Young at hART

Sewing and Knitting projects

2012-01-16T12:53:00.000-08:00

Christmas is long past but I did want to post some photos of the gifts I created. I really struggled to get my knitting projects done in time for unwrapping! I decided a few months prior to Christmas that I should knit dresses for each of the granddaughters and a vest for Saben. I finished Charlotte's dress 2 days before Christmas! That was a close call. Unfortunately, even though I followed the instructions for size 12-18 months and Charlotte is 15 months, her dress was way too big. She will grow! I had wanted to get a portrait of all the grandkids in their new clothes, but so far that hasn't happened. Perhaps these will have to suffice for any type of formal picture. :( Sure wish I had one photo of them together in their clothes. I also goofed on Saben's shirt size, so the size 7 dress shirt is huge on him and won't work out for use with his vest. Drat!

Annika's dress is made from Plymouth Select 100% worsted merino superwash wool in color 21

Close up of detail work on bodice

This is the only decent photo of Miss Annika (age 3) in her dress

This was the first project completed of the 4. LOVE how it turned out. I used Madelinetosh Vintage worsted weight superwash merino wool yarn in the color Cove.

Kari trying to roll up a sleeve on this much too large shirt

Saben was mesmerized with his new Star Wars game

Hailey's 2 piece outfit. Dress and bolero made from Cascade Yarns 40% Superwash Merino Wool/60% Acrylic in color #1 for the body and #12 for the trim

It was quite time consuming to put all these hand embroidered designs on both the front and back of the dress, especially since they began untying on the inside! Repairs needed.

This is the front of Charlotte's dress made from Stacy charles brand 100% Mercerized Cotton, color #3814

And here is the back with a button closure

I guess this is as formal as it gets as far as photos go

Here was another fun project for the older girls. Paper dolls made out of fabric. I found this paper doll fabric online and backed the whole cloth with white flannel using Steam-a-Seam to hold the layers together. Then I painstakingly cut out all the dolls and clothes, cutting off the tabs that were part of the dolls and clothes. I bought 2 artist canvases and using staples I covered them with pieces of white heavy weight felt. Now it is a flannel board! I hope they are having fun with their dollies.

OK, parents....when can we get all 4 grandkids together for a formal protrait?? Someday when they are 30 or so and I'm long dead and gone, I want them to have a visual reminder of how much their grandma loved them! And Annika looking down, Hailey with her jeans on, both Hailey & Charlotte looking sad and Saben glued to the TV screen just doesn't cut it!!

I'm back in my craft room!

2012-01-09T18:04:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy to get past the Christmas rush. I spent some time tidying up my craft room on Saturday and had enough extra time to make this necklace and earring set. I have tons of pretty gemstone beads and am hoping to get back to that craft.

The main bead is white magnesite, although they are really creme with brown veining. I used some small brown beads in between but can't remember what they are. I made this necklace 18" long.

Shauna (daughter) called me yesterday and asked if I could make her some fabric bread bags. Hmm. That sounded simple enough! I had some new very large, medium weight dish towels that I had wanted to embroider so I simply cut them to what I thought might be the right size, 10" by 15" or thereabouts and began looking for an appropriate embroidery design. I could only find one design that had a bread basket on it so I used it for one and just did a very simple design under the word "BREAD" on each of them. The embroidery took the most time. I used my serger to sew up the edges, turned under the top and slipped some cording through and VIOLA! I made 3 and still have enough fabric for at least 6 more. That was a fun project. I hope you like these, Shauna!

I love all my machines! I own a Baby Lock Ellegante which I used for the embroidery designs, a Baby Lock Imagine serger with jet air threading which makes it a snap to thread, and I even used my 12 pound Baby Lock Audrey sewing machine to put in the buttonhole and stitch down the top casing. I am fortunate to have this extra machine so I don't have to stop everything to wait for the embroidery work to finish up.

I do have a busy week ahead, but my creative juices are raring to go!!

Volunteering

2012-01-07T10:32:00.000-08:00

I guess I've always been into volunteering. During grade school I volunteered to be hall monitor, in junior high I was editor of our school newspaper, and in high school I spent many hours helping on committees; fire patrol, bulletin boards, parking monitor, as yearbook editor, etc. etc. etc. I have continued this tradition in many different ways as an adult. Volunteering is good for my soul, so to speak. I have found the type of volunteer work that is most rewarding to me is when I help others, and have always felt that if I didn't have such an aversion to blood and guts, I should have been a nurse! But then, it would have been a job and perhaps some of the joy that I get would be replaced by fatigue.

I remember back in my early 20's I volunteered at Providence Hospital in Portland, Oregon. I was one happy camper as I was able to push around a "craft cart" and go into patients rooms and teach them how do a simple project. I also had magazines on board so could share them with anyone who wanted one. What fun to combine my love for crafts with brightening someone's day, even for just a few minutes. Back then people stayed in the hospital for much longer than they do now so it was important to provide some sort of diversion in their day. Now, people are in and out so quickly that there is little need for amusement. If they are there for more than a day or two, they are probably too sick to concentrate anyway! And the knowledge about the spread of germs has definitely changed things too. We have to "foam in, foam out" whenever we enter a patient's room. That means we sterilize our hands. And that magazine cart that I used way back when wouldn't pass muster today! Germs on the cart, germs on the magazines. If a patient handled a magazine it couldn't go back on the cart because of germs! Who knew!!

I've done lots of volunteering since my 20's! I volunteer to make seasonal flower arrangements (through our garden club) at one of the local nursing homes. I have helped do craft projects at this same nursing home, as well as making personal visits to several of the patients I got to know. I also brought my dog, Frodo, with me to some of these visits. He's not a good "therapy" dog, so quit bringing him! For years I volunteered with the Reach to Recovery program with is part of the American Cancer Society. I visited newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, which I found VERY rewarding. I also trained new volunteers as well as headed up the program for South King County. I was very involved but then a strange thing happened. Ladies didn't seem to need information and visits anymore. It got so that everyone seemed to have a friend, relative or acquaintance who had dealt with breast cancer. Isn't that sad? I wasn't so busy anymore, so I decided to shift gears and find something else to do with my time.

I am one of the fortunate ones who enjoys being at the hospital. Many people are fearful about even setting foot inside the doors, but I don't view the hospital as a place of death but rather a place where people have a chance to get well. I find it a comforting place to be. I have volunteered at Valley Medical Center (which is now UW at VMC) on Wednesdays in the gift shop for a year and a half. That changed when I had the opportunity to work with the hospital chaplain. I am thrilled! I can now go and visit patients. My role is to basically sit and talk with people. Well, actually, LISTEN to people! Thursday was my first day in this new role and I LOVE it! I know this is not for everyone because it can be very depressing as you listen to people talk about their lives. And my natural tendance is to help, which in reality there isn't much I can do to help! I wish I had a magic wand to wave and make their troubles disappear. Three of the patients I visited on Thursday (I must have visited at least 20) said they had been healthy all their life and them BOOM! Heart attack, stroke, blood clot. Just like that they were thrown into a life and death situation.

What a good reminder to me that we can't take our life and good health for granted! It is sad to see that so many patients don't have a relationship with the Lord. How do they cope with these serious issues? It is my faith in God that keeps me on an even keel. When the bad times come, I know there is a reason. I may not know the reason, but I know that God does and that is enough for me. I can find peace as I trust the Lord with my life. Several of the people I visited on Thursday don't have any religious involvement and have no family or friend support. It broke my heart a bit to listen to these stories. The one thing I can do is pray. My job is an anonymous job! I am not to write down any names because of confidentiality laws. The Lord knows who they are and I can pray anonymously. I know there will always be new patients to visit each week and as time goes on I won't remember most of these folks. I'm just as happy not knowing their outcome! I can just trust that they are all getting better and will be released back home.

What do you do with your extra time? You might want to spend some time thinking about your giftedness and what gives you pleasure and try sharing that as a volunteer. Of course, when I was young and had children at home, I was busy enough caring for my family and felt that was plenty! Now I'm footloose and fancy free. How can you serve God and your community??

Photo present

2011-12-26T09:26:00.000-08:00

My daughter-in-law, Kari, mentioned a few months ago that when talking about Veteran's Day in school, Saben (age 6) said that no one in his family had served in the military! Oops! How would a six year old know that there had been several of his relatives who served in the military? Kari said that all she wanted for Christmas was some photos of those in our family who had served. Luckily she had forgotten all about this yesterday when they opened one of the gifts from Dave and I. Here it is!

Navy wins with 3! Two army and one air force.

Beginning at the top left, Dave's great uncle Howard Fitch was a captain in the Navy. Next is Dave's dad, Ernest Young, who served in the Army in World War II. Then there is Dave in is Navy get up, served at Balboa Hospital as a corpsman caring for those back from Vietnam. Lower right is my uncle Jim Babeck who also served in the Navy. Then the most interesting is my mom's dad. Grandpa. He served in the Spanish American War (left of the 2 photos) under his real name, Benjamin Warner. After the war, he married and had a family, but his wife died during childbirth. He left his kids with his sister and changed his name to Patrick Haley. Why?? No one seems to know! Then he served in the Army in World War I, met my grandmother who had immigrated from Ireland and they married and had 3 children. He never told my grandma that he had been married before and had children. What a shock that must have been for her to discover this when he sought to get his military pension and he ran into problems since he had served under 2 names. I would have liked to be a fly on the wall when all this came down! Anyway, the last photo is of my brother, Bob Repetowski, who served in the Air Force as a helicopter repairman, serving in Vietnam and the surrounding area. Pretty scarey stuff I'm sure!

So there you have it. The youngsters need to be taught about their military heritage and why it is important that we have the military and the many sacrifices that people have made in the past to preserve our freedom and help those in other countries seek freedom from tyrants. One of Dave's relatives from way back fought in the American Revolution! THANK YOU!! Shauna and her daughters are eligible to join the daughters of the American Revolution since they are related to him by blood. I really do think that is something to be proud of.

I was thrilled to put this photo montage together and as I was doing so, remembered that though my dad didn't serve in the military (I know he tried but can't remember why he wasn't able...maybe flat feet!) :) he served in the CCC's which many have never heard of. It was the Civilian Conservation Corps and I do have photos of my dad working at a sawmill and logging in Michigan. I never talked to him about this time in his life and I'm sad that I don't have more details. Time for some research into the CCC's to find out more.

Another Quick Craft

2011-12-17T12:18:00.000-08:00

Shauna posted this on her blog: http://www.myronette.com/2011/12/08/how-to-make-a-magazine-tree/
I decided I should try to make this magazine tree. Here is the finished product, after using 2 magazines and gluing them together, spray painting and adding glitter.

Christmas is coming!

2011-12-11T19:18:00.001-08:00

Whether we are ready or not. I'm getting there. I have so many project I would like to do, but am running out of time! Here are a few of the things that I have made.

The 3 snowflakes are made from a small styrofoam ball with many toothpicks stuck in it. I then spraypainted them white and when dry I sprayed them with snow in a can. Pretty cool, hunh?

Here is our tiny tree. Love that it is so simple to put up and take down!

Shauna asked if I could knit a neck scarf for Charlotte and viola...done!

Here is another quick & easy project. Buy a pretty potholder and a matching dish towel. Then sew the right side of the potholder to the middle of the towel and stitch with zigzag stitch so it will be secure. Put a strip of velcro on insides of potholder to hold together. Now you have a kitchen towel that you can hang from either the loop at the top, or open the potholder and place it around your oven doorhandle and velcro shut. Isn't that sweet??

Since Dave's brother, Bob, fell off a ladder and had a very serious broken leg, we have been dealing with all the details that need to be handled. He has been in the hospital for 5 days now and may come home either tomorrow or Wednesday. My craft projects are on temporary hold! I suspect that after he gets settled in, I will get some time to finish up some things, but then, I keep finding new craft ideas that I want to try. I will have more to share, but maybe not until after Christmas!

Adventures with the Grandkids

2011-12-03T13:22:00.001-08:00

We had the opportunity to keep Saben and Annika overnight last night and look what we've been doing! After dinner we drove to Gene Coulon Park to watch the Christmas lights get turned on. What a huge amount of beautiful Christmas "Clam Lights!" It was SUPER cold out and there were lots of people there watching the festivities. There were so many Christmas decorated boats in the parade of boats that we began walking toward our car after 45 minutes of boats going by. We had the perfect spot to see it all, right in the middle of the long "U" shaped dock. Here are some photos:

The kids searched through part of one of my containers of buttons and selected some to use for the Christmas trees that we made.

Believe it or not, we used 2 of those thin paper plates to create the cone and then covered them with fabric. Lots of hot glue later (grandma did all the gluing) and they told me what they wanted for the star on top and where to place the buttons. Here are the finished trees which I have placed over upside down martini glasses.

