G graduated this week (today would be the ceremony on campus) with his M.Div from Southeastern. He put in four and half years into this degree on campus and some of the coursework overseas. He started his degree just two months after returning from two years of service in South America and during his studies, he: worked nearly full-time with a full load of classes, got adjusted to America again, got married mere months later, lost a child, became a sole breadwinner, had a child born, lost his job, remained jobless for 6 months before getting his job back, endured a major upheaval of pulling up roots and moving across the Atlantic to another continent, adjusted to life overseas and learning the language while taking classes all along. What perseverance in face of all the crazy life events.
My husband is pretty amazing.
Another important man in my life is my dad. He's also graduating today! He is getting his Ph.D from Southern. My dad had a pretty radical call about ten or eleven years ago and following the call, he gave up a comfortable life in sunny Florida and moved to Louisville, KY to endure the icy, dreary winters there. He worked hard, excelling in his classes, completing his M.Div, then his Th.M, and now, after four years of Ph.D work, he will walk across the stage to get his hood just a few hours as I write this and will now have "Doctor" in front of his name. Did I mention that my dad aced in every category in his oral defense of his dissertation, which is rare?
When I say my dad is brilliant, he. is. brilliant.
Congratulations, G and Daddy!
Friday, May 18, 2012
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
My Sewing Corner
Lots of people are like me: they like to sew and have no space so they sew on the dining room table and put away the machine and supplies in a closet. When we moved here, G kept asking if I would like to set up a corner for sewing in the living room since it's a very spacious living room (it basically has three areas: dining area, a conversation area, and a TV corner with a couple of armchairs). I didn't want my sewing paraphernalia in sight so I kept the usual custom of storing in a closet and used the dining room table.
Then, it became a chore, after putting A to bed at 8pm every night and cleaning up dinner, to get my machine and tools out, set up the machine, running back to the closet every time I forgot something while sewing, and to put all the stuff away by bedtime. It was a hassle and I was losing interest. I was going long bouts without sewing. I began to feel starved of a creative, productive outlet.
I finally unbent and said I was willing to part with some money to set up a sewing corner in our bedroom. It's also a pretty spacious room. The original bedroom furniture arrangement left a lot of inefficient, dead space so we rearranged our bed and wardrobes to free up a great deal of space along an entire wall.
Then, we went to Ikea to get a cheap but sturdy table, a chair, seat cushion, and a desk lamp for less than a hundred dollars. I needed my table to double as the sewing table and cutting table so we got the perfect size. The table is unfinished pine and I plan to paint it white as a noncompeting backdrop for fabric and matching colors together.
So, I claimed a corner of our bedroom by the window for my sewing space. The desk lamp clamps onto the table so I don't need to use any surface space for the lamp base. I love the natural light from the window but it's most likely I will be sewing at night.
We had an unused TV stand that we'd inherited as part of the household of furniture and appliances we bought from another family to set up our home last summer. I turned it into a shelf of sorts to hold my fabric, supplies, tools, rulers, etc. within easy reach of my sewing machine, perpendicular to the sewing table.
I'm pleased with my sewing corner and I hope to add some shelves on the wall or a pretty board to tack things onto.
(We plan to paint all the bedrooms. They're a dreadful dark, gold/mustard color that I've tried to get used to but after 9 months, I still hate it.)
Then, it became a chore, after putting A to bed at 8pm every night and cleaning up dinner, to get my machine and tools out, set up the machine, running back to the closet every time I forgot something while sewing, and to put all the stuff away by bedtime. It was a hassle and I was losing interest. I was going long bouts without sewing. I began to feel starved of a creative, productive outlet.
I finally unbent and said I was willing to part with some money to set up a sewing corner in our bedroom. It's also a pretty spacious room. The original bedroom furniture arrangement left a lot of inefficient, dead space so we rearranged our bed and wardrobes to free up a great deal of space along an entire wall.
Then, we went to Ikea to get a cheap but sturdy table, a chair, seat cushion, and a desk lamp for less than a hundred dollars. I needed my table to double as the sewing table and cutting table so we got the perfect size. The table is unfinished pine and I plan to paint it white as a noncompeting backdrop for fabric and matching colors together.
So, I claimed a corner of our bedroom by the window for my sewing space. The desk lamp clamps onto the table so I don't need to use any surface space for the lamp base. I love the natural light from the window but it's most likely I will be sewing at night.
We had an unused TV stand that we'd inherited as part of the household of furniture and appliances we bought from another family to set up our home last summer. I turned it into a shelf of sorts to hold my fabric, supplies, tools, rulers, etc. within easy reach of my sewing machine, perpendicular to the sewing table.
 |
| Yes, my seat cushion is hot pink :-) I love it! |
I'm pleased with my sewing corner and I hope to add some shelves on the wall or a pretty board to tack things onto.
(We plan to paint all the bedrooms. They're a dreadful dark, gold/mustard color that I've tried to get used to but after 9 months, I still hate it.)