Projects and Pictures

One of the saddest parts about leaving Morocco was not being able to bring back many souvenirs. My friends made sure I didn't go home empty-handed though; I managed to fit the necessary newspaper, a key chain, and all of the Tramway tickets I collected from my traveling. But probably the most special item I came home with is in the picture to the right. My friend Morady and I were on our way to Oudaya and we walked through an area of the Medina where the craftsmen worked in their shops. This was the less "touristy" section of the marketplace. Up until this point, I had stopped at every tiled and mosaic-looking fountain I saw. So when we walked by this shop, I asked Morady if we could stop in and look at the mosaics they were making. Thankfully he could translate and we were allowed to watch the men work. I don't have a picture of them, unfortunately, but the shop was covered in mosaics and tiles. The men sat on the floor of the shop or on stools and they hammered away as they were talking.I asked

Morady to translate for me and tell them how beautiful I found their work. This heart-shaped tile was hammered into shape and given to me as gift. I can't tell you how honored I was to receive such a present. I carried it around in my purse for the rest of my stay in Morocco and I made sure it was in a safe place when I got home. This is one of the stories that still makes me tear up when I talk about it. There are tears in my eyes right now. The picture on the left is just one of the MANY fountains that are located in and around the marketplaces, though many of them don't actually run water but they are still so beautiful to look at. The colors and patterns are simply stunning in person. Gram and I have gone to Home Depot a couple of times and I found myself drawn to the flooring sections where they have samples on display. One of these days when I get my own place, it would be nice to have a mosaic floor somewhere in my home or garden.


READING
I may have mentioned in a previous post that I joined the adult reading program at my library for the summer. I haven't been reading as much as I should but picked up some books yesterday and made some good selections. Joan Didion's book, Blue Nights, is a great read that will have you at the end before you know it. However, it is quite sad and a bit off the wall as it chronicles the death of her only child, with some references to the death of her husband. You can immediately see that she hasn't completely finished the stages of grieving, though that's not a judgment on her. In fact, I commend for writing a book about such a painful topic. As I was reading it, I couldn't help but see the similarities between how she wrote and how I talked when going through a painful event of my own back in 2010. Of course her pain is more justified than mine was. I was just a deluded, naive, and foolish woman who tried to think the best of people and got hurt in the process.

Light reading

The second book I picked up, The House At Riverton, was recommended for people who were missing "Downton Abbey" as it's a fictional account of a maid who worked in a "great" house like Downton. The main character is in her 90's and circumstances cause her to look back on her time as a maid. I'm enjoying it so far and it almost reads like a mystery. The reader knows something mysterious happened involving the main character and she keeps referring to to it but the full story hasn't been told yet. But the cool part so far is that it really does sound like DA. For any DA fans, the cook and her kitchen aide have the same relationship as Mrs. Patmore and Daisy!

My third book is a collection of short stories, The Love of A Good Woman, by Alice Munro. I haven't started reading it yet and I haven't ever read anything by Ms. Munro in  the past. But I'm trying to branch out a bit and read new authors this summer. On a side note, I read "Song of Songs" during my Bible reading today. I was hesitant to read it as it reminds of a painful time in my life in which I quoted a verse to somebody I had cared for deeply. But I got through it and now it's on to reading the "Wisdom of Solomon" and "Wisdom of Sirach" for the rest of the month.

CROCHETING

This is the yarn I will be using for my latest project. I originally had it set aside for a blanket with a really complicated design. The blanket would have consumed more of my time that I wanted so it's now on the back burner for another time and season. My new project is going to be a towel wrap, complete with straps, flaps, and buttons. Even though my gram has a lot of yarn, most of it doesn't match in size, texture, or color. But there should be enough of this yarn for my project. I started with the blue but screwed that up and had to start over with the white. I'd like to have it done before July.

GARDENING

I mentioned in my previous post about how well our garden was growing but I didn't have a picture to show for it. A friend called me yesterday and wanted to know how it was doing here is a picture I took this morning. Thankfully the weeds are few and far between and the garden is small enough to get watered on a regular basis. Plus, there aren't any trees covering it to keep it from collecting rain. Everything is growing quite well, except for the cabbage on the far right being picked on by neighborhood critters. It'll be so exciting when we get our veggies!

Until next time,

~Staci~