Crafting a Fifty Year Remembrance...

For the Thanksgiving season 2021 I filled a bowl with two pumpkins and a squash I knit a few years ago and I found a turkey to stand guard.

Then the last Friday of November I received a stunning gift of flowers from two dear ones who knew that I was remembering that 50 years ago Louis and I married.  If you are curious to know more about my remembrance of my husband for 38 years there is a page on the blog entitled "Louis" that you can click on to take you to what I typed.

Texts and calls from loved ones presented themselves at just the right time during the morning and afternoon.  Cups of honey-sweetened tea were given to me as a friend looked at my wedding album with me in the mid-afternoon.  Two other dear ones brought food and decorations, more flowers and themselves to share my remembrances in the evening...and a precious time of Communion as well. Then just before I went to bed I felt a nudge from God to check the front step, and there was a little box full of lovely gifts including Hanukkah candles and Moonflower seeds. I am so very thankful for the Lord's tender care.

As I looked through photo albums I described how some of the guys had tried to tape the word HELP in fluorescent orange paper to the bottom of Louis's shoes so that when we knelt to take Communion folks in the congregation could see! (their fun was thwarted when the letters were removed from the shoes prior to the service!)

 

When I see Mt. Hood in Oregon, USA, I often think of the Psalm "I will lift up my eyes to the hills--From whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth."  When I reread the wedding service Friday night I realized the pastor had alluded to these lines at the beginning of the service when he said, "Praise to the living God, the Lord of life and love...Our help is found in the Lord who made the heavens and the earth.  Glory be to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen."

50 years after that praise was uttered at my wedding, I find it echoing in my 70+-year-old heart as I move forward now exploring the abundant life Jesus promises His followers. I count on His promise "I am with you always" through tough times as well..."even to the end of the age." 

Have you been crafting any remembrances?

Crafting Journal Pages

          Ahoy there! Thanks for stopping by to visit. This fine fellow smiling at you welcomes me rubbing his ears when we meet while walking in our neighborhood and I am certain if you were to meet him he would welcome you rubbing his ears as well.

One of our neighbors has these sunny flowers growing in front of their unit. Aren't they cheery?

The sun cheered me as well as its light caused the trees' autumn leaves glow one afternoon when I walked toward the green space on the east side of our neighborhood.

Heading home from a walk one day I spotted this scarlet wonder near my unit and had to stop to document my discovery with this photo.

After several cloudy rainy days, I was rewarded one afternoon when I crossed the street by my unit and turned to look back at my unit.  Just above my rooftop, I got a peek of the peak of Mt. Hood covered with a fresh cap of snow. It is a thrill to me every time Mt. Hood comes into my line of sight!

After the seeds I planted in the planters on my patio grew, I learned that Morning Glory vines blossom at the end of the growing season. Once the vines began to bloom we had two windy rainstorms.  The trellises blew down twice, but the vines were still able to produce these blooms.  The blooms don't last for many hours, but in my opinion, they are glorious!

Helen Philipp's new book I bought arrived in the mail not many days ago, and I was so excited! For years I have enjoyed reading her blog and admired and been enriched by viewing her amazing use of color in her stitching projects. Her clear directions for following her patterns encourage me to stitch a project soon!

In this cute and practical tin is a magnetic button to hold needles to keep them handy while working on a hand stitching project. My friend Taci from her Etsy shop TACIStudio sells beautiful handcrafted items. This busy bee magnet is headed as a gift to a family member who enjoys stitching.

Last Wednesday morning one of the ladies from our church preemie blanket making group contributed this pretty crocheted blanket.  The teacup is a gift from a dear friend in our group who recently did not survive open-heart surgery.  We miss her and are so grateful for her friendship and our shared faith in Christ and the hope we have of life forever with Him.

As the temperatures get closer to freezing I have been using my little electric fireplace more.  I filled a bowl in front of it with the knit pumpkins and gourd I made years ago for the harvest Thanksgiving season, and there is a cute green grasshopper my friend Betsy sent me perched on top.

The preemie blanket I am knitting with acrylic Lyon brand yarn is almost complete and I have loved the colors in this skein in all four seasons of Winter, Spring, Summer, and Autumn...a slow but satisfying knit.

