Stuff happens

You know how life goes along smoothly for a long time and then one thing happens and then another and then something else and then you put your hands up and say Whoa Nelly? We are in the Whoa Nelly phase for the time being. Several health issues have popped up for us. My son has to have a colonoscopy next week-he's been having some stomach issues. My BIL Bob has had some health problems that require more than a band aid-actually they require some prayer and hopeful thought. My other BIL Richard is coming next week for a visit(don't even get me started on that subject) and it just seems like we need some serious attention to things around here that are not blog-worthy. I seriously doubt that I'll have much time for any form of sewing in the next week or so. That said, I hope to have time to read around the blog world and see what everyone is up to even though I just can't seem to find anything worth writing about at the moment that isn't about these health problems and who wants to hear about that stuff anyway. How's that for a run-on sentence?

I would ask you to say a little prayer for my BIL Bob, who means an awful lot to us here. I'll try to get back with news when I have some. Meanwhile, sew something fun for me. Back soon with good news I hope.

I blatantly stole these snowdrops from the Internet. There are some in my yard just like them but I haven't had a moment to get out and take any pictures. Monday we had a snowstorm and it was 20-today nearly all the snow is gone and it was nearly 70 yesterday. Same today. I even have to fan on upstairs in our bedroom it was so warm. Mother Nature-Whoa Nelly!

Brrrrrr

Baby, it's cold outside! We got the worst of it yesterday. More than a foot and now the temps are really down and it's windy.

We really haven't had a major snowfall in a couple of years so I guess we had this coming. That's James trying to find a place to throw some more snow so he can get to his car and un-cover it. We got there eventually. Not until it was almost dark out. Memo to snowblower users...the snowblower doesn't like bluestone.It just wouldn't quit snowing. Bah! Last week I had on a light shirt and the windows open. This will take forever to go away. Well, at least the sun is out.

All the "boys" finally went off to work and I'm doing some cleaning before I tackle some sewing things.

I made a quick little table topper for a friend that needs some light quilting and a border. As soon as I finish the border on another little piece that needs mailing out.

Blogger was very bad yesterday-in fact, the whole Internet experience was pretty bad yesterday. It's somewhat better this morning but not great.

I need to get going so I'll talk to you soon.

Lost & Found and manners

That describes both this small piece and the state of things around here for the last couple of days. We had some health issues for my BIL Bob. He's alright now but the past few days have been no fun for him. He's home and happy to be here and resting up so things are getting back to normal again. While I was wading through various piles of fabric and assorted stuff I found this little quilt that is all ready to be machine quilted and bound. I made it from a package of pre-cut 5 inch squares I got a long time ago. It's been hanging around forever under some other stuff. so I'll give it a quick bit of work and a place around here somewhere to hang out.

I am, once again, behind in my work for the Pantry so I really need to catch up. I was reading JudyL's blog these past few days and it struck me again how mean people can be about things on blogs. As I said to her in a comment today, I will paraphrase my Grandma and just say" if you can't say something nice, click away to another blog" These posts are supposed to be about the things we have going on in our lives and want to share. There are some who apparently see it as boastful to express our delight in achieving a life-long goal or getting something we have wanted or even being financially sound. If that offends someone, I'm not sure what that says about them. Read something else. JudyL is one of the hardest workers and most helpful people it's been my pleasure to read about. She really enjoys life and I guess there is a certain kind of person who sees enjoying life as being uppity(is that a word?) Lord knows, life is uncertain and harsh in so many ways. It's a treat for me to read her positive outlook on life and those who have been reading her blog for a while know that she got to this point in life the hard way. Keep the posts coming Judy. It's just sad that there are people who would be so nasty but I guess when you take on writing this way you have to expect to come across a few witches to stir the pot.

I have to get dinner going now. The guys are on the way home and no doubt hungry.

See you!

Baby News & Wonky Stars

I can't decide what I like more-the wonky stars or the polka dots. I really love polka dots. I see a larger polka dot quilt in my future.

We had a really quiet weekend. Seriously, it was like a lost weekend-without the booze. Everyone here was in a sleepy-nap-taking mood and we all went with the flow. I did make a nice dinner for BIL Bob Saturday. I made a pork butt into pulled pork and it was very good. Carrot cake for the birthday boy and, sadly for him, we sang to him. I'm sure his ears are still ringing.

