SABLE

In case you missed my Facebook status...

I discovered a name for my syndrome: SABLE (Stash Accumulated Beyond Life Expectancy).
This was part of the editor's note in the June '09 issue of Better Homes and Gardens American Patchwork & Quilting magazine. I picked it up from the library this week. I must say that I have SABLE in at least three crafts: sewing, scrapbooking and knitting. Right now the only stash that gets used in the sewing one, although I'm very slowly knitting a shawl. At this rate it'll be done by the end of winter or maybe next winter.

I just thought of another, cross-stitching. There's enough embroidery thread in this house to outlast both Amy & I. :)

Happy crafting.

Another quilt give-away

Head over to Marie-Madeline studio to enter.

We've Figured Him Out by Ben Stein

The American Spectator
July 24, 2009
By Ben Stein

We've Figured Him Out

Why is President Barack Obama in such a hurry to get his socialized medicine bill passed?

Because he and his cunning circle realize some basic truths:

The American people in their unimaginable kindness and trust voted for a pig in a poke in 2008. They wanted so much to believe Barack Obama was somehow better and different from other ultra-leftists that they simply took him on faith.

They ignored his anti-white writings in his books. They ignored his quiet acceptance of hysterical anti-American diatribes by his minister, Jeremiah Wright.

They ignored his refusal to explain years at a time of his life as a student. They ignored his ultra-left record as a "community organizer," Illinois state legislator, and Senator.

The American people ignored his total zero of an academic record as a student and teacher, his complete lack of scholarship when he was being touted as a scholar.

Now, the American people are starting to wake up to the truth. Barack Obama is a super likeable super leftist, not a fan of this country, way, way too cozy with the terrorist leaders in the Middle East, way beyond naïveté, all the way into active destruction of our interests and our allies and our future.

The American people have already awakened to the truth that the stimulus bill -- a great idea in theory -- was really an immense bribe to Democrat interest groups, and in no way an effort to help all Americans.

Now, Americans are waking up to the truth that ObamaCare basically means that every time you are sick or injured, you will have a clerk from the Department of Motor Vehicles telling your doctor what he can and cannot do.

The American people already know that Mr. Obama's plan to lower health costs while expanding coverage and bureaucracy is a myth, a promise of something that never was and never will be -- a bureaucracy lowering costs in a free society. Either the costs go up or the free society goes away.

These are perilous times. Mrs. Hillary Clinton, our Secretary of State, has given Iran the go-ahead to have nuclear weapons, an unqualified betrayal of the nation. Now, we face a devastating loss of freedom at home in health care. It will be joined by controls on our lives to "protect us" from global warming, itself largely a fraud if believed to be caused by man.

Mr. Obama knows Americans are getting wise and will stop him if he delays at all in taking away our freedoms.

There is his urgency and our opportunity. Once freedom is lost, America is lost. Wake up, beloved America.

Ben Stein is a writer, actor, economist, and lawyer living in Beverly Hills and Malibu. He writes "Ben Stein's Diary" for every issue of The American Spectator.

An urban legend, but a super example!

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before, but had once failed an entire class..

That class had insisted that Obama's socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.

The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on Obama's plan".

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.

After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.

As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.

The second test average was a D!

No one was happy.

When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that.

(From an email I received from a family member.)

Classic Pooh quilt

Amy had taken a few pictures of the process.

I took this one after the top was all put together. Tomorrow I'm hoping to put the back on. I took the chenille idea from this blog.

Classic Pooh quilt

Amy & I found some Classic Pooh fat quarter bundles on clearance at Joann a while back, so we bought three of them and brought them home undid them and laid them in the dreaded pile. Since we cleaned up that pile we found that fabric somewhere near the bottom. The project went on my list. This last week I designed a quilt (thankful for graph paper; there's probably a more sophisticated way these days, but it worked well for me.), cut it out and now the top is pieced together. I'm working on sewing it to muslin because the Pooh fabric is not that great a quality. I bought some chenille-type fabric for the back. I've been so busy working on it the project that I didn't take pictures. I'll have to do that and post again.

The quilt ensemble

The pillowcase.

The quilt.

The sham.

The blurry celebration.

I'd like to say it's all done, but I've yet to put buttons on the back of the sham to hold it together better. The sham itself is a bit big, but I'm hoping that a larger pillow, say queen-size, will work better than a standard pillow.

