Lessons from Emma

I have had a wonderful time in Texas this summer. I arrived at the beginning of June, and unfortunately will be off next Wednesday, but there have been some great memories, wonderful relationships created, and many things to look forward to next year.

One of the things I have done while down here was read Emma, by Jane Austen. My reading has been a little scattered recently, with multiple books progressing slowly, and I have to admit,Emma took me a little bit of reading to get into it. She is just so purely annoying! Emma Woodhouse is the kind of snobbish person I want little to do with in ordinary life. (Which has caused me to spend a little time evaluating myself...) However, something that I admire about her is she takes criticism from those she respects and grows from it.

At the beginning she is very selfishly motivated in all her daily activities, even in charity. She doesn't assist others out of love, but out of how it makes her appear and expectations those around her have. She takes Harriet in because she feels she, with her superior position, can introduce Harriet to society (ironically, Emma takes it as an insult when Mrs. Elton offers to do the same thing for her). Honestly, Harriet was much more tolerable and respectfully humble before Emma got to her.

At one point, she makes some painful remarks to Miss Bates. Mr. Knightly, her brother-in-law who she has known since her youth, tells her, bluntly though respectfully, she is in the wrong. Immediately Emma recognizes and attempts to repent by heart-fully attending to the Bateses. It's a change that is apparent to only the reader because nothing changes outwardly. She still visits frequently, as always, but her inward thoughts, her private notations and observations, change greatly.

It's something that I know I need to work on myself. It's so easy to get wrapped up in doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, and though it's not observable to others, it eventually becomes noticeable in attitude or work ethic. Even today, I found how I take criticism from certain people as a personal attack, rather than an opportunity to grow and develop better habits- something I can work on continually.

Amazing Artists

Check out this amazing video found courtesy of Rifle Paper Co. It's about hand painted billboards in a fast paced world. A really incredible story to watch- definitely worth the time.

There's something inspirational about it. Maybe it's the amount of training it takes, or the risk these artists challenge. Or maybe it's their perseverance to remain dedicated when their job prospects really aren't looking too high. You can definitely tell they love what they do, and it's refreshing to see, when you look at so many students who are willing to sacrifice passion for security.

Mawage is wot bwings us togeder tooday (Part 1)

My dearest Kassi is getting married SATURDAY!!! So exciting! I thought I'd share some of the festivities with y'all. It's my first time being in a wedding party, so I'm doing a lot of observing and note taking, trying to figure out how things are done and how I can help.

A couple weeks ago, the bridesmaids and one of Kassi's other friends made a day trip out to Banff for her bachelorette party. We wanted her to enjoy the scenery and complete an amusing scavenger hunt. Items on the list were things like "Take a picture with a 'Matt'" (the name of her fiance) and "find the most romantic book title". Then we headed to the Grizzly House which is a rather unobtrusive shack on Banff Avenue. None of us had eaten there before, but I highly recommend it! We were surprised when we walked in at the character of the place! It is a fondu place that specializes in exotic meats (rattlesnake, shark, ostrich) as well as the fondu regulars. We erred on the safe side and got beef, chicken, and prawns for us to share. The meal was delicious and the evening was full of entertainment. You'll have to check it out to see what I mean! My only caution is to save it for special occasions. Even for Banff Avenue, it is pricey, with most meals over $40, before drinks.

Then we went to the hotsprings to settle our full tummies, and had a great swim and wonderful conversation. The evening ended with a trip back to Calgary and watching Father of the Bride at Kassi's apartment. We all got much too little sleep, but Nadine was a trooper and woke up to make the rest of us waffles, complete with strawberries and homemade whipped cream. It was a very enjoyable event, and got Kassi realizing how close she is to the big day!

The Dirty Dozen

Since I've been back in Calgary, I've been doing the grocery shopping for my mom. I actually really love it! It's like shopping, but for necessities. And it's a game to figure out the best prices, and the best apple in the pile.

One thing I've had trouble with was deciding to buy organic or not. Of course, organic is no doubt healthier, but some things hold more pesticides than others anyways. Wouldn't it be great to know what fruits and vegetables were worth the extra financial cost?

The day after I was mulling this over, I found this adorable cheat sheet! It's available to be printed off, and has the good produce on one side and the "dirty dozen" on the other, complete with illustrations for the illiterate.

I've got to go grocery shopping, because I've been slack in my duties the last couple days, what with the two weddings I am in over the next two weeks. :)

Quilt Canada

Last Thursday (a week ago) my wonderful grandmother and her quilting crew took me to Quilt Canada, a large quilt show that sets up in a different chosen city each year. The last time it was in Calgary was 1988, joined by the winter Olympics. The show included a judged section, auction, displays, shops, and an antique quilt area (our favorite part).

One thing that stood out to me when wandering through the professional judging section was the purposed usage of quilting. (For those of you who aren't familiar with the terminology, the pieces of fabric are "pieced" together, and the "quilting" is the stitches that join the front and back of the quilt. Its main purpose is to keep the "batting" (white fluffy stuff in the middle) in place, and to flatten out the quilt. Otherwise, it's more of an air-filled pillow) In my last quilt, I did quilted "in the ditch" (along seams) and diagonally, as well as some free loops on the border. The quilts I saw usually didn't have straight quilting seams. Sometimes, the quilting was used to add to the picture. It was all very fascinating, and hard to explain.

There was a good deal of inspiration. I am interested in doing some applique, (where pieces of fabric are hand-sewn onto another, background fabric, as opposed to joined to it) and hand quilting (as opposed to machine quilting). Here are some of my favorite pieces from the show.

The most incredible quilt- all hand quilted!

Close up: