Another busy week comes to an end, and it's time to look back on what I've achieved. I'm not sure that I actually have achieved anything really.
This week hasn't really been much different to any other in most ways, a lot of crochet has been done as well as a little knitting, some packing has been done and a lot of time has been spent either on the computer or the tablet, and not necessarily productively.
Yesterday I held my last crochet class of the term and won't be doing any more now until I get back from the UK. It seems that the last term of the year will be starting about a week after we get back so I will have 2 weeks to settle in before getting back to teaching crochet and singing practice.
I have kept out some yarn for the Christmas projects that I plan on working on while away, as well as the 2 projects that I would like to have ready for the show by the time we get back. All my other projects have been packed into a box.
We still have quite a bit of packing to do and now we only have 4 days to do it. We will still have another 4 days after that to tidy up anything that didn't get packed in time for the removalist but I'm hoping there won't be much. I've kinda had enough of packing and really just want it to be over, but I get that way every time we move.
That's about it from me for this week. I hope you all had a good one.
Richard.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Friday, June 28, 2013
Friday FOs 28.06.2013
This will be my last FO for a while. I hope you like him.
He took a little longer than expected to make but I think I like the way he turned out.
For more FOs, check out the links in the side bar.
Richard.
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| Cute Bee |
For more FOs, check out the links in the side bar.
Richard.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Thursday Thoughts - Holiday Preparations
Holiday preparations are always a bit of a trial. I always manage to forget something. Forgetting something when you're going to visit family or friends isn't too bad, you can often borrow or buy replacements for those items. Even if you're travelling to strange places within your own country it's not too bad, but when you're traveling overseas there is little opportunity to turn around and go back for something.
This will be the first time either of us have been out of the country (if you don't count the trip I made to get here as a baby) so it's the first time either of us have had passports. All our tickets are paid for, our accommodation has been booked and most of it paid for, we've bought quite a few train tickets (historical railways is one of our interests), tickets to the Tattoo and tickets to a show. We even have our international drivers licenses. Now all we have to remember is to take all of the paperwork with us when we go.
Just to add to all of the stress of preparing for an overseas holiday, we've decided to vacate our residence, since it saves us quite a bit in rent.
Next Thursday the removalist is coming to move most of our belongings into storage, then 5 days later he will come back and move the rest. The cleaners are booked to come in on the Monday and Tuesday with the real estate agent coming in Tuesday afternoon to pick up the keys and do a final inspection. After that we will be on our way to visit family before catching a train to Sydney. Once we leave here there will be no turning back to pick up something that we forgot but at least we won't have to worry if we left the oven on.
I don't know that I could do this sort of thing on a regular basis like some people seem to do, but I'm looking forward to going.
Richard.
This will be the first time either of us have been out of the country (if you don't count the trip I made to get here as a baby) so it's the first time either of us have had passports. All our tickets are paid for, our accommodation has been booked and most of it paid for, we've bought quite a few train tickets (historical railways is one of our interests), tickets to the Tattoo and tickets to a show. We even have our international drivers licenses. Now all we have to remember is to take all of the paperwork with us when we go.
Just to add to all of the stress of preparing for an overseas holiday, we've decided to vacate our residence, since it saves us quite a bit in rent.
Next Thursday the removalist is coming to move most of our belongings into storage, then 5 days later he will come back and move the rest. The cleaners are booked to come in on the Monday and Tuesday with the real estate agent coming in Tuesday afternoon to pick up the keys and do a final inspection. After that we will be on our way to visit family before catching a train to Sydney. Once we leave here there will be no turning back to pick up something that we forgot but at least we won't have to worry if we left the oven on.
I don't know that I could do this sort of thing on a regular basis like some people seem to do, but I'm looking forward to going.
Richard.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Wednesday WIPS 26.06.2013
This will be my last Wednesday WIPs post until I return from holidays. This time next week all none essential items will be packed into storage.
Here is what my WIPs look like today.
Just another couple of rows done of this one. Hardly noticeable really.
I tried my hand at moss stitch this week. I don't think I did too bad, although I can see that my stitches aren't particularly even. I'm a much better crocheter than I am a knitter.
The Royal Bluebell and the palm tree are complete and I've started on the next set of animals. Can't tell what they are just yet.
Just one square done this week. I expect to do a few more before I go away.
I've gone with the small horns, side fins, wings and pointy tail for this one. I will start on the head next.
I haven't been spending a lot of time on this one lately. I don't think it will be finished in time to enter it into the show so it will have to wait until next year.
Just a few more rows on the first sleeve this week.
One sleeve is done and I'm now working down one side of the front. I've made very good progress on this one this week.
I did work on one other project this week and it is now finished so you can come back on Friday to check that one out. I will have one final thought before we leave for our trip so you can come back tomorrow to see that. In the meantime, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been doing this week.
Richard.
Here is what my WIPs look like today.
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| Crochenit Cot Blanket |
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| Knit Sampler |
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| AustralianaV2 - designed by me |
 |
| Woollen Baby Blanket - Square 51 from "99 Granny Square to Crochet" |
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| Dragon Adventure - designed by Freshstitches |
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| Tunisian Spiral Blanket |
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| Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley |
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| Baby's Jacket, Pants and Hat Ensemble |
I did work on one other project this week and it is now finished so you can come back on Friday to check that one out. I will have one final thought before we leave for our trip so you can come back tomorrow to see that. In the meantime, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been doing this week.
Richard.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Sunday Sermon - Emotional Treadmill
The reading for this morning sermon came from Galations 3:23-29 which says:-
Children of God
23 Before the coming of this faith,[j] we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
And 1 Kings 19:1-4 & 8-16 which says:-
Elijah Flees to Horeb
19 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
3 Elijah was afraid[a] and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
The Lord Appears to Elijah
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.
Many of us feel like we're on an emotional treadmill. Life moves faster and faster and it can be difficult to keep up. Some people get thrown off and can't figure out how to get back on.
Elijah's passion was bringing people back to God, but he got worn out with all the effort.
