Gratitude | By Quiet Waters

Starting that Hard Thing

July 6, 2017 By Michelle

McCullough Falls

Starting that hard thing.

Last fall my daughter was starting her senior year and sharing some dreams for the future with me. One of those dreams was to take hiking to the next level… backpacking. With me.

Well I let that idea percolate over the winter and decided to give it a try. My husband generously funded the purchase of our gear as a graduation gift to our daughter.

Gear

Backpacking is hard. Really hard. I’m a slower hiker as it is, but strap on a 25lb pack and my pace slows even more. During the second trip I began to get quick discouraged. That old taunting friend started shouting in my head and I had to do some quick thinking to shut her up.

Here is what I learned.

Yes, I am slow, painfully slow. But this summer I am doing something I never thought I would do, something I never wanted to do. I am not only hiking with my daughters, but strapping on a 25lb pack and going up steep hills and down equally steep hills, then, doing it again.

Wheeler Trail

It is very hard. And it is so good.

So let me encourage you! Go ahead and do that hard thing, even if you are not strong enough. Even if you are not fast enough. You will get stronger. You will get faster. And who knows what you will see, what you will hear, and what you will learn.

I bet it will be good, and that you’ll be so glad that you did.

Columbines

What is that hard thing you’ve been thinking about starting?

February Fringe Hours

February 21, 2017 By Michelle

February fringe hours have been spent mostly in the laundry/sewing room this month. After all the Christmas quilt creating in the fall, I set aside the red and green for awhile. There are more Christmas quilts to be made, but that will likely start back up in the summer. I might run out of daughters and grandchildren to give these too, before the fabric is all sewn up!

For now beautiful sunshine yellows are making their way into a quilt for my youngest. My youngest daughter says she will decorate her entire home in yellow when she is grown. Now I cannot picture that, but making her bedroom a warm sunny yellow retreat is in progress. Cutting this quilt is taking more time than any of my other endeavors, this will be my most complicated quilt so far. I am pretty excited about it, but when Valentine’s was approaching I got an idea for some quick projects that would give some instant gratification.

First I made these darling Valentine pockets. I filled each of them with a couple of gift cards and a little candy, then hung them on the bedroom doors of each of the kids. The live action Beauty and the Beast is coming out in March so we gave each of the kids theater gift cards and a gift card for lunch or dinner.

While making those pretty little pockets, I started a Valentine’s table runner. It wasn’t finished in time for this year, but it will be a lot of fun to pull it out of the tub next January! Kind of like the placemats I made last winter, and got to enjoy all Christmas season in December.

Now I am a little ahead of myself, with this St Patrick’s table runner that is nearly completed. I should have it on the table by March 1, to enjoy all month long. This is a French braid pattern, that instead of making blocks, I just made into a long braid. It will be backed with the green cross fabric, and the binding will be the black with shamrocks.

Having these little and big projects to work on has helped this month just fly by. Spring is just around the corner, right?

What have you been enjoying in the fringe hours?

Life Giving, or Life Draining… Planning for a New Year

January 2, 2017 By Michelle

Life-Giving

The phrase life giving has been a part of my inner vocabulary for many years. I believe that the first time I ever heard the phrase was from Sally Clarkson. It is amazing and wonderful how words of encouragement can stick in a mind, and produce fruitful thinking over time. When I consider activities, reading material, music, and the words being spoken or written, I often find myself considering whether there is something life-giving in them.

Well, this phrase was heavy on my mind as I reflected on the year passing, and began to think about goals for the new year fast approaching. As I was doing so, I came across a link to a blog post I read in September of 2015 by Emily Freeman. Being a rather inward introvert, I am always thinking and maybe over thinking. These words are having that effect on me… I’ve considered each activity event from two perspectives: Was this life-giving or life-draining?

Might I encourage you, as you reflect and look forward, ask yourself from time to time, “is this life-giving? or life-draining? It just might help you refine some of those goals and plans.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

December 22, 2016 By Michelle

journey to Bethlehem

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o’er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Where to Eat in the Florida Keys

June 22, 2016 By Michelle

Where to Eat in the Florida Keys?

During our Florida Keys Vacation we found a vacation house rental, and for the first time, eating on vacation was an absolute pleasure. No stress about hotel breakfasts or blowing the budget on eating out. Instead, we prepared most of our meals at the house. We had a good breakfast every morning, loaded a cooler for each day’s lunch and often ate dinner in. I LOVED being able to choose when to go out for a meal and enjoyed each of those meals so much more than if we were juggling food from hotel rooms. This is the house we rented. It was fantastic!

Springtime in the Colorado Front Range, 2016

April 26, 2016 By Michelle

Springtime in the Colorado front range is a little sketchy. We start out with those random 70 degree days in January, cold and wind and snow in February. Then there is March, in like a lion, out like a lamb… I don’t know about that. Often March is in like a lion and out like a lion. Regardless, late March is when we start itching to put some seeds in the ground, only the cool crops though. Lettuce, spinach, carrots and onions usually do okay, even though April arrives when we next turn the calendar. This is what April looks like during a Colorado Spring along the Front Range.

Enjoy.