Maggie and I had an agreement–when she went, she’d take me with her. Actually, I’m not sure Maggie ever agreed, I mean, we didn’t shake on it. (I should have made her shake; she knew how to shake on command.) On Wednesday morning, 30 March 2016, I had to release her from her semi-contract.

24 Feb 2004: Maggie and her litter-mate sister, Millie, came to live with us. They were 2-3-month-old puppies we adopted from the South Utah County Animal Shelter, through Lab Rescue of Utah. We picked them out from an online photo titled “the Yellow Girls.”

Baby Maggie and Millie (formerly known as The Yellow Girls)

Baby Maggie and Millie (formerly known as The Yellow Girls)

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2014: September, October, November . . . Frequent visits to Amazon kept bringing up a particular product–Margaret Stump’s book, Pin Loom Weaving.

http://smile.amazon.com/Pin-Loom-Weaving-Projects-Looms/dp/0811712486/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453402445&sr=8-1&keywords=pin+loom+weaving

Pin Loom Weaving by Margaret Stump

Pin Loom Weaving by Margaret Stump

Who’d ever heard of pin loom weaving? But that folk art horse on the cover captured my interest over and over. And I don’t even like horses. I mean, I like ’em all right, but I wasn’t a horse-mad child. To tell the truth, I never once noticed the square thing at the bottom of the photo.

“You buy too many art books because of the cover,” I told myself. “Too many. Just say no to this one.”

Week after week: “Just say no.” “Walk away.” “I promise if you swim back now, no harm will come to you.”

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Something has been on my mind for a while: the way we readily judge with our eyes. If something looks good to us, we like it. If it doesn’t appeal to our eyesight we express no opinion of it, dismiss it. Do we ever stop to consider how it makes someone else feel when we don’t say something kind or don’t recognize their effort, and bravery in sharing it?

10 Jan 2016–a fun, loose sketch.

Not long ago I showed some samples of my Weave-it squares to a male acquaintance. Each square was woven with the same pattern; only the color choices and sequence of use varied. (See photo below.)

Four squares, same pattern, different color combinations.

Four squares–same pattern, different color combinations.

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In her video, Yoga Over 50, Barbara Benagh says, “We live in a very youth-oriented culture and it contributes to a viewpoint that aging is loss. . . . Throughout life, the stages of life, each have their separate strengths. . . . Aging is a time of wisdom; wisdom can only come from experience . . .” To that I noted that Solomon asked for and was given the gift of wisdom from God in his relative youth. I do believe God is the bestower of wisdom, but age and experience help.

Yoga over 50 by Barbara Benagh

Yoga over 50 by Barbara Benagh

http://smile.amazon.com/Yoga-over-50-8-Routines/dp/B00ADO9C9I/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1440702177&sr=1-1&keywords=yoga+over+50+barbara+benagh

So I’ve been pondering this idea that aging isn’t loss, and have been cultivating a new appreciation for getting older. Heaven knows I’ve struggled with it. Maybe aging is harder for some people than for others, but I believe it’s difficult for us all.

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