tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-142544212024-03-12T20:03:59.979-07:00Quotidian LifeQuotidian: occurring every day; belonging to each day; commonplace; ordinary. (Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary)Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.comBlogger501125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-73340676051704604592018-01-14T18:04:00.001-08:002019-01-28T19:44:35.818-08:00Fare Forward<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've taken hiatuses from my blog before, but I'm pretty sure that eight months is the longest it's lain silent. A friend asked me if she should hope for any future posts and I told her that I just wasn't sure. Life these past few years or so had been one transition piled on top of another and I just didn't seem to have the same inspiration. Perhaps my children were my muses? And still in the midst of processing life transitions: moving to another city, launching four children from our Jordan nest to independent lives in the States in four different states, graduations, marriages, an engagement of our youngest daughter (who while we concur is ready for marriage to her loving fiancee, is still young), sorting out health issues, etc. , we found ourselves facing an abrupt transition out of Jordan.<br />
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We had sensed this transition coming, but due to visa difficulites, it came more quickly than we expected. And just like that, our life in Jordan, at least the the physical place of Jordan, was finished.<br />
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We've called Idaho home-base these last six months, but we've also traveled several times to visit family, and once to explore another overseas living opportunity. We've been so very blessed by the love, support, and encouragment of family and friends as we've journeyed through this transition.<br />
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A funny thing about transitions is that one can not be sure when they are finished.<br />
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"Fare forward, travellers! Not escaping from the past<br />
Into indifferent lives, or into any future;<br />
You are not the same people who left that station<br />
Or who will arrive at any terminus,<br />
While narrowing rails slide together behind you;<br />
And on the deck of the drumming liner<br />
Watching the furrow that widens behind you,<br />
You shall not think 'the past is finished'<br />
Or 'the future is before us'.<br />
~from the Dry Salvages, Four Quartets, T.S. Elliot<br />
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A week spent with all our children, and one night in particular, brought great healing and resolution to our six months of wandering, searching for home. On New Year's Eve, our children prepared our favorite Jordanian meal, ma'loubi, or "upsided down".<br />
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As we shared food around the table, we shared memories of our years together in Jordan. Active Son honored us for the lives we had lived in Jordan and blessed us in our future endeavors:<br />
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<i>"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever." Amen. Ephesians 3:20,21</i><br />
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After dinner, Active Son put up my blog on the big screen TV and we scrolled through all those memories of life together in Jordan together. My blog! Who could have known how God would use it my life? What a balm that time of remembering was to my soul!<br />
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And now I am ready to say,<br />
"Not fare well,<br />
But fare forward voyagers."<br />
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I even felt a surge of motivation to keep writing and blogging, but it is hard to say if this will last. Meanwhile, Dear Husband and I are preparing to depart for another land, and it too will have wildflowers and other treasures to discover. We are anticipating another couple months of transition/living out of a suitcase, but maybe I will be back. I hope so.<br />
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-22190766220527962442017-05-16T10:30:00.001-07:002017-05-16T10:30:17.278-07:00Flowering Jordan 2017 Calendar~May<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-27014377179811208012017-05-09T07:42:00.001-07:002017-05-09T07:42:48.105-07:00Flowering Jordan 2017 Calendar~April<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Where do the days go?!<br />
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-20840510508255107182017-03-13T02:11:00.000-07:002017-03-13T02:11:12.460-07:00Flowering Jordan 2017 Calendar~March<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-49098386651080596642017-02-27T10:09:00.000-08:002017-02-27T10:09:19.431-08:00Spring is on the Way<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's that wonderfully hopeful in-between-winter-and-spring season in Jordan; it's still cold and rainy on the winter-like days, and we're still wearing at least two layers of clothing in our 62 degree home, but it's also warm on sunny days, days on which you can see house windows opened wide, mattresses an blankets airing on rooftops, and people pulling up chairs in front of their homes or storefronts to soak up the warmth of the sun. And if one can escape the city, it's the season for watching the hills turn greener and greener by the day, and heading to lower elevations, enjoy the early spring wildflowers. </div>
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Dear Husband and I began our almost-springtime pilgrimages to the countryside about a week ago, wandering around on backroads until we found this lovely view overlooking King Talal Dam, just outside of the village of Borma. It was one of those cold, sunny days, so there weren't any picnickers around. We pretty much had the area to ourselves.</div>
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We spotted some of the early blooming wildflowers:</div>
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<b>Gagea</b></div>
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The ubiquitous <b>Asphodel</b> lily, which is now blooming around the country</div>
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And, I was happy to discover this new-to-me species of crocus making beautiful close-to-the-ground mini-bouquets. </div>
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<b>Colchium</b></div>
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We had few hours this past Saturday afternoon, so we again headed for lower elevation, this time towards the Jordan valley and found the almond trees just beginning to bloom.</div>
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<b>Almond</b></div>
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A particularly lovely mound of asphodels</div>
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The rockery was aflame with beautiful sedum.</div>
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<b>Red Stonecrop</b></div>
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<i>Sedum rubens I.</i></div>
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<i>Senecio vernalis </i>(yellow)</div>
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<i>Silene aegyptiaca </i>(purple)</div>
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Together, they make a beautiful spring bouquet.</div>
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Selfie in the wildflower</div>
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Grasses catching some afternoon sunrays</div>
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<b>Silene</b></div>
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The souvenir rock Dear Husband found for our sun room collection of Jordan rocks</div>
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My favorite exploring partner</div>
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-65177781025794217102017-02-19T11:18:00.001-08:002017-02-19T11:18:57.170-08:00Flowering Jordan 2017 Calendar~February<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-63778636714801483432017-02-03T06:18:00.000-08:002017-02-03T06:18:34.079-08:00Creative Space<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I was in the States for three and a half months this summer, and from about the third month on I began experiencing strong, recurring urges to create something with fabric. Alas, I had another month plus of transient, though delightful, living to endure before I would be reunited with my sewing machine, and so I just let myself enjoy the ideas swimming around in my head. I had found a plastic bag of denim scraps at a thrift store, already cut for a small quilt and costing under three dollars, so though they were a little heavy, I made sure to pack them in my carry-on. I knew this was a project that could go directly under my sewing machine needle when I arrived home. And so it did.
