Divinely Crafty

I don’t usually do this, but today I am posting the same thing on both of my blogs. (For those of you who haven’t been over to see it, I blog about my family’s adventures at Beneath Our Feet.  I invite you to  have a look around and see what we have been up to. ) I was so moved by the beauty of these apple blossoms this weekend that I had to share them with all  my readers.

I haven’t been to the new orchard in a very long time (It may have been as long ago as during the last harvest unless there is a gap in my memory.) So yesterday was a real treat when I finally managed to get over there to see all the pear trees that Axel and his crew have been busy planting. All 7,500 of them. In three days. I kid you not. Did I mention how hard he’s been working?

While I was there I noticed that some of the apple trees that were recently planted were still in bloom. I was very happy to see this since I missed the primary explosion of blossoms in early May. One row of these trees in particular caught my eye. The color of the blossoms is a deep vibrant, almost on the verge of purple. I had never seen such a color in apple blossoms, most of which are a white with hints of pink. I asked Axel what variety it was and he could not remember exactly, but said that it was either sunlight or moonlight but that he would have to check his list to be sure. They planted a few new varieties to test this year. I also learned that not only are the flowers an unusual color but the flesh of the apples they produce will also be unusual. They will be red inside as well as outside! I don’t know much about this type of apple, but from what I gather its a rare variety that they are introducing back into the market. I can’t wait to get a look and a taste of them.

I had brought my camera along (double checking that I had my memory card) in hopes of getting a good picture of the new pear trees, which as it turns out don’t make much of a photo right now. Maybe once they take root and start getting leaves. So much to my delight I was able to take some pictures of these gorgeous blossoms and even managed to get some snaps of a bee busy doing it’s part to help with the apple growing business.

Here are a couple more shots. I could sit and look at these flowers all day. They are so beautiful, and exactly what I needed to lift my spirits.

Tags: apple blossoms, beauty, flowers, nature

As I type the title for this post I take pause. Can I really say that this has been “one of those weeks”? The implication is that this week has been somehow worse than other weeks. And while it has been a doozie, I’m not sure if it qualifies as particularly worse than most weeks. When I look back and take stock of the many weeks that have passed in recent months quite a few - most even - could qualify as “one of those weeks”. It sounds terrible when I admit this, but truth being good for the soul, I guess it’s liberating to be open about it. Maybe taking a look at this stark reality will lead to change that is desperately needed.

But yes - this week. What a week it was. Much of my time was spent at the hospital with my oldest daughter dealing with one heck of a nasty cut on the bottom of her foot. (Most of that time spent in horribly uncomfortable waiting room chairs. Seriously - I wouldn’t mind long waits if they didn’t hurt so dang badly. My poor fibromyalgia self was in agony. Plastic feel remarkably like concrete when it is under one’s tush for too long!) The cut as it turns out was not just a cut, but the doorway in which a large piece of wood gained entry into her foot. Say it with me - trying not to cringe too badly - OUCH!!!! I’ll spare you the play by play but the short version is 4 trips to the Minor Injuries Unit, 1 trip to x-ray, and 2 games of hardball with hospital staff (who refused to believe there was anything in her foot), way too much pain suffered on the part of my daughter, and finally last night after a round of local anesthesia and a few choice incisions - out comes a massive chunk of wood. Over 2 centimeters long and 1/2 centimeter wide! Nothing in her foot… yeah, right. There was at least one doctor and nurse in town feasting on a big old plate of crow last night. I’m happy to report that already today my daughter can walk on her foot with considerably less pain (given there is no longer a plank inside it) and we are all relieved that barring any unforeseen complications this episode can begin to be put behind us. Any thoughts for speedy healing of what is now just a nice big nasty cut that you could send her way would be welcome and appreciated.

Of course, as happens with us fibromites, all the stress and physical strain from the above ordeal has led to a very bad flare of my pain and fatigue as thick as it gets. My eldest summed it up quite nicely when she told me yesterday, “You look like road kill mom.” Only road kill has it easy. Road kill, I presume, is no longer feeling pain having departed this life. You know you have it bad when you envy road kill. yikes.

It’s times like these that make being a mom with a chronic illness really hard. Parenting on it’s own is a hard job. Its an exhausting job. Painful even with the mishaps brought on by rambunctious little ones, and painful in the sense that one can feel pain of the soul and emotions (and lets not forget the pain of birth!). But with a chronic illness those hard,exhausting and painful times have potential to turn into debilitating times. A few hard or stressful days can set you back for weeks. A few hard or stressful weeks can turn into months of setback. Which brings me back to the beginning of this post and my revelation that this week isn’t an isolated occurrence. With a chronic illness all weeks have potential to be “one of those weeks”. We operate from a different baseline, a normal that isn’t what others consider normal. All of my children have had to adjust their expectations according to how I am feeling. They are used to mom not being able to make it to school events, they are used to tip-toeing around the house when I am getting some much needed rest. They know that their home life is very different than that of their friends. Myy littlest, her eyes filled with concern and worry, knows when to ask if she hugged me too hard because she knows that on bad days even her gentle touch can hurt. Its not always easy on them, but they manage. We all manage it seems. Some days better than others. I think we managed fairly well this week, all things considered. In many ways it was better than last week which on the surface appeared to be an easier week, but that underneath was full or turmoil. Maybe that is what I meant when I gave this post its title. “One of those weeks” that despite all odds against it, we found our way through it. Perhaps it wasn’t so bad after all.

