Monday, November 18, 2013

Just like that.

Yesterday I watched an episode of Call the Midwife...or two.
I love it.


 In the East End I found grace and faith and hope hidden in the darkest corners. I found tenderness and squalor and laughter amid filth. I found a purpose and a path, and I worked with a passion for the best reason of all - I did it for love. 
~Jenny Lee



"It was a Christmas as unique as any other. For every year the mystery unfolds itself anew. And late in life, I came to see that faith, like hope, is a rope and anchor in a shifting world. Faith cannot be questioned, only lived. And if I could not grasp it then, I felt its heartbeat, which was love."



I wrote about Call the Midwife here.

****


And last night was the finale of a new Masterpiece theater show called The Paradise.
It was wonderful.

Let me recommend The Paradise to you.
See if you can still watch it on the internet on Masterpiece or BBC or what not.


Watch ONLINE!!

This show is very Jane Austen meets Dickens.
Lovely dovely, upstairs downstairs like Jane with a few creepy characters like Dickens.

The music is wonderful and will remind you of Downton Abby.

Highly highly recommended.


****

Katie was cold and was about to put her coat on in the house....and I said.  NO!  Wear a nice warm sweater.  Cause you know.  Coats are for outside.  Just like pajamas are for INSIDE....your house and not the store.

So I took Katie upstairs and forced her into a sweater I knit thirty years ago.  I made it out of wool and angora.  I picked a pastel color because that was just me.  I used angora because I have a thing for soft. Back then alpaca was not really the popular fiber that it is now.  So I sneezed and puffed as I knit with the angora and I struggled as I carried that yarn as you do with a pattern like this.  It was hard and I did not try this method again until I made my Esther mittens a few years back.

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But back to the sweater.  Katie was NOT at all interested in wearing it.  She thought it felt funny with a shirt under it and she did not like the pink checks with the sweater.  But I forced her because sometimes I know best.  She wanted to be warm.  Wasn't that the issue?  Is there anything warmer than wool?  No.

Hours later I asked her if she was warm.  She said yes.  She said, 'I was about to take it off....  but I just couldn't."


BAM!

Converted.

Mother knows best.


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She mixed up some chocolate chip cookies.

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She posed for her bossy mom.


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It all made me very happy.



I'm old.  I know things.
The wise one.















40 comments:

  1. Call the Midwife - I shed many, many tears, as I chanted the psalms right along with the sisters. How I adore this show!!

    Knitting- I just can't do it. But it thrills me to see what you have made!

    Katie and you - the one where she's posing for her 'bossy mom' should be on a magazine cover for all that's good about fall and winter.


    Love it all. And you.
    Stephie

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  2. Count me in as another person who adores Call the Midwife :-)

    I can only do the basic knit purl stitch for small or large blankets. I so admire good knitters, especially when it comes to patterns like that sweater. In my closet are three sweaters that my mom knit for me years ago....I have to get them back out and actually wear them. (I think a part of me was afraid these worn sweaters would get totally worn out and then I'd lose a piece of my mom.....but I think I'm in a season right now where it would feel nice to feel close to my mom).

    You know, there are lots of "selfies" happening around here, especially with snapchat, but when it comes to mom taking a picture, all I tend to get is the rolling eyes @@@@@@@ So glad Katie posed for you since the pictures are wonderful :-)

    Snowy blustery day here.....think I'll snuggle in and not leave the house until tomorrow when I have to!

    Blessings,
    Tammy ~@~

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Go put on a sweater....right now!!!

      Love you!

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    2. Yes, m'am! Love you back!

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  3. Anonymous11:00 AM

    What a lovely sweater! Mom's do know best - kids just can't understand that until they are Moms themselves.

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  4. I love everything about this Post.

    Call the Midwife! Katie in the lovely blue sweater! Ginny waiting for something to drop on the kitchen floor! Not to mention those beautiful mittens for Esther.

    Now I must go and see about The Paradise. I don't want to brag, but a certain show that will remain nameless had their last regular episode a week ago on British TV, so I am going into withdrawal a bit.

    Plus I might have a cookie :-)

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  5. Anonymous11:45 AM

    Call the Midwife and The Paradise will have to go on my list of shows to catch up on during the winter. I started watching Downton Abbey based on a QL recommendation, so I know you know what you're doing. :)

    When I was in h.s. and college, I so loved pastels. But I'm allegic to wool, so I had to just be envious of everyone's soft angora sweaters....

    Mary Z

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  6. My sister just recommended Call the Midwife to me early Saturday morning so I too, spent a bit of time watching it for the first time. Love it, love it, love it! Beautifully written and the acting is wonderful as well. I want to be Chummy's friend. :-)

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  7. Amy J in WI12:14 PM

    I am always amazed at your knitting talent. Love the sweater :). And, I read the Call the Midwife book this summer. Haven't checked out the show yet, but the book was great!

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  8. I've had a hold on Call the Midwife since July. I'm still waiting. It's a very popular book.
    Your "Mother knows best" in the good way not in the creepy Tangled way. (I sang that song in my head when I read the words. Ethan will not be happy the rest of the afternoon. ;)

    I don't know how in the world you knit like that. Such a beautiful creation to pass along to your girl.

