The Secret Wonky

Jeni's Wonky

I made this wallhanging for my niece-in-law's new office. This is her first year as an elementary school counselor and we are all so so so proud of her! She worked hard to get her degree, landed a job as a school secretary to get her foot in the door, when this job as counselor opened up she applied for it and of course she was the favorite!!!

That in itself would be just too wonderful BUT this year she is once again a full time student, studying to get her Masters. She has to drive over an hour to get to the campus for night classes, she is really committed to her grad school goals. Add that to her new job and she has her hands full....but that isn't all...she is also pretty much a newlywed (they just celebrated their 1st anniversary) and has a toddler and infant at home (well, ok...ok....the toddler is Luna - their one year old lab and the infant is their new bird dog puppy who as of yet doesn't even have a name~ but the pups are THEIR babies!!!). Wow just thinking about all that is going on in her life makes me tired, it is a good thing she is young!

So....I made this silly wallhanging (which started out to be a doorhanging but the letters were too big!!!) to help her celebrate her new job, and to be a daily reminder to her that I am so proud of her. I hope when she looks at it she remembers I am praying for her and am a silent partner as she reaches into these young lives and makes a difference in the world. The world can be such an unwelcome place for kids but having Mrs. Hume available will be a blessing to them. Did I tell you how proud of her I am???

Why the parrots?? Jeni and Alan's beautiful and fun outdoor wedding was a Hawaiian party, complete with professional hula dancers, coconut shell bras and grass skirts. After the wedding they packed up all the fun decorations (including blow up monkeys and palm trees) and put it all in a box in the closet...when Jeni needed to decorate her office, she pulled that box out and instantly had a fun theme!

And I mustn't forget to mention my nephew, Alan. I am so proud of him. He is an EMT/fireman. You know when they are little boys and throw rocks at each other and fight with their sisters and spend their time feeding the cows and pigs (raised on a farm) and land their first job pumping gas at the local gas station....it just seems like they will always be little boys....and then they grow up and become responsible men who become husbands and fathers (ok, ok...those puppies really are their children!!) and they pay their own bills and buy a home and etc etc etc. Sometimes I just want the world to stop spinning so I can catch up with these kids!
Have I mentioned how proud I am of this young couple?!? Thank you Alan and Jeni, the world needs more people like you!

Bug 1 Pam 0 The bug won!

The Things I Learned From a Bug Today

• When you find a bug in your car and flick it out the window it will fly back in the sunroof
• Swatting at the bug while driving will make you drive like you have been drinking
• Stopping the car on the side of the road to remove the bug from your car will only send the bug into hiding
• While stopped on the side of the road several people will stop to ask if you need help
• If you are honest about why you are stopped you will look like a sissy, which you will hate yourself for, thank the good samaritans and send them on their way.
  
• If you get back in the car without getting rid of the bug, he will return
• When he returns he will drop from the sunroof and land on your steering wheel
• DON'T SWAT AT THE BUG>>>you don't want to get pulled over for drinking and driving
• When you flick the bug off the steering wheel...the bug will still be in your car and he will still be alive ~ he knows he is winning this game
  
• Since you did not rid your car of the bug you will think he is crawling on you
• It will make you itch
• ....all over
• ...at the same time
• ...non stop
  
• When you stop to pick up lunch for your mom the bug will be no where in sight, you will know that the bug is laughing at you, this is not fun!
  
• As soon as you get back in the car the bug will land on your hand, this will freak you out...
• You will flick your hand and once again the bug will go into hiding
• You will be strong and continue on your journey
• When the bug comes out as you round a corner...remember this is the best time to maintain control of the vehicle and begin chanting "You are just a bug and you can't hurt me"
  
• You neglect to chant what your heart really feels "You can't hurt me but you can startle me over and over again"
• When the bug flys off your hand and lands on the door near a window remember it is best to have the window down before flicking the bug once again OUT the window
• This is best done when the window is OPEN
• When you arrive at your destination, the bug will still be laughing, he will not pay for his free ride but will instead fly out the window and be a happy bug...
• You on the other hand will sit there and be amazed that a little half inch bug can hold you hostage for 25 miles and 45 minutes ~ and make you wish you HAD been drinking!

