Quiet

Things have been fairly quiet on the home front with the exception of a very loud, very late (but fun) night hosting the church Youth for a candy making night on December 12th. I learned a dishcloth pattern and have made a set for each of my grandmothers for Christmas. Nana gets the yellow and Nanny's is a light blue to go with her blueberry themed kitchen. I finished the last one yesterday. Now I'm focusing on a scarf or two and finishing up my shawl.

My adult Sabbath School programs for the month have gone well. I'm happy to say that at least one person each week makes a point to say that they enjoyed the program and got something out of it. That is what I work towards. I get anywhere from 10-30 people for the 9:30-9:45a program. Since there was some resistance to the idea of doing a sanctuary program before breaking out for the lesson, I'm pleased with the turnout. I try to make the programs unique and put my spin on ideas when I can. And I do love visual aids and handouts.

On December 5th I talked about family traditions and brought in some Shabbat candles and a Challah recipe so that anyone who wanted to start a new Friday night tradition could. (As a result of my research, I've actually started lighting two Shabbat candles and say a short prayer when I get home from work on Friday nights--I leave just before sunset, so it's already Sabbath when I get home--to set the mood for Sabbath.)

The next week I spoke about the commercialism of Christmas and how we should focus on family and quality time instead of presents and money and shopping. I handed out the following Christmas Pledge: “Believing in the true spirit of Christmas, I commit myself to: Remember those who truly need my gifts. Express my love in more direct ways than gifts. Examine my holiday activities in light of my deepest values. Be a peacemaker within my circle of family and friends. Rededicate myself to spiritual growth.” --Unplug the Christmas Machine by William Morrow

Last week I dealt with our responsibility to show compassion and tangible care to those in need. My theme was based on James 1:27 and Ezekiel 34:8 and dealt mostly with shut-ins, sick, aged, widow(er)s, and single parent families. I brought some blank cards so that those who wanted to could write a short note of encouragement to someone who may be feeling forgotten.

I'm thankful to have the next two weeks off to recharge and think of some more topics. I'm hoping to find some inspiration from my parents' church and the antics of my nephews.

A Stitch in Time

I spent a good part of the day learning a new knitting style: intarsia knitting. There were about eleven of us at Yarniverse. Our teacher was an amazingly patient woman named Charlotte who used to work for Vogue Knitting Magazine. She wasn't fond of my loop cast on (as it can result in very loose row) and showed me a knitting cast on. It took a couple of tries but I finally got it. I only got about two-thirds of the way through the first group of colors before class ended. But once I got home I was able to take what I learned and add on the final 3 colors. Here is what the completed project is supposed to look like: And here is what I've done so far. I'm not sure how long it's going to take, but I hope it will go quickly since it's on size 15 needles. The finished shawl is supposed to be 60". (I'm just over ten percent done with 7" so far.) I don't know if I'll be able to give this one away.

To the Nines

After I finished Thanksgiving dinner I spent the rest of the day watching the James Bond movie marathon on TV and finishing up scarf #9. I decided not to use the whole skein and make it a bit on the shorter side because I really wanted to be finished before heading to my knitting class on Sunday. The pattern is the American Moss Stitch.

Wish It Was a Sunday

Today was a rather low key day. Instead of marking any items off of my "to do" list, I lounged with the girls. I made some nutmeg and cinnamon pancakes (Daly was excited to get a small piece with peanut butter on it) and settled in for a day of DVR watching, knitting and having my lap be a cat bed. As you can see below, Daly was a big helper. I'm about half way done with my ninth scarf--a Christmas present. In the next couple of weeks I hope to learn to make some dish clothes from my friend J.

Finally

Tonight I finally finished the Crafting for Charity scarf I started November 8th. It's blocks of red and light grey with sections of both colors in between. It's the first time I worked with colors separately and I don't really like how it turned out. It's also a pain in the neck to weave in all of those ends. It will be awhile before I would a dual color pattern like this again.

I also finally got the first of my two post days!

Latest and Greatest

I know that most of my last few posts have been about my knitting. Sorry to disappoint, but this one is too (I don't have much else going on). I started two scarfs this weekend. One is for a Christmas present and is a fun new stitch. The second is my try at knitting with blocks of colors. At our knitting group today I got some pointers and discovered that because of the colors I'm using (the same dark red and light grey as the scarf I finished last week) I need to have a transition section at the color changes. I'm also still working to get the stitches count working so the transition section isn't wider than the rest of the scarf. Here is my little one Daly modeling today's progress.