After his victory against the prophets of Baal he was on a high, but that didn't last long after Jezebel's threat. Instead of praying, as he usually did, he ran away. Fear got the better of him.
When you feel that you can't go on then use God's prescription for recovery.
1. Rest - sometimes we just need to get away from it all, our bodies were designed to need rest, don't be afraid to slow down and take time out.
2. Rediscover God - God can help you with all your troubles. You need to come out of your cave and rediscover Him. Emotionally downshift and shut out noise of life. You need to be quiet to hear Him.
3. Re-assignment - Elijah was given a new assignment. Sometime you need a fresh start.
4. Relationships - God has put into all of us the for relationships. We shouldn't try to go through life alone. Sometimes the best medicine is to find someone to share the burden. God sent Elijah to Elisha.
God wants us to reach out to Him so that He can adjust the speed of our lives.
Does your life need a speed adjustment? The ask God to help.
May God bless you richly this week.
Richard.
Children of God
23 Before the coming of this faith,[j] we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
And 1 Kings 19:1-4 & 8-16 which says:-
Elijah Flees to Horeb
19 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
3 Elijah was afraid[a] and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night.
The Lord Appears to Elijah
And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
11 The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.
Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”
15 The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet.
Many of us feel like we're on an emotional treadmill. Life moves faster and faster and it can be difficult to keep up. Some people get thrown off and can't figure out how to get back on.
Elijah's passion was bringing people back to God, but he got worn out with all the effort.
After his victory against the prophets of Baal he was on a high, but that didn't last long after Jezebel's threat. Instead of praying, as he usually did, he ran away. Fear got the better of him.
When you feel that you can't go on then use God's prescription for recovery.
1. Rest - sometimes we just need to get away from it all, our bodies were designed to need rest, don't be afraid to slow down and take time out.
2. Rediscover God - God can help you with all your troubles. You need to come out of your cave and rediscover Him. Emotionally downshift and shut out noise of life. You need to be quiet to hear Him.
3. Re-assignment - Elijah was given a new assignment. Sometime you need a fresh start.
4. Relationships - God has put into all of us the for relationships. We shouldn't try to go through life alone. Sometimes the best medicine is to find someone to share the burden. God sent Elijah to Elisha.
God wants us to reach out to Him so that He can adjust the speed of our lives.
Does your life need a speed adjustment? The ask God to help.
May God bless you richly this week.
Richard.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Saturday Shenanigans 22.06.2013
With less than three weeks until we vacate our current residence we have started spending a bit more time each day to packing and moving boxes and bags into storage. We have also picked out quite a bit of stuff that is either going to the Salvos or going to the tip.
I have been trying to keep up with my crochet and knitting but it has been quite difficult, both to find the time and the motivation. It seems that some times I would prefer to just sit and watch TV (which is most unlike me) instead of working on a project. This last week I did manage to a little bit on all my main projects, but it was only little bits on most of them. If I manage to finish anything in the next couple of weeks, there won't be any new projects started as all the stash that hasn't already been assigned to projects has been put into storage.
I still haven't updated my to-do list, so that will have to be done later. I would like to have it up to date before we finish packing up the unit.
That's been my week this week. 19 sleeps until we leave for England, but the last 2 will be in motels. I hope you all had a good week.
Richard.
I have been trying to keep up with my crochet and knitting but it has been quite difficult, both to find the time and the motivation. It seems that some times I would prefer to just sit and watch TV (which is most unlike me) instead of working on a project. This last week I did manage to a little bit on all my main projects, but it was only little bits on most of them. If I manage to finish anything in the next couple of weeks, there won't be any new projects started as all the stash that hasn't already been assigned to projects has been put into storage.
I still haven't updated my to-do list, so that will have to be done later. I would like to have it up to date before we finish packing up the unit.
That's been my week this week. 19 sleeps until we leave for England, but the last 2 will be in motels. I hope you all had a good week.
Richard.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Friday FOs - 22.06.2013
I didn't think I would have anything to post about this week, especially since I haven't finished anything myself, but Sue has managed to finish something, and since it takes her a while to finish the things she make, I thought it would be best if I showed it off (she also threatened me with grievous bodily harm if I didn't).
Here is Sue's 4th finished item for this year.
This may end up going to England with us as one of my cousins is expecting the arrival of a grandchild that is due the day after we arrive in London. Sue is going to make a pair of boottees to go with this so expect another FO from her in the next couple of weeks.
Here is Sue's 4th finished item for this year.
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| Knitted Cot Blanket with Diamond Relief |
Hopefully I will get my act together this week and manage to finish something myself. In the meantime, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making.
Richard.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Thursday Thoughts - Evolution, Science Fact or Science Fiction?
I am reasonably confident in saying that nature doesn't change very much. Things that happen in nature today have been happening for millenia. While there have been some some large scale on-off events, like the breaking up of the super-continent, the flood that the release of subterranean water would have produced and the possibly the ice-age that was caused by the extra cloud cover that evaporation of warm ocean waters and extra volcanic activity would have produced, nature is quite consistent.
If evolution is part of the natural order of things then I would expect it to be continuing, but I have heard that no one, in the entire history of the human race, has ever recorded having witnessed the birth of a new species. While there is plenty of evidence of selective breeding or "survival of the fittest" (finches with specialised beaks, crabs with distinctive patterns on their shells, etc) none of these instances have produced anything that could be called a new species.
I have also heard that scientist have been unable to find any truly positive mutation (ie one where information has been added to DNA) but plenty of negative ones (where information has been lost).
I cannot see any way a new species could be born without outside help (genetic manipulation). I will leave it up to my readers to make up their own mind what they believe to be true.
Richard.
If evolution is part of the natural order of things then I would expect it to be continuing, but I have heard that no one, in the entire history of the human race, has ever recorded having witnessed the birth of a new species. While there is plenty of evidence of selective breeding or "survival of the fittest" (finches with specialised beaks, crabs with distinctive patterns on their shells, etc) none of these instances have produced anything that could be called a new species.