Family Conference--Victoria Botkin

Victoria Botkin

Mrs. Botkin's topic was Teaching Our Children to Teach Themselves. Here are a few points.

1. In order to instill the love of learning:

a. Love it ourselves.
b. Understand who God is and loving Him.
c. See everything in relation to who God is.
d. There is no separation between secular study and the sacred. God is sovereign over everything.

2. Science is the study of God's creation.

3. History is the study of God's work in the affairs of men.

4. Equip children to be ambassadors for God. Learning how to communicate is vital.

5. We need a vision for the future. Our time is God's time.

6. A college degree is not the goal. Self teaching is encouraged after parents have done their job.

7. Training:

a. We should not see discipline as a last resort, disobedience needs to be taken care of every time. It requires self-discipline.
b. Give commands you intend to enforce.

8. Schooling: Deuteronomy 6:4-9

a. When you sit in your home
b. When you go out
c. As you do life together

9. Read to your children

10. Stock your home with good resources. e.g. books, art supplies.

Standing guard

The quilt's guard.

Ayden's quilt is finished!

It's done!! I'm pleased, although there could be more quilting. I'm not complaining at all, but since it was my first large quilt I wanted to do the quilting as simply and as easily as possible.

Tomorrow's task is to do the pillowcase. Once that's finished I'll do a sham, which is already started.

The Man Rules

The following came in an email from a friend. I thought it was funny, so I'm sharing it here. :)

The Man Rules

At last a guy has taken the time to write this all down.

Finally, the guys' side of the story. (I must admit, it's pretty good.)

We always hear from the female side. Now here are the rules from the male side.

These are our rules! Please note: these are all numbered "1 " ON PURPOSE!

1. Men are NOT mind readers. (FIRST AND FOREMOST RULE)

1. Learn to work the toilet seat.
You're a big girl. If it's up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down.
You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports, It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides. Let it be.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one:
Subtle hints do not work!
Strong hints do not work!
Obvious hints do not work!
Just say it!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument.
In fact, all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do something OR tell us how you want it done.
Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say during commercials.

1. Christopher Columbus did not need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings.
Peach, for example, is a fruit, not color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," We will act like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine...

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared to discuss such topics as Football or Hockey.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couch tonight; But, did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

Pass this to as many men as you can - to give them a laugh.

Pass this to as many women as you can - to give them a bigger laugh.

Conference-Multigenerational Faithfulness

The Botkin family from left: Noah (only the top of his head), Lucas, Ben, Elizabeth, Anna Sophia; below David is on the far right. Isaac is next to David, but not in the picture.


The following lists came from notes I took during the session entitled, "A New Hope? Why the Second Generation drops the Ball" It was begun by Geoffrey Botkin, but he asked his children to answer. All seven of them took their turn.

Why the 2nd generation drops the ball:
1. They don't fear God.
2. The don't study scripture for themselves.
3. They are good rather than righteous; they presuppose salvation.
4. They don't take sin seriously.
5. Parents allow children to be discipled by others.
6. Lack of training, drive, character and discipline.
7. They reject God's law and authority.
8. There is no vision or purpose; it's not passed down.

What to do:
1. Take foundations and go even farther.
2. Semper Reformanda (always reforming).
3. Have sufficient faith in Christ to persevere in difficulty.
4. Work out salvation. Phil 2:12
5. Have a heart of integrity, keep statutes.
6. Fear God, keep His commandments.
7. Have own faith not parents' faith.
8. Keep an open relationship with parents to keep on track biblically.
9. Confess sin to parents.

Misc. We need a list of things we will do, not just things we will not do.

9/12 Project

The 9-12 Project challenges Americans to recommit themselves to the following principles:

1. America is good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my life.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person that I was yesterday
4. The family is sacred. My family and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
6. I have a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

And the project also emphasizes the following 12 values:

1. honesty
2. reverence
3. hope
4. thrift
5. humility
6. charity
7. sincerity
8. moderation
9. hard work
10. courage
11. personal responsibility
12. gratitude

Clicking on the above picture will take you to the 9/12 website.

Conference

Mr. Geoffrey Botkin

Victoria and Geoffrey Botkin

I've been having a difficult time trying to come up with a summary of the conference. Thursday night I maybe got six hours of sleep, so Friday I was very tired and bordering on grumpy. Because there was so much information about halfway through the first lecture Mr. Botkin said they'd make the information available on-line through a password protected procedure. Because of that I quit taking notes for the most part. Therefore, there's quite a bit that didn't stick in my memory. In looking through the notes I did take I'll see what I can come up with.

