Camping

As was promised, we went camping for a few nights last week. It was - as camping always is - an amazing procession of packing and loading the car, unpacking and setting up the campsite, repacking and reloading the car, and then unloading, unpacking, and putting everything away again. Daughter One was a bit surprised, I believe, at the sheer volume of the movement of objects that camping entails.

Between us, Daughters One & Two and I set up camp. We brought the tiny tents so that (not having the Amazing Husband/Father along) we could set them up independently. Daughter One took charge and made a nice sleeping compound with two tents and a tarp. Very charming and cozy...we were warm and snuggly even the night of the thunderstorm, lol. I set up the kitchen, out of which we all enjoyed a steady stream of snacks and meals.

It turns out that we were the only family truly "camping." Each of the other families turned up in amazing motor homes outfitted with all the conveniences of home. Sorry, guys, if you are reading this, but you have to admit that you looked pretty funny...a stately parade of huge, portable homes, perched primly along the campsites, filled to the brim with happy campers "roughing it."

Camping was great fun! Despite her initial skepticism when she saw we didn't have a "house" like the others, Daughter Two loved tent camping. Despite her worries that there would be no one her age, Daughter One had a great time swimming and goofing around with the other children. Highlights for me included solving the mysteries of the camp stove and rowing assorted children around the lake in a canoe.

I can ramble on and on about our pleasant camping trip - indeed, I seem to be doing so! - but I really do have a point. Here it is:

On the second night of camping, all four families ate together. It was so tasty - satisfying in the way that only good food eaten outdoors after a day of activity can be. There were melt-in-your-mouth steaks, beautifully grilled, and fresh sweet corn on the cob, perfectly steamed in their husks. We brought our offering - red grapes and a box of chocolate cookies, and laid them on the groaning board. Both were much welcome, especially by the children, but as I looked at my grapes and cookies, I smiled at their modesty. I had brought them because they were what we had.

Now, as nice as grapes and cookies can be, they are not in the same league as grilled steak and fresh corn on the cob. This reminds me a bit of my relationship with God. When you think about it, what I am and what I have to offer God, compared to who He is and what He has to offer me, is ridiculous! And yet, when I bring to him what I have...my talents, my treasures, my time, He, in return, provides for me abundantly. I am invited to feast upon the steak and corn He brings, not only upon the grapes and cookies that I have provided. God is not "fair" and "just" in the way we think of these words. He is generous and forgiving, loving and giving to a degree that we can barely perceive.. He gives over and above. Always. Just because He loves me. Wow!

Knitting Lesson

I have been knitting quite a bit the last few years and I've decided that it is really good for me! I have never been a person known for her patience, but knitting has created a calmness and determination that tends to promote at least the illusion of patience in my life.

No matter how fast (or slow) I knit, no matter how even (or crooked) my stitches are, no matter how simple (or complex) the pattern I choose, all my knitting shares this one trait: I can only knit ONE stitch at a time.

I am a multi-tasker at heart. I can - and generally do - have several things going on at once. I bake bread while scrapbooking. I do laundry while I garden. I always have 3 or 4 books by the bed, and I generally read a bit from all of them each day.

When I was very young - and a bit stupid - I once multi-tasked changing clothes while driving over Snoqualmie Pass. (I don't recommend this.)

It is easy to do something else while knitting, as long as the "something else" does not require the use of one's hands! Frankly, knitting would probably make me crazy if I couldn't listen to a CD, help with homework, and/or hold up my end of a lively conversation while doing it! But still, no matter how many things I can juggle at once, I still cannot knit more than one stitch at a time. one - stitch - at -a - time. And a project may have tens of thousands of stitches.

So knitting slows me down a bit. It reminds me that little things can eventually add up to something worth noting.

The photograph shows a purse and beret set I made for a beloved young niece. I could have purchased a hat and purse and saved myself dozens of hours of work, but I like the idea of creating a gift one loving (and somewhat patient) stitch at a time. It adds up to something.

Camping

I am currently getting ready to take the girls camping for a few days. Michael will stay home and "relax" in between working, commuting, and refinishing the deck.

It is a huge job to get ready to camp. My to-do lists are cross-referenced, scribbled in the margins, and being continually updated.

It is taking more time to get ready for this camping trip than we will spend on the trip.

As I prepare to basically move housekeeping outdoors a hundred miles away, I keep thinking of my grandmother, who started life in the "good old days" of wringer washers, flat irons, wood stoves, and kerosene lanterns, but lived to see all manner of modern conveniences.

I don't know why I keep thinking of my grandmother today. Maybe she is giggling away in heaven, observing that tent camping - basically leaving home to work harder than usual just to survive - is a rather odd hobby.

But she was a good sport, so she might think that the star gazing, hiking, swimming, and sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows would render the effort worthwhile.

Update on a Sunflower

This is the sunflower I mentioned in my first blog.
It was the first in the garden to bloom, and is now
starting two more flowers further down the stem.

It is still staked with a bamboo stick and a length of fuzzy white yarn, but it does not actually need this support any longer.

Makes me smile!

My Girls

Just to add a bit of visual to my comments...the beautiful smiles shown in this photograph belong to Daughter One (15 years old) and Daughter Two. (almost 4)

Daughter One sings, dances, and giggles like an angel on holiday. Her next goal is to drive. (dream on, kid!)

Daughter Two draws, dances, and is planning to be a princess when she grows up. (She practices daily.) Her next goal is to be allowed to take tap dance as well as ballet. (one more year!)

Laughing at Myself

I do not think of myself as a vain person - especially about my physical appearance - but I just had to share this.

Yesterday I was in a supplements store with a friend asking for help in selecting a new multi-vitamin. A knowledgeable employee showed me 3 or 4 options, explaining the benefits of each. Then she picked up one more, frowned as she put it back and said, "That would be a good one eventually, but it will be years before you will need it." She left to help other customers.

Curious, my friend grabbed the rejected multi-vitamin and started laughing. It was labeled for women ages 50 and up.

"Years" before I qualify? Try 51 weeks.

Yup, I walked on air for hours after that one...I'm not above a bit of flattery!

Pinching Back the Basil

The basil looks great.

Weeks ago, when the basil plants were so small that I could easily count every tiny leaf, I pinched off a few precious leaves here and there to encourage the plant to branch out and thicken. It was hard to make myself pinch the plants back – it seemed as if I was taking away so much of the plant, and that I was wasting the potential of the removed leaves that would never have a chance to grow large.

Of course, the pinching back was necessary. If I had not forced the plants back, they would never have grown to be so generously proportioned. These plants are huge and thick; some of the fragrant leaves are 4 inches long and 2 inches across! Every day I pick basil for our summer meal preparations, but the supply never seems to diminish. At the end of the season, there will still be enough basil left to put up several batches of pesto for this winter’s pleasure.

I feel a bit like that pot of seedling basil, sporting more potential than leaves, because God is always pinching me back. I am perfectly happy being my rather small self – thank you very much! – but God desires that I become more, so He pinches back my leaves, and removes little parts of me. Sometimes the things he asks me to prune back seem just a bit too much - WAY outside my comfort zone, but as He prunes He encourages me to branch out in new ways. In time, this always happens.

I cannot honestly say that I enjoy the pinching back, but I do enjoy the result: a stronger me that is of more use to myself, to others, and to God himself.