Rosemaling Blog .Com

On Father's Day 2009

Dearest Dad,
    Because you were such a wonderful father to me, I was able to put my trust in my Heavenly Father. Going through brain cancer at the age of 45 was so much less trial than it would have been without that trust. As you were raising us I could see you were doing everything for the best for us. You made choices so that life would be the best for your children. Even though the choices weren't always in your best interest or convenience or enjoyment, you still made the difficult choices. Therefore I can believe my Heaveny Father when he says in his word that he is "working all things..." Because of that, I can go gentle into that good night. Thank you dearest Daddy for always keeping your word to me, and for always being such a fine example my entire life.

I love you so very, very much.

Please, please, please put your faith in our Heavenly Father, so I will see you in Heaven one day. I wasn't planning on beating the whole family to heaven, but it seems that our Father has other plans. THe rest of you need to get your ducks in a row so I'm not up there all by myself.

I received an email today, via my son,

Hello,

I've been a fan of rosemaling blog and I wonder if you could tell me how Linnea Rose is doing? Her last post was in April and nothing since. Is she still with us?  Please send my love to her, tell her I am praying for her and tell her how much I've enjoyed her posts. Thank you so much.

Ruby

Thank you so much for writing. As a blogger, one wonders if what one writes just goes out into empty space. So it is so heartening to know that it is being read.

Anyways, just back from the doctor's, my liver function is normal, so the oncologist said I'm doing remarkably well. Unfortunately, I've lost a lot of coordination. Please pray that my coordination returns. Thank you so much for your prayers.

Linnea

......Huh? Where am I?   I seem to be in the hospital again!  Since there was a phone in my room I callled my sister and asked her "what happened?  She told me I  had two seizures after the second one I lost consciousness and that's when they called 911..  Anyways the last memory I have was sitting on the couch with the kids and the next thing I know I'm waking up in the hospital.  Happily I got discharged to go home from the hospital that very day. 
 

I want to share on this Easter what  I learned during a study of Collossians in 2006

CHRIST IS ALL.

   I can do nothing to atone for my sins. There is no sacrifice that
would be acceptable. I cannot atone for them by dressing plainly, by
not wearing jewelry, by not wearing make-up, or anything else.
   There is no work I can do that will atone for my sins, either.
Jesus is ALL.  He alone is the acceptable sacrifice for my sins.  He
alone did the work acceptable to God to pay for my transgressions.
  Furthermore there is no way in my own power that I can keep from
sinning.  No amount of resolutions I make, no amount of lists I write,
no amount of schedules I devise will ever  solve my sin problem.  If I
continue trying to conquer my sin in my own power I never will.
   But what I can do is confess and repent of my sins.  I realize that my sins
were nailed on the cross with Jesus.
    And what I also learned by this study is that unless I actually
READ the Bible I will not have right understanding of Jesus.  Just listening to what I am told by others is not enough.  I  learned from this study was to actually READ God's word.   And in fact, I did
not have a right understanding at all. Somehow thought that I  could
atone for my sins by outward signs of piety. Worse, I took pride in my
"sacrifice".
    Now I understand Jesus paid it ALL.  All to Him I owe!  Sin had
left a crimson stain. HE (and He alone) washed me white a snow!  (What
a Great hymn!)

Have a blessed Easter!

  I actually wrote this last year, but decided to put it on my blog today.
Is life in the country complete without horse ownership?  Is one truly a country girl if one doesn’t know how to ride a horse?  How could I hold my head up in the feed store if I didn’t know a canter from a trot.  No, horse ownership and the ability to actually ride a horse is the ultimate symbol that I had become a Country girl.  
  Before becoming a horse owner I read lots of books about selecting a good horse for a beginning rider.  I knew all the rules to follow to make certain I bought a gentle horse suitable for an inexperienced person like myself. (My horseback riding experience was limited to one ride in which I could not even get my mount 100 yards from the stable in the entire hour.)  The first rule for beginners I broke was don’t buy a horse younger than 15 years old.  The second rule I broke was watch the owner ride the horse before you buy it.  The third rule I broke was ride the horse before you buy it.  The fourth rule I broke was take an experienced horse person with you to inspect the horse before you buy it.  

I gave my new horse over night to accustom himself to his new corral.  I couldn’t wait to spend some quality time with him taking him out for a walk.  I knew he would be delighted to have the opportunity to graze on the tall green grass.  And I also thought he is really going to love me for giving him such a nice treat.  Hah!
 He is friendly coming up to us.  I really like that about him. He did let me halter him as inept as I was at it. I tied him up expecting to have a great time of bonding as I groomed my beautiful new horse.  But every time I went to brush him he pivoted away from me.  So I followed with the brush. I assumed he was ticklish or I was doing something wrong.  I tried a firmer stroke with the brush.  I tried a lighted stroke.  He just didn’t seem thrilled to being groomed. In retrospect I realize he wasn’t happy being controlled by being tied. Being a very smart horse, he then decided to test the knot I had used to tie him to the rail. He quickly determined I had done a good job with the knot and I had tied him to a really stout rail.  After a few attempts to pull back to break the rope, halter, and rail he seemed to give up. I was congratulating myself on my superior knot tying skills and good post judgment. Unbeknown to me, he was working on plan three. I happily went back to grooming. My horse put plan three into action. It went something like this. “If you keep annoying me by following me with that brush no matter how I try to side step away. I will step into you and onto you and make you get out of my space.” Instead of pivoting away from me he pivoted right into me. He kept making me step back to avoid being stepped on or pushed over. Still clueless at this point, I decided to give up on the grooming and lead him down to the meadow.  Surely that would be more fun and my horse would look so picturesque standing in the lush green grass.  Meanwhile my horse was thinking, “Hah, I made the human stop annoying me with the brush.  And I made the human untie me. This human is very easy to train.” While I am still anticipating a nice time with my horse in the meadow and my horse is thinking, “I rule!”

When I led him out to the pasture.  He walked nicely on the road because I’m taking him right where he plans to go anyway. But once we got near some greenery he put his head down to graze.  (This was an area I did not want him to graze because of the noxious weeds). repeatedly pulled up his head a led him forward. Though I’m annoyed that I have to keep pulling his head up I think I’m mostly winning. Hah! He is just using the time to problem solve. Then he decided he would try to lead me instead so he was trying to push past me and walk ahead of me by crowding me out of the way. Well all my reading wasn’t for nothing.  I did remember reading you could slow a horse down by turning their head. I had to turn him in circles multiple times to slow him down. This worked until he realized that space between us gave me leverage to turn his head. He thinks back and remembers that crowding into the human’s space is a good was to show her who is boss.  Then he decided he would crowd into me so he could be the leader. So now I’m having to walk very fast to keep from being knocked down because he is walking into me.  His shoulder is against my back. And his head is over my shoulder pushing me forward. Now I can’t turn him at all because he is not letting me step back or sideways to turn him. Smart horse!. Once in the pasture he pulled me around a bit to make sure I understood he was in charge, then settled to graze.
  I’m actually rather scared of horses which is exactly why I have challenged myself to learn how to handle them!  It is a huge confidence booster to over coming a fear or at least facing a fear.  And I hope facing a fear in one area will help me face fears in other areas. The rides on my horse were pretty exciting since he loved to trot (which I hardly know how to do!) and he loved to gallop! (something I'm getting the hang of!)  We even jumped over a pile of logs!  I was rehearsing in my mind the cues for backing up, (since Haldor doesn't back up at all well) , and Haldor decided I must be waiting for him to jump, so he did!

The day when I really decided Haldor was way too much horse for me and needed a much more experienced owner than myself went like this. I was riding Haldor.  At first he was doing very well. So the I took him to the far south end of the property near the river. He did not like it there but he did go with my urging him.  But right when he got to the place he didn't like, eight kayackers came down the river.  Haldor's heart started pounding.  I kept him standing there talking to him calmly.  But right after they were out of sight he totally blew up rearing. I kept him turning in circles.   I stayed in the saddle Praise God! But he was in a panic.  Finally I got him under some control and we headed away.  I kept our retreat under control although it was evident he totally wanted to run away.  After letting him calm down out in the meadow for a short while I made him go back to the same place. Thanks to the Lord that I was able to keep myself in the saddle.

A year ago I was introduced to an frail elderly women named Hazel The very day I met her, she gave me the remains of her Christmas Cactus. The cutting was hardly an inch long. She said she had killed all her houseplants because she had been too ill to water them. A dried up sprig was all that was left.  I took the little sprig home and stuck it in a Styrofoam cup filled with dirt. I did not see Hazel again for months.  Our women’s Bible study group prayed for her all through the winter. Then in Spring, Hazel, shaky and frail, came to church.  But, she was not well enough to stay for the entire service. As the days warmed Hazel got stronger.  And my little sprig began to grow.  Now a year later, Hazel is chipper and sprightly.  She praises God for her return to health.  The little sprig she gave me has produced a single bud, a pure white flower, large and full of luminance.

