Spot Of Gratitude For Simple Things

 Are you seeing spots? I see spots, and lots of them here on Cedar Pond. My Jacob Sheep are spotted, and the lambs are little jumping spots of joy. My sheep are simple pleasures. Just watching them brings me joy. This is Thora and her new twin ewe ( girl) lambs.

It is a real blessing to have twin ewes by Thora. The sire of these ewes is my new ram , Tonkin. I am thinking I will need to give these girls 'T' names...

As I did my daily chores I took an extra amount of time to simply stand & watch my sheep, chickens, ducks & turkeys. I realized I may not always have the pleasure of such abundance in the coming years, for who knows what the future brings? Ill health, a change of fortune, the need to occupy myself with other things...any and all could change my way of life in a heart-beat. I cannot bear to think of a spring time without new lambs and sweet , fluffy chicks. To not be able to sit by our pond and watch our silly ducks court, quack, and dive head first into the pond for things to eat leaving them bottoms up and making us laugh is a sad thought. Yet I know God in His wisdom knows us and what is best for us. Should he deem it best for us to live otherwise as we move on in the seasons of life, He has given us these times right now to savor and remember. I pause often to soak in the sights, sounds, and joys of today and remember the funny little antics of my farm animals. I make a conscious effort to appreciate the bounty I have here in the simple things. God is so good, praise him !

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow." Melody Beale

Jeannie's Quilts ~ 'Liberty Or Death'

Jeannie Austin is amazing. Her quilts show a woman who is not only talented in quilting, but design, family history, story-telling, and sharing her skills with the community .Her love of quilting spills over into her family & community in great abundance. Because so many wanted to see her quilts and photograph them , Jeannie brought them to the Lacamas Community Center in our little community and with help, hung them up for photographing. There were a few of us snapping pictures and I missed some very good shots of her quilts, but I hope the pictures I did capture show her quilts in good light. Please click onto any pictures you want enlarged for better viewing. Close-up of one square. Jeannie's quilts are stories told in fabric, and most of her quilts are fabric & thread stitching her family history.I wish I had taken notes on what she was saying as each quilt was unfurled to be photographed, and this post shows only one quilt. I will be sharing the quilts I photographed in coming posts, but really feel her quilts are works of art . I think she could hold a quilt show and easily fill a large room with them. I did not get pictures of the backs and bindings of the quilts, but they too, were worthy of their own display.Jeannie inspired me to sew with care, creativity, and an attitude of sewing for the future generations to come. With the high price of fabric, the rarity of hand-sewn & hand-quilted items, combined with the love invested in a quilt, it is well to consider the design and future of any quilt you set your heart to make, and make it well! * I am thankful for women who freely share their skills and knowledge with other women , thereby passing on the joy of creating a life well-lived and well-loved within the means and abilities God has granted .