...the birth of our seventh grandchild, a girl. Five pounds, fifteen ounces.
But before she came, she let us know she was In Trouble.
Wednesday night, Lily's water broke. And it was dark green, meconium-filled.
Trash the quiet-birth-at-home plans. Rush to the hospital. Baby's heartrate dipping below 100 during contractions. Whisked to the OR for an emergency C-section.
She has yet to take a breath on her own. She went from the ob's hands to the neonatologist's hands before the ob even knew the gender. She is on a ventilator, and was labeled "unresponsive." That has been amended: this afternoon, her Daddy and Mommy visited, stroking her legs. She moved her foot in response. The nurse verified that that constituted Voluntary Movement.
They did a heart ultrasound, a brain ultrasound, EEG. "You need to wait for the neurologist to read results." As of 9 pm, still waiting. To see if brain damage has occurred.
The GOOD NEWS is that we don't have to wait for God to interpret the tests. He is In Control. He was not surprised at our "emergency"; in fact, He's the One who broke the water so Lily could get help. He knows the Beginning from the End in this situation.
I am watching Grace happen. That Peace that Passes Understanding is settling on Johnny Tremain and Lily. They are being forced to play the Waiting Game. But the Lord is right in the room, Waiting with them. He is also in Baby's room, watching over her. Never sleeping. No change of shifts on His watch.
Prayers of dozens, dozens of believers are being lifted on their behalf. I am so, so grateful for the network of prayer going up. I am so "in the middle" that my prayers don't seem very powerful. I'm stuck at, "God, please!" Others are doing powerful intercession on our behalf.
Thank you for letting me share. I will share more as I get info. But actually, I have all the info I really need. God is Good. All the Time.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Serendipities.
Probably "serendipities" is not the correct word for this post. But I get a little tired of thinking up cute words for just tidbits of here-and-there-ness around the Cottage.
I wanted to brag on Forget-me-not. She got a word in facebook-Scrabble that netted her 167 points! She actually hit two triple-word scores with one word, as well as using her seven letters. My joy for her accomplisment is dimmed only by the fact that *I* am her opponent in that game, and it looks like she is going to beat me by 200+ points. I'm afraid to see what that will do tomy our ratings.
Lily is now fully due to have her fifth baby. She was actually due yesterday, her birthday, but she is always late, sometimes more than others. This baby didn't want to rock the boat, I guess.
Lily asked to borrow our video camera, as hers is on the blink. When I took it out of the case to charge it, what should I find but the charging/uploading cord to the fabulous digital cam I received for Christmas last year! I have never been able to take photos after the first time that the battery wore down. After downloading the photos that were on the memory card, I discovered that Alvin Fernald has grown a good bit this year!
Now to Alvin. Football is something that Alvin is enjoying, and Mommy is trying to ignore, at least the inherent prone-ness to injury. Last week he hurt his shoulder, but it seemed to be feeling better. Then he came home from practice last evening looking like this:
I wanted to brag on Forget-me-not. She got a word in facebook-Scrabble that netted her 167 points! She actually hit two triple-word scores with one word, as well as using her seven letters. My joy for her accomplisment is dimmed only by the fact that *I* am her opponent in that game, and it looks like she is going to beat me by 200+ points. I'm afraid to see what that will do to
Lily is now fully due to have her fifth baby. She was actually due yesterday, her birthday, but she is always late, sometimes more than others. This baby didn't want to rock the boat, I guess.
Lily asked to borrow our video camera, as hers is on the blink. When I took it out of the case to charge it, what should I find but the charging/uploading cord to the fabulous digital cam I received for Christmas last year! I have never been able to take photos after the first time that the battery wore down. After downloading the photos that were on the memory card, I discovered that Alvin Fernald has grown a good bit this year!
Now to Alvin. Football is something that Alvin is enjoying, and Mommy is trying to ignore, at least the inherent prone-ness to injury. Last week he hurt his shoulder, but it seemed to be feeling better. Then he came home from practice last evening looking like this:
One more on his chin:
I didn't even take a photo of his back.
These bruises were caused mostly by helmets, he says. You may see little circular bruises that look like sprinkles of something--those are the holes in his mesh jersey, and the skin bruised *through* the shirt. He called it "tackle" practice.
Okay, now I'm counting the weeks till it's over. And I don't think I will ever watch football on tv the same way again, either.
Forget-me-not and her boys are picking me up this morning to go see my Daddy at the nursing home. Many times when I speak with him on the phone, his speech is very slow, and he finds it hard to choose his words. Sometimes that is due to his blood sugar, and sometimes just due to the fact that he is 87 years old. I treasure each visit I have with him, knowing that someday soon, I won't be able visit him. I'll just have to wait to see him when we are all "over yonder."
That's about all. I am working on Christmas surprises, and a "boy" quilt for Lily. I already had a "girl" quilt ready. Now it's just a Waiting Game.
At least I'll have a camera ready!
Friday, September 11, 2009
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Thinking Again.
I mentioned yesterday that I accidentally deleted this photo of my Barbara Star quilt "in progress." I am about 60% done with the hand quilting. I am quilting it in diagonal rows, the same way my grandma did the original.My grandma quilted almost every one of her quilts in diagonal rows. I used to wonder why she didn't get any more adventurous in her quilting designs.
As usual, I judge people without knowing nuthin' about it. A few years ago I read in a quilting book that this style of quilting (diagonal rows) was the Trendy Thing when grandma started quilting. So actually she was on the Cutting Edge there.
Silly me. Silly all of us. Don't we rush to judgment all the time, about all kinds of things? *WHY* did those people paint their house that horrid color? *WHY* does that person wear crew-length black socks with white running shoes? *WHY* would someone choose that song for a wedding? On and on and on.
I've gotten more aware of this lately. I used to watch What Not To Wear, and laugh with everybody else at the secret videos. Until I saw a show where the lady dressed like...ME. Another time I was watching a bathroom-makeover show on the DIY network. I thought the bathroom in the "before" shots looked pretty good. Not 2009, but certainly not 1979, you know? And what did the new owners say? "This looks like a bathroom for RETIRED PEOPLE!!"
Actually, it looked like a bathroom for People Who Don't Rip Everything Out and Replace It With Glass Tile Every 24 Months.
Charming played for worship Sunday in a church in a small town 35 miles away. We were driving along, looking at the modest homes in the town, and musing about how 90% of the world would think them luxurious. Roofs that don't leak. Running water and toilets. Running HOT water. Central heating.
So when we have food and clothing and a dry place to live? "Therewith be content."
I sorta got off-on-a-tangent there. Thanks for staying with me.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Happenings Around the Cottage
Well, of course, last week was a busy week. Second week of school--I think Blackeyed Susan and Alvin Fernald are getting used to the new regime. Susan is only complaining about Getting Up Early and Homework. I don't know of a high-schooler who doesn't complain about those, right?
A friend shared some farm-eggs with us. These things are HUGE, all with double-yolks:
I put a store-bought "large" egg beside one of these brown beauties to compare:
We had to eat them, because I couldn't figure out how to use them in brownies! At one time, I learned the cup-measures for all of the store sizes, medium, large and jumbo: kinda like 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup, etc? But since we *could* eat them, I just didn't bother.
My neighbor Linda sent over a selection of her gorgeous tomatoes. Some of them are vintage varieties, and, as you can see, very colorful. We call this "a bowl of candy" because of their sweetness, and eat many of them as such. The rest will go on our lunch salad today:
On the crafting front, I am about 60% done, quilting my Barbara Star quilt...
[the photo of which I just DELETED!!!!!!!!! I'll post it again the next time...]
...working on a surprise for Christmas...
...and making props for our Missions Conference Parade at church. These are burlap bags filled with balled-up newspaper, that can represent beans if you're from Latin America, or rice if you are Asian:
Finally, any crafting that happens after September 1st is accompanied by Christmas music. This is a habit I developed in high school, to get me in the mood for the presents I knit/sewed/crafted for my friends. So, the case of Christmas cd's came out this week, and is doing its duty, setting the mood!
I didn't take a photo of our newly repaired window in the kitchen. Alvin and his friend DISOBEYED the house rule of no-real-baseball-throwing in the backyard (or front yard, for that matter). We have a custom of using tennis balls in the yard, and baseballs reserved for the park down the street. The window they broke was a double-paned custom jobbie. Charming took it to the hardware store, but they could not fix it as it was. The frame was constructed around the glass, so there was no knock-out-the-glass-put-a-new-piece-in. Since we did not have several hundred $$$ to buy a new window, Charming and MacGuyver spent the afternoon chisel-ing out the frame so it would be able to receive a regular ol' pane of glass. I thought Charming especially smart to choose plexiglass. Cost: $42 for the glass, $15 labor, and $12 for the wood-chisel.
Oh, yes, I wanted to update you on Freshman Football. Unfortunately, SSHS (Green! White! Fight! Fight!) lost to the big "S" school, but Alvin was not injured. Friday night the varsity team beat the next rival, which is the school the freshmen play this Thursday.
Sigh. Only six more games to pray Alvin through.
Oh, and by-the-way, of course you saw that ND beat Nevada 35-0. First shutout for ND since 2002. Do you think they can do that again next week against Michigan?
Wake up the echoes, baby.
A friend shared some farm-eggs with us. These things are HUGE, all with double-yolks:
I put a store-bought "large" egg beside one of these brown beauties to compare:
We had to eat them, because I couldn't figure out how to use them in brownies! At one time, I learned the cup-measures for all of the store sizes, medium, large and jumbo: kinda like 1/3 cup, 1/2 cup, etc? But since we *could* eat them, I just didn't bother.But my two-eggs-and-toast was a tad more filling than usual.
My neighbor Linda sent over a selection of her gorgeous tomatoes. Some of them are vintage varieties, and, as you can see, very colorful. We call this "a bowl of candy" because of their sweetness, and eat many of them as such. The rest will go on our lunch salad today:
On the crafting front, I am about 60% done, quilting my Barbara Star quilt... [the photo of which I just DELETED!!!!!!!!! I'll post it again the next time...]
...working on a surprise for Christmas...
...and making props for our Missions Conference Parade at church. These are burlap bags filled with balled-up newspaper, that can represent beans if you're from Latin America, or rice if you are Asian:
Finally, any crafting that happens after September 1st is accompanied by Christmas music. This is a habit I developed in high school, to get me in the mood for the presents I knit/sewed/crafted for my friends. So, the case of Christmas cd's came out this week, and is doing its duty, setting the mood!
I didn't take a photo of our newly repaired window in the kitchen. Alvin and his friend DISOBEYED the house rule of no-real-baseball-throwing in the backyard (or front yard, for that matter). We have a custom of using tennis balls in the yard, and baseballs reserved for the park down the street. The window they broke was a double-paned custom jobbie. Charming took it to the hardware store, but they could not fix it as it was. The frame was constructed around the glass, so there was no knock-out-the-glass-put-a-new-piece-in. Since we did not have several hundred $$$ to buy a new window, Charming and MacGuyver spent the afternoon chisel-ing out the frame so it would be able to receive a regular ol' pane of glass. I thought Charming especially smart to choose plexiglass. Cost: $42 for the glass, $15 labor, and $12 for the wood-chisel.
Quite the week.
Oh, yes, I wanted to update you on Freshman Football. Unfortunately, SSHS (Green! White! Fight! Fight!) lost to the big "S" school, but Alvin was not injured. Friday night the varsity team beat the next rival, which is the school the freshmen play this Thursday.
