Getting past Covid and closer to Jesus

It has been a long time since I have shared my life with you, it's been a long time coming and I am so excited to be writing again. Life has been very hectic the last few years but I would like to share a few of the highlights. I've experienced a few birthdays, cried a few tears and have been on some very fun trips with my friend Sharon. But the most exciting thing I have to share with you is the fact that during Christmas I contacted Covid. Exciting you say, getting Covid during Christmas? What is wrong with this person. I know it does sound a bit ridiculous I admit. But hear me out. It was a time when I experienced Jesus in ways I never did before. In December, 2023 I did contact Covid, mind you I had every vaccine and booster that was required of me. Still I contacted it, I don't get it. Anyway, I belong to a group in our church called the "Joy" group. It's a bunch of women that get together and just share life, prayers, and praises that sort of thing every Thursday afternoon. We even take field trips to different places during the summer warmer months. Right now we are helping the Childrens minister do some craft projects for the upcoming Vocational Bible School in July. So, before Christmas we had a potluck and we all gathered and shared a meal together. After this very fun and enjoyable event nine of us contacted Covid. Oh what a sad time it was. Not getting to see my family during this very special holiday. I was devastated, but tried to keep my chin up. I personally have never been this sick in my life. The fever was aweful and lack of appetite, smell, taste you name it I had it. I was down for about three weeks. My other symptoms were cough cold and as mentioned a fever. I never get a fever so it really wore me out. I could take the sickness, I just had the hardest time not seeing my family, my son and his wife and grandchildren. That was the saddest time for me. So during this time alone, I really wasn't. I spent more time with Jesus every morning. I read, prayed and just felt his love and comfort during the whole time. I experienced His peace like never before. I had more time to read and found a book on how to get closer to God, that was really enlightening. So during my bad situation I was experiencing, I also experienced God's amazing love and comfort. He turned the bad into good. I am so grateful for this, I now feel His presence surrounding me especially during the tough days. He lifts and encourages me to keep on keepin' on. 2023 ended with sickness, but 2024 began with God's glory. Jesus gets all the Praise because through this sickness Jesus healed me in so many ways. I now feel more loved, annointed, blessed, redeemed because I am the daughter of the King of King and Lord of Lords. Every day I wake up knowing no matter what comes my way, Jesus will be with me. His Holy Spirit will guide me and everything is going to be alright. I had to share my Christmas story with you in hopes that if you are not sure about Jesus or our Heavenly Father, you will BELIEVE! He is real, and he loves you so much enough to give His son Jesus for you. So if you will give your life to him and BELIEVE in Him and repent of your sins, you will be saved and have eternal life. That my friend is the good news. I hope it will spread like wildfire! God Bless you and keep you in God's amazing grace everyday! Blessings - Mary

Hello there, art lovers! I am thrilled to introduce you to my latest creation, "Serenity Through Wood". This artwork is a captivating photo that captures the essence of a serene sunset at the beach.

As you gaze upon the image, you will be transported to a vibrant sunset scene, where the sun is a blazing orb dipping into the horizon. The sky above is a stunning gradient of fiery oranges and mellow yellows, reflecting on the wet sand and rippled waters. In the foreground, a piece of driftwood with a distinctive hole frames the sunset, adding a unique and artistic touch to the overall composition.

What inspired me to create this artwork, you may wonder? Well, it was a walk along the beach in Ocean Shores during the setting sunlight that sparked the idea for this piece. The beauty of nature never fails to inspire me, and I wanted to capture that feeling of serenity and drama in one picture.

One of the unique aspects of creating this artwork was the process itself. To capture the perfect shot, I had to lay down on the beach and carefully position myself to frame the sunset through the hole in the log. It was a challenging yet rewarding experience that allowed me to truly appreciate the beauty of the moment.

I hope that "Serenity Through Wood" resonates with you as much as it does with me. It is a reminder to pause, take a deep breath, and appreciate the natural wonders that surround us. Let this artwork bring a sense of peace and tranquility into your space.

Thank you for joining me on this artistic journey. Stay tuned for more creations that celebrate the beauty of the world around us. Until next time, stay inspired! If you would like to purchase the photo, click on the photograph, this will take you to my pixels website. Blessings!🌅🖼️
 

Happy Fall Y'all!

 Isn't it wonderful, the trees are changing color and the crisp clean air feels cool and refreshing. I love summer but give me fall all year long and I'd be a happy camper.  

