Jean (....and allen)

Moved to a new blog

2010-06-04T10:02:00.002-05:00

I have moved all of my archives to a new blog. I have a new name for my blog, a new look! Thank you, Shannon!
http://jeanetheridge.com/blog2/

2010-05-17T20:58:00.005-05:00

Down to nine days of students left for this year, plus June 1 as a workday for teachers. It seems silly to have to go back after Memorial Day, but it's because of a make-up snow day. At least it's just a workday. Kids would not be there in large numbers if they had to come back then. School is just plain depressing because of cuts due to financial woes. Huntsville City has always funded extra units beyond those required by the state. Now with the recession hitting the state coffers -- with schools financed here by sales taxes -- we are losing teacher units. From a teacher's perspective, the cuts and shifts in staff don't always make sense, and it seems like the best interests of the students are not first and foremost. So I head to my quilting room. I finished this quick table quilt a couple of weeks ago. It's from a layer cake that I bought in Colorado a couple of years ago. It's a first attempt at all over free motion quilting. I'm not very good at it, but I did it.
This was the view from my sewing room when we had several trees removed. If you haven't been to my house, keep in mind that my sewing room is on the second floor, and you are looking up at this guy. Quite the legs, I have to say. Allen was home while they were here, but he said it was too creepy to watch them for long. We had the trees taken out because they were hanging over our house, too close to the house in general.

This is what I'm working on right now. I really like the pattern. Although it's a little quilt measuring about 30 x 40" it has right at 1000 pieces in it. I started quilting yesterday and then took a good bit of it out this afternoon because I wasn't happy with it, but it's almost ready for the binding now. I got this pattern last fall at the Country Living Fair, and the fabrics are 1800's reproduction prints. I am really stuck on those these days. Love them. Love the colors.

This is really exciting to me. I got back my block of the month quilt from my quilter, and Allen helped me get it hung in our balcony hallway.
This is what it looks like from downstairs. Pretty cool, I think. I know, I know...some people dislike decorating with quilts, but I am happy seeing the colors and patterns. Oh, one other thing I've been up to. Shannon had me make some pincushions and such for Sew Beautiful. She and I had an article in the magazine this month. The directions to what I made are online, and you can see them if you click on the link and scroll down to Style Your Space.
Oz, on the other hand, could not care what the quilts look like. Comfy, cozy, that's all that matters. And then there is his new toy. Check out the video below. He is terrified of anything new in his space and barks and barks until he decides it is safe. He loves his new toy now, but this weekend, he was a big old chicken.

Circles, Spots, and Dots

2010-04-28T19:59:00.006-05:00

Long time, no blog. I can't even claim crazy busy. School is school, and at this time of the year it can wear on me. But I can say that I unwind upstairs in my sewing room. Meghan asked me months and months ago to make Taplin a quilt for his second birthday for his graduation to a big boy bed. Well, his second birthday was last week, and I actually had the quilt finished. Not mailed. Not labeled. Finished. It measures about 72" x 84" which is about a twin size. I am calling it Circles, Spots, and Dots. I think it looks pretty much like a little boy, and I hope it will suit Taplin for some years to come.
The quilting is just simple channels across the quilt about an inch a half apart, and then a vertical row for each 7" block to anchor the batting. I figure it will get washed and really used, and this would stabilize everything.
I used a leftover patch for the label. I am not always good about putting labels on my quilts, but since it's a gift...
With the leftover backing and a Michael Miller blue dot fabric, I made a pillowcase. I found a slick little pattern online, and although I put off making it for a week after the quilt was finished, it only took about 45 minutes to put together. I'm sure I'll use the pattern again.
Meanwhile, I hand pieced and hand quilted this Cheddar Checkerboard. I found the pattern on Barbara Brackman's site, and it was fun to stitch in the evenings. I did big stitch quilting in the black and green boarder, and I added some little buttons for fun.
Finished, I guess it is in the neighborhood of 24" square. I am not a great hand quilter, but I sure had fun putting this together.
I love my guys, my Oz and Allen. Last week, Allen was in Denver, and Ozzie and I had a bonding week. He is a full time attention hog. I am glad Allen's home this week, and so is Oz. His favorite spot is on Allen's lap. And although I walk him three times a day, it's just not the same as Allen taking him out all of the time and letting him play with the neighbor dogs.

What's New?

2010-04-04T21:13:00.004-05:00

New size. Look how BIG Ozzie is. We keep thinking we should have named him Hank the Tank. He is sweet until the evening when he is pretty wild - until he crashes. Lucky for me, Allen walks him. Lots. Love the Oz.
New closet. Allen's put the shelves in my sewing room closet. I'm moving in. It's like an addition to my room with feet and feet of shelf space. I'm cleaning and reorganizing and loving every minute of it. The room is newly painted, and I even have a new Olfa cutting mat.
New quilt project. I have 120 of these patches made and 80 little patches, one quarter this size. This will be Taplin's Dots upon Dots quilt. Hmmm. His birthday is in less than three weeks. I don't know if I can finish, but I will enjoy working on it this week seeing if I can get close. Today I put together half of the little blocks.
New to me, but actually old, pewter candlestick holders. New flowers, of course. I found the candlesticks at an antique store and could not believe the $15 price. They are Gorham and match my Octette pewter from our wedding in 1975. I wanted these then, but we did not get them as a gift, and we certainly couldn't afford them back then.
New recipe - Turtle Pie. Lets see, chocolate morsels, cream, caramel, pecans, more chocolate. The recipe's a keeper, but it won't be made often! I'm just sad that Nathan and his mom were both sick today and couldn't be with us for dinner. Ham dinner. Mmmmmm.
New print - birthday present from the girls and their husbands. It is a watercolor of wine bottle corks. It is realistic watercolor, so much so that I was sure it was a photograph. I've tried a few times to get a good picture, but the glass keeps reflecting, so I know it is hard to really see it. I do love it and how it fits right into our remodeled kitchen.
New pottery! Allen found me not one, but two wonderful pieces by Guadalupe Robinson. These two both are "dress" pots, featuring dresses for women. The one on the left focuses on texture, especially in the skirt of the dress, and the right one has unusual light blue pottery vests. They are wonderful pieces and make an outstanding birthday present!

The Big Picture (but no pictures today, oddly enough)

2010-03-28T19:51:00.003-05:00

Allen finally came out of the closet -- that is to say, he worked in my sewing room closet for hours and hours putting in shelves all the way around. We (he) re-fitted a different closet and moved all of his things out of my sewing room. Then I had to revamp the linen closet space from two sets of shelves to one to accommodate what his new space dislodged. Finally, now I can reshuffle all of my sewing treasures around in my sewing room to best use the new shelf space in my closet. All in all, we've spent several months on these projects. We've thrown away a good bit, moved more, and sold some (or Shannon did at her garage sale yesterday). I still have some work to do, but we've made a big change overall. We're close.

This afternoon, I spent a good bit of time moving our years and years of photos into new, white photo-storage boxes. Some of the pictures are from my childhood and ancestors. Some are from college and our early marriage. BC. Before Children. There are family birthdays, our girls at Christmas and prom and with first boyfriends. Pets, dinners, vacations. Trips to Colorado, remodeling projects, new cars, new houses, engagements and weddings. Sweet moments.

I got to thinking about how when I work as a quilter, I scrutinize each color selection, each seam, each point, each stitch. I'm not an award winning quilter, but I am pretty detail oriented, and I want it all to be just right. But I like that we use my quilts. I like that they get dirty and used. We spill things on them on the table, we rumple them when we sleep, and Ozzie walks and sheds all over them. As I ate lunch today, I noticed the quilt on the table right now as I wiped a smudge of dressing off of it. When I made it, I agonized over each detail, but you know, I think it looks good, and it doesn't bother me to have a stain here, a spot there, and the sewing details are pretty much forgotten.

It's kind of like our lives. I know I wake at night to worry about money or relationships or school or the kids or health or the house or whatever. I analyze conversations with Allen, and I plan and plan for family events. I hope that each detail of a birthday is just right, and I wonder (agonize) if I'm doing well enough at work or as a wife or mother or friend.

And then today I saw those pictures. Our almost thirty-five married years in those pictures show a rich, happy family. Day to day struggles and irritable moments are just an added layer, but they don't seem to matter in the big picture. When I look at each seam, each stitch, it is easy to see flaws or spots for improvement. But when the quilt is in use, those spots don't matter.

Is it almost spring?

2010-03-14T19:08:00.003-05:00

Spring break project! Allen moved his hobby "stuff" out of the closet in my sewing room and into his own closet space, so this weekend, he started on my closet. He's taken out all of the old shelving and the clothes rod, patched everything, and painted the walls. He's going to install shelves all the way around for me. We think we last painted this room about ten years ago, and yellow seemed like a good idea then. Really, it's been a bright, happy room for me, but I am pretty tired of the yellow. I picked a neutral called Wicker, and I know I'm going to be happy with it, but next to the yellow, ugh. These two colors clash horribly. We have two walls with one coat. After another coat in the morning, we'll shift everything to that side of the room and do the rest.
I am proud of this little guy. He is 24" x 24" -- called a Cheddar Cheese and Crackers quilt. I found the pattern on a blog (Humble Quilts) and decided I couldn't resist trying to follow the directions. I guess it looks like a simple piece, but it was challenging enough to piece (and get everything in the right place for the colors), and then machine quilting always is a stretch for me. I finished it last night while we watched George Clooney in "Up in the Air" which is a good film, but not a happy film at all.
This last week has been a long one. It was the last week before spring break, the last week of the grading period, and Allen was gone to Denver. Last Sunday, Shannon and I decided to brighten the week with a trip to an antique store, one we haven't been to, and the pink elephant was my big purchase 0f the day. He's not in great shape, and I probably should not have bought him because of that, but he's a good partner for the blue guy next to him on top of the kitchen cupboard.
Spring? Well, almost. It is cold and dreary and wet and pretty unpleasant outside today. A little grocery store bouquet is a reminder that warmer, sunnier days are around the corner. And how bad can it be? Allen and I are both on vacation! Woohoo!!!

Sunny Sunday

2010-02-21T19:37:00.006-06:00

I am finishing up the binding on the batik quilt, and I'll post pictures when I'm finished, but on to the next one. I saw this small quilt called Cheddar Cheese and Crackers and decided to give it a try. The piecing isn't too complicated, although I can really tell I've learned a thing or two in the last year. The trickiness comes from the positioning of the fabrics. The directions say "on your design board" and "be careful of the placement of the fabrics" but I guess I read right over those cautions until I was well into the project. What I thought would be an afternoon quick quilt is not quite that simple. I admit quilt addiction.
We took Mr. Ozzie out for a walk along the greenway after lunch today. Allen took him yesterday as well, and he says Oz was much calmer today. Calm? Running back and forth, unable to walk on the blacktop because he was so excited by every little smell, looking ridiculous with mouth full of grass. What a goof.
And look! Shadows on the ground. It was sunny in Huntsville! We have had gloom and gray for weeks on end. Today's 60 degree sunshine was spectacular. A little vitamin D never hurt anyone.
Home from the walk and relaxing in the family room - what a pug life! Sublime Sunday afternoon at the Etheridge home.

Quilt Therapy

2010-02-09T20:50:00.003-06:00

During a snowy, rainy, gloomy January, I had some bright hours piecing this batik quilt. It's from a pattern in Quilt magazine - easy and quick to put together. I had all of the brights left from other project, or I pulled them from my stash. I did buy the white batik background because I don't usually use whites like this, but the colors really pop on the white. I now have it put together, and this past weekend, Allen and took another happy little trip to Stitcher's Garden in Franklin where I bought, among lots of other things, the backing. Yesterday, Oz helped me (right!) pin the sandwich.
The pattern is reminiscent of the pattern in the quilt I made for Shannon and Nathan. One of these days I need a picture of this whole quilt, but I found it folded on their couch arm Saturday when we stopped by to feed the cat and the fish for them while they were in Atlanta.

January and February also seem like such dark, looong months to me. I am having a hard time remembering what the sun looks like. We had our yard cleaned up recently, and it looks like we're ready for spring - mud and all - but the weather just won't cooperate. I think the pug Oz and the quilting are keeping me out of the winter blues as much as anything can. Hey wait, only about five weeks until spring break.

Monday morning musings

2010-01-18T09:57:00.004-06:00

So it wasn't just a one time thing last week when Ozzie decided to plant himself on my head. He climbs up there whenever he can now, especially if he is not feeling too playful and I'm sewing. Pretty sweet sewing pal. No, Ozzie, it does not make up for having a little pile of an accident in my sewing room under my chair. Yes, the chair rolled over it. It is a very good thing you are generally a good fellow.
We had just a wonderful, lazy Saturday and Sunday. Rainy, quiet days make for good sewing. My basket is getting full. I have about five sets left before I can put them together into blocks. I was figuring out the number of pieces in this quilt. [( 9 x 4) + (3 x 4) + (6 x 4) + 4] x 25, I think. You do the math. I know why I teach English, but there sure is a lot of math in quilts.
I've been wanting to make a needle book or pin book, as Sue Spargo calls it. I saw a sample one at the Country Living Fair back in September made from a Sue Spargo pattern, and then I ran across a pattern for one in the October issue of Patchwork and Quilting. I used felted wool for the outside and the pages, and just part of a fat quarter for the insides. Hers did not have the pocket on the right, but I felt like I would use it.
Here's the front cover. The whole thing is about 6" by 10" opened up. I think maybe I need to figure out a way to fasten it when it is closed, but I haven't settled on a plan for that. Anyway, it's Monday morning, and woo-hoo, no school today. Unfortunately, I do have a dentist appointment this afternoon, but that is just for a check up, not a major deal like the last times with two (Expensive) crowns. Also unfortunately, Allen had to go to Decatur today, but maybe I can think of something for dinner. He's been the chief cook lately, and that has been a treat. Shoot, we had a turkey dinner on Wednesday. Ozzie's still sleeping, so I might sneak in showering and getting dressing before his puppy activities begin.

New project

2010-01-10T19:18:00.003-06:00

Cold and icy outside, cozy in my sewing room. I started a new quilt this weekend. It's a pattern from the most recent Quilt magazine. I have component parts for four blocks made so far...
out of twenty-five blocks altogether. I usually make scrappy quilts. This one has all batik fabrics I've got left over from other quilts except for just a few and the white batik background. I only have off-white and beige-y leftovers, but I wanted the bright colors to pop against a white background. Not usually my style, but I thought it would look just right this time.
The pattern for the block looks like this, but I plan to mix up the colors, not all one color in a block. We'll see when I am farther along. It was just plain fun to sit in my sunny room and make such quick progress. I will not enjoy a make-up day for Friday, but I loved this unexpected 3 1/2 day weekend.

BCS Game Tonight

2010-01-07T17:44:00.003-06:00

Another big snow in Huntsville. Schools closed at 11:30 today, and of course, I made it all the way home in just about two minutes. However, as innocent as this looks, as I am writing this, roads are slick, and quite a few major thoroughfares are dangerous and icy or closed altogether. For a while this afternoon, we had several cars stuck in front of our house - couldn't go up the hill, couldn't go down. And so the result is no school again tomorrow, and a stay-home evening instead of going to Shannon's to watch the Alabama -Texas BCS game.
Here's Ozzie's big snowball adventure. The big problem is that he likes being out in the snow so much that he forgets what he's supposed to be doing. He is not much of a walker. He likes to go out and generally does what he is supposed to do, but then when he gets tired, he sits down or refuses to move. But snow, now that he enjoys.
Meanwhile, this week I have been working on a little hand-sewn quilt. I am in the process of quilting it now.
This is a from a Windham kit that I bought, and it is a Gees Bend quilt pattern. I totally enjoyed putting it together quickly. It was kind of like a puzzle getting the pieces I cut according to the directions to fit into the right place. I will have to think about what to do for the backing and how to quilt it. Although Ozzie likes the snow, now he is sitting on the couch just waiting for kickoff tonight. Roooooll Tide, Roll!

Holiday Wrap Up

2009-12-31T09:42:00.004-06:00

What a wonderful week we have had. Here's Ozzie, waiting for Christmas. He has had an attention filled week. What choice did we have? Without eyes or hands on him, he was scouting for trouble. He's actually doing very well training us (well, Allen) to take him outside at all the right times. Ozzie's a smart little fellow, especially if stubbornness is any indication of intelligence.

