Mistakes

Lately I have been working on a knitting project, and the other night I noticed a mistake.  Instead of knit 2, purl 2, I knitted 2 purled 1.  I tried to unravel it and fix it, but then I stopped.  I realized I had made the mistake when I was knitting outside my Dad's hospital room in the Critical Care Unit, while the nurses worked on him.  It was the day he died, and since he was dying, the nurses did not want me to go too far, just to step out for a minute.  To pass the time standing in the Critical Care hallway, surround by rooms of others going through the last struggle, like my Dad, I was thankful for my knitting to keep me busy in such a sad place.  Having something to do with my hands was a wonderful way to relax, and take a brake from such an intense situation.

While such knitting is therapeutic, knitting standing up at a time like that, I made my mistake.  Like most knitters, I wanted to fix my mistake, erase it.  But then I realize, as sad as this moment was, I do not want to erase it.  I want to memorialize it.  As romantic of me as it sounds, that one purl is a record of a significant moment in my life. It made me realize trials are meant for us to remember, to learn from, to add to the tapestry of our life.  They are moments that make us who we are - metals who are refined by God into precious metals.  Our trials hurt, they sting, but they are what makes us.  So, I am keeping my mistake in this little blanket I am knitting for my daughter's doll.  May I always remember it.

But he knows the way that I take; when he has tired me, I shall come out as gold." ~Job 23:10

And I will  put this third shall be left alive.  And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name, and I will answer them.  I will say, 'They are my people'; and they will say, 'The Lord is my God.' ~Zechariah 13:9


Bless our God,  O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip.  For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. ~ Psalm 66: 9 & 10

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith - more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by  fire- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ~1 Peter 1: 6-7

Asthma

If you are new to asthma, you will find this pamphlet very helpful.

The Book Room

Saw this on a blog post and followed the link to Flickr.  Unfortunately, I can't post the photo, but you can find it here, it is worth the click!  I love it, what a great idea.  It may cost a little more, but I think the picture ledges from Ikea look nicer in person than the gutters.  Mouse over the squares to see the photographer's notes.  Enjoy the inspiration!

Grocery Yearly Sales Cycles

To everything there is a season, . . . . even couponing!  Follow this link to Living Richly on a budget blog.  It gives you an entire overview of when items will be on sale at certain times of the year.  School Supplies for example, would be in August and September, which is something most people know, but I bet you did not know you can get cheap oatmeal in January!  This guide will give you the time of year to keep your eyes open for good deals and STOCK up.

New Jersey State History Fair

After much frustration trying to "pin" this webpage, I decided to put in on my blog for reference!  Here is a link to New Jersey State History Fair.  See website for complete list of events, including meeting Martha Washington and Walt Whitman!  Sound like a great family fun day, and it is all FREE!

The Green Smoothie

Finally got around to making a green smoothie, a perfect way for me to get my veggies into my busy, busy day.  It was great.  I am tempted to say it tastes like chicken, but it really tastes like banana, peanut butter and yogurt.  Other than the bright green color, I would never guess there was four cups of spinach in it!  My recipe was from the blog, Iowa Girl Eats, found here.

Also, I would like to add, I don't have a one of those $400 smoothie blenders either.   For the smoothie I just used what I had, a normal household blender.  It was not great, but it work!  So, I will make due, and just add a Ninja blender to my Amazon wishlist.  There is no need to have to have the best equipment before you start making green smoothies, just jump in and do it!

Explaining the Death of a Planet to Your Child

My eight year old son was upset I whited out Pluto from the solar system coloring sheet that he requested (weird effects of homeschooling- apparently he thinks it super fun to color the planets himself). I need to read aloud "How I Killed Pluto, and Why It Had It Coming" (by Mike Brown) to him. Tried so many ways to explain why Pluto is NOT a planet.

The book is very entertaining to read.  It reads like a story, but has a lot of science in it.  I have only gotten half way through, but I found it fascinating.  Just ordered it again from our library, maybe I will have the time to finish it this time.