{Coconut Raspberry muffins - modified
from a blueberry muffin recipe found on
www.elanaspantry.com. Delish}
This Saturday morning is a particularly interesting and beautiful one indeed. You see, I had plans to go shake it up at Zumba, but somewhere along the way I decided that a walk with my dear little papillon would be better. Fresh snow on top of Autumn colors is really what makes a November morning such as this rather grand. But somewhere along the way, I decided to use my "free" Saturday morning to eat a coconut raspberry muffin (my new gluten & dairy free baking secret - coconut!), listen to Debussy radio on Pandora and catch up on my blog! So here I am. My lack of posts does not mean I have not been knitting! Since my last post, I've had the chance to bestow a couple of my Summer knitting projects to a couple friends as gifts and start a lovely lace scarf.
{On the needles: Shell lace patterned scarf knit with Prism Symphony in Shadow Alternating two skeins due to differences in dye lot - big lesson to buy all you need when you buy the yarn!! In this case, I decided I wanted another skein after I started knitting the scarf and had to tear out what I had already knitted to alternate yarns and accommodate for the differences in dye lot.}
{Applewood Beret (on Ravelry) knit in Mountain Colors Twizzle in Firestorm. Gifted to my lovely friend, Bre!}
{Susie's Reading Mitts (on Ravelry). Cannot remember the
yarn I knit these in. I gifted them to my dear friend, Amanda!
I learned a new skill knitting these - the Picot Edge!}
LOVE! ZUMBA! MIRACLES! SUNSHINE AMAZING-NESS! ADMIRING GOD'S BEAUTIFUL CREATION! Whatever you want to call it, I believe it's been a too short, but otherwise awesome summer. Between taking pictures of weddings and nature adventures, it's wonder I actually had anytime to knit! I'm still working on projects I started in June, but they are getting done... slowly :)
{Lake Michigan at Sunrise,
near Bailey's Harbor, WI}
{Lake Michigan - Washington Island}
This last week, I noticed that the nights started to get a little chilly - a quaint little reminder that my favorite season - Autumn - is right around the corner! I love everything about Autumn. The way that summer just kind of fades right into it.... the temperature fades, the smell fades, the colors fade. Crisp, sunshiny mornings, warm afternoons, bundling up in a hoody in the evening. Oh! and once all the photo editing from the summer's myriad of pictures is finished, I might be able to get some knitting done. So please enjoy these photos I have managed to process during the busy-ness of Summer - I promise to have more done soon, some that might even involve yarn! These photos were taken in Wisconsin, at my cousin's wedding, in Montana and at my friend's wedding in Vancouver/Portland.
{Clark Fork River at Sunset off Hwy 200}
{Plant Hike with Montana Native Plant Society}
{Plant Hike with Montana Native Plant Society}
{Fish Boil! at my cousin's rehearsal dinner}
{My cousin's pretty dress}
{Cousin's kids at my
other cousin's rehearsal dinner}
Fact of life. If you go to the beach, you'd better be prepared to get sand in everything. This includes, but of course is not limited to: your eyes & mouth, your wallet, your food, your cooler, your fancy {expensive} camera, the lens you borrowed from a friend, your insulin case, your boots... yep, I got sand in everything and then some on my trip to the Coast over Memorial Day weekend. Everything except for my knitting, interestingly enough. While I was at the beach, my knitting stayed safe in the car. With everything else I had to handle: my dog, my camera, all the items an active diabetic needs to tote around, and my quirky clumsiness - The car was indeed the best place for my knitting.
{My friend Jake, petting my
dog - He's a fun-loving,
relate-able kinda guy. He's
done just about anything
you can think of, except
been to Montana}
My little brother and I spent the first leg of our trip on the Northern Oregon and Southern Washington Coast. We met up with a friend of mine in Warrenton, had an epic campfire on Crescent Beach (just north of Cannon Beach), then camped out at Fort Stevens. The next morning, we made our way north to Long Beach, where we stopped at a local coffee shop (a safe place to start my knitting!) and then had lunch at the beach. We then continued our jaunt a little further north and finally ended up at Bush Pioneer County Park to camp for the night - There were all kinds of winding trails, one that lead down to another beach where we could gather driftwood for our fire. Once we got our fire going and our dinner cooked, it was time to relax and I got out my knitting again!
I have been trying out many things with this particular skein of yarn - it's my Mountain Colors Twizzle in "Firestorm" - and seems appropriate to knit with it accompanied by a campfire. I finally decided on a simple stockinette stitch cowl to showcase the beautiful varagation of the yarn - from deep red browns to bright firy reds mixed with purples, blues and a little bit of green.
The next morning we woke up to rain, so we packed up and headed inland. While we were heading east on highway 12, we passed the turnoff for Mt. Rainier National Park... it took me about a minute to realize that I had no idea when I'd get the chance to see Mt. Rainier again, so we turned around and headed up north and into the park. We picked out a campsite at Cougar Rock then went on a short hike on the Wonderland trail. When we got back to camp, we set everything up, made our fire and our dinner, then it was some more knitting time for me!