Ready, set, open! Shannon and Nathan, Meghan and Justin, Bridger and Taplin, Jean and Allen -- that makes for lots of presents. The big fun, of course, it watching the boys. Bridger was appropriately excited about his Lego table from Grandma and Grandpa, and Taplin seemed to like his little oak table and chairs too. I was most excited to give Shannon her Red and Cheddar quilt. I think it took almost two years, and it has a gazillion little one inch squares in it. I don't have a good picture of it yet, but I'll post on when I do. I still have to put a label on it, but I was happy enough to have time to sew on the binding after my quilter returned it to me in the middle of December. Looking down, you can see Taplin climbing on it while Shannon tries to fold it up.
The day after Christmas, and all is well. Meghan has a rare, quiet moment with her little angels. They are busy little men, on the go most of the time.
Taplin keeps us all in stitches. He is one fun fellow, and he sure likes pizza.
Bridger is getting so grown up, most of the time, that is. What a good lookin' guy!
TaDa!! My block of the month, designed by Sue Garman for The Quilt Show, is complete on this last day of 2009! One year in the making. I finished it just this morning. I have never made anything this complex or challenging. It has its problems, but I am pretty dang proud of myself. Now we will have to take a road trip to Franklin so I can get the backing, and then off to the quilters.

Christmas on Bluff Drive

2009-12-25T15:44:00.002-06:00

We enjoyed Christmas lunch today with our dear Shannon and Nathan, and Nathan's mom and dad too. Shrimp and clam chowder are traditional family favorites.
This year, I also made cornbread in our Christmas molds. It was a perfect lunch, I thought. We had a picture perfect view through the dining room window of snow flying while we ate. Crazy weather - high winds yesterday and snow flakes today.
Ozzie and Allen and I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! See the stockings hung by the chimney? We're waiting for Meghan, Justin, Taplin and Bridger to arrive before we dig into presents.

Christmas is Coming

2009-12-17T19:07:00.003-06:00

What?? Eight days until Christmas?

Welcome Home, Ozzie the Pug

2009-11-18T19:39:00.003-06:00

We are so excited that Ozzie has come to live with us. He is the cutest little thing. We went to the breeder's home on Sunday afternoon to pick him up. We were lucky enough to be able to see Ozzie's litter mates and his dad. Goodness, it's no joke, Ozzie really was the beefcake of the bunch. He was half again as big as the next biggest puppy. His dad is one handsome fellow, very strong and sturdy and squarish looking. Ozzie rode home in the carrier provided as part of the purchase package. He whimpered a little and slid around, and then he finally just found a spot and sprawled on his back the rest of the way home.Here's Ozzie in the yard at home. He is a silly boy who loves the outdoors. Nothing like a romp in the leaves. I love you, Allen.
Shannon got to meet her little fur buddy Sunday afternoon too. Big day for a big pug puppy!
After his first day at home, what's a pug to do but snuggle in for a nap on me. Sweet, sweet.What's this?? Oh-oh. Allen had to work in Decatur Monday through Wednesday this week. The first two days were probably long for Ozzie, and I guess he cried some, but today when Allen got home in the afternoon, the Wizard of Oz had escaped. He jumped and struggled so much that he tore open the stitching and let himself out. Allen went into the bedroom to put his things down on the bed when Ozzie came flying out of our bathroom. He figures Ozzie went into the bathroom to play with the throw rugs and fell asleep there, napping happily until he heard Allen come home. Shannon to the rescue -- she brought over Louie's old smaller cage that they'd borrowed for Spike The Cat. Just try to escape from that, Mr. Oz.After a day of adventure, Ozzie is asleep on the couch cuddled against Allen's leg.Look at those sweet, innocent little crossed paws.
Meanwhile, yes, we are loving the finished kitchen. Shannon brought me a little "kitchen warming" gift, a monogrammed tea towel. We still have a few little finishing issues that Lowes has promised to take care of, but at least we are finished enough that we can enjoy having our newest family member at home. We both keep stumbling and calling him Louie, but Ozzie is certainly his own little self. He is a pug, for sure, but we can already see a special, different personality. Stay tuned for the Adventures of Ozzie.

Getting Ready for Ozzie

2009-11-12T20:40:00.003-06:00

After school, I zipped home to be here in time for the plumber who was scheduled for any time after 3:30. When someone knocked on the door at 4, I assumed it was the plumber, but no, it was FedEx. Oh wow! I ordered this a good while ago from , but it was on backorder. A Gees Bend inspired quilt by Windham Fabrics. It came in its own muslin bag tied with fat string. It's kind of like Christmas.Inside, look at the wonderful hand dyed fabric. This will be just such fun to do. Now I just need my fabric for the block of the month quilt, fabric I needed last month for October's work. Maybe soon.

I was totally impressed that the plumber from Lowes, Benny, reinstalled our microwave even though it wasn't on our work ticket. Allen had talked to Installed Sales about it, but it didn't make it to the work order. Even so, after a day at work and after finishing the plumbing on the sink and dishwasher, he installed it without a complaint. I recall how when we first got married and microwaves were new on the market, we couldn't quite imagine what we would use it for. Silly us.
At last, water and a new dishwasher. We got a Bosch. The plumber says it is exactly what he has for his house too. That seems like a good thing. I didn't sleep well last night, so after he left, I am just useless, so I haven't run a load of dishes yet. Who would think doing dishes would be such an exciting prospect. Now for the sorting and putting away and throwing away and giving away. We need to be efficient and pretty speedy to be ready for Sunday. Why? We get to go pick up Ozzie!

Quartz Counters

2009-11-11T14:52:00.002-06:00

New quartz counter tops! The sink is just set in, but the plumber will come tomorrow to install that and the dishwasher. We will get a new faucet too. The caulk is wet, and everything has to just be left alone tonight. The installer said it is dirty and that it will take a couple of washings with just soap and water to get off the packing grit.
We re-topped the island. Guess if it has to set, I can't dance on it tonight.
And then the little pieces by the stove. We are getting there.

Making Progress

2009-11-08T20:05:00.005-06:00

Not much is together or ready to go at our house. With the kitchen in progress, we have dishes and pots and pans and cleaning supplies and pictures and pottery and you name it everywhere. It is mostly all dusty and disorganized. A Mess. However, I did finish this quilt and it is ready to go. I am planning on using it on the kitchen table, but I can't try it out because the kitchen table is buried in mail and old papers, hardware for the cabinets, the old bulletin board, and and and. At least this quilt is ready to go though, and I hope it looks like what I think it will when I can dress the table with it.
This little quilt was finished last week. I bought the fabric and pattern at the Country Living Fair and started it in the hotel in Columbus. I sewed all of the trianges together by hand and then did the rest by machine. It just fits on the rocker for now. It's another little piece of quiet in our topsy turvy house.Here's the laundry room yesterday morning. Allen has the window wall painted as well as the rest of the room. Only one yellow wall to go. He moved the washer and dryer and crawled around behind everything before we went to Shannon's to watch the game (ROLL TIDE), and then he finished it this morning and moved everything back so I can at least do some laundry and get to the utility sink. No more yellow! We're excited about the new (still empty) cabinets that will work better with the washing machine lid. No more pinched fingers.
Here's the stove with the missing microwave and missing countertops. Who knows when the microwave will be re-installed, but the new cabinets look good to us. The stove top has become the main kitchen prep area without any other space to set things.
And here is the kitchen sink and dishwasher. The glass cleaner is sitting on the edge of the island without its top. We decided to put a matching counter on it as well, so it is prepped and ready for installation. Allen repainted everything in the kitchen (except for a little bit of trim work that I did last weekend), and he installed the new switch plate covers and the new blinds. Wednesday, I have a holiday for Veterans' Day, so that is when the counter comes, and then the new dishwasher and sink will happen Thursday. I'm pretty ready to put things back together.

Speaking of together, Happy Anniversary to Allen and me! Thirty-four years. I love you, Allen.

Plenty to Talk About!

2009-10-26T18:19:00.002-05:00

You never know what you're going to find at the flea market. Shannon, Allen, and I went up to the "Big One," the October flea market at the fairgrounds in Nashville. We actually drove up Friday night so that we could be at the flea market early Saturday morning. We didn't buy any little people chairs, but we did find some treasure. Shannon came home with a retro radio, among other things, but I think I got the best finds.The first find was this accordian style wooden sewing box. It needs some repair, but Allen will be able to help me out with that, and for $10, what a deal! I'll have another stash for sewing stuff. While that was a bargain, the second item we bought is truly a treasure.We found this Singer 221-1 Singer Centennial Featherweight. Quilters say the Featherweight is The machine to use for piecing. From the serial number on it, it seems this was made in 1951. It has a case, the original (musty smelling) instruction book, and the original attachments. It's not in mint condition, but it is very nice. Allen knows a good bit about sewing machines from his time working with Bernina back in the early 1970's, and he knows machines, so we were pretty confident about getting it to work. On my first try, though, it jammed. Uh-oh. We turned to the book we bought, Featherweight 221, The Perfect Portable And Its Stitches Across History, and Allen took apart the bobbin mechanism to find a many year old thread glob. Try number two -- success! She hummed along and stitched perfectly. We think we got it for an excellent price based on after-the-fact research. I love, love my Bernina, but what fun this will be!
After lunch at the Franklin Chophouse, we headed to my favorite fabric shop in short driving distance from home, and Allen patiently waited for Shannon and me. I picked up backing fabric for a new kitchen table batik I'm working on plus a few fat quarters for Tap's birthday quilt and some blues for a little project I am going to do for Shannon's work. I always think it is a good thing that I don't live closer!Sunday was "Empty the Kitchen Day" for Allen and me. Take one last look at the painted white cabinets. I just don't think I'm going to miss them.We pack lots into our kitchen. It now fills the dining room and the living room. All flat surfaces are covered. I know that I am not the best of housekeepers, but the amount of kitchen grime and dust is pretty embarrassing. When the new dishwasher is eventually hooked up, we will give it a good workout before we fill the new cabinets.
The first cabinets to go in were in the laundry room. Now we have more clearance between the machines and the cabinets, so maybe I won't have any more squished fingers opening the washing machine! Plus, these have shelves up to the ceiling which will provide a whole new shelf space. These are the upper cabinets above the sink area. The top set will have glass front doors. Tomorrow, they will finish this part of the work and re-install the microwave and stove. Then Wednesday the counter people come to make a template. After that, we will still not have water or counter tops for seven to ten days, but when the counters are ready, the plumber will install the sink and the new Bosch dishwasher. Pretty darn exciting, if I don't say so myself!

The only unhappy part of all of this is that I was home today -- due to a broken tooth. Ugh. I felt a twinge or two last week, but then Saturday morning while I had a biscuit breakfast at the flea market, the back end of a back tooth broke off. Today I stayed home to go to the dentist. At least it was a crown, not a root canal, but other than that, I can't say too much positive. It's expensive, and while it wasn't hurting this weekend, now that I have the temporary crown, it is pretty sore. I'm just going to focus on the kitchen and my new Featherweight and the fact that I could spend some hours sewing today. Oh, and Allen is home (yeah!) and Ozzie is now about five weeks old.

Splendid Fall Break

2009-10-12T19:31:00.005-05:00

Fall Break was absolutely wonderful. We started out early Saturday morning last week so that we could be in Daphne in time for the Alabama kickoff at 11. We just made it in time, and we got to play with Bridger and Taplin and munch on pizza while we watched Alabama win. Roll Tide! Bridger was shy for a few minutes and then warmed up to Grandma and Grandpa quickly, showing us all of his school work from St. Lukes. He showed us his career week creations -- fireman, doctor, mailman...it sound like St. Lukes suits him.
We took a stroll through the fun shops in Fairhope, a romp at the playground, and then a stop in at Old Bay Steamer for dinner. We all liked our seafood, but Taplin seemed to really love the potatoes. Who knows what inspired him to put them on his head! What a silly fellow! Taplin's antics keep us all laughing. Aren't the curls something? Meghan dumped both boys in the bath after we got home, and she trimmed those sideburns.
Monday, Allen and I took off alone for Savannah. We drove as far as Tallahassee on I 10 and then took the turn northeast and drove through Georgia's small towns to Savannah. It was fun being off the Interstate, even though we had lots of slow downs along the way. By time we rolled into Savannah and found our hotel, it was time for dinner at a great, colorful little neighborhood place called The Toucan. Tuesday morning, we strolled along the riverfront. Allen got a kick out of the practicing black hawk helicopters. We loved the old buildings, most of which have been converted to shops, restaurants, and bars. The streets are brick and cobblestone, and the stairs to the street up from the riverfront are frequently steep narrow alley-like passageways.
One of my favorite buildings was the Cotton Exchange. We stopped in some shops, but mostly we just enjoyed walking and watching. SCAD studnets didn't seem to mind when we stopped to snap a picture of them working on some art assignment. We were such tourists!We decided to drive to Tybee Island to see the lighthouse. It is one of the oldest lighthouse stations in the country, welcoming ships to Savannah River for 270 years. Of course, the lighthouse was closed to tourists the day we were there, but we didn't mind. Later, when we were at Fort Pulaski, we could look back and see the Tybee Lighthouse light.

Even though the whole day was overcast and damp, it was plenty bright on the beach. We walked a good distance and watched the water birds play. It was quite a bit cooler on the beach than on Savannah's streets. I don't think I'd enjoy the visit as much in August because it was hot enough in October.
We could have eaten at any number of Savannah restaurants, but we had a fun time at the Crab Shack on Tybee Island. We ordered a giant plate for two with crab legs, shrimp, mussels, sausage, and potatoes. Pretty decadent, actually.After stuffing ourselves silly, we stopped at Fort Pulaski and wandered the grounds for the rest of the afternoon. Poor feet. This was one of the sets of stairs leading to the maze of rooms below ground.I felt like I was at a castle with the moat and drawbridge entrance. Apparently turtles, alligators, and other marine life inhabit the moat. The Confederates had to surrender to the Union Army after the two day battle. Brick forts were no longer built after that.Wednesday, we were pretty tired after all of that sight seeing, so we were happy to stroll through several of the the amazing park-like squares downtown and take a drive across the bridge downtown into South Carolina. Thursday was a long drive home, through Macon to Atlanta and the over the mountains in northeast Alabama back to Huntsville. We both loved our time in Savannah, and I imagine we'd be happy to take a return trip some day, but it's always good to be home.

Alas, Allen and I both had to go back to work today. Sigh. One thing vacation does for me is to remind me why I work -- it's fun to spend money, and to spend it you have to make it (and yesterday we spent even more by adding a Bosch dishwasher to the kitchen project). I don't like going back to school the first week in August, but I would sure hate to give up Fall Break. We had such a splendid week!

Road Trip

2009-09-23T19:35:00.004-05:00

Road Trip! Thursday morning, Allen dropped me off at Shannon's office over in Hampton Cove, and we piled in the company Sequoia to head to the Country Living Fair in Columbus, Ohio. We'd been waiting all year for this after having such a good time last September. We had a fun, happy ride north with lots of laughs. Lunch was a silly meal at Cracker Barrel, and then we headed on to the outlet malls just this side of Columbus. Shannon and I got shoes, but we drooled over plenty at the Pottery Barn Outlet. If only we lived closer. Then it was on to Columbus. With "Samantha" the Garmin's help, we navigated our way to the hotel without getting lost like last year. Friday morning, all five of us were anxious to get to the fair. The weather could not have been more perfect, and the sunny skies just highlighted the fall festival decorations everywhere.
I enjoyed browsing and wandering around with Shannon. We did our share of buying, but neither of us went overboard. My big splurge was, surprise of all surprises, quilting supplies (several kits from Country Threads) and a couple of small pieces of pottery from a Cincinnati area potter. The biggest thing we all brought home was a healthy dose of inspiration. I am ready to get out the fall quilts I've made and the rest of my autumn decorations.I think that one of my favorite parts of the trip was Saturday night. We went out for pizza and a quick trip to JoAnn's (why we don't have one here in Huntsville, I do not understand), and then we went back to the hotel and had a craft night. Leighann settled in with a pile of craft magazines, while Vicki showed us her stash of wool from the fiber fair she attended Saturday, and she demonstrated her spinning. Fascinating! Christa opened her paper making kit and fired up the new blender to make a few sheets of paper. Shannon made a good start on her punch-needle project -
and I started on one of the quilt kits I bought. This project has 128, no, make that 256 of these squares, and it will be my television watching project to hand piece them. I wished that I had cut enough pieces so that I could try sewing on the ride back, but oh well, I just watched out the window while it rained, and rained, and rained, and rained. What a ride back. I don't think we drove more than thirty or forty mph all the way home from about Nashville. Driving in driving rain for hours is not fun. We've heard that maybe the Country Living Fair will not be in the same place next year, but if it is within a reasonable driving distance, we'll surely want to go again.