One more down

Today was a pleasant Sabbath. The joint Sabbath School trivia was a hit and there was only one student in Earlieens so we did some more trivia. After church I came home, watched the Contemporary Christian music channel while I ate and took a short nap (2 hours is short) on the couch with O'Malley. For some reason she won't come up on the bed at night, but has to be on my lap downstairs. It was worth napping on the couch to cuddle up with her. Tonight I worked the sound for the Extreme Faith meetings and finished my seventh scarf. This one is made with double yarn--dark red and light grey--and a random pattern (is that an oxymoron?) of knits, purls, stockinette and reverse stockinette stitches. This one is going to the church Crafting for Charity project. I'm hoping to learn how to knit in blocks of two colors tomorrow. One of these days I'll start on the scarfs I need to make for Christmas gifts.

Crafting for Charity

As I've mentioned before the Women's Ministry department of my church is making scarfs and blankets to give out at various shelters and halfway houses in the Memphis area. Our goal is to make a total of 65 scarfs. The last count, back in October, was 30 completed scarfs and I know that a few of the ladies have finished scarfs at home that just need to be added to our stock. This means that we are about halfway finished. That's pretty good if you ask me considering that we started in July. To help motivate us to get knitting or crocheting we've displayed them on the baptistery wall. It's an amazing sight.

Section 1 close up.

Section 2 close up

Section 3 close up

And here is the scarf I finished Sunday morning. It's my 5th scarf for Crafting for Charity but my 6th scarf ever. I'm currently working on scarf #7 which is also for the church project. The rest of the scarfs that I'll be making for Christmas will probably be started sometime around Thanksgiving.

Honored

While this was a very busy and productive weekend for me with my first joint Sabbath School presentation, the MJA work bee, and finishing up my third Creating for Charity scarf, I am a bit saddened that I wasn't able to go up to Boston this weekend to see my grandparents honored. In recognition of their years of ministry service--well over 5 decades--their church is sending them on a vacation to Casablanca, Morocco. They lived in Morocco during the first years of their marriage and haven't been back since. They were truly amazed, shocked, and thankful to their church family. I'm a bit jealous that I'm not able to go with them! Below is the ministry bio that my mom wrote up for the service. It is a blessing to be a part of this family.

Ministry of Leo & Lois Poirier

The Poirier’s pastoral ministry spans a journey of approximately 50 years in the Southern New England Conference area. It’s an unlikely story; beginning with a young altar boy at St. Leo’s Catholic Church in Leominster, Ma, who eventually, through the influence of his Christian wife, Lois, became a Seventh-day Adventist minister and chaplain.

Lois and Leo met at the Whalom Park Roller Skating Rink when they were teenagers, and Leo had just joined the Navy as a Communications Technician. They continued a courtship by mail and saw each other occasionally when Leo returned home on leave. Though their religious backgrounds differed, they were both dedicated Christians, each trying to convert the other to their own church. In spite of obstacles, they were married in 1950, each still praying for the other’s change of faith. Leo was assigned to the Naval base in French Morocco, Africa, and had to leave his new bride behind for several months, but eventually she was able to courageously join him overseas. They lived off the base in the village with the locals and had many interesting adventures while in Morocco, including the discovery on what was supposed to be the beginning of a European holiday, that Lois was too sick to travel. That discovery ended up becoming their daughter, Maureen!

During their 5th year of marriage, by now stationed on the island of Guam, Lois was able to convince Leo to attend one of the meetings of an evangelistic series at her church. He occasionally enjoyed the radio sermons of H.M.S. Richards, SR, who she explained was from the same faith. Capitalizing on his interest in history, she invited him to the lecture on prophecy and the falling stars in 1833. He was hooked, and with further studies into Biblical truths, he was baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist church at the end of the series. Not long afterwards he felt impressed to leave the Navy to become trained in the ministry and eventually become a Navy Chaplain to lead other servicemen to Christ.

The Lord had other plans for Leo and Lois. Leo did complete his Theology degree at Atlantic Union College, and while there, their son Tim was born. In 1957, Leo was assigned as an intern to their first church district -the Boston Temple and Everett churches. They then went to Andrews University Theological Seminary in Michigan to obtain his Master’s of Divinity degree. By this time Maureen was 8 years old and Tim was 3. Leo also worked full time as an electronics technician and Lois kept teacher’s children in their home to try to cover expenses.

After attending the Seminary, they were hired by the Southern New England Conference as Assistant Pastor for the Providence, Wickford, and Burrillville churches in Rhode Island under Elders James Haywood, then Jack Clarke. While preaching in the Wickford church in April of 1962, Leo suffered a stroke from a cerebral aneurysm at the age of only 32. This was a life changing event with a long, but miraculous recovery that God would use to redirect his ministry. A year after his stroke, Leo recovered enough to pastor his own churches in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and Canaan, Ct, for 3 years. Lois’s talent was for children’s ministries, and she especially enjoyed leading the Kindergarten Sabbath School. It was there that Leo discovered that due to his stroke, his dream of reentering the military as a chaplain would not be realized, and wondered what other plan God could have for him.