For lunch I made these pizza roll-ups. I found the recipe on Pinterest (love that site!) and Grandpa and the kids enjoyed eating them. They are really simple to make: Use Pillsbury crescent rolls, a bottle of squeezable pizza sauce, low fat pepperoni and 1/4 stick of mozzarella cheese per roll.

After lunch we played Chinese Checkers. It has been many, many years since I played that game!

Then we drove to Seattle to meet Kyle and Kari at Pacific Place where we ate dinner and the kids had their picture taken with Santa. We walked to the Sheraton Hotel and looked at all the ginger bread houses on display. What a fun time with our two oldest grandchildren! And their parents!!

Button Christmas Tree

2011-11-17T19:27:00.001-08:00

I was feeling crafty today and after getting inspired by some ideas from the website Pinterest (http://pinterest.com) I decided to make a cristmas tree out of the MANY buttons that I have saved over the years. I have more buttons than you can imagine! I already had the styrofoam cone and an extra box of long white tipped pins so I was ready to go to work.

I think I should have a craft day and invite ladies in to do some crafting together. Sounds like fun, doesn't it!?

Not sure where I will put this, but those are some OLD buttons!!

10 on 10 Craft Time

2011-11-10T13:19:00.001-08:00

With the chilly weather approaching and golf relatively over, my mind drifts into my craft room. I've got several unfinished projects that I would like to get back to. For instance, I have 3 quit tops that need to be layered and quilted. One of them is a Christmas lapquilt. Not to mention the other quilts that I have purchased the fabric for but have yet to start. I will have to live to 120 to finish all the quilt projects ahead of me!

Here are 3 (oops I see a 4th top in there) quilts that need to be finished, and some fabric cut into strips for another top.

And here are those black slacks than need to be hemmed up. The curse of being short!

This kitchen towel won't take long to embroider, once I get things set up!

I love having made this design "wall" in my craft room but it reminds me of MORE projects that need to be completed.

I saw these fabulous crocheted chocker necklaces for sale and decided I could make my own! I already had this battery operated bead spinner but how many do I need to string to make sure I actually have enough to finish this necklace???

Ahhh. Finally a finished project! Shauna asked if I would make Hailey a scarf for her neck. I just happened to have some black cotton yarn so a few hours later it was done.

Since it was my grandma who taught me how to knit when I was a child and I still have some wool socks that she made for me...only 50 years ago....that I still wear to bed when my feet are cold....I thought it would be fun to actually make a pair of socks myself. When??

I've really been enjoying reading some good fiction lately. This is my 6th Lee Child book and I'm about 1/2 way through with it. This is his latest writing but starts at the beginning of Jack Reacher's escapades!

And finally, here are a couple of other things that need tended to:

Leaves, leaves, leaves....everywhere!

How do you think this birdbath got overturned? It is HEAVY concrete for crying out loud! Had to be a deer. Must have spooked and run into it. It is always something!!

Spooktacular Pumpkins!

2011-10-27T20:36:00.000-07:00

Wednesdays are good days at Valley Medical Center. Once again, yesterday was a special day as they awarded gifts to the employees of the month and had the annual department pumpkin carving contest! Of course there was cake, fruit, candy, carmel corn, punch and coffee for everyone. Since the gift shop is right across from the big fountain, we are right in the center of activity! Here are some of this years entries in the contest. There is definitely some creative talent at VMC!

"Count Coagulation"

"Dehisced"
I didn't know what this meant, so here is the definition: "To rupture or break open, as a surgical wound." Now it makes sense!

"Corny" Yup, it's made of candy corns!

"You Got Me Back in the Game"

"Veggies are Brain Power"

"Nurse Pumpkin" Check out her mouse!

"Spooky Sliders" The burger is made from chocolate rice krispie cookies, and the Fresh Finger Food is their version of French Fries.

Here is "Mr. Yuk" and his friend

"Rockin Round the Pumpkin Patch"

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and this entry was created by
the Breast Center

"EPIC is Coming" I'm not certain just what EPIC is, but I guess I will have to find out!

And finally, this one was my favorite...
"Angry Birds"

New Knitting Projects

2011-10-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been in a knitting mode, so wanted to post 3 of my latest knitting projects. I love creating things and this time decided to make some things for myself. The first two of my creations are cowls. If you haven't used circular knitting needles, they are great to work with and I had loads of fun with these 2! I can knit pretty quickly while watching TV, but do get messed up sometimes when Dave talks to me. Especially when I need to keep track of where I'm at by making notes with paper and pen. I really get goofed up when interrupted while I'm concentrating real hard doing more intricate work, like with this cowl:

I really like how this turned out and am enjoying wearing it!

Here it is laid out so you can see that it was knit in one piece.

This teal/blue cowl was also knit with circular needles and is twice as long as the previous one, so I wear it wrapped around my neck twice.

This was taken with a flash which shows a bit more detail.

And this was taken without a flash. Just so you can see the comparison! Someday I plan on learning how to use my new camera, but for now.....

There are just so many pretty yarns out there that I do have trouble telling myself "no!" One of my favorite yarn shops is Cultured Purl in Gilman Village in Issaquah. I have also found some fun ideas and yarns at the Knittery in Renton. This next neck wrap knit up in about 2 hours. I have seen it made in metallic ribbon yarns and was tempted to just make it up like that, but then I found this variegated turquoise ribbon yarn at the Knittery and had to get it. I may go back and get the metallic silver and make a narrower version. I'm really having too much fun!

So what color is this really??

When I was golfing two weeks ago it was an overcast and somewhat wet day, and when I walked down the slope from one green to the next tee box, I skidded and went down on my bum! OUCH! I had a wee bit of a whiplash and that lasted for 4 or 5 days, but I must have cracked my tailbone because it still hurts and I find that sitting is difficult without a pillow. So, I have spent some time resting my tailbone and knitting is my companion. Luckily it rained last Tuesday so most of the ladies cancelled out, which means that this Tuesday we do get to take part in the tournament that got cancelled. I'm hoping I can manage to walk the course without too much pain! And I hope I don't slip and slide again! The one thing I learned from that adventure was that I need to clean the cleats on my golf shoes. The soles of my shoes were packed with so much mud that I had no traction left. You better believe that I will be checking my shoes when I golf in wet conditions!

The golf season with the ladies club will be over in two weeks so I will be doing lots more knitting I suppose....and reading!

I love my life!

Charlotte's First Birthday

2011-10-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

Charlotte turned ONE on September 22, but Pete and Shauna had a gathering for friends and family on Saturday, Sept. 24th.

Now that I have my new desktop (that is another story...a boring one) I am able to download the photos and put them in my blog. The video is for you, Robin! It was a fun afternoon!

Bri Prather and her daughter, Eloise, and Baar and his mom Sarah Weeldreyer

Kelsie and Emma

No, No, No!!!!!

Cousins

I made these hairclips for Kelsie's new baby Emma

Shauna liked the ones I made for Emma and asked if I could make some for her her girls. Hailey likes Thomas the Train!

People are the Fabric of My Life

2011-08-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

What better way to spend part of an afternoon but to drive about 3 miles down the road to sit on the deck and visit with a lady from our garden club. Helen is a sweet 89 year young widow who still lives in her own home on about an acre, still drives and tends her flower garden. It is not always possible during our garden club meetings to really get to know each other even though we always have a luncheon afterwords.

As we sat on her very nice deck looking out over her flowers and the neighboring huge pasture off to the side, I discovered that when she and her husband were first married they lived in the Cedar River Apartments before buying their first house, one of the wartime houses that were offered for sale in the late 40's in the Renton Highlands. I mused over the thought that she had lived there most likely when my husband Dave's parents lived in those same apartments before buying their home in Skyway. What a small world!

Helen had phoned me to ask if I would like to come visit and see her flower garden which was looking especially nice right now. This lovely lady had just hosted a wedding for her daughter in her back yard! My goodness, I hope I am fortunate enough to be as spry as she is should I live that long! After a pleasant talk, she showed me her flower garden, spouting off the names of each plant. My memory is not as good as hers at remembering all the plants I have in my yard. She had placed a piece of string on her shoulder prior to my arrival and asked if I could tie up one of her delphinium flowers for her since it was leaning way over. Here are some photos of her flower garden. Hasn't she done a beautiful job with the mix of colors and texture?

I feel so blessed to have an abundance of people in my life. But then, I'm a people person and getting to interact with folks energizes me and gives me such joy. I know that we people are all different and some like the solitude of their lives, while others are content with the boats and motorhomes and vacation condos they retreat to. I like those things too. Well, I would if I actually had them! But meeting and getting to know people and finding commonalities is the most fun I can think of having. I do believe in the idea of "Six Degrees of Separation" and if I spend enough time talking AND LISTENING to a person I learn the most amazing things and find that we usually have something or someone in common! Try it next time you have the opportunity for conversing with someone new to you. See what amazing facts you can uncover!

High School Classmates '67 Golf Tournament

2011-08-24T10:09:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, Dave and I had the pleasure of getting together with some of our high school crowd for a golf tournament at Maplewood Golf Course. What fun!! The night before some of us got together at Jack's in the Renton Highlands to share a bite to eat as names were drawn and teams formed. There were lots of loud protests and a bit of trash talk during this process....all in good fun!

There were 5 teams and since we had 6 girls one team had 2 girls. We played a scramble format, which is a super fun way to compete. It goes like this: Each one in the four or five-some tees off and the best shot is selected. Then we all tee off from that spot and repeat the process until the ball is holed. The only requirement was that each player must have 2 of their drives used, then we could take any drives. We were all in golf carts and we had a preview of things to come when one of our drivers (RICK) got his cart high-centered when going over the curb just after teeing off on the first hole! He and Steve had to get out and push. We did kind of go downhill from there, since our group came in last. We had an even score, meaning we shot 72, which is par. We did have lots of laughs along the way as our balls seemed destined to go every which way but straight!

Here we are pictured shortly before the first group teed off. My teammates were from left to right, Tim Cummings, Rick Scappini, yours truly, and Steve Patterson.

Here are all the golfers

Dave's team, though they had 5 players, came in next to last with one under par. His group was right ahead of mine and since one of his players had never golfed before, they slowed us down a bit since the guys were giving this fellow lessons on each hole. His teammates were Michelle Cooper Dieckman, Dave, Rick Sodorff, Ron Lee and Gary McMillan. A side note is that only 2 couples of the many who married classmates showed up to golf. Michelle & her husband Al and Dave and me.

The other 3 teams all tied with 5 under par, and since we only had trophies enough for one team, a team was drawn from a hat (so to speak) and declared the winning team.

The person who is most responsible for organizing us, Mike Willis, and his wife Diane, had us all over to their home for a catered dinner (we all did pay for it) in their fabulous back yard. And who catered? Of course....another former classmate, Marilea Addington Peterson and her sister Judy. Marilea is married to classmate Jim Peterson. Isn't it wonderful that so many of our classmates are still married to each other!? Oh...my....goodness!! In 6 years we will celebrate our 50th high school reunion!! WOW!! Add 3 more to that and Dave and I will celebrate OUR 50th Wedding Anniversary.

Some other classmates who didn't play in the tournament, showed up for dinner and a few others who played weren't able to attend for one reason or another, and both Dave and I can't wait until next year's tournament....Lord willing!

Birthday celebrations for Pete and Shauna

2011-08-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

Kyle and Kari came down from Bellingham so they could take Pete and Shauna out for their birthdays (which are on the same day.) That meant that we had the pleasure of having all four grandkids for the evening. We fed them dinner and played and before long it was time for bed. Kyle and Kari and kids spent the night but the Myron girls went home with mom and dad for the night. I had noticed at about 11 pm that Hailey escaped from the bedroom and I found her sprawled out on her tummy just outside the door in the hall.

Thankfully all the kids are good eaters


Charlotte was in a happy mood

In the morning I made waffles for breakfast, with chocolate chips of course, and Jill arrived at about 9:30 with our niece Emily, who I had invited to spend the day with us. Emily was a big help and kept the little ones entertained quite well!


Just a wee bit of TV time, which all the grandkids ask for when they come to our house!

Awww. Aren't they sweet??

Kyle and Kari and kids had to leave at 11:00 am to go to her mom and brother's birthday celebration, so I tried with marginal success to have all four grandkids sit together for a photo.

This was the best of six shots! Saben, 6, Annika, 4, Charlotte, 10 months, Hailey, 2 1/2 years

Dave was sick all day Saturday so he pretty much stayed in the bedroom most of the day. Poor guy! The reason we had the Myron girls was that Pete and Shauna had rented a Harley Davidson "Fat Boy" for 24 hours so they wanted to make the most of it. They had planned on doing a sky dive but the weather was too overcast so the place in Snohomish where they were scheduled called them in the morning to let them know they would have to postpone it. Pete and Shauna did stop by for a little while in the afternoon so they could get a photo with their girls. Shauna was very bored sitting on the back!! I do believe she is eager to get back in the driver's spot on a sports bike again.


