Come, Walk With Me

I am your friend and my love for you goes deep. 

There is nothing I can give you which you have not

got, but there is much, very much, that, while I

cannot give it, you can take.

 No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find

rest in today. Take heaven!

No peace lies in the future which is not hidden in 

this present little instant. Take peace!

The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach is joy.  Take Joy!

There is radiance and glory in the darkness could we but see... and to see we have only to look. I beseech you to look!

 Life is so generous a giver, but we, judging its

gifts by the covering, cast them away as ugly,

or heavy or hard. Remove the covering a you

will find beneath it a living splendor, woven of 

love, by wisdom, with power.

Welcome it, grasp it, touch the angel's hand that

brings it to you. Everything we call a trial, a

sorrow, or a duty, believe me, that angle's hand

is there, the gift is there, and the wonder of an

overshadowing presence. Our joys, too, be not

content with them as joys. They, too, conceal

diviner gifts.

 Life is so full of meaning and purpose, so full of 

beauty...beneath its covering... that you will find

earth but cloaks your heaven.

Courage, then, to claim it, that is all. But courage

you have, and the knowledge that we are all pilgrims

together, wending through unknown country, home.

And so, at this time, I greet you. Not quite as the 

world sends greetings, but with profound esteem

and with the prayer that for you now and forever,

the day breaks, and the shadows flee away.

~ Fra Giovanni

Guest Post by Lydia

Yarn Along; One To Eyre finished another one started

Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~

                                                                                 from Ginny's blog Small Things

I finished my City Tweed To Eyre.  It is beautiful!  Lydia tried it on and it looked so pretty on her, I just had to cast one for her too.  I have plenty of Wool of the Andes in Sapphire Heather that looks lovely on her.

As for my other To Eyre, I am waiting for more yarn to come; hopefully by the end of the week.  I thought I would have enough with one skein, but now I see that I will need more.  Since the yarn is hand painted, I want to see if it will match the new skein before I knit any further.  

I am reading The Way to Perfection by St Theresa of Avila, along with Secular Discarded Carmelite all over the world, as we prepare for the 500th anniversary of her birth in 2015.   This Sunday will be a very special day, as I will be making my Definitive Promises.  

I am not drinking as much tea as I do during cooler months but I still drink at least a cup a day.  In the picture above is my cup of Angel's Dreams tea with a splash of Honey Bear milk.  You are probably wondering, what on earth is Honey Bear milk?  Honey Bear is our newest Nubian Goat nanny.  We just bought her Sunday along with a young, four-month-old male.  And no, we will not call her Honey Bear like her previous owner did.  Lydia and I decided to call her Tasha, in memory of Tasha Tudor, who after all is the reason we own Nubian Goats.  I read in Tasha Tudor's Heirloom Crafts that Tasha, when breeding goats, seemed to strive for shades of brown, similar to the coloration and markings of deer.  Just look at our sweet new goat. Isn't she just perfect?  

Lydia is knitting a Scalene scarf in Giant Peach Imagination, and Conch Palette, it is nestled in the little basket.  She made some delicious gingerbread from The Tasha Tudor's Cookbook, perfect with a glass of cold milk from our sweet Tasha.

I pulled out some books by our beloved Tasha Tudor as well as some of Patricia Polacco's books.  Caleb, our new baby goat, looks like he jumped right out of G is for Goat.

To redeem myself for posting pictures of goats in a Yarn Along post let me show you what else this goat lady had for sale.  And no, I did buy any, but oh the temptation!  

Yarn Along, Two To Eyre and Hats for Japan

Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~

                                                                                 from Ginny's blog Small Things


It's been a while since my last Knit Along, certainly not because I haven't been knitting, but because I haven't been blogging.  There is a time for everything, and right now it doesn't seem to be a time for very much blogging, and that's OK.  I will not include in this post everything I have been knitting since my last entry, not even everything I am knitting right now.  I am rather passionate about knitting and my project baskets are a clear evidence. 

When I saw Elizabeth's To Eyre I knew this was a shawl I wanted to knit for myself.  It is an easy project that doesn't require too much concentration.  It is base on a shawl worn by Jane Eyre in the newest adaptation of the novel.  Lydia and I can't wait to see it when it comes out on DVD.  After a few false starts with yarn from my stash, I was happy with my choice; a soft washable merino yarn in a lovely berry color call Wine Tasting.  I had to make adjustments for the yarn weight (fingering) and I am using smaller needles.  I am still working on figuring out how much more rows I would like on the shoulder before I start the back.  It is light and has a lovely drape.  But after seeing a picture on Ravelry (that I can't find anymore) of the actual shawl in the movie, I longed for a more earthy one.  I had eight balls of DK City Tweed in Jacquard that just begged to be cast on for this shawl.  The deep bluish green color shine like a jewel, and the alpaca and merino blend is soft and luxurious.  I am using it double and it is giving me a nice thick fabric that will relax nicely after a soak in warm soapy water. 

The three hats are for Japan.  I knitted them this weekend and sent them to Ginny Monday.  I hope she received them in time.  I used some Lamb's Pride I bought long ago from our local yarn store before they closed.  The tassels were made using Wool of the Andes.  The Lamb's Pride hurts my fingers, Wool of the Andes is much softer.

