Monday Morning Wisdom #406

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Monday Morning Wisdom #406

To be fully human is to know that it’s possible to face the unimaginable and somehow put one foot in front of the other. ~Oprah Winfrey

From the Creator’s Heart #395

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Though the Lord gave you adversity for food
    and suffering for drink,
he will still be with you to teach you.
    You will see your teacher with your own eyes.
Your own ears will hear him.
    Right behind you a voice will say,
“This is the way you should go,”
    whether to the right or to the left (Isaiah 30:20-21 NLT).

Quilting Question #4

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Quilting Question #4

Quilters out there, if you have to piece together a one-fabric border, do you try to line it up so that the seam falls at the center of the quilt, or do you let seams fall wherever they may? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Where I’ve Traveled, and Where I’d Like to Travel

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Kuhio Beach Park from our balcony
Kuhio Beach Park from our hotel balcony

I’ve always wanted to travel more, see new places and experience different cultures. Unfortunately, even though we’re retired now, it’s difficult for Greg to get around, so traveling is out of the question. I am grateful for the trips we’ve been able to make in the past, and hope that maybe someday we can do some more.

The most memorable places I’ve traveled in my life:

  • Germany (and Salzburg, Austria). My parents came from Germany, and on three occasions in my childhood and teens, my family traveled back to visit my grandmother, aunts and uncles and cousins. We visited castles and cathedrals, and saw the famous mechanical clock in Munich. My favorite place of all was Berchtesgaden, where my parents met and lived after World War II.
  • Hawaii. I’ve been there twice—once by myself, in 2004 for the Maui Writer’s Conference; and once with my husband, Greg, to Waikiki on Oahu. What a beautiful paradise.
  • The Grand Canyon. The first time was in 1997, the summer before Carly left for college. I thought it would be awful for someone who lived in Arizona to confess that they’d never been to the Grand Canyon, so we took all five kids there and back again in one day in our old Dodge Caravan with no air conditioning. I knew it was just a hole in the ground, but when you see it in person, it’s awe inspiring, so vast. My kids mostly remember being very very hot and bored with the 500-mile roundtrip. (And 2 weeks later our Caravan died.) About twelve years ago Greg and I went back by ourselves.
  • New York City. When we lived in New Jersey, we went to the city often, mostly for the museums and musicals. We’ve also done the Circle Line cruise around Manhattan. Our daughter Carly has lived in Brooklyn for 22 years.
  • Williamsburg, Virginia. That’s where we went on our honeymoon, about 6 months after our January 1974 wedding. It was getting close to our country’s bicentennial, and I was very into the colonial period. We went on what was the hottest week in the summer, looked at the historical sites for an hour or two in the morning, and then back to the hotel pool.
  • Washington, D.C. I went with my parents and my brother a couple of times when I was in high school. We went to all the monuments, and to the National Gallery (my favorite!) and the Smithsonian. Every American should see our capital city. Greg has never gone, even though I’ve suggested it many times.
  • Niagara Falls. Another place my parents took us, more than once. If I’m not mistaken, we’ve seen it from the American side and the Canadian side. It’s mesmerizing. You could watch that water fall for hours.
  • Sedona, Arizona. Beautiful red rock country. In 2008, Greg and I spent a couple of nights in a bed & breakfast with a gorgeous view from the balcony. We visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a beautiful church with amazing views, took a ride on the Verde Canyon railroad, and had the most delicious steak dinner that Greg still talks about. I’d love to repeat that trip, but the B&B now costs three times what it did, and that’s without the train ride and steak dinner that were part of the original deal. Bummer.
Sedona from our balcony
View of Sedona from our B&B balcony

If Greg ever recovers his strength and energy, there are a few trips I’d like for us to make:

  • Grand European river tour. You know the one. You’ve seen the commercials. From Amsterdam to Budapest. I am so jealous of all my friends who have already done this. But if I couldn’t do this tour, I’d be happy to settle for . . .
  • Italy. I want to see Florence, Rome, Venice, the Cinque Terra. I want to see Michelangelo’s work. I want to see lots of Renaissance stuff.
  • Israel. I want to walk where Jesus walked. I want to see all the places I’ve read about in the Bible. I almost went with my daughter Carly in 2019—I got my passport and everything. But then Greg and I both had health issues and I had to cancel. Every year church groups host Holy Land tours. I hope I get to go someday.

Now it’s your turn. What is the best vacation you’ve ever taken? If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Share in the comments below.

Creative Juice #336

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Creative Juice #336

Quilts. Art. Books. Signs. Writing classes. And other interesting things to think about.

Video of the Week: Cate Blanchett Plays Bach

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I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I want to. This video only reinforces that desire.

Quilting Question #3

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Quilting Question #3

What is the best quilt design software?

I love using traditional patterns, but if I want to change the colors or where the light and dark fabrics go, I’m not good at envisioning what the result will be. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been disappointed with the way a quilt turned out because it looked different in my head.

I wish I had a way of auditioning my ideas before I cut the pieces. I know I can make a few sample blocks, but the full quilt still looks different than I expect. I’ve thought about drawing my ideas out by hand, but it’s time consuming, and sometimes I would like to try multiple settings. That would be very tedious.

If you use (or know of) a computer program that previews what a quilt will look like if you change the color placement, could you recommend one in the comments below? Add a link if you know a website or an online article about it.

Wordless Wednesday

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Agave
Agave

The Writing Date

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Pre-Covid, so like 2019 maybe, a writer friend of mine who was also a teacher came up with the idea that summer for a bunch of us writers to get together for a working lunch every couple of weeks. So she’d choose a restaurant and set a time toward the end of the lunch rush, and we’d meet, order our meals, visit while we ate, and then pull out our laptops and write for an hour and a half.

It surprised me how much I got done in that 90 minutes.

Conventional wisdom says it’s important to have a regular space to write. I do have my own private writing space. All my notes are on my desk somewhere. The books I need for reference are right there on the bookshelf. It’s very convenient to work in my study every day. I sit down and I’m immediately in my writing mindset.

But there’s something about being with people you love and doing something that you love together—even though each of you is working individually. Somehow, the sound of my friends’ typing makes me extra productive. (A friend of mine jokes about throwing introvert parties where everyone is instructed to bring a book to read. That’s totally my idea of a fun time!)

Another favorite writing activity of mine is going on a writing retreat and writing outside, usually on a porch or patio with handy tables. (We call our portable computers laptops, but we’re not really going to balance them on our laps, are we?) There are other writers nearby, but we set some time for visiting and joint activities and devote substantial time to working on our projects.

I often think I should try writing in my backyard, except I get out there and I’d rather sip a cold drink and read.

Anyway, my point is that writing rules are good, but breaking writing rules is also good, as counter-intuitive as that sounds. So I encourage you to mix things up a bit. Every once in a while, call up a writer friend or two, and invite them on a writing date. It’ll be fun. What do you think about that?

Monday Morning Wisdom #405

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Monday Morning Wisdom #405

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all–in which case, you fail by default. ~J.K.Rowling