My post today will be to share some insight from a book I am presently reading by Joyce Meyer titled "Living a Life You Love".  Now the title caught my attention, because don't we all want to live that kind of life? At least I do.  In this book she clearly encourages us to live out God's promises in our lives.  Instead of living in the past and being stuck there, like we often do, God's hope for a bright future is waiting for us for the taking, but all we have to do is look forward and not backwards.  I have started to do some of the things that she suggests in this book and I am seeing God's amazing role play out in my daily everyday life. I find myself not thinking of my past hurts, or even what others have done or said about me, which I used to do frequently.  I am more focused on today and the present and the amazing things God is doing thru me.

She goes on to say, that when we focus on the good things God has done for us, instead of the trouble or trials we maybe facing, nothing on this earth can steal our joy.  This book is a reminder to all of us to be thankful, and not to complain, even though the flesh will want to.  Also to focus on the positive things not the negative events of the day, and there will be times when there will be more negative then positive, do not be weary and faint not, but hold steadfast, God always gives us a way out. 

I would like God to use me more to bless others, and as long as I am stuck in the past and having pity parties, I am useless.  So, my future is bright, and I am looking forward to what He has in store for me.  This book is a wonderful refresher course and reminder of spiritual basics for us all.

Check out her book at any library, I use the Libby app on my phone, it's great.  I can check out books from my local library without physically doing so.  Then you have about 3 weeks in which to read the book then return it to the shelf.  I love it.  

Now, to the crafty part of my blog.  I am going to share my crochet "Fingerless Gloves" pattern with you. So grab some coffee or tea and lets get started.  

 

 

My Crochet Fingerless Gloves Pattern

Materials: 1 skein 100% acrylic sports yarn or yarn of choice ( I used Caron Party Yarn)

Size "I" or 5.5 mm crochet hook

Plastic sewing needle

Half Pearl or white buttons (2)

Single crochet = sc

Slip stitch = slst

Half Double Crochet = hdc

Double Crochet = dc

Treble Crochet = trc

Woman's size:

• Chain 30 - leaving a long tail for sewing together the gloves
• Row 1: Sc to end, chain 1 turn - 28 sc made
• Continue row 1 until piece measures 6-1/2" or 13 single crochet rows.  This will be the width of the gloves.  Sew the sides together leaving a 1-1/2" opening for the thumb.  Be sure to weave yarn securely through each stitch, then tie and cut off yarn.
• Make 2 - Crochet flower (see instructions below)

Teen's size:

• Chain 28 leaving a tail
• Row 1: Sc to end, chain 1 turn - 26 sc made
• Continue row 1 until piece measures 5-1/2". 
• Sew up sides leaving 1" opening
• Make 2

Child's size:

• Chain 26 leaving a tail
• Row 1: Sc to end, chain 1 turn - 24 sc made
• Continue row 1 until piece measures 5"
• Sew up sides leaving 3/4" opening
• Make 2

Crochet Flower:  Chain 3, slp st to 1st sc.  Make 10 sc in center.  Slst to first sc. (Chain 3, skip sc then slst into next chain, chain 3) do this until you have completed 5 loops, these are the petals. Slst in 1st loop, then hdc, dc, trc, dc,hdc,slst. Continue this in each loop until you have completed the 5 loops, then tie off.  Sew onto gloves at the location of your choice.  Place the pearl button in the center of the flower.  Your done! Easy and fast to crochet.  These make wonderful gifts for family or friends during our chilly winter months. If you want the pattern in PDF format, just click below the picture to my Etsy Shop. 

Well, until next time, be safe and keep God first place in your life and you cannot go wrong - ever!

Blessings

Mary

 

 
   






























































   

     





Pray for the firefighters!

 Today I received a very scary alert on my phone, it took me back a bit.  It was a fire emergency evacuation alert for the Bolt Creek Fire near Skykomish.  This is a few hours away from where I live and it brought the fires even closer to home for me.  I am asking for a special prayer today for all the fire fighters out there that are risking their lives to put out these fires.  I guess this particular fire has already burned 2500 acres as of Saturday Sept. 10th.  It is probably much larger by now.  We are surrounded by fires here in the Pacific Northwest it seems with Oregon, Idaho and California there are so many it's no wonder we are having very bad air quality and even bad haze in the sky.  We are all in need of God's helping hands.

Dear Heavenly Father, we place everyone that is helping in fighting the fires in your hands.  Protect them and give them the courage and strength to do the job before them.  Keep all the families in hams way safe and comforted in these trying and dangerous times.  We ask these things in Jesus name - Amen. 

Well, today I want to introduce to you my "Cozy Girls Knitted Fingerless Gloves" pattern, so easy and you can whip these up in no time.  Hope you get to make tons of these before Christmas, they make very nice gifts for the gals in your family.

