25 July, 2019

Single Family Household

It's quiet around here again; Chez Goodneedle has gone back to being a single family household. In the uncharacteristic stillness I have loaded "Scarlet Stars" onto Snowbird this morning and begun quilting it.  I sure do miss my little garden helper! Every day after lunch Lynnleigh and I would go out and do the deadheading, watering, or bird feeder filling;  she was always quick to remind me what needed to be done. Now I'm on my own. I know how very happy they all are to be back in their own home and beds once again. They have made some huge improvements to their home, updating and modernizing.
The circa 1964 kitchen was gutted and a new, sleek, modern one exists in its place. Our son and daughter-in-law had some great ideas and vision that transformed this space into one that is uniquely theirs. Our son and Mr. Goodneedle constructed the dining table and built in benches for their eating area.
This island top is a slice of an oak tree that once grew at Virginia International Raceway. Purchased in an auction years ago this slab of wood has resided in our basement until its recent restoration. They also had two bathrooms and their mudroom gutted and remodeled. They now have a new house with the same address as before, we couldn't be happier for them!
Switching gears: I made the recent birthday boy a pillow using Elizabeth Hartman's "Penguin Party" pattern. I believe he liked it, penguins are his favorite animal. 
Naturally, Nana and PawPaw couldn't take birthday gifts to the Capital City without a little something for the birthday boy's sister. I do believe she might just have the best dressed dolls anywhere. 
Last week, during Quilt Camp, I had to construct parts of a tumbler for demonstration purposes. Surprisingly, I discovered at that time that I have misplaced (or completely LOST!) a completed Scrappy Tumbler quilt somewhere along the line. A couple of summers ago I made two out of my charm bins and now can only find one. Where that second one has gotten to is anyone's guess. I will go ahead and finish this one now, leader-ender fashion, to replace the lost one. Maybe, by doing that, the missing one will resurface. Heaven knows, I have enough charms and scraps to keep this up for a very long time!
We picked up a couple of bouquets at Trader Joe's last week to place on the altar at church. They came home with us after worship and have remained vibrant and healthy looking all week. I just love having fresh flowers in the house, the ones that I find there are always nice and very reasonably priced. 
I took this picture yesterday afternoon; our THIRD Bluebird clutch this season! Once before we had two Bluebird families in one season, but never three!! So, maybe there is another family living at our address after all, just when I thought we were down to only the two of us once again. 😉

Life is Good!

4 comments:

KaHolly said...

Three clutches! How exciting! I just love keeping track of all my resident bird families. I’m so envious that you have a long arm! And sweet little grandchildren. How lucky you were to have them stay with you for awhile. Having the vision to remodel a house is such a gift. Fortunately for me, and my pocketbook, that is not one of my few talents. So things stay the same. Glad you out up that tumbler quilt. I have one partially made as a leader/ender one summer tucked away and it needs to come out and get finished! It’s red,white, and blue paisley (someone else’s scraps) and would make a great QOV quilt IF it ever gets finished. Enjoy your garden, keep cool, and stay sweet!

Quiltdivajulie said...

Wonderful post -- so much going on! Love that the tree slab has found a permanent home as a countertop for the island -- it is beautiful!

Little Penpen said...

Their kitchen looks great! And what a unique way to use the tree slab... gorgeous. Your little girl and her doll must be so precious in their special made dresses. Cute penguin pillow, too. You get the world's greatest granny award!

Janet O. said...

I always enjoy seeing home renovations, having lived through several myself. The process can be painful, but the results are so rewarding. Lovely job on the kitchen--what a great island! And the handcrafted table will be a family treasure.
The birthday boy seems very pleased with his pillow. I love that pattern.