Happily ever after isn't a fairy tale. It's a choice. –Dawn Weaver
This is one of my favorite wedding pictures. It serves as a reminder that some things never change. My hairstyle has been pretty much the same for the last 18 years. And Mr. Bug still has that amazing smile.
What a photo can't measure is how much two people can grow together.
I've spent 43% of my life with Mr. Bug. It is impossible to imagine life without him. It hasn't always been easy, but the struggles make the good times even sweeter!
P.S. This video portrays a very sweet love story. Don't ruin it by looking up they lyrics for the song. They are kind of depressing.
P.S.S. The Corn Wagon Quilt Company, my favorite LQS is also celebrating their anniversary today. They have $1.99 fat quarters from 9 to 10 am. I think I'm going to do some double anniversary celebrating today.
When thru the woods and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze,
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee,
How great thou art! How great thou art! –How Great Thou Art, text by Stuart K. Hine, music arranged by Stuart K Hine from a Swedish folk melody
From The Piano Guys
We've set an ambitious goal to film in front of all Seven Wonders of the World. We started with the Great Wall of China. As our tour of Brazil approached we set our sights on our next Wonder: Christ the Redeemer. This incredible piece of art soars 10 stories in the air, stretches 100 feet wide and weighs 1.4 million pounds (630,000 kg). But even more impressive is that it was built in the 1920's on a peak of a sheer 2,300 ft. (700 meter) cliff overlooking Rio de Janeiro.
Not far from this inspiring statue are the Iguazu Falls — a natural Wonder of the World. Made up of 275 waterfalls that stretch across 1.7 miles (2.7 km), to match the amount of water that flows down these falls you would need 2 million people to each pour a quart of water every second.
As we considered what piece of music would be worthy of such incomparable locations we looked to songs that have been composed or used to praise Jesus Christ, for whom the statue was built and who billions believe created all the natural wonders of this world. We wanted to combine the melody of the heartfelt hymn of praise "How Great Thou Art" with one of the most beautiful melodies ever written — the theme from the movie "The Mission" ("Gabriel's Oboe.") "The Mission" is a movie that powerfully depicts the lives of men that lay down their lives for others. It was also filmed at Iguazu Falls. "How Great Thou Art" praises God and all that He has done for His children on this Earth. The two harmonize so beautifully with each other, both musically and thematically. As we played these pieces in front of the Christ Statue and Iguazu Falls we felt an overwhelming sense of wonder, peace, and joy.
This music video is not meant to exclude anyone that does not believe in God. We hope that it instead promotes spiritual feelings that can be felt by all — gratitude for a beautiful Earth, for life, and for joy.
A wise man once said, "If we thought of life as a gift, we might not demand nearly as much from it. And if we lived more graciously, giving of ourselves more freely to the well-being of others, many of our personal concerns would disappear, and life would become easier for all."
We respect all beliefs and opinions, but we hope that in the comments everyone can set aside religious differences and instead focus on building each other up — through gratitude, inspiration, kindness and mutual respect.
Thank you so much for watching! We are grateful for you!
Credits
"The Mission," also known as "Gabriel's Oboe," (from the soundtrack of the movie "The Mission") written by Ennio Morricone
"How Great Thou Art" is a Christian Hymn based on a Swedish folk song
Arrangement produced by Jon Schmidt
Arrangement written by Al van der Beek, Jon Schmidt & Steven Sharp Nelson
Mixed & mastered by Al van der Beek at TPG Studios in Utah
Performed by
Jon Schmidt: Piano
Steven Sharp Nelson: Cellos
Video produced by Paul Anderson
Video filmed and edited by Shaye Scott & Paul Anderson
Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect. –Oren Arnold
This year, I wanted to spread the Christmas Season out a little bit and have the focus be on making memories as a family rather than on a huge pile of presents under the tree. Of course, we'll still have presents to open on Christmas morning. But I wanted to spend time on each other this year, too. As part of this we went to we went to The Piano Guys' Christmas concert on Saturday night.
We went out for dinner and then rode the Frontrunner {Utah's commuter rail, which has become a favorite way to travel for us} up to Salt Lake. It was snowy out and seemed a better choice than braving the roads and finding parking once we got there. There was one small hiccup; about half-way there was some sort of incident {word on the street was that someone slipped and hit their head/broke their nose} and we were delayed about 40 minutes. We still made it to Salt Lake in plenty of time for the concert {we just had to skip seeing the lights at Temple Square before} and were in our seats well before the show began.
We learned some fun Piano Guys trivia:
• Steven Sharp Nelson now has 15 cellos and they all have names. He only brought three to the performance; Bruce Lee, his black electric cello {and his white electric cello is named Chuck Norris}, his carbon fiber cello, Carmen Fibre, and his newest "traditional" cello, Marcello, as named by fans over at The Facebook.
• Between the four piano guys {Jon Schmidt – piano, Steven Sharp Nelson – cello, Al Van Der Beek – producer, and Paul Anderson – camera man} they have 16 kids. Steven's four kids are ages eight and under.
• They would like to make a video at all seven Wonders of the World. Their first was on The Great Wall of China. They are scheduled to film in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, at statue of Christ in February.
The Piano Guys is one of our favorite things to enjoy as a family. We love their videos. And their concerts do not disappoint. This is the third time we've been to see them and seeing them on their "home court" definitely has its advantages. When we went to see them in May, Alex Boyé performed Peponi with them and he returned again for this performance. It was amazing. Jon Schmidt's daughter performed again, singing Where Are You Christmas? this time. And part of the American Heritage Lyceum Philharmonic performed Beethoven's Five Secrets with them.
Generally, I'm not a fan of fan-recorded videos at a live concert. It just doesn't compare with the quality of a professionally produced video of the same song. And the excitement that the person who recorded it feels at being at the concert doesn't translate. But half-way through Jon Schmidt's mash-up of I Saw Three Ships and Waterfall, I realized that those are the kinds of things that are never going to be produced. When Jon Schmidt invited his father, Werner Schmidt, on stage, I knew this was something I would like to capture. Even if I can't duplicate the feeling of being there, I wanted to share this beautiful performance, which brought the audience to its feet, with you {have I ever mentioned how much I ♥ my iPhone?}.
