Happy Birthday, Robert!

26 years ago. Actually, he was three days old in this picture, I think. It was windy that day, too! lol So hard to believe my baby is all grown up. In the next picture, he's holding his own baby girl! We've come full circle as we're intended to do.
Happy Birthday, dear, sweet Robert! We love you with all our hearts. You are an exemplary son! May the Lord grant you many more years of love and happiness with your little family! Love you!

How much do you love Grama?

Just a few pictures of K. It's been a while since I've posted. I have been diligently working on prayer shawls and have finally started the quilt with all the badges. Hopefully I'll have something to show this weekend.

This is a short post because, as I told Jim and Judy the other day, I feel as though I only bore people with the minutiae of my daily life. Suffice it to say that I stay busy doing what I do. The first three days of my week, though, are my favorite! I love my clients, but little Sweetie is my escape from the usual. We have more fun reading, dancing, singing, "getting" each other, eating, etc. She is a joy!

Baker's Rack

Here's our newest addition to our home. I was able to acquire this beautiful baker's rack from our new renters. They are downsizing to move into town and I was lucky enough to get this nice, nice piece of furniture. I've always wanted one to put right in this spot in the dining room. The turkey platters are the ones we have used at Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember. The yellow gravy dish and bowl are two of my favorite pieces from their house. Now I've got to get some barstools that will match somewhat! Our old ones are in dire need of retirement.

The renters will begin to move in tomorrow. It's been a whirlwind of emotions cleaning out the house getting it ready for them. I hope they enjoy living there as much as Mom and Dad did.

Time for bed. Hop on over to April's blog to read about K's boo boo! lol

Short month, long story

The proof is in the pudding..er, posting - wait, make that "non-posting". I am not a good blogger. lol Maybe at one time I was an excellent blogger, but no more, it seems. Before I begin a long diatribe, I will treat you to a couple of current pictures of our Miss K.

She is modeling a little hoodie vest I crocheted for her. What a joy she is! I told Jim last night that I sure miss the little toot when I don't see her for a few days. How can you not fall in love with a precious baby like this? Especially when you take care of her three days a week and she rests on your chest to fall asleep. Or, when she just lies in the crook of your arm and reaches out to stroke your arm with the softest little hand. Then there are those open mouth kisses that come at you with no request. She's walking now and will toddle toward me with her story book in hand. The return of her mama and daddy at day's end elicits squeals of delight and smiles to melt the stoniest heart. When she hears her Auntie Judy and/or Papaw Jim on the phone, she just wants to kiss the phone. Jude, I try to remember to show her your picture every day so you won't be a stranger when you come home. Next month is her first birthday!

As you can probably guess I could go on and on about Miss K. But, there have been other things happening in the past two weeks since I last posted. Let's see..there's been jury duty, cleaning out Mom and Dad's house to get it ready for renters, a stomach bug, fever blisters, prayer shawls, friends and surgeries, etc. Oh my.

Thank goodness that I have not been chosen to serve on a jury. I've shown up for all but one of my jury summons and have been sent home with others not chosen. Several of the cases have been DUI cases and I have to admit to the lawyers that I am not at all comfortable with a case dealing with alcohol. I have strong opinions on the subject so apparently, I wouldn't be a fair juror. Works for me.

Yes, we are going to rent Mom and Dad's house for now. A friend of the family and her husband had been looking for a place and I am more than happy to be able to help them. I think they will be fine renters and it will be nice to know that the place is being taken care of. Not to mention that it will help with the house payment. So, cleaning out 50 plus years of memories has been a little stressful, to say the least. Since I am the only one left in town to get this done, with a LOT of help from my husband, sons and friends, it's been a little rough. Our living room is filling up with boxes filled with things I'm not quite sure what to do with. We're trying to get the furniture sold to whomever needs what we have before we finally take the rest to a consignment store. I hope I've managed to save things that my sister and brother would like. Judy did specify a few things and I know she wishes she could be here to help. By the way, she is LOVING her job in Las Cruces and I am so happy for her!

I have forgotten to take pictures of the prayer shawls I've made for friends recently. It seems that several of my buddies have had to go under the knife for various reasons, mostly heart repairs. My closest friend will have surgery on Monday to help ease her headaches. It will be neck surgery, the kind where they go in through the front of your throat to work on the back of the neck. Scary stuff.. That's Leota, for those of you that know her. I made her a bright red prayer shawl since she loves red. The sister of a co-worker, Dolores, had open heart surgery so I have a shawl ready for her. One of my favorite clients also underwent heart surgery last week and her shawl is almost ready.

