Sunday, August 30, 2009

Burning Issues and Moving On

Hello Everyone,
I have been trying all afternoon to solve a puzzle. About May, I found a great cross-stitch kit that I thought would be a perfect birthday gift for Aunt Joan. I worked on the project all during my stay at Marie's and most of May and June and finally finished it. I've spent almost three weeks now, trying to find a way to adequately display the crazy thing!! It's an awkward size, and most of my ideas just haven't worked!! I've even enlisted Dad in my project. Many of you may not know, but your father is quite an artist. He has a real eye for design and excellent suggestions, but....in this instance, nothing has worked. I tell you all this because I intend to put what I've done into a box and send it to Aunt Joan and MOVE ON. Well, truth be told, I'm going to try one more idea, and, if that doesn't work, I'll move on. This experience has had me thinking, once again, about the fact that sometimes, in our every day life, we simply must pull ourselves out of our ruts of guilt, anger, frustration, and ineffective thinking, forgive ourselves and others if necessary, and move on.
Life has been pretty quiet since our company left. I've found a few hilarious souvenirs from our latest company: the big stuffed dog lassoed by one of my big quilting hoops by two little big-eyed cowboys, and Molly Bear and Elder What's-his-name's bear sitting in the living room where they were rescued by my heroic little fi-o-men. We're making plans for the coming school year for our Institute class. I'm still working on quilts and starting to plan Christmas gifts. Dad's working on the rock wall and beginning the fall weeding, etc. The many pictures of the back-to-schoolers is a reminder of the not-so-long ago days when it was the parents of this batch who were begging for Swatch watches, Silver tab jeans, a certain notebook and wondering which friend would be in their class!! I always think of Tommy who got a pink slip on the first day of kindergarten. He saw a large light bulb laying on the top of a garbage can heap and smashed it on the wall to see why it rattled. He came home very excitedly saying, "And if I get another pink slip tomorrow, I get to go see the principal. Mom, do I know the principal?" You guessed it. He figured out a way to get to see the principal!! Mark began his first day in WS schools in 100 degree weather wearing a leather fringed western jacket and cowboy boots!! Being an outsider with a "funny way of talking," Mark suffered the indignity of having the tires let out on his bike by a group of hooligans who later became some of his best buddies. Darla and Jothan played follow the leader and jumped, hopped, marched, and played their first day and were, consequently, late for their first day of kindergarten. I must confess that I get a lumpy throat and make a run by the schools on the first day.




There's a big wildfire up around Mosier. It's always dramatic to see the airplanes dipping their huge buckets into the Columbia to put out fires. Our neighbor told us that the hills around Mosier are aglow all evening. We pray for the firefighters and for those whose homes are threatened. (These pictures were taken at the Lyle rest area.)
Please, Everyone, keep yourselves well. Not only physically but spiritually and emotionally as well.
Isn't it strange how princes and kings,and clowns that caper in sawdust rings,and common people, like you and me,are builders for eternity?Each is given a list of rules;a shapeless mass; a bag of tools.And each must fashion, ere life is flown,A stumbling block, or a Stepping-Stone.by R. Lee Sharpe

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

BUILDING

One of the older buildings in town burned not long ago. Within a day or so, the building was boarded up, and the owners of the shops were already busy re-building and renovating. In a funny little twist, Tom showed me a quirky little sight at the side of the house, and the sight of this little honeysuckle vine climbing up a wire lead me to think about how much our family loves to build! Kevin and Debbie are building children's books about animal care; Mark and Jennifer build and decorate houses; DeAnne designs sets for plays; Tobin cooks scrumptuous goodies; Darla, information/computer systems; Susan, book blogs and adoption websites; Steve restores cars; Ben builds furniture and Marie,recipes, organizational ideas and blogs. Tom is restoring a huge 1801 church pulpit for his employer; Nicole sells her own concoctions of salves and herbs. Dad is back to working on the rock wall, and I'm building a quilt for Heather. We love to build, and I hope that 99% of what we love to build is our own character, patience, and a sense of the service our building can bring to others.
This summer has been, once again, about family, and we're so pleased that between Dad and me we've seen every member of the family except Tom. Last night I sat downstairs, listening to Wyatt and Kahlil playing in the bathtub, and could hear the echo of 35+ years of kids, grandkids, and great grandkids laughing and splashing in that old tub. Have I remembered to use the word blessed in this blog yet?
All is well here. Yesterday we were strolling around in Craft Warehouse, and I pointed out all the art supplies on display and said, "I think for your winter project, you should do some painting." I had heard that in his younger years, Dad did some excellent sketching and painting, but he's never done any since. He looked incredulous!! Sit down?? Vegetate in front of an easel?? How could I suggest such a thing?? He has too many remodeling projects in mind for any of that kind of nonsense!! I have begun to think about Christmas and Christmas gifts...It's so powerful and empowering to have projects in mind to dream about and DO.

Wishing all of you some enjoyment through these dog days of summer and hoping that we're all building SOMETHING. Let's see--where did I put my quilting needles??



"The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but has no vision."
- Helen Keller