22 November 2023
21 November 2023
Kindness Never Fails
Earlier this year, I taught my 5- and 6-year-olds in Sunday School about loving our enemies. It seems I need that lesson from time to time, too.
"Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you..."
Matthew 5:43-44 has been on my mind a lot lately. I think I've shared here before I sometimes get grief from co-workers who have been asked to return to the office full time. Working from home four days a week enables me to care for my husband, but it also creates jealousy from others who wish they could work from home most of the time and who don't think it's fair that I'm being granted "special privileges".
My standard response to confrontation in the office (and yes, there have unfortunately been many quagmires the last two years) has been trying to hide my tears as I explain I would work 20 hours per day and 80 hours per week if I could have my husband back the way he was.
Deep down inside, I'd wonder if they'd feel the same way if someone they loved was saddled with a diagnosis that stole away everything their loved one cherished.
At some point last summer, I realized, unlike the progression of a life-changing diagnosis, my reaction is something I CAN control. I can be a better example, and I can use these difficult moments as teaching opportunities.
I decided instead of trying to justify the kindness my bosses are extending to me, I should sparkle with gratitude. I'm still not proficient, but my rehearsed response now is, "I am so grateful I get to be the one to take care of my husband. I'm so glad I get to spend time with him while he still recognizes me and is still able to do tiny bursts of the things we used to do. I am so grateful I am still able to take care of him by myself."
My change in attitude seemed to help and seemed to make a difference, at least with some co-workers. It made life so much more pleasant for me. I could deal with my own stresses and trauma without being thrown beneath the bus by people who should be my team members at work.
Last week, a true team member warned me about a co-worker I thought had accepted my plight and was no longer bitter and resentful. I was advised to be careful what I say to that person, or others whom I don't know well, because things were being taken out of context and used against me behind my back.
The tears made another waterfall appearance, and for two nights, I had more trouble than normal sleeping because of things said about me that got back to me.
Finally, I thought about that scripture again. Pray for those who treat you badly. People who go around making trouble for others are not happy people. Unhappy people need blessings as much as those of us who are doing our best to get through each day. People who spend nearly all their energy trying to bring others down must be missing something in their own life, or they wouldn't have time for such discord.
That night, I prayed for the 20-year co-worker who trashed me. My longtime friend with a diagnosis of their own; one of the six people I listed on my "Reasons I Ride" bib back in the day of our annual MS-150 rides.
Praying for my co-worker helped me remember this friend is fighting a battle of their own, that they have as many bad days vs. good days as us, that going into the office four days a week probably is just as much a struggle for them as even working from home is for me.
It helped me remember the friendship we once shared. It helped me remember the times when we used to help each other at work. It helped me remember I do not hate this person. I do not wish this person ill. It helped me remember I once had empathy for this person, and it helped me realize I can have it again.
This week, it was easier to be cordial to this person, and it was easier to pretend as if nothing had happened. There may still be things said about me behind my back, but I can still make the best of this and try to do my part in keeping the peace and showing compassion. It seems my prayer for my co-worker may have blessed me as much as it may have blessed my friend.
20 November 2023
Snowflake Monday
Today's pattern was (roughly) designed just before Christmas 2009, the first year I began writing and publishing snowflake patterns (September 21). I would venture to guess this probably is one of my ten oldest original snowflake designs. I wanted to fix a couple of things I didn't like about the prototype, and this lonely flake sat all these years, at the bottom of a box, awaiting being found once again. Can you see what I "fixed" when I revised the flake?
This prototype was rediscovered in a rather odd manner, compared to how most of my "lost" patterns are revived, which is via a stack of snowflakes I keep on my desk to one day remake and then write patterns for. I've been working on my 2023 digital snowflake temperature quilt all year long, and my goal from the beginning has been no snowflake duplicates.
I have written more than 800 unique patterns now, so there are more than enough for a digital quilt to showcase at least 712 of them, two for each day of the year, a high temp and a low temp. I compiled all my snowflake photos in a digital folder alphabetically and have been working my way through them since January 1.
I finally made it to the N-names, and today's snowflake was filed as "No Pattern". That was the name I designated on the photo! I tried looking up the snowflake in my directory, and sure enough, I'd never written a pattern for this one! I donated a box of very old snowflakes to Operation Ornaments earlier this year, so I didn't even have the original flake to which I could refer. Just a very old photograph. Which makes me think of this old song...
Today's snowflake feels as old as that song!!! Donated ornament distribution is happening now, so I'm hoping this old flake went to a good home and inspires joy, hope and faith in better days to come.
You may do whatever you'd like with snowflakes you make from this pattern, but you may not sell or republish the pattern. Thanks, and enjoy!
