On to Another Project!

I have wanted to make a quilt for a long time, but recently I found some fabric that I just loved. It's so whimsical and a bit retro!! I bought a bunch of fabric without really knowing what I was doing. I didn't have a pattern, have never quilted, but thought, "Eh...what's the worst that can happen?" No one would really have to know; unless I blogged about it. So, if I fail, there will be a chance of laughter. 

I will keep you posted on the progress of the quilt. So far, I have the top almost done. I believe I want to add some borders. I have it in my mind, and have even dreamt about how I would create this quilt. So, we'll see how it works.

It all started when I saw this wheel of fabric sitting on the fabric store's shelves. Perfect for what had been twirling around in my mind the last few weeks!! I sewed these strips together. There were enough in each wheel to get three blocks of strips sewn! I bought two wheels so I would have enough to have six rectangles of stripes! Very cute idea. Very cute.

Here I have one rectangle block put together. They measure about 15 1/2 inches wide and, well...somewhere around two feet or so long. It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to lay it all out. I had Alyssa and Kimi sitting in the living room watching a movie while I was placing blocks all around the living room floor! Fun Times!!

I bought several packages of these pieces of fabrics. I think they're something similar to fat quarters, but I'm not sure. I still take offense to the name of the fat quarters. Really? They can't help it!

And here is one strip done. I will show you the other strips later. They are actually all stacked under this top one. This will no doubt be a busy quilt, but I like it. I'm looking forward to seeing it done! I am also looking forward to sharing my end product with you!!

Be blessed!

I love you more!

My cousin Julie passed away yesterday, and my mind is full. When someone I know and love dies, part of my grieving process is to reminisce about good things in my life. And like the saying goes, the good things in my life aren't things.

I spent the morning with my mom and dad because even though I am 48 years old, to be honest, when I hurt, the first place I go is home to my mom and dad. We spent time talking and laughing and remembering stories, and  when I got ready to leave, I told my mom that I loved her. She smiled and called over her shoulder as she was walking to her door, "I love you more!" God, what a gift you've given me!

In my family we say, "I love you." A lot. And we hug. A lot.

It's been that way my whole life. In fact, as I look back, I find it kind of funny that I was almost an adult before I realized that there were a lot of people who just weren't like us. There were some people - even in our extended families - who weren't natural huggies and probably weren't all that keen on having a little dark-headed-snot-nosed-kid hugging them but were too polite to say anything.

Our tradition includes hugging when you see someone for the first time that day, and then hugging before that person leaves. Lots of times there are hugs just for good measure. Some people, I'm sure, might think that hugging that much might lead to hugs becoming routine. Maybe. But I've got to tell you, there are just some epic hugs that are what love is all about.

Like the time I failed my swimming test because I was too afraid to dive off the 'tower' and swim in the 10 foot. My dad found me hiding in my closet and didn't say too much. He asked if I tried. I said yes. And then he asked me if I wanted to go fishing. When I climbed out of the closet, he wrapped his strong arms around me and told me that as long as I tried, he was alright with me and I had nothing to be ashamed of.

Or the times my mom hugged my pregnant belly and told my babies that Grammy loved them and that she couldn't wait to see them.
And the time I was holding it together at the hospital until I saw my dad and he grabbed a hold of me and I was able to cling to him and be his child in incredible pain as we said goodbye to Ben.

Oh, and the time I surprised my family by coming home from college a week earlier than planned. I saw my little brothers playing basketball and when they saw me, they dropped their game and came runnning to greet me. They lifted me up and twirled me around!

And my sister, on my wedding day before I walked down the aisle. She whispered for me to take it all in and I did. I remember the fragrance of the roses and the candles and the beautiful music and my handsome groom waiting for me.

I could go on and on and on and probably will in my mind. Memories are just swirling around today like nobody's business. If I thought that Julie could hear me, I would tell her again that I loved her, and that she was a part of so many lovely memories from my childhood and that I am so thankful to have had her in my life. And I would hug her if I could.

Cause that's what we do.

Hot. Hot. Hot.

I think I"m getting old. I  say that because I remember hearing old people say things like, "When we were kids, we didn't have color tv and we got along just fine." Or, "When we were kids, we had to walk where ever we went, and we were just fine."

Today, though, as I read all the heat advisory warnings and I glanced at the thermometer, I had to stop and think, "When did 90s become too hot?" And then it happened. I started thinking back to when I was a kid. We didn't have air conditioning back then. (We still don't, although my parents do NOW!) Really, very few people did. Businesses around town weren't climate controlled and walking around town you'd see windows open, people on their porches and kids on their bikes. A drive around the square would bring you to all the Old Timers sitting on the benches and talking up a storm. And we were just fine! Oh, dear.

I remember in the dog days of summer - when it didn't even cool down at night - my brothers and sister and I would sleep out on the back patio - until that pincher bug grabbed Nise, but that's another story. We'd all four lie on cement and sleep under the stars, but not until we had exhausted all conversation. Amazing how siblings can chatter.

So tonight, it's warm. But there is a lovely breeze and looking out across the field, I see the intermittent glowing of lightning bugs, and I am thankful. And I miss Denise, Darin and Matt tonight....cause there are stars, and lightning bugs and I think the DDT got rid of all the pincher bugs.