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The laying-out stage is always a bit like putting together a puzzle</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LD3g-WS3dcc/WJOQO_6AAfI/AAAAAAAAJxc/fozC1NaNXi0yb_eIMlWHDyIkclOVrMb8ACLcB/s1600/img_20160827_152124_29184984801_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LD3g-WS3dcc/WJOQO_6AAfI/AAAAAAAAJxc/fozC1NaNXi0yb_eIMlWHDyIkclOVrMb8ACLcB/s640/img_20160827_152124_29184984801_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I ended up with this quilt top, along with the immense satisfaction received in just creating something. I wasn't yet sure what I would do with the quilt top, but it would make a nice picnic blanket sort of quilt when I could find some coordinating flannel to back it.</div>
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Soon to begin my month long intensive CELTA course, and knowing that all sewing would soon cease, I hurried to sew this cashmere baby blanket for a dear friend's new baby boy.</div>
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And, some felted-wool potholders for Artist Son, who is living in a real apartment and cooking real meals for himself these days.<br />
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I also made a long longed-for ottoman/pouf/footstool to use with my favorite reading chair. I used the basic pattern found on<span style="color: blue;"><b> <a href="http://www.michelemademe.com/2011/09/drop-dead-denim-one-tough-pouf.html">this site</a></b></span>, though I modified it a bit. particularly by making it about 8 cm higher.</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-poyOMfTQ43A/WJN8VaYcH7I/AAAAAAAAJwQ/EmI9Or1O5tg5RnoqDsi4jt0RPKLwY8pfgCLcB/s1600/20160927_222433_hdr_29676737540_o%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-poyOMfTQ43A/WJN8VaYcH7I/AAAAAAAAJwQ/EmI9Or1O5tg5RnoqDsi4jt0RPKLwY8pfgCLcB/s640/20160927_222433_hdr_29676737540_o%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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And then, <a href="http://aquotidianlife.blogspot.com/2016/11/celta-certification-or-my-intense-back.html"><span style="color: #660000;"><b>CELTA</b></span></a>. I lived in Amman during most of this month-long course and I had not a moment to sew during this time, let alone think of what I might want to sew. When I finished my course, I promptly got sick (no surprise given the stress and sleep deprivation) and then had "just life" to catch up on. I didn't do much sewing for Christmas, but I did manage to sew up about five of these denim-pocket purses for some sweet younger friends...</div>
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...a make-it-in-10-minutes gift card holder for Tayta...</div>
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...and I finally made a recycled linen dishcloth I was thinking about since a friend told me she had re-purposed linen in this way. This was a stocking gift for Tayta. My used clothing source marked their summer wear down to about $.75 per item in the early fall, so I stocked up on all the good linen I could find. I'm plotting pillow covers next.</div>
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While home for the holidays, Tayta spied my denim quilt top and shyly asked what I planned to do with it. It had crossed my mind earlier to give it to her, but I wasn't sure she'd like the colors, and that she might want the same style of denim picnic blanket I had made for her siblings. Turns out she didn't mind having something different, and she liked the colors, so my quilt top took on a purpose. Now to back it. We headed to the used clothes market and found five flannel shirts in somewhat coordinating colors. I showed Tayta my deconstruction procedure, so she did the hard part: cutting, and layout. I just sewed it up.</div>
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I taught her how to yarn-tie the quilt and she did that too. (I just noticed her reflection in the mirror. Lol!)<br />
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I bound the quilt with left-over flannel scraps. Nice to have that one finished and out the door!</div>
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This pillow had been percolating in my mind for a few months as I had seen something kind of similar on Pinterest. Oldest Daughter has turned into a Cat Lady (of the best kind) and adores her two cats, Winter and Autumn. And her birthday was coming up.<br />
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I drew up a paper pattern for the felted wool pieces, and then appliqued them onto the red felted wool backround. This was my first attempt at wool-on-wool applique and I found it so easy and rewarding. I look forward to doing more. </div>
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As I finished this wool project and the wheels of my creative brain began imagining my next project, and then the one after that, I became overwhelmed with what an unorganized and unworkable jumble my sewing room had become. I had about twenty plastic tubs, drawers, and cupboards stuffed with fabric, which meant that I couldn't really see what I had, except for some wool stacked on a shelf. That visual encouragement kept me going, but the rest was a mess. It was a new year and time to take action.<br />
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I told Dear Husband of my desire to purge and organize and since he was very agreeable to at least the purging part, he set out to help me. What I really wanted was to get everything out of tubs, where I could see it and keep it organized. He got on the IKEA site and figured out the most efficient and inexpensive system that would work for my space.<br />
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I absolutely love it! With such a great design upgrade, I am now referring to this room as my studio rather than my sewing room. The green table on the left is a left-over first kitchen table, which Dear Husband transformed into a changing table when Oldest Daughter was born. The children grew, we moved house, and it became a plant table. We moved again and it became a sort of catch-all table but I couldn't bare to part with it. I actually moved it out last week, but Dear Husband said he would put a small work surface on it and I can use it for cutting fabric. It is just the right height.</div>
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Cashmere on the left, cottons and linens on the right.</div>
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I just began a cashmere scarf for a friend, and it was so easy and enjoyable to consider the colors I might use as they were all right in front of me. Sometimes I stand in front of this shelf just to admire the colors and textures. And all recycled fabric.<br />
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-33614639347952872972017-01-28T04:49:00.002-08:002017-01-28T04:49:44.263-08:00Flowering Jordan Calendar~January 2017<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-55613306127609945292016-12-08T12:22:00.002-08:002016-12-08T12:22:34.398-08:00Flowering Jordan 2016 Calendar~December<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-37302070510837684672016-11-16T07:07:00.000-08:002016-11-16T07:07:09.358-08:00CELTA Certification -or- My Intense Back-to-School Experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As I've thought about ways I'll like to engage with my society in Mafraq, ways I might contribute to development efforts of the refugees in our city, I began to focus in on teaching English. Learning English a felt need for Syrian refugees who are in the process of immigrating to the west, and a desire for personal development for those who plan to remain in the Middle East. And as I considered opportunities for my own personal development and instruction in this area, I applied to take the intensive<a href="http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/teaching-qualifications/celta/"> <span style="color: #0c343d;"><b>CELTA</b></span> </a>course offered by Cambridge English and the British Council of Amman. Since I love to learn and enjoy teaching, it seemed the perfect fit.<br />
