Still and Quiet

Joining Ginny for Yarn Along again!

Still working on the edging for this blanket for charity...

And reading Quiet. 

 

Very good!

 

  Lots of insightful, interesting, and challenging facts and thoughts on/for introverts. 

 

So...if you're an introvert like me (or even if you're not)...read it!! 

 

It's not just extroverts that change the world :)))

 

A few quotes from the book...

 

“Introverts, in contrast, may have strong social skills and enjoy parties and business meetings, but after a while wish they were home in their pajamas. They prefer to devote their social energies to close friends, colleagues, and family. They listen more than they talk, think before they speak, and often feel as if they express themselves better in writing than in conversation. They tend to dislike conflict. Many have a horror of small talk, but enjoy deep discussions.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

 

“So stay true to your own nature. If you like to do things in a slow and steady way, don't let others make you feel as if you have to race. If you enjoy depth, don't force yourself to seek breadth. If you prefer single-tasking to multi-tasking, stick to your guns. Being relatively unmoved by rewards gives you the incalculable power to go your own way.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

 

“It's not that there is no small talk...It's that it comes not at the beginning of conversations but at the end...Sensitive people...'enjoy small talk only after they've gone deep' says Strickland. 'When sensitive people are in environments that nurture their authenticity, they laugh and chitchat just as much as anyone else.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

 

“Indeed, your biggest challenge may be to fully harness your strengths. You may be so busy trying to appear like a zestful, reward-sensitive extrovert that you undervalue your own talents, or feel underestimated by those around you. But when you’re focused on a project that you care about, you probably find that your energy is boundless.”
― Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

 

 

Ok...I think that's enough :))

 

xx

More...

Joining Ginny for Yarn Along again this week!

Finally got this single bed blanket together and the crocheted edging done...

So that's one single bed blanket and one cot blanket to be mailed off to KOGO.

And the paler coloured blanket on top is a lap size blanket that we will keep on hand for when needed by some-one from our church or community...

 

 

I cannot accept credit for all the knitted squares (that goes to the ladies in the knitting group), I'm just the finisher off-er-er...get to sew them all together and crochet the edging :)))

 

 (will start on the edging for this one this afternoon)

I can take credit for these knitted strips...that will be sewn together (eventually) to make a blanket...

 (only two more 80 inch strips to go!!!!)

 

 

 

Finished reading Learning to Walk in the Dark, the third Barbara Brown Taylor book I have read recently.  All highly recommended!!

 

And for a change of pace I'm reading a Hakan Nesser scandi crime fiction book.  I do like his style of writing and the quirky characters, and it makes an interesting change, but probably not a genre I would read regularly...

 

 

Spring is finally starting to show signs, with bulbs flowering, trees blossoming, and the ducks on the river getting decidedly frisky :)))

 

xx

Create and Enjoy

Had the knitting ladies here this morning for our monthly charity knitting group get together.  Knitting beanies, squares for blankets, and I worked on getting this lap blanket together...

I had started this a while ago (the square centre piece) and my friend Debbie finished it off for me by adding extra top and bottom to make it a single bed size.  I still need to crochet an edging around it...

Recently finished this book.  A very interesting and informative read...

Been listening to these CD's from Cedar Springs Youth.  A follow on from my time at the Mennonite wedding and once again hearing their beautiful singing...

And have started this book.  Another one by Barbara Brown Taylor.  Good...as usual...

 

 

More than enough to keep me busy :))

 

Check out Ginny's Yarn Along posts to see what others are creating and reading...

 

Hope your week is going well!

 

xx

Marriage...Mennonite style

Had a lovely day recently attending the wedding of Laura and Brian from the Mennonite Church here in Deloraine...

 (Brian and Laura)

The church service and marriage ceremony were in Deloraine, and the reception was held at Meander...

 (arriving at the reception)

The wedding party...

 (Brian and Laura and their attendants)

During the reception we enjoyed some beautiful a cappella singing...

 (the young folk)

 

And here they are...

 (the happy couple)

As mentioned in a previous post I was crocheting a blanket as a wedding gift for them, but on reflection, decided it was perhaps a bit overly bright and colourful, so opted for this pretty pink quilt instead...

