Quilting on the Edge

The Mystery on My Beach

A local  woman vanishes under somewhat suspicious circumstances a few years ago. There are a few persons of interest, but nothing can be figured out. So the authorities dig.  In the beach.  Once quite a while ago, another time last year, and now again.  Right now.  A block and a half from my home, in the place that I usually enter the beach area to take a walk on the beach. In the place that I have sat and read and watched the people and the waves,  and watched sunsets.  Last week there were small earth moving equipment moving sand into huge piles, baring deeper and deeper into the depths of the sand.  The unruly, out of control, slipping sand.  Two days of that resulted in nothing so it has been returned to a normal sandy beach in that area.  I just returned home from a walk and noticed they are back digging again.  Even closer to the exact spot that I actually have sat on many occasions.  One time a few days ago I stood and gawked with all the others watching.  I want to look away but I cannot.  I don't want to see if they find anything.  It makes me feel sad and uncomfortable inside.  It could bring closure to those near and dear.  For me it will not be closure.  For me it is the beginning of a never ending feeling that my beach, my space, the place I go for solace and peace, is possibly not only what I had thought it was.  I feel robbed in some way.  Even the suggestion that something sinister has occurred on this beach is an unpleasant and worrisome thought.  My heart aches for the vanished person.  And my heart aches for the serenity I have lost.  The comfort and peace I have had walking the beach at dusk or dawn, with only a few others seeking the same. If nothing is found, I'll still remember the images of digging.  And I'll feel sorry that I walked over that very sand that is now the object of interest for sinister reasons.  They've widened that taped off area further today.  The digging continues. 

Lost and Stolen Quilts

Maybe some of you reading this blog are not aware that there is a website devoted to lost and stolen quilts.  Quilts are stolen from exhibits, fairs, and other public places.  Quilts can be taken from homes when people die, others can be lost while moving. Many quilters ship quilts to and from shows, and sometimes they are lost in the mail. Or taken.  Sometimes they receive a closed box back but there is no quilt inside.  Sometimes people are devastated over the loss of a quilt, perhaps it was a made by a deceased relative.  I'm sure we could all imagine circumstances under which the loss of a quilt would be difficult to bear.  Here's is a link to a website where people list lost and stolen quilts, in the hopes that others may see them somewhere and perhaps their quilt could be found.  http://www.lostquilt.com/LostQuilts.php   If you click on the photo of a quilt there, you'll read more about where and how it was taken to stolen.  There's a lot of quilts to look through, but maybe someday, if you have a little time to look around online, you could take a peek.  Especially if you frequent flea markets, antique stores, and the like.  You never know when you might be the one to find someone elses' prize possession!

LaPorte Indiana: The Movie

This is a photo taken in Fox Park, in LaPorte, Indiana. I remember playing on the swings there as a child, having family reunions and school picnics there, breaking up with a high school boyfriend there, walking the trails there with a longtime friend, and just going there for a sit and a bit of relief from life's ups and downs.  You don't grow up in LaPorte without knowing and using Fox Park.  Recently our town became the subject of a documentary about LaPorte, created by Director Joe Beshenkovsky  and Producer Jason Bitner. It's an interesting story about how this came to be, having to do with finding boxes and boxes of photos taken by a LaPorte photographer long ago.  LaPorte is the place I was born, grew up, and still live much of the time.  It's changed a lot over the years, but there's still the small town flavor and feeling it always had.  It's not unusual to hear or say "that's a LaPorte name".   As we did, many in the community donated to help bring this project to fruition.  If you're interested in this window on small town America, you can see a trailer of this documentary and more information about it here: http://laportemovie.com/    If you're from a small town too, you'll enjoy what's there so far. 

The Work of Christmas by Howard Thurman

I received this poem in the mail today and thought you may like it as much as I did:

The Work of Christmas by Howard Thurman

When the song of the angel is stilled

When the star in the sky is gone

When the kings and princes are home

When the shepherds are back with their flock

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost

To heal the broken

To feed the hungry

To release the prisoner

To rebuild the nations

To bring peace among others, To make music in the heart.  

Nice thoughts for a New Year, right?

Winter Planting on Anna Maria Island January 2010

We decided to plant vegetables in our earthboxes, and picked up some nice tomato plants, peppers, one each of red and yellow, and two green peppers, and a few spinach plants.   Altho the weather is still cool by Florida standards, it is not too cool at night, usually staying in the fifties or sixties.  This is always a fun thing for us to do as in our northern Indiana life, this could not occur until late May.  Here's a few photos of our earthboxes planted. 