On the what's new front...our great neice made her first appearance on Saturday. Welcome to the world Katie Ray. Well over 8 lbs and Mommy Kristy is a very small woman so an 8lb baby probably took a lot out of her. She and Dad Adam are doing fine though. Wish I could show you pictures but I'm not sure how thay feel about that so I'll wait till I'm sure. Really cute baby though. Pudgy cheeks and adorable face. Everyone is very excited.

Anyway. I spent the day working on the binding for the quilt which I hope to mail out to Katie Ray in a day or so. Now I can put a label with her name and the date on the back.

I also played with the wonky blocks and I'm so in love with this type of block. It's a snap to make and always looks like a party.

Not much else going on around here. We are getting ready for a visit from our nephew David and new Grandpa Richard, my BIL who lives in Washington State. They are coming around the St Patty's Day holiday for a few days. Haven't seen David since he was a little boy. He's around 20 now so it will be interesting to see what has become of him.

This and the fact that the dust bunnies are taking over the house will keep me busy for the next while.

Hope to talk to you soon.

By the way, on the followers list there is a Sandra listed. I have no way of contacting Sandra but "Hi!" anyway. Let me know how to contact you. I love a good mystery and you've got my attention. Does your last name begin with a C ....? Are you a local.

Fess up!

I forgot to mention-I got an e-mail from a very nice person with a new quilting site that lists quilters blogs and has lots of other good info and ideas-check it out!

http://blog.missouriquiltco.com/

Wonky piecing

I made these wonky blocks for Stacey in Australia. They are making quilts for the people who have lost their homes from the bushfires. I hope to get them into the mail tomorrow.

I found an interesting thing happened while making these blocks. It's hard to do wonky blocks. Whoda thunk? You just sew random pieces to make the star points and it never looks right. That's because it's supposed to look wrong. I'm far from perfect in the matchy-match points area but it was equally hard to be randomly wrong. Anyway, the blocks are a snap otherwise and I enjoyed the journey to liberated quiltmaking. I hope to go there again soon. I think I'm becoming a convert. I put an additional packet of fabric pieces into the envelope in case someone wants to make more blocks with the leftovers. I've got too much to do right now to make any more myself . I hope it helps someone.

On the home front, yesterday it was BIL Bob's birthday. On Monday, since the guys were off for President's Day, we took a ride to the south shore and had lunch on the Nautical Mile in Freeport. For those who live far from me, its a place you can go to take a chartered fishing excursion for a few hours. They have a gambling boat as well. Anyway, there are a hundred restaurants on the water and even though few were open this time of year, we did manage to find one and have a lunch together. We had planned to take him to somewhere a bit nicer but that will have to wait a few weeks. Bob had the test for sleep apnea and it turns out the reason he can't sleep for more than a couple of hours is that he has a major case of it. I hope the mask will help him get some rest.

Other than that-I've got nothing. This seems to be a very down time here. Nothing really interesting....Except...the baby for whom I made the Delectable Mountains quilt is due any minute-that's pretty exciting. Can't wait to see the little darling.

Talk to you soon.

Bright & Random Happiness

I pulled out those blocks I showed the other day and determined that I need to find more of the whirly gig fabrics before I can do much with more blocks of that pattern. After a morning of communing with the vacuum cleaner and dusting, I decided to revel in the sunshine and open windows. Our temps today are nearly 60 and even though I know that it will most likely be 20 next week, I'm so perky today. Well, maybe it's the temps and maybe it's the new treadmill or a combo of both. Just standing at the window in the sun was fabulous.

So, I am putting another random round on the blocks and making them a bit larger. I had the presence of mind to throw the matching fabrics into the baggie before I tossed it into the pile so there are plenty of pieces to make up another couple of rounds of these blocks. I wish I'd had the same presence of mind for the Whirly gig blocks. I think I need to dig in the closet of shame for those fabrics and that may require a cocktail and an exorcist. After the softness of the baby quilt colors and some other things lately-this riot of color feels so...happy! Off to enjoy the probably all too brief taste of spring. Hope you have something fun to do today. If not....find something. Escape from home for an hour or two(hello??? Diane & Erika????)

