Saturday's ramblings and how Mr. Retired got zinged!

Crook News:
Today Mr. Retired got zinged!
Heh! The checker at the grocery has the best poker face I've seen in ages and when Mr. Retired asked her why she had an ear of raw corn at the counter, she fed him a grand line about how she was going to eat the raw ear of corn—husk and all—for lunch. Mr. Retired believed her and said it might be hard on her teeth. I almost hit the floor laughing.

I’m used to Mr. Retired zinging others, and he always does so in grand style, but in 31 years I’ve never seen anyone catch him before. It was priceless.

Packing
I’m trying to get us packed for our trip, and I’m getting a lot of help. Just click the image below for the full-scale picture of my helper.

Sold!
Yesterday we signed the papers and sold our house. Escrow closes on 10/12—just in time for our 31st wedding anniversary. Nice present for us.

VPN
Aaarrrggghhh! Cannot get the VPN to work in Linux. We can wifi, but we can’t do so securely. Most frustrating. Give me a Macintosh any day. *wink*

A Parmesan by any other name …
Would taste just as yucky! Why do restaurants insist on dumping Parmesan and garlic on all their sandwiches? I hate Parmesan cheese and find it annoying to try to remember to say, “No parmesan and garlic” on my bread—especially when it’s not statef on the menu that the cook is going to ruin the sandwich. Oh well, I picked the meat and tomato out of the bread at lunch and ate them. Healthier in the long run. *grins*

Now it’s time for me to get back to packing, provided Abby will stay out of the suitcases.

Wobbly Wednesday

Hook news:
Baby ghan:
I was on the last row for this ghan when I noticed a mistake. Not a small mistake—a major mistake. I had to frog 8 rows. Aaarrrggghhh! How I missed this mistake before last night I don’t know. Oh wait, could be because I’m so tired from packing. LOL!

If you want to see a pic of this lovely ghan, click the thumbnail. :) If you want the pattern, it's a freebie from Coats and Clark: Sweet Baby Layette.





Crook News:
Wobbly Wednesday
Wobbly is a good description of how I’m feeling right now. I’m physically exhausted from lack of sleep, running errands and from cleaning my craft room; but I’m emotionally charged and excited. I’m so anxious to get to Oregon, yet there is so much to do here. Will I be able to get it all done before the end of October? I sure hope so.

Today I came across a large box of small and medium sized baskets (I used to decorate them). I quit counting at 18. LOL! It was torture to dump them, but into the give away pile they went. Same with a bunch of Christmas trims, craft books, glitter, glue, staple gun, hot glue gun and it’s glue sticks, pencils, pens, iron-on stuff for wearable’s … and on and on it went. I kept telling myself keep “quilt and crochet” only.

I did run across more squares from a quilt square exchange I once belonged to. It was one of the original online exchanges. There weren’t email lists or boards back then, instead you went into the news groups. I was quite active in the quilting newsgroups, and I have squares from all over the US from this exchange. Since they were all nicely sealed in zip-lock bags, I tucked them into my “quilting” box. When I get settled, I’ll have a blast doing some simple patchwork quilts.

I have yet to decide what to do with my baseball card collection. I hate to just give it away, but where do I find someone to buy it?

Encouragement
When encouragement comes from an unexpected source, it tends to brighten my day in a major way. This morning I called our vet to make arrangements for vet care for our cats if need be while we are gone. I was chatting with Sherri about our pending move, and she asked me where we were going. I told her and she got so excited. She has family in the area and she knows it well. :) She gave me some great tips on working with our realtor, and explained some things I didn’t know (like why the lots are so small). She said we’d love it in this new town, and so would our kitties. Her joy lifted me up for the entire day, and reminded me of this verse:

”… but joy cometh in the morning.” – Psalms 30:5

May you find joy in each morning.

