Category: Holidays
Happy Independence Day!
Shared from a friend:
This weekend of the July 4th Independence Day celebration is important to us in the US for expressing our thanks for Independence, the foundation of our country, and its principles and beliefs.
I have thought about this freedom in relation to our personal independence, and what is controlling us, influencing us, and holding us back. There are things that are preventing us from having personal freedom. Our self-limiting beliefs. The negative talk in our own heads. The negative talk from others. All the things hold us back from achieving success and taking action and having a happier life. All these things contain a presupposition that we are unable to achieve certain things and that nothing will change in the future. So we create a self-fulfilling prophesy that we carry on our negatively directed path.
Some beliefs are subconscious and irrational whereas others are purely a lack of information.
I challenge each of my friends to believe in their abilities to achieve almost anything that they desire.
To throw away the self-limiting beliefs that you can’t achieve what you want. Let’s make the next six months of the year the best ever.
Arnie Weiss
Alternative Sources.
Sometimes art supplies can be very expensive. So, when I find an alternative source, it can be very rewarding. Earlier this year, while walking around our local Target store, I saw some unfinished ceramic dishes in the dollar section of the store. Some were letters of the alphabet and others were geometric shapes.
When I saw these, I wondered if they would be useful for molds for my fused glass. Casting molds can cost $10 for even a small mold. So, if these would work, they would be very economical. I purchased one of the hearts and took it home. I figured if it didn’t work I would only have wasted a dollar (and some scrap glass).
Before testing it, I did some on-line checking to see if anyone else had already tried using one of the small dishes. Sure enough, several people had already tried the dishes and were successful.
Using some scrap glass I made a heart paperweight (for Valentine’s Day) and a heart paperweight in support of Peace for Ukraine.
With Mother’s Day approaching, I had another idea for the heart molds.
Using scrap glass, I made some hearts of soft blue and soft green glass.
The resulting hearts were enhanced with various murrini and freeze/fuse glass shapes, tack fused to clear glass and placed in a 5×5 frame with a quote from Therese of Lisieux that I thought was very meaningful for Mother’s Day.
I also made another heart using some pieces of vitregraph and murrini.
My mom’s gift was hand delivered when I visited her recently and my mother-in-law’s gift was recently mailed to her. So, don’t worry that their surprise for Mother’s Day is impacted by this post. I think both of them enjoyed their gifts.
I have since stocked up on more dishes, letters (unfortunately they did not have the entire alphabet), diamonds, more hearts and hexagons. I am looking forward to using these new molds. If anyone has any special requests for heart/letter, please contact me to inquire about what I can make.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
At this time of year, many people will be putting together resolutions for the new year. I have always thought that this was a crazy idea. If change needs to be made, why wait until New Years Day. Make the changes when they are necessary.
At this time of year, I do, however, tend to look back at the past year and focus on the good things from the previous year. While 2021 was not the best of years (I think we all relate to this sentiment), there are several things that stand out for the year.
The Bible in a Year podcast.
One of the best things that I did this year was to subscribe to receive these daily readings. I will admit that I have tried to read through the Bible in the past. However, I would get hung up on the long lists of names, the disjointed storyline when reading through book by book, and when events were repeated or out of sequence.
In this podcast, Fr. Mike Schmitz uses The Great Adventure Bible Timeline (developed by Jeff Cavins) to tie together the Bible thematically. The podcast highlights how all the pieces of the Bible fit together to tell the amazing story of salvation. If you are interested in the listening to the podcast in 2022, there are many ways to subscribe (YouTube, Hallow, Podcast app, etc).
Retirement.
According to Wikipedia, “retirement is the withdrawal from one’s position or occupation or from one’s active working life”. According to me, “retirement is the best part of a career”. Not having to set an alarm, being able to complete more of my crafting ideas, gardening without having to fit in into my work schedule, and spending more time with family have all been the highlights of retirement for me.
Daily Journaling.
I have always keep myself very busy doing various projects or crafts. However, I would often end my day wondering what I actually accomplished that day. So, on my first day of retirement I started keeping a journal of what I did each day, along with some thoughts of my day. Having things written down, I am able to look back and see that I was productive each day.
As we start 2022, I am looking forward to what this new year will bring – another trip through the Bible, more time with family and friends, and more crafts and gardening.
I pray that you will have a happy, healthy year, and that you will find the glory in God’s creation and the joy of his marvelous love.
Light of the World
The world waits for a miracle. The heart longs for a little bit of hope.
Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel.
A child prays for peace on Earth. And she’s calling out from a sea of hurt.
Oh come, oh come, Emmanuel.
And can you hear the angels singing.
Glory to the light of the world. Glory, the light of the world is here.