Sigh. Only six more games to pray Alvin through.
Oh, and by-the-way, of course you saw that ND beat Nevada 35-0. First shutout for ND since 2002. Do you think they can do that again next week against Michigan?
Wake up the echoes, baby.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
If Women Weren't Around to Civilize Men, They Would Never Shower and They Would Just Stand Their Jeans in the Corner of The Cave Every Night.
You may have observed around Playoff time in any professional sport, the custom of say, an entire team not shaving from the beginning of playoffs until the World Series or the Super Bowl or the NBA Championship or Stanley Cup or whatever. Little quasi-superstitious customs that ensure "good luck." I personally a) never understood the concept (do female athletes do this?) and b) never actually observed a quantifiable difference in the results. I mean, if both teams refuse to shave, how does "luck" improve? And, plenty of times, the Cubs completely-random-teams don't win, anyway.
That brings me to Alvin Fernald's freshman football team.
Now, our high school is designated 4A. Schools in our state are rated by their student population. Several high schools in our city are ranked 5A, two of them having over twice as many students as S.S.H.S. You also need to know that our school has three teams: varsity, junior varsity, and freshman. Varsity teams play Friday nights, j.v. plays the same opponent the following Monday, and freshmen the following Thursday.
Last week, Alvin was third-string QB and first-team Special Teams. We played my alma mater, B.D. The varsity lost to them, but the freshmen won, for the first time in four years! Alvin was instrumental in two plays, one of which he ran 60 yards to tackle a guy, stopping an Imminent Touchdown in the process.
Now to This Week. Last Friday night, S.S.H.S. BEAT Uber-Rival The-Other-"S"-School. (we can't bear to say their name.) This school has 5000 students (SSHS has 1500). This was a Big Upset. In addition, during last week's freshman game, 1st-string QB busted his finger, and 2nd-string QB broke his collarbone. This set up Alvin to be 1st-string against Uber-Rival. (did I mention that Uber-Rival has Two freshman teams?) Unfortunately (or may his Mommy say "fortunately"?) 1st-String guy only jammed his finger and may start. But, certainly, Alvin will get playing time.
Now to the Superstition part. All team members and cheerleaders and coaches and such, always wear their jerseys (or uniforms) to school on Game Day. Last night, Alvin brought home his jersey. This is the same Number 10 that the varsity guy wore Friday night. It smelled foul, people, FOUL. Not just body odor, maybe they put-it-away-wet and there was some mildew involved, as well. I offered to Launder it for Alvin: "OH, NO, Mom, can't do that! We BEAT "S" school in that jersey!"
As the evening progressed, we noticed the jersey more and more. Finally, even Alvin couldn't stand it any more: "OKAY, Mom, let's wash the jersey. I have to wear it to school all day, and there are GIRLS!"
Yet another instance of Women Civilizing Men.
On a serious note, I, MOM, am completely concerned about Injuries. Would you take a little moment and pray for Alvin today?
(I'll let you know how it turns out tonight. Go Archers!)
That brings me to Alvin Fernald's freshman football team.
Now, our high school is designated 4A. Schools in our state are rated by their student population. Several high schools in our city are ranked 5A, two of them having over twice as many students as S.S.H.S. You also need to know that our school has three teams: varsity, junior varsity, and freshman. Varsity teams play Friday nights, j.v. plays the same opponent the following Monday, and freshmen the following Thursday.
Last week, Alvin was third-string QB and first-team Special Teams. We played my alma mater, B.D. The varsity lost to them, but the freshmen won, for the first time in four years! Alvin was instrumental in two plays, one of which he ran 60 yards to tackle a guy, stopping an Imminent Touchdown in the process.
Now to This Week. Last Friday night, S.S.H.S. BEAT Uber-Rival The-Other-"S"-School. (we can't bear to say their name.) This school has 5000 students (SSHS has 1500). This was a Big Upset. In addition, during last week's freshman game, 1st-string QB busted his finger, and 2nd-string QB broke his collarbone. This set up Alvin to be 1st-string against Uber-Rival. (did I mention that Uber-Rival has Two freshman teams?) Unfortunately (or may his Mommy say "fortunately"?) 1st-String guy only jammed his finger and may start. But, certainly, Alvin will get playing time.
Now to the Superstition part. All team members and cheerleaders and coaches and such, always wear their jerseys (or uniforms) to school on Game Day. Last night, Alvin brought home his jersey. This is the same Number 10 that the varsity guy wore Friday night. It smelled foul, people, FOUL. Not just body odor, maybe they put-it-away-wet and there was some mildew involved, as well. I offered to Launder it for Alvin: "OH, NO, Mom, can't do that! We BEAT "S" school in that jersey!"
As the evening progressed, we noticed the jersey more and more. Finally, even Alvin couldn't stand it any more: "OKAY, Mom, let's wash the jersey. I have to wear it to school all day, and there are GIRLS!"
Yet another instance of Women Civilizing Men.
On a serious note, I, MOM, am completely concerned about Injuries. Would you take a little moment and pray for Alvin today?
(I'll let you know how it turns out tonight. Go Archers!)
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Bridal Shower
(This post was first published August 30, 2006.)
Yesterday was my birthday, and I felt melancholy here and there throughout the day. It was my first since Mom passed away. Every birthday after I left home, Mother and Daddy would call me early in the morning and sing to me--most often the first greeting of the day.Today would have been my Mom and Dad's 65th wedding anniversary. I always felt special, being their "14th anniversary present.
"Mother had a "bride's book," which in no way resembles what we now call a "Wedding Album." Or even what my daughter and daughter-in-law had as a "wedding planner." Two-inch binders with places for cards, ribbons, and other mementos. Mother's was the size of one of those black "composition books," only about a quarter as thick, probably thirty pages or so. It is wonderful because it is handwritten by her--her own memories of her wedding.
She had a wedding shower. I notice that now we have several of them: kitchen, linen, personal, couples...she had *one*. She made quite a haul, mostly with linens. Several sets of "luncheon cloth and napkins"--those fabulous 1940's sets that we snatch up at antique stores. "Embroidered tea towels." "Embroidered pillowslips." Don't I wish I had them now? But, naturally, they were given and received in order to be used, and used UP. (I do have one of a pair of guest towels that she embroidered in the first year of her marriage--so threadbare, but it still says GUEST, with a garland of flowers all around.)
When we buy these vintage linens, we always think about the women who made them and used them. We'd love to feel the connection to another time. Women just like my mother, whose entry under "Our First Home," tells of how, after their wedding night, they just wanted to come home, so they "brought groceries home, and [she] fixed her first meal," the second night of their marriage.So much lay ahead for them--they were married months before Pearl Harbor. They were destined to raise only five of their thirteen children to adulthood. Two cancers. The everyday ups and downs plus the "added dose" of sorrow for their lives, could not be seen when she filled out her "bride's book."
We all share that, in this Sisterhood of women. So many hopes and dreams as we open those wedding shower gifts. Life moves along, humdrum or tragic, year by year. I am so grateful to our Lord that He gave my parents 64 years. A marriage in which their love grew more deeply as every anniversary rolled around. I had a model of How to Do Marriage Well that enabled me to choose a husband wisely, and to be an example for me, for 30 years so far, and is now the model for my children to follow. That is the inheritance I have from them. I would have loved to have the linens from that long-ago bridal shower, but I have the better gift in the example of their LIVES. That gift will never be "used up."
Yesterday was my birthday, and I felt melancholy here and there throughout the day. It was my first since Mom passed away. Every birthday after I left home, Mother and Daddy would call me early in the morning and sing to me--most often the first greeting of the day.Today would have been my Mom and Dad's 65th wedding anniversary. I always felt special, being their "14th anniversary present.
"Mother had a "bride's book," which in no way resembles what we now call a "Wedding Album." Or even what my daughter and daughter-in-law had as a "wedding planner." Two-inch binders with places for cards, ribbons, and other mementos. Mother's was the size of one of those black "composition books," only about a quarter as thick, probably thirty pages or so. It is wonderful because it is handwritten by her--her own memories of her wedding.
She had a wedding shower. I notice that now we have several of them: kitchen, linen, personal, couples...she had *one*. She made quite a haul, mostly with linens. Several sets of "luncheon cloth and napkins"--those fabulous 1940's sets that we snatch up at antique stores. "Embroidered tea towels." "Embroidered pillowslips." Don't I wish I had them now? But, naturally, they were given and received in order to be used, and used UP. (I do have one of a pair of guest towels that she embroidered in the first year of her marriage--so threadbare, but it still says GUEST, with a garland of flowers all around.)
When we buy these vintage linens, we always think about the women who made them and used them. We'd love to feel the connection to another time. Women just like my mother, whose entry under "Our First Home," tells of how, after their wedding night, they just wanted to come home, so they "brought groceries home, and [she] fixed her first meal," the second night of their marriage.So much lay ahead for them--they were married months before Pearl Harbor. They were destined to raise only five of their thirteen children to adulthood. Two cancers. The everyday ups and downs plus the "added dose" of sorrow for their lives, could not be seen when she filled out her "bride's book."
We all share that, in this Sisterhood of women. So many hopes and dreams as we open those wedding shower gifts. Life moves along, humdrum or tragic, year by year. I am so grateful to our Lord that He gave my parents 64 years. A marriage in which their love grew more deeply as every anniversary rolled around. I had a model of How to Do Marriage Well that enabled me to choose a husband wisely, and to be an example for me, for 30 years so far, and is now the model for my children to follow. That is the inheritance I have from them. I would have loved to have the linens from that long-ago bridal shower, but I have the better gift in the example of their LIVES. That gift will never be "used up."
Friday, August 28, 2009
What a Week!
We are now at Friday of the first week of public school. 37 weeks to go--175 more days.
It has meant Big Changes around here. But Blackeyed Susan and Alvin Fernald have stepped up to the plate, and I'm very proud of them.
Homework: they've never had homework before, you know. I had a spasm on Tuesday, when Alvin's World History teacher gave them 40 pages of homework. (especially after football practice got him home at 6pm.) Still don't know what was up with that; but he didn't have history homework the rest of the week. One more homework note: Since I taught the kids algebra and geometry, I am able to help them with their homework. I'm "in the mode" already. How many parents of high schoolers can help their kids with math?
Waking up: a little harder to do every day, but now it is Friday, and they are looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. A good discipline is happening.
Cultural education: Our high school is ranked the fourth most-diverse high school in the nation. Besides many ethnic cultures, we have the "urban" culture, as well. Susan and Alvin have mentioned how this is enriching their classroom life. Susan, especially, likes the discussions in English class, and hearing everyone's thoughts.
Lunch: Susan and Alvin are eating Cafeteria Lunches, and...well...one out of the four they've had was "worth eating." Oh, well, their alternative is to make a lunch themselves, so complaints are few.
To sum up: They are stepping up to the plate and doin' what needs to be done, with little complaining. They are also finding some new friends, and finding their "place" in a larger community. All in all, I vote the week Successful.
(except for the fact that I was down, in bed, for most of three days with a HUGE cold. So, the "hours to myself everyday" thing kinda fizzled.)
Tonight, to celebrate, we have pizza, homemade brownies, and a new episode of Monk on tv!
It has meant Big Changes around here. But Blackeyed Susan and Alvin Fernald have stepped up to the plate, and I'm very proud of them.