I have also heard that scientist have been unable to find any truly positive mutation (ie one where information has been added to DNA) but plenty of negative ones (where information has been lost).
I cannot see any way a new species could be born without outside help (genetic manipulation). I will leave it up to my readers to make up their own mind what they believe to be true.
Richard.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Wednesday WIPs - 19.06.2013
Well, this week I've managed to do a little bit here and a little bit there, and somehow, even though I didn't do any crafting at all one day (I was feeling very slack that day) I managed to do a little bit on every project. Here is what my WIPs look like today.
I managed to get to the next corner on this one. Not a lot of progress but I guess it's something.
I added the wings to the bee.
I started another dragon.
I managed a couple of rows on the second side of the border.
I finished the edging on the body and started work on the first sleeve.
I'm just about to start the shaping for the neck. This means that I'll be working on one side of the front.
Almost finished the palm tree (representing Qld) and the Royal Bluebell (representing the ACT).
Another couple of squares added. I still need to sew in the ends on one of them.
I thought I would do a little preparatory work for the lesson I'm going to be giving on Friday. I going to be trying to teach a young lady how to do stockinette.
The plan is to pack up the stash and move it into storage this week. I will be keeping some of it out to take with me on holidays, but the rest will be put away until we get back. This means that I won't be starting any new projects no matter how many I finish over the next few weeks.
I haven't finished anything this week (wasn't feeling like doing anything this afternoon) so there won't be any Friday FOs from me. Come back tomorrow if you want to know what I've been thinking about this week.
In the meantime, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making.
Richard.
 |
| Tunisian Spiral Blanket |
 |
| Bee |
 |
| Dragon Adventure - a Freshstitches design |
 |
| Crochenit Cot Blanket |
 |
| Toddlers Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley |
 |
| Jacket, Pants and Hat ensemble |
 |
| AustralianaV2 - designed by me |
 |
| Woollen Baby Blanket - Square 51 from "99 Granny Squares to Crochet" |
 |
| Knit Sampler |
The plan is to pack up the stash and move it into storage this week. I will be keeping some of it out to take with me on holidays, but the rest will be put away until we get back. This means that I won't be starting any new projects no matter how many I finish over the next few weeks.
I haven't finished anything this week (wasn't feeling like doing anything this afternoon) so there won't be any Friday FOs from me. Come back tomorrow if you want to know what I've been thinking about this week.
In the meantime, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making.
Richard.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Monday Mayhem - Preparing for Holidays
We're currently in the last four weeks of preparations for our first and only overseas holiday. On top of that, as part of our preparations, we're also preparing to vacate our current residence. The logic is that it is cheaper to hire storage space for the 12 weeks we're going to be away than it is to rent a property that is going to be vacant except for our property.
For those that are interested (and even if you aren't), we will be touring around the UK and Ireland. We're both interested in steam trains and castles. We'll be visiting our ancestral home up in Scotland, catching a few shows (include the Edinburgh Military Tattoo), trying to find the place I was born and trying to catch up with some of my relatives (most of them are in England).
Up until this week I have been trying to keep up with all my crochet projects. I did stop one of them last week as there didn't seem to be any point in stock piling Trauma Teddies to give away when we got back.
Now we're getting serious about packing everything up and moving it all into storage. Some of the stash has already gone (I've kept some out for travel projects), so there won't be any new projects started over the next few weeks except those that I already picked out yarn for. The rest of the stash will be packed up over the next couple of weeks so that we can use the cupboard to store things out of the way.
There is still a lot to do, but most of itinerary is organised and paid for and soon we will be able to select our seats for the return trip. I don't know how much blogging I will be doing over the next few weeks. I plan on doing my usual Wednesday WIPs and Friday FOs (if I have any) this week but I may not be posting much at all after that. I will try to get some posts up while we're away, show off the photos of where we've been and tell you where we're going, but I'm not promising anything.
That's where I'm at today.
Richard.
For those that are interested (and even if you aren't), we will be touring around the UK and Ireland. We're both interested in steam trains and castles. We'll be visiting our ancestral home up in Scotland, catching a few shows (include the Edinburgh Military Tattoo), trying to find the place I was born and trying to catch up with some of my relatives (most of them are in England).
Up until this week I have been trying to keep up with all my crochet projects. I did stop one of them last week as there didn't seem to be any point in stock piling Trauma Teddies to give away when we got back.
Now we're getting serious about packing everything up and moving it all into storage. Some of the stash has already gone (I've kept some out for travel projects), so there won't be any new projects started over the next few weeks except those that I already picked out yarn for. The rest of the stash will be packed up over the next couple of weeks so that we can use the cupboard to store things out of the way.
There is still a lot to do, but most of itinerary is organised and paid for and soon we will be able to select our seats for the return trip. I don't know how much blogging I will be doing over the next few weeks. I plan on doing my usual Wednesday WIPs and Friday FOs (if I have any) this week but I may not be posting much at all after that. I will try to get some posts up while we're away, show off the photos of where we've been and tell you where we're going, but I'm not promising anything.
That's where I'm at today.
Richard.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Sunday Sermon - Deal or No Deal
The reading for this morning's sermon came from 1 Kings 21:1-10 & 15-21 which says :-
Naboth’s Vineyard
21 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”
3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”
4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.
5 His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?”
6 He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”
7 Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. 9 In those letters she wrote:
“Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”
On the game show "Deal or No Deal" contestants can get offered a lot of money to give up what's in their case, dependent on the amounts outstanding on the board. If they push their luck too far they could end up with very little. Would you rick taking only $2 when you've been offered $50,000?
Naboth said No Deal to King Ahab's generous offer because it meant giving up part of the family inheritance. He also knew that doing so was against God's law.
King Ahab only cared for himself, he didn't care for anybody else or even God. He turned from God to get something for himself and got angry and went to his room to sulk when he didn't get his way.
Do you get angry or sulk when you don't get what you want?
Philippians 2:5-7 tells us "5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness."
Will you follow God's way or your own way? Deal or No Deal?
May God bless you richly this week.
Richard.