Looks like Charlotte is ready to take control!

Jill very kindly came and picked up Emily and Pete came by to pick up the girls and I had kind of a boring evening since Dave was in bed by 8 pm. Shauna had Pete's family and Jason & me (Dave still wasn't feeling tip top) over for dinner Sunday at 4 pm. I made a gluten free chocolate cake which was pretty tasty. What a fun family time! The guys raised two walls of the huge shed Pete is building.


When this is complete they can clean out the garage and get the car back in!

It was fun watching 5 little girl cousins play together.

Sylvia, Ella and Hailey

Charlotte and Genevieve. Miss C is 7 weeks older than Gigi

How about a kiss!

OK, but I need to give you one too!

All in all a fun birthday weekend. Sure wish Dave had felt better so he could have enjoyed himself. Thanks, Emily, for your help on Saturday.

Sewing Project for Jewelry Storage

2011-08-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

At coffee last week with Dorene, Sharron & Lynda, I picked up a wonderful idea from Dorene. THANK YOU, D! She had been frustrated with her jewelry storage and found an over-the-door pocket type storage hanger to solve her problems. I immediately picked up on that suggestion and instead of looking on line for what I wanted, I decided to set about making one. Now that mine is finished, I found that for $14 I could have purchased this one from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Household-Essentials-01943-80-Pocket-Organizer/dp/B0010XX7ZQ/ref=acc_glance_k_ai_ps_t2_t_4

That would have been too easy! And look, that one is double sided and has 80 pockets!! I bought some white vinyl with a flannel back and some heavy clear vinyl. I didn't have a pattern, so in my usual fashion, I began rotary cutting and figuring it out as I went. Here is what I ended up with.


I have this hanging on the back of my master closet door.

My version has 40 pockets, although with the gaps in between rows I probably could have squeezed them together and made another row. As it is, I had just enough slots for my bulky necklaces. The Amazon design looks to have smaller pockets so some of my pieces may not have fit in it anyway. As Dorene suggested, I put matching earrings with those necklaces that have them. This has freed up my jewelry drawers for all my smaller necklaces so they aren't all in a tangle like they used to be. Now that I see my pieces like this, I better not buy any more black or brown necklaces!!

The biggest struggle with sewing this was trying to scrunch all that stiff vinyl around my sewing machine as I stitched the pockets in place. It's not the best job of sewing I've ever done, but aside from posting it here, my husband and I are the only ones who have to see it. He wasn't thrilled that it covers the door handle, but how often do we close the door when we are in the closet?? Yeah, like never!

If I had it to do over again, I would just buy an organizer, but then again, there is something to be said for the feelings of accomplishment and creativity.

Annika turns 4!

2011-07-19T20:22:00.000-07:00

Sunday Dave and I drove up to Bellingham to visit with Kyle and Kari and the kids. Since Annika's 4th birthday was Monday, we wanted to bring her a present and wish her a happy birthday in person. We had such a nice time together! When we arrived Annika was at another little girl's birthday party with Kari, so after talking a bit, Kyle, Saben, Dave and I drove to Lake Padden Golf Course and practiced our putting. Saben is 6 and when he takes his time to set his feet and line up the putter, he does a pretty good job. We had brought putters with us for the 4 of us. Saben was surprised that it didn't cost ANY money and that he could go anytime his parents want to take him....for FREE! I can't wait until he is old enough to go golfing with us! By the time we got home, Kari & Annika were home and she was busy making a tasty dinner. Homemade pico de gallo, soft beef (steak) tacos with fresh guacamole and a roasted corn side dish. Delicious!

Annika opened her presents from us and wasn't too thrilled about the clothing but did seem to like the porcelain doll we gave her. The doll was one that was part of my mom's collection. We brought the doll stand too so Annika can play with the doll and/or put her in the stand in her room. Then, while Dave and Kyle talked in the living room, Kari and the kids and I played a childrens' sequence game. I also read several stories to the kids. Here are some photos of the day. Saben is just like his dad!

Summer Gardening - 10 on 10 afterthought!

2011-07-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

I love flowers. I come by it genetically. My mother spent hours upon hours in her yard, weeding, replanting, tending her flowers and cutting bouquets to bring in the house. Her sister, Eileen, always enjoyed her flower garden and their mother, my grandmother, enjoyed her flower garden as well. I seem to have a bit of a genetic gap though. I LOVE flowers, but I'm not so much into the weeding! In all fairness, I've kind of given up on my flower beds where we now live. It seems like we spend more time cutting down or digging out dead shrubs than anything! What doesn't die off from our wet clay soil gets eaten by the rabbits and deer. Or the deer snap shrubs in half as they run through the yard. There is currently very little in bloom right now and that makes me sad. All my lovely peonies have disappeared. Several years ago I gave up on gladiolas (which I find so beautiful) because the deer decimated my blooms overnight and all that was left were some bits of color on the ground. My heuchera (coral bells) have all but disappeared. Almost all of the beautiful rhodys and azaleas that we had have died and the 2 remaining Exbury azaleas look sickly. The witch hazel hasn't looked well for 5 or 6 years but it somehow comes back....half-way it seems.

This past winter has been especially hard on the landscape. I know others have had similar problems. Our evergreen (Victoria) magnolia tree that has been doing so well, decided it wanted to commit a slow suicide. We already lost all the salal in that area and now the 3 camellias (trellised) are in the process of dying.

Isn't this pathetic?? Salal, camellias and magnolia. All needs to be dug out and redone. I think I will try 3 clematis in place of the camellias and don't know what kind of tree to try as this one replaced a coral bark maple tree that died.


Not a pretty site!

We have...had....several Nandina (heavenly bamboo) that have ALL succumbed over the winter. And they are so pretty and do not spread like regular bamboo. This clematis is winding its way upward and should be blooming pretty soon.

There are so many plants that I have tried but they fail. I know it's not me because I have had success in previous yards. Our soil has a problem with phytopthora, which we discovered when we had our soil analyzed (by experts at WSU) after we spent loads of money on landscaping and truckloads of shrubs died. Here is what Wikepedia says about "root rot":

"Phytopthora is a genus of plant-damaging Oomycetes (water molds), whose member species are capable of causing enormous economic losses on crops worldwide, as well as environmental damage in natural ecosystems." I guess so!

When I joined the Issaquah Garden Club shortly after we built our house, I was eager to really get out there and garden! I love our garden club and since I am the VP this coming year, I have been busy finding experts to speak at our meetings and arranging field trips. I just wish I could really put my knowledge to good use! I shudder when I think of all the specialty plants I have purchased over the past 11 years only to have them die.I have enjoyed ordering things from Plant Delights because they have plants that are really unusual and their catalog is a hoot to read. Check them out at: http://www.plantdelights.com/

I refuse to totally give up, however, as I have taken to using containers. I now have a hanging tomato plant although it is not doing as well as I'd like!

This is an heirloom Roma tomato but I also have a Cabernet tomato plant and an heirloom Radiator Charlie. We'll see! It really is just deer bait.

One of two Costco pots ($30 each) and they are both doing well. I also have herbs in pots in a row. A few years ago Dave watched a deer as she placed her feet on the steps, with her mouth drooling over the pretty flowers she saw up there. I wouldn't be surprised if one day she tries again.

My Meyer's lemon tree is now outside and I have some lemons growing!

These strawberries shouldn't be in a pot! There is never enough to do anything with. In the ground they would be rabbit food. Ask me how I know.

Several years ago I made this hypertufa container and planted it with succulents. Isn't it purdy!?


I purchased a variety of flowers from Squak Mountain Nursery for my hanging basket and it is only a mild success. Wish it had filled in more. My fault, I didn't have big enough holes cut in the coco liner. I need to spend the money and buy one of Pamela Crawford's hanging baskets. Check out her site: http://www.gardenartisans.us/pamelacrawfordscontainergardens.aspx


Ajuga (purple/blue flowering) is spent and the daylilies are blooming. That is grass in the background growing over the drainfield but miscanthus (ornamental grasses) seem to thrive in our yard. Imagine that!

OF COURSE! Look what thrives. Butterfly bush, which was NOT planted in this spot, is invasive, but it will remain because it hasn't died!

When we are not battling the deer, we wage war with buttercups, blackberry vines and unwanted trees that find their way into our landscape. I am always pulling up holly tree starts. They are invasive and replace the native species trees. They are really invasive in our yard!!

I gave up years ago on my vegetable garden because of the deer and rabbits. Been there, done that with fruit trees in our previous location. I couldn't keep up with the abundance of 30+ trees and poor Dave had to prune them! I think my only solution is to move to a spot where the deer won't decimate the landscape and we have more healthy soil. I REALLY NEED MORE COLOR OUTSIDE NOW! I guess I should just entertain myself with some of my garden books and look at the photos of lovely plants and flowers that I wish I had in my garden. Isn't life tough!!??

Jason the chef

2011-06-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

Thought I would just write a little about Father's Day. What a fun Sunday afternoon. Jason suggested that he would like to cook dinner for us. Since he has a smoker, in went a beef brisket. He worked at that for several hours and made a huge batch of the BEST IN THE WEST BBQ BEAN BAKE. Man! Those were the best beans ever. He also made Honey-Chipotle Grilled Corn. He brought everything to our house, after the meat and beans were done. Pete, Shauna and the girls came and brought ice cream for dessert. I made gluten-free corn bread and gluten-free brownies. Everything was delicious!

It is difficult sometimes for a bachelor to get to do more than just show up for dinner, so this was a real treat for him and for us! What a good guy he is. And a superb cook!

Chef Jason

The Pointers....Dad and Son

Papa holding Frodo, who would really like a bite or two of that meat!

Open WIDE! Not you, Pete....

Good old Richard Scarry book.

Hailey....pose for the camera!


Charlotte is done, tray wiped down and hands wiped. She's not too messy with her fingers. What a fun family! We missed you Kyle, Kari, Saben & Annika!!

Remembering my dad on Father's Day

2011-06-18T11:40:00.000-07:00

My Dad - Pete Repetowski 1917-1998

People would tell him he looked like Frank Sinatra!

I love this picture of my dad and his brothers.

Pete, Herman and Matt stuck in the snow in North Dakota

My dad lived a difficult life in North Dakota. His parents had immigrated from the Ukraine and his dad died when he was a baby during the flu epidemic of 1918, leaving a wife and 3 young boys. My dad then began bouncing around from his grandparents farm to other relatives homes. His mom did remarry and had 3 more children living the farming life, but my dad must have felt the results of an unsettled youth, so he moved out at 15. He joined the CCC's (Civilian Conservation Corp) and worked logging in Minnesota. He moved to Oregon and lived in the Eugene area. His brother Herman moved out west as well. I'm not entirely sure how he ended up in Renton, but he did live in the Cabin City housing area in downtown Renton during the early 40's.

Here are mom and dad before they were married. I know there was a photographer that roamed the streets of Seattle taking pictures of folks as they walked by because I also have one of my mom and Aunt Eileen as well. My dad was a dapper dresser during his younger years and look how snazzy my mom looked!

He and mom married when he was 28 and she was 21 in 1945. They both worked at Boeing in Seattle and that is where they met. They were married for 53 years when my dad passed away. He was a smoker up until he was in his late 60's when he and mom both quit one day "cold turkey!" It was sometime after Shauna was born and I would pester them about their smoking. One day I noticed that they didn't have their usual cigarette in hand and questioned them. Their response was "We quit a few weeks ago." Just like that! I was very pleased. Still, it was COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) that took my dad's life, not the Alzheimer's that he had been struggling with for the last few years of his life.

My dad and me. I guess I was a snazzy dresser when I was a tot too!

And here are mom and dad at my wedding reception. We married the same year they celebrated their 25th Wedding Anniversary

Jane (my brother's wife,) Bob, Me, Dad and Mom

Father's Day 1987

I think this was taken in the late 80's

My dad on his 50th wedding anniversary

I am thankful that God gave me Pete Repetowski as my dad! I didn't always feel that way. When I was young I was embarrassed at times when people told Polish jokes at my expense. I had wished we had gone on some fun family vacations when I was growing up or at least do more than taking care of the animals and garden! The last trip I remember as a family was traveling to North Dakota to visit his family when I was 14. And we certainly didn't veer off course to Yellowstone or any other sites along the way! My grandmother spoke broken English and I was always amazed that my dad could speak Ukranian! I'm glad that he passed down the tradition of making Pierogi (boiled potato dumplings, with lots of butter, onions and sour cream!) Overall I would say that I had a normal childhood, with a mom, dad and brother who loved me. My dad worked hard and provided a stable and happy life for us and I am thankful that he avoided the plague of alcohol that gripped others in his family. And I am happy that he and my mother were able to celebrate 50 years of faithfulness. In this day and age that seems like a real milestone! Thanks Dad! I remember all the times that he took Bob and me fishing at Lake Boren and on the bridges over May Creek. And when he drove me hither and yon and regularly picked me up from Renton High School when I stayed after school for inter-murals. That's after school sports for those of you young ones who are reading this! Mom didn't drive in those days.

Check out those fish! This was in 1959 Our dog Mitzi and two of the many cats that we always had outside

Families now have the ability to do so many more things than our parents and grandparents were able to do.Vacations to exotic places, dinner out for no reason, all the latest electronic devices and at least 2 cars in the garage! Expectations have changed. My parents were conservative spenders and looked for the best deals when making their purchases. Still, they built a new house for us to live in, my dad always had a tractor and a backhoe or dozer, and he was the one who bought me my first horse when I was 15. A good deal too. The horse, saddle, blanket, bridle and delivery for only $150! Prince was the horse that would find every occasion to scrape me off his back by heading for the low tree branches! My dad was a farmer at heart and all through my growing up we had a variety of chickens, pigs, cows, (yes, my brother and I even had to milk the cow from time to time) steers to butcher and horses. And mom and dad always had a big vegetable garden. I guess I was fortunate though. We ate real butter, had a freezer full of meat and a wall of shelving in the garage full of my mom's canned fruits, vegetables and jams.

Summer of my 14th year when visiting Dad's relatives in North Dakota. I guess that is why I've always been fond of buckskins!

And here is my first horse, Prince. Riding in cutoffs and tenny runners! He was my birthday present in November of 1963 when I turned 15. I'm sure our time in North Dakota that summer and my incessant talk of horses did the trick!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO DAD'S EVERYWHERE!

Grandkid update

2011-06-16T14:51:00.000-07:00

What ever should a grandma post on her blog but pictures of the grandkids! Here are a few from a time in May when we had Charlotte and Hailey for a couple of hours.

Papa singing to the girls

No really....we didn't cause that scrape on Charlotte's nose!

Hailey the reader!


TV is on!

Kyle and Kari were with us overnight on Friday and we spend Sunday afternoon at Shauna and Pete's for lunch and more time with the kids and grandkids. Too bad Jason was on a road trip to Yellowstone...a 3 day driving adventure!

I love it that the cousins like to play together

I don't think Saben wanted his picture taken!

More tech talk!

Papa enjoyed playing with the kids in the yard


The girls relaxing after lunch

And a good time was had by all!

Pinochle and Me

2011-05-31T20:44:00.000-07:00

Dave with his double run

So, maybe this isn't all about me. We were playing pinochle with the Scotts last week and the girls lost. We lost our fighting chance when Dave took the bid and got a double run! For those of you that don't know a whit about pinochle, let me just say that this is MAJOR! It is worth 150 points....and the game only goes to 150....so since we already lost the previous game, we decided to call it an evening and go home. I have a feeling that the girls will whomp the boys next time!

I've been playing pinochle since I was a teenager. When I was 19 and worked at Boeing as a secretary...now I would be called an administrative assistant I suppose....I played during lunch time with some of the guys in the office who worked for my boss. Then when Dave and I got married and began to develop friendships with other couples, he needed to learn this game. When we lived in Spokane, we would play with the couple who lived upstairs (a large house divided into 4 apartments.) James was in the Air Force and I can't quite remember if Jaye worked or not. I remember one time I about shrieked when we were playing because a praying mantis was sitting on the open window sill. I had never seen one of these insects before. Well, wouldn't you be stunned if you saw one of these 3-4" aliens looking at you??

Shudder. So anyway, I've been playing this game for a lot of years. When our parents were alive and the kids were tiny, we would invite either my parents or Dave's parents over to talk and play cards. We spent MANY hours with our parents playing cards. My parents just lived a short walk through their pasture from us and it was very easy to have them over to spend an evening together. I remember when Jason was a tot, he just could not eat any sweets after dinner or he would have serious stomach aches! Many times, after a birthday was celebrated, our parents would hear Jason in his bedroom groaning loudly about his stomach hurting. I know they thought we were cruel because we began to pretty much leave him to his groaning! We had learned that this was a normal reaction for Jason and either it would pass or he would end up in the bathroom vomiting! I think this is why Jason doesn't eat sweets to this day.

We have celebrated every New Year's Eve with the Scotts for the past oh, eighteen years. And what do we do? We play pinochle. They usually have 3-4 tables of players (12 or 16 people) and after we share a meal together we settle in for several hours of pinochle, always with a table full of snacks to graze on. We rotate from table to table so as to have a different partner for each game. They have prizes for the winners. I can't imagine having this tradition come to an end!

When we are with either the Scotts or Lambs, we usually converse over a game. Sometimes it is Marbles and Jokers (kind of like Sorry) or else it is pinochle. Many years ago we played Trivial Pursuit with family and friends, but I guess everyone is having memory issues by now because no one seems interested in playing that anymore. ;)

Oh my, and I have such fond memories of playing pinochle with my mom and dad during those last years of my dad's life before he was officially diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease. It was too CUTE!! My dad would never let on that he had ANY memory problems and the 4 of us would sit at the table and laugh and laugh as we tried to play pinochle and my dad would get confused and "forget" who got the bid or how many cards he should pass to his partner! He would laugh along with us and I will always cherish those memories with my parents. The funny thing is that although the Lambs and Scotts and Dave and I are not showing any signs of dementia (I don't think!!) we still find ourselves asking, "Who's deal is it? What was the bid? Who bid last?? Who's turn is it?" Well now that I've put that in writing it seems VERY scary!

In reminiscing about game playing, I've come to wonder why our kids don't play pinochle? I guess the younger generation has found other games that they like. Sure would like to be spending time with our kids playing games in an evening. I doubt that will happen since the truth is that Dave HATES games! He has agreed to play pinochle to keep our relationships with parents and friends alive, but he would rather just sit and talk. I LOVE games! Especially word games.I love Boggle and scrabble (if I can ever find someone to play with.) I'm sad that Kyle and Kari are too far away to get together for an evening of talk and games. Pete and Shauna are nearby so maybe one day we will carry on the tradition of getting together to play games. Please don't feel pressured, Shauna! I'm just rambling and don't expect the games to begin! Like I said, your Dad is not too keen on games anyway. Jason is single and 3 handed pinochle isn't much fun. I don't believe that any of our kids know how to play anyway.

I guess I have to admit that I'm competitive. But I really don't care if I win or lose. I just like the activity! Not that I don't enjoy winning.....

Remembering my mom

2011-05-07T23:11:00.000-07:00

Katherine Belle Haley Repetowski

My Mom

Bob, Mom and Me

Mom was a happy and optimistic lady

Special time with us in Southern California
It was her first airplane ride!

Mom loved to go on outings with us, and we had many
fun drives all over this area with both mom and dad.

The beginning of her diabetic foot problems, still happy!


Here she is with the only great grandchild she had the privilege of seeing before she died. Steffan is my brother Bob's grandson.

Happy memory of the cruise to the Caribbean with both our moms

Wish I could still tell my mom Happy Mother's Day! It's been 10 years since she passed away. I miss talking to her on the phone daily and I'm sure Dave misses the pies she used to make....just for him. I also miss all those Sunday drives to take my parents to see the beauty of Seward Park, the gorgeous magnolia trees in North Seattle, the deepest snow we've ever seen at Snoqualmie and on and on and on. And of course, each year driving to various areas to look at Christmas lights. Thanks for the memories, Mom!

The Elder Geeks!

2011-04-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

Dave, Ed and Chip

With full stomachs, the Easter dinner discussion turned to computers, cell phones and book readers, and there we old fogies were still sitting at the table comparing notes! I took this photo with my new Android cell phone and I certainly will need to figure out why my photos are all rather blurry when I'm using an 8 megapixel phone. I admit that I am a bit overwhelmed with all the electronic gagetry to learn about. My fairly new Panosonic Lumix camera has so many bells and whistles that I haven't figured out how to take a decent photo with it either. It has more features on it so that I can't even begin to remember how to do what. My cell phone has been beeping at me since I got it and I finally just this afternoon figured out why all these alarms are going off. Now if I can figure out how to sync my cell phone with my computer on Outlook so I can have my calendars match and my contact list. Right now it is running on Google since it is a Google phone, not Windows. Which reminds me that I better run my computer protection program to clean up all the ads and stop any bad viruses from infecting it. And I haven't even mentioned all the software that I have for my sewing/embroidery machine that I need to learn. And I've stopped all extra learning with my Adobe Photoshop Elements program.

We had a very pleasant Easter Sunday. Shauna and I did our best to counter all the testosterone in the room. We were outnumbered 6 to 2, not counting Hailey & Charlotte! Here are a few more blurry pictures of the Easter egg hunt in the living room instead of outdoors because of the rain.

Gardenias! LOVE the fragrance

2011-04-23T10:53:00.000-07:00

I bought this gardenia plant several months ago from Valley Medical Center's gift shop (where I volunteer once a week) and this is the 2nd time it has bloomed. Look at all the blossoms!! I remember my first corsage was a gardenia and I've loved the smell ever since. Indoor plants are something I've always had and I've tried my hand at many different ones and some are stand-outs in my mind. Unfortunately after awhile some of them bite the dust. Another favorite is the Hibiscus plant. Such lovely flowers in pretty colors. I may need to get another one soon. The downside is that if you go out of town for more than a week and there is no one available to water them, they don't do well.

Right now I'm watching my Betta fish closely. Poor little guy. Remember that I posted a picture of him a month and a half ago and I thought he was dying then? He's still alive and I usually find him in the morning lying on the marbles at the bottom of his "tank" and when I wiggle the container he moves his fins and looks at me. So sad. One day I know I will have to flush him.....

Progress! Dresses for South Africa

2011-04-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the sewing session at church from 2 until 8 pm (dinner included.) I could only stay until 5:00 because I told Shauna I would babysit the girls so they could go out to dinner with friends. Even so, I managed to make several dresses during the 3 hours I was there. Ladies came later in the day so I didn't feel too bad about leaving early. Besides, I brought the 4 dresses I already made and volunteered to sew extra at home if the group didn't get all 100 dresses stitched up. There is another group of people who volunteered to provide T-shirts for the girls to wear under their dresses and I discovered that these dresses and shirts will not be traveling on their way to South Africa until September. Plenty of time to finish!

I had purchased about a dozen pillowcases from the Goodwill (Wednesdays are 20% of days for seniors) so instead of $.99 each, they were only $.79. My friend, Kim, scoured through the stash that her church sewing group has accumulated and donated 5 partial bolts of fabric, but our church group didn't need any more fabric. Now I'm thinking! Another friend, Tamie, suggested that she and I begin stitching up a bunch of these sweet dresses (some out of pillowcases and some out of yardage) and find a missionary group that would like to provide dresses for needy girls. Shorts are super simple to make for boys so don't know why we couldn't work at that too. Might even find several more friends to help with the project. I will keep you posted about our progress in finding a mission to work with and PLEASE, let me know if you would like to be part of this. I feel like I'm putting the cart before the horse, but I have had this in mind for several months now. Just need the right venue! I know God has something in mind.

Here are some photos of yesterdays sewing. Notice all those dresses hanging up? By the time I left at 5:00 there were over 30 complete and many more in various stages of completion.

This is where I set myself up. Patty showed up about 45 minutes before I left and she sat at the other end of the table. I LOVE my nice little 12 lb. "travel" sewing machine. It is a Babylock Audrey model. Of course, I still had to make 2 trips in with all my stuff!!

Up and down, cut, sew, iron, find the binding, sew, iron, sew, iron and on and on!

There is the beginning of our finished handiwork.

Some ladies set up their sergers, some used sewing machines and some ladies only wanted to iron.

And yes, where there are women, there is lots of talking!

Wouldn't you know that I skipped going golfing with Dave and Dave and Sharron so I could go swim at the pool at 11 am with Kim and spend the day sewing at church. We didn't take into account that it was Spring Break and there were too many kids in the pool making it too crowded for us. There was no crowd on Monday and we got a good workout in, so don't know why it was so busy yesterday. Then after all the rain we have had, the weather got SUNNY!! And here I was stuck inside. The upside was that I got to spend the evening with Shauna's girls and that was fun. I am a blessed grandma!!

Dresses for Africa!

