Things aren't always what they Seam

Ha, ha, ha, she's so funny.
I have sewn the sleeve and shoulder seams of the sweater and will very soon do the side seams and that will be it! I had to pull out a few rows of one of the sleeves and re-knit it. Bummer. But it's right now, and that was worth it.
The neckline was easy to knit (k2p2) and I haven't re-blocked it. That's okay.

Gardening has kept me busy lately. We had a little freak storm that washed away the soil I replaced last week and took most of my marigolds with it. Bummer again.
Now I've finally come to terms with the fact that I will have to make this bed into a semi-flower bed. SO...today I dug up a large amount of monkey grass from other beds and borrowed some clay laden soil that will stay put when it rains again. Vegetable gardens need loose soil and this hill will not take that. Mature, hefty, weighty soil that will stand the storms.

Many pretty things are blooming that have never bloomed before. Here goes!

Apple tree.


Hydrangea.

Azalea. This one never has more that a couple of blooms each year. I still don't have blooms on my crepe myrtle tree. Go figure.
And one more hydrangea!

So life is good after all. Really! It's good to get out into the fresh air to keep my perspective. I have a little business phone call this afternoon and will be volunteering with my old preschool team at church tonight. Can't wait to see my friends!!
And of course after church tomorrow morning we'll begin the official kick off to Memorial Day weekend. We owe a debt of gratitude to so very many people who gave their lives so that we can barbecue on the last Monday of May. God bless our military families! They gave the ultimate gift.

Stop Right There

Zipping right along with the blocking on my Deep Purple sweater, I had visions of picking up neckline stitches and finishing the thing Today! But instead, my knitting gadget box said no.
Not today. Why? I seemed to have left my darning needle in an extra suitcase that I took with me to Guatemala. I'm sure the suitcase is at church somewhere, but the darning needle is definitely not in my knitting bag. Doggone-it!! Rats!
So at least I got some eagerly snapped pictures this morning, before I went out for the day. Here's why you block a sweater, and I didn't do a good job, by the way, so please don't pass judgment. (At least I blocked it!)
If you start with curled up edges, your piecing together won't be very smooth. The sweater front ( photo left) has not been blocked. The back (on the right) and two sleeves (above) have been blocked. Much smoother!
So, when I go out again, I'll pick up another darning needle and finish this thing.

I've also been busy this week in the garden. The Nashville flood nearly took away all my little garden. The lettuce and spinach survived but I lost most of the improved soil surrounding the plants and pretty much all the top layer of soil.
I had to replace what I could and while at it, my husband and I picked up the fixins for this stand alone planter, made by my father.
There's an open space at the bottom of several inches with the soil suspended by a small platform inside. It's an ingenious method for growing vegetables and my dad seems to have had great success with his, as did my sister.


I also planted some melons and peppers in the garden and added a little row of marigolds to keep away the pests. Funny how that works! A few flowers, so to speak, can really keep the bad things at bay. A few kind words, a thoughtful act, or even a prayer lifted on someone's behalf, can really make a difference!

Dye Job

Recently a friend loaned me a book about hand dyeing fiber. There is probably not a better resource on the subject, as it is full of pictures, instructions and inspiring ideas.
She loaned me this book as I was trying to come up with some ways to use the dyes I bought in Asheville last month.

Here's what I started. The purple was dyed from this white wool.


The teal is dyed using gray/brown wool.
Both batches turned out beautifully but the teal looks more blue than green. Sorry. It's been a little cloudy lately which makes my feeble attempts at photography look all the worse.
Sunshine makes everything better!

My kids have been around lately and that is as good as sunshine to me. My son was here last night helping his dad with some business, and his fiance (today's her birthday!) asked me to come along with her and my daughter to the dress shop the other day to get my daughter's bridesmaid dress. We had a fun time and all went to eat later. These times are precious to me.

I realize the more we talk, at how far I've come emotionally from the days when I was getting married. I am so much more laid back about the future and things that really stressed me way back then. Even my daughter paid me a compliment about my work skills. She's working part time in the office where I used to work and has had the opportunity to see much of what I did while I was there. She said, "she had no idea what all I had done". Validation!

Growing pains

There hardly ever seems to be a time when life is static. Things are always shifting, changing and growing if they are alive.
When my kids were small, they had all sorts of aches and pains during growth spurts. This summer my son will be getting married and he's immersed in preparations for that. Some of it is difficult, but it will be worth it in the end!

My daughter and her husband are here for several weeks. They are taking a summer break from his school and her job (she'll be working at my old office for part of the summer!) and are in a bit of recovery from many months of 'growth'. He has one more year of school to go.

My husband's office has recently moved to some newly built spaces that are more modern and efficient than their previous facilities. I'm sure it will take a while for him to get settled in!

