Dances with Bears Quilt

OK, I'm officially on a quilting kick! But I'm reading about painting, alright?
j
I just finished this small (20" by 24") quilt called "Dances with Bears," made from a pattern in Fat Quarters, Small Quilts by Darlene Zimmerman. I machine-pieced and machine-quilted it on my non-long-arm sewing machine (easier on very small quilts like this).
j
I'm keeping this one - it's going on the wall in my bedroom!
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Already I'm starting on a new mini-quilt, before my hand-cramps have subsided from doing the binding on this one. I saw a cute doll-sized quilt at http://www.allpeoplequilt.com/, that uses reproduction 1930s feedsack prints, and I immediately knew I had to make it. When I was about 10, I found a stack of cut patchwork squares in my great-grandmother's attic one summer. I think I was there with my grandparents cleaning out her house when she had to go into a nursing home. Anyhow, I made the squares into a simple patchwork pillow back then and still have it today, much loved and well-worn. I'm not sure of the origin of all the squares, but I remember my grandma saying that she recognized some of the fabrics from clothes and projects my great-grandma had made. So I am cutting up my childhood pillow and featuring the fabric in the little doll quilt, so I can frame it and keep it where we can see it and remember my foremothers...
j
P.S. I love the new Director of the National Institute of Health, Productivity and Human Capital. Congratulations, Sweester!

Home from California

I just got back last night from a 3-day women's retreat in Northern California. It was at a really neat old retreat center that reminded me so much of my grandparents' farmhouse in Ohio - lots of wood floors and old wallpaper, tiles and fireplaces. The location was beautiful and I met lots of great ladies from all over. Above are a few sights from the campus - I'm not even sure what the plants are.

Hard at Work in the Garden

... mmm, but not in my heels. This self-portrait with the timer on my camera is taken especially for Mom. (See what I bought with my birthday gift card?)
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Other than the woman in the pink and black polka-dotted top and heels, these pics, show my cleaned-up raised garden beds which I finished yesterday. The quadrant to the left of me is the herb garden. It has (deep breath) lemon balm, rosemary, lavendar, chives, orange mint, pineapple mint, curly parsley, golden oregano, sage, and some snapdragons and impatiens for color.

The other three quadrants are mixtures of perennial and annual flowers. I give up on veggies - this photo looks sunny, but other than the early morning, my yard is in deep-eclipse shade from the many huge trees all around us.
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My son and I did some research on butterfly- and hummingbird-attracting plants, so we have included quite a few of them. I also like to have lots of flowers to cut and bring into the house.
jj
Another beautiful sunny day is predicted today, and then back to the rain! I'm soaking up all the lumens I can!!

Happy Thirty-Twelfth Birthday to Me!

Today is my 30-12th (42nd) birthday! Hmmm... does that mean I should be twice as mature as a 21 year old?

I am planning to spend the day homeschooling (only 6 more weeks to go, and the boys are going to public school next year, so this is really the end of a 9 year era of my life) and then the four of us are going out to eat together. There is a new restaurant nearby that I saw reviewed in the Seattle Times which is owned by a man from Naples, Florida - near my hometown. It's called Casper's Everglades Supper House. We're going to go check it out - eat some gator and talk Southern!

I'm in Deep Clover Now!

Big news of the day is, I am employed! I started today as a project manager for a marketing and promotions company! Huge change for me - I have not been employed in 14 years, since our first son was born!

It seems like a perfect fit. I will be able to work part-time, and most of it from home, on the computer and the phone. So my early morning hours will now be spent working instead of blogging and crafting so much. It all seems so strange, and yet so familiar. Like speaking a language again that I once spoke daily, until I moved to another country (in my case -motherhood).

Ah, well! I'm sure I'll sneak in a project now and again. And I'll be keeping my eye on you!
l

"Our real problem is not our strength today:

it is the vital necessity of action today to ensure our strength tomorrow."

-Dwight D. Eisenhower

Going With the Flow

I had fun being spontaneous with a pack of blank cards yesterday. I needed to finally get my Christmas thank yous out, and I decorated a whole pack of cards with this and that, and wrote them all while I homeschooled. The dark smears you see are actually metallic silver: doesn't photograph well.
j
Yesterday I also went to my second ever yoga class. Where have you been all my life, Yoga?? I have gone to aerobics classes in the past (a long time ago, ahem) but that has been my only foray into exercise classes. I hated aerobics! Everyone in their perfect outfits, doing their perfect routines! Yechhhhh! But having heard about yoga from several resources, I decided to check it out. TOTALLY a different experience! Low lights, soft music, go at your own pace at your own level, no comparisons or competition, stretching, balancing, breathing. I've felt like I've just had a massage after each class!

Here's to new discoveries and healthier habits!

