unexpected beauty

I don't usually head out for a trip on the New York State Thruway with the goal of soaking up the beauty of upstate. It's pretty much just the quickest way to get from point A to point B, and you're fighting for space with rude truck drivers and construction vehicles.

So tonight was a delight as I headed East and caught sight of the palest of pale gigantic moons just rising over the golden-tinged tree tops. I actually gasped at the surprise of it when I came around the bend. I drove for a stretch with the moon rising before me and the sun setting in my rear-view mirror, being reminded of the phrase "Thou hast beset me behind and before" that the psalmist uses to talk about the all-encompassing knowledge of the Lord. He has put His beauty and the knowledge of Him as Creator all over the place.

No, I don't have a picture of it, but it's burned on my heart. The beauty of the Creator, so freely given. A new display day after day.

girlfriends of another generation

There's something about spending time with women who've been around a while longer than I have…

Something about listening to them talk, watching them work together, seeing how they serve and interact with others. Hearing their conversations and noting what gives them joy.

Last weekend was a chance for me to spend some time with my girlfriends of another generation. We ranged from 6-ish months to 60ish (I'm not at all sure about that top number, or who owns it!). We've all been adopted into the same family, and though some of them chronologically could be my mother, we are all sisters in Christ.

We spent time on one of the finger lakes, watching the rain, enjoying great food, taking leisurely strolls, cuddling the babies, collecting leaves, skipping stones, reading, praying, laughing, crying, playing silly games and thrift-store shopping.

I'm so grateful for these women in my life. I'm so grateful that the Lord has shown me the need to develop relationships with women wiser and older than I. I'm so grateful He put me in a place where it is possible.

crewel

I have found me a new hobby. For years now, I have used the computer and my camera to do most of my creative things. I can't draw worth beans (though I think I could draw a bean if I needed to), and I have always felt more comfortable creating things using the software I have, rather than with my own two hands. There's such safety in that "command-z" shortcut. I catch myself trying it in real life every now and then...the forefinger and thumb of my left hand doing their little jig. I can remember back to when some software only had ONE chance at an undo. Now they all come with multiples. And I use them often!

But when you put some wool thread into a needle and start poking it through linen, an "undo" involves ripping and tearing and eventually wreaking the fabric and the thread. So I'm more concerned about getting it right the first time. And I feel like there's got to be a bit more planning before I plunge in. I'm not yet ready for freestyle embroidery.

Enter Wool and Hoop.

This girl has taken the crewel embroidery my mother and grandmother did (birds, trees, flowers, elaborate scenes of kittens on chairs, etc.), kept the technique and created some fun modern designs to liven things up a bit. Much more my style.

I started a cross stitch many many years ago of a bunny. I just couldn't stay interested in the design long enough to keep going. But these designs—I just love the abstract shapes, the small size, the great color combos, the fuzzy wool thread—everything about them.

Here's my first finished piece:


And, just for fun, because the instructions state that the goal in crewel embroidery is to have the back of your work look almost as neat as the front, I thought I'd show you how successful I was on that part. Ha!


(You can check out Jan's post today for some spiritual application on this!)

And here's the next one I've started.


I knew there was a reason I bought three matching square frames from IKEA years ago. Now I'll have something to put in them!

Thank you, Katherine, for making it easy for me to create something with my own two hands!

meet the Artist: brainstorming

My mind is continually processing ideas...some of them churn around in the background for years before I do anything to move them forward, some of them appear, I figure out logistics, develop & fulfill them in days. There are times that I have an idea for something and have to drop everything else on my plate until I at least do some research on how I can make this idea become reality. There are ideas that I will never move forward one step.

One idea that's been floating around for years is something I'd like to write and design that talks about God as the Maker of heaven and earth, as He is often described in the Bible. Working and moving a bit in artistic circles, there is a lot of talk about art-with-a-capital-A. And Artists and their "body of work." Or Artisans and their craft. There are designers who are working on how to solve the dilemma of graphic designers rarely getting credit for their work in a public way, and not making royalties on designs that get used over and over and have world-wide recognition.

As artists, we want people to know what we have created/designed/made. It is a great feeling to be recognized for a great idea, and for how the idea is executed.