 I can’t help but be reminded of my Savior’s death on the cross and His resurrection.  JESUS my Savior was the inspiration of this rosemaling design.




 

Romans 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to  His purpose.

I think to understand this promise we need to ask what is God’s purpose in our lives?
What is God’s definition of good?
How do we know we are one of “them that love God?

Are we them that love God?Jesus said, John 14:21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him."

What is God’s definition of good?

His Son!  This is my Son with whom I am well pleased.

What Is our Heavenly Father’s purpose ?

8:29  For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. (Hebrews 12:5, 6, 10, 11)

All the affliction that comes to the children of God, whether through persecution or sickness, is intended by God to increase our holiness by causing us to rely more on the God who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1:9).

We need to ask what does God mean by good?  Does He mean wealth, power, wisdom?  No.   Thus saith the LORD, Let NOT the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:  9:23-24  But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.


So this promise does not promise us wealth, health, or an affliction free life that a natural man might think are good and to be desired... But God does promise...
God will equip you with everything good to do  His will, accomplishing in us what pleases Him through Jesus, the Messiah. To Him be glory forever and ever! Amen.

I was really excited about the Norwegian influence and flavor to our new Montana community.   It was fun to be on the Board of the Nordicfest, wear a bunad in the parade, develop my own rosemaling style and teach it to local ladies through the Troy Adult Ed.   
   We also made friends with the other local families.  I taught a public speaking extra-curricular youth class.  But all these things… if I am to lead them, teach, them organize them, require a reasonable expectation of health. But now I don’t know from one morning to the next if it is going to be a good day or a bad day. So I no longer feel like I can be counted upon, which is a feeling I do not like at all!  But, alll to thee my blessed Savior, I surrender all.

Ezekiel 12:19
And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them a heart of flesh.

A Heart of Flesh by Linnea Rose

My heart was dead to You,
A stone, cold, hard, and unyielding.
The inside was hidden and opaque.
It couldn't be chipped into, or split open.

How could my heart respond to You?

A stone could not see Your light.
A stone could not hear You knocking.
A stone could not drink Your living water.
A stone could not taste Your bread of life.

You replaced my heart of stone with a heart of flesh.

You gave me a believing heart.
You gave me a heart that will praise Your glory.
You gave me a trusting heart like a child.
You gave me a heart of peace and rest.

I walk in the newness of life.

I see You in in Your glorious creation.
I hear You speak, Your words are written on my heart.
I feel Your love in the blessing that You give.
I taste the bread of life in the peace I have in You.

 WE need your prayers more than ever.  The first opinion on the latest latest MRI which I wrote about a few days ago is that I had
even more cancerous growth while I was on chemo.  It is growing into my
motor skills area of my hind brain Since NOVEMBER A new growth HAS GROWN
TO 3.4 centimeters.  We did not like that report and got a second opinion.Radiologist number two diagnosed brain necrosis, a radiation side effect but no new growth.  but recommended a PET scan as a dignostic tool.  I still needed treatment so we searched out the best in the west at UCSF and were told last night "the cancer is out of control" there is new growth and you need to start another type of chemo as soon as possible. Further radiation or surgery is NOT an option because of the  certain brain damage. that would result. 

HOPE AGAINST HOPE -- "To want something keenly even when the odds against getting or achieving it are enormous. The phrase derives from the Bible (Romans 4:18): Saint Paul is writing about Abraham, 'Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken.'" From "The Dictionary of Cliches" by James Rogers (Ballantine Books, New York, 1985).

According to the first Radiologis'ts report My last MRI showed the chemotherapy did not work and while I was taking chemo a new tumor started growing into my motor function area of my brain.  That was the latest news from a few days ago......BUT  Hope against hope....
I got a second opinion yesterday  and what the first radiologist  took for new cancer growths, the second radiologists said could very well be scar tissue(dead cells) caused by the chemo and radiation..  A pet scan is recommended, but only a tissue sample can for certain determine if it is indeed dead cells. But this could be very wonderful news.  And the weakness on my left side could indeed be symptoms of the build up dead cells from the chemo and radiation instead of a new cancer. We are hoping to have the scans reviewed by a neuro-oncology team at UCSF and get their recommendation plan of action.
Wow!   What an emotional roller coaster we've been on lately! Since I know all things happen for a purpose I really want to do some deep thinking about what I just learned about myself these last few days.
 

Even when we are on our way to an appointment we stop and smell the pixels.   Well, I couldn't say we stop and smell the roses now could I!

I would have lost heart unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD and be of good courage And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!

  I am extremely tired of having cancer.  I am tired of starting another round of chemo every time I am finally starting to feel well and tired to be back to feeling awful once I'm on the chemo. I am tired of missing my sons' activities because I feel too sick or too exhausted to go. I am tired causing pain, worry, and anxiety to my dear family, each of whom have enough in their own lives without me bringing more.  I'm tired of the stupid  side effects: perpetual stomach pain, joint pain, increasing hearing difficulties, reading difficulties.  I tired of taking so many pills.  I tired that cancer makes me the center of attention, an object of pity, or the subject of gossip.  I want my normal life back please.

You are my King O God.
Command victories for me.
Through You I will live.
For I will not trust in my radiation
Nor shall the chemo save me.
But You can heal me.
In You I will boast all day long.
And praise Your name forever.

The other day I was asked, "How do you get to sleep?"  My answer is that I pray.  Often I start by thanking God for the many blessings He has poured into my life. Next  I pray for my family.  Then I pray for my church family.  I pray for friends and neighbors.  I do pray a bit for my own needs sometimes.  But mostly I don't because I can end up in a pity party when I focus on myself.

 I take tremendous comfort knowing that family and friends are praying for me.

My Dear Husband had his own way of lifting my spirits today.  He took me on a toboggan tour of the winter wonderland out in the meadow.  All the trees were decorated with crystal frost. 

I felt physically bad on Sunday but I also let the physical put me into a mental funk.  I kept it from the boys. But of course I tortured my poor husband with all my negativity.  Uhggg!  What a wonderful way to ruin the afternoon and any hope of getting a good night's sleep.  Sometimes I think of those negative thoughts like a coal black squirrel sent from Satan that runs round, and round, and round my head like a rat on a wheel.  I have to take that d____m squirrel captive and send it back where it came from!

Reading my earlier posts you have realized I have four cats and I am not adverse to getting more.  I made sure my cats were country bred cats and good mousers.  Before we got the cats we had severe rodent problems.  Pack-rats chewed up all the wiring in my car so that it was inoperable.  A pack-rat also stole the keys to my car.  I found the keys when we eventually found the pack-rat's nest.  Ground squirrels were riddling our meadow with holes.  Because my horse was only green broke, this was especially dangerous.  Once when I was cueing my horse forward he instead backed up.  His back foot went right down a hole and he went down.  But, praise God neither of us were injured. The rodents also invaded our house. One night I was woken up by something tugging on my hair.  It was a mouse sitting in my hair chewing off my hair for its nest!  The cats have worked out well. They are good hunters. Damage caused by rodents has diminished, and there are no more mice in my hair at night!

Here is the view from my painting table.

I'm on day 3 out of 5 days of chemo for January.  I'm feeling surprisingly well.  I'm not feelingly nearly as bad as I felt during my December chemo. I'm figuring out some patterns and I think I need to completely avoid coffee, tea, soda.  Those things are just too hard on my chemo aggravated gut.  So far so good.

It was pretty hard to hear on Monday that the latest MRI showed that the radiation and chemo did not put the cancer in remission like we all were praying.  BUT, toady is another day that I am here and I am so very thankful for it.  God holds all our lives in His  hands.  I am sure a thousand other times that  I'm not even aware of He has protected me.... when I've been horseback riding, driving on icy roads, hiking in the mountains, wrangling sheep, or?

Life here lately has been a sheep rodeo.  We divided the ewe flock between our rams Svar and Bjarn.  The first of the ewes came into season the day before yesterday and Svar and Bjarn started ramming heads together even though there was a fence between them.  We caught Svar and took him to distant pasture.  But his ewes would not come with us and leave the fence line where the rest of the flock was on the other side of the fence. We thought after a day without feed we would be able to lure the ewes to Svar.  But, the next morning Svar was right back ramming Bjarn at the fence line. Svar had rammed through the pasture gate.  Totally bent it!
   Today we have got all the sheep flocks back where we want them. Far apart from each other! Svar and Bjarn are getting extremely fragrant because the rut is on.  They are romancing the ewes by using their forelegs to herd the ewes around while flapping their tongues at the ewes making "bleh bleh bleh bleh" sounds. Svar even tried his romantic tongue flapping "bleh bleh bleh bleh" talk on me, and our llama, but we are not having any of that!
   Icelandic sheep have a lot of personality! The other sheep breeds I have had never had enough intelligence to have any personality.

