Wonderful, Wonderful

We had a wonderful time in Michigan with the JB Family.  Great kids...great sheep...great pottery making and just sitting around talking.  Rained quite a bit but who cared...NOT me.  Got home Wed. afternoon.  Thurs. B and B and got the church ready for Palm Sun.  Friday and Sat...great time at the annual huge herb meeting.  Today...Palm Sunday and church was good.  Great music and scripture reading with a visual.  8 readings of the last week of Jesus life.  This afternoon just taking it easy.  Did a tad of weed pulling.  Not much.  Bought some interesting plants at the herb sale.  To early to plant but happy to have them in pots in the garage.  Warm today in the low 70's.  Tomorrow afternoon rain again.  Tomorrow it's the y and then off to church with Kat and the kids help putting away Palm Sunday and getting ready for Good Fri evening service.  Great to have help.

Work.

It was a work week and happy to say that I'm feeling in a good place.  Decorating decisions made and almost all is completed for Palm/Passion Sunday and Easter.  Woo...I knew it would come together.  Met with Pastor Darren and got the word on what I need to do for Palm Passion Sunday regarding asking folks to participate.  A total of 14...7 for each service...so Phone calls made and 13 are ready to go.  Waiting on a phone call...who knows...it's spring break for schools and folks may be in Florida.  Well, not panic time yet.  All of the completed work will help to put a smile on my face when attending Noah's 8th birthday celebration tomorrow.  It's a sleeping bag for their summer Michigan vacation.  Andrew will have one waiting in the car when the party nears completion.  Early birthday for him.  Monday we'll be on our way to see the Michigan grand kids along with their baby sheep.  Fun, fun.  And by the way...we'll see JB and Kimmy as well.  Got to include them. We'll be back in Carmel Wed. evening.  Then B and B...set up for Palm Passion Sunday...Fri.  Andrew/Noah and then an afternoon of work at the huge Sat. Herb Society all day meeting.  Woo...then Palm/Passion Sunday...Monday  a sit down day...Tues.  Ultrasoundon my thyroid...no problem...just a see thing.  And then Wed. it's getting ready for Holy Thurs. Good Fri.  and Sat. decorating and SUNDAY...Easter.  Monday...another sit down day.  Wo...Hope I remember to be at the right place at the right time.

This week.

The goal this week is to have all the decorating ideas settled for church.  That includes what's happening Palm/Passion Sun...Thursday and Friday of Holy Week and then Easter.  Woo...makes my head spin but I know it will all come together.  It always does.  So...Yesterday, today and tomorrow...I'm at church deciding and making things for Easter.  A lot is expected and a lot is enjoyed with gratitude so...the beat goes on.  Lots of silk flowers...west entrance cross fixed...processional crosses done,,,six inserts ready for instillation....tomorrow there is one big wreath to finish for the back of the sanctuary. Banners have been repaired and pressed.   This year...lots of yellow and purple.  The 12 inch crosses with mirror really look good tucked in among the flowers.  A few more decisions to make.  Palm/Passion Sunday...need to meet with the preacher!  I think I know what I'm doing.  Just need to get an OK so he knows what I'm thinking about.  So...it's a busy time of year...Love every minute.

Working on a huge Herb show our group does every year.  Last night and this morning I sewed shut 600 little bags filled with lavender.  Woo...the smell is wonderful.  Good thing I like lavender.  That's about it for now.  Kitchen is a quiet place to be...Yahoo.

The horrible terrible very bad bang in the kitchen.

Never heard anything like it and hope to never hear it again.  Watching Butler ball game...and a horrible noise came from the kitchen.  Humm...what could it be.  Well, now I know what the sound is like when the cabinet falls off the wall and slides across the floor with my good dishes...canned goods...cookbooks and some small appliances hit the floor.  And I know how one cleans up the mess.  Snow shovel helps to pick up the dishes...paper towels clean up the virgin oil and soy sauce combination that smears around making the floor brown...and husband is right there working along side picking up the cookbooks.  Woo   A couple of months ago I thought the cupboard looked funny but I forgot about it. I guess that was not a good thing to do.  Well, since the dishes are gone, my choice 50 years ago...I guess I don't need as many storage shelves.  The dented cans look like I found a really good dent sale.  Dishes...my choice matched the same dishes of my mother-in-law...So...I had hers as well.  About 3 months ago...I thought...don't need so many dishes...and I took about  half of them to good will.  Well, Now I'm down to one plate...one cup and one small desert bowl.  Funny what life gives you.  Kimmy/Kat don't need to worry about what to do with my dishes!  They are in the recycle bin in pieces.  Butler lost.  Today...I will think of what to do with the dented cans.  The cookbooks...in the computer room on the shelves which I emptied 3 months ago of children's books saved from teaching.  So...that was last nights events.  Worked in the flowerbeds yesterday with the rake and clippers trimming...more to do with plants popping out of the ground.  Gardening makes me tired for a good reason...Cleaning up cupboard mess just makes me tired.  Win some and some you don't win. Feel very fortunate that no one was in the kitchen with the big ban occurred.  It would have been a hospital visit for sure.  Hickory doors are heavy.  So...life is good.

