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December 30, 2003 10:29:03 AM

It is so quiet here today. The phones have not been ringing and I'm all caught up on my work. I was goofing off online for lack of anything else to do and I read Naomi's blog entry, which is a poem about where she is from. I tracked the link back and found Fred's Fragments From Floyd blog with the template for the poem and links to blogs where bloggers have written their own version of Where I'm From. Here's mine.
 
 

Where I'm From

I am from fibers, from cotton and wool. I have been woven up and knitted together in love and pain and longing.

I am from the blustery, chilly, humid, and stormy North.

I am from the wide, spreading oak around which my arms could not reach, and the lavender lilac blooming in early May.

I am from, from Fred and Betty-Ann, and Joseph and Johnnie and Frank and Laura, Bourne, Brown, Willams, Postell.

I am from the tellers of stories and keepers of grudges, from artists and inmate and balladeer.

From a basket left on the doorstep or a twinkle in my daddy’s eye.

I am from the worshippers of God, and from those who are far from Him.

I'm from Barbados and Nova Scotia and Cambridge and the wide, lonely plains where the Blackfeet hunted Buffalo. I’m from collard greens and those famous warm, buttery rolls fresh from the oven.

From the days in the sugar factory and the arsenal during the war, to the loss of the tip of a finger as a child laborer in the textile mills along the Merrimac. I’m from the flirting glances between a young admirer and a department store sales girl. I’m from years of willing sacrificial service, and the unflinching pursuit of the dream.

I am from sepia toned photographs, cracked black and white snapshots and color photos in the big, brown photo album in grandma’s living room where there is always starlight mints in a glass dish and a welcoming embrace.

You are Leviticus
You are Leviticus.

Which book of the Bible are you?
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December 29, 2003 12:02:44 PM

We had a nice little Christmas celebration at our house this year. On Christmas Eve, Daryll read the Christmas story from the Bible, and Leila put baby Jesus in the manger. I bought a Jesus, Mary and Joseph doll set for Jordan to play with while we read the story. Leila and I made some graham cracker gingerbread houses, but next time, I'll definitely make the actual gingerbread because graham crackers are just too fragile. The girls were all thrilled with their gifts. Brianna was pleased because Daryll and I decorated her room as a surprise. Jordan received lots of toys and new clothes and an adorable little stuffed giraffe rocking chair. The rocker is still at grandma's house because Jordan is a little afraid of it right now. Daryll liked his golf shoes and shirt, and he gave me some lovely jewelery and a gift certificate for a spa treatment.


My husband and I had our first really big argument, which put a bristley, cool damper on his birthday party. I cooked and made the preparations, but it was not easy to greet guests and play hostess when I really wanted to strangle my husband. We've since made up and everything is fine again, but I do feel badly that his birthday was not what it could have been.

Last night my sister-in-law and I went roller-skating with the kids and we had a lot of fun. I have not been on skates since I chaperoned a class skaing trip two years ago when Brianna was in 7th grade. I was a little wobbly, but muscle memory is an incerdible thing. After awhile my confidence grew and I had a great time. The only problem is that there were some daredevil speed demons there that were whipping around that rink like crazy people. I got mowed down once, and had another close call. I want to go again next week because it was so much fun and great exercise.

The Montera cable knit sweater is coming along nicely. I have completed the back and the sleeves and now I am close to the halfway mark on the front.

Here is my completed Bucket-o-Chic, made from Fisherman's wool.

Looks great on the form, but its a floppy-looking mess on my head. Please don't try to make a BOC from Lion Brand Fishermand's Wool. The yarn does not have enough body. The hat also came out a bit too big, so I tossed it in the washer to try to felt it a bit, but it didn't shrink down much at all. On the day after Christmas I went down to Springwater Fibers Workshop in Alexandria and bought the Denise needle kit for myself and some yummy handpainted New Zealand wool that is lofty and soft to the touch. I'm going to knit myself a scarf with it. I also bought some coordinating Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted weight yarn to try to make another BOC. The updated pattern instructions came from Bonne Marie Burns just in the nick of time. I'll post pictures of my next attempt. I'm thinking of tweaking the pattern just a bit and instead of using Stockinette stitch for the hat and brim, I'm going to try a slip-stitch pattern which I believe is called Linen Stitch. It produces a very firm fabric that won't roll or flop as stockenette stitch does. I'm eager to see what changes have been made to the pattern. I'll try a few experimental swatches and see what unfolds.

