Shining Bird's Eyes Shawl

Why did I wait so long?  This shawl was a quick knit once I finally cast on.  The pattern is a bit tricky at first but after a few repeats is it quite obvious to see mistakes and fix them easily.  I only had to tink back once...granted it was in the last repeat and it was a row and a half.  That is what I deserved for my drinking (only one weak gin & tonic) and knitting.

The linen blocked beautifully!

Here are some pictures and a public link to the Ravelry page if you are interested in more details.

Leave it to Luther

The Lutheran Insulter

We leave you to your own devices, for nothing properly suits you except hypocrisy, flattery, and lies.
(From Against Latomus, pg. 143 of Luther's Works, Vol. 32)


This page also has a link for the Shakespearean Insulter.

Shakespeare. . . another person who had a way with words.

Here's to New Beginnings

Primordia cuncta pavida sunt

This was the Latin phrase that came up on my blog this morning.

In English: All beginnings are frightening.

It comes from a longer line that translates into English as: "All beginnings are frightening, and fear is not dislodged by any other means except when the novelty is removed by unavoidable tasks."

This is the perfect quote as I switch where I'm working in a couple weeks.

The link above relates an Aesop Fable that supposedly demonstrates this idea and ends with:

"Every thing that is unexpected powerfully shakes the mind, but when it is seen again and again it usually causes little disturbance."

Reminds me of the saying: A lie told over and over again becomes the truth. I'll spare you that rant.

Back to the fable. . .

I was waiting for the lion to eat the fox. The fox was getting too bold for its own good. So I guess for me, the fable wasn't relating to the other Latin phrase quite the same. I saw the fable as "getting used to something that is dangerous isn't a good idea". Not that it was rendered that way in the end. I perhaps took it to that level all on my own being the timid creature that I am. Or I've read too much C.S. Lewis.

I had other thoughts on this but unfortunately was distracted by a cake complication. But it is solved. My sister to the rescue.

Cast Your Sins onto Jesus

From today's writing portion of Pray Now app (Treasury of Daily Prayer):

After man has thus become aware of his sin and is terrified in his heart, he must watch that sin does not remain in his conscience, for this would lead to sheer despair. Just as [our knowledge of] sin flowed from Christ and was acknowledged by us, so we must pour this sin back on him and free our conscience of it. Therefore beware, lest you do as those perverse people who torture their hearts with their sins and strive to do the impossible, mainly, get rid of their sins by running from one good work or penance to another, or by working their way out of this by means of indulgences. . . .

You cast your sins from yourself and onto Christ when you firmly believe that his wounds and sufferings are your sins, to be borne and paid for by him, as we read in Isaiah 53:6, "The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." St. Peter says, "in his body has he borne our sins on the wood of the cross" [1 Peter 2:24]. St. Paul says, "God has made him a sinner for us, so that through him we would be made just" [2 Cor. 5:21]. You must stake everything on these and similar verses. The more your conscience torments you, the more tenaciously must you cling to them. If you do not do that, but presume to still your conscience with your contrition and penance, you will never obtain peace of mind, but will have to despair in the end. If we allow sin to remain in our conscience and try to deal with it there, or if we look at sin in our heart, it will be much too strong for us and will live forever. But if we behold it resting on Christ and [see it] overcome by his resurrection, and then boldly believe this, even it is dead and nullified. Sin cannot remain on Christ, since it is swallowed up by his resurrection. Now you see no wounds, no pain in him, and no sign of sin. Thus St. Paul declares that "Christ died for our sin and rose for our justification" [Rom. 4:25]

-- Martin Luther

Another Year at APT

This past September we saw "The Tempest" and "The Taming of the Shrew". Not our *most* favorite year but we enjoyed it nonetheless. We are hoping for a summertime evening performance next year. We can't wait to see what the plays will be.

Also regarding Shakespeare . . .
Susan shared a link to a wonderful book entitled: The Actor's (and Intelligent Reader's) Guide to the Language of Shakespeare, by Richard DiPrima

It's 850 pages long and at the time I contacted them it was $85. Really not a bad deal but I haven't bought it yet. There are a few sample pages shown at the site. Looks very interesting! Definitely on my wish list.

