Shawls

In an hour, Samantha Rose is coming over to spend the day with Granny. I think a stroll around the neighborhood is in order before her morning nap. This is a busy day. Bill and Jeff are off to Brazil this morning and our house guest is going to Missouri. Kelli and the girls are popping over so that Samantha doesn't have to ride to and from the airport. So after my airport run, I'll bring some grown up lunch back for Kelli and I and we'll hang around the three little lambs all afternoon. Guess what? Kelli found out that her baby due in December is . . . a girl! Am I not the most blessed granny? We shall have six princesses and one prince (oh, little Finnegan - he is such a good sport!)


Below is my fun friend, Ronda picking Reve's cherries. Reve has this gorgeous cherry tree in her front garden and she and her husband decided that they did not find it necessary to eat a cherry pie, so Ronda (who does find it necessary to eat a cherry pie) came over for a pick. Brad (our precious oldest son) stopped in because he came down to Denver to meet with his mentor and he picked, too. I actually planned to shoot photos but I helped pick. I've always been a bad picker of berries. I think it's my distracted nature. We found enough to fill the container and I've not yet heard if the pie is made.

Later, after coffee on the patio with Ronda, Brad, Bill, and I went out for a delicious hamburger lunch. It is so rare that we have the opportunity to enjoy a meal with just one of our children (the whole gang is so much fun!) and I felt so appreciative because I love my babies so much. All of our kids are in their 20's now. Time flies.

Okay, so on to the topic bouncing around in my mind today . . . shawls. This morning as Bill and I were having our coffee talk, I pulled the closest fleecy blanket around my shoulders. My mother often encouraged us to cover our shoulders, keep our necks warm, prevent chills and being a bouncy kid, I found this tedious. However, now I understand. We carry burdens on our shoulders. We often carry our stress in our necks and upper arms. Finally, I get it. The nurturing feeling of warm shoulders is a deep luxury. Women have used shawls for centuries, sweetly and wisely caring for themselves. A friend gave me the prayer veil below. It's very fancy, isn't it? I've put it on to pray. It's a little ritual that is pretty "beyond me" holy, for sure.

The same friend brought me this wrap from India. She also had a salwar kameez made for me there and it matches this shawl.

When I was participating in a spiritual direction group a few years ago, one of the ladies brought a shawl along (it was chilly in the room at church) and she said it was her security blanket. She slept with it. It was pretty and cuddly looking so I decided to make myself a shawl. I found some super soft yarn (thanks to a yarn store gift certificate) and knit the dishcloth-y shawl below. I've worn it to bed, wrapped Samantha in it, and used it to wrap around the shoulders of my big teddy bear simply because he looks cute in it. And it's a good thing. Shawls are important. I've read about shawl ministries and you can research that if you want to, but it's the simplicity of the shawl that I find most comforting.

Just yesterday, while watching episodes of Hazel, I decided to wind my huge skeins of New Zealand wool into balls. It took four episodes of Hazel to pull this off. This morning, I dug up my shawl book, my Knitting for Peace book, and placed them in a basket with the big balls of creamy wool, because I am going to THINK about making a larger shawl to warm my shoulders during the school year, when I need physical and emotional support. I'll let you know if THINKING leads to doing in the near future.

Do you have a shawl? Does someone you know or remember use a shawl? What comes to mind when you ponder shawls?

Thank you for popping in today to read and think about the same thing I'm thinking about. (BIG FAT HUG!)