Making Signs

You know I am kind of glad that its still November. I still have time to make things before the race begins. Even though, I am not stressed out yet about shopping. Ron has already done a big portion of it. I am happy to just set back and let him take over. I do like this age. It was like Thanksgiving. The girls cooked and I cooked and Nik's Mom cooked so it was about the easiest Thanksgiving ever. I expect Christmas to be about the same as this year it will be at William and Makenzie's. So what have I been doing? Making signs.

Here are a few.

The signs that look like gift tags will be on the front door. I will add some greenery and a bow. The other two will be on my Hoosier cabinet and my other hutch. I have a giant sign that I will show you after I finish it. Its really my favorite. I hope to get to it soon as I have been staring at it for days. Its like that line from that movie Searching for Bobbie Fisher, " Don't move until you see it." That is what I have to do sometimes.

Anyway I had to tell you about this stuff I found for perfect signs. Also being married to a computer programmer helps lots.

I bought this years ago I think, in fact I might not even have remembered that I had it if I had not ran out of printer paper when I was Ron was printing out words for my signs.

Its clear and I just tape the word down where I want it to be and use a dull pencil to trace the words onto the sign and then either use paint to paint the words or a handy-dandy Sharpie. I love Sharpies because I use them for so many things. Namely drawing out rugs and  I do love that. But this is about signs and not rugs today.

I went and took a picture of one of the signs on the Hoosier. Gosh, I love that piece of furniture.

I haven't decorated anything yet. I just thought you might like to see it in the house. It still smells like paint so it will have to go outside, it gives me a headache. Simple.

Maybe just a glimpse of the one I hope to work on soon.

There are so many things that I want to do and make and still find time to hook and sew. I miss working with wool. I think though its nice to work with wood again. Working with wood gives my brain a new kind of challenge.

I hope you have a lovely week, this last week in November.

~Kim~

But unless we are creators, we are not fully alive. (Madeleine L'Engle)

Ramblings in My Mind

This morning as I walked. My mind was all over the place. It felt like an unruly horse with the bit in its teeth.
As I yanked the reins back mentally, trying to make some sense of what was racing through my mind. Before I went outside this morning I checked the weather to see what kind of coat I needed. The forecast was for haze.
As I walked and I could see the colors, the clouds and I was reminded how three years ago, haze in the forecast meant hiding all day behind the blinds. Trapped because haze with someone who has cataracts is just horrible. Those days, I would pray, I wouldn't have to drive. So as I walked, I thought about how thankful I am to live in this place, right now. A place where I can see and rejoice in pain free place today.

 As I looked out this morning, I saw that winter is almost here. When the sun rises just perfectly over Bear Mountain, winter will be here. The sun is almost there. The front tree, is all naked. When I lived in town, I would have to climb to the top of the kids fort to see the sun rise. So I asked the Lord if He would let me live in a place where I could see the sun rise and the sun set. When we moved here, it was such a gift and still remains a huge gift in my life. I never miss sunrises or sunsets, and each one is just as precious as it was when that first morning, and the sun rose over Bear Mountain flooding my new house with sunlight.

I was thinking about when we moved here it was basically blank slate. No trees except the front one. No fences, no out buildings and no water anywhere.  As I look around at all of the work Ron has done, it really is amazing. All of the trees we have planted. This morning though, what I thought about was that Ron planted all of these trees that are full of color. The reds, orange and yellow, are what he planted so I could have colored leaves without ever leaving home. Not to mention putting that split rail fence in for me. I think it would be so hard to leave here because of all of the dreams I have had fulfilled living here.

 I have really had the joy of living at the foot of my rainbow. I am so thankful for this life I have been given. When we were newly married and Ron came home as I sat with a baby on my lap and his face was alight with joy. He said, " Kim, I found a verse God gave me for our life, Look its right here! " Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full--pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back." (Luke 6:38)
I scoffed at the time, but Ron has always had more faith than me.
So now almost 38 years later, God has been faithful and so mind blowing. I am so thankful. On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving,  1979 I was working in the grocery store. My brother who worked there called me to the back room to ask me a question. I went back and the phone rang in the back room. I went to answer it and it was Ron, (he was supposed to be in Santa Barbara at school.) I thought he was between classes. He said, he had to do something. While I waited on the phone, who should come around the corner, but Ron with the biggest smile. I was so shocked as he dropped on his knees right there with my engagement ring in his hand, and asked me to marry him. I of course said yes, I have no idea how I worked the rest of the day, I floated I think.

It really has been a breath taking adventure. I am so thankful for all of the gifts I have had but I am the most thankful that through these years, I have so many ways to be thankful to God, who took my life and changed it and gave me Ron to walk with every single day to see the sun rise and the sun sets.

May God richly bless you today,

~Kim~

Happy Thanksgiving!

Almost Thanksgiving

My Favorite color Mums

Here we are the week before Thanksgiving. I feel much smarter this year. Everyone is bringing something if they want to and what doesn't get here we will still have more than enough food. I hope you and your friends and family will have a wonderful day. We are doing the turkey of course.

That top picture on my blog was the last of my pumpkins. I had no idea there were still that many left. I wish I remembered what kind those Cinderella pumpkins are for sure. I cut one, it really reminded me of banana squash. It smelled so good that I think I will be using them like banana squash. Thinking about how good they smelled makes my mouth water. They are very meaty. My chickens went crazy for them.

 

I just wanted to wish you a very happy and wonderful Thanksgiving. Have a lovely week,

~Kim~

 When we believe in the impossible, it becomes possible, and we can do all kinds of extraordinary things.
Madeleine L'Engle

Just A Finish

 

As we get closer to Thanksgiving, I get more scatter brained. I have though, managed to think of what people are going to bring this year. A week ahead of time rather than just days.

 I have a funny story to tell you.

 I went to the grocery store this morning. I was just picking up some things for Thanksgiving but not all of it. You know just odds and ends that are gone when I want them. I think other people were thinking the same thing as the store was packed for 9:00 A.M. on a Friday morning.

 

Of course that early, they never have enough help. I wasn't in a hurry so I was just looking around and watching people. There was a Chinese man buying soft drinks in front of me. He is there every Friday morning buying the sodas for his restaurant. He doesn't speak English very well, but I always smile and nod and he always smiles and nods back. Its funny the people you see on a routine basis.

 

The young man who was checking groceries was harried. I always have a ton of stuff and I was thinking about other things and just putting my things on the belt. In California you have to bring your own grocery bags. If you forget you have to pay 10 cents a bag. Not a big deal. I think its the principal of the thing. If you go to say Home Depot or Michaels or Hobby Lobby, they give them to you.

Back to my story. I gave him my bags and there wasn't a bag person, so I just walked to the end and started bagging my own groceries. Which really made the guy upset.  He told me he was sorry, then he got on the loud speaker and called all courtesy clerks to the front. I noticed someone had been messing with their loud speaker because it echoed through the store like Elvis in Love Me Tender. No one came.

 

I used up all of my bags I had brought and I said to him, " You need to charge me for extra bags because I used up what I brought." He looked at me, and said, " You are not buying a single bag, you can have all you want!" I smiled and said thank you and a gal showed up about then and finished up. Out of the blue he said,
" Come on to the back with me, I am giving you a turkey! I said what? He said, Yep, I am giving you turkey!
I pointed at the register because I hadn't paid yet and he said, " Never mind I am getting you the biggest turkey I can find!" He came back to the register with a 20 pound turkey and put it in my basket. I just laughed and went out to the car. Isn't that funny! I have chuckled to myself all day. He was still very grumpy that no one had come to help with all of the people in line.

I finished my last old project from two years ago. Well, not all of them of course. I could stitch for years and not finish them all. I think I have done all of the Fancey Blacketts by Pineberry Lane now.

I just love those patterns.

I wanted to show you the tiny bit I have left on my crow rug. I just need to get to it and stop procrastinating.

 See that tiny little square? That's it.

I had to get back to His Eye is on the Sparrow today. I really wanted to finish it this year and I know I won't. But here it is.

I thought I was further along. I am doing the bird now so I feel like I got over my mental block. It really will be lovely if I ever get it finished. I am glad I stopped and finished the other projects. My mind wasn't yelling at me so much to hurry.

Two of our kids are in Israel this week. The pictures have been wonderful. I am sure they will have all kinds of stories to tell when they get back. I hope you have a lovely weekend. Thank you so much for stopping by today.

~Kim~

 We have to be braver than we think we can be, because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are.
Madeleine L'Engle

Finishing Projects

Now that its November, I thought I could share my goals I made for myself at the end of 2016. I got my fit-bit and on December 26th I started walking. Each month I finished was shocking to me. That I could walk almost every day at the beginning seemed impossible. Today my stats are this: 3,423,599 steps, 426 floors and 1,348.44 miles. I walk now first thing every morning and then walk every hour at least 250 steps. My son Peter gave me the fit-bit for Christmas, and he said the other day, " I never dreamed that giving you a fit-bit would change your life so much, Mom you are a different person, you used to be sad some mornings and now you never are." That was very high praise I thought. I have not lost weight though, Just the first ten pounds but the weird thing is my clothes look like clown pants.

My other goal was I was not going to buy wool or linen the whole year. I was going to use what I had. I was so afraid of moths getting into my wool. After a whole year, I still have wool. My backing is gone and I have been trying to hook and finish up past projects. I still have past projects. This is my wool rug and I have to dye wool today to finish it.

I am that close. I have used the Dusty Little Dye book for the background of this rug. Now I know there maybe a rule someplace but this is what I have done. You really can't tell too much. I like the movement in the rug, but since I haven't bought wool I had to get creative. I took worms, (other cut up wool pieces from other projects.) I dyed them with the wool I was dyeing for the background. They take a bit longer to dry, but they work just as well and I am using up my wool that way. Which  was what I wanted to do, not buy but use up.

My wool storage is down to two storage boxes. I can shut the lids finally. I will tell you this that this has been so hard to not buy wool, or patterns or linen.

The next thing I wanted to do was finish up my counted cross stitch patterns that I started in years past.
Here are the three I managed to finish up this week. Well except the bottom one, it was new.

The top two are Fancey Blackett by Pineberry Lane. I have one more that I hope to finish today and the bottom picture is from Jenny Hoffman Country Rustic Primitives. Which I did purchase because I needed to just do that witches face. Sometimes I stumble.

I have even been picking and saving seeds from my poor zinnias. I don't know where I get these ideas but they come to me. Like my November goal until Thanksgiving in not complaining. Its harder than I thought it would be, I complain far to much. I even get tired of listening to myself complain.

So just some things I wanted to share. I am thankful that I set that goal for myself, and never did I think I would be able to accomplish any of them. I am so glad I bought so much wool in 2016 and so much dye. Not to mention linen. What does that say about me though, I bought so much it has taken me a year to use it up.
Do you know I still have patterns in bags.

It really does though for me, it takes more brain power to live intentionally. I guess you could say, I have been sort of embarrassed about my goals and too afraid to tell you in case I couldn't accomplish them.

I hope you have a lovely weekend. Here is is perfect, cloudy skies, colder weather. The air is wonderful. Lovely, lovely November.

~Kim~

We do not draw people to Christ by loudly discrediting what they believe, by telling them how wrong they are and how right we are, but by showing them a light that is so lovely that they want with all their hearts to know the source of it.
Madeleine L'Engle

 ---Madeline L'Engle

Time to be Thankful, Fall Textures.

I was taking pictures today. I was surprised to myself the different textures in fall verses things in the spring.
Everything is tired, but it has its own beauty. Here are a few of the textures that caught my eye.

These are my giant sunflowers that the birds couldn't read because of the weight of the sunflower seeds as they ripened the sunflower head bent lower and lower. I cut them off yesterday and turned them right side up.
As of yet, they had not been noticed by hungry birds. I bet once they are noticed the birds will devour the seeds.

The Pomegranates are getting ripe. Kind of like persimmons the leaves start falling when the fruit gets ripe. I have a walnut tree growing in my flowerbed that I will move this winter. I have left it now for three years.

My tiny little rose bush. The flowers are so bedraggled. I wish they were covered in raindrops.

Some years the reds on the trees keep my eyes staring at the colors but for some reason this year I can't take my eyes off of the Japanese Lantern tree. I find myself staring at it during the day as I can see it from my kitchen. I love the way the green is fading from the leaves and the shape of the leaves.

I harvested some of the pumpkins yesterday. I left these on the vines because they just aren't ready yet. I set them on their bottoms and I loved how pretty they looked sitting out there in my pumpkin patch. I love the way that vine in the top picture looks so curly. Next year when I plant these I will plant them earlier in the year.

The reds are so pretty this year, but I am afraid the leaves are falling so fast there won't be much time to enjoy the colors.

I love these colors of the different leaves. I could see so many different kinds of leaves from all of the different trees. Tired leaves ready for bed. To be turned into this lovely stuff.

We worked on this all summer. We are using it now. Such wonderful mulch.

I had to show you what is coming up in my flowerbeds now. My Iris bulbs. So when it seems winter never ends, there in the ground are the secret promises of spring.

I just thought I would share today, the textures of fall.

~Kim~

Its a time for taking stock of  being Thankful every day.

 If we commit ourselves to one person for life, this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather, it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession but participation.
Madeleine L'Engle