MISCELLANEOUS FILIGREE!

I have a bunch of little newsy items to post about today. Here goes!

KNITTED FILIGREE!

First, this is one of my latest knitted projects. Can you guess what it is? I will give clues in the next few days and post pics of the finished product when done. I love the pattern but had to have the help of a friend to get going. I tore out the first few rows about 10 times til we together got it figured out! Make a guess as to what it will be!

A friend recently told me she'd like to see me post some recipes on my blog! I have certainly thought about that, but kind of disliking cooking like I do, I think that my really good recipes are few and far between; but let me tell you what I did today that I thought was ingenious. I had leftover beef roast and gravy, a couple spoonfuls of mashed potatoes, etc. from a big family dinner. I mixed up a crust out of baking mix (recently discovered I had too many opened boxes in my cupboard!). I cooked up leftover carrots and the above beef and veggie mix and made a pot pie. Covered it with the excess crust and froze it for later use. Let me share last week's quick meal. I took a very cheap can of potato soup and added half can of creamed corn and a few dollops of American process cheese, some milk, and heated it. The family RAVED about it. Try it--they'll think you slaved away on homemade soup and really it was very economical as well as done in 10 minutes! I am more of a "use it up" kind of cook than a recipe cook. This comes from years of homeschooling and scrimping while I was a stay-at-home mom. You had to get creative to make the budget stretch.

Yesterday I went shopping for fabric. It was really just a pleasure trip as I'm contemplating a couple of little granddaughter dresses for an upcoming baby/toddler dedication! As soon as Granny gets the word on when, she will start making an heirloom dedication gown for Sophia and a coordinating dress for Miss Emma Rose. My designer mind went wild today as I looked at fabric. There was lovely fabric and exquisite laces and notions. I saw a piece of lace that I instantly knew had to be used around the waistline of the dress I intend for Emma. It will change my original color scheme, but that's ok, since I found the exact fabric I wanted that coordinated with it beautifully. Can you build a whole 2-outfit scheme on one little piece of lace? ABSOLUTELY and I will! Also found fabric for Sophie's little gown. I have a few styles in mind and lo and behold they happen to coordinate in the most becoming way. Emma's will have a bolero jacket, the kind that are so popular right now and this little christening/dedication gown has an attacked jacket that trails down to the hemline of the dress. I CAN'T WAIT TO GET STARTED!

RUBY SLIPPER STORY--FINAL CHAPTER

After I opened the box that contained the "ruby slippers," I should have been relieved, comforted, and awed by God's amazing love to me. I already told you I didn't catch the real significance of that right away. I can't remember for sure, but I think it wasn't until we were on the way home that it really all sunk in.

The last three days of the African trip we went on safari. It was a kind of "vacation" for the weary workers before going back home. It was a chance to have a little fun, see the beauty of Africa, and unwind after the heavily scheduled week. We left the safari complex in the morning and drove on long bumpy dirt roads from the semi-arid safari location through some of the higher elevations and back to Nairobi. While in Nairobi, we shopped a bit as we waited to board our late evening flight. The next day we arrived back in Amsterdam. We only had about an hour layover this time and can you guess what most of the Americans did first thing? Yes, that's right--head straight to the nearest cheeseburgers and fries!

We boarded the plane and I can't remember what time it was. We were finally on the last leg of our journey and many of us didn't pack much at all in our carry-ons--after all, we were going home! Several of our party were ill by now. Some were later discovered to be suffering from e-coli infections. One person had been sick in Africa and was still rather weak, though a bit better. When we got over Greenland--I think about three hours into the flight, the pilot came on the intercom informing us we were going to have to turn around and go three hours back to land in London! You should have heard the groans and moaning of the entire plane. It seems there was a package found on the plane that was not associated with any passenger and that's a security issue. Talk about disappointed people! One soldier we met was going home from Iraq to attend his father's funeral and said now he would most likely miss it. I broke down and cried at his words, letting out all the built up emotion over returning home just flow out of me as I realized my own desire to return must be nothing compared to his.

So we began to make the flight back to London. I had a bit of a good feeling about that since I always wanted to go to England. I figured I'd at least get to see London. When we got close to London, they were unable to take us and we had to return to Amsterdam where the airline would put us all up in hotels for the night. We were given complimentary care packages with combs, a t-shirt, toothpaste, etc. Then we were given vouchers for food and lodging. Also free travel miles were given. It was actually kind of nice to sleep in a good hotel room and eat well before arriving home since we'd all been through the mill that day coming quite a ways across Kenya and then on a flight. We all were able to clean up and rest before boarding another plane in the morning.

I think it was while I sat in the plane, returning to Amsterdam that the realization hit me that God had reached into my situation and "promised" me with tangible evidence, however unique, that I would make it home! God is so creatively wonderful, isn't He? Most of us have Amsterdam sweatshirts or t-shirts now as a result the three visits to that city in a ten-day time span. Souvenirs of this most amazing trip!