Waiting...

My Mom has two sayings referring to 'waiting'.  One is  'All good things come to those who wait.'
and the other is 'Anything worth having is worth waiting for.'  It may be true, and last evening, I was reminded again of that.

On Nov 5, I wrote about missing the Canadian geese that we used to see all the time when we lived on Long Island, and how we rarely see them here in SC.  I was wishing that I'd see a gaggle of them once again and longing to hear their tell-tale honking as they cross the sky on their familiar and invisible tracks.

Last night, while I was waiting for my husband to return to the car with our take-out Greek salad and Greek Pizza...I was people watching. All of a sudden, through the open window, I heard it. Loud honking! The sound of Canadian geese coming from somewhere behind the van!  I opened the car door and looked into the dusky sky. I could hear them, but they were nowhere in sight.....for a minute.  Then, there they were....all helter skelter, trying to gather themselves into some sort of formation. While I watched with complete pleasure, they failed at their attempt to figure out where there place was, and maybe even which was the 'head' goose. They flew in a ragged line across the path toward the East.  I continued to watch and to listen, until they were a dim squiggle in the darkening sky.

As I sat, I remembered Mom's adages, and I also realized that God had heard my thoughts of missing the geese. I thought of the scripture verse in Psalms that says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."   I believe that God cares, even about the little things, and though we may have to wait to see them, sometimes He blesses us with something that makes you realize that He hears even the silent desires of the heart.  This blessing of the geese was definitely was worth waiting for!

More about Sewing...

Well, I got those valances done...two of them....but I'm not happy with them, so I'll begin again. I've got lots of the fabric, as I bought enough to do full length curtains for three windows, plus, and since I've decided to do valances for two windows in another room, there's extra to use for other things (or error!)

I remember learning to sew when I still lived at home. Actually, I think Mom started to teach me when I was about twelve years old.  It was four years later, I believe, that I discovered had half an interest in it, and asked for help in creating something that I could wear.  Of course, I had to be instructed all over again, as I hadn't touched a needle and thread since Mom's first attempt to show me how to use it.  Well, no, that's not true. I had a wee bit of sewing in Home Ec. class in school, but as with most of my classes, I barely scraped through, without learning much of anything.

So...from that springboard, I dove head long into sewing things. I used Mom's machine until my 3rd year of marriage, when we bought that Montgomery Ward model.  I was given a treadle machine when some friends moved away, but for the life of me, I couldn't make it work, and not too long afterward, I decided that it didn't need to take up space, and we took it to the dump. (Oh, foolish child bride that I was! It had no value to me then....therefore, it had no value!)

I sewed grannie dresses and tops for myself in the 1960's, and then maternity things, tiny clothing and blankets for my babies, and made stuffed animals and dolls for them as they grew old enough to play. I made school clothes, then graduated to patchwork quilts and sewn items to sell.  I stopped sewing clothing after awhile, as the kids wanted to wear things like other kids in their classes wore...and I was never good at making clothing fit me correctly. After awhile, I just put that machine away....and didn't drag it out any more. My girls didn't want to learn to sew then, however two of them learned on their own when they got older, and are quite good at it. The other two still can't sew a button on!

Today, I will once again cut and pin and stitch, and hopefully I'll have better luck than I did yesterday!

Sew Today...

That's my mantra on this Friday morning.  I want to make new valances for the living room...and for the kitchen/dining room too, eventually.  The fabric has been waiting there quite long enough!  I don't know how the time gets away from me, but every day just flies by and I find myself busy, but not getting done what I'd set out to do.

I haven't sewn in years. I've done some hand sewing and mending, but haven't bothered to drag the machine out for anything serious.  It's time I did!  When I was younger and my kids were little, I used to stay up until all hours sewing things...clothing,  doll clothes, stuffed toys, curtains and other household things. I made  quilt tops, pillows, and pot holders. It seems as if that old second-hand sewing machine we bought for $26 in 1969 (an old Montgomery Ward portable that weighs a ton!) was never idle. It's being lent to Mom these days, though it sits idle there more often than not. Over the years, it certainly has been a faithful friend to both of us.

