My 2014 Word for the Year, and the journey begins 

Well, my year has started on a reasonably (for me) productive note, with a growing stack of Economy Blockalong blocks waiting to have their bunny ears trimmed off and be cut down to size.

 

I like to chain stitch them, first pinning the triangles in place and stackng them beside the machine ready for the assembly line.

Then on a bright a summer's day last week it seemed appropriate to use some of my very favourite, sunny Kaffe Fassett fabrics to make these padded coat hangers.

Speaking of hang-ups (how's that for a segue?), have you seen this woman lately?

She used to be so adventurous, hugging tigers in Thailand, riding camels in the Middle East, roaring through the Arabian desert on the back of a clapped out ute following in the steps of Lawrence of Arabia...

But after seeing a precious life extinguished in seconds, she's so conscious of the fragility of life that she's becoming afraid of her own shadow.

You've probably realized by now that I'm talking about myself, a bit of a 'cowardy custard' these days without my man.

So when blogging friends started writing about their Word for 2014 and asking me for mine I felt it was time to take a good hard look at myself and decide on a characteristic I'd like to embrace this year.

COURAGE

That's it. My Word for 2014. And I'm going to need a humongous dose of it.

As I write this I'm sitting at a departure gate about to embark on a huge adventure, I'm on my way to Africa to visit my friend Wendi, a quilter, in Zimbabwe for a few days, and then I'm Botswana bound, to see Sarah. She lives in a country where, as far as I can gather, deadly snakes, spiders and scorpions abound, rhinos charge, baboons will abscond with your groceries, and roaring lions prowl the bush at night. I'm not sounding very courageous yet, am I?

On my way, traveling alone for the first time, I have to negotiate airports I've never been to before, and learn to cope with take-offs without anxiously grasping the arm of the surprised stranger seated beside me.

My phone is loaded with recordings of some of Boak's sermons, so I can listen to his wise words, and Di B has made me some pretty luggage tags.

Another friend has given me a new jacket in my very favourite colour to keep me dry in the tropical downpours Southern Africa is currently experiencing.

I have my hand sewing packed in a gorgeous Korean quilted satin bag that my daughter-in-law's mother gave me.

And Sarah and Wendi are forming a texting cheer squad to encourage me on the journey. I feel surrounded by so much love!

Best of all, I have this promise...

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