Really Odd Meme, Part 2

What's on top of your refrigerator?
The basket of vitamins and meds, our good camera, the boys' jacknives, and perpetual grunge...
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What color or design is on your shower curtain?
A gold/rust colored abstract design, that I still like after living with it for 5 years. My mom bought it for us when we moved into this house, 'cause I wouldn't pay that much for a shower curtain and she said, "It's worth it! You're going to have to look at it every day!"
j
How many plants are in your home?
Only five. Two jade plants and two angel-wing begonias which are descendents of starts I got years ago at the homeschool center swap. That swap is always so much fun! You bring in your own labeled starts to contribute, then take what you want. Since we moved in this house, I've scored money plants, ferns, japanese anemone, butterfly bush, a golden chain tree, shasta daisies, annual flowers and veggies from the swap! And I've been glad to contribute my curly parsley, lipstick strawberries, poppies, hollyhocks, and dozens of lovely heirloom tomato plants that I had nurtured on my window sill all spring, only to realize I would murder them in my own eclipsed yard.
j
Is your bed made now?
I'll ditto Ali - Nope, hubby's in it!
j
Comet or Soft Scrub?
Neither. Scrub Brite.
j
Is your closet organized?
Pretty well. I have the closet in my art studio and hubby has the one in our bedroom, 'cause they are too small to cohabitate. Tops on the right; skirts, pants, dresses on the left; belts in the center; shoes on a rack; laundry basket on the other side of them; purses and fifteen years of Franklin planners on the shelf on top.
j
Can you describe your flashlight?
Just like Ali's.
j
Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home?
Glass. Last Easter I bought a dozen of the heaviest matching drinking tumblers I could find, so we could finally set a table for guests without the potpourri of glassware. Haven't lost one yet!
j
Do you have iced tea, made in a pitcher, right now?
No, but I did all summer. I found a great recipe in the Seattle Times for Southern Iced Tea this year (the archives are being clunky or I'd add the link). Basically, it called for making a strong concentrate with a quart of boiling water and 5 tea bags for 10 minutes, DON'T SQUEEZE THE TEA BAGS WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OUT, add cold water to fill up to a gallon, then add an 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda to counteract the tannins. Very good!
j
If you have a garage, is it cluttered?
Ummm, not as bad as some I've seen but not great. Hubby and I were just discussing this last week, were you eavesdropping? Having just purchased a new vehicle, we are thinking it would be good to actually house it in order to keep it looking pretty longer. Of course, that would involve getting rid of the motorcycle and a seldom-used exercise bench, cleaning out the "church" pile, and giving the in-laws those boxes of little kid clothes.

Whoa... I didn't realize the extensive length of this Really Odd Meme when I began! I gotta get going around here, I'll catch you again later! I'm interpreting at church this morning, then I'm teaching the 3 year-olds at Sunday School during second service. Ta!

The Rather Odd Meme (Thanks, Ali!)

I haven't been doing anything creative lately (ummmm....wrapping packages?) and haven't been taking any photos either, so thus, therefore, and consequentially, I haven't any blog fodder and have been neglecting you all, my faithful readers (ha! check out my hundreds of comments! well, I'm sure there're a few lurkers out there... I still haven't figured out those site-meter thingies...)
j
So anyhow, I saw this Rather Odd Meme at domesticali today and it made me smile, so I thought I'd do it so you'd have something new to read, however bizarre.
j
What kind of soap do you have in your bathtub right now?
Two, actually. One is a honey-glycerine bar that hubby uses and one is an additive-free, non-perfumed, olive oil-based bar. We've both had some issues with hives and allergic reactions this year, and these seem to work for us.
j
Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator?
No, but I regularly do have very odd or out-of-season produce in there; as a homeschooling family we are always picking up exotic fruits that are from the countries we are studying, or veggies that "Farmer Boy" might have eaten... The most recent experiment was prickly pear cactus (verdict: yummy but seedy - tastes like kiwi or passionfruit).
j
What would you change about your living room?
I would finally find the perfect art to hang on the blank walls... I don't know what... or paint it myself... you can see the problem...
j
Are the dishes in the dishwasher clean or dirty?
Dirty, but there's just a few; I ran it yesterday afternoon and emptied it.
j
What's in your fridge?
What?! I'd be hear ALL DAY! You are talking to a mixed food-allergic family here! I have three types of milk, for Pete's sake! Soy, rice and cow's! Suffice to say: a large variety of dairy and dairy substitutes, lots of cold-cuts (wrestling season is on now), and lots of produce (we cook from scratch most all the time). Come see for yourself if you need more detail than that!
j
White or wheat bread?
Wheat only. Raised the boys on it and now they are programmed to think white is strange. I'm thinking about maybe mixing up some gluten-free bread soon - I just haven't found any decent in the stores, and homemade is quite good, although it doesn't last long (I mean it doesn't taste good for many days, not that I have to worry about that - the men are NOT prejudiced against gluten-free: homemade bread is homemade bread!)

Wow! This is a LONG meme! Maybe I'll save the rest for next time so I have something to post about! I'll leave you with a verse:
j

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made: your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14

Six Weird Things Meme

Kim has tagged me for the "Six Weird Things About Me" meme. So I'm supposed to expose my weirdness to the world? And to my parents and siblings and in-laws and aunties and uncles who read this blog? Ooooooo-kayyyyyy... here goes:

1. I wake up extremely early every morning. Without an alarm. It doesn't matter when I go to bed. Usually I waken at 5-5:30, but sometimes earlier. Naps are my friend.

