Easter Quest

Saturday's One-Day-Holiday-Club went really well. Just a dozen children [plus parents, superb helpers and a small baby] but it was a lovely atmosphere. We were looking at Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was there at five important points in Jesus life. 

1. His birth [obviously] 
2. When he was a boy and she lost him in Jerusalem and found him in the Temple
3. At his first miracle [Water into Wine at the Wedding]
4. The Crucifixion
5. After his Resurrection on Easter Day
   

We did lots of crafts - window spinners, pop up cards, Easter Gardens, bead hearts and crosses, decorated biscuits, and an Easter Colouring Book. 

The children worked so hard, and parents helped. I had pre-prepared shapes from fondant icing [hearts, crosses and butterflies] so they could ice biscuits. Two members of the team supervised this popular activity.[Thanks Ann and Di]
We also had a 'Trail' finding five locations representing the Bible stories featuring Mary. At each point there was a stamp so children could mark their card. These are four locations. There was also a simple wooden cross on a green 'hill', The stamps spelled out 
M A R Y 💜

And we sang songs and played games - and finished with a simple lunch* together.
It was worth doing, even for a small number - and children and parents were so appreciative

* ham or cheese roll, crisps, yogurt, piece of fruit. Easy for the team to prepare, and children and adults enjoyed sitting round chatting and eating.

I've already emailed one blogfriend copies of the notes for this event, including full craft instructions. If anyone else would like details, to use it with their groups, please email me. 

This week, concentrating on the kitchen!!

Lent 5: Readiness

Back in 2019 I did some Lent Pauses based on a series of Stanley Spencer paintings entitled "Christ in the Wilderness" and I used this one which is called 'foxes have holes' and refers to Luke 9:58, where Jesus says that 'foxes have holes, birds have nests- but the Son Of Man has nowhere to lay his head.' 

He is pointing out to those who say "Jesus, I will follow you anywhere" that the path will not be easy, that there will be self-denial and sacrifice involved. I sometimes wonder if it is too easy for us as Christians to 'get comfy' in our faith. We meet up with our mates on Sundays, have a good sing, read the Bible. pray, and enjoy a decent cup of coffee and conversation after the service.
All of which is fine, but is that it? Jesus called us to take up our cross daily and be ready to serve Him, to do the difficult things, week in week out. 
In first century Judea, the Roman Impressment Law meant that if a soldier demanded a Jew should carry his pack for him, he was required to bear that burden for a mile. Jesus said people should be ready to 'go the extra mile' - to carry it for twice as long.
Sometimes the things we are called upon to do are not easy. They may 'take us out of our comfort zone' but if we truly believe they are the right thing, then we should be ready to do them. Perhaps helping others in a practical way, perhaps speaking out against injustice...

It is eighty years this Wednesday since the the execution of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German Pastor and theologian hanged for his part in an assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler. Bonhoeffer understood what it meant to be a Christian, to 'take up the cross daily and follow' He spoke out against the Fuhrer, and was involved in active resistance to the Nazis. He wrote these words in "The Cost of Discipleship" - and I think they are very appropriate to consider right now. 
"Thus it begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow him, or it may be a death like Luther’s, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time – death in Christ."
I hope I will not be called upon to do things which will lead to imprisonment and execution [but for many Christians across the world, that is a daily reality] but if my life is to make an impact, then I have to be ready to do the right thing, even if it is the difficult thing. 

Singing [NotTracing] Rainbows

 

White and yellow and pink and green
Beige and magnolia and blue
These are all the colours
My kitchen has been
Since nineteen seventy two...

Oh my goodness, the things you discover when you remove the cupboards and the tiles!

Busy today with our one day holiday club at the Chapel. Hoping for good weather!

Ribbons And Rhythms

When I am stitching, I like to listen to the radio. Sometimes music [usually Classic FM] or the spoken voice [BBC Radio 4 or 4Extra]

For my penultimate stitching section, a long thin strip, I found three ribbons in my stash. Red, white and blue [unintentionally patriotic]One had been part of the wrapping for a gift from the Literary Emporium, one a white cotton twill printed with a music stave, and one was some simple pale blue satin.

