Gratitude and Glimmers #101

Welcome to my post of glimmers (of joy and wonder) and gratitude for the month of November. You can find links to more posts like this one at LeeAnna's blog, Not Afraid of Color.

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.

—Gilbert Keith Chesterton

English author, philosopher

Creator of the character Father Brown

1. The sky a couple of days ago at sunset caught my eye and never mind gave me a glimmer; it set my heart on fire! This is without any kind of filter, and it still does not do it justice how jaw-dropping vibrant the colours were. If only I had taken my phone out with me when I first stepped onto the back deck to look up--a big flock of Canada geese were flying over at that very moment , silhouetted against this fiery backdrop. By the time I ran back into the kitchen to grab my phone, they were over the next street away.

I posted it to Instagram the next day, and an even better shot was sent to me by my friend Mieke who lives right on Lake Erie's shore. We live about ten houses up. Look at this:

Looking southwest over the lake; used with permission.

I asked her if these magical sunsets are because the sun is lower at this time of year, and she said she thinks that's part of it but also because of the evaporation from the lake, there are a lot more clouds. This reminded me of a comment from the caption of the catamaran we were on in Key West years ago, a sunset cruise. When clouds were building up and everyone was starting to get disappointed, he said that sunsets are actually better when there is cloud because the light bounces off them. I think a quilt shot might have to happen here, and Mieke has said to walk on over anytime!

2. I like this brand of vegetarian foods. I also really like that their veggie ground is not mushroom or tofu! Big Mountain is a Canadian company, based in Delta, BC.

And best of all? You got it: WOMEN OWNED. I hope you'll check them out and read their About Us, especially their timeline, awards, and "commitment to sourcing good-for-you and the planet ingredients."

I like their slogan: Ingredents you can pronounce unless your mouth is full.

3. The sun in the clear blue sky, making this locust tree into an interesting silhouette with a spidery shadow gave me a glimmer earlier this month on my daily walk.

4. On November 12 I gave my presentation, Quilt Tales for the Heart and Mind, again in London, but to a different guild, the Thames Valley Quilters Guild. It went so well! They're a large guild, and wow, were they ever warm, welcoming, helpful and thoughtful, and a terrific audience, engaged and receptive.Virginia helped set up my patterns display, as well as holding up quilts as I talked; Carol, the tech person, had everything run smoothly, but she went above and beyond: when Virginia hand off a quilt when I'd finished talking about it, Carol set it at the back of the church auditorium for guild members to look at once I'd finished my talk, but she set them out in the order of my presentation so it was easier to pack them back up into the tubs! How thoughtful. Jette, the guild photographer, asked permission to take photos (of course) and made sure to get one of me, which she sent to me along with a few of the others she'd taken shots of.

5. You may remember this from a couple of posts ago, the mug cosy that the fantasy author Charles de Lint ordered. I made him the coaster to go with it and wrote a little note to him (okay a fan note because I've been a fan since the early 90s). Well.

Didn't he leave me a review?! And messaged me within the app once he'd received the little package.

Screaming ensued again as my heart lit up with shimmery glimmers.

6. Speaking of shimmery glimmers, in my last post I showed all the bags I've been making for my two darling Etsy customers, now friends of mine; we text back and forth, so cool. Well the surprise bag for Lana is from a fat quarter pack I had still not used for a quilt, but man, it needs to happen sooner rather than later because it is just so pretty. It's Jennifer Sampou's Shimmer 2 line.

7. You know that I love Britbox and CBC Gem. This past month I discovered Karen Pirie on Britbox, two seasons, one just released, and if you like crime dramas about cold cases, in the vein of Unforgotten, then you will love this one. Once I finish the two books on my pile, I intend to get out the first of Val McDermid's books upon which the series is based. On Gem we started watching The Assembly, where a group of autistic young adults interviews a Canadian celebrity, and no question or topic is off limits. So far we've only watched two celebrity interviews: Howie Mandel, and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. It's an adaptation of a series from France. You can read more about the show here, such a fascinating concept.

I wish my American friends a Happy Thanksgiving 🤗