Sunrise Sunset

April treats us to both warm and cool days. All are beautiful in their own way. A robin builds a nest up high in the birch outside my window. The male accompanies her as she flies back and forth with nest-building materials.

This April we attended a celebration in honor of my uncle's hundredth birthday. Although he is frail physically, his mind is sharp as a tack. He and his wife of 97 continue to live independently. At his party, they greeted a large group of family and friends. After dinner, he thanked his family and guests for their presence and told a little anecdote about the number of heartbeats in one hundred years. He participated in a Q and A with his six grandchildren. They shared a memory and asked him a question about his life and times. As an adult, this gentle man created and ran his own milking equipment and dairy barn building business. During that time, he invented a device to make life easier for dairy cattle and their farmers. He continues to be a presence in the lives of  his community, church, and family. We were honored to help him celebrate one hundred years. The next day we met my brother and sister-in-law at my sister and brother-in-law's home for brunch. We were joined by a niece and husband who are expecting a new baby in August. The family connections as well as the sunrise and sunset of these two lives made for a memorable Easter weekend.

My shoulder is nearly healed and I am knitting more stitches. This shawl is finished and I like it. I surely enjoyed knitting with the yarn. I omitted the tassels as I am not a tassel kind of girl. The picot edge is enough of a feminine touch for me. I cast on a wee little cardigan for my niece's baby. When using the Madtosh Merino Light yarn for other projects, I learned that it stands up to ripping and re-knitting so this will make a sweet but wearable sweater. 

I continue to reread books from my shelves. This week I am midway through The Forest Lover, a novel of historical fiction about Emily Carr, a Canadian woman artist. I am enjoying the story of this independent woman determined to be come an artist and paint the totem poles of Native Americans before they are lost. According to this story, Carr showed a good deal of respect for the indigenous people.

As I link to Kat and the Unravelers, the robin couple is still working. Rather the female is building and male is keeping watch. Above them, the sky is clear and blue. I plan to walk today and then pull a few weeds from the flower bed along the fence. The lilacs have buds and bleeding heart is blooming. They both need room to grow. Enjoy your week.