Truth be told, I need to be working on getting my tax info ready for Judy when she comes home in March for K's birthday. So, I will leave you now in order to get cracking on some of that before James wakes up and my day starts. We will spend a good chunk of the day at Dad's house. Until next time..

What's kept me busy..

Here are a couple of pictures I took of K last week. She's growing so fast and is trying to take her first steps. She will let go and walk a step and then fall into the couch or table, whatever is closer. One of these days...
The little rocking chair she is standing near is one that I, her 54 year old gramma, sat in when I was her age. I have a picture somewhere of me sitting in it, but I can't find it right now. The chair has been recovered several times, but it's still the same chair. All the kids in our family have had a chance to sit in it through the years.


I hope my brother does not read my blog until after he receives his birthday package. I made this little wallhanging for him. One of the first quilts I made was one with pictures of Mom and Dad and after Dad passed, Robert asked for it. So, I promised Henry I'd make him one all his own.

No quilting going on

No quilting going on, except for a little bit of embroidery on quilt blocks, but a lot of crocheting happening around here. My QOR friends are an endless source of ideas and projects. Talk centered around "prayer shawls" a few weeks ago. I showed a picture of the first one I made in a previous post. Here you see a white one I made for a birthday gift. The crocheted rosary is made of the same yarn as the prayer shawl and will go along with the shawl. I found the rosary pattern while surfing for another prayer shawl pattern.


Crochet projects are much easier to pick up, and put down, especially while a person is not feeling up to par. Yup, the old flu bug has hit us. Kerrington came home with it first (at least that's where we think it started. She actually cut another tooth and we thought that might've made her sick). But, then her daddy got sick, I got sick and now her momma is sick. K, Robert and I are about to get over it, I think, but April is still pukey. Check her blog to see a picture of her swollen ankle after her fall.

I've been up about two hours now and I can feel that I'm slowy fading. I will sit in the glider for a while and do some crocheting and then I'll probably go lie down. Jim has been so great in helping me while I've been down. I've had him running back and forth with Tylenol, crackers, ginger ale, etc. I don't know how ya'll do it that live alone. I feel for you. I hope you all are well and don't get this crud!

Staying busy

Many moons ago (about three or four months, actually) I received a gift card from Homespun Hearth. Remember when I made a top for them when they needed some made up quickly? Anyway, that was my payment and I finally ordered something with it. These two blocks are the beginning of the project that came as a kit. I've decided that having a kit, (all the fabric included) is the only way I am going to get back into the quilting swing. These blocks need to be embroidered and then I'll work on two more. Never mind that I have a truckload of other projects I should be doing. THIS is what I want to do now.
Before I received the quilt kit in the mail, I worked on one more crocheted item. This little sweater went to a friend's niece who is having a little girl in a few weeks. I also made a little hat to match but forgot to take a picture. After I took the pic of the sweater, I added a pink ribbon around the neck. Very cute.

Another crochet project I've been working on is a prayer shawl. Actually, several of them. The gals in my QOR group were talking about them the other day and I was intrigued. So, I did a little research and came up with a pattern to use.
I hope to make up several more to keep on hand. There is always someone who can use a prayer shawl.

"A Prayer Shawl is a knitted, crocheted or quilted shawl. It is made to be given to a person in need with the intent to shelter, comfort and give solace to the recipient. It enfolds the wearer in a warm tangible hug.
Why is it called a prayer shawl? As each shawl is being created, its maker is in prayer for the future recipient. The Shawl Ministry group often prays together for the recipients.
A prayer may start by affirming the Lord’s love and mercy and go on to ask that he show mercy to, or give comfort to the receiver of the shawl. It may ask for restored health or faith for the receiver. The prayers are heartfelt and individual to specific needs." Taken from BellaOnline. Maybe doing this will help me get a bit more centered, too.

I was able to come home early today because K's other grandparents relieved me of my babysitting duties. They had been in Lubbock and stopped by to visit and so I took them up on it. April was home, too, since she severely sprained her ankle last week and was up on it too long at work yesterday. I was going to go get supplies for work, but the wind was too fierce. I decided to come home and blog.

