"Patience is a Virtue"

             Although the look of a finished Hawaiian Quilt can be very crisp and simple, making a Hawaiian Quilt takes major patience. The design must be cut out and then hand appliquéd on to the white base fabric. After you are done with the appliqué then you have to hand stitch all around the design and in to the batting in order to make it an actual quilt. Although the process is long, the satisfaction and inner peace I get from simply moving the needle and thread back and forth through the fabric is profound. I think often of the long line of quilters I come from and what they would have thought about my series of stitches.

          I love picking out all the fabric and creating the design, however I have never been good at following through and finishing a project like this. When I was living in San Francisco I never had enough clarity to just sit and go to work on something like this. I am older now, and I live in the tranquil countryside so I have more confidence that I will see this one through till the end.  I have long dreamed of being able to call myself a quilter. I will finish this quilt and many others like it.

 A wise woman once told me, "Patience is a virtue" and I know now how true that simple statement is.

Spring is Just Around The Corner, really..

 

It rained all night and when I woke up all the snow had melted. Seeing ground cover for the first time in months can be so refreshing, it's a reminder that Spring has all the equipment it needs to ward off Winter. In a few short months there will be little white flowers all over the ground instead of snow, slush and ice.

 

             The half melted ice on the lake was really the only reminder that winter was ever here at all.

As is often the case, I did not see a single soul on my run. The mossy docks and abandon boats make it look like time just stands still here. I am thankful for the quiet; it somehow makes my many thoughts more rational and clear.

Kaffe Paus (Coffee Break)

 

It's 9:30 am in Sweden so that means it's time for a "Kaffe Paus" or "Fika" (both terms are Swedish for Coffee Break). This is the time when I make my lists of things to do and think a bit about what I have done so far. The coffee is strong and my energy is at its all time high. This is my most favorite time of the day, anything seems possible!

The rain from the night has left my front yard totally free of snow. The sight of the green grass looks like spring’s little peep show from my kitchen window. The wind rips through the naked tree branches; winter's way of saying "Not so fast, it's still only January".....

The Swedish Winter is No Joke

Here I am at about 3:30pm, half way around the lake near my house in the Skane region of Sweden. This was one of my first runs since coming back from my trip to California. Even though it was -4 I convinced myself that I would be fine wearing my running shoes. Since winter has set in I have not really been able to get the same kind of workout I had been getting during all the other seasons. I have been resentful of having to wear snow boots because of how they limit my range of motion, so this time I just wore my cross trainers which was hugely stupid.

Around the time I took this photo I did notice that my socks were getting a little wet, but I charged through the workout anyway. When I returned home my feet were colder than I ever thought they could be. I had to put them under hot running water for about 15 minutes just to get them back to a normal temperature.

The moral to this story is the Swedish Winter is no joke. It does not do you any favors for being tired of it. You must dress accordingly and respect its power or you will be sorry.