Today is the first time since my first seizure and cancer diagnosis back in July I feel completely normal. Many of the memories from the last five months are gone. It might be more accurate to say that the memories were never recorded.  I feel like Rip Van Winkle. I feel as if I have been sleeping and dreaming these last five months. I am so very blessed to have such a wonderful husband, a close knit family, dear friends, a loving Church family, and Christ Jesus who carried me through this trial.  Because I have been so richly blessed, though some parts were like a bad dream,  it never has never been a nightmare. 
 If you feel fine thank the LORD!  I do!  Thank you LORD for normality!

This is my beautiful view.  The aspens have already lost their leaves.  The western larch are glowing in the last of their Autumn splendor. Winter is creeping down the mountain toward our meadow.

I am finishing my fifth week of radiation and chemo. The chemo and
radiation effects have finally caught up with me. So I'm feeling mostly
exhausted and my guts have gone on strike. I am making myself eat even
though I don't feel too swift.

But, I must remember to THANK and PRAISE the Lord that the first four
weeks of my treatment were so easy. How blessed am I that I made it so
far without any ill effects!

Thank you so much for your continuing prayers!

 I am baffling my doctors because I have virtually no side effects from the
chemo, radiation, or medications.  Even better news is that the pins and
needles/burning neurological symptoms have diminished considerably! This
means the treatments are working and the cancer cells are being
destroyed!  Praise the LORD!  Thank you for praying!  God is answering
your prayers!
I had a dream, the night before last, that my radiation oncologist
looked at my MRI taken at the end of my treatment in October. He was
nearly jumping up and down with excitement saying, "You're cured!"  That
was a GREAT dream which I expect to come true!

Keep praying!

I've started my fourth week of radiation and chemo. I am doing really well!  I am still gaining back weight rather than loosing it. Though I am starting to have some cumulative effects from the treatments.  But, my husband and I laugh together and say "Finally some proof that the chemo has not just been sugar pills, and the radiation has actually been turned on during the treatments!" When my energy is gone for the day, it is really gone.  But, thus far that is not until after dinner.  So I'm still up to doing a lot and really enjoying visiting with family! My other whine is my hair follicles in the path of the radiation entry and exit area finally couldn't take it any longer. Most of the hair on both side of my head came out in clumps. Instant mohawk!  I can now give any punk rocker a run for their money!  Okay, I'm done whining!
  I am doing so well, feeling so well, and feeling happy and at peace.  I KNOW this is because God is answering your prayers for me.  Praise the LORD God!  I feel very blessed!

My second week of treatment has gone great.  I KNOW it is because you are uplifting me in prayer!  The side effects of my medications are supposed to be nausea, headaches, depression, anxiety, to name a few! Instead, I have PEACE and JOY, no nausea and no headaches! I have even regained all the weight I lost! I have even regained the weight I lost over the last year when I was feeling crummy but not knowing why.

God bless you all for uplifting me in prayer!

Lots of love to you all!
Linnea Rose

I wanted to let you all know that I finished my second week of treatment.  I am doing GREAT! I still have quite a lot of energy. I still am nausea free. Also I am back up to my pre-illness weight!
Thank you all for praying for me! God is so GOOD!

My first week of radiation and chemo has gone amazingly well.  God is so good! I was apprehensive about the chemo because nausea is a common side effect. But, I am so happy to write that I have had no nausea what so ever! I have my last food at 8 pm. I take an anti nausea pill at 9 pm.  At 10 pm I take my chemo pill and go to sleep.  I wake up HUNGRY  about 4 am, and I actually go to the kitchen for a quick snack and then I go back to sleep until 6 am.

I had been losing weight for the last six months or so.  Then when I was hospitalized, I lost even more weight.  Not good. My all time low was 89 lbs.!  But, praise God, I have been able to gain back 7 lbs. in the last couple of weeks!

Thank you all for praying for me.  I know God hears your prayers!

My 1st day of radiation & chemo went wonderfully!!!

No side effects at all ! No nausea ! Thank you so very much for your prayers!

When we moved to Montana we found a wonderful church home right away which was really an answer to prayer! We were thrilled that there were all sorts of Bible study opportunities, a great Youth Group, and AWANAS. God impressed upon me that it was very important that we really get immersed in His Word and the body  right away in a big way. The verse that God impressed upon my heart was "See that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15. How wonderful God was to give us the opportunity to be in His Word so much with wonderful teachers and make dear friends to strengthen and grow us so much before this trial!!! What a blessing!!!Praise the LORD Our God!
  I encourage all my brothers and sisters in Christ spend time in the Word with each other!
Love to you all!

Linnea Rose

I start radiation and chemo on Monday. I am excited to get started, get through it, and get well! My sweet sister has been cutting my hair into cute shorter hair styles day by day. Right now hair just brushes my shoulders.  Tomorrow she is going to cut my hair to chin length. We are having fun with it.  Well why not? I'm going to loose my hair anyway! I also ordered three adorable hats.

Thank you for your continuing prayers!

I just want to thank you so very much for your prayers! God id so good!  I woke up HAPPY this morning and full of hope.  I know this is because God is answering your prayers for me!

The out pouring of love since I was diagnosed with cancer has been overwhelming.  It means everything to me to know you are praying for me.  Pray that the chemo and radiation would destroy the cancer completely! If you are so inclined, pray psalm 20:1-5 for me!

Psalm 20: 1-5

Prayer for Victory

To the leader. A Psalm of David.
¹The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!
   The name of the God of Jacob protect you!
²May He send you help from the sanctuary,
   and give you support from Zion.
³May He remember all your offerings,
   and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices.
          Selah

⁴May He grant you your heart’s desire,
   and fulfill all your plans.
⁵May we shout for joy over your victory,
   and in the name of our God set up our banners.
May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

Yes, I got bit by the genealogy bug...again.  This bug rarely bites in the summer time here in Montana.  It is most likely to bite during cold dark winter days.  But, a distant cousin of mine was recently infected and spread the disease to me by sending me a 1858 Certificate of Citizenship of her great great grandfather.  Yep, one little document in the mail was all it took. Now I have a full blown case!  I know I won't feel better until I track down her great great grandfather's port of departure document.  And if I find his village of origin, I might just solve the mystery of my great great grandfather as well!
Even then, a complete cure is not expected.  In fact it will probably lead to me hunched over in the darkness pouring over microfilmed medieval European church records in Latin blessing  the priest who wrote them, depending on the quality of his handwriting. Of course I'll be loving every minute!

My friend and I shared a spot selling our crafts at the local craft show.  She grew up in the small town where the craft show was.  It was enjoyable to spend the day with her because she knew so many of the folks walking by. So we had a great day of visiting.  I'm sure I sold a lot more of my crafts too because I was there with her.
  Nearly all of my rosemaling students happened by during the course of the day. So I was able to remind them about the rosemaling demo Kenny Green and I are doing at the Libby, Montana Nordicfest in September.
  So how small a town is it?  Well, it is so small that my friend was able to tell who was visiting from out of town because they were the folks she didn't recognize. "You aren't from around here, are you?" my friend would say in her friendly way.

The votes for the may June Virtual Rosemaling Challenge have been counted and the winners are:
First Place: Entry 6
Second Place: Entry 3
Third Place: a tie between Entries 3 and 9
You can look at the entries here:
http://rosemalingblog.com/grc/May-June%20Challenge.html 

Thank you everyone who entered and everyone who voted!

The members of the Global Rosemaling Club have sent some lovely entries for the virtual challenge.  The theme for this challenge was wedding gifts.  There are some very lucky brides and grooms out there who received these gorgeous works of art as wedding gifts! 
The gallery is here: http://rosemalingblog.com/grc/May-June%20Challenge.html 
Be sure to visit and send me your vote for your favorite entry.

My flock of sheep came to me in an unexpected way. To make a long story short, a brother in Christ was badly injured in a fall.  We took him load of firewood.  While we were stacking the wood, his wife brought him out in a wheelchair to chat with us, and we got to talking. I told him how much I wanted to get sheep. He said his therapist mentioned that she heard of a women who had sheep she needed to rehome. He called me the next day with the women's phone number. I called her.  She gave me a flock of Icelandic sheep! Wow! Wasn't I blessed!?

Before lambing season started I vowed to tithe my first ram lamb to a local missionary family.  Then God did an amazing thing.  The first lamb born was a ram lamb, and the seven lambs that followed were ALL ewe lambs! Our generous God amazes me!

I love living in Montana. But I grew up only a hour from the sea.  Our family outings were often trips to the beach.  When I go back home for a visit, my sister always takes my children, her children and I for a day on the seashore.

I guess I wrote about our DSL being back on prematurely. It only stayed on about an hour.  But... my son fixed a dial up connection for me this morning, so here I am on the internet again.