Just not the same

Ed and I are canning salsa again today, should be the last batch of the season....yippee.....but it really isn't the same without my sister here!!! She is funny and busy and keeps one step ahead of me with the jars hot and ready, the tomatoes cut and the peppers and onion (she HATES onions!!) chopped and ready to go. I can hear the "pop" "pop" "pop" as the jars seal...isn't that a cool sound, to me it says "you done good!"

I have another finish to post but can't post a pic until it is received. I don't think "she" reads my blog but she knows others who do and I don't want the surprise spoiled on accident. It will go out in Monday's mail. Man I wish I could be a mouse in a corner, she has no idea this is coming. It will be delivered to her place of work, which is where it is meant to be used as well...all of that will make sense when the picture is posted and the story told....Maybe by Friday, we'll see.

OK, while sewing today (salsa takes 45 minutes to process...plenty enough time for a quick trip to MCM between each of the 7 canner loads) I needed to get my trusty tape measure out and my trusty bodkin as well. I knew right where they were, just turn my sewing chair and pull out the drawer and yep...right there, top drawer ~ on the left. These are not my 2 most used sewing items, I would say my pins, scissors, rulers, rotary cutters and mats are used most every time I sew-those are the items that should be where they belong each time I need them...but that isn't always so. Now...why would my tape and bodkin be the 2 things that ALWAYS get put back the very second I am finished using them??? I have no answer to that but that is the way it is. Without fail my tape and bodkin are right there....I don't think I have ever misplaced either one of them. Just an interesting thought I had while sewing.

While sewing the binding on said "secret project" I sewed over a pin, which snapped the machine needle in two, the sharp end popped up and hit the lens of my reading glasses. I just sat there soaking in all that could have meant. I wear soft contacts so had I not been wearing my reading glasses I would have gotten that sharp needle stuck in my contact, in my eye or at the very least on my eyelid. It was a very vivid reminder to me not to sew over the pins, which I do on a regular basis. I must quit doing that. Earlier in the year while teaching my granddaughter to sew I was very strict about her stopping the machine about an inch away from the next pin until she had better control over the foot pedal and then let her sew up to ½ inch away. Ladies, we never know when this might happen...accidents are just that: accidents, which means that we have no idea when something might happen. I gotta be more careful, that is all there is to it.

AND THEN....I went to replace the machine needle and couldn't find a new one....grrrrr....grrrrrr. hunt hunt hunt (obviously THOSE aren't in the right place!) so hunt some more!! Not one machine needle could be found (I know I have some, I just purchased them!!!)~~~dang nab-it! Ah, but wait....let me just look in this other drawer...oh baby!! The mother-lode (literally) of pins and needles of all sorts!!! When in need, when in doubt look in Momma's sewing stuff!!! And I was back in action...and able to finish the hanging sleeve I was working on.

I have been invited to attend a quilt camp in November. Ed is encouraging me to go since I did not go to the camp I usually attend in January and will not be attending next January either. I am giving this some serious thought, I would love to have some uninterupted time to sew. This is a no rules, no classes, no schedules kinda camp....just the kind I like!!! I just might even take an extra vacation day and go up a day early just to be alone.

To those who have inquired: Ed is doing really well. He is getting stronger and has upped his walking to 5 days a wk. He is actually walking further than he has in a long time. I am so proud of him for pushing himself to gain back as much as he can. And no, he is still not driving MY new car. LOL LOL Thanks for asking!!!

OK, 10 minutes before the canner is done...better go heat up more jars, I have a feeling I am going to be up all night and will smell salsa in my sleep!

Oh Brother!!!!

See, I told you I think the cartoonists have been spying on me!!!

Addition to yesterday's post

I try to have handwork to do while visiting with my momma. She seems content to have me there no matter what I am doing, we don't have to chat, sometimes companionable silence is all she needs.

Before her stroke we would often sew or craft together. When we had family gatherings someone was always in charge of coming up with a craft that all of us would like and then all the ladies (and a few of the grandkids) would have our crafttime....oh good grief the odd ball things we have done over the years!!!

When I packed her sewingroom up, the quilt on her machine was a WTIL quilt which I finished and gave to a little boy in Mexico this past June (yes, it took me 5 years to be able to finish it~I was torn, should I finish it and then keeping it as her last project or finish it and give it WTIL, I decided she would want it to go to WTIL...). As a team, she and I made one niece a wedding gown, when my oldest son married in 2000 she was my biggest supporter and encourager as I sewed over 15,000 beads (yes, you read that correctly ~ FIFTEEN THOUSAND) on lace and then made our daughter-in-laws gown from the lace. Handwork has always been a favorite past time for us to share.

