knitting

Here are some photos of what I have done thus far, it's kind of hard to see the pattern in low light. It's a self-made pattern, using an irish moss stitch for the border, and diamond brocade for the main body. This blankie is for my newest nephew, ordained to be born sometime in the next month or beyond. The plan is that this pattern will look nice in his newborn photos, in black and white (below is an attempt to picture it). With advice and help from Dor I was able to find a nice durable, washable (!) wool yarn. It's from Knit Picks, superwash merino wool, in the camel heather color.

a faith building story and some Derek to go with

This family is an example of faith lived out, not valuing their own lives over faithfulness, willing to sacrifice self for others, primarily their own child. And they give the glory to God.

Why are we so faithless when it comes to these situations, acting like the mother's life has more value than the child's? They both have value, seek to save both, which is what this family did. check out these two news spots, and the husband's blog below. Why is it that when a father dies in war to save and protect his children he is called a hero, but when a mother becomes pregnant at the cost of her own health or life even, she is called foolish? Or her husband is blamed for being a jerk? God is the one who opens and closes the womb, he gives children, husbands don't. "Am I God who has withheld children from you?" Jacob speaking to Rachel when she had said "give me children or I'll die"

http://www.newsobserver.com/front/story/1010330.html

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=6038739

http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/

getting settled

In response to Kathy's questions:

No we didn't do the painting. I believe most of it was done by Evie and Marion, two sisters and daughters of our pastor, one of whom lived in the apartment with her family prior to us. I am very thankful for it being nice already and that I don't have to lift a brush!

I am getting used to Michigan. At first the grocery store was annoying, trying to find things and them not being where I would think. But after a few trips, made without being rushed, I can get around. I really love the variety at this major grocery chain here, they have everything! They are kind of like Walmart, except more thoughtful. They have a lot of variety which includes specialty items, they carry all kinds of natural foods like you might find at a health food store, but they are scattered all through out the store instead of in one natural area. http://www.meijer.com/home.jsp

I pretty much can find my way around now. I do confess that I've taken a few long ways or detours, but I am learning.

We did get a family doctor last week, it was way easier here than in NY! When we got one there we had to go meet him and get physicals etc before he would accept us as patients. But here we had to make just one phone call. :) I don't plan on seeing him much anyway, so I don't mind not knowing him.

Sewing room photos will come, I just haven't taken them yet.

Today I am doing laundry at my friends the Eshelmans' house. I usually do projects while I'm here, such as cutting out dresses or hats or what have you, the kids really like to watch and to help by doing small jobs for me (rolling lint off or throwing scraps into the trash). But today I forgot my cutting mat. Oops. So I am forced to have time to email and blog. :D It's not sunny today, but it's warmish. I think I might take a walk.

our home

This is the entry way, if you go right you are in the living room, if you go left you are in the bedroom. As you can see we have a new MI plate that is still new and not used. :D I'm sorry to disappoint you with this link, it isn't anything, but I can't easily make it go away, so it is here. Also, apologies for the underlining on the next paragraph, same story there.The door on the right is a closet, my closet. As you see, I FINALLY hung the lovely print that my friend Jennifer gave to me.
This is home of our PC, and the door goes out to the entry way and living room.
The door on the side is my sewing room. Its really a closet. I will get photos, sometime. Directly right of my sewing room is a closet that Shawn uses, and we use for coats and things. The color in the first photo is best, I couldn't get my camera to adjust to the light from the window in the other ones.


The kitchen was being used by me when I decided I should get some shots before the sun went down. My ironing board and cutting mat get put away, sometimes. :) Here are Kathryn's two plants. I didn't kill them!! I call them Matt and Gabe. :) They were given to her when her first two babies were born and she couldn't take them when she moved.


Amanda gave me this print, she loved it very much but knew that she couldn't use it for some time. It goes well with my wine glass print that she also got me a long time ago, and with the baskets Jennifer gave me, one is hanging above the vanity (!!??) in the kitchen, it's a bit crooked.
The bathroom isn't quite this purple, thankfully. It's HUGE. The curtain from our bedroom in Albany works well with the colors in the bathroom, so it's pretending that its a shower curtain. It's not.
The big mirror made it without breaking! This mirror was harvested from our old apartment. It is so heavy I didn't know if we'd be able to find a place to hang it. We did.

Grace

This is my new friend Grace. Tomorrow we are going to crochet together along with another new friend, Crystal. Grace reminds me a lot of my dear friend Millie. Grace could have been Millie's mother, in both age and personality. I decided to knit actually. I am making another hat, or rather, toque, as shown here: http://www.innerchildcrochet.com/patterns/files/nottingham_hat.pdf
Dor may have to help me with the cables when she gets here. She's coming in TWO weeks! yay!

