Time for a Celebration!

I had a wonderful day today. I spent it with my youngest sister, Kristine, at her home. I also had a momentous occasion while I was there. I completed the Yggdrasil blanket that I've been working on for Valerie, Amol and Sam as their house-warming gift. We paused a moment and cheered as I knitted the last stitch.
I think I spent nearly a half-hour trying to tie the last knot in a way that it would be securely finished off. That half-hour seemed a bit longer, as Kristine and I were both hungry for lunch and planning to eat as soon as that little knot was done. As it turned out, I finally called it quits for awhile and we had lunch. And a very delicious lunch it was - grilled portabella mushrooms stuffed with mozzarella cheese (seasoned with garlic and oregano,) toasted bagels with seasoned cream cheese and topped with fresh sliced tomato, and Kristine fixed a salad with blueberries. It was a lunch fit for the beautiful day we were having. I did manage to successfully tie off that little knot after lunch. So, with no more ado, here are some photos of the completed blanket. 
Here's a shot of (nearly) the entire blanket. Kristine helped me spread it out on her bed. We fitted her with a safety harness and suspended her from the ceiling fan so she could get a good shot of the whole thing. I would have done it but you know my fear of heights...

 This next shot is a close up of the border detail:

 The blanket is large - about 6' x 6' so this last photo puts it in perspective with me standing to the side of the bed. Hi Val! Hi Amol! Hi Sam! Hi Elmo! I hope you like it :-) It's been a long but fun project, especially since I was making it for you. Thank you for all your help and encouragement, Kristine! And for the great photo work, too.

T

The yarn really is all one color - grass green - but the light hitting the different types of stitches adds a nice shading effect, don't you think?

This Weather is (REALLY!) for the Birds

I heard on the radio news report that our local weather is about one month ahead of schedule and has been, ever since our late-arriving spring kicked in. Normally, early August is hot, hot and then showers move in very late in August during the last few days of the month. I remember late August, 1993 when I first moved here. The days were pleasant and then we'd have showers around 5pm, just like clockwork. By 7pm the sun had dried the deck and we were in for a great evening. Not only is our weather about a month ahead of schedule but it's also providing more rain than usual. We've been having thunderstorms on a regular basis and days filled with rain, then sun, then rain, then sun, then more rain. I got a photo of this flock of birds in my neighbor's tree on Thursday during one of the breaks in the nearly day-long rain. I'm not sure what type they are but it's not a bird that frequents my feeders.

If you recognize this bird, let me know so I can look it up in my bird book and see what it looks like when captured by a real photographer!

My tomatoes are protected by the house - enough that they don't benefit from the frequent rains. I've had to start watering them more in the past week because they're really using up the old H20 in their efforts to grow the 'maters to maturity. I hope the "month ahead" on weather doesn't do them in before they've been able to give their best. They're doing a good job. Here's the current status of some of the tomatoes. (I feel like a mom posting photos of her little one.)

These are photos from just four of the nine plants. Even Junior, the plant who thought to die right after the transplanting, then decided to dig in and grow a couple weeks later (after I'd given it up for dead for at least a week) now has it's first blossom. The other four plants also have tomatoes and I can't wait to see the Howard German tomato. I currently have only two green ones. The larger is just a wee bit over 1" long. Here's what they'll look like in a few weeks:

I still haven't done any sewing on the serger or done any further work on the Tuscan quilt. I've been knitting every spare moment on the Yggdrasil blanket. I turned the corner today so that I'm working the border on the 4th side. Let's see... there are 16 rows to a set of pattern and 23 repeats of the pattern set; then 42 rows on the last corner, so I only have 410 more rows to finish. Yay!! :-(  It's been an interesting project but, I must say, this final border has been boring.

I did make a batch of strawberry ice cream this evening. Here's the bowl I'm enjoying while updating this post. So yummy, made from the fresh cream from the farm and delicious strawberries I found at the market yesterday.

It's only soft-serve consistency right now but I couldn't wait for it to get hard. Besides, I prefer my ice cream on the soft side anyway.

Extra! Extra! Tomatoes Update!

I keep forgetting to get my tomato photos when it's still light out but I couldn't NOT let you know about the grand time we're having with the deck garden. Last week I had two green tomatoes. Ken and I counted them on Sunday. This week I have NINE in various stages. The two from last week were just larger than a marble. This week they're well on their way to being half the size of a ping pong ball. Others are anywhere from tiny (like a pellet from a pellet gun) to marble size. I have one cluster of three green tomatoes on the heirloom striped plant. I have no idea how much they may have cross-pollinated but that's OK, as long as they're tomatoes! I may even have a few hidden in the leaves that I haven't counted yet. And there are still lots of blossoms. I get excited each day when I come home from the office and look at them. I'm looking forward to a jar of sauce I can open this winter and recall the fun of growing the tomatoes in the warm summer months.