The big news since then is that our new puppy was born Monday. I guess it will be two or three months before we have him here, but we're excited. We miss Louie terribly. The house is not the same without a dog. I didn't say I missed walking the dog in the rain or early, early in the morning, or late at night, but I guess that's a price I won't mind paying too much.

I'm looking forward to Allen coming home and Saturday football. Roll Tide.

Mid Sepember Already?

2009-09-13T20:46:00.003-05:00

The last few times we've been to the Farmer's Market, I've picked up flowers from one of the vendors. These were just so bright and happy for the end of August that I had to share them here. I didn't do much (or more accurately anything) with outdoor gardening or flower beds this summer. In years past, we had a whole deckful of plants and a big bed of impatiens. Now I seem to spend my time and "for fun" money on quilting stuff, but I still love flowers. Next summer?Shannon and I took a Sunday drive on Labor Day weekend to the Scottsboro Trade Day. We had lunch at a funny little diner, and we had a good time wandering around and looking. I got a treasure-trove of miniature elephants, but my favorite is probably this funny guy who will live up in my sewing room with me. He will help me out with ironing. I've had him a week, and he holds about three times what my previous little elephant held, and his trunk is the perfect pouring spout. I guess he might have had a lid at some point in his life, but now he will be loved and used while I sew.
I just love my sewing table and room. When I'm in the middle of a project, I can just leave everything spread out and make whatever mess I need to make. What fun!This week's project was to make the last four of the Block of the Month big stars. I have eight little ones for September and eight more little ones for October, but next month I get to put the twenty-four big ones together into a border. I was excited to use two pieces of fabric from our summer Denver trip that I just love.
And here it is - the batik quilt I worked on all summer, all finished. I started hand piecing the blocks in our hotel room back in June, and I added some fabrics from my shop hopping in Denver. I had fantastic help from someone at The Great American Quilt Factory picking out the border, backing, and binding. I guess this picture doesn't do justice to the bright colors and how well the borders bring it all together. I quilted it on my own the last two weeks. I had such fun with this, and I love having it hung on the railing now. Time for a new project. I'm thinking something in blue batiks, all triangles. This week? Only a few days until I head to Ohio with Shannon for the Country Living Fair. Woohoo! And the best news? We have heard that our breeder's pug is about to have a litter. I hope that means a puppy before too long. Of course, it will be good to have our kitchen work done before a puppy moves in. The cabinets and counters are ordered, but we figure it will be a minimum of a five or six weeks until everything is installed.

Quick Trip

2009-08-30T18:46:00.005-05:00

Allen had a hotel deal too good to pass up (at a brand new hotel five minutes from the Everettes), so we took a weekend trip to see Meghan, Justin, and the boys. Of course, we love staying at their house usually, but we invited ourselves, and who can pass up a deal at a new hotel? We left after work on Friday, and I was glad Allen was willing to drive. I could barely keep my eyes open, but after a good night's sleep, we were ready to see the grandsons. After a morning playing and seeing the updates around the house (love the kitchen), we went to the Blue Gill for a lunch. We sat outside where the boys could be boys, and we enjoyed our shrimp and such. Taplin's antics kept us laughing all weekend. You should see him dance.

Bridger is quite the little man! He has started school at St. Luke's in the Pre-K program. I am positive that he wows his teachers with his coloring. He is really ready for the challenge! After lunch, Meghan, Bridger, and I headed out to shop for shoes while the guys took Tap to nap. Bridger is ready to run in his new New Balance shoes and his spiffy Crocs. We were invited to go along to a family picnic for a picnic at the home of a member of Meghan and Justin's Sunday school church group. What a nice, fun group of folks and their kids. Bridger and Taplin had so much fun especially with the blow-up water slide.

Today, we headed back north. In the rain. And more rain, but we had a safe trip home. Be sure to check out the Flickr pictures of our little guys!

A Few End of Summer Projects

2009-08-23T17:24:00.004-05:00

I tried to get back in the school groove this week. It was the second full week of school, and no, I still do not know all of the names yet. I'd say I used to learn them quicker than I do now, but that would be a lie. It is always hard for me to learn everyone's name. I have about 135 students this year, plus yearbook students, plus homeroom. Maybe by the end of this week I will have them all straight. I enjoyed coming home and working a bit each evening on my August Block of the Month. Eight months finished! I think I just have four more big stars and sixteen little ones. I am pretty excited that I have stuck with it and that the blocks are easier than they used to be. This is not a quilt I will be able to quilt myself when the top is finished, I'm certain.

The other project I am working on is the batik pinwheel quilt. I found a YouTube video on how to layer the quilt using sticks. Now she says to hand baste, but I pinned it and it seemed to work well for me today. I started quilting it this afternoon, and since I'm not doing anything fancy, it is coming along quickly. Still miss having Louie sit by me. We keep getting sympathy cards which is very thoughtful. One from a neighbor was stuck in the door this afternoon.

What else this week? Allen's birthday was Thursday, so we had a birthday dinner with Shannon and Nathan, and Meghan sent a Netflix gift to Allen. He immediately (happily, I might note) ordered guy films that I will probably not see. Whatever makes him happy. What the rest of of are looking forward to -- Bama football in two weeks. Oh yeah, we've decided to do new counters and cabinets in the kitchen. The guy comes to measure on Tuesday. I gather it will be a slow-ish process by time we order and then the cabinets are made. We are pretty excited. Now what color should I paint the kitchen?

Sweet, sweet Louie

2009-08-16T13:25:00.002-05:00

On Wednesday afternoon, I came home from school and walked Louie as usual. He seemed fine, but after we came in the house, something was obviously wrong. After just a few minutes, I put him in the back seat of the car and took him to the vet. They thought it appeared that he had had a stroke or something. His temperature and blood pressure dropped quickly, he lost his reflexes, and within the hour, he stopped breathing. Louie was just two in June.

Allen talked to the vet by phone, and after doing a necropsy, she said while the way he presented looked neurological to her, it looked more like poisoning internally. We just can't imagine what he could have gotten into unless it was mushrooms along the sidewalk where we always walked him. I just am having a hard time thinking that was it because lots of dogs walk on our street, and they are fine, it appears. I suppose we won't know definitively what happened.

For me, I don't think the shock of it has really worn off yet. One minute he was fine, and then something was terribly wrong. Thank you to our family and friends who have sent us notes and messages, cards, and even flowers. Our kind neighbors invited us over last night to cheer us up. We just really miss Louie. He provided structure to our day with three or four scheduled walks a day. Louie was our companion, sitting near us or on us all of the time, and he made us laugh with his antics. He could shake, sit, and come, and he'd do most anything for a treat. But his best trick was putting himself to bed in his crate when he knew we were leaving or going to bed. And yes, he was a thief and a pain in the neck sometimes. Allen says he's probably stealing St. Peter's underwear now.

We have been picking up toys and treats for the last few days. His chews were everywhere in the house. It is very sad to throw those things out, but when we get another puppy, we will begin a new collection, I'm sure. Allen talked to the breeder who said that she doesn't have a litter on the way right now, but that she will put us on her list when she does. That will happen with cooler weather.

I am headed to my sewing room to work on a project this afternoon, but it will be just me -- no Louie to hop up on the sewing stool next to me. Louie was such a special little friend.

Fayetteville and Franklin

2009-08-04T18:09:00.002-05:00

Oh boy, is Allen a happy camper. Look at his new truck! We picked it up Friday afternoon in Fayetteville with a whopping three miles on it. Some smart person figured out that opening the doors this way made lots of sense. The dog crate fits neatly in the back seats.
A real truck. I wonder what I can think of that Allen needs to haul home? I saw some antique cabinets earlier this summer that would fit. That is, fit in the truck. I don't have a clue where they would fit in the house.
Besides getting the new truck, we enjoyed dinner with Michelle and Mac and Uncle Nathan and Aunt Shannon. When I was grocery shopping for dinner (marinated tomatoes and green beans with walnuts and, thanks to Meghan and Justin, gulf shrimp), I saw these bright orange and green daisies and had to have them.
And then there is THE quilt top. It is finished! I haven't added up the exact number of pieces, but it is in the neighborhood of 4500 squares. I started it last summer and worked on a number of other things in the meantime. But I finally focused on finishing and went through who knows how many bobbins and several spools of thread getting to the end.
I like the fabric I picked for the back and the borders last weekend when we ran up to Franklin to Stitcher's Garden. The quilt is big. It took nine yards of backing. I can't wait to drop it off with my long-arm quilter, but when I called she was out of town for the week so it's sitting on the dining room table for a few days. By the way, it's now been eight days since I've purchased fabric. (Don't need anything, but still.)

Summer Days (Blog #100)

2009-07-19T10:48:00.004-05:00

This has to be one of the nicest weekends of the whole summer. Sunny skies, record low temps in the morning, low humidity -- almost doesn't seem like Huntsville. We started the weekend watching Clint Eastwoods's Gran Torino Friday night, and we both enjoyed that. Well, Louie did too. Nothing he likes better than to snooze on the couch while his people watch television. Saturday morning, we went out to breakfast and then loaded up on produce at the Farmer's market. I splurged with a bouquet of zinnias.
We bought corn, jalapena peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, and little purple onions, but not any of these gorgeous squash. In the afternoon, we popped in at Shannon's with Louie and let him run in the backyard. What a hoot. He was so excited and had such fun, but did that stop him from mischief when we got home? Ha. He and Allen both devoured a paperback yesterday. Allen read it cover to...well, I'd say cover, but Louie ate one of them.
Yesterday, I also finished my July Block of the Month. I seem to have a system and they went together pretty well. More than halfway finished!! I have learned so much from this project. I also finished reading Quilty as Charged: Undercover ina Material World. It is a collection of stories about quilters and their experiences. I really enjoyed it. On to a new book and new project. I'm sure Louie will help.

Jelly Roll Diamonds, FINISHED

2009-07-17T12:49:00.002-05:00

Finished! I told Shannon the other night (when she came over when her car battery died) that hand sewing the binding is one of the most peaceful, satisfying sewing tasks I can think of. It is pretty mindless, but when it is finished, it is really finished. I was pretty ready to be at the end of this project.
I started with a jelly roll of Moda Urban Couture fabric that I got at Hancocks of Paducah this spring. That made the top go pretty quickly, even though there was a bit of a learning curve to get the seams to match up on the diagonal.
However, when I got to the setting triangles top, bottom, and sides, I was really challenged. I was perplexed about the quilting in the big triangles too, so I drew the grid on Stitch and Ditch Stablizer and pinned it on. That is a paper you can sew through and pull off later. I think that the edges ripple just a bit, something I've not really had a problem with in the past. Oh well. I try to do something new and different or challenging with each project. This time, the diamond work and the setting trianges were new, and the colors, well, not my first inclination. I learned that when you open a jelly roll, you can be surprised by the colors rolled inside. I guess this isn't my favorite that I've made, and it took longer than I expected, but it's Finished!!

Out for a Sunday Drive

2009-07-16T09:29:00.003-05:00

The weather could have been better this weekend. Sultry, soggy, gray skies didn't prevent a great weekend though. My brother John and sister-in-law Mary ended their week-long vacation with a stop here on Saturday and Sunday. We dragged them to our local seafood spot, Cajun Cafe, on Saturday. On Sunday, we drove up to Belvidere, Tennessee to Falls Mill. We hadn't been there in a long time, at least not to actually go in to the museum and walk the grounds.
Upstairs they have added quite a bit to their museum. Wouldn't it be fun to have a player piano? This one was outfitted with drums below, and for a quarter, we got to enjoy a tune.
There are a variety of spool cases, but not all of them show the spools and the colors. Don't have a clue where one could live in my house, but I sure do like them. Anyway, although we drove through a downpour on the way home, I had a wonderful Sunday. I'm glad that John and Mary drove the extra distance to see us and share a bit of Sweet Home Alabama with us.

Time to catch up

2009-07-15T08:33:00.007-05:00

Wow, a whole month since I wrote a blog. We have been busy, happy, and have had a wonderful time this summer. We spent two weeks in Denver. While Allen worked, I spent my days hunting down the quilting stores in the area. I went to Golden to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum and and the Golden Quilt Company (the quilt store there), to Parker to the High Prairie Quilts, to Wheatridge to Harriet's Treadle Arts, to Holly's Quilt Cabin, The Creative Needle, The Great American Quilt Factory, Fabric Expressions, and probably three different JoAnn's Fabric stores. I bought plenty, plenty, plenty. Embarrassing. Allen and I enjoyed eating out and trying new places and new foods, but our favorite was probably the time we spent with Joan and Frank. They are such an inspiration to us.Allen and Frank share a moment before dinner.
Frank took this picture of Joan and two of her "kids" and me. It was nice to see Joni!
Of course, a Denver trip would not seem right if we didn't get up to the mountains. The first weekend we went to Rocky Mountain National Park and drove Trail Ridge Road. We saw walls of eight foot snow along the road up top. The second weekend, we went to Buena Vista and stayed in Joan and Frank's home which is for sale. This is a picture along the way, close to Como. We stopped in Fairplay, and we took a drive to Central City and Blackhawk where the casinos have taken the towns. Kind of sad, but we did enjoy a Father's Day meal at a casino in Central City. We also drove up to Leadville -- bright and sunny with little air to breath!.

We had a great time in Salida at their Art Walk. We didn't really buy much, but it was fun to see the shops. Check out this whimsical three dimensional piece. Allen communes with the wildlife.My favorite store in Salida was probably this fabric and fiber shop, The Fringe.When we weren't visiting or sightseeing or shopping, I worked on hand-piecing these batik pinwheel blocks. I have twenty or so to go, but I already have the backing and border fabric from my excursion to the Great American Quilt Factory where I got lots of helpful advice.
When we got home, we had a couple of days to do laundry before Meghan and Justin and the boys came for the Fourth of July week. Justin and Meghan and I took the boys to the Botanical Gardens to see the butterflies and to play in the children's garden. Taplin found a bench just his size. The boys are so different, not only in appearance, but they are best buddies. It is so sweet to see Bridger taking care of his little brother. We ended their week with us by helping Shannon with her make-over of Nathan's "man room" which she talks talks about in her blog.

That brings us to this past weekend...which will be the topic for the next blog. I have posted many, many more pictures on my Flickr, and I'm still working on getting them organized, but take a look anyway.

June Weekend

2009-06-15T08:33:00.005-05:00

I hate how quickly summer days slide by. I have a long, long mental list of what I think I can accomplish during my weeks off, but then the week is gone, poof, and only a fraction of what I wanted to do is finished. I don't really know how I have time to work during the school year. Anyway, last week, one goal was to finish the June block of the month for The Quilt Show quilt. I am pretty darn proud of myself for sticking with this since it is fairly involved with lots of tiny pieces. I have forty of the little stars and twelve of the big ones put together. I didn't have to rip out nearly as many times this month. Maybe I'm improving, or maybe it's just having more patience being on vacation.This weekend I spent lots of time working on machine quilting my diamond jelly roll quilt. I had lots of help. Allen laughed when he saw Louie snuggled on the stool with his paw and his chin stretched out to rest on my leg.I won't say that the entire weekend was all about Louie and sewing. Allen got to the range Saturday, and we enjoyed eating at a steak place after that for lunch. We would have driven to Guntersville for seafood lunch yesterday, but it was a threatening, stormy Sunday so we went to the grocery store and had pan fried tilapia instead. Mmmm...summer cherries! But yes, much of the weekend really was all about The Dog. Louie roved from sewing with me to sitting on Allen's lap or begging for a game of basketball fetch.He even thought that my porch time was his opportunity to join me for a swing. Seriously, the dog jumped up next to me all on his own and waited by himself for me to get the camera. I guess he likes summer vacation as much as I do!