Naboth’s Vineyard
21 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”
3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”
4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.
5 His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?”
6 He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”
7 Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. 9 In those letters she wrote:
“Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”
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1 Kings 21
New International Version (NIV)
Naboth’s Vineyard
21 Some time later there was an incident involving a vineyard belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite. The vineyard was in Jezreel, close to the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 Ahab said to Naboth, “Let me have your vineyard to use for a vegetable garden, since it is close to my palace. In exchange I will give you a better vineyard or, if you prefer, I will pay you whatever it is worth.”
3 But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance of my ancestors.”
4 So Ahab went home, sullen and angry because Naboth the Jezreelite had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my ancestors.” He lay on his bed sulking and refused to eat.
5 His wife Jezebel came in and asked him, “Why are you so sullen? Why won’t you eat?”
6 He answered her, “Because I said to Naboth the Jezreelite, ‘Sell me your vineyard; or if you prefer, I will give you another vineyard in its place.’ But he said, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’”
7 Jezebel his wife said, “Is this how you act as king over Israel? Get up and eat! Cheer up. I’ll get you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
8 So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, placed his seal on them, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city with him. 9 In those letters she wrote:
“Proclaim a day of fasting and seat Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 10 But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them bring charges that he has cursed both God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”
11 So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel directed in the letters she had written to them. 12 They proclaimed a fast and seated Naboth in a prominent place among the people. 13 Then two scoundrels came and sat opposite him and brought charges against Naboth before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death. 14 Then they sent word to Jezebel: “Naboth has been stoned to death.”
15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned to death, she said to Ahab, “Get up and take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you. He is no longer alive, but dead.” 16 When Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, he got up and went down to take possession of Naboth’s vineyard.
17 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: 18 “Go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He is now in Naboth’s vineyard, where he has gone to take possession of it. 19 Say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Have you not murdered a man and seized his property?’ Then say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: In the place where dogs licked up Naboth’s blood, dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”
20 Ahab said to Elijah, “So you have found me, my enemy!”
“I have found you,” he answered, “because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord. 21 He says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants and cut off from Ahab every last male in Israel—slave or free.
Naboth said No Deal to King Ahab's generous offer because it meant giving up part of the family inheritance. He also knew that doing so was against God's law.
King Ahab only cared for himself, he didn't care for anybody else or even God. He turned from God to get something for himself and got angry and went to his room to sulk when he didn't get his way.
Do you get angry or sulk when you don't get what you want?
Philippians 2:5-7 tells us "5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness."
Will you follow God's way or your own way? Deal or No Deal?
May God bless you richly this week.
Richard.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Saturday Shenanigans 15.06.2013
Things don't ever seem to slow down, although I do slacken off quite a bit (I like to play computer games, so sue me). As we get nearer to our holiday thing seem to be getting busier, especially since we're moving out and putting everything into storage while we're away.
This week we've had quite a bit of rain so I only walked around the park twice. I know I need more exercise, but finding the time to fit it in is getting a little difficult. I am getting a little extra exercise taking boxes and bags over to the storage units but I'm not sure if that is helping me lose weight.
I haven't updated my to-do list for a while so I might have to look at it soon to see how I'm progressing through it. I'm not sure that I am since I keep adding things to it quicker than I'm taking them off. I'm going to have to put a lot of things on hold, especially since some of the stash has been moved into storage as well as most of the shop stock. I'm keeping the shop open for a little while longer so I will have to make a trip to get stuff out of storage if I sell anything.
I had Friday morning off this week as Monday was a public holiday so all classes were cancelled for the week. They like to keep everything even so that all classes have the same number of lessons each term.
That's it from me for this week. I hope everyone had a good one.
Richard.
This week we've had quite a bit of rain so I only walked around the park twice. I know I need more exercise, but finding the time to fit it in is getting a little difficult. I am getting a little extra exercise taking boxes and bags over to the storage units but I'm not sure if that is helping me lose weight.
I haven't updated my to-do list for a while so I might have to look at it soon to see how I'm progressing through it. I'm not sure that I am since I keep adding things to it quicker than I'm taking them off. I'm going to have to put a lot of things on hold, especially since some of the stash has been moved into storage as well as most of the shop stock. I'm keeping the shop open for a little while longer so I will have to make a trip to get stuff out of storage if I sell anything.
I had Friday morning off this week as Monday was a public holiday so all classes were cancelled for the week. They like to keep everything even so that all classes have the same number of lessons each term.
That's it from me for this week. I hope everyone had a good one.
Richard.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Friday FOs 14.06.2013
My tally of FO's is now at 53 for the year. I don't know if I can manage 100 this year, it will depend on how much I get done while on holidays. Here my four items for this week.
More hanging towels to add to the collection.
I'm not sure about the positioning of the ears but otherwise it turned out OK.
No Trauma Teddies now until I get back from holidays. The lady that I give them to has gone on holidays herself and won't be back until I'm on holidays and I didn't want to stockpile them.
Check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making this week.
Richard.
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| 3 Hanging Towels |
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| Koala Bear - designed by Planetjune |
No Trauma Teddies now until I get back from holidays. The lady that I give them to has gone on holidays herself and won't be back until I'm on holidays and I didn't want to stockpile them.
Check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making this week.
Richard.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Thursday Thoughts - a Pet Peev
Why do some country singers have to turn good uplifting hymns into dirges?
I'm not particularly fussed by country music at the best of times but, while I was DJing at a local community radio station up in Queanbeyan, I have played a bit of it at the request of the listeners. Some songs come out not too bad but others come out real bad.
One of my favourite hymns is "How Great Thou Art" but I will not listen to a country version as country singer seem to want to slow it down as if that is going to make it more majestic or something. To me it destroys a good, uplifting hymn, turning it into a dirge.
Richard.
I'm not particularly fussed by country music at the best of times but, while I was DJing at a local community radio station up in Queanbeyan, I have played a bit of it at the request of the listeners. Some songs come out not too bad but others come out real bad.