I left the red unadorned, on the white I stitched French knots on the "blobs" of the crotchets and quavers. [Apologies, I don't know their proper name. I'm sure Kezzie or Kirsten will let me know!] And on the blue I did rows of running stitches. I used random dyed floss throughout to get interesting variations of colour. I stitched the outer edges down with red and blue blanket stitch.

Here's a favourite piece of music, played at Gaz and Steph's wedding. Very calming when I'm stitching!

Unboxing

definition:  the activity of taking new products out of their packaging, especially on videos on the internet.

I watched an 'unboxing video' with Rosie last year. Someone  opening a box with a £6 LOL doll in it. Making the sort of enthusiastic noises I might make if I was sent a box with a £6000 Bernina sewing machine. Except this woman was in her thirties, which made it very weird. I could cope with Ro or Jess ooh-ing and aah-ing over a doll but not someone old enough to be their mother doing it. And as for setting up a video camera to record the whole experience for the general public to share...

But, dear friends, I would like you to share my unboxing of the latest CoverStory package received from Kirsten yesterday. Please supply your own sound effects as indicated. Rustling of tissue paper

Firstly the inner box. The Graze ones we started with years ago are wearing out. Here is a new, very pretty box from Bloom and Wild, [oooh!] and inside the Travelling Notebook with all the annotations of what we have stitched and why [hmmm! helpful]

Then the postcard - always full of personal details, some sadness  😥🙏 and some joy [Hallelujah!]

Don't you just love Shepard's Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin illustration? [sweet...] so much more English than the Disney bear. The flat gift...

A pack of wildflower seeds [so charming]

Bladder Campion [wheee!]

Birdsfoot Trefoil

Self-Heal [sounds good]

Lady's Bedstraw - used to colour Double Gloucester Cheese[yum]

Sneeze-wort [atishoo!]

Red Clover

Betony - it's good for back pain, said Culpeper's Herbal[👍]

Hedge Bedstraw

drumroll Finally this month's stitching [wow!!]

A gloriously dense piece of coton perlé work. Lush green grasses, interspersed with bright pink tulips in detached chain stitch, colourful French Knot crocuses, and bright daffodils stitched from Karen Turner's video tutorial . A celebration of spring flowers.
That's lovely said Bob

It's gorgeous said I  

[applause and cheering] 👏👏👏

Thank you Kirsten for this delightful piece. I don't foresee a new career for me in making "Unboxing Videos" though [sighs of relief from everybody]

Would You Believe It?

 Were you caught out?

Cadbury's Creme Eggs in sachets, Heinz Dubai Baked Beans with pistachio flavouring, 

Birds Eye Waff-holes [using the potato pieces leftover from the waffles] 

Dole pineapple flavoured eggs, and Terry's mint chocolate toothpaste were all advertised yesterday.

Krisy Kreme announced the withdrawal of their original glazed donut, while Waitrose said they would only sell Easter eggs to adults, not children.

Subway were offering their best rolls liquidised into protein rich drinks...

Oh and Hyundai have autonomous Mobilet portable toilets which will appear when you need them. At your own convenience presumably. I think they should have called them Deliverloo

All very classy work by the marketing guys. I wonder how many people were fooled. Apparently there were fewer pranks in the media this year - it seems people are getting more wary of fake news.

I learned two new words yesterday [genuine, not AF pranks] Thank you Catriona and Sue, for Huntigowk [Scottish term for April Fool's Day] and Pittakionophobia [fear of sticky labels]

Turning Turtle

Following on from yesterday's post, more about Kemp's Ridley. In the Gulf of Mexico is a pretty little island, Isla Porfol.

The turtles swim in the clear blue waters and are cherished by the locals. 

On this day every year, they celebrate El Dia de la Tortuga . [The Day Of The Turtle] with a massive carnival. Dancing, singing and feasting.

But remember, if they were not Mexican but French, the people of Isla Porfol might call today the Day of the Fish...