After I put up this post, I'll be going out to do chores. We are still mucking out the corral and barn and hauling the manure to the garden.  My two oldest sons and I are each hauling one load every morning.  There is no need to kill ourselves to do it all in one day since the animals won't be back in the barn or corral until November.

Meanwhile my DH is putting up a cross fence, now that he has finished the perimeter fence.  My horse and llamas' favorite hang--out place is as close to the house as possible. The sheep would rather graze farther afield, but they are bonded to the llamas and  tend to stay fairly close to them.  Consequently, the pasture around the house is quickly becoming over grazed. When my DH finishes the cross fence the horse, sheep, and llamas won't be able to hang out on the porch anymore!

Dear Reader,
   Our DSL mysteriously came back on after three days of being off. My DH had been pestering the DSL company to send a tech out.  But the earliest the tech could come is tomorrow.  So I am very thrilled to have DSL back a day sooner than expected. 
  I praise God for all His blessings, including DSL!

In honor of my Father on Father's Day, here are some things I'm glad my Father taught me:

To be content in all situations.  But if life just gets too stressful go to the library and check out some great stories.
Be content with what you have. Looks and fashion aren't important. Nearly everything that breaks can be fixed.
Take time to really talk to your children.  Pass on to them the the family stories and family wisdom.
Spending time with your children is more important than the thing you want to get done.
Walk everyday.  Or ride your bike everyday.
Eat until you no longer feel hungry, then stop eating.
You are never too old to try something new, or to make a change for the better.

I have a real weakness for critters.  My sister does too, but she lives in a city.  She and I have labeled our weakness C.A.S. Critter Acquisition Syndrome.  I always tell her when I'm thinking about getting new critters and she always quizzes me to help me think through my "wanting".  
She asks me:
Do you have the time to take care of another animal?  
Are you willing to give up that time that you might have spent on other things taking care of this new animal?
Why do you want another animal?  
Why aren't you happy with the animals you already have?  
If you get sick, or want to travel, who will take care of the new animal.?

Thinking through this questions really helps.  Most of the time I realize  my "wanting" is because I am stressed or frustrated by something else in my life. Thinking about getting a new pet becomes a way to avoid dealing with the stress.  I realize now that adding another critter will just add to my stress not lessen it.

Scripture Magnets

I am a self taught rosemaler.  The two books that were invaluable in my learning and understanding of rosemaling were "Norwegian Rosemaling" by Margaret Miller and Sigmund Aarseth, and "Norwegian Rose Painting in America: What the Immigrants Brought" by Nils Ellingsgard. Jackie Shaw's stroke workbook was be a big help to improve my technique. As part of my self study I have painted patterns by Joan Dahl, Diane Edwards, Vi Thode, Gayle Oram, Louis Mueller, and Gary Albrecht. My breakthrough was when I read a quote by Sigmund Arseth. He stated that a student should not copy patterns for more than two or three lessons. “This can become a fatal habit that will prevent the student from ever advancing to the creative level in rosemaling.” (Uh oh!) I took his advice to heart.  Now, I rosemal freehand.  I find freehand painting more enjoyable and creative! My personal goal is to be able to rosmal freehand in a style that is uniquely mine.

My favorite style is telemark rosemaling. It is so lavish and lush in its curves.  The lavish free flowing scrolls are decorated with teardrops and tendrils in excess.
My rosemaling can be seen in my galery: http://rosemalingblog.com/gallery/Rosemaling%20Gallery.html

I have taught rosemaling through the local Adult Education program.

I am the Virtual Challenge Moderator for The-Global-Rosemaling-Club@yahoogroups.com.  The members of the Global Rosemaling Club are an inspiration to me. I am inspired by their talent, their friendliness, their encouragement, their desire to learn and improve, and their dedication to rosemaling.  Roseemaling would not be nearly as fun as it is without them!  
http://www.rosemalingblog.com/blog/2008/01/youtube-rosemaling-tutorial.html

http://www.rosemalingblog.com/blog/2008/02/new-rosemaling-tutorial.html

I sell my art on Etsy at linnearose.etsy.com  So far though I only have a little of my polymer clay art there.

Well, I fed the sheep the last flake of hay this morning.  They'll be out on pasture the rest of the summer. For a few minutes I might think, "Ah less work for me. No more moving 65 pounds of hay every morning!"  But, the feeling of relief quickly dissipates as I realize the next task is to muck out the barn and corral.  Uhgggg!

We wormed all the sheep and the llamas yesterday. We trimmed hooves.  And we tagged the lambs!
After I lured the sheep into a holding pen, the "fun" began. My husband and our oldest son caught each sheep. I measured it with a weight tape. Our youngest child wrote down the weight. Then we backed the sheep up into the "sheep chair". Our oldest son held the sheep's horns to make sure it stayed in the chair.  My husband got to work trimming hooves. I inspected the sheep's teeth, and teats.  Our youngest child wrote down my comments. I measured out the worming medicine and squirted it in the sheep's mouth. By about that time my husband had the hooves trimmed. We tipped the chair forward and the the sheep rejoined the flock. If the sheep was a lamb, our middle child mounted an ear tag in the applicator, painted in with antiseptic, and handed it to his father. He inserted the tag in the lamb's ear. Our youngest child recorded the tag number. With our family working together the process went more quickly and each animal was restrained for a shorter period of time. I'm thankful for my helpful family!

We had a busy day today.  We tensioned the last stretch of perimeter fencing in the morning.  We were able to to let the sheep, llamas, and horse out to graze!  Hooray!  The animals enjoyed their new found freedom.  They were kicking up their heels and romping about.  But, since they are not accustom to the lush Spring grass, they had to go back in their corral long before they wanted too.  (If we let them eat as much as they wanted they would likely suffer from bloat.)  Tomorrow they will get to be out a bit longer.
 
We finally introduced our two rams today.  Naturally they wanted to but heads together to prove who was the stronger more dominant ram. We did not want them severely injuring each other.  So, we put them in a very small pen.  They still butted heads. But since they could not back up very far, they were not able to pick up any speed before colliding. Still we kept a close eye on them.

We plan to be trimming hooves and treating the sheep for worms very soon. We are going to try something different this year.  We made a "sheep chair". It looks a lot like a cot frame.  But in place of canvas, we put a very saggy nylon netting. You back the sheep up to the chair. Her rump falls in, you tip her back so that she is sitting up and she can't get out of the chair.  Then supposedly you can easily trim hooves and give wormer without a struggle. You can see a sheep chair here: http://www.premier1supplies.com/detail.php?prod_id=86&cat_id=0&




 
 

Now that the weather is so lovely, our friends and neighbors are going out and about again.  This means that drop-in visitors are a very real possibility!  Also summer guests will be arriving.  This means I better get myself on a schedule so that the house is presentable at any given time.
   To that end, I found a very helpful site on the internet

http://www.flylady.net

The mission statement for FlyLady.net is:
Are you living in CHAOS? (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome)
Do you feel overwhelmed, overextended, and overdrawn?
Hopeless and you don't know where to start?
Don't worry friend, we've been there, too.

The daily email reminders from FlyLady.net are especially helpful this time of year when I can so easily get sidetracked in the garden or the barn, staying out there for hours!
 

Wow, a whole week has flown by since my last blog entry.
   Sorry about that!  My project this summer is my Norwegian Fjord Horse.  Since I am interested in all things Scandinavian, I could not resist him when I saw him on Craig's list last Fall.  I should have resisted him!  I am a complete novice horse person. And he is way too smart!
   Since getting him, I had only ridden him five times. But, some wonderful new friends came over last weekend and fitted him out with a saddle (hooray! no more riding bareback!), and a better bit, and a better halter.  In fact they fully tacked him up!  And it all fit!  They spent a lot of time showing me how to work on ground manners, and gave me riding lessons!  They are WONDERFUL!  I am so thankful to the Lord for them!
  Since our new friends were here, I have done ground work and ridden Haldor almost every day.  The rides have been pretty exciting since he loves to trot (which I hardly know how to do!) and he loves to gallop! (something I'm getting the hang of!)  We even jumped over a pile of logs!  I was rehearsing in my mind the cues for backing up, (since Haldor doesn't back up at all well) , and Haldor decided I must be waiting for him to jump, so he did!

We had company for the three day weekend. We really enjoyed their visit.  But the bad thing about living out in the country is that I really get buried in housework getting ready for company. Because there are no sidewalks, pavement, paved driveways, and the roads are gravel, there is an exceptional amount of dirt and vegetative matter that gets tracked or blown into the house!  The dust bunnies grow at an alarming rate here in the country! And you know I would much rather be in the barn, garden, or craft room than cleaning house!

