Sunsets in Living Colour

These photos were all taken within a few minutes of each other. I love the pink and purple hues.

Simple Pleasures This Week

I want to thank all my newest followers and readers. Welcome to my blog of simple things. I hope you will find something you can comment on so I can get to know you better. I go back and find your blogs and read them too!

This lap blanket will be finished today or tomorrow. I'm pleased with how it's turning out.

This is my latest book. It is easy to read and later I discovered that it is actually a child's book and comes with illustrations in the child's version. Interestingly, the author is described in one site as a pre-J.K. Rowlings kind of author and this book was somewhat of a departure for her. It's a delightful book. You can learn more by checking amazon.com. The book is called "The Star of Kazan". I'm still working on "Paris 1919" as I set it aside for awhile. Both books are good reads.

What are your simple pleasures this week?

I Love

There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved. 

- George Sand - 

It's a great thing to be able to love and to be loved. Whether it is your family, your friends, your special loved one or people you don't even know, like the widows and orphans in a far away place.

I didn't bake these but aren't they pretty? I had to share some with my family.

~ MAGIC OF LOVE ~

by Helen Steiner Rice (Poet)

"Love is like Magic and it always will be,

For Love still remains Life’s Sweet Mystery!

Love works in ways that are wondrous and strange

And there’s Nothing in Life that Love cannot change!

Love can transform the most common place

Into beauty and splendor and sweetness and grace!

Love is unselfish, understanding and kind,

For it sees with its Heart and not with its Mind

Love gives and forgives, there is nothing too much

For Love to heal with its Magic Touch!

Love is the language that every heart speaks,

For Love is the one thing that every heart seeks!

Did you know
that
God is Love.

1 John 4:8

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HAVE YOURSELF A WONDERFUL VALENTINE'S DAY. 
IF YOU ARE ALONE, SHARE YOUR LOVE WITH A STRANGER BY DOING 
A RANDOM ACT OF KINDNESS.
IT WILL FILL YOUR HEART WITH LOVE.

IF YOU HAVE SOMEONE WHO IS SPECIAL IN YOUR LIFE
DON'T FORGET TO LET THEM KNOW.

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Works in Progress

I've been super busy trying to learn how to read knitting patterns and make sweaters. Knitting a sweater is one of my goals for this year so I am making good progress on my goals. Now that I have some limited experience with flat sweater making I have to learn how to do it in the round. Then I'll be able to make socks and tackle more interesting sweater patterns.

Knitted newborn baby sweater and cap made with new yarn. This is my first set. The sweater still needs to be sewn together.  The cap is not really a set with the sweater but for now it is the only one that I've made in complementary colours.  This was a learning experience in every way.  I learned how to read a pattern, how to add cast on stitches to a work in progress,  and how to shape the neckline.  

This knitted baby sweater is my second attempt at knitting a flat sweater.  This one will fit a 3 month old baby with added room for ease.  I have changed up the pattern in the first photo (above) with mixed results. I added a crochet insert in each sleeve (visible on the under sleeve to the right of the photo), added a crocheted edge all around the outside of the sweater and a button for extra interest.   It is made with unused yarn from the thrift store. I have one more skein of this yarn and I'm hoping it is enough to make matching booties.

 This is the latest item I am making and the first crochet item I've made in this pattern which is a ripple or wave pattern.  This item is being crocheted with odd balls of yarn in (mostly) complementary colours.

I thought this would be a lap blanket to drap over the the wing chair in the master bedroom.  In talking to mom, I realized she needs it more than I do.  She will cover her lap when she is driving around in her chair. The colours seem busy, but they will coordinate with a lot of her wardrobe.

I've had mixed success with these projects so far. I'm finding I don't have a lot of patience for starting and re-doing things when I make mistakes. I also don't have a great deal of patience for reading patterns and/or waiting for long periods to be able to ask someone for help.  I do belong to a group of knitters and crocheters but most of them are not experienced knitters and are learning like me. We also meet very infrequently, so it isn't much help as of yet.  So then I go on line and try to find the answers to my issues.