A knitter's Home Companion is a delightful comfort book for knitters.  Even the book itself is comforting, with its soft almost velvety cover.  It is dotted with charming watercolor illustrations by the author, a few recipes and a handful of patterns.  She makes me smile and I feel like I am listening to the chatting of a kindred spirit knitting friend.  I did made a washcloth from the book in Dishie.  I love it!

I might not be reading a lot right now, but it's certainly not the case for Ava.  I choose the picture below because she is actually looking (she did turned the book around) at a book that I bought for her father, Gabriel when he was a year older than she is.  I Am a Little Pony brings back sweet memories!  

Yarn Along and Knit Along

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs. I love seeing what other people are knitting and reading as well. So, what are you knitting or crocheting right now? What are you reading? Take a photo and share it either on your blog or on Flickr. Leave a link below to share your photo with the rest of us! ~

                                                                                        from Ginny's blog Small Things

I am so glad to be back with a Yarn Along, and a Knit Along too!  

Last Thursday, I decided to knit Ava a little doll for her first birthday, which was Saturday.  I was doing fairly well until I ran out of yarn!  The pattern is Emily Doll , knitted in Comfy, and her hair with Andean Silk. a blend of alapca, silk and merino wool.  I have more yarn on its way.  The same thing happened for Leo's birthday at the beginning of the month, I ran out of yarn for his giraffe.  I'll post a picture next week, since I expect to work on it this week now that I have received the yarn. 

I am also working on a Baby Surprise Jacket for Tobias.  This is a Knit Along with Elizabeth Foss guided by Elizabeth DeHority.  I still need to sew up the arms seams and the buttons.  I also want to add a hood.  I used Felici in Recess, a sport weight sock yarn that is scrumptiously soft. 

I do not have much time for reading these days.  These two books are filling my soul with good thoughts, very good thoughts.  I already mentionned how I love Catherine Doherty, I love all of her books, but The People of the Towel and Water is becoming my favorite.  Season of Mercy, Lent and Easter has been my companion through Lent, and still is during this beautiful Easter Season. 

I just finished knitting this shawl with just two balls of Palette in pale gray, called Mist.  I started it many months ago and just recently picked it up again when I needed an easy knitting for times when I can't concentrate on something harder.  I memorized the pattern and could even knit while watching a DVD.  After a good warm soaking in hair conditioner, it turned out nicely soft with a lovely drape. 

All yarn and patterns are from Knit Picks, yes I am a BIG Knit Picks fan.  I don't know what I would do without them.!  I certainly couldn't knit as much!

The Crucifixion

The outdoor Way of the Cross in this video reminds me of the one at La Chapelle de la Réparation where my dad used to work as a printer when I was a little girl.  We lived in a house on the monastery's property.  It is now The Sanctuaire du Sacre-Coeur et de Padre-Pio.

Thank you Elizabeth for sharing these videos of Danielle Rose. 

Bonne Fête Papa!

Voici plusieurs photos de tes petits enfants et arrière petits enfants.



Felix, Matthias, Dominique



Ava Rose

Ava Rose



Leo



Leo

Dominique et Laurence



La fête de Dominique en février.

Emma et Tobias

Tobias



Le baptême de Tobias. Lydia et Félix sont parrain marraine.



Matthias et l’évêque le jour de sa confirmation. 



Emma



Maddie





Countless Blessings

Ann, who lives way up in Canada, the country that is my own, a country that French Canadian singer and poet Gilles Vigneault calls Winter, tells us how to heal our broken places.  


My country is not a country, it's winter

My garden is not a garden, it's a plain

My road is not a road, it's snow

My country is not a country, it's winter


In the white ceremony

In which the wind to snow marries

In this country of powdery

My father had his house built

And I am going to be faithful

To his way, to his model

The friends room will be such

That we will come from the other seasons

To build next to it


My country is not a country, it's winter

My chorus is not a chorus, it's a gust

My house is not a house, it's the cold

My country is not a country, it's winter


In my great solitary country

I scream before I shut myself up

To all men of the Earth

My house is your house

Between these four falls of ice

I take my time and my space

To make the fire and the place

For all the humans at the horizon

And humans are of my race


My country is not a country, it's winter

My garden is not a garden, it's a plain

My road is not a road, it's snow

My country is not a country, it's winter


My country is not a country, it's the other side

Of a country that was nor country nor homeland

My song is not a song, it's my life

It's for you that I want to posess my winters

                                                             Gilles Vigneault

 Ann, who takes her time and her space to make the fire and the place for all the humans at the horizon, urges us to give thanks.

Let me pick up were I left and count the blessings of this day.

 ~31 This post and this one, about what happens when people care.

~32 Beautiful Elizabeth, her faith and her trust that defies all human reason.

~33 Warm tears tickling down my face as I read about wondrous love.

~34 The opportunity to give a sick mama a break.

~35 Round, rosy cheeks.

~36 Pale heather blue cotton sweater, blue socks peeking out of black leather mary janes, moonstone earrings.

~37 Warn breeze

~38 As I was strolling down Ava down the dusty path, meeting the man in brown, in the big brown truck, who gave me a brown box full of Moomintrolls books (just like Lydia), shh....  it's a secret gift for Friday's birthday boy. 

~39 Buttery butterfly cookie with purple sprinkles, lovingly made by auntie Sara to delight Maddie.

~40 Wings to fly.  Pink ones are the best, and even better if they have real feathers. Makes my heart flyes to see a little one twirling in them.