Quilt-Along Progress - Blocks 4 and 5

I know it's been awhile since I last posted but I took some time off to spend time with my grandchildren who came to visit grandma and grandpa for a few weeks.

 

 

We learned how to ride our bike without training wheels... We're still working on watching where we're going instead of watching our feet.

 

 

We climbed our favorite tree with grandpa.

 

We swung and twirled on the tree swings grandpa put up.

 



 Grandpa taught Chuck how to operate the lawn tractor for the first time.

 

 

We helped grandpa make a couple of bird feeders.

 

 

We loved our time with them, but sadly, they had to go back home to get ready for school.

 

So, after a week for getting the house back in order and rest, I am back in my sewing room working on my Quilt-Along, hosted by Michele Foster with Quilting Gallery.

 

 

 

This is block number 4. I actually started on this block before the grandchildren arrived, but because I was struggling in my fabric selection, I didn't start cutting or sewing on it until after the kids left. I'm glad I took the time to choose the right fabric because I didn't want to lose the design.

 

This is block 5 of the Quilt-Along.  I love the floral on white background print. It has a whimsy to it.

Here is my mock-up thus far with the blocks I've completed. I like it and hope I can continue to select the right prints to connect all the blocks, since they're all different.

 

 

I still have a couple of blocks to complete before I'm caught up with the rest of the group who are on block 8 this week.

 

 

What's been happening with you?









The Devil Made Me Do It!!!

I’ve been having a lazy day today and haven’t made it into my sewing room yet, so instead of an update on a sewing project, I’m going to tell you a story.

Every parent has a funny story or two about their children as they were growing up. Some of us have more than others, but they’re all funny stories that other parents can relate too. Although I have funny stories of all my children and their friends, I seem to have a few more humorous memories of my youngest son, Tramaine, than the others.

I’m the second oldest in my family of nine girls and two boys. Like most children who were the oldest, I was the responsible one, or at least that’s what my parents thought. If the first born is the responsible one, what does that make the youngest one? In our family, Tramaine was the tattle teller. The one I was always asking where his nose was, followed by put your nose on your own face, as he had that look of indignation.

I was at work when I received a telephone call from my oldest son, Randy. I was away from my office but was able to take the call at one of the other desks outside in ‘cube’ land. Randy announced that Tramaine, who was about 6 years old at the time, peed into the cat dish that was outside on the back deck. Of course, he had no idea why his little brother would do such a thing… but, I had my suspicions. Having told Randy to put Tramaine on the phone and here is a brief recall of our conversation, to the best of my recollection:

Mom: “Did you pee in the cat dish?”

Child: “Yes.”

Mom: “Why?”

Child: “I don’t know.”

Mom: “Do you usually pee in the cat dish?”

Child: “No.”

Mom: “Then why did you pee in the cat dish today?”

Child: “I don’t know.”

Mom: (who is getting rather irritated at this point) “What do you mean you don’t know?”

Child: (who you can hear sniffling by now) “I don’t know.” (I was sure I could hear him shrug his shoulders as he responded.)

Mom: “You must know why you peed in the cat dish. Why didn’t you go in the house?”

Child: “I don’t know.”

Mom: “There must be some reason why you peed in the cat dish!”

Child: “The devil made me do it!”

Mom: “The DEVIL made you do it?!”

Child: “Yes.”

Mom: “Go clean out the cat dish. We’ll finish talking about this when I get home.”

Mom has now hung up the telephone only to hear everyone in the office snickering and saying, “The Devil made me do it!” as she walks back to her office and closes the door.

I think parenthood is overrated.

Busy Weekend - Fireworks

I love holidays. For me, it is family time and the Fourth of July is no exception. As my children were growing up we always had a huge celebration. It seemed to always include a large BBQ with a huge assortment of food shared with family and friends, followed by the grand finale... tons of fireworks. I would set-up a large banquet table outside where the fireworks would sit until after dark. It would soon turn into a neighborhood display that would last over 30 minutes. Today, our traditional celebration usually includes two separate events.

It begins on July 3rd. We have friends who have a house on Big Lake and every year the fire department sponsors a huge fireworks display on the lake, the day before the 4th. The kids spend the day swimming in the lake while the adults visit. Often times, we also cruise the lake in our friend's boat until BBQ time. When it begins to turn dark, everyone sits along the shoreline of the lake in anticipation of the firework show. In the meantime, we continue to visit while watching the individual fireworks.

This year I had to sit at a picnic table because of my ankle. But I was able to get some decent pictures to share with you:

The only downside to the day was my sunburn. When I say I am lobster red, I mean I am literally lobster red... my face, arms, back of my hands, shoulders, knees, back of my neck. Lobster Red! I've never been so sunburned in my life. It's going to take awhile for me to recover, but we all had fun. I'll just remember next year to remain covered, regardless of the heat.

My contribution to our BBQ was a fruit salad with a lemon cream cheese dip. I thought I'd share this recipe with you:

Fruit Salad with Lemon Cream Cheese Dip

3 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup lemon curd
1 honey dew melon, peeled and sliced
1 cantaloupe, peeled and sliced
4 kiwi fruit, peeled and sliced
2 cups strawberries, hulled
2 cups red grapes

In small bowl, wisk cream cheese and lemon curd until smooth. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Arrange fruit on platter and serve with lemon cream cheese dip.

