Sunday 30 April 2023
King Of Kings
Saturday 29 April 2023
Sixty Years In The Making...
When I was eight years old, I had an autograph book. My Dad signed it, and wrote "Revelation 2;10 - Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life". My Nana was fond of quoting Luke 9:23 "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me". My Mum, given to memorable aphorisms, often declared "No cross, no crown"
Fast forward to the 1970s, when I read the biography of George Mueller, a German evangelist whose life spanned the 19th century [1805 -1898] Thus guy achieved so much, including founding the Ashley Down Orphanage in Bristol, where over 10,000 children were cared for. He ensured that when they left, each child was equipped to find work - and that included teaching them to sew - making beautiful redwork samplers.
About 20 years ago, when my friend Marjorie died, her son gave me all her embroidery threads, including a small box containing a few red coton-à-broder skeins. This is not stranded like my usual floss. Until now, I'd not stitched with it, but I got it out when we began the CCC to delineate the twelve sections on the canvas.And I remembered the Bristol Redwork, and the words of my family, and thought I should do something appropriate with the red thread. I recalled an article in Country Living where somebody had bought a piece of Victorian embroidery, and thought it said Not NoW, until somebody explained it was actually a rebus - No Cross, No Crown.Not now is a phrase popular with Grandson George [who will be three next week] So I decided that I would produce a redwork piece for this phrase. April began with Good Friday,and May begins with a coronation, so cross and crown are very topical.
Kirsten's told me her April stitching has just under 2000 stitches. Mine has a quarter of that number. But it took me most of the past month to design and execute the piece [not counting the sixty years I have been thinking about it!]
Friday 28 April 2023
Bobby's Girl
Thursday 27 April 2023
Simply The Vest...
I really appreciate having so many blogfriends 'across the pond' - but as George Bernard Shaw once said, we are 'two nations divided by a common language'. Take the simple phrase
Wednesday 26 April 2023
Knock!Knock! Who's There? Arabella
But the Belafonte song I love the best is one which we sing every Christmas, one which reflects Harry's lifelong Christian faith
RIP Harry Belafonte 1927-2023
Tuesday 25 April 2023
Game Of Thrones
I sewed up a couple of crowns using scrap fabric, broken necklaces- and some leftover red and gold Christmas ribbons. Child size, too small for Bob!
Monday 24 April 2023
Where Are The Moaning Minnies?
Sunday 23 April 2023
Thank You For The World So Sweet...
Creator God, we bow before you and acknowledge you as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We marvel as we look into the heavens and consider the work of your fingers, the moon and stars. And we are in awe that You brought into being humanity with responsibility as stewards over creation. Lord we humbly seek your forgiveness but also your wisdom and courage , … for we see that our actions and our behaviour is all too often anything but honouring you, we realise that our use of finite resources are having dire consequences for our neighbours … and for our future generations, as the earth continues to warm as a consequence of our actions. Lord have mercy on us....Help us Lord to be brave and responsive to that which is being revealed to us.
Loving Creator God, we pray for you to continue to raise up
a generation of leaders in this and other nations with the courage to take
responsibility for our rapidly changing climate, and the part we have played in
it. We intercede for all our politicians and leaders - especially here in
Westminster - cause them to act in the best interests of all nations today, …and
in the future, in order to avoid further catastrophic changes….We pray and ask
that oceans of justice may flow.
May there be a genuine outpouring of love that leads to
righteous action as we seek to honour your calling to care for creation and to
see your earth again flourish. We know that this can be so as you stir us from
just thinking and singing, and ask you move increasing numbers into action. For
you have shown us, what is good - that we should indeed act justly and to love
mercy - and to walk humbly with your God. We make these prayers
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour - the Light and Hope of the
World.
Saturday 22 April 2023
More Murder Mysteries
- firstly, we were both really irritated that in the 1950s section they had the "dumpy" milk bottle on the table. This was not introduced until 1980 - in the 50s bottles were taller with a slender neck.
- two characters were talking mysteriously about "the secret which they could not divulge" - but towards the end, it became clear that the person who started the conversation did not even know that secret existed!
- the answer lies in Conway's use of word play, and the final novel gives the last clue to his conundrum. I think Horowitz has forgotten that aficionados of Morse and Christie [like me] are often crossword fanatics too. Had Conway been a real author, the guardian review would have pointed things out after the 4th novel if not before.
Friday 21 April 2023
A Right Royal Rave-Up
Plans are going well for the Coronation Street Party, we had another committee meeting before Easter.
Thursday 20 April 2023
Three Blinds, Nice!
One day I will write down the whole story. When we bought it, the property had been repossessed, and was in the hands of agents. The previous owners had put on an extension, and the building work was complete, but not the finer details.This is a bungalow on a corner plot. Every window had cheap blinds. These have gradually disintegrated, mechanisms have failed, and their plastic parts have gone brittle, so we have replaced most of them as funds allow.
Wednesday 19 April 2023
My Green And Yellow County
Kick it off, throw it in, have a little scrimmage,
Keep it low, a splendid rush, bravo, win or die;
On the ball, City, never mind the danger,
Steady on, now’s your chance,
Hurrah! We’ve scored a goal. City! City! City!
Tuesday 18 April 2023
Steak My Knife On It
Monday 17 April 2023
Short And Sweet
Sunday 16 April 2023
An Unexpected Blessing From A TV Show
We really enjoy NCIS [Naval Criminal Investigation Service] and have been watching the spin off show, NCIS Hawai'i. The other week, we saw an episode involving an officer who had left the US Navy to become a monk. At the end of the story, the monk asked an NCIS agent, who was struggling with difficult issues in his life, if he would allow him to say a prayer of blessing over him. I have searched around, and I think it was this one from the Franciscan tradition. I found it quite challenging, and share it with you today...
May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half
truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may love deep within your
heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression and
exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer
from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand
to comfort them and turn their pain to joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe
that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others
claim cannot be done.
Amen.
Saturday 15 April 2023
What I Did In The Holidays
We went with Rosie and family to the ten-pin bowling place on the edge of Norwich. For the first time ever I beat Bob [we were playing with the side rails up though]
Friday 14 April 2023
Happy Anniversary, Gaz And Steph
Thursday 13 April 2023
I've Had My Chips!
Oops! Bob has done two stints at the Hospice this week - and on Tuesday he went off in my little Toyota, leaving me to a day of sewing.
When he got home, he told me that on the way, a large stone flew up and chipped the windscreen.The total chipped area is almost as big as a 2p piece. Since Tuesday, a rather long crack has appeared going diagonally across it.
Fortunately it doesn't obstruct the driver's vision. But it is large enough to merit a full screen replacement. I have to say I was very impressed with A-plan, our Insurance brokers, who dealt with it all very efficiently, and the car will be going into Norwich soon to be fixed.
There is a £100 excess charge - but compared to paying the total cost [upwards of £450] I feel that is not too bad. And nobody was hurt. Steph and family had a puncture over the Easter Weekend, and she was pleased with the excellent service they received from Green Flag Breakdown.
Car and household insurance policies are regular feature of our budget. After two floods, two burglaries and innumerable vehicular claims, I can honestly say the premiums have been worth it. I haven't travelled a lot, but again, I have been grateful that I've had costs reimbursed after problems [eg when I was ill in August and had to delay my trip to Manchester by two days] My son in law Gary is an insurance broker - and I know he agrees with me! Car accidents and domestic crises are not pleasant - but it is reassuring to know that we are covered.