When we went to see them in May, Steven Sharp Nelson invited his wife, Julie, on stage and together they performed a piece called Ashokan Farewell{many thanks to the fan who captured that moment}. I was hoping that she would be there again to perform with them and when they played A Thousand Years, Steven invited her to join them on the violin.
Paralyze resistance with persistence. –Woody Hayes
The ditch quilting is done. The embellishments in the pieced border and black diamonds are finished. I crissed and I crissed and I crissed. Then I procrastinated. Eventually I got around to some crossing. After a little more procrastination I crossed and then crossed some more. And I finally got the straight line quilting finished in P.'s String Ring Dresden. {I PicTapGo_Apped and Instagramed [find me @suchasewandsew] the photo and it's supposed to be all artsy smarsty, but it just looks over-exposed. The original is not much better. It's kind of hard to tell when you've got less than 3" square of photo to go on.}
The red centers in the Dresdens are all crissed and crossed too. All I have left to quilt is something fancy in the Dresden rings. {See, it's a crap shoot with full-size photos that have been PicTapGo_Apped and Instagramed. This one is kind of awesome.}
That fancy pants quilting that remains to be done is at the root of all of the procrastination. It is very intimidating to quilt for another quilter. But as soon as I finish those Dresdens, then I can work on anything I want {read: I have forbidden myself to even think of another project until this one is done}. I have a good idea. Now I just need to put needle to quilt and make it work. And so off I go to my Jolly Holiday Workshop. A little music to quilt by, if you please.
A destiny is not realized until we let go of the illusion of control.
–Master Oogway, Kung Fu Panda
Getting Warmer
With a little help from Melissa at Sew Shabby Quilting, the quilt I've been working on for a friend is right on track to be finished and delivered on time for her birthday tomorrow.
I started this quilt a little over six weeks ago, but have been bouncing back and forth between projects trying to get something finished. {You think I might have figured out by now that picking one thing and sticking to it would get me to “finished” a little faster.} My friend had a pretty serious health issue, which included a trip to the hospital. I wanted to do something special for her during her recovery and I was thinking I could throw together a simple quilt and get it to her in a week. Not so much. The quilt pattern wasn't as simple as I thought {especially since I didn't actually buy the pattern, but sort of reverse engineered it from the photo and dimensions listed} and I debated back and forth about sending it out for quilting to get it done quickly. In the end, to take some stress off I decided to make it a birthday gift, and put it aside to work on other pressing projects thinking I had all the time in the world to get it done.
But at the beginning of last week, I realized I only had two weeks to finish it. Last Saturday, with one week to go and the borders to put on the top and bottom and back to piece, I was really feeling stressed about having enough time to get it done. In desperation, I called Melissa and asked if she could help. She kindly accommodated my rush order and did a lovely job with the quilting. I picked an all-over pattern, dropped my quilt off and in a few days, I had it back, ready to be bound, washed to crinkly softness and given away.
The two voices, Reason {a.k.a. What I Can Do} and Passion {a.k.a. Go Big or Go Home}, are still arguing in my head. Passion says I should have done the quilting {edge-to-edge is usually not my first choice; I think it often masks the piecing. I like to “color inside the lines” and try to quilt a design that accents the piecing}. Reason says that there is no way I would have had time to get the quilting done {especially since I've had a migraine since last Friday night. I'm hoping it is finally gone, but the jury is still out} and finished is better than perfect.
I must pause here to say that Melissa did a great job on the quilting. Her prices are very, very reasonable, she was seriously awesome to work with and the quilting is beautiful. Would I recommend her quilting services? Absolutely. Especially if edge-to-edge is what you're after. Will I use her again? Definitely. I have at least one quilt in the pipeline that is a great candidate for edge-to-edge.
The tug-of-war going on here is my choice to have edge-to-edge quilting done on a quilt that might have been better served with a custom job. The choice to send it out for quilting lifted a huge amount of stress off of me and made it possible to have it finished in time for my friend's birthday. Although I'm not 100% certain, I think the trade-off might have been worth it. At any rate, I'm hoping it will all come out in the wash.
Getting Colder
On Tuesday, we had a new air conditioning unit installed. I like to be prepared.
OK. The real story is that we needed to have our furnace replaced. Last winter was the coldest we've had in as long as I can remember. We kind of limped along with our furnace and had a few times where we wore multiple sweaters and borrowed space heaters while we waited for our repair man to come and fix it. Just when we thought we'd made it through winter and were well into spring, we had one more week-long cold spell and the furnace left us, well, out in the cold. We decided we'd better have it replaced.
But once it turned warm again, it wasn't such a pressing issue. The air-conditioned summer months lulled us into a sense of false security. But the temperatures have dropped early this year {I'm hoping we're not in for another deep-freeze of a winter, but I've heard rumors that it has already snowed in some areas} and we had to get out the space heaters and sweaters again. And the time was ripe to replace the furnace.
As it turned out, though, it was the air conditioner's fault that we needed a new furnace. It has something to do with the coil and condensation and rust dripping down into the furnace. They offered to knock $500 of the cost of labor on top of the pretty fabulous discount we negotiated through our handy, dandy repair man. We decided it would be in our best interest to just do it all at once.
The new furnace is chugging along and we're all toasty warm. It's just too bad we didn't replace the furnace in the spring because, we could have saved quite a bit of money on the electric bill this summer, since in this case it was a package deal.
Kung Fu Piano: Cello Ascending
The Piano Guys are at it again. This time on the Great Wall of China. Seriously. Check it out. And if you're wondering how they got the piano on The Wall, check this out.
Were it not for music, we might in these days say, the Beautiful is dead. –Benjamin Disraeli
Saturday night we, the Not-So-Little Bugs, Mr. Bug and I, had the wonderful opportunity to attend a concert by The Piano Guys. They are a favorite at our house. We saw them in concert a little over a year ago, and when I saw their tour schedule had a stop in Salt Lake City, I jumped at the chance to see them again.