The Great St. Louis Adventure

2009-06-08T08:42:00.006-05:00

Our big adventure began last Saturday morning with a leisurely drive from Huntsville to Paducah. We only stopped briefly for fast food lunch, and we made it to the Hancocks of Paducah fabric store with plenty of time before they closed at 3 for me to spend money. I picked up the backing for the diamonds jelly roll quilt I've finished peicing, and then we headed for the Residence Inn where the boys got to swim. My two little fish had fun splashing. Bridger liked the independence of the floatie, and Taplin liked having Meghan toss him in the air. Meghan liked spending the boys' energy after the car trip so that they would be able to be calm in the hotel room. We drove through downtown, had Chinese for dinner, and headed "home" to the hotel for some TV and sleep.
Sunday, we drove the second half to the trip to St. Louis and spent a relaxing evening at my brother's house. It was good to visit with John and Mary and let them meet their grand-nephews. Monday morning was hot and sunny, a perfect day for a trip to the St. Louis Zoo. I think Taplin liked the elephants best. Bridger liked the train ride. "Oh, man, that was great!"
Both boys had fun in the children's zoo, especially petting and brushing the goats. Taplin didn't seem to mind too much when the goat head-butted him. Tap's tough.
Monday evening, we left Taplin and Mary at home and headed out to the Bridger's first major league ball game, a Cardinals game at the new Busch Stadium. Bridger was a trooper, walking the eight blocks or so to and from the stadium and intently keeping up with the action at the game. His mommy got him his new Cardinal hat and shirt which he had to put on immediatly. He slept in his shirt when we got home, and he kept his hat close by on the bedpost, but he was most disappointed when Meghan wouldn't let him wear his shirt for the rest of the trip.

Such a beautiful stadium! Allen spent the week in cold, rainy Denver, so I know I made him jealous sending him pictures of the ball park and the Busch beverage Meghan got for me. Ha.
Tuesday was the hottest day of the week. Whew! We went to the Museum of Transportation. Bridger liked the display with the drive in movie theater and thought we should go to see a movie at one. When we got tired, we took a break on a bench in the shade, and John and I were surprised to see that it had a memorial plate attached honoring Willis Goldschmidt. He was the founder of the museum back in the 1940's, and he was our next door neighbor. He was just a couple of years younger than our Dad, and they spent many evenings or Saturdays chatting in the yard. I found a video about Mr. Goldschmidt and the museum - what a trip back in time to see him again. Rose, his wife, and Mom spent plenty of time chatting over the backyard fence. I was always disinvited from those adult conversations when I tried to nose in and listen instead of minding my own backyard business.
Tuesday afternoon included a trip to the Magic House and, unfortunately, a summer thunderstorm that knocked out the museum electricity. We got to go in for a while anyway, and it was light enough because of the large windows, but after a short stay, they decided to close the museum early. Regardless, the boys had a fun time and would have stayed for hours if they could have. Taplin liked driving this truck...

while "Untle John" and Bridger fixed the car.
The rain brought much cooler weather for our trip to St. Charles on Wednesday. I wanted to shop at the quilt store, obviously, but we also had a great lunch at the Winery of the Little Hills, and we shopped in quite a few of the stores on Main Street. I think the most fun was having a cowboy picture of our two little wranglers made at the Tintypery.
Thursday, after a long, rainy drive home, and Friday morning, Meghan let the boys play before heading south to Daphne.
Here's my little ham, Taplin...
and the Everette Brothers...
oh, and Mr. Louie Etheridge, home from the kennel. He was having a hard time keeping his eyes open for the picture, but I know he's happy Allen and I are home and things are right with his world.

Happy me -- a trip to Franklin

2009-05-24T08:30:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was the perfect day for a quick trip to Stitcher's Garden in Franklin. I was looking for sashing and background fabric for a jelly roll quilt I want to make. The pattern is by Joanna Figuora at Fig Tree Quilts. I saw her making this on The Quilt Show and decided I had to try it.
I looked for fabric here and couldn't find what I wanted last week.Nope, none of what you can see in this picture is what I bought for the jelly roll quilt, but I love it all. Love it. Makes me itch to get in my sewing room and start (another) new project. Last week when school was just plain stressful, I came home and headed straight to my room. Allen called up after a half hour, "Are you better?" And I was. Having my own things in my own space just like I left them...bliss.

Of course, we have to leave the door closed so that Louie doesn't rearrange anything. He stretches and strains to get whatever off of Allen's desk. Friday night, he got the remote for Allen's radio and managed to chew up the battery holder. He must have had the battery in his mouth too, but he spit it out. I found it all slobbery on the carpet. He did not get to go along to Franklin, but maybe today he can go to the pet store to get a new bag of chow. Then he can come sit with me, under supervision, and I can cut into my new fabric.

Another week in May

2009-05-17T17:33:00.002-05:00

The highlight of the week had to be having dinner for Shannon, and her Sew Beautiful compatriots, Leighann and Vicki. The four of us went to the Country Living Fair last September, and we're already looking forward to September for the next road trip. Allen spent the week at a conference in Orlando (Is seeing Don Henley perform work?? and how old do you have to be to know all of the lyrics??), so it was the perfect evening for a girls' dinner. We laughed and talked, and I had such a nice evening.
Here is the sewing room cleaned up for company. Actually, I love straightening up between projects and planning the next. I have two projects sitting on the corner of the table, Shannon's big red and yellow quilt to finish, and a hand project in my head. What's that saying? So many quilts (or mountains or whatever), so little time. I am so looking forward to summer vacation which is just days away. This week will be the last full week that I work, and then next week is Memorial Day, two make-up days, and a teacher work day. I know I have summer travel and visitor plans, but the rest of the time, well, I'll be in my sewing room.I am so proud of myself for sticking with my Block of the Month from The Quilt Show. It is challenging and takes time and concentration to complete the blocks.
I competed four different stars with thirty six pieces and then eight sawtooth stars this month. I finally seem to be improving with my accuracy. They actually measured what they were supposed to when I finished, and I didn't have to re-sew most of the seams multiple times. Allen and I were talking at lunch about how so many people seem to think that expecting children to really have to work hard at a skill is somehow harmful. Wrong, wrong, wrong. If I work and work at something and practice, why gee golly, at some point, I improve. Meghan and I have the same "teacher" conversation regularly too. What's wrong with really working and struggling to do something new?Here are the components of the beast so far. Seven months to go. Meanwhile, school tomorrow, work for Allen, and oh, Louie??? Yes, he's here. Stealing underwear from the sorted laundry piles today. Today, he was sneaking around while I was upstairs and Allen was outside, and he was sitting in the hall with a whole collection of socks and underpants. He has practiced until he has it down pat.

Counting Down

2009-05-07T16:27:00.004-05:00

I finished this little baby quilt in just a few days for a friend at school. Dawn is expecting her second little one later this month. They've decided to call him Tripp, and his sweet room is black and white and red. I saw this Michael Miller fabric in Paducah and had to have it. Little boys are so much fun. I named this quilt after the fabric -- Boys Play. I know Dawn is counting down the days. I'm counting down too, but today we learned we have two days added to our calendar to make up for the "flu days" that we had last week. Sigh. Sad. Silly. I am going to focus on the fun things like making this for a precious new baby, working on my block of the month quilt, and looking forward to the weekend...and summer vacation. Louie will play with me, won't you?

How I Spent My May Days Swine Flu Vacation

2009-05-03T13:13:00.004-05:00

With a couple of school holidays due to the swine flu outbreak in Madison County, I set about quilting my batik applique quilt. The quilt has 144 batik circles, all hand appliqued on to 144 squares which I then set together. I used the book Foolproof Machine Quilting by Mary Mashuta to figure out how to machine quilt this one. I love the way it turned out, and while it was time consuming and a bit tedious, I really didn't run into any snags. I will use her ideas again, no doubt. I just am not confident about free motion quilting, especially on a large quilt where I have invested hours and hours.
Here it is finished. Not sure if I will hang it up, put in on the dining room table, or what, but for now, I guess I will put it on the balcony rail. I really had fun making this.
Yesterday, I finished all of the machine work just in time to sit down and enjoy the Kentucky Derby with Allen and Louie. Having just been to Kentucky through horse country, we were looking forward to the race. Louie gets very excited when you say, "TV -- Dogs!!" Poor Louie, I think he thought there were dogs racing on his TV. He was fascinated and watched closely. I sat and hand sewed the binding which was finished by bedtime.
Umm, yes, that sure is a mint julep. We picked up this year's glasses while we were in Lexington last month. Today, we are staying in mostly. It is raining. We have had over five inches in the last several days, I'm sure, and it just keeps coming down. We try to sneak in Louie walks in the lulls. The school district is meeting with EMA folks at 3 this afternoon to decide on any possible closings this week. Allen and I were recalling the swine flu scare in the 70's when it hurt so many pig farmers. It's pretty crazy, but I have had a great little vacation.

2009-04-27T07:28:00.002-05:00

This weekend was just plain delightful. Meghan brought Taplin up to visit. She wanted to spend time with her sister and see their new home, and she wanted to visit Panoply. Meghan is painting these days, and she is working on an after school arts program for her elementary students, so Panoply was the perfect venue for her. Taplin loves music. We visited the Huntsville Symphony tent, and he had a chance to try out the snare drum. He also got to sit in a drum circle with his mommy and join in the rhythm with little egg shakers. He's going to be a musician of some sort, no doubt.
This is the Fiber Collaborative Tree Project. The woman spearheading this effort came to our school, and I made a leaf too. I quilted one and it's is on my Flickr page. I cannot imagine what it will be like when they cover the Saturn V rocket. That is in the works for 2010.
Taplin and his Aunt Shannon enjoyed the summerlike afternoon together at Panoply. Tap is such a happy, happy fellow. He talks and talks and points and enjoys himself. He started whispering at things -- Meghan says that Bridger taught him that. Bridger stayed home with Dad for his soccer game. I missed seeing him, but what fun to spend one on one time with just Taplin.
The lake in Big Springs is teaming with goldfish. Meghan tried to get Tap to put his feet in the water, but no, he did not want to do that. He doesn't like putting his toes down on the grass either. We took his stroller along, but his favorite is to be carried. He liked sharing Grandma's cheeseburger for lunch, and then he loved sharing Mom's ice cream later. "More, more..."

After Meghan left on Sunday, Louie had us to himself again. He is such a sweet dog, he just puts up with anything Taplin does. However, he is obviously jealous and wants to get more attention that he does. He had a big weekend of theivery trying to get us to focus on him. He spent Sunday afternoon on Allen's lap watching Talledega while I set to work finishing my block of the month work. I now have twenty-four of the little stars I will need out of seventy-two, and the first four of the larger stars. This is testing my quilting skills. I thought I would think the little stars were easier this month, but not so. It's back to work, Monday morning. But I think there are just three Mondays left this year, not that I'm counting.

Online Spring Quilt Festival

2009-04-20T16:00:00.005-05:00

On another blog, parkcitygirl, the blogger is hosting a virtual quilt festival. She called for people to post a picture and a blog about a favorite quilt. I think I will be #399 to add a blog. Wow. I had a hard time picking one quilt -- quilts are kind of like your children after you pour your blood, sweat, and tears into them, how can you have a favorite? I decided to post this one that I named Paintbox, because I had such fun making it. The picture doesn't show the colors particulary well, but on my Flickr pictures, it shows up much better. The quilt is all batiks that I bought last year in Denver. I cut the pieces in the hotel room and hand pieced all of the individual blocks. Then I went to the Great American Quilt Factory in Denver, and a very knowedgable (and extremely patient) salesperson helped me pick the sashing and backing. I sewed the patches and sashing by machine and then machine quilted it. It now hangs on the railing of my balcony, and I just love it.

Easter Weekend

2009-04-20T07:28:00.002-05:00

We started last Saturday with Bridger's first soccer game and his debut as a goalie. Three-year-olds playing soccer is a hoot! Then we sped over to church for the Easter Egg Hunt and crafts. Taplin especially liked snuggling with the bunny. The afternoon was shopping for Meghan and me with Taplin to help, and a visit to the Battleship for Grandpa, Bridger, and Justin.
Sunday morning, rise and shine to see if the Easter bunny had come, and sure enough, lots of eggs were hidden for these two handsome fellows. Meghan had them dressed alike, and what a pair they made riding on their cars.

Monday, Allen and I took Meghan and the boys to lunch at DeSoto's in Gulf Shores, and we made stops at the outlet mall and Billy's Seafood. We had to get some shrimp and flounder to bring back to Huntsville, of course. Taplin liked sitting in the oyster shells (and would have used them for teething if his mom would have let him) while Bridger and Grandpa threw the shells in the water.
This is just too sweet! Taplin got to try out his new forward facing car seat. Bridger just adores his little brother, obviously.

The boys and Meghan took a catnap in the car on the way back to Daphne, and they were full of energy by dinnertime. Taplin stuffed himself with spinach at dinner. (Grandma and Grandpa took days to recover.) We had the perfect Easter weekend, and we already miss our beach boys.

Paper Piecing Progress

2009-03-28T14:31:00.002-05:00

Confession: I did not add more segments to our super spring break, and I don't see that happening at this point. However, I have added more of our pictures on Flickr, and I am trying to label and organize those for anyone interested. I took lots of pictures. Lots. It is taking me a while to upload them all.

Meanwhile, I have been steadily working away on my block of the month project. I added the green border and the pinwheels this month, and I did another set of the stars that will eventually be the outside border of the finished quilt. It now measures about 41" square. I am learning quite a bit from this pattern, particularly the importance of being precise. I thought I was pretty detail oriented, but apparently, I have much to learn. In any event, I finished the March assignment with days to spare before April's is posted.

I am glad that Allen is home from his week in the Denver blizzard. We are currently under a tornado watch, and we've had the emergency vehicles on our street for a tree that downed a power line. Hope that is the extent of Saturday excitement and that March goes out like a lamb.

Super Quilts, Super Store, Superman, Super Vacation

2009-03-23T17:07:00.004-05:00

Allen and I had a busy, fun week! Louie spent his time at the doggie hotel, and he had a good week too, it seems. We were worried because on Thursday before we left him, he somehow managed to be out of his cage during the day, and he opened the pantry door and consumed three boxes of crackers. His little tummy was pot-bellied. At first he seemed okay, but by Friday, not so much. What goes in, must come out, if you get my drift. However, by Saturday when we left him, he was back to his silly self.

We helped Shannon and Nathan with their new house Friday and Saturday (Shannon and I painted the living room while Allen worked on the craft center in the laundry area.) Sunday, we drove to our first destination, Paducah, Kentucky. The broken trees are leftovers from a monster ice storm that ravaged most of the state back in January. It was really kind of dismal to see the damage.
On Monday morning, we headed straight to Hancock's of Paducah. I don't know what else to say besides wow. The problems were where to start, what to pick, and how to restrain myself. I was pretty overwhelmed with the selection. Allen solved the problem suggesting that we go on and come back for a second shot at shopping later in the day. I spent plenty and came home with a fun stash and several projects.

Then we headed to the National Quilt Museum. Allen really is a patient man (sometimes), but I don't think he had to work too hard at being patient in the museum. We were both taken in by the craftsmanship, the colors, and variety. They have about 185 quilts on display, some from 1800's, some brand new, some miniature, some full size. We spent a couple of hours strolling through the exhibits. I like my own quilting, but oh my, my quilts pale in comparison.

After a fun lunch at Whaler's Catch, we walked down to the Port of Paducah and watched the local folks, the gulls, and the tow moving the barge along. The port is just about at the convergence of the Ohio and Tennessee Rivers. Sitting on the bench and soaking in the day was a luxury.After a second trip to the quilt store, we drove over to Metropolis, Illinois to see what there was to see. We could have gone gambling, but we just took in the Superman statue, the Superman Superstore, and the Superman on the building. We had a super first day of our Kentucky trip.

I have decided that I can't blog about the whole week in one entry, so maybe I can add a bit each day. Check out my Flickr pictures too. I am posting them a bit at a time as well.

In Like a Lion

2009-03-01T09:55:00.003-06:00

My porch swing is the epitome of a southern porch. It's the perfect spot for sipping iced tea on those steamy afternoons when the air is thick and everything seems to move in slow motion. Today? My red swing is iced in snow frosting, and the wind would blow wet flakes in my face if I dared to sit a spell.
That's my boys, coming home from the first walk of the day.
This is Louie's first snow ever. He was basically nonplussed by it all except that he kept shaking to get the flakes off.
I think the great snow storm of 2009 is just about over. It's very windy and cold for a March morning in 'Bama, but it's fun for a lazy Sunday when we can stay in.