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The course in three adjectives: excellent, practical, and INTENSIVE. Friends who has taken the course had used these same adjectives to describe it to me, but you have to experience it to appreciate that they meant intensive in all caps. Of the sixteen trainees in our course, I was the oldest. The youngest was (nearly) twenty and the rest were somewhere in between, though mostly in their twenties and thirties.<br />
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The CELTA is a lot about methodology for communicative classroom teaching of English, so age and homeschooling experience were not necessarily helpful prerequisites. Indeed, my self-described weakness was overthinking things. Many of my co-trainees had classroom English teaching experience, but again, not a helpful prerequisite, as they had to break old habits and focus on learning and teaching the CELTA way. And, many of the trainees were not native English speakers--a growing trend in the ESL world. I was very impressed by the hard work and effort they put into this course. Did they ever know their grammar!<br />
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Practical should probably be put in all caps as well. The strength of the course (and the really hard part!) is that it has the trainees teaching real students on day two of the twenty day course: twenty minutes to start, and then forty minute lessons every other day throughout the course. All lessons are observed by other trainees, as well as one of the CELTA trainers, who is writing a thorough assessment of his or her observations. These are then discussed with the trainee teaching group each morning after classes are finished.<br />
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Here I am teaching the use of <i>ago, since</i>, and <i>for</i> with the present perfect and present perfect continuous. I'm glad to see that I look happy in this picture as it was my most difficult lesson of the course!<br />
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Afternoons were for input sessions, in which we were the students. Our trainers taught these sessions using CELTA methodology, of course, giving us example upon example of how this is done. </div>
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Evenings, and yea, early mornings were for preparing lesson plans. For a few of my nine lessons, the pressure felt intense. Sleep hours were few and restless. A couple of trainees confessed to staying up the entire night to finish preparing for their lessons.</div>
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But we all went through it together, and we all survived. All sixteen trainees passed the course! Below is a group shot of the trainees, trainers, and our wonderful students on the last day of the course. We had a party to celebrate (note some of the remaining food in the foreground of the photo) and many celebratory selfies were taken. Some of our students are shown here, holding their certificates. They were a joy to teach and were so appreciative and encouraging.</div>
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I returned to Mafraq last Thursday and promptly came down with a cold/flu on Saturday. I heard from a couple fellow-trainees that they were sick as well. I'm feeling better today and so I organized my CELTA notebook before putting it on my desk. A new cycle of English courses will begin in January at our church's community center, and I hope to be teaching one of them!<br />
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-17346121050950576142016-11-14T06:38:00.002-08:002016-11-14T06:38:55.612-08:00Flowering Jordan 2016 Calendar~November<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-14023827741070378132016-10-10T02:56:00.003-07:002016-10-10T02:57:23.760-07:00Flowering Jordan 2016 Calendar~October<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-2240373365253958552016-10-04T11:28:00.001-07:002016-10-04T11:36:48.958-07:00The Summer's Main Event<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The cancellation of my late afternoon appointment gave me an opportunity to finally spend some time sorting and uploading photos from the Main Event of our summer: the celebration of Active Son and New Bride's wedding. And mostly, if gave me an opportunity to remember what a wonderful day it was and to give God thanks, once again, for his faithfulness to our families. These images brought many smiles to my face this afternoon!</div>
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Our family arrived in Boise just under two weeks before the wedding, but since I was mother-of-groom, this was no problemo--Active Son, New Bride, and most especially, New Bride's fantastically talented mom had all the wedding details in hand. This was a whole different wedding-feel than when we celebrated Oldest Daughter and Music Man's <b><a href="http://aquotidianlife.blogspot.com/2014/11/wedding-day.html"><span style="color: purple;">wedding</span></a> </b>two summers ago!</div>
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Relaxed though we were on the Big Day, we still managed to generate a few stressful pre-ceremony moments: The borrowed car that Oldest Daughter drove to transport Tayta, a friend and herself, stalled on the way to the pre-ceremony photo-shoot. Next, I discovered a awkward tan line, acquired by not bringing sunscreen to Artist Son's sun-baked graduation ceremony two weeks earlier. My friend's tan-in-a-bottle lotion (sort of) helped with that. Finally, Dear Husband misplaced the keys to our get-me-to-the-church-on-time vehicle. It was no problem to borrow a friend's car, except that this vehicle sans keys was also to be the getaway car. We did end up borrowing a car so as to get to the photo-shoot on time, and our friends tracked down a second set of keys and brought the getaway car to the ceremony. Whew!</div>
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It was nice to have a few minutes with Active Son before the ceremony. He was so happy, calm, and so ready to get married. (Smile)</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oinW5PycGh8/V_PC7GG7cTI/AAAAAAAAJlA/wBreZztZlFEXxFNUDXVA2TA2rmCSecDugCLcB/s1600/johnandlisa-32.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oinW5PycGh8/V_PC7GG7cTI/AAAAAAAAJlA/wBreZztZlFEXxFNUDXVA2TA2rmCSecDugCLcB/s640/johnandlisa-32.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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Active Son and New Bride's first moments together at the wedding venue, Scentsy Commons in Meridian, Idaho.</div>
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((Smile))</div>
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What a blessing these two are, to each other and to so many who love them. </div>
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Active Son and his groomsmen and ring-bearer</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cn9iMV88nnw/V_PDekK0vdI/AAAAAAAAJlg/mYkOVe6BaNggowbfu4NPXiiC0v_3BdyQgCLcB/s1600/johnandlisa-57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cn9iMV88nnw/V_PDekK0vdI/AAAAAAAAJlg/mYkOVe6BaNggowbfu4NPXiiC0v_3BdyQgCLcB/s640/johnandlisa-57.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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...and with his Best Man, Artist Son</div>
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This is just one snapshot example of the deep and wide faith community which surrounds Active Son and New Bride. </div>
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Our families, united by Love and Marriage</div>
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(((Smile)))</div>
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I couldn't be more thankful for the wonderful family that Active Son has married into, and for the new parents he has gained--not to mention four more brothers, sisters-in-law, a niece, a nephew, two more sets of grandparents and a whole bunch of uncles, aunts, and cousins.</div>
