recap the story for us, which was very helpful. Now it's my turn--I started Book 7 late Sunday, and am now on page 554. Every time I have to stop to answer the phone or eat, I have a feeling of, "Where am I--what time is it?" Things are starting to build toward a climax, and I have to actually stop and do some transcription work--how unfair! We're going up to San Luis Obispo tomorrow for a few days, so if I don't finish it before we leave, will definitely finish it while I'm gone.

Last week we spent a few days on Catalina Island, and had a great time. Had the opportunity to use a senior discount for the first time (WAAHH!!!). We went on the night-time flying fish tour, which we always go on at Catalina--saw a lot of flying fish, but none flew into the boat--still waiting for that to happen! We went on a tour this time that goes inland onto the island and that was fun. Buffalo were brought over for movies a long time ago on the island and now roam around free. There are very few cars on the island (the waiting list to bring a car over is 18 years--no kidding!), and most people there drive around in golf carts. The thing I would most like to do there next time is rent a golf cart for an hour and zoom around the island. I might have to tie Chuck up in the hotel room to accomplish this, but that's my evil plan for next time (hehehe!).

(From Tuesday August 7, 2007)

Another Animusic Video

2008-02-22T02:16:00.001-08:00

Here's another cool Animusic video called "Aqua Harp." Reminds me of Fantasia, which I also love--

(From Tuesday July 31, 2007)

Animusic Video From YouTube

2008-02-22T02:13:00.000-08:00

Found the coolest animated music videos by Animusic. This one is called "Pipe Dreams." Might have to ask for these DVDs for Christmas!

(From Tuesday, July 31, 2007)

A Scottie-Themed Birthday and Hamish Update

2008-02-22T02:08:00.001-08:00

I had a great birthday on the 17th. This was a big one--55!!! I'm now eligible for some senior perks, which is kind of depressing! I seemed to get a lot of Scottie gifts this birthday--Chuck gave me the Jim Shore Scottie figurine pictured above, named "McRover." I love the Jim Shore figurines--they all have quilting motifs on them. I have a nice collection of Scottie figurines, from a large Scottie bookend/statue by Mary Engelbreit all the way down to a Scottie Monopoly token! My older son gave me some cute Scottie bookends, and my younger son gave me three Scottie children's picture books by Marjorie Flack, called, "Angus and the Ducks," "Angus and the Cat," and the heartbreaking but triumphant "Angus Lost." The illustrations are wonderful!

The news about Hamish is not so great. Two weeks ago, the doctor felt that his right submandibular lymph node (under the jaw) might possibly be slightly enlarged, although his bloodwork was perfect. Last Tuesday the 24th, we took him in again, and the doctor felt the node was a little firm, so took an aspirate for biopsy. Again, his bloodwork was good, but the lymph node aspirate showed that the lymphoma is returning. Hamish was doing so well with the chemotherapy--we were hoping he would be able to beat this horrible disease. We're taking him in tomorrow to start over on the protocol, but from what I've read, the fact that he's coming out of remission doesn't sound good for his overall prognosis. We're really heartsick about this. Hamish has been such a great dog, and has such a sense of humor. Throughout all his treatments, he has always been happy to see the doctor and the people at the animal hospital. From what I've read, a second remission is harder to achieve and doesn't last as long as the first. We're going to do whatever is best for him, as long as he has some quality of life. Thankfully, our human family members are relatively well, and that's the most important thing!

(From Sunday July 29, 2007)

An Incredibly Beautiful Video of an Ultrasound

2008-02-22T02:02:00.000-08:00

4D Ultrasound

4D Ultrasound, Kim and Bobby Bayers' female baby from Myspace Videos

I love this video--I wish I knew the baby's gestational age. I'm working with a group called "Touched By Love," that helps out teenagers in crisis pregnancies and young single moms. You can visit our Touched By Love Yahoo Page and our Touched By Love Myspace Page. These girls have made the tough decision to keep and raise their babies, and we're trying to help and support them in this decision.

(From Friday July 6, 2007)

The Not-So-Great Week

2008-02-22T01:54:00.000-08:00

Well, this last week has not been the greatest! I saw my mom last Sunday (she's 85, pretty much wheelchair-bound, and staying at a residential care facility--nicer than a convalescent home). When I saw her on Tuesday, she was very agitated, and insisting that my aunt and cousin, who live up near San Francisco, had come to visit her, which I knew simply hadn't happened. We figured it was probably a vivid dream. She had a really bad night on Tuesday night, fell out of bed three times, put a big gash into the back of her head, and was actively hallucinating. We were able to get her an appointment with her neurologist later in the day on Wednesday, and he feels she probably had a small stroke. She doesn't really remember much of what happened. She's already taking a baby aspirin every day, which he feels is the only treatment he can give her right now.

I'm not real crazy about her neurologist. After my mom was taken out of the room, he told me that I need to figure out what to do in different scenarios, such as if she got pneumonia, or had a heart attack or major stroke, whether to treat or not, put in a pacemaker, etc. I was kind of upset, as I hadn't been thinking along those lines yet, although I know it's necessary to figure those things out. Then he says, with a little smile on his face, "We can keep her going until she doesn't recognize you at all." I was so angry, it really made me a little dizzy--I really wanted to whack that little smile off his face. I understand his point, but how insensitive!

Since Wednesday, she has been doing pretty well--sleeping well and back to normal, but I feel like this has been a warning of things to come. I'm planning to get her in to see her primary care doctor this week to have some bloodwork done, and just generally try to spend more time with her. She really enjoyed the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, so I think we'll watch those again. I think she kind of has a crush on Johnny Depp. My mom is a Christian, which is a great comfort to me, even though it's hard right now for her to concentrate on reading the Bible or remembering to pray.

This is one of my favorite songs from Kutless:

"You are my Strong Tower
A Shelter over me
Beautiful and Mighty
Everlasting King--

You are my Strong Tower
A Fortress when I'm weak
Your Name is True and Holy
And Your Face is all I seek."

I think God for Jesus, my Strong Tower!

(From Monday July 2, 2007)

God Bless You!

2008-02-22T01:51:00.000-08:00

(From Saturday June 16, 2007)

Welcome!

2008-02-22T01:45:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the new 360 blog, which looks pretty much like the old blog--the above is the welcome sign from my home town of Modesto, located in California's central valley. Their slogan: "Water, Wealth, Contentment, Health." This actually was the runner-up slogan--the winner was something like "Nobody Gets Modesto's Goat"--thank goodness they went with the runner-up! It's kind of an icon (or eyesore, depending on your point of view) in downtown Modesto, and a haven for wayward pigeons, as my brother used to say.

