there's no place like gnome.

Here there are mountains. A cozy bar downstairs. Quirky decor. Friends. Snowshoes to rent. Must I leave?

It’s been a great time here at the Isaak Walton Inn in the middle of the wilderness. Alas, after a morning session tomorrow, we are heading back to Big Sandy for one more night before hopping back on the train. Le sigh.

Today we ate delicious breakfast, learned more about the book of Revelation, and ate lunch before renting snowshoes and heading out on the trails. We went on the untrodden paths; so untrodden and steep that we fell, slid, and had a mighty adventure. After an afternoon excursion*, we ate dinner and had one last session of learning before meeting at the bar for beer and games. (The bar is also where the wifi is.)

As per usual, photos do no justice to the majesty of the mountains. Seriously, beautiful. New life goal: Return to the Isaak Walton Inn. Stay for a week. Love every minute.

* word attributed to Joel. Thanks for being my thesaurus.

Paige and Joel too.

It’s still technically Friday in Montana and though I keep swaying and feeling as if I’m on a train, my feet are planted firmly in Big Sandy. In the spirit of Friday Favorites, here are my favorite things about train travel.

The people. This time around, Paige and I met a hugger, a hiker, and a woman who loved to ask questions. My favorite was the hugger. He was a grandpa-like character and traveling with his wife. He said he was collecting hugs. In fact, he wanted to write a book about the benefits of hugging. We ate lunch with them when, afterwards, he felt a deep connection to Paige through their love of Slovakia. He hugged Paige. THEN, after supper, he made his way from his table to ours to give us farewell hugs. He said he wished that his hug with Paige would last for twenty more minutes …

The time to play games, quilt, and catch up on episodes of The Bachelor.

Watching the countryside from the observation car.

Sleeping cars. Laying down flat is not overrated and dessert is covered with all of the meals.

Arrival. Our train ride was five hours longer than it should have been due to a train derailment the day before, heavy train traffic, and a detour route. We were quite happy to step off the train and be greeted by friends. We are here. Hurray.

No Friday Favorites last week. No Monday Morning Star Count. No other posts.

Life gets crazy, you know?

I subbed last Friday in a kindergarten class. It was fun. I counted a lot and helped redirect kiddos as they worked on their journals and number lines. One kid also told me about a nightmare he had; aliens tried to murder him with a fork.

Then I went bowling. Spent a Saturday sewing. Sunday morning worship and a visit from Sara and her pup, Kimber. We took a long walk in the sunshine and ate homemade waffles. Sherlock returned to PBS and then there was some more bowling. (One would think I would be getting good at the game; I am not.) Tuesday stressed me out like no other; ROG hosted the pastor conference gathering which meant I had to preach and lead worship in front of colleagues. Lindsay = complete ball of nerves. But, hey, I survived.

Now it is Wednesday night. We cancelled confirmation because of nasty cold, windy weather and while I love confirmation classes, I was slightly relieved. You see, I leave tomorrow night on a train bound for Montana and I had packing/laundry/cleaning to do. Paige and I are stopping in Havre to visit our friends, Joel and Melissa and Hannah and Harper, before we hop in a car with Joel to drive to Essex for a conference. All in all, it should be a fun winter learning adventure. Plus, it’s supposed to be in the upper 40s in Havre when we arrive; I won’t complain about that!

And so that is a summary of my crazy. My next post will be from Montana. Until then, stay warm, Midwest friends!

Mabel and Kimber

Saturday quilting. In progress …

A gift from the neighbor girl – a Sunday morning surprise!

My friend, Kim, always has wise words to offer.

Sewing Saturday – a case for my iPad mini.

It’s a leap year for Lindsay. We are only a couple weeks in and I’ve been taking some leaps.

I have been joining in an online quilting community with the MMStar Count blog posts and loving every minute of it.  What wonderful encouragement and inspiration around EPP.

I have taken some dating leaps. (*cough, cough*  Wasn’t expecting that, were you?) Nothing serious; just awkwardly testing the waters and, it appears, doing an awful lot of bowling.

I’ve been called in for my first sub job tomorrow.  It’s not a teacher position; I’ll be a para for two kindergarten rooms and will likely have recess duty.  I’ll take it!

Now, the true leap that inspiried this post – I signed up for a workshop with the Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild.

*gasp*

(You’re still stuck back on my dating leap, aren’t you? Do you rather wish this post was about that? Sorry to let you down; it’s not.)

I’ve wanted to join the Minneapolis MQG for a while now but it makes little sense to drive to the cities for the meetings. [Plus, I’m very intimidated by them and their lovely advanced quilting skills.]  But I still stalk them on facebook. That’s how I learned they were hosting a sewing workshop on scrap management on a Saturday in February.  It’s a bring-your-sewing-machine-and-we’ll-email-you-a-supply-list kind of workshop.  Probably with really, really good, experienced quilters.  And then there will be me, walking in with my case-less $99 Kenmore machine slung over my shoulder in a thirty-one tote.

Another perk – are you ready? – is that the workshop is led by Amanda Nyberg, co-author of Sunday Morning Quilts, a book which I own and cherish and from which my on-going gumdrop quilt comes.  [I can be a little star struck by quilt book authors, right?]

It is one step towards making more modern-quilt quilty friends, learning new modern-quilt quilty skills, and being brave enough to check out SewDown when it comes to Minneapolis this summer.

Leap, leap, leap.

And it’s my favorite for the week.

Now, if only I could create some sort of job that involves color, kids, social justice, the environment, writing, and the sewing of pretty fabric.  Hmm …

[Quote attributed to Fabienne Fredrickson.]