When I am working on a project while visiting her she watches me like a hawk. She laughs when I poke myself, encourages when there is a lot left to do, cheers me with each finish ~ watching me the whole time. We count the corners when I am binding a quilt ONE, TWO, THREE and finally together we shout FOUR!!! Then she lays whatever the finished project is out on her lap and starts picking all the loose threads, pointing out if there is something that needs to be cut etc. Since I am currently working on OLD OLD OLD UFO's she is recognizing some of them and making comments (which I cannot understand!!!) or laughing if by chance it was something we each worked on or something she too made WAAAY back when.

This is one of many sets of sewing kits I have made, Linda posted a picture of a set I made for her and yes it was a gift for working on my row robin years ago. However, this set was made for my momma. She actually had a couple of sets, but this is the set I choose to use most. I love the bright happy print.

The blocks are foundation pieced. For a while I was a foundation piecing maniac. This was YEARS ago...years ago. (don't get me wrong, I still love foundation piecing just not a maniac about it). The blocks I used to make these sewing kits are 2½" or 3" square and the foundations were made from rubberstamps (yes, ink the stamp and stamp on cloth). Most are Granny Nanny stamps but there are other brands as well. Linda and I had a blast stamping muslin and sending sets across the USA to each other. I have a couple of miniture quilts that I made for myself that I will get a few pictures of and post at some point. Most of the miniture quilts I made were given away, and sadly I did not take pictures of them. I know my sister has one (hey, Nancy, can you take a picture of it and send it??? please and thank you) and I know several are packed away in my mothers things.

OK, time to shut this down....I finally found a new purse while shopping tonight and want to "move" into it before bedtime.

Survivor was just so-so tonight.

OK, I'll play too....

Here are the pincushions that are by my machine. My sewing cabinet was my momma's she put the magnetic pin catcher on the corner...boy is it ever handy. The other one is wool, keeps my pins sharp, a friend of mine gave me this years ago...it is getting a bit ratty (where Katie bug picked at it!!) but will last for years to come.

This is my trash. Let's see....the orange and green are from a current project that I can't post until the receiver gets it. The pink is from my mothers wall wonky wallhanging. There is a bit of green from my sisters wonky wallhanging. I see a bit of black and a dash of red...that would be from My Bloom. There are a few pins, which no doubt are bent from the machine needle hitting them and 2 machine needles that were changed out stuck on the side. This little trash is beside my machine, when it gets full I empty it into a larger trash that sits next to where I cut and iron. And here is my iron. I love my iron. It is a Pansonic Cordless. I have had it for several years and when it gives up the ghost I will get another one just like it, if I can find one. AND it's purple!!!

Other notes:

Tonight I finished the binding on 3 more Christmas placemats, they are so cute! Getting these years old UFO's finished is helping my attitude!!!

I also finished putting the border on a secret something as mentioned above.

Currently I am re-reading Life is Tough But God is Faithful by Sheila Walsh. I really appreciate her honesty in tough times.

Blessings in my life:
An ok 90 day assessment for momma
Unexpected giftbasket full of wonderful surprises
Flat-Out Bread Sandwiches
Reading my sons hilarious blog post today

Odds and Ends

I finally finished up a set of 2 placemats, a hotpad and mini wallhanging....the binding was all that needed to be done so I took it all to do while visiting with momma. So good to have this out of my UFO pile. No pics as it is a gift and the receiver is a reader. I have another set of placemats that I need to pull out of the pile and finish as well (binding), this is a set of 30's Christmas prints and are for our table so would be nice to have them finished up and use them the first Christmas after our remodel...whadda ya think??

I have worked on another wonky wallhanging but can't post it until it has been mailed and I receive word that it has arrived at it's final destination, that should be by next wk.

I am so liking the rain schedule thus far....doesn't start raining until after we have gone to bed and stops raining before I leave for the office in the morning. During the day it is blue sky and warm enough to have lunch on the deck. Just what I have always desired in a rain schedule! And the air is so wonderful....breathing a great sigh ~~~ ahhhhhh.