 

What Could It BEE?

I feel another sewing bee coming on. It feels like... feels like it's about two weeks away! 

I was absolutely blown away by the fabulous seam finishing that Kristine and Stephanie did on Kristine's serger when we had our sewing bee for Steph 2 weeks ago. In all my years of sewing that are somewhere greater than 45 yrs now, I've never used a serger. After I saw what it could do for seams, I started doing more research. I decided to use my bonus that I had put away for just such a day and buy one to add to my sewing room. I did my homework, decided which one I wanted and found a place that had it on sale with FREE SHIPPING - yay!

It just arrived and I haven't done more than unpack it. Poor thing doesn't even have a suitable home in my sewing room yet - just a space I cleared for temporary safe keeping. I want to read the directions and watch the video before I take my first stab at messing it up.
We'll be busy for the next two weeks with all the packing, loading and preparations for Stephanie's migration to PA and then the crew actually going cross country for a week. Kristine offered to have another sewing bee with me once she's back home and I'm excited to take her up on the offer. I'm already thinking about fun nighttime treats to keep us going!
Here's a preview of the projects I have lined up to augment my thinning wardrobe:

The plaid skirt fabric is a polyester blend and has a nice, soft flow to it. The skirt pattern has panels composed of vertical seams that I think will be flattering.

You can't tell from the photo but the red fabric for the blouse is a thin dotted swiss. And I mean it's a real dotted swiss with textured spots formed from the same fabric. It's been years since I've seen a real dotted swiss. I usually find fabric that's been flocked with the dots. I'm going to make the view that is displayed in blue. The fabric is thin enough that I think it will gather along the drawstring in the sleeve quite nicely.

This next set has a skirt fabric that I fell in love with, as soon as I spotted it. This fabric is a cotton print that is a bit heavier than the synthetic plaid so I'm going to stick with the same pattern because the vertical panels should work well with the heavier cotton. I'm quite taken with the dainty floral pattern.


The blue fabric for the blouse is the same real dotted swiss that I got for the other blouse but the pattern is different. The blue is a perfect match to the blue in the flowers on the skirt fabric:

 I'm making the short-sleeved blouse in the upper right corner of the pattern:

I also got fabric to make two pair of pajamas for Sam :-) I'm still looking for a pajama pattern with feet in it but these pj's will have cuffs at the ankles and wrists.

The red fleece has Veggie Tales characters on it and the other is covered with multi-colored mushrooms. If I were 18 months old when the cold weather started to set in, I think I'd really like my jammies made from these fun fabrics!

From my research, I learned about two books that were recommended. They sounded like good resources so I got them, also. I hope I never need the one for solving problems!

So there you have it - somewhere between thinning the household at my house, having all the repairs done from the hail storm, keeping up with my Hebrew homework, finishing the housewarming blanket and knitting three pair of felted slippers for Valerie, Amol and Sam, I'm going to get to do some fun sewing :-) I could get so much more done if I didn't have to go to work each day... darn it.

I Wish She Could Know

I should be in bed. I should be getting rest and ready to do more sorting and culling tomorrow. I should be studying my Hebrew if I'm not going to sleep. All these thoughts were going through my head a bit ago. Then I realized I was missing something important. My mind had been wandering exactly where God wanted it to go. And I was trying to shake it off because I didn't recognize this late night blessing that I was being granted.

Is there someone from your past that you wish could know where you are now in your life? My wandering thoughts were taking me on a time trip in reverse, kind of like a way-back machine. I was working my way back in time, smiling and rejoicing over some of the parts, regretting some others, then recalling special times that were greatly blessed and encouraging in my walk with Jesus. I finally made it back to the beginning of that story - the summer I learned about God's deep love for me and the great sacrifice for my sake. The "healing rain that becomes the fire" as Michael W. Smith has put it.

Sylvia. Just 'Sylvia'. I never knew her last name. She was my cabin's counselor that summer at Miracle Mountain Ranch a lifetime ago. I heard things at evening chapel that summer that I hadn't heard before. I knew the names God and Jesus and I connected them to a building called a church but there was nothing personal in all that, was there? There were some rules to follow and I was doing that, as far as I was able. My inner heart rebelled at some of the things I was learning in catechism class but I wasn't suffering some inner struggle. I just figured I was missing something that I would 'get' eventually. Then I was stirred deep in my heart by a message at evening chapel at MMR. I didn't fully understand it but I JUST KNEW that I wanted to, I NEEDED to understand it. Sylvia was that special person God had picked for me. She explained it all and I 'got' it! I remember that evening as well today as if it had just happened. I sobbed for an hour when I came to the realization of what Jesus had done for me. FOR ME. I'm so grateful to Sylvia for leading me to the cross that summer. I wish she could know. I wish she knew the impact she had on my life. If she's still alive, I believe she is in her 70's now. God bless you, Sylvia. Someday we'll get to rejoice together!!
And may God bless Miracle Mountain Ranch, their workers and their work. My daughter went to MMR one summer and I hope my grandson can enjoy the experience one day, too! 