In 1965 the family was transferred again, this time to Connecticut where they pastored at the Plainville, Middletown, and Meriden churches. Leo was ordained as a fully credentialed Minister in 1966. Then, in 1968, Leo received a call from Chaplain Walter Kloss to become his associate hospital chaplain at New England Memorial Hospital in Stoneham. Now Leo & Lois knew how God would use his illness to minister to others in a unique way.

During his ministry to countless patients, families and church members, Leo was also a leader in obtaining and instructing Certification in Clinical Pastoral Education in New England and served as President of the Adventist Association of Chaplains. He remains an adjunct professor for Atlantic Union College off-campus classes. He also received his Clinical Social Worker’s License. Lois worked per diem at NEMH and again nurtured children in her home to assist with Maureen & Tim’s Adventist school tuition. In 1990 Leo had cardiac bypass surgery, and 2 years later he retired from then named Boston Regional Medical Center after nearly 25 years of Chaplaincy. But he didn’t quit working! Instead he answered a need in Williamsburg, Virginia, for a temporary Chaplain at the Eastern State Psychiatric Hospital for a year. Upon returning to Stoneham, he became a per diem family counselor under Dr. Mirna Aeschlimann’s Pediatric practice and was also requested by the local Protestant Ministerial Association to become the part-time Chaplain at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital; a position he has continued to hold for the past 15 years.

Throughout Leo’s ministry, he has performed many baptisms, weddings, funerals, and baby dedications, as well as pastoral counseling, prayers, Bible Study, and preaching, for both the Adventist and non-Adventist communities. By his side, Lois has consistently used her gifts of empathy and encouragement for shut-ins and others needing visitation or assistance, and joyfully caring for her children, grandchildren, and now great-grandsons, Dean & Luke. In every place of ministry they have been blessed and supported by so many loving friends and gratefully acknowledge how God has led them each amazing step of the way.

PS. Here's a look at finished scarf #3. It's the longest one I've done--used about 300 yards of yarn--and took just over a week.

Crafting for Charity Update

I seem to be getting the hang of this whole knitting thing. Last Thursday (7/23) I went to Yarniverse and learned how to cast off and weave in the ends. Here is a look at the finished project, my first eco-friendly scarf. It kept .6 plastic bottles from a landfill and took about a week and a half to finish. Wednesday night I started my second scarf. I didn't have as much yarn in my skein as I had hoped, so it's a little shorter than the first but still works. I used larger needles (13s) so it only took me about 4 days to complete. I just need to weave in the ends once I get the proper tool.

And here is my 3rd scarf. I started it on Sunday afternoon and was able to get a lot done while hanging out and playing Wii with LadyBoyd and friends. I should be finished by week's end even though I plan on making this a longer scarf.

I think I'm about ready to make scarfs for some of my friends and maybe learn some more advanced techniques. We'll just have to wait and see.

Weekend in Words & Photos

On Thursday evening E, J & I ate a quick dinner that consisted of Whole Foods sushi and then made our way across the parking lot to see the new Vatican approved Harry Potter movie. We got there early so we could find three seats together. While most everyone else was playing on their cell phones waiting for the movie to start I did what any other self respecting 30-something would do: I put on my glasses and started knitting. Below is a pic of my progress taken just before I went to sleep on Thursday night. (BTW, great movie; can't wait for #7.)

Friday evening was spent studying to teach the earliteen SS lesson, making ice cream, and knitting. In preparation for Saturday night's Ice Cream Social, I borrowed E's ice cream maker and tried my hand at Avocado Ice Cream a la Alton Brown and a Vegan Butter Pecan. Here is photo evidence of what got accomplished Friday night. If you make the Butter Pecan, I recommend using half of the vanilla that the recipe calls for. I found it a bit overpowering. But it might have been just me since I got compliments and there was none left over.

Who doesn't like green food? I know that some people were a little bit skeptical of avocado ice cream, but I think that they ended up being pleasantly surprised. And besides, I have to shake things up every once and awhile. There were some leftovers, but I put them to good use in an avocado milkshake on Sunday.

And finally, here is the status of my knitting as of Friday night.

Saturday brought rest, busyness (teaching SS, doing announcements, & children's story) and the church social. I was happy to see that quite a few people came out for the festivities and sampled the ice cream. Most people left before the games started but a few of us stuck around. There was a nice group of us who brought our knitting/crocheting and worked on our projects while socializing. This is what I ended up with by the end of the night.

After such a busy week I decided to play hermit on Sunday. I slept til 10a, made breakfast, and settled in to a day of laundry, DVR watching (yay for Eureka, MI-5, Royal Pains, Mission Impossible 3, etc), and knitting. I don't feel so guilty watching so much TV anymore now that I can multi-task. Here is my almost finished scarf. I'm down to the last couple of yards of yarn in the skein and will have to stop soon and wait to meet up with S so she can show me how to finish off the scarf. I should be starting on my next project sometime this week. I'm going to try for a larger needle size and some bulkier yarn. I might even be really geeky and check out Yarniverse.