tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49561957209447769672009-10-12T20:19:38.275-05:00Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.comBlogger315125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-52803474308698258032009-07-01T07:49:00.003-05:002009-07-01T08:10:26.460-05:00

Once I found out that I'd been accepted for the synod choir (and was going to be on camera as well as on stage), I wanted something a little special to wear. The e-mail said we were to wear black bottoms and black, white or red tops, so I decided to try making a red scarf printed with the UCC comma symbol. (Gracie Allen is quoted as saying "Never put a period where God has put a comma." The

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06564290209054334579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-10299676820856802702009-06-30T22:39:00.003-05:002009-07-01T07:06:12.819-05:00

To celebrate the fact that my camera is working properly again. When I planted this garden I was trying for a look of floral profusion - masses of color mixed wildly together. These days, it looks like an experiment in chaos theory (but in a good way, I think).The ants come marching one by one . . . . (I seem to have missed most of peony season during my travels. There is a huge drift of brown

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06564290209054334579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-7640421497499889222009-06-30T20:12:00.006-05:002009-06-30T21:15:03.328-05:00

This is turning into the summer of travel. Besides my lovely visit to Peninsula State Park with Lynn & Jeff, last week I enjoyed a 5 day trip to Michigan for some cousin time and the UCC General Synod in Grand Rapids. And I still have trips scheduled to visit the in-laws in Missouri this weekend, then Maine (in July) and California (in August) to check on my younger brothers and their families.If

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06564290209054334579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-8025276797456729282009-06-30T16:38:00.006-05:002009-06-30T19:48:54.447-05:00

Don't know if I told you all about a little incident I had over Memorial Day weekend which resulted in a very needful haircut? Well, my hair is now at that in-between length where I can't put it up but don't really like it down. Besides, with the heat wave we had last week, I needed to do something to get it off my neck. Here was one option I came up with:Very Easy Dropstitch HeadbandMaterials:

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06564290209054334579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-75370927901261722832009-06-12T10:24:00.006-05:002009-06-12T11:13:04.245-05:00

I spent 2 1/2 glorious days last week up at Peninsula State Park, catching up with old friends and soaking in the scenery. It was just glorious weather and the lilacs were rioting. The puppy adapted quickly to tent living, and with several other dogs in the group she had lots of positive role models and lots of play time. It really was a situation that just couldn't be beat. And though I hated to

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-16075771438809118682009-06-02T10:09:00.010-05:002009-06-02T13:03:53.856-05:00

The chiropractor from my networking group is hosting a "Ladies' Night" tonight, with demonstrations and vendors and such. I've been invited to attend and hawk my portrait work, which meant putting a trade-show type booth together for the first time. Luckily, I have an assortment of tables from my farmer's market set-up, so I just needed to figure out a tri-fold display. What do you think? Also, I

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06564290209054334579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-40829604632719792542009-06-01T09:38:00.007-05:002009-06-01T10:06:16.949-05:00

Oh, my . . . where do I start?.Well, you know how they say bad things come in 3's? Well, Sunday of Memorial Day weekend my elderly next door neighbor hired someone to work on her yard. That someone foolishly and irresponsibly brought with her a springer/beagle bitch in heat, who immediately took off for my property line and killed Rudy, my longtime companion and all-around favorite rooster.He was

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06564290209054334579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-12711885427158576152009-05-22T07:27:00.004-05:002009-05-22T07:47:15.595-05:00

It's cooler and rainy this morning, but before getting ready for school I just had to check out the lilacs blooming outside my bathroom window. These are bushes that I picked out a few years ago from the lilac thicket on the other end of our land, and painfully lugged over to plant next to the house. They are an unending source of pleasure when they are in bloom. And so long as I was out there, I

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06564290209054334579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-89162000752922641632009-05-21T15:50:00.005-05:002009-05-21T16:13:34.317-05:00

I was wandering around Michaels a few weeks ago in an inexcusable manner when I came across a couple of lightweight cotton shawl/scarf blanks on clearance for almost nothing. The suggested use was to add iron-on items and buttons and such, but I thought the scarves would probably lend themselves well to the farmer's market (after a little jazzing up with some of my silk dyes). I was using the

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-58860364798074151222009-05-19T15:13:00.003-05:002009-05-19T15:33:54.331-05:00

Why is it that my own kids are the hardest onest to photograph? I did my very best to insist that they sit for me in honor of Mother's Day, so I could send a portrait to each of their grandmothers. It was like herding cats to get the schedules of two working teenagers to coordinate with each other, my own availability, and the good graces of Mother Nature. A week late, I finally got them in front

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-16236173072881700192009-05-18T07:12:00.006-05:002009-05-18T19:37:25.812-05:00

I picked up this birdhouse a while back at Goodwill because it was cute, and because I wanted to hang something on that porch hook that would not shrivel if it didn't receive daily watering and attention all summer long. It didn't occur to me that it would actually go into use - I figured it was strictly decorative. Apparently the little brown bird twittering happily from inside didn't get the

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-55911792016720924252009-05-13T19:57:00.002-05:002009-05-13T20:11:19.508-05:00

Today I spent some time being aware of my surroundings. Appreciating the rain which has so kindly stepped in to water the poor blueberry bush we planted last night. Appreciating how funny the chickens can look, with "the boys" strutting across the field during a random break in the rain and their ladies scurrying behind - and how amazing it is that at least two goldfish survived the winter in my

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-527965485878641652009-05-12T20:54:00.005-05:002009-05-12T21:19:39.261-05:00

Today was a busy day - among other things, I rescued an unwanted blueberry bush from a dairy farmer friend and planted it alongside my Mother's Day blueberry twig from Luc. I have killed a fairly broad assortment of small and large fruit producing flora, but am willing to try again. (On the other hand, the arctic apricot bushes look pretty good, even though Rick ran over the Southernmost one -

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-65938264265102978992009-05-11T18:07:00.002-05:002009-05-11T18:11:50.702-05:00

Yesterday, Tasha told me tersely that Mother's Day was a "Hallmark Holiday" and that she didn't intend to recognize it. Today, I was called to teach second grade and an 8 year old admirer brought me a gift. Thanks, kid. They're beautiful.

