Weekly Word: Joy Comes in the Morning + Books, Stitches and Gratitude!

 

 

Hello there!

Thank you so much for stopping by!  I appreciate the time you spend here and hope you are blessed in some way!

Every day this week I've spent at least five to six hours visiting with friends and grandchildren.  We also experienced a major victory over cancer which I joyfully share in my Faith, Trust and Breast Cancer article. 

Needless to say, reading and crafty goals have been pushed aside this week!  Oh!  It's been delightful to reconnect with friends after our busy summer schedules have kept us apart!  As always, time with the grandchildren is active and fun.  A long nap afterwards leaves me ready for the next visit!  😃

As my weekly posts are jampacked with lots of fun mini- articles, here's is an index should you have a special interest you'd like to read first!  Otherwise, settle in with your favorite beverage and snack and enjoy!  

The Weekly Word - is a short devotional that sometimes becomes a Bible Study series.  

My Reading Life - is filled with current, completed and upcoming reads as well as an occasional short review.      

Stash Report and To Do Tuesday is where I'll share share stats regarding my fiber usage and acquisitions, goals met/lack thereof and photos of my projects.   

Gratitude Journal - Sometimes I get lost in my own stinky thinking.  This digital journal reminds me to count my blessings!    

Faith, Trust and Breast Cancer - Here you will find updates on life after Triple Negative Breast Cancer.  I was diagnosed in November of 2014 and my last day of treatment was in November 2015.   

Weekly Word

As other online and in-person friends share that their hearts, I realized that I am not alone as I, too, am struggling. 

Recent global, national, even local events can indeed leave us in despair.  Not to mention the daily challenges of every day life alone leave us weeping and broken.  

As I searched for hope, naturally I turned to my faith and music.  The series inspired by the song Stayed on Him that is based on Isaiah 26:3-4. continue to be my comfort.  I also remembered Psalm 30:5.  In my heart, weeping for a night can also mean our despair lasts for a season, but we eventually have victory.  

What is victory?  According to Webster, it is "the overcoming of an antagonist" or "an achievement of mastery or success in a struggle or endeavor against odds or difficulties."

Sometimes our road to victory is long.

Sometimes we don't see victory in our lifetime.

Sometimes life is just plain hard and stinks.

Ug.

This summer the above three statements have been my inner truth.  Like many of you, we have been grieving deeply this summer over events beyond our control.

Some of these events are public.

Some are very personal.

Either way, our pain is definitely real.

Let's strive to first acknowledge our feelings, experience and own them.  Then, let's remember, this is not the rest of our lives, it is a season.  Joy will come in the morning.

How do I know this for sure?  Because God says so and He cannot lie.  

Joy. Will. Come. In. The. Morning.

My Reading Life

As I said before, this has been a joyfully active week in which reading was at a minimum!

Currently reading

Bake, Borrow and Steal by Ellie Alexander is the 14th book in her A Bakeshop Mystery series, but it's the first one I'm reading.  

The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman is my monthly Buddy Read with a friend.

Pachinko by Lee Min-Jin was recommended to me by a friend.

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair by Nin Sankovitch continues my journey into one of my favorite genres:  books about reading/books.  I am enjoying it very much, but it is a deep book, so I'm reading it in bits and spurts.  I wonder if you do the same with certain books? 

A Page of Murder by Penny Brooke is an ebook  that I read a bit of before bed.   

Finished

For the first week every since I can remember, I've not finished one book!  

Stash Report

Yarny Numbers

No changes in yarn numbers, but wow!  Big changes in fabric numbers!  

Fabric Numbers

I used about 1/4 yard of fabric to make the cutest mini stuffed animals for my grandchildren.  I'm hoping to take pictures next week.  My QAYG hexies saved the day, but I'm officially in the red now.  

No regrets though!  Be Sew Creative is having a July 75% off sale this month, so I picked up 7 yards of Sincerely Yours by Sherri and Chelsi and 2 yards of this adorable 30's style fabric by Riley Blake.  I showed great restraint as I was tempted to by the entire bolts!  The fat quarters jumped into my cart.  

                                    

I purchased 1.5 yards of Osnaburg as I am now learning Colcha embroidery (more about that below)!  

  

Now it's time to get some bindings attached to some quilts to get myself out of the negative!  

To Do Tuesday

As I mentioned in the intro, this week was jammed packed with visits with friends and grandbabies!  My reading and crafty goals were pushed to the side.  😉

Last Week's List

Get Mama and Daddy's photos in the mail. not done

1. Sunday Slow Stitching: Stitch up one hexie a day. Done!  As I spent time visiting with friends, there was time to stitch!  I got 18 hexies finished!

Before the Pandemic, I developed an interest in Colcha embroidery.  A friend, who is a master Colcha embroiderer invited me to her Colcha group where I learned was blessed to receive a tiny bit of instruction before the Pandemic.  

My friend recently invited me to participate in one-on-one instruction with her!   Friday we spent all day stitching and learning (me).  She has invited me regularly join her and one other lady to their Colcha embroidery group.  I feel so honored that she would offer me one-on-one instruction and extend this invitation!  