"The Great Needs of Our Generation"
1. Righteous family dominion
2. Family discipleship
3. Faith in God
4. Fidelity to God's law
5. A practical knowledge of God's ways
6. Will to fight for what's right
7. Patriarchal duty
8. Multigenerational responsibility
9. Cultural fruitfulness
10. Covenantal faithfulness to God

Tomorrow: why the 2nd generation drops the ball.

Family Conference

We went to this conference Friday and Saturday. I hope to blog about it over the next few days. We had a good time together as a family. We learned a few things and were reminded of a few more things.

Here are a few other links while you wait for more from me. ;)

http://www.benbotkin.com/

http://www.outside-hollywood.com/

http://visionarydaughters.com/

Sewing for the girls

Etta is modeling the Easter dress that I finished last week while cleaning the craftroom.


Josefina is wearing the apron I had been wanting to make; the fabric for it was in a pile of to do projects found while cleaning.


Here's the link for the apron pattern.

Gospel Aprons

I get a daily email from Mission Network News. Several weeks ago there was a story about Gospel Aprons. I looked into it an sent for a kit to make two. I finished one of them this afternoon. If you're interested here's the link.



What the colors represent:
Black--Our sin that separates us from God.
Red--Jesus blood shed for forgiveness of sin.
White--We are washed whiter than snow by the blood of Jesus.
Blue--The Holy Spirit
Green--Spiritual growth
Gold (yellow)--Heaven
Butterfly--The transformation that takes place when we become new creatures in Christ.

The After

The After

Amy's side

My side

It feels great to have this done. I was able to vacuum most of the floor. Yippee! There are still projects out, but they're going to get done. We sorted through lots of stuff, but I just realized I need to sort the scrapbooking things. I'll try to tackle that on Monday. Or maybe I should wait until all the sewing projects are finished. Once I start sorting I may get inspired to scrapbook. :)

The Thrillin' Grillin' Experience

MVI_6492
Originally uploaded by momawake

I went to start the grill tonight and discovered this. I didn't freak out, but I could feel it coming. The only thing to do in that case is yell for Amy to bring the camera!

Six unimportant things that make me happy

I was tagged by Christine

The Rules:
* List Six Unimportant Things That Make You Happy
* Mention and link to the person who tagged you
* Tag six of your favorite bloggers to play along

Here is my list of 6 Unimportant Things that Make Me Happy

1. FarmTown on Facebook.
2. Shopping for fabric and scrapbooking paper.
3. Charles Wysocki puzzles
4. Christian chick-lit books.
5. Success in a sewing project.
6. Quiet Sunday afternoons.

Tagging (0nly 4 since this time):

Hope Anne
Elizabeth
Cheri
Mom

The "Before"

It, actually, did not look quite this bad before we started sorting.

This is Amy's side.

This is my side.

There was fabric, there were patterns, there were papers, there were magazines and books, there was yarn, there were unfinished projects...

I could not stand to go in there anymore! There was certainly no creating going on in there! So, we took the week off from school to clean it up. It was a last-minute decision. DH was taking the week off to get home/yard projects done and we were going to get school done, but Amy suggested that we take the week off also. Of course, I said, "NO." She was mad. I went upstairs to take care of a few things, meanwhile praying and thinking. I went back down and said we'd take the week off, IF we got the craft room cleaned up and she had to do the basement also. Oh, and there was a bit of a threat mixed in that school could start up at any moment. We've both worked hard and enjoyed our time doing it together. It's still not done, but close. There'll be an after picture soon.

My list of sewing projects got longer because of the discoveries, but in the midst of cleaning I got three of them finished, a couple mending items for dh and one doll dress. There are over a dozen things left, not including hand sewing the binding to the back of the quilt. I'm not sure how my hand will do with that. Pray for healing for my hand, for getting the projects done and for keeping that room neater.

The last six puzzles

The wolf puzzle was difficult because of all the similarities. e.g. The trees are like the darker parts of the wolves' faces and there are two wolves who look alike.


This one was a fun one because of all the color.

Look at that family. You don't see large families portrayed very often. It's refreshing.


I bought this one at the thrift store for $0.90. It was in great shape except for this piece.