This week in a nutshell!

It is an amazing thing but you really can't put much in a nutshell.  A walnut shell of course would hold more than a pecan shell unless it was one of those giant paper shell pecans.  In that case, you could probably get more in a pecan than walnut shell.  Just in case you were wondering how big my nut shell is in size.

This week has been quiet.  I have been working on my polka dot quilt.  I finished all the paper I had printed and left the last group at home.  That is what packing at midnight the night before we leave will get you.  I think when it is done, I am going to be seeing big dots everywhere.  There are almost 900 pieces to it and it only has 9 squares.  Some of those pieces finish at .5 inches by 2 inches...quite small.  The pattern is similar to a New York Beauty.  Tomorrow, I have to decide which unfinished project I want to do next.  Decisions...decisions.

The weather has been really cool and nice for me.  It snowed about an inch and a half on Monday night and the wind chill factor was -10degrees.  It was actually about 16 degrees with a 35 mph wind.  I loved it and Bill was shivering.  It is amazing how we have switched places in the temperature department.  It was beautiful the next morning with the sun shining on the snow.  It looked like it had little diamonds in it.  The last couple of mornings have been really cool, but it has been nice in the afternoon.  Today, it got up to 56....practically a heatwave.  I thought about taking my kindle out on the deck to read...but decided to sew instead.  Here is the truck with snow.

Bella has turned into a traitor with Bill.  He fussed so much about getting her and now they have bonded.  She has dumped me for him since I took her to be fixed.  I guess dogs are sort of sensitive about those sort of things.  As you can see she is quite comfortable inside Bill's jacket.  Aren't they so cute?

I went to the thrift stores with my friend Pam today.  I bought 2 pairs bigger jeans...POOOOH.  Who wants bigger jeans?  I also got a long sleeve shirt, flannel sleep pants for Bill and a pair of cotton sleep pants for me.     We also stopped by one of the quilt stores and I got a new pattern and 1/8 yard of polka fabric.  That is pretty good for me in a quilt store.

I am thinking of baking another pumpkin bread...the only thing stopping me is that bigger pair of jeans I bought today.  Until we meet again.......

Is it over yet?????

YES IT IS!!!  Last night about 8 o'clock as I looked at the pile of cooking pans and stones on my counter and sink, I blinked my eyes and pooof!!! it was all cleaned up.  I also won the Florida lottery last night.

It was really such a nice holiday season of giving, visiting and sharing with family and friends which truly is what it is all about.  As I stressed through getting my gifts all together and wrapped (close to the last minute), doing the baking and cooking for the social events, it occurred to me that all that stress culminates in the brightness of the grandkids eyes as their parents shuffle them through all the celebrations and hubbub of the season.  It is so worth seeing how they are so excited over the gifts they open.  I guess it is all worth it in the end.  Austin told me he thought he had won the lottery because he got everything he wanted ..a TV for his room and a game that I got him that has little monster bodies that you stick on and they turn into action figures...space raiders is what I think it is called.

I was teary eyed as I opened my gifts from my children.  My daughter and her husband refinished an old wrought iron sewing stand that goes with a treadle machine.  It was given to me by one of Bill's cousins.  It was rusted and not very pretty.  They had it sand blasted and then "black powdered".  I don't know exactly what that is, but the finish is very pretty and it treadles as smooth as butter.

My son and his wife gave me a beautiful elegant quilt that Lisa had made.  I had admired the top and even started searching for similar fabrics to buy to make me one.  She made the top a couple of years ago but just had not finished it.  She had it quilted and added the binding as a present for me.  The name of the quilt is Elegance and it is surely fitting because it is so very elegant and beautiful.  Pictures will be up as soon as I can get someone to hold it up.  Bill got me a Kindle since I can hardly ever wrench the one we have out of his hands to read on it.  I had a super day but the gifts don't mean anything compared to the joy of having my kids and grand kids close enough that I can see them all the time and through the holidays.  I know I am truly blessed.  Until we meet again.....

All in all, it was a tiring day but just so worth it to visit family and friends.  We never know what next year will bring so I am very thankful for the people God has put in my life.  Here is to a wonderful New Year for all.  Until we meet again...............

Celebrations with friends.

Well, the last two days have been filled with celebrations with friends...old friends and even older friends, not in age so much but just in years of sharing with each other.  Sometimes it is quite shameful that we do not see each other more often.  However, no matter how long between our visits, two blinks of the eyes and it is like we have never been separated.