2011-04-05T10:46:00.000-07:00

This Friday our church is having a special time for those who sew to gather together to make dresses for African children. Pretty neat! I have made a few pillowcase dresses for Annika and have several pillowcases that I had purchased from thrift shops so I have spent some time yesterday sewing 4 pillowcase dresses. They are SO simple! The white eyelet fabric needed to be lined and that was a simple fix. I still have 4 more pillowcases as well as some other fabrics from my stash that I will be taking with me for Friday's sewing adventure.

It feels so good to make these little dresses and imagining the little ones who will benefit from my efforts. Won't those white dresses look fabulous against dark skin? I will be stopping by my local thrift stores tomorrow to look for more pretty pillowcases. They take just a bit less work than making these dresses from yardage. The goal on Friday is to make 100 dresses. I hope that lots of ladies show up!!

Saben's 6th Birthday Party - STAR WARS!

2011-03-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

Dave and I drove up to Bellingham this afternoon for Saben's birthday party. Reminded me of the old days when it was Dave and I who had planned the party for our kids! And to think that Andy Lamb brought his 3 boys to celebrate, when he used to come to Kyle and Jason's birthday parties at these tender ages! That was way too cool! After everyone left, Kyle's family and Dave and I went out to eat dinner at Shari's, which was Saben's choice. I'm sure he has a tummy ache from all the cake and then a "Pancake Face" dinner!! Here are some snaps from the days events.

Lovely sunset on the way home AND a fabulous rainbow that I didn't get a photo of

Charlotte is ready to crawl!

2011-03-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

Charlotte has been sitting by herself for the past 2 weeks or so

I watched Shauna's girls last night for a couple of hours and was amazed to see that not only can Charlotte sit by herself (she was six months old yesterday) but she is beginning to crawl. She can lift herself up on all fours and push herself forward. Shauna told me she was beginning to crawl, but I was skeptical. Holy cow! I was amazed at this sweet little Charlotte! I guess she is taking after her Uncle Jason, who crawled early and was walking at 10 months old.

So, is she creeping or actually crawling?

And Hailey is such an innocent little thing, so sweet and loving....until boom, she dances over to her sister and pushes her over! I had to give Hailey a time out and spoke with her sternly about being nice to her sister and that it was not good to push her over when she is sitting on the floor. I don't really know why she does this, because she is always giving her sister kisses and patting her on the back and treating her nice. That's kids for you!!

Hailey loves her little sister.


She loves playing in the tunnel

The Dancing Queen!


Happy Baby!

And I'm one happy GRANDMA!

Hellebore Tea

2011-03-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos from the annual Hellebore Tea that I attended on Sunday afternoon at the Lake Wilderness Country Club, put on by the Lake Wilderness Arboretum. The first photo is of our table (Issaquah Garden Club) all set and ready to eat. We all contributed table decorations and food for the event. I made the floral centerpiece, using that same champagne glass that I used for our January garden club meeting. There is always a contest to see which table makes the best presentation and the judge is our local garden expert, Marianne Binetti . There were over 20 tables and lots of garden clubs were represented. Our table was one of two from the Issaquah Garden Club. Good food, good conversation! Silent auction, and a "best hat" contest. I don't wear hats so didn't participate. But next year, some of us are thinking we could get very creative and have our table mates each make a fun hat.

Our table decided to do floral mis-matched china and butterfly theme

Here is our table again, from above

And....the WINNING TABLE...the other table by our own Issaquah Garden Club members! Isn't it beautiful??

Stitch and Fish

2011-03-12T20:01:00.000-08:00

I thought that might get your attention!
This morning I attended an hour and a half talk by one of my favorite artistic quilters, Libby Lehman. She is from Houston, Texas, and was invited to speak at the Bernina dealer in Renton today. I paid my $20 a few weeks ago and was I ever glad I was there!

Libby Lehman, author of the now out-of-print book Threadplay, which I already had so was able to bring it with me and get her signature in it! Check out that jacket!

These are some examples of her work:

Of course Libby uses a Bernina sewing machine, but my Baby Lock machine will work equally as well, except for one foot that is a Bernina exclusive. I think I can live without it! Maybe. The reason that I have so admired Libby is that she is an abstract artist. Just my cup of tea! And she uses all sorts of threads and yarns to make her quilts come alive. Sometimes I have felt like a....ahem.....fish out of water because I like the wonky, wacky and colorful in my quiltmaking. I know it is not for everyone. But it does sorta make my heart sing! I learned several new techniques today and I can't wait to put them into practice!! Now to the fish story.....

My beta fish that I have had longer than probably any other beta I've had, is sick. Somehow he lost his ability to float. I forget what they call that. There is a name for it.

Here is my friendly beta fish. I don't like to call him a Siamese Fighting Fish. That sounds too mean!

He has been living either on the bottom of his tank or in amongst the roots of the peace lily plant that I have at the top. The thin roots hold him up. A few times throughout the day I check on him to see if he is still alive. I know it's "just a little fish" but I feel so sorry for him! I pet the side of the tank, he looks at me and sometimes swims over to my finger. More often than not, he is lying perfectly still and I have to wiggle the glass tank to see if he is still alive. He slowly begins flipping his little "wings" and struggles to the top for some food.


Pool guy!

Do you think God cares about this little fish? I do! If He cares about a little sparrow, I'm sure he cares about the fish of the sea as well. And if God cares about the life of a little bitty fish, I guess I can too. The only thing I know for sure is that God cares for me and you! Makes me wonder if God is "wiggling my tank" checking to see what I'm up to! I hope He is not disappointed!

The Hidden Dangers of SEWING!

2011-03-08T16:22:00.000-08:00

I have had a cold. "So what?" you may ask. But I haven't had a full blown cold for a LONG time! So yesterday I was feeling like I could survive it and decided to lay low and spend the day in my sewing room. Then at about 9 pm, when common sense told me to call it a day, I said to myself, "Nah. Just one more piece to embroider. Then I will quit for the night." So much for my common sense ruling me!

Just a bit of carelessness and inattention mixed with my computerized, push-a-button embroidery/sewing machine and DANG if I didn't somehow manage to drive the needle into my left index finger! What a shock that was! ME???? I've sewn since I was a kid. HOURS and HOURS and YEARS and YEARS of sewing. Only the stupidest person could possibly sew through their finger!!

Ah, the loophole. I didn't sew through my finger! I just made the needle go part way in and then break, leaving the tip of the needle in my finger, totally in and under my finger nail. WHOA! And I wasn't actually sewing. I was working toward changing the bobbin thread when I don't know exactly what I did, but it did involve pushing a button. Must have been the wrong button! And why my finger was UNDER the needle is anyone's guess.

I knew I was in trouble when I saw the middle part of the needle hanging down but the eye of the needle was missing. I even looked for that needle tip after I saw this:


Look! No blood, no swelling, little pain.

Anyway, after a trip to Urgent Care in Bellevue, a shot of antibiotic in my behind and a tiny splint applied so I wouldn't bump it, I was sent home and told to call the orthopedist in the morning to find out when to come back to get it removed. It was suggested that I would need to have my fingernail removed to get at it. YIKES! The thought of that with only a pain blocker in my finger was enough to drive me bananas!

So this morning Dave drove me to the doctor's office and the Physician's Assistant managed to cut away my fingernail around the hole and dig down enough to expose the metal piece and then pull it out. I did have to have injections to block the pain in my finger, but it worked! And I'm really no worse for the wear. I can do whatever I want and the nail will grow out with the hole in it and I should be able to golf right away! Yahoo! (Today was ladies golf day, but I woke up with laryngitis, much to Dave's delight I'm sure!)

So there you have it. When using machinery, always employ your common sense. Stop when you've put in a full day's work and protect those fingers!

Oh. By the way, the nurse that helped me at urgent care told me I was the 2nd one of these in the past week. The other lady came in with the needle all the way through her finger! Nice to know I'm not the only one!

Hailey Turns TWO!

2011-02-28T19:30:00.000-08:00

Sunday we celebrated Hailey's 2nd birthday at Pete and Shauna's in the evening with the relatives.

Sweet!

The Lovely Mother

Take a BIG breath!


Yum Yum!

The Runaway Dinner book with fabric plate, fork, spoon and knife that I made

Hailey knew just what to do with the quilt and pilowcase I made for her!

I knit her this sweater with a fuzzy white neck area and it fit!

Grandma Cyndi

Grandpa Don and Grandma "Lita" gave Hailey this neat riding trike or is is a quad? Cousin Ella is giving Hailey a hand.

Grandpa Don holding Charlotte - 5 months

These are Salsa Skirts that I made for both girls. Good for twirling!

Dave and Dave talking about......Dave??

Auntie Roxanne showing Hailey the book she gave her

These kids make me happy, but no smile from Charlotte!

Finished.....Embroidered Box

2011-02-27T12:50:00.000-08:00

Here it is! I'm still working on some other projects. I think I'm happiest when I have several things going on at once. I've never been one to buy just what I need for one project, finish it and plan my next sewing task. Nope, I see things I like and whether it is fabric, a pattern, book or thread, I'm always ahead of myself. I guess it just keeps me interested!! If I get bored with one thing, I can set it aside and work on something else.

Gadget Girl in the Sewing Room

2011-02-25T21:06:00.000-08:00

Yup. You could call me gadget girl because I love tools and gizmos and handy-dandy aids in my sewing room and my kitchen. I am so very happy to have my rubber stamps moved out of my craft/sewing room and SOLD to others who will enjoy them, which gave me more room to spread out my sewing machines and supplies. I still have to put up a quilt design wall, which is simply an area of the wall which has quilt batting or some other felt-like fabric that quilt pieces can stick to so I can hang up the quilt pieces in process to see how I want the finished project to look. First I need to fill the holes from all the shelves I had up there holding some of my stamps.

Every sewing room must have a sturdy cutting surface, so years ago Dave helped me get a large cutting area made out of a large slab of MDF (medium density fiberboard for all you non-construction types) set on top of two inexpensive ready-made lower cabinet modules, complete with drawers. I have a large cutting mat on top and it works perfectly.

But where are the gadgets? All over the place! In drawers, hanging up, on shelves. Here are my latest finds.

I really didn't NEED a new rotary cutter, but this one is sweet! New and improved.


Now I didn't need any more tiny scissors, but these were on sale and I couldn't resist.

If you are really into the creative sewing process, you know how many threads and bits of fabric fall on the floor. Especially if you are serging. And I have my old serger set up (finally) as well as my WONDERFUL newer BabyLock air threading serger. Gotta contain those threads, so we must have places to conveniently put them. Viola!

I have used a ziplock bag for years attached with duct tape to contain serger fabric and threads.

I have this right behind my serger to hold the garbage from my big sewing machine. Still, do you see the threads on the carpet?

Here is my main garbage container. It fills up quickly with card making stuff as well. I did sell my rubber stamps but I still make cards and have to cut them down to size. Hence, a full garbage container.


Here is yet another spot to stuff the junk. I have no excuse for making a mess in here!

Right now I have 4 project that I am working on at the same time. And I'm not even counting the 2 large quilt tops that need to be layered and quilted, or the 2 wallhangings that are half finished. I'm pathetic! But I will get them done. Here is one of tonight's projects.


These are about 2 1/2" x 2" mini Asian kimonos (3 of them) on a piece of white satin that will be the topper for a brown hinged box that has a place to insert these under glass. Love machine embroidery!!

The following photos aren't totally gadget oriented, but I have all my findings organized in plastic boxes in a rather large built in shelf area. From accessories for my machines to zippers. It's all in there somewhere!

Here is a sample. Sometimes I can't remember where I put things. Like just tonight I was looking for my horizontal spool holder. I searched high and low (I have 3 of these suckers!) and I FINALLY found them right where the container was even labeled "horizontal spool holders" among other machine related supplies.

You can't even see all the buttons I have. I won't get rid of any of them! I have 4 containers behind these, including a huge glass jar full to the brim. I have my grandmothers old buttons and some from Shareen's mom after she passed away. You never know when I might get an urge to go retro!

This is just some of my super specialty thread. I have thread coming out of my ears practically. And it tickles! If you desire to be creative, you need thread. Rayon, cotton, silk, polyester, variegated, mono-filament, bobbin thread, 30 weight, 40 weight, 60 weight. I still have thread from 40 years ago, but I don't use that very often since it degrades and doesn't seem to want to get along with the newer computerized sewing machines.

I try to shield Dave from my heavy duty addictions. But he found out just how bad I was with my rubber stamping hobby. I had paper making supplies, pergamano supplies, ink pads and punches galore. He had NO idea! But still, he loves me and doesn't hassle me over my weaknesses. After all, he has put up with my horse adventures and that is a REAL money pit!! For years I have said this about my hobbies....."It's cheaper than paying a therapist!" Uh oh. I do think that therapy would have been cheaper, but I guarantee I would still be who I am and couldn't be happy without all my "stuff." Well, I could be happy. After all I didn't always have "stuff" when we couldn't afford it! I can be content with less, but PLEASE don't touch my sewing stuff!