While my blog is a type of online journal about my crafting days, I have various paper journals as well.  Recently I joined a small group, eight Christian women committed to praying for our country, the church, and our families, communicating with each other mainly by texting and online Zoom meetings. Two women live in South Carolina; one lives in Florida; two live in Delaware; one lives in Illinois; one lives in Georgia; and one lives in Oregon. I started collecting papers, a card, and information from the group that I wanted to keep in one place, so I started another journal.  I am using a lined composition notebook.  On these two pages, I attached items with glue/clear tape and then used washi tape around the items to frame them...so much fun!

Do you journal? 

Have a good day!

Gracie🤗
 

Along Some Rivers in Life

Ahoy Mates!

Time spent with my dear older sister, Margaret, who flew north from Burbank, CA to my home near Portland, OR, and with my local dear youngest son, Tim, and with other dear family members and friends highlighted the month of July for me.  I helped put four puzzles together in a week...a record for me and fun for us all.

On the bank of the Clackamas River, I celebrated Independence Day in the USA, having a BBQ with a family member and friends...see the smoke drift over the river?

Margaret and I explored a part of the great Columbia River by floating in sternwheeler for several hours.

It was a just-right sunny day to enjoy the lovely scenery as we listened to the captain's stories about the area.

Several days later we also got to see a bit of the Salmon River at Wildwood Recreation area near the base of Mt. Hood.  It was interesting to see into the river through the fish window.

One of the stars of the July flower blooms around me is Hydrangeas. The deep purple-blue blooms of this bush near my home is my favorite.

Margaret and I enjoyed starting to knit preemie blankets.  Margaret made much faster progress on hers than I did on mine.

Both of us used acrylic yarn.  It was very pleasant to knit out on the patio.

After Margaret flew home I invited three friends over to work on our scrapbooks.  I especially enjoyed working on some pages that featured my husband, Louis, who passed away ten years ago.

He enjoyed working as an engineer at Train Town in Sonoma, CA, while we helped to run an eldercare facility.  The photos were from a day we took some of the residents to ride on the train.

Have you explored rivers, enjoyed crafting and enjoyed time with family and friends in July?

Gracie xx

Crafting Life 2019

Ahoy, Readers!  Since the beginning of 2019, I have managed to knit a few more rows on the baby blanket I am making to give to a local crisis pregnancy center.  I am using the Grandma's dishcloth pattern.

Years ago a good friend from California crocheted this white [snow covered] evergreen tree for me. I have put a little flock of sheep by it. Two of the flock were given to me by my good blogging friend, Teresa.  I thought it would be fun to have the cute seagull skier my good blogging friend, Betsy gave me to pose as a wintery shepherd.

In January 2019 I took my New Living Translation Bible and colored some of its pages on my way flying to California to visit my oldest sister Carolyn who was in her home with hospice care.  I was so grateful for the visit with her and other family members and friends.

Early in February looking out the picture window of my new to me home, I enjoyed this sunrise view of the first snow of 2019!  It was so pretty and soon was washed away by rain.

During the first months of the year I also made some heart bookmarks to share with friends and a stranger I met when my flight was delayed on my way back to California to be with family and friends for a celebration of life service we had for my dear sister Carolyn after her passing.

One afternoon a friend stopped by and showed me how to make a boho bead with paper and cloth and wire and beads and a little heart she gave me that says "made with love."  The brown bead at the bottom was made by my good blogging friend, Teresa. 
While I am still settling in my new home and trying to make all the change of address notices and other related chores, I have enjoyed little crafting projects.
Are you enjoying some crafting time in 2019?

Gracie xx

Five On Friday: *Snow...Again!*

While snow covers most of Mt. Hood, most of the year, near Portland, Oregon, USA, the valley west of Mt. Hood rarely has a significant snowfall, and is challenged to handle it when it comes!

So yesterday we got four inches of snow at our house near the base of Mt. Hood, and although Portland proper, to the northwest of Mt. Hood got less than that, the snow slowed getting children home from school in the afternoon, and slowed the evening commute. My youngest daughter's commute time which is usually forty-five minutes, was four and a half hours!

