My Great-Grandmother

  In an older post, More About My Grandma, I published a picture of her with her husband, right after they were newly married. I talked about her friendship and her life with our family. Sometime between getting married and moving in with us, this photo was taken of Grandma with her mother, who we called G-G-ma. I don't have many memories of my great-grandmother, but I do have stories and pictures. I've even been told that I look like her. She was a tiny woman, I'm not, and I do remember that she had beautiful long hair that she wore in a braid wrapped around her head.

  I also know that she had chickens, And cows. Right in the neighborhood they lived in! Not too uncommon for the early part of the 20th century.  She sold eggs, and milk, and there was always fresh chicken to eat. She loved her animals, but knew that she had them to provide for her family.  My grandma told me that when her mom used a chicken for dinner, she would catch the bird, and thank it for its eggs and for providing a meal for her family. I can imagine that she thanked God for those things at the same time. I wish we approached our food with such reverence today. More people would have better eating habits.

  Although she was gone before I could really get to know her, the stories and photos have certainly impacted my life. She is proof that our influence travels far beyond what we realize. And that we "raise up" our children even from the past.

The Gears are Turnin'

Just a little piece about my grandson, whose mind never stops. He wakes up ready to rock and roll, and build and play and learn! Love it!

My Father's World

A little digital collage celebrating Spring and God's world and my sweet grandson. He's walking in a strawberry field.

100th Psalm

Second in a series of illustrated hymns. The lyrics here are Psalm 100 reworded to be in poetic metre rather than the order we read in the King James Bible. 

Which goes like this:

Psalm 100 (KJV)

1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves;
   we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Foundation

I am going to attempt a series. I want to illustrate some of my favorite old hymns. Songs from my childhood that make me remember and help me have faith. Hope you enjoy this first attempt, illustrating "How Firm a Foundation" by George Keith and Anne Steele, from about the year 1787. I love that the songs we sing today give us such strong connections to the past and our Christian heritage.

Lilies of the Field

A painting of mine that hangs in a bedroom at Mom's.  Not signed or dated but probably I painted it in the early 90's. It's one of my favorites. 

Do Not Worry
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

All the Starry Band

Play-Learning from the Dog Again

23 Jan 2015

Influences from the Past

from August 18, 2012

My grandmother was a seamstress and hat designer from the 40’s on through the 70’s.  She never threw leftover fabric or trims away. So when she passed away I inherited not only her love of sewing and design, but also stacks and bags and boxes of fabric pieces, hat decorations and paper patterns from almost every era of the 20th century.  I just kept them for years as a memory of her, making this and that. Then I got a scanner for Christmas!  I discovered that I could scan the pieces and print them out for art projects. THEN, I discovered digital scrapping and realized I could use the fabric and embellishments in a whole new way. Grandma would be amazed!

There are so many pieces and I could never use them all myself. So occasionally I’m going to post an image here.  If you can use it, please do. ****Just remember, the fabric pieces are old, I don’t know who made the fabric or the designs, so please only use them for your personal stuff!!****

This piece was a dress that Grandma used to wear.  She made it and used the scraps in one of her many quilts.

More About My Grandma

from September 20, 2012

Grandma Irbie and Pa (Carroll)

My Grandma was my friend.  She lived with us from the time I was about 10 and I was with her as much as possible. She taught me to cook, to sew, to embroider. She tried her best to teach me the multiplication tables, but that was pretty hopeless.

Irbie Elizabeth Garner Callis – Grandma extraordinaire! She came to live with us after “Pa” died and life was always better with her there.  She was a teacher in an earlier life, vastly well-read, truly interested in politics and the government.  She was an artist, cook, clothing and hat designer, and gardener. 

Here is a photo of Grandma with her new husband on their honeymoon in the 20’s.

  Of her earlier life, I have bits and pieces.  Of the time I spent with her there is a wealth of stories and memorabilia. That’s what I can write about, because it is what makes me, me.

When she came to live with us, my grandfather, “Pa” had recently passed away.  Grandma Irbie had reached the conclusion that she couldn’t live in their big house alone.  My parents had built a large home in what was then the “country”. (Now a busy section with a shopping mall where the dairy farm used to be. Sigh!)  We added on a bedroom upstairs for her, and while it was being built she stayed in my bedroom and I moved to a smaller room that had been for storage.  It took the summer to build the upstairs addition, and when it was finished it was the biggest, nicest room anyone could want.  I got my old room back, but to tell the truth, I spent more time in hers than I ever did in mine!