One of my favourite hymns is "How Great Thou Art" but I will not listen to a country version as country singer seem to want to slow it down as if that is going to make it more majestic or something. To me it destroys a good, uplifting hymn, turning it into a dirge.
Richard.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Wednesday WIPs - 12.06.2013
Well, I've managed to work on ten projects this week, although I'm not sure that one of them counts as a project, it's mainly a teaching aid for one of my Friday morning students. Two projects have been finished, so here are the other eight.
I've managed to make three squares this week, although I haven't sewn in the ends on the last one yet. With only four weeks before we head off on holidays I may have to take this one with me in order to get it finished on time.
I had a new student on Friday and she wanted to learn how to cast on and knit so I showed her and this is the result. I'm not sure if I'm actually going to make something of this or not. It is scarf width so I could keep adding to it until it's an appropriate length.
The dolphin and the numbat are now complete. This is about where I got to, working from the other end, with my first effort (the one that got cherry juice spilt on it) so I have just as much to go on this as what I did the first time (if that makes sense). I may have to put this in the bag to go with me if I want it finished in time for the show.
I've finished the body and done about half of the edging. I need to work the edging on the other side and then I will start on the sleeves.
I've made good progress on this this week and am up to the sleeves. I will be splitting for the front soon.
The progress on this is quite slow, but I'm getting there.
Not quite the full length of one side but still good progress. I seem to be rapidly running out of yarn for this and it's still no where near big enough for a knee rug or afghan.
It might no look much like a bee but that's what the pattern says it is. I'm sure it will look cute in any case.
Come back tomorrow night and I'll share something that's been on my mind this week, and come back on Friday to see what I've finished. In the meantime, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making this week.
Richard.
 |
| Woollen Baby Blanket using Square 51 from "99 Granny Squares to Crochet" |
 |
| Knitted Sampler |
 |
| AustralianaV2 - designed by me |
 |
| Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley |
 |
| Baby's Jacket, Pants and Hat ensemble |
 |
| Crochenit Cot Blanket |
 |
| Tunisian Spiral Blanket |
 |
| A Bee |
Come back tomorrow night and I'll share something that's been on my mind this week, and come back on Friday to see what I've finished. In the meantime, check out the links in the sidebar to see what others have been making this week.
Richard.
Monday, June 10, 2013
Monday Mayhem - Sport 2 continued
This week I am going to tell you something about my experience in Ten Pin Bowling tournaments.
There seems to be quite a bit of misinformation in the bowling community when it comes to tournaments. People seem to think that you have to be good enough to bowl in them, and by "good enough" they mean having an average that exceeds 200. I'm glad I never thought that way, because I wouldn't have been a state or national champion if I had. Admittedly my state titles were in B Grade Doubles and Restricted Masters and my national title (which I share with my wife) was in D Grade Mixed Doubles.
One thing I learned quite early was that tournaments were graded and that I would only ever be bowling against people that were about the same standard as myself, so there's no real feeling of not having any chance of winning. Any event that is marked as "Restricted" is not only restricted by average (men must have averages less than 180 for most restricted events) they are handicap events, which mean that you get additional points added to your score based on your average, which evens the field considerably.
While I didn't have much success at tournaments and team trials I still enjoyed participating in them so when my wife and I were invited to join the seniors we decided to give it a go. At the time I was bowling right handed and I didn't have much luck. Sue, on the other hand, made the team on her first attempt. What's more, the team ACT won the the Graded Team Challenge that year so she got to boast that she was a national champion.
I had had some success bowling league right handed, set myself a new high score, even managed to bowl a 700 series, but things seemed to start deteriorating and my right hand average started a downward spiral that didn't seen to want to stop, so I switched hands again. My first attempt at the team trials as a lefty was successful and I got to join the team in Hobart, which is where Sue and I won our mixed doubles.
Since 2006 I have represented the ACT at the Seniors' National Championships 4 time. One of those time I was the ACT Restricted Masters Representative, having won the state title, and I almost won the national title, coming second in the competition.
I love bowling in tournaments and hope to be able to again, but, since moving to Albury, I have only participated in one and wasn't particularly success in that. I hope to get back into the seniors some time soon. Because we now live so close to Victoria (it's just across the border) and future representation will be for that state, and from what I've heard, it will be harder to get a position on their team, but I will try, one day.
Richard.
There seems to be quite a bit of misinformation in the bowling community when it comes to tournaments. People seem to think that you have to be good enough to bowl in them, and by "good enough" they mean having an average that exceeds 200. I'm glad I never thought that way, because I wouldn't have been a state or national champion if I had. Admittedly my state titles were in B Grade Doubles and Restricted Masters and my national title (which I share with my wife) was in D Grade Mixed Doubles.
One thing I learned quite early was that tournaments were graded and that I would only ever be bowling against people that were about the same standard as myself, so there's no real feeling of not having any chance of winning. Any event that is marked as "Restricted" is not only restricted by average (men must have averages less than 180 for most restricted events) they are handicap events, which mean that you get additional points added to your score based on your average, which evens the field considerably.
While I didn't have much success at tournaments and team trials I still enjoyed participating in them so when my wife and I were invited to join the seniors we decided to give it a go. At the time I was bowling right handed and I didn't have much luck. Sue, on the other hand, made the team on her first attempt. What's more, the team ACT won the the Graded Team Challenge that year so she got to boast that she was a national champion.
I had had some success bowling league right handed, set myself a new high score, even managed to bowl a 700 series, but things seemed to start deteriorating and my right hand average started a downward spiral that didn't seen to want to stop, so I switched hands again. My first attempt at the team trials as a lefty was successful and I got to join the team in Hobart, which is where Sue and I won our mixed doubles.
Since 2006 I have represented the ACT at the Seniors' National Championships 4 time. One of those time I was the ACT Restricted Masters Representative, having won the state title, and I almost won the national title, coming second in the competition.
I love bowling in tournaments and hope to be able to again, but, since moving to Albury, I have only participated in one and wasn't particularly success in that. I hope to get back into the seniors some time soon. Because we now live so close to Victoria (it's just across the border) and future representation will be for that state, and from what I've heard, it will be harder to get a position on their team, but I will try, one day.
