17
May

Mothers / Ma’s – ‘n wonder en omgee

Die is vir al die mammas wat hulle sterre vries op die metaal
paviljoen by die rugby of krieket wedstryd in plaas daarvan om dit van
die warmte van die kar sitplek af te kyk sodat as die outjie vra “Het
ma dit gesien” dan kan jy antwoord “Maar natuurlik, ek sal dit vir
niks in die wêreld mis nie” en dit bedoel uit hulle harte uit.
Dit is vir al die mammas wat honger bly sodat hulle kinders kan eet.
Dit is vir al die mammas wat hulle seuns leer kook en hulle dogters
leer om ‘n goeie opstopper te kan gee.
Dis is vir elke moeder wie se kop outomaties draai as hulle ‘n
stemmetjie hoor “mamma” sê in ‘n winkel al het hulle nie hulle kinders
saamgebring nie – of hulle sit ver weg in die kollege
Dit is vir mammas wie se kinders die pad byster geraak het, en die wat
nie bereik kan word nie.
Vir al die mammas wat hull lippe byt tot dit bloei vir die 14 jarige
wat nou weer haar hare groen gaan kleur het.
Wat maak ‘n goeie Moeder in elk geval?
Is dit geduld?
Is dit deernis?
Is dit die breedte van die heupe?
Is dit die vaardigheid om terselfdertyd ‘n baba te voed, kos te kook
en ‘n knoop aan te werk?
of is dit net eenvoudig haar HART?
Is dit die pyn wat jy voel as jy jou seun of dogter sien verdwyn om
die hoek oppad skooltoe – alleen – vir die eerste keer?
Is dit die paniek – jare later, om 2 uur in die oggend, as
jy wakker lê en wag om die gerustellende geluid van die sleutel in die
voordeur te hoor en te weet nou kan jy slaap, hulle is veilig onder jou
vlerk terug?
Of is dit die gevoel om te hardloop en jou kind ‘n drukkie te gaan gee
as jy hoor van ‘n brand, ‘n kar ongeluk, of ‘n kind wat sterwend is?
En ouer mammas wat moet leer om te laat gaan.
Vir werkende mammas en vir by-die-huis mammas.
Enkel mammas en getroude mammas.
Mammas met geld en mammas sonder geld.
Dit is vir julle almal. Vir ons almal. “HANG IN THERE”
Op die ou end doen ons die beste na ons vermoë.
Vertel hulle elke dag dat jy lief is vir hulle en vir hulle bid

“GOD catches you when you fall – and we all fall.”

 

Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal
human being to do the impossible.
~Marion C. Garretty

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13
May

my drawing journey …

I came across the book by Cliff Wright “The magic of drawing”.

I paged through it, bought it and is now working through the exercises – keeping strictly to the time frame suggested for each drawing.

The results :

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Observation exercise using a feather :

Before I show my drawings, the poem by Nathalie Brewer on page 30 caught my attention :

A weightless bond of hidden words
whispers a soaring song
which climbs across the mists
to a land where flight belongs

Alight all creatures of air and wind
arise in shards of light
Your destiny lives in the sky
to lift our earth-bound sight

to remind us that this life
will fall and pass us by
to remind us that the air we breathe
also helps you fly

I wait with palms face upward
in case you drop a hair
For by catching a piece of your flight
I too can taste the air

quick drawings without looking at the paper, drawing 2

drawing 1, 3, 4

The feather also reminded me of the unforgetable film Forest Gump.

I will continue the exercises and post here to show my progress.

Now a little play-around with water colours : my lips are sealed!

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27
April

The whole secret is being pliable

“‘The world is so full of a number of things,
I am sure we should all be as happy as kings’.

The world is full of hapiness, and plenty to go round, if you are only willing to take the kind that comes your way. The whole secret is being pliable

- Jean Webster in Daddy-Long-Legs -

A thought for us to live by in anything we do and want.

This labrador of us (she is 11 years old) always sleeps in the entrance or sometimes in front of our bed. But with the mornings and evenings being crisp and a little cold, I found her the other morning in the lounge on the couch. It seems that she is getting old and the bones a bit cold and, therefore she seeked a warmer and softer bed. I felt sorry for her and let her be. Now we make her a soft bed each evening in the lounge and she is quietly happy and content (and we are spared the unexpected, unpleasant aromas in our bedroom late at night).

KYUU – a knit for me by me . . .
pattern designed by Kisten Johnstone

Early morning with my first cup of coffee I started on a cardigan for me to drive away the autumn/early winter cold.
The cardigan is a size to big. I’m not quiet sure how it happened, because it is knitted in the size that normally fits me well.
I have read a few times about how knitters commented that the yarn, which they used, did indeed grow. I was wondering what it means or whether this happened with my knitting in this case.

 

 

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7
April

on children – Kahlil Gibran

In my previous post I showed a cardigan that I knitted for Lize.

She tried it on and allowed me to take a few photos and then told me in quiet simple words that she does not like the cardigan. I can give it to her but she will NOT wear it.

It is now in my Etsy shop for sale.

During the past week I read writings by Kahlil Gibran. The following phrase held my attention and captured my thoughts as I brooded over Lize, her likes and dislikes :

“Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls,  for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday. You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth. The Archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far. Let your bending in the Archer’s hand be for gladness; For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.”

Then I started on another cardigan for Lize – a more plain gartner stitch cardigan, the Annabel cardigan (see the
Ravelry page). This time I hit the nail on the head – she loves it and wore it already although the buttons is still absent. She fastened it with one of my stitch holders and it looked quite stylish. I made two adaptations to the cardigan : (i) knitted the sleeves longer and shortened the body with a few centimeters and (ii) ran out of yarn and used a lighter colour on the last few centimeters. I love the feel and style of the cardigan with the colour switch, evidently Lize does also.

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