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-23535451465721821562009-05-11T17:27:00.006-05:002009-05-11T18:15:38.814-05:00

For a woman who is officially without a job, I'm managing to keep busy. I taught 3 days of high school and one day of middle school in the Cognitively Disabled room last week, filling the remaining weekday by catching up on my household chores and pitching dried manure for the church's community garden. I also found the time to take a nice long walk with the puppy, cutting through my neighbor's

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-32303731210385089262009-05-06T09:21:00.004-05:002009-05-06T09:32:15.051-05:00

Today I am delivering discs and prints for the "Glamour Shots" session from last Saturday. The funny thing is, Pam (no, not that Pam) and I started this project for women who might enjoy the chance to get dolled up for the camera. A brighter shade of lipstick than normal, the confidence of knowing you have a professional on hand to make sure your hair is just right, maybe a cute little lacy thing

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-48129067519953339232009-05-05T15:26:00.005-05:002009-05-05T17:15:27.183-05:00

At long last - almost exactly a year late - the Anniversary Shawl is done. I don't know how many hours of actual work it took, but the entire process was spread over at least 16 months. The wool is incredibly soft and springy, and it was worth every penny to use "the good stuff" on this project. Tammy has crocheted the last bit of edging on, and I've taken it down to Hilton's Fiber Shop so Jodi

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-29232931667201016922009-05-01T20:52:00.005-05:002009-05-01T23:51:29.067-05:00

Have you seen this? Pam has a point. I mean, Julie made a beautiful FLS. Stephanie made a beautiful FLS. Linda was working on one for a while. I've even contemplated one - though I have to say that I first learned about Pam's design on Pam's actual blog, well before it was all the rage. It's a beautiful pattern, and it was a very nice gift to the knitting community - I'm saddened to discover that

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-25680717258543986742009-04-30T19:34:00.004-05:002009-04-30T19:46:23.963-05:00

A long time ago (18 years ago today, in fact), I had a baby girl. Happy birthday, Tasha. It hasn't always been a smooth journey, but the road is paved with love and I wouldn't trade you for anything.

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-5072420319551778602009-04-29T13:23:00.005-05:002009-04-29T16:10:31.710-05:00

I was putting together my outfit for a recent social event (and if you know me, you'll know how often THAT happens) when I had this idea. Or actually, I had: (1) smoke-blue wool left over from Lydia's socks which tied in nicely to the colors I was wearing; (2) blue ribbon yarn called "sari" which was not actual sari yarn but was left over from my experiment with knitted I-cord necklaces; and (3

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-17301201838022005732009-04-27T18:18:00.004-05:002009-04-27T18:42:50.082-05:00

It's been raining hard here the last several days, and the results are really starting to show. Not only did I spot the first dandelions of the season this morning, but I have hyacinths in bloom! (Okay, so I had grape hyacinths and crocus already, but those always feel like the pre-show.) Between the hyacinth and the masses of forsythia in bloom and the soft green smell of a recent rain on a

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06564290209054334579noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-68484393084295255672009-04-24T08:22:00.008-05:002009-04-24T10:31:41.653-05:00

I'm trying to get back in the swing of walking daily with the dog, now that Luna is old enough to handle it. The weather isn't always ideal yet - I could have done without all that Spring wind on Wednesday - but the world is waking up again after a long winter. There are green patches in the yards and fields, and actual flowers!I think the white things are some sort of wild anemone, and it seems

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-7067897759651732242009-04-14T13:46:00.005-05:002009-04-14T14:11:52.363-05:00

First, can I just say how much I enjoy the little ones? With my baby turning 18 in just a couple of weeks, I've really been contemplating the cute cuddliness which was once a daily part of my life. Between the trip to Michigan for Aunt Mary's funeral and the fun and games surrounding the Arizona trip, I've really been blessed with some wonderful kid moments.And the Arizona trip itself went very

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06564290209054334579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-29637186034939084622009-03-31T17:48:00.006-05:002009-03-31T18:17:26.423-05:00

It is incredibly cold, dim and crappy in Eastern Wisconsin today; so much so that Tasha had a fender-bender in the rainstorm and I decorated my coat with turquoise sharpie ink after dropping the marker from my cold-numbed fingers. And the wind . . . don't get me started on the wind. Here are my compensating factors, in no particular order:The trip to Arizona, of course. This time tomorrow I will

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4956195720944776967.post-63576820263767678102009-03-30T12:05:00.004-05:002009-03-30T12:27:29.489-05:00

The blue bag of distraction is done, felted twice, and will be taken to the leather lady this afternoon to be fitted with handles. I'll show you the end result, but it make take a little while to work our way down in her cue. And I'm back at the extreme brown shrug, which will probably be finished on the plane. Meanwhile, I finished my essay and other materials to apply for Chicago Theological

Jamihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09119965328499456557noreply@blogger.com0