Small Town Livin' (written a year ago)

When all this cancer stuff started in April, my husband and I decided that we would wait to tell people until we were sure what was going on. My work buddies and I were at the Mexican restaurant in town, and I spotted a lovely woman I know who is battling breast cancer. I went over to say 'hey,' and I blurted out to her that I might have cancer. What the heck! Anyway, she hugged me and kissed the top of my head when she got ready to leave, and she told me she would be thinking of me.

Fast forward this little roller coaster we've been on for the last couple of months. My parents were at my house eating dinner with us, when we noticed Madeline drive up. She came to the door and explained that she had been worried about me and decided to try to find me!! I was speechless. And I felt extremely loved.

I think one of the benefits of living in a small town (and maybe one of its curses) is that just going through life, you get to know people in a way that would be impossible in a city. Thank you, Madeline, for loving me and showing me how much you care!

I Am Tired.

I've thought today that I should change the name of my blog to I Am Tired. I most certainly am very, very tired. And relieved.

This week has been pretty exciting in my life. We had tornadoes on Tuesday, literally all around us. It was a charged kind of night in more ways than one. On the way home from work, I learned that there were tornado warnings everywhere. There had been a tornado outside of Greenfield and it was heading east. We're East of Greenfield. The sky was ominous to say the least.

My heart stayed in my throat for most of the evening. Jordan is in Creston and there were two tornadoes that touched down there. Alyssa, Ross and Abe were in town in three separate places. Aly and Abe finally made it home before Storm Number Two hit, carrying huge hail! Actually they were walking to our house when all of a sudden huge balls of ice started falling from the sky! You should have seen our yard COVERED by golf-ball sized hail.
 Incredible.                          

Thankfully, no one sustained injuries. Many of our neighbors and friends have lost some property and live stock, but our neighbors are safe.

I am hoping to have a night very soon during which there are no storms, no lightning, no thunder and no radios going off warning of impending danger.

Cause. I. Am. Tired. 

Worms, Dogs and Sundays.

I thought some of my worms had died. Today, I spent some time stirring the almost wormless trays and cleaning out the stinking water basin, and I found that the worms had migrated up to the top tray! I still think we might have lost a few due to the compost getting too wet. I guess there is a learning curve to creating a worm farm. Terry used some of the 'worm tea' on his tomatoes! (We'll see if it's as magical and 'they' say it is!)

I'm hoping stirring up the trays and getting them not so wet and compact will be good for the worms. They have certainly eaten a lot of stuff! I'm a little disappointed in how slow they decompose stuff, though. If I didn't live with a household of carnivores, we'd have to have four or five worm farms to keep up with all our veggies waste! Hopefully we'll get in a groove with it. I was able to free up one of the trays, so that seems like it is good news. That and it doesn't stink. Well, the 'tea' stinks, but the rest of the compost smells like dirt. Which is offensive to some, I suppose. I like it.

Poor Molly. She is dejected. I have misplaced my shedding brush and she looks horrid. She has all this matted fur under her top coat, so today I almost shaved the back end of her and then washed her good. She looks kind of like a goofy poodle only goofier because she ISN'T a poodle. Poor dog. I'm hoping to find that brush soon! She has probably gone and found something stinky to roll in (like the 'worm tea' Terry put out on his tomatoes). That would be just like her. Lovely.

Today has been nice. I've puttered and I'll scrub a couple of rooms, but for the most part, I'm having a nice restful Sunday. Tonight all my kids are going to be here for supper. Yes. They all live back at home, but we rarely see everyone together. Tonight is LASAGNE!!! (I know how to get my boys to come home. lol)

Random Thoughts

I just spent some time going over my older blogs and the statistics Blogger provides. Evidently there are 3 people in Belgium who have found my blog. I thought that was interesting.

Sometimes I get pretty overwhelmed with my job, and it seems to sap my creative energy. Last year, I made a pact with myself that I would work at maintaining that creative flow. Last summer I started working on my garden - trying to reclaim its beauty. I've continued this year (when it isn't raining or a bazillion and 4 degrees outside) to work toward that goal. Last year Terry and the boys built a deck on the front of our house. This year, I pulled plants I want to save from another area of my garden to plant around the deck. It's so pretty!!

 This clematis I planted last year. It's made it to the top of the deck and is getting a lot bushier. I love its color!  The coreopsis daisy that is behind is one of the plants that I reclaimed. My good friend Donna gave me a couple of starts from her garden years ago. I divided it up and planted some around my deck. Lovely.

This is a beautiful lily that I planted last year. I think it was on a clearance shelf a the end of the year! It's it beautiful!! The varigated sedum behind it is one of the plants that was here when we bought the place. You don't often see this variety. I've divided it and shared it so many times!! 

This is Ben's Tonka truck. About 25 years old and has lived outside all of its life! I plant flowers in it ever year. This year I put in some rocks and then some moss rose. It's a nice reminder that he lives on.

Coral Bells, hosta, sedum from my friend Donna, more hosta, creeping geranium and creeping phlox. Oh...and the angel guiding the little boy? Precious.

 More of the clematis in completely full bloom. Such beauty. And, of course, what garden isn't complete without a random stuffed animal thrown in for good measure?

My co-worker Denise gave me this hibiscus last year. She actually gave me two, but the white one didn't make it. Might have been the chickens pecking at it. This is actually about a foot and a half. I'm anxious to see how this grows this year. It had the most beautiful hot pink blossoms!

More to follow, I'm sure. My goals this year in my garden: 1) to get the water flowing right; 2) to finish the pathway 3) to add a little 'patio on the lower part of the garden. 

We'll see how that goes. I'm less than ambitious most days. ;-)