Meritorious Monday

Hook news:
Thank you!
My thanks to everyone for the kind words about my Chocolate Dreams afghan pattern. You encourage me to design more things. :-)

Crook News:
Meritorious Monday
Today was definitely a most commendable day. We found a home for our aged Macintosh and all it’s wonderful software. The best part is that it went to a non-profit preschool where the kids will enjoy playing the games, as well as learning how to use a mouse, a keyboard and other good skills. They were thrilled to receive the laser printer, and will use it to print out programs and such. This was definitely a “feel good” trip.

After stopping for some lunch, we hit it hard and completed everything on our list but one minor item. We can take care of that tomorrow.

One of the best stops was at the jewelry store where we picked up my now clean and repaired opal ring. What a treat to have it back on my hand again.

Our last stop was the most encouraging one—the U-Haul center where we purchased boxes so that tomorrow I can pack up all my books. Also got a price on the cost of renting a trailer, and made a tentative reservation for 10/1. We’ll adjust the date when we return from our scouting trip.

I managed to book a room for us in Brooking, Oregon. This will be our last stop before returning home, and we plan on just relaxing for the evening before the long drive back into California and down to the heat of the valley.

Cat news
I’m pleased and excited to tell you that Abby Darlin’ is eating! She is doing so much better than last week. Hopefully our niece won’t have any problems with her or BC while we are gone.

Personal notes—Conquering Stress
I must admit that I’m finding this adventure stressful, and I find myself being short with Mr. Retired at times. A while ago I sat down to relax and let go, and found my inner spirit reminding me of my family verse:

”And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:28

Scripture goes on to tell us that God knew ahead of time who would answer the call, and verse 31 reminds me:

”What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” – Romans 8:31

So why am I stressing? I guess it’s because I’m not allowing God to have control of all of this. It’s so easy to start the day and give it to the Lord, and then take it right back from Him. Today He blessed our efforts and reminded me in a visual way that through Him I can conquer the stress.

”Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” – Romans 8:37

I think I’m going to engrave this verse in my brain so that I won’t forget.

What does it accomplish?

Hook news:
Baby ghan:
Yesterday I hit the “square” point on my baby ghan. I think I’ll add another 4 inches before I create an edging. I probably won’t complete this before I head out on vacation.

I also penciled out a design for a baby ghan. I hope it looks as interesting in yarn as it does in my head.

Crook News:
Vengeance is mine?
Today was one of those days where I accomplished a lot, and accomplished a little. At least that’s how I feel.

I had coffee and toast and watched Lance Armstrong win his 7th “Tour de France”, kissed Mr. Retired farewell as he headed out for the day and then I tackled my craft room. Good grief. I found more than 2-dozen bottles of craft paint. Someone please tell me why I had all this craft paint. I mean, I don’t paint, so why do I have all these bottles of craft paint? *shrug* Into the Goodwill box.

Then I found my old sets of rubber stamps—so old the rubber is hard. Into the Goodwill box they went. Oh look—there are my colored pencils. Originally I used them to highlight things in books. Now I have these nice highlighters. Into the Goodwill box the pencils went.

I also cleaned out some fabric I’ll never use—and once again I wondered at myself and what motivated me to buy such *ugly* material. Perhaps I was considering an UgLy quilt? hehehe

I stumbled across more songbooks. These were mine when I sang special music. I purchased my copy, and a copy for my pianist. When we left that church, she gave me back her copies, and here I am with 2 copies. I’ve offered them to several people and no one wants them. Go figure. I guess they’ll go in the Goodwill box too, and that makes me sad.

Then I found “the papers”. Finding these papers made me feel a little like I was robbing a grave—although I don't know why. I had totally forgotten that I’d put this packet together. What was in this packet of papers?

• All my notes from day one as a church secretary—complete with all the details on Pastor R’s poor behavior, nasty comments, crude jokes, and such.
• I had copies of handwritten notes and receipts; and copies of bulletins that were re-done at his insistence over trivial things.
• All the details on the so-called child molestation that wasn’t, and how he jumped the gun without thinking (normal for him).
• Notes on all the times he yelled and lost his temper.
• Notes on things I’ve never told anyone—not even Mr. Retired.