 

That Was One Expensive Hail Storm!

Remember the post about the June 11 hail storm? I included some photos and was mostly happy that my tomato plants were protected and didn't get damaged. I did call the insurance company and request that the adjuster come and check things out because the hail took the finish right off the west end of the house. He did a thorough inspection and wrote up a claim, telling me that my roof was ruined, along with other damage to a couple rain gutter downspouts, etc. I just got an email from the insurance company, along with the adjuster's report. The damage total is $30,659.12 **gasp** That's TEN YEARS worth of insurance premiums!! I'm so glad I have good insurance coverage. One of the roofers that I'm considering for the job was here this evening to get his final inventory done so he could give me a bid. I still have to contact the person who did the staining 2 or 3 years ago so he can give me a bid to do the refinishing on the west and south sides of the house. Lots of work to do to get all of this righted again. I thank God for the good people He's directed me toward so far.

Alef Bet

Did I mention that I've started my class in Classical Hebrew? No, of course not! I've been both excited and terrified over the past two months, waiting for the classes to start. I'm now two weeks into it and neither emotion has abated. I'm taking the class through Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This is a HARD language to learn! Class is live, online, once a week. Then there's another online study session and lots of homework. I feel like I'm already behind in the course. It's not that I'm not doing the work - I am... several times over. So why is it that I finish a study session feeling like I'm making progress and the next time I open the same session it's like I'm looking at something that I've never seen before and don't remember what I thought I'd already learned?? We're learning the alef bet and vocab words at the same time. And writing the characters? Whew, what a challenge! Here's a picture of the first four letters that we learned:

 Just a comment on the complexities of remembering the pronunciations from the live lesson while looking at one of the homework images (above): the first letter, lamed, looks like it would be pronounced like 'flamed' only without the 'f' sound. No way - the line that looks like it has a long 'a' sound isn't really that. It's a transliteration mark. The lamed is really pronounced like 'law-med'. And these images above are just four of the 16 or 20 letters we've learned so far.

Another thing that my mind is having a problem grasping - Hebrew is read from right to left. Whatever book you're reading right now, try picking it up and just getting your eyes used to scanning from right to left; even when you know the words it's hard! Our lessons include reading whole words. The Hebrew part is written right to left but the English translations are written left to right, as we're used to seeing. My brain gets to hop, hop, hopping all OVER the place :-) 

Did you know there are no vowels in Hebrew? Nope, no vowels. There is the letter 'alef' which we translate as 'A' but it's not an 'a' sound, it's a guttural break like in 'ut-oh'. There are vowel sounds in the language but no letters for the sounds. The vowel sound is designated by little tiny dots and lines under the letters. As you look at the character and your brain translates it to a consonant letter, you also have to look and see what dot or line designation is under the letter and also translate that into the correct long or short vowel sound.

And, and... get this... there are some characters that are re-used and represent a totally different letter. The only difference is a daglesh - you guessed it, another little dot inside the character space. So a character without a daglesh is a 'bet' (pronounced 'bet') and represents the 'b' sound but the same character WITH a daglesh is a 'bet' (pronounced 'vet') and represents the 'v' sound. There are a bunch of letters like this.

The last, and most exciting (think REALLY confusing) thing about the letters I'm learning is that there are five letters in the Hebrew alef bet that are unique. If you are writing the letter at the beginning of a word or in the middle of the word, it is written one way but if the same letter is coming at the end of a word, it has a whole different shape to it.

My desire to read Torah, the prophets and writings in original Hebrew seems like such a daunting goal at this point in time. And, dare I say it? My goal beyond that is to learn the Greek of the New Testament. Oh well, there are nine months to this beginner course, 9 months to the intermediate and 9 months to the advanced Hebrew course. I guess after two weeks I can still be excited about what I'm learning and not get discouraged over the difficulty. 

My class is very diverse and interesting. There is a man from Paris, a woman from London, a woman from Switzerland, three women from the U.S. (besides me,) a man from Puerto Rico, a woman from Holland, a woman from Israel and one more man from an unknown country. The instructor has advanced degrees in classical Hebrew and Hebrew culture. He has written a couple books and teaches at the university. He must be a brilliant man! We all speak English during class.

An interesting aside - if you watch the old Cecil B. DeMille movie "The Ten Commandments", note that the stones with the commandments that Moses brings down from the mountain really are written in classical Hebrew. Someone was paying attention to their correct historical representations on that one!