How little credit the Lord God Jehovah gets for His "body of work," the universe. And everything in it. People the world over believe all kinds of thing about where this earth came from. Where we came from. But the Artist gets much less credit than He deserves. I'd like to introduce people to the Lord God as Creator. It's what He did first.

wide-eyed

I've been breaking into giggling fits for the past half-hour or so, and getting strange looks from my co-workers.

the culprits:



I don't usually have all three in one day...
(note the "with espresso" on the chocolate bar)

fortunately

A confession:

I very much enjoy fortune cookies. Eating them, reading them, laughing at them. I even tried making them once when I was a teenager. Forgot about that disaster.

Most of the time, I throw the "fortunes" out and just savor the crunchy vanilla goodness of the cookie...but every now and then I run across a gem and a half of a fortune.

Tonight's was a tosser—or so I thought until I let it sink in. I had to dig into the trash to get it back:


"All the troubles you have will pass away very quickly."

My first instinct was pshaw. Whatever. My troubles have been around a while and they're not going anywhere anytime soon.

But then it sunk in. And I realized that it is true. It didn't say "soon," it said "very quickly."

Either when Christ comes to claim His bride, or when He calls me home to Him, my troubles will be gone in an instant. Very quickly. I will see Him face to face, be in His presence, and all of the troubles and sin and worry and heartache of this life will pass away.

This is something I have thought of so much in the past several years. I think I even started to write a poem or song or something...talking about how it will all fall away at His feet. The things we think matter so much here and now...I don't think we'll even remember those things when we are given our first glimpse of the full glory of the Lord Jesus.

I just recently listened to C.S. Lewis' novel Till We Have Faces and there were some great quotes in there. Perhaps I can find them later and add them.

edit: this is the quote I was thinking of:

I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?

Brian & Allison

Brian is one of the funniest people I know. We worked together several years ago, and he kept our whole department entertained with cartoons and dry wisecracks pretty much continually. He was handed the name “Potter” as soon as the Harry movies started coming out, because he really did bear a striking resemblance to the boy-wizard.

When he emailed me out of the blue asking about wedding photography, I was excited for him, and enjoyed meeting Allison and seeing how perfect a match she is for Brian. I had a good time with them, shooting photos and being silly and reassuring them that yes, indeed, it was all almost over.

Some of my favorite things:
•The illustration Brian created to use on the wedding invitations and programs
•Brian calling Allison his "pre-wife"
•The "Let 'em stare" and some of the other funky touches at the salon where the bride & bridesmaids got hair and makeup done
•Some of the cool details of the church building

right in front of my toes

It’s funny how I tend to look miles and years away, and not see what’s merely an inch or a moment beyond me.

One of my favorite parts of my vacation was strolling the mostly-deserted beach, looking for sea glass and interesting stones. I was sad that I had to leave the ocean behind.


Well, it turns out that I live merely 16-minutes from a very strollable, mostly deserted beach with plenty of sea glass and interesting stones. And leaves. Just because it's not the ocean doesn't mean it isn't beautiful.

So I found myself with an hour to spare, at the beach with my camera. On a windy, overcast October Saturday. Yellow leaves and gray stones prevailed. With a red leaf/white stone combo thrown in for good measure.





I like how the two timer photos turned out: in one, I and the lake are both still. In the other, we’re both in motion.




p.s. okay, so I have fairly small feet, but how big was this animal???

a new thing

Someone accused me a while back of not liking change. This really surprised me, as I feel like I'm the least consistent person I know...rarely doing anything the same way twice. I would say that I really like change...but perhaps I'm more predictable than I think?

Regardless…sometimes the change happens without even regarding our opinion. And sometimes it's all good. And sometimes it takes a while to see the advantages of shaking things up a bit.

3 big changes right now in my life:

1. My church has built a new building and we've moved in.

2. The company I work for is also moving...I get to live and work in the same zip code now!

3. Some very dear friends have moved to another country for a while.

None of these things is a bad change. None of them really has anything to do with me, but they all affect my life to a degree.