There are a lot of video tutorials on line but I find they generally leave some important aspect of the learning process, or the pattern, unaddressed. Not everyone out there is a good teacher though they may be excellent knitters or crocheters.  I need detailed instructions and I also need to have the patterns explained to me in a way that it helps me remember the patterns. I don't learn well by simply watching. I need to understand HOW a pattern works and the potential issues and solutions beforehand.

For example, one instructor said he had had a difficult time for years with uneven ends a the ripple afghan (That is a ripple afghan in my bottom photo. The bottom edges need to be uneven and "wavy". It is the sides of the afghan that can become uneven and they aren't supposed to be.) similar to the one in my bottom photo above). Then he went on to explain his version of how to make the ripples.  When I went to view and follow his written instructions, they were incorrect.  One small error but it makes a huge difference to a beginner.  He also  never did say how to make sure you don't get uneven side edges in your finished product to save everyone else the grief that he himself experienced.  In the end, I abandoned his video lesson and I resorted to a set of written instructions I had on hand.  The end result, is a pattern which is somewhat different than those that I've been viewing on line.  At least I did learn enough from the video tutorials to make more sense of the printed pattern I have.

Initially, I intended to make the crocheted afghan with the yarns in my yarn stash.  I quickly discovered that this won't really work. I don't have enough skeins in the right weights and colours to make a lap afghan. Even though my yarns are mixed washable fibres in 3.5 or 4 weight yarn, I still found that the cheaper yarn at the slightly heavier weight made a difference in the stitches and things became a little less even than I would like.  I will try to resolve any uneven edges with a border finish at the end of the project but I won't be able to do anything about the stitches in the body of the afghan.  I also realized that it isn't a good idea to mix inexpensive yarns with more expensive yarns. In the above example, the blues and whites at the bottom of the photo are less expensive yarns and it really comes across in the feel and size of the stitches. Nonetheless, it is a good practice piece. I think my second attempt will be better and I've already decided on the colours (burgundy/dark red, cream, orange, tan, maybe green) for my living room lap afghan. On second thought, I think I will skip all the colours and make it shades of green which will be more neutral.

Based on what I've learned, I will buy all my yarn in advance.  I will use a larger size hook (size 6 instead of 5) and I will work the stitches in double crochet stitch,  rather than single crochet. I think these steps will ensure a smoother finish, a looser stitch and a smoother feel to the finished product.

If any of you are crocheters and have tips for me based on what I've shared, please do drop me a line!

Making Pizza

I love ground beef as a versatile meat option for dinner, however, sometimes I run out of ideas about what to make with it.

I decided to try making pizza. It was a perfect chance to use my new Kitchen-aid Artisan Mixer which I got for Christmas but haven't used yet. I've never used a mixer like this before and was surprised at how easy it is to use. I enjoyed using the mixer a lot and will likely use it again very soon.

Initially I wanted a red mixer but the stores were out of them. This chrome coloured one is nice too!

Crusty Pizza Dough

1 package active dry yeast (1 tbsp.)
1 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp. cornmeal

Dissolve year in warm water. Add salt, olive oil and 1/1/2 cups flour. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 1 minute.

Continuing on Speed 2, add remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, and mix until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl, about 2  minutes. Knead of speed 2 for about 2 minutes longer.

Please dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover. Let rise in warm place free from draft, about 1 hour, or until it is doubled in size. Punch dough down.

The dough formed into a ball but before I greased it for rising.  I mixed a double batch of pizza dough.  After rising I formed half of it into a loaf of bread. I used the other half to make a huge pizza.The bread turned out nice and crusty; just as the name of the dough says!

Brush 14-inch pizza pan with oil. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Press dough across bottom of pan, forming a collar around edge to hold toppings. Add toppings as desired. Bake at 450 degree F. oven for 15-20 minutes.

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There are green beans and broccoli in the chopped mixture above, as well as a red onion. You can add more flavour to your pizza by seasoning the ground beef, adding herbs to the tomato sauce, or putting fresh herbs, like basil, on the top of your pizza as a topping.

The pizza is fresh out of the oven and ready to enjoy!

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I don't eat much pizza and this was the first time I'd ever made one.  I made this one extra large, in a rectangular pan rather than my round pizza pan which was too small. There was plenty of pizza left over for snacks and next day's lunch. 

