Christmas Traditions

When you marry you blend your Christmas traditions. Does is always work?

Join my daughter and I as we discuss our Christmas traditions and our December knits.

             

Be sure to subscribe to Victoria's You Tube channel. We would appreciate it.

New Knitting Podcast

I am a guest on my daughter's knitting podcast

             

Her YouTube channel is Victorious Wool

I never dreamed I'd be on  a podcast but Victoria and I have good conversation and try to apply our knitting pursuits into life pursuits.

Give us a try and if you like us subscribe to our channel.


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Unknown

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

Thich Nhat Hanh

I have a medical diagnostic test coming up in a few days, one which I want because I want to know what is unknown at this time. The information could be a slight inconvenience or it could change the course of the next year.

I am afraid of the unknown. I spin stories with different plot lines around in my head everyday. That is taking a toll on my sense of peace. This spinning of stories is a familiar suffering. 

The Holy Spirit assures that things will be fine. A recent blessing gave me strength to endure the tests and trust the outcome. Really I could be grateful for the not knowing while I have it. There is no action to be taken. It is a period of being settled. I could live deeply right now. I could go to the gym and work up a sweat with the joy of being in a body that seems to to healthy, right now.

The unknown will reveal itself and then a plan will be hatched.

But it will also include going to the gym and working up a sweat and enjoying a body that can work up enough heat to get rid of some toxins whether they be life threatening or not.

LIVE ALL IN 

I'm writing a series on a preparing a calm Christmas. Click here to see.

I'm also exploring the notion that you can increase your will power. Click here.

The Five Stories Of Christmas

We all experience Christmas differently but there are five general stories that everyone seems to be able to talk about.

 I have a beautiful book to guide me through this time of celebration.

Faith- maybe your faith is in Jesus Christ and the Christmas story is all about Him. Or, maybe your faith is in the recurring cycle of nature and Christmas is a season when you observe the light and darkness, feeling a celebration for the time measured by length of days.

Magic- for many of us Christmas has a element of magic. I look forward to surprises and decorating  my surroundings with extra sparkle. But, what if you want to create magic and just can't afford or have the time?

Connection- celebrating with others is something I look forward to. But, let's consider the rifts in communication that most families have. Or, the differences in faith? How can we connect in a supportive way? 

Abundance- Has anyone ever felt that the holidays break the bank? Is the sense of abundance always tied to things and a vast variety of things?

Heritage- do you have different Christmas traditions than your husband? Do you feel that the holidays can't be right if there isn't a certain tradition honored which may be inherited from your family?

Today I asked many questions and I don't have the answers but as I go through Calm Christmas by Beth Kempton I'm sure I will have a better understanding of these five stories and be able to discuss them with you.

The book is available on Amazon

Go back to week 1 of Calm Christmas 

Stay Open To Increase Willpower

Open Up To Increase Willpower

You might perceive practicing willpower as an act of constriction. I will clinch my fists and furrow my brow to make myself stay on course!

    I'm finding the opposite to be true. It is when I open my heart to feeling the gratitude for my one, sacred lifetime, that I feel strong enough to stay true to my decisions. Gratitude creates a space where I can hold my convictions and even have the energy to wait.  

Have you ever had to wait, for something good to happen?

How can you hold a space for something great?

You can tell God how you feel, 

invite Him to join you,

Plead for Him to bring it soon.

Draw near, reach out, 

He knows you're filled with fear and doubt.

Draw near, hold on,

The day will come and light will dawn.

From an original song While You Wait

You can read Week 1 of Increasing Willpower here.

Settle

Settle down, settle up, settle around, whatever you do, just settle. 

There is a place to settle with equanimity. It is a place with God's grace.

I know I am there when I am not pushing against nor clutching on.

It is a place where I can feel whole for a minute, for an hour, or even a day. 

It is a place I can settle in.

How To Increase Willpower

             I have two answers to the question.

If it is true that you have limited willpower through the day, and I believe it is, is there something that can strengthen willpower?

I received the answer from two sources but I haven't proven them to be true.

1. Meditation- I meditate sporadically and sometimes everyday. What it offers me is a place inside my head called home base. Home base is a quiet place where I neither censure my thoughts nor let them go wild. My thoughts are not me. In home base I accept them and and while I watch them cavort around sometimes they recede into a spacious place where I feel my Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. Of course, in home base I would feel their presence. The question is does meditation give me willpower outside of home base?
2. Gratitude- Counting your blessings does offer real perspective. It is harder to feel anxious and deprived when the blessings of life are conscious. Will I maintain my willpower if I count them more often?

