Serenity Now/Equality Now

Theaters across three continents will do charity showings of Serenity on the big screen June 22-24, 2006, to benefit Equality Now, a worldwide effort that champions gender equality (and Joss Whedon's favorite charity). For a chance to see the BDM on the Big Screen one more time, go to CantStoptheSerenity.com to find a theater near you.

New Albin Public Library Quilt Show

Today we had a quilt show with over 50 exhibitors and over 100 quilts. We have a lot of phenomenal quilters in this little town!

First, just some general shots of the main exhibit area.









This is such an adorable idea. These are "paper doll quilts." The clothing is all fabric and attaches to the quilt with snaps, so that you can change the dolls' clothes.



This one was interesting - a Trails quilt set so that it makes a maze.


A lovely crazy quilt dated 1927.



My favorite quilt in the whole show: "The Chicken Came First."


One of the two quilts I showed: A Double Irish Chain that I made this winter and spring.

The other, which I made a year ago, a Stack 'n' Whack.

Lisa Fruitful, whose "baby" this show was.

And the quilt she brought to show, an anniversary quilt made for her parents' 50th, with photos printed on some of the blocks and carefully embroidered with favorite sayings of her father's, like, "Fingers were invented before forks," and "I'm off like a dirty shirt on a Saturday night."

The featured artist of the show was Mrs. Belva Bunker. Mrs. Bunker only began quilting after her retirement from working in the town bank. She does lovely work. I couldn't find any mistakes in any of her quilts. And I looked, too.

All her quilts were set up in the Winnebago Room. The rest of the photos are all of her work.

Prayers for little Anthony's family

My heartfelt sympathy to the family of five-year-old Anthony Turner of Texas. Prayers for comfort and strength for you all.

What I Love About My Job

I never learn it all.

Just when it starts to bore me, I'll get some new branch of medicine or new procedure or new treatment and it's interesting once again. By new, I mean new to me, of course.

Today's new thing was the use of gold seeds placed in holes drilled in a patient's spine bones to treat bone cancer. Just fascinating!

Signs of Spring

Spotted at Woodmans: The elusive Manschewitz EVERYTHING! matzo has found its way back to the Upper Midwest. A sure sign of spring. Yum. I'm munching one right now, getting all kinds of crumbs in the keyboard. EVERYTHING! matzos, in case you did not know, are embellished with poppy seeds, salt, onion AND garlic. I don't think they are kosher for Passover. I mean, they're kosher, as in pareve, but not for Passover. But they are sure good.

Sleep Sublim

I was telling Barry about something our friend Kathleen had told me: She said that she was dreaming one night that she was warm and safe and felt so happy that she began to purr. She awoke to find that her cat had cuddled into bed with her and he was the one doing the purring.

Barry asked me, "So when you dream you are warm and safe, do you dream you are snoring?"

Catcombing

Tired of the clouds of cat hair making me sneeze, I dug out an old fine-toothed pet comb that we had bought for grooming one of the bunnies years ago and combed out both cats. The results were entirely predictable: Easy-going Briggs thought it was great, purred loudly and rolled on his back so that I could comb his bellyfur. Beckham grumped in a cute little chirpy voice, and then when I didn't quit, got louder and grumpier, finally "mrrreowr"ing and leaping out of my lap in a huff.

Relating to God

Last night while scraping old linoleum tile off the basement floor, I was praying for a friend who is in a tough situation and it struck me that I call on God in His capacity of Healer more than any other. I tend to pray about relationships and situations a lot, and when I do, I'm always asking Him to heal them. Heal. I relate to God as the Healer.

I asked Barry if he does the same, and after a few moments of thought, he said no, he doesn't. He says he relates more to God as Creator and Sustainer. When he asks God for help with something difficult, he is asking Him to restore the creation as He intended it, with all working smoothly, and then to continue to sustain it that way.

So with which of God's many names, which define some of His qualities, do you relate the most frequently?