This weekend is my oldest son's 35th birthday. We will probably celebrate by going out to dinner as we do for everyone's birthday. Time to do a Google search for some of the items he requested.

Judy's new digs

If you look closely, you can see the three amigos in the doorway. We were leaving to go to the store and they lined up to say goodbye. There's Paco, Zed, and Sunshine.
Here's a shot of her new kitchen as seen from the hall that goes to the master bedroom. It's a four bedroom house with lots of room for boxes as you can see in the living room shot.

The living room view is taken from the front door.

She has no cable until Tuesday but finally got her internet hooked up. That's her lifeline these days! We get on Windows Live Messenger and can see each other with our cameras and talk in real time. Pretty nifty. I'm talking to her as I type.

Tomorrow is her first day at her new job. We got to meet one of her associates and her husband while we were there. She's in good hands. Thanks, Lorri and Jim, for taking care of her for us! They are the best!

I have jury duty in the morning so I better get my clothes together. I've unpacked but I should do some laundry. I won't get to see Kerrington for another day!

Well into the New Year

Day Two of 2010 already. Many people seem to think the thing to do is to set goals. Yes, goals. Not resolutions. I'm not any good at keeping resolutions but give me a goal, especially one with a due date attached to it and it's pretty much done. At the moment, my goals are as follows:

1. Start, and finish, Christmas/birthday gifts for my brother and sis-in-law. Time just got away from me and I didn't get theirs in the mail. Their birthdays are in February, so that's my time limit.

2. Continue finishing the BOMs I embroidered and/or appliqued the past year and gave to Brenda, April and Judy. I sent Brenda six months worth of the calendars and April and Judy have the first three months to display. There are my deadlines - Brenda needs hers by June and April and Judy need theirs each month starting in April.

3. I also need to work on a quilt for a client and her brother. She brought me tons of police badges that they want incorporated into a quilt. If anyone has ANY ideas on how I should do this, PLEASE send me your thoughts. I figured I'd quilt-as-you-go since I'm sure it will get extremely heavy with the badges.

Here's a little K picture for your enjoyment. This was taken on Christmas Eve. Rob and April and K spent their New Year's Day with April's family as per their tradition. I hope they got some really good pictures of our baby doll at her first New Year's Day/Christmas family get-together! hint, hint...lol They came over to our house afterwards and we all went out to Shogun's for a final Friday night dinner with Judy until she gets back here for a weekend.

Back to my goals..
4. The most pressing goal is to help get Judy moved to Las Cruces. This coming Thursday will find us on our way there to set her up in her temporary digs. Please pray that the weather stays nice for our trip there and mine back.

There are many, many other "goals" but I won't bore you with the details. Suffice it to say that my sewing room and extra bedroom will get a facelift this year, or else! Jim is very diligent about keeping the rest of the house decent enough for company and I hope he knows how much I appreciate that, especially the appearance of the "dish fairy" every day or so. lol

It's Saturday morning and I need to get ready for work. I will try to get to work early to replace calendars and set out the new Scentsy warmer. Check it out at www.scentsy.com/4886

Oh, last, but not least..I need to take the few Christmas decorations down that finally went up a few weeks ago!

Goodies!

Just a couple of pictures to show you the Kindle that Judy gave me and the Advent goodies from Tammy in Virginia. Thanks, Tammy! I so enjoyed opening a little gift every day in December. I hope to pass on the tradition next Christmas.

For those of you that are wondering what a Kindle is, here's a picture of it. It is a wireless reading device. You can access over 390,000 books, including 101 of 112 New York Times® Best Sellers, plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs. Wow. Most new releases are $9.99, and you can find many books for less and some are free. Carry it in your purse and you no longer have to sit in a line with nothing to do! I love it! Thanks, Judy! Oh, I made the cover for the Kindle because I didn't want to get it dirty while I showed it off :-).

Today was a day I knew would eventually arrive. Judy, Joe, Brittany and I spent the afternoon going through Mom and Dad's clothes and other things. Most of Mom's clothes had been distributed to those who needed them but we had not even touched Dad's closet. We are, by no means, finished, but have put a pretty good dent in it all. I still want to move some major pieces of furniture but I think we'll have to consider renting a storage shed for a while. We knew we had to get moving on this since Ms. Judy is making her big move to Las Cruces in eleven days!

