The Sabbath

If I were ever to give up God and my religion, one of the things that I'll continue to observe would have to be the Sabbath.

Those who aren't Seventh-day Adventists often see us Adventists as rather legalistic when it comes to the Sabbath - no buying, no shopping, no swimming, no watching movies, no going out, no, well, basically, no having fun of any sorts, or something like that.

And maybe that's what it's like for some people. But the Sabbath is a completely different thing to me.

It's not about reading the Bible, praying or being at church all day. Not that it's bad, but I'm also realistic and human and possibly not as religious as I should be. But I digress.

I love the Sabbath for what it stands for - a day of rest.

And maybe my interpretation of it is wrong, but I do understand it rather literally.

It's usually a go-go-go existence for me for most of the week. Working Mondays to Fridays, with evening gym/Bible study/shopping/movie/lounging in front of the TV sessions. Sundays are usually rather hectic as well, consisting of either household chores, errands or general social activities which tend to wear me out.

Which leaves Saturday, the Sabbath day that I observe. And it's beautiful.

It's the day where I feel that I can legitimately slow down, not rush and basically relax. I go to church, I have lunch with friends from church, I go for a walk, I knit, I read, I surf the internet, I nap, I unwind. And I don't feel guilty about it. I don't feel I have to accomplish something. I simply relax.

You should try it someday.

Domestic violence

A recent event in Australia led me to write this script a few weeks ago regarding domestic violence.

It's an extremely important message that I really do want to share with everybody.


My Word 18th July 2008 from Infocus News on Vimeo.

Fetching

Thus named because apparently, the cables twist "fetchingly" towards the thumbs. I'm not too sure about that, particularly because I made some mistakes when it came to the thumb that made one look munted.

The cables caused knitting time to decrease significantly, but it may also be due to the magic loop technique that I was using to knit in the round (no seams, baby!)

But overall, it still looks pretty, were not too hard to knit and keeps the hands warm!

Pity it's a gift for a friend...

Must make one for self.

Habit forming

They say it takes 21 days to form a habit.

I've managed to wake up earlier than usual for the last six days (not consecutively, but very close) to spend some time reading the Bible.

I guess that's 15 more days to go.

Why is it so hard to read the Bible, but oh so easy to spend hours reading a novel or a magazine?

Why is it so hard to concentrate when reading the Bible, but oh so easy to stay riveted to a book and put it down only when your eyes cannot possibly stay open?

Santa Claus? God?

I think I'm guilty of treating God like Santa Claus at times. This particularly happens when I'm fervently praying for something.

"I'd better be good (or pray, or read the Bible, or [insert appropriate 'good' action here], or God is not going to answer my prayer," I catch myself saying sometimes.

But that's really not that way God works. Whatever happens to us is really not a direct result of whether we've been naughty or nice. There is no obvious action = consequence thing here.

All we have to do is have faith and trust that God will watch out for us. And that no matter what happens (including unfavourable answers to prayer), it will all work out in the end.

Of course, that does not mean we shouldn't spend time reading the Bible or talking to God. We simply shouldn't do it just because we want to get into God's "good books" so that he'll answer our prayer requests favourably.

Chants to self, "God is not Santa Claus. God is not Santa Claus."

Vero Quant

My first forays into entrelac knitting is complete!


After the initial confusion and feel that it was a rather tedious process, I actually started enjoying knitting entrelac by the time I was halfway through. I didn't even need to really look at the pattern by then!

I really love the way the yarn looks like it criss-crosses and the texture just looks absolutely fantastic. I'm just not sure if I'll try entrelac again soon because I'm such an impatient knitter and just want to get my project down as quickly as possible, and I can't seem to really do that with entrelac.


The only problem with this project though, is the fact that I ran out of yarn towards the end. Thought I'd be intelligent and use a different yarn I had in my stash, but somehow, I feel that I now look like a smurf on one side.


I've got a smurf for a left ear...

Ackland bootees

Aren't they just the most adorable things on earth? My first baby knit!

Ok, so the baby came early (no, not mine) and will probably be about a month old by the time he receives them, but considering I made them a little big, they should fit rather well by then!

It was a bit of a challenge knitting the straps on. I couldn't really understand the instructions and honestly, I'm still not sure if I did them right. But they still look cute, so we'll leave it at that.

I knitted bobbles to use instead of buttons, largely because I was too lazy to go buy buttons and the shops were all closed when I needed buttons anyway!

Can't wait to see little baby in them.

Spending time with God

If you are a Christian, do you spend much quiet time with God?

Time to study the Bible and time to talk to him?

