- Number the days

Back on Day 143 ...

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/05/picturing-process.html

I planned to do a companion patch when I got to Day 314, thinking I would title it "You I Love."

But then it came to pass that Day 314 fell on November 9

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/11/now-what.html

and a whole new set of possible 314s came to mind:

     Why I hurt

          Can I heal?

               Him I fear

In the end, I decided on "How I hope" ...

So this, then, is what I do ...

A numbering of days ...

October 14

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/10/almost-week.html

October 15

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/10/change-is-in-air.html

and October 16

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/10/long-light.html

Because ultimately what I chose to remember was not whatever miserable news was current on each of those days, but the simple joys they gave me:

G's gentle voice whispering "Hi bird"

J's exultant smile as he learned to ride his new bicycle

The golden light of the setting sun caught in the branches of a tree

- Self-soothing

Retrospective (12/4)

Patch #316 Like a river

Original Post

We went to the Wildflower Center with G yesterday, where I found both peace and metaphor.

Are we hopelessly fractured ...

or ready to work ...

together ...

In the weeds ...

or at the beginning of new growth?

Dare we hope to make change for the better?

"My heart is open, my will is fierce" ... with thanks to Dee Mallon for issuing the call. May we each find our best expression of purpose and meaning.

Addendum

My St Louis daughter just posted this on Facebook and it seems fitting to pass it on ...

- Reaching out

Retrospective (12/4)

Patch #315 Reaching out (for Dee)

Original Post

Dee Mallon at https://deemallon.wordpress.com/

sent me a comment via email when she was unable to post a comment while signed on to her WP account yesterday. So here's what she wanted to say ...

This isn't the first time it has happened, but as a Blogger user, I'm clueless about what to suggest. So,  I'm asking WordPress users who have encountered similar problems with commenting here to suggest solutions that have worked.

Likewise, if there are any Blogger users who have found the sweet-spot in how to configure Blogger Comment settings to minimize problems, please suggest away!

Today, more than ever, I value the community this blog provides. I am selfishly unwilling to change platforms at this point, so I hope you all will be able to provide insights on easier ways for all. 

- Now what?

Retrospective (11/11)

Patch #314 How I hope

Original Post 

I looked up the phrase "our better angels" and discovered that it's a paraphrase of the conclusion to Abraham Lincoln's first inaugural address ...

after which "We the People" proceeded to slay each other for four long years.

We survived, but at huge cost. Will we repeat history or learn from it?

The only hope is that our better angels will prevail sooner rather than later.

And lest we forget ...

- We voted

Retrospective (11/22)

Patch #313 For all the good it did

Original Post

Don and I went to the polls two weeks ago, but today the young people in our lives are exercising their rights. As their pictures come in, I will add them here ...

Because today will be a day to remember.

- Election Eve

Retrospective (12/3)

Patch #312 Sign of the apocalypse

Original Post

I finished a four-day ombré in orange ...

Speedy G on October 7

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016_10_07_archive.html

G's ACL "tattoo" from October 8

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/10/axe-tually.html

with a rationale for the spelling of "axe" versus "ax" to be found here

http://www.word-detective.com/041007C.html

The monkey bars in Wimberley on October 9

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/10/hard-day-night.html

G's chocolate-drizzled, sugar-sprinkled PBJ crepe on October 10

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/10/are-we-having-fun-yet.html

And then, looking at the title of the post from October 11

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/10/don-think-twice-it-all-right.html

I had to check to see if that was the day Bob Dylan received the Nobel Prize in literature. Nope, I was two days early ...

Prescient? Well no, but a good example of why our generation's poet laureate deserved the nod: his words have become an integral part of our vernacular.

Finally, I'll let Don have the last word today in this rare (for him) post on Facebook ...

- Back (on) track

Retrospective (12/3)

Patch #311 Hope is the thing with feathers

soaring above the floodplain or lying broken on the ground.

Original Post

Finally!

The sailboat from Don's assemblage on October 12 (stitched with one of Hazel's boats by my side)

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016_10_12_archive.html

J's "Nana" on October 17

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016_10_17_archive.html

The fabric from Logan's bag on October 29, with a star and a crescent moon

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016_10_29_archive.html

and the return migration of the sandhill cranes on October 30

http://imgoingtotexas.blogspot.com/2016/10/watching-for-fall.html

There are four more patches, but I'll save them for tomorrow. 

And it's raining, one inch so far. 

And the FBI has re-closed its email investigation.

I dare to hope ...

- What's in a name

Patch #310 Red letter day

Years ago, when I was the Needleworker at Colonial Williamsburg, my father suggested that I create a stylized signature in stitch. A brand, if you will, although I don't think he called it that.

In hindsight, this wasn't a surprising suggestion as he was a marketing exec for a toy company and worked on Madison Avenue. However, my modus operandi at the time was cross stitch and I wasn't able to see my way out of the figurative box that format imposed.

Indeed, I neglected signing my work more often than not. And when I did, it was arguably "over-wrought" as these two samplers amply depict ...

So today I was faced with signing a newly completed gift and once again found myself supremely dissatisfied with the result. As I tore out the stitches, I thought about my recent forays into eccentric lettering and started to play ...

At long last, I actually liked what I saw ... 

and went with it ...

- Land of Flood and Drought - 2015

Retrospective (12/3)

Patch #309 Two floods too many

Original Post

Après la secheresse ...

Land of Flood and Drought - 2015 is finally hanging ...

Just as, after a full month with no rain, the skies have opened ...

- Inertia

Retrospective (12/3)

Patch #308 Ka-ching

Original Post

I am so far behind on my daily patches that I've become frozen in my tracks, overwhelmed by the sheer numbers while simultaneously dreaming up new projects.

Then there's this ...

This is what it will cost for our 60 and 62 year old selves to keep our current level of health insurance. I wonder if people with employer-sponsored health insurance realize that prices for individual policies are age-based.

Still, we count ourselves fortunate that we were able to retire early and follow our current creative paths while spending large chunks of time with our grandchildren.

I just hope we the people can manage to elect a president and congress who can work together ... perhaps then some of our more intractable problems can begin to make progress toward workable solutions.