Modesto (or "Motown") is famous as the home town of filmmaker George Lucas. It was immortalized in the movie "American Graffiti" as the place Richard Dreyfus was trying to get away from and Ron Howard didn't get away from, and as the place Luke Skywalker (Luke, Lucas--hmmm??) was trying to get away from in "Star Wars." Also the home of infamous pregnant wife killer Scott Peterson. It was actually a nice place to grow up in, pretty safe--kind of like Mayberry from the Andy Griffith Show (sigh, I'm dating myself!!!). I met my sweetie in a calculus class at Modesto Junior College, so it was all worth it!

(From Saturday, June 2, 2007)

Women in Art

2008-02-14T10:20:00.000-08:00

I thought this was really cool--hope you enjoy it! It's called "Women in Art," and shows portraits covering 500 years in Western art (posted on Youtube by "eggman913").

(From Wednesday May 30, 2007)

Younger Son David Graduates From College!!

2008-02-14T10:16:00.000-08:00

Our younger son, David, graduated yesterday from Whittier College--woohoo!!! Both kids through college! David graduated summa cum laude with a double major in English literature and music, and we're very proud of him--we're proud of both of our kids! He's taking some time off to regroup and do some major reading in preparation for the GRE and possible graduate school in English. Matt is currently working and possibly considering graduate school in political science. Chuck was able to present David with his degree, which was a really nice moment for both!

David really enjoyed the small liberal arts college atmosphere at Whittier, and had a wonderful experience with the faculty of the English department. Pretty much all of the English faculty have been exceptional friends and mentors for David, and I could definitely see David becoming a professor at a similar institution, although whatever career path he chooses will be fine with us.

Huzzah, David--Fear the Poet!

(Who IS that chubby lady??)

(From Tuesday May 22, 2007)

Testing, Testing

2008-02-14T10:00:00.001-08:00

Okay, I'm trying something new--putting some music into my blog. If this works, you can hear Bela Fleck and the Flecktones doing Earth Jam. Fleck usually plays the banjo, but he's playing the guitar on this one and Victor Wooten is playing the bass--they are incredible musicians--I love the way the guitar, bass and saxophone play off each other on this track. We had the opportunity to hear Bela Fleck play with Edgar Meyer (stand-up bass) at UCLA, and they were amazing! I've never particularly enjoyed the banjo, but that was before I heard Bela Fleck play it. Victor Wooten, who plays bass on this track, is also an amazing musician. Jeff Coffin is great on the saxophone, and Futureman plays everything else. I love the way the rhythm and key keeps changing. Bela Fleck and the Flecktones are going to be playing down here in October, I think, at the Greek Theater, and I'd love to see them, but don't know if I'll be able to. Their music is kind of jazz, rock and hoedown.

In other music news, I was so disappointed that Melinda Doolittle was dropped from Idol last week, but can't wait for her to make an album. Jordin and Blake, the two remaining, are good, and I think probably appeal to a younger audience. Between these two, I'd say Jordin.

[I'm in the process of moving my blog over from Yahoo 360--I couldn't get the sound file to work, so for now will paste this in and come back to this later]

(From Tuesday May 22, 2007)

Finished Another Lapghan

2008-02-14T01:16:00.001-08:00

Yes, I've been crocheting and finished another lapghan, this one in camo colors. This one will be going, along with the blue one I finished a couple of months ago, to the brain trauma unit at Hartwyck at Oak Tree Hospital in Edison, New Jersey. I started a few 12 inch granny squares in crayon colors for my Yahoo crafting group, Crafting For A Cause, and these will be sent next month to one of our members, who will assemble them and send them to kids at the UC Davis Pediatric Cancer Infusion Center in Sacramento.

Since I have so much time on my hands (!!!), or maybe because I have rocks in my head, I found another Yahoo group, Cross Stitching For Charity, whose members make cross-stitched designs that are sent in and made into quilts for sick children through the organization, Love Quilts.

I signed up to do a cute bear square that isn't due until August, so that should give me enough time, I hope. I used to do a lot of cross stitching, but didn't know that there were any groups doing it for charity. Some of the finished quilts on the Love Quilts site are wonderful, and the stories about the kids are so touching. I'm so thankful to God that my kids are doing well, and I can only imagine what these mothers must be going through. Now that my kids are getting older, I just want to give something back. We don't have that much family that I can make things for, and this way if the things I make aren't perfect, I don't have to see any disappointed faces--HA!

In somewhat related news, Hamish is doing very well. He had another chemo treatment on Friday, and his doctor said that he is "kicking butt!" I'm so proud of my little butt-kicking dog!!!

(From Tuesday May 15, 2007)

There Will Come a Day

2008-02-14T01:15:00.001-08:00

I don't know about you, but I enjoy watching American Idol, and I am SUCH a total Melinda Doolittle fan. I think she has by far the best voice they have had in years, plus I just love her sweet and humble attitude. It came as no surprise to me that she's a Christian.

The song she sang last night (April 24th) was "There Will Come a Day" by Faith Hill. It just gave me goosebumps, and really spoke to how I've been feeling since the shootings last week:

There Will Come a Day

(bill luther, aimee mayo, chris lindsey)

It’s not easy
Trying to understand
How the world can be so cold
Stealing the souls of man
Cloudy skies rain down
On all your dreams
You wrestle with the fear and doubt
Sometimes it’s hard, but you gotta believe

There’s a better place
Where our Father waits
And every tear
He’ll wipe away
The darkness will be gone
The weak shall be strong
Hold on to your faith
There will come a day
There will come a day

Wars are raging
Lives are scattered
Innocence is lost
And hopes are shattered
The old are forgotten
The children are forsaken
In this world we’re living in
Isn’t anything sacred

There’s a better place
Where our Father waits
And every tear
He’ll wipe away
The darkness will be gone
The weak shall be strong
Hold on to your faith
There will come a day
There will come a day

Song will ring out
Down those golden streets
The voices of earth
The angels will sing
Every knee will bow
Sin will have no trace
In the glory of His amazing grace
Every knee will bow
Sin will have no trace
In the glory of His amazing grace
There will come a day
There will come a day

Oh, there will come a day
There will come a day
I know there’s coming a day
Coming a day

Wow! Amen to that!

(From Wednesday April 25, 2007)

Virginia Tech

2008-02-14T01:13:00.000-08:00

I have to say that I've just been kind of depressed since the shootings at Virginia Tech last week. It's so hard to understand that kind of anger directed against random people, and the senseless loss of so many promising lives. With my husband being a college professor and my younger son being in college, it's nerve wracking to think about possible copycat incidents. About 20 years ago, Chuck was getting angry notes over a period of years from an individual or group of individuals who were incensed because he had flunked a senior in a class. The notes weren't really threatening, but I think today, I'd be much more concerned about them. In recent years, a couple of professors were getting threatening emails because they had used a website that alerts professors to popular term papers that can be bought and downloaded off the Internet. Eventually, one of the professors decided to leave the college. You'd think being a college professor would be a pretty safe job, but I'll be kind of relieved when Chuck retires.