We added one more ram to our flock yesterday.  He is a rare and lovely chocolate color.  His chocolate coloring goes all the way down to the skin, which is not a common trait in Icelandics.  Most colored Icelandics have their coloring only in their outer wool. Their under wool is cream or grey.  When you spin the wool of those animals, the yarn will end up much much lighter than the outer color of the animal.  The yarn will end up a pale oatmeal color, or grey color. But, our new ram has a rich deep chocolate underwool.  Yarn spun from his wool will produce a lovely yarn saturated in color.  He is especially valuable to me genetically for his ability to produce babies like himself with dense color. 

The Sons of Norway asked me to teach a class. Who knows what went wrong, but nobody showed up. Meanwhile, some senior members happened by the lodge. They saw someone (me!) inside and called the lodge president and asked if anyone was supposed to be in the lodge. He said "No!" They decided I must be a burglar, so they locked the outer door (to trap the burglar inside until the sheriff came!).

I had left the outer door open. When I heard it close, I thought it had blown shut. I tried to open it. It seemed jammed. So I pushed against it really hard and it flew open. A senior couple stood outside looking deathly pale. I asked them cheerfully, "Are you here for the class? But, all the women could reply was, "My heart! My heart!" as she clutched her chest.
After they recovered from the shock, I was able to convinced them that I was there to teach a class. I couldn't help asking, "What are you so worried that a burglar would steal from the lodge?"
The reply? "We have 300 dozen lefse in the chest freezer!"

I didn't know there was a black market for stolen lefse!

Uffda!

The exceptionally warm weather last week melted so much snow up in the mountains that we now have lake front property!  Ha ha!  Our lower pastures are under two feet of water! Happily for us, the original owners located the house on the highest part of the property, so our house is in no danger of flooding.  The kids are having great fun paddling all around the pastures.  Wild geese and ducks are swimming in the pastures too!

This time of year, one of my favorite things to do is go for a wander in the woods.  The wildflowers are just starting to bloom here in the far northwest corner of Montana.  There are many lovely wildflowers, but the jewel of the woods is the rare calypso orchid.  Yesterday during my meander, I was blessed to see two calypso orchids growing within in a few feet of each other.

The calypso's range is circumpolar and includes the forests of the western US states and most of the northern US states. It is also found in Canada, Scandinavia , and the northern part of Russia. Although the calypso orchid is widely distributed, it does not grow in disturbed areas.  Therefore it has become threatened or endangered in some US states, and some European nations.

The calypso is dependent on specific as of yet unidentified soil fungi for its survival. Therefore it does not live long when taken from its wild habitat. It does not transplant, nor can it be cultivated in a domestic setting. 

It is a precious jewel to be discovered and enjoyed in the wild woods.




Flower: Single flower on a stem; 3 sepals, pink to lavender; 3 petals, upper 2 lateral petals resemble sepals, lower petal lip-like; purplish on outside, mottled with yellow, orange, or white on lower inside

Leaves: A single basal leaf, elliptic to ovate; 2 to 4 small scale-like leaves along a single stem

Height: 2 to 8 inches

Found: Moist, rich humus in shaded undisturbed coniferous forests

Dear Friends,
  Thank you for stopping by my blog.
I looked at the weather forecast for today.  The temperature is expected to be 89 degrees!  Wow!  I guess we are just skipping spring this year a heading straight into summer! 
  It was just this week that my daffodils started blooming and the hummingbirds returned. In the woods, the trillium and violets are blooming.
  We are busy fencing the upper part of our property.  The lower, already fenced, pasture is flooded from the Spring snow melt. So, we haven't been able to let the sheep out to pasture yet. My husband thinks we ought to have the fencing done in about two weeks. I hope so! 
 

One of my twin lambs has an eye infection.  I'm treating her with antibiotics and keeping her, her sibling and her mother isolated.  Needless to say, I'm keeping an eagle eye on the rest of the lambs.  Sheep can be very tricky because they show no weakness or illness until they are nearly ready to drop dead.  A good shepherd must know her sheep very well to notice any slight changes that might indicate the onset of an illness or injury, because the sheep will use every effort to conceal it.  By the time a sheep is noticeably ill, it is often too late to save her. Some people think sheep have no "will to live" because from their view the sheep is suddenly sick and usually dead within 24 hours.  They say, "I started medicating the sheep, but she died anyway."  In reality, the sheep had been ill for some time but hiding her illness from the world.
  I think we are a lot like sheep trying to hide our weaknesses and sins from the world, and from our Good Shepherd.  We must confess our weakness to our Good Shepherd so that He can heal us while there is still time.

Dear Rosemalers,
Let's do a new virtual challenge for May and June!
The Entry theme is: A Rosemaled Wedding Gift
No signup is needed. The challenge open to everyone who rosemals. 

This is a virtual challenge. Each person who wants to enter paints an entry on whatever surface they wish (wood, paper, or?). They email me a jpg picture of their entry by the last day of June. I will post the pictures of the entries in a gallery on my website on July 1st.

The winner of the challenge will be selected by popular vote. Everyone who wants to vote for their favorite entry should email me their vote during July 1st-7th. After the voting is over, I will announce the winning entry on the blog and on  The-Global-Rosemaling-Club@yahoogroups.com

This challenge is for fun, to grow as painters, and to inspire each other!

Email your entries to me at linnea@rosemalingblog.com no later than June 30th.

My last ewe, the one I thought looked huge...had twins at 9 pm last night.  Both twins are ewe lambs!  God blessed me this lambing season with SIX females out of seven lambs! 

The twin lambs were bawling this morning.  This isn't a good thing.  It means the lambs are hungry and not getting milk.  I asked my eldest son to hold the ewe while I milked her.  I put the milk into a bottle.  Each lamb drank almost a pint from the bottle! The ewe seemed relieved to have her udder emptied too. By the afternoon one of the twins figured how to nurse from the ewe,  I could tell because her belly was nice and full.  But the other twin was hollow and complaining.  So I milked the ewe again and fed the lamb with a bottle, again.  I'm hoping she'll figure it out how to nurse soon!

Dear friends,
  My ewe Hvit had a little ewe lamb today!

I went out to check on the pregnant ewes Monday afternoon.  There was a brand new white lamb.  She was looking for her mother.  All the other ewes were sniffing and licking her.  So she was quite confused.  But, I was quickly able to pick out her mother.  I put them in a pen of their own so they could bond.
 
Meanwhile another ewe was in labor. But it was apparent that things were not going well.  So I had to do my James Herriot impression. First I determined that the lamb was turned around backwards. This is one of the easier bad presentations to deal with. I provided gentle traction with her contractions until the lamb was delivered. But, because the lamb was born head last it inhaled a lung full of amniotic fluid and was in effect drowning upon delivery.  This necessitated clearing the lungs as quickly as possible.  I'm happy to say my impression of James Herriot was successful and the lambs are all doing wonderfully.

The proper way for a lamb, colt, calf, etc to be born is head first.  This is part of God's marvelous design. In a normal delivery, as the baby travels head first down the birth canal, the lungs are compressed emptying them of fluids. The mother pushes and the head is delivered. The mother rests briefly and gravity drains the excess fluid from the nose and mouth. A few minutes later the mother pushes again, the baby is born, the baby's chest expands and draws in the first breath of air. A miracle of new life!

I am very thankful to God that he worked the timing out perfectly so that I was able to do everything needed for the little backwards lamb. I just marvel at God's amazing design that is so perfectly arranged to create new life.  I find it quite amazing what a profound difference the lamb being turned around makes on the birth process.  It really spells life or death for the lamb.  It shows me that the creation cannot be random accumulations of changes, but is in fact the purposeful design of my Heavenly Father.

Oh happy day Sweet Readers!
Our first lamb was born!  Ull gave birth early this morning to a badger faced ram lamb. 
Praise God! 

Here is an idea for practicing your outlining strokes. Practice outlining on purchased scrapbook paper. Below is a colorful scrapbook paper I purchased at my local craft store. If you drag your mouse across it, my practice outline strokes will show up in white. This is a fun way to practice, practice, practice without any prep work. Use your imagination and have fun!

Hold your mouse over the image to show the outlining. You may need to wait a few seconds.

The shearing went very smoothly. The shearer was kind, patient, and gentle as he could be with the sheep. None of the sheep escaped. No one was injured. It was a complete success.  In fact the shearing went so well I have no story to tell you. I'm very happy. The ewes however, when asked about the shearing said, "Bleh!"

Hooray!  We have a shearer coming out to shear our sheep!  Shearing is a dying art here in Montana, so finding a shearer was not an easy task. Finding one required a lot of networking!

One thing the shearer needs to do his work is a solid clean floor next to the sheep pen.  So my husband and our oldest son helped me get this ready.  Unfortunately I do not have a barn.  But, I am thankful to have a large three sided equipment shed. We were able to clean out one of the bays and put down plywood for a floor.

My oldest son and I will have the job of catching the sheep and dragging them to the shearer. To make our job easier and to prevent any sheep from escaping, we penned in the shearing area. The pen is mostly pallets and baling twine. It is not very pretty, but it is secure. And it is temporary. (My husband normally parks our car in that space!)