Our coffee pot died....drats drats and triple drats!!! It really wouldn't be such a frustrating event but where I live you can't just go down to the store and pick up another one...you gotta drive 25 miles to the nearest store that sells them. So, I made the best of it and called a friend I haven't seen for a while and we made a night of it. Shopping and then out to dinner where we sat and visited until the waitress asked us if we wanted dessert...ooops, that was a clue...time to leave I guess.

JoAnn's has 4oz rolled batting on sale so I picked up 3 rolls, gave one roll to my friend so that she can finish up some WTIL quilts and a couple of personal ones as well. She and I need to have a pinning party real soon. I also purchased a couple of bags of Nuudles for the youngest grandkidlets to play with while everyone is home for a big family gathering next month. I am thinking that the "boys" (aka: Gpa, Daddy and Uncle Ryan) will enjoy them as much as the children.

Our youngest son received a call yesterday from one of his bestest childhood pals requesting he be a groomsman in his wedding...Ryan already has a plane ticket to come home that same wknd but is trying to rearrange his travel plans to be in the wedding and then catch a flight home so as not to miss HIS own (and his brothers) birthday party wknd at the cabin.

On a sad note: a very much anticipated pkg arrived yesterday - - damaged. Sad sad me. It will all be resolved very soon but in the mean time it was just so disappointing for everyone involved, both the send and myself. We chatted last night and have a plan of action for getting the damaged item replaced and getting back on track with the plan. Drats, drats and drats again.

Blessings in my life:
An evening and dinner out with a dear pal whom I haven't seen enough of lately
Nuudles!!!!
My job~the compatibility of the associates
Ed's continued healing and gaining strength

Binding

I have read a couple of blogs of late that mention how the binding is not holding up on older quilts. Here is a suggestion: if you are planning to make a quilt to "last a life time" cut your binding on the bias rather than the straight of grain. This will make the part that folds much stronger, rather than a single line of threads with a straight of grain binding, you will have a criss cross of many many threads on the fold. Does that make sense?? Making your own bias binding is easy. You can find a good tutorial at QuiltPox. This site also gives you a calculator which is really nice since I tend to make WAAAAY more than needed. Having extra binding is a good thing, just sewing it all together and bind those charity quilts with lots of color!

Currently I am finishing up the hand work on a few Christmas gifts, some I will be able to post pictures of once they are finished, others I will not due to who is reading my blog. I keep a supply of handwork in my mothers room and do that while we visit, she will sit for hours without saying a word, just watching me stitch. If I am working on one of her UFO's I always help her snip the last thread so as to say she was the one who finished it...works for us.

It's Friday!!! YIPPEEEEE!!! Tomorrow is football jamboree in the next town over. Our 3 oldest grandkids will be with us all day. Rex is playing in the jamboree, the little guy who once dressed up for Halloween as a football player is now a real football player, how did that happen? Tristan is on the yearbook staff so he will be running around with a camera, Katie will no doubt sit in the stands with her nose in a book and her MP3 player in her ears. Their parents will be in Eugene at the Ducks/Sooners game, yesterday was their anniversary.

Enjoy your wknd....Fall is in the air, time to start getting our yards and gardens ready for winter. The wind blew really hard around here yesterday, I am hoping to see some leaf piles, full of color, here and there around town.

A Quote for Stash Quilters

"Stop searching for happiness~ the fabric you need is in your sewingroom."

~~Helen Kelley~~
from her book Every Quilt Tells a Story

Not sure if this book was sent to me from Cher via Linda or from Linda via Cher...but it ended up at my house many months ago and I am just now getting around to reading it. This is a great book with lots of short, two and three page, quilty stories in it. I was tempted to post more of Helen's writings but the whole copyright thing hangs heavy over my head. Check your local library, it is worth the read. I will be reading a story or two each day for the next month or so. Thanks ladies...I was feeling guilty that I had not gotten around to reading it but now that the rains have come to Oregon I am glad I have this bright spot to look forward to each day.

On another note: yes, the rains have come to Southern Oregon...and guess what??? I left the sunroof open on my new car when we went into visit with Momma, Ed noticed it was raining and raining HARD. He went out to shut the sunroof, then came back and told us that no rain had gotten in. I had only tipped the window up and the rain was not getting in...oh boy...yeehaw!! The rains are here and even if there is alot of sunshine all afternoon, like today....it could start pouring rain at any moment...that is life in Oregon.

