Awards and such...

When I first returned to school I was rather spastic about doing well.  Imagine my surprise when just a few days into the second semester I received in the mail a certificate telling me I was on the Presidents list.  I was so proud and amazed.  I now have 2 Presidents list certificates and now with the one I received today, 3 Deans list certificates (1 semester I didn't get either).  Somehow they don't seem to mean as much to me as they did at first.  As I sat here and pondered this attitude, I wondered if it was because I now expect 1 or the other each semester?  My conclusion is that while it is really cool that I made the Deans list, I am much more confident in my performance academically than I was at first, so I do not really need a piece of paper validating said performance.  Instead, I take joy in knowing that I have done my best and the certificate is just a perk.  

I think my goals are somewhat different than when I started.  At first it was all about finishing what I began 30 years ago, perhaps even to make my mom, husband and children proud of me.  Now it is more...I love what I am learning and I can't wait to get out there and do a good job--perhaps put some away for the future.  We used all of our future savings taking care of Marshall and Ethel.  Now Bill is again looking for work.  I know the Lord has something for us and I am practicing patience waiting on the Lord, while doing everything I can to make good things happen.  It is going to be great, not because of some certificate, but because Heavenly Father blesses us for serving him faithfully!

A New Semester and a Little Pumpkin

School started today.  I am very excited with my classes this semester, that is I am excited with their content.  I am not so excited that all but one is an online class.  I really love learning in the class setting.  However this is how these classes are offered, and I will do well in them, just as I have all my other classes.  I really love school!  I figure I will graduate in May of 2014.  It is amazing just how fast this has gone by.  The fact is, I really feel empowered by all the goals that I have accomplished.  I know that I can do hard things! 

Knitting is another area where I am very proud of what I have accomplished.  I have set several goals and am reaching them...project by project.  Plus the yarn just plain feels good running through my fingers.

Just finished today...for some future little pumpkin.  It was tons of fun to create a pumpkin hat using left-overs from Bill's Christmas waffle hat.  Also an update on the mystery knitting project....any ideas?

I was very inspired by this mystery knit and so am trying something different in dishcloths while waiting for a new clue.

I am not sure if I like it yet or if it will find the frog pond.

Mary and Martha Day

It is a fact that I love to cook.  However with going to school and the children's weird schedules, it is sometimes hard to cook meals that we like every day.  I love to use the crock pot for many of the meals we eat, but that too takes time in the morning to set up, and we all  know that I am NOT a morning person.  My answer is to assemble freezer meals ahead of time that can then be dropped into the crock pot or slipped into the oven.  We call these assembly days "Mary and Martha Days"  after the story of Mary and Martha in the bible.  Found in Luke 10: 38-42.  I have always loved this story and admired both of the women for the talents each had.  The way I look at it, working like Martha to prepare ahead allows us to have more time for important things like Mary.

Today we prepped the veggies and various proteins and it looked like this:

Then came the assembly.  For the Crock pot we made:

Sweet-n-Sour Chicken

Red Beans and Rice

Black Beans and Turkey Ham

Bog

Potato and Green Bean Soup

For the Stove top we made:

Fajitas

Jambalaya

For the oven we made:

Mexican Lasagna

Sun-dried Tomato Penne (times 2)

Priazzo (deep dish pizza pies times 3)

They were assembled in large quantities for at least 1 meal for our crew with planned overs for lunch the next day and the same in smaller batches for Mandy.  When we were done it looked like this:

And is now residing in the respective freezers (sorry about the poor quality of the picture, however I am NOT taking it back out of the freezer to do over)

We are pretty much set and ready for the next semester of school to begin!  Now it is time to knit!

Rant...and a story!

People just ignore the blessings and miracles all around them.  The pace of life is just too fast....Seriously STOP and let those blessings fill you with joy!!

“A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people.

The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?”

Dear Knitting

I love to knit the mystery knits.  It is fun to see the faces people knit when they ask what you are making and you look at them and say "I don't know."  Most of all I love that I make things I probably would not make, but are fun to add on to or give as gifts.  My mystery knitting group did one for the end of the year.  A new clue was given every 12 hours over the course of the last 2 days of 2012.  As I was looking at the products that were being knitted, I noticed that the moderators (the ones who knew what we were knitting) were all making this project in multiplicity, and since I had time (being sick) I made 4 as well.  This is what it looked like after 3 clues.