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Indeed, New Bride's mom has become an esteemed and treasured friend. New Bride's dad shot this candid picture of us before the ceremony. (((Smile)))</div>
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Dear Husband had the privilege and honor of officiating the ceremony and pronouncing the eager couple husband and wife--after a well placed pause. ((Smile)) </div>
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We returned to our home church for the reception, the church I have attended since high school, the church where Dear Husband and I had our wedding reception, and the church where John and Lisa put down spiritual roots during their college years at Boise State.<br />
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(photo credit to Oldest Daughter for this favorite photo)</div>
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These two pictures show a just a little bit of New Bride's mom's baking and decorating talent...</div>
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...and how Active Son and New Bride love to have fun together.</div>
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We brought an Arab tradition to the reception: The bride and groom where hoisted into the air amidst clapping, drumming, and chants of blessing.</div>
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Congratulations, Active Son and New Bride on your marriage and the beginning of your new life together as man and wife. You're off to a fantastic start! And thanks be to God for expanding our family and our hearts yet again. We are blessed.<br />
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#manningupforlife </div>
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-54418393259264238532016-09-20T11:40:00.000-07:002016-09-27T08:11:49.546-07:00Cashmere Wedding Throw <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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(...who by now, three and a half months on, is New Bride. And I really need to think of a better blog name for my Daughter-In-Love as just "Bride" doesn't really work. )</div>
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I'll never be able to back-blog all the happy days of this past summer but some Happy Days are not to be missed. One of those was our first official celebration of Active Son's and New Brides wedding week: a small family and close friends bridal shower for New Bride, well, Bride to Be, depending on how you look at it.</div>
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The ladies of our family hosted the shower at the home of our ever gracious and generous entire-Boise-summer hostess, with Oldest Daughter flying in just hours before the event. That's our hostess/friend pinching a berry from Tayta's awesome chocolate-berry trifle, and that is her punch bowl that we packed the trifle into.</div>
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And though not all the ladies of the family could attend this shower, the intention was to celebrate New Bride and her family, and the joining of our two families in marriage.</div>
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As I've had the great pleasure of getting to new New Bride's mother, I've gained sweet glimpses as to the loving and nurturing heritage that New Bride brings to our family. And I've gained a new friend--and prayer partner!</div>
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I prepared a couple special gifts for New Bride, with her and Active Son's colors in mind. Of course they would need some felted wool potholders for their first kitchen.</div>
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But the gift I really enjoyed creating for them was this recycled cashmere throw. The colors are a nod to the brighter palate of pinks and orange one might find in <b><span style="color: magenta;"><a href="http://www.alhakaya.net/product.php?id_product=92">traditional Jordanian embroidery,</a> </span></b>with a little of the ubiquitous Jordanian aqua accent color thrown in, rounded out by the lighter earth tones of the arid land. And, magenta is New Bride's favorite color.</div>
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It is now gracing Active Son and New Bride's sofa in their Arizona apartment.</div>
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-13733903041181980962016-09-08T12:07:00.000-07:002016-09-27T08:14:03.880-07:00In Him All Things Hold Together~A Mother's Tale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As I visited the other day with a Jordanian friend, whose house is full of children, ages 10-21, she asked me in an empathetic voice, "But isn't it hard having all your children so far away?" Oh, yes it is, I replied, but it is good. I wouldn't have chosen it, but because of it I experience God's goodness to me and our family. Too many ways to recount in a blog post, but I want to remember a very significant and meaningful way God let me experience that at the end of my time in the States this summer. Here's the extended version of what I told my friend:<br />
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Due to some uncertainties as to where our kids would be in August, Dear Husband let me make my return ticket to Jordan for August 23, about three weeks after he returned to Jordan. As the summer and fall plans of our children slowly became clear, what also became clear was that these three weeks were a generous gift from God during which I was able to spend time with each of them, and in three different parts of the country.<br />
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This also meant saying good-bye four different times--and that's just my kids. About mid-way through the summer a phrase bubbled up and skipped around on surface of my emotions: <b>Pulled apart</b>. That two-word phrase expressed the tension I was feeling as a mother, as a daughter, as a friend, and as a wife. All at once and in too many places. A few weeks later, as this phrase was again resounding in my heart, God answered my new mantra with this precious truth from his word--well, it became precious to me at that moment.<br />
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...And he (Jesus Christ) is before all things, <b>and in him all things hold together</b>. (Colossians 1:17)<br />
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There are more awesome truths about Jesus packed into this passage, but this is the particular one that God brought to mind for my comfort and encouragement, the perfect antidote to my tension.<br />
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The first good-bye was to Active Son and his New Bride. We packed their moving van and hugged and waved goodbye as they headed to Arizona, New Bride's homeland, full of family, where they hope to work and study for the next few years. This good-bye was made easier by knowing that Active Son and New Bride go together, looking forward to establishing themselves as a family.<br />
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After Active Son and his New Bride pulled out of Boise, I had about a few days to spend with Tayta before she returned to college and a new job as a resident advisor in the dorm. We visited friends, shopped, packed, and had some sweet times together, picnicking on the Boise river and knocking around downtown, drinking coffee/tea in the District coffee house. It was a good time for us to debrief the and look forward to the coming year.</div>
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After Tayta left for Houston, I moved from our summer lodgings to my parents home so that I could spend my last two days in Boise with just them. I hadn't realized how physically and emotionally spent I was until I arrived at their house, but of course there is no better place to crash then at home with mom and dad. They took good care of me and we enjoyed two gentle days of watching the Olympics, a couple ladies meals out, and relaxing walks. Perfect. Thanks Mom and Dad.</div>
