Negotiation for amateurs

If you have need to talk someone from jumping, this technique seems to work.

The Lord gives, the Lord takes away...

Lake Eyre lies in Australia’s dead centre. Dead, somewhat because of its geographical position, but mainly due to drought that has ravaged the isolated, near desert region for years.

But yesterday, the area’s rivers, creeks and even Lake Eyre itself began filling up. And with it came the camels, pelicans, gulls and other wildlife, drawn to it by the rare scent of fresh water.

Water hasn’t reached the lake since the year 2000. So now, local farmers are rejoicing, and suddenly, life is returning to the area.

Australia has been pretty hard hit by natural disasters over the last month. Floods in Queensland and northern New South Wales and bushfires in Victoria. The loss of property, the loss of lives, the tragedy of it all.

Ironical that the same flood waters that destroyed towns up north is now causing one of the most barren area of Australia to explode into new life.

And I cannot help but recall a verse found in the book of Job 1:21 where it says, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

The mysteries of God and suffering may never be explained, but perhaps Lake Eyre is a reminder that He hasn’t forsaken us.

Photo gallery of the lake filling up.

News article.

People and the media

How is it that people can be so wary and suspicious of the media, and yet be so proud and delighted when they are featured in the very same media?

Valentines

This is what happens when you do not want to support the commercialisation surrounding Valentine's Day and yet feel like you ought to do something special for that someone.

Find scrap yarn you have lying around and make little hearts.


D had been overseas for work for the last eight days, so I decided to make eight little hearts to represent every day he was away.

Attached little notes, ala fortune cookie style, for each day.


And then strung them all up and hung them by his bedroom window.


What did the notes say, you wonder?

You will never know....

Heart pattern from here (only available as a Ravelry download).

Fortune cookie template from here.

Victorian bushfire appeal

The craft community has banded together to raise funds for the Victorian bushfire appeal.

They've donated (really gorgeous) items for you to purchase.

Free shipping. And sales from all items will be donated to the Australian Red Cross every Friday.

Have a look.

Quote

The big lie, the glamorous career. By the time we hit our thirties we find out that a job, even when it is fun, is just a job. Terribly useful when it comes to paying for holidays, shoes, the rent, food, that sort of thing, but it's not really the stuff of soul. In the back of our minds is this nagging question: when we decided to throw our lot in with careers and to hell with everything else, did we lose something?

It's my party and I'll knit if I want to! by Sharon Aris

Is it a worry then, that I realised this about my job before I turned 27?

Victoria bushfires

I suppose I'm pretty lucky to be living in Sydney, away from the devastating bushfires in Sydney. It's been raining here for the last three days, for crying out loud.

But you can't live in Australia and not be somewhat impacted by the bushfires.

I don't have family or friends immediately affected, but you really cannot escape watching, reading or even hearing about it from somewhere or someone.

It's bad. It's really bad.

Almost 200 people dead so far, and more than 700 homes destroyed. Whole towns/suburbs wiped out.

What really baffles me is the realisation that some of these fires were actually deliberately lit.

Yes, arson. An entire town population decimated because some idiot decided it may be fun to light a fire. I mean, honestly? What were they thinking?

It feels to me that committing arson like this is far worse than being a serial killer.

I cannot understand it. I simply can't.

And I suppose all those affected by the bushfires cannot even understand why them. Why such a terrible thing could happen to them.

Is this a time to start blaming God?

As a Christian, the natural answer is "no", but it's normal for people to start wondering, "Why God? Where were you?".

I don't have the answers, but things like these are true indications to me that there has got to be something better, something more than this life.

I have had my own personal tragedies, deaths of loved ones that I've had to handle, so I'm not trying to be flippant about the issue.

All I'm trying to say is that the Bible teaches me that this is not a perfect world, and it isn't so not because God allowed it so, but because we made it so.

And despite it all, there is still a saving grace. It's not only about the fact that Jesus died to save us from all our sins - having a faith in God does make things better.

During times of despair, it's the knowledge that God is still looking after me, the knowledge that there is something better in store for me, knowing that my purpose in life is not about me but about serving others, these are the things that help.

It's not about asking "why me?", it's about continuing to stay focused on God.

Perhaps it doesn't really help when you're in the midst of tragedy, but that's when others come in. Others who are similarly touched by the beauty of God (Christian or not), who will be there to help, support and rebuild.

I can only imagine how terrible it is to lose everything you own, have, love. And even in my imagination, I can feel how horrible that would be. But when you have lost everything, at the end of the day, the only thing you can do is trust.

Grieve, but also trust.

NZ prisoners escape

Those living in Oz will probably have watched this ad nauseum but others may not have been quite so lucky to have had the pleasure.

So here's a look at what's happening in New Zealand.



And in the words of those at my favourite TV show, "because they fell into each other, they will be rewarded for foiling an escape attempt" (or something along those lines).

Experiments in dyeing

It had to happen. I had to attempt dyeing my own yarn. And to my pleasant surprise, hand-dyeing is a really easy process. Squirt colours here and there, pop it in the microwave, rinse, dry and viola! Custom-made yarn!

I really enjoyed hand-dyeing the yarn. This could possibly be a new addiction...

Vanguard

I can't say enough just how much I love this colourway. It's just so bright and fruity. It's probably a little too loud for some, but I simply adore this colour. The yarn was originally white, so no wonder it turned out almost neon.

Whimsical

This was originally a dark grey yarn. I wasn't quite sure what kind of colours I would get and to be honest, I'm not quite happy with the colours I've got. They're a bit brown/burnt orange and it's not really my kind of colour. But I like how there are faded and darker areas.

The process:
Colour recipe:

Red - 5mls dye, 20 mls water
Yellow - 5mls dye, 10mls water
Orange - 5mls red dye, 20mls yellow dye, 50mls water

I love the brilliance the dyes had on the white yarn, not so much the grey one.

Instructions from Pea Soup and the ladies of From the Dyepot on Ravelry.

Differences

How tolerant are you of someone who doesn't share your likes in colour, clothes or food?

What about someone who doesn't agree with you?

How about a person who puts demands, requests on you or makes suggestions that you simply cannot comprehend?

We like to think of ourselves as tolerant and understanding people with a wide variety of friends. And most of the times, it's true. I mean, I have friends who don't like spicy food, I have friends who don't believe in the Christian God, I have friends who even don't agree with how I do certain things.

But are we really that different from our friends?

I've recently had the privilege of associating with people of completely different economic and social backgrounds. People whom I would probably never have met in ordinary circumstances. But for some reason, our paths crossed. We started conversations.

And that was when I realised, birds of a feather really do flock together.

My friends may be different from me, but essentially, we agree on more things than we disagree on.

These other group of people however, have a completely different outlook to life and a totally different way of understanding things.

In all honesty, I don't see them as friends, more than people I have to associate with.

And they come up with things I would often label "ridiculous", "silly", "strange", "weird" and perhaps even "stupid".

But are they really?

Just because they're different, does it make them any of the above words?

I don't really have the answer to this, besides the fact that I've often pondered it. I mean, I may think they're so wrong in seeing things a certain way, but to them, they're right.

Does it make them right? Or wrong?

I know they frustrate me. But is it simply because I lack patience and understanding? And even Christian love for them?

Because in all honesty, I don't think Jesus would dismiss them as easily as I would and do.

And yet, I remain thankful for the friends that I have. Friends that can agree with me. Friends that share the same outlook as I. Friends that are, in my view, on the right side of sanity.

It takes all kinds to make up this world.

2009 calendar

What happens when your work/daily task calendar runs out and you just cannot find one in the stores that suit your needs?

Make your own.


Calendar template from Home Life Weekly.

Background graphics from aprintaday and LollyChops.

Dyslexia

Why is the word for someone with a reading/writing disability so difficult to spell even for people who don't usually have any spelling issues?

Felted hair clips

What do you do when you have these?


Perhaps you could wrap the ribbon around the hair clip and come up with something like this?

But the flowers are oh so pretty too!


Managed to indulge in a little craft project that had nothing to do with knitting on Sunday.

These cute little hair clips are making their way to a friend soon.

Now to make some for myself.

Project was based on this tutorial.