However, I know that this sort of thing could actually happen anywhere, and in any sort of public situation. When you look at the Amish schoolhouse murders, truly this could happen anywhere (why on earth would anyone have something against little Amish girls?). There are always going to be unstable paranoid people in the world--I think that the privacy laws need to be changed so that these people can be identified and kept from harming society (take that, ACLU!), and it should be much, much harder for them to have access to weapons. I think that psychiatrists should be required to flag patients who could potentially pose a danger to themselves or others, such that any gun background checks on them would reveal this. I also think that universities should have the right to suspend potentially dangerous students, pending clearance by a third-party forensic psychiatrist. I certainly don't think arming the students and faculty is a good idea. Do we really want students carrying concealed weapons so they can be prepared to act out on any angry or drunken whim? Sheesh!!!

(From Tuesday, April 24, 2007)

I'm From Neptune--What Planet Are You From?

2008-02-14T01:11:00.002-08:00

***You Are From Neptune***

You are dreamy and mystical, with a natural psychic ability.

You love music, poetry, dance, and (most of all) the open sea.

Your soul is filled with possibilities, and your heart overflows with compassion.

You can be in a room full of friendly people and feel all alone.

If you don't get carried away with one idea, your spiritual nature will see you through anything.

What Planet Are You From?

(It probably just means that I'm full of deadly gas!!!)

(From Sunday, April 15, 2007)

My Nutty Friend

2008-02-14T01:11:00.001-08:00

Here's my silly little guy, Hamish the Scottie--please pardon his immodesty! He likes to lay on the couch or on the floor on his back and watch TV backwards and upside down! He'll stay like that for the longest time--he's such a goofball!

Hamish went in again on Friday the 13th for another infusion, but it was definitely good news! The doctor said that his blood counts are totally normal now, so his lymphoma is in remission--YIPPEE!!! He has been going in every other week for chemo, but the doctor might possibly put him on an every-third-week schedule. Hamish just recently had his 7th birthday, so he's not an old dog--Scotties can live up to 12-15 years. Last Wednesday, he saw a huge crow out on the lawn in HIS yard, and tore outside at full speed to chase it away. It sure is good to see him feeling well and acting like a crazy little terrier again!

(From Sunday April 15, 2007)

Eeek--I've Been Tagged!!!

2008-02-14T01:10:00.001-08:00

The Rules: Simple really...just fill out this questionnaire, post it on your blog (and mine) and tag six people when you're done...and don't forget to leave them a comment saying "You have been tagged, please see my blog for details."

A. 5 Things people do that bug the crap out of me:

1. Walk around with those stupid Bluetooth things in their ears.
2. Talk to people on those stupid Bluetooth things when they're next to you in the store and you think they're talking to you.
3. Drive fast/crazy and almost hit you.
4. Talk loudly to their friends during a concert or movie.
5. Abort their babies.

B. 5 Things I want to do before turning the big 50: (too late, make it 60!)

1. Lose weight.
2. Go to Australia.
3. Go to Italy.
4. Learn to be a knitting/crocheting diva.
5. Maybe learn to play the harp (my husband will have a fit!).

C. 3 Things I cannot live without:

1. Jesus.
2. Hubby and kids.
3. Bible.
Wait a minute, I need my computer too!!!

D. 3 Things that are hanging on my bedroom wall:

1. A print of a woman holding a baby by Jesse Wilcox Smith (see above).
2. A print/ad of a Victorian lady drinking a Coke.
3. Wedding picture (awwwwwwwwww!).

OK, now it's your turn!!!

(My apologies to anyone with a Bluetooth thing sticking out of their ear!)

(From Tuesday April 3, 2007)

Simplify!

2008-02-14T01:07:00.001-08:00

Delight in Simple Things

Learn to like what does not cost much.
Learn to like reading, conversation, music.
Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.
Learn to like people,
even those who may be very different from you.
Learn to shelter your family with love, comfort, and peace.
Learn to keep your wants simple.
Refuse to be owned and anchored by things and opinions of others.
Learn to like the sunrise and the sunset,
the beating of rain on the roof and windows,
the gentle fall of snow in winter.
Learn to hold heaven near and dear.
Learn to love God, for He surely loves you.

Anonymous

This year, I would surely like to simplify! That's usually one of my New Year's Resolutions that never gets done, but this year, I'm hoping to move more in that direction. I'm trying to go through all the STUFF that has taken over our house and our lives, and throw out a little bit each day, and put aside things that can be donated into bags. I tend to hoard way too much stuff, thinking maybe I'll need it later, plus I have a huge stash of fabric and yarn! We also have a HUGE collection of books that we need to trim down, my part consisting of quilting, cross stitch, crochet and knitting books. Am I ever really going to do all those patterns I have?? Anyway, "Simplify" is going to be my theme for this year--maybe I can dig around in all my cross stitch books and magazines and find a sampler pattern that says, "Simplify," or "KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)!"

(From Monday April 2, 2007)

Monthly Squares Project

2008-02-14T01:06:00.001-08:00

Here are twelve granny squares I made to send to one of the members of my group as part of our monthly squares project--they're being shown off by my favorite teddy bear, Dink. For March, we're making 6 inch squares of combinations of green and yellow, so I made two each of six different combinations. These will be joined by one of our members and sent to the UC Davis Pediatric Cancer Infusion Center in Sacramento, California. For April, we're making 4 inch or 8 inch squares in red, black, yellow and/or white (these are the colors of the Lakota Indians), and these will be joined into afghans and sent to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

I also have a ton of fat quarters in my workroom/office that I want to make into quilts this year--how did I accumulate so much fabric??!! It's a mystery--my fat quarters must be reproducing at night!

(From Wednesday March 7, 2007)

My First Major Crochet Project

2008-02-14T01:03:00.000-08:00

Hooray--I finished my first major crochet project, a rectangular granny square! I'm kind of excited--it came out better than I thought it would. I have a hard time deciding on colors and knowing what will look good. This is a lapghan that will be sent to the Hartwyck at Oak Tree Brain Trauma Center in Edison, New Jersey through my Yahoo group, Crafting For A Cause. It was fun making it, and it seemed to go pretty fast.

I enjoy making granny squares while watching TV--it's something I can do without concentrating too hard, even while watching my favorite show, "24." If I was knitting while watching "24," I'd have to frog it every week because there would just be too many mistakes! One of the members of our group has a son at Hartwyck, so we're making things like lapghans and hats for the patients there. For some of the patients who have brain stem injuries, their bodies have a difficult time maintaining a normal body temperature. I bought some Red Heart camouflage-colored yarn to make another lapghan for Hartwyck. I like this pattern that I found on the web:

Rectangular Granny Pattern

I'm not too good at following patterns yet, and I was able to figure this one out, so it's pretty easy. After the first couple of rounds, it's just like any granny square.