December 23, 2003 10:28:39 AM

We're coming down to the wire here. When I awakened Leila this morning, I told her, "Tomorrow is Christmas Eve!" That made getting her out of the bed just a little bit easier.

Last night I baked and absolutely divine Sweet Iced Christmas Bread. I found the recipe online, but of course, I tweaked it just a little bit. It came out absolutely lovely. I rolled out the doughe with a rolling pin and using a sharp knife I cut pieces of dough in the shape of leaves. I laid the leaves on parchment paper in the shape of a wreath. After it rose for the final time, I brushed the loaves with egg/milk wash and sprinkled sliced Almonds and sugar on top. I took the scaps and braided them into a little loaf so that we could have a little sample. The texture was light moist and it was not too sweet. The bits of nuts and figs and dates added a wonderful flavor to the bread. I am going to make another loaf tonight for our next door neighbor. She is so sweet and helpful, and I'd like to thank her properly.

I found what looks like a wonderful web site for Christian women called, www.shelovesgod.com. I haven't really had a chance to really go in depth and read everything, but when I do, I'll write a quick review of it. Check it out.

I've finished my Christmas knitting, and all I have left to buy is a few things for my husband. Tonight we'll be wrapping gifts and getting the house ready for his birthday party. I am determined to enjoy this time with my family and not let the thought of our heightened threat level cause me any extra anxiety. God has it all in control.

December 19, 2003 4:48:11 AM

This morning at work I got a lovely call from my Pappa. It seems that he was up late last night goofing around online and he decided to 'google' a mutual friend of ours--my old Pastor. As he paged through the links on Google, he saw a link to my blog. Daddy knows that I have a blog, and he's read it before, but I guess he didn't realise that I have continued to keep it so he hasn't visited it since I've been here in DC. He told me that he sat up late last night reading through my blog archives. He called me at work this morning to tell me how much he enjoyed reading it. I am glad that he liked it and I'm glad that there is nothing here that I would not have wanted him to see. I don't try to keep my blog a secret, but neither do I tell everyone about it because I want to feel free to write whatever I feel like writing. I don't want to feel self-conscious and I don't want my friends and family calling me and asking me about or taking issue with what I write here.

It's very quiet and slow here this afternoon. We had our holiday party and it was great fun. It was a pot luck menu and all of the food was great. I made white chocolate macadamia nut Biscotti, which came out absolutely divine. On of my coworkers brought her little two-year-old to the party, and she was delightful. I got a glimpse of what Jordan might be like one year from now.

Tonight I will go home and make ornaments for Leila's class. We discovered this cool fabric that you can pop right into the printer. Her teacher sent home a disk with digi pictures of the kids in her class. I will print their little faces on to this fabric and then we will attach them to little potpourri sachets that will be tied up with a ribbon. The kids will add their own decorative borders around the pictures and they will actually fill the little sachets with potpourri that they have made in class from herbs and flowers that grow in the garden in the schoolyard.

This is crunch weekend. I have just a little bit of shopping left to do and then I'll spend the evenings next week wrapping gifts. Daryll still needs to put up a shelf in the living room so that we can display our beautiful new nativity scene so that it's out of reach of the grabby hands of our little Jordan. Brianna is going to string lights and garland up the bannister along the staircase and Daryll is going to string some lights up on the porch, but that's about it.

I have been praying about trying to find a way to bring home the true meaning of Christmas beyond the gifts and the lights and the music and the food. I want to take time with my children and focus in on Jesus and the celebration of his birth. Last night Daryll and I talked about what we would do. We are going to start a new tradition this year. It will involve setting aside a bit of money and rather than spending it on toys or presents, we will choose a children's charity to give it to in each of the children's names. They will each write a letter to Jesus to put under the Cristmas tree and they will tell him about the gift that they have given to help some child that they might never meet to have a better Christmas. This year they will donate to the Slavic Gospel Association, which we learned about last night while listening to a Christian radio show. This organization raises money to give gifts to children in orphanages in Russia and they send missionaries to share the gospel with these children.