Bridger's and Taplin's (and Louie's) Weekend

2009-02-25T15:47:00.008-06:00

Last week, my fun project was finishing two little whole-cloth quilts (not pieced, just two fabrics with batting) for Bridger and Taplin. Louie loves sleeping snuggled right next to me when I hand sew, so he enjoyed the two evenings spent stitching on the binding.
The bags were from Hobby Lobby and then embellished with ribbon on Taplin's and a strip of the quilt fabric on Bridger's, plus a label on each. It's kind of like Christmas whenever they come to visit. That's the fun of grandparenting: being able to do all of the fun things parents rarely have time and energy to do.
This is Bridger's "Time For" quilt made with Michael Miller ABC fabric and clock fabric.
Taplin's is fabric by the same designer, but polka dots. I had fun quilting this one by ironing on freezer paper circles and stitching around them. Louie would rather be on the quilt, but he is a good fellow to sit and watch the picture taking process.Saturday morning, Louie found Tap's pacifier and thought it was tasty......and Tap found Louie's squeaky hot dog and thought it was tasty...
and Louie's ball is fun too! You cannot take your eyes off of either Taplin or Louie!
We all headed over to the Dog Walk at the Huntsville Botanical Garden. Louie and Bridger got plenty of exercise. Both of them were pretty entertaining and left us laughing. Taplin had a nice stroller ride and liked being outside, but the main objective was to wear Bridger and Taplin down by getting them to run outside, and it worked.

Aren't these three guys good looking?
Saturday evening, Meghan and Shannon went out together to a chick flick, and Grandma and Grandpa settled in with the boys to play in the family room and watch some TV.
See? The expedition to the Dog Walk paid off! Bridger crashed on the floor under Grandpa's quilt and was sawing them off when his mom got back.
Taplin and Louie are going to grow up to be great buddies, and it looks like Taplin could grow up to be a famous piano man. He sure loves music. The minute he hears any song, he bounces in rhythm. He likes to make lots of noise with two hands on the piano.
His newest acquisition is his Lightening McQueen car. He can push backwards, but he hasn't gotten the forward motion going yet. When he and Bridger both get on their ride-ons, won't that be fun! I'm impressed with how easy-going Bridger is with his little brother and how easily he shares his toys with Taplin.
Bridger just amazes us with his coloring and drawing and writing. He writes his name quite clearly and will ask how to write names to label his pictures. Bridger's level of concentration and his dexterity are pretty sophisticated. He likes to cut with scissors and do "trafts" (crafts) with his mommy. He likes puzzles and cars and movies and music and animals and books and best of all, from my perspective, he likes coming to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Winter Weekend in February

2009-02-16T07:24:00.002-06:00

I've been working on a different little project this weekend, but during the week I finished the first eight of seventy two sawtooth stars for my BOM project. They turned out pretty well, and I am really looking forward to March 1 so that I can start on the next part of the project. Who knew this would be such a challenge and so much fun!Louie, did you do that??? Louie had fun most of the weekend, getting into trouble more often than not. He was unusually quiet Saturday evening, so I went looking for him. He had been happily chewing on a corner of the family room rug.

To stave off mischievouness, Louie had lots of walks. What's down under that monkey grass? Snakes? Moles? We have to have it cut back before the new growth begins.
Down the street we go. Trip number five million.
Ooh! Signs of spring...flowers on our neighbor's trees.
It still is plenty wintery looking and February gray, but the neighbor's tulip tree almost looks lacy against the sky.
Daffodils in our garden have already bloomed, but not all of them fortunately. It is supposed to be freezing again by the weekend.

Thinking Big

2009-02-05T17:12:00.005-06:00

Louie, you are not all that tough. You think you are a mastiff, but you are a twenty-three pound sweet little pug. Pug thief. Pug pain in the neck. Pugnacious little fellow, but you are not tough. You just think you are big.
Home repair time. We had a little piece of paint missing on the corner of the hall wall, which is no surprise because it is the busiest, most bumped into corner in the house. When Bridger visited a few weeks ago, Allen noticed him (but did not correct him because, uh, well, that's his little grandson) picking the plaster off the corner. After the grandchildren were long gone, I noticed the six inch patch of plaster missing from the wall. The rest of the hall paint was filthy too, so we had a quick paint job in the hall.
You wouldn't think such a little project would make such a big difference. We probably should thank Bridger because the whole house looks better with the hall painted. These are my little elephants. Allen counted as he took them down: 101 elephants. My favorites are the little planters and toothpick holders that have holes on the backs, but the whole herd is fun. Bridger loves looking at my little animals.
Then there was bunco last week. This was my month to host, so I made shrimp casserole and tried a new (sinful) dessert -- almond tart. How bad can cream cheese, butter, and almonds be? Little dessert, big taste, bigger calories.
My personal challenge the last week has been adding the borders to this quilt beginning. It's February, and this is the second round for my block of the month quilt from thequiltshow.com. This quilt is probably just beyond my skill level; perhaps I think my skills are bigger than they are. However, I am thinking big, hoping I can go the distance. I have had fun picking out fabrics to fill in the gaps of my stash and following the pattern to the best of my ability. Next, I have to make eight stars (eventually a total of fifty-six stars) to be added to a border much later in the year. Shannon and I visited the Quilters Refuge in Decatur this last weekend, and she is trying out her own quilt! Go Shannon. I guess fabric shopping is fun, but not near as exciting as thinking big and signing a contract to buy a house though. Right, Shannon?

A Visit from the Grandsons (and stomach flu too)

2009-01-26T17:46:00.008-06:00

There is absolutely nothing more precious than a little one having a bottle. Pure peace, pure satisfaction. Last weekend, Meghan and Justin and the grandsons came up for a wedding. Unfortunately, dear, sweet Taplin had some sort of stomach bug, and he had a hard time off and on all weekend.
Aunt Shannon and Uncle Nathan joined us for dinner Saturday evening. Shannon is helping Taplin appreciate Grandma's quilts. He liked the red and the buttons, I'd say.
Bubble fun! Bridger likes it when Grandpa fixed him a bubble bath Friday night with the jacuzzi turned on. Taplin and Louie want to help too, but they don't have the luxury of actually getting in with Bridger.Mmmmm. Saturday during the wedding, Bridger and Grandma made chocolate chip cookies. Bridger saw his opportunity to help and scooted the chair across the kitchen. Nothing like licking the spatula. And the beater. And the bowl. None for Louie, the poor, neglected pug.
Uh-oh. Bridger's fine, but by Sunday morning Grandpa had Taplin's stomach bug. By Sunday evening, Grandma had it. Then Aunt Shannon and even Meghan had it. Poor us. The boys and Meghan are coming back in February so that Meghan can go to a conference at A&M. Let's hope everyone stays healthy!
By midweek, I was feeling better and couldn't resist getting back to my sewing. I am working on a paper pieced block of the month quilt on my Internet quilt show, http://www.thequiltshow.com/
To paper piece, you print out the pattern pieces, place the fabric on the back piece by piece, and sew on the lines on the paper. If manipulating objects and using the old noggin stave off Alzheimers, I good for this week, at least. The process really boggled my brain, but towards the end, I got the hang of it. I could never have achieved such precision without the paper piecing.
This is the final product for the January block of the month. I am pretty darn proud of myself. This was not easy for me. It is about 15" square, and it will be the center medalion in a quilt. I don't know if I will follow through for the entire year, but so far, so good. I cleaned up my sewing room after this was finished, and I can report that paper piecing is messy, kind of like having grandchildren around. Of course, the fun far, far, far exceeds the mess.

January Projects

2009-01-12T07:07:00.004-06:00

Isn't this guy wonderful? Shannon finished this tea towel embroidery for me, and he has come home to live in my kitchen. The design is her original idea. It reminds me of some of her paper and pen doodles. She said she almost didn't bother finishing it because of all of the little errors. Sorry, Shannon, but I don't see what you see. This is my new hand sewing project. I cut the circles out and then baste the edges so that I can draw them up around a sheet of heat resistant mylar, iron the edges under, pull out the mylar, and then hand applique them on the squares. I have seen a variety of quilts made with circles, but I am not really using any particular pattern for this. When I'm finished with all of the patches, then I'll machine sew them together. I have an idea for a border, but it will be a while before I get there.Here's my stack of squares and a couple of the circles ready to be appliqued on. I think it will probably end up being 14 x 16 patches per row, a sizable quilt by time I add on a border. Road trip required to purchase the backing, but not for a few weeks.

Louie is happy to have both of us home this week. For all of his mischievousness, he really is a good dog. His best trick is to run to bed on command. He thinks he knows when to go to bed without even being told. Yesterday, we were putting on jackets and rounding up the car keys on our way to lunch, so he took himself to bed and waited happily for us to close the door. Sweet pug.

Christmas Week Flew By!

2009-01-02T11:57:00.005-06:00

Allen and I have been blessed with a wonderful holiday and precious time with our family. Christmas night was perfect, with Shannon and Nathan with us to welcome Meghan, Justin, and the boys. It is fun to have our own children home and exchange gifts with them, but there is nothing like watching little ones open their presents. Bridger exclaimed, "Wow, wow," for each package. He's opening the movie Kung Fu Panda in this picture. Allen and I watched it with him when his parents went out. What a great little film. Bridger is quite the movie nut, but he really enjoys music too. Meghan was playing lines from Disney movies, and he could name the song and movie.
Here he is listening to a CD with the little CD player we got for him. I remember when he was just a tiny fellow how he was fascinated by his daddy's headphones. He will no doubt be a musician of some sort.
Taplin was the entertainment for all of us, including Louie. Louie, who has never had a taste of people food, learned quickly where to wait for treats. Taplin especially liked the dinner rolls, and he likes to feed himself, so that meant lots of bread bites landed on the high chair between his legs. Louie loves Taplin.
Taplin loves his mommy. He follows her when she's in the house. He had a death grip on her leg while she was cooking. He is leaning to say ma-ma, but he's not quite there yet. He has the deepest little voice, and he makes lots of wonderful baby noises. He will watch your mouth intently when you talk to him.
I had one wonderful afternoon with just the boys -- Allen, Taplin, Louie, and Bridger. Taplin is on the move and curious about everything, so while Bridger and Allen watched Wall-E and played with puzzles, Taplin entertained Louie and me. Louie was a thief, as usual, stealing the smallest of Taplin's stacking boxes every few minutes.
We aren't the only luck grandparents in the world. I love this picture of Greg with his little baby Mac. We had two Christmas dinners, one at noon with Shannon, Nathan, Greg, Ruth, Michelle, Sean, and Mac. We love our extended family.
Louie got in on the Christmas gifts too. His plastic squeakly Nathan's hot dog was in his stocking this year.
Nathan and Shannon make a snuggle spot for Bridger on Christmas night. I know Shannon has enjoyed her extra days off even though she loves her job. She invited Allen and me to visit her work and see where she makes graphic magic for the magazine. I drooled on all of the sewing supplies and the huge sewing room.
What a wonderful week of special moments. The holiday has flown by in a blur, but it has been a happy time. I have loved spending quiet time with Allen too. He's been working some because of the go-live with ULA, but he's been home, at least! We rang in the New Year with a day trip to Nashville (to my quilt store which has moved to a new location and to lunch at the Chophouse), and then we spent the evening at home watching movies. Today, the last of the decorations have been stowed in the attic for another year.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

2008-12-24T13:37:00.004-06:00

Louie is ready for Christmas. He's been helping me in the kitchen and watching for the mailman and delivery trucks. Our mail(wo)man has been giving Louie treats when she sees him outside walking. Now he waits for her and thinks all trucks must be for him. He was watching me make dessert to take to Shannon's for Christmas Eve.
I found him sitting under the table looking up at the finished cookies (made with my mom's old cookie cutters). They have been safely relocated to a higher dog-proof counter. Tough luck, Louie, but maybe there is something in your stocking.
And indeed, the stockings are hung. Left to right, they belong to Meghan, Taplin, Justin, Bridger, LOUIE, Allen, Shannon, Jean, and Nathan. Mine is the one my mom made when I was a child, and my brother had a matching one. Allen's Scrooge stocking is appropriate, don't you think? Nathan -- now how did he end up with the biggest one? Louie has been sniffing the toe of Nathan's. We can't let Louie out of our sight. Thanks to Mr. Pug I've re-wrapped a few more presents from under the tree. Wait until he has little boy toys to steal once Bridger and Taplin are here tomorrow night.

Anticipation

2008-12-22T16:47:00.006-06:00

Guess how Allen and I spent Sunday afternoon? We cleaned off the table and the kitchen island, gathered paper, tape, and scissors, and wrapped, wrapped, wrapped. We listened to a Christmas CD that Shannon put together, and we had fun anticipating Christmas. We talked about the years when Shannon and Meghan went to a movie on Christmas Eve so that we had some alone time to hurriedly wrap the Santa gifts. When I was little, we opened presents from Santa on Christmas Eve, but our kids always opened gifts from out of town on Christmas Eve, and Allen and I opened presents from each other and the girls. Santa gifts were opened Christmas morning. This year we will open presents at our house after dinner on Christmas evening after Meghan, Justin, and the boys are here.
I finished a Christmas quilt for the dining room table this week. We'll have nine adults for Christmas lunch -- Nathan's parents, his sister's family from Atlanta, and Uncle Jimmy. Rib roast for dinner. Allen brought home several pounds of deer meat from a friend at his work. I'm not sure how that will be cooked, but it won't be Christmas dinner. I read an autobiographical Truman Capote story to my students last week. He lived in southern Alabama, and he says in the story that they had flapjacks, fried squirrel, and grits for Christmas breakfast. I'll pass on the squirrel.
Aren't they cute? Mwah. Kissing pug salt shakers (a gift from my friend Brenda) are right at home on the border of the new quilt. It's nice to actually see the dining room table where we had accumulated all unwrapped presents. While the stockings are not yet hung by the chimney with care, besides all of wrapping, I managed to take the packages to UPS and they are finally on their way to out of town relatives. Thank goodness school is closed until next year so that I have a bit more time.
The presents are wrapped. (Except for three now, compliments of Louie.) Hmmm. Wonder what's in them! It even feels like Christmas with temperatures this morning in the teens. After nine inches of rain in the last two weeks, the cold and sun are a welcome change. No, Allen, yours is not under the tree. Don't bother looking.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

2008-12-14T10:32:00.004-06:00

Christmas time is especially precious when you can share time and laughter with friends. This is my Bunco group. We have been getting together once a month, playing bunco, eating, and laughing together for what, going on nine years, I think. We are very official -- Lynne helps us keep a running record of who wins and loses each month, and we have a set rotation of who will host which month. We've had just a few changes of faces, but we are a great group of gals. You know, all of us are married (to our first and only husband), all of us have children (half of us are grandmothers), and all of us work or have worked at Mountain Gap. One tradition is to gather for Christmas Bunco and play Dirty Santa. This year, a cold front was threatening to turn rain to snow, so we met an hour early, ate a wonderful meal of lentil soup and salad prepared by our hostess, Biddie, and then played Dirty Santa. No Bunco this time, which is, I think, a first. Next month, my house...
Louie has had a wonderful week of thievery, walks, and naps while Allen has worked at home. So far, he hasn't bothered the Christmas tree much. Ten days, and he will have two little boys to play with. I can't wait.
Allen and I purchased our Christmas present from us to us last Sunday. We visited the studio of Guadalupe Robinson and came away the proud owners of some of her pottery. She is a friendly, talkative, and talented potter who lives just a few minutes from Shannon's house. We enjoyed visiting and getting to know her a bit, and then came the hardest part, choosing what to take home. Merry Christmas to us!

Christmas Decorations and Elephant Cookies

2008-12-07T17:01:00.004-06:00

It takes lots of time and energy to decorate for Christmas, but once I'm finished and the boxes are put away, it is nice to sit back and enjoy the house. Frosty, the Snowman, was a jolly happy soul! These snowmen have been around as long as I can remember. If I have the story right, my mother made these Papier-mâché fellows for my brother when he was little. I am guessing she made them in the 1950s. I think they maybe had hats at one point, but I'm not sure. Anyway, I love them and have them sitting at the top of the stairs. We'll see how long that lasts, but Louie hasn't discovered them yet, or he has and isn't interested.
This nativity set was a gift to me from John and Mary the first year we were married. They brought it back from a trip to the Holy Land. Last year, Bridger arranged and rearranged the people, carefully naming each one and telling me his version of the Christmas story. Then we would have to go to the next room and see the next nativity set and do it all over again. I cannot wait until he is here for Christmas this year. I don't think Taplin will be interested in them yet this year, but he will love the lights on the tree.
And it is a tall tree! We have had this one for six years, and when Allen moans about putting it up, I remind him that for many years, he went with the girls and cut down a tree this big, hauled it a long mile or two, got it into the truck, heaved it into the house, wrestled with a heavy trunk, and finally got it up. The big fresh trees would drink water like crazy, and then they would start to shed. One day, we probably won't have a twelve foot tree, but it is fun for now. I remember that when I was little, we had a real tree in the snowy mountain tree stand that my mom and dad made. There was a stable in front for the nativity. Now that set is in our dining room.
We have lots of Santas that I love, but these three are my quilt Santas. The one in the middle is from John and Mary two years ago. The tall one on the left is by the same artist, Jim Shore, and we got him in Nashville on our weekend trip to the flea market with Shannon and Nathan in October. That same day, Allen surprised me with the Santa on the right. I saw him at the street festival of wood carvers in Franklin, and when I walked on with Shannon, he went back and got him for me. He is a special fellow. When it is time to put the Santas away, he may stay in my quilt room to maintain the Christmas spirit through the year.
We have had a wonderful stretch of excellent weekends. We've especially had fun with our Crimson Tide football parties with Shannon, Nathan, and their friends. Yesterday, we enjoyed the day even though the Florida Gators won. The elephant cookies were a big hit. I don't think Allen even got to eat one before they were gone. I got the cookie cutter at the Country Living Fair back in September, and I followed their recipe. It is definitely a keeper recipe. I haven't made cookies in a long time, but I had fun in the kitchen yesterday making wings and party food and sugar cookies. I guess we can have one more football party for the Sugar Bowl.