Here is a picture of my newbie efforts.  

2. Machine Sewing: Attach the binding to this flannel quilt that I finished some time ago.  I've attached the binding with the shirt clips I mentioned here.  It's waiting patiently on my yarn storage ladder. 

                                           

not done But I did have a squirrel!  While the grandkids were here we made stuffed animals using this Accuquilt die!  

I've ordered the accessory die to create these cuties.  

https://www.accuquilt.com/go-animal-buddies-pattern.html

3. Christmas Sewing List: Continue stitching the grandchildren’s 2022 Christmas softies (July is my deadline). not done

4.  Kit prep: Prep and stitch up the blocks for our $15 Sampler Quilt happening at Be Sew Creative.  not done

This Week's List

This week's list will be similar to last week's!  

Get Mama and Daddy's photos in the mail.

1. Sunday Slow Stitching: Stitch up one hexie a day.  

2. Machine Sewing: Attach the binding to this flannel quilt that I finished some time ago.  I've attached the binding with the shirt clips I mentioned here.  It's waiting patiently on my yarn storage ladder. 

                                           

3. Christmas Sewing List: Continue stitching the grandchildren’s 2022 Christmas softies (July is my deadline). 

4.  Kit prep: Prep and stitch up the blocks for our $15 Sampler Quilt happening at Be Sew Creative.  

Gratitude Journal

Heart of the Father by Ryan Ellis caught my attention with these lyrics.  

I’ve never known a love like Yours

So intimate so powerful

And I’ve tasted I’ve seen

And nothing comes close

I’ve never known a love like Yours

If you feel unloved/have never know someone who truly loves you, my dear, there is one who loves you more than you know.    Though Ryan mainly shares in this video about the story behind the song, the last sentence is this video is vital:  he wants to share God's love.  

g

UPDATE:  LeeAnna from Not Afraid of Color  was the inspiration for my digital Gratitude Journal.  She had the fabulous idea of adding a weekly them to our posts and this week is our favorite kitchen gadget.  

Though I'm late to the party, I'd like to share my two favorite kitchen tools!  

One is this loose tea infuser!  I love it!  It sits in my cup and is so easy to use!  I do have other infusers, but this one is by far my favorite!

More favorite tools are glass jars - be them canning jars/recycled jars. After grocery shopping, I turn on an audio book and prep all my veggies into jars (or Pyrex containers for lettuces and broccoli).  I can store many of them in this manner in my thin cabinet. They are so easy to use that we 95% of the time our produce is eaten before going bad.  Salads are a breeze, this size is perfect for one serving smoothies, and nightly snacking has become much healthier.  :)

Look at these teas I won from and @cornerstoneteacompany by finishing my July blocks for @melvalovesscraps #piecesinthegarden sew along. Thank you so much @cornerstoneteacompany for such a generous gift! Stephanie sent me Jasmine Chun Hao, Peach Oolong, White Chai, Wild Strawberry, Fairy Dream, Lavender Lady and two blooms, Red Sky Tea and Dancing Lights Tea. Thank you both for such a generous prize. These teas are high quality and delicious! My granddaughter took these photos!

Stephanie sent such generous prizes that I've shared with a couple of acquaintances.  They rave about the quality and taste of these phenomenal loose leaf teas!  

Monday I had an appointment in El Paso.  A dear friend joined me and we stopped at a locally owned coffee shop, Casa Cafetzin Coffee Roasters.  We enjoyed these beautiful lattes, matcha cookies, avocado toast and another toast with beans instead of avocado.  (I forgot the name of the sandwich.)

I found this delicious vegan cheese!  

We went peach picking with the grandchildren, my daughter and son-in-law at Valhalla Orchards.  It was wonderful!  

I found this strange little peach.  Also, I was surprised to see a peach orchard in the desert and how short the trees were!  

I am trying to eat healthier and this mini charcuterie board hit the spot!  

My Mia, for whom this blogged is named, is aging gracefully.  Her sweet spirit continues to bless me.  

Faith, Trust and Breast Cancer

Oh, as a Triple Negative Breast Cancer survivor, how my heart mourns when I hear of a newly diagnosed person!  One of my friends is battling breast cancer while another dear friend had to have a biopsy on Monday.  Stressful.

But, we got the results and it was BENIGN!  

Our hearts sang with joy - joy that came in the morning....

I trust that the same will happen for both ladies...

Take good care, my dears!

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You can also expect a visit from me as well!

Here are some blogs I sometimes link up to!

Sunday Salon @ Readerbuzz

Slow Sunday Stitching @ Kathy's Quilts

Sunday Post at the Caffeinated Reviewer

Sunday Stash @ Quilt, Paint, Create

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? @ Book Date

To Do Tuesday @ Texas Quilt Gal

Pictorial Tuesday @ Peabea's Photos & Scribbles

I Like @ Not Afraid of Color (Thursday)

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict (Friday)