More tomorrow.

Signs of Spring

The weather here has turned sort of springy and so maybe that's why I had thoughts of spring cleaning today. In my journey to the center of the pile I found these forgotten items and was a little giggly. I like both ideas but in particular, I was looking forward to making a whirly gig mini quilt. I really like this pattern so much and several people around the blog world have lately come up with their own versions. It's always fun and bright. That's the password for the week-fun and bright. I will move them to the front of the line with only two items before them. Besides, I need to leave the safety of the muted palette a little. I like the bolder colors and patterns so much. A bit of spice is nice!

We had quiet weekend with not much going on. It was pretty and warm. I opened the windows to air out the winter staleness. Very nice. By Wednesday we are to be in the high 50s. Time to get out and take a stroll. Maybe I'll hit the beach.

Hope your day is a peaceful one.

The Beast in the Basement

No-it's not me.

First, let me thank all you dear people who were kind enough to send us good wishes. It meant a lot to us both. Merci!

The treadmill finally got delivered yesterday...Yippee.

Tomorrow I'm going to bring the camera with me to the basement because this picture doesn't do it justice. This treadmill has enough displays and buttons to rival the cockpit of most airplanes. It took me over 5 minutes to program it and make it start. Thankfully I have discovered a shortcut for those who are not training for the Olympics. It also has connections for I-pods and such. I need to be entertained or it just won't be happening. Sad...but true. Here's the really bad news. I'm back to square one since it took two months to get it. I huffed and puffed and huffed some more and then I sat down and fell into a coma...just kidding.

For anyone who remembers my little "thread thing" this past year with Hancocks of Paducah, I know you won't believe it but I ordered some fabric from them and you further won't believe-it came in less than a month.....I know, I can hardly contain myself. I figured I'd give them another shot and frankly, I wanted it to work out well because they have awfully good prices on things like Kona cottons. With the stores now selling fabric for 9+ bucks a yard and the personal finances a bit tight, I'd like to help the local shop but to be honest, I know where she lives and it's a 2 million dollar house and her husband gave her the store to play with. I'll wish her good luck and pay Hancocks 4 and 5 dollars less and feel bad quietly. I like to go there occasionally for a treat or two but I have to conserve somewhere and buying less expensive background, backing fabric, and thread is one place I can do it.

So I got the fabric to finish the baby quilt and to use as backing for another piece. I really should buy it by the bolt.

Anyway, that's what's going on around here. The weather has been so cold. I was about 12 degrees out last night when I went out to dinner with a friend of mine. Afterwards we walked into Michael's. What a dump. When I can walk all the way around any craft store and not even be tempted it's really bad. The only thing available that wasn't crappy looking was the Martha Stewart stuff an really...who does Martha think she's kidding? I know...everyone! I picked up one of those multi-rolls of ribbon that she sells cause it was pretty, on sale, and I felt like I might use polka dot ribbon for something nice. When I opened a roll it was a 6 inch piece of ribbon-no kidding. Well, except for Martha-she's kidding....all the way to the bank.

Well, I'm of to enjoy a cuppa and maybe a movie. Roger is home today and he twisted his back-driving my car. He took my 4-wheel drive monster to work in the bad snow and ice the other day and he's not used to climbing in and out of the larger vehicle. His back didn't like the change at all.

Hope your day is a peaceful one.

Gratitude

It's been twenty five years since this picture was taken and I treasure every day since then. I was a different person then, not better or worse, just very different. The thing that remains the same is my love for Roger and our life together. It really doesn't get better than this. So, while I remember those fun filled moments cruising around the islands of Hawaii, the scents and the sounds, I am thankful that I made that long-ago decision to walk away from that old life and begin anew with this one. Roger is my touchstone for all that makes me happy. When I am afraid, he makes it better. He cuts me more slack than the rope will allow and his main mission for the past twenty five years has been to make my life a happy one. I have not always appreciated that gift as much as I should have. For that I'm sorry. Now, when I have a clear vision of both the past and the present, I have grown to appreciate all that has been given to me. One of my favorite quotes from the bible is "to whom much is given, much is also expected". Not sure if those are the exact words but the meaning is spot on. I think it is what drives me to help, to nurture, to give to others, and to care for what is important in this life.
I know I don't say it often enough but I really love this quiet man who took the first wild chance in his life and bet on me. I hope we have many more years together to appreciate each other and enjoy the life you've worked so hard to give us. Happy Anniversary to us.