The hall was at capacity and as expected, it was a wonderful concert. One of the highlights for me was when Steven Sharp Nelson, the cello player, invited his wife on stage and they performed together. She played the violin and he played the guitar. {He also plays the violin, piano and kick drum. Whaddaya know?} The piece is Ashokan Farewell.
It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. –Unknown
My favorite way to spend Valentine's Day is doing something special for the people I love. Flowers and chocolate and paper hearts never live up to their expectations and waiting an hour for a table at a restaurant is not my idea of relaxing. I find that I enjoy the day much more when I find a way to do something nice for the people I care about. Today I'm doing individual heart-shaped pizzas topped with whatever the Not-So-Little Bugs and Mr. Bug want. They like it and it makes me happy to do it for them.
In the vein of love and sharing, something that I love and always want to share is the The Piano Guys. Their newest video is so much fun! As a side note, we have tickets to go see them in May! I'm so excited!
Nothing is impossible. Some things are just less likely than others.–Jonathan Winters
A couple of years back, I made a section of Double Wedding Ring and framed it. It was a wedding gift for a girl in our ward {congregation}, who I didn't know very well at all. Another woman in the ward made the wedding dress and contacted me about making something keepsake-ish with the left-over wedding dress fabric. She had the scoop on the wedding colors and flowers. The planets aligned and the perfect line of fabric in those colors fell right in my lap and it worked out beautifully.
In a few weeks, another girl in our ward is getting married. She comes from a wonderful family and I know this girl a lot better. She was my favorite babysitter, when I could get her. You sometimes had to book two weeks out. When I heard she was getting married, a single thought fluttered around in my head for a few minutes about doing something special for her and then it fluttered on its way.
When I received her invitation in the mail, I started thinking seriously about making something special for her, realizing that I only had a month until the wedding. After all, I went to a lot of trouble for a girl I barely knew, at someone else's suggestion. I wanted to do something equally special for this sweet girl. I decided to recreate the Double Wedding Ring in a frame.
I started asking around about my young friend's wedding colors and flowers and if she was having her dress made. She bought her dress. No problem. I could just use white fabric for the background fabrics. Her flowers are white roses with a bunch of other random flowers. Again, no problem. I can do white roses and random. And her wedding colors are Eggplant and Lilac and Sage and Lime Green. And that's where things got sticky. Purple is the hardest color in the universe to match precisely and my ideas of lime green and sage green don't go together. I wanted to keep this a surprise from the girl and her mother, so there were a few days of debate in my head on what to do about choosing the right colors of fabric. I shopped on-line because it is convenient and I can do it after the Not-So-Little Bugs go to bed. But matching colors on line, especially when you're going in blind, is a crap shoot.
I started by searching "eggplant." I found a pretty Joel Dewberry floral and looked for fabrics to go with it, in shades of dark and light purple in the eggplant and lilac family.
I agonized for ages about which fabrics I'd picked and kept shopping carts open for three days in two on-line stores, taking things out of the carts and putting them back in. It took a week for all the fabric to get here and when it did, I started to worry about the colors all over again. I worried that I'd missed the mark, especially with the lilac I'd chosen. Then there was the fact that some of the fabrics didn't match at all. The dark solid fabric on the far left is more raisin than eggplant. And those polka dots are way too pink. Some of the greens were a little off too.
With no small amount of further internal debate, I decided to see if I could get color swatches without arousing too much suspicion. I called the mother of the bride-to-be and she was most obliging and didn't ask too many questions, presumably because they were right in the middle of dinner when I called. She sent one of her boys over with the swatches, and I was relieved to find that most of what I ordered will work.
I did a little stash diving to flesh out the color ranges {I'll show you later; it was too dark to get good pictures} and threw the new fabrics in the wash.
In the meantime, I've been doodling quilting designs. My pencil sketches kind of remind me of blue prints. When I quilted the first DWR, I did what I knew, which wasn't much; echo quilting ¼" away from all the seams. My quilting skills have improved since then, and I want to do something really special.
I'm pretty sure this needs a little more work. Perhaps just a single half-feather?
And I'm not really sure about this. I love how the curved lines converge in the corners, but I don't like the uneven gap it leaves in the center. Mr. Bug says it looks like a Crusaders' Cross and I can see what he means. He also said it looks too "plaid," but that I can't see, because what I see in my head is solid white fabric, quilted in white, with little crystals in each of the small squares that are created when the lines intersect. If only I could get rid of that gap and still keep the cool corners, but I might just have to quilt this in straight lines. Opinions?
I don't even have an idea of what to quilt in the rings. If you have ideas or have seen something spectacular quilted in a DWR, please point me in that direction.
The wedding is February 16th. That gives me 19 18 days to get this finished. It will probably take a week to get it framed {remind me to call on that tomorrow, so I know for sure}, so that gives me about 9 days to cut, assemble, quilt and mount this little project. It will be cutting it close, but I think that will give the framers enough time to get it back to me so I can get it to the bride before the wedding.
Mr. Bug asked me if it was even possible for me to get this done, knowing that the last week and the first week of the month are my busiest times at work and I often work 40 hours during those weeks. I told him, probably not, but I'm going to try anyway.
The only rules that really matter are these: what a man can do and what a man can't do. For instance, you can accept that your father was a pirate and a good man or you can't. But pirate is in your blood, boy, so you'll have to square with that some day. And me, for example, I can let you drown, but I can't bring this ship into Tortuga all by me onesies, savvy? So, can you sail under the command of a pirate, or can you not? –Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
Calling this a wrap-up post isn't quite accurate since you get pretty much everything about Christmas this year in one post. But I love a good pun, so just go with it.
What I Can Do
In the past few weeks I've been thinking a lot about what I can't do. Perhaps there has been some tiny shift in the cosmos that has caused time to speed up, and therefore, I can't get as much done in one day as I used to. Quite possibly, my responsibilities at work have increased and I have 10 to 15 fewer hours each week to work with, depending on the week. Or maybe I just overestimate my abilities. Whatever the case, it seems like there is an awful lot of stuff that I can't do.