Snow...Again, but more than last week!

There was enough snow for little Grand Girlies and their dad to go sledding!

And when we went back inside the Holly wreath we had crafted, welcomed us.

Soup has been made...Again...and...Again...and...Again!

And knitting and crocheting is being done...Again...and...Again...and...Again 🤗

Thanks to Amy from her blog, Love Made My Home, you can visit and read about other's Five on Friday, Here.

What have some of your "agains" been this week?

Gracie xx

Five on Friday: Progress!

Hi!  I hope this finds you enjoying the season of life you are in!  It has been mostly a good busy week here in Boring, Oregon, USA, except that several of us in our household have been fighting off viruses.

One thing I enjoyed this past week was sewing together fifteen patches on a Featherweight Singer sewing machine...the first time in many years I have tried to use any sewing machine.  The squares are practice squares I cut several years ago with a rotary cutter, and I need more practice cutting, and stitching on the machine.  I pieced together a backing and have stuffed some polyester fiber in to form a pillow shape but not sewn up the end yet. I had it stuffed firmly at first and decided I did not like that so I took out some stuffing, but am afraid it will shift around too much. Since this is a practice piece I will probably stitch it up and call it good enough.

 Secondly, I am halfway through knitting another preemie blanket using 100% acrylic yarn in the Beachy colorway. Where my knitting needle is pointing I did four rows of purl stitches thinking I would get a flat section after knitting all the other rows...but I did not...a mystery I can not get my brain around.

 Thirdly, I had fun filling in some more pages of my Leaves of Promise album I started years ago.

 Fourthly, I knit two small [35 stitches in the center row] Grandma's washcloths using size 3 needles and size 3 100% cotton Lizbeth thread while watching a video about Tiny Houses, and then watching some of the first episodes of Fixer Upper on HGTV. I just read "The Magnolia Story" by the stars of the show and was interested in how their lives progressed to bring them to produce their program.

Fifthly, my oldest son texted me a recent photo of my two wonderful growing grandsons who I visited two years ago back in NY at this time of year. How can time fly by so fast? Kenny is now in middle school and Aron will be in two more years!

As I join, thanks to Amy in her Five on Friday Link again on her blog, Love Made My Home I am wondering...

Have you been making any progress this week?

Gracie xx

On the Threshold

Recently I saw beautifully wintery Mt. Hood as I was looking toward Spring Water Trail  High School in Gresham, OR.

Then later in the week I admired Mt. Hood standing out against the backdrop of wintery blue-gray clouds as I looked from a vantage point on Civic Drive in Gresham, OR.

As we drive in and out of our driveway we often see Mr. and Mrs. Mallard on the front pond and are expecting them to be nesting and then hatching a new little family of ducklings this Spring as the frogs sing a louder and louder celebratory chorus in the evenings.

 Mr. Salamander visited and we supposed he was trying to stay warm near our threshold! We admired him but did not invite him in.

 Our latest puzzle, a Thomas Kinkade print was completed this week after even more puzzling effort than our last puzzle.

 My folding vision board is now trimmed in washi tape.

 I bought the washi tape last February around Valentine's Day.

 The dark red trim says "love" repeatedly.

 The red and white tape has repeated xo's for hugs and kisses.

 I'm still crocheting the edging on this knit preemie blanket...and enjoying doing so and have been knitting more rows on my blue merino blanket...glad for its warmth on my lap.

 I bought a branch on sale at a craft store and planted it in my hug basket to display some of the hearts I have made or have been made and given to me.  The white hearts with roses were made by my dear mom who is no longer physically with us on earth, but the crafts she made and the gifts she gave are precious reminders of her.

When I got up one morning recently the sky was a prettier pink than this photo shows. My photos don't always reveal the ups and downs of my life.  As I type this, my friend, my oldest SIL's mom who is part of our household is in surgery to repair a painful tear in a muscle.  We are praying for a swift and complete healing.  We are also thanking God that my great nephew in Nebraska is home from the hospital where he was treated for meningitis this past week.

Some of our family were encouraged as we read Psalm 30:1-12 together this morning..."weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning..."

May you know much joy in your life, no matter what life challenges cross the threshold of your life.

xx
Gracie