Last week, I joined Life Under Quilts for the beginning of a weekly link-up all about EPP projects.  I did it last week; thought I’d give it a go.  I openly admitted that I didn’t think I’d do it every week.  I’m not so great at sticking to a blogging schedule.

And yet, here I am again.  Want to know why?

I have always heard people say they’ve found community through their blogs.  About how they feel supported and make friends and all that.  I’ve never really explored joining the crafty/quilty blog world in such a way.  Until I joined the link-up last week.

I get it now.  Those of you who commented – thank you!  It was wonderful to hear your affirmations and support.  And it was so fun and inspiring to look at all of your projects!  As I sat and worked on my Union Jack quilt at night throughout the week, I thought of you.  [In a nice way; not a creepy way.  Promise.]  I thought, I have to work on this so I have some work to show on Monday!  And I enjoyed every minute of it.  By golly gee, this whole online-community-link-up-awesome-quilters-giving-support thing works.

Okay, enough of that.  [I have a tendency to be a big old sap.  Moving on.]  Onto the project.

I’ve been working on this quilt – my first hexie [hexies are 1 3/4”] quilt – for probably about four months now and it keeps growing.  I laid out all of the larger components last night to get a read on how it’s going … and I like it.  I have three and a half sections of blue to finish bordering with white hexies.  From there, it is strips of red in between them all.  I don’t have a tally exactly; I just know I’m almost there!  I can’t wait to add the red; I’m hopeful it will come together well.  The pattern then calls for a sewn border; I think I’ll have a hard time going back to my machine to do that part after growing so comfy sewing on the couch watching Sherlock!  [For the integrity of the quilt, I try to watch British programming while sewing.  That’s only half a joke.]

Here’s where we’re at:

JOY is my new favorite word.  I preached about it on Christmas Eve [“I bring you great tidings of great JOY”] and I just wrote the following for the local newspaper.  Writing my dues for the pastor’s column is usually slightly the bane of my existence but today it came relatively easily.

It’s that time again.  The time when we think about our goals and our resolutions for the coming year.  Are you the kind of person who makes resolutions?  Maybe to go to bed earlier.  To eat less sugar.  To send a piece of handwritten mail each week.  To [fill in the blank].  I used to set resolutions like that.  But then you know what?  I never ended up following them.  Instead of checking things off the resolution list and feeling better, I ended up feeling bad.  Like I had dropped the ball.  Like I had failed.  This year, I have chosen one over-arching goal for the new year.  For life.  I’m going to look for joy.  Notice that I didn’t say that I’m going to create joy.  Sure, I might, but mainly – I’m going to look for joy and then I’m going to call it out.  I’m going to name it.  I’m going to look for joy because within that joy we encounter God.  A French priest and philosopher, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, once said it this way: Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.  Joy exists all around us.  God’s presence is all around us.  In a smile, in excitement, in a conversation or reassuring touch.  In sharing a meal with people we love or people we’ve just met.  In a stranger’s greeting or a parting hug.  Where do you find joy in your everyday?  Can you name God’s presence in the ordinary joyful places of each hour?  That’s my resolution.  To look for joy and thereby be reminded of God’s presence all around, in the extraordinary and the ordinary.  Because joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.

I am just so in love with that quote.  I found it on an old bookmark that I picked up from someone’s discarded papers; I don’t even remember where.  It’s actually a bookmark to commemorate someone’s ordination.  On the back is the name of a pastor and date of ordination from the 1960s; on the front is the quote about joy.  I love it.  It hangs in my entryway.

Join me in naming joy this year?  So often we are convinced and told that we need to create joy or that joy is only found in happiness.  I think not completely either of those is true.  Joy is already here, in sad days and in happy days.  We just have to find it and call it like we see it.

Two posts in one day, Lindsay?  What gives?

Monday Morning Star Count, that’s what gives.

So it’s not Monday morning precisely, but I want to join in this fun link-up.  Jessica over at Life Under Quilts was one of the first bloggers/instagrammers I followed in regards to English paper piecing [aka the method by which I make and quilt hexagons] when I first became interested a couple months ago.  I received her book for Christmas which also has lots of great EPP tips and techniques.  Well…

Jessica is starting a Monday Morning Star Count – a weekly link-up to encourage and to show progress on EPP projects.  I want to play!  I might not play every Monday [We all know how my weekly Friday Favorites post has not been so weekly.] but every now and again, I hope to join the fun.  And so here I am, two posts in one day.

I continue to work on the Union Jack hexagon quilt from Hexa-Go-Go.  It’s my favorite thing at night to curl up and do on the couch.  I’m to the point where all of the blue sections are sewn together; I now am adding the white/cream borders to each section.  From there, it’s the red.  I find myself getting a little bored with the adding of the borders … I’m ready for some more color and am itching to get to the red!  I keep a stash of red squares to baste when I get really bored and need a little color in my life.  I have about 80 more hexagons to baste and then it’s just putting all the pieces together!

The top of my sewing kit – a green plastic storage container of sort -filled to the brim with the blue sections I’m working on.

A clearer view – minus the big blue sections.

The stool which holds the in progress pieces!

The sister leaves for Dublin.  My LITTLE sister.  How is she old enough and mature enough and adventurous enough to go to Ireland for a semester?!  Right about now, she’s on a bus taking her to O’Hare.  From there, it’s DC and finally Dublin by tomorrow morning.  I’m all nervous and excited for her!  Say a little prayer that travel for her goes safely without much delay or hassle.

And, hey, if you’re at all curious about her travels, check out her blog.  Her latest post features her travel itinerary and couple photos of the pillowcase Molly Bea and I made for her.  Family and friends signed the back of it; it turned out super fun.  Oh, yeah, there are also some photos of my siblings and I.  Let’s not get into the shenanigans that was that photo shoot …