Tuesday, it was time to pack up and head home. The drive through the mountains was incredibly scenic and I'm pretty sure I want to go back there again sometime!! Altogether, I enjoyed time spent with my brother - exploring in the car and on foot. I also fell in love with Ingrid Michaelson songs all over again - roadtrips are always good times to "rediscover" old tunes :)
~~~ Epilogue ~~~
Can a blog post have an epilogue? Well, mine does: Watching my little brother make fires and knitting my little campfire cowl got me thinking about this metaphor I heard a couple years ago - that marriage is kind of like building a fire in the rain. Now, we didn't have much rain while building fires this weekend, but it made me think of marriage and everything involved in building a fire in general:
like marriage, a fire must have purpose - in order for someone to put in the effort to build it right, they have to have intent and a purpose in mind for that fire. In marriage, that purpose cannot be self-centered.
It must be contained - the passion of a marriage without clear consistent boundaries will soon go out of control.
There has to be some fluffy stuff (i.e. newspaper/cardboard/dry kindling), and a *spark* to really get things going.
There also must be a substantial piece of wood that provides a good foundation of coals - keeps things burning even when some of the flames go out.
The understanding that when you add new logs to the fire, like challenges of any kind, the older logs will bend and break, exposing new areas to be consumed and burned adding to the luminosity and heat of the fire. The fact is, challenges don't snuff out well-built marriages - they help marriages become stronger.
These all help me to ponder where I myself fall short. For one - I think I lack the fluffy stuff. I just feel the need to be strong all the time, so I have a hard time being fluffy and vulnerable and just me with people. At least at first - takes some serious quality time for me to be fluffy with people. This is currently reserved for family, my roomies, co-workers that sit next to me and BFF's. Also, the *spark* in me is lacking too. I've "learned" so much from my past... I just cannot put myself out there too much anymore. So that's when God's miracles come into the picture - He's that One that draws the *spark* outta me and really sets my fluff ablaze. And I can praise Him every day that when it comes to those miracles, I'm not willing to settle for less.
Well this is the second day in a row of 80° temps and its making me want to stash away anything that has even the slightest hint of fuzzy (save it for a rainy day!) and work on something light. I am at work right now, patiently awaiting my lunchbreak so that I can dash home and dig out this gorgeous merino lace yarn that i know is stashed away someplace. I've been peeking at some lace scarf patterns in ravelry and I *think* I've found the one - here's to hoping it's not too *cozy*
I've been saying that word a lot lately - the word "so".
Sometimes twice in the same sentence, or thought. Maybe I've always had a habit of doing that, but I just noticed it this week. I really don't know why I say it, except that maybe I just feel the need to explain myself; especially in light of the whirlwind of change that seems to be going on around me. Nothing is really changing for me - just for people of somewhat close association with me. I can't keep up, so I've just found myself content to just sit in the eye of the storm and observe everything happen around me. Since I've remained un-involved, I have to preemptively think up some creative excuses for my laziness, somehow making my life seem busier and more interesting than it really is, sitting here in my calm little bubble. That's where the "so"s come in.
So anyway, here are just a few of the little things that have gone on in my life as of late:
I saw an alpaca today rolling around in a grassy field. This made me very happy.
I got a Canon 5D!! I ordered it on Sunday and just received it yesterday. Bought it from a private seller on Amazon.. $845.00 - a screamin' deal for a full sensor camera. I was not prepared for the fact that I would need to invest in another type of memory card for it and that my Rebel kit lens would not be suitable for it. Just some of the details to work out :)
I tore out the cardi I was working on, and started on another pattern: Concur cardigan. I don't want to have to explain why I did it. I shall have this done possibly by next Spring.
A guinea pig got his sweater!! Yes, sweet little Mac finally got to sport his tailor made sweater about a week and a half ago.
Two very important people in my life got married just a few weeks ago!!! Josh & Rhianna of J.michel Photography. I had the privilege of photographing the event alongside two other inspirational and talented photographers: Natalie Braham of Natalie Bee Photography and Ifong Chen of Ifong Photography. I am now in the process of editing my shots. I hope I can get them all done soon!!!
oh oh oh, and upcoming trips:
Coastal camping adventure with my little brother over Memorial day!!
My cousin's wedding in Wisconsin in mid June!!
And a friend's wedding in Portland in mid July!!
