church

I'm overdue to post pictures of the house - we've done a decent amount of work on it. Maybe I'll get to tonight while Joe is camping (yes, the low is 32 degrees and yes, he's a bit crazy).

Joe and I went to Houston last weekend to visit his parents and sister (a belated Christmas visit). It was a quick trip, but we got to see his cousin and 6 of her kids. That makes it sound like she's got two dozen kids - she's only got 7. ONLY. ;) We went to church with Joe's parents so also saw several other people who love Joe and don't get to see him very often.

A friend who used to live in town and be a part of the same local church as I am wrote an article published online. You can read it here - it's not long, check it out! She includes some of her experience with our congregation.

I apparently didn't blog about the ComChurch 10-year birthday celebration! (This is something she refers to in the article.) It happened towards the end of October - the weekend between the two weddings I mentioned. I was also distracted with 30 days of creativity posts and my friends adopting a cute new baby. Between all those things, my blog / explaining-what-was-happening energy was used up. But it was a great day! Lunch and fun outdoor time in a park close to our new house, and dinner / music / sharing that evening. Though I'd never met many of the people who came back to celebrate, I did know some and had heard about most.

boy, I'm lost...

I just came across this neat looking light fixture (on this designer's site)...


The concept for the light came from a flight that crashed and was thought to have no survivors until years later. I read a little on the site they linked to about it and found that the crash happened in 2004! I couldn't believe I hadn't heard of it, much less that a movie hadn't been made of the dramatic tale! I was also surprised that they had pictures of the plane in air, and thought it was a fluke that some family member or news photographer happened to take pictures of the plane. After several minutes of reading the history of Flight 815, I realized my mistake. Yes, I was reading the story of the popular television series, Lost. (I've never seen an episode, but Joe and I have thought about watching it all on DVD once it's finished.)

What ever happened to design inspired by nature or emotions? I guess a lot of design now is inspired by art, I just hadn't thought of a tv series that way before. What do you guys think?

Celtic Knots

Me giving Celtic knots a try was a perfect storm with several contributing factors...

• I had art and Scotland on the brain after a trip to Salado.

• I had been thinking I should work on calligraphy, so I flipped through a how-to book and read the last section on illuminating letters. I thought I should really give it a try - how neat! Knots are a major player when it comes to illuminating letters. As an example, this is from the Book of Kells (an illuminated manuscript in Latin - the four Gospels - circa 800):

• I already did one Celtic knot detail on the P of Peebles on my current embroidery project. (Still working on that, if you're wondering. I'm on the final e!)

• I like to doodle in ways very similar to Celtic knots.

• I recently read three books by Stephen Lawhead - the first two in "The Song of Albion" trilogy, and the first book in "The Celtic Crusades" triology. All of them have heavy Celtic influences. I've read Scottish and Irish stories (fable style short stories) that give insight into Celtic mythology, and I find Lawhead's books a much more enjoyable way to learn a little about that culture.

On to my first go at Celtic knotwork... I didn't have any plain white paper, so you'll have to ignore the blue lines.

The one in the bottom right corner is in-progress (so you can see the steps). Here's the finished product (I think it's my favorite):I didn't use a ruler or compass, but I did make dots to keep reasonable spacing. I got the designs from a website. It was fun! Making the knots added necessary mental stimulation to the episode of Quantum Leap we were watching at the time (as well as giving my obsessive-compulsive desires a peaceful outlet). I'm sure this will work its way into a gift or art for my home eventually.

Interesting side note: As I was reading up on the history of Celtic knotwork, I found that the Christians (monks) who came to the region adopted and continued / furthered the use of the native art (knotwork) by illuminating the manuscripts they copied. Joe and I have talked a lot about Christianity interfacing with culture - specifically the artistic part of culture. It seems like this is an example of art being enhanced (instead of ignored or squelched) by Christians, which makes me curious all the more!

Seven Years of Heaven

(Isn't Seven Tiers of Heaven a phrase? If not, then I guess I get an F in word play for yet another blog post.)

Joe and I have been married for a full 7 years! We went to Salado, Texas, to celebrate. It's a small town that gets all done up for Christmas. There are tons of art galleries and antique / home decor shops. It was a very fun trip!

We admired the count down to Christmas...



Shared some secrets....


Enjoyed 70 degree weather (isn't Texas great?)...


Stayed in the Levi Tenney House.... (It was a bed and breakfast, but we were the only ones in the whole place!)Saw many knotted trees...
Explored a beautiful old chapel...
And discovered many cute shops.

My favorite part is how visiting all these places gets my creative juices flowing. I had several art project ideas (as if I'd ever run out) that may make their way into our home someday. There is also a Scottish heritage to the town which got my brain churning. In case you didn't know, Peebles is a town just south of Edinburgh, Scotland, located in Peeblesshire! Isn't Peeblesshire a fun word? I've mentioned my bed-covering (comforter) project briefly... in addition to our name, it will have the crest from this town. The crest doesn't have a lion or a shield or anything you typically think of... it's got three fish. But that's for another post! Speaking of, my next post with contain examples of something that was Scottish-inspired. I know, I've got you waiting on the edge of your computer-desk-chairs!

Is it really 2009?

I think not. Maybe 1958. If it were 2009, there's no way that this is in the Science section of the NY Times. It's a Q&A, and apparently someone wrote in asking if it's safe to store foods near a microwave, where they may receive "unhealthy doses of microwave emissions." Really? I mean, really?

The answer isn't much better. He starts out with "If the foods you are storing near your microwave oven are not somehow visibly changed, as if cooked, then they are not being affected by your microwave," and continues with reminding us that using a microwave does not make food radioactive or contaminated. I was hoping that the author, C. Claiborne Ray, had recently joined the Times from Cnn.com, but was saddened to discover he'd been an editor there for over 25 years. Other challenging questions tackled by Ray include "Is it dangerous for children to go through metal detectors?" and "When I walk through the woods, are the same flies following me, or is it new ones in new areas?"

*sigh*

Christmas 2008

I've been gently reminded that I said I would try to post at least once a week, and it's been a bit more than that. Again.

Some people wish for a white Christmas. We were in Texas - this is what we found in the yard instead. I was taking pictures of him with some of us (we didn't touch him, just got close). When Lauren (my sister) posed, I told her to get closer to it so she patted the piece of wood next to her and made the tongue-click / generic "come here" for animals sound. Suddenly, the armadillo went under that piece of wood. Scary for Lauren, very funny for us. I'd post the picture, but it's on her camera and I don't think she'll give it to me. I did get this one, though...
I just downloaded almost 200 pictures from the new camera we got for Christmas! Thanks, Mom and Dad! (And Lauren & Kevin for the memory card - ours would have only held about 30 pictures on this camera that puts this MEGA in megapixels!)

We were at my grandmother's in Junction (Texas Hill Country) for Christmas.

Here's the roll call: Robbie (Grammy), Great Aunt Ruth, Larry & Kay (Dad & Mom), Lauren & Kevin (sis & her hubby), Joe & I, Aunt Rhonda, Cynthia, Brad, Jennifer, Richard, and Lily (cousins). Lily was the only kid around and she entertained us with her own take on a few Christmas songs. I hadn't seen my Great Aunt Ruth (Grandpa's sister-in-law) in a very long time, but I really enjoy her visits.

I'll post soon about our anniversary trip to Salado! Until then, Merry Christmas from Chili's in Austin!