I had offered this packet to the Deacon’s when everything went sour, but they didn’t want it; so I brought it home and set it aside in case I needed it. I honestly thought about using it when Pastor R was attacking and destroying my reputation and credibility, but that wouldn’t have been right. You don’t battle dirt with more dirt. You clean yourself off, hold your head up high and move forward. After all, Romans 12:19-21 sets the standard:

"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." – Romans 12:19-21

So I said nothing but nice things about Pastor R when asked, and forgot about my packet. I sat down this afternoon and shredded all those papers, and with it my sad, angry, unhappy memories dissipated—leaving me just the pleasant memories of better times.

So why do I feel like I accomplished so little? I don't really know. Perhaps it’s because there is still so much to do, or because I wanted to accomplish more today. Not matter what the reason, I did accomplish a great deal and my heart is happier for it.

Discerning the Truth

Hook news:
Mary Maxim contest:
Such is life, my afghan didn’t win … but I still think it’s a good enough pattern to “shop around” for publication. Or, I may just upload it to my site. That’s a decision I’ll make down the road.

I do have to say kudos’ to Mary Maxim. They were behind with their judging (had to get that catalog out) and I was curious so I called. Becky explained and said they would be returning the non-winning afghan’s shortly and that they’d go out UPS. That posed a problem for me, as it would arrive while we are on vacation and the package would simply be sitting on my porch. Becky said that wasn’t a problem and had my afghan returned to me FedExpress. So thank you to Becky at Mary Maxim’s.

Baby Sleeper pattern:
My friend, Chatty, has designed a darling baby sleeper pattern. She’s uploaded it to her blog and it’s just the cutest thing. I adore the buttons she chose.

If you are curious, here are the links to the hat pattern and the baby booties that Chatty used.

• Hat pattern
• Baby booties

Crook news:
Oregon here we come.
In just a week we will be in cool, coastal Oregon. Oh, I can hardly wait. Hopefully we will find just the perfect house to buy. If not then the perfect house to rent while we continue to look for the perfect house to buy. :-)

While in Oregon, we plan to look into Internet service, cable TV, library, shops (especially books stores), clubs (I know there is a quilting club, not sure about a crochet club), churches, credit unions and other things that help to make life a bit richer.

I plan on walking on the beach to search for shells for my friend, Linda and for my Aunt Rosie. I’ve already washed and packed my jacket—which seems really odd considering it’s 102° outside right now. Hehehe

In the meantime, I’m still sorting and packing—and dreaming about what will be our future.

Personal:
Discerning the Truth
A friend and I were chatting about Colossians 2:6-19, and how we are to discern the truth. In my Bible, I have underlined the words, “Let no man” throughout these verses, and then in verse 10 I underlined these words:

And ye are complete in him … – Colossians 2-10

In the margin of my Bible I wrote: “Let no man” (draw me away from the truth) for “Ye are complete in Him”. This was great comfort to me as a new Believer, and it’s still a great comfort to me. I am complete in Him, and can rest in that, draw spiritual nourishment from it, and find peace for my soul within it. He is in control of my life, and this move to Oregon.

Learning to live without things

I mentioned to a friend that it was becoming easier every day to toss or give away things, rather than pack them to take when we move. She asked me how I was able to get past the “can’t live without it” stage.

It told her it was easy. Things are simply things—not people.

• Things don’t love me back.
• Things don’t cry with me.
• Things don’t hold my hand or hug me when I need it.
• Things don’t care what house they reside in.
• Things only sit there and wait to be dusted or broken.
• Things don’t count for anything when my life is over.

When I’m dead my relatives may fight over my things, or they may chuck them all in the trash—but hopefully they will hold on to the memories of our times together, hopefully they will remember the hugs we shared, and hopefully they will remember and know in their heart how much I loved them—and not my things.

When I look at things this way it’s very easy to say good-bye.