So, for now, I feel pretty content to just remain in the eye of the storm. Something big is going to happen soon, I just know it ;)
'An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar.She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. She dresses herselfwith strength and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet. She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.' {Proverbs 31:10-31 ESV}
a.k.a. The Proverbs 31 woman. Many would read this and be completely offended by the Bible's blatant domesticated label placed on women. Many Christian women come away from this passage completely discouraged because they feel they can never measure up. And others are mildly encouraged by the fact that they have achieved maybe a few of the major points. Personally, I remember a time when I was hurting so much. Devastated by the rejection of my former husband as I watched him move out and "on with his life" without me. I poured over the whole book of Proverbs just soaking in the practical wisdom. I studied this passage and quickly printed it out in a lovely font on the prettiest paper I could find. I humbly accepted that I didn't know much about being the Godly wife that I should be, but was encouraged by the fact that God had provided a helpful list of characteristics to study. It wasn't long after that time that I distinctly remember a phone call with my mentor - She has been a source of incredibly encouragement in my life and always pointed me to my identity in Christ. She quoted verse 10 during the conversation and I quickly replied that it was from Proverbs 31 and how I so so wanted to be a Proverbs 31 woman. She responded in a very matter of fact, persuasive manner: "You already are. In Christ, You are a Proverbs 31 woman." I sat in a few moments of silence, just soaking in what she said, then she asked me, "Do you believe that, Erica?" For the life of me, I cannot recall the response I gave to that question. But in light of my recent post about all the things I want to be able to do and trusting God with my ambitious heart, I think that I am beginning to believe it. I decided to take it out of list format. These days, us lady folk have enough lists to deal with. You can see this way that this woman's faith and true desires are interwoven in the fabric of her daily life. She trusts God with her own well-being as well as that of her husband and children. "She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet" (vs 21, smack dab in the middle). I don't know about anyone else, but I see this as possibly an obscure prophetic reference to the blood of Christ. In a world where we endure pressures from all sides about living a good Christian life, being beautiful inside and out, measuring up to worldly and Christian standards alike, isn't it refreshing to see a perfectly Godly example of a woman who loves God, and lets all things in her life fall into place accordingly. No striving, no manipulation, no worries, just love and faithful diligence. God has His little way of working in the details.
Yep. I just said it - and Pinterest is not helping this little fact.
Trying to reconcile all the little projects I want to do, what I need to do, and ... ehem ... real life might just be driving me a little nuts.
Things I want to do that have just come to mind in the last few minutes:
Knit cute things
Knit cute things for friends
Knit cute things for the world (think humanitarian-ness)
Be a good daughter/sister/friend and maybe, just maybe, someday be a good wife & mother :)
Be a good dog owner
Organize my life! (fun little idea I had this week, take a week of vacation and organize EVERYTHING! 'Cause when I get a roll baby, there is no stopping me!)
Go someplace completely spontaneous (another cute idea I had this week... schedule a week of vacation, wait until about a week before my vacay and see what plane tickets are on sale! Hopefully someplace I've never been before and that I don't know anyone. Trips are just more fun that way)
Visit New York City and the Oregon Coast again!
Be a supreme organic gardener extraordinaire and eat seasonably and all that jazz
Make my own clothes (since I haven't been buying anything, I need some way to spruce up my wardrobe!!)
Be good at braiding my own hair
Go hiking, biking, running, zumba, dance. Something active that doesn't involve the elliptical machine.
Make cards for people
Play passionately voluptuous romantic era music on my violin
Play old time church hymns on my ukulele and sing along
Take lots of pretty pictures of all my adventures
Get involved in meals ministry at church
Get involved in a downtown youth ministry
Be a gluten free baking expert
Do a good job at work so I can get promoted so that I can earn more money to afford all the things I want to do and have more vacation so that I have the time. Oh and enjoy the personal satisfaction that work brings too :)
I've been telling myself that I don't have enough time to do everything I want to do - if only I had more vacation time, or maybe if God had created a world where we just got 2 more hours each day. I'm pretty sure though, that with even more time, I would still feel as spread out as I do now. I also keep telling myself that if only... if only there was a man that would marry me.... someone who was secure in his career. That maybe I could have good health insurance through his work. Then I wouldn't have to work. Or maybe I could work just part-time - at a cute little interior decor shop, or own my own yarn shop. If only. Even then, I know I would be too spread out to be a good wife and mother.
No offense to anyone out there, this is purely my opinion: I think us craftarians are one big group of control freaks, with our lives tied together with pretty bow that we wove and tied ourselves. I'm beginning to think that this might be a great big exercise God has me going through in letting go. Letting go of selfish ambitions and the perfectionist idealistic modern-day renaissance woman mindset. Let God guide my daily footsteps and show me what's really important.
So, this is my public declaration: My Pinterest Pinboard includes a lot of things that I want to do. If Yahweh so wills, I may, or may not accomplish it all.
Anyway, I did finish a guinea pig sweater! It's awaiting it's time to be worn by the little guy. I will of course take pictures of that event. I really wish I could write a pattern for how I knit it, but I did it kinda freestyle. Started out with a 3x2 rib, connected it in the round then worked stockinette, binding off and casting on for the armholes, shaping it for the belly so that, by request, it would not drag around in feces and ending it with a 3x2 rib. Very exciting little project!
My cardigan has a few more rows knit on it and I have a skein of Mountain Colors "Twizzle" (85% Merino, 15% Silk) in "Firestorm" that wants to be a hat. I might start on that soon ;) ... Oh! and I bought two sewing patterns today - so that I might one day sew a polka dot skirt and some hiking pants.
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