Golden State Almanac

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I find myself:

::noticing God's glory

Oh my. I don't even know where to begin. I've spent the last week in northern California. God used a most magnificent paintbrush here. I've seen the rolling riches of Napa Valley, the wonder of San Francisco Bay, the redwood forest (and therein got Woody Guthrie stuck in my head for the rest of the week), the cliffs along the Pacific Coast Highway, and every dramatic shift in terrain and climate between those places. I'll tell you what: God is quite the artist on the west coast. 

::listening to 

My husband make a business call. Today, we fly back to reality.

::clothing myself in 

Jeans, tshirt, a sweater, and a scarf. This appears to be the standard dress code in California and I could not be happier. That's long been my happiest wardrobe place.

 

::thinking and thinking

We took this trip to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. We've been thinking about the last 25 years and looking forward with hope and optimism to the next 25.

::pondering prayerfully

“No one is to be called an enemy, all are your benefactors, and no one does you harm. You have no enemy except yourselves.”  ~St. Francis of Assisi

::Carefully Cultivating Rhythm

My sweet teenaged daughter took the family rhythm in her capable hands and ran my household for the little girls. She had some willing help from her friends and mine and they all had a great time. The little boys (who aren't little, but will perhaps forever be referred to as such) stayed in homes of soccer friends, homeschooled with them, and loved every minute.

::creating by hand

I've begun my California Shawl, the largest version of To Eyre, and I'm so pleased to have a tangible, wearable memento of this trip. I hope to share a bit more of it with you on Wednesday for Yarn Along.

::learning lessons in

Doing things that terrify me. I have a fear of airplanes, of heights, and of natural disasters. And I am afraid in a crowd. I flew here to spend a week on cliffs and bridges and mountaintops. I noted signs that warned that old structures weren't earthquake-safe and notices on street corners of tsunami evacuation routes. The grand finale was a concert at a huge outdoor venue where the crew noted for me that one of the challenges was earthquake damage. And I had so much fun. 

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::encouraging learning 

I return home with a new picture book, some thoughts on a St. Francis unit and one on California missions, and a photo journal of our trip to share with my children.

::begging prayers

for all the people who have joined our weekend prayer community. I carried your requests with me to Mass and I will keep a candle lit for you throughout the week.

for a dozen personal intentions--each of them precious and urgent. 

::reading

I read Interrupted on the way out and Something Beautiful for God on the way back.

::keeping house

Michael sent me a text with a picture of lots of neatly folded laundry. Here's hoping.

::towards being unplugged

I was very unplugged all week, with the exception of sending pictures to my kids. It was awesome:-). 

::crafting in the kitchen 

Mary Beth cooked all week. No one starved. On the other hand, I ate at some pretty incredible restaurants--all fresh, local, and paleo. I learned to ask servers everywhere we went about how something was prepared. And--though I was initially tenative and shy and felt like a nuisance--in more places than not, I made new friends.

 

::loving the moments

I'll share the moments with you this week. Fair warning: you're about to be subjected to blogging version of watching someone's vacation slides. For now, let's just say that my husband had a really great idea and I'm so glad I let him drag me out here.

::giving thanks 

for all the people who made this trip possible, and there were many of them. Homeschooling mothers of big families don't just drop everything and go off without a care the first week of school. I'm grateful for all the people who stepped in and made this possible for us. 

I'm also grateful for a new friend, here in California. She fine-tuned our itinerary at every stop and sent us out on wonderful adventures. We were able to have dinner with her and her family in a storybook restaurant in Carmel. The memories are very sweet and I look forward to staying in touch.

And I'm grateful for my husband and for 25 years of living "I do."

::living the liturgy

Saturday night, we went to Mass in this church, 3,000 miles and nearly three hundred years away from the brand new high school auditorium that is our church home. And still, the liturgy was the same. The Church is universal. Pretty cool.

 

::planning for the week ahead

I am flying east today, to arrive home in time to tuck my girlies in for the night. I cannot wait to wrap myself around my children!

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More almanacs at Suscipio.

Lord, Hear Our Prayer

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The internet is a formidable force for bringing the comfort and consolation and hope of the Lord to all of us. It can be an incredibily powerful medium for community. There is an unfathomable resource for prayer here. We have on the 'net the privilege of praying for people and of being witness to the miracles brought forth when fervent, faith-filled people pray for one another.