Homework: they've never had homework before, you know. I had a spasm on Tuesday, when Alvin's World History teacher gave them 40 pages of homework. (especially after football practice got him home at 6pm.) Still don't know what was up with that; but he didn't have history homework the rest of the week. One more homework note: Since I taught the kids algebra and geometry, I am able to help them with their homework. I'm "in the mode" already. How many parents of high schoolers can help their kids with math?
Waking up: a little harder to do every day, but now it is Friday, and they are looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. A good discipline is happening.
Cultural education: Our high school is ranked the fourth most-diverse high school in the nation. Besides many ethnic cultures, we have the "urban" culture, as well. Susan and Alvin have mentioned how this is enriching their classroom life. Susan, especially, likes the discussions in English class, and hearing everyone's thoughts.
Lunch: Susan and Alvin are eating Cafeteria Lunches, and...well...one out of the four they've had was "worth eating." Oh, well, their alternative is to make a lunch themselves, so complaints are few.
To sum up: They are stepping up to the plate and doin' what needs to be done, with little complaining. They are also finding some new friends, and finding their "place" in a larger community. All in all, I vote the week Successful.
(except for the fact that I was down, in bed, for most of three days with a HUGE cold. So, the "hours to myself everyday" thing kinda fizzled.)
Tonight, to celebrate, we have pizza, homemade brownies, and a new episode of Monk on tv!
Monday, August 24, 2009
And, They're Off!
I dropped Blackeyed Susan and Alvin Fernald off at school this morning...for the very first time.
We spent the last school year coming to the decision that, for this season, public high school would be best for our family. I am completely okay with that...in my head. But, of course, I have mixed feelings, as well.
Because, I've had them to myself. All of their lives so far.
I have a friend who went through this same thing last week--her high school started last Wednesday. She spent the day with these same feelings. She recovered--I will, as well.
Just give me a day.
Or maybe two.
(of course, now I have seven hours to Do Stuff. All that stuff I've put off for, like, twelve years.)
Like Cleaning Closets.
I could get used to this!
Have a blessed week, dear friends!
We spent the last school year coming to the decision that, for this season, public high school would be best for our family. I am completely okay with that...in my head. But, of course, I have mixed feelings, as well.
Because, I've had them to myself. All of their lives so far.
I have a friend who went through this same thing last week--her high school started last Wednesday. She spent the day with these same feelings. She recovered--I will, as well.
Just give me a day.
Or maybe two.
(of course, now I have seven hours to Do Stuff. All that stuff I've put off for, like, twelve years.)
Like Cleaning Closets.
I could get used to this!
Have a blessed week, dear friends!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
New Stuff is Coming.
So, so busy here.
I have not had children in "real school" (you homeschoolers know what I mean!) for eight years. Over the past year, we made the decision to put Blackeyed Susan and Alvin Fernald in the public high school from which my older six children graduated.
But I had forgotten how crazy August was.
(and December. and May. But we'll cross those bridges when they come.)
I pre-registered Alvin at the eighth-grade orientation in the spring. But early last week I had to register Susan. So I had to gather her transcript and fill out mega-million forms. Later that week was Really-Truly Registration. Standing in lines. Going to places out-of-turn (like, you had to have your schedule before you got your i..d. picture taken--who knew?). More lines. Alvin's schedule wasn't in Mrs. Frank's box, so we had to go to another place and Wait to get another.
Ah, good ol' Mrs. Franks. She is the go-to guidance department secretary, and she has been there since we moved here in 1991. Her comment to me: Yes, Mrs. K*, I saw Susan's schedule earlier, and I thought, "my gosh, does that woman still have children???" Yep. She has guided six of mine through the graduation requirements/SAT tests/scholarship apps, and she'll do it for the last two, as well. I did tell her that Alvin was Absolutely the End Of The Line, though...
And then, of course, the back-to-school sales. Goodwill has their 50% off all clothing yesterday and today. I hit two of them yesterday, and will do at least another one today. Doing better with Alvin than Susan, but she already has more clothing than anyone in the known universe.
So, I am nearing the end of my homeschooling career. We are planning a little celebration this week, before I am declared a Homeschooler Emeritus.
Wistful? A little. Okay, a little more than that. But having a few more hours in my day? This is not a bad thing. Everything in its season. My friend Kaybeautiful is beginning her empty-nest adventure. Charming's mother (100 miles away) is getting older, and I'm looking forward to spending some days with her. My house is gonna love me--Decluttering is going to be my middle name.
Or one of my middle names. How does Barbie-Neo-Empty-Nester-Decluttering-Queen-Homeschooler-Emeritus-Charming's-Last-Name sound to you?
I have not had children in "real school" (you homeschoolers know what I mean!) for eight years. Over the past year, we made the decision to put Blackeyed Susan and Alvin Fernald in the public high school from which my older six children graduated.
But I had forgotten how crazy August was.
(and December. and May. But we'll cross those bridges when they come.)
I pre-registered Alvin at the eighth-grade orientation in the spring. But early last week I had to register Susan. So I had to gather her transcript and fill out mega-million forms. Later that week was Really-Truly Registration. Standing in lines. Going to places out-of-turn (like, you had to have your schedule before you got your i..d. picture taken--who knew?). More lines. Alvin's schedule wasn't in Mrs. Frank's box, so we had to go to another place and Wait to get another.
Ah, good ol' Mrs. Franks. She is the go-to guidance department secretary, and she has been there since we moved here in 1991. Her comment to me: Yes, Mrs. K*, I saw Susan's schedule earlier, and I thought, "my gosh, does that woman still have children???" Yep. She has guided six of mine through the graduation requirements/SAT tests/scholarship apps, and she'll do it for the last two, as well. I did tell her that Alvin was Absolutely the End Of The Line, though...
And then, of course, the back-to-school sales. Goodwill has their 50% off all clothing yesterday and today. I hit two of them yesterday, and will do at least another one today. Doing better with Alvin than Susan, but she already has more clothing than anyone in the known universe.
So, I am nearing the end of my homeschooling career. We are planning a little celebration this week, before I am declared a Homeschooler Emeritus.
Wistful? A little. Okay, a little more than that. But having a few more hours in my day? This is not a bad thing. Everything in its season. My friend Kaybeautiful is beginning her empty-nest adventure. Charming's mother (100 miles away) is getting older, and I'm looking forward to spending some days with her. My house is gonna love me--Decluttering is going to be my middle name.
Or one of my middle names. How does Barbie-Neo-Empty-Nester-Decluttering-Queen-Homeschooler-Emeritus-Charming's-Last-Name sound to you?
Monday, August 03, 2009
We weren't really looking for an adventure...
....but we had one anyway.
Saturday morning we were getting ready to go to Charming's mother's home, 100 miles away, for her annual summer party, a mini-reunion of her children and their families (and now her grandchildren's families--there are 13-going-on-14 great-grandchildren now). Some of Charming's cousins show up, and sometimes old family friends. It is a wonderful day of food, softball, music, and great fellowship.
We were already running late--our target time was 11 am, and we were finally on the road about 40 minutes later. We stopped for gasoline, and the car's "message center" said to check air pressure in the tires, so Charming filled one that he thought was needful.
Just a couple of miles out of town, we heard a ka-whump sound, and I saw in my sideview mirror a piece of our tire, flying on ahead of us down the highway. Not so good. Blessedly, we were coming right up to a rest stop. Even though the rest stop was closed, it had a two-lane entrance ramp on which to safely change the tire, well away from the cars screaming by at 65 mph.
So many blessings--we had never used the spare in the seven years we've owned the car, and it was still full of air (put this on your annual checklist--check the spares!), we went back to town and found the tire store Open and a tire Available--they didn't even hassle us about not buying a Pair (Charming is out of work and money is tight), so we were back on the road, safely, in a reasonable amount of time. Two hours later we arrived, just in time for dinner!
We had a wonderful time, of course, but too short. Back on the road about 8 pm, we were just Quiet in the car, each with his own thoughts (well, Charming and I with our own thoughts. Blackeyed Susan and Alvin Fernald with their own text-a-phones and iPods...), toolin' on down the road, when what do we spy but a dead cow in the field to our right. How did we know it was dead, you ask?
Did you ever see a roadkill raccoon that had been there for two or three days? It looks like a raccoon-shaped balloon with four little legs sticking out of it. Well, that cow had been there for two or three days, and it was blown up big-time. Looked really funny with those four legs sticking straight out.
My question is: How does a cow go two or three days without someone seeing it? Or missing it? Don't you know how many cows you have? Wouldn't you see it when you let your cows out to pasture the next day?
Maybe we should be looking for the farmer?
Saturday morning we were getting ready to go to Charming's mother's home, 100 miles away, for her annual summer party, a mini-reunion of her children and their families (and now her grandchildren's families--there are 13-going-on-14 great-grandchildren now). Some of Charming's cousins show up, and sometimes old family friends. It is a wonderful day of food, softball, music, and great fellowship.
We were already running late--our target time was 11 am, and we were finally on the road about 40 minutes later. We stopped for gasoline, and the car's "message center" said to check air pressure in the tires, so Charming filled one that he thought was needful.
Just a couple of miles out of town, we heard a ka-whump sound, and I saw in my sideview mirror a piece of our tire, flying on ahead of us down the highway. Not so good. Blessedly, we were coming right up to a rest stop. Even though the rest stop was closed, it had a two-lane entrance ramp on which to safely change the tire, well away from the cars screaming by at 65 mph.
So many blessings--we had never used the spare in the seven years we've owned the car, and it was still full of air (put this on your annual checklist--check the spares!), we went back to town and found the tire store Open and a tire Available--they didn't even hassle us about not buying a Pair (Charming is out of work and money is tight), so we were back on the road, safely, in a reasonable amount of time. Two hours later we arrived, just in time for dinner!
We had a wonderful time, of course, but too short. Back on the road about 8 pm, we were just Quiet in the car, each with his own thoughts (well, Charming and I with our own thoughts. Blackeyed Susan and Alvin Fernald with their own text-a-phones and iPods...), toolin' on down the road, when what do we spy but a dead cow in the field to our right. How did we know it was dead, you ask?
Did you ever see a roadkill raccoon that had been there for two or three days? It looks like a raccoon-shaped balloon with four little legs sticking out of it. Well, that cow had been there for two or three days, and it was blown up big-time. Looked really funny with those four legs sticking straight out.
My question is: How does a cow go two or three days without someone seeing it? Or missing it? Don't you know how many cows you have? Wouldn't you see it when you let your cows out to pasture the next day?
Maybe we should be looking for the farmer?
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Flower-y Prose
I've been thinking about flowers. Especially wildflowers. Don't they have the prettiest names?
Blackeyed Susan.
Forget-me-not.
Dutchman's Breeches.
Bachelor's Buttons.
Morning Glory--my mother used to say, "morning glory--the Glory of the Morning!"
Dogtooth Violet.
Of course, there are many more. Spring beauty. Mayapple. Wild geranium. Snapdragons. Jack-in-the-Pulpit. I'm sure you could add to the list.
Then there is Queen Anne's Lace, with the little blood-red floweret in the middle. I had always heard that it was named for Henry VIII's wife Anne Boleyn, and the "drop of blood" was hers because he, well, beheaded her, you know. But wikipedia says it is for another Queen Anne, and the blood was from when she pricked her finger with a needle while making her "lace."
Such quaint names. Such pretty things. How wonderful our Father is, to have created flowers, not only for their usefulness, but for our enjoyment. The fragrance of the wildflowers is generally more delicate than that of their domesticated cousins. Your nose has to be "tuned in" to enjoy them. But what a delight, walking through a wood or along a roadside in the springtime, to catch the fragrance, then to look for the culprits, off the beaten path!