Our second event occurs on the 4th. We love going to the races and our favorite racetrack is Evergreen Speedway located at the Monroe Fairgrounds. They have figure eight races featuring cars and buses hauling boats that are hilarious. Most of the time the boats are larger than the car resulting in the boats controlling where the cars go during the race rather than the other way around. They also have races featuring school buses as well as a school bus jump. They set up several RVs, campers, and cars stretching several feet which a school bus attempts to jump over. The kid’s favorite part is when fire shoots up in the air during the jump. Prior to their massive fireworks display they hold a demolition derby which always entertains the crowd.

In my opinion, the fireworks display at Evergreen Raceway is the best in our area and I'm saddened that I was unable to get pictures of it. I had forgotten to recharge the battery for my digital camera. But we had lots of fun sharing the day with our grand kids.

These are memories I'm confident our grandchildren will remember them, always.

Where Has The Time Gone?

It appears I've been absent from my blog. I have a good excuse, really. My grand kids have been visiting for the last couple of weeks. Joseph is 14 yrs old, Chuckie is 11 yrs old, and Brielle is 2 yrs old. The two older boys pretty much take care of themselves but Brielle is another story. When my kids were growing up I had a schedule that I strictly adhered to. We were up at the same time every day, ate breakfast, got dressed, and started our day. Nap time was immediately following lunch and lasted about 30 minutes. Our evening routine was simple. My husband worked swing shift so the kids and I were always on our own for dinner. Either I would cook dinner or we would pack a picnic and go to the park or down to the waterfront for the evening. I learned early that bedtime was always easier if the kids got fresh air beforehand. Living in Tacoma we had several nice parks to choose from. Often times we would go to Pt. Defiance, Puget Sound Park, or Jefferson Park. The kids loved it. If we didn’t go the park, we would load up the van, often with extra kids, and go down to the waterfront where the kids could roller skate or run along the walk way. This is a five mile stretch along the water and by the time we left the kids was exhausted. When we got back to the house, it was bath time followed by quiet time before going to bed. Quiet time always consisted of reading a book or watching something on television. Brielle doesn’t have a schedule, other than her own. Her parents work odd hours making it difficult to adhere to a strict schedule. Her mother works nights and her father works three jobs with hours stretched between 8:00am and midnight. Consequently, Brielle doesn’t go down for the night until the early morning hours and sleeps until noon. This is a huge conflict to our schedule. We’re up at 4:00am and usually in bed around 8:00pm. Aside from the odd schedule, their visit has been wonderful. We’ve baked bread, cookies, and blueberry muffins. We’ve had lots of strawberry shortcake and BBQs. We canned 20 pints of strawberry jam. They’ve enjoyed water fights, played with distant cousins, and visited with their friends up here.

Isn’t she adorable? Who would imagine someone so innocent looking could create so much havoc to our daily lives?




Brielle has helped her grandpa mow the yard, feed the goats, and take care of the dogs and cat.

She even got to help her older brothers wash the cars. And I think we’ve all had our fill of watching Tigger and Pooh and A Musical Too, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Chip and Dale movies.

But at the end of the day, we have learned to appreciate our quiet life even more than before the invasion.

Even if they all fall asleep in the family room instead of going to their rooms… Life is good.

Then morning arrives and it begins all over again. I love being a grandma!

Strawberry Shortcake

I live in a small farming community and our crops are delayed this season because of the extended cold and wet weather we experienced this year. But in the last few weeks the field activity has increased and we now have several stands scattered throughout the area filled with freshly picked strawberries.

If you’ve ever tasted food freshly picked from your garden then you can understand my enthusiasm. My husband lives for this time of the year. One of his favorites is fresh strawberry shortcake. He believes strawberry shortcake was created for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I’ve tried to explain to him nutrition, but he states strawberry shortcake contains all of the necessary nutrients for his existence: dairy and fruit. It’s hard to argue with his logic since it does contain eggs, cream, butter, and fresh strawberries. But this is a man who lives for the holidays when his mother makes him egg nog pie and I bake him pumpkin pie.

Have you ever watched the Cosby Show starring Bill Cosby? Cliff Huxtable has a weakness for subway sandwiches and greasy chips washed down with soda drank from a 2-liter bottle. The sandwich mimics something you’d see Dagwood from the Blondie comic strip eat. But as he prepares to eat this subway sandwich, which is forbidden by his wife Claire Huxtable, pure enjoyment is displayed in his facial expression. That is my husband eating strawberry shortcake, egg nog pie, and pumpkin pie.

How can I keep him from such pure pleasure? It would be like him trying to keep me from fabric.

No Time For Sewing

This week has been busy and it looks as though I will be even busier as I move into the next couple of weeks.

This week has been doctor appointments and doing things for a friend. Next week I'm toddler proofing my house as three of my grandchildren are coming for a visit. One of them is my 2 year old granddaughter. I also have several family obligations the next two weeks because my sister-in-law and her family will be visiting from Utah. The following week I have a wedding to attend, with three grand kids. So I've been busy cleaning house and synchronizing the family schedule all week. I just don't have the energy.

What do you do when you hit a rut like this? Do you have a trick that energizes you and gets you in the mood?