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And so I began my solo journey back to Jordan. My first stop: a little over a week with Oldest Daughter and Music Man in Chicago. They had recently purchased a townhouse in the city and as it turned out, I would arrive during a week that Oldest Daughter planned some new-house projects and organizing. We accomplished a lot, I think, and had fun doing it together. And we even had time for a day of shopping in the city, two trips to the Lincoln Park Conservatory, a trip to the Chicago Botanical Gardens, with the bonus of attending Music Man's last summer Chicago Symphony Orchestra concert at Rivenia Music Festival, Itzhak Perlman conducting. I loved spending this time with Oldest Daughter and Music Man in their new home and it is comforting to know just where things are and how things are in their house when I think of them throughout the days we are apart.</div>
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One final stuff-it-all-in packing job, and I was headed back to Jordan, flying out through Boston Logan international airport since this is the airport we flew into at the beginning of the summer to attend Artist Son's graduation. Earlier this summer, <a href="http://aquotidianlife.blogspot.com/2016/06/strange-encounterssenior-exhibition.html">I wrote about</a> Artist Son's plans to attend graduate school in Houston this fall. Through a series of soul-searching events, Artist Son, with the affirmation of all who care about him, including the recruiting professor, decided to withdraw his application and take the desired and needed year off from a formal study program. Thus, he is still in the Boston area, living, working, learning, and making art. And his senior exhibition is now hanging in a local gallery. I hadn't seen him since June and probably wouldn't be seeing him until next summer, so I was thrilled that I had a five hour layover in Boston and would be able to have dinner with Artist Son in the airport.<br />
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Four hours is not a long time, but God's economy is perfect. It was enough time for my mother's heart to be assured and encouraged that all shall be well and all manner of things shall be well. And what a wonderful thing it was to receive a great Artist Son hug before making my final turn toward home.<br />
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On the other side of the Atlantic and 20+ hours of travel, I was greeted by Dear Husband, smiling, alert, and fresh, even though he was picking me up from the airport at 3am. What loving and generous gifts he gave me by encouraging me to enjoy the time I had with each of our children while he lit and stoked the hearth fires of home, cleaning away three months of dust, bringing the seriously wilted garden back to life, and chasing away the cockroaches that took up residence in our apartment while we were away.<br />
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It is good to be home, even with pieces of my heart walking around Chicago, Phoenix, Gloucester, and Houston, because I know that in Jesus we are held together.<br />
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-81943190803789903852016-09-06T23:30:00.000-07:002016-09-07T00:58:10.941-07:00Autumn Crocus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yesterday I had a little time while waiting for my husband to finish in a meeting at the hospital, so I wandered over to a place on the hospital compound where I once found wild autumn crocuses blooming under a planted palm. September is the month to begin looking for such blooms. They are rare, and this is the only place I have ever spotted them. As it turns out, my timing was perfect--several petite bunches were blooming and in their prime.<br />
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<b>Autumn Crocus</b></div>
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Wildflower spotting: Mafraq</div>
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-3705965137630809642016-09-05T23:22:00.002-07:002016-09-05T23:22:58.118-07:00Flowering Jordan 2016 Calendar~September<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm back in Jordan and pulling myself up onto the blogging wagon once again. Try, try again...<br />
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-34122037263131195772016-07-27T08:35:00.001-07:002016-07-27T08:37:38.669-07:00Wildflowers of Jordan 2017 Calendar Available for Purchase<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="text-align: left;">US Friends, My Wildflowers of Jordan 2017 is available for purchase for a short time, before I return to Jordan. They are $10 apiece, which includes postage, or $7 if I can hand it to you in person. Please send me a message (desertmom88 at gmail.com) if you would like to one. Payment by check or Paypal. Thank you! </span><br />
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-41500602519635228982016-06-22T16:01:00.000-07:002016-06-22T16:01:15.301-07:00Post Graduation Doings in Boston and the North Shore<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We took a couple days after graduation to relax in Artist Son's familiar surroundings, allowing us to take another step into his college life and experience. On Sunday, we attended his church in Salem, After lunch we drove to Gloucester to drop off his belongings at his part-of-the-summer residence and visit some art galleries along the bay.<br />
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We celebrated Artist Son's birthday by going into Boston to visit the <a href="http://www.gardnermuseum.org/home">Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum</a>, a beautiful residence and personal art collection which became a museum at the bequest of arts patron, Isabella Stewart Gardner. <br />
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Beautiful gardens and architecture as well as beautiful art. It was a wonderful way to spend the day.<br />
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Notice the arc of light which follows the lines of Rembrant's left shoulder, up to the tip of the feather in his cap.</div>
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This work by Raphael was my personal favorite. The upward gaze of the monk's imperfect eyes and the rich red of his robe drew me into the painting again and again.</div>
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I liked this sketch, also by Raphael, noting particularly the balance of his composition and use of reds.</div>
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Artist Son chose an Italian restaurant for his birthday dinner, and his friend and mentor joined us for the celebration. </div>
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A delicious carrot birthday cake was prepared by his friend.</div>
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A couple of scenes from Salem's harbor, taken just before heading to the airport. We were headed to Boise where we would be reunited with Active Son and his Bride To Be, and to prepare for their upcoming wedding--these were celebratory days for our family!</div>
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-71679385907676714562016-06-15T20:41:00.000-07:002016-06-15T20:41:00.636-07:00Strange Encounters~Senior Exhibition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Artist Son's senior exhibition, opened two weeks before we arrived for graduation. His friend took this picture of him on the opening day. Artist's Son's exhibition included seven works in oil on canvas, and they were hung in the small gallery of the Gordon's Barrington Center for the Arts. Thankfully, the senior exhibitions were still on display when we arrived in Wenham to celebrate Artist's Son Graduation.<br />
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Before entering the gallery, we picked up a copy of Artist Son's artist Statement:</div>