Evidently, flowers are important to people in general. Every state has its "own" flower. When my mother was in school (1930's), the state flower of Indiana was the zinnia. Somewhere along the line, they changed it to the peony. Or, as my grandmother, along with most country folks, called it, the "piney." She was so proud of her "piney bushes" in May. Flowers are even "national" sometimes. The Japanese have their Chrysanthemum throne. I'm sure there are others.
So, I've just been thinking about flowers. Maybe you can take a few minutes and think about flowers today, as well. And don't forget to thank your Father for sharing!
Blackeyed Susan.
Forget-me-not.
Dutchman's Breeches.
Bachelor's Buttons.
Morning Glory--my mother used to say, "morning glory--the Glory of the Morning!"
Dogtooth Violet.
Of course, there are many more. Spring beauty. Mayapple. Wild geranium. Snapdragons. Jack-in-the-Pulpit. I'm sure you could add to the list.
Then there is Queen Anne's Lace, with the little blood-red floweret in the middle. I had always heard that it was named for Henry VIII's wife Anne Boleyn, and the "drop of blood" was hers because he, well, beheaded her, you know. But wikipedia says it is for another Queen Anne, and the blood was from when she pricked her finger with a needle while making her "lace."
Such quaint names. Such pretty things. How wonderful our Father is, to have created flowers, not only for their usefulness, but for our enjoyment. The fragrance of the wildflowers is generally more delicate than that of their domesticated cousins. Your nose has to be "tuned in" to enjoy them. But what a delight, walking through a wood or along a roadside in the springtime, to catch the fragrance, then to look for the culprits, off the beaten path!
Evidently, flowers are important to people in general. Every state has its "own" flower. When my mother was in school (1930's), the state flower of Indiana was the zinnia. Somewhere along the line, they changed it to the peony. Or, as my grandmother, along with most country folks, called it, the "piney." She was so proud of her "piney bushes" in May. Flowers are even "national" sometimes. The Japanese have their Chrysanthemum throne. I'm sure there are others.
So, I've just been thinking about flowers. Maybe you can take a few minutes and think about flowers today, as well. And don't forget to thank your Father for sharing!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Darn cute.
...if I do say so m'self.
I was asked to make a couple of aprons for the church coffee shop, for the girls to wear at Sunday morning donut-time, and Wednesday night cafe. I used the same pattern for each, McCall's 5825.
Here we have a cheery print, reminiscent of coffee beans (?), and trimmed with a yellow swirly-pattern, like steam from your favorite mug:
Then I made one in a coffee-brown with white polka-dots, trimmed in red pindot:
Please do not tell me how much it reminds you of Minnie Mouse.
These are expertly modeled by Blackeyed Susan, whom I grabbed barely out of the shower to model these. I promised her I wouldn't show her face. (this disclaimer for my family, who for YEARS made fun of the fact that I cut off people's heads in all of my photos.)
I am also teaching tonight from the book A Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. My subject is Simplicity.
Let me quickly disabuse you of the notion that I was chosen to teach this because I Have It All Together.
Nuthin' could be further from the truth. But God has a sense of humor that way, doesn't He? As Charming says, "God is so BIZARRE! But then, would you want to serve a God that wasn't?"
Food for thought...
I was asked to make a couple of aprons for the church coffee shop, for the girls to wear at Sunday morning donut-time, and Wednesday night cafe. I used the same pattern for each, McCall's 5825.
Here we have a cheery print, reminiscent of coffee beans (?), and trimmed with a yellow swirly-pattern, like steam from your favorite mug:
Then I made one in a coffee-brown with white polka-dots, trimmed in red pindot:
Please do not tell me how much it reminds you of Minnie Mouse.These are expertly modeled by Blackeyed Susan, whom I grabbed barely out of the shower to model these. I promised her I wouldn't show her face. (this disclaimer for my family, who for YEARS made fun of the fact that I cut off people's heads in all of my photos.)
I am also teaching tonight from the book A Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. My subject is Simplicity.
Let me quickly disabuse you of the notion that I was chosen to teach this because I Have It All Together.
Nuthin' could be further from the truth. But God has a sense of humor that way, doesn't He? As Charming says, "God is so BIZARRE! But then, would you want to serve a God that wasn't?"
Food for thought...
Monday, July 20, 2009
Little Bits
Forget-me-not pointed out that, even though I have been home from vacation for eleven days, my blog says that I am still "incommunicado." Truth is, I've just been busy.
Gotta tell ya', I am grateful today to be posting. Friday night, Alvin Fernald and I were sitting on the couch, watching tv, and he said, "the computer's smoking." He ran across and unplugged it. I hoped the whole CPU hadn't melted together in some nuclear-meltdown-thing, but we took a moment to thank the Lord that Alvin had noticed it. If we had been in another room, the house might have caught fire. Thank you, Lord, for guardian angels!
(by the way, Charming fixed the computer for $39.95-plus-tax. I love that man!)
Saturday didn't go as I thought it would. My plans for a quilt outing with my dear sister-in-law Robin had been scratched, and as Alvin was in a softball tournament and Blackeyed Susan went with Forget-me-not to said tournament, I figured to Spend The Day decluttering. No such luck. My day was a steady stream of Company, including my brother, whom we needed to do a major catch-up with. So, nothing much got done, but did a LOT of visiting.
Sunday night plan was fireworks! Our city's major week-long festival always ends with fireworks. Although you can go to the biggie meet-up place complete with porta-potties, we chose to go to our neighbor's church parking lot, where neighbor-husband's band was playing, cheap hot dogs to be bought, and the Church Bathrooms available. Good stuff. We've been before. But never before where the Sky Opened Up and looked like it would never stop. You know the kind of storm, where you are as dripping wet as you could ever get? Yeah, that's how it was. We tried to wait it out, but had to give up. It rained for quite a long time after that, tho' I thought I heard the fireworks display about 10:15 pm. But by that time we were dry and warm and KFC-bucketed and happy. And home.
Another instance of God's grace: In the car, driving home, Heat seemed like a good idea. But we found out the heater wasn't working. How cool to find that out in July, so you can get it fixed before you need it?
Other stuff is going on. I'm making two cute-as-pie aprons for the coffee shop at church. Quilting a quilt. Getting ready to teach the Ladies on Wednesday evening. Johnny Tremain and Lily are back home after two weeks away, so we'll be seeing their four kids. Charming has been off work for six weeks today. Tempers are shorten-ing due to the extended change-in-routine, but the Lord is teaching us about living Day to Day.
I hope I'm learning. It doesn't seem so, but I really want to bear the fruit of the Spirit in my life.
Don't ask my kids if I've done so. I may have, but I don't think it shows yet. So there's More Work to Do.
Oh. I forgot all about vacation and all the other cool stuff I've been thinking about. I guess I'll have to do a little more catching up with you.
Maybe tomorrow. Laundry is calling!
Gotta tell ya', I am grateful today to be posting. Friday night, Alvin Fernald and I were sitting on the couch, watching tv, and he said, "the computer's smoking." He ran across and unplugged it. I hoped the whole CPU hadn't melted together in some nuclear-meltdown-thing, but we took a moment to thank the Lord that Alvin had noticed it. If we had been in another room, the house might have caught fire. Thank you, Lord, for guardian angels!
(by the way, Charming fixed the computer for $39.95-plus-tax. I love that man!)
Saturday didn't go as I thought it would. My plans for a quilt outing with my dear sister-in-law Robin had been scratched, and as Alvin was in a softball tournament and Blackeyed Susan went with Forget-me-not to said tournament, I figured to Spend The Day decluttering. No such luck. My day was a steady stream of Company, including my brother, whom we needed to do a major catch-up with. So, nothing much got done, but did a LOT of visiting.
Sunday night plan was fireworks! Our city's major week-long festival always ends with fireworks. Although you can go to the biggie meet-up place complete with porta-potties, we chose to go to our neighbor's church parking lot, where neighbor-husband's band was playing, cheap hot dogs to be bought, and the Church Bathrooms available. Good stuff. We've been before. But never before where the Sky Opened Up and looked like it would never stop. You know the kind of storm, where you are as dripping wet as you could ever get? Yeah, that's how it was. We tried to wait it out, but had to give up. It rained for quite a long time after that, tho' I thought I heard the fireworks display about 10:15 pm. But by that time we were dry and warm and KFC-bucketed and happy. And home.
Another instance of God's grace: In the car, driving home, Heat seemed like a good idea. But we found out the heater wasn't working. How cool to find that out in July, so you can get it fixed before you need it?
Other stuff is going on. I'm making two cute-as-pie aprons for the coffee shop at church. Quilting a quilt. Getting ready to teach the Ladies on Wednesday evening. Johnny Tremain and Lily are back home after two weeks away, so we'll be seeing their four kids. Charming has been off work for six weeks today. Tempers are shorten-ing due to the extended change-in-routine, but the Lord is teaching us about living Day to Day.
I hope I'm learning. It doesn't seem so, but I really want to bear the fruit of the Spirit in my life.
Don't ask my kids if I've done so. I may have, but I don't think it shows yet. So there's More Work to Do.
Oh. I forgot all about vacation and all the other cool stuff I've been thinking about. I guess I'll have to do a little more catching up with you.
Maybe tomorrow. Laundry is calling!
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Incommunicado.
We are off this week to beautiful Lake Huron, up at the top of the "thumb" of Michigan.
We are not taking any computery stuff.
There is a tv in the cottage, but we turn its face to the wall while we're there.
(I'm sure Blackeyed Susan and Alvin Fernald will be texting their buddies, but no such dealie for Charming and me.)
So basically I'm incommunicado.
Joe Hardy is housesitting, and we'll be back late Thursday night.
See ya'!
We are not taking any computery stuff.
There is a tv in the cottage, but we turn its face to the wall while we're there.
(I'm sure Blackeyed Susan and Alvin Fernald will be texting their buddies, but no such dealie for Charming and me.)
So basically I'm incommunicado.
Joe Hardy is housesitting, and we'll be back late Thursday night.
See ya'!
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Morning Glory.
July 2, 2009, 6:53 am. Sixty-two degrees.
I awoke to birds singing, and fresh, cool air breezing in my open windows. That old-time, "summer" smell.
Heaven!!
Many of you did not grow up in a time before air-conditioning. You may not know the art of blowing one fan "out" one window to bring in the breeze from the opposite side of the house. Sleeping on the floor, because it's cooler. My husband's home had a screened porch where they slept in the summer. Before I had a/c in my "married" home, my babies slept in the basement.
My daddy got air conditioning in the early 70's, and I grabbed onto that notion Im-Mediately. I am not a summer-lover: for me, June, July, and August are simply months to endure until fall. Charming bought me central air about fifteen years ago, and I've never looked back.
I admit I'm a wimp. I think about those southern belles, sweltering in long sleeves, long skirts, and CORSETS. Not even an electric fan to alleviate the misery. And I still don't understand going to Florida for summer vacation. Come on, people!
This week has been unusually mild (and low humidity) for Indiana for late June/early July. People around me complain, "hey, this is more like fall weather!" (yet, you should have heard them belly-aching just last week about the heat wave...) I have had my a/c off and the windows open. I have found that I miss the summer sounds and the summer smells, even tho' I do spend some of my mornings on the porch, hot or not. And it was especially noticeable this morning as I awoke.