I love the new church building...it's beautiful, well-designed and just a great place to gather with my brothers & sisters in Christ to worship & serve together. I'm still touring around the auditorium, sitting in a different section each time I'm in a service, trying not to settle into a rut too soon. So far, I've visited 6 out of 8 seating sections. When I first started coming to this church 9 years ago, I decided to always sit in the same section, so I could at least start to become familiar with the people around me, and I'd feel like I knew someone. It was a bit overwhelming to me, coming from a church of around 100-150 to one with 600 people in one of it's three services. It worked, as most people are creatures of habits, and I could usually predict within a pew or two where certain people would sit. I think I'll stay a bit unpredictable for a while.

I'm thrilled about working just over a mile from where I live. I have grandiose plans of walking to work most days. I had a couple days of cleaning/purging/organizing energy last week, and got rid of a bunch of stuff in my office corner. I'm really looking forward to getting into the new space and making it a great place to create. It will be nice to be located near some great lunch spots, and to be in a neighborhood conducive to walking. Since my church commute is a bit longer now, I may even out on gas money!



The grate on the left is located pretty close to where my new workstation will be. The design department gets what is currently the garage. You can see my corner on the right. Don't worry, I'll show an "after" shot when it's all done.

And I'm so excited for my friends and the adventure they get to live for the next six months in a totally different culture and climate. I'm looking forward to hearing stories of the people they meet, the places they go and the many ways they adjust as a family to this new stage of their lives.

Change can be refreshing, offering an opportunity for a new start. Allowing us to take a look at things in a different way, checking out which things are a part of our lives because they ought to be, and which things are just old habits.

Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing…

hey brother and the other brother!

Remember this?





and this?




and these?




almost forgot this:

strangly interesting

This receipt tape was bent on escape. This is the length that had crept out of the gas pump before I got there. I tore it off and stuffed it in my pocket, half thinking that the pump was probably broken, and I was going to embarrass myself by trying to use it. But it was the only one available without some crazy maneuvering, so I tried it.

And as I pumped, out of the corner of my eye, I could see the receipt tape veeerrry sloooowwly creeping out of the slot. All by itself. With nothing printing on it.

The fact that I found this weird and interesting enough to take a picture and then write two paragraphs about it probably just goes to show something...but I'm not sure what.

don't eat me!

I have always had slightly odd names for my pets. I once had a kitten named Crash Test Kitty (Crash for short). It was really a fairly obvious choice for this little bundle of gray and white who couldn't ever quite make his turns on time.

Then there was Pyra the pyromaniac, who used to hook her claws into the screen in front of the fireplace and just hang there, staring.

I distinctly remember as a little girl when I got my first (?) kitten, telling my mom to give her a ball of yarn and if the kitten got tangled in it, I was going to call her Tangles. Real original, I know. My mom was not about to waste a ball of yarn, so I think that kitten ended up being called Cuddles. Another original choice. It just seemed cheating to me to name the kitten Tangles with no actual basis for doing so. "Cuddles" actually turned out to be a savage monster. Or maybe that was Lollipop. I'm surprised my little brother likes cats now, and wasn't scarred by the experiences with those two.

So, the lobster up there. Named "Don't Eat Me!" She's got a story, too. And yes, I realize she's not technically a pet. humor me.

I went to Maine on my vacation, and a dear friend asked me to bring back a lobster for her. To eat. She said I wasn't allowed to name it, unless I named it "Dinner." She didn't want me getting too attached.

Now, I really did seriously consider the feasibility of transporting a lobster in my beetle from Maine to New York. I pictured myself with a styrofoam cooler on the floor of the passenger seat with A LOBSTER in it, happily relaxing in as much water as I could fit. I imagined the conversations I would have with it (because I couldn't have something alive in the car with me and not talk to it!), and then I imagined having to change the water. The idea lost some of its allure here. Then I realized that I wasn't coming straight home, and keeping a lobster alive and tasty for three days was more than I wanted to attempt!

So I kept my eyes peeled for (where did that phrase come from, anyway?? who wants their eyes PEELED????) a suitable alternative. And I found her, hanging out in a toy store on Exchange Street in Portland. The sparkles on her back told me she belonged with my sparkly friend. And I had to name her "Don't Eat Me!" (said with a bit of urgency in the voice and a look of imploring on the face) just to remove all doubt.