Anniversary Quilt

Here is the perennial Anniversary quilt I once joked would be for our 25th Wedding Anniversary. Whoops...we're there on Wednesday. Up until yesterday it was just blocks in bags waiting for attention. Many of the fabrics came from getting those monthly historical repros from Keepsake. Anyway, I pulled them out and sewed them into rows in the afternoon and showed them to the Thursday Night quilt group last night. I need at least as many more blocks than you see before you to make a good sized bed topper(and new quilt for R and his cold toes). I won't get it done by Wednesday, but it was really good to get it out and let it breathe again. I have a baggie full of finished block quarters and some that haven't been squared up and sewn together yet. I also kept aside a whole grocery bag full of the scraps of these fabrics so there are plenty more. This one will be big so I think I may send my first quilt out to be quilted professionally. I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

I really hate football but I so enjoy the party and goodies that go with it. On that note, I have a tray of enchiladas to donate to that effort on Sunday. If you beat the truth out of me(like you would need to) I would tell you I'm only there for the dessert. Someone always brings those mini cream puffs(Hi Terry) and they are my serious downfall. If I were an enemy spy, the other side would only have to put a plate of cream puffs in front of me, just out of reach, to get the truth. So that's where we will be on Sunday afternoon-pretending to be football fans.....go.... whoever!!!

Have a yummy weekend all.

Enough 9-patch blocks

Just a quick note to say that Bumble Beans has enough 9-patch blocks. She wants to thank everyone who volunteered for their generosity.
Back later with a post....

9-patch Jumble for Bumble Beans

I spent part of the afternoon yesterday making 9-patch blocks for Bumble Beans to use for a very good cause. If you have some 9-patches taking up space or a few minutes to make some(2 inch squares-block finishes about 5 in)check out her blog and help out. Nine patches are like eating peanuts-you just can't stop and they are so rewarding. A little effort and a big reward. They're always so sweet. Just grabbed some scraps and went to town.

We had a snowstorm yesterday and my "boys" were home so it was a sort of lost day. I never really accomplish much when they are here-so much distraction and so easy to be lazy....sigh.

Our treadmill from another planet has finally arrived in the store after a trip up the east coast to several Dick's Sporting Goods Stores. Memo to self-do not buy from Dick's. Pardon me but the name sort of suits them. My BIL Bob made the purchase for us as a Christmas gift and we got one but it's in the basement where it has sat for 6 weeks...not working. By now Bob has probably paid the very expensive bill, since he bought a really good model that can support our chunkyness. Roger finally managed to get through and low and behold!!!! it arrived at the store yesterday...yeah...right. Now we have to wait for the delivery company and set-up guys to get it here. Meanwhile we feel like the slugs that we have become. The temps have gotten a little better and most of the snow is gone, due to a heavy, warmish, rain that followed the snow yesterday. That's my kind of snowstorm.

There is the annual Superbowl party at our friends house Sunday and it will be good to get out of the house for something other than a quick trip to the grocery store. By the way, every time I set foot into that place it becomes more like $200. Target. Geez it's expensive to eat decent meals.

Gotta go now and do some laundry and get back to the Mighty Viking.

Borders & Binding to Come

Not sure why but this picture keeps coming out so dark and kind of muddy. Camera battery maybe??My floor is eggshell and these colors look too intense but nevertheless...here's the layout sewn together. A simple, plain border, simply tied and bound and off it goes to it's destination. I really loved making these blocks and will probably make more in the near future, perhaps more scrappy. I would dearly love to do a wall hanging like the one that Amanda, of Crazy Mom Quilts, did. Scroll down if it doesn't show. That girl is so fast nothing stays put for long. Anyway, she made a quilt quite literally of bits and she offers a link to the design concept. It's fairly straight forward but if you were to get stuck the plan is simple and carefree. You really can't make a wrong move with these free form pieces. All of that I credit to "Lazy Gal", Tanya herself and Gwen Marston and, not to forget Bonnie Hunter at Quiltville. Very inspiring ladies all. All except Gwen are in my links on the left.