I find that whenever I have quiet time, I get a clearer understanding of my own life and a better perspective on whatever I happen to be going through.

My quiet time consists of a small amount of reading of the Bible, some amount of having a conversation, but for the most part, it consists of writing down my thoughts.

I relax, I calm down and I often finish with a certain amount of peace.

Sometimes, nothing gets solved, but I feel that I can breathe easier.

The only problem?

I do not do it as often as I should.

Eggs

As someone who has committed to buying only free-range eggs, I feel extremely ripped off after reading this news article in The Australian.

It is revealed that:

• Consumers who pay more for free-range eggs have been warned that more than one-third are officially stale.
• Well over half the hens described as free-range are housed in huge sheds, may never go outside and their eggs may come off conveyor belts.

It is absolutely disgusting to know that consumers can be thus misinformed. OK, so this is not the first time it's happened, but it just never fails to sadden me that people can be so dishonest just to gain some profit. Why can't people be truthful with each other?

Anyway, the silver lining in this story for me is that I very luckily have an "egg factory" next door and the eggs are definitely free range.

I know for sure. I sometimes feed those chooks with my food scraps too.

Dorset wheel earrings

What do you do when you have leftover yarn and want to make something absolutely unique for an aunt who likes jewellery?

Dorset wheel earrings!

Fandangle neckwarmer

I wanted a fast and easy project while driving west to go camping last weekend, and my entrelac headband definitely didn't fall into that category.

So instead, I decided to make a neckwarmer with some leftover yarn that I had. I wanted to play around with beads as well and so I ended up with this.


Honestly, not my proudest moments.

I had wanted to add more hanging beads, but I couldn't find beads with holes big enough that could fit through the needle that I needed to thread the yarn.

So I have a strange neckwarmer thing with some random beads hanging off it.

On the upside, it's nice, soft and keeps my neck warm without any peripherals hanging off it that make me either feel like I'm wearing a bib while eating or get in the way while I'm trying to get stuff done!

Words

I recently started learning entrelac knitting.

It's a rather interesting pattern to follow but a number of stitches sounded rather confusing.

And it's funny how people respond when you ask them questions.

"It's too hard!"

"Why would you want to try something like that for?"

They proceed to teach you, but not without some sort of admonishment that you've somehow decided to become a rocket scientist or something, mind you.

I agree. The pattern is somewhat difficult. My project was going fine, but there were tiny mistakes I knew should not be there. And I just could not get it.

But I persevered and did more research, and tried to get the thought that I was really attempting something really difficult out of my mind.

And then I got it.

So even though I was about a quarter of the way through the pattern, I ripped all the yarn out and restarted my project.

It's going beautifully now. I understand the pattern. I know the stitches, and honestly, it really isn't that difficult. Just a bit of a hassle because you need to turn your work every six stitches.

But I was nearly discouraged and wanted to give up trying because of the words of some, who gave me the impression that I was simply too ambitious or stupid to try something like entrelac.

Had they simply given me instructions and encouragement, I may actually feel better about working through my pattern. Instead, I was constantly shrouded with a feeling of dismay and impossibility.

Our words have an impact on people. And we need to be careful of what we tell them.

Yes, their dreams may seem impossible, even ridiculous to us.

But perhaps we need to take time to see the possibilities, and support them as best we could. Instead of cutting them down before they have even taken root.

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Proverbs 12:18

Human trafficking

I wrote this as a script for a show we do at work, but it's such an important issue I felt I needed to write about it here as well.

Did you know that up to four million people are victims of human trafficking each year?

People who are trafficked are exploited and this can mean anything from forced labour, slavery to prostitution.

Women, when forced into prostitution, generally work seven days a week, 12 hours a day. Many are not free to reject a client or unsafe practices and live under constant fear of contracting HIV and other diseases.

When forced into labour, victims are paid far below poverty wage in sweatshops where only two bathroom breaks are allowed in a 14-hour workday.

My word, are we as Christians doing anything to stop this monstrous atrocity against God’s children?

We need to use our voices and resources to raise awareness of human trafficking in the community and educate others.

And we also need to become more conscious of the things we buy. Enslaved persons can be directly or indirectly involved in the production of goods and services that we use every day.

We can help them by becoming ethical consumers who support businesses committed to offering Fair Trade certified products.

Do something to help your brother and sister in Christ today.

Links

Anti-slavery Project

The Jammed (movie)

Act Now

Fairwear

PR vs News

Ahhh...good old journalism is no longer what it used to be thanks to the rise of public relations...


While not exactly accurate, I have to say that there is some element of truth in it.