Tuesday's Two Cents: Crayolas and Living Simply

So I bought a box of 64 crayons while Christmas shopping.....I was at Keeton's, an  art supply store in Bradenton, and I was attracted to the display and I guess my inner child started salivating. Yesterday I finally had the chance to open the box and look inside.  I was surprised at my reaction......you see, all my childhood I usually had the box of 8 crayons, sometimes 16, and rarely, the box of 24.  I must have been thrilled with the 24 I imagine, and here I was a half century later with a brand new box of 64 crayons. I smiled to myself and just took a second to view all those wonderful colors!  Where was my coloring book????  Anyway, I was planning to color out a quilt pattern I was thinking about, so I reached for red.  First I picked brick red.  Then I picked strawberry red.  All I wanted was plain ole red.  I settled for something and went to find blue.  Same experience, only now I chose coneflower blue first.  I found the regular blue on the second try.  Same thing happened when I wanted yellow.  I decided I would have to find a container to put all the crayons into so I could more easily find what color I wanted, but I didn't do it then, nor yet.  I don't want to disturb the lovely presentation of all those colors.  It occurred to me that maybe I was happier with fewer crayons.  Not so many choices to make.  Maybe not.  I realized this was more than about crayons though.  It was about having more than I needed.  Kind of like having the bungalow, or the apartment, versus the McMansion.  Or a closet full of clothes, most of which hang there waiting, because we usually select our favorites over and over again.  Then this thought morphed into the "grass is always greener" story.  A box of crayons, most wished for as a  child, no longer holds the magic I assigned to it back then.  Maybe it never did.  Maybe it was more of a symbol of being better off.......having more than I needed?  Maybe I thought as a child it would somehow improve me, or my image to others?  Maybe I would feel like I "belonged" with all the others I knew who usually had the 64 crayon box.  Maybe I just coveted more for the sake of more.  A lot to think about.  I'm relieved to say, though, that a half century later I'm well past it,have been for some time,  and I don't mean just with crayons.  A simpler life is fine.........but maybe, for me and for some of you too, you have to have the bigger and better, before you realize all you really wanted was the simple. Simple makes you free to be the person you want to be, the one you already are.  Simple opens up avenues you never imagined, because things are not keeping you.   It's funny how a box of crayons can remind us of the value of simplicity.  Today I'll find a plastic little container, and dump out the crayons so I can really use them.  I guess I won't be tempted to get the bigger box again anytime soon.  I am reminded of the wonder of simplicity.  How about you?  

Selected Shorts: NPR Podcasts

Do you listen to podcasts?  I've become interested in doing so since I first bought an ipod, and now an iphone.  One of my favorites is Selected Shorts, short stories you can listen to on your device, from NPR.  They are read by actors or other authors to a live audience, then recorded, and that's where I come in.  I download them from itunes, they are free, and often listen to them while I take my daily walk.  This does two things:  makes my walks go faster, and allows me to hear some great stories.  I've been doing this on and off for a few years now and I am compelled to write about it today since I just heard two of the best stories as I walked today, and wanted to share them in case you have not heard about this program.  Today I listened to two stories, each about 30 minutes or less in length, that's the usual time for a story, sometimes 20 minutes.  The theme for this edition was Displaced Persons, and the first story was called The Briefcase by Rebecca Makkai, and the second was called Diem Perdidi, by Julie Otsuka.  Both were compelling and emotional to me, especially the second one Diem Perdidi, which translated means "I Lost the Day".  The entire story is a series of statements of what is remembered and what is forgotten by a women as she is becoming a victim of dementia, as told by her daughter.This simple series of recollections brought me to tears, seeing what a person remembers as dear events or thoughts from a lifetime, and mourning what is no longer remembered.  That's powerful writing if such emotion can be evoked while hearing the spoken word.  I suppose you could just download the stories to your computer and listen to them that way if you don't have a portable device like an ipod or something.  Anyway, it's my recommendation for the day!  I believe new stories are released weekly, or biweekly.   By the way, the photo at the top of this writing is not related, I just posted it for interest.  I had sunprinted fabric with rocks a LOOOOOOONG time ago, cut the fabric in strips and then sewed the strips back together, then altered the photo of that to black and white only.  Just another creative trip I took one day.   Try the podcasts!
 

Beach Walk on Anna Maria Island: Dead Stingrays

I finally walked the beach  yesterday, it was in the fifties and not too cold, but I quickly saw some of the results of the cold weather.  In about a 3/4 mile section that I walked, there were 15 dead stingrays, one small shark, and lots of small fish that apparently succumbed to the cold temperatures in the Gulf.  Here's a few photos I took to share, you can click on them to enlarge them if you'd like.    

Christmas Poem

I'm a fan of Christmas music...listening, playing it on the piano, remembering the lyrics.  For some unknown reason today I begin to think a new poem could be created using excerpts from many carols combined, so in the mysterious way my mind works, at odd moments, I set out to do so and it didn't really take too much time.  I guess it shouldn't as all the carols are on the same subject, and repetition would be expected.  Still, I took up the challenge and here's what I came up with:

A Christmas Medley

Do you hear what I hear?  It came upon a midnight clear.

Away in a manger, the angels did say,

The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.

Jesus, our brother, kind and good,

the friendly beasts around him stood.

Round yon virgin, Mother and Child,

Peace on earth and mercy mild

Come they told me, fall on your knees,

A newborn king we have to see

Christians let your voice sing,

Unto us is born a King

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel,

Born is the king of Israel!

Merry Christmas everyone and a Blessed and Happy New Year!

Tuesday's Two Cents: Resolutions or Intentions

Are you into making New Year's Resolutions?  me neither.  I mean I do stop and think about it, but I never make hard and fast resolutions that end up making me feel guilty if I don't succeed.  Yesterday I read an article in a free magazine called Natural Awakenings about setting New Year's Intentions.  Basically, intentions are statements we make outloud that address something we wish to manifest in our lives.  Anything goes, a new coat or world peace, whatever you wish to have made real for you.  And the intention statements are ended with a strong statement which emphasize that these intentions have already occurred, such as "So it is done".    At this point in the article, I was reminded of the book The Secret......basically, we can think our way to what we want.  Intentions are positive words, because the belief is what you say is what you attract.......in others words, don't ask not to be sick, instead say you are in good health.  Anyway, I  like the idea of intentions instead of resolutions, altho it may just be a twist on words. Maybe something to think about........here's a few I may use if I remember:  

I am inspired to be creative in my fiber art everyday, and am able to use many sources of inspiration to guide my work.  and so it is done.

I think positively about my life and find goodness in those I meet. And so it is done.

I can quiet my mind and appreciate  the present moment I am experiencing simply by sitting still and attending to my breath.  And so it is done.

I just made these up so maybe they need refinement, but you get the idea.

If you'd like to explore this idea further, there's a website at www.Intenders.com  that explains it much better and talks about forming groups of people who meet regularly to announce their intentions.