...to market, to market

Sorry it's been so long since posting..........time has been flying by at warp-speed, hence, my life has also been "flying by".........."as it were in a dream"..........I never understood those words until rather recently. I'm not sure I understand them now, but I'm beginning to think so.

HOWEVER!!!!......

Last Wednesday I had the exciting opportunity to attend "quilt market" in Salt Lake City........

...a crazy, run as fast as you can, see as much as you can, talk with as many people as you can, and (sometimes--spend as much money as you can) unbelievable time!!!!! I don't have any pictures because, unlike the first time I went--four years ago--I did not want to haul around my big camera. And sometimes people don't like you taking pictures of their booths............but, oh my...........I wish so badly I had taken a smaller one and had asked permission to take some pictures. It was like a two-day-long trunk show. (If you are asking, "what is a trunk show"..........it's when someone brings piles and piles of quilts and shows them to you.......glorious time!!!)  And besides that!!!!! You get to meet the designers of quilts and fabrics............celebrities of the quilt world!!!!!!! And this time I got to meet one--two--I've been wanting to meet badly for a few months now, anyway. I'm a little surprised at how my "tastes" have evolved. Really, the agony and the ecstasy is that I am continually adding to "the things I love". I haven't really crossed anything off the "I love..." list, but added to it!!!! this could be a real problem! Now, instead of 100 quilts I yearn to make, I have a few times that!!!! An amazing concept...........and one I hope to understand (and fulfill) sometime in the eternities! Oh my..........there are some exquisitly beautiful quilts and amazingly talented people in this world........ and like I said, I wish I had some pictures to share with you. I guess I kind of walked around a little dazed at where I was and what I was doing and who I was doing it with!!!!! I learned so much, experienced new things, had such a great time, and nearly wore out my feet........it was a little hard to come back to real life.........but NOW I have the opportunity to recreate some of what I saw........and learned about some tools to make it easier to accomplish!! I'M SO EXCITED!!! still..............

...the promise is sure

I sang with joy in church last Sunday..........

"Shrink not from you duty, however unpleasant,
But follow the Savior, your pattern and friend.
Our little afflictions, tho painful at present,
Ere long, with the righteous, in glory will end.

Be fixed in your purpose, for Satan will try you;
The weight of your calling he perfectly knows.
Your path may be thorny, but Jesus is nigh you;
His arm is sufficient, tho demons oppose."

                         --Hymns "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"
                            no. 266, vs. 2 & 4
                            Text: Eliza R. Snow  (she is one of my very most favorite poets!!)

Last  night when Suzanne talked about things being "unfair" and that Father in Heaven did not "want the same thing she wanted" we talked for a bit about choices and short and long term goals and desires. What if He gave us what we want here and now at the expense of the hereafter??? That would be the tragedy! I'm so thankful He sees the end from the beginning! Then, if we can trust His ample and 'sufficient' arm the words of the third verse bring tears of gratitude: (the first part are not entirely applicable to our challenge, but the principle is true!!)-----

"What, tho, if the favor of Ahman possessing,
This world's bitter hate you are called to endure?
The angels are waiting to crown you with blessings!
Go forward, be faithful, the promise is sure."
                                  --Hymns, no. 266, vs. 3

I feel to shout from the housetops that I know "the promise is sure"!!!!! I pray that someday I will be given voice to adequately and joyously express my thoughts and feelings. I know He lives!!!   I know He loves us---each one!!!! I know He cannot and will not forsake us!!! And He is sufficient!!! --more than...........what then, with His help can we not do???? And Suzanne is learning.........just as we have prayed she would. And she is being taught from on high......I'm not privy to that teaching, but I see it's result and I am so thankful. She told me last night she is not as afraid..........though we are still sad. We wish it could be different............but! if we could see with a perfect, eternal perspective, I wonder....... could it be possible that we would choose just this?? I don't know.............but I do know His promises are sure and that "all will be well". And we will have a fullness of joy...........

...tiny miracles round 2

I've just been to warehouse replanting some of those tiny seeds of two weeks ago. So exciting!! Just thought I share the sights with you......

 

The trays we planted in......these are the impatiens.......yes, we have a few hundred of them. Yikes!!

 More impatiens--I think--and geraniums to the right. You can just see a "trough" on the left that we planted the dahlias in...........they are in the picture below in their new "homes".

Tomatoes and lettuce----I had just finished watering them.........a little too vigorously. I'm praying for them, but they really should be fine.

 

The geraniums still in the sprouting tray. I'm amazed at the size of the cotyledons coming out of those super tiny seeds! I love to watch "baby" geraniums grow.........and from cuttings too! I get all excited over that first new leaf to come out of that woody stem..........