I just celebrated my 2-year anniversary at work. Since I started working, I've been struggling with finding the right balance. And I've never actually considered myself as "working." In my head, this has only been a temporary thing. Two years is less temporary than I'd hoped. We have a plan in place, which makes my employment status even more less temporary. But I'd still like to think of it as temporary. What's a couple more years, right?
In the meantime, I'll continue to work on balance. I've been finishing far fewer projects and blogging a lot less than I would like to. And it will probably have to stay that way for a while. LadyBug, Grasshopper and Mr. Bug are my top priority, and that is how it should be. In the mean time, I'm going to focus on what I can do, for and with my family as well as my personal pursuits.
Neighbor Gifts 2012: Felted Wool Ornaments
It is with the "what I can do" mindset that I approached my Christmas crafting this year. I love to give handmade gifts. But there just wasn't time to do something for everyone on my list. So, I focused on what I could do. In our neighborhood, we have a tradition of taking around a little something to each other. Over the years, I've done several different things, but my favorite thing, by far, is to make ornaments. I've been collecting ideas for handmade Christmas ornaments, and have decided that I'm never going to bake and decorate 42 dozen sugar cookies, or mix up 250 servings of minty hot cocoa mix ever again. Granted, making an ornament for each family on my list probably takes the same amount of time, but there are so many fewer dirty dishes that it is worth it.
This year, I didn't get started on my ornament making until the 20th, but I was determined to get it done. My brother got married on the 15th and I was trying to get a quilt done for him {still working on that}, as well as make skirts and blouses for LadyBug and me for the wedding. I also had work and laundry and snow shoveling and life to fit in there. And then there was the matter of finding the right felt for the job. I was inspired by the pretty red felted wool ornaments P. made and who graciously shared her pattern, but was going to make due with some cheap acrylic felt. After further consideration, I decided that felted wool was the only way to go, but wasn't sure if I'd be able to find the right wool item to thrift/get enough thrifted wool to make my ornaments so I bought a yard of winter white wool at JoAnn's {thank you 50% off coupon} and felted it. I'm not 100% sure, but I think I saved money by buying wool yardage and felting it myself vs. buying felted wool at a quilt shop.
This year, I had 55 families on my list. I know. I'm nuts. Once you make my list, the only way to get off is to move and not leave a forwarding address. As I assessed the situation, I realized that I could not get 55 ornaments done and delivered by the 24th. A few cuts had to be made. Since our families have the gift of us, I crossed off members of both mine and Mr. Bug's families, reducing the number of ornaments to be made in 3½ days from 55 to 38. Here are 25 of the 36 I finished before Christmas. 11 had already either been hand delivered or mailed out when I took this and I still have two more to make and send out. Obviously, those are going to arrive after all the decorations have been put away. But it's the thought that counts, right?
Yes, I'm feeling the guilt for cutting our family members from the list. But it was what I could do. I'm starting next year's ornaments tomorrow so I don't have to leave anyone off the list.
Christmas Greetings
Not everyone who gets a Christmas card gets an ornament, but everyone who gets an ornament also gets a card. Again, the only way to get off the list is to move and not leave a forwarding address. Even then, I may still track you down. We send out 108 cards this year. I've tried to cut my list, but it is pointless. I don't want anyone to feel left out. That includes you, so I hope you won't mind a virtual card.
The Great iOS Debate: Escalated
Ever since the iPhone came out {in 2007, I believe}, I've wanted one. The problem is, I think it is absolutely ridiculous to pay $80 a month for service. When the iPad came out, I kind of lost interest in the iPhone, because an iPad seemed much more useful. I discussed this at great length several months ago, when the iPhone became available through Virgin Mobile, but the debate was tabled because we needed a new oven.
After Thanksgiving, the prices of the iPhone 4S dropped and I decided that it was time. To tell you how truly busy things have been around here, I've had this awesome new piece of technology in my possession for 2½ weeks now and haven't blogged a peep about it.
As a matter of fact, I've already dropped it hard enough to break it, if it weren't for the OtterBox I got to go with it. You can see the divot on the bottom corner, there.
Apple iPhone 4S, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. OK. I won't. Because if I did, I'd go on and on and on for more than you all would care to read. I'm guessing that a lot of people have already lost interest in this extremely long post and quit reading two subtitles ago. So in the interest of keeping it interesting, or at least from getting more long winded and boring, I'll cut straight to the chase. I love my iPhone SO MUCH that I now want an iPad also. Or maybe an iPad Mini. Or maybe both. It is that awesome.
Christmas Joy
Christmas at Bug Cottage was pretty good this year. Mr. Bug and I had the shopping done by the 19th and I have enjoyed watching everyone enjoy their presents. As for me, aside from the iPhone, which is part Christmas and part because it was time for a new phone, I think my favorite gift was a Gingher rotary cutter from my Mom. It was unexpected, unnecessary and extravagant. In other words, it was perfect.
I've already put it to use. About 2½ years ago, Shay and I did a fabric exchange. I sent her some random bits of brown and pink fabrics and she sent me a completely awesome layer cake of Sparkle All the Way. Since then, I've been on the look-out for the perfect quilt to put it to use in. I entertained several ideas, but nothing seemed just right. A couple of weeks ago, I was inspired by the Brights Christmas Quilt Amy over at Diary of A Quilter put together. I hopped on over to her Etsy shop to check out the pattern she used, and found an even better fit for the layer cake. I ordered some Remix dots, found a couple of the Sparkle All the Way prints, as well as some prints from a couple other Robert Kaufman Christmas lines, and voilá. I have a complete kit for one fantastic Christmas quilt. For sometime in the future. Don't mock. It's what I can do right now. And it's all cut out for when I finally get around to it.
We Three Kings
I know Christmas was yesterday, but The Piano Guys' awesomeness doesn't have an expiration date.
Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. –Luke 2:10-11
With Christmas approaching, I have been reflecting upon the life of the Savior. I had a moment recently where I appreciated a little more the love that our Heavenly Father has for us in giving us the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. Mired down with particularly difficult situation, I came to understand more clearly something that I have been taught all my life. I was listening to what I call "Sunday music" on a regular old Thursday. As I was trying to figure out how to handle things, the lyrics of a song spoke clearly to me, simplifying a concept that I understood in principle, but not fully in practice. We are taught that the Savior led a perfect life. I think that the word "perfect" gets in the way of what that really means because it is such an abstract term. The lyrics helped me to see an alternative word to describe his life; sinless. And it suddenly made sense to me. Because he led a sinless life, He never had the need to feel the weight of or suffer for His own sins. Yet He willingly took the weight of our sins and paid the price for them, so that we could repent and become free from them. He knew He did not have to suffer because of sin but He chose to do it anyway, for us. For me. His Atonement became more personal because I understood just a little bit better what it means to me. And I felt hope.
Shortly after my experience, the Bishop {pastor} of our ward {congregation} echoed this sentiment in his message in the ward newsletter for this month. In reference to the scripture quoted above he said, While Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of all of God's children, indeed the Savior of the world, that isn't what the angel taught. He said simply, "unto YOU" is born a Savior. He was born for you. He was born for me. God doesn't run an assembly line operation when it comes to our lives and ultimately our salvation. Each of us has unique talents and challenges, strengths and weaknesses. The miracle of Jesus Christ is He has the capacity to help and save each of us, regardless of where we live, what we do, the color of our skin, or our unique challenges. The angel's declaration is truth: He was born for you.
Neatly book-ending my experience, I was very touched by this new video from The Piano Guys, which beautifully depicts scenes from the Savior's life. From The Piano Guys: The lyrics of this piece speak of being "ransomed" from captivity. In general terms, at some point or another in our lives we find ourselves at the receiving end of a "ransom" — a rescue by someone or something — even as simple as a note from a friend, a hug from a child, a much-needed vacation, or the unconditional affection of a loyal dog. That is what this song represents to us. ... To many, including us, the story of The Savior is the sweetest and most priceless "ransom" of all. To Him we dedicate this song.
Gracias, danke, merci—whatever language is spoken, “thank you” frequently expressed will cheer your spirit, broaden your friendships, and lift your lives to a higher pathway. –Thomas S. Monson
Growing up, there was this little old man who attended our ward {congregation} and whenever he was asked to pray, he always included a large number of things that he was “grateful and thankful” for. We thought he was being superfluous as he included those same words, “grateful and thankful,” in each of his prayers before every item on his very long list. And so we called him The Grateful and Thankful Man. Upon further reflection, I don't think it is possible to be overly grateful and thankful for anything we are blessed with.
Yesterday was Thanksgiving. I really like the idea of setting aside a day to be grateful and I like making lists, so this post is my top ten things I am grateful and thankful for this week.
1. When I was putting my list together the first thing, or person, that came to mind that I am grateful for was Mr. Bug.
Mr. Bug and I are as different in temperament as it is possible for two people to be. He is patient and kind and so easy-going. That's one of the things I love best about him {and also one of the things that drives me the craziest about him}. There is a song by Snow Patrol. It's called Chasing Cars. You've probably heard it. It's one of those seriously overplayed songs. There's a line in there that always makes me think of Mr. Bug; I need your grace / To remind me / To find my own. Over the last 16 years I have learned by his example to be more patient, more forgiving, kinder—to find my own grace. Thank you, Mr. Bug. I love you.
Disclaimer: Items #2 and #3 on my list are NOT ranked in that order. I am equally grateful for both of them, but I list them this way because that is the order in which they were born.
2. Oh how I am grateful for my little Grasshopper.
Actually, Grasshopper is not so little anymore. He's as tall as taller than I am. In the last 17 months, he's grown 6½". If he continues at that rate, he'll be 7' 2" tall by the time he turns 18 . He's really turning into a neat person. He has a fun sense of humor. He makes friends easily and treats everyone with respect. One of the things that I love best about him is that he doesn't take himself too seriously. He's happy with who he is, even when I tell him he's got huge, knobbly Hobbit feet, which is only appropriate since he eats like a Hobbit. Thank you, Grasshopper, for being you.
3. I am ever so grateful for my LadyBug.
LadyBug is the most amazing girl I've ever met. She is sassy, witty and has great timing. She's creative. She's thoughtful and polite, obedient and cheerful. She's determined and knows her own mind. And she's a restful person to be around. Thank you, LadyBug, for being you.
Shameless Plug{for which I receive no compensation}: I'd like to thank Mr. Bug's brother and his wife for the amazing photos! Matt & Krystal did a wonderful job. They live here in Springville and are offering a 15% discount on their already low prices for anyone who mentions my blog when you book a session with them. Check out some of their other amazing work at MK Shoe Box Photography.
4. I am grateful to be me. Sometimes it is hard to live in my own head; I tend to be not very nice to myself most of the time But today I am giving myself a break. I'm thankful for my quirks and idiosyncrasies. I'm thankful for my strengths, but I'm also thankful for my weaknesses. I love my blue eyes. I love that I always have a plan. I love that I am organized. I am thankful to live where I do. I'm thankful for the experiences that have made me who I am. I thank thee, Heavenly Father, {it seems rather impertinent to address deity using the common vernacular, so I hope you'll pardon my formal phrasing} for all that thou hast blessed me with.
5. I am grateful for talents. Specifically, I am grateful for the talents I have. I am so glad to have several things that I love to do and that make me happy. Thank you to everyone {mom, I'm talking mostly to you, but also to my teachers, mentors and friends} who has helped me to develop my talents.
I am also grateful for those who are willing to share their talents and who add beauty to the world. There are so many talented people out there who have influenced my life. Whether I know you personally or not, thank you for sharing your talents with me.
6. I am grateful for family—both immediate and extended. You don't get to pick your family, but if I did, I wouldn't choose a single one differently. Thank you for being who you are.
7. I am grateful for friends—old and new, distant and near. You do get to choose your friends and I'm glad I chose you and that you chose me. Thank you for your kindness.
8. I am grateful for beautiful music. This kind of overlaps a little with the talent category, but I think that it is separate enough to deserve its own mention. I am thankful for composers and performers who make music that elevates my soul, enlightens my mind, speaks my thoughts, calms my fears and makes me happy. Thank you, musicians, who have spent countless hours practicing so that I can enjoy your music.
