Silent Sunday

It's that time again...

Grab that extra hour!

Silent Sunday

Honey gold!

Silent Sunday

Sew clever!

Silent Sunday

He's hilarious but it looks good!  You might have to restart it from the beginning.

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

ahhh, Spring...

Santa rides tonight!

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there...
-- A Visit from St. Nick, by Clement C. Moore

Today I thought I'd share a post from a previous Christmas that I feel is so relevant right now!

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When I was a kid, Christmas was definitely the best time of the year!  You see, I was born on a small farm in North Carolina and we didn't have a lot of store-bought things to play with.  We seldom got "store-bought" candy or "store-bought" toys or "store-bought" fruit. 

My mother made home-made cakes, pies, ice cream, fudge and molasses candy, but because it didn't come from a store, we disdained it -- while we gobbled it down!  We had apple, peach, pear, hickory nut and black walnut trees; white, red and purple grape vines, all the huckleberries, blackberries, melons, fresh veggies and cantaloupes we could eat -- but because they were home grown and not "store bought," deep down inside we really weren't as grateful as we should have been.  Little did we know!

So when Christmas time rolled around, we kids would be giddy with joy and telling each other "I know I was good!"  "Nuh-uhn, I was better than you!"  On Christmas Eve the older ones would tell us young'uns "You better watch out, Santa rides tonight!"  We knew that meant a candy cane, a toy if we were lucky, and lots of "fruit and stuff."  Now, we did have a fireplace but somehow we never expected Santa to come down the chimney, so we would "set a box" to collect our booty.  Sometimes we'd be in bed by 7 pm, waiting for Santa!

Sure enough, when Christmas morning rolled around we saw that Santa had come through one more time!  There were big grins aplenty, lots of sweet treats, and enough excitement to keep us out of mischief for at least a few days...

I think that our childhood memories are sometimes the best ones for two reasons - one is that we can recapture the feelings we had and relive them; the other is that we look at those experiences from an adult's perspective and see how precious that time of innocence really was.  We were forced to use our imagination because there were no iPods, Minions, Fingerlings, Hatchimals, robotic this or that... A stick could become a baseball [pine cone] bat, a pony if you straddled it, or a pogo stick if you held it straight and jumped high enough.

Times have changed and gotten more complicated, but memories live on.  So, this Christmas I hope we can all celebrate where we are right now in our lives, knowing that precious memories are still being created that we can pull out, examine, and be grateful for... not only by us but also by the ones we love.

Sew forth and sew on...

Silent Sunday - Ring Christmas Bells

Silent Sunday - snowfall in Wash, DC

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

It's that time again...

Grab that extra hour!

Silent Sunday - 10/22

Today's post is brought to you by the number 1022...

which also happens to be my house number.

Have a great Sunday!

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday - I smile

Kirk Franklin - I Smile Lyrics *
I dedicate this song to recession,
depression and unemployment.
This song’s for you.

Today’s a new day, but there is no sunshine.
Nothing but clouds, and it’s dark in my heart
and it feels like a cold night.
Today’s a new day, but where are my blue skies.
Where is the love and the joy that you promised me
tell me it’s alright.

(I’ll be honest with you)

I almost gave up, but a power that I can’t explain,
fell from heaven like a shower now.

(When I think how much better I’m gonna be when this is over)

I smile, even though I hurt see I smile,
I know God is working so I smile,
Even though I’ve been here for a while
I smile, smile..
It’s so hard to look up when you look down.
Sure would hate to see you give up now.
You look so much better when you smile, so smile.

*You can get the lyrics in their entirety from http://www.songonlyrics.com/kirk-franklin-i-smile-lyrics

Silent Sunday

Dancing in the street...

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Sew forth and sew on...

Silent Sunday

photo taken at a Black Memoribilia show in Gaithersburg, Maryland