The Sky Blue Challenge is posted

The challenge called "Why is the Sky Blue?" is posted on a QuiltArt page. Please look at the beautiful and diverse work and see my quilt.

My Memorial Quilt, i.e. my answer to the question, is also posted on this blog
HERE

Great creative, visual blog

Julaine In Fiberspace posts wonderful pictures on her blog. See Julaine's blog

Why winter is easier than summer....

....If you live at a water-access only cabin.
(Pic. taken by a friend. I don't live at the lake.)

Words, slang and propaganda

 http://tinyurl.com/866ym

If you like words and want to see how they can slant our thinking, check out this link.  It is to a newspaper article.  Sorry, I don't yet know how to post a real link.

Why is the Sky Blue?

The Quiltart group on-line suggested a quilt challenge to answer the question "Why is the sky blue?" I entered right away because my favorite color is blue. I am actually passionate about blue. I had no idea what I would make, or indeed, if I would actually get around to finishing the quilt. I don't like deadlines.

Later I thought about the emotional meaning of "blue" i.e. a somber, sad emotion, instead of my usual happy reaction to the color. I also started taking pictures of the sky in my yard.

Then this past summer, a car accident took the lives of my friend, her daughter, and two of the daughter's friends. A year ago, another young person died in a car accident. These college age people are the same age as my children and I've known them all their lives.

My quilt then evolved in my mind and became a memorial quilt in memory and honor of these friends: Pat, Nancy, Lindi, Paige, and Dan.

So my answer to the Question, "Why is the Sky Blue?" ...is "So we can see what's in the clouds." In memory of friends who left us too soon, who are now "in the clouds." Pat, Nancy, Lindi, Paige, and Dan.

I wanted to capture the idea of our friends being "up there" and "watching over us" and that we can look up in longing and remembrance. The center sky is actually the sky as seen in my yard, with a fringe of trees surrounding it. The brown and green strips represent the endless forest that surrounds us all here in Northern Minnesota. The outer area is dark blue, for the lakes, and for eternity. Lie on the ground; look at the sky. What do you see in the clouds?

The cat and other sad thoughts

Someone asked me how I am today and I said that I am melancholy. 

Well, that got a puzzled look and a little laugh.  Well I am, no matter how old fashioned that sounds.  I have been thinking about several friends who died in the past year.  Two were from my Bible Study group.  Five died in car accidents.  How hard it will be for their families this Christmas.  Today I learned that a friend's father had died.  And a woman from church is dying.

 

And my cat is 18 + years old and getting skinnier and thinner.  I took her too the vet.  I knew that she wasn't good and I really didn't expect medical intervention for an old cat.  I don't know what I expected, except maybe to know what to watch for.  She has kidney and liver degenerative disease.  The vet called this morning with the diagnosis and to discuss what we could do.  She may live a week or a month.  It was very hard to hear that all put into words.  My daughter, who lives at a college, loves that cat, so I need to consider her feelings.  She is younger than the cat!  So we have need to accept this and see how we feel about the situation after we think about it for awhile.

You Have a Choleric Temperament

You are a person of great enthusiasm - easily excited by many things. Unsatisfied by the ordinary, you are reaching for an epic, extraordinary life. You want the best. The best life. The best love. The best reputation. You posses a sharp and keen intellect. Your mind is your primary weapon. Strong willed, nothing can keep you down. Your energy can break down any wall. You're an instantly passionate person - and this passion gives you an intoxicating power over others. At your worst, you are a narcissist. Full of yourself and even proud of your faults. Stubborn and opinionated, you know what you think is right. End of discussion. A bit of a misanthrope, you often see others as weak, ignorant, and inferior.

What Temperment Are You?