She's been nicknamed Donut.

wherever you are, be all there…

I don't often get the chance to slow down to a complete stop. Not many days with no schedule, no commitments, nothing that has to be accomplished. A whole TEN days of that? a gift. a precious, precious gift.

I have had the privilege of traveling to several different countries over the past several years, spending time with missionaries and helping out in small ways in the time we had together. I have loved these trips, and the view they have given me of life in another country, among a people of a different culture, and the joys of learning to live in such places, and the struggles faced by being people who love the Lord living not just "in the world" where we are already a peculiar people, but in a wholly different and often strange world where the language and the food and the public transportation system and the marketplaces all conspire against you to label you "foreign." That might be the longest sentence I've ever written. Eat your heart out, Paul!

Most of those travels left little time for true relaxation. Though I welcomed the change from my normal day-to-day life, and that in and of itself offered a certain kind of refreshment, I have not in many years had the time to spend several days together of doing just what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it.

It was fun being a tourist in America. I didn't have to calculate currency exchange rates in my mind every time I pondered a purchase, I didn't have to figure out public transportation or just how you're supposed to order food in a cafe. I didn't have to haggle on the street with someone by just writing numbers down until we agreed how much the necklace or painting was going to cost me. I didn't have to make sure everything was going to fit in my suitcase.

I stayed in an inn just a few blocks from downtown Portland, Maine. I could walk to some great shopping and eating, or hop in the car and be oceanside in about 20 minutes. I spent hours on the shale rocks at one park, just watching the ocean pounce on the rocks over and over, never tiring of the game.

I strolled along a mile-long stretch of sandy beach, on the lookout for bits of sea glass and beautiful stones. I laughed at a seagull attacking my Cooking Light magazine.

I slept in. I at breakfast at Starbucks and then just sat there and read for an hour. I got inspired by the pottery and jewelry and photography and hand-made things at several different shops in the Old Port. I spent a ridiculous amount of money on dinner one night. Worth. Every. Penny.

I went on a sunset cruise around Casco Bay, meandering through the islands, and shivering stoically until I had to give in and head down below for some heat after the sun totally disappeared.

I checked out some of the lighthouses, and played with the self-timer on my camera. I spent a silly amount of time in an upscale paper/stationery shop...love that stuff!

Here are a few of the photos I took:


the ruins of a dock off one of the islands in Casco Bay



amazing patterns left on the sand as the tide receded.



some of the treasures I found



love the colors here. and my mom likes thistles.



I've never been a big "I love lighthouses" person. had to add some interest somehow.



I did, however, really like this lighthouse out in the bay, just off the shore where the Maine Head Light is. Not sure it still works at all, but it's just a really pleasing texture/color...especially as the setting sun hit it. An in-focus photo coming up…



self-timed photos are fun. you should see the rejects :-) Actually, no you shouldn't. And no, I don't have a tumor on my forehead. That's my knee.
This was my favorite place of all.



saw quite a few Monarchs fluttering around. my mom tells me they ought to be heading to somewhere in South America by now. Slackers.



I sat and watched this for the longest time. I love how the Bible describes the voice of God as the sound of many waters. The endless variety in how the wave approaches the shore and breaks and sprays and roars holds me spellbound.



Again, lighthouses=no big deal. add flower. stir.



but this is the famous one, so I thought I'd get a more clear shot of it also. the setting sunlight can give you some powerful pictures.



I'll have to dig up my stone heart encrusted in ice shot from last winter...



here's that other lighthouse I liked better.

october

it really is. already.

this is quite likely my favorite month, as far as weather in upstate ny goes. crisp blue skies, bright sunshine, cool breezes, and the rustle of drying leaves in the air.

i love the colors that creep into the green...the last hurrah before the bareness of winter (which I also find beautiful).

edit: yes, the picture is blurred. i meant to do that. I just love the orange and gray and green...these are the colors I use most often when I'm designing something. It became sort of a standing joke in the design department after my first three major projects used these colors!