For Mary...

To the Blessed Virgin Mary on the solemnity of your Assumption....Thanks.

Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe

Today is the Feast Day of St. Maximilian Kolbe (scroll down to August 15)who traded his life for the life of a husband and father during WWII. It is an amazing story. I am trying to incorporate saint days and the Liturgical Year into our lives more and more. Today I told the kids to try to do something extra special for someone else in memory of St. Maximilian Kolbe. I challenge you to do so too.
The above picture is Nathan using the Phonetic Zoo. He loves it! Actually both boys do. I think their favorite part is the headphones but also being able to do the entire thing on their own. Frankly, I love that aspect myself. Nathan has hated spelling for so long that it is a small miracle to see him excited about it again. This is the second day we've used it but I have high hopes.
As you can see, we have started school. We actually started doing work the last week of July. The kids didn't even complain. I figure we will be really glad to take a week off in say, February, when we are all driving each other bonkers and I'm ready to send them back to school.

New Holland Market

Today Amy and I were stand holders at New Holland Market. It was not a good market day. Well, it was not a good day for selling quilts, or coasters, or totes, or felties. No, I didn't sell one thing.

It was a great day to sit outside and talk to a friend. I think that was totally worth the day. Thanks, Amy, for being a great friend and for making the time fly by.

Here are some pictures from market today. The top picture shows the new set-up for my quilts. It was a bit windy in the morning so I had to pin them bottom and top but this method helped show off some of my quilts a bit better than I have done in the past.
Here are Amy's newest creation: burp cloths. It made me want to have a baby on my shoulder just so I could have the most stylish burp cloth around. She should have these up in her etsy shop soon. Below are some of Amy's flowers that she and her husband grow around their house. Don't those tomatoes just make you want to take a bite and let the juice run down your chin?And here is the best picture I could get of the pinwheel quilt. It certainly did get some attention which was nice. It looked so nice hanging there in the breeze and sunlight.

End of a Great Week

I finished it on Thursday. The pinwheel quilt. I will try to take a good picture of it at market tomorrow as I want to hang my quilts in a new way to show them off. These are some close ups. This quilt makes me think of going to grandma's house, snuggling with a good book and some homemade cookies.Speaking of a good book, I am reading The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton. It is his autobiography. He was WAY smarter than me and so I don't even know about 1/3 of the vocabulary he uses but I am blown away by this book. The spirituality of it all. His conversion is so interesting to me in a way that is helping to continue my conversion. This may sound weird if you are not Catholic. As a former Protestant, I used to think you were converted once and that was all there was to it. I now know that conversion is a process that lasts a lifetime. I can not at this time express the thoughts and feelings that are swirling around in my head because of this book. I have just never read anything quite like it and it is impacting me in so many ways. Maybe later I can talk about it more. Maybe I will never have the words.

Quilt in a Day

I am getting ready for market day. This Saturday Amy and I will be at New Holland Market. I am excited for a new venue. New Holland is a very different place than Lancaster City and I am eager to see how the crowds differ. My kids have been at camp all week and so I have had the opportunity to get some things finished. Actually, I have been working on my pinwheel quilt and it is just taking forever to quilt. I actually quilted for one entire day and several parts of days. I am determined to finish the quilt by Saturday if I have to stay up all night to do it. The plumber is coming today to fix our bathroom pipes and so I am planning to go to the third floor (the kids room) where it is air conditioned and quilt. I just can't stand having a heavy quilt on my lap when the temp is between 90 and 100 degrees.
The quilt in a day occurred due to this horrible heat. I wanted to see just how "fast" I could whip up a quilt that looked great. I also wanted to do it without hand quilting to avoid the quilt on my lap as much as possible. I also wanted to use the rest of my Heather Bailey fabric stash and knew it would look best if not cut up too much. I "quilted" on the machine using embroidery thread (pink on the top, green on the bottom) using a shell stitch. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I actually like this quilt. It measures 38x40 inches. I am incapable of making a quilt that has normal dimensions.

