CAKE Celebration

I love entertaining! It's a mound of work to do it well but it is a sweet satisfaction indeed to 'set the scene' for my family and then just spend the day enjoying them. It's a heartwarming feeling to see them devouring the food that has been prepared.





Just sitting in the midst of my family and listening to their stories is such a gratifying experience. My middle son and his wife brought a 'tuna casserole' to the party. It is the first time I have eaten tuna casserole, ever. It's good, ...not scary at all. And the cake, mm, mm, moist. We just purchased a new stove. I have been cooking and baking on a 'Westinghouse circa 1950?' for the last 28 years. You think your food is just great because you don't know it could be even better. My old stove, (it came out of a 1930's home that my sister and her husband bought when they were first married- it was left there by those owners), let out so much heat around the doors that we had to turn the furnace down when I was baking. That's the only heat source that was needed for the entire first floor of the house. Does this constitute 'going green?' "Don't use your furnace... bake something instead and you'll be warmed inside and out!" Maybe not!

Becoming Jillian

Model: Jillian circa 1985
Props: Shed built by
E & E Romance team circa 2001

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mothers' womb." psalm 139:13

There is something very engaging about individual creation. We were all 'planned' by the Architect of all. To think that a building can be erected before much design leading to function, is preposterous. We don't sit down one day and say, "Today, I'm going to build a house and then have it completed that same day!" And so it is, with the individual human being. We too, are 'planned out.' The function of each one of us is a growing and continually evolving process, too. We function within the emotional, and out of the experiential knowledge, 'in this moment of time.' And time... halts for no man... so the tension of 'becoming' is akin to the very skin we live in. We are 'Usability in Practice' and very much "More than Skin Deep." (msdn magazine- good piece)
Today, we honour this one individual creation in the process of...
"Becoming Jillian"
You may boast of Jane who gives you much pleasure
But Jillian's story has an equal measure
The world is God's canvas; we are His art
With your knitting needles you fashion gifts from your heart
Your yarn is a palette with vast colour array
You chose the becoming with each stitch that you make
So write your life script for the library above
The author of faith is the writer of love
Copyright El

From Jane to Jillian

Quote from Becoming Jane- Rev Austen- "If a woman happens to have a particular superiority, for example, a profound mind, it is best kept a profound secret. Humour is liked more, but wit? No. It is the most treacherous talent of them all."

Quote from El- "Therefore, let us be treacherous and talented as well."

Jillian sat down at her time worn desk to recount the festivities of the day. With just one candle burning to offer a glow of light with which to pen her thoughts she began...

March eighth, in the year two thousand and ten-
To wit, it had been a joyous day of unsurpassed expectations. Love and kindness were the instruments of observance on this, her birth date fete. Twas not to be imagined that a finer day could yet be remembered, of the repast, or of the delicious fairy cake. This day had indeed given her a new acquaintance with the tradition of birth date merriment. No longer would she so dread this day but, instead, look forward with joy and anticipation for the next occasion of conviviality.

"Intrigue" in Velvet

Props: Velvet, Mask, 'Wooden Cross' jewelry made by my son when he was in grade school, and letters= ART

"Intrigue" embodies more definitions than eras that have passed since the time of kings, queens, knights and princesses. My intrigue 1 (the plot of romance) today, is meant to intrigue 2 (arouse your curiosity or interest), you. This intrigue 3 (a complicated scheme of designs), is not built upon a sinister intrigue 4 (secret or underhanded scheme), but instead it is designed to encourage an intriguing 5 (thoughtful and informative),
6 intrigue (curiosity), 7 intriguing (compelling) you to
8 intrigue (engage provocatively), your husband, in an 9 intriguing (stimulating) 10 intrigue (clandestine love affair).
Now, if anyone got lost in that paragraph, I shortened it to make it easier to understand.

Sometimes communication feels this difficult, for men and women. We have these temperamental components called emotions. These emotions make us mental when we lose our temper. They can't nearly always be trusted, these emotions, and sometimes they are more knave than knight. So, in the old adage , 'think before you speak or act,'...

Gentlemen, use a velvet touch with your ladies this week and
Ladies, become an 'intrigue in velvet' for your gentleman.