It was a Glorious Morning, that bodes well for a Glorious Day. I am beginning to pack for our little vacation, for which we leave Sunday after church. We are going to Lake Huron (at the top of the "thumb" of Michigan) to spend four days with Charming's Dad and his wife. The cottage has no a/c, but that's okay--Lake Huron provides the a/c. And I sure wouldn't want to miss going to sleep and waking up to the sounds of the water. God always meets me there, from the early morning coffee time alone (I am usually the first up), to the incredible sunset-show every evening, each one seemingly better than the night before. Good fellowship, as well. Blackeyed Susan and Alvin Fernald are both in high school--our time left with them is short. We are blessed to have time away while Charming is off work (please, Lord, a job waiting for him on our return would be a great thing!), and time with his father and wife is a treasure.
I have errands to do today, but will spend as much of it outdoors as possible. Wishing you a "glory" day, as well!
I awoke to birds singing, and fresh, cool air breezing in my open windows. That old-time, "summer" smell.
Heaven!!
Many of you did not grow up in a time before air-conditioning. You may not know the art of blowing one fan "out" one window to bring in the breeze from the opposite side of the house. Sleeping on the floor, because it's cooler. My husband's home had a screened porch where they slept in the summer. Before I had a/c in my "married" home, my babies slept in the basement.
My daddy got air conditioning in the early 70's, and I grabbed onto that notion Im-Mediately. I am not a summer-lover: for me, June, July, and August are simply months to endure until fall. Charming bought me central air about fifteen years ago, and I've never looked back.
I admit I'm a wimp. I think about those southern belles, sweltering in long sleeves, long skirts, and CORSETS. Not even an electric fan to alleviate the misery. And I still don't understand going to Florida for summer vacation. Come on, people!
This week has been unusually mild (and low humidity) for Indiana for late June/early July. People around me complain, "hey, this is more like fall weather!" (yet, you should have heard them belly-aching just last week about the heat wave...) I have had my a/c off and the windows open. I have found that I miss the summer sounds and the summer smells, even tho' I do spend some of my mornings on the porch, hot or not. And it was especially noticeable this morning as I awoke.
It was a Glorious Morning, that bodes well for a Glorious Day. I am beginning to pack for our little vacation, for which we leave Sunday after church. We are going to Lake Huron (at the top of the "thumb" of Michigan) to spend four days with Charming's Dad and his wife. The cottage has no a/c, but that's okay--Lake Huron provides the a/c. And I sure wouldn't want to miss going to sleep and waking up to the sounds of the water. God always meets me there, from the early morning coffee time alone (I am usually the first up), to the incredible sunset-show every evening, each one seemingly better than the night before. Good fellowship, as well. Blackeyed Susan and Alvin Fernald are both in high school--our time left with them is short. We are blessed to have time away while Charming is off work (please, Lord, a job waiting for him on our return would be a great thing!), and time with his father and wife is a treasure.
I have errands to do today, but will spend as much of it outdoors as possible. Wishing you a "glory" day, as well!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Number Three on the List...
Violet and I keep a list of God's Five Greatest Gifts to Mankind. Violet always has five things on her list, but once in awhile, one gets bumped off in favor of another.
I, on the other hand, am the kind of person who, once the List is complete, wouldn't think of changing it. So, I have just now, today, added a number three.
I'm sure you are on the edge of your seat, wondering what holds places number one and two.
So here goes:
I maintain that I am richer than Solomon in all his glory, because I have wonderful, albeit humble, bathrooms in my house. A full one, and an extra half-bath on the first floor. Sure, people in newer homes have like, four bedrooms and five bathrooms. Wouldn't our great-grandmothers roll over in their graves to think of more baths than bedrooms in a house?
Number Two: Chocolate.
Really, is any explanation necessary?
Number Three: Hardware Stores.
Now, this is not a new thought. I love, Love, LOVE hardware stores. And their big-brothers, the big-box home improvement stores. So many things you never even knew existed, all there begging you to take them home. And me not even knowing how much I really, really need them!
This morning, I took my good scissors into the hardware store:
My mother bought me these scissors before I went to college. Her comment: Everybody needs a good pair of scissors; they will last you a lifetime. Of course, I knew about don't-use-fabric-scissors-on-paper-or-they-will-be-ruined. Throughout the years, I have kept and broken and kept and broken that rule a few dozen times. But they always sharpen up nicely.
Over the last couple of years, I found myself having to tighten the screw more and more often. Finally, no amount of screw-ing helped. That little screw was done Stripped.
I looked over all my cheapie scissors, thinking that I would steal a screw from one of them.
I found out that cheapie scissors are held together with rivets, not screws.
I looked online and found a place I could get a replacement screw. The screw was pretty cheap, but of course shipping costs would be involved, as well. So, I decided to try the Friendly Guys at the Local Hardware.
I asked for the Screw Expert. I didn't know if there would be some sort of Specialty Screw involved. After all, the screws in a pair of scissors don't just sit there, they are Moving All The Time. Turns out their screw expert was a teenaged girl. She took me back to the Screw Desk. (which was also the extra-house-or-car-key desk...) She began by working to get the old screw out. Fully five minutes later, this is what we had:
I don't think you can see very well. The best part of the screw shows that the threads are worn down to almost nothing; near the head of the screw, there are no threads at all--absolutely smooth. I *have* had the scissors for thirty-six years. I guess thirty-six years of faithful service should earn a guy a new screw, right?
So, to wrap up this long story, two employees took twenty-five minutes to finally narrow down six different screws (and a lock-washer) to one. That means fifty minutes of man-power. The final bill:
(plus a penny tax.)
My scissors are happy.
I, on the other hand, am the kind of person who, once the List is complete, wouldn't think of changing it. So, I have just now, today, added a number three.
I'm sure you are on the edge of your seat, wondering what holds places number one and two.
So here goes:
Number One: Indoor Plumbing.
I maintain that I am richer than Solomon in all his glory, because I have wonderful, albeit humble, bathrooms in my house. A full one, and an extra half-bath on the first floor. Sure, people in newer homes have like, four bedrooms and five bathrooms. Wouldn't our great-grandmothers roll over in their graves to think of more baths than bedrooms in a house?
Number Two: Chocolate.
Really, is any explanation necessary?
Number Three: Hardware Stores.
Now, this is not a new thought. I love, Love, LOVE hardware stores. And their big-brothers, the big-box home improvement stores. So many things you never even knew existed, all there begging you to take them home. And me not even knowing how much I really, really need them!
But right now, I'm talking about the regular ol' neighborhood hardware store.
This morning, I took my good scissors into the hardware store:
My mother bought me these scissors before I went to college. Her comment: Everybody needs a good pair of scissors; they will last you a lifetime. Of course, I knew about don't-use-fabric-scissors-on-paper-or-they-will-be-ruined. Throughout the years, I have kept and broken and kept and broken that rule a few dozen times. But they always sharpen up nicely.Over the last couple of years, I found myself having to tighten the screw more and more often. Finally, no amount of screw-ing helped. That little screw was done Stripped.
I looked over all my cheapie scissors, thinking that I would steal a screw from one of them.
I found out that cheapie scissors are held together with rivets, not screws.
I looked online and found a place I could get a replacement screw. The screw was pretty cheap, but of course shipping costs would be involved, as well. So, I decided to try the Friendly Guys at the Local Hardware.
I asked for the Screw Expert. I didn't know if there would be some sort of Specialty Screw involved. After all, the screws in a pair of scissors don't just sit there, they are Moving All The Time. Turns out their screw expert was a teenaged girl. She took me back to the Screw Desk. (which was also the extra-house-or-car-key desk...) She began by working to get the old screw out. Fully five minutes later, this is what we had:
I don't think you can see very well. The best part of the screw shows that the threads are worn down to almost nothing; near the head of the screw, there are no threads at all--absolutely smooth. I *have* had the scissors for thirty-six years. I guess thirty-six years of faithful service should earn a guy a new screw, right?So, to wrap up this long story, two employees took twenty-five minutes to finally narrow down six different screws (and a lock-washer) to one. That means fifty minutes of man-power. The final bill:
Fifteen cents.
(plus a penny tax.)
My scissors are happy.So am I.
I love my hardware store.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Busy Summer...
...and it's still June!
My nephew Phil (far left) is off to Korea to help defend our freedom. It is such a blessing that his cousin Mike is already over there. Evidently they will be together a good deal of the time. (also in this photo: back: Johnny Tremain, cousin Derek [Mike's brother], and our own Laura Carrot. Front: Alvin Fernald)
Next we have my nephew Nate, and his lovely bride Sarah. It's just been Party Central this summer!
My nephew Phil (far left) is off to Korea to help defend our freedom. It is such a blessing that his cousin Mike is already over there. Evidently they will be together a good deal of the time. (also in this photo: back: Johnny Tremain, cousin Derek [Mike's brother], and our own Laura Carrot. Front: Alvin Fernald)
Next we have my nephew Nate, and his lovely bride Sarah. It's just been Party Central this summer!While in South Bend for Nathan's wedding, we stayed with Violet, whom you may remember is a dorm rector for a women's dorm at Notre Dame. We took a little Tour Down Memory Lane on Saturday: (Charming and I met there thirty-five years some time ago.)
Alvin decided that he would be the Travelocity Gnome Guy on the tour. Here he is in front of the Library (Touchdown Jesus, if you are a fan of ND football).
The Main Building (Golden Dome) is so, so beautiful. We went inside and saw the gorgeous murals. The a/c was set none too high, so we cut our tour a little short.
Next we have Alvin standing in front of Charming's old dorm room. There was a Definite Sales Presentation goin' on from Daddy to Son on this one.
Finally, a Dad/Son moment on the steps of the dorm.
This weekend, *I* get to stay home. HOORAY. I am going to redeem my time with rest, because we leave in another week for vacation. And, as every mother knows, vacation does not happen without a lot of Planning, Shopping, and Packing.
Sigh. I think I'm tired already just thinkin' about it. But, Oh The Joy when we finally get there!
Alvin decided that he would be the Travelocity Gnome Guy on the tour. Here he is in front of the Library (Touchdown Jesus, if you are a fan of ND football).
The Main Building (Golden Dome) is so, so beautiful. We went inside and saw the gorgeous murals. The a/c was set none too high, so we cut our tour a little short.
Next we have Alvin standing in front of Charming's old dorm room. There was a Definite Sales Presentation goin' on from Daddy to Son on this one.
Finally, a Dad/Son moment on the steps of the dorm.We finished our day with a visit to Queen Darl, Charming's dear mother, always a treat!
This weekend, *I* get to stay home. HOORAY. I am going to redeem my time with rest, because we leave in another week for vacation. And, as every mother knows, vacation does not happen without a lot of Planning, Shopping, and Packing.
Sigh. I think I'm tired already just thinkin' about it. But, Oh The Joy when we finally get there!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Four Score and Seven Years Ago...
...my Daddy was born!
So, so many stories I could tell you, of course, about a man born in nineteen-and-twenty-two (as his father would say). The time at twelve years old, on Halloween, putting an outhouse up on the roof of the bank building downtown. Going to the neighborhood grocer on Thursdays, with his dad's paycheck in hand. The grocer would "cash" the check, pay the family's bill for the week, and Daddy would leave with a handful of vanilla cremes the grocer put in his hand on the way out the door. It was Daddy's job to coax the furnace to life in the mornings. Then there was the time he woke up with inches of snow on top of his blanket. And on. And on.
