slideshow of embroidery projects

I have set up a slideshow of some of the embroidery projects I have made in the last 3 1/2 years. Here is the link to view it:

http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa105/r_d_landon/SWG%20Projects/?action=view¤t=f4948b4d.pbw


When Jonathan gets back from Kuwait, hopefully he will have some time to set them up on the website in a nicer format. But for now, I thought you might enjoy seeing them.

News from the Sandbox

Jonathan reports in an email shortly after he arrived in Kuwait 2 weeks ago:

"The weather is brutal. Ever heard anyone say "Yes, but it's a dry heat"?So what?! At 120 degrees, it doesn't MATTER whether it's a dry heat. Ever stick your head in a dry oven? Well, there you have it.

Tomorrow I will be in a convoy (about four hours) in an up-armored Hummer to get to the base where the training will happen. The scenery is totally uninspiring. It's all flat sand. And trash. No hills, trees, rivers, ponds, etc."
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And then in an email he sent on Wednesday, after he had arrived at the training site:

"As we say in the Army "NSTR" (Nothing Significant to Report) - except that I'm alive and well, and resting in God's grace... which IS pretty significant. :-) The command post is almost ready and soon we'll go to 24-hour operations for this training exercise.

Still waiting for all the communications connections to be finished, and we're starting section training that will contribute to success in the whole endeavor."
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When I was able to chat with him today (Friday), he says they are now on 12 hours shifts and the training is going smoothly, but it's long and boring.

He's also gotten a new haircut, as you can see from the snapshot from the web camera.

Noah's Ark

Check out this website. It shows a life size replica of the ark, built by a Dutch man. It's pretty impressive. If you want to see a slide show of the inside with life-size models of animals, click the button on the upper right hand corner of the home page.

http://www.pbase.com/paulthedane/noahs_ark

Gymnastics like you've never seen before

My sister sent me this link. If you appreciate humor and gymnastics, go watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EO_BnsrWMnI

Stoles for new deacons

Jonathan and I made these stoles for the newest deacons in our church_Scott & Joe. (Thank you to Joanne for taking the photos and sending them to me.) .

The style of these stoles is in the Byzantine or Eastern style of deacon's stoles. In Greek it is called an orarion.

The designs used are a descending dove with rays of light behind it (on the shoulder) and three pointed flames. The designs and the color red are used to symbolize Pentecost and the work of the Holy Spirit. These designs were created by Jonathan.

The differences in the sizes and placements of the flames is due to the individual preferences of the deacons wearing the stole.

If you want to read more about vestments- you can go here: http://www.byzantines.net/moreinfo/vestments.htm

Pantry Cabinet

While my mother-in-law was here for a visit in July, she helped me to build this cabinet. We used some old shutters I had for the doors. It took us about 4 days to complete- partly because it took awhile in the heat & humidity for the stain and glue to set up correctly. I don't think I could have completed this by myself. It took a lot more engineering than the magazine article I found that gave me the idea!

The inserts in the doors are filled with some wallpaper I had picked up somewhere (and was just sitting in the garage with all the other stuff that's waiting to be sorted.)

There is a board that goes under the edge of the doors,where the gap is, but I still need to make some holes in the back of it so that the shelf supports will fit.

I had been storing the extra food in the garage, but the mice had discovered it. This week, I finished moving up the last of the cans and got the pantry and the kitchen cupboards rearranged so things fit and can be (hopefully) easily found. I hope this will make it easier for me to figure out what I need to buy and stop getting duplicates and forgetting about other things! And it will save us from having to run up and down the stairs to get the ingredients for a meal (except when we need something from the freezers.)

Serving at Mass

These photos were just sent to me from our priest. They are being used in a press release advertising our church here in Georgia. Thought you'd like to see them too.