And I have begun my foray into a new phase of life. Life is good and change is normal. As I said to my husband a couple of days ago, Life is a Special Occasion. I don't want to miss one single drop of it!!
I watched one of my favorite movies last night, To Kill A Mockingbird, and knitted away on the Deep Purple sweater. Armhole decreases for the front and I've already got the nervous, I-hope-there's-enough-yarn-to-finish-it feeling. I'm sure there is!
Before leaving a couple of weeks ago, I spent an afternoon dyeing some wool, but have yet to pick or card it. Some is lavender and the other is gray wool I dyed a rich teal. Beautiful!! If I have time today, I'll get some shots of it to post next time. Oh, the possibilities!!

Hello world!

The night before we left Guatemala, we were warned that a little stowaway might be found amongst our things when when got back. I found it. I'd now like to lose it. Send it back. Most of my team mates have found the same little stomach bug and we're all eager to send it back.
I can see why they ask you so many random questions about plants and farms when you go through customs. America is the land of the free and home of the healthy - and they want to keep it that way!!
A few things I did stow in my luggage are hand made items sold by the women and children in the markets. I got a great blouse for $10, a table runner for my mom, and some doo-dads that were just too cute! It was sooo hard to resist the smiles and broken English phrases of the children poking you like little puppies, asking you to buy something, "good deal for you" or, "something for your mother?".
Precious women hunched over or carrying piles of woven goods, trying their best to make the meager seventy-five cents a day, that they live on. Corn tortillas are the staple, along with fruit they pick from their trees. Sounds rustic and cool, but everyone was malnourished and poorly dressed (by our standards).

I was completely overwhelmed my first day in the market. All of us were moved to tears and sobbing; all of us had to step aside and pull ourselves together. It's not that you felt guilty for being blessed, you just couldn't believe how little it would take to make their lives different, and better.
So, I had to buy a few things early on. My last day I left all my money at the hotel so that I could truly say I had none. Lots of corruption and superstition keep the people from prosperity. Only prayer and smart thinking will circumvent the continued misuse of these wonderful, generous people. DO PRAY for Guatemala!

Another thing we were warned about was being alone. It was simply not safe for an American (especially a woman) to be alone in the streets. So we were all assigned a travel partner, that we were to stay with when 'out and about'. Mine, I'm thankful to say, was a soldier and a firefighter, so I felt pretty darn safe no matter where we went. He kept an eye on me like no other, and I'm extremely thankful for that. God bless you, Brian!!

And finally, we were encouraged to play down our role as missionaries when going through customs. Harassment and unfair scrutiny were possible, especially in light of the Times Square bombing. Thankfully on my trip back into the US (Dallas), the gentleman checking my passport was kind to alert me that I'd put the wrong flight number on my re-entry papers. (two legs, the latter flight number was what they wanted). I know he thought, "this lady could never be a terrorist, she doesn't even know what flight she's on". And the fact that I tried to convince him that I was just a tourist when I was wearing my church mission team t-shirt. (was there a giant "L" stamped on my forehead??)

Home again, home again, jiggety jig!

To market to market to buy a fat pig, home again, home again jiggety jig.
After being out of the country for over a week, I am settling back into my home-comforts nicely. I had an adventure worth telling over and over again, but when all is said and done, there's no place like home.

In Guatemala, you can't flush toilet paper or even depend on soap in restrooms, roads are free of nuisances like traffic signals, and communication with the outside world is extremely limited. At least where we were, in a remote village in the mountains.

I still hesitate when refilling my water bottle or brushing my teeth (don't drink the water!) Almost all of our team suffered a bout with Montezuma's revenge. And yet I have come from my experience feeling like I've been to rehab. Letting go of the things that felt so crucial, and embracing what definitely matters most. Intangible things that can be ignored if you're not careful.

Here are some photos that stand out to me. First, the one and only weaver I saw in a country whose main export is probably fiber.
A small hank of yarn or thread was only about a quarter.
Here are some shots of our accommodations and our hangouts.

Dining room where we ate breakfast and dinner every day.
Patio where we had morning prayer (and coffee) before breakfast.
My room.

It took hours to get anywhere and we usually rode in this bus. Affectionately known as the chicken bus!
Breezeway where we played with the local children.
I will surely post more soon, but it begs to be mentioned that I never once knitted a stitch. Not once. We were busy all the time and when we had free time, it was spent resting and trying to gather news from home.

I live in Tennessee where the worst disaster since the Civil War occurred in my absence! And we barely heard about the car bomb in Times Square. It's hard to believe how disconnected I was from "civilized society" but those things just didn't seem important where we were.

We gave medical care and comfort to people who live with dirt floors in houses equivalent to our lawn mower sheds. Those Central Americans really didn't care that music stars lost their precious guitar collections. The concerns seemed more to center around hoeing their garden; their single source of food, period.
We Are A Blessed Nation.