Once she was settled in, Grandma Irbie started to make herself part of the family.  My dad’s mom, Grandma Bessie, live with us as well, part of the time.  They worked in the yard together, each with their gardens of heirloom flowers.  Bessie had roses and daffodils, Irbie, iris and peonies and more roses.  Grandma Irbie had brought her yard with her when she moved. Daddy had spent lots of weekends digging up her flowers and bulbs and moving them to our house.  She also had an old concrete trough that had been a watering trough for cows. He moved that to our backyard and made a goldfish pond of it. 

Grandma also became our chief cook! Mom worked and so it was nice to have Grandma to fix dinner.  She could cook anything!  She taught me how to cook, and my specialty was Christmas cookies!  (I tell people that when I got married, I could make cookies and watermelon pickle. Anything else my husband wanted I had to make a quick phone call home to ask how.)  We went fruit picking in the summer, peaches and strawberries, and she canned and preserved and pickled everything that was fresh.  Her fried chicken was unbeatable, and oh!, spoon bread and shortcakes and rolls, so light and fluffy. I’ve learned to make them since, but mine are never the same. Here’s a collage that I made of her cooking pickles. I call it “Comfort Food” because those are 2 of the main things I associate with my Grandma.  She taught me to be a foodie and comfort is what I take from knowing her.

Comfort Food

A Watercolor and Collage piece about Grandma and the wonderful food she prepared. By me.

Grandma's Bedtime Songs

from November 6, 2012

Spoiled I am.  I grew up with my Grandma. Anyone who has done this knows what I mean. They are right, those tacky signs that say “If mom says no, ask Grandma.”  She lived with us and spoiled my sister and me at every opportunity.  It was blissful! 

One of my favorite memories of her spoiling is the time that she spent getting us to go to sleep every night.  Daddy had always put us to bed with stories and silly songs and one verse of “In the Garden”.  To this day I can’t sing that hymn without being a little teary over Daddy.  But, once Grandma Irbie moved in with us, SHE had to sing us to sleep after Daddy did. Talk about finding any excuse to stay up later!

She sang us “Wonderful Words of Life” and “Showers of Blessings”.  She knew lots of hymns and silly songs too. One of the silly ones was about a farmer who planted buttons but all he got was a ‘row of buttonholes!’  Can’t remember the exact words or the tune. I’ve never found that song anywhere, maybe she made it up.

After she sang to us, if we still were awake, she would tell us stories about our mom as a little girl or even stories of her own childhood. She was born in 1899, so she told us about a time long gone, but ever so enticing. We learned about her mamma’s chickens, and how the cows went down the street by themselves to the field and when it was dark they came home by themselves too. We learned about the times during both world wars, the Great Depression, and the Fifties.

I think I’ve mentioned before that Grandma was a school teacher. That meant that, even with all the spoiling, we were expected to do our homework well, and she checked it every time. She helped with spelling, was a task master with multiplication tables, and when we started studying history and government, she was more than happy to teach us all she could. Those 2 subjects were her special favorites. She was very interested in politics, read all she could about it and listened to the radio news all the time to learn more.

From the cooking and handcrafts, and school work, to the singing and cuddling and fun, living with her in our home was always interesting, she added so much. And as we grew up, she was more than a grandmother, she was our friend.

Here are the words, do you know this one?

1.  Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life; 

        let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life; 

        words of life and beauty teach me faith and duty. 

Refrain: 

        Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. 

        Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life. 

2.      Christ, the blessed one, gives to all wonderful words of life; 

        sinner, list to the loving call, wonderful words of life; 

        all so freely given, wooing us to heaven. 

        (Refrain) 

3.      Sweetly echo the gospel call, wonderful words of life; 

        offer pardon and peace to all, wonderful words of life; 

        Jesus, only Savior, sanctify forever. 

        (Refrain)

Apple Pickin'

A scanned piece from my grandma's fabric collection.