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<b>Strange Encounters</b><br />
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<i>This series explores the tension between humans and animals. Wild animals wander in a typically human landscape, that of the city. I want to paint animals in city-scapes because I am struck by their wildness within a structured, contained environment. </i><br />
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<i>The animals and humans pass by each other, confront each other, and sometimes inhabit their own separate spheres. Each enters, leaves, or stands uncomfortably on the border between connected spaces.</i><br />
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<i>The soldier figure appears callous, but may or may not have a capacity for empathy. This raises questions of human brutality toward the 'other', whether human or animal. When soldiers dominate a city, it is usually a sign the city is no longer safe. It's an aggressive presence, but still human.</i><br />
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<i>Space and light also become characters on this stage and contribute to the suspense. As one wanders through the maze, there is no telling who, or what, is around the corner.</i></div>
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Entering the gallery, I immediately felt the calmness and serenity of the space, which seemed a result of an ideal marriage of space and art. Below are the seven works which made up this exhibition.<br />
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444;">Never Together, Always Together</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444;">Confrontation</span></i></b></div>
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<i><b><span style="color: #444444;">A Lonely Shadow</span></b></i></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444;">Entry</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444;">Wanderer</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444;">Into the Daylight</span></i></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #444444;">Elephant Musing</span></i></b><br />
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I waited for a family member to verbalize the question that I knew someone would ask, "What does it mean?" I had approached works of art in a similar way. And based on what I had learned from discussing art with Artist Son, I anticipated his response: "What do you see?" As the mom, perhaps I saw things that other's might miss, perceived influences from Artist Son's childhood: colors, lines, and shadows common to Jordanian landscapes, the use of wild animals, which have long fascinated Artist Son, and the imaginary worlds that he created with them.<br />
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Slow looking yields further perception and the delight that comes with recognition. Narratives with themes of ambiguity, tension, and relationship began to emerge. The role of passageways. Color; immediately delightful, but why? Beautiful tints (color mixed with white) of color masterfully expressing shadows, light, and emotion. Layers.My eye is not trained enough to know how Artist Son painted all the layers of paint and glazes, but I could appreciate the exquisite result. The paintings called us to look again and again.<br />
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After viewing Artist Son's exhibition, he gave us a tour of his studio and we were treated to a behind the scenes look at how he had created his pieces.<br />
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Artist's Son's studio space</div>
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The models</div>
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Demonstrating a painting set-up</div>
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The palate</div>
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Painting set-up for <i><b>Wanderer</b>,</i> with the green tints</div>
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Artist Son also gave us a tour of the printmaking room and explained the process that he had learned and practiced in making prints. </div>
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A lot of yet uncollected student work was still out on the work tables, including some prints that Artist Son had made.</div>
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Looking at this print, I couldn't help but think of a book from Artist Son's childhood, <i>The Wolves of Willoughby Chase</i>,<br />
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What's next for Artist Son? Until we were on our way to the airport headed to Boston, that was still being decided. Though Artist Son was leaning toward taking a year off to work on his art and apply to more MFA (Master of Fine Arts) programs, he made an eleventh hour decision to accept a very good scholarship offer to study with the acclaimed Houston painter, Michael Roque Collins at Houston Baptist University this fall.<br />
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For those who are interested, here is a short (four minutes) video about Michael Collins, Artist in Residence and director of HBU's MFA Program.<br />
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And another from a Houston arts television program. The spotlight on Michael Collins and HBU happen during the first segment/first nine minutes.<br />
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Just days after the eleventh hour decision to go directly to grad school, Artist Son received an eleventh hour offer of a scholarshiped summer artist residency program at New York Academy of Art. That was a sweet and unexpected graduation (and birthday) gift!<br />
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Artist Son is presently enjoying his residency at NYAA, creating art and soaking up beauty and inspiration from the various museums and galleries throughout the city. You can follow him on Instagram at andrewmanningart.<br />
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-37054425479230922332016-06-13T20:48:00.001-07:002016-06-13T20:51:41.202-07:00Pomp and Circumstance for Artist Son<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As evidenced by my two and a half month blogging silence, Dear Husband and I experienced a very busy spring season, and on May 12 we boarded a plane for Boston, headed to Artist Son's graduation from Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. We hadn't returned to Massachusetts since we dropped Artist Son off at Gordon to begin his freshman year as a homeschooled graduate who had grown up overseas--his college adjustment learning curve was steeper than most. <span style="text-align: center;">What a delight it was to visit him on campus four years later to see how Gordon had become a familiar place to him and to observe the good rapport and relationships he enjoyed with peers and professors. It was a gift to step into his world if only for a couple of days.</span><br />
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Pre-Baccalaureate selfie</div>
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We arrived on Thursday night and on Friday Artist Son gave us a tour of his art studio, the print studio, and the art gallery, were we viewed his senior exhibition, which was still on display (a separate post on that to follow). </div>
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On Friday night we attended our first college Baccalaureate service, a graduation/worship service that is unique, I believe, to Christian colleges and universities. Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias delivered the talk.</div>
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Though it rained the night before, we awoke to a clear blue sky on graduation day, and so the commencement ceremony would be held outside. (My one oversight is that I forgot to bring sunscreen and I paid dearly for it. Who would have thought on a mid-May Massachusetts morning?)</div>