I wanted to show the two really great gifts I got from the Thursday Night Quilters Christmas exchange this past week. We gorged on delicious appetizers and fabulous pound cake. I can't believe how lucky I am to have such wonderful, and talented, friends. The "coat rack", which will most certainly not be used as such, is stunning and Pam did a beautiful job on the blocks. They are so perfect and pretty. This darling birdhouse, which is really quite big, is all ready to be put out in the spring and the copper will turn to beautiful verdigris in no time. It was a lovely evening and they are such sweet women.

Yesterday I went with Dani & James to IKEA. What fun. James wanted a new chest of drawers and he got a really nice one. Of course, much cussing and fuming later that night-it was all together and since he had already purchased a new tv stand for his flat screen-he's a happy camper. It was fun watching them do something domestic together. My heart is very full.

I must go and put the roast in the oven and do a little clean-up and such. Hope you have a great Sunday.

There, that's better

I just know I'm going to kick myself in the morning but I changed the plan for the baby quilt. Has that ever happened to you? HA! I just wasn't digging the other fabric or the random(stupid) pattern for the sweet little darling to be. So I went to Bonnie Hunters fabulous website and found a pattern I had been looking at for some time. It's a Delectable Mountains pattern and since the couple live in Washington State, It seemed appropriate. The great thing about that pattern is that it's much like a log cabin. It changes every time you change the layout and offers so many possibilities. I'm going to curse myself in the morning because I dipped into my Robyn Pandolph stash that I was saving to make something like this for myself....sigh. I probably can't find any of these fabrics again since I've been putting them away for a while. Oh Well...best laid plans etc...

The pattern is so easy with her directions and it's really fun and kind of mindless sewing with great results and a great fudge factor if you aren't too experienced. I think on her site it's called Scrappy Mountains Majesty. It would be a great pattern for scrappy fabric so I'll keep it in mind for use again. I only have 4 more block sets to finish and then I can lay it out and sew the top. Maybe tomorrow.

We got some more snow...bah. I really hate winter here but I must keep in mind that I have friends who are buried under this stuff BIG TIME! Meanwhile, I've been reading, cooking, sewing, and cleaning. I was going to make chicken soup today but BIL Bob is home from New Orleans and has graciously offered to get take out for dinner. Woo Hoo!

Hope your Sunday is a sweet one. Roger is off tomorrow for MLK Day so we are having a long weekend. Looking forward to the warm-up that's supposed to be coming later this week. The Thurs. Night Quilting Ladies still haven't exchanged Christmas gifts. Maybe this week.

More Holiday stuff

I really must spend some time this year learning to use the camera to take a better photo. My dear friend Diane, who lives in north western Pennsylvania and has mad crochet skills, went me this lovely piece. I'm so lucky to have thoughtful friends. It's so much prettier than this picture and along with it she sent a linen piece with beautiful embroidery that I can't seem to get a picture of at all. I know you're supposed to turn off the flash to photograph very light items but I just can't seem to make it happen. I will see if I can't entice my favorite photographer to help me sometime soon.

Along with this I got a beautiful porcelain hand painted bird from Dani. It is currently wrapped with care and resides with the ornaments in the attic because I'm too dumb to remember to take pictures before putting stuff away. It's really beautiful and I loved getting something so pretty from her. My son gave me new speakers for my car. According to him they are replacing the ones he blew out by cranking up the volume a while back. The sound is fabulous and now I can be stylin' with my homeys while driving to the grocery store...word.

I got this book from Roger who is brilliant and just follows the list I give him from Amazon. Smart man that! Anyway, the book is fun for anyone who is a big foodie and lover of all things Asian like me.

Well that's about it for today. It's verrrry cold here and going to get colder tomorrow so I'm in and don't plan to venture out. I will go back to the baby quilt and get some progress on that. Hope you're warm and toasty.

The Grace of Friendship & Family

Work still progresses on the baby quilt but I see now that I don't really like the solid-looking barn red squares. They seem to take over the whole thing. Tell me what you think?