Rebecca, Alice's daughter hosted our probably 45th annual Christmas celebration.  Ruth Ann, Me (in case you don't recognize me with my Santa shirt in the picture), Ruthie (Ruth Ann's mom and matriarch to all of us) and Alice have been the best of friends since I was 16.  I just cannot understand why Ruth Ann and Alice''s hair is not that beautiful "almost blonde" (some have the audacity to refer to it as gray) hair like Ruthie and me.  About 1966 is when I came into the picture with this unruly group.  I think Alice and Ruth have been friends since grade school.  Of course, Ruthie has always been there to guide, advise and love us through this hard thing called life.  My kids and Grand-kids have always thought of her as "Grandma Ruthie".  And she is just that.. a wonderful matriarchal figure for all of us whom we love and respect.  I love them all more than I can say and don't see any of them as much as I should.  Our children have grown up friends and hopefully will continue to be good friends until we are all in wheelchairs.

We have survived thick and thin and will continue to do so.  We have been together in our marriages, births of our babies, deaths in our families and so much joy with each other for far too many years to remember.  I know when these ladies are in my presence, that I will be joyful and thankful for them always for their love and friendship.  Life has treated us all good and sometimes not so good in one way or the other because of illnesses and deaths.  We are all strong and together, we put our faith in God and have always survived those tough times and will continue to do so with our love strengthening each other.  Through these wonderful times and the hard times, life has also tied an invisible thread through our hearts looping them together and it is a string that we know will never be broken.  The love we share would be hard to duplicate.

It is almost beyond words what I feel for these women, these friends of 45+ years.  I truly wish for more time with each of them in the coming year and another 45+ years of celebrations of life's joys and holidays with them.

Today was another celebration with friends.  These too are long time friends.  My friend Opal and I took our friend Jean to lunch for her 65th birthday.  Jean's friend, Giana, her daughter, Stacy and granddaughter, Courtney joined us to celebrate.  Jean and Opal are much like my other friends.  They make me laugh and we have been through happy times and some sad times in the past 30+ years. They both are sweet beyond any expectations of a friend.  They have listened to me, laughed with me and cried with me in the last 30 years.  I've know Stacy and Courtney almost all their life and Giana for probably 15 years.  

It seems God has blessed me so graciously with friends, longtime friends and many newer friends like my quilting friends.  I feel so lucky to have family and friends so close to me sharing my life.  My wish for all my friends is to always have relationships with other women that mean something and to have friends that not only love them but support them but make them laugh when life throws us curves.

Here is Jean with her big Mexican hat and waiter trying to light the candle.  Also, here is Opal giving Jean something we all need...a little helping hand from our friends. :)  Until we meet again...........

Head Exam badly needed!

We are home and the yards are a mess and I did what any normal person would do.  Instead of getting everything unpacked and picked up, and the weeds pulled, I unloaded everything out of my longarm room and replaced the old cabinets and shelves with some new to me cabinets that I had picked up at Habitat for Humanity.  They can be stacked and Bill added some additional shelving.

So now I have standard cabinets along one wall and I am working on putting it all back up.  My grandkids helped me unload and they thought that was fun.  I can only carry small loads from the living room back to the sewing room and I sure needed them to get all the books and stuff back in the room.  I still have one more box, a basket and a table full of "stuff" to find a home for in the room.  What makes a person so crazy as to get home from a trip knowing they have a week full of appointments and other chores that need to be completed, start a huge project like this.  I need my head examined...no wonder I have headaches.

When I get a chance, I will send pictures of the new dog, Bella, and the new organized room...might be a while so don't hold your breath.  Until we meet again....

On the road again....

It has been really pretty here and I am sad to leave but so glad to see the shining smiles of my kids and grandkids and friends.  Somehow time seems to really fly...every day gets shorter and goes faster.  This trip has been one of the most social I think we have had.  We have seen a lot of some friends and sadly not as much as we would have liked with other friends.  Since we have been gone, I finished 3 quilt tops and I complete a baby quilt and completed a  Christmas quilt...Yet, it seems that I have not been very productive at all.  I also made 2 Strata Star table toppers...still have to quilt them and worked furiously on the polka dot quilt.  My friend Evie and I have been collecting polka dots for about 3-4 years and even though we have enough dotted fabrics to make 6-7 quilts, we seem to still gravitate towards those little dots.

Today, Maxine, from A Stitch in Time Quilt Store demoed the cutest little baby shoes.  They were so precious and all I need is a new baby to make a set.  Maxine always comes up with the cutest ideas and patterns for her Tuesday techniques.  She is a very talented lady.  I will miss my Tuesday techniques and lunch with the girls afterwards.  I had lunch with my friend Evie today and we invited my friend Elva to have dinner with us.  My last visits with both for awhile.