I guess I should get back to my sewing room. I still have one thing that I know I will finish tonight!


A little wine lasts me all night and I have even been known to forget to finish it. But only a little wine. I wouldn't want to stitch through my finger!!

I will post some of my latest creations so come on back!

Remember when cooking was fun?

2011-02-21T19:50:00.000-08:00

Or maybe just a creative expression? When I was looking at some new blog posts today, I found this:

http://dineanddish.net/2011/02/making-homemade-fresh-pasta-noodles/ (check the links to the right)

That was all the inspiration I needed to get my Pasta Maker out of the pantry and prove to myself that I still remember how this contraption all fits together! I know many of you young moms struggle with your schedule and feel too overwhelmed to spend much extra time cooking, and I did, too, with little kids under foot. But I do remember that I used to delight in putting a nice meal on the table for the family every night when the kids were still at home. Not gourmet, but just all around good everyday food! Things change when it is just two old fogies at home! I find that I would rather play on my computer or spend time in my craft/sewing room, or that I'm too tired after golf....oh dear! Costco has made me lazy. Trader Joe has lots of heat and serve type meals. And yet, there is nothing wrong with quick and easy. Actually tonight's meal was a combination of quick and easy and special. Chicken breasts from Costco thawed and in the pan with mango/lime salsa from a jar, frozen peas and homemade rigatoni pasta. And oooohhh, that salsa was tangy hot. I wished it had a little less bite. Next time I will opt for Costco mango salsa. YUM!!

This is easy and fun!


Yup, there really is a chicken breast under there.

Homemade pasta cooks in only a fraction of the time that dried pasta takes, and I always use Semolina flour instead of regular flour. My favorite is still angel hair pasta! But then again, homemade gnocchi is really good too!

Happy cooking!

Grandparenting....it's the BEST!!

2011-02-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

Nativity Wallhanging - FINISHED!

2011-02-15T10:48:00.000-08:00

Better late than never! Now to get to some of my other UFO's. (UnFinishedObjects)


From this....

To this!

Ten on Ten for February

2011-02-10T17:37:00.000-08:00


Lunch for Lynda's birthday (far right) with Dorene & Sharron

My new purple purse.....LOVE IT!

Walked through the yard looking at new growth on Hellebores

Pesky Moles!! Dave caught one yesterday. A BIG one!


The deer love to eat the red twig dogwood. Would love to alternate the red twig with some yellow twig dogwood (Cornus sericea 'Flaviramea.) It would be gorgemundous, but the deer would just have more to eat!

Holly trees are a noxious weed! The seeds are carried and 'dropped' by the birds and we have loads of these that we have to pull out every spring/summer. English holly is OK, but there is an ongoing controversy with holly growers over whether holly trees should be considered invasive and if commercial growers can get an exemption from laws prohibiting this species. Glad I don't have that to deal with!

Beautiful sunny day yesterday and today and no golf. Looks like it is a go for tomorrow at Foster. Yahoo! Oh, IF my knee will cooperate with all the walking. I will be taking my Ibuprofen!

I only have ONE MORE square to embroider for my Christmas wall hanging. I thought I would get it done by Christmas, but here it is February and I am still fiddling with it!

See. I have to cut a few of the embroidered designs, embroider that one last piece, stitch them all together with the borders, and then sew the binding and backing on and quilt. My stack of projects is piled high.

My latest business endeavor. Love, love, love this stuff!

A. Lincoln

2011-02-03T12:45:00.000-08:00

Kyle and Kari gave Dave & me this thick autobiography of Abraham Lincoln for our birthdays (one week apart) and I brought it with us to Acapulco to read. I really had hoped to finish the book...all 796 pages of this extra large paperback....before we returned home. WRONG! I got about half way into it and I have to say it requires more 'thoughtful' reading than a novel so I overestimated how quickly I could read it! I have really enjoyed this book and found myself many times stopping to tell Dave or Chip something new that I learned. I feel like I now know A. Lincoln. Oh, and the reason the book is named A. Lincoln is that it is how Mr. Lincoln referred to himself.

So, I highly recommend this book! And in reality the last 120 pages or so are notes and the index so don't be intimidated by the size. Besides for those of you who shudder at so many words....there are photos sprinkled throughout for your entertainment.

Thanks Kyle & Kari!

Kookaburra sits on an old gum tree.....

2011-01-23T19:37:00.000-08:00

We are home from a one week vacation to Acapulco, thanks to Dave's cousin, Chip, for inviting us! But wait, aren't kookaburra's from Australia, you ask? Well, of course they are! Yet, here in Acapulco, Mexico, we had an expensive dinner at Kookaburra's restaurant and they had 3 of these big birds in a cage.


Isn't he cute!

Chip, Pris, Bob, Me, Dave, Janet, Vonda and Dave


Very pricey dinner, bottled water of course, FABULOUS VIEW with NO glass window to look through! The view was really spectacular when the sun was setting.

We saw 12 of these traveling in a row the opposite direction from us and ALL had their semi-automatic rifles drawn! Just a bit unnerving. The drug wars are a concern and evidently there was an election happening in a couple of days and that might be why they were out in force.


This is part of the view from our deck.

And here is the view to the left.

This is another view from our deck of the huge pool and the smaller (and warmer) one up and on the right side.

We ate many of our meals at this poolside restaurant. Food was OK but expensive. Must be because of the location. Tourism is down in Mexico because of the drug killings, so maybe they should think about lowering some prices!

This is the town of Puerto Marquez. Shops on the left and eating spots on the right, opening to the beach.

Five of us went for a 5 hour sightseeing, swimming, fishing adventure in this boat, with local fellow, Victor, as our guide.

Torre Blanca is where we stayed. We were in the right tower, with the best views! To the left is the town of Puerto Marquez.

We were lucky in that we saw whales breeching the water and dolphins swimming next to our boat. That usually doesn't happen when Victor takes people out, so we felt very fortunate!

We saw all sorts of houses and condominiums built in precarious places. Good thing they don't have lots of earthquakes in Acapulco!

Here are those crazy cliff divers!

Doesn't this look inviting?

All in all, it was a wonderfully relaxing week!

New Year Floral Centerpiece

2011-01-12T20:32:00.000-08:00

This morning was our monthly garden club meeting and I was in charge of our luncheon and also made the food table centerpiece. I meant to take photos of Nam Kim's wonderful Korean centerpieces for the member tables but didn't have time to do that before we adjourned. I thought it would be fitting to remind each of us that we are beginning a new year, hence my theme! I had fun making it and took cuttings from my yard and purchased a bouquet of flowers from Safeway to incorporate into the design. Yellow food coloring in water kind of looks like champagne.By the way, the champagne glass is available from Michael's Crafts and it is BIG!

January 2011 Ten on Ten

2011-01-10T21:16:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be a good day to meet Shauna and her girls at the Children's Museum at Factoria Mall. Who thought to check and see whether it was open on Mondays? Not either one of us, so after Saben, Annika and I found out it was closed, we waited for Shauna and her girls to show up, and they wanted to know....

"What are we going to do now?"

Ready, Set, Go......It's time to work off some energy.

"Why run when we can crawl?"

"What museum? This is fun."

"I'm pooped!"

Grandpa and Saben flying around Vietnam where Mommy & Daddy are visiting.

Chocolate (Nutella) on her Ciabatta roll...Oh dear....what will mommy say?

Life is a puzzle sometimes especially for princesses....

Looks like the Ducks are headed for a "quack-up" in that yellow footwear!

Fingerless Gloves. My latest EASY knitting project.

Mini Shauna

2011-01-09T08:44:00.000-08:00

Jill, you were right! How did you remember that Shauna was dressed in the same blue dress for the OLD family photo we have hanging in the hall?! It seems pretty clear looking at the two pictures together that Hailey is really her mother's daughter! Although Shauna has brown eyes and Hailey's eyes are blue.

What a trip down memory lane it is to look at such an old photo of Dave's side of the family. Guess I should scan the other half of the family! Can you tell that photo is from 1981? The family has grown quite a bit since then!!

Look at Jason's goofy smile!

Christmas 2010 - More Hats and other ramblings

2010-12-27T17:51:00.000-08:00

Awww. I was so touched to see that my daughter, Shauna, had her oldest girl, Hailey, dressed in one of the dresses I saved from when Shauna was her size! LOVE IT!!

Charlotte (3 months)

Annika (3 years)

Hailey (22 months)

Saben (5 years)

"I don't want to sit here for a photo!"

I did make a hat for each of the grandkids. Snowboarder hats for the two older ones.

Hailey's Christmas hat is on the left. The pink one didn't turn out too good (you can't see the detailed pattern because of the fuzzy yarn I chose) so I gave it to Charlotte a month ago.

I got each of the girls teddy bears (Saben is too old for one :( ) and then I used my embroidery machine to make a heart patch for each one that says "Grandma loves Charlotte" (or Hailey or Annika.) Each one of them is super soft and cuddly! (Oh, and so are the kids)

What a fun time with family once again this year. We are so very blessed! Traditions here include food. We usually have Pierogi (Ukrainian potato dumplings) on Christmas Eve. My dad's parents immigrated from the Ukraine so it is a tradition passed down from his parents. This year we had it for breakfast along with other breakfast items on the 26th, since that is when Kari & Kyle and kids came to celebrate Christmas with our side of the family. All the kids/grandkids were here for breakfast. We usually have cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, but since our kids are grown and gone, traditions change and get passed down to the next generation. I brought homemade cinnamon rolls to Shauna's house for Christmas brunch. She and Pete are such good hosts! She had a crowd with Pete's side of the family and Jason, Dave and I.

Then there are the gingerbread men that I made every year before Christmas so the kids could decorate them with frosting and all sorts of candies. Shauna has taken over that tradition as well and had her daughter and nieces and nephews do the decorating both at her house and again yesterday at our house. FUN! Kids are so creative!

I also treated the family to homemade lefse, which is a Norwegian dessert. Dave's neighbor growing up was of Norwegian heritage and made lefse and homemade donuts and would share some with Dave's family. Luckily I got the recipe years ago and decided to try to keep this tradition going too. All of this stuff is really pretty calorie laden! Lefse is made from mashed potatoes and flour and then you roll it into thin rounds and fry it until it bubbles up a bit and gets brown. They are stored in the refrigerator and you simply spread one with butter, sprinkle sugar on it and roll it up and enjoy! Here is what it looks like:

Yummy lefse

We always have a gift exchange with the extended family, who arrived yesterday at 3:00 and it's not a white elephant exchange but everyone provides a gift and then we draw numbers and do the typical stealing from each other. It is always a fun tradition! This year I saw someone selling marshmallow/hot dog roasting "sticks" at a craft show. They were made from golf clubs with the heads cut off and forks screwed in their place. What a great idea! I thought Dave could surely make these in no time and that since everyone in the family (except Dave and I) enjoy camping that this would certainly be a great item for the gift exchange. Unfortunately Dave discovered that the metal was way too hard for normal tools, so he took them to his friend, Marv, who has a drill press, and Marv ended up drilling the holes and attaching the forks. What a great friend he is! Here are a few photos of the gift exchange:

Chip, Shauna, Kari & Jason

Jason, Emily, Bob, Jill, Nathan w/Kyle & Pete in back

Here are those hot dog roasters!

Chip, Brian, Kari

Dave did not end up with this doughnut maker!

We were missing several members of the extended family and we still had 18 of us. Sorry you couldn't be with us Wilsons, Donna, Roger, and other nieces & nephews with kids. I think it has been quite a while since all 36 of us have been together at the same time! Maybe next year.

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas and have a wonderful 2011!!

Vegas, Baby!

2010-12-18T15:10:00.000-08:00

We really aren't that wild, but we were in Las Vegas for 4 1/2 days. We wanted to go away in honor of our 40th anniversary to somewhere warmer, cheap, not too far away, cheap and without spending too much money. Oh, I guess I already mentioned that. So by using our air miles we didn't have to pay to fly there and staying at Harrah's (our preferred hotel) was $35 per night. Not too shabby!!! Harrah's is centrally located right across from Caesar's (great window shopping at the Forum Shops) and the beds (king size) are super comfortable. Huge room and some may think it is old and it would be better to stay at a newer hotel, we say, "Fine. Go ahead and waste your money!!" We were able to walk North to the Fashion Show Mall, the Venetian, Palazzo, Wynn and see the fantastic architecture. And we could walk south to our favorite site, the Bellagio. Fantastic decorations for Christmas and of course that chocolate fountain is a sight to behold! Here are some sample shots of the Bellagio. No outdoor fountain shots as you can see that anywhere! Click on the photo to enlarge it.