Here are the rules I’m using as I sort through everything:

• If I can easily and fairly inexpensively replace it, I’m not packing/moving it.
• If it’s old and worn out (like most of our furniture) and not a family heirloom—we aren’t moving it.
• If I come across it and don’t remember why I bought it, when I last used it, or who gave it to me—then I’m not packing/moving it.
• Lastly, and perhaps most importantly—if it doesn’t speak to my heart—I’m not packing/moving it.

I’m also quickly becoming tired of sorting/packing/cleaning…and the more worn out and sick of sorting/packing/cleaning I become, the easier it is to chuck things in the give-away or trash bin.

If it helps you to understand, I defer to the phlegmatic side of my personality for this.

I would guess that better than 50% of the stuff in this house falls in the “I can live without” category. My main personality is Melancholy, which explains why we are buried under all these things. LOL!

The Art of Finding Anything

While going through a file of old papers, I found an interesting bookmark. Designed to resemble the spine of a book, the title was: “The Art of Finding Anything”, and the publisher was shown as: “www.lycos.com”. Now Lycos is a good search engine, but I’ve got news for them—the true art of finding anything takes place when you move. I should know.

Since I’ve been packing, sorting, cleaning in preparation for our move, I’ve found more things then I knew were lost. Trust me, even Lycos wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of the jumble we have here. What have I found? Here’s a partial list—and do let me know if any of these things belong to you. ;-)

• A $20 bill in an envelope. (Don’t bother trying to claim this—it’s mine, all mine.)
  
• Pictures of Mr. Retired when he was a baby. :)
  
• Software that I used on my old computer, but can’t use on my new one.
  
• My opal ring that I’ve been looking for over a year—it had fallen BEHIND the one drawer. No, I don’t know how it got stuck in the back of the drawer, I was sure a cat had snuck off with it!
  
• Post-it® notes—I have them in every color and shape.
  
• A priceless baby picture of my one cousin—he’s naked! I have plans for this picture! LOL
  
• Envelopes and matching stationary—does anyone actually handwrite notes any more?
  
• Tablets of paper that would forest a forest.
  
• Empty boxes from software I use. The install CD is in a case on the shelf, so why did I keep the empty box?
  
• A Palm Pilot that a friend gave Mr. Retired, but I can’t find the “wand” or the recharger. :-/
  
• In my desk drawer I found copies of our PG&E bills from 1997. Why did I keep those? I guess I thought they were precious.
  
• Under my desk I found dust … lots of dust. After all, how often do you move a computer desk and vacuum way back in the back?
  

I don’t know why I kept all these things, or why so many things were in such odd places—but I do know it’s gonna stop! Now all my current stuff is in the big drawer, in nice neat file folders, and all I need to do when we move is box it – shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to pack up my desk. :)

While I was “finding” all these treasures (HA!), I was reminded of these verses from 1 Peter:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”1 Peter 1:3-7

It was verse 7 that really struck home with me (emphasis mine):

that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.”1 Peter 1:3-7

While I’m finding earthly treasures, God found me—definitely not a treasure—and saved me. He keeps me, and allows trials in my life that I might be found worthy when I stand before Him at the end of my life. I am so very thankful that He found me. Has He found you? If He has, have you surrendered?

Problems and a house

Hook news:
If you are having a problem …

downloading, "Chocolate Dreams", just click here and the PDF file should auto-download for you.

Crook news:
Exciting things are taking place!
We may have found a house in Oregon. Yes! Much to check out first, but we are most hopeful. We will know more once we get up here and get a chance to look it over.

Chocolate Dreams

Hook news:
Chocolate Dreams is available!
Yes, my latest design, "Chocolate Dreams" is finished and is now available as a PDF file. You can click the photo to the left to see a larger, more detailed picture of the afghan (although it's not a complete image—but you will see what the finished ghan looks like). If you are a Web-TV user, or have problems downloading the PDF file, please contact me. You'll find my email address listed on the right.

Crook news:
Moving forward
I have great news on the moving front, but no time today to share that news. Instead I'm off to enjoy dinner and watch "Yankee Doodle Dandy". Oh, and we'll head outside at 9pm our time to watch the fireworks.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!!!!!!!!!