After many weeks of hosting kids and grandkids, the house is very, very quiet. I’ve been doing my usual tidying up meditations as I put toys and games and stuffed animals into bins that are stored in the basement. The kid sized plates and flatware have gone out of daily rotation. The sheets are out to the clothesline in shifts, folding them reminds me of snuggles we shared as we read books in bed before lights out. Museum passes have been tucked away, either in my wallet or returned back to our “library of things” at Kimball Public Library.
The dreadful news keeps rolling out, but distracted by grandchild shenanigans, I gave it little notice.
But gosh, I took a peek this morning and am sobered.
All the more reason to look for light and gather it up into our spirits.
My dear friend Liz gifted me this tea towel. She found it in the online shop at the International Quilt Museum in Lincoln, Nebraska. If that circle of needles doesn’t remind me of the radiance of the sun, I don’t know what does! And what fun to explore their website and dream of visiting someday. Have any of you been there?
I find a bit of light anytime I sit down to sew. I’ve been working on these super quick coasters in little snippets of time here and there. You can find a YouTube video with instructions, here. I was telling someone about my favorite Uncle David the other day. I miss him. He ran a Sunoco service station for years and years and created a community of customers and staff who relied on his smile and good nature to get them through the day. The next day I started pulling fabric for the coasters and stopped… stunned when I realized that I was pulling the colors of the Sunoco logo. Honestly. Life is full of connections. It’s pretty amazing when you keep your eye out for them and notice.
A very different kind of light shines from the Netflix documentary, The Quilters. From the website, “In this award-winning short documentary, men in a Missouri maximum-security prison design and sew beautiful, personalized quilts for foster children.” Worth a watch if you need to be reminded that there is still much good in the world.
Our morning glories were slow to bloom this summer, it’s been dry (after a very rainy spring). But whenever I walk by them, I think, “Yup, that’s glory, right there!” Hello magic.
There is much more to tell about light and hope and persistence. Drop a note in the comments if you have spotted some recently. Shine, friends. It really makes a difference.
With gratitude for your presence here.
HUGS, me