What We Create Matters

 A repost from my old blog on 9 Jan 2015

There is a vulnerability that is inescapable in writing or creating art. Even kept in a private journal, there is the understanding that someday, even after you are long gone, someone will read what you wrote, see the art that you made, and form an opinion about you. The very act of creating opens you up to examination in a way that nothing else could. And yet, we as humans, in an echo of our Creator, cannot stop creating.  We all must do it in some way, whether it be writing, art, dance, cooking, gardening or making families. We create because we must. And we open ourselves up to all sorts of critique. Some friendly and filled with praise, other deriding and hurtful and still other that is violent and terrifying. Still we keep creating. We won't and probably can't, and certainly shouldn't, stop.

---

When I began this blog a couple of years ago, it was an educational experience. I needed to manage a blog for my job, and didn't have any idea what I was doing. So I started one of my own to learn. And then, of course, I had to decide what to write. I've always kept notes and journals, filled with ideas and observations of my daily life. I inherited that tendency from my maternal grandfather. He kept a notebook in his pocket (I have several of his) in which he wrote down poems and weather observations, work notes and grocery lists. His fine calligraphic handwriting recorded the temperature, the cloud types and his daughter's childhood moments. He left these behind, but I think, seeing him do this for most of my childhood, made an impression on me that is permanent. And I'm sure he never gave thought to anyone besides himself reading those notes. He had no time for vulnerability.

I started sifting through my journals and notebooks to find subjects that I wasn't too afraid to share with strangers. I had notes from daily experiences, notes from my bird-watching journal, idea files and teaching notes from my Sunday Bible study. I chose something that I hoped wasn't too off-the-wall and typed it in. Had butterflies in my gut. Hit the Publish button. There you go! Out for the world's response. Maybe nobody would see and I'd be safe!

Well, someone did see it. And someone else added it to facebook, then lots of people saw it. And... nobody was cruel.  So I tried again. Not wanting to be monotonous, I chose to write the next entry about my family, rather that my dog. And add a photo since I'd learned how to do that. Publish again. Favorable comments again. Wow! I might get comfortable with this! (Bad idea, comfort.)

One of the things that I had decided early on is this blogging process was that I would try to always include something about my faith in each post. And in doing that, hopefully impact somebody's life in a positive way. And wouldn't you know, someone took offense. And called me on it. Someone told me I was "preaching".  And that it wasn't appreciated. Being a person of very little self-confidence, this one comment caused me to back off and scared me away from posting anything else for a while. It HURT. 

Then I found this quote:  "You must learn to hush the demons that whisper, 'No one wants to read this. This has already been said. Your voice doesn't matter.' In the rare moments when the voices finally hush, you might hear the angels sing." Margaret Feinberg

And I realized that it was true. And thought about my critic. Maybe - that person needed to hear what I said, but didn't want to. Maybe - they were just cranky. Maybe I should try again. Also,  I felt compelled to try again. In my world, a strong compulsion to do a good thing comes from God. And you don't ignore it. And, I found another blogger who was willing to communicate with me and has been very encouraging. So, here goes. May I be brave. May I be interesting. 

My story is simple, small and unimportant. And yet is is nerve-wracking to do sometimes. I can't imagine how it must feel to be called to comment on the world's story and put yourself out there for criticism that will undoubtedly be harsh. People don't want to hear the truth. Even when you tell it humorously. May they be truthful. May they be brave.

Why It's Abundant

A re-post from 5 Jan 2015

Someone asked me where I got the idea of an “abundant life” from in the title of this blog.  It comes from the verse in the Bible, in the Gospel of John, chapter 10, verse 10:  “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly”. (NKJV)

It seems that many people take that to mean have THINGS more abundantly, but Jesus said LIFE.  I really believe that if you follow Him you’ll have so much “life” that you will hardly be able to keep up!  That is sure the way it is in our life. Always, there has been just enough “stuff” and more than enough family and friends and experiences.  His Abundance doesn’t equal financial wealth; it equals a wealth of the experiences of living!

