Hope

...In the form of Susan Boyle...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Holy Saturday

We celebrate two birthdays around Easter time. In fact, JW was baptized on Holy Saturday. Since I am elbow-deep in pictures from recent scrapbooking, I decided to honor these two with digital collages. Recognize anyone?

Love,

Mom

Palm Sunday

For thoughtful insight, read From Palms to Poison in Bill Donaghy's blog, The Heart of Things, at www.missionmoment.blogspot.com. I enjoy keeping an eye on his blog. However, for a childhood memory, read on here.


I believe that the K-Family tradition of making palm fronds into crosses was brought home from the seminary. Because of fragile memories and too little practice, every few years we have to relearn the technique and this was one such year. Thanks to D's patience, my digital photography, and blogspot.com, it is now committed to digital memory for the future. Get out your palms and follow along. Oh, come on! You know you want to!

Step 1. Holding the palm horizontally, diagonally fold roughly 2/3 of the frond upward so that the palm makes a right angle. Crease the fold.

Step 2. Fold the top portion of the palm back and downward. Crease the horizontal fold as shown below.

Step 3. Once again, fold the lower portion of the palm upward and crease the horizontal fold. You have now formed a side "pocket" for the arms of the cross to eventually slide through.

Step 4. Fold the left 1/3 portion of the palm over the center to the right.

Crease the vertical fold.

Step 5. Now it gets tricky, but don't give up: Create the right arm of the cross by folding the right side backward toward the center and slipping the end through the back of the sleeve you created earlier. Be sure to keep the center pinched together while you work so it doesn't fall apart.

No creasing this time. Just let the right arm stay in a soft fold until you get the other side done and everything centered properly. At this point, just guess at the length you want the right side to be, about three inches or so, and pull the rest of the frond end through to the left side as you see happening below.

Step 6. Fold the left side foreward toward the center and slip it into the front of the pocket to form the left arm of the cross. Adjust both arms so that they are equal, then gently crease the two folds.

Step 7. Fold the top forward and down, slipping the end through the front of the square pocket in the middle until the top of the cross is the desired height.

Step 8. Fold the bottom of the palm back up to the middle and tuck the end into the square. Adjust the top and bottom of the cross until it is proportional to the length of the arms and gently crease the top and bottom folds.
Voila! A blessed Holy Week to everyone!

Visitors

C and B from Tacoma have been here for a visit this week before heading on to the East Coast. They hunkered down here for an extra day to wait out a storm on Cabbage Hill and another that is due in the Rockies. Next week they will spend a few days at Kansas State University with grandson M, then finish their journey to R and E's in Delaware.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

It looks like spring is coming to Athena, but what my camera did not focus on were the snowflakes coming down all around my daffodils!

Il Divo

The group il Divo, the Coliseum in Rome, Amazing Grace, a sunset, bagpipes, amazing harmony & resonance...it all gives me chills. Treat yourself to the following updated link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMVxzEueJ6A

Hi, Bella!

On our way home from the beach we stopped at Uncle L & D's house for a visit. Daughters J & S joined us and, after a tour of all the wonderful remodelling work, we continued our chatting at a nearby Olive Garden restaurant. It was nice to touch base again, but the time went much too quickly. Below are some pictures sent to us by L earlier, before the deck was finished. D's gift for horticulture is definitely evident in the landscaping!

That's Bella in the driveway.