From Wednesday March 7, 2007)

Happy Birthday, Little Chuckie!

2008-02-14T01:02:00.001-08:00

Well, today is hubby Chuck's birthday! Actually, his birthday isn't today (Feb 28th), and it isn't tomorrow (Mar 1st). It's the nanosecond between today and tomorrow--not even time enough to get out the "H" in Happy Birthday! He's a leap year baby, so officially, he doesn't even have a birthday this year, and I really shouldn't have to buy him any presents, but I know he'll be cranky if I don't! He's actually only 15, and will be 16 next year. He was only 7 when I married him--I'm such a cradle robber! Next year, he'll finally be able to get his driver's license--snort! Makes it easy to remember his birthdate--

(From Wednesday February 28, 2007)

I Finally Finished It!

2008-02-14T01:00:00.000-08:00

Well, I've promised my mom for several years that I would make her a teddy bear quilt. Since she's 85 and I really wanted her to have it, I decided I'd better get serious about it, so last year, I finally bought several different fabrics and started on the quilt. I used a pattern from Quilts for Baby: Easy As ABC by Ursula Reikes that I've used several times before. It makes a really cute quilt using kid fabrics with large pictures in the pattern. The block is kind of like a log cabin block, and frames a "fussy cut" picture from the fabric. I'm posting more pictures of the quilt on my 360 page photo section.

For some reason, I just had a really hard time with this quilt. I just wasn't real happy about the colors, although the colors will look good in her room at the residential care place where she is staying. I don't know why, but this quilt just seemed to want to fight with me, and I had a hard time staying on track with it. I finally finished it last week, and took pictures of it today before I took it over. I used the Moda Marbles fabric for the four solidish colors in each square--LOVE the Moda Marbles. They are such a great blender fabric. I then used these four colors for the binding, using 3-1/2 inch strips cut at a 45-degree angle. Maybe the quilt just looks a little busy--I don't know! Anyway, there are LOTS of teddy bears on the quilt and on the backing, and that's what she wanted! The size is a throw size, so she can use it for naps.

Anyway, I'm glad it's done! I took it over for my mom today, and she really liked it. Now that I'm not feeling guilty about my mom's quilt, I can get on to other things! I have lots of Barbie fat quarters that I bought last year from my Internet crafting group, and I want to try the Yellowbrick Road pattern with them. I have a Veggie Tales quilt all pinned and ready to machine quilt, that has been sitting around in a tote bag for a couple of years, but I decided I want to use a fluffier batting, so think I'm going to redo that. I also want to get better at crocheting and knitting. I'm finding that I really enjoy doing crochet. I can park my rear on the sofa and crochet while I watch TV or while I visit my mom, rather than jumping up and down from the sewing machine to the ironing board, etc. Lazy, huh???

(From Tuesday February 27, 2007)

RAOK Week

2008-02-14T00:56:00.000-08:00

I was reading the Whittier College newspaper, "Quaker Campus" on Friday, and discovered that February 12-18 is designated nationally as "Random Acts of Kindness Week." Apparently a lot of schools at all levels are working this into their social curriculum. All week long, there were various give-aways at the College, and encouragement to look for creative ways to show kindness to others--what a great idea! We're so bombarded with criticism and sarcasm towards others on TV. I enjoy House and American Idol, but could do without the parts where people are humiliated and ripped to shreds. It's kind of late for this week, but there's more information at:

Acts of Kindness

I found one quote there that I can really relate to:

When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. Author: Abraham Joshua Heschel

My mother-in-law was one of the kindest people I've known. I don't think I recognized or appreciated her enough for this while she was here, but she was always looking for ways to do small things to help others. I'd like to be more like that--
If you like to craft and are looking for a way to do some random acts of kindness, I belong to a great Yahoo group, Crafting For A Cause. We help out needy Indians on the Pine Ridge Resevation in South Dakota, children with cancer at the Pediatric Infusion Center at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California, and patients with traumatic brain injuries at the Hartwyck Hospital in Edison, New Jersey. You can visit us at:

Crafting For A Cause

The Indians on the reservation are having a very tough winter, and many families have run out of propane for heating. If you would like to donate money to help buy propane for these families, you can click on the donation button at:

Crafting For A Cause Webstore

That's the end of my commercial--thanks for listening (or reading)!

Here's to more RAOKs in the world!

(From Sunday February 18, 2007)

Update on Hamish

2008-02-14T00:54:00.000-08:00

Hamish is now on every-other-week chemotherapy, and will be going in tomorrow (Friday) for another treatment. He has been losing his hair for the past couple of weeks, and looks more like a jackal than a Scottie! He has lost most of his whiskers, and had lost all of his eyebrows but one little clump. I trimmed that back some, and now I notice that this little clump is gone too. His skin seems to be a little itchy to him, and he likes to squirm around on his back on the carpet, and then leaves little clumps of hair here and there. He's overall not looking quite as handsome, but seems to feel pretty well, and that's what's important.

If you're interested in reading the Bible in one year, there are some good reading guides available at Bible Reading Guides. They have several different program tracks available, and you can print out your reading program each month. I'm reading the Old and New Testament together program. It goes straight through the Old and New, but you don't have to wait until the end of the year to get to the New Testament. Some time, I'd like to take some college-level Bible classes, just for fun. There are several good Christian colleges in the area: Biola University, Azusa Pacific University.

My work had slowed down quite a bit over the holidays, but is already starting to pick up again now. It usually slows down around this time every year. Most of the transcription work I do is for an independent medical evaluation group, doing evaluations for disability, Workers' Comp, etc. I also do a little bit of private medical transcription work. Here it is, 5 PM, and I still haven't done any work today! I'm more of a night person, and my brain doesn't actually kick in until later in the day, if at all! I'm having trouble getting myself going again after the holidays!

See ya!

(From Thursday January 4, 2007)

Happy New Year 2007!

2008-02-14T00:53:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year, Everybody!

I found some pix of the Rose Parade on the web, but wasn't sure of the legality of lifting them and using them for my blog. It was a picture perfect day for the parade today in SoCal--not a cloud in the sky, warm, no wind. I've never gone down to actually see it in person--not interested in fighting the crowds. I think you can actually probably see the parade better on TV anyway. Some year, I'd like to go and see the floats after the parade--then you can actually get up close to them and see how they're made. The only blot on today's parade is that the local network booted Stephanie Edwards, who usually hosts with former Newlywed Game show host Bob Eubanks, to get someone younger--BOOOO!! Stephanie Edwards always did a fine job, and I'm not just saying that because she's about my age--just the right amount of perkiness, but not too much. Her getting booted kind of spoiled the parade for me this year, so I didn't really watch too much of it. I wondered why there were so many Imperial storm troopers marching in the parade, until I read the George Lucas was the Grand Marshall this year.

