I imagine many of you are feeling the same way that I am feeling now. The weight of all the world is very intense. Climate change, millions of refugees all around the world, endangered species, and now Ukraine, are all weighing heavily on our hearts and souls. Because we are working to help those in need, and speaking out to fight eco-system collapse, I have to keep going. But tonight as I drove home I wept in the car. This week we topped $1.9 million raised for non-profits in the last 23 years, but it is bittersweet. There is so much more to do. We thank you for supporting our family-owned business, which allows us to help those in need, and protect the Earth.
Today was also the 1 year anniversary of the mass shooting at the King Soopers grocery store here in Boulder. Some days it feels like too much, but just like you, I get up and keep going. I practice Daily Gratitude and meditation which helps me to stay centered in the moment. Quilting is certainly part of that grounding and centering. I make art and do something creative every day. It keeps me sane in these troubled times.
Today I had lunch with 2 of our humanitarian friends – the founder of Engineers Without Borders, and a retired administrator for Doctors Without Borders. One of them had just come back from a refugee camp on the border of Mexico, full of desperate Haitian refugee families. These 2 have decades of experience and stories to tell about those who have fled violence, natural disasters, and famine…in Asia, Africa and Central America. I have witnessed extreme poverty and shanty towns on 4 continents as well, so we have some pretty intense conversations. I have this kind of relationship also with Kathy Price at Mission of Love, who is shipping food, medical supplies and your donated quilts to Ukrainian refugees now.
However we are part of an international network of people who don’t look away. I have been blessed to meet many of these people who spend their life in humble service, and they continue to energize and inspire me. They give me hope for the future. They are always looking for ways to help others. One of them recently had surgery and he is already out there volunteering to help those who lost their homes in the fires. And I know that many of you are part of that network as well. When you stand up to donate money, time, and quilts to those who have lost everything, you are part of that Global Network of Love.
Tonight Sophie and I finally got to see Hamilton in Denver. How many years have we been trying to get tickets? I don’t know. I’ve lost track. We did see the live recording of the original cast when it came out from Disney in 2020. But we always wanted to see the live show. We’ve watched the film several times with subtitles so we actually can follow what is happening in the rapid-fire historic rap. (That’s how I learned to understand Shakespeare by the way – I watched several Shakespeare films with subtitles until I learned to comprehend the Shakespearean language.) Anyway, if you’ve seen the live show or the film, you know that it is quite intense and emotional. The message that we only have so much time in this life, to make a difference, to help others, to positively affect the future….was not lost on us.
Sophie Quinn (now a sophomore Music Ed major at CU Boulder) was at the String Teachers conference in Atlanta Georgia last week, and she was bubbling over with excitement being there – kind of like when we all meet up at the quilt festival. A few years ago she was complaining that there were so many ‘Sophies’ in her classes, so I suggested that she could go by the Americanized version of her Chinese middle name, so you might see her on social media as Quinn Rubin these days. But she says that our family, and our quilter friends can still call her Sophie. She was named after my great-grandmother who immigrated from Sweden in the 1800s. But the poetic name she was given in the orphanage as an infant, means “Musical Heart” so her new nickname has deep meaning as well. It is good to have options!
Praying for Peace,
Luana and Paul
-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- BarbFlowers on Where the Wild Things Are
- BarbFlowers on From Boulder…With Love
- juliehq on Profile Article – Luana Rubin – on Create Whimsy
- sunnysewsit on A Day in the Forest
- quilter501 on A Day in the Forest
Archives
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
Categories
Meta
Follow Us