So, I was going to post a bunch of photos of the folks at church but considering how I like to be liked, I don't want to spoil the chance just for some good laughs and humiliation of several of them.

Museum

A couple of weeks ago we went to the museum with the kids while Amanda took pics of the new babies. So much to see, so little time. Addie fell asleep before we left, I was slinging her. I should have got Shawn to take a picture, though, his hands were pretty full with Josh and Em. Note Emmy's rockin' outfit, she got compliments from several people. Addie likes Uncle Shawn's beard. Joshy had a mad cow lick.

Fun times, I am going to miss them guys.

Mom and Babe

Shawn and I went to visit Darren, Laura, and Diederick last weekend. We had a lovely time, thanks again guys! Nice drive on the way to, and on the way back. We got to visit with the Pastor and his fam on the way home, had Chinese takeout, yum.

Amanda

I am going to miss you terribly.

moving

So, as usual, my blog is on death's door. I thought maybe that I would take a minute to write that we are moving away from here in December. We are going to a land of sunshine and happiness, yes, that's right! Grand Rapids, MI. Right before we got married in 2004 (I was living in Canada at the time) I got a fortune cookie that said just that "you are going to a land of sunshine and happiness". All in God's providence of course. ;)

Anyway, I am not packing until the beginning of December. I have never moved a household since helping my family move to Fort Nelson in 2001. I don't miss it.

So I feel a little bad leaving our apartment, partly because it's December and I feel bad for the landlord and partly because it feels like home, I guess. I took some pictures to give to him, to maybe help get some prospective tenants interested in moving in at the beginning of January. We'll see. So I'll share them here too. I've been playing with my camera more, but am no means a pro like Amanda. So, that's my excuse for the lack of quality.

i'm sick

so i feel like, hmm, crap.

i have been working on advertising stuff (again!) all afternoon. i think i'm making some head way.

my face hurts.

thanks for listening.

5 things

1) I love shampoo, nuff said.

2) Shopping kills my feet.

3) Amanda got a great outfit.

4) I only bought cheeseburgers today, and gas for the car, and green beans and salad for the fellowship meal.

5) I am hungry now. Ham and cheese sounds pretty good right now, so does yogurt.

5 things

1) There is a lot of noise on the street early in the morning on garbage day.

2) I had a violent headache yesterday, I couldnt do a thing all day, except vomit, 6 times. Being under this much affliction makes me feel really compassionate toward others who are suffering. I cant imagine the misery of waking up every day to that. I am so glad to feel well today. Amanda, when/if you get one of these please let me know and I will try to come out and look after the kids.

3) We had a great weekend. It was so nice to fellowship with old friends. Darren, Laura, and Diederick came over for the Lord's day, after we all went to worship together in Housatonic.

4) I need to weed the flower bed. I also would like to weed the community garden a bit, it would be fun, and would be a great way to meet people in the community.

5) Banner ads are going up.

5 more things

1. the conditioner thing worked, for the front of my hair. I had fluffy hair for the first time in weeks, it was kind of fun. But, the back was greasy still, not smelly greasy, but with the lard full feeling.

2. Spicy pork sausage on whole wheat english muffins, is all in all, pretty good.

3. Advertising research continues.

4. shoot, thats all i got

five things?

ok, peer pressure reigns again.

1. my hair has been disgusting for the last 5 1/2 weeks, but, no one else thinks so, or has been brave enough to tell me, or, alternatively, they might just want to see if it (the no shampoo scheme) works or not and will let me be the suffering guiney pig, so they tell me I look fine. Anyway, I tried something new today. We'll see if it works. I read today on someone or other's blog that if you wash your hair with conditioner it removes some of the grease without prompting the scalp into over production of grease as shampoo does. I hope, I hope.

2. I am to file quarterly taxes, but cant find the right form. Maybe I dont have to file them yet?

3. Been reading a lot of rare bound photocopies these days, including Defense of dissociation by the PRCE. I am seeing that it is vital to understand the definition of Church in chapter 25 of the WCF, when interpreting reformers of that era.