There are a whole big massive bunch of jewelry sellers at esty. That may even be a bit of an understatement. It can really be intimidating, not to mention exhausting, browsing through all the offerings listed. So much so that it might be tempting just to cruise over to a big name mega store’s site and order something that was mass manufactured, most likely in China, solely for the purpose of getting it over with quick and easy. But being a craftsperson myself, and committed to buying handmade, small production or one-of-a-kind goods whenever possible I sat down at my computer yesterday on the quest of finding the perfect pearl necklace for my daughter’s 16th birthday. (Fulling owning up to in my budget pearl=faux pearl, but luckily these days that doesn’t necessarily equate with cheap looking or poor quality.) She has prom coming up shortly after her birthday, and her dress (which she will also be wearing to my brother’s wedding this summer) just begs for pearls.

And so the search began. Pages and pages of lovely creations passed my eyes. A cup of tea, some rice cakes with almond butter, and a cup of coffee later I had looked at hundreds of pieces of jewelry, but nothing was jumping out at me as being the perfect piece. And anyone who has ever bought something for a 16 year old with very specific style and taste knows - it needs to be perfect. Especially when prom is involved! So onward I went, click by click, forging on in my quest. Then I found this seller. Brought to her page by one piece, I was drawn in looking at all the wonderful offerings in her shop. Such lovely work! And better still, I found at last a piece that I thought just might be what I was looking for. And bonus - she stated in the listing that she could make matching earrings. oooooo - I was intrigued. So I convo’d her (that’s etsy speak for I sent her a message) and asked what the cost of the matching earrings would be and if perhaps she could make a bracelet as well. I figured hey, it doesn’t hurt to ask, and a complete set would be great. She replied back - very fast - with a very reasonable price for the set and able to accommodate my time frame. (Yes, I procrastinate. A lot. ) After giving it some more thought, and spending time looking at my daughters dress, I had concerns if the color of the pearls would be to stark for my daughter’s dress, so I convo’d her back about this and a few other things, fearful that I was close to crossing over to potentially irritating buyer who asks a gazillion nit-picky questions territory. Again, she replied very quickly, giving me her honest opinion and making mention of some other colors that she had available. All whilst reassuring me that my questions were no bother and better to be safe than sorry when shopping online. How true that is!

When my daughter came home that evening, I eagerly showed her my discovery. (No way am I going to try and surprise her and risk her hating it!) She was pleased, but not as thrilled as I had hoped. So we talked. And we considered what it was that she didn’t like, and what she would want to change in order for it to be perfect. Eventually, after much imagining and discussing we had come up with exactly what it is that she would like. I sent another convo to the seller, asking her if she could make what was now a fully custom set and what the cost would be. True to form, she replied without delay, happy to make it exactly as we wished and at a price that was unbeatable. She would get started immediately and ship it the next day. My daughter and I both went to bed dreaming of the lovely custom made set that would be arriving at our home.

Today I received another convo from the seller with a picture of the set. If I was eager before, I am twice as much so now. And my daughter is beyond thrilled. It is indeed perfect - better than even we had imagined when creating it in our minds!

I hope that the seller - BeadsByEvelyn - doesn’t mind me posting a picture of the set that she sent me. It is just too beautiful not to share. She assured me that it this is a quick photo that doesn’t do it justice, but even so, the beauty of it is breathtaking. I can’t wait to see it up close and personal.

Made of Swarovski pearls and crystals in white,almond,peach, and bronze.

For reference this is the dress that it will be worn with.

The set is matched perfectly to compliment the dress and will be even more stunning with my daughters rich ginger/brown hair. I can’t wait to see them on her, in her lovely dress with her hair done up, ready for what will undoubtedly be a magical night.

Serenity is the youngest daughter of a dear friend of mine. Like most other 2 year olds she runs her mother ragged but manages to fill her heart with love beyond measure. Unlike most other 2 years olds, Serenity was recently diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia.

There is no lack of appeals on the internet for help with raising funds for sick children. Its a sad fact of life that children do sometimes get sick with horrible life threatening illnesses, and an even sadder fact of life that the financial burden that comes with having a sick child adds untold amounts of distress to a family. I’m not in the habit of appealing for help in most of these cases, not out of lack of concern or charity, but because I would bankrupt myself if I contributed to every one and I am sure that most everyone else is in the same spot. And given the anonymity of the internet and the dark side of humankind who would abuse the good intentions of donors, there is always the risk that god forbid, a plea for donations might be a scam.

But to me, personally, because of my friendship with Serenity’s mother and the untold gifts and blessings that I have received by knowing her, this one I need to pass on to whoever might be able to help. While I am sure it pales in comparison to the devastation that Serenity’s family is experiencing, the news of this has shaken me to my core. I have donated every last bit I had to give, which I will admit is not very much. My own family struggles to make ends meet every day, large in part to my own health concerns. Yet,this is one of those times where I could sit back and in anyway justify withholding even the smallest amount I had available. If we can afford to go to the pub and have a few drinks one night, then we could afford to give at least that much to help Serenity’s family. We can still go out with our friends, but drink a glass of water instead, and feel better drinking that plain old beverage than we would from any other drink, knowing that our small sacrifice is going to help make a terrible situation the slightest bit easier to bear.

With this I ask that anyone who is reading this today also consider making a donation, even and amount that seems too small to matter. Truly, every bit counts.

You can read about Serenity and her family as they journey into life forever changed at Lifting Up Serenity.

On behalf of my friend, and all those who love Serenity, thank you.