Our other children will have the jobs of removing the shorn fleece from the shearing area and keeping the shearing floor swept of sheep droppings.

I penned up the sheep last night and took away their water and food (as requested by the shearer).  The shearer should be arriving in just 40 minutes. 

To be continued...
 

This is taken from Francis A Schaeffer's work "Some Perspectives on Art"

As Christians we know why a work of art has value. Why? First, because a work of art is a work of creativity, and creativity has value because God is the Creator. The first sentence in the Bible declares "In the beginning God created the heaves and the earth".

Second, an art work has value as a creation because human beings are made in the image of God, and therefore we not only can love and feel emotion, but we also have the capacity to create. In fact it is part of the image of God to be creative, or to have creativity. We never find an animal, non-human, making a work of art. On the other hand, we never find people anywhere in the world or in any culture in the world who do not product art. Creativity is intrinsic to our humanness. (Though the Old Testament forbids the making of "graven images" used in idolatry, it uses art and craftsmen in the making of God's true worship, Exodus 20:4; Exodus 25:18; 2 Chronicles 3:6, 7 etc).

  I consider myself so blessed by God to have the opportunity to attend three Bible studies and Sunday school. Attending Sunday school is a given for us.  We both love to learn.  Our pastor does an excellent job teaching. Currently he is teaching on holiness. His sermons and Bible studies in recent weeks have been especially timely and helpful as we are guiding our children into adulthood in a fallen world.  We can't express enough appreciation for his sermons that not only show us God's standards but also show us through God’s word how to apply the principles to our daily lives.
  My husband knew that the men’s study taught by our pastor would be equally worthwhile.  There was an added blessing that the pastor’s wife was teaching a women’s study at the same time.  She is also an exceptional teacher.  She just finished a study on Abraham and will continue a study of the life of Isaac.  Coming from a non-churched background, I have found that building a foundation in Genesis is helpful for understanding the New Testament.
   Some other women in our church were working through a Beth Moore study. These women were all educators.  I knew that as a former elementary school teacher, I would have a lot in common with them.  I also knew that because they were educators they would really be dedicated to learning.  The topic was growing in faith. Certainly something I could see as a benefit to my walk in Christ.  So, I started attending that study as well.
 I was not intending to add another Bible study to my schedule…but one of the younger women in our church just started a Bible study centered around Debi Pearl’s book Created to be His Help Meet.  Neither my mother, nor my grandmother are/were Christians, so I did not have an example of godly womanhood growing up. I know I can grow a lot in the area of having a gentle spirit! So I’m attending this study too.
   As the Bible says, make the most of your time because the days are evil.  And what is God’s desire for us?  He desires that we be conformed to the image of His Son Jesus Christ.  How blessed am I to have the freedom of time, health, and opportunity to study God’s word in four different settings each week!  So I will make the most of it.  For who, but God knows what tomorrow will bring?

When I went outside to feed my critters this morning, I was saddened to discover one of my laying hens was dead and partly eaten. Uhgg! We live on the edge of the National Forest and our poultry is a tempting target for all the predators that live in the woods. It could have been the bobcat that killed the hen. But, it also could have been a raccoon, or weasel, or skunk. Some people I know would set up traps to catch and kill the predators. But, I think that isn't a reasonable solution because our poultry will just continue to lure in more predators. It just doesn't seem right to me to kill predators for following their instincts. Also one of the very reasons I love living on the edge of the national forest is seeing glimpses of wildlife. We are always feel very blessed when we are privileged to see God's creatures in their natural habitats. (If I was living back in time homesteading in the wilderness 1870's and I depended on those hens laying eggs to feed my children, it would be a different story!)
  So our solution will be either not raise chickens at all, or to build a solid walled predator proof chicken coop.

Our youngest child took this picture of our new pets enjoying the winter sunshine.  The children named them Eowen and Arwen.  We are having such fun with them.  They are very playful and affectionate.

The fact that humans recognize beauty seems to me to give proof of God. If there is no God, beauty is just a random accident. If there is no God there is no more value in beauty than in ugliness. The Bible takes a subjective moral perspective on the natural material world. The Bible says God created the material world and it was “good”.

Even the unbeliever has the desire to leave the ugly cities made by men to be refreshed in Gods sublime creation. Who can look at God’s sunrises, sunsets, rainbows, rivers, waterfalls, mountains, flowers, and crystals and say they are not beautiful? If God’s creation was not good, why would it refresh the unbeliever?  

Why do so many unbelievers worship the creation?  They worship the creation because they recognize it as good and beautiful. But, if the creation was a product of random selection over millions of years, and was not designed, then it ought not to be “good” or beautiful or even orderly. But, since we DO see beauty and order in the universe we should also see God in it.

The Bible says every good gift comes from God.  I know this to be true. Let me illustrate. I wanted to get sheep. And, I was finally in the position of being able to get some. If you asked me which breed I really wanted, I would have told you, "Icelandic Sheep".  I have been interested in Icelandics for at least five years. Icelandics have many outstanding qualities. They are a primitive breed, which actually means they are an intelligent breed. Their fleeces are double coated which means from each fleece you can spin baby soft yarns for garment as well as coarse long wearing rug yarns. Furthermore Icelandics come in all colors. They can be milked to makes cheese. They are excellent mothers. They have no problem raising twins, or even triplets. And their meat is considered gourmet in comparison to other breeds.  But, Icelandics can be VERY expensive and even a trio of two ewes and a ram wasn't in our budget.

We took a trailer load of wood to a brother-in-Christ, who because of an accident was not able to get his wood in. During the visit he mentioned that his therapist knew of a person that needed to find good homes for quite a bit of livestock that they had "rescued" because hay prices had sky-rocketed. Since I expressed an interest, the next time his therapist came, he got the contact information and then called me.

When I called the "rescue" I asked, NOT expecting an affirmative answer, " Do you have any Icelandic Sheep?"  "Yes." As the conversation progressed and evolved, to my amazement, I became the owner of the Icelandics. Even though I believe it was the "rescues" original intention to keep the Icelandic flock themselves. God worked the timing out perfectly.  If I had called a day later ALL the animals would have been gone.  And until I asked, the Icelandics weren't available at all.

How good God is not only to give me a flock of sheep, but to even give me the very breed I wanted most!

Tibetan monks make sculptures out of butter; Navajo medicine men make sand paintings which blow away. Do we think, "what a waste of time" or "what a waste that such a beautiful thing will be destroyed"?  Do we think, "all that work for nothing"? 

Are the things we create any different in the long scheme of eternity?  Probably not.  My children might keep my rosemaling.  But it is highly unlikely that it my rosemaling will survive the changes of fashion to come in the next 100 years.  And if fashion changes don’t devalue it, entropy certainly will! Is a piece of rosemaling that survives a hundred years any more permanent than a sand painting or a butter sculpture that lasts a day? In light of the vast ages of eternity, I say no. 

Monday we brought home a new ram.  He is a beautiful black yearling Icelandic. 

This winter the snow at our farm is four feet deep. The sheep mostly stay in the barn, but if they wish, they can go out in the corral. They have made trails through the snow to their salt lick and to their favorite trees.  Their well-used trails are narrow corridors through the deep snow.

The snow has nearly covered the top of the fences surrounding the corral.  But, this has not been a problem because the ewes never venture off the trails they have made. When the ewes were first brought up to the corral in the Fall, they quickly determined the fence was stout and secure. So as the snow had gotten deeper and deeper it had never occurred to the ewes that the fences were becoming less secure as the rising snow made the fences shorter and shorter.

 The evidence I uncovered this morning, pointed to the alarming realization that our new yearling ram took the flock on a walk-about in the pre-dawn hours! He stepped right over the fence and the ewes followed! Thankfully they were home again in the barn for breakfast no worse for their adventure. But the hoof prints in the snow and little piles of “sheep berries” gave away their adventurous wanderings.
 
I am thankful for my husband and oldest son who immediately got right to work remodeling so that the sheep cannot go walk-about again!

The warmer sunny weather, and impending lambing season is making me anxious for the snow to melt off.  I'm longing for green things to start sprouting up.  Right after Thanksgiving I decorated for Christmas. Along with all the Christmas decorations, I accented the great-room with red. I have red throws on the couch and loveseat, red patterned table clothes, red velvet table runners, and red candles. I have red glassware, and red toile china on display. My red amaryllis is about to bloom. All the rich red was delightful all the way through Valentines Day. Dare I say it gave the great-room a cozy womb feeling through the cold snowy winter? But now I am ready for spring! I'm making myself wait until after the Amaryllis has faded.  But just as soon as it has, I'm putting away the red and bringing out the fresh new greens of spring, robin egg blues, sunny sky blues, and narcissus whites. I will put away my red glassware and red toile china and display my celadon pottery. The red candles will be replaced with white. The red patterned table clothes and velvet runners will be replaced with crisp white linen ones.  

