*signs of progress

Isn't it amazing how a mountainous list can weight you do to the degree that you know not where to start? Perhaps you have never been there, unfortunately I have somewhat been residing there here of late. Thankfully, I was able to get focused enough to get my last quilting project completed. It as just the clip over the hill I needed to refocus on commitments that need to be started and finished.


Today as I listen to the soundtrack of Pride and Prejudice, I am pressing, cutting and sewing! Stay tuned for more on this special project that I am privileged to be a part of!

This is a sign of progress!

*prowler up for grabs

World Strength Camp by Coach Kingsley

We arrived at eight o'clock, but it was already hot and steamy outside.  This was the last day of the Strength Camp that Henry participated in this past week. Today was competition day; a day to show their strength.

 Getting everything into place...

Warming up...

Nicole was the first one to pull the Honda Civic. I found it interesting that Coach Kingsley chose for Nicole to demonstrate what these young men would be doing. It was an interesting way of pushing the boys!  I mean, after all, if a "girl" can do it - any boy should be able to do it, right?

She made the coach proud!  Nicole pulled til the finish line!

 There was about nine students who participated in the camp, so each one competed against time to win the competition. Each  competitor with harness on,  had to pull the Honda to the finish line, pick up a total of ninety pounds on the bar bells and run back to the opposite end, and lastly pushing the ninety pound prowler back to the opposite end as well. The winner would be the proud new owner of a prowler.

 This is the young man who won the prowler with his unbeatable forty-eight second timed run. 

This past year Henry had Coach Kingsley as his weight training teacher.  He was glad to be a student in one of Coach's camps this summer. 

Car pull is completed.. down the opposite end with the weights.

Henry completed the course, tired and muscles taxed to the limit..

Several of the young men ended up here.  Can you imagine the Carolina heat wave on a morning like this with these activities planned?

 This young man was the youngest student at the camp, he is in middle school.  This fact did not stop or hinder him and his drive to complete the course.  His finish time was as good as some of the high school students.  Coach Kingsley is giving him encouraging words here, or perhaps he was giving him a hard time. 

Here Henry is the "rope man" for this competitor, simply keeping the rope tight  for him as he pulls the car. 

pooped..

 How cool is Coach Kingsley? Pulling a car? Come on!  Men of all ages are seeking out things to subdue, to explore and call an adventure. This is one of those things that most of these young men will be bragging about for a while.  Everything done at camp this past week and on today has been carefully planned and safely executed. Henry will miss Coach! 

*wrapped up in love

A quilt will warm your body and comfort your soul  ~  Quilts made with love age with time, but never lose their warmth  ~ Quilts are like friends, a great source of comfort  ~ Family and friends make a house a home and with a quilt of friends, it will never be cold.

May these things be true on this day for a special friend of ours, Joann.  Joann is a member of our quilting group, who was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year. Joann is a giver. A giver of her efforts, of her time, of her money.   I am so grateful for the opportunity to be giving back to her in this way.  

Last year our quilting group decided to do something very special for each other, not knowing if this would be the last year of class or not.  Our fearless leader, Wendie and one other, came up with the idea of what we called "Pass My Bag Quilt".  Each lady of our group was responsible for picking out fabrics of their choosing, their favorite liking.  We were to put our fabrics in a bag that would ultimately be passed from one quilter to the next over the next twelve months finally making its way back to the owner.  Each quilter would make the one pattern of their choice (mine was the flower basket in the pieced block) with each individual quilters fabric as we received their bag.  The pictures below are an example of each quilters block.  We do not have a block made by Joann in our quilts because Joann did not participate in the "Pass the Bag Quilt" project.  Happily, we made Joann one with some of her favorite fabrics without her knowing.

This quilt is so very beautiful. It is beautiful on so many different levels. In fact, today when we took it over to Joann, it became more beautiful simply because of her reaction when she opened and saw that she was loved enough...  A quilter knows all the work that goes into a piece of such work.  Joann knows. She was very touched, a bit overwhelmed perhaps.  Each of the eighteen quilters in our group either made a block or were represented with a pieced block and I had the privilege of putting this under the needle of my machine to quilt.