December 15, 2003 11:36:11 AM

I have resigned myself to the basic reality that I am indeed a process person. I tend to bristle just a teensy bit when I hear people say things like, "Oh yes, I'm all ready for Christmas. The gifts are all purchased and wrapped and my house is all decorated." I, on the other hand like to enjoy the whole gestalt of the holiday season. I do like to get my Christmas cards mailed out at least by the first week in December, but buying and making and wrapping the gifts will continue to go on right up until the Last Minute. I just love the preparations, and if I get completely organized and get it all done early, I just wouldn't know what to do with myself. So, I'm enjoying the process yet not giving in to the urge to panic as the Day approaches. I love Christmas and I love showering those around me with expressions of my affection for them. I definitely agree that giving is its own reward.

If you love to cook and collect recipes as I do, or even if you don't like it that much but need a certain recipe, you've GOT to visit the (Searchable Online Archive of Recipes) SOAR. Or, that's what it was called. Now it's called the Recipe Source, but back in the day (1995) when I first started using the Internet, it was called SOAR, and I remember thinking that this was one of the cool ways that the Internet was going to bring people together. It's this amazingly gigantic compilation of recipes from all over the world and it sorts the recipes by type of dish, or region of the world that the recipe comes from. I find this to be a Very handy tool.

I had a very productive knitting weekend. I finished my 'bucket-o-chic' hat, but I'm not incredibly pleased with how it looks on my head. I used Fisherman's Wool, and it's a bit floppy. I may add a cloth lining. The pattern is great, and the hat is a cinch to make. I think I'm going to try using a heavier yarn and try it again. I am less than 2" away from finishing a ribbed neck scarf from my gift list. While I sat in the beauty parlor having my locs tighetend, I worked on the mohair shawl. It's very close to completion now. I've saved the dishcloths/washcloths for last because I can whip them up so quickly. I made a few of these last year and everyone loved them. Daryll bought a big sleeve of AA batteries, so I can feed the digi cam and post pictures soon.

I guess I have to mention the whole Saddam thing only because Daryll was so tickled to hear the news. He and the other Reservists in his unit burned up the phone lines on Sunday morning talking about it and trying to predict how this was going to effect the situation in Iraq. It was, at the very least, a real morale boost for the troops. I'm glad that they were able to capture him without incident and without loss of life. It will be intersting to see what happens to him next.

December 11, 2003 12:19:41 PM

Ahhh, to be five years old again. Leila's Kindergarten class is having a pyjama party at school. It's not a sleep-over, but the kids wear their pyjamas to class and then have pancakes and sausage and eggs instead of their regular lunch. How much fun is that?

My new pal Eve just invited me to join a wonderful list-serv called Christian Artisans. It is an email group of knitters, spinners and other fiber lovers who are also Christians. Check 'em out. Also, take a look at the beautiful handiwork of one of the list moms.

December 10, 2003 10:09:39 AM

I am reading an old classic, Mere Christianity, by C.S.Lewis. What an amazing little book this is. I find Lewis to be first a great thinker. He brings an intelligent and thoughtful perspective about Christianty in the light of other world views in a very approachable way. I'm only 52 pages into it, but this morning on the train I read something on page 50 that knocked my socks off. Lewis writes:
"God made us: invented us as man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."
Pretty awesome stuff there! God is the fuel that the human machine was made to burn. He is the One, True source of our supply, and I am thankful that He is an abundant, never-failing, never-forsaking, all-powerful, beyond description source of power that is as close as our next breath. As I read Lewis's words they seemd to jump off of the page. The simple truth just stunned me anew because. There is no happiness, no peace, no comfort, no real joy apart from God Himself. Letting the reality of those words sink in makes me want to shout for joy and be thankful for my salvation and for my relationship with God. It also makes me want to pray more fervently for those who are lost and strangers to God. There were some dark days in my life when I had tried to turn away from God and go my own way. I laugh now when I think of it because I'm not sure where I thought I was going, but even in those days where I didn't even know where my Bible was and I hadn't been to church in ages--even then He kept me and guided my feet and wooed me back to Himself. There are those who are lost and running. One day they will see that there is no hiding place. The God who made you indwels you. No matter where you go, there you are and there He is also with you. End the cat and mouse game and let His love comfort you unconditionally. There is no other way. There is no place to hide. You will not find what you seek anywhere else but in His bosom.