Spring-cleaning will of course come after the removal of the red and before the decorating with the fresh colors of spring.  You knew that I'm sure.  But I felt strangely uncomfortable until I put that down in writing!

Right about dusk everyday, I go out to the barn to feed all my critters .  As soon as I stepped out of the house into the garage today, I observed several things... The main garage door was open and our new cat, Cymric was not sleeping on his heated bed.  The most awful ruckus was coming from the guinea fowl pen.  I thought to myself, "I bet our new cat has gone to the barn to visit the guinea fowl."  Upon entering the barn, the guinea fowl shrieks were deafening.  I looked around for Cymric. I thought I spied him hiding under a bench behind the backside of the guinea fowl pen.  As I started to walk closer, I realized the cat was not Cymric.  My second thought was, "That is a big kitty." My third thought, as I realized it was growling at me was, "That kitty is a bobcat!"  I made a hasty retreat back to the house.  Not because I was frightened, mind you.  No, I wanted to get my camera!   Cymric thankfully had never left the garage.  He was napping on the sleeping bags stored up on the high shelf.

I have finished and published my second rosemaling tutorial. This one is on painting Telemark-style flowers freehand.

If you live in an area without other rosemalers, or if your rosemaling club meets infrequently, why not join an internet rosemaling group?  I belong to The-Global-Rosemaling-Club. It is a yahoo group.  As the title suggests, the 670 members are from all over the globe including: Australia, Canada, France, Iceland, Kuwait, Norway, South Africa, and the United States.

Members share their painting ideas, pictures of artwork, rosemaling seminars dates, where to purchase art supplies, and questions and answers about Rosemaling.  It is a very friendly and helpful group.  It does get chatty and a little off topic, but that is what makes it a social club.

 Some of the popular Club events are Gift and Trading Card Exchanges.  A new club event is a monthly rosemaling challenge.  Pictures of the monthly challenge will be hosted on this website.  You can find more information about the group at:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/The-Global-Rosemaling-Club/

If your email time is limited consider joining:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rosemaling/

This group is another great resource.  They are quick to answer questions about rosemaling.  The messages are strictly about rosemaling without the social aspect of the Global Club.

As a Christian and an artist, I sometimes wish God had gifted me with musical ability instead of artistic ability. (I have no musical talent. I am not being falsely modest.  My tone-deaf singing is painful to my musical family. I can’t even clap in time to a rhythm!)  

In this present age, musical artists can praise God with their talent. Members of our small congregation praise God by performing special solos or duets. When they are not performing special music, their voices still bless us in the congregational singing. Christian musicians write songs, some record songs. How wonderful to have a concrete way to praise God.

Musicians have the example of King David’s beautiful psalms.  The Bible records that David was able to use his music to sooth King Saul. Miriam sang and danced before the Lord. The angels sing praise to God. Singing and playing musical instruments is a Biblically sanctioned way to bring glory to God.

But, how does a Christian visual artist praise God with her work? That is something I have been pondering lately…

Hello!
  I'm very excited and happy about this rosemaling tutorial I published on YouTube.  I hope it will encourage you to have fun rosemaling without a pattern.  This first video is a tutorial on double loading and comma strokes.

My Father is an atheist. He believes that everything that has happened in his life was because of the choices he made.  He believes he created his success by himself through his own hard work.  

  He taught me, his daughter, the purpose of life is to be successful.  He defined success for a women as: marry a college graduate with a bachelors in science or business.  Complete your own college education in the field of nursing, teaching, or business.  Support your husband’s career so that he can be successful. Live frugally.  Buy a house. Put your children through college.  Save for retirement.

This is flawed thinking is something I have been working on rooting out of my core values bit by bit.  First, I believe GOD created me.  I believe that GOD knew me before the foundation of the world.  That GOD has prepared good works for me that I may walk in them.

It was wrong of my father to tell me my artistic talent was a worthless talent. It is God who has filled me with the wisdom, understanding, and knowledge to design artistic works.  I believe that my artistic talent is a gift of GOD and that God uses each one according to his or her gifts.  I believe our sole purpose on earth is to glorify God.

It was wrong of my father to direct me into a career path that I found difficult and draining because I had no gift for it

Success is NOT defined by marriage to a “good provider”, home ownership, and plump retirement account.  Success is discovering the will of God for my life and doing it!

Last night at AWANAS (a Christian Club for children) I was coloring with my five year old students. One of the little girls admired my coloring.  I thanked her and I told her that I liked to paint flowers at home.  She turned to me excitedly and said with her little face shinning up at me, "You could be an artist!"

It is nice to imagine she thought I looked too young to be a grown-up with a career; and that some day when I grew up I could be an artist. 

Maybe grown ups don't color with crayons with five year olds? 

I was raised to be very careful with money. I don’t want to waste anything. But as a consequence, I can be too chintzy with my materials.  Some artists create wonderful works of lavish abundance.  I love their work because it is something I am not able to do.  I have bought special expensive materials, such as hand dyed French silk ribbon. But, I have felt no project of mine was ever good enough to use it on. I have temperately tied it around a hat.  But, I didn’t cut it to just the right length or attach it permanently, because I might want it for a better project later. In fact, I have a whole stash of supplies I am saving to use “when I’m good enough”.
 
  So, why aren’t I good enough to use expensive materials?  I think it goes back to my parents message that "only a very few people in the world are gifted enough to be professional artists". According to my parents, only a select few artistic geniuses were good enough to major in art in college. And to my parents, I wasn't one. And so the message that plays in the back of my mind is, “Because your parents didn't think you were good enough to major in art, you aren’t talented enough to spend real money on your art."

Maybe that is one reason I love telemark rosemaling. It is so lavish and lush in its curves.  The lavish free flowing scrolls are decorated with teardrops and tendrils in excess.

Now, I know that my parents message is not correct.  There are many professional successful artists with the same amount of talent as I. And now I realize no matter how talented I was, my parents never would have approved of my majoring in art.

A few days ago, as usual, my husband cleaned the ashes out of our woodstove and then built a fresh fire.  He commented that the stove wasn’t drawing too well, but he thought that once he got the stovepipe hot enough, it would draw better. So he built a massive fire in the stove. It was then that we discovered that the spark arrester must be clogged because smoke started filling the house. I threw open all the windows and turned on the ceiling fans to blow the smoke out. Of course the indoor temperature dropped down to the mid 3o’s. Finally, I decided to pull the burning logs out of the woodstove and throw them out the window into a snow bank. That went well, except for the additional soot from the burning logs that coated all the surfaces of our living room.

Fortunately we have electric baseboard heaters. So after airing out, I turned on the electric heat. I started vacuuming and washing soot off of everything. Well wouldn’t you know it, about two hours into the intensive cleaning process, the power went out! Since we don’t have a backup generator yet, we had no heat and no water pressure. So I couldn’t finish the cleaning. I made a early cold dinner of tuna salad sandwiches and canned peaches. Of course the house got progressively colder and darker as the afternoon wore on. We spent the evening bundled up playing board games in the candle light until about 8pm, when even the kids decided they would just as well go to bed!

  I was so happy to be woken up in the middle of the night when power came back on! Kudos to the power company’s repair crew!

Yes, I realize how woefully unprepared we are for a long term power failure!  This time of year I don't have to worry about my frozen food spoiling, but I do have to worry about my pipes freezing!  The other thing I worry about is water for my livestock. But, in an extended outage, I could haul water from the river.

When I think back to my earliest memories of creating I remember making a little figure out of twigs to play with in my grandparent’s garden. I remember my sister and I used sticks and leaves and rocks to make houses for our little stick people.

I remember another time when the adults were pruning the shrubs we made costumes for ourselves out of leaves. At school, other children might be skipping rope, playing on the swings, but I found a place in the school field where someone’s garden grew over the school fence. I plucked leaves, twigs, and seedpods to make little pretend pets. I think I have always had an urge to create.

When I was about seven, my teacher used a whole stack of white construction paper to make me a book to draw in. I heard her tell my Mom “Your daughter is so talented.” I went home that day and I thought "I have to draw a really wonderful picture in this special book my teacher made for me". And I remember thinking it had to be the best picture I had ever drawn.  So I drew a princess on a castle balcony, a prince on a horse, sword in hand fighting a dragon. Phew! When I was done I was pleased. I was exhausted after drawing the best picture ever! My picture brought lots of praise from my teacher. Then she said the fateful words. “I can’t wait to see what you draw tonight.” Uhgg! What could top a princess, a dragon, and a horse!? Oh!! A horse! Horses!!  Lots of horses! A heard of wild mustangs and a cowboy rounding them up!
 