(I hope they like it!!)

 

 

It was a happy day, catching up with old friends and meeting and making some new ones. 

 

A beautiful, simple, wedding and reception.

 

Just the way it should be...

 

xx

 

 

Whiteout

Well... maybe not quite, but a first for me in the 3 years I've lived in Deloraine!

Snow!!!!  Woke up to the whiteness this morning, and it's actually snowing!!! as I write...

It's beautiful :)))

 

I know for some of you this is nothing special, but for Deloraine it's a once in a blue moon occurrence...and for me...I don't think I've ever seen snow falling :)))

 

It' s sooo pretty!!

 

xx

Postscript :)))

(cute!!!)

 

Wedding Bells

No...not mine...so you can stop panicking family :)))

I've been invited to the wedding of Laura and Brian.  Laura is the daughter of the minister of the Mennonite Church here in Deloraine and I was really delighted to receive an invitation.

So...I have been busily trying to finish a crocheted lap blanket for them...

 

 

Also reading An Alter in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor (having just finished her Leaving Church as mentioned in my previous post).  It is really good!!  I think some-one on Ginny's Yarn Along mentioned her books...and I'm so glad they did!  I will certainly be reading more of her work.

 

Here are a few snippets...

 

From the chapter The Practice of Waking Up To God...

 

"Wisdom is not gained by knowing what is right.  Wisdom is gained by practicing what is right, and noticing what happens when that practice succeeds or fails.  Wise people do not have to be certain what they believe before they act.  They are free to act, trusting that the practice itself will teach them what they need to know." (p14)

 

And from the chapter The Practice of Paying Attention...

 

"Reverence requires a certain pace.  It requires a willingness to take detours, even side trips, which are not part of the original plan." (p24)

 

A week later...

 

Ok...going to get this finished and published this time...

 

Finished reading An Alter in the World and really enjoyed it.  Interesting , honest and insightful.  Lots of noteworthy quotes (I have margin markings and underlines on nearly every page), but if I take the time to write more here...you'll never get this post. 

 

So...you will just have to read the book :))

 

Still working on the wedding blanket, and reading Trafficking in Sheep - A Memoir by Anne Barclay Priest.  Only 30 pages in, but so far it's good...

 

 

 

And more knitting for charity packaged up to mail away...

(2 vests/sleeveless pullovers and 7 scarves)

 

 

Will leave you with a final quote from An Alter in the World:

 

From the chapter The Practice of Getting Lost...which, by the way, I seem to be very good at!! :))

 

"I have found things while I was lost that I might never have discovered if I had stayed on the path" (p73)

 

and

 

"God does some of God's best work with people who are truly, seriously lost." (also p73)

 

Ok...can't resist one more (not sure if this was in the book or not...can't remember where I read it)...

This one is my new sign off on my emails...

 

"Be who you is, 'cause if you ain't who you is, you is who you ain't."
(Forrest Gump)

 

 

:)))

 

xx

Yarn Along

Linking up with Ginny for Yarn Along

 

Blankets for charity!

 

We had over 80 x 10" squares that the ladies in the knitting group had crocheted.  When my friend Debbie was here a couple of months ago, she took them all home with her and made them up into 3 single bed sized blankets.  Such beautiful colours...and all out of various bits and pieces of leftover yarn!!

 

Thanks Debbie :))

 

(Debbie blogs HERE)

 

(Rainbow Blankets for Mission Without Borders)

More jumpers and beanies for Nepal knitted by the dedicated ladies in our knitting group...

(for Friends of Himalayan Children)

Still crocheting around the edge of a single bed blanket for charity...

Finished the red mittens, but they are a bit big for me, so will send them to one of the charities we support.

And on the reading front...

Almost finished re-reading The Clear Light of Day by Penelope Wilcock  and enjoying it again!
(Pen blogs HERE) 

And looking forward to starting Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor 
Couldn't resist a little sneak read...I think it's going to be good!!!

Had son Ben and daughter in law Hayley here recently...we had 2 nights in Stanley (love that place!).  Hope to get a post up about it soon.


Finishing up with a quote from Barbara's book....

"The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself"
(William Faulkner)

xx