Time now to hit the sack. A Kerrington day tomorrow!

Christmas 2009

Here are my two granddaughters, ready to open gifts on Christmas Eve.
Brittany saved the best for last. The Wii is from Mom and Dad. Can't wait to play a game with her!
Christmas overload!

We had a most enjoyable Christmas Eve at Rob and April's house. They graciously hosted our gift opening extravaganza even though April worked on Christmas Eve and helped her mom get home from the hospital. (Glad to report that "Gramille" is on the mend and feeling better.) April baked an apple pie and a decadent chocolate brownie delight for us to munch on after Judy's posole and the tamales we bought. April also had appetizers, ie., dip and veggies and crackers. She thinks of everything! After opening gifts, we were all so tired (especially those of us who worked that day ;-) So, we all returned to our respective homes and left Rob and April with most of the mess. Thank you so much for having us again this year, guys!

Christmas Day was spent being lazy, mostly. I worked on a cover for my Kindle (pictures later - I should be getting ready for work) and then Judy came over around 1 p.m. to fix the turkey that Jim won in a drawing during a golf tournament a few weeks ago. We took out frozen chili with pork and dressing from Thanksgiving and had a delicious dinner on the table in no time. Joe and Brit came by and ate with us and Rob, April and K came by later. We got to see K in her cute little pink trench coat that was a gift from Auntie J. Too cute!

Christmas, it's really gonna happen!

 

I didn't think I would decorate this year since it's already the 17th but I got home from work today and decided to "just do it!" Jim had told me several times that he would help so I called on him and he did. Last year I had packed everything and stored it in the spare room closet so we didn't have to get into the attic.

I have many, many Nativity scenes but this year I decided to put up just the one big one that Mom gave me the last Christmas she was with us. She gave Judy one just like it. I set it up under the tree.

 

 

The Christmas tree afghan on the sofa is one I crocheted a long time ago. I love this thing. It was one of the first big afghans I crocheted. The stockings don't have a proper mantel to hang from, but I still like to hang them as best I can on the fireplace screen. Since we don't burn wood in the fireplace, they're pretty safe.

Both my granddaughters will be with us this Christmas so that was the biggest reason I decided to put the tree up. Children need tradition. What the hey..adults do, too!

I had to go the long way around to post this entry and that's why the text doesn't follow the pictures exactly. I figure ya'll can make sense of it, though.

Again with the caps and other things

Amy wanted to see pictures of the caps I've been crocheting. I think I've posted the group pic before, but here it is again. And, of course, two of the caps I've made for Miss K. The brown hat with the flower is her mama's. April is one of those people that can put on a hat and look great. I am not. I also made her a gray hat with a light blue flower that matches her scarf. (Pictured in this group somewhere)I will leave you with these few shots of crocheted items. I've also made nine other caps for clients. Didn't take a pic of them. I'm off to work!




Oh, the the last picture shows wrist warmers that I took to a Christmas party for an exchange. The lady they were given to was ecstatic since she always has cold hands.

Comfort quilt

Ooh and aahh at this bee-u-tee-ful quilt I received in the mail yesterday! I truly am spoiled this week. Not only did I get a new vehicle to drive, my new laptop came in and I was gifted with this gorgeous quilt. My quilting sisters of QOR made the blocks and quilted this treasure. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I have spent the day watching Christmas movies and crocheting. I'm waiting for 5:30 to roll around so I can call in to see if I will be called to jury duty tomorrow. I can hardly stand the thought of having to deal with that for the next 4 months. :-( I'll have to call again Wednesday night. If it happens that I have to go in on Thursday or Friday, I'll have to go get my appointment book to call my customers.

Time to get back to these hats.

Last of the BOM project

The December Block of the Month is done. Whew! What WILL I do now? I don't need another set of Jan. - Dec. blocks but I really have enjoyed the challenge of completing the wallhanging before the month was out. I guess I'll just have to surf the 'net until I find something I'll enjoy doing for a year.

I spent the day at home today instead of going to work. I am not coughing as much, just take a few spells every now and then. My voice is gradually coming back. I think I'll go to work tomorrow.

Long time no blog

Not because I haven't wanted to, I just haven't had any pictures ready to post. I still don't have pics of the BOM for December and some of the other projects are Christmas gifts so those won't be posted until later. SO! Here are a couple of pics of my new ride!