Shameless Plug{for which I receive no compensation}:
Available for purchase from ThePianoGuys The Piano Guys album available for purchase from ThePianoGuys, at Amazon{on sale through December 1} or on iTunes.
9. I am grateful for the beautiful things of the earth. To list a few, I am thankful for the renewal that spring brings, for the majesty of the mountains I live near, for green grass, for tall trees, for flowers in every shape and size, for orange sunsets and rainy days, for new-fallen snow, the heat of a cloudless summer day, and for starry nights. I thank thee, dear Father, for the beautiful world thou hast created for me.
10. I am grateful for my job and not only that, but that I am able to work. There are so many good things about my job. My hours are flexible. There is plenty to do while I'm there and I can leave when I am done. I can take time off when my family needs me. I like what I do. Thank you to my employer for keeping me around.
This list is really only the tip of the iceberg. I think one day of thankfulness is not nearly enough to be properly thankful, so I'm going to work on being more aware and more verbal about things I am grateful for. Perhaps, after all, being known as The Grateful and Thankful Man or Woman is something to aspire to.
A Return-to-Standard-Time Miracle
Daylight savings time is not one of my favorite things. To be honest, I think it is the stupidest thing ever. I mean, just pick one and stick with it, already. I loathe losing an hour every spring and look forward to getting my hour back every fall. I wonder if it is because I was born during Standard Time and Daylight Savings Time throws my internal clock out of balance?
Anyway, with my extra hour this year, I decided to fold laundry. It seemed like a responsible thing to do. And as far as chores go, laundry is one of the ones I mind the least. I keep a lone-man sock pile at the bottom of my laundry basket and every time I wash socks, I hope that the lone-man sock pile is gone when I've finished folding. It never is. Ever. I've had a lone-man sock pile since 1996. Sometimes, when a lone-man sock has been in the basket for about three years and I'm absolutely sure that I'm never going to find its mate, I'll throw it out. But there are always two or three other lone-man socks left hanging around. Except for this time. The stars aligned on Saturday night and every. single. sock had a mate. It's a miracle! It can only be because we got that hour back.
And I can not tell you how happy I am to have finally beaten the lone-man sock pile.
A Quilt So Nice I Had to Make it Twice
Remember Pinkalicious? The quilt I made for my sister's sweet new baby girl? Well it was so much fun to make and I thought it would be just as much fun to make one in blue. When I found out a good friend of mine was expecting her first baby I knew that's the quilt I wanted to make for her. We've been friends since the 8th grade. She wasn't married until she was in her mid-thirties and has struggled with infertility for several years. Her little miracle arrived about three weeks ago, which was about six weeks ahead of schedule. I've got the top finished and if he'd have waited a few more weeks, I might have had it quilted in time for his arrival.
I Wove When I Should Have Dodged
In 30+ years of sewing, I've never sewn my finger. I hear about people doing it and wonder how the heck they manage it. I mean, there are sharp moving parts in there. It just seems like a common sense kind of thing to keep your finger out of the way. But I sewed my finger {about three weeks ago now} and I thought my stupidity deserved a little world-wide web airtime.
Grace is a pedal-free machine. She has a pedal, and I used it once for about 10 minutes, but it didn't respond to subtle movements, so I tossed it into the back of the closet and use the stop/start button. And here's how I sewed my finger. I had the auto-backstitch on and pressed go. It sews at a snail's pace for the backstitch and the loose end of the top thread was kind of getting pulled into the stitches, which makes a little bird's nest on the back. Instead of stopping the machine to pull the thread tight, I decided that I could reach in there really quick while the machine was going slow to pull the thread out of the way. And the needle nicked my thumb. It didn't hurt much and healed really quickly. But the worst part about it was how hobbled I felt with a band-aid on there to keep it from bleeding.
Lesson learned.
The Piano Guys: Titanium/Pavane
The Piano Guys have a new album out. This is the first track and it is, as always, amazing.
Story behind the song: Have you ever awakened with a melody in your head and you don't know how it got there? That was the beginning of our PianoGuys' version of David Guetta's "Titanium (feat. Sia)." Paul especially loved this tune — he lobbied us to arrange the song, but after we could not find a way to begin the arrangement. Every time we tried it just didn't flow. We also were concerned that the hook of the tune was nothing but the beat and lacked a lead melody, which would make it more difficult to convey with piano and cello. Steve woke one morning and couldn't get a melody out of his head. It was Gabriel Faure's "Pavane" — a hauntingly beautiful melody that weaves in and out of richly sequenced harmonies and fluid counter-melodies. It had been a favorite of his as a child, but he hadn't heard it for years. In the studio that same morning we tried the melody over the top of the chorus of David' Guetta's Titanium and it was like witnessing a reunion of two childhood friends. The main melody of the Pavane and its supporting chords, transposed and changed stylistically to mimic Guetta, also fit nicely as the intro we had been searching for. And we thought since Guetta and Faure are both French it must have been meant to be! If you're not familiar with "Pavane" Listen to a version of Bobby McFerrin singing it with La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra. (As a boy Steve heard this very version live in concert and it evidently had an indelible impression on him!) Classical music is such a big part of who we, ThePianoGuys, are. You can hear it in everything we write. We love pairing it with the music of today. This was the most difficult music video to set the "stage" for thus far. We considered so many locations — a copper mine, a steel mill, an industry factory, a mountaintop ski resort, a wildflower meadow, a desert bluff, and many others. As you know we love putting pianos and cellos in crazy places (a common comment is 'how the heck did they get the piano up there??') — places that show off breathtakingly beautiful landscapes. When Mark Wade with Garfield County's Department of Tourism called and offered full creative access to its national parks we abandoned all of our tabled ideas and focused on showcasing Bryce Canyon National Park — an incredible place of raw beauty and geological history written in rock. It is a place like no other. We feel so blessed to have been able to film there. This video features a NEW STEEL cello made by Dawson Swan: Thor II — with significant improvements over Thor I. It's lighter, easier to play and it looks awesome! Dawson is an incredible artist! Check out his website here. Thank you again, Dawson!