So this year, one of my minor goals is to look more like my avatar--is it some kind of technological paranoia to be jealous of your own avatar? Perfect skin, perfect figure, better fashion sense than me--hmmm??!!! Maybe the fact that I'm starting the New Year with some kind of virus has something to do with it. I ache all over, have a fever, and my ribs hurt from coughing--probably delirious. All the same, I started crocheting a thin scarf like hers out of Lavender Sachet Homespun yesterday--I can't let that chick get the best of me!

Chuck got me a nice new super-de-duper leather New American Standard Bible in July for my birthday, and just finished it last week. Our pastor prefers the NASB, so thought I'd give it a spin. It's a little difficult reading in places, but is supposed to be one of the most accurate. This year, I'm going to try out the New King James, and see how I like it. I've heard good things about the English Standard Version also. So many Bibles, so little time!! I've also heard it said that the best Bible version is the one that's read, and that's probably the bottom line--

My mom had her shiny new candy-apple-red motorized wheelchair delivered a couple of days ago, but I've been too sick to go see it yet. Can't wait to try it out--er, um, for her to try it out!

Hope everyone has a great year--God bless!!

(From Tuesday January 2, 2007)

Merry Christmas 2006!

2008-02-14T00:52:00.000-08:00

A Christmas Carol

Christina Rossetti

In The bleak mid-winter

Frosty winds made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron,

Water like a stone

Snow had fallen, snow on snow,

Snow on snow,

In the bleak mid-winter,

Long ago.

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him

Nor earth sustain;

Heaven and earth shall flee away

When He comes to reign;

In the bleak mid-winter

A stable place sufficed

The Lord God Almighty

Jesus Christ.

________________________

Merry Christmas, everybody!

(From Monday December 25, 2006)

Update on Hamish

2008-02-14T00:51:00.000-08:00

I bought the above small poster off of Ebay from a seller in Great Britain and received it today. I'm going to frame it and hang it prominently in our entryway! I can just imagine traveling by rail with Hamish--HA, what a disaster that would be! He's a little on the excitable side.

My good news about Hamish is that last Friday, he had his last chemo of the "induction phase" of his treatment. The doctor said that he "couldn't be happier" with how Hamish has responded to the treatment! We are thrilled, but I'm a little cautious and afraid to get too excited for now. Previously, the doctor had given us some dismal projections, saying that he would live about three weeks without treatment, and maybe up to a year with treatment if we were really lucky. Now, he's talking about what Hamish's treatment will be like a year from now, and if he's still in remission in two years, he'll go off chemotherapy entirely. The next phase is that he'll go to having treatment every two weeks for several months, and then every three weeks. The doctor said they had a hard time keeping him quiet in the treatment area, since he wanted to play with everybody. It's good to see him acting like his old crazy self again!

We had two Thanksgivings this year, one at the place where my mother is staying (they always have a great spread for all the families), and then we had our own Thanksgiving on Saturday. Just what we needed--stuffing ourselves twice! I have probably lost my mind, and am crocheting a red scarf for Hamish for a picture to go in with our Christmas cards. I did, however, see that someone on the Internet had crocheted a shrug for their guinea pig, so I feel I'm not as far gone as some! I've sort of stalled on my mom's quilted throw, so I need to get going and finish that. I'm good at starting projects, but sometimes my follow-through kind of poops out!

I've actually gotten a fair amount of shopping done already for Christmas. I've done a lot of shopping with catalogs and the Internet this year. How did I ever survive without the Internet??!!!

(From Thursday November 30, 2006)

Our Lady of Weight Loss

2008-02-14T00:46:00.000-08:00

Okay, I really need to do something about my weight! I ran across the
Our Lady of Weight Loss website, and am going to read her book. I have also joined her Kick in the Tush Club, which sends out a weekly email newsletter. I've had minor problems with weight over the years, but after my dad passed away, my mother-in-law passed away, and my mom fell and broke her hip, and I had to go live at her house for 3 months (long story, not very interesting), I became depressed and my doctor put me on a couple of antidepressants. With that and menopause (yes, I'm a Lady of a Certain Age), I've managed to put on a fair amount of weight. I've weaned back on the antidepressants, but am still on Lexapro. Anyway, I'm hoping to make a better effort and hopefully see some results.

By the way, tomorrow (Nov. 15) is National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day--who thinks up these things??! Well, I'm going to give it a shot, and hopefully my fridge will be sparkling by tomorrow evening! I mean, it's like my patriotic duty, right?

(From Tuesday November 14, 2006)

What's Your Superhero Name?

2008-02-14T00:43:00.000-08:00

Mine is: The Living Frog--Yeah!

Your Superhero Profile

Your Superhero Name is The Living Frog

Your Superpower is Mystic
Your Weakness is Confined spaces
Your Weapon is Your Solar Nunchucks
Your Mode of Transportation is Pegasus

What's your Superhero Name?

(From Saturday, November 4, 2006)

Continued From Last Entry

2008-02-14T00:42:00.001-08:00

Back again! Here's a picture of the pumpkins. They used a paper template, pins and markers to transfer the pattern, and then cut out the appropriate places--cool! David was in charge of removing the pumpkin guts, which has traditionally been his and Matt's job since I hate that part. When David was in grammar school, they had a pumpkin contest, and he decided to make "Picasso Pumpkin," that had a weird face with mixed up features--I think he won some kind of prize for that. They probably had to make up a special category--that's his sense of humor! Some day, I'll have to organize all my old pictures--I'm sure there must be a picture of that.

I finished my first knitted project, a blue Homespun scarf (yay, it actually came out looking like a scarf!). I'm working on a simple single crochet scarf in an off-white Aran fleck, and still need to finish my mom's teddy bear quilt. I'd like to make a crocheted blanket or small quilt for the new baby across the street, and since I don't have enough unfinished crafting projects in the works, I bought a cross stitch advent calendar kit today at Michael's (somebody stop me!!). My working theory is that if I have enough crafting projects in the works, I'll never die! If my theory fails, I hope there will be lots of interesting craft projects to work on in heaven--

(From Thursday November 2, 2006)

My Handsome Little Man

2008-02-14T00:40:00.000-08:00

Here's my handsome guy Hamish, just home from the groomer's. He hasn't had a professional grooming in about a year--he usually has to put up with my amateur attempts, and ends up looking really scruffy most of the time. The groomer always insists that Hamish have a double dose of tranquilizer before he comes in, and I discovered today that Hamish has a shameful blot on his permanent record! He behaves himself pretty well until they start working around his face, and then he loses patience. He'll tolerate it from me, but apparently he gets a little snappy with the groomer--hmmmm.

Hamish is doing well with his treatments, and doesn't seem to feel too bad. He goes in tomorrow morning for another treatment. Even with getting poked and prodded at the vet's, he's a good-natured little guy, and is always happy to go there. He's also taking prednisone every day, so is very thirsty and is putting on a little weight. All in all, he seems to be feeling pretty well, so we'll continue him on the treatments for now.