Over the last 26 years, I have learned to be patient when my husband decides it's time to make a major purchase. You might say I am a compulsive buyer where he is the slow, contemplative, compare-all-you-can shopper. And, he always seems to get the best deal so I don't question his ways anymore lol. I should'a taken pictures of the inside but it's cold out in the garage and I guess since I stayed home from work with bronchitis, I should not be out in it.

Yes, I now have bronchitis after dealing with a nasty head cold all through the Thanksgiving holiday. We spent three days in Oklahoma with my brother Henry and his wife Shanon and had a wonderful time. I wasn't much fun, I'm afraid, since I was always blowing my nose and coughing. So, after hearing my cracking voice, Leota suggested I stay home and I agreed. I'll just sit and watch tv and do some handwork. I don't feel too bad, just tired. Jim just got back from picking up some meds for me as well as Judy. She's got a major sinus infection. I'm not contagious since I'm starting my second round of antibiotics but I didn't want my customers to feel uncomfortable when I have one of my coughing spells. I hope I can get to work tomorrow but it's snowing out now and supposed to continue. I'll let ya'll know by morning if I'm making the trek to the shop. If I have to, I may have Jim drive me in my new car.

Ok, time to take a break. Is everyone done with their Christmas shopping? I've been doing some online and get a package or two every other day. That's how I've come to enjoy shopping. Maybe that's what I'll do while resting today.

A quilt-y post, at last

I decided Sunday was the day I would finish this little quilt for my niece and her new baby girl. The label will tell you all about it. If you click on the picture, you should get an easier size to read. I'm off to see my little K!

A pile of hats

I can't stop! lol Nor do I want to right now. These hats have been a hit with young and old alike. I made these this past weekend. I made another three last night. Once you get the pattern down, it's a breeze. Of course, I get bored doing the same thing over and over again, so I had to find different patterns. I'd like to make maybe a dozen more and then get back to my quilting. For now, I need to use up all the yarn I've bought. Right now, though, I need to get ready for my day job :-) Have a good Friday!

A very lazy Sunday

Kerrington spent the night with Gramma and Grampa last night. Auntie Judy was here until K fell asleep. While she was awake though, Kerrington enjoyed playing with my skein of red yarn. So, this afternoon I made her a red ball with a little black ruffle (to hold on to). I also added, (second picture) about 10 strings of red for her to play with. She seemed to enjoy wrapping the thread around her fingers. Almost as though she was about to start crocheting! LOL



This quilt, front and back, is one that came in Judy's mail on Saturday. Was she ever surprised! I was too, but not so much once I saw it. I remember the bulls-eye blocks and I know how generous my online quilting group can be. Yes, Quilters on Review sent Judy a comfort quilt to use whenever she is missing Dad. Are they not the best quilters in the world? Thank you, all!

It's almost 10:30 and I should go to bed. In regard to the title of this post, I laid down for a nap at 12 o'clock noon and did not wake up until 3! When I woke up, I thought it was morning! It's not that I had a rough night with Miss K because she did very well with us, but I guess I was just tired. I'll do that some weekends. So, I should go on to bed and get some extra rest. Have a good week!

Yes, I am spoiled

Check this out! I have been a part of two swaps this season and here is what I have received. The first picture is an Advent calendar wallhanging. Full of little gifts! This swap dictated that the swappers gather 24 little gifts to be opened by the recipient, one gift a day from December 1 'til December 25. Then there is one big gift for Christmas Day. Wasn't it smart of Tammy in Virginiato send the wallhanging? I got to looking at it and it's also very cleverly jumbled! So, I have to look for each day before I can open the gift inside the pocket. Thanks, Tammy!
This swap was a Stitcher's Angel swap. We were supposed to make three stitched items and the theme was "roses". I told my secret angel that one of my favorite color combos is pink and green. Look what she did! All three pieces are gorgeous! The picture of the green mouse has a title, in French, "the green mouse". I love it! The big wallhanging has dimensional flowers and a butterfly and applique. Beautiful! The little needle holder is too pretty to put to use. I think I'll just hang it over my sewing machine and look at it every day. She also sent me something I've never seen before. Scented floss! Yup. The back of the package says "Hidden in the core of the thread, the aroma is released when you touch it." The scents are chocolate, apple and roses. I can't wait to try them! Thank you, Agnes!