Richard.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Sunday Sermon - Knowing God
The readings this morning came from Luke 7:11-17
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
and 1 Kings 17:17-24
17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”
19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”
22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”
Who or what inspires you, gets you excited, motivates you? We are all made to worship so we all pick something or someone we think is worthy. Why did God give us this need.? Who did He mean to be the object of our attentions?
Elijah put his faith in God and talked to a foreign woman (something that Jews wouldn't normally do at that time). The woman trusted Elijah's God and shared her last scrap of food with him. Both saw God at work.
We can know of God but we can't know God until we put our faith in Him and trust Him to provide all we need.
Both women in today's readings lost their only sons but had them restored to them through faith.
God wants to do more for us than just provide our needs. He wants to give us a new life, an abundant life. Because of our sins we are as dead as the widows' sons but Jesus calls us to rise up and live.
Do you worship the God you know about or the God that created you, knows you and gives you life?
Richard.
Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son
11 Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. 12 As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.”
14 Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” 17 This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.
and 1 Kings 17:17-24
17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”
19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!”
22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!”
24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”
Who or what inspires you, gets you excited, motivates you? We are all made to worship so we all pick something or someone we think is worthy. Why did God give us this need.? Who did He mean to be the object of our attentions?
Elijah put his faith in God and talked to a foreign woman (something that Jews wouldn't normally do at that time). The woman trusted Elijah's God and shared her last scrap of food with him. Both saw God at work.
We can know of God but we can't know God until we put our faith in Him and trust Him to provide all we need.
Both women in today's readings lost their only sons but had them restored to them through faith.
God wants to do more for us than just provide our needs. He wants to give us a new life, an abundant life. Because of our sins we are as dead as the widows' sons but Jesus calls us to rise up and live.
Do you worship the God you know about or the God that created you, knows you and gives you life?
Richard.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Saturday Shenanigans - 08.06.2013
Another week has come to a close but it just doesn't seem like a week. Where does the time go?
I haven't really got anything exciting to report this week as it has been a pretty ordinary week. Quite a bit of crochet was done although not all my projects got worked on. I did get a new student yesterday morning. A disabled lady wanted me to teach her knitting. Just basic stuff, like casting on. With the help of her carer we got it done and a few rows of knitting as well. Next week I'll teach her purl stitch.
We spent most of this morning sorting out clothes, deciding which ones to keep, which ones were going to the Salvos and which ones were going to be packed for our trip. I think we ended up with 4 or 5 bags going to the Salvos and a pile that are just going to be thrown out as well as a suitcase full that has gone into storage.
I've also started a none yarn project. Converting my music to PDFs so I can display it on my tablet. I started this a while ago just for the music we were going to be playing on Sunday, but now that I've been switched to 2nd Trombone I've decided to start going through the tune books one page at a time. I should be finished about the time that the new tune book comes out, whenever that may be.
Well, that's about it from me for this week. I hope you all had a good one.
Richard.
I haven't really got anything exciting to report this week as it has been a pretty ordinary week. Quite a bit of crochet was done although not all my projects got worked on. I did get a new student yesterday morning. A disabled lady wanted me to teach her knitting. Just basic stuff, like casting on. With the help of her carer we got it done and a few rows of knitting as well. Next week I'll teach her purl stitch.
We spent most of this morning sorting out clothes, deciding which ones to keep, which ones were going to the Salvos and which ones were going to be packed for our trip. I think we ended up with 4 or 5 bags going to the Salvos and a pile that are just going to be thrown out as well as a suitcase full that has gone into storage.
I've also started a none yarn project. Converting my music to PDFs so I can display it on my tablet. I started this a while ago just for the music we were going to be playing on Sunday, but now that I've been switched to 2nd Trombone I've decided to start going through the tune books one page at a time. I should be finished about the time that the new tune book comes out, whenever that may be.
Well, that's about it from me for this week. I hope you all had a good one.
Richard.
Friday, June 7, 2013
Friday FOs - 07.06.2013
After another busy week where one of my projects didn't get worked on I still managed to finish 2 projects. One is very small and the other my regular weekly project. No towels again this week.
I still have a few weeks to make these before the stash gets packed away.
The pattern says it's a pug but since it's so small (about 7cm/3" from nose to tail) it's hard to tell what breed it is. It's even hard to get the camera to focus on it.
That's it from me for this week. To see what others have been making just click on the links in the sidebar.
Richard.
 |
| Trauma Teddy 11 |
 |
| A dog |
That's it from me for this week. To see what others have been making just click on the links in the sidebar.
Richard.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Thursday Thoughts - Beating Speed Cameras
I've seen quite a lot about this on TV, especially Mythbusters.
Some people see speed cameras and revenue raising devices, only there to hit you back pocket, not doing much at all to reduce the accidents. They tend to make people pay more attention to the speedo instead of the road.
Mythbusters have run several episodes where they have tested devices that are supposed to either make it difficult to read number plates or confuse the radar unit. Some of these devices have actually been legal but most have not. None of them have worked.
I have a sure fire way of ensuring that you never pay another speeding fine, never get caught by speed cameras or any other speed detection device. It's quite simple.
DON'T SPEED! EVER!
Simple as that.
Richard.
Some people see speed cameras and revenue raising devices, only there to hit you back pocket, not doing much at all to reduce the accidents. They tend to make people pay more attention to the speedo instead of the road.
Mythbusters have run several episodes where they have tested devices that are supposed to either make it difficult to read number plates or confuse the radar unit. Some of these devices have actually been legal but most have not. None of them have worked.
I have a sure fire way of ensuring that you never pay another speeding fine, never get caught by speed cameras or any other speed detection device. It's quite simple.
DON'T SPEED! EVER!
Simple as that.