All's Well That Ends Well

"The Lord shall be praised, that I have been delivered from evil, God dwells here. I did not think that all would end so well."

Okay, so this isn't really a line from Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well. But since we just saw that production at APT yesterday it really was a surprise to see that quote in today's reading from Martin Luther.

Here's the complete entry:

We know that tribulation worketh patience, and patience, experience, and experience, hope. Romans 5:3-4

When God wants to strengthen a man's faith He first weakens it by feigning to break faith with him. He thrusts him into many tribulations and makes him so weary that he is driven to despair, and yet He gives him strength to be still and persevere. Such quietness is patience and patience produces experience, so that when God returns to him and let His sun rise and shine again, and when the storm is over he opens his eyes in amazement and says: "The Lord shall be praised, that I have been delivered from evil. God dwells here. I did not think that all would end so well".

Within a day or two, within a week or a year, or even within the next hour, sin brings another cross to us: the loss of honour or possessions, bodily injury or some mishap which brings such trouble. Then it all begins again and the storm breaks out once more. But now we glory in our afflictions because we remember that on the former occasion God was gracious to us, and we know that it is His good will to chastise us, that we may have reason to run to Him and to cry, 'He who has helped me so often will help me now'. And that self same longing in your heart (which makes you cry, Oh that I were free! Oh that God would come! Oh that I might receive help!) is hope, which putteth not to shame, for God must help such a person.

In this way God hides life under death, heaven under hell, wisdom under folly, and grace under sin.

Sermons from the year 1527
Day by Day We Magnify Thee. Luther. p. 343.

I also received the latest issue of Good News in the mail this week. The topic? Trials and Afflictions. Sub-titled: How God Blesses You Through Your Trials and Afflictions.

Side note: Good News IS NOT the magazine you find when you google "Good News". The magazine I'm referring to does not have a webpage (that I'm aware of anyway). But you can contact them at 1-800-778-1132. Issues, Etc. also has some links to samples of what is in their magazine here. Look for the ones that say "from Good News magazine ". If you don't want to sift through the list I'll give some direct links here and here and here and here. That's just some of them.

Side note of the side note: Issues Etc. is a great resource also. You can check out past shows here. The first week of July has an interesting segment on Glenn Beck. And some segments from Higher Things that was going on in Nashville that week...that's where we were at the time. Summer was very short and very busy.

Update: There's another Issues Etc episode on Sept 3rd after the "Restoring Honor" rally.

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Diamond Circle Lace Cloth

After a short hiatus, I have added another lacy square cloth pattern to my collection.

I called this one Diamond Circle Lace Cloth. (Ravelry pattern link)

It is knit in the round with size 2 double point needles and fingering weight cotton. Finished size: ~12" sq.

For more specific details click here.

Click on the link on the right hand side bar to purchase this pattern for $1.

Thank you for your interest and support!
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Hudson River Triangle

I'm trying out the new feature at Ravelry that allows me to share a project page with people who are not members of Ravelry. Let's see if this works.

I finally finished this shawl in April. I thought I posted the pictures here but apparently I only put the pictures up on Ravelry.

If you click on the link. It will take you to more pictures and details about the pattern, yarn, needles, etc..

Great Horned Owl in Madison

We took a trip to Madison today for a vet appointment. Little did we know we'd be seeing a female Great Horned Owl. There were two babies somewhere but we couldn't find those.












Same picture. Just zoomed in.














Another shot. And if you can't see her. I've zoomed in again on the next picture.

Digital cameras. Just amazing. Even considering this is a relatively cheap camera.
















Spooky!

More bird pictures

My daughter's pictures from the Bird Banding/Bird Fest Saturday May 8, 2010




Birds in waiting













Banding in action














Woodcock











Yellow-headed Black Bird

Lutheran Study Bible

I have the hard cover version of the Lutheran Study Bible (so do the kiddos). But when it was announced that we could get the LSB on Kindle I was pretty excited. Irrationally excited, according to my children.

