Catching Up

 

Come with me to...

The Art Desk!

Paula completed her September Yard Journal edition...

And, we were happy to receive several more entries from her Perpetual Journal. After you start the video, move your cursor away from the image and the control bar will disappear. The progression timing is slowed a tiny bit in order to read the texts.

Take a look at Paula's website where all of her Perpetual Journal entries are, and much, much more of her art can be viewed there as well.

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On December 21st, I posted "Winter's Soltice" here in the blog. A little poem I wrote that morning about the tiny nursery school kids passing my window. I thought they and the teachers would like to know their outdoor walk that morning was an inspiration so I printed a copy and gave it to them.

On December 28th, I found the following clipped on my apartment door...

I can't stop smiling.

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Valerie made three striking abstracts for Sonja and Jeff and family.

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Jeanenne got out her watercolors to make her Christmas cards this year...

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Honoring Craft-Making: In November, my friend Pat and I were invited to a "knotting party" by two Mennonite women, sisters Freida and Lois Myers. All year the two of them sew together patches into quilts that need to be "knotted" to fasten the bottom to the top of the quilt thus stabilizing the whole and keeping the inner lining from slipping around. Sort of a quick way to fasten the whole quilt without the more labor and time-intensive stitching done on classic quilts.

On most Saturdays of the year, the Myers have friends for lunch and 4-5 hours of knotting the quilts they've sewn during the week. We did three of them on that Saturday. When Frieda and Lois have a big stockpile finished they haul them to MCC Materials Resource Center which is the storefront of a warehouse that assembles donated goods into useful items for sale and to be shipped all over the world to the many ministries they foster. Their ministry is bottom-up--they ask what people need, then help them.

Here are a few slides of Frieda and Lois...

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I finished this on the iPad in time for Elijah and Kingston's mom and dad at Christmas; then, I realized I could print it again! for their grandparents, Valerie and Tim...

...from a photo taken 6-7 years ago.

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Now to the Sports Desk!

Elijah has been ramping up his basketball game including during the holidays when his Grandma Valerie and Grandpa Tim were there to help cheer him and the Royals on. From Valerie's phone texts...

And, not a bit left out, Kingston has been upping his basketball game, too. Here are  Jr Jazz men. I want to mention also in Sonja's text referring to the first slide, "The boy next to Kingston with the headband is disabled. He only has 1 arm and leg that functions. And he is really GOOD"

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Christmas...

From John, here is our mini Christmas concert from Keoni and Aidan...

All was not smooth sailing on Christmas Day. Austin slipped on the ice and fell injuring her hip. She was then confined to her stall for 10 days. A couple days later she was feeling much better...

And, one of the die-out trees fell across the walking trail and the pasture fence...

from John

Later, after John recovered from his Covid bout, he sent this...

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In January, Kingston celebrated birthday number eight. He had a very good time and the family came up with some texts from his earlier years...

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Wendy sent this of Toby peacefully resting on a dog bed slung onto a porch chair...

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On their way back to Cincinnati in Keoni's car, the boys sent a picture to me. From Cincinnati Keoni then drove on to Houston. Neither they nor Wendy got Covid, just John and I. I had a nice walk with the boys and Christmas Day but then Covid stepped in. This is my current favorite picture of them...

They're playing "Funky Town"--another favorite of mine.

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