This really cool guy who came from Dani's Mom. He's a music box and I don't want to put him away yet. Such a thoughtful gift. Cheryl said she saw that he was wearing a quilt for a coat and she thought of me. What a lovely woman. I can't tell you how much pleasure it gives me to see him each day. I must try and kidnap Cheryl sometime when the weather warms up and take her out for lunch so we can continue to tell embarrassing stories about our kids. Really such a good time and needless to say, lots of laughs. Dani's Dad is one of the nicest men we've met in a long time. So positive and full of funny stories. We really enjoyed our time with them and look forward to much more.

I really worried about meeting them since I'm basically very quiet and it is often mistaken for coolness. None of that with them. They are so welcoming and really genuine people. It's no wonder that they have a daughter like Dani. She's gracious, sweet and very kind...just like her parents.

The other pictures are of Christmas Booty...HAR! I got a few generous gift cards from my BIL Bob and these are a few of the books I got. Roger gave me bookmoney as well so I still have plenty of chances to go crazy when I need to. Dearest Pal Terry gave me a subscription to the new Food Network Magazine. It's really fun(except for the part with that fool Sandra Lee and her stupid tablescapes etc. Don't get me started. She clearly went to the Thomas Kincade(painter of light,pppfffft!!!)school of loveliness . Removing my finger from my throat, I continue. The rest of the magazine is really fun and has plenty of recipes by actual people who cook real food.

There are some books I got. B&N was having a 50% off sale and I got Marcella Hazan's biography...lovely walk down an Italian childhood and fabulous cooking career. The others are escapist travelling postcard-type books from good writers.

Got myself a copy of Jane D'Avila's wonderful book on making art quilts with less stress and lots of great info on simplifying techniques you might not be familiar with. Got it because I never fully give up on the concept of breaking away from the traditional.

I am very blessed to find myself among a collection of really wonderful people who inhabit my life. It really doesn't get much better than this.

Quiltathon saved me!

Thanks to Judy L and the quiltathon I've been busy with the baby quilt for our niece Kristy. The baby is due in February so I'd better get a move on. I found this cute Debby Mum fabric last week at JoAnn's and I'm just making simple blocks-large squares surrounded by accent fabric. It was really fun to get back to something creative even if it is just a simple thing. The big snow storm predicted for yesterday was ,happily, a bust. Just a couple of inches. That's our favorite kind. A little snow, no ice pellets. By next week we are to be in the deep freeze though. I made a big pot of soup and biscuits for dinner last night-everyone was happy.

I took my lovely Christmas gift cards for Barnes & Noble out for a ride Friday. I will show some of those titles tomorrow. Lots of good reading. We have a new B&N just opened nearby and so it's pretty well stocked with good stuff. Borders is going downhill fast. Nothing but coffee table books and crap. It's a shame what has happened to them. I always liked them more than B&N. They offered more unusual things and lots of historical work. Well, I guess any book store is better than none.

That's about as exciting as my week got. Today I will try to get the top done and during the week I'll get it finished.....yeah..that's what I'll do...finish something.

As soon as you all stop laughing get a load of these two guys. There were rumors of an alien invasion last week and I think these two are safe from mind-melding and such. I'm putting down the camera and backing away slowly.

AWOL from my life!

With all of the time I have spent on the computer these past two weeks you would think it would be easy to do a post.....not so much.
I am so grateful for the generous people who live here and have really overwhelmed us with contributions to the Food Pantry. I'm still trying to dig out from under the piles of paperwork. Yesterday I asked the treasurer for some information regarding a regular donor who only requires a yearly statement and she e-mailed me back with that and the news that someone in the community had passed away and the family asked for donations to the Pantry in lieu of flowers.......sigh. My first priority this year when I'm finished with all of this and we are in the Feb. doldrums, will be to organize this in a better way and make a standard letter. Years ago, when I began writing thank you letters to each donor, there were only a comparative handful. It would pick up at Christmas, Easter, and back-to-school time when food drives resumed. Now we are blessed with many more donations and my little letter writing thing has grown into the hundreds. It really needs to be addressed soon. I have just finished over 200 letters. I'm thinking that will qualify for some sort of bulk mail rate. At the current postal rate that's a lot of stamps, and paper, and printer cartridges etc. Not to mention a lot of non-quilty time for Dee.
Well, at any rate, that's the scoop here at Overwhelmed Central. Please don't get the wrong idea. I'm thrilled that we can complain . It means we are able to feed a lot more families and here on the island many charitable organizations are really hurting and many have closed their doors. I found out last week that there is only one soup kitchen in the whole area left. There used to be a number of them in various churches. It's hard to find volunteers for that kind of thing now since so few woman are available during the day. Everyone has gone back to work.
So, on that note, I will finish some more letters and hope to get back to some fun stuff soon. I am having dinner with the quilting friends tonight. We go out to dinner for Christmas and birthdays. I'm looking forward to seeing them. Hope your day is a peaceful one.