Our Jealous Kitty

After getting Niles tucked into his case with his new quilt Akria started laying down next to the case almost every day. We couldn't quite figure it out because we had introduced them to each other several months back and well, they were not going to be friends, Akria is a one man cat and Niles wasn't going to be the one man. But then all of the sudden he is showing some interest in Niles again...and it sure was strange!!! Then we started to notice something, it wasn't Niles that Akria was interested it. Akria would do all he could to get just a corner of Niles' quilt out of the case...and then a little bit more of it and a bit more and a bit more...so I pulled enough of the quilt out so that Niles still had some and Akria could have some as well. This is now where we find Akria and Niles most of the time. Now, before you suggest I make Akria his own quilt I will tell you this spoil kitty has at least 3 quilts that were made just for him...and he doesn't like them!!!

What a cat!

Secret Wonkiness Unveiled

Here is the other wonky wallhanging I did but had not posted the picture (yes, it is square, I was standing in the hallway taking this shot from an angle). This one now lives at my sister's house...and yes, there is a story...My sister is one lucky duck! She has a whole room - yes a WHOLE room that is her closet!!! No, it isn't a little nook off of the master bedroom. No, it isn't an extra large hall closet...it is a full sized bedroom that she has remodeled and made into her closet...isn't that cool??? She has those wonderful California Closet type units on the walls. An ironing board with a really neat-o shoe rack under it. Our mothers beautiful full length mirror. The whole room is just awesome. She has make it just what she wanted it to be...HERS!!!

Now, she hasn't always had this "closetroom", it used to be a bedroom until her daughter was married last December leaving my sister with an empty room. So, this past Spring and Summer my sister has cleared out, cleaned up, fixed up and tinkered around until she made this room just like she wanted.

The frustrating part for me was finding something fun to do for her or give her that would be helpful in her closetroom. I couldn't come up with anything...nothing except suggestions of things for HER to do. I don't live near her so helping with the work was not an option. She pretty much covered the walls with closet units and years ago I made her a wall hanging for her to pin her broaches and other pieces of jewerly on (we both have several broaches that were either our grandmother's or mothers...we love those retro broaches with all the color..she has a really neat one of a peacock-I'll let her keep that one...LOL...she loves it, I think it is, well - - - interesting to say the least!!!). I just was not getting any ideas on what I could do to help her celebrate her new closetroom.

Anyway....I decided I couldn't really do anything for IN her closetroom so I would do something for ON the door of her closetroom instead. Now she has a wonky doorhanging...for her closet room.

When she got home from work yesterday it was in her mail box, she says she opened it and was very surprised...and she likes it!!! she put it up - then took it down to iron out the fold lines (from mailing) then put it back up. I am going to suggest to her that she take it back down and hand quilt around a few of the hats and ladies' heads...that way it would be a project we both worked on.

OK, just having a whole room for a closet doesn't make her the luckiest person but it sure does make me smile when I think about it, after all before our oldest son left for college he had to clear out his room, pack up everything he wasn't taking with him and then our youngest son and his friend painted it for me and I thus was born My Creative Mind before our son took his first college course!!!

I have another wonky doorhanging in the works (a congratulations, good job! gift), but it too is a secret and I don't want to spill any beans....but man I wish I could be there when she opens it and realizes that yes...I am a bit off the wall!!!

Toasted!!

Do you ever have a memory trigger? Last night I was snacking on a piece of cheese (Tillamook cheddar, the best!!!) while chatting with my sister online and it triggered a memory for me. My mother's hands were always busy. She almost always had a pair of knitting needles, a crochet hook, needle and thread, paint brush or something in her hands. So, when she ate she would sometimes put a cracker or a piece of cheese or bread or something between her lips and nibble on it while working on something else. It always amazed me that she could do that, I couldn't...but then I was (WAS??? STILL AM) always talking so couldn't keep my lips together long enough for this to work for me!

Once when I was a little girl my mom had fixed herself a piece of toast and was sitting out on the front porch eating it. I remember it was during the summer and she was wearing shorts (which doesn't have anything to do with this story but it is part of the memory). The toast looked so good, the butter was melted just right, which is what I remember the most...I could never get the butter to melt on toast when I made it. Momma said I could have a piece of toast too, so off to the kitchen I went, I was so excited to have that warm piece of toast with melted butter and cinnamon sugar sprinkled on it.

