Message in my email

 Posted this CTR t-shirt alter on Instagram.  I love this long-sleeve t-shirt, even the crazy Gothic graphics, but felt it was time to cover up the ornate cross... (notice the AMAZING metal sign  behind me that Sam made us!)

 I don't read email every day, but I try.  Awhile ago I signed up for a daily message, and here was yesterday's.   It seems that whatever the message, it fits nicely into my day, and I am thankful for the thoughts.

Posted: 22 Nov 2014 09:00 AM PST

"Your testimony may begin from acknowledgment that the teachings of the Lord seem reasonable. But it must grow from practicing those laws. Then your own experience will attest to their validity and yield the results promised. That confirmation will not all come at once. A strong testimony comes line upon line, precept upon precept. It requires faith, time, consistent obedience, and a willingness to sacrifice."

—Richard G. Scott, "The Power of a Strong Testimony"

Pie Night Royalty

I have a sister who is the Pie Queen!  Nobody I have met makes quite as good of pies as Laurajane.  Delicious crust, wonderful fillings, and points for quantity.  Although Roxie's favorite was a cheesecake pie Uncle John made, Sam and I loved Laura's blueberry Uncle Blen pie, and John and I loved the amazing PECAN pie, lots of pecans!  10 pies, 2 bacon broccoli quiches that we ate with dinner, chocolate chip bar cookies and Aunt Luanna's fudge shack walnut maple fudge (very, very popular among boy-cousins).

Queen Laurajane (her hair is half way down her back again, grows fast! And Randy lost 60 lbs since March not eating sugar) made a sugar-free pumpkin that was perfect and a sugar-free cherry, too.  Gracious host, serving everyone before they sat down to enjoy pie.  They have a perfect party house, lots of open space and comfortable for chatting.  I was sobered thinking of their short stay on east coast is ending...they won't be here next Thanksgiving season.  Maybe we will have an Easter Pie Night???

Earlier that day Roxie had state choir auditions (this is her new warm favorite coat).  And yes, not one, but three books to take to read in the car, so she could finish one and move on to the next...

John made serious salad.  In a tupperware bowl exactly like ours.  We retrieved a missing salad fork!  Funny how things can go from house to house!

Brother John has groovy socks.

Zoe cracked us up with her attention to ME, the non-dog petter.  She would come and creep up into my lap.

Wished I had gotten a photo of Sam playing with cousin Dallin.  They were funny to watch!  And the NARWHALE challenge game!  They were so funny, this group of cousins cheering each other on.

Pie Night:  a dinner before Thanksgiving where you gather and just eat pie!  Mom told us about the family tradition someone had started so they could eat with family, and friends, and have the pie be a separate meal to enjoy, not just when you are stuffed with turkey and stuffing on Thanksgiving day.  We have had various iterations through the years, even held it on a local church level (when I was YW pres and John was YM president it was a youth activity a couple of years in a row, organized by us).

Laura is famous as Pie Queen for the Thanksgiving year we gathered in Cranberry with a pie per person---28 pies?  Crazy fun wonderful good memories.

Trains & Temples

I took the train Friday down to BWI close to John-husband's work.  Worse moment was when another MARC train came the opposite way and startled me, made me jump, heart racing.  I had ridden the train & subway in Manhattan 2 weeks ago, and it was ok, as long as I didn't think about it, dwell on sad things.  Trains are modern tools, and if Max had died in a car accident I would still drive a car, carefully.  I have an aunt who died in a small airplane crash, but our family still flies.  John had an uncle die in a motorcycle crash, and those are kind of a family off-limit thing now.  The intersection is 7 houses down from our home, and I always pause a couple of seconds longer, thinking about his uncle Mike, take a minute to be safe and look for motorcycles before turning left...So maybe it is okay to think of Max with every train ride and pray for the engineers to be safe and pedestrians careful...

John was waiting on the sidewalk for me.  He towers above most of the commuters, so I could see him from a long distance off, very romantic and sweet of him.  He escorted me to the car, opened my door like always.  I don't want to take that gentlemanlyness for granted.  I count it as a blessing!

There was a huge accident on the beltway that we avoided taking 200, got to the temple in record time.   I feel such comfort and peace there and joy for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the promised resurrection.  We talked about Maxwell and cried some together for almost an hour after our service.  My testimony of Joseph Smith (watch the film on the link to see my favorite actor portraying him) as a true modern prophet was strengthened tremendously this trip down.  I thought of him and the restored priesthood keys and ordinances revealed through him and felt a kinship/friendship that was new to me--like a reunion/remembering as I recognized his voice.

My eyes are squinty from the sun and allergies, but I am happy.  John is concentrating on pushing the right button.

This is a Good Place

Thanks to a friend at John's work, we stayed in a sweet little condo in Dewey.  Deserted off-season beach, beautiful full moon over the calm water, sunrise from a warm upstairs room looking out at the ocean.  Very relaxing and nice to get a weekend date, just us.  Cream of crab soup, crabs, lots of cheese.  Crayon drawing on the table waiting for crabs.  And 3 different thrift store shopping for sister missionary clothes for Suzanna!  (Wearing my altered tiger-t-shirt cut in half and sewn onto a sweat shirt front=easy project.)