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Artist Son in the front row with his fellow-art students.</div>
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Gordon College is apparently very prudent in their assignment of honors cords, and as Artist Son was unadorned except for an Honors Society pin, I was surprised when I opened the commencement program and discovered that he was graduating summa cum laude. I asked him why he hadn't mentioned it and he said that he didn't even know about that distinction. He then mentioned that he was also invited to join the English Honors society but hadn't submitted the application. Typical hard-working, unassuming Artist Son style.</div>
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<i><b>Bachelor of Art in Art, painting concentration, English minor</b></i></div>
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<i><b>Summa cum laude</b></i></div>
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Gordon posted national flags for each country represented by a graduate, and so the Jordanian flag was posted for Artist Son--and the wind cooperated for the picture.</div>
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It was a long morning in the hot sun with little to drink and nothing to eat, but we steeled ourselves and took the requisite family-with-the-graduate-pictures. I'm glad we persevered.</div>
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Congratulations, Artist Son, and thanks to God for all the good gifts He has bestowed upon you these past four years. Your future looks bright as He is the one illuminating your path and we look forward to supporting you as you embark on the coming adventures.</div>
Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-78237432108778631122016-04-03T21:43:00.001-07:002016-04-03T21:43:57.340-07:00Flowering Jordan 2016 Calendar~March<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-56772248616456026892016-03-24T12:13:00.001-07:002016-03-24T12:13:26.510-07:00#beautifuljordan #springtimeinjordan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I think I can say that I've never experienced a more beautiful spring day in Jordan than I did last week--and I've enjoyed some very fine spring days in Jordan over the years. It was Dear Husband's birthday week and so on his day off we decided to drive around the countryside of northern Jordan, drop down into the Jordan Valley, near Pella, and then drive up to Amman to end the day with dinner and a movie--our second movie in the last two months. Are we empty-nesters or what?! We used to see a movie about once every three years, and we weren't alone.</div>
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Preparation for the trip was easy: I made a chicken quinoa salad, a thermos of tea, and grabbed my phone (I've been taking all my pictures on an LG G4 these days).<br />
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As we drove along the Mafraq-Jerash road I spotted a lone black iris on my right, so Dear Husband stopped the car. I had never seen any black irises in this particular area, though I always scan the hill sides every spring as I drive his road. Additionally, it was nearly a month earlier than I usually see black irises. All around, unexpected.<br />
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I excitedly photographed that lone iris. A black iris sighting is always special. But then I looked around me and begin to see more: twos and threes, and clumps of black irises. We may have seen 30 or more, many more than I have ever seen in one location. You may have laughed at me if you had seen how exuberant I was about this flora find.<br />
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And this clump, later found blooming just a few meters from the road. How did I miss them?</div>
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With that great flora encouragement to begin our journey, we cut across the Jerash highway and headed up a country road in the direction of Ajloun, winding through charming villages and driving along roads which overlooked terraced valleys.</div>
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I love the varied texture and colors of the landscapes: red soil, tan soil, stone walls, green grass in the springtime, and always, olive trees.</div>
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We decided to enjoy our picnic lunch in the Forest of Healing, near Ajloun. Dear Husband found a lovely spot near these red-barked Arbutus trees, which are indigenous to the region.</div>
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God's teeny tiny rock garden. So lovely to find beauty in small, unexpected places.</div>
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Something in the Umbel family of plants</div>
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And more breathtakingly beautiful wadis (valleys) which were a feast for the eyes--another scene of grandeur around nearly every bend.</div>
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When I saw the yellow hillsides, I knew that we must be just in time to see Jordan's crown daisies burst into bloom.</div>
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Down the hill...</div>
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...and around the next bend. Are we really in Jordan? Why hasn't anyone opened up a bed and breakfast up here??</div>
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Echium catching some rays</div>
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And then we saw a old metal sign with the words "Jesus Cave" painted on it, pointing down this road. At this point we had made so many stops, we were getting behind schedule if we still wanted to make dinner and a movie. We agreed that seeing the Jesus Cave might just be better than a dinner out and so we turned down the road.<br />
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No tree looks deader in winter than a wild fig tree, its knarled and twisted branches drooping down toward the ground, and no tree looks more alive in the spring than a wild fig tree, with its new green leaves reaching up toward the sun.<br />
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Here we have arrived at the Jesus Cave, or a better translation, The Cave of the Messiah. <span style="color: #274e13; font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://abrahampath.org/path/ajloun/ajloun-sites/jesus-cave/">The legend goes that Jesus took shelter in this cave</a>. </span>Maybe. The cave was used as a wine and olive oil press in the Byzantine era, and the oil press has been restored inside the cave.</div>
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The area for grape stomping </div>
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The oil press, inside the cave</div>
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The kitchen area</div>
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Dear Husband signing the guestbook. What a wonderful detour!</div>
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The opportunity for a restaurant dinner had surely slipped away as we still need to descend into the Jordan Valley and then ascend to Amman. We did end up getting dinner as the movie theatre had surprisingly fresh offers of Greek salad (for me) and a chicken salad sandwich for Dear Husband.<br />
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The movie with which we ended our day of touring:<b><span style="color: #274e13;"> <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3170902/">"Theeb"</a></span></b>, the acclaimed Jordanian film, filmed in Wadi Rum, which earned an Oscar nomination, just one of it's many awards. Though it was released last year, we hadn't managed to see it then, so we were thankful for its re-release after its Oscar nomination. Active Son recommended it: "Very good. Kind of like Lawrence of Arabia, but better--and shorter." We agreed. and we discussed the subtleties of Bedouin culture as portrayed in the movie, most of the way home.<br />