After putting the bread into the toaster I was back out on the porch and momma told me if I wanted the butter to be melted I needed to put it on the toast when it first came out of the toaster, while it was still hot. Huh? When it comes OUT of the toaster? AFTER it is toasted? UH OH.....I remember that I had been trying to figure out how to get butter to melt on toast for a while and had finally figured out how to do that....you butter your bread, THEN put it in the toaster, which will heat up the butter and melt it just right...RIGHT???

Momma jumped up so fast, ran in the house - into the kitchen and popped up that toast as fast as she could. LOL I can remember this as if it happened yesterday. I don't remember anything else about that life lesson...I don't remember what was said afterwards, I can only imagine LOL. I am sure she told me that if I didn't get distracted and would just stand there and wait for the toast to come up and butter it right away it would melt, I am sure she cleaned up mess I made and I believe she most likely made me a piece of toast, complete with melted butter and cinnamon sugar.

BTW, the memory trigger was the piece of cheese between my lips while chatting with my sister!!! Victory!! I have since learned to butter my toast and have the butter melt AND I can balance something between my lips while doing something else, I just learned a different way to talk so didn't need my mouth. LOL LOL I am so goofy!

Remembering

September 11, 2001. I remember very clearly what I was doing when the first plane struck the World Trade Center.

My mother had suffered a major stroke just one month before on August 10, 2001. She lay in a hospital over 5 hrs from my home. For weeks she had been in a coma, it was awful. There would be signs of movement, signs of activity...then nothing. Decisions were having to be made about her care, mostly by my father but my sister was there to guide him and help to carry the burden. Awful.

I am the youngest of 5 siblings, as soon as the call went out each one of us made our way home from just a couple of hours away - all the way to the New England States. We each stayed as long as we could. I left from work and literally grabbed only my toothbrush and contact supplies, nothing else. My mind was elsewhere...my heart and mind were with my momma. My husband came over a couple of days later (thankfully with clothes for me!).

Each Friday I would get off work at 1 p.m. and drive the 5 hrs to be with my dad and momma, giving other family members a little break....on Sunday I would stay until the very last minute to get home just before dark.

My brother and I were also in the final stages (for the 3rd time) preparing for a kidney transplant, we knew as soon as he was strong enough and his lab work was at a certain level we would be called to Portland (where he lives, but 5 hrs from where I live) ASAP before any changes happened to call it off yet again. He was so weak and this was basically his last chance at survival, there was no way our mother would have wanted us to not go through with the transplant due to her condition. My brother and I talked about this on and off for weeks, we talked with daddy and our sister and everyone decided the transplant HAD to go through, no matter what.

With all that was going on my spirit was pretty much empty during that month...there was not much emotionally, physically or spiritually left of me. Too much was happening, too many things going on.

During the week when I was home and not at my parents, my sister and I would talk each morning. I had called her that horrible morning, we were both getting ready for work. The morning news was on at our house, she had not turned her TV on that morning. I was shocked and told her what I had just seen, we couldn't believe it! How can this be happening? Our personal world had already been rocked and now the United States was under attack, how can this be happening??

How can anyone hate so? How can this be?

I remember where I was, on the phone with my sister: weary and worn out and yet that is when I was forced to begin learning a whole new level of grief.

Don't Turn Your Back.....Don't Close Your Eyes....

.....blogger might hide your blog.

My blog was missing overnight Saturday through Sunday early evening. Not sure where it went, not sure what it did while it was gone, not sure who it was hanging around, not sure why....but it was MIA. I hope it had a good time!!!!

What a wknd! Friday was a bit slow at the office so at 1:30 the boss said he could handle what might happen until 5 and I could leave it I wanted to....at least that is what I think he said, I was out of there so fast I did not hear the last part.

I was home by 1:34, yes, I do live that close to the office...everything in this teeny tiny little town is about a block and a half away from everything else. I did a bunch of odds and ends of things that have been hanging over my head. That felt good! Get those little things out of the way and free your mind up to do the things you want to do. Two hours after getting home I had done a wks worth of things that had been put off, leaving me with an almost chore-free wknd ahead of me.