It was all rather fun as we were using pieces leftover from projects gone by...every yarn coming from the ball bin.  All the yarn was supposed to be acrylic, and so it was.

Then the last clue came and after following it, here is what it turned out to be.  

It is called "Fishy Tawashi" which my sister tells me is Japanese for "scrub brush" or in other words a fish shaped scrubby.  It is only 1 sided and works rather like a sponge on the dishes.  A bit of fun!!

I am now currently involved with a couple of other mystery projects.  Any guesses?? I won't know until the last clue is given in the last week of the month.  

The first one is a new technique for me called "enterlac" and is rather scary.   I look at each of the clues and get into overwhelm, so now I cover up the clue except for 1 line at a time.  The tail is interesting.....wonder what it will be.  The other one is just standard knitting, going back and forth.  It is a nice cuddly homespun though.  I love a good mystery!

Triumphs and Challenges

The rush of school always surprises me.  I think "wow, I can keep up with everything and still blog" and then I find months have gone by since my last post.  This past semester was really hard as I struggled with Spanish, or rather a Spanish teacher who was from Spain and spoke very little English and therefore taught all in Spanish.  Note:  talking louder does not help people understand words in another language.  It took a lot of work, but I did manage a B in that class.  In my other 4 classes, I got all A's.  All in all it was a good semester.  The fun part was having Jessica and Matt on campus with me and seeing them throughout the day.  Weird, but really fun!

I was able to knit several things for Christmas, however the best thing I did was finally finish Matt's Stained Glass Afghan.  When he was 4 years old, I took him to a stained glass exhibit.  After returning home, he drew a picture of a stained glass window and asked me to make it for him in an afghan.  I began it soon after that.  Then we moved x5 where it lived in a basket in a box.  Well this past year I have worked on it when he was at work and here it is....
First as parts:

 Then together:

And then wrapped around my son.  

He was most surprised!  

We have several challenges right now, so it is nice to remember several of our successes.  As to the challenges, Bill's job ended when his story closed at the beginning of November, and then Bill was VERY sick for a good chunk of December.  Most of the family has had very bad colds, however we are starting to get better.  As the new year approaches we have great faith that things will get better.   

The Knit Goes On....

Over the years, when I am going through a tough time, I think of my grandmother.  She had a way of making troubles seem not so big.  You could tell her about yours, and she would be sitting in her chair, with her feet up, knitting along.  I used to think "wow, nothing seems to phase her."  Now, with older eyes, I think I get it.  Elizabeth Zimmerman put it best in her statement, “Knit on, through all crises, with confidence and hope.”

I think that is what I have been doing this summer.  We have faced some of our worst trials this summer.  Many of them are still ongoing and quite frankly I am not sure when things will get better.  Through it all I find myself knitting and praying.  It seems that the greater the crisis, the faster I knit, the more fervant the prayer.  I can do this because some really wonderful people have given me large quantities of yarn over the years.  This yarn came from relatives who had passed on, friends who were cleaning out their stash and didn't want some particular yarn, or as a gift because they saw a skein of yarn and thought of me.  If I didn't have this yarn, I would not be able to knit as the cost of buying yarn is beyond me at this time.  I am extremely grateful to all who had contributed to my stash over the years. 

Now, what have I been knitting?

 Pocket book slippers

Assorted Baby Hats

 Assorted Dish Towels and Dish cloths in multiplicity.

A Book Cover



There are a couple of other projects that I haven't taken pictures of yet, and a few that I won't post here as they are "birdcage covers".  I currently have 4 projects on the needles right now, including a prototype of an idea I found.  It is a 1020's doily pattern called Hemlock Ring, that I am knitting with scrap worsted yarn with big needles.  If this works, I think it would make a very pretty baby afghan.  I knit because I love to knit.  However I believe that this summer, I am stress knitting, turning this crisis into beautiful projects that would make wonderful gifts.  I am knitting with hope and praying with faith.