We've all had laryngitis or "the crud." It's all my younger son, David's fault! We don't feel too bad, but sound horrible! David and his girlfriend, Leslie, carved pumpkins for Halloween night, and they came out really nice. Rats, I can't figure out how to insert a picture here--I've seen other people insert pictures into their 360 blogs. Yes, I'm technologically challenged! Please proceed to the next blog entry!

(From Thursday November 2, 2006)

Stitch 'N' Pitch Night Update

2008-02-14T00:33:00.000-08:00

I forgot to update about Stitch 'N' Pitch night at the Dodgers on August 10th. Above is a picture of the goodies. We each got a tote bag, a free nice set of Clover wooden knitting needles, two skeins of eyelash yarn (in Dodger Blue!), and some patterns and coupons, all for the $10 admission fee! The peanut guy kind of freaked out when he saw everybody in our section knitting! This was billed as the "First Annual Stitch 'N' Pitch Night," so will look forward to it for next year. The only trouble was that the Dodgers lost! I managed to crochet four 3" granny squares during the game, and my friend Cathy and husband Chuck actually watched the game! One woman crocheted or knitted a thong during the game, and held it up for everyone to see. Another person knitted something with the Dodger name knitted into it.

If you go to the pictures from the Dodger night, we actually appear in the background on one of the pictures--Go Dodgers!

(From Saturday October 14, 2006)

My Pal Hamish

2008-02-13T10:11:00.000-08:00

This is my crazy, scruffy, four-legged (adopted)son, Hamish MacLaine, the Scottie. He's about 6-1/2 years old, and we got him when he was about 6 months old. (Hamish is Scottish for "James"). Two weeks ago when I was petting him, I felt some ominously enlarged lymph nodes on the right side of his neck, and that Friday, we were discussing cancer protocols with the vet, as we found out he has malignant lymphoma. We are just heartsick, as he has been such an amazing and funny little friend, and full of that terrier "in your face" attitude. Since he's not that old of a dog, we decided to at least start him on treatment--our vet uses the University of Wisconsin protocol. A week ago last Monday, he had his first treatment, which consisted of a shot and an infusion, and starting him on daily prednisone. Yesterday, he had his second treatment, which was four pills of Cytoxan, with continued daily prednisone.

The protocol will be nine weeks of treatment, which should bring about some level of remission, and at that point, he'll be evaluated to see whether he goes on an every-other-week treatment plan or not. The vet told us that dogs tolerate chemotherapy much better than humans do, and so far, he seems to feel pretty good. The lymphoma is at an early stage, but is a "high-grade" or aggressive strain. The typical course is that he could live for another year and feel fairly well (a year is a long time, from his perspective), and at some point, he will come out of remission. However, if at any point his life is becoming a burden to him, we're certainly not going to allow that to continue.

We're trying to keep things in perspective at this point, because I know that two weeks ago, there are parents who found out that their child has malignant lymphoma, and were discussing cancer protocols with a child oncologist instead of their vet, and our children are fine and doing relatively okay. For now, Hamish is getting lots of extra treats and attention, which he thinks is great--

(From Tuesday October 10, 2006)

Do I really need another hobby?

2008-02-06T13:56:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I don't have enough to do (snort!), so I decided I really should learn how to hand knit! I've had two lessons so far at my local Michael's, which is just a few blocks from my house. At first, I loved it, then I hated it, and now I'm cautiously optimistic. I learned both the knit and purl stitch at my first lesson, and made a really looong, about 5 inch wide, bright pink thingy at home because I couldn't figure out how to stop and bind it off.

At my second lession on Wednesday, I asked the teacher if I could work on a small project, like making a 7x9 inch block for their Warm Up America donation box. She assigned me a pattern using the double seed stitch. It took me the entire two hours to cast on 35 stitches, and complete one row without any mistakes (I'm not kidding!). After that, I went home and proceeded to row two, which I hopelessly messed up and couldn't figure out how to fix, so I said, "Oh $%#@," pulled the whole thing apart, and put the needles in a tote bag far, far away from my sight! Figured I would stick with crocheting, quilting and loom knitting--who needs needle knitting??!!

Well, today is Saturday, and I could hear those knitting needles mocking me and giggling (maybe I need to be on medication?). So I pulled the little buggers out and started over, and was actually able to cast on and do one row perfectly in about 20 minutes--what an improvement! I have to say "knit" and "purl" out loud to myself, or I forget where I'm at, and if I'm interrupted, it's a major disaster, but I might just be getting the hang of it! I'm getting really good at un-knitting (to find my mistakes), and probably should have started out with that first. They seriously should take the knitted blocks out of the Warm Up America box and have the new knitters un-knit them.

Well, after much tribulation, I now have about six rows done, and I still have 35 stitches on the needle. I have about 6-1/2 more inches to go, but my needles are no longer mocking me! I guess I should do some actual transcription work today, and need to work on my mom's teddy bear quilt--I'll post a picture next time. Anybody need a long, bright pink thingy that's curling into a tube?

(From Saturday September 23, 2006)

Women of Faith at the Duck Pond

2008-02-05T23:55:00.000-08:00

I had a SUPER weekend! My stitching buddy Cathy had an extra ticket to the Women of Faith conference on Friday night and Saturday at the Arrowhead Pond--WOW!!! I had such a great time with Cathy and her wonderful daughter Christie! I've probably been to four or five WOF conferences in the past, but haven't been for a couple of years, and what a tremendous time singing and praising God in a giant arena with thousands of your best friends! I might be one of the little dots in the picture above!

The speakers were all amazing as usual. The speakers were guests at the Dr. Phil show on Thursday, and that episode is supposed to be aired on October 3rd. Robin McGraw spoke on Saturday, shared about her childhood, and her faith and convictions, and was one of the highlights for me--I'm looking forward to reading her book, "Inside My Heart." It was a surprise when her husband came out to escort her off the stage, as she does for him on every show.

Another treat was listening to the music of Avalon and Sandi Patty. Sandi and her husband sang that duet that's partly in Italian that I don't know the name of (I think I have a CD of Josh Groban and Charlotte Church singing it)--it was so beautiful, took my breath away and gave me goosebumps! Another new speaker was an amazing woman named Jennifer Rothschild who lost her sight at the age 15, and was able to say even at that age that although it was not well with her circumstances, it is well with her soul.

Thank you, God, for my wonderful surprise weekend!!

P.S. Here's the song--it's called The Prayer (love it!):

The Prayer

I pray you’ll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don’t know

Let this be our prayer
As we go our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we’ll be safe

La luce che to dai
I pray we’ll find your light
Nel cuore restero
And hold it in our hearts
A ricordarchi che
When stars go out each night
L’eterna stella sei

Nella mia preghiera
Let this be our prayer
Quanta fede c’e
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we’ll be safe.