I say unto you, be of good cheer . . . for I am in your midst, and I have not forsaken you.–D&C 61:36
On July 24, 1847 the first group of Mormon pioneers arrived in the Salt Lake Valley. For years prior to this, they had suffered abuse at the hands of mobs, had their homes burned, their property taken and been driven from city to city because of their religious beliefs. Seeking a place where they could live in peace, they loaded up what little belongings and supplies they had into wagons and handcarts and made the thirteen hundred-mile trek west. These courageous pioneers gave birth and buried loved ones along the trail. They suffered starvation and exposure. Their faith was tested to the limit. Despite their hardships, these Saints remained hopeful, faithful, cheerful as they put one foot in front of the other day after day.
The first company to head west was comprised mostly of men. They left their families to pave the way for others to follow. William Clayton, a member of this group, received word while on the trail that his wife had given birth to a son. Of this he said, I feel to thank my heavenly father for my boy and pray that he will spare and preserve his life and that of his mother and so order it so that we may soon meet again.
After receiving the news of the birth of his son, William Clayton wrote lyrics for an English Folk Song, which became a sort of anthem for those to follow on the long trail west. It was a source of comfort for those who faced the hardships of the trek across the mid-west and its words offer comfort today in the face of different, but equally challenging trials.
It's been a couple of weeks since I asked, but I want to thank everyone who offered up a prayer or sent good thoughts to those who've lost homes in the fires that are going on in the Western US. I hoped to have my quilt for Phoenix Quilts finished to show you. But it's summer and I'm taking life a slightly slower pace than usual, enjoying the moments that count. I've got just over half the quilting finished, and it was exactly as scary as I thought it would be and also exactly as uneven and not perfect as I thought it would be. But as I knew it would, it got easier after the first stitch and I'm enjoying the learning experience. Here's how I left it on Tuesday evening. My goal is to finish it on Saturday and get it in the mail on Monday.
I had a little trouble falling asleep last night. I'm actually doing a lot better than I used to with being able to fall asleep quickly and doing my sleeping at night and being awake during the day. But last night I was awake until 2:00 am. I think it had something to do with the migraine I enjoyed today . In any case, when I rolled out of bed at 8:00 this morning, my first thought was six hours is not enough. The last couple of weeks, I've been going to bed pretty early {for me} , and since it is summer, I've been able to get away with 10 hours of sleep and still be up and going at a respectable time in the morning. I love it and wish I could get that much sleep every night. I would have climbed right back into bed this morning, but Grasshopper had violin lessons at 9:00 and we had plans to go swimming right after that.
That's when I decided that I must ask . . . how much sleep do you need? Then I remembered I had two other questions I want to ask, and have debated back and forth all day which way to go. But I'm going with the sleep question because it's what's on my mind right now and the other two will keep. I suppose that you should vote for how much sleep is healthy for you, rather than how much sleep you'd really like. I've been getting by on 6 or 7 hours a night for the last two or three years. It is not enough. I really need eight, and I'm working on giving myself that because it is healthy. It it hard to quiet that voice in the back of my head that says stay up just a little bit more and get something else done. You'll be tired in the morning anyway, so what does a few minutes more matter now? But I'm working on it. It would be lovely to have 10 hours of sleep, if only there were about 18 waking hours each day. I guess I'll have to settle for 8 hours of sleep and 16 waking hours. Vote for your required amount of sleep and then tell your sleep "wish" amount in the comments.
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While I was debating about which of three questions to ask today, a fourth question came to mind. I decided to ask that question today as well, but it is unofficial. Yesterday I bought a new swimming suit. It is a cute suit, but a little on the boring side in the color department; black with a grey and white print. Today, we went swimming and I have to admit I was a little jealous of all of the pretty prints on the other suits there. I've considered making myself a swimming suit every time I shop for a new one, but making swimming suits {and jeans} are my least favorite kinds of garment construction. I've done both and it takes a lot to get them to come out right. Part of the problem is that the patterns are . . . well . . . not really what they say they are. And working with Lycra or spandex is always an adventure. But perhaps I can use this new suit to make a pattern, because I really like the cut, fit and style, and if I can find some pretty fabrics, I can make the perfect suit.
I mentioned yesterday that I would never post a photo of myself in a bathing suit. Ever. I'm not the shape I used to be and it has been hard to get used to. Making peace with what is and finding ways to feel beautiful even though I'm less than perfect has been a pet project of mine. When you shop for shoes, you don't blame your foot if the shoe doesn't fit right or doesn't look good. You blame the shoe. Buying clothes should be the same way. But there is a tendency to blame our bodies when the clothes don't look right. The trick is to take the emotion out of it and realize that it is the clothing that doesn't work and not your body. I have to remind myself of this a lot. And I have to remember that it's not what's on the outside that makes me beautiful, although I do have some nice features. My eyebrows, for instance, are zero maintenance. No plucking, no sculpting, and they are completely awesome. I also have really nice legs {below the knee, which is all you'll ever see of them, unless you stalk me at the pool, and even then the skirt on my granny suit does a pretty good job of covering most of what I don't like to show} and ankles. And I love that I have blue eyes {thanks, dad}. As to the character traits that make me beautiful, well, I think that loyalty is a pretty good one.
I must ask . . . what makes you beautiful? As I mentioned, this question is unofficial, but I'd love to hear what you have to say if you're comfortable with that, and if you'd rather not share I understand. Take a minute and seriously consider the positive about yourself. Don't let that negative voice talk you out of believing that there is beauty in you. Tell it to be quiet and find the voice that tells you what makes you special.
You're insecure Don't know what for You're turning heads when you walk through the door Don't need make up To cover up Being the way that you are is enough
Everyone else in the room can see it Everyone else but you
Baby you light up my world like nobody else The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell You don't know Oh Oh You don't know you're beautiful
If only you saw what I can see You'll understand why I want you so desperately Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe You don't know Oh oh You don't know you're beautiful Oh oh That what makes you beautiful –What Makes You Beautiful, lyrics by Rami Yacoubm, Carl Falk and Savan Kotecha, performed by One Direction
How incredible it is that in this fragile existence we should hate and destroy one another. There are possibilities enough for all who will abandon mastery over others to pursue mastery over nature. There is world enough for all to seek their happiness in their own way.–Lyndon B. Johnson
Batiks, Baby!