This wknd we pickled garlic, 21 jars....yummy!!! can't wait until they have cured to see how they turned out. Yes, we STILL have lots of garlic left but I have not minced nor dried any and that will use up quite a bit and we will make a couple more batches of garlic jelly, which is yummy yummy with Ritz crackers and cream cheese, very much like Hot Pepper Jelly.

I had planned to work on another wonky door hanging but didn't find enough coordinating pieces in my stash so will make a stop at JoAnn's tomorrow when I take my mother to the Dr. ~oh darn!~ Only a few letters to this doorhanging so it shouldn't take too long to make it up.

Football has begun...baseball is still going. I would rather watch baseball but enjoy football as well. I can sew while the games are on, just like listening to the radio!!!

The local grandkidlets are back in school, there will be Jr. High football games starting up very soon (next wk??) and soccer for the younger 2 starts in a few wks. Monday through Friday we'll be hopping!! With 3 kids we are often called in to fill in the gap when mom goes one direction, dad goes the next..leaving one of the 3 without transportation and etc., we love it!!! As soon as Ed is driving he will be on call to get our oldest grandson from the High School to the Jr High between classes. Rex is taking 10th grade math although he is in the 8th grade. The two schools are about a half mile apart which means he is late getting to his next class and during our monsoon rains it will be miserable....therefore, Grandpa to the rescue!!!

I love Fall, I love the activities, the way the season change shows up in nature, the cripsness of the air, the sunsets are awesome. This afternoon while watering my baskets I see they are beginning to get a bit leggy and the color is fading here and there, sad to see my beautiful baskets fading but can't wait to walk in the rain and kick my feet in the leaves. I hope it snows this winter...enough to go for at least one evening walk in the snow. Oh, I better slow down...it isn't even Fall and I am talking about Winter, I better slow down or I will miss my favorite season of the year Autumn.

Blessings in my life:

Open windows while sleeping at night

Sparkly little girl singing in a full length concert,

and doing a very good job!!

Sunshine, blue sky, green grass and trees leaves changing colors

Blogger returning my blog to me

testing testing

Life....

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Our cat is so goofy. He knows he has to go out when we leave the house but sometimes he just refuses to do so. Usually he is very agreeable, but not today.

I haven't been hiding lately, just busy. Life, it gets in the way of life from time to time.

I finished up Momma's wallhanging and even took pics of her holding it, but the pics turned out really fuzzy so I will take more at a later time. As I thought would happen, she is thrilled with having it and it has become a game of teasing about it. I love to spoil her.

Speaking of spoiled, I think that silly cat is spoiled!

And keeping with the theme....Meet HiHoSliveR, aka Honey's Happy Retirement. We picked it up just over a wk ago and have been having a blast with it since then. I am thinking we are refusing to grow up!! We really like it and all its bells and whistles. I am so liking the gas mileage - Ed is thrilled with the XMRadio. We open the sunroof and sing along with the Youngbloods, CCR, Natalie Cole, The Beach Boys and the Beatles....growing up is over rated! We don't live at the end of the world, but you can see it from here....which means we don't have many radio stations to choose from so the XM Radio is a nice bonus. My favorite XM station is 32 The Message (contemporary Christian) and Oprah & Friends is on 156. There are times I have to travel with my job and this new car will be a great comfort, our trade-in was 13 years old with 185,000 miles on it....it served us well.

Tuesday Ed had his first Dr visit since surgery. Everything looks good. He is right where he needs to be for his healing schedule. We are so thankful!!! The downside is he is 6 more wks of doing what he has been doing....NOT MUCH!! The only change was they want him to walk as much as he can, which is not much due to permanate leg/foot damage. I am so proud of him, he has forced himself to get out and walk around the block, which is not far but further than he was going last wk. The frustrating part for him was...NO DRIVING!

He keeps telling people he bought a car and he hasn't even sat behind the wheel. Our kids will all be home in a few wks...they might get to drive this before their dad.

On a quilty/sewing note: I finished another wonky wallhanging but it is a surprise for someone, who reads my blog...so as soon as I know it has been opened I will post a pic.

I pulled fabric to make yet another wonky wallhanging, but again, I don't want to spill the beans.

The valance for the kitchen is finished, leaving only the buttons on the bulletin board to finish and then I can call the kitchen DONE DONE.