Richard.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Wednesday WIPs - 05.06.2013
Last night when I was reviewing the projects that I had worked on I had a feeling that I had missed one but couldn't think which one it might be. Today when I was taking photos I realised that I hadn't worked on the Tunisian Spiral Blanket. I guess it will be the first one I work on tomorrow. It also means that I did work on the other 7 projects. Since I finished one of those you get to see the other 6. Here they are.
Another square has been added. One square a week is definitely not going to get this blanket finished in a hurry, but it will get finished. I definitely have to get moving on this if it's going to be finished by the end of October.
This is another one that I want to get finished by the end of October but may be moving a little slow. Maybe I should put a halt on some of the other projects.
I would have like to have had this one finished this week but just didn't spend as much time on it as I needed to. I guess this one will have to wait until next week.
I finished one side of the border and started work on the other.
Finished the main part of the body this week. Next is the edging and then the sleeves.
I know I have so many projects to finish and I'm silly starting a new one. This week I dug out some apricot (yes, it is apricot, but the camera seemed to lose the colour) acrylic that we had stored in a tub in the bottom of the cupboard. I should have enough of this yarn to not only make this ensemble but a couple of other designs as well.
There have been times this week where I have just sat and watched TV instead of crocheting so I could have got more done. It's just that sometimes I don't feel up to it.
If you want to see what others have been making just checkout the links in the sidebar.
Richard.
Edited to change the date in the title, one of them fives was supposed to be a six.
 |
| Woollen Baby Blanket - Square 51 from "99 Granny Squares to Crochet" |
 |
| AustralianaV2 - designed by me |
 |
| Koala - by Planetjune |
 |
| Crochenit Cot Blanket |
 |
| Toddler's Jacket - Zoom by Ellen Gormley |
 |
| Baby's Jacket, Pants and Hat ensemble |
There have been times this week where I have just sat and watched TV instead of crocheting so I could have got more done. It's just that sometimes I don't feel up to it.
If you want to see what others have been making just checkout the links in the sidebar.
Richard.
Edited to change the date in the title, one of them fives was supposed to be a six.
Monday, June 3, 2013
Monday Mayhem - Sport 2
Ten pin bowling was something that we tried out as a family for something different, and then one of the local papers printed some vouchers for a free coaching clinic so my brother and I got to go and get taught how to it properly (not that the lessons helped that much).
When it came to school sports I wasn't much of a player, I liked cricket, I knew how to play soccer (or at least knew the basic rules) and I could swing a tennis racket, so when the school I was attending gave me the choice of Rugby League and Aussie Rule or Soccer and Rugby Union I didn't think it was much of a choice. What was worse is that they decided to play Rugby in the first half of the season and I'm definitely a fish out of water on a Rugby field. Fortunately, after the first week or two, they decided that all us unco kids should have another choice and offered to take us to the city bowl and I jumped at the chance.
When we moved to the south coast there wasn't a bowl within a 100 mile radius so I had to go back to football, which I didn't particularly enjoy. While I did have to participate when it was Rugby League that we were playing I didn't actually have to play, they allowed me to run the sideline as touch judge, so it wasn't too bad. There does seem to be an issue in the school system where they think every boy knows how to play every code of football so someone like me must have seemed real odd to them.
After leaving school and having a couple of different jobs I eventually moved back to the Canberra area and started going to the bowl on a regular basis, joined a couple of leagues and was enjoying it although I still couldn't bowl very well.
During my first few years in leagues I managed to damage my right hand. It got to be quite painful and I actually had to change my bowling style and move to a finger-tip grip to take the pressure off the damaged joint. Sometime later I decided I should be using a heavier ball and so I bought myself a new one, got my hand measured and the ball was put aside for the guy that does the drilling. When I got it back I found that the span was short but the centre wouldn't do anything about it, claiming that the ball had been drilled to the correct measurements and that I would have to pay to get it fixed, so I put up with it for a while. A little while later I had to give up bowling for a while due to study, so it didn't mater at that time.
After I finished my course of study I decided to take up bowling again but this time try left handed. I wasn't particular good at bowling left handed but I my scores were over 100 so I kept at it. I got anther ball drilled and again the span was short and the centre insisted that it had been drilled to the measurements. Something definitely wasn't right and I didn't know what it was and couldn't be bothered asking. Shortly after that I move to Melbourne so I had to find new leagues to bowl in.
After finding a centre and leagues to bowl in I decided it was time to get my right hand ball redrill for my left hand. This time to person drilling the ball was the same person that measured my hand and she had me there when she drill the ball. I think I found out why the other ball drillers had done what they had done. After measuring my hand and drilling the thumb-hole the pro wanted to re-measure my hand as she wasn't sure how the figures could be correct, but then, on re-measuring my hand to confirm the figures she drilled exactly where she need to, and I had a ball that actually fit my hand.
After correcting my footwork (bowling left handed with right handed footwork is quite awkward) my bowling improve quite dramatically and I won most improved in my first fall season as a lefty.
After quitting my job and moving back to the Canberra/Queanbeyan area I found that new bowling centres had opened up and I decided to join a league in Queanbeyan. I also decided that it was time I got myself a new bowling ball. This time when I got my hand measured I got a slightly different reaction. "Wow". It seems that I have an unusually large span for size of my fingers (which must have been why the other ball drillers decided to change the measurement on previous balls).
Over the next 10 years or so I switched hands a few times, set new high scores for myself with both hands and even tried out for representative teams, but this post is already long enough so I'll leave that for next week.
Richard.
When it came to school sports I wasn't much of a player, I liked cricket, I knew how to play soccer (or at least knew the basic rules) and I could swing a tennis racket, so when the school I was attending gave me the choice of Rugby League and Aussie Rule or Soccer and Rugby Union I didn't think it was much of a choice. What was worse is that they decided to play Rugby in the first half of the season and I'm definitely a fish out of water on a Rugby field. Fortunately, after the first week or two, they decided that all us unco kids should have another choice and offered to take us to the city bowl and I jumped at the chance.