Let's be that community of hope and faith for one another.

How about this idea? What if I pop in here every weekend, share Sunday's gospel and talk a wee bit about how we can live it and pray it in our homes? And then you tell me how we can pray for you that week? Deal?

{And please, do return and let us know how prayer is bearing fruit.}

Gospel 

Mark 7:31-37

Again Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man's ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
"Ephphatha!"-- that is, "Be opened!" --
And immediately the man's ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to, 
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
"He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."
Think
“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that have received--only what you have given.” ~St. Francis of Assisi
Pray
“Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love,
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved, as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” 

~St. Francis of Assisi
Act
Have you ever noticed how Christ brought great miracles of healing out of the messiness of life? He used spittle and mud to heal. We spend a lot of time with the messy. Mom bloggers are quick to chronicle all the spit and poop and vomit...This week, don't miss the miracles that are in those messes.

needle & thREAD

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needle and thREAD

Hi, this is Elizabeth's friend Ginny, just saying a quick hello, and introducing my husband Jonny. He is guest posting for needle & thREAD today! I'll mostly keep quiet and let him tell you about our latest project:

I was much too young and fickle the first time I bought a rotary cutter. I only have a slight memory of the excitement that went along with that purchase. But I do remember standing in Joann’s trying to pick just the right cutter for so much and no more money. Simultaneously I procured one of those flexible cutting board things and a handful of fat quarters. You see, I had it in my mind that I was going to make a quilt. Where that idea came from, I am not really sure. I must have been about 21 years old. I was either freshly married or just about to be. for quilt Back then, Ginny did a little bit of crocheting. She taught me how to make granny squares. Once I made a couple, I decided I would make enough to put together a blanket. Somehow making those granny squares heightened my craftiness. Just about the time I made enough to actually put something resembling a blanket together, the idea of making a quilt came into my head. So, naturally, the granny square blanket was sidelined, and the trip to Joann’s ensued.

I never made a quilt. I tried to. I must have cut over a hundred squares out of the fabric. It was actually a lot of fun. I definitely had enough to complete a twin size quilt. But, I lack focus. I mean, I have focus, but only for a little while. And back then, I had less of it altogether. I can start a project with all kinds of motivation. Then, during the course, something happens and the motivation fades. Along with it, my interest goes out the window. Then, a new project materializes, and all my focus goes to it. So, by the time the squares were cut, my interest faded. for quilt You might be wondering when I’ll get to the point. Well, here it is. I want to make a quilt again. This time, though, I’ve enlisted the aid of my clever and crafty wife. Whereas my first attempt was solo, this will be a joint effort. This way, I’m hoping to see the project through.

It was totally all my idea to make a quilt (again). But, I have left the pre planning and decision making to my wife. I have feigned involvement. For instance, when we were trying to pick out fabric online, I would point to a bundle and say something like “what about that” or “that looks nice”, all the while knowing that it really wouldn’t do. I had to stand there and wait until Ginny found the perfect bundle. Which she did. Some Heather Robert or Rose or Ross (covering my mouth and mumbling) something or other…which I’m sure is going to make for a fantastic, fun yet practical, color scheme! Yay! (Oh my goodness. It's Heather Ross, dear.)

We are going to make a Log Cabin quilt. I don’t really know much about what that means, but I do know that we will be hand tying it in 99 places. (Hi! This is Ginny. Specifically we are planning to make the log cabin quilt from Patchwork Style. Each square is quilted and then squared up before they are all joined. We don't totally understand it yet. I do know that this doesn't eliminate the need for the entire thing to be quilted at the end, but the pattern calls for tying it, so we can avoid machine quilting, which is good because we aren't equipped for that.) for quilt And while I had hoped to actually show off some of my sewing skills, Ginny hasn’t accepted that the fabric needs to be cut. She says it’s too pretty. (Isn't it?) I’m not really reading anything right now. I just finished one of my birthday presents, Confessions of a Bad Beekeeper: What Not to Do When Keeping Bees (with Apologies to My Own). I’m planning on keeping with the bee theme and reading The Queen Must Die: And Other Affairs of Bees and Men next. I don’t really think it’s possible to read too much about bees.

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What about you? Sewing? Reading? A little of both?  Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.

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