When All is Said and Done...

 'And now these three [things] remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.'

-- Paul, the Apostle - 1st letter to the Corinthians, Ch. 13, v. 13.

Those Gentle Readers who've followed me for some time know that August is what I've come to call "My Anniversary Month".  I was married in this month 47 years ago -- in heat and humidity, in a little old church in southwest Quebec.  Thirty-one years later, on the same day, my DH died in a room just a wee bit away from the ER in a hospital in Calgary.  If you've followed me, you already know the story and I'm not going to repeat it here.

That said, that phrase from 1 Corinthians 13 was the tail end of what was read at our wedding.  It was true when Paul wrote it; it was true when it was read at our wedding, and it remains true today.

After everything has gone up in smoke and ash, what remains is...love.

Last year in August I began to work on a piece with that title; "What Remains is Love".  It's a sampler from Black Bird Designs, created especially for the 20th anniversary of one of my favourite needlework shops, Traditional Stitches, near Calgary.  I got a good start on it, but put it away after August -- until February of this year, which marked 47 years from our engagement to be married.

This month I took it out again and discovered that, lo, and behold!  I'd completed more of it than I'd thought -- so I decided to finish it -- and yesterday, I did.

It still needs a good press, and will be framed -- eventually -- but for now it's pinned up on my studio design wall:

And here's a close up of how I finished the bottom -- which differs from the pattern:

I used the alphabet provided in the pattern for the ornate "HMB" (my DH's initials) and adapted the numerals provided so that they'd match the size of the letters (vertically).

Typical of my challenges with counted cross-stitch, there are glitches -- mainly in the spacing of the motifs -- which (of course) produces a 'domino' effect.  I ended up lengthening the side borders a little bit, and, having some extra space in the lower left corner, added the heart motif -- taken from a different pattern, designed by Erica Michaels.  I look on that as a blessing, despite my fuding elsewhere in the piece!

Since my last post, I've almost completed the Erica Michaels piece, but can't share it here in case the recipient reads my blog post (it's a birthday gift).  And of course, once finished with "What Remains...", I had to start a new piece, right?!  You bet!

So yesterday I set out on the first motif of "Quaker du Japon", which I ordered to make up as a Christmas gift for my son.  It's a very soothing stitch thus far -- an "order out of chaos" sort of practice, which I really need right now.

Blessedly, though we're having a spate of Very Hot (for Canada) weather (again), there's been a bit of a breeze, so I'm able to sit outside to stitch -- and enjoy my garden.  The zucchini and cherry tomatoes are beginning to ripen at a steady pace, the Brown-eyed Susans are starting to blossom -- and then there's this bee balm blossom that looks double!

Bee Balm!

The bee balm's been blooming steadily for over two weeks now -- still going strong on the southeast corner of my house, with potentilla and lilies behind it trying to catch up.

Across the lawn to the east, under the small Mountain Ash (aka 'Rowan'), to my delight -- at last -- this year the poppy seed given me by my neighbour has not only sprouted but grown and blossomed!

Double-ruffled poppies in situ

Glorious poppies close up!

I planted them in a bed with other wild flowers, which are also starting to appear.  There are some forget-me-nots just out of camera range...and then there's the Whatever It Is right next to the poppies.  😆  I won't know for certain what it is until it blooms -- and maybe not even then!  No matter; I'll enjoy it!

Signing off with a link to Nina-Marie's Off the Wall Friday, and wishing you a lovely weekend, wherever you are. This week she's written about creating happiness -- especially if you're a maker.  It seems to come down to this: have faith in yourself, hope (and confidence) in your gifts, graces and abilities -- and love yourself enough to appreciate the unique being you are!

Thanks for stopping by! 

Let the Celebration Begin!

Camper-trailers and fifth wheels have been pulling in through town since early this morning.  There are more vehicles parked along Main Street than I've ever seen in the almost-four-years since I moved here.  People are meeting and greeting and clustering in little clumps on the street corners, catching up -- be it weeks, months, years or decades since they've seen each other.  Some are strolling along the street, reading the captions and histories posted in the storefronts, telling what used to be there and when.

The sun is shining, a breeze is keeping us from frying during the current heat wave (usually it rains through mid-July and doesn't get hot till later).  The registration/check-in table in the Community Hall is humming as people pick up their name tags, dinner tickets, and packets with leaflets and commemorative pins.  A skeleton crew is trying to help the big rigs park in the camping areas; will there be enough power outlets to go around?  My friend, C, the current Chair of the Centennial Committee (fourth in line over the past 3 years) is everywhere at once.  I was blessed to be able to help her with some of the set-up...including posing for photos....

This was taken with my camera by Kathy, wife of the Chair of the Museum Board, after she took another couple with her own (more sophisticated) camera for the Museum's records.

Memories of Mirror - Centennial Commemorative
July 13, 2012

Memories of Mirror will be on display behind the Registration/Check-in table today through 9 p.m. and again tomorrow 10 a.m.- 5 p.m., after which it will go into the Museum's permanent collection.  I gotta admit, I'm one proud mama!  It's lovely to stand by quietly and hear what people have to say about it -- the women in particular are drawn to it, and cell phones are being taken out to photograph it.  I say nothing, just drink it all in.  The encouragement will keep me creative for a good long time, fending off The Voices that haunt me (as all artists) at any time, day or night.

So for the next while, when I'm too hot and/or too busy to post, feast your eyes on garden photos...and stay tuned...

We're All in Our Places...

With Sun-shiny Faces...

And then there are poppies...

Could be a rose, eh?