You Sew Girl!!
This past week was nothing short of a delight. Following a vicious onslaught of the flu late last week, a blessing from my Heavenly Father, and gentle nursing from my sweet husband, I recuperated to the point to drive to the “coast” aka western Washington state to meet up with my tribe and enjoy their companionship and the learning/purchasing at the Sewing and Needlework Expo in Puyallup. Don’t twist your tongues/mind trying to pronounce that name, it’s easy “pew-al-up”.
~ But if we learn to think of it as anticipation, as learning, as growing, if we think of the time we spend waiting for the big things of life as an opportunity instead of a passing of time, what wonderful horizons open out! ~ Anna Neagle
Next week is one I have been looking forward to for a year. As a fiber artist/quilter/sewer the annual Sewing and Needlework Expo in Puyallup, Washington is my Mecca. Most important of all is joining up with my sisters and nieces. My sisters are, according to our family tree, my nieces, but we grew up as sisters on our family ranch. We began gathering each year for Sew Expo, along with my Sissy (their mom) some years ago. Sharing a hotel room, going to sewing/needlework seminars, eating Lean Cuisine dinners, and talking into the wee hours, and shopping are the order of the day, so to speak.
Because of my Navy career I spent so many years away from my family that the need to be close to them and reconnect to their everyday lives is very strong. For over 20 years I felt like I was a vapor that drifted in and out of their lives-though my heart was always close to them and they were in my thoughts and prayers each and every day.
For the past several years Shep and I have lived much closer and been able to be more present in the lives of our family. I am joyful and blessed because of this…because of them. Now Expo approaches and the anticipation is…..delightful!
I love winter! I realize that this is not a universal experience for all, but winter is my time of respite. An opportunity to read more, think more, sew, knit, spin and listen to music more-yes, that is winter! It is a big sigh…………of relief that the wonderful holiday season is over and the horizon before us is clear and full of promise.
Vavoom!!! Cut the New Age music in the background! Do you hear it? Something akin to the infamous soundtrack from the movie Jaws? Follow that sound to the pile of mail Shep just brought in and you will find the beginnings of an insidious onslaught. My 12 step program starts to crumble! The first seed catalogs have arrived!
A house is made of walls & beams. A home is made of love and dreams.
According to Wikipedia “A secret ingredient is a component of a product that is closely guarded from public disclosure for competitive advantage.” That having been said, with the exception of the sacred family recipe for my mother’s BBQ sauce and my niece Karen’s secret recipe for her fantabulous “Aizian Plum Sauce”, my kitchen is an open book. Well, there is one caveat: please don’t go rifling through the cupboards and drawers if you want to point out the black pepper grounds and crumbs that show up mysteriously in the oddest locations.
Not so long ago, like so many others, I watched a Youtube video of an “unknown dowdy middle-aged Scottish warbler” as she literally knocked the socks off the judges and audience of the “Britain’s Got Talent” television show. I found myself rooting for Susan Boyle even before she sang the first notes of “I dreamed a dream” from Les Miserables. Once her performance commenced I was in tears. Why?
Scientists has documented that it is part of human nature to root for the underdog. We humans live in a societal goldfish bowl that is constantly judging us. It is unfortunate that so many individuals are walking around feeling “less than….” This begins with childhood and continues throughout our lives if we allow it to. I experienced this as I was once “too small” then became “too tall” and my curly red hair was curly when it was more popular to have hair that was straight. Criticism came because I was “too positive” and I worked “too diligently”. My home wasn’t “cool” because it was a lovely, humble one far from town on my parents’ ranch. As a dating female I was judged to be “fun but too uptight” because of my moral standards and finally as a mother I was judged alternately “too clingy” then “not protective enough”. I have even been told I was not a “healthy wife” and “out of contact with reality” because I said that my husband is my very best friend. RIDICULOUS!!!!!
Not long ago I received a Chinese fortune cookie at the completion of a delicious Vietnamese dinner. The message contained inside was very profound and entirely in keeping with my beliefs.It reminded me of a story that goes as this:
“Near the end of his life, one father looked back on how he had spent his time on earth. An acclaimed, respected author of numerous scholarly works, he said, ‘I wish I had written one less book and taken my children fishing more often.’ Time passes quickly. Many parents say that it seems like yesterday that their children were born. Now those children are grown, perhaps with children of their own. ‘Where did the years go?’ they ask. We cannot call back time that is past, we cannot stop time that now is, and we cannot experience the future in our present state. Time is a gift, a treasure not to be put aside for the future but to be used wisely in the present.” (Thomas S. Monson)
Time spent with loved ones is so very precious. If you are close to family, reach out…if not, reach for the phone.
The fortune cookie message? “Forget the stock market…invest in family”. Therein lie our riches and gold, there lies our earthly “tian” or heaven.
Some years ago, I had the opportunity to live in a delightful part of these United States, namely the South. Spending 7 years between the Tidewater region of Virginia and Jacksonville, Florida one can pick up many things. Whether it is the manner of speaking, local expressions, customs, or most simply an appreciation for regional cuisine….well, it all happened to me. How about Shep? Simply put, he rapidly developed an appreciation for the local cuisine and culture-from hush puppies to crab, folk music to the kindness and hospitality-Shep enjoyed it all. I could tell you a story about how the appetite of he and some shipmates nearly put a restaurant called the Family Fish House in Virginia Beach out of business, but that’s for another day. My favorite haunt in Virginia Beach where I enjoyed many a midday meal following my Saturday morning runs and workout is called the Jewish Mother. Located at 31st and Pacific Ave. this restaurant is a “must” if you ever visit the area. I wasn’t sure if it was still there but it is still going strong and has added a great lineup of nightly entertainment. Begun as a traditional Jewish delicatessen by day and nightclub/musician’s venue by night in 1975, the chef’s here make some of the BEST soups, salads and sandwiches on the planet. My usual order was a bagel and a bowl of cream of mushroom soup during fall and winter, a half sandwich and a salad in spring and summer. I enjoyed countless meals and many hours of reading within those good walls. Go check out this Virginia Beach icon here www.jewishmother.com
Now, speaking of salads, here is the recipe for one which is the childhood favorite of a friend who lived near Frogmore, South Carolina. It exists in many variations so it must be a standby of many a Southern family. more…
“ Somehow not only for Christmas
But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others
Is the joy that comes back to you.
Mama always told me “Good things come to those who wait.” and “Patience is a virtue.” The growing season of 2010 prompted me towards impatience. The lengthy, gentle autumn weather combined with the bounteous harvest of this year remind me once again that there is much to a mother’s wisdom. One major caveat…where in the WORLD did she get the idea that pouring salt into a cut sped along coagulation and healing? That “nobody has ever died from an asthma attack.” Yikes and OUCH!!! Somehow her children survived Mama’s unique brand of lovingly imparted folk medicine/widsom.
In the past 2 months I have been over the top delighted to have my niece Karen come and spend time with us in the “barn”. During her last visit, we combined Italian type plums, spices, her secret recipe, knives, muscles, and efforts to produce 35 pints of freshly canned”Aizian Plum Sauce”. No, neither bribes of Bissinger’s chocolate dipped orange slices nor torture will ever pry this recipe from me…so don’t bother going there. Having said that, I’ll tantalize you with the fact it is pure gastronomic wizardry and I could gorge on bowls of this sauce drizzled over fresh jasmine rice. more…