Another place to add to the Max's ashes memorial.  Good place to remember him, honor him, tell him how we are feeling, how much we miss him.

NYC Marathon Trip

Julie Babcock & Luanna, some super nice policeman, and the 45,000 runners coming over the bridge on the far right...

The difference b/w phone camera (apple in NY) and above (my Dean camera) is clearly obvious...

Cake celebrating Alzheimer team running.  David kindly inlucded us (and our spouses, just in case) on the list for the swanky reception after the race.

One of my favorite things I saw on the subway, super crowded, older Latino couple, her hand in his pocket.

Luanna is a lot of fun to hang out with!  Giggly sister making me laugh. Julie is calm and good at navigating and full of complements and kind words.

Eating out day before race, teryaki burgers...

Beautiful, smart doctor-in-training daughter of my cousin was super kind and has a great single's ward we went to Sunday early.  In our jeans and "Knit & Run" t-shirts.  We were made to feel very welcomed.

View from Kellie's place.

enJOY burgers (north of Kellie) gave us playing cards with our receipts, called out the card when our food was ready (and we turned in cards to be reused, clever, clever and good food).

Sunday after Church we subway-ed to Queens to catch the racers at the half-way point.  David went by so fast that we went north on the subway to chase him, caught him with minutes to spare at Duke Ellington memorial.

Picture below is in Queens, roof of an LDS celebrity...

Famous person spotting:  When David was teaching people to finger knit in the park with Lion Brand yarn (lovely, lovely yarn.  David is a spokesman for them, official promoter) Julie met Kristy Glass and worked out an invite to her apartment to watch the race.  This is her rocking chair.  She calls it "Yarn Bombing" and I was delighted! She is an amazing person, has a sweet family, and a home that is filled with the Spirit and lots of love & cool color!  We helped make a sign for her friend SHAY running right near David.  Sam has been a big fan of Shay for years, and was impressed with the networking.

Kristy has 3 children now, works as an actress, runs, and so does her husband.

David finished under 4 hours, which met his goal.  AND he finished knitting this scarf early in the race WITH LETTERS!  I am so proud of him and it was wonderful to be there and be supportive of his achievement!

Steampunked Kilts: Trunk or Treat

 

Sam & Roxie's kilts are 8 yards and 5 yards, fully pleated in back.  John and mine are quickly done, costume only, not even the right tartan, but close.  Roxie's is not quite Davidson clan, but she loves green and blue and it was in my fabric stash, conveniently.

I decorated our car trunk with silk flowers hung #56 tags, and the red satiny quilt (from Luanna) and the 56 days left sign:  Christmas countdown.  We won one of the trunk decorating prizes!  Scariest?

People, friends, have asked me this week how I am doing, really doing, and they made time to listen.  I have gotten teary-eyed and mushy and choked up and realized how much I am still grieving for Maxwell's loss.  I miss him, and still feel really sad.  It makes sense to me now the year of mourning in Victorian times, family wearing black, or at least black armbands in remembrance of their lost one.

   It has been easy to escape reading books and not having to "think" or "feel" or to stay busy, really busy, or get involved in serving someone else so I don't think about being sad.

One listening friend said, "I don't know how you are doing it, even waking up and getting out of bed."  

Holidays are sad, since we use them as gathering, food celebrating, and remembering.  Max was a blue-body suit man last year.  He asked me to mend his suit where it had ripped a little at the neck.  I fixed it but didn't get it back to him, he said he didn't need it until Halloween.  Every time I see Suzu in her matching suit, I think it would have been a fun picture/video of them together.  Regret un-photos=times you wish you had photographed, but too late.

 

Dealing with stress and grief--besides drinking more water, getting outside once a day, not eating sugar, reading scriptures on my own, doing something unexpected and nice for someone else at least once a week, and everyday being nice to myself (hot shower) and giving myself a complement--saying something out loud while looking in the mirror.  Something about me that I like and is real and true (not just something I do well, but an attribute describing who I am, inside.  Kind of like the pep-talk in "The Help" that the maid gives her boss's daughter "You is kind, you is smart, you is important").

 

And yes, our garage now has burnt orange diamonds, for Halloween.

Because I am a visionary woman.  I like to see changing colors in my environment.  The autumn trees are gorgeous and inspiring and I like to savor colors like flavors for my eyes.  (Haha, now I am laughing at myself.)

Projects & Portraits

#recycled_tshirt project:  cut an animal t-shirt in half, sew to front of hoodie or jacket.  Because of stretch and not enough pins, (PIN MORE THAN I DO IF YOU CARE) his nose is slightly UN-aligned.  But I love colors: brown jacket someone gave me that had some stains on front & clearance t-shirt I never would have worn.  This I will wear.

 More recycled t-shirt projects:  simple circle necklaces, hand sewn, using neck ribbing or bottom hem, or sometimes sleeve hem as ribbons to tie around neck.  They help make shirts modest without wearing another layer underneath.

Sam before his first group date!  He turned 16 this summer, and he and Alan from seminary class went bowling with 2 girls from stake!