Todays project will be sewn on my newer model....a Singer zig zag which I bought brand new at a yard sale about ten years ago...for $25.  I've used it some, but not much. I prefer the older one, mostly because it responds to my foot on the pedal with gusto!  That baby can sew at least twice the stitches in the same time that the other one pokes along. It drives me crazy.  When I sew, I want the item finished in one sitting.  I don't like unfinished projects.

So...that is my goal for the day...to make, and finish at least two valances!  What are your plans for this cold November day?

An Anniversary

Yesterday marked the 6th anniversary of the closing on this house.  Time sure does fly!  I remember that day...November 16, 2005. We met our realtor at his office, and followed him to Greenville to the law office, as we had no idea then where anything was.  We had a short, quick time of signing papers, and then the keys were placed in our hands, and suddenly we were the owners of two homes!  Our realtor, who has become a friend since then, gave me a shopping bag with the gift of a navy throw with the SC state symbol on it....a palm tree and a crescent moon. After a hug, and a short chat, he was off to an appointment. 

We made our way back to the house after having lunch at some forgotten spot.  We went to visit with my brothers and hung out there for awhile. Then we went out to dinner to celebrate.  We had no furniture to place into the house, but we stayed there that very first night anyway. We pulled our sleeping bags from the van, brought in our suitcase and toiletries, and made a bed on the living room carpet. It wasn't extremely comfortable, for sure, but we wanted to stay in our new house!

Our stay was short, as we needed to get back to our hometown for our family Thanksgiving, my birthday, Mike's birthday and Christmas.  Over the next year, we made several visits to the house, taking enough 'essentials' with us for some 'glorified' camping in our home when we went south.  We finally decided to move bag and baggage and make our new farmhouse our home.  It's fun to remember those first days and nights here, to open our home to our family and friends for holidays and visits, and it's good to wake each day to all that awaits us. Nobody can see into a crystal ball and predict tomorrow, but we're happy to take it just one day at a time here in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, just as we did for over 50 years in my old hometown near the sea.

Life is good. It doesn't matter the altitude wherein  you live, what matters is the attitude that lives within.

Mid-Week and Mid-Month

Here we are smack in the middle of the week...and the month. What happened to the last two weeks? They came and went so fast, I can't even remember what I did during those days!

We have finally put up the chandelier over the dining area table. That baby puts out some light...400 watts, currently. (no pun intended!)  Yesterday we bought a dimmer switch, which will allow us to control that glaring fixture, but it will also afford us the light if we're doing something where we need that much. (I can't imagine needing that much for any reason, but...it's there.)  Yes, we might have opted for small watt bulbs in the fixture which holds ten candles, but the day I was shopping for bulbs locally, there was nothing smaller in the candle bulbs than 40 watts. I knew it was too much, but couldn't find anything less that day. Since then, I've found 7-60 watt ones and flickering ones and frosted ones and clear ones and colored ones.  We'll make do with the switch, I think.

Also, believe it or not, the shutters are now hung and making me very happy!  They didn't work in the kitchen/dining room where I wanted to put them, because on one window they'd have covered half of a triple light switch and on the other side, there's a cabinet that would cover half of the shutter, unless I chose to move the albatross cabinet....and I didn't. So, they are hung on the living room windows, and I'm fine with that.

I think today I'll make some new valances with that black and cream checked fabric I bought ages ago.  I'd like to get them done before the kids get here. I'd also like to get my cards made, but I fear that there won't be any home-made ones this year.

I'm going to pull all of the beachy theme stuff out of the half-bath, too. I've got some other things I'll put up in there...some old quilt squares that I'll frame, and a small ladder shelf. The guest rooms are ready, I just need to vacuum them again before anyone uses them.