He skipped his senior year of high school to care for his baby sister after his mother had surgery, then went back and graduated a year late. He married "the girl next door" at nineteen. Three months later was Pearl Harbor. He proudly served in the Army Air Force. When he came home, he began a forty-one year career at General Electric. Mom and Daddy's life had many joys as well as sorrows--he has nine children waiting for him in heaven, as well as his "pretty girl." For his fifty-year high school reunion he wrote a tiny biography, and called himself "a simple man, raising a family, married to the love of his life."
But of course, he didn't tell the whole story. How he is the ultimate in human role models for How to Be a Godly Man, and How to Live Your Life with Integrity. About Duty and Sacrificial Love and Fun. About how all you had to do was watch him awhile, and you could see the Father God's love shining through him.
And, of course, he could fix anything. And do anything.
Because he's my Daddy.
photo: Daddy and Alvin Fernald, 2007
Happy Birthday, Daddy!
So, so many stories I could tell you, of course, about a man born in nineteen-and-twenty-two (as his father would say). The time at twelve years old, on Halloween, putting an outhouse up on the roof of the bank building downtown. Going to the neighborhood grocer on Thursdays, with his dad's paycheck in hand. The grocer would "cash" the check, pay the family's bill for the week, and Daddy would leave with a handful of vanilla cremes the grocer put in his hand on the way out the door. It was Daddy's job to coax the furnace to life in the mornings. Then there was the time he woke up with inches of snow on top of his blanket. And on. And on.
He skipped his senior year of high school to care for his baby sister after his mother had surgery, then went back and graduated a year late. He married "the girl next door" at nineteen. Three months later was Pearl Harbor. He proudly served in the Army Air Force. When he came home, he began a forty-one year career at General Electric. Mom and Daddy's life had many joys as well as sorrows--he has nine children waiting for him in heaven, as well as his "pretty girl." For his fifty-year high school reunion he wrote a tiny biography, and called himself "a simple man, raising a family, married to the love of his life."
But of course, he didn't tell the whole story. How he is the ultimate in human role models for How to Be a Godly Man, and How to Live Your Life with Integrity. About Duty and Sacrificial Love and Fun. About how all you had to do was watch him awhile, and you could see the Father God's love shining through him.
And, of course, he could fix anything. And do anything.
Because he's my Daddy.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Beautiful.
During this growing season:
Nature all around us, tells us what the Lord is doing. And, Nature is rejoicing! Shouldn't we be rejoicing as well, at what the Lord is doing?
"Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: Thou greatly enrichest it with the
river of God, which is full of water: Thou preparest them corn, when thou hast
so provided for it.
10Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: Thou
settlest the furrows thereof: Thou makest it soft with showers: Thou blessest
the springing thereof.
11Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and
thy paths drop fatness.
12 They drop upon the pastures of the
wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side.
13The pastures
are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout
for joy, they also sing." Psalms 65: 9-13
Nature all around us, tells us what the Lord is doing. And, Nature is rejoicing! Shouldn't we be rejoicing as well, at what the Lord is doing?
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Playing with the Big Boys
I just love Monday nights this summer! Johnny Tremain, MacGuyver, Rocky Balboa, and Alvin Fernald are on our church softball team. Alvin is so excited, because the minimum age to play is fourteen, and, of course, he is.
Last night was the third "played" game (with one rained out). Alvin struggled the first two games--after all, he's never played softball before, and the rest of the guys were seasoned, and men.
He missed fielding a couple of balls, struck out a couple of times, "flied" out on others. But last night was Different. That boy was On His Game. He caught a line drive, foiled a run, and got two hits, one an RBI. He was also part of a double play, but later he told me that the second guy didn't quite get out. Oh, well. For this Mama, that didn't make no difference!
I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that my other two sons and son-in-law had exploits of their own. It seemed that they just couldn't miss catching a fly ball when it came their way. I'm not sure, but it seemed to me that my four boys are just about the best players that the game has ever seen!
[Why, yes, I DO need to sew four or five buttons back on my shirt, from bustin' with pride!]
On the sideline front, fifteen-month-old Oxford had his first taste of dirt. Like many of us, it will not make his list of fave foods. But Mommy Forget-me-not was there with water to wash it out, and grapes to take the bad taste away!
This morning, I watched three of Lily's, while she went to the homeschool used curriculum sale. I made the girls these Lazy Days Skirts: (click on the link for the free pattern)
Last night was the third "played" game (with one rained out). Alvin struggled the first two games--after all, he's never played softball before, and the rest of the guys were seasoned, and men.
He missed fielding a couple of balls, struck out a couple of times, "flied" out on others. But last night was Different. That boy was On His Game. He caught a line drive, foiled a run, and got two hits, one an RBI. He was also part of a double play, but later he told me that the second guy didn't quite get out. Oh, well. For this Mama, that didn't make no difference!
I would be remiss if I didn't tell you that my other two sons and son-in-law had exploits of their own. It seemed that they just couldn't miss catching a fly ball when it came their way. I'm not sure, but it seemed to me that my four boys are just about the best players that the game has ever seen!
[Why, yes, I DO need to sew four or five buttons back on my shirt, from bustin' with pride!]
On the sideline front, fifteen-month-old Oxford had his first taste of dirt. Like many of us, it will not make his list of fave foods. But Mommy Forget-me-not was there with water to wash it out, and grapes to take the bad taste away!
This morning, I watched three of Lily's, while she went to the homeschool used curriculum sale. I made the girls these Lazy Days Skirts: (click on the link for the free pattern)
(That is Laura Carrot on the left, and Sweet Pea on the right.) I didn't have the ribbon that the pattern called for, for the border, so I just used a contrasting fabric.
Charming has had yesterday and today off. The weather has been great, and it has been a relaxing, wonderful two days. If you read my other blog, you'll know that Charming is under a lot of pressure at work, and will probably be "downsized" this month. This "weekend" has been very therapeutic for us. Of course, any day filled with our children and grandchildren has got to be great, right?
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Diamonds for Violet
What girl doesn't like diamonds?
I finished this quilt this weekend. In fact, the quilting took less than three weeks to complete--incredible!
I've got Blackeyed Susan trained. When I photograph my quilts, she knows to flip down the corner on the second shot, to show the backing:
This quilt is the third of four, exactly alike. Do you want to hear the story?
My friend Kaybeautiful and I scoured our scrap bins for fabrics. Since we were not into quilting big-time yet, we only had scraps of things we had made for ourselves or for our children. I believe we needed about 265 different fabrics, and when we fell 'way short, we Started Shopping. That was the fun, fun, fun part. For about a year, we would pick up fabrics here and there. We cut four diamonds out of each fabric: one for her, and three for me (one quilt for each of my three daughters). If we were alone, we would mail them to each other, with little notes attached: "I liked the little figures in this one." "I know you like red!" and my favorite: PPPatP. (Paid Premium Price at Patchworks [the local quilt shop]."
As the months went by, I found out something about Kaybeautiful: she and I don't share the same fabric taste. Some of the fabrics I was most excited about, she would comment, "well, you always told me that there should be a few "uglies" in a quilt." And some of her favorites were, well, eeuuww--ugly. A few times we went shopping together: Kaybeautiful would bring a bolt over to me and say, "I know you'll love this, because I hate it!" (really, what happened is that we started choosing fabrics that we knew the other would like--it was Pretty Cool.)
So we finally collected all the diamonds. I cut the white muslin diamonds for all three of my quilts all at once, laid them out in a pleasing order, and began the first one. I completed it for Forget-me-not's high school graduation in 2000.
Sometime after that, our basement flooded, and the cardboard box I kept the diamonds in got soaked in eeuuww. So I had to handwash them and iron them. Fortunately, Forget-me-not's was already done, so I could figure out the order of the diamonds for the other two quilts.
I finished Blackeyed Susan's in the summer of 2005. So much for doing one a year for three years and done with it! And, as you can see, it is 2009 for Violet's.
One last thing. As you can see, the top and bottom border are zig-zagged. This makes for a weird feeling around your face. However, after I finished the first one, I took it to show my mother, and the first thing she said was, "now, THAT looks like a Grandma quilt!"
Success!
I finished this quilt this weekend. In fact, the quilting took less than three weeks to complete--incredible!
I've got Blackeyed Susan trained. When I photograph my quilts, she knows to flip down the corner on the second shot, to show the backing:
This quilt is the third of four, exactly alike. Do you want to hear the story?A number of years ago, I received a quilt my grandmother had made, of diamond shapes, all different. Forget-me-not really liked it, and used it on her bed. After a few weeks I could see that behaviors like sitting on it to put on your shoes, or dumping your schoolbooks on it on a regular basis would do more damage, more quickly than the years of normal used the quilt had seen in my grandmother's care. I told Forget-me-not that we'd have to put the quilt away; she complained, and I told her I would reproduce it for her.
My friend Kaybeautiful and I scoured our scrap bins for fabrics. Since we were not into quilting big-time yet, we only had scraps of things we had made for ourselves or for our children. I believe we needed about 265 different fabrics, and when we fell 'way short, we Started Shopping. That was the fun, fun, fun part. For about a year, we would pick up fabrics here and there. We cut four diamonds out of each fabric: one for her, and three for me (one quilt for each of my three daughters). If we were alone, we would mail them to each other, with little notes attached: "I liked the little figures in this one." "I know you like red!" and my favorite: PPPatP. (Paid Premium Price at Patchworks [the local quilt shop]."
As the months went by, I found out something about Kaybeautiful: she and I don't share the same fabric taste. Some of the fabrics I was most excited about, she would comment, "well, you always told me that there should be a few "uglies" in a quilt." And some of her favorites were, well, eeuuww--ugly. A few times we went shopping together: Kaybeautiful would bring a bolt over to me and say, "I know you'll love this, because I hate it!" (really, what happened is that we started choosing fabrics that we knew the other would like--it was Pretty Cool.)
So we finally collected all the diamonds. I cut the white muslin diamonds for all three of my quilts all at once, laid them out in a pleasing order, and began the first one. I completed it for Forget-me-not's high school graduation in 2000.
Sometime after that, our basement flooded, and the cardboard box I kept the diamonds in got soaked in eeuuww. So I had to handwash them and iron them. Fortunately, Forget-me-not's was already done, so I could figure out the order of the diamonds for the other two quilts.
I finished Blackeyed Susan's in the summer of 2005. So much for doing one a year for three years and done with it! And, as you can see, it is 2009 for Violet's.
One last thing. As you can see, the top and bottom border are zig-zagged. This makes for a weird feeling around your face. However, after I finished the first one, I took it to show my mother, and the first thing she said was, "now, THAT looks like a Grandma quilt!"
Success!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Wear Your Apron Day Fun!!
First of all, here is a photo of my sister's apron. She commented on the last post under the name Pinky Marie [apron modeled by Blackeyed Susan]:
My friend Kaybeautiful and I started our Apron Adventure by having a formal portrait taken. I made both of the aprons we wore. Kay's was a full-length in a teadyed blue toile thing. It was trimmed in black polka dots. I wore a half-apron in a cute 1930's blue, trimmed with red-on-white polka dots:
We took a walk in a nice woodsy place. I knew that most of the "spring" wildflowers would be gone, but we saw wild geranium, mayapples, and a tiny stand of trillium! (I hadn't seen trillium in years...
We then went to the grocery store to get fixin's for a chili dinner. Funny thing--everybody else evidently forgot it was Apron Day. Kay said, "they were all staring," but I said, "but nobody m*lested us!"