4. Its great to have Jody here.

5. Karl brought us a pound of coffee last night when he came to bible study. I am going to make some now. :D

I love this music

www.solmusic.ca

These are the days in between... vacations

Today there was another troop of lookers coming to see the building. I guess that means that none of the other folks bought it. I wanted to get a long term lease signed before the ownership changes, but alas, the landlord that offered it seems inaccessible. So, hopefully the new Pharaoh will be kind to Joseph. :D

In other news I decided to take up the no shampoo challenge. I am at about a week, and getting weak, but not enough. I think washing my hair with water helps a lot, vs not washing it at all. We'll see how far I make it. My vanity, or fear of looking disgusting, may get in the way. We're going to Covifamikoi in about a week and so, I'm trying not to care, its not like anyone else does anyway. On our way there, and likely on the way back we'll stop in at Shawns parents place for a little visit.

So Jody is supposed to get here on the 17th, thats pretty exciting. We'll get tons of work done when she gets here.

Then in August we're to drive over to GR for a bit. Then when we get back I heard that Clint is coming to visit. So, this summer should prove to be eventful.

I think I'm going to make myself a cup of coffee and then get sewing some boys hats that I cut out ages ago. Wonder what happened to the dresses? Well, I got one done, and a bunch of others cut out and then realized that the pattern for the little ones needs to be modified. I dont feel like I have very much patience, or brain capacity right now, so hats will be a better choice for tonight.

I am very happy right now, peaceful, and content. I am blessed.

second try

So tonight we went to the Malt River Brewery with an old neighbour of ours. He's not old, but rather used to live in Ben and Kats old apartment. Anyway, we had a good time yakking and eating. He and Shawn got Jambalaya and I got some sort of seafood pasta with jalapenos in it. SPICY!

So I've been reading a bunch of stuff lately.


So we got labels for our clothes now. This is a nice thing as they say our company name, and fabric care/content, as well as where they were made. AND our website is on there so people get to find where the item came from and go back to get more, you know, for those who recieve them as gifts or whatever.

So tomorrow, laundry and I'm planning to make some dresses. I have no more excuses. :D The taxes are filed, books in order. I was kind of sad because I didnt know/forgot that I needed to file quarterly state taxes, even if I didnt need to pay any. So we got stuck with two $50 late fees. Oops, hopefully my negligence wont cost our company in the future.

So this is pretty random. I guess its an attempt to revive this dead blog. Maybe the next will be better and just getting started is the hardest part.

Alright, thats all.

Soundtrack

I got this from Erica . I did the random one. It worked out ok. Here are her instructions and my results below:

Basically, if you have an MP3 player on your computer, you put it on shuffle and use the first song that comes up for each category. It ends up forming...THE SOUNDTRACK OF YOUR LIFEIF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool... DON'T CHEAT!

Opening Credits: If I fell - Maroon 5

Waking up: If I aint got you - Alisha Keys

Falling in Love: I repent - Derrek Web

Fight Song: Gone - NSYNC

Breaking Up: Variations on the Canon - Pachabell by George Winston

Formal/Prom: Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson

Life: He will come -Waterdeep

Mental Breakdown: Joy - George Winston

Driving: White Ladder - David Gray

Flash Back: You and I both - Jason Mraz

Getting Back Together: Stars - Simply Red

Wedding: They cant buy the sunshine - Turin Brakes

Birth of a Child: Never know - Jack Johnson

Final Battle: Sail Away - David Gray

End Credits: All you want - Dido

so we're having a sale

www.scarletstitch.com

update

Amanda took a bunch more photos for us yesterday (thanks again!), sling photos. Shawn told me his idea, of me dressing in black, and having a black background, so the sling would stand out. Amanda thought it was a good idea and prolly wouldnt have been ambitious enough to try it had Shawn not put it forward. I was skeptical. In the end, Shawn was right, it was a good idea, the pictures turned out great.

So, I've been ultra busy for the last few weeks. I feel like I've hardly been home, and when I am home I've been trying to balance my household dust (the dust is the greatest battle, Ed, you were right) with getting the boys stuff ready to sell, and helping Jody get the site ready. She did a beautiful job updating the site.

So last week I cut and colored my hair (thanks mand), calm down mom, its no shorter than I've cut it in the past.

Today I will move all the stuff from my hallway that got "cleaned" out of the closet to the back storage room. I moved a shelf that the Mills gave to us, into the closet which now provides an orderly platform for all my fabric, I still need to take them out of their bags and neatly fold them, now that they have a home.

Sorry this is so boring, kind of like a "to do" list.

Oh, I have been reading some cool stuff on the Lord's days. I just read through some minutes of a General Correspondence (Shawn got these through an interlibrary loan) from 1780-18something, IN AMERICA! Very interesting times. I wrote a bunch of notes (random facts that I gathered) on it and will post them next time.