small start

sunday took a tiny foray back into sewing, cutting up more blues for my album quilt blocks....

a pitiful effort but a start nonetheless...hoping more will be prepped today along with the muslin background pieces.  

getting closer to my usual routine with the larder stocked and plans to restart gym visits..laundry next!  first griefshare meeting was difficult but supportive.  in reflective moments, so thankful to a merciful God who answered two of mom's long-term prayers and spared her a long period of suffering--prompts me to extend that same mercy to others.  and among her belongings was a photo i had never seen....

no info on the back, but guessing she was 16 or 18 maybe?  being an only child meant  formal portraits were taken of her at various times, precious reminders of her classic beauty.  her hair remained blonde until her last breath, a genetic gift from scandinavian ancestry no doubt.  *** among her keepsakes were a few letters her mother wrote in early 1929 when she was ill...we read them with astonishment at getting to meet our maternal grandmother through her newsy correspondence to family and tidbits about our mom when she was a toddler....priceless!  she died shortly after when my mother was age 2.  our gratitude was overflowing that God granted my mother, a motherless child, so many years with us her children--a true gift indeed.

a new normal

while in maine, all plans for sewing progress were abandoned but a bit of stitchery did get accomplished....

one of those projects that gets attention now and then....for a finish whenever.  now that back home in MD, it'll get set aside again while adjusting to a new kind of life.  

said goodbyes to my now smaller family with a lobster roll lunch, hugged and kissed with a new ferocity now that we start life without our touchstone and anchor and with fragility of life's reality.  i have already signed up with bereavement support, hoping for guidance on how to live without my mom.  would not wish her back, and having her for almost 75 years was a huge blessing never taken for granted.  woke up in my own bed feeling isolated, alone, adrift, frozen, and still quite devastated at such a huge loss.  unpacking and groceries need to be done, but i just want to curl up with quilts over me and pray for some magic wand to make it all go away....

I praise You, loving God, that no valley is deeper than Your love.

softly and tenderly...

Jesus came calling and took the hand of my cherished mother, leading her home.  She was 97 and although a known eventuality, the heart wasn't ready, still unwanted and heartbreaking.   You may have seen an earlier post when her birthday was celebrated, before the diagnosis, before the shock, before the dread.  

We little knew this morning, the Lord would call your name.
In life we loved you dearly and in death we do the same.
It broke our hearts to lose you, you did not go alone,
for part of us went with you, the day God called you home.
You left us precious memories, your love is still our guide.
And though we cannot see you, you're always at our side.
Our family chain is broken and nothing seems the same,
but as God calls us one by one, the chain will link again.

Author Unknown

quick update - not quilty

arrived in maine just before the humongous april snowstorm to be with my mom.  she is on hospice care now and it's a watch and wait time.  i feel privileged to care for her as my last final gift.  miracles have happened in just a few days with loved ones reunited and estrangements melted away.  have my return to MD ticket but not sure when i'll be leaving Maine.  our strong faith is an ever present main mast but still heartbreaking and sadness beyond comprehension.  God spoiled us four children by keeping her with us for just over 97 years...though we never took her for granted.  as she continues her work of leaving, we cling to each other for strength.  may God be merciful....

lucky #9

 

deana selected challenge #9 for april....so what's that on my list?

the dargate baskets UFO...it's my desire to get all these blocks appliqued this year to at least have a flimsy by 2025....i'm taking this along on my maine visit so i know some progress will be made at least.  a few of my other challenges are less time consuming, so hope i can sneak this challenge in other months.  

awakened this morning by lightning and thunderstorm....i love them!  meteorological conflicts are sooo interesting.  

not much sewing on anything lately...family situations and that horrific bridge collapse  have left me preoccupied plus getting the apartment ready for time away--clean fridge, laundry, all those prep tasks.

had easter lunch with a friend--yummy lamb chops and cheesecake!  she gave me this....thanks easter bunny!

because he lives...

 I can face tomorrow, today, and all the days He gives me....alleleuia!

a blessed easter to all!

Liberty bling

Meet up with dear daughter to collect the prezzies she brought me from the motherland, us being British nationalists and all.  

Just the bag made me squeal!  And what was inside??

delicate pastel-ish prints as only Liberty can do.   definitely a new project in my future...think i will call it ' liberty spring'.  And what else?....

a yummy biscuit tin filled with that classic shortbread...

royal orange marmalade....in case paddington comes for tea......

a lovely reusable bag.....

The scary layover in lisbon will always be remembered....such a pretty magnet.  all these are lovely but having her home safe and sound?  priceless...oh, and the lady on the plane to Lisbon who facilitated information for her?  name was Angelique...no surprise there!

No real sewing this week with continuing family stuff taking precedence...but off to maine in a few and plenty of handwork on board.  i hear there is a 3-day storm brewing with more of that very impermanent spring snow...cuddle-duds on!

assurance

thank you to katyquilts for posting this for me and anyone who finds flames licking at their heels or dancing around their heads....be safe knowing they will not consume you....

The answer is....

did you guess?  total number of scrappy 9 patch blocks sewn from the shoebox is 92!  aren't they colorful?  since they finish at 5" will need lots more so putting aside until more strips lead to more blocks.  can always be donated if decide against going further.  

here is the clear and EMPTY shoebox....looks great doesn't it?  best of all, march challenge met and completed with a week to coast....

one of my aussie peeps has a new brood of guinea fowl chicks...

they are so cute....i've got chicks too....these....not as cute but oh so delish...LOL!

so thankful some prayers have been answered....more will be offered this week, waiting on a response and praying for His mercy.  in the meantime, sewing will be a welcome diversion.  still 2 wheelchair quilts to make, baste liberty road, more blue album blocks and UFO busting.  yeah, that's easily a week's worth.  still waiting patiently for spring to return for good...and if you hear me complaining about too hot this summer, thump me on the head will you?  

palm sunday detour--not quilt related

the sun is shining and the palms in my door quilt remind me of Jesus' journey toward a planned and seemingly final death.  my daughter, conversely, is flying home from her london trip to loving arms and a joyful reunion despite its abrupt end and events of the past week.  the picture is not lost to me, rather strikingly evident of Jesus' deliberate sacrifice for her life, and mine and yours too.  it's been a harrowing couple of weeks with so many emotional upheavals--my own guilt and shame for hurtful words and lack of empathy plus anger i humbly admit, shocking revelations, sense of betrayal, apathy, some joy and happiness, some dread, sadness, kindness of strangers, pity, frustration.  next week holds more of the same i fear.  i am disappointed by my human-ness thinking i am really a nice person.  nonstop prayers for my daughter's safe travel are now replaced by the hope for renewal, as spring renews the earth.  far too often we fail to walk in others' shoes and bear their burdens...quiet daily struggles without end and that often escalate.  of this i am guilty also.   hindsight is 20/20 as my Christian divorce lawyer told me so long ago,  and those words come back to me again and again.  i've learned lessons from some of those mistakes and know i will learn from this one too.  may the rebirth of spring and the reality of Easter be in all our hearts regardless of individual spiritual beliefs.