The Story of the Butterfly

The Story of The Butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole. Then it stopped, as if it couldn't go further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bits of cocoon. The butterfly emerged easily but it had a swollen body and shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch, expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge and expand enough to s upport the body. Neither happened! In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around. It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand: The restricting cocoon and the struggle required by the butterfly to get through the opening was a way of forcing the fluid from the body into the wings so that it would be ready for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. Going through life with no obstacles would cripple us. We will not be strong as we could have been and we would never fly.

Butterfly stay with me....

QUOTATION:

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

When this butterfly visited my garden, I felt as though God reached down from heaven and 'touched' me. The butterfly even waited for me while I rushed into the house to retrieve my camera...I was also able to take several photos of this awesome insect. It seemed like the butterfly wanted to relate it's 'patience' with me.

Seeing this gentle insect flutter from flower to flower reminded me of a very sad story a lady I met in the store told me. The lady had lost her daughter, however had felt a similar feeling when a butterfly flew into her sun room shortly after her daughter's passing. Now a year later, the lady was telling me how close she felt to her daughter when the butterfly was near. Now the lady was buying some butterflies made out of feathers to give to her lady friends.

I also recall another day when a butterfly landed on a plant. I was feeling particularly SAD that day. However seeing that beautiful butterfly alight gently on the plant in front of me brought me a certain 'stillness' or feeling of peace. As though God was indeed telling me to cheer up. Has anyone else experienced such a surreal 'visit'?

Amber Lace - A Cloth Doll Completed

Two ladies in my craft group made this doll recently so I finally completed my version. She is a stuffed cloth 'beauty'. I painted her face Saturday afternoon while I lazed in my gazebo enjoying the sunshine. Using mainly recycled materials for the doll including a vintage doily for her collar, I had fun embellishing my project with different items I have in my 'stash'.

My completed doll is not as fancy as the picture illustrated in the magazine article, however she is my version of Amber Lace, a Victorian cloth doll bust. I think I will complete the body if I make another one like this doll as I am wondering what I am going to do with her now. Please comment.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"Together we create tomorrow's heirlooms."

Seamstress Joke

One day, when a seamstress was sewing while sitting close to a river, her thimble fell into the river. When she cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, 'My dear child, why are you crying?' The seamstress replied that her thimble had fallen into the water and that she needed it to help her husband in making a living for their family. The Lord dipped His hand into the water and pulled up a golden thimble set with sapphires.
'Is this your thimble?' the Lord asked The seamstress replied, 'No.' The Lord again dipped into the river. He held out a golden thimble studded with rubies. 'Is this your thimble?' the Lord asked. Again, the seamstress replied, 'No.' The Lord reached down again and came up with a leather thimble. 'Is this your thimble ?' the Lord asked. The seamstress replied, 'Yes.' The Lord was pleased with the woman's honesty and gave her all three thimbles to keep, and the seamstress went home happy. Some years later, the seamstress was walking with her husband along the riverbank, and her husband fell into the river and disappeared under the water. When she cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked her, 'Why are you crying?' 'Oh Lord, my husband has fallen into the river!' The Lord went down into the water and came up with George Clooney. 'Is this your husband?' the Lord asked. 'Yes,' cried the seamstress. The Lord was furious. 'You lied! That is an untruth!' The seamstress replied, 'Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a misunderstanding. You see, if I had said 'no' to George Clooney, you would have come up with Brad Pitt. Then if I said 'no' to him, you would have come up with my husband. Had I then said 'yes,' you would have given me all three. Lord, I'm not in the best of health and would not be able to take care of all three husbands, so THAT'S why I said 'yes' to George Clooney. And so the Lord let her keep him. The moral of this story is:
Whenever a woman lies, it's for a good and honorable reason, and in the best interest of others. That's our story, and we're sticking to it.
Signed, All Us Women

My Hummingbird Returned....

Yesterday, I was showing my friend my garden when I noticed hubby had taken down my hummingbird feeder so the rain would not wash out the hummingbird syrup. The rain has ceased for an hour, so I hung out the feeder again...and our friendly visitor hummed overhead within arm's reach almost immediately. I am sure she was cold from the rain therefore it was reassuring to see her visit for some energy food. A breath of summer...

I uploaded two photos of my feeder and morning glories last summer and am hoping these 'Heavenly Blue' morning glories will grow from seed again this summer. I noticed one sprouting out of my planter yesterday. Summer is almost magical time of year.

My First Attempt at needle tatting...what do you think?

Finally I had a chance to upload this photo of my very first attempt at needle tatting. I really need lots of practice as it is difficult to achieve even tension. My friendly ladies at etatters.com are helping me with this.

My friend sent me the address to a beautiful site...excactly what I needed to make me feel better. How softly my garden 'whispers' to me.
http://www.thepastwhispers.com/My_Friend.html
My garden is drenched today from the rain, but the moisture is needed.
Thought from above web site:
When you try your best, but you don't succeed,
When you get what you want, but not what you need,
And the tears come streaming down your face,
When you lose something you can't replace,
Lights will guide you home,
And I will try to fix you.
My friend, I will try to fix you.

-- "Fix You" from the CD "X & Y" by Coldplay

What to Blog

I was checking another blogger last evening and really enjoyed her creativity. I was intrigued by wonderful photos and her collection of quotes and inspirational little sayings. Please check out her blog: http://fourfiftythree.blogspot.com/
I had inserted another photo of one of my 'completed' WIP"S...hope you enjoy her as much as I enjoyed creating her. I wish i had a better camera to display the detail. My sister takes wonderful, CLEAR photos ...check out her dolls here:

http://search.stores.ebay.com/Chosen-Treasures4u_dolls_W0QQftsZ2QQsaselZ3896012QQsofpZ0

My creation is a Drew doll, friend of Barbie and I crocheted the teal beaded and sequined dress from a Paradise doll pattern. I am sorry the embellishments do not display well. I have ordered four more patterns from Paradise so looks like I may be busy this summer. The theme for our Doll Show in October is Pedlar dolls so I am working on my entry...stay tuned.
I am also very excited as I 'think' I have taught myself how to needle tat and am picking up a book from library to help me out. I am quite pleased I found online instructions to needle tat much easier than the conventional shuttle method. After being inspired by some lovely tatting blog sites:
1.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbA8KLjRXUfZXNCMwhGkdl0uuGoxfvrcisahaJyYMpq4DCCl97yMwzGOUsEyZjq5E-xj-ZoQZOAFftlYos0qnhPk67DpGv3dwRhtF8qA2Z28BhNo5_r7-vFFPhJuk-VMRQpGKqL0Yuso1e/s1600-h/PumpkinJuiceHeartBl.jpg
2.
http://25motifchallenge.blogspot.com/index.html
Just checked the time and I must say 'ciao' for this morn as I have a hair appointment this morning. Going to USA this weekend and need a trim.

Have a wonderful day everyone. And remeber to say 'thanks' for all we are blessed with.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

FLAP YOUR WINGS AND SPREAD THE MESSAGE OF LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP .