My Last Grandparent

My last grandparent is now with Jesus. 

What a thrill for Grandpa! He has been failing for several years as he approached and passed his 103rd birthday, so he was ready to leave behind a worn-out body and be with his Lord. But it is still a loss for us. 

It was a special blessing that all five of his children could be with him in his last couple of days - Mom and her sister taking the night shifts.

Grandpa's 100th birthday - 2016

The funeral will turn into a family reunion as all but one of the 18 grandchildren and many of the nearly 40 great-grands will be able to gather. What memories we have as we all grew up within 9 miles of Grandpa and Grandma's village home!

Summer visits included tours of Grandpa's gorgeous rose-beds, autumn filled his apple orchard with a delicious crop at the back of a big, immaculately mown lawn, winter held games of Texas Dominoes or Skip-Bo, and visits in all seasons brought Grandpa's inevitable question (usually in Norwegian), "Is it time for lunch?" (Note: this was NOT the noon meal, but a mid afternoon treat of Grandma's baking plus coffee for Grandpa.) I wonder how many times he had "lunch" some afternoons with so many children and grandchildren to stop by!

Since Grandpa loved classical music, a visit would rarely pass without his asking me to play something for him. I can still see him settled in his recliner at the right corner of the piano soaking up our favorite Norwegian compositions by Grieg, some rich Bach, or a long-winded Beethoven sonata. 

A few of the family at Christmas 2016

Many childhood memories were also made at the lake cottage Grandpa's parents bought soon after he and Grandma were married. 

The last year Grandpa was able to join the 4th of July family gathering was in 2016.

Some sweet memories at the lake are the annual Labor Day camp-outs Mom started years ago.

For all the years Grandpa joined us, he ended each night around the campfire with prayer for his family and nation.

Much has changed since Mom (third from left, back row in photo below) grew up going to the lake at the end of long, hot days of farming. But the love in this growing family has remained rooted in a conviction of God's love for us.

As long as I can remember, Grandpa and Grandma made our birthdays special by coming for a meal and cosy evening together. 

But after moving to the nursing home five years ago, it was much harder to get out. Thankfully Grandpa was able to make one visit to Maren and Jason. He always lit up when we talked about Jason and his greenhouses. Grandpa had to wait many years for his eldest granddaughter to be married!

Grandpa wearing a new kofte (sweater) from Norway - 2016

Grandpa's Norwegian heritage came out more than ever in the later years as he reverted more often to his first language. He didn't begin learning English until a neighbor girl taught him at age four, but his English was some of the richest I heard spoken in everyday life. We will miss hearing Norwegian and praying "I Jesu Navn" along with him. 

Mom will also feel the lack of her weekly visits to feed Grandpa breakfast at the nursing home.

 Last Christmas Eve was a special time for Mom, Dad, Elsa and me to celebrate once more with Grandpa. We had a quiet evening singing Christmas carols (Grandpa sang along a few times!), reading Luke 2, and sharing our supper with a few traditional Norwegian treats before he needed to sleep again.

I'll see Grandpa again when we celebrate all together with our Saviour!

Baby Showers

In a year where we personally know more than twenty new babies on the way - seven of whom are among my maternal cousins (and four of those for first-time parents in their upper 30's), I have my work cut out making gifts!

How special to meet each new cousin - two of whom were named after our grandma Alice!

This Alice first discovered the joy of stuffed animals with my amigurumi polar bear.

Even more special is watching my own niece or nephew grow and kick - though Maren needs more naps in consequence!

When a friend made her every-other-year visit from the east coast, we had a little, early baby shower at the lake. Elsa gave some of her wooden baby hangers sheathed in wool crochet, and I gave a tiny pair of Scandinavian wool mittens made even before Maren and Jason were married!

Time for a rare family photo when we have a photographer on hand!

Soup Season

The days are once again chilly and nights in the 50's. We are wearing wool socks and wool slippers, burning unscented candles, and making more soup again!

The Instant Pot is helpful for cooking up frozen chicken to add to my Lemon-Ginger Coconut-milk soup.

Dirty dishes are endless!

Summer Bouquets 2019

Summer Harvest 2019

Dad's raised-bed gardens flourished once again, and we are eating well!

A delicious salad comes together in minutes by chopping up some cabbage, cucumber, tomato and carrot, and tossing it with some oil, vinegar, and dried herbs.

Besides all we can consume and give away fresh, much food is going into our freezers and canning jars as well. 

Summer Project

Here is a sneak peak of a design project I have been working on all summer to prepare for an autumn release with Reywa Fibers.

More later. ;-) But for now... back to editing patterns and winding yarn for kits!

A Lesson in Perseverance

September has already marked the completion of my ninety-first pair of mittens. Now they are on their way to Canada to help raise funds for a ministry that brings the light of the gospel of Christ to some of the darkest places on earth.

When I offered to design a unique "Persian Rug" pattern for my friends in this ministry, I had no concerns about finishing them on time. There was more than a month available. But for a variety of reasons, the first mitten didn't turn out. No big deal. I ripped it out and reworked the pattern. 

That was only the beginning of many pattern adjustments and daily problems. One would think that after making ninety pairs of mittens, the process should be easy, right?! Well, one complication was this being my first time to use three colors, which threw my tension out of control. Another was using a finer wool yarn than usual to get the more detailed design. And the rest of the problems were simply dumbfounding.

After nearly 3 weeks, I finally had a pair complete; a process that could have taken less than one week. All that remained was to let them dry from the wet-blocking process. When I found the dense wool still damp a couple of humid days later, I thought I'd finish off the process by sticking them in the turned-off oven a while after we pulled out our supper. 

That would have worked brilliantly... IF I had remembered to take the mittens out that evening. But when I came down the following morning, the kitchen smelled pretty awful. The oven was preheating, and my brain froze with the horror of pulling out the odorous pair with white yarn now the color of a toasted marshmallow. 

It only got worse as I flipped them over. I just stood there and prayed as my sister tried to comfort me. And God clearly gave me His peace.

When I could breathe again, I went straight to my yarn stash, then to the pattern and a scale. Was there enough yarn left to make another pair? Yes! Was there enough time left? Two weeks... should be fine. Next came another reworking of the pattern to fine-tune more details.

Then followed another eight days of baffling problems. Every day I tore out hours of work - knitting and re-knitting what should have been easy on this second pair. Even if my little project was not worthy of enemy attention, it felt like a battle to fight for the Kingdom of God. I know He certainly used these weeks to test my patience and perseverance and to remind me to pray for the people facing much bigger battles as they carry the Truth around the world.

Four weeks (and the equivalent of knitting at least seven mittens) later, I set a new pair to dry in the breeze coming from an air-filter. Success! The only quirk with this pair is that one has a slightly darker base-color than the other since I ran out of the matching grey dye lot. Maybe the winners of these mittens can use that as a reminder to pray for the missionaries they are helping to support - as they persevere through their own difficult days.

"And let us not grow weary of doing good, 

for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." 

Galations 6:9