When we moved to the south coast there wasn't a bowl within a 100 mile radius so I had to go back to football, which I didn't particularly enjoy. While I did have to participate when it was Rugby League that we were playing I didn't actually have to play, they allowed me to run the sideline as touch judge, so it wasn't too bad. There does seem to be an issue in the school system where they think every boy knows how to play every code of football so someone like me must have seemed real odd to them.
After leaving school and having a couple of different jobs I eventually moved back to the Canberra area and started going to the bowl on a regular basis, joined a couple of leagues and was enjoying it although I still couldn't bowl very well.
During my first few years in leagues I managed to damage my right hand. It got to be quite painful and I actually had to change my bowling style and move to a finger-tip grip to take the pressure off the damaged joint. Sometime later I decided I should be using a heavier ball and so I bought myself a new one, got my hand measured and the ball was put aside for the guy that does the drilling. When I got it back I found that the span was short but the centre wouldn't do anything about it, claiming that the ball had been drilled to the correct measurements and that I would have to pay to get it fixed, so I put up with it for a while. A little while later I had to give up bowling for a while due to study, so it didn't mater at that time.
After I finished my course of study I decided to take up bowling again but this time try left handed. I wasn't particular good at bowling left handed but I my scores were over 100 so I kept at it. I got anther ball drilled and again the span was short and the centre insisted that it had been drilled to the measurements. Something definitely wasn't right and I didn't know what it was and couldn't be bothered asking. Shortly after that I move to Melbourne so I had to find new leagues to bowl in.
After finding a centre and leagues to bowl in I decided it was time to get my right hand ball redrill for my left hand. This time to person drilling the ball was the same person that measured my hand and she had me there when she drill the ball. I think I found out why the other ball drillers had done what they had done. After measuring my hand and drilling the thumb-hole the pro wanted to re-measure my hand as she wasn't sure how the figures could be correct, but then, on re-measuring my hand to confirm the figures she drilled exactly where she need to, and I had a ball that actually fit my hand.
After correcting my footwork (bowling left handed with right handed footwork is quite awkward) my bowling improve quite dramatically and I won most improved in my first fall season as a lefty.
After quitting my job and moving back to the Canberra/Queanbeyan area I found that new bowling centres had opened up and I decided to join a league in Queanbeyan. I also decided that it was time I got myself a new bowling ball. This time when I got my hand measured I got a slightly different reaction. "Wow". It seems that I have an unusually large span for size of my fingers (which must have been why the other ball drillers decided to change the measurement on previous balls).
Over the next 10 years or so I switched hands a few times, set new high scores for myself with both hands and even tried out for representative teams, but this post is already long enough so I'll leave that for next week.
Richard.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Sunday Sermon - No Other God, No Other Gospel
The first reading from this morning's meeting came from 1 Kings 18:20-39 which says :-
18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs[a] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
The Second reading came from Galations 1:1-12 which says:-
1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters[a] with me,
To the churches in Galatia:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!
10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
At the time of the story of Elijah the people had started to worship both God and Baal. In this story they were shown that Baal was not a god at all.
The church in Galatia had also turned away from God. They were listening to people who taught that they had to become Jews and follow Jewish law before they could be saved. Paul knew that polite conversation wouldn't be enough to say what needed to be said.
We are subjects of a rescue operation. There is a pervasive evil power in the world and we need to be saved from it. God is the appropriate target for our praise and worship and He will rescue us from evil.
May God bless you richly this week.
Richard.
18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. 19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”
But the people said nothing.
22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”
Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”
25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.
Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.
27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs[a] of seed. 33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”
34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.
36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”
The Second reading came from Galations 1:1-12 which says:-
1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters[a] with me,
To the churches in Galatia:
3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!
10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
At the time of the story of Elijah the people had started to worship both God and Baal. In this story they were shown that Baal was not a god at all.
The church in Galatia had also turned away from God. They were listening to people who taught that they had to become Jews and follow Jewish law before they could be saved. Paul knew that polite conversation wouldn't be enough to say what needed to be said.
We are subjects of a rescue operation. There is a pervasive evil power in the world and we need to be saved from it. God is the appropriate target for our praise and worship and He will rescue us from evil.
May God bless you richly this week.
Richard.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Saturday Shenanigans - 01.06.2013
Well, winter is here and, while it's not particularly cold yet, it has started off quite wet. We're counting down the days until we fly off to England and get to experience an English summer. If it's anything like my parents have describe we'll have to make sure we pack some warm clothes.
This week has been quite ordinary. I've managed to go for a walk a few days this week (got in before the rain started), I've done a bit of crocheting and crochet class is still down on numbers in spite of all the invites I've put out and the seeming enthusiasm of others that have made inquiries.
There has been one thing I've done this week that I don't do every week. I went up to the hospital to have an ultrasound on my liver to see if I have gallstones. I won't get to hear about the result of this until after Tuesday but I'm in no hurry. I don't expect anything to be done about it until after my holiday.
I've picked up a few more patterns this week although I'm supposed to be on a pattern diet. I just saw these and thought I needed to get them. One of them was free anyway, thanks to freshstitches (you had to be on Ravelry at the right time to get that one) and one was for a future series of projects that I'm planning for my shop. That means that I will need to update my to-do list again and I'll try to get that done before I go away.
That's been my week this week. I hope you all had a good one.
Richard
This week has been quite ordinary. I've managed to go for a walk a few days this week (got in before the rain started), I've done a bit of crocheting and crochet class is still down on numbers in spite of all the invites I've put out and the seeming enthusiasm of others that have made inquiries.
There has been one thing I've done this week that I don't do every week. I went up to the hospital to have an ultrasound on my liver to see if I have gallstones. I won't get to hear about the result of this until after Tuesday but I'm in no hurry. I don't expect anything to be done about it until after my holiday.
I've picked up a few more patterns this week although I'm supposed to be on a pattern diet. I just saw these and thought I needed to get them. One of them was free anyway, thanks to freshstitches (you had to be on Ravelry at the right time to get that one) and one was for a future series of projects that I'm planning for my shop. That means that I will need to update my to-do list again and I'll try to get that done before I go away.
That's been my week this week. I hope you all had a good one.
Richard
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