Meanwhile...we've done a mini- grocery shopping. Some things were on sale this week, so we took advantage of that...turkey, pot roast and the fattest pork chops I've ever seen made their way into the basket with other needful items.  We're making some headway.

So...if I'm going to make any more of that (headway), I'd better wave good-bye and get busy in some way other than dancing on the keyboard with my fingers! 'Til next time...

Christmas is Coming...

Gosh...it's so close, and I'm running behind on so many things. I'm not ready for Thanksgiving, let alone Christmas. Generally by this time of year, I've got all of my gift shopping finished and waiting for wrapping. I also am well under way, if not finished, with making all the cards that will be sent or taken to church to offer my greetings for Christmas. Not this year.

BUT!  In the corner of the living room stands our new artificial Christmas tree!  Yeah, yeah, I know...so please don't scold me about it being too early!  It definitely IS, but there's a reason, you see.  Though we always wait until, at least, the second week of December to begin decorating, this year the New York kids are coming!  I want to have the decorating finished before they arrive, since they can't be here for Christmas itself.  We'll look more festive around here and the exchange of our gifts three weeks early will feel more like  Christmas.

So...there it stands, bare naked, and looking somewhat out of place. But I've got other things to do, and guests coming for Thanksgiving too....so I've got to get things done as early as I can, since my back doesn't allow for long stints of standing and doing. (My back is aged...and so are my feet....but let it be known, I AM NOT OLD!)  Since much of what has to be done requires a good amount of time on my feet, I'll make preparations when I can, regardless of how silly it looks at the time.

I think I should also do a little early baking and freeze the cookies and breads. I will probably not do as much as I have in the past, but I'd like to have some of the baking finished before the girls arrive in early December. Menu planning too, is already underway....not just for Thanksgiving, but for the ten days the kids will be here. We may even shop at the same time for some of the things that will keep in the freezer or pantry for the Christmas meal.

It's such a busy time of year which starts very soon, so forgive me, if you will, for starting so early!

Disrespect

If there's anything that bothers me about people these days, it's disrespect. I was taught, and I taught my kids,  to respect elders, which meant, among other things, not to talk back no matter how wrong I felt they might be. I was taught to keep quiet if I couldn't say something nice about anyone, including my peers. I was taught to realize that things which belonged to others were not mine to take.  That's all a matter of respect.

These days people don't seem give one iota about any of that.  Kids sass their parents, disobey them without regard of consequences, don't pay attention to teachers or others who are older. They roll their eyes, they walk away, they just don't seem to know the meaning of respect.  It goes beyond that too, as far up as the law enforcement and the government of our country.

It seems that the laws are written for those who will obey them. Criminals don't care about any of them. They do what they do, and I think many of them know full-well that they will get a slap across the knuckles, and they'll be out on the street in no time.  Even people who have taken lives and ruined so many other lives in the process, don't get punishment enough for their law-breaking, in my opinion. 

As for the government of our country, it used to be that people disagreed, and maybe they said so, but they knew that the President was an office to be respected, even if you couldn't respect the decisions or policies of the man in office. He was voted into that position by the people,  and most people recognized that, even if their 'guy' didn't win the election. They'd ride it out until next time.  Now we have uprisings and sit-ins and demonstrations of all kinds, which only seems to feed the fire in others. I haven't got a problem with peaceful demonstrations so that those in authority can 'hear' the voice of the people, but more often than not, these gatherings cause more problems in other areas.

On a much smaller scale, our neighborhood is currently dealing with some issues of vandleism. There have been GPS units stolen, an attempted car theft, scratching of a brand new car and some mailbox bashing. We have decided that we need to organize a neighborhood watch situation, in order to prevent more of this kind of disrespect in our area. Our meeting will be held soon...and hopefully we will be successful in our efforts. It won't stop the disrespect, but at least it may move on to another place. Law breakers will always find somewhere to commit their crimes and show their disregard of authority. I wish it was otherwise, but it isn't....and it galls me.