I love my LSB, but I don't like carrying it around out of the house. Or trying to pack it for the Higher Things conference coming up and carrying it around there. It is just too heavy for me. My back and neck hurt normally and then to add that weight. Well, I'm not a kid anymore. I could and did haul ~60 lbs of books in my backpack in college but that was a long, long time ago.

Now I've got the whole LSB in my purse when I go out. Tucked neatly on my iPod touch. Along with the Book of Concord on one app. And the Large Catechism on another (Stanza)...that one I can book mark and annotate. And about 50 other classics on various apps...oh and all of Shakespeare. Plus iBird (way cool!), music (or course!), games, etc. Can't wait until the hymnal and prayer book can be added to my iPod touch. Oh my. Just checked Amazon. The prayer book is already available on Kindle. I probably should have got bigger than an 8G iPod.

The first question people ask me when they see the Bible on my iPod is "How small is the print?" I then show them how the font size can be easily changed to suit the individual's needs. You can change the color of the text also. I like the sepia.

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Bible Class

We studied Psalm 124 last night in Bible class.

Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord

1 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side--
let Israel now say--
2 if it had not been the LORD who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
4 then the flood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
5 then over us would have gone the raging waters.
6 Blessed be the LORD,
who has not given us as prey to their teeth!
7 We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken, and we have escaped!
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

And here are the notes from the Lutheran Study Bible (CPH) for verse 7:

Imagery of earthbound people nearly drowned in the flood (vv4-5) is followed by a comparison of people to birds caught in the subtlety of a snare. The flood's danger is open and frightening; the snare is hidden and tempting. But God delivers from both extremes.

And the final note for the entire psalm:

We need this psalm's reminder that our strength and safety come only by God's hand. We are in danger from flood and snare, the overwhelming and the enticing. But God is faithful for His name's sake. He rescues us so that we will continue to bless and call on His name.

Lead us safely, Lord so we may always give glory to Your name. Amen.

This psalm really came to life for me after this weekend and seeing the birds caught in the "snare". It truly is "hidden".












Our strength and safety come only by God's hand.

He rescues us so that we will continue to bless and call on His name.

God gets us out of the mess we are in.

Want to see what happens when I try to help or struggle as God is getting me out of the "snare".








I get stuck worse than I was at first.

Bird Fest 2010

We enjoyed the bird fest this weekend.

We got out of bed two days in a row (at 5:15am!) to attend the bird banding demonstration. It was our most favorite part!

These pictures are from Sunday, May 9th, 6am. We only had an hour and a half before we had to leave to get ready for Sunday school and church. On Saturday we stayed for 3 hours. Unfortunately my camera's batteries were dead. So no pictures on my camera Saturday.

They netted and banded 100 birds Saturday even though the weather was cloudy, cold, and windy. Sunday was calm and sunny but not as many birds moving.







































Tree Swallow
















Yellow-Rumped Warbler














Yellow Warbler

























Common Yellow Throat

(Not to be confused with the Yellow-throated Warbler.)

Buddy

Here are some pictures of our house bunny.
He was going to be 7 years old in May.
He passed away yesterday morning.
It was a very, very, sad day....




The first one is Buddy relaxing at the cabin.


















The second he's dreaming of being outside.













Third, one of the rare trips outside.













Relaxing at home in the hayloft of his deluxe cage.











Buddy in all his coolness!

Twilight

Here's an interesting article on "Twilight":

Mormon Vampires in the Garden of Eden



Looking forward to Mr. Granger's latest book.


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p.s. I survived November. Let's hope I make it through December.

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Reading

I've been on a Dorothy Sayers read-a-thon. I started with "Strong Poison" in June (as per July 4th blog post). I finished "Have His Carcase" mid July. And then devoured "Gaudy Night". I just finished "Busman's Honeymoon" August 18th. Of the four, I think I enjoyed this last one the best of all...although I wouldn't have if I hadn't read the first three to understand the background of their relationship.

These four books are the main books that deal with the Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane's relationship. I loved the interactions between those two characters (and Bunter!)...with a few mysteries thrown in as well. There was quite a bit of French and Latin thrown in also. Most of that I had to let go over my head. I would have loved a translation of the French letters near the end though.