We came home and had coffee and tea in beautiful teacups (Kay=tea, Barbie=coffee). Kay decided to make snickerdoodles, but complained that her apron didn't go around far enough. "My grandma's aprons," she said, were Full-coverage things. When *I* bake, I like to wipe my wet hands on my [behind]." So I pulled this out for her to use:
This is the front, modeled my moi:
Charming and Kay's husband Mikey played music for us all afternoon. They enjoyed the cookies so much that they wrote a song for Kay--the Snickerdoodle Mama Blues. "She's my Snickerdoodle Mama.... " five verses full.
I knew I would have fun on Apron Day, but how much MORE fun to spend the day with a bestest girlfriend?
(By the way, Jen, I'll let you know about the aprons. I actually have a full apron *and* a half-apron made from the yellow bird fabric!)
My friend Kaybeautiful and I started our Apron Adventure by having a formal portrait taken. I made both of the aprons we wore. Kay's was a full-length in a teadyed blue toile thing. It was trimmed in black polka dots. I wore a half-apron in a cute 1930's blue, trimmed with red-on-white polka dots:
We took a walk in a nice woodsy place. I knew that most of the "spring" wildflowers would be gone, but we saw wild geranium, mayapples, and a tiny stand of trillium! (I hadn't seen trillium in years...We then went to the grocery store to get fixin's for a chili dinner. Funny thing--everybody else evidently forgot it was Apron Day. Kay said, "they were all staring," but I said, "but nobody m*lested us!"
We came home and had coffee and tea in beautiful teacups (Kay=tea, Barbie=coffee). Kay decided to make snickerdoodles, but complained that her apron didn't go around far enough. "My grandma's aprons," she said, were Full-coverage things. When *I* bake, I like to wipe my wet hands on my [behind]." So I pulled this out for her to use:
This is the front, modeled my moi:
Charming and Kay's husband Mikey played music for us all afternoon. They enjoyed the cookies so much that they wrote a song for Kay--the Snickerdoodle Mama Blues. "She's my Snickerdoodle Mama.... " five verses full.I knew I would have fun on Apron Day, but how much MORE fun to spend the day with a bestest girlfriend?
(By the way, Jen, I'll let you know about the aprons. I actually have a full apron *and* a half-apron made from the yellow bird fabric!)
Wear Your Apron Day!
Good morning! Today is
Wear Your Apron Day!!
I'm just makin' a little note here at the beginning of the day, because my friend Kaybeautiful is coming to see me from 100 miles away. When she gets here, I will post a pic of us in cutie aprons.
It's all about the Apron Love. To find out more about it, go on over to The Apronista!
Friday, May 08, 2009
What I'm Doing Today
remembering....my Mama, gone home these three years now. This lilac bush is from a cutting I took of one in her yard:
piecing...quilt squares by hand:
quilting...my Diamond Charm quilt. I love six needles moving across the quilt simultaneously, dimpling the surface:
meditating on...II Peter 1: 3-4:"According as His divine power has given unto us all things that
pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that has called us
to glory and virtue:Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises:
that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature..."
teaching....Algebra. Geometry. Biology. History. Literature. Loving it!
***********
going...to visit Daddy in the nursing home.
***********
thankful...for God's provision.
***********
needing...to trust Him more!
***********
bragging...on Joe Hardy, who is finally a SENIOR in college!
***********
listening...to dozens of sparrows in the ivy growing up the side of the house next door.
***********
reading...Eat for Health by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.
***********
wondering...how we got to be at the beginning of the recycling truck's route (5 a.m.!)
***********
changing...my bedsheets! Love fresh sheets.
***********
praying...for my children. Jobs. Relationships. Healing.
***********
cooking...lentil soup.
***********
loving...my dear Charming. I don't deserve him!
***********
cleaning...my sewing room.
***********
writing...a bio for Charming for his ministry packet.
***********
fixing...sweet tea with lime.
***********
looking...at the beginning of a gorgeous day outside!
***********
looking forward...to Violet's visit in a few days.
***********
yearning...to be conformed to the image of God's Son.
***********
Sounds like a busy day. Better get started!
Monday, April 27, 2009
My Great-Grandma's Quilt
This is a beautiful quilt that my grandmother had on her own bed for a number of years:
It was made in two sections. The sixteen middle squares looked very old, and were made of what I now know is "mourning prints" and black-and-white "shirtings:"
Then, in 1972 (as the back of the quilt is marked), my grandmother put a row of squares around the outside in what I am sure was an attempt at matching, but were of [horrid] polyester prints:
I am very afraid I judged her. And I had only just begun to learn to sew, and didn't know much about fabric myself! Of course, all-cotton prints were quite rare in 1972, the new "age of perma-press" and, my grandmother's *other* favorite fabric: Polyester Double-Knit. Now I know that it was the very best "match" she could find at the time.
It was made in two sections. The sixteen middle squares looked very old, and were made of what I now know is "mourning prints" and black-and-white "shirtings:"
Then, in 1972 (as the back of the quilt is marked), my grandmother put a row of squares around the outside in what I am sure was an attempt at matching, but were of [horrid] polyester prints:
I am very afraid I judged her. And I had only just begun to learn to sew, and didn't know much about fabric myself! Of course, all-cotton prints were quite rare in 1972, the new "age of perma-press" and, my grandmother's *other* favorite fabric: Polyester Double-Knit. Now I know that it was the very best "match" she could find at the time.Here is a close-up of the older portion. As you can see, the fabrics are fraying (grandma let us sit on her bed, etc. and the quilt shows the ravages of heavy usage):
I have to show you the back, as well. Grandma loved "novelty" fabrics, and she gave that love to me, as well. I have one of her quilts that is backed with a fabric with the words Sneak-ease all over. Later, I owned a pair of sneakers that were lined with that same fabric!
I have to show you the back, as well. Grandma loved "novelty" fabrics, and she gave that love to me, as well. I have one of her quilts that is backed with a fabric with the words Sneak-ease all over. Later, I owned a pair of sneakers that were lined with that same fabric!Here we have The Jungle Book (from the original movie release era). This fabric is repeated all over the back:
I received this quilt from my mother, who got it when Grandma broke up housekeeping. This is what she wrote:
I am Extremely Pleased with the results. This is going to be Fun. I will piece these squares as I am able, at home or while "waiting" for kids. It will probably take me several months to finish.
I received this quilt from my mother, who got it when Grandma broke up housekeeping. This is what she wrote:"center section made by Great-Grandma Lee before 1955 [the year of her death, and my birth]. Outer border made by Grandma Plasterer 1972."
I had no idea that anything survived that was made by my great-grandmother (for whom I was named, as well!) I was thrilled beyond words to have this heirloom.
When I laid it across our bed to show Charming, he wanted to keep it there. He really liked the geometric black-and-whiteness of it. But the center section was fraying, and I knew we'd lose it entirely before too many years passed. So I told him that I would reproduce it sometime.
Fortunately, by then, quilt shops were carrying many reproduction prints, and I was able to get a number of them that are literally almost exact matches to the originals. As is typical of *me,* I usually have more ideas "cooking" than I have time to do. The fabrics I bought have dates from 1996 to 2000. But Now is the Time for me to begin this project.
I'm piecing this quilt by hand, as the original is. I have finished two squares:
I am Extremely Pleased with the results. This is going to be Fun. I will piece these squares as I am able, at home or while "waiting" for kids. It will probably take me several months to finish.One more thing I wanted to share about this quilt. I looked up the pattern, and it is called Barbara Frietchie Star. Do you remember the poem? "Shoot if you must this old grey head/but leave your country's flag, she said." Read about her here.
******
My great-grandmother's name was Barbara. My name is Barbara. So I am going to name my quilt "Barbara Star." And I have let my children know that if any of my grandchildren or great-grandchildren are named after me, she will get the quilt.
******
But no pressure, kids.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Makin' Rosebuds
I promised you yesterday that I would show you this top:
It is the Rosebud Quilt from Quilts from the Quiltmaker's Gift. I bought fabrics similar to one of the versions in the book, oh, about five years ago. Somehow, when I took them out last week, I was not-so-enamoured of them as I was when I bought them. Maybe it's because I have made a number of quilts in the last five years, and maybe my taste/style/whatever is evolving.
Not to say that it isn't pretty, and like I said yesterday, I have "takers" for this, if I don't keep it. Here is a little bit closer up:
And I'm doing a little-bit-fancier thing for the border, which will maybe be a little-more-exciting, as well.
(you're not looking too closely at my points-matching technique, are you? Remember, my Quilting Motto is Finished is Better than Perfect....)
More later on this one!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Is There Any Old Business to Discuss?
Finished: my little doll quilt inspired by the fabulous department store in our town when I was growing up,W&D's:
and, from the Unfinished Projects File, this apron:
I had bought the fabric, thinking I'd make an apron celebrating Violet's college graduation. Yeah, that was
I had decided at that time that I wanted to make an apron for moi instead, so I stored the cut-out pieces and the bias-strips for the binding. For. Twelve. Years.
And, as most things like that work out, it just took me a wee bit o' time to finish it!
I have also finished the squares for a quilt for which I bought the fabric about five years ago. After "finding" it again, I decided that I wasn't as enamoured of the fabrics as I was then. But naturally Forget-me-not told me that she would "take it off my hands," if I can't find another recipient. (Forget-me-not is always willing to take a quilt off my hands, whether I want it or not!) I'll be putting the squares together this evening, and will take a photo of the top tomorrow, 'kay?
and, from the Unfinished Projects File, this apron:
I had bought the fabric, thinking I'd make an apron celebrating Violet's college graduation. Yeah, that was 1997.
I had decided at that time that I wanted to make an apron for moi instead, so I stored the cut-out pieces and the bias-strips for the binding. For. Twelve. Years.
And, as most things like that work out, it just took me a wee bit o' time to finish it!
I have also finished the squares for a quilt for which I bought the fabric about five years ago. After "finding" it again, I decided that I wasn't as enamoured of the fabrics as I was then. But naturally Forget-me-not told me that she would "take it off my hands," if I can't find another recipient. (Forget-me-not is always willing to take a quilt off my hands, whether I want it or not!) I'll be putting the squares together this evening, and will take a photo of the top tomorrow, 'kay?
Hmmm. What next? Well, I don't know, but fer sure, there are a Number of Old Projects from which to choose!
4/21 Club Meets Today
Quick: Are you ready for the meeting of the 4/21 Club?
Alas, I am not a member. I can only look longingly from the sidelines.
The 4/21 Club is my family's sort-of-exclusive "club" for people born on April 21st. That would be, first of all, Charming's sister Katie, who is 52 today. Next comes my brother Mikey, coming in at 48. Next is my own dear son, Joe Hardy, coming in at the magic ***30***. Next, my brother Mikey's son, also Mikey, at 24. Finally, my great-nephew Connor, turning 5 today.
If you happen to be eligible to be a member, let me know. I'd love to add your name to the roster.
and, by the way, happy, Happy Birthday to my dear ones!
(now, off to Facebook all of them!)
Alas, I am not a member. I can only look longingly from the sidelines.
The 4/21 Club is my family's sort-of-exclusive "club" for people born on April 21st. That would be, first of all, Charming's sister Katie, who is 52 today. Next comes my brother Mikey, coming in at 48. Next is my own dear son, Joe Hardy, coming in at the magic ***30***. Next, my brother Mikey's son, also Mikey, at 24. Finally, my great-nephew Connor, turning 5 today.