Still no quilting going on...grrrrr

Here are a couple of photos of Christmas day with the darlings. They really are so adorable together. The table before the chaos and a few things under the tree. Remember how we said we were not going to buy much of anything since we just got the new monolith for the bedroom? Well...looks like it didn't go according to plan. We were all too good to each other, as always.

It's hard to believe but I'm still trying to finish with all the Pantry paperwork. I'm trying to do a little every day but beginning to think it would be better to just plow through all of it and be done. Roger took a stack of mail out with him this morning.

I have no more time today for that since I was out and the search for leg of lamb took me to more than one store. The place I usually get it didn't have anything that looked nice. It was all packaged in plastic wrap and very unpleasant looking. I wound up getting a fresh ham. That's another favorite around here so no one will be complaining. I'll just have to go to a butcher next time for the lamb. Maybe for Roger's and my 25th anniversary. It's Feb. 4th and usually turns out to be a horrible stormy or frigid day. Note to any young couples interested, don't get married in Feb. I'm filled with nostalgia since Jane Ann just came back from Hawaii and blogged about it. Now friends of ours are celebrating their 25th by leaving for Hawaii tomorrow for a week. One of these days we'll get back there. Jane Ann made me laugh when she reminded me of the chickens on Kauai. They are everywhere. It's basically a giant garden and the poultry runs free. Very amusing. Chickens turn up all over the place. It shouldn't have come as that much of a surprise since we live very near a small farm that has many chickens. Sometimes when I would walk with James in his stroller you could see them roosting in the trees. That was funny. They got just enough lift to make it into the smaller trees and they would make that funny cackle as if to say, "Hey, who says chickens can't fly?"

I'm looking for some new girly fabric. Our niece is having a baby in February. Good time to think about it huh? Terry said she would be heading to JoAnn's possibly on Friday and I may tag along to get something pinky and pretty. I really love making baby quilts. When we went to North Carolina back in July, Holly's daughter, Tatum had brought along the quilt I made for her from Aunt Grace fabrics in a Hugs & Kisses pattern. I never really see where my gifts go that often. It was neat to see her hugging her quilt and dragging it around. Despite all the loving it was getting it looked pretty good. Pays to buy good fabric after all.

We are having a very quiet New Years this time. No partying or dinner out. We're just hanging out at home. I'm thinking of making a seafood stew with clams, shrimp, mussels, and some fish with white wine and garlic...is that cioppino????? (thanks Gerrie for the spelling) Whatever it's called, I think that what I'll do. That and a glass of wine and we should be snoring by midnight if not before.

Hope you have a Happy New Year.

Christmas This&That

We are as ready as we are going to get. Due to the generosity of the people who live here, I am inundated with envelopes containing checks for the Food Pantry. I guess the word is getting out through various media sources. We are well stocked and very grateful. Many letter of thanks will not go out until next week but I'm sure they will understand.

The Happy Couple(Dani & James) will be joining us for Christmas dinner and a poll was taken. The winner (or loser???) was turkey. Dani says she can't eat any Bambi-looking little creatures. Looks like the lamb will bite the dust until New Years.

I feel so sorry for the little tiny birds at this time of year. The giant, very fat, squirrels get all the stuff we throw out for the birds and these darling little guys seems to just hover around waiting for the scraps. It's so frozen out there that what looks like snow is really glazed over with ice and hard for the little ones to get a grip on. For that matter it's hard for the big ones, like us, as well.

I found some pretty Christmas stamps on google images and thought I'd share some unusual ones here. Stamps are such an inexpensive visual treat. Hope you enjoy them and that your holiday is a lovely one. Merry Christmas!