Valerie is a 42-year-old, single, Reformed Christian lady who lives in Baltimore. She doesn't remember a time
before she knew and loved Jesus, but she does remember accepting John Calvin into her heart in March of 2000.
Valerie is a member of Christ Reformed Evangelical Church in Annapolis.
Though her career aspiration is to be a housewife, Valerie has not yet found anyone suitable who wishes to hire
her for employment in that field (or, more properly, anyone suitable has not found her), so in the meantime she
earns her daily bread working in communications -- editing, writing, print design and website management.
The Fruit of Her Hands
Let's get one thing straight right off the bat: my mommy's better than your mommy. Nope! Don't even be tempted to argue, because I have irrefutable evidence: she's put up with a daughter like me for lo these forty years. Moses' leading the recalcitrant Israelites through the wilderness for as much time was a comparative cakewalk.
Now that we've got that clear, let me show you some of what she did for me while she was visiting last month:
On the left we have four knitted dishcloths. She took another skein of yarn with her on the train, to make me another one or two.
On the bottom we have one of two napkins that, along with a smaller tablecloth, were salvaged from a larger tablecloth. Just right for a card table for two, which happened to be the number we were while she was here. And since the dining room table was covered with sewing projects for most of the week, a card table in the living room suited us just fine.
On the top right we have a potholder and two oven mitts. More of these fabrics went back to NH with Mom to be converted into more potholders. I think I bought enough fabric to make about ten. It is my personal belief that U.S. Americans can't have too many potholders. Since I usually eat alone, I find my desk or the couch a more convenient dining spot than the DR table, so I often carry a hot dish thence with a potholder. These periodically need to be rounded up and returned to the kitchen, and in the meantime I don't care to be stuck there in need of one, so plenty of spares are called for. The fabric of course matches...
...my kitchen curtains! They're finally complete after starting them a year and a half ago. My mom is a much more competent seamstress than I am, and even she was having trouble sewing through all the layers on those tabs, so it's no wonder I gave up after the one I attempted.
I did help with some cutting and pressing on some of these projects, and orange theme is my choice, as well, but Mommy did all the hard stuff. Yay! Mommy! Yay!
Of course this is only a fraction of all her kindnesses while she was visiting. She also created order in my garden, washed countless dishes, prepared several meals, and helped me clean off some basement shelves, among other things. And of course the weight of these projects is a mere trifle on the scales with her 40 years of sacrificial labors on my behalf. How could I begin to calculate the worth of the meals prepared, the garments sewn, the laundry washed, the sleep lost, the tears shed, the burdens borne, the sins forgiven for my benefit?
Mom and I have extraordinarily different personalities, and I'm afraid I inherited few of her virtues. The one I'd give the most for is her fruitful and diligent servanthood. When my hands grow up, I want them to be just like my mommy's.
The bedspread project is one of my efforts so far toward that end. It was my goal to get to the halfway point while Mom was visiting, but I didn't quite make it. Almost finished square #65 before I put her on the train, but I didn't finish #66 'til a week or two ago. (Dummy me...I forgot to note the exact date!) Here they all are -- six beribboned* bundles of ten, plus six additional squares:
I've really got to pick up the pace on this project if I'm going to have it completed for Mom's 80th birthday. The first half took me two years and four months, which leaves me just a year and eight months to do the second half...including joining all the squares and crocheting the border. Think I can make it? I'm a little dubious, myself.
*This word included for The BadgerMum's particular pleasure, for reasons known to her. ;-)
Posted by Valerie (Kyriosity) at 7:38 PM
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5 comments
You can do it! And if not, maybe it could be a throw instead of a bedspread.
On September 4, 2007 10:38 PMAnonymouswrote... I'm glad to hear you praising your mother. Keep holding her up with honor and adorn her with praises. Your love for her and vise versue will grow in leaps and bonds. AR
On September 6, 2007 12:26 AMnonnobis1wrote... Completely off topic, but I just found out that Dr. D. James Kennedy went to be with Jesus today. What a great life and ministry. As DJK always said every Sunday immediately after reading the scriptures, "May His Name ever be praised!"
On September 6, 2007 5:11 PMValerie (Kyriosity)wrote... Bill, posting completely unrelated comments on someone else's blog is about the surest sign there is that you need your own. ;-)