Sognamo un mondo senza piu violenza
Un mondo di giustizia e di speranza
Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino
Simbolo di pace e di fraternita

La forza che ci dai
We ask that life be kind
E’il desiderio che
And watch us from above
Ognuno trovi amore
We hope each soul will find
Intorno e dentro a se
Another soul to love

Let this be our prayer
Let this be our prayer
Just like every child
Just like every child
Needs to find a place,
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we’ll be safe

E la fede che
Hai acceso in noi
Sento che ci salvera

(From Monday September 11, 2006)

What I'm Reading and a Great Music Video

2008-02-05T23:47:00.000-08:00

I started the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. It's like a lot of short cases solved by a lady named Precious Ramotswe in Botswana who opens a detective agency--very cute stories. We're going to the coast for a few days starting tomorrow, so hopefully will be able to finish it while we're gone.

In our Bible in 90 Days study, we finished the Old Testament today and started the New Testament. We'll finish up the whole Bible on September 1. The study has been great for me, as far as getting a better understanding and overview of the history of the Old Testament. The video that goes along with it keeps stressing, especially in reading the prophets, to read to learn about what God is like, rather than reading to try to figure out the future. That has really been helpful for me, and has been kind of a new mindset for reading the Bible. I like these verses in Jer. 9:23-24: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, Who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord." Hmm--understanding and knowing God--my new goals!

Here's a great music video to make you smile--fantastic choreography!

Who knew you could do so much with treadmills??

(From Saturday August 12, 2006)

Stitch 'N' Pitch Night at the Dodgers

2008-02-05T23:42:00.000-08:00

I was looking at the Lion Brand Yarn website on Sunday, and happened to notice a new feature, their calendar of events for yarn lovers, and learned about Stitch 'N' Pitch night that some of the Major League teams are having. I was lucky with the timing because the Dodgers are having their first annual Stitch 'N' Pitch night this Thursday, Aug. 10th! You bring your stitching with you, crocheting, knitting, cross stitch, needlepoint, etc. The tickets are $10 instead of the usual $15, and you get a Dodger (or whoever) knitting tote filled with goodies. The National Needlearts Association is having booths on the concourse as well, so I'm looking forward to it. Chuck and I are going, along with my stitching buddy, Cathy. Cool, something that appeals both to me and my husband! Hopefully, Chuck will be there to keep me from being hit in the head with a ball while I'm crocheting! More later--woo hoo!

(From Wednesday August 9, 2006)

Ian Anderson Orchestral Concert

2008-02-05T23:38:00.000-08:00

On Sunday night, we went to Royce Hall at UCLA and were able to see Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull in an orchestral concert, along with violinist Lucia Micarelli. The music was truly wonderful--what amazing musicians! Listening to Jethro Tull is always my guilty pleasure, and the flute and violin together were such a joy. Micarelli is such a passionate violinist, and brought the house down with her arrangement of a Led Zeppelin song. Another hightlight of the concert was when Ian tripped over Micarelli's violin mike cord, disconnecting her and breaking a small sliver off her no-doubt super expensive violin--hope it's insured. A long and excellent concert, and enjoyed every minute of the music! (borrowed the picture off the Tull website--hope I'm not violating any copyrights!)

(From Wednesday August 9, 2006)

Worst Quilt in the World Contest

2008-02-05T22:55:00.000-08:00

I heartily recommend subscribing to the Ami Simms Quilters Newsletter and visiting her website:

Ami Simms Site

Ami Simms Newsletter

For quilters who want a good laugh, please check out the entries for the Worst Quilt in the World Contest--some are truly inspiring:

Worst Quilt in the World Contest

The picture above is of the proud contest winner with a quilt called "Cracked China." If you go to the link above, you can get a closer view of the fine workmanship. I would have to say my favorite is the one called "Corporal Punishment"--obviously so very much hard work went into it, and it came out so very badly! Just looking at them makes me feel so much better about my own quilts!

(From Saturday July 15, 2006)

Still Plugging Away at the Bible in 90 Days

2008-02-05T22:53:00.000-08:00

Our group at church is still meeting once a week on Mondays, and we're plugging away at reading all the way through the Bible in 90 days! It has been a great experience so far, and I feel like I'm getting a better overall picture of the chain of events in the Old Testament and seeing how God was working through events. After the end of this week, we'll be at about Psalm 80, and about halfway through the Bible--woo hoo! One thing that keeps me going is that my younger son David got me started on this, and I can't let him see mom poop out on this project!

Next Monday the 17th is my birthday (#54, shudder!!). Where did the time go? I asked Chuck for a nice new NASB Study Bible, so after finishing this current series in the NIV, I'm going to need to start all over again and start marking up my new Bible! I admire some of the older members of the church whose Bibles are all frayed, scratched and marked up, so I'll need to start breaking that new Bible in and getting it looking a little worn!

Here's a weird, but funny story. When I first became a Christian at age 17, I had my Living Bible (The Way, I think it was called), and it was the whole Bible with a paper-type cover. It was getting a little worn, and my brother was being obnoxious about something and teasing me, so I hit him with my Bible, and it actually tore and broke into two pieces! I was horrified--I was sure it was God's judgment on me for hitting my brother with a Bible! Talk about being a Bible banger!! Please don't tell anybody--I sure wouldn't want this story to get out!

(From Thursday July 13, 2006)

I've Been Tagged!

2008-02-05T22:45:00.000-08:00

Okay, Jana--you tagged me! Eight things or habits about myself, hmmm.

1. Even though I like long fingernails on other women, I can't stand them on myself.

2. I'm a night owl, and my brain doesn't really start working until after 6 PM.

3. I hate wearing enclosed shoes--I prefer wearing sandals (good thing I live in Southern California).

4. I love the ocean, and if I had to move inland, it would feel strange and I would really miss it!

5. I hate to cook and I'm a terrible housekeeper!

6. I have a flat spot on the middle of my nose that I never noticed until my husband pointed it out to me (he says it's a landing strip for flies).

7. I like dogs, and I can usually develop a rapport with them.

8. Jana, I'm going to steal your #8--I'm a God's girl too! Yeah!

Now, who should I tag?

The picture above has nothing to do with anything, except that I like it. It's Rosie the Quilter from Bayside Quilting in Olympia, Washington. We can do it!

(From Saturday June 24, 2006)

"Hip to be Square" Quilt Finished--Finally!

2008-02-05T22:43:00.000-08:00

Finally was able to finish my "Hip to be Square" quilt and sent it off to Lynn S. last week. On Friday, it should be on its way to the kids at the UC Davis Pediatric Cancer Infusion Center. I pray that whoever it goes to will find comfort in the quilt as they receive treatments, be helped by their treatments, and live a long, healthy life. This quilt had royal blue as the main color. I also have a quilt top of the same type that has burgundy as the main color, that is ready to be quilted and then will be sent on to someone at Wounded Knee, and given to someone who can use it.