I am experimenting the month of November. Can more meditation and counting my blessings extend my will power to honor my body and feed my soul?

Last

The last fragments of summer dissolve in the Autumn rain.

While there are some things I definitely want to come to an end, there are many others I mourn. I mourn the falling of leaves as they reveal the skeleton branches beneath. I mourn the the sun waiting so long to rise in the mornings. I mourn the daylight snuffed out so early in the evening.

The word last, gives me the feeling of endings. But nature teaches me that nothing really ends. Mortal life is a cycle and some stages of the cycle are more energizing than others. I think what I learn from the months of darkness is to be still. Stop resisting. Allow this phase of the cycle to offer it's gracious hospitality. Candlelight, deeper, mustier smells, and sounds of the wind rushing through bare branches.

It isn't the last time to experience these sensory delights, but it is what God has given right now.

Is Like Summary

31 Days Of October

I am a work in progress but these adult learning pursuits bring me joy and comfort.

Day 31-

Writing a novel is like learning to knit in so many ways. I hope my 31 posts have given you a sense of how that is true for me. It is true for me in three general ways.

1. I have discovered that the characteristics of a good learner apply to every new pursuit and can multiply if one keeps trying new things. Tenacity and resilience are two of those characteristics which have carried over from learning to write to learning to knit.
2. Every new learning pursuit requires patience to endure the basics. I had to practice the knit and purl stitch first even as I had to analyze what makes a good sentence.
3. The third way is more ethereal. I wrote about it the morning I finished the first draft of Rubato. It has to do with having faith in receiving help from a divine source. 

                                                                  There is a reservoir

of ability

hidden from view.

When you apply faith

that the reservoir is there

it begins to vibrate.

The vibrations allow you

to move forward,

if you dismiss the voice of doubt,

and they fill you 

with ability

not wholly your own.

Those vibrations are power. I know the source. It astounds me that I can feel it doing something as crafty as knitting a scarf. God teaches how to learn and every lesson builds on a scaffold of a divine path back to him.

Thank you for using your precious time to read my words. 

Would you like to subscribe to my newsletter and receive  information about the release of my novel Rubato?

Click here to get an index page.

FO's-Finished Objects

31 Days Of October 

Take the time to bring both your knitting project and writing project into alignment with your expectations.

Day 30-

Today is a day for showing off the FO's, those finished objects. 

I am really pleased with myself, pardon my arrogance, to have finished, well one more day tomorrow, writing everyday in October.     

My goal was to write about learning as an adult by comparing writing a novel to learning to knit. I had ten post ideas planned out before the month started but mid month I found myself digging deeper to find those comparisons. Hurray, I did it!

And, here are some finished knitting projects from 2019

One soft cozy poncho

Two Fingerless Mittens

My First Sweater

An Asymmetrical Scarf

Another Scarf With A Yarn Fade Technique

Five Seven Sister's Capelets

I am a work in progress but these adult learning pursuits bring me joy and comfort.

Would you like to subscribe to my newsletter and receive  information about the release of my novel Rubato?

Go to the next day

Click here to get an index page.

Blocking Your Work

31 Days In October

Take a listen and if you appreciate the amazing sound you will understand why it's important to me that in my fictional story this loose end gets woven in.

Day 29-

You've woven in the ends of your knitting, the garment fits, so you're done, right?

Hmm....there's one more step.

My daughter, whose birthday is today, has proven to me that giving your wool a little bath in some special soap is a most important last step. The bath helps the fibers relax.

Then gently squeeze out the excess water, lay it flat, and roll it in a thirsty towel.

Now you can lay it out and pin it to the desired shape. With blocking you might be able to slightly enlarge your garment, or straighten up an irregular edge, or convince your wool to become united with it's neighbor fibers. The whole process of washing and blocking is so worth the trouble.

Now let's compare this element of blocking to formatting my book as the editing continues. I like the term 'justify the lines of text'. The paragraph indentations need to be consistent for an easy read; the spaces between words and punctuation exact. We use the word justify in a religious context, too. If I come into alignment with God I am justified by the Grace of Jesus Christ.

Take the time to bring both your knitting project and writing project into alignment with your expectations.

Would you like to subscribe to my newsletter and receive  information about the release of my novel Rubato?

Go To the Next Day

Click here to get an index page.

Weaving In The Ends

31 Days In October 

Just because the end is in view doesn't mean I cheat myself of an excellent finale. Even on the last row or the last paragraph I can still ask, "Shall I redo this? Could I do it better?"

