Nature invasion

There is a lot of nature going on around my house.  First of all, there are birds that are constantly building nests on our house -

They make a lot of mess, but they are interesting to watch - especially how they dive bomb you anytime you go close to the nest. 

Then, there is the garden that my husband and daughter are tending-

We had our first harvest of cucumbers, squash and beans this weekend.  I failed to take pictures before everyone gobbled them up. 

And every Spring there is a ladybug invasion, which I don't mind -

My kids think this picture of my skin close-up is really gross.  But I think it is amazing how it looks like my skin is made of tiny triangles all connected together. 

Wrap dress - Part 1

Well, I finished the wrap dress for my mother-in-law -

I give myself a "B" for that project.  However, the difficulty was "HIGH", since I didn't use a pattern and made it for someone else.  Starting from scratch taught me a lot of the "why's" in clothing design.  I made a lot of mistakes, but that's how you learn.  Now I am ready to make one for my mother with slight variations. 

MARTA and the museum

My kids went on their first MARTA ride yesterday.  (MARTA is Atlanta's "rapid rail" train system, although it doesn't get you there any faster than a car can.)  I remember my first ride on MARTA.  It was my first date.  A little boy in my 1st grade class asked me to ride MARTA with him.  So he and his dad picked me up one day, and we rode MARTA.  That's all we did, and it was so much fun.

My youngest daughter decided she was not going to smile the whole ride -

...so we played the "don't laugh" game -

...."don't laugh" -

We rode down to the High Museum, which now has fun art in crazy shapes and colors on the lawn -

They probably weren't supposed to sit on the art, but they did (just for a minute) -

As usual, the museum won't let me show you the art inside the building.  They currently have a special exhibit about the history of golf, which sounds pretty boring, but it is actually interesting.  There are 2 new photography exhibits coming next week - "Picturing New York" and "Picturing the South". 

Speaking of the South, I snapped this shot of the typical Atlanta male uniform -

If you want to blend in in Atlanta, wear khaki pants, loafers and a button up shirt.  On the other hand, if you want to stand out (in a good way), wear a bright floral wrap dress and carry an orange purse -

I am currently working my first wrap dress from scratch.  I'm making one for my mother-in-law out of this fabric -

It's the first piece of clothing I've ever made for another adult.  I'll be excited if it works out.

Inspired by dancers

I have watched a lot of dancing this week.  My daughter's recital was this week as well as a friend's.  I have decided that I enjoy watching amateurs better than professionals.  When you are watching an amateur, you can still see all of the hard work and the ideas.  It is great but not yet effortless.  It is inspiring but still attainable.  It makes you feel like you can work really hard and be good at something, too.

Here's my little ballerina, who is totally inspired by the older dancers -

I'm a little old to be a great dancer, so I'm going to go work on my sewing.

On differences, soldiers, and bearing burdens

Lately, I have been distracted by differences in people.  I will be having a conversation with someone in which we agree, agree, agree and then BAM...we disagree.  I thought we were the same, but we are different.  Sometimes it's personality.  Sometimes it is preferences or desires or opinions.  Sometimes I think what they are doing is wrong and destructive.  Suddenly, I feel isolated.  Maybe this sounds extreme, but you can easily see this play out in how we group off with people who are similar to ourselves into finger-pointing factions in politics or even within a church.  How am I supposed to live with people who are so different from me?

I was struck this week with the answer when I was reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Life Together.  He quoted Galatians 6:2, "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."  He explains, "It is only when he is a burden that another person is really a brother and not merely an object to be manipulated.  The burden of men was so heavy for God Himself that he had to endure the cross...It is the fellowship of the Cross to experience the burden of the other.  If one does not experience it, the fellowship he belongs to is not Christian."  I have always interpreted "burdens" as problems people might have that can be fixed, so we can then move on.  However, Bonhoeffer expands the definition -

"It is first of all, the freedom of the other person...that is a burden to the Christian...The freedom of the other person includes all that we mean by a person's nature, individuality, endowment.  It also includes his weaknesses and oddities, which are such a trial to our patience, everything that produces frictions, conflicts, and collisions among us."