Beautiful lobby registration desk

Lots of fabulous Christmas decorations and check out that handsome guy!

Gotta love that chocolate fountain at Jean Philippe's Patisserie

Can you see me taking this photo?

Lovely, isn't it?


Here is the other side of that HUGE tree!

We walked and walked all the way down to the new City Center complex which sits on 76 acres! That really gives you pause at just how oversized everything is in Las Vegas.

I kind of wanted to eat at Eva Longoria's restaurant, BESO, which is kitty-corner to the Aria hotel at City Center, but we decided to forgo such an expensive lunch and certainly were not interested in walking all the way back here for dinner!! I might have decided to eat there if Eva herself had been there. I think she is one gorgeous lady. Notice the water floating in mid air....I managed to catch this shot as the interesting water feature was doing it's thing.

We didn't eat here either! This was located in Crystals, the shopping mall at City Center.

Do you recognize this giant eraser? I did! They have a similar one at the Olympic Sculpture Park in Seattle.

I wanted to put this photo in even though it is sort of boring, just so you could see how big things are. Isn't this a huge intersection? You really need good shoes on to make it all the way across some of these intersections before the light changes. They do have bridges across the street every so often.

This is looking north. We have a long walk to get back to our hotel! Did you know that it is almost 9 miles from the south end to the north end of Las Vegas? The Stratosphere and Freemont are way up north. We didn't go there this time. Been there, done that. I wore black tennis shoes the whole time. I enjoyed looking at the Louis Vuitton and Gucci purses (my favorite was $3900...cough, cough) and Jimmy Choo shoes for only $600 to $1000 per pair. My feet wouldn't cope in those shoes but they sure looked pretty!

And yes, the street performers were interesting! Although we enjoyed the dueling piano bar at Harrahs, the Elvis impersonator was really bad! They have karaoke from 6 to 9 pm every night and though some people had fabulous voices, this Elvis person really needed to have a friend tell him he can't carry a tune!!

Here is another reminder of how wonderful the talent is in our great Pacific Northwest. Dale Chihuly. I just love this piece in the Bellagio, of course!

And this breath-taking ceiling is in the lobby of the Bellagio. Wow. That's all I can say. I suppose that is enough photos of Las Vegas. I didn't even take photos of the fabulous buffet restaurants. We ate almost as much as we would on a cruise! Burp. And the 2 for 1 coupon for waffle cones at Ben and Jerry's at Casino Royale just next door. They also have the best price for a beer (blech) or a glass of strawberry or regular marguerita, for only a dollar. So there you have it. A quick and relaxing get-away that didn't cost us an arm and a leg! The bonus was that we didn't get rained on and it was sunny, shirt-sleeve weather.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

2010-12-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

How lovely are your polyethylene branches!

It's only 4 1/2' tall, arrived in a box yesterday and it is now up and decorated. WooHoo! Easy. And I don't have to rearrange all the living room furniture. Yes, I could remove the plant that is behind the tree, but then I would have to find another place for it. This works!

I ordered this tree from http://www.hayneedle.com and they were quick! They shipped it the day after I ordered and it arrived 4 days later. I'm impressed with that company and hope to order from them again. I forgot the most important part...the price! On sale marked down from $159 to...................$39! That's right! $39, no tax and no shipping. You can't beat that! Uh Oh. I just checked their site. Guess my timing was perfect because it looks like this one is sold out.

It's dark at 5 pm. I like!

with flash on

with flash off

Coconut Cream Cake

2010-12-07T16:31:00.000-08:00

I had a successful dessert with that flourless chocolate cake, so figured it couldn't be that difficult to make another dessert that looks just as good as it tastes. WRONG!! I had 2 recipes for Coconut Cream Cake and frosting, so used the cake & filling from one cookbook and the 7 minute frosting idea from the other, since I didn't have enough whipping cream left to do the other frosting. Baking the cake was fine. Making the coconut cream filling was fine. Even splitting the layers was fine. Then the problem began....stacking and layering the filling. So, OK it wasn't a disaster yet! Just tricky since I had so much cream filling between the layers.

Then I began making that 7 minuted cooked frosting. You add the hot sugar mixture into whipped egg whites and beat it for 7 minutes. Well. I was still beating it 30 minutes later!! Finally it looked like it might just hold together so I frosted it, sprinkled the top with coconut and rushed it to the refrigerator in the garage. The cake filling needs to be kept cool. Of course, the frosting on the sides began oozing ever downward. I knew I was in trouble but it was almost bedtime so it would have to wait until the next afternoon since I had a hair appointment in the morning. I needed this cake finished and ready to take to Dorene's house for dinner with a dozen or so of her friends by 4:15. YIKES!! I'm glad I don't decorate cakes professionally! What a stress that would be.

2 pm. Scraped off the sides of the cake and cleaned up the cardboard base, but left the top in tact. Made more 7 minute frosting. Just a tad bit different recipe, but still needed to be whipped for 7 minutes. This time, I thought I had it nailed! But, as you can see in the photo, some of the frosting sagged a bit! No time to fret or try to make another dessert. By golly, I was going to make this work!! Sharron picked me up and off we went, cake sitting on my lap the whole way there. And it is a HEAVY, calorie-ridden cake!

Luckily, all the ladies were kind and told me how "beautiful" the cake was! I know different, but it did taste good in spite of itself. You can bet I won't be making this cake again! Talk about labor intensive!

It was a good time together and we all drove from dinner at Dorene's in Seattle to the Issaquah Theater to hear local harpist (from Sultan, WA) Bronn Journey in his annual Christmas concert. If you haven't been before, check out his website, sign up for email reminders and GO NEXT YEAR!! His wife sings and has an exquisite voice. http://www.bronnjourney.com

Next year I think I will volunteer to bring an appetizer. Like crackers and cheese! How tough can that be??

Birthday wishes for Don

2010-12-04T22:00:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had our friends, Don and Mary, to our house for dinner. Since Don's birthday is Monday, we wished him a happy birthday with this flourless chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. Yum!

The recipe I used was from the cookbook, Christina's of Sun Valley. Her Christina's Restaurant is famous for their breakfasts. Dave and I have eaten there when we've been to Sun Valley and will go there again when we visit. I have a "thing" for cookbooks, so I bought two of her cookbooks and have found them to be loaded with good recipes and she has nice color pictures of the food, which to my way of thinking is what all cookbooks should have!

And here is a copy of the recipe in case you are interested. You can click on the recipe to make it a bigger size.Hope you enjoy it. Oh, I should mention that when I removed the sides of the springform pan and placed the cake on my cake plate, I forot that the slippery bottom piece was just sitting on my glass plate, so after I served our cake, I was able to slip that piece out and leave the cake (parchement paper still attached) on my cake plate. I discovered my problem when I moved the cake to cut it and it almost slid right off!

As you can see, Don is quite the jokester! They are a fun couple and we are blessed to call them friends.

Parking Lot Annoyance

2010-12-03T18:15:00.000-08:00

OK, people. When you park your car, please pay attention to the cars on either side! When I took my aunt to the doctor today,I backed in to the parking space, straight in and far to the other side where there was a curb and shrubbery. The lady who parked next to me scraped past my bumper as you can see and didn't even have the courtesy to leave me a note! BUT another person saw what happened and left me a note on my windshield with her name and number and the license number of the other car.

To make a long story short, I tracked down this driver as she was quickly exiting the clinic (I had someone page the driver of such and such model car, license #such and such) and lo and behold, the woman scurried out with key in hand to exit before getting caught. Of course, she denied hitting me, but I told her there was a witness and I had photos of both vehicles and she was parked at an angle and over the line, with corresponding damage to her car. I did get her insurance information but she still didn't believe that she had done this. Holy cow!! Can you not feel it when you scrape another car??? I already talked to my insurance company, got an estimate for $528...it doesn't look like much, but I don't want to pay for it!!

I am so thankful for this other lady who took the time to leave me a note and make sure I knew what had happened. When I see someone do this sort of thing, you can be sure I will be returning the favor!! I'm thankful that it's just a car and no one was hurt, but sure wish people had a conscience!!

I Must Be a Knit Wit!

2010-11-30T18:14:00.000-08:00

Oh, Shauna! Your hat is finished. It is a charcoal color made out of Debbie Bliss Casmerino Aran yarn, which is a wool, microfibre and cashmere blend. It looks better on than just being posed for a photo! I hope you like it:

I discovered among my many half-finished projects, this wool knitted purse, which was almost finished except for the very top of the purse, the i-cord handle and then felting it in the washing machine. What fun! I finished it up this morning and here is the result:

I'm posting this additional photo so you get the idea of how tiny this purse is!! It started out WAY bigger. I think I LOVE this felting process! This turned out exactly the size that the pattern said it would be. 4" wide, 5 1/2" tall and 4" deep. Well, now that I think of it, I did make it just a bit taller. You can keep the handle doubled or pull it through and use it as a shoulder bag. I was glad to have success with my very first knitted and felted project. Maybe I should do a fancy purse next. Or a felted ladies hat. Hmmmm. Lots of possibilities. But then, I need to go finish the Christmas quilt that I have half done. The top is pieced and I just need to finish the back and layer it and quilt. Maybe I will get it all done tonite so I can post the finished project tomorrow. I'm really having more fun than a person should be allowed to have!!

AND...I'm still thankful to God that I am able to be creative! I kind of know how God must have felt when he created the heavens and the earth and all that is in it! Well....I guess a felted purse is a far cry from a giraffe or a platypus! But you know what I mean!

Not One but TWO.....

2010-11-28T14:29:00.000-08:00

dozen ruby red roses for our 40th Wedding Anniversary yesterday. What a great husband I have! Thanks, Dave!

We decided to go into Seattle for the day to enjoy the Christmas scenery and just be together. Seattle isn't like it used to be! I miss Legoland in the toy section of the old Frederick & Nelson store. And the elaborate Christmas displays in the Bon Marche windows. Macy's windows were rather bland and not at all inviting for kids of any age. They did have a Santa house in the corner so you could look in one window and see and listen to Santa with the kids, but it just can't measure up to the past. I know I sound old!

Here is the Seattle of today:

Lots of street musicians. These two with their hand saw & accordion were crazy!

It's now not enough to play your guitar on the corner. One needs to work TWO hula hoops as you balance a guitar on your chin, play another guitar and take a break and dance around a bit.

Of course, NOTHING compares to the Pike Place Market!! Tons of people.

San Francisco Fisherman's Wharf is no match for our seafood gurus at the Market.

And the Westlake Mall Christmas tree is all aglow with the Macy's Star as the crowning touch.

All in all it was a fun time visiting our glorious city. We took the bus in and it is definitely more relaxing and cheaper than driving in and paying for parking. In case you think that this wasn't a fitting 40th Anniversary celebration, we do have plans to go away for 5 days by ourselves. I'm not yet telling where or when! But I will blog about it for sure. And now on to the next 40 years!

I wasn't a Girl Scout, but I'm prepared!

2010-11-25T12:48:00.000-08:00

What a Thanksgiving Day!! Not quite what we were planning. I had hoped to have a non-cooking, relaxing day at SOMEONE ELSE'S house!! Like our relatives in Bellingham. But, I guess God had other plans. The snow had become an issue. As you can see this view from our porch on Monday. Weather report was not looking good as we went back and forth as to whether to make the drive up north with no 4-wheel drive and no chains for our car. You can't see it from this picture because we are 400 feet off the road, but our driveway goes up a bit and getting out and onto the road at the top of the driveway in the snow and ice is a difficult feat!

Then yesterday afternoon our furnace bit the dust. Since it has been COLD, we didn't want to leave our poor teeny dog home in a cold house....

But really, we just didn't want to chance the roads, so we made the decision to stay home and entertain ourselves. My husband found a turkey in the freezer and took it out to thaw thinking we could at least have a turkey dinner. Since I had a box of stuffing mix in my pantry, onion and celery in the fridge, I was able to stuff the bird and get it in the oven!

I also had a small can of pumpkin pie filling & one can of evaporated milk in the pantry, so viola! I made a pumpkin pie this morning.

You can tell how stressed Dave is about this whole ordeal...

He is happily racing his Formula I car in some distant country. Not even thinking about the $600+ bill to get the furnace fixed. He found someone to come out tomorrow and they even had the new motor in stock so we should be back to normal by tomorrow evening.

I had made this yummy snack to take to Bellingham (sorry family) but guess we will have to eat them ourselves. Easy recipe, thanks to Sherran Whatley for the recipe. It's just oyster crackers with some added yumminess. Our house really didn't cool off much overnight, thanks to our 2 gas fireplaces and the space heater we had set up in the bedroom. Who needs a furnace??