The flu is finally loosening its grip on our household. Last week Daryll had it and he was out of work for a whole week. He had a fever for three days straight and he couldn't even sit up in bed sometimes. I kept him quarantined in the living room through the duration of his illness and I'd go in there to give him tea and bring him soup and tissues, etc, but the girls were to stay away. Jordan was missing her Daddy and when she figured out where he was she went running in and dove into him. She climbed up on him and gave him a big hug and a squeeze. I pried her away from him and when I put her down, she snatched one of his tissues and pretended to blow her nose just like Daddy. I knew then that she was going to be the next flu victim. Two days later, Jordan had it, so just as Daryyl was barely beginning to feel better, he had to take care of her all day because we couldn't send her to the babysitter sick. She sure wore her daddy out, and I came home to a disaster of a house, but they both survived. I was in the house with her all weekend unable to put her down while she was awake because she was so cranky and clingy. This morning is the first morning where she seems to be feeling almost all better.

On Monday night I taught knitting again at St. Mark's we had a nice, small group of women two of which were learning to knit for the first time. One woman caught on so quickly and by the end of the evening had knit a nice little swatch of garter stitch. We all cheered her excellent progress. The other new knitter finally caught it and was able to complete a few rows so everybody felt accomplished. Teaching is a real kick, and I'm thinking about finding a location where I can do some technique workshops in the spring.

I've been working finishing up the knitted items on my Christmas list and making great progress. I've been looking for a pattern for a hat for myself because I am getting tired of the old watch cap. I found just waht I was looking for at chicknits. I bought the 'bucket-o-chic' hat pattern and I am going to make a few of them in different colors. I also bought the pattern for Mrs. CB's Camp Jacket, which I plan to make for myself. Now I need to do a little yarn shopping. . .

OK, I heard that there was an earthquake felt in this area yesterday, but I missed it. I was sitting right here at my desk, but this is such a big, solid building we really didn't feel a thing.

December 1, 2003 3:36:19 PM

It was just a four-day weekend, but it felt like a nice long vacation. I had a fabulous time with my family celebrating Thanksgiving and just enjoying being at home with my people. This year all I had to make was a cake and bread. I also roasted some green beans because my MIL tends to cook all of her green vegetables in some kind of meat--either pork or smoked turkey. I gave myself the weekend off from stressing and fussing over food, but I found that my appetite has changed and I didn't really want to gorge myself as we often tend to do on Thanksgiving and other big food-related holiday meals. I ate sensibly--although definitely not low carb or low fat by any means. Unlike some of my other family members, I didn't feel stuffed and bloated and sleepy after dinner. You know, it's funny, but I have found that I'd much rather make good food choices and feel good about myself, than to indulge in something that will make me feel regret and kick myself later. As some wise person once said , and I love to quote this, "nothing tastes as good as losing weight feels." When all was said and done (and eaten) I actually lost a whole pound over the weekend. Go figure.

Over the weekend I had many an occaision to knit my little heart out and I've made great progress on my commissioned cable sweater. I finished both sleeves and had about 5" of the front completed when I had to frog about 2" because of a mistake in the center cable pattern. I did a little bit of work on the mohair shawl, the mittens and scarf, which are all Christmas gifts.

I was just in Filene's at my lunch break, and I looked at their selection of hats and scarves and mittens and gloves--all had a 'hand-knit' look. The hats and scarves and mittens were knit in chunky, thick and thin, home-spun looking yarns on fat needles. Back in the day I remember always making things in finer-gauge yarns on small needles so that it would look less 'homey.'

So, here we are at the first day of the last month of the year. One month from now we'll be in a new year. I still have some shopping left to do, but I know what I'm aftern and I feel confident that everything will get completed on time. Daryll and I have a plan to sit down and take a look at our financial situation and make sure that everything is in order. We are balancing between saving for college and saving for retirement. I am of the 'old'school that says that kids should contribute to their college education. I worked my way through college all on my own and it was a struggle, but it I deifinitely felt a great sense of accomplishment when I walked across that stage. It is always very satisfying to start the year on track with goals in mind and priorities in order.

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