Making the Best of Things

Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.  ~John Wooden


I have been preparing for the meeting of my Book Club at my home today for several weeks.  First, I made little heart bookmarks for everyone.  Then I decorated my holiday tree with hearts.  And then I made a heart wreath for my front door to welcome my friends.  Finally, I prepared a special family favorite dessert for them--Pineapple Angel Food Cake.  I have made the recipe, which is incredibly simple, many times before, with good success, and expected the same results this time as well.  How wrong could I be?  It was a total disaster as you can see!

 

Now what?  I decided to switch gears and make a trifle using the cake as a base. I searched online and found this recipe.  I purchased a few needed items yesterday and made the trifle today, changing a few things according to the first two reviews written about the recipe. It was beautiful and tasted delicious.  It was a much more impressive dessert than I had planned and earned me kudos from my friends. 

 

It is trite, but true.  When life hands you lemons, make a trifle out of them!

February Hearts

Love is not written on paper, for paper can be erased.  Nor is it etched on stone, for stone can be broken.  But it is inscribed on a heart and there it shall remain forever. ~Unknown

Grandma's Heart Square

This is the February block for the 2011 Block-a-Month Crochet-a-long I'm participating in on Ravelry.  It was designed by Carola Wijma and the pattern can be downloaded for free from Ravelry. It is aptly named because it will be used in the making of an afghan for my little grandson, Baby G.  It was a challenge for me, as I needed to read a crochet chart in order to make it, and it incorporated many different stitches.  It was a wonderful learning experience and great fun, too!

Little Heart Bookmarks

 I posted here about these bookmarks I was making for the members of one of my book clubs.  The pattern was designed by Lee at KilliecrankieFarm.  They were quick and satisfying to make and now here are all eight finished and ready for gifting.

I love to make things in heart shapes and I am always attracted to items with hearts on them.  Example the pillow above.  Since Valentine's Day is in February I usually indulge myself with the making of hearts and decorating with them as well.  Don't be surprised if more hearts show up on this blog this month.

Another Look at Friendship

A friendship can weather most things and thrive in thin soil; but it needs a little mulch of letters and phone calls and small, silly presents every so often - just to save it from drying out completely. ~Pam Brown

In this post, I wondered if it wouldn't be better to let old friendships go and concentrate on new ones.  I've been pondering this question and I've decided that old friendships are too precious to let go by default.  I love to garden and the quote above made me think of how devastated I feel when I have neglected a plant and see it wilting or dying.  How much more important to me are my friends!

I've begun a sort of Year in Review for 2010 to send to my old friends back East and want to finish it and send it by e-mail before the end of this month.  A tall order, but I have always worked better under pressure.  Once the e-mail is sent I intend to concentrate on the letters and phone calls and small, silly presents angle. Like the Girl Scout song intones:  Make new friends but keep the old; one is silver, the other is gold.

Friendship

Every man passes his life in the search after friendship.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson 

One of the secret, seldom shared wishes I have for my retirement is to make new friends while keeping the old ones. While I was in the working world I had many acquaintances, but few real friends.  Being a friend requires a lot of maintenance and I was often neglectful in that area.  I vowed that when I retired I would try to do a better job of being a friend.

I have more trouble it seems in keeping up with old friends than in making new ones. Distance makes it more difficult to keep in touch.  E-mails are my usual means of communicating with far away friends, but they lack a certain warmth and spontaneity that face to face contact has. No longer sharing common activities also makes it difficult to find meaningful things to say to old friends. I wonder sometimes if it wouldn't be better to stop trying to keep the friendships alive and just be content with happy memories.  

I have been very fortunate to find a number of people in my new life that I consider friends. We have common interests (reading and knitting and crocheting, for example) and proximity allows us to meet more frequently.  Today, I unexpectedly met with a friend I hadn't seen in a few months. We have both been busy with family matters and never seemed to be in the same place at the same time.  It was lovely to see her and have the chance to chat and catch up on all our doings.  She is a gentle person who brings out the best in me.  I have smiled all day today just thinking about our meeting.  Friendship is good for the soul.