Shannon tagged me - favorite movies

2008-11-30T15:04:00.002-06:00

Shannon tagged me. I have to list my favorite five movies. That is pretty hard. However,
I picked fun films I like watching even though I've seen them before. Nothing serious here.

My Cousin Vinny
Down Periscope
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Major League
You've Got Mail

So, Dawn, you've been tagged.

Another Quilt Project

2008-11-30T11:51:00.003-06:00

New quilt finished!I am calling this one Heartland. I found the pattern and most of the batik in Denver, although the backing came from Franklin, TN. I got the idea for using this pattern and the colors flying cross country to Colorado this summer. I guess it's easy to figure out that the pattern is reminiscent of crop circles. A friend at school suggested the name Heartland after I told her of my inspiration for the quilt.
Here are two Colorado quilts hung on the balcony rail.
Next in line is finishing the quilting on this Christmas quilt. I actually made the top last year, but I ran into a few snags quilting it and ended up un-sewing the quilting and putting it aside. I got it out this week, and maybe it will be finished in the next few days.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-11-30T10:35:00.005-06:00

The neighbors on the corner have the best tree - a ginko - and the leaves in the fall turn a brilliant yellow each year. After our first really cold night, they all seem to fall in one day, signaling the end of warm fall days and the onset of more winter-like weather and short days. I noticed that they raked yesterday, so the golden carpet is gone for another year.
Thursday morning, I got up in time to make the traditional pumpkin pies and my mother's recipe of twice baked potatoes. I haven't cooked Thanksgiving dinner in three years, and I guess I may not for a long time. Our new tradition is to go to Greg and Ruth's for dinner along with Nathan and Shannon, his Aunt Dale and his cousin Len and cousin Ricky and his wife and baby girl. We had a lovely day (even though I was under the weather with a nagging virus).
I think the pies turned out perfectly this year. I think there is one piece left.
Louie has been celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday as well. He finds leaves we have dragged in on our shoes and carries them around. He doesn't try to eat them, I don't think, he just likes to have them. It has been gloomy and wet for a couple of days, so he has had a ready supply. What a goof.
And here is Louie, once again celebrating an Alabama win. 36-0. Sweet. Louie loves football days with a house full of people all watching TV with him. Actually, although he will watch a bit of the game, his favorite shows this weekend have been dog competitions. Seriously, he sees the dogs and gets very excited. The best place for him to watch is from our bed so that he doesn't jump at the screen when he focuses and sees the dog.

Allen and I have much to be thankful for. We are blessed with health, our careers, our friends, our family -- especially Meghan and Shannon and our sons-in-law and our wonderful grandchildren, and our home. Our hearts are full.

Just a Little Project

2008-11-19T07:27:00.002-06:00

I finished this little mini-quilt last night. It is totally handsewn, a first for me. I hand pieced it, hand appliqued it, hand quilted it, and then put the binding on by hand. I have no clue how people do intricate bed-size quilts by hand. This is just about 10 x 12 inches, and although I had fun making it, I don't see me ever hand quilting a big one! On to the next project, I guess. Maybe something for Christmas.

Lots to Celebrate

2008-11-11T13:40:00.007-06:00

Louie celebrates his pug life on a daily basis! He really does bask in all of the attention he gets when we are both home. His idea of a perfect day is walk, eat, pester his people while they try to read the paper, rest on the people bed, steal stuff, walk and visit the neighborhood dogs, sit on one lap, sit on another (he's on my lap while I'm typing this), walk, sit on a lap, play with toys, eat, walk, chew a chew, and go to bed to rest up for the next day of dogdom. Louie has quite the life.
Saturday was a picture perfect day. We celebrated our thirty-third anniversary with a drive up to Fayetteville, Tennessee to their Host of Christmas Past weekend. The trees are unusually vibrant this year. We always miss the midwest fall colors in Missouri, but not this year.
This holly tree makes it obvious that we are heading toward the Christmas season already. We did a tiny bit of Christmas shopping at the Ten Thousand Village sale, and we browsed a couple of antique stores, but then it was time to get home for the Alabama-LSU rivalry game. Roll Tide! We had another win to celebrate after a nail-biter of a game. No school today due to Veterans Day. Novemeber is a great month for days off. Last week, school was closed on Election Day (and what a celebration that evening!!), this week for Veterans Day, then three days off Thanksgiving week. Allen's busy working at home, but I am celebrating my day off with some sewing projects. Last year, Shannon gave me this fun book for Christmas, and I decided to put together the little "Bluebird of Happiness" Christmas ornament like the little stuffed guys on the cover. Louie's helping. The big project underway is layering the quilt top I've finished and starting the quilting on it.

Louie's Halloween

2008-11-03T18:33:00.004-06:00

Friday night on Halloween, and Louie is dressed and ready for trick or treaters. He had his choice of Louie the devil dog or Louie the skeleton, and I think he chose the skeleton because of his successful dieting. He is about 23 pounds, big for a pug, but just right for him. He doesn't mind the costume, but he's not so sure about the hood.After a meager handful of trick or treaters, Louie is dead to the world on my lap. Such a sweet boy.Roll Tide, Louie! We certainly enjoyed watching the game Saturday with Shannon and Nathan and their friends Josh and Chris. We fixed shrimp that we got in Gulf Shores over fall break -- shrimp casserole, peel and eat, and a new recipe for shrimp soup. Louie, Louie, where are you? After everyone went home, we were thrilled to stay up to watch Texas Tech beat Texas. Alabama is #1 for the first time since 1980. Louie thought the extra lap time was a winner.

2008-10-27T07:07:00.003-05:00

We had an absolutely perfect October weekend. Friday night, Shannon and Nathan and Allen and I headed up to Nashville in a rented van (so there would be plenty of room for bringing home treasure). After a good night's rest, we were ready to hit the Nashville Flea Market at the state fairgrounds. We bought plenty -- a new quilted Jim Shore Santa for me, an old Coke sign for Nathan and Shannon, some pocket knives for Allen, and assorted other little goodies. Fun day, beautiful weather, lots and lots of walking. After lunch and libation, we hit the square in Franklin so that I could get the backing for the quilt I'm about to finish. Much to our delight, we hit the carver's festival -- wood carvers as well as pumpkin carvers. Allen surprised me by buying a second quilted Santa, this time a hand carved piece. Love it.
Saturday night, we sat in our hotel room and cheered on the Tide. Wow! Eight in a row, and they even showed up the second half to play the entire game. It was kind of fun being in Tennessee to watch Tennessee lose. Roll Tide! Sunday, we had a slow start, but eventually we headed towards Huntsville. We stopped at the Dog Days Flea Market in Ardmore, and look what Shannon found. No, she did not buy one. Nor did we buy one of the tiny pug puppies that were for sale. IF we got another, we would get one from Louie's breeder, but one pug is a lot of pug. We missed him this weekend.
We bought home a huge bowl full of apples with the idea that we will dry them. That's a good project for Halloween week. It's chilly this morning, and it feels like it's almost November. Oh well, back to work today.

Louie's Relaxing October Weekend

2008-10-20T07:22:00.004-05:00

Louie and his people had a relaxing weekend. Saturday morning, and Louie has no big plans for the day, other than to....
...other than to get dressed and watch the Alabama game...
and take a nap on Jean's leg.I spent quite a bit of time working on a new batik quilt this weekend. I am trying out a different technique. Making curved seams is new for me. The little blocks are more challenging than the big ones. I have all eighty of the big ones finished.
There's Louie, keeping me company. Such a silly, silly pug.

Oh well, Fall Break is coming to an end

2008-10-12T13:37:00.005-05:00

What a wonderful end to our fall break -- a trip to the Botanical Garden to see the Scarecrow Trail. Friday morning, Allen and I both took our cameras, and we had a warm autumn stroll through the park. This tree face lurks in the Enchanted Forrest.
These two gourd-headed scarecrows were playing spin the bottle...
and these two were obviously getting married. Saturday afternoon, we went to a real live wedding and then finished the evening watching football with Shannon and Nathan and some of their friends. Louie had the best time. He was sure that the room full of people were there just to visit him. He had fun, and so did his people.
This morning, we headed up to the Huntsville Farmer's Market to get some pumpkins. We met Shannon there, and the hardest part was deciding which ones to take home.
Aren't these the best looking tomatoes? They must be good since the sign said they are from Ethridge, Tennessee. We've visited the Amish community there, but it has been some years. That's a good idea for a road trip in the near future. Fall break might be over, but we try to find time for something fun most weekends. Hmmm. Wonder what our next mini-adventure is. Louie wants to go along, no doubt.

No, it can't already be Friday of Fall Break!

2008-10-10T08:21:00.006-05:00

I know it's been a bit longer than usual between blog entries, but I was on a secret mission. I wanted to surprise both Shannon and Meghan with Halloween quilts, so that is what I was spending my time working on. For a couple of weeks, I spent most free minutes in the sewing room working with these two pieces. The witch wallhanging isn't very big, but I really enjoyed picking the fabrics from my Halloween stash and putting this together. I try some skill that is new to me on each quilt that I do. This one included more freemotion quilting (which you can't see in the picture anyway) than I've done before.
This quilt, named Spiders and Stars, now lives in Daphne with Meghan. Happy Birthday a few weeks early, Meghan. It is abaout 6o" x 84", and that is the biggest quilt I have ever machine quilted. Don't look too closely, because it is anything but perfect. However, it's quilted. I had fun with the fabric and the pattern. The method for putting together the double pinwheels in the middle block was pretty slick. Fall break is wonderful. After starting school the first week in August, I was more than ready for a break. Last Saturday, the first day of vacation, was a fun day. We went to Shannon's church for their bicentennial celebration. We especially enjoyed the cemetary tour lead by Greg Miller, Nathan's dad. He is a fine storyteller, and he knows his history of the church and the area. Check out the Huntsville Times article! Then when we got home, Allen and I enjoyed watching the Crimson Tide win. Not a pretty win, but a win. The best part of the vacation has to be seeing our grandsons. Look at Taplin -- he is five and a half months old, and he is almost ready to crawl. This is the perfect age! He smiles all of the time, he wakes up happy, he loves to eat, he grabs for toys and watches everything, and he makes lots of loud (and low) baby babbling. Such a love.
Bridger is great. He's a challenge for his mom and dad these days, but that is what you'd expect from a not quite three year old. Bridger loves books and puzzles, and he knows all of his letters and their sounds. He talks and talks, and he has a stubborn streak. Wonder where he gets that. Hmmm. Tuesday, we drove down to Gulf Shores - in the rain, through some road flooding - to meet Carol and Mike Gaines and see their new, beautiful cottage. Bridger conned Carol into reading a half-dozen books before we headed to the Hangout for lunch. They introduced us to Billy's Seafood, and Bridger had a wonderful time playing with the piles of oyster shells. Taplin is ready for Halloween in Bridger's elephant outfit. He is a bundle. We love his big, brown eyes.Here's Spiderman, the cowyboy. Bridger likes to dress up, but he hasn't decided what to be for trick or treating quite yet. We read Halloween books over and over and over. No disquising these shrimp. We picked up several pounds at Billy's Seafood and put them on ice to bring home. They are long gone now. We had them for dinner last night with Shannon and Nathan, along with my cornbread. We haven't eaten the snapper fillets yet, but we will today. Is that you, Louie? This is not much of a stretch, because about half the time, Louie really is the devil-dog. He can get into more trouble in five minutes than one can imagine. He spent several days at the kennel while we were gone, but now he's home and happily hunting trouble.

Finally Fall

2008-09-22T19:46:00.003-05:00

It's fall, and fall is so wonderful here. It is warm and less humid, and it is finally nice to be outdoors. Allen and I went to the Art Show on Monte Sano on Saturday morning. The acorns took us about five minutes to collect when we were on our way to the car. The green and yellow and brown are beautiful. Nature is art.
We splurged and bought one piece of pottery from Guadalupe Robinson, a Huntsville artist. We have always enjoyed her work, but we've never felt we could afford it before. This small bowl with beans is just our first piece from her, we hope. She had a fish bowl we liked as well, and there were some much larger pieces we drooled over. Next time.Last weekend, I saw the flower arrangers use this sugar mold as a set of vases. A bunch of flowers from Target, and I am up there with the pros. Right.
Louie, Louie, Louie, Louie. I see you looking at me, plotting your next heist. He has decided that newspapers are fun to steal and run with. I am starting to believe that the best way to handle the thievery is to ignore it. He hates that. Folding my arms and turning my back makes him upset. Poor fellow, Louie has had a bit of a skin infection this week on his neck, so he is all natural - no collar except for his walks. It's nice to take him out in the autumn sun, and he can't steal much (except mushrooms) when he's on a leash.

Country Living Fair

2008-09-15T17:23:00.005-05:00

What a great weekend! Shannon invited me to go with her and two other people from work to Columbus, Ohio, for the Country Living Fair. I can't always take off work, but this time I could. I am so glad that I did! We had an excellent time, even considering the rainy, hot weather. The venue, the state fairgrounds, provided plenty of room for all of the tents, displays, seminars, and, of course, all of the people.
These are spinner gourds. We learned how to take dried gourds, clean them up, and then polish them so that they last for years. By the time we left at the close on Saturday, this display was looking a bit depleted.It rained on Friday, and rained, and rained, and rained. I love this vendor's interpretation of an umbrella tree. I was glad that I made the trip to the store before we left home to buy a small, foldable umbrella. I bought a Country Living tote bag on Friday so that I could carry my raincoat (too hot for it in spite of the rain) and the goodies that I bought.
This was one of my favorites, obviously. The shop is in Iowa, and this is the quilt commissioned for Country Living. I bought this pattern and another little one. Shannon's going to try needle punch, and Vicky liked the looms.
Speaking of weaving, I bought a long, narrow basket to either hang or to use on the dining room table. Her baskets have been in several magazines, and although they aren't oak, I just really liked them. I bought a few other things, but this was the big prize.
One of the best parts of the fair were the seminars. This one by Country Living contributing editors taught me about tablescapes with flowers and holiday items. The other one I enjoyed was no-sew or low-sew bags. We need to have a no-sew bag party now. The presenters made the ideas seem accessible and easy enough for me to try.
The road trip from Huntsville to Columbus takes about eight hours, but when you're comfortable in a new rental van, and you enjoy the company and laugh enough, the trip doesn't seem that long. Driving home through Kentucky was exciting considering the "wind emergency" in the state. This tobacco truck isn't something we see every day in Huntsville. We made it back safely by early evening even though Hurricane Ike hiked the gas prices. We saw the highest price here in Huntsville, $4.89 per gallon on Governor's Drive. Our last fill-up was a mere $4.59, but there was a ten gallon limit. In any event, I am glad I spent the weekend with Shannon. Such fun! I would love to go back again.

Louie Says "Roll Tide"

2008-09-07T18:10:00.004-05:00

It wasn't pretty, but Alabama beat Tulane last night. We weren't planning on it, but at the last minute we decided to do pay-per-view and watch the game. We don't mind paying, but why can't they broadcast in high def? We figured if we bought the pay-per-view for all of the games that weren't on regular TV, it wouldn't add up to the cost of going to even one game. Anyway, Louie loves football games. For him, it means that both his people are in the same room watching television, so he can sleep on either lap. Halftime is a quick trip down the block, and then more love for Louie. I remember last year each time we would yell because of something in the game, he would get terribly excited and upset. This year? He opened one eye once, but besides that, he just snuggled down and napped.