Finished Size: 6 inches from point to point
Materials: Size 10 crochet thread, size 7 crochet hook, empty pizza box, wax paper or plastic wrap, cellophane tape, water soluble school glue or desired stiffener, water, glitter, small container for glue/water mixture, paintbrush, stick pins that won't be used later for sewing, clear thread or fishing line
SPECIAL STITCHES:
Popcorn Stitch (pc)
Work 5 dc in designated st, take loop off hook, insert hook through top loop of 1st dc and replace loop on hook, pull loop through top of 1st dc.
Wayward Snowflake Instructions
Make magic ring.
Round 1: [1 pc in ring, ch 3] 5 times; 1 pc in ring, ch 1, 1 dc in starting pc to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round. Pull magic circle tight.
Round 2: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc over post of dc directly below, [in next ch 3 tip work (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc)] 5 times; 2 dc in next ch 3 tip, ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.
Round 3: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc over post of dc directly below, [1 dc in each of next 4 dc, in next ch 3 tip work (2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc)] 5 times; 2 dc in next ch 3 tip, ch 1, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round.
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.
Round 4: Ch 2 (counts as 1 dc), 1 dc over post of dc directly below, [1 dc in each of next 8 dc, in next ch 3 tip work (2 dc, ch 9, sl st in 7th ch from hook, ch 2, 2 dc)] 5 times; 2 dc in next ch 3 tip, ch 2, 1 dc in 2nd ch of starting ch 2 to form 6th ch 3 tip of Round, ch 3, 1 tr in top of dc just made to form 6th ch 6 loop of Round.
Round 5: Ch 3 (counts as 1 tr), 1 dc over post of tr directly below, ch 5, in same sp work (1 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc), [1 dc in next ch 2 sp, sk next dc, 1 dc in each of next 10 dc, sk next dc, 1 dc in next ch 2 sp, in next ch 6 loop work (1 sc, 1 hdc, 1 dc, ch 5, 1 dc, 1 tr, ch 7, * 1 tr, 1 dc, ch 5, 1 dc, 1 hdc, 1 sc)] 6 times, ending * on final repeat; sl st in 3rd ch of starting ch 3; bind off. Weave in ends.
Finish: I've been stiffening my flakes with undiluted, full-strength water soluble school glue for quite a while now, and I've been squishing the glue onto and throughout each flake with my fingers (yucky mess!!!) instead of gingerly painting the flakes with glue. Yes, it's a mess. But it's faster. And stiffer.
Tape wax paper or plastic wrap to top of empty pizza box. Pin snowflake to box on top of wax paper or plastic wrap.
If using glue, mix a few drops of water with a teaspoon of glue in small washable container. Paint snowflake with glue mixture or desired stiffener. Sprinkle lightly with glitter. Wash paintbrush and container thoroughly. Allow snowflake to dry at least 24 hours. Remove pins. Gently peel snowflake from wax paper or plastic wrap. Attach 10-inch clear thread to one spoke, weaving in end. Wrap fishing line around tree branch (or tape to ceiling or any overhead surface) and watch snowflake twirl freely whenever you walk by! Snowflake also may be taped to window or tied to doorknob or cabinet handle.
17 November 2023
16 November 2023
15 November 2023
14 November 2023
Tech Tease
Darned technology!!!
Well, Microsoft has bit me again. But I'm doing the best I can to keep a sense of humor and not throw all my peripherals out the window.
Finally bought a long-needed full-size monitor... because my eyes just can't adequately see the tiny laptop screen anymore. But this new monitor doesn't behave like the one my employer provided for my even tinier work laptop. (My personal computer is 14 inches wide, down two inches from my previous personal computer. The work laptop is 12 inches wide. My personal monitor is 20 inches wide, and the work monitor is an exhilarating 22 inches wide.)
It has taken me ALL DAY to get my brand new monitor set up. I absolutely LOVE being able to see everything on the screen again without massively increasing resolution size. But now I have to keep my personal laptop wide open in a different area to prevent the little screen from blocking the big screen because both the monitor and the laptop go to sleep if I close the laptop. And, just as the reviews proclaim, the monitor I bought has lousy speakers. I didn't think it would matter because I have my own amazing external speaks. When I plug my awesome speakers into the laptop, everything is silent. The new monitor won't let anything else make noise!!! When I plug my not-cheap speakers into the monitor, the sound is noticeably degraded. I've tried EVERYTHING we are supposed to do to change these settings. Windows 11 and the new monitor default the sound to the monitor, and there's nothing I can do to change that.
Computers!!! Can't live without 'em, but sure can't live in peace with them!!!
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