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Such a wonderful Jordan day.</div>
Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-89260073026301446812016-03-01T05:54:00.000-08:002016-03-01T05:54:14.032-08:00Creative Space~Recycled Wool<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've made a little more time for creativity this past month, which has refreshed my soul. I'll share my modest creations here as I have found the internet to be a wonderful community of sharing creators and I have been inspired in my own creative endeavors by what others have shared. That I may help to inspire one other person...<br />
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First, a casual portrait of my trusted sewing machine, a gift to me from Dear Husband on Valentine's day 31 years ago, and the machine is another 20 or so years older than that! He bought the used machine for $200 in our first year of marriage, a financial sacrifice for two students both working part-time. I continue telling him that it is the most thoughtful gift he has given me.<br />
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After the all the kids left after the holidays, I ventured into my cluttered, dusty, sewing space seeking inspiration. I found a somewhat forgotten plastic tub of ribbings cut from the wool sweaters I've felted over the years, and decided to turn them into a blanket. This project was a true use-what-you-have endeavor, as I used all the ribbings in this box, no matter the color. A few had to be trimmed and pieced a bit, but for the most part I just grouped them together by width and started sewing them into strips.<br />
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I love the way it turned out. It is a heavy blanket and will be perfect for our cold winter months--next year!<br />
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I pieced the blanket by zig-zagging the edges of the wool ribbings, which have been butted up against each other. I used lighter, finer ribbed ribbings for the binding pieces. And it true use-up-the-scraps-style, I used up all the lingering lengths of threads on my bobbins. This is about as random and free I've been with a project and I enjoyed it. </div>
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It's found a home for now on one the beds in a spare bedroom.</div>
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A couple of good friends had birthdays this month, and so I sewed up a couple cashmere scarfs, using colors that they like to wear. </div>
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The scarves are double sided, pieced using the same zig-zagging of butted edges that I used for the blankets. I zig-zagged the two scarf pieces together by putting the<i> wrong</i> sides together and topstitching with a slightly smaller zig-zag stitch. Finally, I trimmed the edges with pinking shears. The scarves are oh-so-soft and warm.</div>
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Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14254421.post-89032730153504645672016-02-23T03:50:00.001-08:002016-02-23T03:50:59.746-08:00A Pleasure Full Grown VIII~Um Qais<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It had arrived; the last day of <b><span style="color: #274e13;"><a href="http://www.aquotidianlife.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2016-01-20T07:34:00-08:00&max-results=20&start=3&by-date=false"><span style="color: #274e13;">TBCBE</span>.</a></span> </b>Active Son and Bride-to-Be had already returned to work and studies in Boise, Idaho, Artist Son had returned to school near Boston, and tonight Oldest Daughter and Tayta would begin their journeys back to Chicago and Houston. But we had one more day: the weather couldn't have been better, and it was a Saturday, which was Dear Husband's day off. Oldest Daughter and Tayta spoke as one in their desire to visit a favorite Jordan site, the ruins at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umm_Qais">Um Qais</a><b>,</b> the ancient decapolis city of Gadara. How many times we have visited Um Qais, I do not know, but we always find things familiar and new to enjoy there.<br />
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View from the entrance to the ruins</div>
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On this day, I decided to explore the inside of some of the old rooms near the entrance of the ruins.The layers of plaster, the layers of paint, the layers of sediment, all made me think about the past lives lived here.</div>
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The sky was clear and we enjoyed the best views of surrounding areas that we've ever experienced.</div>
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We headed up the north end of the cardo to visit the museum</div>
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Hiking up the back way</div>
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The wild flora continued, even inside the the museum courtyard</div>
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<i>Cyclamen persicum</i>, growing right out of the limestone walls and floor.</div>
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One of the fortunate statutes, which still had its head</div>
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Bacchus: a melding of human, animal, and plant-like features</div>
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doors and more doors...</div>
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Golden Flowered Henbane</div>
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<i>Hyoscyamus aureus</i></div>
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Finally, we looped around the site, back to the cardo to enjoy the magnificent view of the Golan Heights and the Sea of Galilee/Lake Tiberius.<br />
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We stopped to enjoy a simple tea and salad picnic which Tayta had prepared for us, under a favorite tree with a view.</div>
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And so it was the end of the <span style="color: #274e13;"><a href="http://www.aquotidianlife.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2016-01-20T07:34:00-08:00&max-results=20&start=3&by-date=false"><b><span style="color: #274e13;">beginning of our pleasure</span></b></a>.</span> May we nurture the beauty and sweetness of this time together as we remember it in the days to come.</div>
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<span style="color: #274e13;"><a href="http://www.aquotidianlife.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2016-01-20T07:34:00-08:00&max-results=20&start=3&by-date=false">A Pleasure Full Grown</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><a href="http://www.aquotidianlife.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-pleasure-full-grown-ii.html">A Pleasure Full Grown II~#amafraqychristmas</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><a href="http://www.aquotidianlife.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-pleasure-full-grown-iiiamman.html">A Pleasure Full Grown III~Amman</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><a href="http://www.aquotidianlife.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-pleasure-full-grown-ivwadi-dana.html">A Pleasure Full Grown IV~Wadi Dana</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><a href="http://www.aquotidianlife.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-pleasure-full-grown-vlittle-petra.html">A Pleasure Full Grown V~Little Petra</a></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><a href="http://www.aquotidianlife.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-pleasure-full-grown-vimadaba.html">A Pleasure Full Grown VI~Madaba</a></span><br />
<a href="http://www.aquotidianlife.blogspot.com/2016/02/a-pleasure-full-grown-viijerash.html"><span style="color: #274e13;">A Pleasure Full Grown VII~Jerash</span></a></div>
Quotidian Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15621964632808884901noreply@blogger.com1