Labor Day Laziness and Louie

2008-09-01T07:36:00.006-05:00

Elephants on Parade is finished. Nope, not Republican elephants. These are happy batik elephants. I bought the center panel at the Mountain Vally Quilt Shop in LaVeta, Colorado at the quilt shop in July.
I played with some decorative stitches and beads. I am going to have to learn how to do free motion quilting, I guess. Happy colors, happy elephants, happy quilt.

Sunday morning we headed to Scottsboro for the First Monday Art in the Park Sunday. Crazy name, but it is the art show on Sunday which coincides with the monthly trade day each first Monday on the Jackson County Couthouse square in Scottsboro. The biggest one of the year is always Labor Day weekend. This is such a typical hazy view as we drove east past Paint Rock on 72. We didn't ever make it to the trade day because it was too hot and humid and because we spent our money on baskets. We saw the table of white oak baskets and hurried over. We have been buying from B. L. Kelly for about fifteen years now. He lives in Rainbow City, and he does all of the work himself on his baskets. He only goes to several shows each year, but he has a loyal following. He said he'd been busy all morning selling, and what we saw out on his tables was all he had left.
Mr. Kelly signs his baskets for us. I wonder how many he's made all together? I wonder how many we've actually purchased? Lots. We are thinking of gathering them all together in one place to take a picture. I asked him if he minded us taking pictures, and he said we weren't the first with a camera yesterday. He'd like us to send him some.
Mr. Kelly and his wife always recognize us and ask after our family. They told us they are closing in on sixty-three years of marriage. When I said they must have married young, he said he was sixteen, and she was seventeen. Who says marriages like that won't last! Let's see, we're closing in on thirty-three. In thirty years, we'll be about eighty-six. Hmmm.Louie didn't get to go along, but he is enjoying his weekend too. Don't let this lap dog fool you into thinking he's innocent. He has his own baskets of toys, so he's discovered that if he dumps over baskets, they usually have something in them. If his leash basket is in his reach, he dumps it so that he can steal the plastic picker-upper poop bags. He also stands on his hind legs, strains to reach the kitchen table, and when he can knock the basket off, he's rewarded with paper napkins to steal. We've found trails of napkins through the house on more than one occasion.

Weekend Recap

2008-08-25T18:43:00.007-05:00

Friday night - 11:00 P.M. Meghan, Justin, Bridger, and Taplin arrive after a long drive. Bridger got out of the car asking for apple juice and a movie. What grandparents could refuse such a sweet guy? Louie is happy to have company and share the pallet on the family room floor.Friday night 11:45 P.M. It might be close to midnight, but Taplin is still a happy little one. Clean jammies, a bottle, and Mommy is all it takes. He's grown so much in the last four weeks. Saturday morning, 9:00 A.M. -- Breakfast with Cherise, Jenny, and Meghan and their husbands. It's hard to believe these three graduated from Grissom ten years ago. Three fine young women, if I don't say so myself. Cherise lives in D.C., and Jenny lives in the Dayton area.
Saturday, 1:00 P.M. No nap for Bridger. It's time to play. He can build roads and race cars for hours and hours. Brrrrmmmm, brrrrmmmm. When he get tired of that, he takes a break for a puzzle or two, then back to the cars. Hours and hours of cars. 2:00 P.M. Saturday - Aunt Shannon and the boys share a moment. I guess Louie is one of the boys. Later in the afternoon -- Uncle Nathan takes a turn with Taplin. 4:oo P.M. Bridger and Taplin get to meet Nathan and Shannon's nephew, eight-month-old Mac. 6:00 P.M. - Spiderman protects his mom. He's our super-grandson!
Taplin's looking all grown up. At four months, he weighs 14 pounds 12 ounces, and he is about 26 inches long. Check out that hair!Taplin is a happy baby. He cries for his bottle or when he first wakes up, but he is usually ready with a smile. His arms and legs are on the move, and he is wide-eyed and curious.9:00 P.M. Saturday -- It's an Everette Sandwich. Don't squish Taplin!! 10:oo P.M. Two tired guys watch some T.V.
Sunday morning, we take it slow, and then the Millers, Everettes, and Etheridges head out to lunch before the boys and Justin and Meghan hit the road south.

Sieze the Day

2008-08-17T19:01:00.003-05:00

Saturday morning, we decided that life is short. We needed to leave the laundry and cleaning and the work world behind and put some miles on our new car. Shoot, gas is down to about $3.50 a gallon, and we're getting about 34 mpg on the highway. Why not! If you don't recognize the city, it is Nashville. We went downtown to the Farmer's Market first. The colors and buzz of people made it seem more like a festival. Tomatoes were in abundance, but we didn't buy any this time. We did get green beans, new potatoes, and peppers. I don't think we can eat all of the peppers this week, but we did have one chopped up in our hash browns at lunch today. Sweet, sweet flavor. Look at the size of these guys. They are sitting in my giant dough bowl, so the ordinary sized ones look little. However, the truth is that the bigger red and yellow ones are actually giant. The market is in several buildings. We had a terrific fun in the international shop, which seemed to primarily carry Indian spices and foods. Since we ate at an Indian restaurant this summer in Denver with Allen's colleagues who are from India, we recognized many more of the items than we would have. Their prices were excellent, so we came home with a bag of treasure like star anise and colorful mint coated fennel seed. That is typically used as an after dinner mint.We opted for small bags, not the giant size like this bag of turmeric. I rarely, if ever, have used turmeric and cannot imagine why anyone would use this much unless it was for a restaurant. Shopping for food left us hungry, so on the way to the quilt store in Franklin (you didn't think we'd skip that, did you??), we ate at the Franklin Chop House. I had beef medallions cooked in garlic butter on a bed of mashed potatoes and fried okra on the side. Excellent.

Louie felt left out yesterday, I guess. Today, he had a long walk with Allen and several other short walks too, but that didn't mean he was too tired to stay out of trouble. While I was sewing, he kept attacking my foot that controls the sewing machine. Not a good plan at all! I tried sewing with him on my lap, but that was just impossible, so I picked him up and planted him on the sewing stool I have stowed under my cutting table. I couldn't tell if he was terrified or terribly proud of himself for being up there. Poor Louie. He loves spending time with me, probably even when I won't play his games, but tomorrow is a school day.

Thank goodness for weekends

2008-08-10T11:32:00.003-05:00

If Louie could read, maybe he wouldn't be so busy stealing things. This is a catalog. Maybe he wants to go shopping. The key thing is that he can get our attention by stealing things. If we could conquer this problem, he would be the perfect pug. More or less.
This is what Louie thinks he should do on Sunday morning. It's pretty much the same thing that I like to do on Sunday morning. Of course, I actually read the paper, while he likes to snuggle down by me while I read. He enjoys having me home, and after going back to school this week and spending so many hours there, I agree with him totally.

2008-08-03T17:04:00.005-05:00

I don't know why these pictures look fuzzy because they really aren't if you click on them to enlarge them or if you look at them on my Flickr pages.
In any event, I finished this vacation projects last night! I had such fun making this batik quilt. I hand pieced the blocks mostly while we were in Denver, and I found the green sashing material as well as the backing at the Great American Quilt Factory there. Then I machine quilted it to the best of my limited machine quilting ability, and I finished the binding last night. I am calling it Paintbox because it reminds of of a watercoloring box when the drips from one color spill into another. Right now it is hanging on the banister of our balcony.
Who is the handsome little fellow with my handsome son-in-law Nathan? Let me introduce Nathan's sister Michelle's baby Mac. He is just adorable.
I love hand pictures. Nathan and Mac are playing a duet. I don't think Mac had played on a piano before. He was a little shy at first, but he had fun with Nathan and Shannon pressing keys.
Oh Louie, you're being as tolerant as a pug can be, aren't you! Louie turned one in June, and Mac is about seven months old, born at Christmas time.Saturday was a horribly hot, muggy Alabama roaster of a day. The heat didn't keep it from being a busy day at the Farmer's Market. This is Peaches and Cream corn, just the best in my opinion. One dozen ears for $5 - a bargain this year.The pepper guy had a bounty of colorful vegetables. We bought poblano peppers (for stuffed peppers), some jalepeno peppers, and green peppers. The colors are vibrant, and the green banana peppers reminds me of my quilt. Besides the corn and peppers, we also picked up green beans, potatoes, watermelon, zucchini, onions. Support your local growers.

End of July - End of Vacation

2008-07-31T17:02:00.009-05:00

This past weekend was great fun. We took a quick trip to Mobile to be with Meghan and Justin for Taplin's baptism. The brothers are a treat for Grandma and Grandpa! After the service, Meghan put together a little reception in the parlor after the service with cake and punch. Great photo opportunity! Taplin has on his daddy's christening outfit. He'll be too big to wear it next week. Bridger liked the cake part!
Oh well, back to Huntsville and then back to school for me. Some people say that teachers going back to school in July is ridiculous. I don't have any strong feelings about that because I enjoy having vacation begin at the end of May when the weather is so wonderful in Huntsville. Now, it is just hot and humid, and I may as well be inside. Louie stealing a back scratcher and then holding it up, well, that really is ridiculous.

This is the downhill half of the train ride that we took in LaVeta in July. I should have posted it several weeks ago, but I didn't. However, at the end of vacation (can't say end of summer when it is still July) it is bitter sweet to look back and relive some great moments.

Wrapping up some projects

2008-07-25T14:30:00.004-05:00

This has been a wonderfully stress free, schedule free week. I puttered around the house, and I worked a wee bit, a very wee bit, on school prep, but mostly I played on the computer and spent time in my sewing room. I actually finished a few projects, or at least I am close. This is the batik quilt that I worked on during our two week Colorado time. I hand pieced the squares, a first for me, and then I found the sashing green batik at the Great American Quilt Factory in Denver with help from one very kind woman who works there. I really enjoyed the hand piecing, which I never thought I would even try. This wasn't a complicated pattern or one with points that had to match, but I might try another one.
Now I'm working on machine quilting it. I see all of my own mistakes when I quilt like this, and I get frustrated with my lack of skill in machine quilting. However, I know that once it is finished, the little problems will fade and I will like it much better than I do right this minute. I am using my walking foot, not, I repeat not, doing free motion quilting. Maybe a smaller piece after lots of practice. The red and yellow quilt hasn't progressed this week except to be moved out of the way for the moment.This was a fun pincushion project that I played with one morning. How come I find stuffing so difficult? It seems like it would be child's play. The yellow button, by the way, has been floating around in my button jar forever. It came from something my mother made at some point. Who knows. Buttons are fun.
I used the new pincushion while I put the binding on the Green Mountain Stars quilt. Last weekend, my machine quilter Lin Hayden called to say that my quilt was ready to be picked up. I took it to her last October or November, and I was so excited to finally see it quilted. I can't imagine doing one this size myself. I spent several evenings on the binding, and Louie loved pressing up against me while I worked.
It's finished! I don't have any place big enough to spread it out. It's for our bed when the weather turns cooler. Like the other bed size quilts I've done, it is a very warm quilt. Cozy. I won't be too excited to let Louie on it. This quilt took more thinking, especially the border. I am pretty proud of it. I had no idea that this quilting thing would be so addictive.

Louie's Weekend

2008-07-21T11:45:00.006-05:00

Louie had a great weekend because we were mostly home with him.
Good boy, Louie! That's your own rawhide, not something that belongs to people. Louie loves to sleep on the red couch when someone works on the computer. He was keeping an eye on us Sunday afternoon while we hung the new quilt that I finished.It looks good, I think. I like how whole rooms look different when you change one little thing. I am getting ready for school to start, and that means I'll be in this room even more. I am pretty excited about my new Shannon Miller Creative designed school web site. Thank you, Shannon!
Oh, Louie, you love helping Allen write important email, don't you. The funny thing is that he wants to sit on our lap or on the couch or on the bed, but he can only jump up on the red one upstairs by himself. He needs a lift for anything higher, so although he asks to get up, the minute we go to help him, he evades our touch. I do, but I don't. Kind of like Bridger's two-year-old thinking. He enjoyed reading the Sunday morning paper with us, and he spent the evening on the couch helping me do some hand sewing.
Too bad the weekend is over. What???? Where are you Louie? Are you helping with Monday laundry? Is the underwear load your favorite?

Seeing Red

2008-07-18T09:35:00.003-05:00

The Etheridge car history: Our first car was a 1970 red VW bug that we had when we first moved to St. Louis in 1976. It had standard transmission that was about to die, and Allen was afraid to let me learn to drive standard on it because it was so temperamental. Next, we had a new, white VW Rabbit, again with standard transmission, but I did learn to drive that one. I remember the payments were $99, and the car cost $3999. When I was about eight months pregnant with Meghan, someone drove into the passenger door. We added a 1980 brown Toyota Corolla and had two cars for a while, but then I worked down the street at Cross Keys Middle School, and Allen did accounting for McDonnell Douglas and moved to an office within walking distance. We thought it was silly to own two cars, so we sold the Rabbit, but immediately, I was transferred to a school twenty minutes away. It was a pain to have two kids, two jobs, and one car, but we lived.
Eventually we added a 1984 white Toyota Forerunner for Allen, and he drove it for a long time until he traded it for his 1990 Toyota truck. He drives a 2003 grey Corolla now, but he misses his truck. If it weren't for the fact that his office is forty something miles from here, he'd still have a truck, I imagine. What else have we owned? My red Corolla, my maroon Maxima (never did like that car much), a leased white Camry (loved it, but leasing was a bad idea), and then the white Chevy Lumina. It was okay for a while, but then we went to the North Carolina mountains, and the engine was never right after that. We let Shannon have it when she first started to drive, but the repairs ate us up. Back to trusty Toyotas.
Other cars we've bought -- Meghan's first blue Mazda when she was sixteen (no airbags, standard transmission), and the her green Corolla which still is her car, and then Shannon's Corolla that she currently drives. For me, after the Lumina, it was back to a white 2002 Camry which I drove 96,000 miles. We traded it Saturday for this pretty RED, not white, 2009 Camry. Unfortunately, my car payments are not $99 this time, but I imagine we'll have enjoy this car for miles and miles. I didn't want leather seats because of Louie, but I think I'll cover the cloth seats anyway for a while. No Louie, I don't want hair everywhere yet. The car is not yours, it is mine.
Red is the color of the day. Here is the wall quilt I designed that I finished this week. I started it the day Taplin was born. By the way, Meghan says he rolls over now, tummy to back. He's sleeping all night, and he makes lots of talking noises. His baptism will be July 27. We will be there -- in my new red car. No Louie, you aren't going.

She'll be coming 'round the mountain

2008-07-14T09:07:00.007-05:00

It's going to take me a while to post our pictures on my Flickr account. Allen took this little video was at the top of the mountain in Fir. A diesel engine took us up the mountain, and then when this train met ours, they switched engines and we took this one back down.

Here she comes!

Louie 's Glad We Are Home!

2008-07-10T13:38:00.012-05:00

What a fun two weeks in Colorado! Of course, one of the most important parts of the trip was being able to see Joan and Frank. We visited at their home, and we also got to see Jonie for dinner too. We took a day trip and enjoyed the scenery as we drove up through Boulder to Estes Park for lunch. Allen and I drove to downtown Denver the first Sunday morning. You really can't safely take Allen anywhere, you know. We walked down the Sixteenth Street Mall and had lunch at Wynkoop Brewery before we headed back to the Denver Art Museum. The outdoor museum art was fun, especially Allen in the dustpan. This is one of the Gees Bend Quilts made from work clothes. We checked on the museum site, and it said photography was permitted unless posted, and we didn't see anything saying we couldn't take pictures in this gallery. Apparently, we were wrong. Oops! I got in trouble with the museum security. The display was fascinating and included a large number of the Gees Bend quilts, but the quilts upstairs only involved a handful of Amish pieces which are part of the museum's permanent collection. The contrast between the two kinds of work was very distinct - one bold and primitive, the other controlled and detailed.Aren't these lobelia beautiful? They are on the porch of the Mountain Man Gallery in Como. We bought some handmade aspen bowls made by an older gentleman who lives in Woodland Park. We bought some of his work last summer when he first started doing woodwork. We understand he was not well this winter and made bowls to pass the time.We headed over Boreas Pass which runs from Como to Breckenridge. Last year, we saw fields and fields of flowers, but we were a bit too early in the season. Lots of snow this winter and a pretty warm June makes for high water in the creeks and rivers.We drove over Loveland Pass. It was extremely windy and cold. I can't figure out how in the world the bicyclists pedal up there to the top!I had lots of time to play while Allen worked, so I visited as many quilt stores as I could and worked diligently on building my stash. I have been to the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum in Golden several times now, and I will surely go again the next time I have the opportunity. This time they had an exhibit of quilts by contemporary African American women and an exhibit of reproduction quilts from before 1840.This picture is for you, Shannon! I spent a wonderful day with Dad's bosses' wife (also a talented quilter) in Castle Rock. She took me to this sweet bakery for lunch. Look at the cake stands and drool.The highlight of the two weeks was the three day weekend in LeVeta. I belong to The Quilt Show, an internet show and blog produced by quilt gurus Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. This is where they film the show and where Ricky Tims holds seminars and workshops.We road the train up the mountain and back down, diesel engine up, and this engine down. Riding in the dome car provided spectacular views and opportunities for oodles of pictures.