If you happen to be eligible to be a member, let me know. I'd love to add your name to the roster.
and, by the way, happy, Happy Birthday to my dear ones!
(now, off to Facebook all of them!)
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Rest in Peace, Chuck.
I heard yesterday of the passing of a dear neighbor and friend, Chuck Crockett. (and yes, he was a direct descendant of the Davy-man.)
He was one of the pillars of the church--he was into his sixth decade of teaching Sunday School. For as long as I have known him, he taught fifth-graders, including four of mine. I have several friends in their forties who sat under his wonderful teaching.
He retired as a vice-president of a local bank, then went back to school to do what he really loved, landscaping. He had many contracts around town, and also cared for a gorgeous orchard with many heirloom fruit trees. He gave garden space to a number of families every year. We were invited often to pick apples and make cider.
His only son was born when he was sixty-four years old. Andrew is seventeen now, and, because of the blessing of homeschooling, he has worked side-by-side with his father since he could walk. Not a moment was wasted; his father had a *lifetime* to teach him how to be a godly man.
We thank the Lord that He let us know this man, one of the Greatest Generation. Not so many of those left in the church. It is a great loss for us, but Chuck ran his race so, so well, and now is Home.
Rest in peace, my friend.
Edited to add: I found out that Chuck was out at the barn in his orchard, working. When he sat down for a rest, he just Went Home. When our pastor asked his son Andrew if he had spoken to his father that morning, Andrew said yes, at family devotions. Isn't that the way we'd all like to go? What a blessing!
He was one of the pillars of the church--he was into his sixth decade of teaching Sunday School. For as long as I have known him, he taught fifth-graders, including four of mine. I have several friends in their forties who sat under his wonderful teaching.
He retired as a vice-president of a local bank, then went back to school to do what he really loved, landscaping. He had many contracts around town, and also cared for a gorgeous orchard with many heirloom fruit trees. He gave garden space to a number of families every year. We were invited often to pick apples and make cider.
His only son was born when he was sixty-four years old. Andrew is seventeen now, and, because of the blessing of homeschooling, he has worked side-by-side with his father since he could walk. Not a moment was wasted; his father had a *lifetime* to teach him how to be a godly man.
We thank the Lord that He let us know this man, one of the Greatest Generation. Not so many of those left in the church. It is a great loss for us, but Chuck ran his race so, so well, and now is Home.
Rest in peace, my friend.
Edited to add: I found out that Chuck was out at the barn in his orchard, working. When he sat down for a rest, he just Went Home. When our pastor asked his son Andrew if he had spoken to his father that morning, Andrew said yes, at family devotions. Isn't that the way we'd all like to go? What a blessing!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Today's To-Do List
Today is quite an ordinary day, for the most part. School, laundry, church tonight. But one thing on my to-do list is Extraordinary:
Pay off the car.
We bought this car for cash, but several years later, we mortgaged it for a portion of its value to pay for "part" of our daughter's wedding and "part" of our son's college expenses. (We almost made it through that wedding for cash. But you know how people say, "a lot of unexpected stuff comes up at the last minute?" Well, it does.)
Oh, yeah. One more thing to do today:
Redeem that car from the mechanic's, where it's been since Thursday. You know the joke about the car breaking down just as you have it paid off...
Have a blessed day!
Pay off the car.
We bought this car for cash, but several years later, we mortgaged it for a portion of its value to pay for "part" of our daughter's wedding and "part" of our son's college expenses. (We almost made it through that wedding for cash. But you know how people say, "a lot of unexpected stuff comes up at the last minute?" Well, it does.)
Oh, yeah. One more thing to do today:
Redeem that car from the mechanic's, where it's been since Thursday. You know the joke about the car breaking down just as you have it paid off...
Have a blessed day!
Friday, April 10, 2009
Good Friday--Old School Style
I have been thinking about the Good Fridays of my childhood. I think it is because thunderstorms are predicted for today: my father told me that it always rains on Good Friday, in honor of what happened on that day. Sure enough, there have been just a handful of sunny-all-day Good Fridays in my memory.
Back-in-the-day, almost everything was closed from 12noon to 3 pm. All the stores closed. All the factories shut down for three hours. Almost everybody was in church. After church, we could play quietly or read, but we had to stay at home, and the tv and radio had to be off.
Contrast that with today. Johnny Tremain (our resident public-school teacher) says that this is the last school-year that public schools will even be closed on Good Friday. Stores are having last-minute Easter sales. Well, you know how it is today, I don't have to explain it to you.
We have been watching the seven-hour made-for-tv miniseries Jesus of Nazareth this week for school. At the time it came out (1977), there was a brouhaha about the possibility of the network sponsors pulling their advertising, because of the religious content of the miniseries. However, it was a smash hit, showing in two parts on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday nights.
Watching it over four days this week, I have been steeped in the Life of Christ. Seeing an actor saying the familiar words of the gospels has put them in my mind in a more vivid way. Some of the familiar sayings of our Lord got a new "punch" seeing them in the context of the scenery and people in the film.
We'll be going to our church service, and I'll pick up a few forgotten things for the weekend at the store (but Not between 12 and 3!). My kids will complain about having to be home for three hours With The Tv Off. But we will think about the Lamb without blemish, provided by our heavenly Father so that He could reconcile us to Himself. It is too, too awe-some to think about.
Hope you are thinking about it today, too!
Back-in-the-day, almost everything was closed from 12noon to 3 pm. All the stores closed. All the factories shut down for three hours. Almost everybody was in church. After church, we could play quietly or read, but we had to stay at home, and the tv and radio had to be off.
Contrast that with today. Johnny Tremain (our resident public-school teacher) says that this is the last school-year that public schools will even be closed on Good Friday. Stores are having last-minute Easter sales. Well, you know how it is today, I don't have to explain it to you.
We have been watching the seven-hour made-for-tv miniseries Jesus of Nazareth this week for school. At the time it came out (1977), there was a brouhaha about the possibility of the network sponsors pulling their advertising, because of the religious content of the miniseries. However, it was a smash hit, showing in two parts on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday nights.
Watching it over four days this week, I have been steeped in the Life of Christ. Seeing an actor saying the familiar words of the gospels has put them in my mind in a more vivid way. Some of the familiar sayings of our Lord got a new "punch" seeing them in the context of the scenery and people in the film.
We'll be going to our church service, and I'll pick up a few forgotten things for the weekend at the store (but Not between 12 and 3!). My kids will complain about having to be home for three hours With The Tv Off. But we will think about the Lamb without blemish, provided by our heavenly Father so that He could reconcile us to Himself. It is too, too awe-some to think about.
Hope you are thinking about it today, too!
Saturday, April 04, 2009
New "Little" Project
I started a new, little project:
It's going to be a doll quilt. I love doll quilts--you can use a technique or pattern you might not be wantin' to execute in a full-sized quilt.
This little one was inspired by something from my past. (for my sister Janny: does this remind you of something?):
Do you see the little vintage jewelry box? It is from an old department store here in my town, Wolf and Dessauer (called locally, "W&D's.")
It's going to be a doll quilt. I love doll quilts--you can use a technique or pattern you might not be wantin' to execute in a full-sized quilt.This little one was inspired by something from my past. (for my sister Janny: does this remind you of something?):
Do you see the little vintage jewelry box? It is from an old department store here in my town, Wolf and Dessauer (called locally, "W&D's.")Now, maybe you are old enough to remember a store like W&D's. It was several stories high, in the middle of downtown. In those days, you wouldn't think of wearing pants to go shopping downtown. Ladies in their "street" suits or dresses, with gloves and hats. You may be sure that they had checked their stocking seams to make sure they were straight.
No need to push your own buttons in the elevator--there was an operator, who called out the "departments" as you went up: Second floor--ladies shoes, children's wear. Fourth floor--housewares.
If you went up the magic escalator, you would reach the Tea Room, with snow-white tablecloths and napkins. From somewhere below, pleasant music would provide a peaceful background to your lunch. Then, back to shopping!
Maybe you were getting saddle shoes and plaid school dresses. If you were lucky, your Mom would be stopping at the Hat department. So many elegant offerings, but you weren't old enough yet to try them on. Everywhere, even at the hosiery counter, salespeople would exhibit their wares to you--no "self-serve" here!
Perhaps you had such an elegant store in the town where you grew up. But W&D's was different in a number of ways. Each November, the "street-level" windows were curtained, and an air of expectancy began. On the night before Thanksgiving, the curtains were removed, and a Christmas Wonderland was revealed. Window after window with magical scenes. Mechanical figures of animals and people, each window its own Christmas vignette. People would line up on the sidewalk five deep, waiting to see the windows. Inside, lines were long, waiting to see Santa in his own WonDerland. There was even an area where children could shop--no parents allowed.
W&D's closed in 1971, a victim of the new Shopping Malls. Dress codes for shopping had relaxed. Food courts replaced the Tea Room. And, of course, hats were relegated to weddings and such.
Somehow, I don't think that we "progressed" all that much. A kindler, gentler time that we most likely will never see again. But I will have a little quilt to remember them by.
Edited to say: I don't know why my paragraphs all disappeared whenI posted. I went back to edit them, and it happened again. Sorry.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
How to Do an Expensive Birthday in this Economy.
Blackeyed Susan will be sixteen in just a few days. We use this occasion to celebrate each of our children's decision to remain pure until marriage.
We make it a Big Deal: we buy a ring as a reminder of their promise to themselves and their future spouse. We take them to dinner for a Really Fabulous Meal at the restaurant of their choice. We use the time to talk about their decision, and our ongoing support as mentors and cheerleaders.
As you may have noticed, however, the economy is Different than the last time we had a sixteen-year-old (that would be, 1999). So, after talking it over with Susan, we are having the dinner at home ("all I want, Mom, is steak and mushrooms. Lots of mushrooms...). So here is how this Momentous Birthday is panning out, fiscally:
Pretty, pretty ring at Kohl's "60% off fine jewelry" sale:
We make it a Big Deal: we buy a ring as a reminder of their promise to themselves and their future spouse. We take them to dinner for a Really Fabulous Meal at the restaurant of their choice. We use the time to talk about their decision, and our ongoing support as mentors and cheerleaders.
As you may have noticed, however, the economy is Different than the last time we had a sixteen-year-old (that would be, 1999). So, after talking it over with Susan, we are having the dinner at home ("all I want, Mom, is steak and mushrooms. Lots of mushrooms...). So here is how this Momentous Birthday is panning out, fiscally:
Pretty, pretty ring at Kohl's "60% off fine jewelry" sale:
Really good-looking top sirloin steaks at Kroger's for $3.49 a pound: $13.48
Broccoli (frozen, her preference) on sale: 1.oo
Grands biscuits: 1.33
Mushrooms (not on sale--errgghh): 2.79
Baked potatoes (I already have those, no cost): 0.00
Black raspberry/chocolate ice cream: 2.50
Total: $21.10
Compared to the $$$$$$$$$$$ we spent on the first six children....
Oh, well. (I will tell you that we did the Home Fabulous Dinners for our first six for their Prom Dinners--the boys loved us for it!)
When we decided to do this, about three weeks ago, I figured to spend about twice this much. I am thrilled! But most of all, I am thrilled at the fact that my little girl has reached this point in her life. That she has made two Great Decisions: one, to follow the Lord, and two, to keep herself pure for her husband. (If you'd like to read a little bit more about this, go here.)
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