I have many fears; but this is my meditation

Psalm 62:5-8
5For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,

for my hope is from him.

6 He only is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

7On God rests my salvation and my glory;

my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him;

God is a refuge for us.

These are the verses I'm working on memorizing right now. Especially for those moments of fear when my soul is anything but quiet. God is my refuge - not safety in this life! Hope this passage is a blessing to you today.

I'm in the Minority . . .

. . . at least in my circle of friends.

Why? you ask?

Because I can almost guarantee that none of my girlfriends care a lick that Prince Fielder won the Home Run Derby last night.

I can hear you asking, "Who is Prince Fielder?"

And that's why I'm in the minority.

It all started so innocently last year. My hubby started showing some interest in the Milwaukee Brewers. Now, sure, we had gone to a game here and there for the past 9+ years of living in Wisconsin, but we had never followed them. Until Dan started working with an avid fan (I mean you, Jose) and all of a sudden Dan was watching the Brewers every night. And talking about the Brewers, and trying to get free tickets by filling our cars at only BP stations with exactly 8 gallons of gas to maximize the amount of free tickets we could get. And before I knew it, I was recognizing almost all of the Brewers players. And I even found myself rooting for them by name and remembering who played where and occasionally knowing their batting averages.

Then the Brewers secured CC Sabathia (now a Yankee) about half-way through the season last year and we actually had a chance of making the post season. And it got really exciting and I found myself listening to the games on the radio! Now that is what I call deranged.

Well, label me such because now I am a full-fledged Brewers fan, with tshirts to wear to the games, checking brewers.com on a regular basis, and gladly filling my car with exactly 8 gallons of gas so we can make it to another game this year. And all of this after I first made the comment that my idea of a nightmare was extra innings.

My only problem is that I don't know many women who follow the Brewers, much less any baseball at all, so if you see me talking with all the guys, you'll understand why I am in the minority . . .

Links I've Liked Lately

Baked Lemon Pasta - There are not enough adjectives in the world to describe how much I love this dish. I think I could eat it every night. And if your family doesn't go for vegetarian meals, it would be super simple to add chicken, and just as good.

What if Starbucks Marketed like a Church? This made me laugh. Favorite line: "I know a bean's been planted."

Perpetuum Jazzile - Listen to the first few seconds of the simulated thunderstorm. And then stick around because the song is amazing, too.

Spring Sewing

More completed projects, which seems to be more and more rare as the days warm up! Summer sewing might just be an oxymoron. I decided the leftover material from this project would make a fun, spring-y purse. This was the first time I constructed a purse without any sort of pattern and I found that it is the perfect size (for me, at least!) There may be more of these down the line.

This is the quilt I made from a class at my local quilt shop. It was a beginner class, and focused on constructing different, classic blocks to join into a sampler quilt. I chose some more modern fabric, which makes for an updated look on a classic pattern. It took me a few months to get the whole thing pieced, and then I waited to quilt it until I felt brave enough to do it on my new toy . . .

my Pfaff Hobby Grand Quilter on the Next Generation frame. I understand that means nothing to all of you non-quilters out there, but basically it is an industrial sewing machine that sets on a frame where you roll your quilt layers (top, batting, backing) and you move the sewing machine around to "draw" on the quilt top and secure those 3 layers together. I'll have to post pictures of it soon. It was a dream of mine to own one, and everything fell into place for a speedy, affordable purchase, which I share with my quilting friend, Debbie.

Here is an up-close of the quilting. It's sort of a loop d' loop.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for pics of Alli's homemade birthday presents!