Materials:  1 skein 100% acrylic sports yarn (Caron Simply Soft) works great

Size 6.5 US or 4mm knitting needles

Plastic sewing needle - and pearls (optional)

Woman's Size:

Cast on 36 stitches onto needle

Knit each row until piece measures approximately 6.5'

Sew up sides leaving about 1-1/2' hole for thumb. Ties off and weave in ends.  Make 2

Teen's Size:

Cast on 32 stitches

Knit each row until piece measures approx. 6"

Sew up sides leaving 1" hole for thumb.  Tie off and weave in ends.  Make 2

Child's Size:

Cast on 28 stitches

Knit each row until piece measures approx. 5.5"

Sew up sides leaving a 1" hole for thumb.  Tie off and weave in ends.  Make 2

 If you would like to have this in a printed PDF please go to my Etsy Shop.  I am offering 50% off my "knit and crochet" patterns all this month.  Do pass this along to others, I would love the company!

May God's face shine upon you and keep you and your family safe always.

Blessings

Mary

 

Good bye August - Hello September!

Fall is in the air here in Washington. Happy Labor day to everyone out there, hope you get to enjoy time with family and friends and have a fun day off. I love warm weather but the cool days we have been experiencing have been a God send. So very blessed to live on Whidbey Island, is a bit cooler most of the year, but it's beautiful and I would not change that for anything in the world. 

Now, as promised in my last post, I am going to share a "free" crochet pattern, of my "Cowboys colors crochet kindle cozy". It's also available on my Etsy Shop as well, if you prefer to have one to print out in PDF format.  But for everyone else - hear is the pattern:

"Cowboys colors crochet Kindle Cozy"

• Materials: Crochet hook H 
  
• Plastic or wooden button and Star applique (optional)
  
• Large plastic sewing needle 
• Dark Blue 4 ply yarn (about a 1/4 skein for each color) 
• White 4 ply yarn
  
• Gray 4 ply yarn 
• Sc - single crochet
• Slp st - slip stitch
  

SC—Single crochet throughout every row including foundation row Slp st with the dark blue color chain 20, this is your foundation row, then sc in second chain from hook and crochet to end, making 2 sc in last stitch of that row, then continue on to the other side sc in each chain to end and finish with 2 sc in last one. From here on in you will be crocheting in the round and sc in both loops of stitch. You should have 30 stitches at this point and throughout. Make sure to use a stitch marker if you need to.

• Rows 1-8: Using dark blue sc for 8 rows in the round then change to gray color 
• Rows 9-12: Using gray yarn sc for 4 rows, then change to white color 
• Rows 13-16: With white yarn sc 4 rows, change to dark blue 
• Rows 17-20: With drk blue yarn sc 4 rows, then change to gray 
• Rows 21-22: With gray - sc 2 rows, then change to white 
• Rows 23-24: With white sc 2 rows, then change to dark blue 
• Rows 25-28: With drk blue sc 3 rows, then when you are on the backside of the 4th row, stop at the 8th stitch, then chain 13 (this is the button holder). Then slp st back into the very first chain, and continue sc across to the last stitch and end at the left hand side before the curve of the kindle edge fold. 
• Sew your button accordingly making sure the kindle will be snug in place. Try it out first before applying the button. Be sure to weave in all the different yarns and tie them off nicely. Depending on how you change colors, I keep my colors connected as I crochet this saves on yarn and there is less waste. 
• Finally, if you have a star applique it’s time to place that on where ever you would like. I used a star with some gems so it really sparkles. You can even use the actual Cowboys Star applique if you like. I don’t iron it on I use all purpose glue. Be sure to let it dry over night before using your kindle cozy. I also place a heavy object on the applique so that it will not move while drying. There you have it. A really fun and easy project, if you are a Cowboys fan you are going to love showing it off and telling everyone that your team is it! Remember you can use any colors or even change the number of rows for each color—the sky is the limit, just have fun!

I do hope you will try crocheting one for yourself and show off those true blue colors of the Dallas Cowboys. If you need any help whatsoever with the pattern please email me at (gainesmary@hotmail.com) and I will do my best to answer any questions or concerns you may have. 

Have a blessed day!

It's summer time on Whidbey - yeah!

Hello everyone, it has been way too long since I posted on here. Life got in the way.  But, I am happy to report that even though I miss my hubby very much, I realize moving on is the best thing for me to do and he would want that for me too.

So, here I am living in my new place, which is much smaller than my other beautiful home, but I feel so blessed and secure.  I also have my sister living with me now who is a blessing to me, she is also very crafty and loves football - LOL.  We have a lot in common and are enjoying our time together creating some very cool stuff especially now during football season.  Knitting and watching football is a girls dream day!