After that, I'll be working on some cute girly quilts made with Barbie fat quarters. Since I have boys, I'm a frustrated crafter, as far as making cutey-pie stuff for girls--I don't know why, but the boys just never liked the cutey-pie stuff I made for them...??? I'd like to use the "Yellow Brick Road" pattern by Atkinson Designs for the Barbie FQ quilts, or one called "Turning Twenty" by Tricia Cribbs, which is a similar type pattern. The "Turning Twenty" refers to using 20 FQs for the quilt. I'll post a picture when I finish, but it may take a while!

(From Monday June 19, 2006)

Bible in 90 Days

2008-02-05T22:40:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of fun at our Centennial, and got to see our former pastors and missionaries, and some people we hadn't seen in years, some from Arizona and Washington. It was really inspiring to see people who have gone out from our church and had an impact as far away as Guatemala, Africa and Cambodia.

On June 6, a group of us started a program to read through the Bible in 90 days, using the Zondervan Bible pictured above. We meet once a week to see a short video and keep each other accountable. My younger son, David, kind of pulled me in, so we'll try to keep each other going. Eight days so far, and we're keeping up to date. It involves about 45 minutes of reading a day. I've read all the way through the Bible a couple of times before, and have jumped around a lot, but have never read through this fast! It will be interesting because one week, you're reading prophecies in the Old Testament, and then a few weeks later, you're seeing fulfillment of the same prophecies. Just hoping I don't fall behind because at this pace, it will be hard to catch up! I'm trying not to get bogged down with some of the lists of names and descriptions of the laws and sacrifices, and get more of the big picture. Now that I've blogged about it, maybe that will force me to keep on track!

(From Wednesday June 14, 2006)

Friends Church Centennial

2008-02-05T22:34:00.000-08:00

Our church is having its centennial celebration on June 3-4, 2006. We commissioned a talented local artist, Dennis McGonagle, to paint a picture of the church to mark the event, and are so pleased with the results! Dennis received degrees from Whittier College, and also studied with some of the great muralists in Mexico. I really like his use of color. We're having prints made from the painting, and Dennis will be on hand on Saturday, possibly with his 2-year-old grandson, to sign copies of the prints.

My quilting friends from the church are planning to have attendees sign an off-white swatch of fabric, and after the event, we'll put together a commemorative quilt. We haven't decided yet on what kind of pattern to use for the quilt, or what the other fabrics will be like.

An interesting bit of history is that Richard Nixon used to attend our church, played the piano and taught a Sunday School class here, but that was way before my time. Chuck and I joined the church in about 1986, and it has been a very big part of our lives since then.

(From Monday May 29, 2006)

Older Son Matt Graduates From College!!

2008-02-05T22:28:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo!! Our older son, Matt, graduated yesterday from California State University, Long Beach (Go Beach!!)! What with changing majors, it took a little longer, and we are so proud of him for sticking it out! His degree is in political science, and he enjoys being a critic of the system. We've had many interesting discussions about politics!

The ceremony was VERY long and hot--remembered to bring water, but stupidly forgot to bring sunscreen, so we got fried! There were probably 1,000 graduates with this group, and they were acknowledged individually, which was nice but lengthy. Matt's graduation went from about 1 to 4 PM. The school has so many graduates that they're holding three or four separate graduation ceremonies. The funny part is that, since my husband teaches at Whittier College, he has to sit through another graduation today, but this one starts at 9 AM and has fewer graduates, so won't be so bad!

One down, one to go! Younger son David is going to Whittier College (Go Poets!!), and will graduate next year with a double major in English literature and music.

Wishing Matt the best and praying for him as he takes whatever the next step will be--

Donna (Mom)

(From Friday May 26, 2006)

Basic Elements--Truth or Dare Album

2008-02-05T22:12:00.000-08:00

This is the cover of the Demo Album for younger son David's Christian punk group, Basic Elements. David just turned 22 (gasp, it can't be!!), and older son Matt will turn 25 in May! I don't know if you're a fan of Christian punk, but if you'd like to hear a sample of their music, you can check it out at: Basic Elements at Myspace. [Note: Their Myspace account might be gone now--not sure.] My favorite song of theirs is "I Fly High." They had a chance to play at "Truth Fest" in San Diego in March, and their next "gig" will be on April 29th at Angel City in Bellflower (in CA, if you're in the neighborhood!).

I'm working on quilt squares sent in by Our Special Angels for my Yahoo group, Crafting For A Cause, and hope to post pictures of a couple of completed quilts soon. The "Great String Quilt Experiment of 2006" was a great success, thanks to the Angels, and we have enough squares to keep several quilters busy! I'm trying to crochet a few granny squares here and there so I don't forget how. If I do 4" squares in a single color at a time, it makes an easy portable project to take with me when I visit my mom. I promised to make her a teddy bear quilt, and need to make good on that promise soon also! If only I could quit my job and just quilt and crochet--sigh!

Donna

(From Monday April 10, 2006)

Basic Elements--Christian Punk Band

2008-02-05T22:03:00.000-08:00

Hi again--

By way of explanation, Basic Elements is my younger son David's Christian punk band. Their name stands for Father, Son and Holy Spirit. My son is the cute guy with the curly-ish brown hair, and plays the bass guitar. His hair is even longer now and he has a full beard, and he's starting to look like that picture of Jesus! The band is hoping to make it big, and they actually sound pretty good, although loud! They're writing their own songs, and David is going to engineer a CD for them as his senior music project at Whittier College. If they make it big, maybe he can start supporting us!

Blessings--Donna

From Wednesday March 15, 2006)

My Blog About Stuff

2008-02-05T16:00:00.000-08:00

Hi--I'm not much of a blogger, but set up this page, originally on Yahoo 360, for fun and to post pictures. My priorities are my faith, family and friends. We're active members of an evangelical Friends (Quaker) church. I like to read, and hope to keep on learning things. I enjoy going to the ocean, poking around in antique stores, and going to museums and concerts (classical or rock). I hate doing housework and cooking, as my poor family knows. I like to work (I do medical transcription out of my home) and keep busy. My hobbies are doing cross stitch, quilting, crocheting and loom knitting. I also play the piano and flute, but only for my own enjoyment. I hope to do some good in this world and help people--I think that's one reason God put us here. That's about it!

I guess I like weird things, and for some reason the Picasso above appeals to me--my alter ego!

P.S. I'm moving my blog here from Yahoo 360, since I'm not sure what's going to be happening to Yahoo in the future--maybe soon it will be the new MS/Yahoo??

Thanks for visiting!

Donna (From Saturday March 11, 2006)