It's Done!

Well, my patchwork quilt is all done and I am pleased with the results. JoAnn is pleased too. I do like the colors, but these photos still look like winter time, and as I am trying to update the blog for springtime, it seems like the quilt should be in pastels. I did in fact see a rag quilt for sale at a local home decor store that was all in pastels, but was just a very small lap robe size. The photo above shows the quilt about folded in half so you can get the idea of it's size. It is big enough to put on top of JoAnn's bed.
The clipping of the seams was messy and time-consuming, but it worked well and makes a fun patchwork effect. It was a great project to work on while sitting down. This is a much quicker project than making an entire quilt, and is fun for a change. After cutting out the squares for this quilt about 4 1/2 years ago, it feels so good to finish this project up. JoAnn has been very good about not complaining, but I'm sure she thinks it's about time too.
This is the back of the quilt...smooth likes normal blocks sewn together for a quilt. It's reversible, so you can change the look. There is something very satisfying about sewing, and creating things for gifts or for the house. I'm thinking about my next project now....

God's Encouragement

For three plus years now we have belonged to a health sharing ministry called Samaritan Ministries. Julie and her family of 8 are also members. There are many great reasons to be involved with this ministry instead of traditional health insurance, but I have just experienced one of them. For three years each month, we have sent a check to another believing family along with a card of encouragement and prayed for them. This has been a blessing in and of itself, but this last month we have been on the receiving end of this blessing. Many days it was hard to stay focused and encouraged (shall I say up out of the dumps?) even though reading in my Bible and praying. Staying down, sometimes sitting all day with my leg up, and sometimes laying flat on my back for 48 hours was just plain hard. As the cards began to pour into the mailbox in March, I began to see God's hand working in and through them and the people who took the time to send a note. These personal notes of encouragement from people I had never met, seemed truly to be a ray of sunshine sent from God's heart to mine. I know perfectly well that God does not need to use any physical means for encouragement, but in this case He did. What a special program Samaritan Ministries is.

I narrowly escaped some serious consequences of a blood clot going awry (into my lung...instead of heart or brain) and I know that having so many praying was surely a grand and glorious thing. It brought the glory to God for protection and we are praising and thanking Him. Some days are still rather bleak, but always God is faithful. Today one of my daughters and her family are coming for a visit of 5 days to help us celebrate my insurance man's birthday. Happy Birthday honey! We will be having a great visit and I will be posting photos, but again I can't wait for some commotion around here and the liveliness that kids bring. I am also thankful for 2 other very faithful daughters who have called virtually daily to help me as they can, and Julie's children never fail to bring a smile to my lips or a tear to my eye. The details of our lives each day become very precious when we are taken out of the game for while. Today I am extra grateful for the cards and words God sent in March.

A little More of Spring

Aren't these beauties precious to behold? I have to add my crocuses to the photos Julie posted last week. Crocuses in both Oregon and West Virginia! You just can't see these vivid colors without smiling....and marveling anew about God's handiwork in renewing the earth each spring.
These crocuses look like they are in a little nest....but they are in front of my still brown lavender, and in the middle of a patch of 'snow in winter' that will bloom later this season.
Spring is the least season where I live in Central Oregon. Winter keeps a tight grip on things until mid-May and it can freeze or snow right up through the 4th of July some years. It takes a long time to get green growing things around here, and then BOOM we are right in the middle of our hot summers. So...not much spring. I enjoy each and every little bit that comes my way however....and these crocuses are the first very cheery bit.

One Of My Favorite Objects

I have always thought that pitcher and basin sets were so romantic. I'm pretty far removed from the era when they were in use and don't necessarily know that much about their history. But, I love them for several reasons. They instantly remind me of the past and of another time when things were done so differently. A different pace and a different set of values. I also just love their elegant shape. A curvy pitcher thrills me. White is one of my favorite colors, especially for decorating, so this pitcher below is the ideal in my mind. It sits on my dresser in my room. It's an original that was used in an ancestor's home in the family of a friend of mine. The basin has been cracked and so no one in her family wanted it and it was offered to me. I have one other set that is not antique. It is off-white with a magnolia painted onto the front of it. It was a gift from my sister-in-law, Anna. It presides, modestly, in my dining room.

Dainty Embellishments

This little blouse I bought at a children's consignment sale has the sweetest little embroidered flowers on the collar. When I was dressing Amelia today, I was enjoying them very much and thought I'd share a peek.

Made by Janie and Jack, it's all-around dainty, but the flowers are the crowning touch.

Lavendar and blue, perfect for Spring!

First Signs of Spring

My kids are so overjoyed to see the first flowers of the year! This is our second Spring in this house. Whoever lived here before us planted a whole lot of bulbs that we enjoyed last year and are looking forward to again. The first are these purple crocuses. They are so cheerful and refreshing. We have a stretch of woods adjoining our property. The mini-daffodils are from the woods. They are exquisite!

March Weather

In like a lion and out like a lamb....that's March! I looked up the origin of that saying and it was like this:

"The phrase apparently has its origins with the constellations Leo, the Lion, and Aries, the ram or lamb." It surely comes in like a lion around here, but not too often does it go out like a lamb....

Last week-end we had a beautiful mild sunny Saturday, when my insurance man went out and pruned the rose bushes. Then Sunday it was rainy, windy and stormy all day. Monday morning we woke up to life that looked like these photos. 3-4 inches total, and snowing most all day. But by late afternoon it was all gone once again. March gets it all! I love spring snow. Since I have to sit (and for the moment once again lay) I can watch this panorama going on outside. I'm so glad that God made weather and has control over it!