We have both started making crafts for Christmas and the upcoming holidays.  She also makes beautiful jewelry such as beaded bracelets, they are simply gorgeous.  Her crochet dolls are so adorable. As for me, I am doing a little bit of everything.  I love crocheting and knitting so those are on the top of the list.  Then there is my new cricut machine I purchased a few months ago, please don't get me started.  This thing is amazing, I just love how you can cut vinyl and make gorgeous welcome signs, keychains and ornaments.  I still dabble in my art and photography, those two are my first loves.  

We've taken some of our handiwork to a local shop called Whimsies.  It's a fun shop, the owner and her daughter are very crafty and make really nice mosaic items such as crosses, mirrors and other fun stuff.  We are totally honored she will feature our crafts as well.  If you happen to live in Oak Harbor do stop in and take a look, you will be glad you did. 

My sister Bea and me

My photography canvas prints

 

Fall Welcome Sign at my Etsy Shop

God has been busy with me the last few years.  After Larry's passing everything changed for me. I sold my beautiful home, I moved in with my friend Mary for a while during my search for a new home. Then I flew to Missouri to pick up my sister Bea and we were off on a road trip back to Washington.  It was a blast.

I believe this was God's plan, I have learned to fully trust Him in this new stage of my life.  He knows best for me, He has been so faithful through it all.  I certainly could not have done all this on my own. "I can do all things in Christ who gives me strength".  I am also very thankful for my family and friends and all their support during my time of grief. 

But now, it's so good to have the desire to write and create again and be able to share it with you.  Thank you Jesus - couldn't do it without you. Thanks for reading my post today, I will try my best to post more often.  I also pray you are all doing well and that God is also working in your lives too.  

Happy Fall - Y'all and God Bless! 

P.S. My future posts will have some cool free crochet patterns I want to share with you! See you soon!

I love you Larry - see you in Heaven!

This is how I will always remember my love - Larry of 22 years.  His smile was so contagious and his heart was so full of love.  Larry had been very sick for many years, with heart issues, pulmonary issues, kidney and liver disease.  The last 6 years were the hardest times I have ever gone through.  For Larry it was heartbreaking.  When Covid hit, which is when he started to go down hill very quickly, he was devastated at the idea of not going anywhere.  It was getting harder for him to walk so he walked with a walker.  He was also having a paracentesis performed every 2 weeks at the hospital, which is fluid removal from the stomach.  This was due to the heart not working properly and fluid backing up in his body.  Life became very tough for the both of us.  Then early signs of dementia were starting to appear as well.  He had the type where early evening he would begin to get restless and anxious after dinner, sometimes he didn't even want to eat.  I didn't know what to do except to pray a lot.

The day of Oct. 12th, 2020 came it was a Monday and he had a scheduled procedure of the fluid removal at the hospital.  That morning he didn't want to get out of bed.  He told me it was useless to go and get the fluid removed because he was going to be with the Lord very soon.  I of course said "oh honey, you still have a long time here on this earth".  I have always been the encourager, always trying to give him HOPE! Well I finally talked him into going.  He got up had a very small breakfast, half of an avocado.  I got him showered and ready to go.  My neighbor Rich had to come over to help me with him down the three stairs we have into the garage and got him in the car.  He's done that many times and I sure appreciated his help. 

We left and Larry didn't look very good when he got in the car.  He looked super tired so I drove off and a little while later I noticed his head dropped.  I thought he had fallen asleep.  I started talking to him and nothing.  I shook him and nothing.  My God, what is happening.  I was driving near Deception Pass by this time and I started crying.  I knew what had happened, he had fallen asleep for good.  I was in such a state of shock I didn't know what to do.  First thing I thought of was to call 911, but that would mean stopping on the side of a very dangerous road and possibly getting into an accident.  So I decided to keep driving to the nearest hospital which was Island Hospital.  I sobbed the whole way there.  When I got there I rushed into the emergency and asked for someone to please help me with my husband.  They quickly brought a stretcher out and a few of the staff lifted him out of the car onto the stretcher and they started CPR.  I asked them if he had a pulse, they said no, if he had a heart beat, they said no.  I said then stop.  Don't do anything else.  These were the hardest words I have ever had to say. 

The rest was a blur. I did remember giving him one last kiss and held his hand and said good bye my love.  I will see you in heaven.  We had so many wonderful years together and the last few were so hard on him.  I know he is in a better place now because God has given me peace about his leaving.  I did all I could to make his life as comfortable as I could.  He was loved, he was valued and most of all he loved me.