The days are flying...NO the weeks are flying.

So...finished the six forms with flowers that will be used in the sanctuary this summer...then got a lame brain idea about doing something on the back for Xmas which will make the forms reversible.  Having a little difficulty with making decisions about what that might be.  Went to the library to look for books on liturgical tapestries...didn't find anything but did find a book on Cistercians...well...brother in law Dee is one of those!  So...my nose has been a book more than one or two days reading and rereading  about this order.  Wonderful history. And with the book...back to the library taking a huge bag of books home to do more educating of the brain.  Such interesting history about life in the church in the 9th/10th century.  My brain is really interested in all of that.  More books on the Rule...more books on the Templars...more books.

 Another thing...about two years ago Kimmy/Jared gave me some wool.  It's been hanging in my sewing room looking just beautiful but I thought...it's time.  So...found a simple pattern and I'm knitting a wonderfully warm brown, soft and beautiful hat.  Well, my hope is all of that.  Just hope that I have enough wool.  But if not...I'll think of a solution...hint, hint.  I've discovered that knitting with wool is easier than acrylic yarn.  The yarn just slips through the hands.

And another thing...Last December when my wonderful friend Doris died, her family elected to do her memorial service at their church...not ours when Doris worshiped for about 40 years.  Needless to say it was a bit upsetting not to celebrate where she was so well known and loved and worshiped.  So...we will be doing a bit of celebrating May 7th at church with a Sunday dedicated to the arts in worship.  This morning my little committee of 4 made some good decisions as to how the day will flow.  I'm feeling good about that after giving them 4 different ways to form the day they made a choice which I think is a good one.  So...worship will include the arts of liturgical dance, dramatization of the scripture and more...Three of our church people will talk...Wendell Lowe a retired art teacher who is one terrific retired teacher who now suffers from Parkinson's disease no longer able to paint but has now become a wonderful painter just using his hands taking finger painting to a new level.  Wooo...is he good.  Kathy Williams...another painter who has creating a icon of Jesus now hanging in our chapel...This was a new endeavor in a new medium.  And I will talk about the process Doris used to create her banners.  I have some wonderful notes she used when giving a speech at the Fellowship.  So...That's where we are.

I must add that this past Fri...had a wonderful time with the grandsons again and the project was making sweet rolls.  Yum, yum...the kitchen smelled wonderful and they tasted so good.

This week I'm meeting with the preacher to finalize Palm/Passion Sunday service...going out to lunch with some old teacher friends, Working at B and Bowl which was much easier this past week.  Yahoo...for that.  And choir practice Thurs.  Life is good.  No LIFE is wonderful.  

Back to winter!

It happens from time to time.  Guess this is the time.  No snow now, just cold.  Busy week.  I started a new project that's been on my mind for several years.  Yup...now is the time.  I have been given lots of crewel yarn over the years from projects that people either got tired of or just didn't want to do.  So...lots of colors and lots of yarn.  I just didn't want to throw it away.  And...now the project.  Instead of coloring with fabric...it's coloring with yarn.  From a book that I have from Doris Douglas, I've selected 6 illustrations of flowers that have some special meaning.  Like...the Lilly representing purity...thistle representing sorrow etc.  So...that's been the fun project for the week.  I've finished 4 and want at least 6 flowers.  Then these will be attached to a triangle form and used in the sanctuary this summer.  Something new and easy to do.  So...that's just easy and fun.  Soup kitchen had it's good and bad times this week.  Grr.  Ouch ouch folks.  Choir practice was good.  Fri. evening I helped Beth G serve 35 choir members from Illinois Wesley College their supper.  Great singers...90% were voice performance majors...Golly gee...could they sing.  So beautiful.  Just wonderful.  Today...stitching and coloring with yarn and spending my 40 minutes at the Y.  That's a must now and some days I do an early morning and late afternoon on the treadmill.  Tomorrow is church.

Sunday, Sunday

Woo...For a reason I can't think of...short night.  It ended at 3 so 11:00 church was hard.  And this afternoon...the chair has held a sleeping lady for a couple of hours.  Time to get over it.  Yesterday I colored with fabric all day.  What fun...Added 8 more bibs to the stash and the fabric just keeps on giving.  Church spaces looked great today.  And was much appreciated.  Weather continues to be warm.  Some flowers are out.  Perennials are popping out of the ground. No big plans for the week until Fri. when I'm helping my friend Beth feed Ill. Wes. Choir sing at church that evening.  So...slow and easy for a bit.