This photo is a great example of this. My little sister and me, standing with our mamma and daddy and grandma (the Irbie of previous postings). Pa, my grandfather, is taking the picture, I’m sure.  It was probably Sunday afternoon by the way my mom and dad are dressed. I don’t remember the day exactly, of course. But I’m pretty sure we had Sunday dinner, changed into our play clothes and headed outside. Except for Daddy’s clothes, everything was handmade, by mom and Grandma. The food was simple, but delicious, and our toys were not fancy.  Even the Barbies wore clothes that my grandma and her sister made from scraps of our clothes. It’s an example of the earliest times I remember, and of how an uncomplicated, poor by many a person’s standard, life can be rich in the things that matter. All because we knew then, and have always known since, to Whom the credit should be given for all that we have.

Here’s another one of the songs Grandma Irbie used to sing to us at bedtime.

I love to tell the story of unseen things above, 

of Jesus and his glory, of Jesus and his love.  

I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true; 

it satisfies my longings as nothing else can do. 

Refrain:

I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory, 

to tell the old, old story of Jesus and his love.

2. I love to tell the story; ’tis pleasant to repeat 

what seems, each time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet.  

I love to tell the story, for some have never heard 

the message of salvation from God’s own holy Word.  

(Refrain)

3. I love to tell the story, for those who know it best 

seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.  

And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song, 

’twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.

(Refrain)

Can Tangles Be Art?

I have found

A digital creation by Carroll Joy Sawyer using Serif Craftartist 2 software.

Winter Blues

Winter Blues

16 Mar 2015

Some History-My Very First Posts

from July 27, 2012 – first real post

Lessons Learned

I’ve been keeping a journal, sort of, for years. And since I’m learning how to “do” a blog, I think that I’ll be easy on myself and start with this. It’s been sitting around for a while!

——————————————————————————————————

Learned it from my dog

I was sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast one morning recently, with Bandit, our little Jack Russell Terrier, staring up at me watching every bite that went to my mouth. We’ve had him a couple of years now, and he has definitely taught us a few things. How to share the double recliner, share meals, share the front seat of the car, share your breakfast, you get the idea. And as we sat there, eating breakfast (he gets a bite every now and then) it dawned on me that there was something more I could learn from him. I could learn about the way my relationship with God should be. No, really!

It came to me that the relationship my dog has with me is very similar to the one I SHOULD have with God. Let me try to explain.

Waiting

To start with, there is the waiting at meal time. That little dog comes in the kitchen at the first rattle of a pan, eager to see what we will be eating. Now, of course there is a bowl of dog chow right there for him all the time, but he knows there is something better coming, he just has to wait. And that waiting is the hardest thing he has to do! He is so eager, so filled with anticipation. He sniffs and stands on his hind legs to try to see better (he’s pretty short), and wags that tail non-stop, hoping I’ll let him do a “taste-test”.

Now, I’m starting to see it this way. Shouldn’t I wait in anticipation like that to be fed by God? I know there is something better to come, I know I have to wait. But I get impatient, I get tired of waiting, I get bored. In the kitchen , I keep creating a meal, whether Bandit is watching or not, but I enjoy his company. The heavenly Father keeps on working in my life whether I am waiting, bored, or tired. Even if I wander out of the room, He keeps working, and the good things that he is preparing will be ready for me, whenever I return.

After the meal is prepared and we sit down to eat, Bandit is right there. He goes back and forth between us, or sits by one of us, waiting for the good food to come down to him. That bowl of dog chow is still there, and he will eat it eventually. But he knows that if he pays close attention to us, we will reward him with something delicious. He’s especially fond of carrots, and spaghetti noodles. Oh, and beef stew, his absolute favorite!

Mark 7:24-30 ( KJV ) 24And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.  25For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:  26The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.  27But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.  28And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children’s crumbs.  29And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.  30And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

Again, he waits, he’s eager, he knows good things will come. I want to be that way with God. I want to be eager, anticipating goodness in my relationship with Him. I have things nearby that could satisfy me in some way, but I know that what is coming down from the “table above” is going to be SO much better. Blessings and knowledge, and love and my favorite, grace.

Well, there you have it.  I hope that you will enjoy this as well as, just maybe, take something away from it.  Let me know!

from July 26, 2012

Hello!

My first post!  I am really starting this blog…to learn how to do it!  You can read blogs and about them, but until you try to do it yourself you don’t learn much!  So here I go, old dog learning a new trick…hopefully.