Peace and Quiet

Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands.... 1Thessalonians 4:11

Quiet is defined in many ways. If you go with the "free, or comparatively free, from noise" definition...well with a houseful of kids and animals the summer has been anything but quiet.

However, if you go with the "free from disturbing thoughts, emotions, etc.; mentally peaceful" I think I have finally reached that.

As with most families, the death of a family member does not always bring out the best in people as each strives to deal with their grief in their own way. Such was the case with our family. My brother and I who daily lived thru my mothers illness had a difference of opinion than my sister who only moved back to the area recently. For a while this bothered me and then the other day I sat and re-read the Desiderata on the side bar.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly...

...Avoid loud and aggressive persons

...in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

We had spoken the truth, it was ignored so I have choosen to avoid the situation and I did find some peace. I know what I did for my mother. I know what my mother wanted. If her wishes do not get done, I am not the one that needs to answer for it. You can not make people be what you want them to be or do what needs to be done. And having realized that I can sleep peacefully at night.

My mother's birthday was the 31st so her grandkids made her one downfall...ice cream. We had a crank ice cream maker and each year when we got out our canning supplies we would say we needed to make ice cream with the kids. Canning always intervened or in the end Dr. appts. So when I received the ice cream maker I decided that this would be the year to finally make it.

What a sticky situation that was, with the kids mixing and measuring. Then after all the cranking we found the bowl was turning but the dasher wasn't. We clamped some vise grips on the top of the dasher, held the bucket and let them turn that....problem fixed. We added some orange sherbet to the bowls of vanilla ice cream for a mock orange creamsicle and ate away. Then we froze because the temperatures are getting cold at night! It was only 42 yesterday morning. Yeah I know there is worse to come but my body hasn't acclimated yet.

Of course the cooler temps means it is much more enjoyable working with yarn...I finished the baby afghan.

It is a simple crocheted shell in Vanna Whites baby yarn in color Ducky. Looks like our chickens egg yolks but I am thinking the name Egg yolk wouldn't sell as well as ducky.

Then I knit a replica of the Jacob Black (from Twilight) hat. It was a simple k2p2 and I used some slubby handspun and #2 daughter who is a huge Twilight fan is very happy.

And finally a picture of the one sock I said I had finished. The second one is on the needles. For some reason we all fell in love with the color...Red Heart Heart and Sole in Green Envy.

So today we have elderberry jelly to make, hot peppers to pickle and a football scrimmage to attend. I found a round crochet afghan that needs attending to so I hope to get some work done on that. I might eventually catch up on all the UFO's as this weather continues!!!