I sure do hope I will be posting a new little member of our family soon....no not one to wear the little shoes...this one is 4 legged.  We shall see.  I did not get my bulbs planted but I guess I will take them home and see if they will grow south.  It will be good to see my friends back home too.  I have a lot of work ahead of me in getting my cabinets in the longarm room and all organized prior to the beginning of the holidays.  That should keep me busy for a week or so and the yard full of weeds could probably keep me busy until next year.

My friend sent me a picture of one of my rose bushes.  They all start to be so happy when the weather starts to cool.  Blooms will be plentiful and large from now until really cold weather if it gets that cold.  I love my roses.  This is one that I bought for $3.00 at Aldi's and it really has been a great addition considering it is really a cheap rose.  The color changes on these roses every day..from dark to light and back to dark as they fade.  How do you like that ground cover....yep that is those WEEDSSSSSSSSSSSS I was mentioning.  Oh well, I am sure between now and spring I will get them pulled out or NOT!!  Hopefully, it won't be long until we meet again.........

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flowers and new project

Our time seems to be winding down here and between the bears, flowers, and just the beauty of the fall leaves, it really has been eye candy.  I bought a pot of mums to enjoy while we were here.  It is huge and I have really enjoyed having it.  I think I will just sit it in the yard to see if it will come back next year.  I thought I might share it with you.  It is the biggest pot of mums (or at least I think they are mums) I have ever seen and the colors are so bright and pretty...looked good with all the red and gold leaves.

I absolutely was not going to start a new project, but I saw this at "A Stitch in Time" quilt store and just could not resist.  I gathered fabrics that I thought would work and put this together with one of my friends  up here.  She was a big help in cutting the strips for me and getting me started.  I still have to quilt and bind it before it is completely done.  I think it is a wonderful table topper and it would be beautiful to build a quilt around it for a bed or even for the dining table.  We shall see.

I took the picture at night so it is not real clear to see but you can get the gist of it.  I wanted to do a practice topper before I sewed with my friend Evie and Sharon yesterday.  We had all bought Christmas kits offered at "A Stitch in Time".  I got the top of it partially sewn with them.  We had those little featherweight machines just a buzzing.  I hope to finish the Christmas one before the holidays too.  It was not a hard pattern although it sure looks difficult.  The pattern is called Strata Star but I would have to get up to get the name of the lady who designed it.  She gave very good instructions and that made it rather simple to do.  I am sure I will be doing more of these.  Gotta finish both of these before I start another one.

My intention is to plant bulbs for spring if it is warm enough in the next day or so.  I will have to dig left handed but I want to get them in the dirt for spring.  Bill is going to a gun show tomorrow so that leaves me plenty of time to sew and maybe get a few more UFO's completed...unless I get distracted with something else. :)   That is all for now until we meet again......

Bears and more Bears

We have seen  more bears this trip than I have ever seen in all the years combined of visiting NC.  It appears there is not sufficient acorns in the higher elevations and they have come down to feed.  The smaller ones are so cute but of course, they do have Mamas.

We don't feed them nor do we get out of the car because that Mama bear might be just behind the tree.  They are fun to look at though.  This one was downtown in a tree.  There was a picture of this same bear in the newspaper on the front page..yes, it was a much better picture. :)

My friend from Ala has been here all week and we have hit just about every thrift store and antique store in  town.  Bought a few treasures but not many.  I had not seen her since early summer and it was a really nice hanging out together.  She met most of my friends here and went to the sewing demo with me at A Stitch in Time.  It sure is quiet here since she left.  She doesn't read the blog so I am safe in saying that.

My friend Evie and I have been collecting polka dot fabric for about 3-4 years and have finally started our polka dot quilts.  I will post some of the pieces soon.  Oh my, there are only 9 blocks and there are over 800 pieces just in those 9 blocks...makes us sound kind of like sick puppies for wanting to sew that many little pieces together.  It actually might be years in the finishing.

My Christmas quilt is totally finished except for the label.  It really is a Holly Jolly Christmas quilt.  I wish I could get a good picture of it.  It will be hanging above my couch at Christmas if I can get Bill to mount the hanger.

The temperature was about 29 last night and the frost on the car was as thick as snow...feels good to me.  Bill and I have swapped places...he sits around in a jacket and I have short sleeves on and still hot...don't know what happened.

The changing of the leaves has been breathtaking.  I suspect if it rains again, it will be pretty much over.  Most of ours has dropped off but in other locations, there are still lots to see.  One of these days, I will get the picures downloaded and share with you.  Until we meet again....