un ironed

A wrinkled tablecloth is sometimes better than none!

Henry in the window

Crictor

Have you heard of Crictor?   The children's librarian where I work has long (and I mean LONG) been thinking it would make a great book for one of her story hours. But she needed a prop.

It's the story of an older lady whose nephew sends her a boa for a pet. She gets over her shock pretty quick, and brings him everywhere, doting on him (I guess the nephew knew just what she needed!). 

She feeds him from a bottle.  Later, he graduates to drinking from a straw at an outdoor cafe.

It's very cute, but I don't want to give the whole story away.

But, back to Trisha, who was hoping for a stuffed Crictor.   Years ago, and I mean years, I was knitting something at break time, and she mentioned she wouldn't mind a knitted snake.  Well, I never did anything about that.

And, over the years, once in a great while, she'd mention Crictor wistfully, and my guilty feelings increased.

Finally last year I told myself to get to it, and we went through the donated fabrics at the library.  She wanted him in many different colors and fabrics, and long - seven feet or so; I didn't want him too garish looking, so I stuck with a basic color scheme of reds, blues and greens. 

I did pretty well with him, until I got hung up with his head, and then I stopped. And the guilty feelings accumulated.  But during Lent, I told myself that the time had come to finish this project. 

I just completed Crictor on Monday - not really Lent anymore, but.....

He's fifteen feet long!  I have no embroidery experience, so I just did my best with the eyes - they're all right, I guess. Trisha is very happy - she finally has her Crictor.  It took me way too long to do this, but she is like the woman in the Bible, who forgets the pains of childbirth because of the joy at bringing a new life into the world.  So, all is forgotten, my conscience is clear, and she can plan her new story hour.  Whew!

joining with Elizabeth today for needle and thREAD.

happy birthday, Will

The quality of mercy is not strain'd

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath

It is twice bless'd;  it blesses him that gives and him that takes

'Tis mightiest in the mightiest

It becomes the throned monarch better than his crown:  his scepter shows the force of temporal power,
  the attribute to awe and majesty, wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings

But mercy is above this scepter'd sway - it is enthroned in the heart of kings, it is an attribute to God himself;

And earthly power doth then show likest God's
when mercy seasons justice.

                                                                 -    The Merchant of Venice

by William Shakespeare, believed to have been born on this date, in 1564

teflon kitty

I guess Dolly is the teflon kitty, because I didn't have to wash her off as I'd feared.  Or maybe the soil is so dry, it just isn't sticking.

cherry blossom

wild turkeys

Along the road last week with a friend, a turkey crossed the road in front of us!

a little blurry

His coloring made me think of a waistcoat - Suzan pointed out his "necktie". He continued on his way.

Then, we saw a whole bunch of them.

Since then, I've heard mention of wild turkeys at least three times. Must be turkey season.

bird watching on the sly

from the back of a living room chair, close enough to see but not be seen.

a summer day

We had a treat today. It was more like August - in the mid 80s.  And, just like he often does on the hottest days of summer, the mockingbird sang all day.

I'm here to say that I enjoyed every minute of it.

an apron from Margaret

Last month I joined Rhonda's apron swap - they paired me up with Margaret, who lives in Australia. She finished mine pretty quick and it's so pretty.

The strap goes through a stripe! (say that five times, very fast)

The same piece which ties at the waist goes up through these casings and up around the neck - I hadn't seen that before!

I'm still working on hers.

the sweater survived

I've been putting off washing a sweater because the tag said "dry flat only". It's such an issue in this small house to dry something flat - I just didn't want to bother, with this mostly cotton and partly wool thing. So, I didn't! I put it in the dryer.

It's fine!

In fact, I like the way it feels - I think it's improved.

Dolly knows

Monday night I heard the radio in the kitchen playing some Handel. "Messiah", actually.

I went in there to turn it up and Dolly, the music lover, was on the table, listening.  She was really enjoying it - I mean, really. enjoying it. The soprano was very good; it was my favorite piece in all of "Messiah".

Her eyes were all squinted up, but she'd look at me every now and then with such a look of pleasure on her face - I'm not kidding!

Then, I started to sing along.  She looked up at me.

It's from the book of Job, chapter 19.
"I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And, though worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. Yet now is Christ risen from the dead; the first fruits of them that sleep."

I think Dolly knows something.

"the happiness that will be ours..."

"The season before Easter signifies the troubles in which we live here and now, while the time after, which we are celebrating at present, signifies the happiness that will be ours in the future."


                                                 -  St. Augustine

a fluffy head

what has happened...

Peter proceeded to speak and said, "You know what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed with the devil, for God was with Him. We are witnesses of all that He did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that He be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that He is the One appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins through His name."

                                                         Acts of the Apostles 10: 34a, 37-43

a new way of egg coloring

I was captivated by Alicia Paulson's decorated eggs, and decided to try it myself.

I went outside and picked some weedy things of different types.  I'd bought a package of eight white eggs, and, using her instructions, boiled four of them with some onion skins. I used less than she did, and they came out nice, but lighter than hers.

(It happened that I'd run two pair of pantyhose this week, so that was handy! I fished them out of the trash and washed them. Actually, I think that they're being wet made them easier to work with. They didn't stick to the dry skin on my fingers.)

I also looked at the link she provided in her post, about other egg colors from different foods.  I really wanted to try for violet, and I had some grape juice, so I used that.  Looking at it partway through, it didn't look so promising so I dropped in a tiny bit of green food coloring.  The combination of the grape juice and green gave them an olive-y tone. Very earthy.

But I still wanted to try for the violet - I had two eggs left. I used more juice, and more vinegar this time. Funny, they didn't end up being violet at all - rather more like a taupe. Which is fine - the whole process was fun, anyway.  I didn't think to get jumbo sized eggs - those would show up the designs much better, and I'll have to remember that.

These are my two prettiest ones.  It's a great idea, and I think I'll be trying this again.

Glory in the Cross

Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
who redeems us with His blood,
Let us tell the story of the cross of Christ
and the pow'r of His saving love, 
Like a lamb He was slain;
He carried our shame,
to show us the mercy of God.
Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
and the triumph of God's great love.


Let us bring our burdens to the cross of Christ
Who has known our sorrow and tears.
In the great compassion of the heart of Christ,
God has walked in our hopes and fears.
He was mocked and betrayed,
deserted by friends,
and banished to die among thieves.
Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
and the triumph of God's great love.


Let us kneel in homage at the cross of Christ
where we see God's human face.
We behold the Maker of the sun and stars
as He hangs on the throne of grace.
As we share in His pain,
His sorrow and shame,
our hearts will be tested in fire.
Let us ever glory in the cross of Christ
and the triumph of God's great love.

something to think about

"Faith is the understanding that God wants to love and be loved."

                            -  Beyond the Walls,  Paul Wilkes

Palm Sunday