 The petunias............so tiny still............

Peppers in the back........onions in the front that really need to be in the garden. I'll have to work on that..........

...quilt for a "blessing"

I just finished a "blessing quilt" for a lucky little grandnephew.........not lucky because of the quilt, but lucky because he is a much wanted, much loved little blessing who has great parents and grandparents who will teach him the most important things he could know..........all in a loving, nurturing environment. I wish I could take credit for those thoughts, but, sorry to say, I learned them years ago from a young man in our ward who was blessing his own baby boy.......solid truth! Sooooooo, here are a few pictures of the quilt...........hand quilted by another loving g-aunt. I just did the binding. This is truly an "ancestor" quilt as well............the fabric came from one of Great-grandma's closets, purchased years ago, and many aunts, uncles and second cousins have had quilts from similar fabric. The quilting design is one Great-grandma has used many times.........you get the idea..........I'm tired...........

 

...tiny miracles

I just wanted to share this with you.........we planted some seeds last night: geraniums, petunias, impatiens, coleus, asters..........such tiny, tiny seeds, yet containing all that is necessary for green leaves, stems and beautiful flowers. Such glorious, joyful little miracles. You can see the concentration needed to plant such tiny little seeds. Thankfully, the petunia seeds were "pelleted"..........even with that, they are tiny, and when someone tried to blow the dirt off their hands the seeds went with the dirt!! We had fun together.................

Notice Michael's tongue--a sure sign of concentration

Looking for and finding (some of) those tiny seeds--gone with the wind...

Remember the book "You Were Smaller than a Dot"? Well, so were some plants!!

...two days to feed my soul

I look forward to general conference every six months. It's such a time of feasting and rejoicing. I cannot express my gratitude to know there are prophets on the earth today and that I know who they are!!! The holy Spirit witnesses to me again and again that their words are true! You, too, can listen to their words here. We had all but two of our children home with us--including their children. What fun it is to have the grandchildren here too!!! I was afraid I would struggle with the "grandma" thing......but I think I'm handling it well. And I truly love these sweet little ones entrusted to our family. Roger's sister and three of her children also came. One of my favorite things (and a time of what I call "payday for parents") is when I see our sons, along with their father, all dressed in their suits, ready to head out the door for priesthood meeting. Oh.......the joy that fills my heart! While the men attend their meeting, the women make cinnamon rolls. (I know, I should have some pictures, but I didn't think about it--maybe in six months) When they return, we get to eat the cinnamon rolls--fresh from the oven--and listen while they tell us what they learned. This morning we awoke to a beautiful spring surprise:

Our back yard.........the lilac bush with purple buds showing under the white blanket.

 The "blanket" over the sweet peas did just what it was supposed to do..........they are safe and well under there. I suppose tonight with be the real test. It's rather chilly out there.

 

I love the snow among the green.........the snow was nearly all gone by sundown. An absolutely beautiful day in every way.

P.S. How do you like my new look? Somehow it feels "right".........for now, at least........

minding my own beewax

We've had another month-long project here--very short by my quilting standards--but something to work on at any rate. We have an order for "cleaned" wax--200 pounds in 2 pound "bricks", "loaves"....I don't know what to call them. It's been something.............but not too much....... We get the forty-something pound "cakes" from the warehouse..........this wax has already been processed once, but you'd be amazed at the "gunk" that's still in it. I put them in a garbage bag and drop or throw them on the garage floor to break them into chunks that will fit in my pot. The colder it is, the easier it is to break. Sometimes we put a chunk in the freezer.....works like a charm!

When I have put several pieces in the pot, I fill it about half full with water..........yep, water. And put it on the stove. It's fun to watch the wax melt and float to the top of the water where it hardens again until the water gets hot enough to keep it liquid.

Then I want the water to boil up through the wax...........yes, it can get a little exciting, but I keep a fire extinguisher handy, just in case I need it.

After it boils for 10 to 15 minutes I turn off the heat and let it sit for 15 minutes. I have discovered if I get impatient and carve time off the 15 minutes, all the water has not had time to "settle" out of it and I end up with water in the bottoms of the molds...........funny, huh? This business--bees, honey, (and now wax) everything--has always fascinated me. After sitting I strain the wax through a cloth.........and pour it into bread pans. These are two pound "cakes", "bricks"......... whatever........

I love the smell of the boiling wax........I love the feel of the cooled wax when I knock it out of the molds..........I love the color..........I love to stack it up and see the results of my work........very satisfying. It's not so bad to see the check either, when it comes! Ahhhhh, the life of a beekeeper's wife!! I love it too!!!