We got back after midnight Tuesday after a wonderful two weeks -- planes, trains, automobile road trips, snow, summer flowers, time with Allen, time with Joan and Frank, lots of good food, and quilt stores along the way! The only thing missing was Louie.

On the Road

2008-06-24T08:46:00.007-05:00

Louie likes to ride in the car. He usually just sits patiently and thinks pug thoughts about where he might be going. Yesterday, he took a ride to the vet to check out his skin infection on his tummy. After a round of antibiotics and some topical meds, he is in great shape. He's lost a few pounds of puppy fat, and he's looking good at 24.5 pounds.Bridger is back at home. He entertained us with his ABC's for many miles on Friday. At first he didn't think he wanted to go home, but by time we were in Baldwin County, he was pretty darn excited to see his mommy and daddy. We had a long, long, long ride back to Huntsville on Saturday. We made a couple of stops in the morning one to get some red snapper and some giant shrimp at the Southern Fish and Oyster Company in downtown Mobile. It is always fun to get the seafood from the source. Barry usually waits on us. They took a big hit when Katrina blew through, but they are back to normal, and business was bustling early Saturday. We also enjoyed a stop at the Conecuh Sausage Company store in Evergreen where we picked up some bacon and sausage. However, then traffic came to a total stop on Highway 65 due to construction in Montgomery. We finally took an alternate road, H31, and picked up the main highway in Prattville. The whole trip including the stops took a whopping nine hours.
We're back in Huntsville, and Allen is back to work. I always ask if he is putting out fires on his project, and I guess the answer is clear from this picture. (Obviously, this is in Bridger's and Taplin's room. Allen did not crawl in the fire truck through the door -- he put in on. Very funny.)

Three, Two, One, Blast Off!

2008-06-22T08:57:00.005-05:00

Thursday, Bridger and I took a field trip to see rockets. I suppose one might think that he is too little to get much out of it, but we each enjoyed the day at our own level. Yes, lots of the Space and Rocket Center was over his head, both figuratively and literally, but to be fair, my understanding of space exploration is pretty darn limited too. Who cares - we had a fun time.Bridger walked on the moon in the new Davidson Center for Space Exploration. It was nice that it wasn't so busy. Without too many people, he could wander and pick what he wanted to look at. Lots of legwork for a short guy. One of his favorite things to see was the water tank replica which is used to train astronauts to work in weightlessness. We saw two scuba divers who were doing acrobatics. They waved at us, and that was funny, but when they swam up to the window, Bridger was ready to walk away.I think we broke a few rules while we were there. He wasn't really "climbing" on the display, was he?All astronauts need to eat. Bridger's choice was popcorn shrimp. Yum. Who knows what Bridger will end up doing when he is older! He is one smart fellow. Ready for blast off!

Evertyhing is fun with a grandson

2008-06-18T17:59:00.004-05:00

Feed Louie. Two scoops of Science Diet. Water the plants. Wash Bridger's clothes. Make sure the stains washed out of Bridger's new linen pants. Love the pockets. Fold little boy laundry.Bathe the little one.

Little Guy, Lots to Say

2008-06-18T08:02:00.011-05:00

Bridger tickles me with all he has to say. Last night, he helped me water porch plants. When his container was out of water, he declared, "My can is eminee." This morning, he wanted to put a pillow on the floor, and he said, "I want to make a pallet for myself." How many two-year-olds say that!! He chatters all of the time. All of the time. Most of the time I can understand him perfectly. Sometimes it is a bit more challenging. Yesterday, he kept repeating that "Grandpa sares." I couldn't figure it out until he said, "Pooh sares my bed with me, and Grandpa sares with you." Geez. I should have known. He is pretty articulate. He says "Tooper" instead of Cooper and "tay" instead of okay, but he's made progress with other words like "Ooie" which is now really Louie. He is quite the polite fellow too. When I told him I was proud of him for going potty this morning all by himself, he said, "You're welcome." He frequently says, "Yeah," but he is working on "Yes, ma'am," and he always, always says "Please" and "Thank you." Last night, he recited the blessing for dinner without stumbling: "God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our food. Amen."

A few frequent Bridger expressions:

I need some more juice.
Grandpa, where are you?
No, Louie. No. (Of course, we all say that!)
Where Mommy is?
There we go.
One day....and one day...and one day (He is quite the story-teller.)
And then what we going to do next?
What else?
Me efer.
Not yet.
Not today.
I want to do it. I can do it.
I don't like it. But I do.
Play with me.
No. I don't want to go. But I do.
Look at me. Watch me , Grandma.
Bow wow chicka bow wow
I want to do my ABCs. (at Starfall.com)
Ummmm. Probably.
But I don't want to go to bed. I'm not tired.

Louie Has Important Company

2008-06-14T11:36:00.008-05:00

Taplin's first visit to Huntsville! Louie decided he wasn't going to lose out on his evening snuggle with me, even if he had to share it with Taplin. Taplin is the perfect size for holding. He loves being held closely, especially on someone's chest. I suppose it is comforting to hear the heartbeat. He only cries when he is hungry or needs changing. Meghan says he has a fussy time about seven each evening, but he is by no means a fussy little guy. His hair reminds me of Shannon when she was little. I can see that he resembles his brother a bit, but not totally. He moves and moves and moves when he is awake and alert, wide-eyed and craning his neck to look around. He holds up his head well for being just seven weeks old. Meghan thinks he weighs about twelve pounds now.Time for a walk with Louie and Bridger. Bridger likes to walk with me down the block, and he chatters the whole way. He picks up treasures along the way, something for Mommy, Taplin, and Grandpa back at home. With Bridger holding one of my hands and the leash in the other, we ever so slowly make our way to the corner and back. Bridger wants to hold the leash, but Louie is strong and pulls too much.Where's Taplin? On the dining room table. Such a precious little fellow. His arms are long and moving constantly. He seems so intent, so serious.Friday afternoon, Meghan, Bridger, and Grandma (Grandpa babysat Taplin) took a trip to Bridge Street where we had lunch and and did a bit of shopping. Bridger had a ride on the merry-go-round. It was hard to decide what animal to choose, but the rabbit won. He told me last night the ride was fast and fast and fast. Meghan shopped for a necklace for Aunt Shannon, while Bridger and I looked at everything in the store. He loved the bracelet display, and he thought he looked pretty good with five wooden ones on his arm.
Here's Bridger standing tall on the horse statue in front of P.F. Chang's. And here's Bridger with his green lollipop in the green chair. Saturday morning, Louie's on the job making sure Taplin is okay. Louie seems to be pretty concerned when Taplin makes noise and moves around.
Are you all right, Taplin? Yesterday, Louie stole Taplin's pacifier and a diaper and a baby outfit and a puzzle piece and a block and Meghan's shoes and...but at least he seems to be very gentle with the baby. Bridger wants to play games with Louie, and the two of them get along pretty well until Louie gets too rambunctious. Right now, Meghan and the boys have gone to lunch with an old friend of Meghan's, and Louie is sound asleep, recharging before they come back and Louie has to get back to his job of watching the baby and entertaining Bridger.

Hot days in June

2008-06-10T19:37:00.006-05:00

We have had a string of hot, summer-like days in Hunstville. This is the first time we've had to water the grass this year. The yard looks like we spent hours and hours weeding, trimming, and mulching, but the thanks all go to Josh, our young landscape guy. His and his crew finished in hours what we would never have accomplished this season. This little robin is enjoying the water.The porch plants seem to love the heat and bright days.Oooh - new book for me! I picked this up with my Mother's Day gift card to Barnes and Noble, and I am sure I am going to love picking this up and reading the articles. The Quilter's Catalog is up to date, easy to read, and full of useful info. Louie tried to eat the magazine with the directions in it for the quilt I am making out of all of these gorgeous batiks. I actually have three projects going at once right now, but they are all very different and are at different stages. I meant to do this batik on our Denver trip (and I may still be working on it) , but I couldn't resist getting into the fabric.This is the one for Shannon, and I am probably close to half finished. She wanted lots of little pieces, and that is what this will be. The little squares measure 1" x 1" finished. Don't hold your breath, Shannon. It won't be finished any time soon. I love how easily it falls together, but it still takes times. The third project is red and black applique, and I have 9 out of 12 rows of rectangles finished. Reminder to self - don't sew on black.Louie gets worn out in the heat too. He likes walking, but when he comes in, he is pretty calm. I put a freshly washed towel in his crate, and he promptly dragged it to the dining room for a nap. He had to store up his energy before his buddies, Shannon and Nathan came for grilled chicken and garbanzo bean salad.
Aaaah. Louie loves laps. Nathan's lap it just the right size.

We see you, Louie.

2008-06-07T08:36:00.002-05:00

Allen came home from yet another week in Denver, but unfortunately, he wasn't feeling well and landed on the couch. Louie thought that was an invitation to get some attention.
Louie looks pretty worried. You're okay, aren't you, Allen?
So if you are going to sleep on the couch and ignore me, I am going to steal your glasses. So there.

Hanging out at home with Louie

2008-06-05T18:26:00.004-05:00

This morning, Louie took his walk, had his two scoops of Science Diet, worked on a new chew, and generally enjoyed hanging around the house.
He heard me take his picture, so he took off running, hanger and all. Louie knew he had something that didn't belong to him, so he wouldn't even look at me.
Caught him in the act of stealing something. What do you have? Hey, sit. Leave it. It's not yours, Louie.
That is my shoe, you little pug, you.
This Bama birdhouse is ready to hang outside. Roll Tide! Brenda brought it to me from her trip to the beach last week. I picked up her mail and newspapers, and she surely didn't need to bring me a gift, but this is a sweet present, especially from an Auburn fan. We had a great time at lunch and the movies today!

Summer Surprises

2008-06-04T17:47:00.005-05:00

The best parts of summer (especially for a teacher who is on vacation) are the little unexpected things that happen. I have had one of those exceptional days that began with sleeping way later than usual. I think getting up early starts with having children who get you up at the crack of dawn. Then the early hours are reinforced by years of an alarm set for band camp or gymnastic meets or something. Years and years of NPR waking us up for work set the body clock more or less permanently. However, today it was 8:00 AM before I woke up. When I was a kid at home, I probably would have slept away many summer days if Mom or my brother hadn't woken me. Seems to me, I remember some pretty obnoxious awakenings way back when. I was dressed and ready in plenty of time to have lunch with my friend Marylou whom I haven't seen in a good long while. We went to I Love Sushi and then went to look at the new house she has halfway moved into. When I got home, there were two packages waiting. One, not for me. Boring. The other not so boring at all. Mary and John read my blog and saw that I wanted to fix my pork steaks with Mauls. The sent me two bottles from St. Louis. I already told Allen that we will have to have pork steaks this weekend. Makes my mouth water. I can just hear the jingle, "Don't baste your bar-be-cue, Maul it!"So why the picture of the funny scissors? After I walked Louie and opened the mail this afternoon, my friend Lynn who teaches FCS (back in the day it was Home EC, but now it is Family and Consumer Science) stopped by to drop off some scissors I had ordered along with her school order of Ginghers. I have never tried using these before, but they are appliqué scissors which supposedly prevent you from inadvertently cutting what you don't want to cut. Aren't they interesting? Lynn met Louie who behaved like a gentleman (more or less) and followed us around the house. I sure wish that Lynn and I taught the same grade level. We would create some awesome interdisciplinary units. She is a wonderful teacher and friend.
One more unusual item that I ran across and had to buy yesterday (like I need another gadget in my life) was this ring of measuring spoons. Sort of. Notice the hole in each? They are little funnels. Now how many times have you tried to fill something like a salt shaker and spilled everywhere? Or tried to pour liquid from one container to another? I thought for the few dollars, they would be worth the investment. Besides, they were too unusual to pass up. They aren't going to help with current the mess in my bedroom. When I got home earlier, I took off two bracelets made of black bead and turquoise. Unfortunately, I had a not so nice surprise - the elastic broke. I closed the door to keep Louie from eating the little pieces. Who's to complain though, when it has been such an unexpectedly nice day.

Friday Fun in Franklin

2008-05-30T17:42:00.004-05:00

Allen and I took a day trip to Franklin, Tennessee today. We took Highway 31 North instead of I65, and that took us through a number of sleepy southern towns and some beautiful Tennessee land. This is the Giles County Courthouse in Pulaski. Pulaski is best known as the birthplace of the KKK, but the city has disowned the Klan. We took a walk around the square and took in an antique store too. Rock on, Allen.I got a kick out of the street art Uncle Sam.Turkey art?
We ate at an Irish pub in Franklin. The bath shop next door was blowing bubbles, a whole different take on street art, I guess.Uh oh. More batik for my stash. Allen (happy in the rocker in the lobby) couldn't believe I didn't buy even more and sent me back in more than once. When I was a kid, Mom did a majority of her fabric shopping at Famous Barr, a department store. I don't really remember her going to a real fabric store, much less a quilt shop. Surely she wouldn't have bought fabric with an idea that someday she might use it in something. That would have been way beyond her budget (mine too in years with little kids at home). Actually, quilting has sort of had a revival since the 1970's, and I guess I was out of the house by then. The Stitcher's Garden where we went has been in business in Franklin for seventeen years, the owner told me, and she is planning a move closer to the highway by the end of the year. Anyway, since Mom couldn't or wouldn't learn to drive (probably couldn't knowing how miserable Dad would have made her trying to teach her), she either had to walk a mile or so to the bus and go alone or have Dad take her in the evening while he would "patiently" wait. It is fun having Allen support my addictive hobby (not that he has any addictive or expensive hobbies).
We went to The Factory before heading home. What a neat old building. They made Magic Chef products there at one time. We just walked through and got a feel for the place, drooled over some Amish furniture at one shop, and had fun at an antique store there. Louie is glad we're home though.

What's missing?

2008-05-29T17:13:00.001-05:00

Chinese Checkers and a turtle all in one! Shannon found this last weekend in Daphne. I'm glad she didn't miss it on the shelf. He's very cool. He is taking up residence in my sewing room with the other Chinese checker boards. I have this idea that one day I will quilt a Chinese checkerboard as a wall hanging. I even bought some black and red dragon fabric to use. Maybe this guy will serve as inspiration for that little project. All I'm really missing is time. So many quilt ideas, so little time. When Shannon and Nathan came by last night, I tried out a new recipe on them. Butter bean salad. It was probably better today than last night, a little pepperier. Maybe Nathan thought that jalapeño peppers were missing yesterday, but he added his Texas Pete's. I love simple, healthy recipes like this one that I saw as an ad in my current issue of Southern Living magazine.
And we had an old standby, "fork sticks" as Meghan called them when she was little. To me, this is what barbecue pork is, but most people here think of pulled pork. St. Louis style pork steaks mean summer. Although the Jack Daniels barbecue sauce was good, I wish I had a bottle of original Mauls from Dierbergs grocery. I miss a few things from St. Louis: family and friends, the St. Louis Post Dispatch, baseball Cardinals, variety from bigger grocery stores, Mauls... but I don't miss the bigger city traffic, winter snow and icy weather, searing summer heat. Yes, it really does get hotter there than here. Louie hopes I won't miss the strip of fabric he has stolen. Sure, he looks cute here, but chasing him to get things back is a big pain. If Allen and I have him between us, he will meekly sit and spit. What I mean is, he spits out whatever he has in his slimy dog-breath mouth. He knows what he has done, and he knows he has to forfeit his treasure. Then he's embarrassed and wants to make up. See, he's not really missing a conscience, he just wants to play.Dinner tonight? If you aren't here, you're missing a treat. When Allen is finished with his marathon of telecons, we'll have shrimp from Cajun Cafe that he steamed earlier this afternoon.