Dave's cousins Chip and Roger also decided not to make the drive up to Bellingham as they also have no chains and they have 3-4 inches of new snow in Bellingham and Joe & Robin live on a HILL!! So, we invited them to come spend the day with us. I suspect they won't have trouble with our driveway getting down, but we will see about getting out! I think it is warming up a bit so maybe it will be raining by the time they go home.

Yesterday I was feeling sorry for myself about our Thanksgiving so decided to make chocolate chip/macadamia nut cookies. Notice that KitchenAid....it is almost 30 years old!! Still looks GREAT.

I spent my birthday (Tuesday) in my sewing/craft room. I decided it was time that I figure out what I was going to do with that big box of wedding gown pieces from Brides Against Breast Cancer. I have volunteered with this group in helping brides try on wedding gowns. A few times a year they sell "used" wedding gowns (and some new) at reduced prices with the proceeds going to help Breast Cancer patients. It is a great organization, and they give anyone interested a box of cut apart wedding gowns that are not suitable to sell. The only "catch" is that they ask you to make a quilt or wallhanging to donate to them for them to display or sell and you can keep the remainder of the gowns. I decided to machine embroider some of the fabric and I have this big skirt of burnt orange satin that I plan on incorporating into the design. I will post a photo when I get it done. Here is a link to their website: http://www.bridesagainstbreastcancer.org/ Maybe you would be interested in volunteering or sewing a quilt!

So there you have it. Glad I had all the proper ingredients in our pantry to complete the Thanksgiving meal. Oh I forgot to mention that Scalloped Corn casserole that I had made yesterday. Sorry Kyle!! I know it is your favorite. We will miss seeing everyone in Bellingham!!

Birthday celebration at Pete & Shaunas

2010-11-22T09:10:00.000-08:00

Since Dave and I have our birthdays one week apart AND we have Thanksgiving thrown into the mix, it is always a busy November. Plus our anniversary is only 4 days after my birthday! What were we thinking, you may ask?? Well, when we got married Dave was a senior at the UW and I was working, so in order to have a 2 day honeymoon instead of just one, we chose the Friday of Thanksgiving in 1970 as our wedding date. "Wait until summer?" you ask. NO WAY!! Unlike today's newlyweds who actually have an exotic 2 to 3 week adventure for their honeymoons, we couldn't afford that luxury so it was Ocean Shores for us! But, here I am again on a tangent...

When Shauna invited us to come for dinner at their house, I remembered my mom and dad, who more times than not would say "That's too much work for you. We don't need to come for dinner. How about if we just come for dessert?" I felt frustrated many a time with this response since I REALLY WANTED to honor my parents and serve them a meal! They meant well, but they got fewer dinners at our house than they could have! We did, however, get together often to visit and play pinochle, so it isn't like we didn't interact with them!! After all, they just lived a stone's throw away! So, getting back to Shauna....I had the VERY SAME thought that my parents had..."It's too much work for you, with 2 little ones to care for." BUT instead, I said "YES. WE WOULD LOVE TO COME!!"

Shauna and Pete are such good hosts! They prepared a lovely meal for us. Gluten and dairy-free since both she and Dave are on restricted diets. Shauna because of Charlotte's digestive system and Dave because he finds that either wheat, dairy, gluten or a combination causes congestion and sinus difficulties. She even made a gluten free cake and didn't like the rice cream that she had purchased, so cut some sort of gluten free "ice cream" bars in half to go on our cake. Yummy!

It was a really fun evening! Jason was able to join us and we had good conversation and even played the XBox 360 Kinect games a bit before we left. Of course, the grandkids are wonderful! Sigh. Here are some photos of our evening.

Hailey loves her little sister!
Just like that, Charlotte was unhappy!
Oh, I knit that scarf the night before. VERY quick and easy.

There is a baby under there!

Lovely presentation!

Delicious food

Uncle Jason with Charlotte

Hailey glued all the letters on Dave's birthday card

Hailey the helper

Smile!

Gluten Free!!

YUM!

Pete is an awesome dad

I love holding and playing with my grandkids!

THE END

Here is another hat that I knit

2010-11-20T18:37:00.000-08:00

This one was for baby Genevieve, who is Kim's 3rd girl. Or another way of putting it, Genevieve is Hailey and Charlotte's cousin. Haven't seen the hat on this almost 11 pound (birth weight) baby, but Shauna said it fit her just right. If Kim delivered a boy (they didn't find out ahead) I would have called it a "BOYsenberry" hat, but it's just a sweet little berry hat, perfect for a little girl. I'm still knitting!

Which camera am I using?

2010-11-20T18:01:00.001-08:00

I have wanted to purchase a better quality digital camera for quite a long time. One that was fully automatic, but that had the capability of interchangeable lenses and would allow for more creative photography. This is the camera that I have been using for the past 5 years. A Canon PowerShot. I love that it is easy to use, takes a pretty good picture, and I can keep it in my purse.

Dave wasn't so sure he wanted another camera and certainly didn't want a big Digital SLR! We both remember how his back began giving him grief as he was carrying our big OLD movie camera all over Capital Mall in Washington DC almost 20 years ago. How can it be fun to take a big clunky camera with you everywhere you go? He was convinced that we needed a four-thirds type of camera and when we went to the camera shop, there were things about the 2 that we were interested in that just weren't right for us. One didn't have a built in viewfinder. The other was "slippery" and I was afraid we would unintentionally drop it. So, brave soul that I am, I asked the salesman if he had any other option that might fit our needs better. Lo and behold, he pulled down this!

This is the Panosonic Lumix G2 that has everything we were looking for. INCLUDING HD video!! That's really the feature that caused Dave to even consider getting a new camera. He has actually used this camera more than I have. He ordered a tripod for it and has been setting it up outside to videotape his golf swing. He spends more time practicing his swing and now is able to see exactly what he is doing with the golf club. I can't say that his game has improved, but he is enjoying this process.

So, there you have it. We've had this new camera for a few weeks now and all in all it is everything we had hoped for. Now I just need to hone my photography skills!

Falling

2010-11-18T19:11:00.000-08:00

I went to the Sewing Expo early this afternoon and only stayed a couple of hours as it was a rather small and uninspiring vendor turnout. But that is not my story...

This is. It was a drizzly day and as I left my car to walk through the rather large parking lot of the Puyallup Fairgrounds, I stepped on a pebble. It felt more like a rock, but I can't quibble at this point. I did step on something and my ankle gave way ever so slightly, but I caught myself and kept walking. It's pretty sad to have to admit that this has happened to me WAY TOO MANY TIMES lately! I'm beginning to worry about myself. But then, I'm not worried enough because as I was walking back out to my car it never even crossed my mind that I had a near miss just two hours earlier.

And, yes, I was carrying a very small bag of a few little items that I purchased, purse was over my head and across my body, keys in hand and my eyes were searching for my car just a few yards ahead. Then, I guess I stepped on another BOULDER, because my ankle gave way and down I went! YUP! All the way down, on my right hip and shoulder. Thankfully nothing was broken, not even my key fob. BUT, I did just notice that I have a little scrape on my right elbow, my shoulder is getting a bit "tweeky" and my hip has a bruise. Luckily I haven't lost all that weight that I had wanted because I have plenty of padding to prevent a broken hip! SO WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!??

Please don't answer. I don't think I could take hearing the truth from you. All the way home (sitting on a cloth grocery bag since my pants were soaking wet) I was ruminating on just what is happening to me. Am I that old that I can't take a brisk walk without falling? Am I just a clutz? Am I just not paying enough attention to where I place my feet?? Gosh, I've been walking for most of my life and haven't had many of these calamities until the last couple of years. Humph.

Then it hit me. Well, actually Dave is the one who posited a potential cause. My shoes. What?? I thought these Danskos were THE shoe to wear! Ah, but they are slip-ons. Look at these ugly beasts.

My concerned husband pointed out that I have no ankle support. There is nothing to hold my heel in place, so any little pebble causes a more severe chain reaction than if I were wearing tennis shoes. OK, so I admit he has a point. I gave up stylish shoes years ago because of problems with my feet. I have grumbled and groaned about this issue for years. I have been resigned to wearing clodhoppers. Now I guess it is time to wear lace-ups. Tennis shoes to be specific.

I give up. I will make the switch. I can't handle any more falls or near falls. Just another thing to grumble about....but then again, I should be thankful that I have no new broken bones and that a switch to more common-sense shoes will solve this situation.

Oh crumb, now I have blue ink all over my left arm...and the desk! I hate to admit that my husband is also right about PUTTING THE CAP BACK ON THE PEN AFTER I USE IT!! I hate when he is right....

Charlotte & Hailey

2010-11-15T18:28:00.000-08:00

I love living six minutes away from Shauna and Pete! I get to see these two granddaughters quite often. I wish Kyle and Kari lived closer so we could spend more time with Saben & Annika, but alas, they won't be moving here and we won't be moving there so we will need to travel to and fro.

So, when Shauna called this afternoon to ask if she could pop in for a bit to use our printer since hers was out of ink....and of course since we are closer than a store (!).....I said "Of course!" They didn't stay long, maybe only 45 minutes or so, but long enough to cuddle a bit with Charlotte and play with Hailey.

Coo-Che-Coo!

This happy baby weighs over 12 pounds at almost 8 weeks of age.

Grandpa is always eager to see his grandkids!

Hailey is able to sit by herself on the big ball and play with the balls, just like her cousins do!

I am extremely thankful to be a grandma and I enjoy watching each child develop and grow into just who God wants them to be. Thanks for stopping by, Shauna!

Holiday Craft Bazaar

2010-11-14T19:33:00.000-08:00

I spent yesterday from 9 to 3 pm and today from 9 to 1 pm at St. Joseph's Church's bazaar in Issaquah, trying to find buyers for some of my hand made items. What a s..l...o...wwwwww couple of days this was! Some of the other sellers said that all of the craft bazaars seem to have low attendance this season. Chalk it up to a bad economy. I don't blame people for wanting to hang on to what money they may have!

My friend, Mary Ellen, (we met during junior high school) and I shared a table; she with her wonderful gemstone jewelry and me with my variety of baby items, potholders, wine bags, placemats & napkins, quilts, etc. etc. Afterwards I donated 14 of my bibs, 2 receiving blankets, a nursing cover up and 4 burp cloths to the Baby Corner in Issaquah, to be given to those in need. I really wanted to get rid of some of my stuff, so this seemed like a good thing to do.

All was not lost for me, though. I am blessed (?) with the gift of gab so I was involved in plenty of conversations to keep me occupied. That is my favorite part of any event, and when I wasn't talking I busied myself with some knitting. Mary Ellen and I joked about how the $10 I spent at another booth came back to me when that person bought some of my things. We thought it would have been funny to mark the $10 bill and see which vendor ended up with it. We all seemed to be buying each others goods.

After we had packed everything up, another friend, Kim, and I drove to Taylor Creek Fabrics in Maple Valley to check out their fabrics. They didn't have what I was looking for, BUT of course I found something else that I liked. Thursday Kim and I will be going to the Puyallup Fairgrounds for the NW Quilt, Craft and Sewing Festival since I have 2 free admission tickets. That will be a quick trip, I'm sure, because the BIG sewing expo is in February. This one just gives me a kick in the pants to get sewing!

I tweeked my back last Thursday while taking my aunt and another lady shopping. They live in an assisted living facility and I think it was lifting the other lady's walker in and out of my trunk several times that made my sciatica flare up. I'm trying to baby it and it feels best when I am sitting, but oh my, when I have to get up....that's when it hurts.

All in all, I am counting up all my blessings this month. I am living my dream. I hope you are too!

10 on 10 NOVEMBER

2010-11-10T21:30:00.000-08:00

What a full day! I'm certainly thankful that I am able to be involved in so many wonderful activities with so many special people. Thank you, God, for my blessed life!

Yummy morning granola, coffee and of course GOLF!

Out the door for our annual garden club auction.

Ann Baron (www.gardenpartner.com) was our speaker today, who gave us awesome tips on fall propagation and preparing our garden for winter.

No garden club meeting is complete without food! And lots of it.

Drat, I had to rush off before the auction was finished. OK so I'm 2 miles over the speed limit...

I'm getting closer.....

I made it for my 4 hour volunteer shift but will need valet parking to make sure I get to the gift shop by 1:00. It's a long walk from where I normally park.

My partner is still in Germany (lucky lady) so I've been by myself for 3 weeks now. I spend my time helping customers, stocking the shelves, filling balloons and smiling. I love my time at VMC.

It is a rush to leave VMC at 5, drive home through traffic, eat a quick bite of dinner and then get out the door for Bible Study at 6:30. But not impossible!

Still time to relax in front of the TV and do a little knitting.

Poor fish will have to wait until tomorrow to get his water changed!

OOPS. Guess I slipped in an extra picture. So sue me!