2. I can't eat any dairy or wheat or I get quite sick. Dairy has bothered me to a small degree for 20 years, but I have had to cut it out completely for the last 2-1/2 years. Not even one chocolate chip or I'm writhing in bed with a heating pad for 4 hours. No wheat either. Which means it's a good thing I like to bake from scratch because store-bought foods are hard to find. My younger son has recently joined me in this diet, and it's cured his tummy troubles too.

3. My family has lots of duplicate names. My brother married a lady with my first name. My sister married a guy with my husband's first name. My brother (who has the same name as my father) married a woman who's identical twin's husband has the same first name as he does. Our poor kids and nieces and nephews have to identify us by state!

4. I have a very hard time speaking to someone with an accent without accidentally affecting their accent. This is very embarrassing. I have to REALLY concentrate to keep using my regular voice!

5. Incidentally, I have a little girl's voice even now as a 40 year old. When I answer the telephone, the telemarketers say, "Hi Honey, is your mommy home?" and I say, "No, she lives in Florida. May I help you?"

6. I have a dog-nose. No, not visually like a dog's, it has the sensitivity of a dog's. No sneaking the last piece of pie - I'll smell it on your breath ... an hour later ... at 10 paces!

Weird enough for you? Hope I made you smile!



P.S. This meme has been going around for a while, so I won't tag anyone officially, but if you want to expose your inner weirdo too, let me know and I'll link to you here!

Tough on the Outside...

A little while ago, capello posted her jeans-tucked-into-socks cool-80s look and, yes, I have evidence of that fashion era myself! I finally got this scanned so I can share it with you. This is my ultra-cool self at age 20! I looked so "bad" with my vertical hair, and can you believe this is how I looked when my hubby fell for me (how could he resist??)? This pink t-shirt is not typical though - I usually wore some shade of black. Not the parents' favorite phase, right, Mom? Whenever I see spikey-haired, pierced, tattooed, tough-looking young people, I remember how uncertain I felt at this age and I know that they are probably just as confused and lonely as I was then.

Inspire Me Thurs. - "The Great Watermelon Adventure"

Click on the photo to enlarge and read words.
OK, I really WAS inspired by this "childhood memory" theme. I like the idea of recording these stories for generations to come...no one else (except the involved persons) in the world knows these crazy stories! They should be saved! I'm curious to see what my sweet Sweester thinks of this...do you remember it happening like this?

Inspire Me Thurs. & EDM Challenge #66

This drawing satisfied both the current Inspire Me Thursday challenge to draw a memory from childhood, and, strangely enough, the Everyday Matters Challenge #66, to draw a fire hydrant and journal about an experience with firefighters.

When I was a kid, my brother & I would spend the summer with our grandparents in Michigan. My grandfather worked for a factory that made the truck bodies they use for the post office, Fed-Ex, UPS, & Frito-Lay. One summer when I was about 9 and my brother was 8, the four of us got up early in the morning to deliver a truck (plain grey with no paint-job yet) to a customer. My grandparents sat in the 2 seats in front & my brother & I rode on a pile of my grandpa's soybeans in bags in the back of the truck (I think the beans were really for weight) Since we started so early, we got hungry and stopped for "lunch" around 10 a.m. My brother & I both ordered shakes, and my brother asked if he could have fries* with his burger (* this is important to the storyline!) The waitress said, "Yes, I think I can get the cook to start up the fryer for you!" As we sat sipping our shakes and waiting for our food, the waitress came out of the kitchen and asked us to please step out of the restaurant for a few minutes because there was a "small fire in the fryer, and just take your shakes with you until we get it put out." We sat in the truck and drank our shakes as we watched the diner burn down. The flames shot out of the roof, the curtains fell down as ther rods melted in the windows. When the firetrucks came (the diner was in a remote area, surrounded by trees, I remember), I told my brother that they were going to arrest him for ordering fries & starting the fire.

Illustration Friday - "Skyline on the Farm"

(Drawn with Micron pen and Prismacolor markers on Koh-I-Noor vellum. For my whole blog, click here)

This skyline is precious to me! I grew up in the South, but spent many summers growing up at my grandparents' farm in Michigan. They have a 200-acre farm that has been in my Grandpa's family for about 125 years now. Gramma and Grandpa got married and built this farmhouse over 60 years ago, next to the barns and big farmhouse where his parents lived. When I was little, Grandpa worked at the truck factory in town, but he and Gramma still farmed all the land, with wheat and soybeans. They also had a big garden that we all worked in. My mom's old horse was in the pasture across the road, but that was all. When my Mom was little, they had dairy cows in the barn, and chickens too. My Mom remembers when there was an outhouse at the end of the little cement path in the yard, and when the section of the house (on right above) with the bathroom and 2 bedrooms was built on. My Grandpa grew up here, and dropped out of school at 13 to take over running the farm when my Great-Grandpa had a stroke (heart-attack?). My great-grandparents bought one of the earliest cars, but my Grandpa was the one to learn to drive it and he was quite the catch in their little town! My 90 year old Gramma (see June 2006 post "Portrait") still lives there by herself.