Memorial Day

To all the men and women who have served our country and preserved our freedoms, thank you!

Pennsy RailTrail, Greenfield, Indiana

Sunday we packed up the bikes and drove over to Greenfield, to ride the 5.5 miles of the Pennsy Rail Trail.  It was a perfect day for a bike ride, and the trail was well maintained.  We saw several folks taking advantage of the day and the trail, on bikes, walking, rollerblading.

Then we stopped at the Greenfield cemetery to eat our picnic lunch in the shade.  They had a very impressive flag installation for Memorial day.

It was a splendid way to spend the day :-)

Lily and what inspired her

The lovely embroidery on the left was done by my good friend Joyce, and it inspired me to make a doll!  Lily is crocheted from the Yun Shu pattern, which is freely available on Ravelry by CrochetWawa.

The sweet embroidered flower girl is a pattern from Etsy:

Flower Girl

Lily and I hope your day is filled with sunshine and flowers :-)

More little gems

Sweet little embroideries by LiliPopo:

www.etsy.com/shop/LiliPopo?ref=pr_faveshops

Framed in lovely wood frames by Ewoodstory:

www.etsy.com/shop/eWoodStory?ref=pr_faveshops

And embellished with crochet balls, beads, and buttons :-)

And one more...

Family

Dad, nephews, myself on the first row.  My brother and sister in law, and her parents on the second.

My youngest nephew celebrated his first communion on Saturday.   Not being a Catholic, I wasn't sure what to expect, especially with a Latin Mass.  

The church was filled with light, and the deeply moving sound of Gregorian chant.   Lacking an understanding of the words was no hindrance to feeling the presence of God.  Sitting next to my father, and watching my nephew and my brother in the pew in front of us,  I wished that my Mother could be present and see this.  

I looked at her wedding rings, which I wear, and they winked and sparkled in the light, and the realization was that she was indeed there:  as a part of myself; as the love my father has for her; and as the love she bequeathed to my brother, his wife, and their three children.  

Love binds us as a family, in the present, to the future, and beyond death.  I am deeply grateful for the love my family shares.