E-Motions and Scattered Daisies

I'm going to try to shed some light on this extensive topic. My husband and I are studying 'Overcoming Emotions That Destroy' by chip ingram and dr. becca johnson. It is a great study/ tool of learning if you're serious about wanting to master your emotions instead of having them master you. War...ning- if studying this book with your significant other, expect to be challenged. We are about two-thirds of the way through this book but we are just starting to apply it, . . . sometimes, on occasion.
Funny Bone Analogy- One evening we started 'The Anger ABCD's ' A- Acknowledge; B-Backtrack; C- Consider (the cause); and
D- Determine (how best to deal with it). We were barely through with 'A', when we got a little carried away with applying our knowledge of anger, ahem, what I meant was, our anger acknowledging. 'B'ut when we had to backtrack to the primary emotion of 'whatever it was we were acknowledging', we just weren't about to 'C'onsider doing anymore of that study, that night. Now, that's a punny way of applying this knowledge but we did go back to the study the next night after we considered the cause of all the anger we had the night before and determined that we would apply ourselves again.
In our anger, we probably looked a lot like these scattered daisies. They really are a jumbled mess, but they're a little comical too. So, when studying "Overcoming Emotions That Destroy", just 'lighten up' and try to laugh more as you'll learn in Chapter 17, ... Minimize Stress and you'll be less of a mess.
So, to all the 'Ladies of Wisdom who live next to Sanity, always befriend Knowledge and Discretion and you'll retain common sense and be able to give good counsel. Proverbs 8

"A Sunday Romance"

The Romantic Era encouraged artistic freedom, experimentation, and creativity. It's no wonder that women just can't get enough of that femininity offered up by Rococo embellishments. Rococo design was all about intricate, delicate, filigreed touches of fairy dust dabbled on cornices of most armoires and stamped on the fronts of dressers in a, often ironmongery, applique. The plate in the picture is an example of Rococo but still, it has the heaviness of the Baroque which was the period just prior to the Rococo. This week I'm focused on "all things Jane" which was an auspicious time indeed to delve into the writing of love.
"A Sunday Romance"
Sunday morning I awoke with a feeling of nausea in my stomach. I opened my sand-sparkled eyes only realizing, then, that the sand sparkles are not so joyous to try to see through and not very sparkly either. I rolled over in bed and decided that church would see me next week. I sneezed and wheezed and finally fell back asleep. My prince tiptoed into the bedroom and removed the 'loud-ticking' clock from the wall to give me that much needed rest. I awoke two hours later to find the sun was very energetic and chirpy which may have vexed me sorely except it was delightful. As my prince brewed the tea for my morning pleasure, I sat in a huddle beneath a blanket in the sunshiny living room. Soon my prince handed me a cup of steaming tea in a very pretty mug and all seemed brighter already. But, lo, I was to be yet more blessed as he said, "Ohh, can I make you some oatmeal?"
So was the above picture borne from the generosity and kindness of the prince to his princess.
Colossians 3:19 The Message
"Husbands, go all out in love for your wives..."

JOURNALING and E- Writing

These are my journals. Aren't they lovely? I had this great idea yesterday! I was feeling 'under the weather' with a cold and I always feel vulnerable when I need more tea and cold tabs than actual food. So, I pulled out all my journals, past and present. I decided to make a collage of them, in a random pattern. I just propped one on top of another and another and another and I reached the top quite easily with enough journals to shore up the bottom because a firm foundation is very necessary if you want your house to stay standing. What goal was accomplished? Well, I'm E-Writing.

My husband purchased almost all of these for me, over the last ten years (can we hear, aww, that's so sweet). There's a new one in there from my son and his lovely new wife.
So, what's in all these journals, you ask... Treasure, lots and lots of treasure and... my heart. When I struggle to 'see' the next step, I delve into my journals. What was I thinking, planning; last year, or even five years ago? I put my notes, that I take in the teaching segment at church, in these journals. I pair that wisdom, with what I'm thinking and experiencing at that time. God is pretty 'logical' in his sequencing. If we're doing our part, He's doing His. If there's something we're supposed to be learning, we'll get the corresponding object lesson. This principle works backwards and forwards. If you're not sure what you're supposed to be learning, here's a clue to your treasure- what experience did you have this week that was 'hard, unexpected, or mystifying?' Think of the experience, or object lesson, keep flipping that gold coin through your fingers, until... Ahh! I got it! Then, if you wrote something in your journal, go back and read it. It'll all make sense when you apply your sens(ability). Your journal entries are your personal 'filter.' Filters are used for everything in life, for the purpose of removing impurities- from coffee to electronic. So today, I'm using electronic- writing in a active manner- not a passive one. (Anybody get that pun?)
I have always felt that I should write. My tutors, when I was studying interior design, really appreciated my writing skills. I would get a "always a great read" on most of my tests. I am almost done one book and I have the next one simmering. So, for all of you who aren't yet convinced that 'journaling' is effective, try it for a year. You'll like it!