Several others had made her a beautiful prayer quilt, people she does not know, from somewhere in North Carolina.  The fact that someone who does not  know her while making a prayer quilt for her touched her deeply.  I had never seen a prayer quilt before, but did you know that prayer quilts are tied and the floss is left long... so when you pray you tie a knot. I thought that was sweet. I had never really like tied quilts.. but this puts a whole new spin on it for me.  One of the dear ladies in our group is a knitter as well and had sent Joann a beautiful green knitted hat. Joann said she can hardly wait for it to become winter again so she can wear it!

Will you pray for Joann? She is doing great, better than she had ever thought she would be doing when she first found out of her cancer. She has seven or eight more treatments to go and has hope of  getting a clean bill of health ... I am not sure how the chemo and radiation all works, but will you agree with me that her white blood count will be up where it needs to be so she can have her treatments timely? Will you agree with me that she will continue to feel well and have a high hope for the future? I am sure, because she said so, that Joann had some difficult times initially.  Both internally and dealing individually with her family members on this news. But let me tell you, she is a brave and courageous woman.

On a last note.. Joann goes in every week for chemo, and each week she takes a different quilt to put on the bed she has to be in while getting treatment. This week she will take the "Thursday Girls-Pass the Bag Quilt" along with a matching pillow case to grace the bed she will be in while there.

*a day of loveliness

Loveliness:

1. Full of love; loving.

2. Inspiring love or affection.

3. Having beauty that appeals to the emotions as well as to the eye. 

4. enjoyable; delightful.

..... yes, loveliness is exactly what I was in the presence of on this day.  I have spoken of Wendie before, the mother figure who exudes the spirit of loveliness since the very day I met her. I try to recall how it is that I came to meet Wendie and it is not clear in  my mind, though it seems that it all began in her kitchen about twelve years or so ago with a small group of ladies.  Wendie was so gracious with her time to invite a small select group of ladies into her home to be a part of a ministry called  "Salt in the Kitchen" which centered around biblical teachings and delicious "from scratch" cooking.  I am so grateful that my name was one of the nine who eagerly arrived weekly at Wendie's kitchen counters to learn, grown and develop into more refined wives, cooks and even hostesses.  One day I believe that God will entrust some young women to me to guide along, teach and somewhat lead as Wendie did with us and for us. This is my desire.  

While most of my closest friends have moved away from this area, Wendie remains. My heart has been a bit heavy about moving, leaving this place.  Something I didn't think was going to happen to me. Silly me.  How is it that you can live somewhere for almost twenty three years and not feel what I had hoped to evade?  

Anyway.. Wendie and I had a lovely day today.  We started our outing at a Victorian tea house in Pinehurst, NC - Lady Bedford's Tea Parlor & Gift Shoppe. From the moment we walked in the beautifully etched glass doors I knew we were going to be treated really special.  The care that came from the serving staff could not have been any better than what we received on this day. The atmosphere was lovely.  We had a bowl of Butternut Squash Soup (with curry), and it was delicious!  Our main lunch dishes were also tasty and satisfying.  

After lunch we headed over to some of the gift shoppes in the village.  It was a hot day, so walking wasn't as pleasant as it might be at other times of the year, but I was with "Momma B" and I was happy.  Since we were in Pinehurst, and since we are quilters, we decided to go ahead and stop in at Linderella's Quilt Works.  Though I had been in Pinehurst a number of times since Linderella's opened, I had never stopped in.  The fabric selection was average, nothing noteworthy but Linderella's has a number of original applique quilt patterns for sale that caught my eye. Her patterns are funky and whimsical.  

 Look at those hands... While she is not perfect, cause none are.. I have seen these hands extend and extend and extend and extend and extend ... (well you get the picture) all in the name of love.  I am so grateful to have been one of the ones receiving and sometimes giving to these hands. I know I will continue to receive and give to these hands, but just roll with me here while I get a bit sappy. 

These are some of Linderella's patterns that are sold both in her store and on her website.  While all of the samples in the store are made with bright colors, black and whites you could use whatever suits you!

We then made our way to B & B Produce on 211 to buy some peaches from the local farms.  Wendie and I have stopped here before when driving back from a Seagrove pottery shopping trip and since we were fairly close we made the decision to make the drive. 

This was a sweet ending to a delightful day!