Strawberries

The color scheme and pattern:

The strawberry plant design was modified from an out of print botanical drawing. It turned out to be more intricate than it needed to be for the application but someone is going to get a beautifully embroidered knitting bag.

The lines were done in stem or split stitch with either 1 or 2-ply thread. The flowers are mostly nested detached chain with french knot centers. The strawberries presented a particular challenge. Initially, I liked the idea of doing a lattice in yellow over a red background or even simply a red lattice with yellow stitches over the crossing points. However, a couple of attempts showed that the stretch in the underlying material would not allow for this. The solution proved to be a Pekingese stitch with the back stitch portion done in the goldy yellow and the lacing in the red. The rows of stitching overlapped a bit, creating a more 3-D look.

The real thing setting flowers in the garden!

An Engineer's Garden

Last weekend we whipped the garden into shape enough to get the soaker hose out and plant the poor seedlings that have been languishing in their starter pots. Of course, I did have to pick the hottest weekend that we've had since last August to insist on all this hard work!
The previous beds just needed weeding and the soil turned but we (Jonathan) also needed to dig up a new potato bed since they are supposed to be rotated in order to keep down disease and pests. A new sunflower area was also required since we are trying out the truly mammoth sunflowers this year and had to figure out a place to grow them where they wouldn't shade another sun-loving plant.
We had also neglected to bring in the soaker hose at the end of last year so we had to extract it from its cozy little nest of grass that had grown up around it. Some grumbling on both sides cemented the conviction that this travesty of yard keeping shall not recur. In the end, however, it was laid out with careful attention to the mathematical relations of the hose wetting area to the bed space and the strain rate of the hose bends.



I had intended to plant the seedlings on Saturday but we needed to take our red faces inside to cool off. They were finally planted in the cool of the evening on Sunday. And then it rained--hooray!

Help

I've read a lot about the importance of a community of women who pray for each other and support each other in practical ways. While I have a number of wonderful friends, this one is someone particularly special.

Mom

Around Campus

This trip was the first opportunity that we have had to visit Wheaton together.

The tower in the background is the oldest and most recognizable building on the campus. It houses several of the humanities departments.

We spent several nights (in separate rooms on different floors) in the dorm where I lived as a sophomore. We also had the dubious honor of being a "lobby couple" so that we could talk when the floors were closed. However, at least we are clearly older and married--unlike another very swoony couple that we witnessed during the course of our stay.
Jonathan got an abrupt introduction to Wheaton style hospitality as well. Due to flight delays, we arrived nearly eight hours later than we had anticipated. He had to walk into an unfamiliar floor and enter a stranger's room, find the futon and go to bed. Not something that one would ever do at the UW!

This tree represents one of my iconic Wheaton experiences. Two friends and I spent a number of hours singing hymns and rounds in this tree one year. Eventually we went back to our dorm and spent the rest of the night singing in the stairwell with perhaps fifty other girls who were attracted by the echoes in the six story cement sound chamber that was the Fischer West stairs. We still remind each other of the beauty of that night.

Ah, the biology building! How many late nights did I spend within your walls? The department is going to be moving to a new building in the next couple of years so a number of things were in transition but it was fun to show Jonathan the scenes of rat dissection and microbial culturing as well as the infamous "virgin collecting" (fruit flies, that is). We were also able to catch up with a couple of my former professors who were delighted to meet my husband.

This imposing edifice is the chapel. Another Wheaton experience that I was blessed to enjoy regularly is the thrice-weekly chapel. Hearing quality speakers or singing one's heart out in the worship of our Father God with the rest of the student body is something that I will never forget and missed more than anything else when I left. We heard the symphonic band in the one that we went to but hopefully we will be able to attend one when we return for Camille's graduation next year. At least Jonathan was able to hear a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday to Chappy K!

Chicago Style

Now I love Papa Murphys'. But what they make isn't real Chicago style pizza. This deep dish wonder was enough for several meals.



I'm glad that we had the opportunity to enjoy it with family!

Up the Tower

One of the traditions that has evolved on campus is the ringing of the bell in Blanchard Tower to celebrate an engagement or wedding. Since this is the first time that we have been on campus together, at the last minute we decided to see if we could do it.

At the doorway. Couples have written their names and years on every available surface on the inside of the tower. We saw names as far back as the 1960's and a few that I recognized as my contemporaries. There was even a son who recorded his engagement next to that of his father.


Mementos and photos are also popular. Several years ago these were taken down and put in scrapbooks to be left in the tower.

Camille very kindly wrote out the words to the song that Ben sang at our wedding and printed a picture so we could leave our memento of the occasion as well.

The bell is rung in three sets of seven for an engagement. We rang the seven sets of three for a wedding.

Wade Center

The Marion Wade Center is a special collections library based around the works of seven Christian British authors-Lewis, Tolkien, Barfield, Chesterton, Sayers, Williams and MacDonald. I worked for them during my first three years of college cataloguing collections, transcribing letters and collating documents. In those days, we were stuck in a little tiny area in the upstairs of the main library that barely had room for a computer and copier in the back room where I spent most of my time.
Several years ago, they were able to build a new home that showcases the resources much better and allows for more visitors (and donations).


We did not go down into the basement to see the current document processing area and vault but we did have time to poke around the museum room for a few minutes and chat with one of my old bosses. Unfortunately, the elegant and comfortable reading room was closed while we were there.
The museum room has a number of artifacts including Lewis' and Tolkien's desks, personal items and some original letters and paintings. It was particularly impressive to see the full size version of Pauline Baynes' map of Narnia and the original Wardrobe.
 
The Wardrobe from C.S. Lewis' home, which I believe was carved by his grandfather. Even if if didn't play a role in inspiring the first entrance into Narnia, it is a beautiful piece of work.
Map of Narnia drawn by Pauline Baynes.

J.R.R. Tolkien's desk (on which he wrote The Hobbit and much of LOTR) was donated by him originally to raise money for a charity in memory of his wife, Edith.


Many of the letters and documents on the wall behind us are from the Lewis collection that I helped transcribe during my time there. It was fascinating to read letters between Lewis and many others and see how some of the ideas that appeared in both his fiction and nonfiction writing played out in his personal communications.