Being in the PR industry now, I'm no longer able to view news the same way. I'm always watching/reading news going, "wow, the PR rep did a good job on that one" or "hmmm, I think they need to get their messages right".

As for objectivity in news, I'm not sure it exists anymore.

Source: Nicholson Cartoons

Analysis...over-analysis?

It's not every day that one sees her work being analysed like a literature text by others.

Right in front of her.

Had a meeting this afternoon about a weekly current affairs/talk show that we do. In it, I wrote a 70 second editorial and we were discussing the contents of it today.

It was the most bizarre experience.

Two of the team members were having a rather heated discussion about what "the author is trying to say".

Yes, I'm the author, and I'm sitting right there. But it was not a matter of "what are you trying to say Melody?". It was more like "this is what I think she's trying to say."

Somehow, I felt a lot like Virginia Woolf or Shakespeare or someone, whose literary piece is being critiqued and anaylsed by a classroom of budding English literature students.

I also wanted to put my hand up and say, "Guys, you don't have to guess what I'm thinking, I'm right here. I'll tell you."

The only problem was that some of the analysis, while it made sense, was certainly not what I was trying to say. In fact, far from it. I had no intention whatsoever of giving any of that kind of impression.

And yet, there was a logical argument backing it up, like any good English essay should.

But it made me sit back and smile and wonder (yes, all this while the discussion was still going on) as to whether we tend to over-analyse what the great writers are trying to say while in English Lit classes?

Fluffy maner headband

I'm learning how to knit with circular needles for the first time.

It seemed utterly confusing at first. I just couldn't picture it in my head how it would actually work.

But I've done about 3 rounds now and it's actually really easy! It literally is knitting in the round. It's like a never ending circle of knitting, which makes it rather interesting when you're trying to stop knitting "at the end" because well, there isn't actually one. Will have to discover how to really end it later.

Bought a set of interchangeable knitting needles at a sale last week. They're absolutely gorgeous! Love the multicoloured-ness of them and they're really easy to knit with as well.

Anyway, am trying to knit a headband with my circulars now, we'll see whether it actually turns out the way I hope it would.

If it's a success, the headband will be incredibly soft and fluffy with the yarn I'm using. Can't wait.

Art

Australia’s artistic community is up in arms over actions by the police. Prominent Australian artist Bill Henson’s images of naked children have been confiscated from a gallery in Sydney.

Police are investigating the possibility of laying child pornography charges, but Henson’s supporters are outraged, saying that art should not be policed.

I agree that we should be allowed to express ourselves freely through art. But if we were to allow everything to be done in the name of art, it will not be long before murder was accepted.

Maybe I’m exaggerating, but I think you get the point.

How do you define art? Tattooed pig skins? Preserved human body parts?

Human beings have a natural tendency to enjoy creative and beautiful things. Many of us love creating, and art is a wonderful way to express our thoughts and even make a statement.

But we also have a responsibility to society. Whatever we produce, whatever we display, we need to consider – Are we highlighting a difficult issue that needs honest examination or are we in danger of celebrating humanity’s darker inclinations?

Read related news articles here.

Deranged hippie scarf

It's finished! And I don't think it actually looks quite as deranged as I was half afraid it'd be.

I had a lot of fun knitting this scarf, largely because it was so random and it was great to be able to change to a different yarn at almost every different row.

The ribbons were rather easy to work in and the Patons Powder Puff that I was having so much difficulty knitting with for the fingerless gloves turned out to be rather easy with this one. Probably had to do with the fact that I was using a needle at almost double the size.

It was really interesting knitting lengthwise as well. I had all these stitches squashed into a needle. Thank goodness the needle was long enough!

You can take a joke too far

Here's proof:

German police are investigating a couple after they offered their eight-month-old son for sale on internet auction site eBay.

Renee Beck, a police spokesman in the Bavarian town of Krumbach west of Munich, said on Saturday the 23-year-old woman told them it was only a joke.

But he said police were nevertheless continuing their investigation and the baby was put in state custody.

"She says it was a joke," he said. "That's not yet clear. Detectives are investigating on suspicion of child trafficking."

A number of people called authorities across Germany after seeing the offer on eBay that read: "Baby - collection only. Offer my nearly new baby for sale because it cries too much. Male, 70 cm long."

The opening bid was 1 euro ($A1.60). There were no bidders during the two hours before the offer was removed, police said.

The mother was quoted in Bild newspaper saying: "It was only a joke. I just wanted to see if someone would make an offer. They've taken my son to hospital and I've got to take psychiatric tests next week."

Poor baby is going to grow up wondering if his parents really do love him.

The search for meaning

New article published!