One of my goals for this year is to start collecting a nice stash of batiks, and I think I'm well on my way now. I ordered these from Connecting Threads. They have a great selection that is very reasonably priced. I wanted batiks that look like they've been watercolored, but they have some amazing prints too and the best part is they sell fat quarters at linear yardage prices. They had a sale on a few of their batikss when I ordered my FQ's, so I practically stole a couple of these pieces.
The Last of the Peonies
Peonies definitely have the "less is more" thing down. At the very most, they started blooming in my yard 3 weeks ago, and they're all pretty much done. I missed showing you a few the later blooming ones and I very nearly missed showing you Bartzella. There was only one bedraggled bloom left when I finally made it out to take pictures. I tried to knock an ant off, and also got the petal it was sitting on. Bart is supposed to be yellow. He looks very pink in this photo, but he bloomed more coral and less pink than it looks here, with a hint of yellow in there. I suspect the color has to do with the acidity content {or lack thereof} in the soil. In any case, Bartzella made a beautiful showing this year and I'm looking forward to tinkering around to see if I can get the flower color to the yellow it is supposed to be.
Story behind the song: Ask any cellist. They'll tell you about what's it's like to play the cello part of Pachebel's Canon in D. It's the same 8 notes over and over and over again. The good news is, it's easy to memorize. The bad news is you don't know when to stop. There's a rumor floating around that says Pachelbel either died while writing it, never finishing the cello part, or that he dated a cellist and it did NOT go well . This arrangement is dedicated to all the cellists that have fallen asleep while playing this song...or at least wanted to fall asleep. Steven Sharp Nelson actually began writing this arrangment while bored at a wedding >.
Ahem ... all the bitter cello-malice aside, Pachelbel's Canon in D (written in the 1600's) has stood the test of time — celebrated as the most recognizable piece of classical music. We like to call it the "one-hit wonder of the 1600's" . It really is an amazingly-catchy piece of music. It demonstrates the musical form of the "canon," when a melody is played and then repeated in a round by other voices (watch how the melodies are passed from one cello to the next — right to left).
ALL THE SOUNDS YOU HEAR WERE CREATED BY THE CELLO — bowing, plucking, strumming, and beating the cello any way possible.
This arrangement was actually written before ThePianoGuys posted our first video, "Michael Meets Mozart" — but we hesitated filming it because of how involved the idea was. We've never used "extras" before! And the thought of staging a wedding, directing extras, and cloning Steve 4 times all in one video-shoot made us justifiably anxious. So we put it off. And put it off. And then put if off some more. One day Al van der Beek was skimming through our thousands of messages on Facebook and happened to see one with the title "wedding" in the subject line. A woman had emailed us about an opportunity to film at a big magazine-spread wedding photo shoot. It was perfect — they would have the location, flowers, actors, and even a cake. Everything we'd need. To make a long story short, we excitedly scheduled our video shoot for the same day as their photo shoot, but a few days prior to the day it fell apart. After much discussion we determined to move forward on faith that we could still work it out. Paul Anderson marshaled all sorts of connections and called on whomever he could and by nothing short of a miracle in a matter of days the wedding was all planned — complete with a beautiful location, stunning decor, sharp tuxedos, fancy flowers, a photogenic bride and groom, 60 energetic guests, and an iced cake!
The piece at the beginning that is just ending is Steven Sharp Nelson's 4-cello arrangement of "Thanks Be To Thee" (att. to Handel). Available for purchase (track 7 on the album "Tender Mercies") from The Piano Guys. Sheet music also available for purchase.
Thanks to our many "cameos" we're reluctantly-proud to admit that this is the first video where you can SEE ALL FIVE PIANO GUYS! Everyone appeared as themselves, except for Jon who got a little carried away with his characters .
A HUGE thank you goes out to our vendors that made this wedding look so amazing. Please visit their sites and use them if you're planning a wedding!
Another huge thank you goes out to all our extras — family and friends that sacrificed an afternoon to make our little wedding look the part! You were all fantastic!
And another thank you goes to Robin Saville of Bride Access who helped Steven Sharp Nelson conceptualize this video.
Credits Canon in D written by Johann Pachelbel (1600's) Arrangement written and produced by Al van der Beek & Steven Sharp Nelson Recorded, mixed, and mastered by Al van der Beek at TPG Studios Video produced by Paul Anderson & Tel Stewart Starring Steven Sharp Nelson, cellists Paul Anderson, himself Al van der Beek, himself Tel Stewart, himself Jon Schmidt, minister and hip old lady Shalley Sorenson, bride Zach Sorenson, groom Nicole Alfano, Wedding Coordinator
. He's really turning into a neat person. He has a fun sense of humor. He makes friends easily and treats everyone with respect. One of the things that I love best about him is that he doesn't take himself too seriously. He's happy with who he is, even when I tell him he's got huge, knobbly Hobbit feet, which is only appropriate since he eats like a Hobbit. Thank you, Grasshopper, for being you.
and lacked a lead melody, which would make it more difficult to convey with piano and cello. Steve woke one morning and couldn't get a melody out of his head. It was Gabriel Faure's "Pavane" — a hauntingly beautiful melody that weaves in and out of richly sequenced harmonies and fluid counter-melodies. It had been a favorite of his as a child, but he hadn't heard it for years. In the studio that same morning we tried the melody over the top of the chorus of David' Guetta's Titanium and it was like witnessing a reunion of two childhood friends. The main melody of the Pavane and its supporting chords, transposed and changed stylistically to mimic Guetta, also fit nicely as the intro we had been searching for. And we thought since Guetta and Faure are both French it must have been meant to be! 
. In any case, when I rolled out of bed at 8:00 this morning, my first thought was 
. This arrangement is dedicated to all the cellists that have fallen asleep while playing this song...or at least wanted to fall asleep. Steven Sharp Nelson actually began writing this arrangment while bored at a wedding