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  9. Anonymous12:41 PM

    You KNIT that sweater?? Yikes, Donna, you are a knitter extraordinaire. How did you learn to do that? I can't imagine knowing how to work snowflakes into a sweater or knit the Esther mittens.

    Debbie Z.

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  10. Anonymous12:43 PM

    Wow! That is a NICE looking sweater!! Looks store bought!
    Carrie

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  11. Hours and hours and hours of knitting. Bit by bit...
    Over many years it all becomes possible.

    Now what is that song...bit by bit. I can hear it...but I can't place it...

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    Replies
    1. Whitney Houston?

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    2. No . It's broadway. Now I remember. Sunday in the park with George.

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    3. I don't know Sunday in the Park but I do know The Bodyguard :-)

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    4. Susan, google it. It's Sondheim, Mandy Patinkin. Bernadette peters. Play about Serrat and his beautiful painting.

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    5. Well that sounds like a winning combination and much classier than Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner :-)

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    6. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=REqWBgEhU6w&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DREqWBgEhU6w

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    7. But this... THIS is the song from "Sunday in the park with George" that makes me sob.

      https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mvGQ0R_CTfo

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    8. Donna, it's called "putting it together". Link above. :)

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    9. Well, I feel enriched :-) thanks!!

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  12. LOVE Call the Midwife and LOVE The Paradise! I was so happy with how it ended last night. Austen meets Dickens meets Downton...that's it!

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  13. Yarns have certainly changed for the better for us. THat sweater is darling though.....

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  14. Anonymous3:08 PM

    Show recommendations, Faith quotes, Katie in a darling sweater, Songs….all make me smile, Oh Wise One indeed. love and prayers, jep
    PS Also prayers for those with weather related tragedies…the Philippines and Illinois.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4:21 PM

      Dear Donna! And "hello", jep! Nice to see you over here! Prayers indeed. Regards-Jamie p.s. nice to see Katie could smile through mother being right. I'm afraid over here there is often not quite as much grace. oh well. We seek to do what we must and seek not affirmation from our children although that would be nice. Does that make sense?

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    2. Anonymous6:15 PM

      Hi Jamie….sometimes being a parent is really hard work, but for myself I think it was the best thing I have ever done. Our boys did not always agree with us until they turned 22 and for whatever reason with both of them their dad and I became smart again in their minds and they asked our opinions about things. They are blessings from God. We are most thankful. love and prayers, jep

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  15. Donna! That sweater is gorgeous! Oh my goodness, Katie looks great in it!

    Thank you for reminding me about Call the Midwife. We had decided that after we were done watching Downton on dvd, we would watch CTM, and we forgot about it. We discovered Paradise just last week and really enjoyed it. We will have to see if we can get the videos at the library.

    Have a spectacular week!

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  16. Oh Donna I love your style. We middler moms ARE so bossy because we DO know best. The other evening my Katie, age 23, pulled this from her fortune cookie: "If you wish good advice, consult your mother." She laughed and I laughed. That was one smart cookie! Hehe. Cute sweater. I have a few my mother knitted over 35 years ago. Can't seem to let them go. Warm, but they also warm my heart.

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  17. You are a wise mother! Impressed with your sweater knitting skills. Knitting is something I have never learned or tried—probably because I haven't had many people in my life who could share this skill.

    I have LOVED The Paradise on PBS. I was starting to think I was the only one. I posted about it on Facebook this morning because I watched the final episode after my kids got off to school and it was wonderful. ♥

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  18. Gale, I noticed that. Yes, that wonderful finale had me posting this morning too :)

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  19. Loved The Paradise MORE than Downtown Abbey 2nd and 3rd seasons. I thought about Denise and John long into the night.
    Impressed by your sweater Donna. What a talent. Over the years I have delicately washed my hand knit sweaters and they turn out mildly felted. Not cozy anymore.

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  20. Katie is getting SO BIG. A beautiful young lady.

    I've been meaning to tell you, forever and ever, how to center your header photograph. I use blogger too.

    Go to your blogger dashboard and click "layout"

    Click "template designer"

    Click "advanced"

    Scroll down and click "Add CSS"

    Copy and paste this in to the "add custom CSS" box:

    .header-outer {
    margin-left:17px;
    }

    You'll have to edit the number 17, as you decrease or increase the number, you'll see the photo adjust to the left or the right, until you have it centered. Each time I change my header photograph, I have to edit the number a bit.

    Click "apply to blog"

    Click "back to blogger"

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    Replies
    1. Thank you!! How nice of you to give me directions. I have not worked with HTML in a long time.

      Delete
  21. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, Call the Midwife! And Miranda Hart, the actress who plays Chummy, has her own BBC comedy as well... eponymously named "Miranda." Hilarious. Look for it on Hulu.

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  22. I just picked up the first season of Miranda last week :-) I love her!!

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  23. I wish I was making cookies and knitting with you and Katie and Ginny.

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  24. Dearest Donna,
    I have had an evening where grief has overcome me and here I thought I was doing so well. After I left the comment on the post above, I went back to Netflix because I thought I had seen all of Call the Midwife. And I found, to my utter surprise, that I hadn't seen a single episode of Season 2! Oh, my stars. I now have something to soothe my soul for the coming week and I wanted to thank you for that.

    These photos of Katie in your vintage sweater are nothing short of wonderful. Thank you!!

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