So, I am to give each person freedom to be themselves.  But what if they are doing something I think is wrong?  Bonhoeffer goes even further -

"We may suffer the sins of our brother; we do not need to judge.  This is a mercy for the Christian; for when does sin ever occur in the community that he must not examine and blame himself for his own unfaithfulness in prayer and intercession, his lack of brotherly service, of fraternal reproof and encouragement, indeed, for his own personal sin and spiritual laxity, by which he has done injury to himself, the fellowship, and the brethren?"

And this is where I get to Memorial Day.  This morning I was reminded of one of the greatest human "burden bearers" of our society - the soldier.   The soldier bears our burden of protection and freedom (even unto death).  The soldier doesn't ever say to me, "You are too different from me and you get on my nerves. So, I am not going to bear your burden any longer."  He may even disagree with the politics of the mission, but he bears our burden fully.  However, even as the soldier bears our burden, he is not alone.  Soldiers don't live and work in isolation.  So "he who is bearing others knows that he himself is being borne, and only in this strength can he go on bearing."

Unfortunately, Christians are better known for identifying with the "fighting" aspect of the soldier than the "burden bearing".  To be fair, I know that there a lot of Christians out there who are bearing huge burdens without any fanfare or media coverage.  But I am much more likely to be found in the "finger-pointing" camp than the "burden bearing" camp.  So, I will isolate this question to myself.  How would my world be different if I was known as a "burden bearer"?  Today, I am thankful for the soldiers who have shown me the possibility of that which seems impossible.  Thank you for bearing my burdens, and thank you for inspiring me to take steps to do the same for others.

Farmers Market

It's that time again.  Fresh organic food coming to a parking lot near you. 

I really like being able to talk to the people who grow and produce the food and to hear their passion about the taste and quality of what they are selling.  My girls especially love the ice pops from Wholly Pops -

They have a lot of interesting flavors filled with real fruits and vegetables -

While they were occupied with their ice pops, I bought some cauliflower at Owl Pine Farm and some ground beef and smoked ham from Greendale Farm. 

Last week, we made hamburgers out of the grass-fed beef from Greendale, and I really do think it tastes better than regular beef.  It is twice the price of regular beef, but I think it's worth it.

Along with the healthy stuff, I have been craving baked goods.  I keep intending to make something at home, but I never get around to it.  So, we indulge in bread and pastries from the Best Bread Baking Company -

This week, we purchased personal size bundt cakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes.  I am not really a cake person, but these are delicious (and I can't resist chocolate chocolate chip anything) -

The full size cakes are even more elaborately decorated - 

Next week, we need to get there earlier before it gets so hot.  There is always good music -

And some cute style -

We're hooked.

Parisian headboard

The headboard is finally complete!

I think the fabric is super cute close up -



But every time I walk into the room, I'm taken aback by how small the pattern looks from far away -

Well, the benefit of doing something yourself is that you know how to change it.  Maybe it will grow on me.  But I'm not committing to making curtains until I feel better about it. 

The most difficult part about the project was moving the pieces of plywood around.  If you are making a headboard for anything bigger than a twin bed, you probably need two people.  I bought the 3/8 inch plywood at Home Depot, and they were very nice to cut it to my measurements. 

I bought 1 inch foam at Hancock Fabrics.  (This is not the cheapest place to buy it, but it was convenient.  Years ago I bought it much cheaper from an upholsterer, but I had to order it.)  I spent a few frustrating hours trying to get the foam to stick to the wood.

I tried spray adhesive, but the foam kept falling off.  In the end, I resorted to old fashioned Elmer's glue, which held the foam on long enough for me to turn the board over.  I spread the batting down on the floor and layed the board (foam side down) on top of it.  Starting from the middle of the top and bottom, I stapled (with a staple gun) the batting to the board.  Then, I did the same with the fabric.  (Tip: It is much easier if your fabric does not have discernible lines that you have to keep straight.)

My daughter lightened the mood while I was getting frustrated with the foam.  She said, "Mom, there are a lot of things that are harder to do than foam.  Like trying to make perfume from flower petals" -

My final tip is that if you don't need to lean against your headboard, you can use a canvas, which is much lighter than plywood.  A few years ago, we painted a canvas for my older daughter's room -

Now, I am finished with the headboards and off to the park to just hang out.