The drought breaks with the tears of a mother. A baby’s cry is the sound of love.
Come down, come down, Emmanuel.
He is the song for the suffering. He is Messiah, the Prince of Peace has come.
He has come, Emmanuel.
Glory to the light of the world. Glory to the light of the world,
For all who wait. For all who hunger.
For all who’ve prayed. For all who wonder.
Behold your King. Behold Messiah.
Emmanuel, Emmanuel.
Glory to the light of the world. Glory to the light of the world.
Glory to the light of the world.
Behold your King. Behold Messiah.
Emmanuel, Emmanuel.
The world waits for the miracle. The heart longs for a little bit of hope.
Oh come, oh come Emmanuel.
Holiday Spectacular
My husband and I returned last evening from a few days in New York City visiting our third son and his girl friend. While there, we enjoyed seeing some of the iconic holiday sights and events.
Central Park. With the temperature near 60 on our first day, we took a really long walk through Central Park.
5th Avenue
Holiday Train Show at the New York Botanical Gardens. Model trains move through displays of New York landmarks that are made out of natural materials like wood bark, pine cones, leaves, etc. It was truly amazing.
The Russian Tea Room – a great place for dinner.
A Sherlock Carol – an off Broadway play that incorporates the characters of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens.
The Nutcracker by the New York Ballet
Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall
We were very fortunate that none of our plans were impacted by the Covid-related cancellations sweeping through New York City.
Thanksgiving Family Joy
(and a little sorrow).
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at our house. It had been nearly two years since everyone was home together. So, this year was extra special because all four boys were able to visit for a few days. Coming from Madison, Brooklyn(NY), Denver and Robbinsdale, they all arrived in time to join us for dinner.
After a wonderful dinner, we spent some time playing games and catching up on life. Throughout the weekend, the boys were able to visit friends, do some shopping and some cookie baking. Tim even updated our household WiFi. There were also lots of games of chess, Othello, and Xbox.
As of yesterday, they have all returned to their own residences, so our house is very quiet again.
Actually, its quieter than normal.
Thanksgiving evening, I called my mother to wish her a Happy Thanksgiving. While on the phone, my cat Onyx had a seizure, so, I quickly hung up to try to calm my cat.
Onyx had been having small seizures occasionally for over a year. Usually these episodes would last about a minute or so, with her being disoriented and unable to walk for a few minutes afterwards. But then she would return to her normal affectionate self.
This time, however, she did not recover. Over the next day, she was unable to move her hind legs and would not eat or drink anything . Then, the next evening she had another episode, this time losing the ability to move her front legs. In the morning she was no better and looked frightened and disoriented. Unfortunately, after thirteen years, she was unable to bounce back this time.
For many of us, myself included, our pets are as close as family, if not even closer. Pets are there for you twenty-four hours a day. They don’t care about laundry, housecleaning or making meals. They don’t care about things going on in the world. They just care about their “person”.
This was very true of Onyx. Earlier this year, I was treated for a synovial cyst that caused me severe back pain for over two months. During that time and since then, Onyx was my constant companion, always following me around the house and wanting to snuggle with me. She will definitely be missed.
In her memory, here are a few photos.
#NeverForget
2 decades ago
20 years ago
240 months ago
1043 weeks ago
7300 days ago
175200 hours ago
One day that changed our lives.
Sitting in my craft room, watching the broadcasts of the remembrance of the attacks twenty years ago, I am probably doing what many Americans are doing – thinking back on that day.
Twenty years ago, September 11th was a Tuesday. Being my day off, I went for a run after our nanny had arrived for the day. Just as I was leaving, I heard a report on the radio station that I was listening to that a plane had hit the one of the towers of the World Trade Center, but the reporters stated that the cause was unknown. A while later, while running, the radio station reported that another plane had hit the other tower. This could not have been an accident.
I think I probably ran faster than I have ever done in order to get home. The scenes on television were unforgettable.
I thank God for our military and law enforcement who have kept our country free from major terror attacks since that day. Twenty years later, the buildings have been rebuilt and most people have gone on with their lives. But, our lives were changed by that day.
2 millennia ago
20 centuries ago
Nearly 200 decades ago
Nearly 2000 years ago
726, 266 days ago
One day that changed our everything!
Sitting in my craft room, I am also struck by the events that happened on April 3, 0033. This is the estimated date of Christ’s crucifixion (https://www.christianpost.com/news/new-study-reveals-exact-date-jesus-was-crucified-scientists-claim.html).
There are no videos to remind us of that event. But, I thank God who gave his son on that day to keep my life free from the ravages of sin. Two thousand years later, people continue to gone on with their lives. But, our lives were changed by that day.
God Bless Each of You and God Bless America!
Erickson's Heirlooms 