Sayers also started "Thrones, Dominations" but it was finished by another author....who also wrote another Peter/Harriet novel after that. I'm still deciding if I should continue on. There have been very mixed reviews about both of those novels. But I don't know how I can resist not reading them....even if the last reads more like FanFiction rather than something Sayers would have wrote. Not all FanFiction is horrible.

Here is a website with the chronological list of the Lord Peter Wimsey short stories and novels with some reviews and plot points.

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A Twilight Moment

You know you've read too much Twilight when.......

You try to drink a Frosty (from Wendy’s) with a straw. You work and work to get the thick Frosty through the straw. You irritate the burned spot behind your front top teeth (from eating corn on the cob the night before).

You taste blood but continue to try to get the Frosty up the straw.

The Frosty is now about an inch and a half above the cover. You stop and access your lack of progress and see moisture in the straw near the top. You watch it roll down and meet the Frosty and realize that moisture is a drop of blood. You suddenly feel like Bella….drinking blood from a straw. You almost make your kids puke when you mention this as you are drinking it. LOL

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Yes, that happened this past Saturday between the church and the reception of my cousin's daughter's wedding. We had a nice time at the wedding. I've forgotten how much fun I had as a kid at family weddings when we'd get to dance with cousins and other relatives we rarely got to see. It's my kid's turn to have that fun and we were almost fun suckers by leaving early. So glad my youngest cried to stay longer. Only wish I would have gotten out to dance. She said later she would have danced if I would have.

New Driver and other sundry items

Yep! That day back in June when my oldest took her driver's test...she passed with flying colors! She didn't have any point deductions at all. Yippee! But scary at the same time. She's taken me to work a couple times so she can "have the car" while I work. Weird feeling...

Exercising is still going good. I finished my 30 day challenge a week or so two ago. That was on the medium level. I'll be starting another 30 days on the hard level hopefully next week. I did a hard workout today...one of the preset ones. Boy...that really got me sweating. Then I did the body test on Wii Fit. So far I lost about 5 pounds since mid-January. Probably would be more if I'd give up ice cream...oh well. I have noticed my muscles are more toned and I get less fatigued. My upper back doesn't hurt as often anymore either so that is good news.

Reading....I'm reading a Dorothy Sayers book at the moment. "Strong Poison" was first. The second story is "Have His Carcase". I'm maybe 5 chapters into it but having trouble staying awake at night. Long days at work and getting to bed too late/getting up early to exercise is beginning to take its toll. :yawn:

Knitting....I'm working on this year's Goddess Knits Anniversary Mystery shawl. That is slow going too. No working on that in spare minutes or it would be tinking galore. But it is a pretty blue ...."Jazz" from Knitpicks...hence I've nicknamed this project "Jasper". Yes, a Twilight reference.

Mandala Pictures

This pattern is Mandala. It was last year's Goddess Knits Anniversary Mystery Knit-a-long. The Ravelry pattern main page has some pretty pictures of finished shawls.

This pattern had 5 clues. Each of the first four clues had four different charts to choose from. So many options for the final shawl. The last clue was the edge. There was only one choice for the edge but you could substitute with another edge that had the same number of row repeats or if you were willing to do the math. I went with the given chart for clue 5.







































I was nervous about the blocking but it was a snap with a 70" round plastic table cloth.


Oh...here's my project page at Ravelry.

New Computer

Well, the new computer is here. But I can't seem to manage to get the pictures in the right place. What this means is that no pictures of my finished items are being posted. :sniff:

I've had the computer for a few weeks but I haven't had time to deal with the issue since I'm a bit busy with a new part-time job and we are trying to adjust our schedules to that. Yes, you did read that correctly. A new part-time job. Dh's job is tenuous at best and even his self-employment is having a bit of a down turn.

I'm off for a few days for appointments...much needed hair cuts, dentist, and oldest dd taking her driving test. The computer getting tweaked is high on my list of things to accomplish this week. Can't wait to post some pictures!

Oh yeah....Twilight......Hogwart's Professor has a new website for Twilight related posts. This article written by a guest author really explains Bella and Edward's relationship very nicely. And along those same lines....Subtlynice has updated her version of New Moon from Edward's POV. Reading today's updated chapter reminded me of Arabella's article.

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