I have a few friends with whom I meet to sew, usually around once a month. As we sew quilts or other individual projects, we explore vast conversations on many topics. These are some of the fastest hours of the month for me. I don’t often sew outside of these tiny gatherings, but I have made progress on several projects and learned from the wisdom of women I truly admire. This week I finished a quilt I began sometime last year. It’s ready to take on a picnic…once the ground thaws.
I subscribe to Yo-Yo Ma’s YouTube channel. He has been consistent about posting songs of comfort through the past few years, often from very casual home settings. I am thankful that he has shared his gifts so freely. If you watch until the end, I think you will see the character of the man.
We all enjoy giving and receiving presents. But there is a difference between presents and gifts. True gifts may be part of ourselves– giving of the heart and mind– and therefore more enduring and of far greater worth than presents bought at the store.
James E. Faust
I have been touched by many gifts this Christmas. Paige made drawings of Daniel and Tim at age three to complete my little collection of drawings of our children. Daniel may not consider this as part of his already generous gift and precious letter to me, but his piano accompaniment of the piece I played in church was a beautiful gift. Tim hand wrote long letters to each of us and made sure I had a gift from him under the tree, even though he wasn’t with us this year. Mark gave me a CD of music that he doesn’t enjoy himself, and was my companion for so many errands for Christmas giving. His service and company was so important to me this year.
It isn’t always possible to do something meaningful, but I know when I give “of my heart and mind,” the Spirit of Christmas fills my soul.
Today Paige and Michael celebrate their anniversary. Their presence in our lives is a gift and blessing.
Being the planner that I am, I get lost in future scenarios really easily. I love to sit down with my day planner and organize everything. Sometimes I have to limit how long I allow myself to live in the future because hello, there are people here, right now, that could use some attention.
I also have a sentimental side that collects images and artifacts from every event in our lives. I find that when I am most stressed, it is my memories that will ground me. Favorite escape memories for me often involve scenes from my childhood: a still, black, icy night walking home from a tithing settlement with my family; feeling static shocks at my great-grandmother’s house from her shag carpet while eating her pink wintergreen lozenges; the leathery, then papery crunch of autumn leaves under my feet as I walked home from elementary school on a golden afternoon. The past is a friend when I am a bag of nerves.
The present is probably the least easy place for me to inhabit. But this week that is where I have tried to live. We spent time with Tim and Mark last Friday, a last hurrah together before the mission. I didn’t take pictures, just mental ones. I have tried to be open to what the last week of regular life has brought to us. I watched Tim and Elder Josh Marz together in our front yard, talking and smiling on Josh’s last P-day before flying to his mission. I watched some shows with Mark who has a cold. I walked around a store and explored the Christmas aisles instead of just my usual in-and-out beeline to the things on my list.
We gather tomorrow for an outdoor goodbye party for Tim. On Sunday, he will speak in church and be set apart as a missionary. All the planning and work makes the present more enjoyable. My word of the month is SHINE. We’re ready.
We had three artists leave their work in the art gallery this week. The mama of these two boys had us smile for the camera and sent me these photos. This moment hearing the boys talk about their art was one of the highlights of my week.
I have opened a miniature art museum on my front porch. It delights me to find the children in the neighborhood are displaying their art here. I got the idea online and sent invitations to create pieces no bigger than a library card. Slowly, the art began to appear. Paige kindly contributed a piece early on just in case no one showed up. 
I have never “caught” anyone leaving art, and that is part of the fun. What will I discover in the museum today?
We have shell collections at our house, and this week I decided to use some as a canvas for art. Shells are beautiful on their own, but I think the extra pearl shine, decoupage, and gold accents make them something extraordinary. (The birds and leaves were printed on a napkin.) When I work with my hands, I am still enough in my mind to learn from the Spirit. This is one reason I think it’s so good to take time to create. Painting shells is how we celebrated Paige’s birthday. She also made some beautiful designs.
Summer goes by so quickly!
Easter weekend is here. The Sanchez family has been busy getting ready for the memorial for my grandmother. Mixed in with music practice, writing her life sketch, and other things, I have been editing pages of my dad’s memoir of his growing up years playing in the hills. Paige finished the illustrations for the last pages. Our goal was to finish by Easter, and we have done it. His book is a cross between The Hobbit, John Wayne Westerns, and Hardy Boys mystery books.
At times, it has been an escape to work on these stories. We included a map in the book. I think this is one of my favorite illustrations she did. The blog can’t do it justice.
We are celebrating being alive, celebrating those who have passed away, and celebrating the Savior’s Resurrection this weekend in the sunshine.
Richard is on the 9th or 10th day of his bout with COVID-19. We don’t know where he was exposed. The illness has a new character each day, but his oxygen levels have been fine, so I am grateful for that. He has stayed isolated from us, and no one else at home has tested positive. The worry I have felt is a small thing compared to what others have gone through with this illness so I hesitate to even mention it. I will say that although Richard’s case can be termed as “mild” and he has not complained, this is a different kind of illness and unpleasant at best.
What is helping us get through quarantine? Entertainment. Empathy from an employee of the attendance office at the high school. Dedicated teachers who make education happen. Surprises left on our porch from friends. Sunsets. For me, it helps to have routines I can do without thinking and something to look forward to each day. On Tuesday, it was the arrival of our 2020 photo book. I wrote before that creating this album helped me see that 2020 was a great year for the Ross family. God gives us eyes to see sometimes.