The plumber is here, the kids need to go to camp, the husband is off to Philadelphia for his bass lesson and the third floor is calling my quilt. I hope to have the finished project to show by tomorrow.

Mail Call

We had some exciting mail today. Not one, but two packages. Wow. The first was for Nolan. He saved up his bucks (which isn't easy for him) and ordered a Sonic Heroes computer game. When it came it didn't work. He was crushed. I used it for a lesson on consumerism. We contacted the seller who was eager to please us. Nolan sent back the original package and today in the mail received a new one that works! This was a great lesson in patience as well. We all remember how hard it was (and is) to wait for something we really want. I was sort of glad this happened because I was able to teach the kids about the importance of checking your merchandise thoroughly before throwing away the packaging so that it can be returned if necessary. I love life lessons. Also delayed gratification was really taught here.

In the next package was something for me! If you remember this post, I was talking about the Phonetic Zoo spelling program. A friend of mine from our homeschool group knew someone who not only used it but was selling it! I was able to spend less than half the price of a new copy. I haven't had a chance to look through it yet but I am excited. Nathan and Nolan didn't think it looked quite as fun as Sonic Heroes.

Now this little fella didn't come in the mail but it was Nathan's special package today. This is a Monarch Caterpillar. Nathan has loved butterflies and caterpillars for so long, I can't even remember how it got started. We have a massive amount of milkweed growing in our backyard. In case you didn't know, butterflies will only lay their eggs on the plant that their caterpillars will eat. Caterpillars are picky insects and usually prefer one type of plant. For the Monarch it is the milkweed. There are others they will eat but I can't remember which ones. I think hollyhock may be another. Nathan snapped this picture and I asked him if he wanted to write about it but he said I could do the honors!

Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration. I used Sacred Space for the reading and prayer this morning. I was struck by the part of the reading that says (my paraphrase) that the disciples were overcome with sleepiness but they stayed awake and were allowed to see Moses and Elijah and Jesus transfigured. It really struck me that we need to stay awake even though we are often overcome with sleepiness so that we can experience the extra special blessings that God provides for us. Often in my life I am so tired just from living in this world that I want to give up. It is this "tiredness" that can often keep us from experiencing the Joy that comes from Jesus. On this hot August feast day, I encourage you to stay awake and experience the joys that God has prepared for you.

Friday WIP

I have noticed in my blog lurking that often the blogger will show a work in progress on Friday. I have no idea why this is but figured I'd do the same since I don't have anything finished to show. I gave you a preview of the above quilt a few days ago. I have been working on this for quite some time. The pinwheel blocks measure 7 inches when sewed together so the quilt should be about 35x49 inches when finished. I think it speaks to me of August because it is so bright but also contrasted with the white. I was craving this. I told my son that quilting is much more enjoyable in the winter because the quilt itself keeps me warm while I am making it. In the summer it is more of a chore. Right now I am quilting in the white spots.
The above work in progress belongs to Nathan and Nolan. This is a salt crystal garden. We have wanted to make it for a long time but had trouble finding the liquid bluing. I knew it could be ordered but never got around to it. One day while picking up some laundry detergent I spied it in the isle. It conveniently had the salt crystal garden directions attached. I need to look up the science behind it but you will need cut up sponges, liquid bluing, ammonia (yuk), water and salt. It took quite a few days before we began to see the crystals. In fact we were pretty sure we hadn't done something right when all of a sudden they began to grow. They do grow fast. I had to add the blue kitty to the picture, not just because he is blue, but because Mrs. Stewart on the bottle seems so disapproving of the whole affair. I'm glad she wasn't my mother!

Finally, I won't show you a picture of this, but we had the plumber here (again) and this time he installed a brand new sewer pipe in the basement. Believe me, this is not something you want to have leaking in your basement. Next week we get to have him back to replace the pipes leading from the bathroom to the basement. What fun!