I sewed sparkly beads on our granddaughters outfit that she is required to wear for a concert at their church. She is the only child (age 9) in the choir and was expected to wear all black like the adults. She did not have anything black so I found a cute skirt and top (yes, black) and then sewed a ton of these beads all over the skirt and removed the white buttons on the top and added the same beads....she will be one sparkly little girl, who will look like a little girl and still not be out of place. At age 9 she has perfect pitch, it is amazing to listen to her sing.

This wknd I MUST MUST MUST get that garlic finished up, I am cooking a birthday dinner for our daughter and we are having a "barn raising" at our kids' house. Actually, our kids are building an addition to their house and the walls are going up this wknd so Ed will take pics while the rest of us lift the walls and get them squared or whatever you do to make them stand...don't ask me....

there you go....what I have been up to and what I plan to be up to....life

Good day, emotional day

After church today we ran by Big Town Hero and picked up turkey, bacon and avocado sandwiches and broccoli cheddar soup...then headed over to see momma. We always take dinner to her on Sunday, a chance to be sure she gets something she likes to eat...she loves soup!!!

Today we FINALLY watched the movie we bought for her a few wks back. Every time she saw an advertizement for RV (Robin Williams, not my favorite person, not my favorite movies) she indicated that she wanted to see that movie but taking her to the theater is not an option so she had to wait until it came out on DVD, Ed promised her he would buy it the day it came out, which he did. So, today we plugged it in and watched it.

Oh my goodness!!!! She laughed and laughed!! A couple of times she laughed so hard she choked herself!!! Good grief!

You see....growing up my parents made sure we were busy on the wknds: we camped, we fished, we rode motorcycles, we swam, we waterskiied, if it involved a campfire and mosquitoes we experienced it at regular intervals. We camped close to home (both Mt Hood and Cannon Beach were only a couple hrs from our childhood home- in opposite directions) and we camped far from home during summerz and other longer vacations (Crater Lake, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Yosemite etc etc). My father worked away from home and momma would pack the camper and have it ready on Friday...daddy would come home and off we would go. Sometimes momma would drive the camper or motorhome to where daddy was working (he worked for the railroad) and we would pick him up and keep going until we reached our campsite.

So, the movie RV was a movie she wanted to see. There were so many things we could relate to from the very beginning of the movie to the end: running over mailboxes to draining the holding tank to driving on roads that were not meant for an RV. Momma laughed when the raccoons were discovered in the oven (??I can't remember anything like that that happened, but don't doubt that it certainly could have), she laughed at the awning being pulled off the side of the motorhome (let's just say as a child we knew when we were about to learn new words!!!), she laughed everytime that dang motorhome started rolling backwards...and cracked up when the line of campers was backed up at the holding tank disposal site.

Oh the memories we shared.

As soon as the movie was over the tears came...and we cried together until Ed joined us, 3 bawl babies in search of kleenex. You see, this is the 2nd anniversary of my daddy's passing. We laughed together, remembered together and then we cried together, then we laughed and remembered and cried some more.

Today momma, Ed and I remembered and missed my daddy.

Thistle

Ed and I took a drive down the coast today. We did not dare drive North, most of the valley traffic will be North ~ everyone wants to come to the beach when it is: #1 hot in the valley, #2 a holiday wknd or #3 just to get away from the city. So...we drove South.

Stopped and had breakfast at the Station Resturant in Bandon then got back in the car and just kept driving. We pulled into various campgrounds and viewpoints just to enjoy as much of the day as possible...but the fog prevented us from doing what we really wanted to do...take pictures! We had a specific picture we wanted to take, but there was no way with all that fog. We turned around at Prehistoric Gardens (no, we didn't visit there...we went several times when the boys were young - very much worth it if you are driving through) and headed North again.

On our way North we pulled into Cape Blanco State Park to use the restrooms and stretch our legs a big. This thistle was showing off its lavendar top and pointy bottom on one of the walkways. Isn't it beautiful? I am hoping to impress my son with this shot!!! It is my new desktop wallpaper.

Hopefully before the end of this 3 day wknd we will have the picture we were hoping to get today.

Blessings in my life:

My sister, whom I love and respect more and more each day

31.5 MPG

Having hubby share passages from the book he is currently reading,

thus sparking several days of wonderful discussion

Sea Mist Cranberry Wine

Milano Mint cookies (although not at the same time as the Sea Mist!!)