  The mustang round up was the last picture I drew in that special book my teacher made for me. The pressure I put on myself was just too great. What if my next picture wasn’t as good and I messed the whole book up! What theme would be grand enough to draw for the book? Besides, I only knew how to draw my two favorite things: princesses and horses and I had already done that!

  There after I went back to drawing in the margin of my school papers and on the backs of worksheets. Then the drawing was just for fun, and I wasn’t wasting “good” paper if I messed up. If I liked it I kept it with my other scraps.  If I didn’t I threw it away and had no guilt about waste.

I think my desire to leave city life and move to the country was caused by the tale of my two sets of grandparents. I had one set of grandparents who lived in town and one set of grandparents that lived in the country.

  Town Grandpa lost his job during the depression. Town Grandpa and Grandma were reduced to eating potatoes, just potatoes through the depression.  Their son, my father left home at 16 because he perceived that his parents couldn’t afford to feed him too.

  Country Grandpa lost his job at the mill, and the bank foreclosed on his farm.  But country Grandpa found an abandoned farm to rent and country Grandpa kept right on farming through the depression.  Through the depression my country grandparents ate home grown pork, beef, and chicken.  They had home raised milk, cheese, and butter.  Country Grandpa also brought home pheasants and rabbits he hunted in the woods.  Country Grandma had a huge garden.  My country grandparents and their children ate well. Their rented farm was on a major east west road.  Many homeless families stopped by on their way west.  Country Grandma was able to feed them too. I think subconsciously I equate country life with abundance and town life with scarcity.

My country grandparents were still alive when I was growing up but my town grandparents weren’t.  Country grandparents moved to the edge of suburbia to be near us grandkids.  But even in his eighties, country Grandpa had a two acre garden  and orchard.  Every Sunday afternoon we’d spend with my Country grandparents. Country Grandma would cook us all sorts of wonderful things: apple brown betty, Peach cobbler, buckwheat pancakes, fried chicken, mashed potatoes saturated in butter, biscuits and gravy, fresh corn on the cob, strawberries and shortcake, fried catfish or trout, and fresh squeezed orange juice. Oh, and when I think back on the summer days when Grandpa’s apricots reached the peak of ripeness.  The air would be fragrant and warm. And we would pick and eat as many apricots as we wanted.  They would drop into our hands as we reached to pick them, soft and golden.  They were like honey and rich and sweet as they melted in my mouth. Little wonder I wanted to live like my country grandparents who I perceived lived in the land flowing with milk and honey!

   The emergence of Rosemaling has a lot to do, I believe, with pride of farm ownership. The rest of Europe was still under a feudal system where the land belonged to the King, Lords, and the Church. Norwegian farms were owned by the farmers themselves. In 1660 forty percent of the farms were farmer owned. In 1723 - 1730 even more land became farmer owned when the church owned lands were sold at auction.  If a farm stayed in the family for a sufficient length of time, special laws enacted during the Viking age came into effect. One of these laws allowed family members to redeem a family farm that has been sold.  These laws served to protect land ownership within the family. Consequently a farmer knew that improvements he made to the farm would benefit his descendants.  Perhaps he would even be remembered by his descendants for the improvements he had made.  Many farm owners made sure their names were remembered by having them rosemaled on the walls, ceilings, or built-in furniture of their farmhouse!

In The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron, Cameron says a person can’t be creative if they don’t feed their creativity.  She likens creativity to a lake or a well, which an artist must periodically refill lest it become dry.  In order to refill the well, Cameron suggests people who want to be creative take their inner artist on a date. She suggests we spend alone time noticing the beauty around us. Hiking through the woods is a way that I often refill my well of creativity.  When I see God’s creation: the rich carpet of green moss, the delicate yellows of a mushroom, the pale pink of a bud I am inspired with wonder.
  But Cameron said that some artist dates should be purely fun. We should try to capture some of the freedom and unfettered joy of childhood.  So, I took my “artist child” ice skating.  But, not just regular ice skating .  When my “artist child” pictured ice skating in her mind she imagined graceful young women in flowing costumes skating to soaring music.  So, that’s what I did.  I put on my floatiest skirt, my ice skates, my ipod and I ice danced in the bright sunshine.

A fear...

What if I am just creating yard sale fodder?  What if my body of art that I have strived to create, given the hours of my days and the days of my years is evaluated as just so much junk to give to the Goodwill by my grandchildren after I am dead?

Today was a gorgeous sunny day. The kids and I spent the morning putting up the Christmas decorations.  Then after lunch we went ice skating down in our pasture where the creek overflowed into the meadow. It made a great place to ice skate. We have to make the most of our ice skating opportunities when they arise. In a few days it will snow again and cover up the ice. If we are lucky, we’ll be able to shovel it clear for a while.

Brushes

I suggest my beginning student buy three brushes.  And, I use just these three brushes for painting almost everything!
Loew-Cornell Golden Taklon
Size 4 Round 7000 series
Size 6 Flat 7300 series for scrolls
Size 1 Script liner 7050 series for outlining

For painting interiors I use:

A one inch wide Flat glaze brush for scrolls
Size 16 Flat for flowers
Size 8 Round 7000 series for outlining

Paint

I suggest that my beginning students use Delta Ceramcoat. In order to keep costs down, our projects only use five colors. I like the Delta colors listed below because they closely resemble the traditional rosemaling colors.
Red Iron Oxide
Antique Gold
Prussian Blue
Antique White
Burnt Umber

I paint with Jo Sonja’s Artists’ Acrylic Colours.  (I don’t recommend these for beginners because I find I need to mix in retarder, kleister, or flow medium to produce the correct painting consistency.)
The Jo Sonja colors I use the most often are:
Red Earth
Yellow Oxide
Prussian Blue
Warm White
Burnt Umber

The storm dumped about 2 feet of snow here in two days. Then the temperature climbed, and all that snow melted!  When I went out to feed my Fjord Horse I discovered his stall floor is imperceptibly lower than the ground outside the stall.  It was low enough that his stall was partially flooded.  I decided I needed to dig a trench to drain the water.  Digging the trench in the stall was easy enough.  But, continuing the trench outside was nearly impossible, because although the snow was melting, the ground was frozen.  But, after two hours of work I completed the trench, drained the stall, and filled in the floor with additional dirt to raise the level. I finished by putting fresh bedding down. So, once again Haldor has a dry stall to shelter in. 

The snow, melting all at once, also turned my guinea fowls' pen into a swamp.  The weight of the snow caused the tarp roof to sag.  The melting snow was soaking through the tarp and soaking the pen.  I certainly could not leave my twenty-five two month old guinea fowl in there. I decided to put them in with my five hens who have a 4’x8x6’ pen in the barn. The chickens immediately hated the alien invaders and started pecking them! I caught the chickens and put them out of the pen. They strutted around the outside of the pen using fowl language (hee hee!) to express their anger. I quickly built a brush pile in one end of the pen for the young guinea fowl to hide in. Then I put the chickens back in. All is quiet now. Phew! 

Not much time for art today!

I am reading an excellent book, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron.  One point Cameron makes is that for most us choosing to be an artist is an act of rebellion against our parents.  Because we feel guilt for this rebellion, we feel our art must be hugely successful or complex to justify our choosing to pursue art against our parent’s wishes.  I have fallen into this trap.  My beginning projects are never simple.  The projects I have undertaken are colossal in scale.  My first quilt project was a queen sized quilt made up of over 400 diamonds cut on the bias.  My first stained glass project was a Tiffany-style lamp.  My first sewing project was a formal gown for the prom. When undertaking such challenging projects without the proper beginning steps, naturally we are frustrated.  The project doesn’t come out as we had imagined it in our minds.  Likely, we were criticized for choosing such a complex project in the first place.  If we are wise, we learn from this experience and start with smaller projects the next time.  A wise person realizes their struggle was caused by trying to rush the learning process, and skipping the work of learning the basic skills.  Of course, not me!  I struggled through piecing the quilt together.  Yes, I finished it.  But, I hated making it. I blamed quilting.  “What a dumb craft!  How dumb to cut up perfectly good fabric just to sew it back together again!  I’m never going to quilt again!”
 The next craft I took on was stained glass.  (The irony of choosing another craft dependent on cutting material into small pieces and putting them back together again is not lost on me now!) “What a dumb craft!  How dumb to cut up perfectly good glass just to fit it back together again!  I’m never going to do stained glass again!” And so it went.  I’d choose an impossibly hard project for my first exploration of a craft. I would struggle through the process, hate the results, blame the craft, and move on.
   Fortunately for me, I also enrolled in classes to learn some crafts. My teachers made me take time to learn the basics.  They made sure I had success with each step before I was allowed to progress to the next level.  By the end of the class, I completed several well-made simple projects. No, they were not the masterworks I fantasized about. But, I enjoyed the process. I felt proud of what I had learned and happy with what I had created.  And most importantly, I was left with the positive feeling of anticipating creating again.