I think I'll experiment more often with pizza making.  I'd love to try using unusual combinations of vegetables.

Beautiful Things

Beautiful Things

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new
You make me new, You are making me new

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

The singer-songwriter, Michael Gungor, said "My wife Lisa and I wrote the song together based on experiences at our local church. We were seeing our friends going through suffering and pain. This song is an expression of hope that God will make beautiful things out of the dust in our lives, and God will somehow use us, use our obedience and love, our feeble human effort, and build Himself a kingdom. I see that God is using suffering to bring us closer to Him."

The band Gungor not only makes beautiful music but I learned they are incredibly involved in missions in their home town of Denver, and internationally. Michael Gungor and his wife moved to Denver and eventually founded a community of believers called Bloom. There they are regularly involved with the homeless and needy.

I end my post with this beautiful quote from Michael, “If leading worship is just about bringing a group of people into a room so we can get goose bumps and sing songs together, there’s not much value in that. But if leading worship is a means to an end, that we leave this place as a different kind of people, as part of a new humanity that God wants to create--the people that are caring for the widows and orphans, that aren’t bound by the systems of this world but becoming free, becoming fully engaged in our world--then that matters.” (Source: New Release Tuesday)

If you are moved to become involved in missions to the widows and orphans, I can highly recommend Kenya Missions of Hope. Please click here to read more about the missions, to pray and to perhaps lend your financial support.

Brother Thomas Rop contacted me the day before yesterday about school needs. This week you would be helping a young girl who is short for school supplies and uniform ($80. US, 52 GBP, 61 Euros, 75 AUS) and her two sisters who still need school shoes $36 and $43 US respectively,  (23/28 GBP, 28/33 Euros, 34/ 41 AUS). The two sisters will also need toiletries in a few weeks. Please know that none of the orphans we help are living in an orphanage. They are living with caretakers in private homes or living in orphan headed households as in the case of the 3 girls who have immediate school needs. Your gifts and prayers are so much appreciated for them all.

God bless you.

A Thing of Beauty

I love handmade things. I've always loved crafts of all kinds. Anything made by the hand, that takes time to render, is special and holds deep attraction for me.

When I travel, my eye is always drawn to different textiles, pottery, jewellery and other hand crafted items.  Kenya is a wonderful place for seeing and buying hand crafts. I wrote about some of it here.

Kenyan beadwork is connected to the cultures of the various tribes doing the beadwork and is a somewhat new addition to their culture.  Much like it was to the Native American Indians who traded in beads with the foreign settlers, Kenyan beadwork dates back to the late 19th century when beads from what is known today as the Czech Republic, became available to them. 

Beadwork has a special attraction for me because when I was a teenager, I made things out of seed beads.  Mostly I made earrings and necklaces for the women in my community.  They loved to adorn themselves with one of a kind pieces. I haven't done any of that kind of work since then.

In Kenya, bead work is often used, along with hairstyle and other types of adornment, as a way of identifying someone's status and identity.  I'm not sure if this is still the case today, but certainly it probably is where the tribal traditions are thriving.  Westerners tend to know more about Maasai beadwork.  For example, a mother may place a string of beads around a baby's wrist, ankle and waist and thereby be able to track the baby's growth. In addition, a girl or boy's eligibility for marriage can be observed by the shape, pattern and colour of their beadwork.

A beaded bowl caught my eye the last time I was in Nakuru.  The beautiful colours caught my eye and also the fact that I'd never seen a beaded bowl before.  I brought one home.  It now sits in my bathroom holding small items like my hair clips. I would love to have several more of them in different colours; at least one gold, and one in different shades of blue.  I'm sorry I didn't buy more but I have learned not to overdo it with the tourist purchases. Whenever I get back to Kenya, I can buy a few more bowls.

I added the last photo jut because I like the wavy lines of colour that occurred when I moved my camera too quickly.

In writing my post I was fortunate to come across a book devoted to the culture and customs of Kenya, called Culture and Customs of Kenya by N. W. Sobania.  It looks like a wonderful book for your library if you're at all interested in the culture of Kenya; a fascinating country with many different cultural traditions.

Enjoy your weekend!