Day 27-

Let's talk about those loose ends that need to be woven into the whole tapestry. I take my tapestry needle and pull an end through the hole and slowly, carefully pull the thread over and under the fabric. The point is that this work should not be visible. It's a 'behind the scenes' job. 

There are also loose ends in writing a novel. Presently, I'm concerned with the future of my Liszt original manuscript. This treasure found in Hungary by my character Judith, is taken custody by the detectives and has become evidence in her murder case. Since Judith stole it from the basement of a museum should the museum get it back?

So, as I am still in editing mode I'm considering whether I should reveal its future. Yes, the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 8 does exist and the first page is actually missing from the Library of Congress. Take a listen and if you appreciate the amazing sound you will understand why it's important to me that in my fictional story this loose end gets woven in.

Go To The Next Day

Click here to get an index page.

Curiosity

31 Days In October 

I take heart as I see the objects I've completely finished. 

Those are the FO's (Finished Objects). There are many and I hope that in years to come there will be many published books. That's my dream.

Day 27-

Writing and knitting are both labor intensive. As a project gets close to being done I get very focused on the finish line. There is a danger at that point.

Why should I stay curious when I am so close to the end? I have the pattern instructions and I am frantically knitting the  ribbed hem. I see that I am making yarn overs unintentionally. Do I frog back or keep going and live with my mistakes? 

The question I am not asking is why. Why am I making those mistakes? Am I curious? No! I'm almost done and I'm going for the finish line.

I feel the same way as I write the last chapter of Rubato. I have a sense that my characters are rushing into summation without full purpose of heart. At this point do I ask why? 

The correct answer is yes. 

Just because the end is in view doesn't mean I cheat myself of an excellent finale. Even on the last row or the last paragraph I can still ask, "Shall I redo this? Could I do it better?"

Go to the next day

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Getting Closer To the End

31 Days In October

The best thing about having a favorite theme is the structure. I can know what I am creating and get adventuresome with the inside details.

Day 26-

In novel writing there is getting to the end and then there's GETTING TO THE END.

When I wrote the last chapter of Rubato I felt such relief. The story was finished. 

“Are you disappointed in Judith?” Stevie asked.

 “Disappointed? In her decisions? Maybe, but I learned so much from her about music. I am more resolved to be an inspired musician because of Judith.”

Reggie signaled that they needed to leave. He was amazed at how long they had stayed. 

Stevie reached into her pocket and handed Linda her card. “Call me if you have any concerns. I will let you know how the trial ends up.”

“Thank you. I will be thinking about Judith’s book. Someone should publish it. And, I hope the autograph manuscripts are made available online.”

Stevie couldn’t help herself. She reached out to Linda and pressed her into an embrace. 

I had the chapters laid out in front of me then carefully put them in a folder. For many weeks I left them on my shelf. I wanted to believe I was done. 

But just like that sweater, hanging in my kitchen, body finished, ribbing along the bottom done, right sleeve finished and left sleeve.......almost done, there is still work ahead. 

In the knitting world there is sewing in the ends and blocking. For writers there is editing and editing, then navigating the world of publishing.

I take heart as I see the objects I've completely finished. 

Those are the FO's (Finished Objects). There are many and I hope that in years to come there will be many published books. That's my dream. 

Go to the next day

Click here to get an index page.

I Have Some Favorite Themes For Writing And Knitting

31 Days In October 

Perhaps the rule of thumb needs to be; use what you have. Let the pens run dry and use up all the yarn balls.

 Day 25-

My novels are thematic. The first one, Rubato, is about a Franz Liszt scholar who dies mysteriously when an original Liszt manuscript disappears. I can't help writing about the piano and piano teaching. It is what I do for a living. 

The second novel, The Gymnopédist, is about a young boy who loves the music of Erik Satie and is inspired by the composer's eccentricities to fulfill his dream of doing a high wire walk from one tower to the other in his home town. The wire breaks. Was it intentional? 

The rough draft of the beginning of this second novel can be found here if care to have a look.

In both books I get to highlight a beautiful piece of music and  and create a mystery to solve with two detectives who struggle to keep their relationship professional.

I really love this theme.

In knitting I also have a theme I love.

The piece of clothing is called a capelet and the stitches include cable and lace.

I have finished five of them and gifted three. Each one is unique in color scheme.

The best thing about having a favorite theme is the structure. I can know what I am creating and get adventuresome with the inside details.

Go to the next day

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